Catch Up Time!

Wow! I haven't blogged since July!? Well, most of you probably read our most exciting news on Facebook anyway so I don't feel too bad. If you've missed out here's what's new!

Lets go back to the end of June which was Avery's 2nd birthday! Yes, we have a 2 year old (2 years and 7 months now to be exact). Her birthday was complete with a Toy Story cake and present opening which she just had to comment on "how cute!" everything was!

July I opened up my Etsy shop which many of you have probably heard about. It's a lot of fun and I never thought It'd actually be as successful as it has been!

In August, Jesse and I took a trip down to Idaho while Grandma Mo and Papa Mark babysat the little one. I think she had just as much fun as we did! We were able to see so many of our friends and hang out with our family. It was wonderful but there's never enough time for everything/one.

 

 

 

In September we moved into a new apartment. The extra space has been great! Now Avery has a playroom which looks like a tornado went through it most of the time. I guess that's what real play looks like! Avery also experienced her first fair. We took her to the Central Washington fair in Yakima. She didn't ride any rides but she was amazed by all the good food and the funky lookin' people!

 

 

In October Avery visited the children's Mecca also known as Chuck E. Cheese's. She loved it! When I was little I remember going to the SLC one every year when we'd take a trip to see Disney On Ice. I remember chaos...it hasn't changed.

 

In late October me, Avery, Grandma Monet and Papa Mark went to Idaho for a few days to surprise Auntie Em on her birthday. It had been awhile since Avery had seen her aunties and it wasn't long before she was bossing them around!

 

And of course who could forget Halloween! Once again we skipped out on Trick-or-Treating mainly because Avery didn't want to wear her elephant costume which I thought was adorable! She thought otherwise. Go figure!

 

 

 

November was a month filled with fun trips to Ellensburg to visit Grandma and Papa and decorating for Christmas. Thanksgiving was fun. Aunt Randi and Uncle Tyler were able to come up and spend some time with us and Avery always likes the added attention.

 

December we waited and waited for snow to come so Avery could build her first snowman...we're still waiting. Avery's favorite movie was "The Elf on the Shelf" which we still have to explain that Chippy went back to the North Pole with Santa but will be back next year. We're thinking we'll have to start the tradition next year since she loved the movie so much. I still find myself humming "Extravaganzalorious" some days.

 

Christmas was great this year but quiet. Me, Jesse and Avery went to Ellensburg and once again Avery was spoiled.

 

Avery's ornament this year

January we rang in the New Year with a crab boil (shouldn't everyone?) and as Grandma and Papa were passing through on their way home from spending some time in Idaho, they picked Avery up which gave Jesse and I some time together. Our New Years Resolution is to have more fun in 2013 so we went to breakfast (something we never do) and went to dinner and a movie where we were confused by the consessions. I guess now it's self serve? Who knew?

 

Auntie Em came and visited us too which was so nice! Avery needed some Auntie Em time! Unfortunately while she was here we had to take Avery to the ER for what we THOUGHT was a UTI. Nope! She just had to poop! I tell her frequently that was the most expensive poop she's ever taken and hopefully ever will take!

 

Which brings us up to date in February! We just converted Avery's crib to a full bed. I think she loves the extra space for the 5000 stuffed animals she sleeps with! She's just growing up too fast!

 

 

Another exciting piece of news, Jesse and I have been trying for baby Nichols #2 going on 8 months now. I've become quite the expert when it comes to the science behind getting pregnant and know the ins and outs of OPK's, BBT, PCOS and CM (TMI?) And if you don't know what any of these mean, consider yourself lucky! If you've never had to contemplate standing on your head after whoopie, consider yourself lucky (sorry mom, aunts, grandma)! If you've never had a strange obsession with your early morning body temperature, consider yourself lucky! And if you've never wished that baby dust actually existed, consider yourself lucky! 

 

I haven't started any meds, I'm more focused on eating better, exercising and getting back to a healthier weight. In the meantime we could use some crossed fingers, star wishes, and prayers...and if you DO find some baby dust, could you blow some our way? We'd greatly appreciate it!

 

 

So now we're all caught up and hopefully there will soon be a pregnany post for you to read!

Water Bead Woes

So, I've noticed I haven't been keeping up with the blog like I thought I would. I think it's cuz most of you who read this blog are friends of mine on Facebook and hear everything through it. If you'll notice, my Facebook posts are few and far between translating into...nothing new and exciting usually happens around here.

However, Avery broke our dullness streak a few weeks ago that involved a water bead. So upon reading the title of this post you probably knew what I was talking about...unfortunately. Anyway, here's a little more background about the story incident emotional disaster!

You remember the post about the water bead activity I had with Avery...about how she just LOVES these little water beads that miraculously grow in water and how she would submerge her hands in them and loved how they felt? Avery is probably the world's hardest toddler to please. Almost every activity I do with her seems to be a total failure; only holding her interest for about 10 minutes (if I'm lucky). So watching her play with these water beads in true amazement made me feel like I had hit a homerun...until one Sunday afternoon...one baaaaaaaad Sunday afternoon.

For days I had been smelling an odor coming from her nose so (geeky me) I get on the computer and Google it. Tons of articles came up that said odor in the nose is caused by something stuck in it. "Great!" I thought. So Jesse and I pin her down in an effort to see up her nose. There were a couple problems with our tactic.

1.) Kids don't like to be pinned down and Avery was no exception.

and

2.) Toddlers have the smallest nostrils EVER!

Amazingly I was finally able to see that it was a water bead up her left nostril. I read (via Google of course) that one approach to get it out ourselves was to cover her other nostril and blow in her mouth. You can imagine how well THAT went over with Avery. So, I threw in the towel and decided to call her pediatrician first thing the next morning.

After explaining the incident to him on the phone he recommended I bring her into his office. Little did I know, after 45 minutes of waiting to see him, he tells me he hasn't performed a nasal extraction in over a decade and he referred me to the ER which, he informed me, was packed. You could imagine the few choice words I wanted to say to him for wasting my time but politely bit my tongue.

The next day we took her to the ER which turned into a 4 hour failure. Complete with temper tantrums that rumbled down the hallways of the ER and still they had no solution for getting the water bead out. We felt totally defeated. The ER doctor referred us to an ear, nose and throat specialist who, in my then tired, overwhelmed, and defeated eyes was just a few steps down from God himself when only after 10 minutes, the water bead was out. I felt such a rush of relief come over me that I wanted to cry.

Tool used to get it out

Avery was so exhausted from the days happenings that we didn't even make it out of the parking lot before she was dead asleep in her car seat...with the slightest stream of blood running down her left nostril. It was actually a pretty cute sight. One I wished I would have caught on camera.

When we got home I mailed out a thank you card to Dr. Leonard and his staff just to show how appreciative we were for their help. Then I gathered up every single water bead and threw them in the garbage; regretting ever having bought them.

I'm positive this won't be the last fiasco we go through with Avery. Especially now since we know she likes to stick things up her nose. In which case, I'll be sure to blog about it. But for now, I could stand to go back to our normally uneventful life for awhile.

Oh the joys of parenthood!

Another Pinterest Project

I've been cooking this one in my mind for awhile now. I found this quote on Pinterest and wanted to do something really cute with it.



yougetthepicture.net

But, since I don't have $300 to put towards a Silhouette CAMEO to recreate a wooden sign like this one, I had to improvise.

So, I uploaded this photo of Avery (when she was first born) onto Photoshop.

I lowered the opacity a little so the words would show better against the background. I downloaded some free fonts that I found online to make the words "strength" "love" and "heart" look more elegant. Then I bought a frame and ribbon from Hobby Lobby and I came up with this.

I thought it turned out pretty good but I think I could have used a better picture. Overall, I'm happy with it.

DIY Pinterest Projects

Im trying to be more of a "Do It Yourselfer" and since I discovered Pinterest, I've gotten a lot of good ideas. Here are a couple I've seemed to pull off.

Jesse and I don't have a headboard on our bed so the wall behind it is a little bare. I've been wanting to find something that would help and found this idea. Hobby Lobby had their frames and vinyl wall quotes on sale 50% off so this ended up being around $25. It's a little crooked on the bottom but oh well. It stays! 

This is in our living room. I grabbed another vinyl wall quote from Hobby Lobby for $9.99 and I already had these pictures framed. Please excuse the smudges on the pictures, Avery had to "give the baby kisses."

I found this idea on Pinterest too. The original idea was for a birth announcement but I thought it would make a great wall decoration in Avery's room. I printed it on $0.99 canvas texture paper from Jo-Ann Craft Store and the frame I got at Fred Meyer $9.99

I was also on Pinterest when I discovered Water Beads. Since Avery doesn't attend daycare she has the wonderful pleasure of playing with me all day. She's getting pretty bored with her toys and with the winter weather, trips to the park are pretty limited.

So, I've been wanting to find craft projects suitable for a toddler. That's when I came across Water Beads. I found them at Jo-Ann's for $4.99. These have been a big hit with Avery. They're little beads that grow when you put them in water.

I first put them in her bath water which was ok. She liked to move them around but I didn't realize they took about 30 minutes to fully grow so she didn't get the full effect of the beads.

Plus, I had to fish them out of the bath tub after she was done with her bath. It only took about 10 minutes but it wasn't really something I wanted to do.

The next day, after I put them in a mason jar and let them grow a little, I put them in one of our glass Pyrex bowls. She really loved sinking her hands in them. Jesse and I had to play with them too. They look like marbles but feel like slippery rubber.

We've also discovered Crayola Window Markers which is another activity Avery loves but she doesn't quite understand yet that regular crayons aren't for the windows and the window markers aren't for the walls :o/

Luckily, they're washable and I haven't found anything that they don't come off of.

Fun At The Park (With Shoes)

Avery loves to be outside. She would spend every waking moment outdoors if we let her. Now that the cold weather is setting in, days at the park are few and far between. Which really stinks because the Tri Cities really doesn't have any indoor playgrounds for toddlers. Jesse and I usually take Avery on a stroll through the mall when running around outdoors is out of the question.

The other day it was almost like spring weather so I grabbed Avery's jacket and shoes (which is another story) and we went to the park. 

The story behind Avery's shoes is, since she's was born, there has only been 1 pair of shoes that she's been able to wear which were soft sole crib shoes. I've bought about 12 different pairs total; some I've returned (numerous times) because they wouldn't fit and some she flat out refused to wear and now they don't fit.

Now that she's a toddler (and in a size 5) I really wanted to get her into a REAL pair of shoes. Pretty simple task right? Wrong! Avery has the widest feet EVER!!! Jesse and I went into Journey's and tried to find shoes that fit her and nothing worked. Her feet are shaped like upside down teardrops; even extra wide shoes wouldn't fit.

Then we were strolling through WalMart where I saw a pair of Garanimals that looked like they might work so I grabbed her foot and they slipped right on (with a few tugs, pulls and wiggles)

So back to the park story, I thought this would be a great time to try out her new shoes! At first she walked like a cat with tape on their paws; which was kinda cute hearing her "clomp" through the kitchen. When we got to the park though, her feet hit the dirt and she was off!!

Posing for a pic

Taking a 1 second break

I wish I would have had the video camera to record her running and playing. Sometimes she looks like a total train wreck about to happen when she really gets moving but somehow she pulls it off and stays on her feet! She makes me laugh.

Wow!! Catch Up Time!!

Ok, I've been lazy & haven't posted anything in 6 months so I thought I'd post everything (well, all the important things) that's happened since Avery's first birthday. Here goes....

HALLOWEEN

Avery was a cupcake for Halloween but absolutely refused to wear a hat. She hardly lets us brush her hair, I don't know why I thought she'd actually wear a hat. We went to my mom & dad's ranch and took some really cute shots of her in her cupcake costume.

We didn't take her Trick or Treating because we thought we'd keep the "freak out" level at a minimum this Halloween.

CHRISTMAS

For Christmas we went to mom & dad's again and this time Emily & Randi were able to come so Avery got some much needed Auntie time...

She loved opening presents & was spoiled rotten...as usual.

 

And Now...

The Holidays were wonderful this year but it's always nice to get back into the swing of things. We're all doing great. Jesse's work is going well and he enjoys what he does and who he works with.

Im still working a few hours a week just to get me out of the house and I've also started a couponing blog. No, Im not a crazy Extreme Couponer but the blog is mainly just a hobby and it's brought in some extra money so that's always nice.

Jesse took Avery to her 18 month well check visit, all by himself because I had to work and she was 35 inches tall and 25lbs 12oz...I wish her hair would grow as fast as she is!!

She's definitely coming into her own and she's so funny to watch sometimes. Her first word was "cow" (grandpa was proud) and I think she learns a new word everyday. The word of the day today is "no" and Im actually surprised she didn't pick up on it sooner. It seems like every time I turn around she's getting into something she shouldn't. We've definitely learned to pick our battles though.

Avery saying "Cow!"

I never really understood the saying "kids minds are like sponges" until you actually have a little one running around mimicking everything. 

Time flies when you're having fun!!

Just born

6 months old

1 year old

18 months old

Has It Been 1 Year Already!?

We just celebrated Avery's 1st birthday (a week and a half ago! Sorry, I'm late posting this). It was so much fun! She had a blast!

Her birthday outfit!

How lady-like

Opening presents

Cake time!!! She didn't like it as much as I thought she would!

Milk break!

Sticky frosting face!

"Bathtime!"

Playtime with cousin Ayla!

And of course I had to take 1 year shots. A friend of ours made Avery a tutu and I thought it would be perfect to take pictures of Avery in it in Grandma's flower garden.  

Her 1 year well check visit was today and she weighs 21 lbs 4 oz and 33 inches tall!! The Dr. said she looks great but I'm wondering when her hair is going to come in :o/