There are three new blog posts under this one. Don't miss 'em!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Happy thoughts
Good things are coming, I can feel it! Chris has a really excellent job prospect that would mean some big changes for us, and I can hardly wait. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I think it's too late for that....
I am most definitely not superstitious but I'm not taking any chances that I'm going to jinx this so just keep your fingers crossed for a happy update soon!
I am most definitely not superstitious but I'm not taking any chances that I'm going to jinx this so just keep your fingers crossed for a happy update soon!
Playtime!
Today, we went on a little play date with Averie and a couple other kids her age to a new play area called Provo Beach Resort. It's really nothing like a beach :).
The main activities geared toward toddlers were the carousel and a toddler playground. Averie climbs everything in sight lately, so Chris and I thought she would have a blast there.
Not so much. She didn't want to leave our sight and we all but forced her in and out of the tubes and up and down the climbing areas. She sat in this tube without moving for at least 5 minutes (unheard of for a toddler!).
The carousel was only mildly more exciting for her.
We're going to investigate Little Gym classes for her since there's a location right by our house. I am sure she's a little gymnast at heart if the way she leaps and runs about at home is any indication. We just have to get her out of her shell. I think the socialization will be great for her, too.
The main activities geared toward toddlers were the carousel and a toddler playground. Averie climbs everything in sight lately, so Chris and I thought she would have a blast there.
Not so much. She didn't want to leave our sight and we all but forced her in and out of the tubes and up and down the climbing areas. She sat in this tube without moving for at least 5 minutes (unheard of for a toddler!).
The carousel was only mildly more exciting for her.
We're going to investigate Little Gym classes for her since there's a location right by our house. I am sure she's a little gymnast at heart if the way she leaps and runs about at home is any indication. We just have to get her out of her shell. I think the socialization will be great for her, too.
Averie Update and Pictures
A few weeks ago, Averie climbed out of her crib (well, not quite all the way -- fortunately, we were there to stop her from falling out on her head). She's done this before but there was always another notch on the crib to lower the mattress. Not so this time! We were faced with a relatively un-childproofed room (living room = playroom, so her room is really just for sleeping) and I really wanted to make her new bed special, but her safety came first.
Chris, genius that he is, decided to take the mattress off the platform in the crib altogether, put the mattress on the floor and set the crib up around the mattress like a fence. Voila! -- a safe, albeit temporary, solution! I definitely see a big girl bed in her future, once we have some disposable income. And add a video monitor to the list, too, so I can spy on the naughty little munchkin(s)! :D
It's been awhile since I shared some pictures so here are some of my favorites.
Daddy's goatee tickles!
Chris, genius that he is, decided to take the mattress off the platform in the crib altogether, put the mattress on the floor and set the crib up around the mattress like a fence. Voila! -- a safe, albeit temporary, solution! I definitely see a big girl bed in her future, once we have some disposable income. And add a video monitor to the list, too, so I can spy on the naughty little munchkin(s)! :D
It's been awhile since I shared some pictures so here are some of my favorites.
I climb this furniture all day long!
The end result when a 15-month-old feeds herself noodles with red sauce for the first time :)
Mmm, bath water....
Daddy's goatee tickles!
"Moooom, can't you see I'm on the phone??"
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Smart girl
Been meaning to post this for awhile since I think it's so cute :).
When Chris tells Averie it's time to change her diaper, she goes to the gate that blocks off the hallway to the bedrooms and bathrooms and shakes it furiously. When he comes to open it, she takes his hand, drags him down the hallway to her room and looks at the changing table expectantly.
Now, if only she would cooperate for the actual changing part!
When Chris tells Averie it's time to change her diaper, she goes to the gate that blocks off the hallway to the bedrooms and bathrooms and shakes it furiously. When he comes to open it, she takes his hand, drags him down the hallway to her room and looks at the changing table expectantly.
Now, if only she would cooperate for the actual changing part!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
One of those days
It’s been a long week… month… year… 7 months.
Can't believe it's been 7 months since Chris lost his job.
These months have been.........long. Enjoyable. Want-to-pull-my-hair-out. Productive (really, our house has never been so organized!). Frustrating. Filled with blessings. LONG.
100% of the time, I am glad that Chris is no longer at Convergys. He was so unhappy there, and when Chris is sad, I am sad, too. (Corny, maybe, but true, nonetheless). I only wish that the unhappiness of working at a crappy company with a lot of crappy people (there were a few bright spots, but not many, as I recall) hadn't been replaced by the unhappiness that overshadows our lives now.
Most days (almost all the days since this started), I know the job is out there for Chris. Most days, I can be satisfied knowing that the Lord has His reasons for why we haven't found the job (or it hasn't found us) just yet.
Most days, I recall the story of Job that has come to my mind so many times and I'm able to tell myself that surely it must mean that when Chris finds the job, it will be everything the Lord knows we need, everything we have hoped and prayed for and this trial won't be for naught and I will come out a better, more faithful person for it.
But every now and then, in creeps a day where all I can pray for is that life will go back to normal - soon! - because I don't think I can do this much longer. Today is one of those days.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Couponing Comeback!
So since Chris lost his job, I just haven't been feelin' the couponing. It was always a fun thing for me, but I just lost interest and my newspapers would pile up for weeks. I only clipped the ones for things I knew we absolutely needed to buy, and left the rest, often missing out on some good deals. Since I wasn't clipping all the coupons, I couldn't get in on most of the good deals anyway, even if I really wanted to. Until today :D. Freebies 2 Deals posted a scenario at Smith's that I could do with just printable coupons!
I saved $51.69, spent $39.58, but then I got $12 back in catalinas, so essentially I only spent $27. Considering that's less than I would have spent on just the bags (15 boxes worth), I think things went well - and this should keep us in ziploc bags for awhile :D.
While it's snowing and blowing and otherwise ugly outside this week, I think I'll sit down and organize my coupon file, catch up on my newspapers and get my crazy couponing self back in the game :).
I saved $51.69, spent $39.58, but then I got $12 back in catalinas, so essentially I only spent $27. Considering that's less than I would have spent on just the bags (15 boxes worth), I think things went well - and this should keep us in ziploc bags for awhile :D.While it's snowing and blowing and otherwise ugly outside this week, I think I'll sit down and organize my coupon file, catch up on my newspapers and get my crazy couponing self back in the game :).
Sunday, January 30, 2011
It's been awhile!
I have been a very terrible blogger, but sadly there hasn't been too much to report.
Chris remains unemployed, but we'll hang on for a bit longer thanks to a much larger tax refund than we expected. And once again, the Lord proves He knows better than I do -- I've been having some medical problems lately that would have made taking care of Averie on my own very difficult, so having Chris home all this time has actually been a wonderful blessing. We both have the feeling that once my problems are resolved, that that will be the time for Chris to get an offer of employment.
In happier news, I will be (finally) graduating this year! It's been a long time coming seeing as I started college in 2003. I owe the past eight years of school to multiple major changes and only attending classes part-time (while I worked full-time) for several semesters. It is a good feeling to be done. Now we can focus on expanding our family (once Chris is employed again) and getting Chris finished with his own degree.
Now for some Averie updates...
As of a couple weeks ago, Averie weighs 22 pounds 10 ounces. She's wearing 12 to 18 month clothes (which are quickly becoming too short, though they fit perfectly everywhere else) and size 4 diapers. She has tiny feet though -- she wears a size 3 with room to grow, when the "normal" size for her age would be a size 5!
Averie started walking shortly before her first birthday, but last week, she started running! The look on her face when she realized she could move faster was priceless. More fun for us, I suppose!
She is still not talking much and though I am concerned, full-blown mommy worrying has not kicked in yet. We read to her on a daily basis and narrate our activities to her so I know we are doing everything we can be doing right now to encourage her. And in my own reading and research, I found there is typically a big language explosion around 18 months so she still has some time.
Averie does understand a lot of words, so that makes communicating with her much easier. She knows "no" and "stop" (thank goodness! We use those a lot :P), "milk", "lunch", "cup", "keys", "diaper", "cheese", "book", "toys", "bath" (her favorite time of the day!) and a handful of others I can't remember. She waves when we say "bye-bye" and responds to "clap" and "dance" by doing so, or whenever she hears any music (even TV commercials, LOL). Body parts she knows are bellybutton, nose, mouth and hair.
She takes after Chris and I when it comes to being independent, too. Averie loves to do things on her own, especially feeding herself. Makes for some fun (albeit messy) mealtimes. She tries (mostly unsuccessfully) to put on her own hat and shoes and is a pro at taking them off :P. She even helps put away her toys at the end of each day by throwing them (literally, LOL) into her toy bins.
Averie LOVES cheese, playing peek-a-boo, Silly Songs with Larry (Veggie Tales), and her Uncle Tyler because he can throw her up in the air higher than anyone else :).
Chris remains unemployed, but we'll hang on for a bit longer thanks to a much larger tax refund than we expected. And once again, the Lord proves He knows better than I do -- I've been having some medical problems lately that would have made taking care of Averie on my own very difficult, so having Chris home all this time has actually been a wonderful blessing. We both have the feeling that once my problems are resolved, that that will be the time for Chris to get an offer of employment.
In happier news, I will be (finally) graduating this year! It's been a long time coming seeing as I started college in 2003. I owe the past eight years of school to multiple major changes and only attending classes part-time (while I worked full-time) for several semesters. It is a good feeling to be done. Now we can focus on expanding our family (once Chris is employed again) and getting Chris finished with his own degree.
Now for some Averie updates...
As of a couple weeks ago, Averie weighs 22 pounds 10 ounces. She's wearing 12 to 18 month clothes (which are quickly becoming too short, though they fit perfectly everywhere else) and size 4 diapers. She has tiny feet though -- she wears a size 3 with room to grow, when the "normal" size for her age would be a size 5!
Averie started walking shortly before her first birthday, but last week, she started running! The look on her face when she realized she could move faster was priceless. More fun for us, I suppose!
She is still not talking much and though I am concerned, full-blown mommy worrying has not kicked in yet. We read to her on a daily basis and narrate our activities to her so I know we are doing everything we can be doing right now to encourage her. And in my own reading and research, I found there is typically a big language explosion around 18 months so she still has some time.
Averie does understand a lot of words, so that makes communicating with her much easier. She knows "no" and "stop" (thank goodness! We use those a lot :P), "milk", "lunch", "cup", "keys", "diaper", "cheese", "book", "toys", "bath" (her favorite time of the day!) and a handful of others I can't remember. She waves when we say "bye-bye" and responds to "clap" and "dance" by doing so, or whenever she hears any music (even TV commercials, LOL). Body parts she knows are bellybutton, nose, mouth and hair.
She takes after Chris and I when it comes to being independent, too. Averie loves to do things on her own, especially feeding herself. Makes for some fun (albeit messy) mealtimes. She tries (mostly unsuccessfully) to put on her own hat and shoes and is a pro at taking them off :P. She even helps put away her toys at the end of each day by throwing them (literally, LOL) into her toy bins.
Averie LOVES cheese, playing peek-a-boo, Silly Songs with Larry (Veggie Tales), and her Uncle Tyler because he can throw her up in the air higher than anyone else :).
Monday, December 20, 2010
Thank you
This has been a hard week for me and it's only just begun. Last year at this time, things were going pretty well for us so to see where we are now...hurts. Neither Chris nor I thought the unemployment would last this many months. That's not to say that I haven't enjoyed the time we have had just reconnecting as a family. I have treasured every minute of that time, knowing it could -- and would -- end anytime, but I'm also aware of the effects an extended period of unemployment has on our quality of life.
We have had feelings and impressions of which job was the right job and that we just needed to be patient. But when every day that ticks by is another day closer to being completely out of money, it's hard to remember that.
Then, just when you think you're down and out for good, the Lord has a way of reminding us He is still watching and is mindful of our needs.
That was shown to me by someone that I can only call an angel visiting our house tonight. I don't know who this person was. Probably never will. But if that angel is someone who reads this blog, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for giving so generously, especially when you didn't have to. Thank you for thinking of our family. Thank you for giving my family a Christmas. Thank you for helping us survive another month while we wait for Chris to find a new job.
Up until tonight, it has been hard not to doubt that the job is out there. I've spent too much time wondering if Chris needed to start applying to the $12/hour jobs even though that would only pay part of our bills, because at least it would be something. And maybe it's terrible of me to need a plain-as-day representation that we have not been forgotten, but nonetheless, the gift we received tonight has renewed my faith that we will get through this.
Merry Christmas!
We have had feelings and impressions of which job was the right job and that we just needed to be patient. But when every day that ticks by is another day closer to being completely out of money, it's hard to remember that.
Then, just when you think you're down and out for good, the Lord has a way of reminding us He is still watching and is mindful of our needs.
That was shown to me by someone that I can only call an angel visiting our house tonight. I don't know who this person was. Probably never will. But if that angel is someone who reads this blog, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for giving so generously, especially when you didn't have to. Thank you for thinking of our family. Thank you for giving my family a Christmas. Thank you for helping us survive another month while we wait for Chris to find a new job.
Up until tonight, it has been hard not to doubt that the job is out there. I've spent too much time wondering if Chris needed to start applying to the $12/hour jobs even though that would only pay part of our bills, because at least it would be something. And maybe it's terrible of me to need a plain-as-day representation that we have not been forgotten, but nonetheless, the gift we received tonight has renewed my faith that we will get through this.
Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Averie - 13 Months
I'm not going to do updates every month like I did the first year but today was Averie's 12-month well baby visit (even though she's 13 months) so I had to post that.
Averie weighs 21 lbs 10 oz (50th %tile) and is 31.5 inches tall (95th %tile)! Her head is still in the 75th %tile, as usual. She loves to dance and clap along to music, and even knows how to show us her bellybutton when we ask where it is! She's not much of a talker yet as far as real words go, but she always has plenty to say :). Her walking has also improved a lot and she's crawling less and walking more (with fewer falls, too).
She got all the big shots today too - MMR, chicken pox and hepatitis - as well as a flu shot. There was much crying at first and looks of "how could you do this to me?", but she calmed down quickly. She's always such a trooper.
Averie also has her first cold. It's always so terrible when your baby is sick -- I just wish I could take her place so she could rest. There were a few times last night that she had just drifted off to sleep and then she coughed herself awake again :(.
Sorry for the overwhelming lack of pictures. I fail at regular camera use lately. Hopefully I'll get my act together and have a picture post soon :).
Averie weighs 21 lbs 10 oz (50th %tile) and is 31.5 inches tall (95th %tile)! Her head is still in the 75th %tile, as usual. She loves to dance and clap along to music, and even knows how to show us her bellybutton when we ask where it is! She's not much of a talker yet as far as real words go, but she always has plenty to say :). Her walking has also improved a lot and she's crawling less and walking more (with fewer falls, too).
She got all the big shots today too - MMR, chicken pox and hepatitis - as well as a flu shot. There was much crying at first and looks of "how could you do this to me?", but she calmed down quickly. She's always such a trooper.
Averie also has her first cold. It's always so terrible when your baby is sick -- I just wish I could take her place so she could rest. There were a few times last night that she had just drifted off to sleep and then she coughed herself awake again :(.
Sorry for the overwhelming lack of pictures. I fail at regular camera use lately. Hopefully I'll get my act together and have a picture post soon :).
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