Random Sampler

1. Luke slept in his room for the first time last night. He did great and I guess I did okay too. I just don't like it very much. As I laid him down, looked at his sweet little self, and walked out I couldn't help but thinking this was just one of the many "firsts" that mean he is growing up. I know it's not like he's going to college or anything but that's the sad thing about babies-they have to grow up!

2. I thought there was a monkey in Ava's bed this morning. We bought this ridiculously expensive baby monitor that will let us listen to both kids rooms. It's not like Ava really needs it but she occasionally does wake in the night and our room is too far to hear her without one. So anyway, this monitor scans the rooms and stops at each one for about 5 seconds before moving on. So this morning, I heard a strange noise from Ava's room on the monitor, but just as I was figuring out what it was, the monitor moved on to the next room. So I quickly switch back to hers and I hear "OOH OOH- AAH AAH" (that's how a monkey sounds, don't ya know?) It was her best "Boots" (from Dora) impression ever.



She just kept doing it over and over. So I opened her door and asked her, "Hey, is there a monkey in here?" She just kept doing it, so I walked over to her bed and asked her again, "Is there a monkey in your bed. I thought I heard a monkey!" Her reply made me laugh out loud- "No, mommy it's just me, Aya" (She calls herself Aya).

3. I felt really happy to hear Elder Eyring refer to a journal he kept for his children in his talk during conference. It made me remember how important it is to record your experiences not only for you but for your posterity. It also inspired me as I write here and in my personal journal to look for the ways Heavenly Father is working in our family's life each day. And on another note I was really happy to find a place that will turn your blog into a book, so that you can keep it in a hard copy (www.blurb.com). I plan to do this once or twice a year so that even my little kids can have it to look through and see their pictures and read the stories about themselves.

4. Ava has abandoned the hat and mittens, hallelujah! Dan says he didn't hide them but they are no where to be found!

Strawberry Shortcake rears her sweaty head!

Alright, here is Ava last Christmas (2006) at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Utah. It was cold and snowy and these Strawberry Shortcake hat and mittens were purchased on our trip because obviously coming from Houston, we didn't have any.


The stores had pretty slim picking by that time so we settled for Strawberry Shortcake and figured we'd use them and probably wouldn't see them again, right?

Wrong!



Fast forward 10 months, where Ava has dug them out of the closet and refuses to take them off.
Here she is drinking her root beer in her snow hat. Notice the mittens laid carefully on the table next to her. Also keep in mind that while yes, it is October, it's still about 95 degrees at our house. When we take off her hat for say, bedtime, her hair is plastered to her head with sweat.


And here she is later holding her "Baby Guke"


She has always had an interesting sense of fashion, and my motto is "if it's not hurting you or anyone else, go for it!" And my other motto is "don't embarrass me!" so she is required to take them off when we go in public.

Hopefully, this phase will pass quickly, as it is kind of a pain to take those silly mittens on and off. Dan said last night as we were going to bed, "Let's hide that pink hat and mittens!"

Dinner Delicious!

Last night I planned to make Shrimp Scampi. I hadn't had it in a long time and I love it! Many nights I get to make dinner with my lovely assistant, Ava. Sometimes its hard to find her a good job to do, but last night worked out great for her to stand on her chair and tear parsley into little bitty pieces.

It's getting kind of fun to have this little person around! When she was a baby, I remember thinking so often, "I wonder what she's thinking!". Now I can finally find out. She's started to tell me how she feels, and it's pretty interesting (this morning she said, "I'm still tired"). Also, she is the BIGGEST daddy's girl of all time (who wouldn't be, with a dad like Dan?) so she usually saves all of her sweetest sentiments for him. I was admittedly disappointed when I saw these Daddy-preferring tendencies at about 15 months, but I have made peace with them and really, there's not much I can do.

Anyways, back to the shrimp. As we stood there next to each other, making our dinner, she looked over at me and said, "I'm so happy, Mommy." I know it doesn't sound like much, but right then I felt my heart swell and all I could think was, "So am I."
Needless to say my shrimp scampi was extra delicious last night.

P.S. I substitute one cup of chicken stock for the white wine and it works BEAUTIFULLY!

Hair today...

Luke was born with lots of silky, shiny, dark brown baby hair,


and by just shy of three months old, there wasn't much left!




But never fear, it's growing again! Three days ago he woke up with eyebrows, Hello Eyebrows!



Let's hope those hairs on his head aren't too far behind!

Potty paraphenalia and 3 months old

We have officially entered the potty training realm. Things are going okay. We had a bit of a false start last weekend when Ava's decision to wear "panties" coincided with the breakdown of our washing machine. Go figure. But we've started again. This time with a potty chair that's "just my size!", according to Ava and also a new washer. We've got plenty of candy and potty chart stickers, and made lots of calls to our Grandmas , all for celebration's sake. She's really doing well. Ava's overall motivation is the pretty "panties". "Want panties on!" can be heard for miles if you suggest otherwise. Honestly, though, it is easy to see that she is proud of herself and really getting enjoyment from working to master and control her body.

Ava on the throne

And Mr. Luke, as he's often referred to at our house, is just keeping up his charming antics. He turned 3 months old yesterday. It is a weird feeling. He's still so young but it really feels like he's been with us forever. I guess it just speaks to the eternal nature of families. I remember similar feelings shortly after Dan and I were married. The time is concrete; 3 months, 2 years, etc. but it feels like we've always been together. He (Luke) smiles and coos and melts my heart. When Ava talks to him he gets a gigantic smile on his face and it makes me excited for them to have each other.

Sleeping through his birthday

Then and Now

I was looking through my pictures today and thought it would be kind of fun to see some of them next to each other. There really are alot, so I'm sure I'll do this again soon!

7 months pregnant with Ava:




















6 months pregnant with Luke:




I think I was as big at 6 months with Luke as I was the day I delivered Ava!

Starting grad school 2005:

Graduating 2007:

Ava got bigger and Dan got skinnier!



Ava's Blessing day, 6 days old:





Luke's Blessing day, 3 weeks old:




Ava and Corbin, October 2005:


Ava and Corbin, July 2007:

They started out just friends but a romance soon developed!

Sophie then:


Sophie now:


Some things never change!

From the mouth of Babes...

I just gotta write these down before they slip my mind. Ava is talking so well now, but her pronunciations are kinda funny. I wish I could have her little voice burned into my mind so I will never forget it. It is so cute. I will try to write phonic-ly so when I read this again, it will help me remember how she sounded. At the grocery store, trotting beside me as I pushed the cart, she tells me "Mommy, I mells somepeen". It sounds like mouth and she's pointing to her face. "You mouth something?" "No, mells somepeen". Finally I got it. "you smell something?" "Yes"
I ask her what she smells and she starts listing the things we put in the cart. Watermelon, bread, etc. Then we threw in the Finding Nemo fruit snacks. She was pretty excited and skipped ahead saying, "I mells Nemo nack nacks".
I should have known that "mells" was "smell" right away because she often puts the "s" at the end of a word instead of the beginning. Like "wingsin" for "swinging". And she usually substitutes a "p" where a "c" should go. "Sippy pup" (sippy cup) sounds really cute as does "I peam" (ice cream).