The McDaniel Family

Happy Birthday to Our Little Turkey

2010-11-26T15:15:00.001-07:00

8 months

2010-07-26T13:53:00.000-06:00

Does this face look like trouble our what?!

At 8 months old Dexter decided to take a stand...by pulling to stand.

and guess what folks...it's opened up a whole new world.

All of a sudden he's into EVERYTHING!

On top of standing, he got quick.

He can crawl his way to trouble faster than we can keep up with him.

This is a whole new ball game for us in this house...baby proofing, What's that?

Guess we ought to be figuring it out pretty darn quick!

Is it wrong to put an 8 month old in time-out?

The End of an Era

2010-07-15T13:26:00.002-06:00

Just prior to Ava's third birthday she moved on from the amazing Infant Toddler Program she has been a part of since she was 10 months old. We have been given so many amazing opportunities through this program. One of our favorite though was Tumble Time. Ava went once a week and learned to do amazing things with her little body. When we first started Ava wasn't even walking and it typically took at least two adults to make her body do the things that were being asked of her. She would be exhausted by the end of the hour and would rarely make it through without a meltdown.

Now she can do the majority of the exercises all by herself including the balance beam where she just needs a little support for balance. She loves the bars, jumping on the trampolines, doing somersaults, playing with her friends, and getting stamps.

We were so sad to have to say goodbye to all her friends, especially her friend Arthur who she took an extra special liking to. They had so much fun together and Ava was so excited to see him every week. This also meant the end of seeing Amy, Ava's OT who has been an angel in our lives, on a weekly basis.

Luckily we still get to see Miss Shaina every week because we decided to continue to do Tumble Time. Now Ava goes to a class all by herself and I get to sit out and just watch. She has grown so much and we just love it.

Ava turning three also meant saying good bye to Ava's sweet speech therapist, Marsha who came to our house once a week to work with Ava.

We feel very blessed to have had these women in our lives.

We have also been enjoying the nice break from a schedule this summer and are excited for Ava to attend the developmental preschool at our neighborhood elementary school beginning in a week.

Fwee yeaws old

2010-07-15T12:32:00.002-06:00

It was nearly an entire week of celebration!

We had to head down to St. George for a wedding and it worked out perfectly that we were able to celebrate with all of those who love Miss Ava so much.

Ava woke up to a ribbon covered door, balloons everywhere, presents, and a breakfast of delish elmo cupcakes made by Aunt Kelcie. Ava was in heaven and the birthday celebrating was barely beginning.

She got all decked out in her birthday duds.

We all hopped in our new MINIVAN and headed down to Las Vegas for the day.
We had an amazing lunch at an amazing restaurant.

Followed by loads of fun visiting M&M World, the Bellagio gardens, Rainforest Cafe, the Lions at MGM Grande, and not so much fun visiting the Bellagio fountain show (think Ava's reaction to the fireworks on the 4th).

It was a totally exhausting day!

The next day Ava was able to celebrate her birthday with my Aunt Julie at a family bbq.

We also celebrated at lunch with Grandma Bobbie, Uncle Jason, Aunt Callie, and cousin Xander but I was fighting some sort of stomach bug and wasn't exactly thinking pictures.

When we returned back to Boise we threw a little party together to celebrate with a few of Ava's favorite friends, but I am not going to embarrass myself by posting pictures of the thrown together party. Suffice it to say it was a fun end to a busy and fun week. We are so glad Ava Mae is three and growing to be a beatiful and strong little girl.

I Pledge Allegiance...

2010-07-05T12:17:00.002-06:00

...to the flag...

...of the Unnnmmmmnnnmmmm.

Here's the rundown...

Boise 4th of July Parade...Lame

Ava freaking out over the site of even the tiniest firework (including poppers)...Lamer

Our friends, the Cromar's ditching out on their yearly 4th of July extravaganza...Lamest

Spending an extra long weekend with my three favorite peeps celebrating my favorite holiday

PRICELESS!

It ended up being a great weekend. We enjoyed a neighborhood block party and talent show, a 4th of July baby's first birthday party, an amazing block of church meetings, a lame parade, some okay donuts, way way way too much food, lots of fireworks, lots of screaming due to fireworks, and a lot of holiday festiveness. So I guess we didn't need the Cromar's after all...so take that!

Seven Months

2010-06-26T10:46:00.001-06:00

This sweet little guy developed some MAJOR personality this month.

Sometimes the emotions tend to be a little extreme, but we have come to embrace it and love our little diva.

Six months

2010-05-27T16:54:00.002-06:00

HELLO HANDSOME!

He's starting to sit up...

and He's starting to crawl!
He scoots his booty up and then he throws himself forward.

His Stats:
Weight 21.5 lbs (97th percentile)
Height 27 inches (70th percentile)
Head....let's just say, IT'S BIG, just like the rest of him.
Oh Dex, it's ok...mama loves every hair on that big head!

5 Months

2010-04-29T15:02:00.002-06:00

It's currently his favorite place to be.

He just started playing with all the toys on it.

It's so much fun to watch.

I love the bottom three pics.

In the first one I like to imagine him saying, " You messin' with me?"

and then he puts him in his place.

In the second picture I like to think he is thinking, " Oh, I never imagined it would taste so good!"

Funny little guy.

and do you wanna know what it's looking like down below?...

Oh yeah! Juicy Delicious Goodness!

2Cool 2Be 4Gotten

2010-04-29T15:00:00.000-06:00

Need I say more?!

2010-04-05T11:44:00.001-06:00

great day.

great messages.

great family.

great life.

2010-04-05T11:37:00.001-06:00

but what little bunny was it...

The Easter baskets were a hit.

and so were our little bunnies.

Hoppy Easter!

Leading Up to the Big Day

2010-04-05T11:27:00.002-06:00

We love attending the Grantham Family's Easter Egg Hunt every year.

This year was even better because Ava was on her own with no help from mom or dad and she loved it.

We were so glad they had it a couple of weeks early because the weather was great and it gave us a chance to participate in the

Easter Eggstravaganza at Zoo Boise...

I think everyone who lives in Boise was there, but we had a great time.

She was a pro Easter egg hunter

loved the carousel ride

and made lots of new friends.

Ava was excited to pet the (dead) bobcat until Josh purposely scared her and then she was really unsure but pulled through and loved it so much that as we were walking away she said to the bobcat, "thank you, buh bye!"

I love getting the most out of a holiday and starting off early and this year we succeeded.

4 months

2010-03-28T17:39:00.003-06:00

He just keeps on growing!

9oth percentile for weight

50th for height

90th for head...surprise surprise.

Off the charts for cuteness...

Dr. gave us a go for starting solids considering we can't keep up with him on the bottle.

Should be fun!

He is officially rolling over.

Favorite past time (other than eating) is playing in the exersaucer and keeping an eye on whatever Ava is doing.

Leprechaun Spotting

2010-03-17T23:21:00.003-06:00

We caught our little leprechaun this year.

She's a wild one.

Craziest part is...

She's hired a sidekick...

Happy St. Patty's Day.

2010-03-17T23:19:00.003-06:00

She's breaking my heart!

Wanna know why?

Check here and here

and now look below...

Where'd my little baby go?

Wahhhhhhhh!

3 months Old

2010-02-27T13:24:00.006-07:00

Most mom's:

"Already? Really? Where has the time gone? My baby's growing up too fast!"

Lindsie:

"It's about freakin' time!"

I'm not a huge fan of the newborn. Sure he was sweet and new and precious. But he wasn't sleeping well, eating well, or pooping well. I like it once they are a little more adjusted and the stress of ruining them for life let's up a little.

He now sleeps through the night, 10 p.m. to 7 or 8 a.m. most nights. He eats. He loves food like a fat boy loves cake...or a fat baby loves formula. As for the pooping, it's coming out regularly...a blessing and a curse.

He just took his first road trip down to St. George to visit family and friends and did so great! We even left him and Ava with my parents and sister for a couple days while Josh and I headed down to Vegas to celebrate Josh turning 30. They did great and we loved the short break.

We're loving this little guy. He's starting to get really fun. He loves to smile and coo and we all sit around like a bunch of crazies trying to get him to talk to us.

I guess we'll keep him.

SIX WEEKS

2010-01-18T22:31:00.003-07:00

I never took 1 month pictures, it just snuck by.

I remembered at six weeks when I put him in the same outfit he wore when he was

one week old.

It was practically too small and made me realize how quickly he is growing.

He's well over ten pounds now!

Dang he's cute.

She Likes Her Some Fashion

2010-01-18T22:23:00.002-07:00

Ava's caught the fashion bug...

I guess that's what happens when Santa brings you a pair of skinny jeans

when your just two years old.

Who said girls with chunky thighs can't wear skinny jeans...

She's rockin' them.

Makes Me Smile...

2010-01-18T22:11:00.002-07:00

Do let me explain...

Josh is wearing a bandanna because it has Vicks vapor rub on it and he had a sore throat,

not because he is trying to be sexy even though it is really sexy.

Ava is wearing Elmo pajamas because somewhere along the way I renegotiated my "no character clothing" stance to allow clothing that never leaves the house (i.e. pajamas).

That is until this week when I broke down and bought her an Elmo t-shirt, but it was on clearance at Old Navy for next to nothing and actually kind of cute. Plus, I was missing her because she went on a trip with Josh for a couple of days and I was excited to surprise her with it.

Dexter, well, he's naked because he likes to spit up A LOT so he hasn't earned the right to wear clothing. Tough Love, that'll teach him. :)

I love my little family, even on days like this.

christmas.

2010-01-18T20:20:00.002-07:00

Christmas was great.

We were having such a great time, just our little family and afterward we realized we took very few pictures.

But, here is what we got...

the favorite gift.

THE PERFECT DAY!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T00:51:00.002-07:00

Who's EXCITED for Christmas?...

2009-12-24T07:33:00.003-07:00

PROVE IT!

Excuse all the slobber, story of our life lately.

2009 Edition- Naughty or Nice

2009-12-24T07:20:00.004-07:00

I just couldn't choose!

2008 Edition here

A Little Naughty But Mostly Nice...

2009-12-12T13:12:00.003-07:00

Ava has figured out who Santa is this year...apart from the times she confuses him for Jesus.

She was pretty excited to meet the jolly old man.

Dex was happy to just be along for the ride.

Our Newest Addition!

2009-12-02T19:43:00.002-07:00

He's almost a week old...

Where has the time gone!

Dexter Joshua surprised us by popping by to say hello on Thanksgiving Day.

He reminded us that we have so much to be thankful for.

He is PERFECT and we are TOTALLY in love!

A quick run down of the events...for those who wanted to know.

Wednesday night my water broke, not a gush just some trickling.

We went to the hospital around 1:30 a.m. Thanksgiving day.

They had us walk around the labor and delivery unit from 2:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. to see if contractions would start on there own...BRUTAL! I'm so not a night person.

Then we were able to "sleep" until 6:30 a.m. when they started me on pitocin.

I didn't have to feel very many bad contractions before they were offering me an epidural.

After receiving the epidural I progressed very quickly.

After 45 minutes of pushing, Dexter arrived posterior...and perfect.

He arrived at 1:05 p.m.

Weighing in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 19 inches long...and perfect.

Ava met her baby brother later that night, but she was more interested in showing off for the nursing staff than meeting Dexter. She has been very sweet with him, especially when nobody is looking.

Josh did the honors of Dexter's first bath at home. He is a pro. Parenting comes naturally to him, at least it does for one of us.

We are enjoying every minute of our time with our new little family member. We are already having a hard time remembering what life ever felt like without him.

We love him so much and...he's perfect.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-01T18:19:00.002-07:00

She ruled the neighborhood last night...and to think it was her first time out on the streets trick or treating. You never would have guessed. While we were waiting for our friends to come over and join us, she decided to take herself to a few houses. Then, when our friends showed up, Ava decided to show them the ropes. She was a pro the rest of the night and in complete heaven, out with the big kids. She had quite the basket full by the end of the night and even treated herself to an Almond Joy...wrapper and all!

It was everything I was hoping it would be and more. She has become quite independent which is so fun to watch, but also hurts my heart a little more than I would like to admit. She has changed so much in the past year and now I know what they mean when they say, they grow up right before your eyes. After Ava went to bed last night, Josh and I looked at pictures from last Halloween, comparing them to this year and we hardly recognized our little girl, she has grown up so much! I guess this is part of being a parent, and I probably ought to get used to it. Dangit.

When Does It Stop?

2009-09-02T10:17:00.005-06:00

When do things stop getting better?

It seems like everything we are experiencing with Ava keeps getting more and more exciting, fun, and rewarding.

This is our third year going to the fair with Ava and each year has consistently been more fun with her. Last year we thought it was so great, but this year was even better. As we walked around this year I wondered if next year would be even better or if it would be the same as the year before. Josh was really wanting to take Ava on a few rides, but we agreed to hold off for one more year so there is something new and exciting to look forward to next year.

Last year, Ava wasn't walking yet, but she thought the petting zoo was so much fun. We bought a cup of animal food and put it on her stroller tray and the animals would eat it right off her tray. She would laugh hysterically.

This year, she was holding her own. Walking and holding the food in her hand to feed the animals and she loved it. She thought all of the "puppies" were so much fun to feed and pet and play with.

It was so much better than last year!

Last year we saw the pony ride and thought Ava would enjoy it, but we decided against it. We didn't think her little body was quite ready to handle it.

But this year...

She was ready and she LOVED it!

That grin didn't leave her face the entire time.

She was in heaven and we were in heaven just watching her.

We both agreed that it was well worth the outrageous $5 it cost to ride.

Will it be as priceless next year?

Josh couldn't leave without taking Ava on one ride, and we thought the carousel was the perfect one.

Sure enough, she loved it, laughing and smiling the entire time.

I loved being able to stand back and take it all in as Ava and Dad rode.

I was glad she went on the carousel and excited for next year when she gets to experience many more rides.

It will be something to look forward to that will probably be better next year.

Of course, no trip to the fair is complete without a souvenir and besides the extra 5 pounds we each took home from eating fair food, Josh bought Ava this light up ball. She got one last year too, and she loved it last year. She loved when we turned it on and she could watch the lights, but this year...

She could do it herself!

She thought it was so exciting to turn it off and then on and act surprised. Her expressions were priceless!

I look forward to going to the fair next year and experiencing more new things with Ava. I just hope that it keeps getting better and better every year.

Praying...

2009-08-14T08:05:00.004-06:00

This is Ava saying our family prayer a month or so ago. Sadly, she lost motivation around the end because she has the best way of saying "Jesus". She says it in a really deep voice and it sounds like she is speaking spanish because she pronounces it "hey-soos". We love the way she folds her arms for a prayer. Look for it after Josh says, " Heavenly Father". Ignore the hiccups, she gets them all the time. This girl is keeping us going lately and loves to get a laugh out of us, and she is pretty dang good at it.

Catch UP!

2009-08-06T15:30:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the late posts...but here are a few things that happened during the month of July that are too important to pass up. ENJOY!

Ava turns Two!

2009-08-06T14:58:00.006-06:00

Ava's second birthday came and went so quickly! Her big day was pretty low key, but I think she still felt special. We went to breakfast at one of our new favorite places, Rockies and then headed to Costco to pick up cupcakes.

I think Ava felt extra special because Grandma and Papa came up to spend some time with her.

Papa really enjoyed the party!

She received some great gifts including, a shopping cart with food, a Betty Crocker kitchen set complete with apron, oven mit, spoon, etc., a cute red chair, some moolah, a baby doll, a couple of books, a dress, and a mommy kit containing everything she could need to take care of her new baby.

Her favorite present was her new kitchen!

I didn't know how much I would loathe this kitchen and the mess it makes for me to clean up every day, but she thinks it is great and that makes it worth it!

She wasn't loving opening the presents, but she did love having everyone sing happy birthday to her and blowing out the candles.

...and of course eating an entire giant cupcake all by herself!

4th of July

2009-08-06T14:36:00.003-06:00

The 4th of July was go, go, go this year! We got roped into helping clean the church bright and early ;) and then we were off to the parade down town. Ava picked herself up a little American flag and thought it was great, she also enjoyed making friends with the hundreds of other people enjoying the parade.

We ended up leaving early because it was so dang hot, and prego wasn't handling it very well. The perfect solution was to head over to the Cromar's 4th of July Celebration. We enjoyed the pool again this year and had an awesome barbecue, it is seriously the best...looking forward to next year!

We were a little bummed because last year we had the perfect view from the Cromar's party for the fireworks at Eagle Island, but this year they didn't do it. So we were daring and headed downtown to let Ava experience the downtown fireworks for the first time. We did a few sparklers, courtesy of the Grantham's...and got in trouble, courtesy of the security! They let us off easy and I think it was worth it because Ava held her very first sparkler that night.

The fireworks were AWESOME! Ava LOVED it, and we decided to make a new tradition of it, however, I keep forgetting I will have a six-month old next 4th of July...We may have to rethink that.

It's A...

2009-07-24T07:26:00.004-06:00

I am behind on posting...again. I still need to post about the 4th of July and Ava's 2nd birthday, but first things first...

On Wednesday, we found out that we are having a baby boy! It was an exciting day! We were so anxious as we waited to find out if everything looked okay and to find out if it was a boy a girl. Then we were so relieved to hear that everything looked perfect, and surprised as we heard "It looks like a boy...here's the 'part'." We were immediately excited, but also a little sad as we realized it wasn't a girl...not because we weren't excited we were having a boy, but because once we learned it was a boy, it couldn't be a girl and we had been entertaining both possibilities all along. Does that make any sense?

We have a name in mind, but we still aren't set, so we will keep it to ourselves right now. We have a lot of decisions to make, room changes, decorating a nursery, buying lots of boy stuff, etc. It is an exciting time!

with Terrible Twos comes Exciting News!

2009-06-25T18:52:00.001-06:00

So...it's been a while. I have a couple of excuses, but truthfully, they are probably just excuses. I'll go ahead and use them anyway.

Excuse #1...Ava has been making up for lost time. Remember our sweet little girl...she hit the terrible twos and HARD! Some days I think either she or I will not make it through the day alive.

This is a fit she was throwing because I wouldn't let her play with my cell phone. She is really good at calling people, and lets just say that my service plan does not include international phone calls.

This is Ava trying to make herself throw up...just for fun, to see if I will give her my phone. NOT A CHANCE! I am learning to play hard ball.

Did you spot Excuse #2 in the pictures above?

If not, maybe you can figure it out from the following picture...

And if you are not quite functioning at full capacity today and still didn't figure it out, let me spell it out for you...

Baby #2 is on the way and hopefully making an appearance on or before December 16th and let me tell you, this tiny little creature has not been very nice. I have been sick, tired, and experiencing nearly daily migraines. I am finally starting to enjoy life again.

Hopefully, come December, the naughty little princess will realize the world no longer revolves around her.

Here's to hoping!

T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

2009-06-25T18:50:00.000-06:00

'Nuff Said!

actually...let me just say that I did not ask Ava to be a part of these photos. I was merely taking photos to show Josh when he got home from work and she wanted to be in the picture with her masterpiece.

Time Out, So Much Fun?!

2009-06-25T18:49:00.005-06:00

This is Ava in her Time Out corner...

and THIS is what Ava thinks about time out...

I'm at a loss...

Feeding Group Graduate

2009-06-25T18:00:00.003-06:00

Ava has been going to a group once a week for over a year now to help her learn how to eat. When we first started going, Ava wouldn't touch food at all and would not eat much more than baby food. Today was her last feeding group. She now eats just about anything and with her own hands. Today was a bittersweet day for me. Ava has loved going to this group and loves the kids and therapists she plays with every week. However, I am so relieved that we no longer need this service. The majority of the kids in this group all have feeding tubes because they have such extreme food aversions. Often times they are still not consistent eaters by the time they turn three and have to leave the program because of age. The first part of the group is play time. There was so many fun things that Ava loved to do. Her favorite was the ball pit, but over time she grew to love being thrown around in the large balloon.

The second part of the group is the feeding time. The kids sit around a little table and play with/eat different foods. There are never any expectations placed on the kids so they feel very comfortable with the food. It was amazing to watch many of the kids in Ava's group go from totally non-eaters to eaters.

The group ends with the kids sitting in a circle and singing a bye bye song. Ava loved this part and tries to initiate the song at home all the time.

These two women are angels in our eyes. Amy and Joan are the therapists that hold the group every Thursday. The patience and love they showed to Ava was priceless.
Luckily, we get to keep seeing Amy every other week for Ava's therapy sessions as well as at Tumble Time every week. We love them!

Walking Machine!!!

2009-05-05T14:14:00.003-06:00

Well, this video is already a little outdated...she is figuring this walking thing out faster than I can video it. She no longer has to pull herself up using things like the coffee table or the window seal. She is doing it from the middle of the floor...She walks 95% of the time now, she looks a little drunk while doing it, but she is doing it. The crawling days are over and I am a little sad. I can't believe how much more trouble is available to her at her new eye level! TROUBLE! I can't complain though, she has worked so hard to get here and she is loving it. Way to go Ava!

Easter 2009

2009-04-25T13:06:00.003-06:00

This Easter was so much fun...Ava could finally participate in the Easter Egg Hunt. She managed to find herself a few eggs before they were all snatched up. I think she really enjoyed being one of the big kids. Easter Sunday was nice and mellow. We started off with 8:30 a.m. church followed by some pictures and little nap and then a visit to the park...oh, and maybe a stop at a diner on the way home. What, we were hungry!

Little Miss Thang!

Gotta Love Her!

Ava Walks!

2009-04-08T10:39:00.003-06:00

This video is from a few weeks ago when we were down in St. George. My mom and the Grape (my grandpa) were keeping Ava occupied while we packed the truck up and this is what I came back to. She is now taking a few more steps than in this video and has pretty much mastered the one handed walk (holding one of my hands). We are so excited to have a walking girl this summer considering she has pretty much worn holes on the knees of all of her pants. She has now figured out how to get back down the stairs after going up which has been a huge relief. She is coming right along and we couldn't be having more fun or be more proud!

Little Leprechaun Spotting...

2009-03-17T16:14:00.004-06:00

Remember THIS little leprechaun from last year...

Well, she's back...

Just a little bigger, with a little more sass.

Happy Saint Patricks Day!

L.O.V.E.

2009-02-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Nothin' Better!

2009-02-08T11:53:00.002-07:00

It just doesn't get any better than this!

Because I promised a post...

2009-02-05T15:06:00.012-07:00

...and if I don't post something TODAY, I may not be alive tomorrow. So if you can't get ahold of me tomorrow, not that it would alarm most of you considering I never answer my phone, you may want to call the cops and let them know I may be dead, and there's a good chance the name of the killer is...GRANDMA.

...and because I am going through some kind of a blogger's block and I can't think of anything interesting or not so interesting to blog about, I have chose a few random thoughts that have been consuming my mind lately.

Thanks for tuning in...ENJOY!

So, not much has been going on because this little girl has been...
SICK, and....
MOODY!
We been dealing with a cold for a week and just got the verdict from the doctor this morning...
EAR INFECTION!
FUN!
Antibiotic...check! Hopefully we are on the mend.
She's not napping and I am going CRAZY!

But that's pretty boring, so let's move on...

I put ava's hair in pigtails about a month ago. I couldn't decide if I liked them or not. Her hair is so curly that you could barely tell they were in pigtails. However, looking back at these pictures, I am thinking they were pretty cute and might try again soon.
She looked so grown up!

Next bit of randomness...
This is Josh's older brother, Jason, and his wife, Callie. We sure do like them. They came up a while ago to visit and we took some pictures of them for their adoption portfolio. They have been trying to have a baby for a long time and finally made the decision to adopt.

This is Josh posing with Jason to show Callie where he wanted her to be for the next picture.
I thought it was so cute.

This is how their picture turned out...

Good call on the pose Josh... anyway, the reason I bring this up is a couple months later they found out they were HAVING a baby! We are so excited for them, and for Ava to have a little cousin to play with in a few months. Congrats guys. We love you and baby.

Speaking of moms and babies. Here's a heart warming story and because I don't have any pictures from it, here's a little visual for you...

back in September, Ava and I, along with my friend Sunny and 15,000 other women participated in a 5K walk/run to celebrate women and raise money for women's health. It was an incredibly rainy day, so I don't know why we decided to go ahead with it, STUPID, just plain stupid. Anyway, back to the story. I loaded Ava up in her stroller and draped her blanket over her stroller to shield her from the rain and we were off on our really STUPID adventure. We were having fun though, Sunny and I were chatting away, listening to the bands, I'm sure we threw in a little trash talk too. We reached the top of a hill and I heard someone's baby screaming. I'm looking around for the culprit when Sunny notices Ava's body hanging out of the front of the stroller. I throw the blanket off and realize her entire body is being suspended in air because her giant head has remained trapped in her stroller by the stroller tray. I freak. throw the tray open and hold on to my screaming little girl for dear life. She rest her head on my shoulder and quiets almost immediately. I am almost too worried to pull her off my shoulder to check to see if she is alive and breathing, but she is and we are safe. She had fallen asleep and must have slipped down because she wasn't buckled in. It was a big stoller...I never buckled her in. Lesson learned. I may not have won the 5k that day, but I did win Mother of the Year.

Back to the diagram, basically the same thing but Ava was turned around facing forward, screaming for her life and not one of the 15,000 women ever noticed or bothered to say something. LOSERS!

Moral of the story: BE GRATEFUL FOR CHILDREN WITH REALLY BIG HEADS.

She also wasn't wearing socks, just shoes that got so soaked from being left hanging in the rain for who knows how long that they wouldn't stay velcroed or on, so I took them off and let her ride barefoot in the stroller... and THEN the 15,000 women begin to notice and give the most disgusted looks because, "who would let there daughter be out in the rain with no shoes or socks on?" GET OVER IT! If you thought that was bad you should have seen what happened about five minutes ago at the top of the hill when this same baby almost died by hanging.

Gotta love women, joining together for a good cause, supporting other women and making them feel like CRAP!

We were glad to get home and both take really long naps.

Can't wait until next year!

Mother/Daughter traditions are the best!

GOOD TIMES!

18 months or 18 years...

2009-01-07T17:32:00.003-07:00

The girl's already attached to her cell phone, I don't even want to think about what she's going to be like at 18 years old!

She sure has brought her A game the past couple of weeks, learning all kinds of new stuff. We had a goal set for her to be cruising (walking along things) by the time she is two, we are easily going to meet that and we are thinking she may even be independently walking before then too.

Of course, with this new found independence, she has also found an attitude. My sweet little baby is turning into a monster of a toddler.

On the plus side, she starts nursery on Sunday. For the past month or so she has been so hard to keep quiet during Relief Society, but last Sunday she fell asleep on me, cuddled on me the whole time. I melted. It was awesome, getting to snuggle with my baby one last time before she heads to nursery. PRICELESS!

Naughty or Nice

2008-12-26T10:27:00.003-07:00

It turns out Ava was a very nice girl this year. Santa came and brought her some great presents. Her favorite being her very own cell phone. She was a lot of fun and was great at unwrapping as long as we got it started and she could tell there was something interesting inside. We had a nice quiet day and enjoyed some rest and relaxation.

More pictures to come...

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, we love you and are thankful to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

In Her Christmas Best

2008-12-22T17:03:00.004-07:00

I may or may not have bought Ava a Christmas dress last year for this year and I may or may not have forgotten about it and purchased another one and kept both because I loved them both so much. She is just too dang much fun to dress.

A Love-Hate Relationship...

2008-12-22T16:46:00.002-07:00

One second she would be laughing hysterically, the next...well...you get the picture.

A Visit to Santa

2008-12-22T16:45:00.003-07:00

After taking this picture a few weeks ago, we thought a picture with Santa wasn't going to be much of a success this year (even though I don't think it could get much better than this).

I don't blame her either, that was one scary Santa. Instead of putting on a fake beard he just painted over his own and it wasn't working for him.

Much Better!
We decided to give it one more shot and headed down to the mall last week.
Guess she likes the Santa that charges $15 for one 5x7, and that was the cheapest option!
What can I say, she has expensive taste.

(no, i did not pay $15, I just took a quick pic myself)

When Holiday Parties get Ugly...

2008-12-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Josh and I hosted our first holiday party...our first ugly holiday sweater holiday party. It was a blast! I was not disappointed, we had a few couples really go all out which made the night, but everyone joined in on the fun. We had invited nearly twenty couples in hopes that half would come. Were we ever surprised when all but 4 couples decided to join us.

We had to squeeze to all fit, but it felt cozy and friendly and really great! It was great to have a house full of people sharing in a little bit of crazy Christmas cheer. Some of the sweaters were horribly disgusting. My personal fav, John, the man wearing the sweater that appears to be woven out of a Navajo rug!

We ate, we determined the winner of the ugliest holiday sweater (I think he was paying people off) and he won the "creepiest holiday pin" (wish I had a pictures it said "official mistletoe tester), we played games...or at least tried, we had a white elephant gift exchange, I was the proud recipient of a holiday decor piece personalized with "The Stangers"...p.s. we are "The McDaniels". Josh and I gave away "his and her" ugly holiday sweater vests. My favorite gift, a pair of Scooby boxers that said "Naughty is Nicer" (they went perfect with Cromar's outfit). We had many a good laugh over the "interesting" gifts people came up with.

The yummy food, pictures taken half way through because I forgot to do it before. The food was so great!

We are looking forward to hosting our second Ugly Holiday Sweater Holiday Party next year. I have a few ideas up my sleeve to make next years party even better and even more of what I wanted it to be. I even think next year, Josh and I will be sporting homemade ugly sweaters. Just saying.

2008-12-15T12:00:00.001-07:00

Everyone left with a commemorative keepsake ornament featuring a collectible ugly holiday sweater design.

Many thanks to Mindi for introducing me to such a perfect website.

Then it was time for the after party.

The Smarts stayed after to help clean up and we decided to get the camera out for a little fun.

Good Times! Good Times!

...and the winners are...

2008-12-07T17:59:00.004-07:00

I just had Josh randomly draw three names to determine the winners of my "Pay it Forward" giveaway and recipients of this package of Christmas cheer...

Wanna know who, okay, I'll tell you...

Sam (Tell Audrey to consider this an early bridal shower gift).

Angie

Lindsay

I will get these sent out tomorrow. If you decide you don't want to pay it forward, let me know and I will regift to someone else.

Thanks for playing and sorry if you didn't win. It means you probably have really bad luck considering you had a 1 in 3.33333333333333 chance of winning.

Pay It Forward Giveaway!!!

2008-11-30T09:25:00.004-07:00

Remember a few months back when I won this sweet little "Pay it Forward Giveaway"? Well I'm not a total loser, just a slacker, because I am just now getting around to "paying it forward". Sorry to Jessica if I made her think she had "paid it forward" to the wrong person. But I finally got it together and thought this was the perfect time of year to "pay if forward". Who doesn't like to receive unexpected gifts around the holidays. So without further adieu...

Lindsie's Pay It Forward Giveaway ...

Included in this package of holiday cheer is:

*One totally cute "Believe" block set (who doesn't love more holiday decor)
*A set of holiday magnets ( a little Christmas cheer for you refrigerator door, unless you have a retarded fridge like mine that isn't magnetic!)
*a pair of black gloves ( I own a million pairs of these but can never seem to find one when I need them.)
* a "Believe" Christmas ornament (which would look great hung from the tree, from a door knob, or a cabinet knob.)
* a notebook ( intended to be used as a Ponder pad...more info included on that if you win it)
*Last but not least, (and not pictured) some delicious holiday goodies...to be determined.

So if you want to sign up to win one of my Pay it Forward packages here are the rules:

1. You must have your own blog to perpetuate the Pay It Forward Exchange/Craft.
YOU MUST Pay It Forward! It can be something you have crafted or bought. (I'm am doing a Christmas these, you can do anything you want.)

2. You must enter by making a comment with something interesting about yourself and don't worry if I don't know you. Please send friends that would want to do this fun activity to my blog.

3. You have until this Saturday, December 6th at 11:59 p.m. to sign up through my blog.

4. The following morning, I will pick 3 of the commenter's randomly.

This is one giveaway you probably have better chances of winning, considering I don't have a ton of readers, not to mention, wouldn't you love to be able to pay it forward, especially during this time of year, or if you're like me, a little later, say... March.

A Month of Firsts

2008-11-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

We have had an exciting month so far...lots of new things happening in our family!

Let's Begin...

This may not look like a big deal, but trust me, it is. This is Ava holding her own cup, something she has never done before until a few weeks ago. Now she does it like a natural!

but it gets even better...

Now she is doing this too! Feeding herself, just about anything! She has been feeding herself a few things for a while now, like toast and crackers. Now she will do it all and she has learned how to put small things in her mouth too! She refuses to use the pointer finger (sensory issues) but the middle finger and thumb do the trick. She is one happy little girl and so am I. I can now put a meal down on her tray and she will feed herself, and the dogs, the entire thing. Life is so good!

Being raised by a pack of dogs...

2008-11-14T20:11:00.001-07:00

Ava has turned into quite the little traveler. Her wounded soldier crawl is getting very speedy.

She also likes to travel with a toy in tow. She recently picked up a little trick from the dogs to get her from point a to point b just a little bit quicker...

" Look mom, No hands!"
She takes a break to stop and play and then...

...back in the mouth it goes and...

She's off!
Who is this girl and where do I get more?

I'm beginning to question our 3:1 Dog to Ava ratio.

No this is not an announcement...

nor is there one to come.

First Family Fun Day...

2008-11-14T20:10:00.003-07:00

In the past a typical Saturday for the McDaniel family has almost always involved a trip to Costco to check out all the stuff we don't need but buy anyway and linner (lunch/dinner combo) at the food court. While I think there is no better way to spend a Saturday than browsing Costco and dining on a hot dog and churro for lunch, Josh was getting fed up with it and decided to plan a family fun day, something out of the norm, something that didn't involve stores, and boy was it fun.

It started out by getting hair done and getting nice and pretty for the day.

Then it turned into playing with friends for a little bit.

When we finally left the house we headed downtown to find something for lunch. We went to a restaurant called the Brick Oven Bistro or "The Beanery". Josh and I had soup and sandwiches, and Ava had...

"Please can I have this cookie, mom?"

"Yes, it's all mine!"

After lunch we walked around the farmer's market where Ava met the largest dog we have ever seen. It was huge! The picture doesn't even do justice to how massive the dog was, but it was very kind and let Ava play with it for a minute.

Josh's idea of fun was to head to the Boise Art Museum. It was pretty boring, they were in the middle of switching exhibits and there wasn't a whole lot to look at besides the weird crap some people call art, not the most exciting part of the day, but it turned out to be great. We ended our museum visit at a stop at the children's section where Ava was able to play and have a good time and we loved watching her. The shapes she and Josh were playing with were magnetic and stuck to a huge magnetic wall, she thought it was the best thing ever. Every time they stuck one on it would make a loud noise and she would throw her whole body back in laughter. Good Times!

I sure love these two.

It was a great start to Family Fun Saturdays. I am supposed to be planning something for this Saturday, but with primary program practice, I am hoping to get out of it and truthfully, I have totally been craving that hot dog and churro. Think I can swing a trip to Costco? We'll see...

Moving on Up!

2008-11-14T20:10:00.001-07:00

This week during Ava's therapy session we started working on getting her to pull up onto things. We have been working with the laundry basket because it is the perfect height for her to kneel. She picked it up very quickly and is now doing it on her own as long as there is proper motivation. i.e. toys. Once she gets it down we will work on getting her to go from kneeling to standing. She is so close to a regular four point crawl, she just needs to find the confidence to go for it. We have also been working on getting her to go from a crawl into a sitting position. Once again she has the skills and can totally do it, but never had a reason to outside of being helped to during therapy. Well, as I was typing this post, I looked down and noticed she was sitting. I asked Josh if he sat her up and he hadn't so it looks like she has figured it out! Yea! She is getting it! I just watched her do it again, she has totally got it! Ava's therapy sessions and therapist have been so awesome. It is so nice to have someone help you figure out the correct order of developmental skills to be working with Ava on, especially as a first time mom who really doesn't know. Just last week I couldn't figure out how we were ever going to get from Ava's current army crawl to independently walking, it seemed like it would take forever. At Ava's session on Wednesday, Amy, the therapist, laid it all out for me and it feels great to know that we are not as far away from our goals as it tends to seem.

Best Halloween Ever!

2008-11-01T20:59:00.003-06:00

Wow, kids really do make every holiday so much better! We had such a fun Halloween this year. We had a great time with family and friends!

Jason and Callie came up to visit, so on Friday night we got together with Josh's other brother, Jared, and his family to carve pumpkins. We carved in our garage which turned out to be the perfect space for this activity. The mess was an easy clean up and I wasn't stressing out about pumpkin goo getting everywhere. The pumpkins turned out great! Ava loved her pumpkin so much that she tried to eat it quite a few times.

Halloween day we were hoping to head back to the pumpkin patch/petting zoo because Ava loved it so much the first time, but the weather was a little sketchy and we didn't want to risk it so we stayed home and decorated sugar cookies, my favorite holiday tradition. Nothing better than a good, soft sugar cookie. I have to explain the picture of Josh decorating cookies. This expression is so funny because he is really smiling at Callie because he is so annoyed at me for taking so many pictures of him being forced to decorate a cookie, but it looks like he is having the best time of his life. That picture made my entire day! Ava also joined in on the fun by eating more than enough frosting and getting it everywhere!

And here is our sweet little witchy witch. I don't think it gets any cuter than this. We took her out trick or treating for the first time with our friends. She sat in the stroller the whole time, but she sure did love being out with and watching the other kids. We made a pit stop at our friends, the Burrup's, for the most delicious homemade spud nuts ever! A Halloween tradition I plan to continue to partake in for as long as they'll have us. Thanks so much guys, all that hype and I was totally not let down.

I've always been a lover of the holidays, but I have a new found excitement for how great they can be now that we have our little witch to share them with!

Festive Fun!

2008-10-26T19:37:00.005-06:00

What do you know, another month has past with just one post. Sorry, no excuses, just a little burnt out on the blogging. With the holidays coming up I am sure things will start to pick up a little. We have been busy having a lot of fun though. Last week we went to the pumpkin patch. Ava loved the hay and was grabbing for it like crazy. I can't believe how much more fun Ava makes everything!

Her favorite part was definitely the petting zoo. She was dying! There was a camel that would stretch its neck out as far as possible and sniff at you trying to get food. Ava thought it was so funny. She is such an animal lover, which I just love.

I have also been busy making Ava's Halloween costume. She is going to be a witch this year. (Pictures to come). I also decided to make Ava a Halloween pillowcase dress, thanks for the idea Ruby! I am hooked. It was so easy to make and turned out so cute. I may have to make her one for every holiday. I already have the Christmas fabric!

I love this time of year and making the most out of every holiday. Tomorrow we will be having fun at a neighborhood get together on our street. We still need to make and decorate sugar cookies (my favorite tradition), carve pumpkins, hopefully make it to another pumpkin patch to enjoy their petting zoo, and of course, enjoy a little Trick or treating.

Gotta love holidays!

Hello....Is it me your looking for?

2008-09-29T17:06:00.005-06:00

Hi, Do you remember us? We haven't been around for a few weeks, but we are back and ready to blog!

Sorry about the lack of posts in the last month, it has been a weird month and I have felt super busy. I've hardly been able to find the time to sleep let alone blog. Oh, who am I kidding, any of you who know me know that I never go without my sleep. We haven't had a lot of exciting events going on in our lives, but to get my mom off my case, I managed to scrounge up a few little tidbits. The excitement is in the two previous posts, but to end this post, I leave you with a little eye candy...

I like to Move It, Move It!

2008-09-29T16:00:00.005-06:00

This little girl gets around...the house that is! She has become a really mover and shaker and she is all over the place. This is her coming to get me after her nap.
But first she needed to make a pit stop to see if anyone was at the front door...

Nope.

But what about the living room...Nope.
It sure has been fun watching her move, something that had been a very hard thing to imagine just a few short weeks ago. We sure love this little girl!
This is video from a couple of weeks ago, she still has the same crawling technique, just a little faster.

I'd like to thank the Academy...

2008-09-29T15:24:00.005-06:00

I never win anything... no really, I think the last time I "won" something was when Josh and I were first married. We went and sat through a three hour TrendWest time share presentation...death trap... all so we could win a little mini vaca. We sat through the whole thing and endured being passed around to and accosted by multiple "timeshare professionals" only to find out you had to be 21 to cash in on the big trip, I was 19.

I left with a consolation Butterfinger.

So, you can imagine my surprise when my name popped up as the winner of Jessica's Pay It Forward Giveaway. I was so excited! Talk about hitting the jackpot, she was giving away some dang cute stuff. I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this package since I found out I had won...and today it came!

and all of this was inside!
I love it all, but this was definitely my favorite. It is a homemade book that Ava is still too young for, but I am excited to have it and make one that I can begin using now, and then I will have this one for when she starts school.
Each year you can fill in the info and then use the pocket that it is glued to to save special things from that year. Isn't that a cute idea?! Great Christmas gift idea...
Thanks so much Jess, I am looking forward to paying it forward now.

Stay tuned to see what I will be giving away.

Now that I have hit a lucky streak, maybe I will have a chance at winning one of Mindi's superfantastic blog giveaways. This one just ended, but I am sure another one is just around the corner. If you've never read her blog, just reading it will make you feel like you have hit the jackpot. Check it out, just don't compete with me on the giveaways...now that I am on a roll, you won't even have a chance.

Um...Since when did she decided doing this was okay?

2008-09-04T07:49:00.004-06:00

So when did feeding herself become okay? Um... I guess last night, because from the looks of it you would never have guessed that even at dinner that night, she was not okay with it.

Wow, what a big day for us, not only because Ava fed herself crackers, but also because during her therapy this morning, she decided to crawl for the first time. We were on the wood floor, she was wearing silky pj's, and she was moving her body with only her hands, but it was a crawl! I have video of it but I took it with our actual video camera and I don't know how to get it off of it and onto the computer so I will take more today with our regular camera. Our goal we had set with the therapist was to have her doing some sort of a crawl by the end of summer and it just didn't look like it was going to happen, but Ava pulled through. The therapist and I both just sat there with tears in our eyes, we were so excited. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

P.S. To all you haters who say I blog too much about Ava, get over it. I can't think of anything else better to blog/brag about because this little girl makes my world go round!

Labor Day Fun at Schafer Butte

2008-09-02T14:47:00.004-06:00

Josh and I wanted to do something fun on Labor Day, we decided to take a drive up to one of our favorite places, beautiful McCall, Idaho, however, our friends convinced us that McCall was going to be way too cold and to go with them up to Schafer Butte for a picnic and a hike. Upon arriving the thermometer on our dashboard announced it was 47 degrees and it may or may not has snowed a little while we were there. Good thing we packed jackets... wished we would have packed parkas.

We quickly ate our delicious picnic and headed off for our hike.
Ava was such a trooper and didn't seem to mind the windy cold, she loved her oreo/booger dessert.
Ava loved riding on dad's back. She was so happy as long as we were moving and mom wasn't wiping her nose, which happened all too often.
Family photo- aren't we cute. Ava had been crying so that look on my face was the remnants of me trying to get her to smile. Perfect timing on the picture Joe.
The hike was beautiful and the weather warmed up a little and it was the perfect hiking temperature. We all looked a little battered by the end but it was fun to spend some time in the great outdoors.

Not exciting enough of a trip...

Well...

As we were loading up to leave, an older man approached us asking if we had seen his 63 year old wife. She had left him on the side of the road to hike back up to the car because their hike ended up being longer than they thought and he had just had knee surgery. He got a ride up and along the way they never passed her and she wasn't at the car when they got there. She finally showed up nearly two hours later, and only after a call to the search and rescue. She had decided to take trails to make the walk shorter rather than the road and had a hard time finding her way back. The poor old man was a wreck as he waited helplessly and it was so sweet to watch him embrace her as she came off the trail.

What would a McDaniel family adventure be without a little bit of...adventure. That's just the way we roll.

Deep Thoughts by Lindsie McDaniel...

2008-08-15T12:51:00.004-06:00

It's been an emotional week in the McDaniel household this week. We've had some real highs and some real lows this week and truthfully, I am exhausted. We were able to spend an unexpected day together as a family on Monday as we made the last minute decision to head down to Twin Falls for the temple open house. It was amazing! After we went to Shoshone Falls which was incredible! I felt so blessed that day as I spent an unexpected day with Josh and Ava I am so lucky to have an amazing family! We've also had some unexpected lemons thrown our way and yesterday morning was the peak of feeling down. I was having a really hard time getting started for the day and was struggling to keep it all together. It just feels like sometimes when you finally feel like you are getting really good at juggling all those responsibilities, the littlest setback can bring you right back down to reality. Anyway, I was feeding Ava yesterday morning and really going through a mental battle of whether or not I was going to drop the ball and ditch out on all responsibilities for the day or just pick myself up and deal, when I looked over at the table next to me and noticed a plaque that has sat on that table for the entire two years we have been in this house and we even had it in our old house before we moved.
and for the first time in...who knows how long... I started to read it.
I must have loved the saying on this plaque when I bought it, otherwise, I'm sure I wouldn't have purchased it. I sit next to it three times a day as I feed Ava and I dust it at least once a week, but as I read it yesterday morning, I didn't recognize what it said, it had been so long, it was like I was reading it for the first time...so sad, especially when I needed to hear it so much.

Just in case you can't read it:

Family

Is a circle of love and strength.

With every birth and every union the circle grows.
Every joy shared adds more love,

Every crisis faced together makes the circle stronger.

This was the epitome of my week. I have felt amazing joy this week, but amazing stress and sadness. I so easily cling to my family when facing joy, but when facing a "crisis" ( I don't think I would take it that far, but you get the picture) I tend to let it weaken us rather than make us stronger. I am thankful that I have such an amazing family, and an amazing husband to lean on. I know that we can make it through anything.

I'm proud to say that I did pull it together yesterday, accomplishing all that I had set out to and it ended up being a really good day.

Okay, Let's talk...

2008-08-07T15:03:00.007-06:00

Okay, so the other day I was watching a friends kids (ages 2,4,6, and 8) when I asked the 4-year-old if he wanted to read some books, he said sure and ran to his room and back out with a small stack of books. We read through a few books and then it became time to read Chickerella.

As I read the book out loud, by now three of the four kids are listening plus Ava, something started feeling a little off.

Here's a little summary:

So it starts off as your typical Cinderella story starring a chick. Her mother was carried away by a fox, and her father remarried, bringing along stepsisters Ovumelda and Cholestera. Chickerella's father is sent off on a wild goose chase and Chickerella becomes a slave in her own coop and is made to sleep in the spring house. As Chickerella fed herself from bugs that lived on the spring house walls and drank from the spring itself, she discovered that she was laying eggs of clear glass. They were beautiful and so unlike the eggs from the other chicks.

...So far, it's kind of cheesy but cute and funny and, by the way, the illustrations are hilarious. But then it starts to fall off the typical Cinderella story board...

The invitation arrived for all chicks to go to the Fowl Ball. Chickerella wanted to go too, but she wasn't interested in getting married to the prince; she just wanted to see the gowns. After seeing her stepsisters off to the ball, she is visited by her Fairly Goosemother.

...okay, not quite the same, but we can go with it, but then...

Poof, and she's off to the ball, to find that the prince isn't interested in getting married either. He's there to see the gowns as well, and together, he the Fairy Goosemother, and Chickerella start up their own fashion design team...

Now, I'm not saying that men don't belong in the fashion industry. I'm just saying, why couldn't he be interested in the beautiful chicks and the beautiful gowns at the same time? Talk amongst yourselves...

Bittersweet Relief...

2008-08-06T22:47:00.004-06:00

How do I say goodbye? I finished it! I'm having mixed feeling about being done. In my quest to fill my vampire void upon completing Breaking Dawn, I did a little net surfing. I found these t-shirt idea here.
I would love to buy this shirt for Josh. But I'm sure he would rather me get him this one:

Josh and I had different ideas the first couple of days after I got the book because all I wanted him to say was, "Honey, you work hard, why don't you go read your book while I _________________ (insert household/Ava responsibility of your choice).

and for some reason he just wasn't telling me what I wanted to hear, I'm now thinking maybe he was feeling a little cheated on.

MAKE IT STOP!!!

2008-08-06T13:47:00.003-06:00

I can't put it down! All I want to do is read, read, read, and I just don't have the time!

I am so torn, I am reading every chance I get and I just can't get through it fast enough, but at the same time, I want it to last forever! I feel like I need to read it as quickly as possible so the chances of coming upon spoilers are less likely. I am already really worried about getting on others' blogs just in case they posted about it. I am loving every second of it so far, hope I love the rest...

Go Team Edward!

Honestly, how can I be in love with two men at once (Josh and Edward), especially when one of them is a 17 year old fictional character!

Ava's Future Career...?

2008-08-01T16:10:00.004-06:00

Playboy Playmate? AHHHH! I would die!

Ava was so excited to get in the tub last night. I had to take some pictures.

To my surprise she totally started posing.

Okay, I have heard of a double chin, but I have never heard of double cheeks!

...booty cheeks, that is.

Luckily I don't think Hugh Hefner excepts women with this much junk in the trunk.

I think we are safe!

Just a reminder....

No that is not resi-poo on her booty, it is a little mole.

And just because she is so dang cute I threw in a few more.

Gotta love bathtime.

Isn't she lovely...

2008-07-29T17:17:00.004-06:00

I guess I am long overdue for a post and there is nothing I am more excited to brag about than this...

This little ray of sunshine is amazing! She just makes my life the absolute best!

We went in for her 1 year dr. appointment three weeks ago and I felt very very discouraged upon leaving. The doctor was not at all sensitive to Ava's circumstances and I felt like she discredited all the progress Ava had made in the last few months since we started occupational therapy, because she still has so far to go to be "caught up". The doctor made a huge push for Ava to be off formula and the bottle in one month. This was huge considering that Ava was still struggling with regular food and getting the majority of her nutrients from formula. I really felt like it would be impossible, but alas I headed to the store to purchase sippy cups and food to experiment. I felt like a ton of bricks had been dropped on me the entire rest of the day and was so discouraged ( I apologize to anyone who had to talk to me those few days after because I know I was a total negative nancy). Surprisingly, Ava did okay with trying many new foods, even though she swallowed the majority of them whole, but, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with a sippy cup.

I talked about it with her therapist the next day and she recommended that we totally skip the sippy cup and go straight to a cup with straw (to avoid tongue thrusting) , which made me even more worried because Ava totally didn't grasp the concept of a straw yet, but she gave us a few tools to work with and off we went with very little success...

until last Thursday...

We met Josh for lunch one afternoon and I put my water cup up to her (because she still wants nothing to do with holding a cup/bottle or feeding herself) and she put that straw in her mouth and just started sucking....Just like that! I couldn't have been happier if Ava had won the Olympics! She's been bottle free ever since! She has also been totally off formula for a week or so now and doing great! She actually even chews her food for the most part. The doctor wanted me to bring her back in in a month after she was totally off formula to make sure she hasn't lost weight, but I think you can tell from the above pictures (check out those legs) that she is definitely not starving!

Last night I packed the bottles away and filled the cupboard with these bad boys!

Oh yeah!

Ava also started a new from of therapy a week ago. It is a music therapy (the most annoying music ever!) but she is totally responding to it. It is supposed to stimulate her and help her organize the world around her and feel better about trying new things and moving more. She is now rolling across the room and her movements in general are so much more free and relaxed. I was very unconvinced when the therapist first mentioned it but I was willing to give it a shot and I am totally a believer now. I can't wait to see her progress in the next few weeks, because her progress in the first week has been very apparent.

Anyway, I am one proud mama and I couldn't ask for more! I feel so blessed to have such an incredible little girl who couldn't be any more perfect than she already is!

Busy Busy Busy!

2008-07-17T22:02:00.003-06:00

We have had an incredibly busy past few weeks. I have barely had a chance to sit down and when I do, I am asleep within five minutes, which lets face it... isn't that unusual for me. I decided that I just didn't have enough going on and added one more thing to my list... cake decorating. I have started taking a cake decorating class at Michael's Crafts. I am loving it! For those of you who know me, you know that I love learning and I miss my days in the classroom, both as a student and a teacher, but I just don't have the time to commit to going back to school right now. So, cake decorating class is going to have to do. It is just one night a week for a couple of hours. The course is only four weeks long, but there are four courses total and I am planning on taking every one. Best part... they are actually pretty inexpensive.

Last week I worked on my very first cake, still pretty amateur, but I figure practice makes perfect, so I will just keep working at it. I actually preferred the cake without the writing, but I had to complete the assignment. I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to the lettering, not my forte.

Anyone wanna sign up? I would love to take course two with someone if anyone is interested.

Oops, I Did It Again...

2008-07-17T21:37:00.003-06:00

Emily and I ran our second half marathon this past Saturday! Let me just tell you that all the stars aligned and the heavens opened that day because it couldn't have gone better. The weather was perfect, the coarse was great, I couldn't imagine a better partner, it was so much fun! We were actually really worried and had no expectations for this race because our training had been so scattered with each of us being out of town so much. But as we started running and it felt so great, I decided that I really wanted to beat our first time, and Emily was totally on board. I actually really enjoyed the run up until mile 11 and then we decided it was time to turn the i-pods on. Ashley Simpson (lame, I know) and Outkast ( I was totally shakin' it like a polariod picture.) carried me the last two miles and I truly experienced "the runners high". I felt amazing and I literally got chills, and good chills not the "I'm totally exhausted and going to throw up chills" that I had towards the end of our previous race. I could barely contain my emotions. I have the best running partner in the world, Emily, who I can't speak highly enough of. She is one of the most contagiously positive people I have ever known and I just love her. We did it too! We beat our time by a good six minutes. I honestly don't know what our final time was because we didn't have timing chips and they haven't posted times on-line, but we know we ran it in around 2 hours and 24 minutes. It renewed my faith in why I love to run and I am looking forward to running again in October and maybe knocking a few more minutes off our time.

Sadly, this is the only picture I have, none of me crossing the finish line because Ava started throwing up just minutes before I ran in and Josh had to take her to the truck to change her. She ended up not feeling well all weekend, but I think she is finally on the mend.

So, I've said it before and I'll say it again. If I can do this, anyone can. Back in March when we started on this journey, I never in a million years thought I would actually make it to running my first half marathon, let alone a second and still be left wanting more! If only there were more Emily's to go around. Sorry folks, she's one of a kind, and she's taken!

It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To....

2008-07-11T13:01:00.002-06:00

There wasn't very much crying at this party! We had a blast at Ava's birthday barbecue! Everyone came over to eat and have a great time. We had a slip n' slide going for the kids and lots of great conversation for the adults.

I was pretty happy with how the cakes turned out. My friend, Sunny, saved the day by writing on the cakes for me, I just couldn't bring myself to do it for fear of ruining it. We had a cake for the party goers and a separate smash cake for Ava.

I was a little bummed because the night after Ava's birthday I went to my first cake decorating class at Michaels and learned a few things that I wished I would have know for Ava's cake, but oh well, there's always next year.

After we ate, Ava opened her presents. We have such great friends and family who gave her great gifts! We feel so lucky to have such awesome people in our lives. Ava did really well opening gifts, but we saved the last gift for Josh to open up. He has been begging for a Wii for so long now. I thought it would be fun to get Ava a Wii for her birthday, and have Josh open it and freak out! Well the Smart family had a better idea... why not put that the Wii was from them. When Josh opened it he didn't believe it was a Wii but just thought that they had used their Wii box to wrap another present in. He was so uncomfortable when he realized it really was a Wii. We may be good friends, but not that good of friends. He was a little relieved when I told him it was a joke. Thanks to everyone for all the great gifts, Ava has loved playing with them and they were all perfect!
After presents was cake time. We put Ava on a table outside and had all the kids gather around and sing her Happy Birthday, she totally knew that she was something special. She wasn't too anxious to touch the cake and when one of the kids tried to help, the tears started coming. We let the little kids pick at it for a minute to show her the ways and then it got a little crazy. We put Ava in the grass with her cake and went to cut the other one so everyone could have some. Ava sat in the grass the rest of the night, just playing with her cake. She had it everywhere, however, I don't think a single piece made it into her mouth. After everyone was gone and we were cleaning up, Ava continued to play with her cake she was so content just to sit in the backyard and entertain herself. She was just a smiling. Just as we were about to take her in and clean her up, she decided to put her thumb in her mouth and she realized that it was pretty tasty and tried the other hand. That was as close as we ever got.
It turned out to be a really special day. Josh and I were so glad we decided to celebrate a little bigger than we had planned. Everyone was so great to be willing to come and share in Ava's special day. We feel so lucky to have her in our lives and so lucky we have had such an amazing first year with her. One birthday down... many more to go!

Happy Fourth on the Eleventh!

2008-07-11T12:37:00.004-06:00

I am a little behind, life has been a little hectic, but we had way too much fun on the Fourth of July not to post about it. We went to our friends, The Cromar's, parents' house, for swimming, barbecuing, and fireworks. We couldn't have asked for a better location. The swimming pool was the perfect temperature and Ava couldn't get enough. We spent hours swimming and at one point, four grown women might have made up one really sweet synchronized swimming routine. We had an amazing barbecue with tons of great food! When it got dark we headed to the edge of the yard to watch the fireworks across the valley. The view was incredible and we were able to see so many different shows, without the crowds, but one in particular was so close it was perfect. We had such a fun evening and are so lucky to have such great friends with such welcoming parents to let a few young families, plus all their kids, crash their house.

Thanks so much!

Fourth of July is truly one of my favorite holidays! I am so glad we were able to make the most of it this year and look forward to years to come.

Yes, this might be my way of just inviting myself next year...

Happy Birthday to Our Little Lady!

2008-07-07T10:21:00.002-06:00

Today is a BIG Day! Ava turns one! We have had her in our lives for one whole year and we have loved every minute. What was life like before her? She is our constant entertainment! We love her so much and couldn't have asked for more! We are having a little party tonight with family and close friends. It should be exciting. I have been working on her birthday cake for a couple of days now, still don't know how it is going to turn out, but here's to hoping it's great. Can't wait to share about Ava's first birthday, stay tuned...

A Night of Memories and Goodbyes

2008-07-02T12:47:00.005-06:00

This is the Buhrley Family.

They are our across-the-street neighbors and really good friends.

They just moved to California so Matt, who was a dentist, could go to Endodontic School.

Matt will be in school for two years, after which they will need to decide where to move to.

What do you do when you want to convince them to move back to Boise....

...you throw Amber a surprise going away party...

A Surprise 80's Prom Night!

Here we are with our Prom Queen

This is Amber showing up at my house. Look how cute she looks ready for a night out with the girls.

Sorry Amber, your outfit and hair just aren't cutting it. Come on in and let us help you out.

There we go that's better!

Let's Go!

We met at a delicious Italian restaurant downtown called Asiago's. Everyone looked amazing! Only thing missing... corsages.

We quickly took care of that and then had an incredible dinner.

We gifted everyone with party favors consisting of candy jewelry, jelly bracelets, hottie whistles, and other 80's keepsakes.

After dinner we went out front to wait for our ride that would be driving us around for a Farewell Tour de Boise!

...What other than a white stretch limo, driven by...

...Rod Steward himself!

This was Amber's reaction, followed by a potty word!

PRICELESS!

We had so much fun riding around, blasting 80's music and dancing our hearts out!

So much fun, in fact, that we decided to get out and share our 80's grooves and moves with all the diners eating on the patios of a restaurant packed street.

A Few of our husbands were floating the Boise River that night as a going away party for Matt. We wanted to go greet them as they floated in. We missed them by only minutes and instead took the opportunity to shoot some head shots or album covers of each of us. While our trusty driver stood waiting by the limo. What a guy. Amber even came up with a great jingle for Rod's new commercials.

"Get out of my dreams, and into Rod's Car"An hour and a half later (Rod loved us so much he gave us an extra half hour), we were on our way to the Prom After Party.

We got a hotel room and partied the night away. We laughed until we peed our pants and acted way too crazy. At one point a few of the prom nighters were accused of being a little tipsy.

So crazy, in fact, that these sexy white stirrup pants made a little appearance, as well as a one piece black stretchy leotard-esque outfit that I do not at this point have permission to post.

We had an amazing evening and I don't know anything that could have topped it. If this doesn't convince the Buhrley's to move back, I don't know what will.

Amber,

All I can say is, if Prom Night was great, just think what the Homecoming Dance could be!

Looks like you'll never know unless you come back to me.

Ava's First Swim

2008-07-02T11:48:00.002-06:00

One of the things I have been looking most forward to since having Ava has been taking her swimming for the first time. The weather has been so weird here, that last weekend was the first chance we got to go to our neighborhood pool. It was so much fun, minus the really....really...really bad sunburns that both Josh and I ended up with. I really only thought we would be there for a little bit and I had a little farmers tan that I was anxious to get rid of, well 2 hours later we left the pool, burnt to a crisp. Wonder what that farmers tan is going to end up looking like after the peeling that is bound to happen? If anyone is wondering I was smart enough to lather Ava up and she is doing just fine.
Ava was a little apprehensive at first, but Josh eased her in real slow and she loved floating around in her little tube. I loved watching her little feet float behind her. Everything was going great until we decided to dunk her. She didn't love it and after that she could never completely pull herself back together. Ava has cowlicks all over her head and her hair never lies down, I love the two bottom pictures because her hair is totally slicked back...supermodel style.
I got out of the pool with her and we sat in chairs for a little while. There were quite a few people at the pool that day and she was totally content to just sit and watch all of the fun.
I put her back in the kiddie pool on the step for a little while to cool off again and she was totally into it. She didn't really want to play in the water, she just wanted to sit and watch everything going on around her.

We plan on taking her back just as soon as our sunburns heal a little. I hope as she gets used to the water a little more she will begin to be more playful, otherwise, it was everything I was hoping it would be!

Where has the time gone...

2008-06-06T13:26:00.002-06:00

I know I am posting a day early, Ava turns 11 months old tomorrow, but our day will be filled with yard work and spring cleaning, so I didn't want to forget. I honestly don't know where the time has gone! I have been reading about many of my friends babies turning one and it is crazy to think that will be Ava in one month. How can she be turning a year old in one month? It just doesn't seem possible. She has had many big changes occur in this last month, making me realize that she is growing up right before my eyes. She now officially has her first tooth, it only took about six months to break through but we got there. She is now in occupational therapy once a week. A great therapist comes to our house and works with Ava for about an hour. I have seen so much improvement in her mobility in only a couple of weeks. Still nowhere near crawling, but she has become more confident with sitting up and reaching to grab things. She has started clapping her hands too, which has been so fun. The best thing we discovered this month...Ava is very ticklish, especially under her chin. I love that if I ever need to hear a little giggle, that is a sure fire way of getting one out, she just can't contain herself. How could I love this girl any more...I just don't think it is possible.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love...

2008-06-03T12:20:00.000-06:00

This is Ava's latest smile. She has really been cheesin' it lately. We just love it! These pictures also show her latest accomplishment....her first tooth. I have been trying to get pictures of it for about a month now and she just wasn't going for it. She has really started working on that second tooth and we are thinking it has got to be popping through any day now.

White Trash Bunco Night!

2008-05-23T11:37:00.002-06:00

Well folks, it just ain't gonna get any better than this! This past week was our monthly Bunco night and somehow we have decided that Bunco isn't enough and now these special nights, just got a lot more specialerer with "themed" nights. Our lovely hostess, Auna themed her night "White Trash" and boy did it turn out to be one trashy night. I was so pumped that everyone went all out and it made for an incredibly fun night.
Here's a close up of my attire... I'm gonna leave it up to your imagination what my shirt says, because I do try to keep this blog PG. Let's just say it rhymes with Camel Towing... oh wait... shoot! This shirt can be yours if you just find a sweatshirt to chop up into a very unflattering cut, surf the net looking for just the right graphic, and finally print on iron-on transfer paper... and

Voila! You've just made yourself a very w.t. shirt in a very w.t. way. I think it was a hit...

...but even better.... Look what I won!
for making this...
All it took 3 boxes of chocolate pudding, a package of oreos (minus the creamy filling) , and a package of bubblegum cigarettes.

This trashy dish came in a very close second though.
Taco in a bag!
Have you heard of it? Take some chili, pour it into your bag of chips, top with lettuce, cheese, and ranch dressing. Eat right out of the bag. Doesn't get more w.t. than this. Boy were they tasty though.

I was so excited to come home and display my new china. I think it looks perfect there.
I could have ended the night right there and been totally happy, but it just got better. I WON! After tying with my friend, Lindsay, for Most Buncos, we had a bunc-off and I became the winner of a duct tape wallet complete with a $35 gift card to the restaurant, Donny Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine. Yes it is actually a restaurant! It is this little restaurant in down-town Boise that I have heard is delicious. Can't wait to go try it out!

I really feel so lucky to have met such fun women up here! Thanks, ladies, for such a fun evening. I'm sure there are many more to come!

Mission....Accomplished!

2008-05-19T10:25:00.002-06:00

Over three months of hard work and dedication finally paid off last Saturday. The big race day finally arrived! My sweet friend Emily and I ran our first half marathon...in 90 degree heat! It was so hard...much harder than I had mentally prepared myself for, but we did it! We even made it in under two hours and thirty minutes which was our goal. We are looking forward to running another one on July 12th.

This is Emily who I like to refer to as "the glass half full to my glass half empty". She is a little ray of sunshine and I have had so much fun running with her the past few months. I couldn't have asked for a better partner and friend. We ran the entire race together and I had the best time.
Amber and Cathy also ran on Saturday. They ran the 10K and both did great. Amber decided at 6:45 the night before the race that she wanted to run it. We raced down to sign her up. I was so impressed because the most she had ran before the race was 4 miles. She ran the entire 10K which is over 6 miles! It was so fun to share this day with these women and a few others that happened to run a lot faster than us and didn't make it into the pics.

I think I have caught the running bug and plan on doing many more races in the years to come, but nothing will ever compare to the very first!

A Shout Out to All You Mothers....

2008-05-11T11:55:00.004-06:00

I have finally made it to motherhood, if you're not counting the puppies. When, Josh asked me last night how this Mother's Day felt, being a mother for the first time, it made me realize that I am one lucky mom. I looked down at a sleeping Ava nestled in my arms, and couldn't help to feel overwhelmingly blessed for the opportunity I have to be a mother, her mother. I love that little girl so much, she has brought so much joy into my life and a greater love into my life than I could have ever imagined, and can't wait to fill my home with more children, and more love. (Oh, maybe I can wait a little while longer.)

Mother's Day has always held a different meaning up until this year. Usually, I spend the day thinking about the mother's in my life, which I continue to do this year too. First of all, I have a really great mom, who is a really great grandma, too! Lately, I talk to her nearly every day, which has helped so much with her living so far away. Thanks mom for being such a great mom and being a source of constant support in my life. I can always count on you for a shoulder to lean on, or complain too, and of course always a really good laugh. Can't wait to get together in a month or so for a whole week!!!!!

And then there is this sweet mom, I inherited upon marrying Josh. My sweet mother-in-law Bobbie, or as I have recently started referring to her as, Grandma Barbie (a story for another day). This women is one of the most loving, gentle, relaxing women I have ever met. She brings a sense of calm into every room she enters. I so miss living close to her and seeing her more often than we have. I miss walking into her cozy home and hearing relaxing music playing in the background. This woman gives the most amazing massages I have ever had and to this day I would still prefer one from her over a "professional". They are always so much better because she gives them with love. Bobbie, we sure do miss you and hope to plan a trip to St. George to visit this summer. To all the moms in my life, moms, grandmas, aunts, sisters, sisters-in-law, cousins, friends, Happy Mother's Day. Each one of you has influenced me in preparing me to become a mother. Thank you for your examples and your love. Being a mother has been the best experience ever. I hope you all have a great day~

She's Done it Again....

2008-05-07T11:07:00.005-06:00

She's turned another month older!

I swear I was just making her 9 month page and now she is already 10!

I love this little girl so much. She just makes my day so much fun. She is really finding her personality and can be so silly with all the faces she pulls and she is always laughing.

We had her evaluation done on Monday to see if she qualifies for physical and occupational therapy through the Infant and Toddler Program here in Idaho. Sure enough she more than qualified and we will begin weekly therapy sessions within the next week or so. The therapist said she has low muscle tone which means that physical activities are more work for her and she gets tired quicker than someone with normal muscle tone. This explains why she hasn't been hitting her milestones within the normal range.

We are very optimisitic that with a little therapy under her belt she will start to catch up to where she should be pretty quickly.

Luckily, this doesn't make her any less cute because, dang, I can't get enough of this sweet little nugget.

Happy 10th months, Ava!

P.S. I doubt we are going to Red Robin tonight to celebrate because our trip last weekend was a little bit more of a splurge than we were thinking considering that gas is so outrageous right now! Darnit!

My Summer Vacation...by Lindsie McDaniel

2008-05-06T17:36:00.008-06:00

We really don't have anything too exciting planned this summer in the way of vacation, so hitting up Northern Utah last weekend was quite a treat.

Thursday we headed down to Lehi to stay with my sister, Kelcie, and her husband, Kevin, and their sweet puppy Loucie. We stayed in their beautiful new home that was so comfortable. That night we met my older brother, Derek, in SLC at The Pie for some delicious pizza and great conversation. Thanks so much for letting us stay. We had a great time and can't wait to come back in a couple of months.

This picture was not from last weekend, thank goodness, the weather was actually really nice.

The next morning we headed up to Odgen to spend the rest of the weekend with Josh's brother and his wife, Jason and Callie. On the way up we stopped at the new love of my life, IKEA. It was everything I had heard it would be and so much more. There was this delicious rumor going around (courtesy of my bff/fifth cousin Lindsy) that at the end of the experience, after checking out, a little snack shack waited in the midst where you could purchase a warm and tasty cinnamon roll for only $1, and I mean $1. You hand them the dollar they hand you a slice of baked good heaven, no tax, no nothin'. I was not disappointed, the cinnamon roll was delish! We even got a six pack-to-go for the weekend ahead.

But, the trip only continued to get better. Upon arriving in Ogden we headed straight to "The Most Magical Place on Earth"

How did I ever convince myself, in less than two years of living in Boise, that Costa Vida even compared to Cafe Rio. (Please, please, please, someone with lots of money come open a Cafe Rio in Boise, I promise to personally give you enough business for it to be worth it.) I was quickly brought back down to earth as I devoured the most delicious chicken salad ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was heaven, and to top it off with a diet dr. pepper and a spicy cinnamon mint. How could life get better?

Oh, I know.....

Having it again for lunch the next day! Same thing, just as good.

We had a great weekend with Jason and Callie. I was able to take off for a couple of hours by myself to hit up Tai Pan. It was so much fun to just wander around for a couple of hours without a care in the world. I brought home a few little goodies.

Overall, it was a great weekend, and it just continued to get better once we got home. Only minutes after arriving home we were invited by our great friends/neighbors, the Burhley's over for a delicious Sunday meal. The weather has been beautiful, we have been having fun get-togethers with friends. It has made it so much fun and so easy to come home to our regular lives.

I Don't Get It....

2008-04-28T14:47:00.002-06:00

How does that shirt and those capri's go together?

According to Josh they make a great outfit.

This is just one of many "interesting" combinations that he puts together for Ava.

Lucky Girl!

Having a dad with such a great fashion sense isn't easy to come by.

A Great Weekend!

2008-04-28T12:24:00.004-06:00

This weekend was so awesome! The weather was so great and we didn't have any plans, it was so great...I loved it!

Saturday we spent over 5 hours out in our yard weeding, trimming, mowing, edging, fertilizing, etc. Ava loved spending some time outside. She took a little snooze in her swing and was so happy to be outside playing in the grass and checking things out...until...Josh turned the weedwacker/blower on. She lost it and then was so jumpy at any sound for the rest of the day. We painted her toes for the first time. Her little feet looked so cute!

Sunday the weather was still so great! We decided to go down to a huge, beautiful park downtown. Our friends, the Buhrley's decided to invite themselves and tag along, we were glad they wanted to join us. We fed the ducks for a few minutes and then started walking through the park. This man was there with his birds, (he also has two on his shoulder), It was fun to pet the bird for a minute and then we continued our walk. We ended up at the playground so the Buhrley kids could play for a little bit. The playground was packed, as soon as a swing was available, I ran Ava over to it and we had a blast pushing her on the swing. She loved every minute of it. Make sure to enlarge the collage because her facial expressions in each of the pictures are so great.
We had so much fun at the park yesterday that we decided to plan a family night barbecue there with a few other families tonight. The weather is supposed to be the nicest it has been all year, so I am looking forward to getting out and enjoying it. Ava woke up with a runny nose and really whiney, she is down for a nap and I am hoping she starts feeling better so we can have a fun evening back at the park.

Quarter of a Century!

2008-04-28T11:39:00.003-06:00

On the 22nd I turned 25 years old!!!! Wow, I am getting old. What a day I had...it was seriously so great! It all started bright and early, at 6 a.m, when my sweet friends Jen, Sunny, Lindsay, and Amber arrived at my house to surprise me and take me to breakfast. We had such a great time at breakfast, where Lindsay gave me a cookbook she had made that I am already using and loving and two c.d's, both really good.

All morning I received phone calls and gifts from family and friends. My fabulous sister-in-law brought me Costa Vida for lunch, complete with a key lime pie dessert that was so so good. It was so great to have a care-free day where we could just sit and chit chat for a while.

That evening, a group of friends met up to go to Flatbread Community Oven Pizzaria, the food was great, but the company was even better, we had such a great time and laughed like crazy. Afterward, we went over to the Cromar's for a little birthday cake and icecream cake. Originally when I had started planning this night it was to celebrate Cromar's birthday, which had been a couple weeks earlier. Only after inviting a few people and going to write it on the calendar did I realize that I was planning Cromar's birthday dinner on my birthday. He was kind enough to make it a joint b-day celebration. I was spoiled with gifts: The Cromar's and Buhrley's gave me some great picnic gear and some beautiful flowers. Jenn gave me The Office season 3 DVD's and some delicious homemade goodies. My friend and running partner, Emily, gave me a great running mixed CD that she had made complete with my favorite song to run to "Hero" by Enrique Inglesias, and the best cinnamon rolls I have ever had, really they were amazing! My mother-in-law sent me a book that I am very excited to read, some cute crafty decorations, and a clip for my phone that I am actually more excited about than she probably thought I would be, it was actually the solution to a problem that I had been trying to figure out. Josh was so sweet and gave me $100 and a bank to start saving for the camera that I am dying to get. Hopefully I will be able to get it before my next birthday. I really feel blessed to have met so many wonderful new friends who we love spending time with. Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to make my day a little more special.

Uno, Dos, Tres, Quatro, Cinco, Cinco, Seis!

2008-04-13T09:34:00.006-06:00

Today Josh and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary! Boy how time flies! Actually, I was just telling Josh the other day, it feels like we could have been married for ten years and not in a bad way, just in that I have a hard time remembering what life was like without him.

As we were walking into the grocery store last night, just the two of us holding hands, carrying Ava, it felt strange to think that after six years, it still felt like just the two of us but now with a little baby in tow. I had this feeling of not accomplishing much in six years of marriage. This lead me to start thinking of all the things that have happened in the past six years:

1 Ava

3 puppies

3 houses (1 rented townhouse, 2 owned homes)

2 moves (one in-town St. George move, one to Boise)

1 college degree

I new buisness (technically two if you count adding on to a business)
9 different jobs

5 different cars

Countless new friendships

That's all that is coming to mind right now, but we have created quite a life together. I love that we have had six years to get to know each other and create a life together. It has definitely been a roller coaster ride of a six years but I wouldn't trade it for anything. We are a perfect match and we just proved it last July when we had the cutest kid on the planet, sorry people, it's the truth. Hopefully in the next six years we well bring the second cutest kid on the planet into this world. :)

We didn't do anything too exciting to celebrate. Yesterday we went to PF Changs and topped it off with a little Coldstone. Today was church, followed by an evening of rest and relaxation. We went on a walk with Ava and the puppies. We took Ava to the park for her first go on a swing. She loved every minute of it. We forgot our camera and I am so sad because she was so stinkin' cute. Now we are getting ready to climb into bed to watch a little Dexter (great show for anyone looking for a new one. It is on Showtime I think, or there is an edited version on CBS).

Anyway, Happy Anniversary Babe! Here's to the next 6 years!

I Love You.

And now a few pics for your viewing pleasure:

1 Month Older and Wiser Too...

2008-04-07T23:30:00.003-06:00

How can you resist that sweet little face? Boy have we enjoyed these last nine months! We couldn't have asked for a smoother nine months... minus our recent ear infection. Ava has made the transition into parenthood so much fun. She is a very laid back, go with the flow kind of gal and we have just loved her for it. We are now getting a little antsy for her to show us a little more of that energy that must be building up inside of her. She hasn't made much of an attempt to accomplish tasks such as rolling over, sitting up by herself, crawling, etc. We are excited for her 9 month dr. appointment tomorrow. We are looking forward to hearing what the pediatrician has to say and hoping that she has some advice for us to encourage Ava to be a little more ambitious when it comes to trying new things. No Red Robin birthday dinner tonight, but we did have a really fun FHE barbeque with our great friends in the neigborhood! Thanks guys for such a fun night!

Disclaimer...

2008-04-01T17:50:00.003-06:00

To those of you out there, especially moms, upon reading the following post I am sure most of you will be annoyed at my level of complaining. Let me just say that I know in my calling as a mother, I will face a lot worse than I have today, I know that so far I have had it pretty easy, and there will be many many more sleepless nights. But for today, just for today, let me feel like I deserve to complain. After all,

"It's my blog and I'll cry if I want to!"

This Ain't No April Fools Joke, People...

2008-04-01T17:19:00.005-06:00

...Unfortunately!

Last night Ava and I pulled an all-nighter. After staying up until after midnight watching Prison Break with Josh (that show is almost as addicting as 24), and just getting settled in for a long winter's nap (yes, it still feels like winter up here), Ava decided to wake up. Josh spent the next hour up with her and then she decided to wake me up at 2:00 a.m. I then spent the rest of the night in the guest bed with her. I would finally get her to fall asleep and then ten minutes later she would wake up screaming, this happened all night long.

This morning when I woke up ( I mean decided getting any sleep was a lost cause and dragged myself out of bed) I called the doctor to make an appointment. I knew this had to be more than the pesky cold she has had on and off all winter because nothing has affected her sleep like this before.

Sure enough after a nice long wait at the doctor's office (which seems like eternity when you are exhausted and having to listen to other people's scah-reaming kids) and 10 minutes in with the doctor (5 of which required me to hold Ava down as she was fah-reaking out so the doctor could clean ear wax out of her ears so she could even see if there was an infection) the doctor said Ava had an ear infection.

We picked up her prescription on the way home and now we are hoping this ear infection clears up quickly.

Now I may be a bad mom, but I was not about to take pictures of my child while snot is streaming out of her nose and into her mouth, so I had to improvise. After blacking out the bunny ears (yah, sure you can say that I could have chose a different picture rather than blacking out the ears, but this isn't your sleep-deprived pity party, now is it? So BACK OFF!) leaving the glasses because they were just too dang cute, and drawing snot, tears, and a "back the fetch off" symbol, you can get an idea of what this sweet little baby looks like.

Here's to hoping that tonight is a little more successful than last. Happy April Fool's Day everyone, looks like the joke's on me!

I guess this is just a big, fat "Welcome to Motherhood, Lindsie!"

To that, I don't say anything, I just give it "the bird".

Ava's First Easter...Part 2

2008-03-25T12:31:00.003-06:00

Lindsay e-mailed me the picture of Ava during the Easter Egg Hunt. She was so content just to sit there and take it all in. I can't wait until next year when she can race around with the other kids collecting eggs.
I was so excited to show Ava her Easter Basket. It was filled with bubbles, a pair of shoes, a couple of stuffed bunnies, and a pinwheel that she loved. Honestly though, I think she was more interested in the basket itself.
Ava's little yellow Easter dress looked so pretty on her and what a steal for only $8.00 at Wal-mart. She loves to look at the pretty dresses we put on her each Sunday. She grabs the hem and just stares at it, and her Easter dress was no exception. It was so wrinkled by the time we got around to taking pictures because she was so fascinated with it.

Easter Sunday felt really special this year. It may sound strange, but I think that being able to play Easter Bunny this year really helped me focus on the significance of the day. It just reiterated that it was a special day rather than just any other Sunday. I look forward for years to come when we can take the time to teach Ava about how important the true meaning of Easter is. It was so rewarding to teach our little Primary class on Sunday because these little 7 year olds really understand that Easter Sunday is more about our Savior than the Easter Bunny. I hope I am able to instill that into Ava as she gets older.

Ava's First Easter...Part 1

2008-03-24T21:23:00.004-06:00

Our Easter "Egg"stravaganza will have to be posted in a couple of parts because I was not able to get all the pages done today because Ava decided not to take a nap besides a five minute one in the car this morning. I am thinking those teeth she has been working on may actually be the culprit. So hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish the Easter post.

We had an amazing Easter weekend. I know Ava is still young, but just having her made the holiday so much more fun (I'd had her Easter basket ready for two weeks) . Saturday, we were so excited to go to the Grantham Family's Annual Easter Egg Hunt. They had these cute little yellow bunny ears and glasses that Ava was loving...or maybe it was just the adults that were loving how cute she was.

Ava was too little to participate in the Easter Egg Hunt ( can't wait until next year) so she just chilled back in a lawn chair and watched. Unfortunately, I lost all of my pictures from that day which included the ones of her in the lawn chair, luckily Lindsay caught one, but I haven't got it from her yet. When I do I will post it. Anyway, it made Saturday a lot of fun and we loved getting together with our fun friends from the neighborhood. We really do feel lucky to have such wonderful neighbors, but even better friends.

Keep on the look out for Ava's First Easter...Part 2 (Easter Sunday and Ava' Easter dress and basket).

A Little Leprechaun says.... Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T12:26:00.003-06:00

Isn't she the cutest little leprechaun? If you think I am a bad mom for putting that hat on Ava, then you are going to think I am really awful when I tell you that she is feeling a little under the weather and I did it anyway. She woke up with a little runny nose and is a little more mellow than usual. We are having a pretty low key day today in hopes that she will get feeling better sooner rather than later. The weather looks a little chilly so we will be staying in, except for maybe a little grocery shopping. Hope everyone has a great St. Patty's Day. Anyone doing anything fun?

2008-03-10T09:58:00.001-06:00

86 words

Speed test

Kind of fun to see how fast you can type. I copied this from Pam's blog, she is really speedy(90 wpm), I guess I will just keep practicing.

8 Months Old!

2008-03-07T08:35:00.002-07:00

Can you believe it?! 8 Months Old! I was looking at her yesterday, realizing that it has been eight months since we had her, and while it feels like we have had her forever, I also couldn't believe how much she has changed. She is no longer the little baby we brought home from the hospital, she is turning into a spunky little girl who loves to play, talk, and interact. She is more of a little girl than she is a baby. We couldn't have asked for more. She is the best baby and I don't know how we were so lucky to have been given such a sweet, well-mannered baby. I only hope she continues to be the sweetheart that she is. I am beginning to notice a bit of a wild side in her like when I put her in her highchair and she proceeds to throw all of her toys on to the floor. We might have a little trouble maker on our hands once she decides to start moving a little more.

Here's to hoping that Josh is feeling up to Red Robin tonight. So far I have been pretty lucky in convincing him to go there on Ava's "birthdays".

Is Anyone Else As Excited As Me?

2008-03-06T09:28:00.004-07:00

I am so excited that Twilight has began filming! As I was browsing Stephenie Meyer's website, I quickly noticed this picture, along with a couple of others, of the Cullen Family. I think they are all pretty believable. I am having a little bit of a hard time with who they cast as Esme because the actress has been on Grey's Anatomy playing a completely different type of role. I guess you never really know until you see them in action.

Tag...I'm it.

2008-03-04T14:12:00.003-07:00

I have been tagged quite a few times recently and I am just getting around to doing one. Sorry.

Ten years ago...

I was 14 years old, just started my first actual job. I was the take-out girl at a restaurant in Logan called Kate's Kitchen. I worked there as a waitress until I moved to St. George for college. At 14, I was kind of akward and not totally comfortable in my own skin, I had just had both of my top canine teeth pulled because they were still baby teeth. A week later I had gotten braces with an expander in the roof of my mouth which made it difficult to talk and also caused a very large gap in between my two front teeth (big enough to fit a straw through with out it having to flatten. I was definitely a looker, but boy was I boy crazy!

5 things on my to do list...

1. Laundry
2. Return tables to Grantham's and Cromar's that I borrowed a week ago to host Bunco (sorry guys)
3. Finish putting together two birthday gifts
4. Deliver cookies for visiting teaching that I was supposed to have done on Friday.
5. Go to a rockin' birthday bash tonight! So pumped!

5 snacks I enjoy...

1. oranges (I probably eat one every day)
2. Peanut butter m&m's
3. 98% fat free microwave popcorn mini packs (practically guilt free)
4. Oreo Cakesters: chocolate cookie chocolate filling (don't waste your time with the ones with white filling, they don't even compare)
5. Ritz crackers

5 places I have lived...

1. San Jose, CA
2. Logan, UT
3. North Logan, UT
4. St. George, UT
5. Meridian, ID

What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire...

I think the questions should be what wouldn't I do.

I would take care of my family and close friends (so you better start sucking up). Travel, shop, invest, donate to charity, open a Cafe Rio in Boise, hire a personal chef, trainer and stylist, and I guess while I am at it I will throw in a little world peace with a side of cure for cancer.

5 jobs I have had...

1. Kate's Kitchen (waitress)
2. Play it Clean Video (basically just watched videos and did homework for $7.00 an hour)
3. Don Jose Mexican Restaurant (waitress)
4. Elementary teacher (3-5 grade)
5. Mom/blog stalker

5 things you don't know about me...

I hate this part, I'm pretty ordinary.

1. I love to organize. My most favorite birthday gift I have ever received was a label maker that gets used very often. I love rubbermaid containers, file folders, and color-coordinating my closet.

2. At 24 years old, I am beginning to get gray hair. It happened while I was pregnant with Ava. I am very sad about this because I don't want to have to keep up on the dye jobs, it's still not too bad right now, but I am just afraid of what having more children will do to it.

3. I have a huge scar (about 8 inches long) on my right hip where I fell on a broken glass mirror and fileted myself open. I was only 5 or 6 years old, but I still remember vividly what it looked like all cut open.

4. I have just started training for a half-marathon. I will be running one in May and again in July. I have always enjoyed running, but have never set a goal with it. Thanks to my great running partner, Emily, for inviting me to do it and encouraging me to push myself. I am very excited to accomplish this goal!

5. I love school! I can't get enough of it and have been really sad that I no longer go to school (I think that is why I loved being a teacher so much). I am anxiously awaiting the day I can go back and start working on my master's degree and someday teaching again. I would also love to take some fun classes like a photography class, cake decorating, calligraphy, etc. I love learning new things, I love school supplies, I love text books, taking notes, and studying. I guess you could call me a nerd.

I tag Cami, Krista, and Brook

Why Do I Even Try...

2008-02-27T16:39:00.007-07:00

Last Saturday
Lunch at Costco... $6.36
Pork Loin (with $3.00 off coupon)... $9.00
Trip to Costco just to use our $3.00 coupon...$67.18

Coming home to a delicious Sunday dinner the following day... PRICELESS

Sunday dinner at Taco Bell: $11.29

I AM GIVING UP ON EVER BECOMING THE PERFECT WIFE!!!

Team McDaniel: Tools of Destruction

2008-02-23T07:53:00.003-07:00

These pictures are actually about a month old, but my friend Krista took them and e-mailed them to me so I thought I would post about this way fun night. About a month ago our ward had a date night. We debated whether or not to go because Josh had just gotten home at 2:00 that morning from a week in Kentucky, but we decided to go and were so glad we did.

We were supposed to dress up matching so about half an hour before it started I started making these shirts. I was just going to put Team McDaniel on the front and then each person's first name on the back, but when Josh got home he had his input and we ended up doing a picture or a joystick, a deck of uno cards, and two dice with the words Tools of Destruction underneath. I am sad that I didn't get a picture of the back because it was pretty funny. We had to take Ava with us because we decided so last minute, plus she is such an easy baby to take places, so she had to be matching to, I think her matching onesie was a hit. She was pretty good, especially for how late it was and only got a little upset when people were yelling a little. Why were they yelling...

...because the date night was a game night (now the back of our t-shirts makes a little more sense) and boy was it intense! There were 4 or 5 games set up around one half of the cultural hall, pictionary, catch phrase, apples to apples, etc. and on the other half of the gym consisted of 6 or 7 t.v.s set up with Wii. In the middle of it all were three tables with great appetizers, sandwiches, and desserts. Well we got a friendly game of husbands vs. wives Pictionary going which quickly turned into the Pictionary game of the century! The women weren't very happy about being behind and possibly losing so we kept recruiting more couples over to play so the game wouldn't end and we wouldn't officially lose. Well the game ended in a huge upset... a huge upset group of women that is... when we just couldn't pull of the win, and of course the men could't help but gloat.

It was such a blast though and made us realize that we shouldn't be waiting for a ward activity to plan a fun game night for us, but that we need to be taking turns planning one just as friends more often considering that the majority of people playing Pictionary at the beginning that night were the four or five couples that live on our street that we hang out with often, even though it turned into half of the ward by the end of the game. It was a really fun night with a really great turnout and I think we would all love to do it again.

Round 2

2008-02-19T20:09:00.002-07:00

Everyone always says that Ava looks so much like me, but I have just never seen it. Well, I finally did this little thing that everyone has been doing. The first time it said she looked more like Josh so I chose different pictures and did it again and it said she looked a little more like me. Both of them were only by a few percent so I would actually say that Ava is a pretty even mix.

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