Girlie Girl

Avery and I had fun making this tutu today. She is ALL girl and I love it! Every night she asks me to tell her a "Princess Avery Story" before she goes to bed. She can't live without her princess panties, princess shoes, princess dresses, or princess whatever, you name it.

Please oh please!

Anyone want their pictures taken?? The kids are getting sick of having the camera in their faces. I need more cute models. Any volunteers?? Come on, it will be fun. You know you want to. :) Don't make me beg. PLEASE just ask. I'll do family pictures, newborns, whatever. I'm not going into business or anything, I just really enjoy taking pictures and want to practice. 

Here are a few cute ones of my friend's little boy I did for fun. Check out those baby blues!

I hate it when that happens!!!

So today I was feeling pretty good about having dinner made (just needed to stick it in the oven) and the kitchen cleaned before 4:30 pm. Perfect! Now I'll have a little time to play with the kids before the "night-time rush." Yeah Right!! I turned on the oven to let it heat up. Heard the ding and went to put my homemade manicotti in the oven, and SPLAT!!! yep, dumped the whole thing all over myself and splashed red sauce all over the kitchen. So much for a clean kitchen and a nice meal waiting for hubby to come home. Why do things NEVER go as planned??????? PLease tell me????

Speaking of dinner, Last week I made frozen pizza for dinner and Andy gave me such a hard time!! He loves a good home cooked meal (who doesn't), and I think I do a pretty good job most of the time cooking. But, I'm allowed a break every once and a while, right? I'm just curious to know how often you guys cook. So please take my oh so scientific little polls over on the side bar so I can see where I stand. I'll share my answers later!

P.S. in Andy's defense, he ALWAYS says thank you when I cook a good meal which I really appreciate! And, just so you know, I DON"T cook 7 days a week! :)

UPDATE: Sorry if I made it sound like I am a "perfect house wife" because I AM NOT! And Andy is a GREAT husband who hardly ever complains. :) I usually cook Good meals 5-6 days a week and we eat out once. We like to go to Costco on Friday nights and eat there. It's cheap and I don't have to clean up, so I love it! And as far as frozen pizza or spaghetti type meals...once every month or so. 

Sorry if you are getting tired of my pictures, but we haven't done anything exciting to write about, and how could I not share this one? And yes, today was a MUCH better Monday. :)

on a happier note...

Have a great weekend!!!

The TeRriBle, nO goOd, VeRy BaD daY!!!!

Does anyone else hate Mondays?

Happy Sabbath!

Check out this picture! It is Andrew's first piece of artwork. He laid on the floor for 15 minutes drawing this. He has scribbled for a few seconds here and there before, but I can't believe how long he stayed and worked on this. It was so cute to see how hard he was concentrating on his masterpiece!

He had a few other firsts today also. He said please and thank you and finally figured out how to make the little riding car go forward instead of just backwards. Big day for Drew.

Here are a few funny pictures of Avery. It started with her innocently filling the watering can with the hose and of course ended like this

We had so much fun in Hawaii. It was Amazing! We went Kayaking, splunking in lava tubes, watched the hot lava spew out into the ocean, boogie boarding, snorkling,and of course layed out and enjoyed the sunshine. I was nervous about leaving the kids, but Avery hardly noticed that we were gone and Andrew still loved me when we got back :) Thanks for watching the kids Cindi!!
*not the best picture but it is pretty much the only one we took

After we got back from Hawaii we stayed in Utah for a week. We took the kids to the Thanksgiving Point Petting Zoo. Andrew was deathly afraid of the goats but LOVED the pony rides.

We also headed to the mountains with Andy's fam and had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows. The kids had a blast!

Andy's sweet Grandma had a big BBQ on Saturday so that we could see everyone before we left. Avery loves to play with her cousins!

jumping on the tramp at Great Grandma's

playing hide and go seek

Cute Sylvie!

And in case you haven't had enough yet(HaHa!), here are 2 more :)

Avery And Uncle Ammon

Avery And Aunt Arianne

Okay, I'm done

Addicted

I LOVE photography and I can't put my camera down!! Just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures of some people who were kind enough to let me practice on them. :)

QuACk QUaCk!!

Avery had her first dance recital the day before we left for Utah. It was so cute! I thought she would be a little scared to get up on the big stage and dance by herself, but she loved every minute of it! It was definitely a proud mommy moment. Having Avery in dance has been so much fun and has helped her to come out of her shell. We are going to miss Miss Tracee. She does an amazing job with the kids.

Drew is 16 months!

Here is a list of the words he can say:
Apple

Ball
Baby
Bonk
Bath
ByeBye
Bubble
Moo
Dog
Drink
Dada
Mama
sissy (this is the cutest!)
Paci
Blankie
Whoa

P.U.
NO
Sock
hot
hippo
Ya

Out

Up

Shoe

More

Andrew loves to
1. Pull his sissy's hair
2. Play outside
3. eat
4. Read books
5. Give kisses
6. Give Avery loves when she wakes up in the morning
7. Play with phones
8. Get his diaper changed (yea, right)
9. Cuddle his blankie (he HAS to take it everywhere and cries if I leave it in the car)
10. suck on his Paci
11. Dump out cereal boxes
12. Do everything Avery does
13. Say "Roar" and scare his Daddy
14. Vaccuum
15. Watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the bouncy chair
16. Throw food from his highchair

We had our first little incident on Friday night that required a trip to the Urgent Care. Sweet little Avery Jane was running into the kitchen and tripped. She did one of those full force whiplash falls that little kids often do and smacked her forehead on the corner of the wall. I quickly picked her up and blood started gushing out. I yelled for Andy and he came running downstairs. We surveyed the damage and knew she needed stitches. I started to feel Really faint and nauseous. I've never had blood affect me like that before, I think it was because it was my own little girl. SO sad! We got in the car and drove her to the Urgent Care. The doctor said that it was such a clean split that he could just use butterfly stitches instead of real stitches which would help reduce scarring. I asked him if there was anything else I could do/put on it to help it heal faster and not scar. The only thing he suggested was plastic surgery. Great. She is only 3 and already has to worry about plastic surgery. I remember one of my mission companions telling me how she had gotten a scar above her eyebrow when she was little. She hated it so much that she got a job when she turned 15 and saved up enough money to pay for the plastic surgery herself. I guess I better start saving my pennies in case she decides she wants surgery! Poor girl. Andy took this picture when we got back from the doctors. She has to wear a big old bandaid on her forehead until the stitches fall off.

A Child's Prayer

I Love to listen to Avery Pray. When children pray it is so sweet, innocent, and meaningful in its simplicity. Avery HAS to say the dinner prayer every night. Sometimes she says some really funny things, but last night at the end of her prayer she said:

"Thank you that I am a child of God"

I just thought it was so cute and sweet that she could recognize that knowing she is a daughter of God is something special. I wish I could pray with the faith and innocence of a child more often!

Cute kids

I haven't posted pictures in a while, mostly because my kids turn their backs to me whenever I get the camera out. :( But here are a few I took yesterday for fun

I love Drew's eyes!

Look at those eyelashes. Lucky Girl!!

Here is a picture of my Mom and Andrew from when she was here last week

Giveaway Winner!!

Okay, I still haven't decided on a title for my blog, but the winner for the most creative idea is.........drum roll please..........JESSICA!! I'll email ya. Thanks for all your help guys!

Here are a few other crazy ideas for titles I am throwing around ( in addition to Jessica's LAUNDRY ). Tell me what you think.

  

 1. Bubble Wrapped-this is a funny one to me because if he could, Andy would have EVERYTHING we own bubble wrapped, plastic on the couches, plastic on the carpet,...etc. He would even bubble wrap the kids!

  

2. Oh Happy Day-Don't ask me why, but I have had this song in my head ever since I saw Sister Act (I'm not sure if it is #1 or #2). The one where she teaches the school choir. Random, I know, but I ALWAYS sing it.

3. Sugared Tales- I was trying to come up with something creative by combining "snips and snail and puppy dog tails" with "Sugar and spice and everything nice." This is what I got

4. My friend suggested "Mediocrity" for a title today because I was telling her how I feel I am not really good at anything, I just dabble in a lot of things. She was just kidding of course, but it fits!

Okay, now you can see why I needed help :)

hAPpY BiRtHDaY!!!

You are an amazing husband and father. We love you so much. 

Happy 29th Birthday!!

Love, 

Lauren, Avery, and Andrew

Last Call!!!

Anyone else have any entries for the giveaway? Come on people, I know you are all really creative!! Throw a couple titles my way! :)

In other news, I got dressed for church this morning and Avery says " Mom, how come you always wear that?" nice. ummm, do you think it is time to go shopping for some new church clothes? Does anyone else out there have as hard a time as I do finding stuff? Where is a good place to find skirts and dresses?

GiVeAwAy!!

Thanks for all your input about the whole going private issue. For know I have decided to stay public, but take a few precautions. I am going to take our last name off of the blog. Here is where the FUN GIVEAWAY comes in. I can't think of anything fun/create/cute for the title, so I am leaving it up to you guys! :) (Or maybe I am just too lazy to think AND I want an excuse to do a craft project). Just leave a comment with your entry (be nice please), and you can enter as many times as you want. The winner will receive something made by yours truly. I promise it will be good. I will tailor the prize to fit the winner. Possible prizes include: Hair bows and headbands, Cute Fridge magnets to match your kitchen, a crayon roll to tote your kiddies stuff in style, or whatever else I feel like doing (suggestions for the prize also welcome). The winner will be picked next Sunday. Please enter so I don't feel like a dork ;). Thanks everyone!

Photo Tip

****Use your flash outdoors on a really sunny day!***

Why you may ask? Bright sunny days are actually bad for taking pictures because the sun creates harsh shadows. If you look at the pictures of my kids at the park a couple posts ago, you will see what I am talking about (I actually even lightened them a little in photoshop, they were a lot worse). If I had remembered to turn on my flash, the pictures would have come out much better. The flash fills in the dark shadowed areas. The best thing to do is find shade, but if that is not possible, just turn on your flash and snap away! Just thought I would share!

bRoThEr, BuDdY Boy, BoOgEr Boy, DrEwDreW

Andrew turned 15 months yesterday. I can't believe it. He is getting so big. Why do they grow up so fast? He is such a good kid and makes me laugh all the time. I can't get enough of him! 

I found Andrew underneath the deck stairs eating rocks. Gross, but too cute.

This picture seriously makes me laugh, I don't know why. Andrew loves anything that has a steering wheel.  I got this Little Tikes car on a tree lawn (Cleveland talk, I'll explain it later) a few weeks ago, and he loves it! I think it is a combination of the drool dripping dow his face and the daydreaming expression that kills me.

Andrew is such a sweet little boy and wakes up happy from his naps most of the time. today was such a day and I had to capture his cute face.