They're Here!

My good friend Natalie had her quadruplets!  Natalie is doing well in recovery and all four babies are doing great, too!  The babies were taken of the CPAP machines and are breathing regularly on their own.  What a miracle this has all been for them.

I'm sure you can imagine how expensive it will be for the first couple of years for this family.  If you would like to help them out (anything is appreciated), please visit their Baby Registry at Target! 

Racquetball

We went with Lyle to the Redwood Rec Center to watch him, Dad and Lucas play racquetball. Ava thought it was fun for awhile, but got bored pretty quickly and eventually she and Sean ended up looking at the horses out the back door window. Haha.   In the end, I'm not sure who won, but there's was lots of yelling, diving, sweating and loud hits of the ball on the window.  I also realized something else;  it's hard to get any sort of good picture of someone playing racquetball...they're always facing the other way!

President's Day

Lyle worked on President's Day, but he made sure he came home early enough so he could take us out for bowling, dinner and fun! We went to our favorite bowling alley: Jack and Jill's.  When we first moved to EM, we would go to the American Fork Jack and Jill's all the time.  It is a classic bowling alley complete with greasy fries, pool tables and stinky shoes;  we've loved the atmosphere everytime we've gone.  J&J's opened a Lehi location almost two years ago and now that it's about 10 minutes closer to us, that's the alley we go to when we want a fun night out!  It's huge compared to the original location;  the diner is bigger, there are tons of arcade games (including laser tag), corporate lanes (with massive tv's above the lanes) and more space for lanes.  It's always fun to spend a couple of hours bowling a couple of games and dining on pizza, breadsticks, fries and soda!

After bowling our standard two games (I blew Lyle out of the water on the first game, by the way), we headed over to the arcade to play some Skee-ball, Air Hockey and Wak-A-Mole.  It was such a fun night!  We ended the night at Target getting Ava some new t-shirts and new shoes because she's outgrown her current sneakers (I bought her some fabulous pink Converse...aaahhh!, I'm dying!). Ava was attached to a Big Bird plush toy she found in the toy section.  She's become slightly addicted to Sesame Street lately and can be heard all day walking around the house saying, "Eh-mo", "Cookie" and "Big Buhd" (think Boston, MA accent).  So....Daddy caved and bought her a Big Bird to play with her Elmo she had at home.  I'm finding Daddy tends to cave into Miss A's demands much faster then he ever did for Sean.  Must be because she's his little Princess!

Baby Sofia

I love photography! I've been doing this work for over 12 years now and I still find myself having a hard time accepting money for my work. It's just such a joy for me to create beautiful compositions and see someone's face when they see their photos for the first time. I've come to the conclusion that, professional photographer though I may be, I do it for the joy...not the money.

My dear friend Wendy just had her little Sofia about two weeks ago and instead of buying her a cute outfit for the baby, I gave her a photo shoot. Sofia will grow out of clothing, but these pictures will be cherished by her Mama and Papa forever. Check out my photography site to see many more portraits and announcement ideas!

Delish!

Mmmm!  Our favorite!  Lyle-Bear and I are completely and unashamedly addicted to this ice cream! 

Sunny Days

I love the show Cake Boss.  I'm currently in the process of watching all the seasons on Netflix and Ava will watch them with me sometimes.  Tonight, the Sesame Street episode came on and she was glued to the television screen.  She saw Elmo and got all excited and screamed, "Ehmo"!  She loves Abby Cadaby and Cookie and Grover, as well.  When she watches Sesame Street on Netflix she sits and dances and sings to the songs;  I love that she is so enamored with a show I grew up on!

Sleeping Beauty

It's no secret that Ava has slept in our bed since the day she was born.  We tried everything to get her to sleep in her own bed, but she craved close contact.  She still does.  However, after almost two years, Lyle and I had both agreed that we needed to put more effort into getting her into her own bed.  Sometimes, parents just need some "alone time"...if you know what I mean.  As much as I love having Miss A in my bed (there's nothing quite like a chubby, cuddly, delicious smelling baby sleeping with her arm across your neck), I also knew that getting her into her own bed would be a trial.  I knew she would scream for hours and that was something I have never felt prepared for.  Hearing my babies cry/scream gives me major anxiety and I cannot, CANNOT just let them cry.  I have no control over that...I always pick them up and comfort them.  I told Lyle once that when we decided to finally make her sleep in her own bed, I would be sleeping in the car in the garage, to make sure I couldn't hear the crying and the please for "Mommy"!

Several weeks ago, when my double ear infection hit, I couldn't hear much of anything and I didn't feel well at all.  I spent most of each day in bed sleeping so I could escape from the pain.  Lyle was in charge of taking care of Miss A and one night, I guess he just decided to get her into her own bed.  I couldn't hear the crying and even if I could've, I'm not sure I would've cared. 

Here we are, almost a month later, and Sissy is now sleeping in her own bed.  SLEEPING IN HER OWN BED!  I feel like crying with happiness!  :)  She now takes a scheduled nap every day between 1 and 2 pm, for roughly 2 hours, and then is down for the night by 9:30 pm.  She still wakes up at least once each night, but falls back to sleep quickly with her bottle. 

Lyle and I are enjoying our own space again.  It's divine.  As much as I enjoyed sleeping next to my angel (I waited a long time for that angel and I was drinking in her scent each night), I am grateful to be able to snuggle with my husband again.  In many ways, that blasted double ear infection turned out to be a blessing. 

Artwork

As I was getting Ava into the bath the other day, I noticed some writing on her tummy.  Daddy decided to send me a message.  Can you tell what it says?

Time

I'm in love with this picture. 

Love Me Do

The most awesome dance EVAH was held again this past weekend. Love me some LDS Adult Stake Valentine's dances! The music is always rockin', the moves are always shakin', and the laughs are always rollin'. Bring me some of my BFF Jer-Bear...and the night is perfection!

Remember last month when I started my monthly deep cleaning schedule?   Well, February is here and I decided today was the day I would continue on my plan.  So...I started some laundry, loaded the dishwasher, swept the kitchen floor, scrubbed two bathroom, put Ava down for a nap, and then started on my blinds and curtains. 

I started out using one of those nifty little blind cleaners...but it didn't work so well on the copious amounts of fly excrement, so I had to switch to the hot water and rag method.  It started out clear and clean...

...but I wasn't even finished with one room when I had to empty the bucket and refill it with fresh, clean water!  I couldn't believe how disgusting my blinds were!  Lyle has cleaned our blinds several times since we've lived in this house...so I was surprised how filthy they were still.

Sean's bedroom blinds were by far the worst of the lot, though. At first, I was slightly confused, until I realized that unlike the rest of the windows (which have been cleaned before), Sean's blinds have never been cleaned. Um...gross? That window took me almost an hour. I also took down all the curtains and shook out all the dust (we just washed them all a few months ago). Here I am at 9:20 p.m. and just finishing up the deep cleaning for this month. It's definitely a serious list! So far, each month's selection has taken me pratically all day to complete. I'm slightly hesitant about March...but, I know I'll be pleased with the results!

To the Left...

I've been watching Ava a lot lately;  more than I usually do.  It seems she may be a southpaw (a.k.a., left handed).  She tends to eat and do almost everything with her right hand...but when it comes to holding a crayon, pen or pencil...it's left hand all the way!  She doesn't even get how to hold a crayon correctly in her right hand...but did it without direction in her left hand.  Surprisingly, it doesn't really bother me.  I believe my youngest sister is left-handed...and she's pretty talented. 

Headshots

I've found myself the photographer of choice for In Motion Dance Studio, and I love it!  I went to the studio a few days ago for their staff portraits and head shots.  Head over to my photography website to see all the great shots!