Avery's 3rd Birthday

Miss Avery Lee

We celebrated Avery's 3rd birthday today with some of our amazing friends that we have met here in Texas. They have become like family and we are so grateful for them. 

Avery is obsessed with the movie Trolls so we did a VERY low-key trolls themed party, I'm talking about only color themed and a table cloth.  We set up a slip-in-slide which was a HIT and had a water balloon fight. We basically let the kids run free. 

It turned out extremely well. The kids had a blast and the moms got to hang out inside while the dads were outside playing Corn-hole while watching the kids.  

Avery loved being the star of the show. She was telling everyone it was her birthday and she was such a little sassy-pants. 

After opening her gifts we kept trying to have her say "thank you" to her friends but instead she kept on saying "your welcome".  She is super smart so I'm sure she knew exactly what she was doing. She was so happy all day and kept trying to tell us all about her amazing day. 

I seriously cannot believe she is three-years-old. She is such a funny little girl. She seriously makes us crack up non-stop. She knows how to be funny and she spends her days trying to make us laugh. Her hugs are smothering and we still get so many cuddles out of her. She is the best and we love her so much! 

Mobile Baby, Two is Hard.

It's official. Avery is mobile. I both love and hate this.

I love it because it is adorable and so much fun to watch her explore.

I hate this because it means she is getting bigger. And I have once again realized how unsafe my house is. It's crazy how you have to baby proof for each age. I feel like it's on-going process.

Avery has always been a mommies girl and her being mobile only reiterates this. She attempts to follow me through the house like a puppy and whines if I walk too fast away from her. She's adorable.

Haylee is trying to be a little mommy and it's honestly so ANNOYING! It's cute some of the time but she insists on determining on what is and isn't OK for Avery to play with. She is yelling at Avery constantly telling her no. I'm still trying to figure out how to stop this.  I am constantly telling her I'm the Mommy and while I appreciate her help, she needs to ask me and come to me first before she takes something away from Avery.

I'm convinced I'm never having a clean house again. Avery attacks and pulls out anything low to the ground and Haylee climbs and get anything out of reach. It's like they are a team conspiring against me to make it so I have to constantly clean.

I've resorted to living in a messy house and cleaning once they go to bed so Lance and I can enjoy a few hours of peace in a clean home.

I won't even start talking about bedtime with Haylee. I'll sum up our experience with one word. Nightmare.

Having two kids going in two different directions is hard. And having a two year old is plain exhausting.

But, I love it.

Good day.

Today was one of those days where I kept on thinking over and over how grateful I am to be the mom of these two little girls.

While we were out shopping Avery started getting fussy in the car so Haylee took it upon herself to cheer her up. She got Avery's attention, started making silly noises while shaking her body and hitting herself in the head. She looked hilarious and Avery broke out laughing hysterically. Once Avery started laughing Haylee broke out in a fit of giggles. They continued this for about 10 minutes. I don't think there are many things that sound better then your child laughing. I kept peaking in the rear-view mirror with the biggest smile on my face.

I love being a mom. Even during the bad days, or during our nightly fight at bed-time. I love watching my kids play, smile, and laugh together. I'm so excited to watch them grow up together and become best friends. I love them.

A little life update

First of all, is it really December?  I am LOVING this weather. Seriously 53 degrees in December?? Yes please! And holy cow we've been in Utah over 7 months now. We are absolutely loving being back. Being so close to family has been so much fun. It is so nice to be able to participate in the little family get-together's and not have to miss out by being across the country.  I absolutely love the relationship Haylee has with her grandparents. She constantly asks for them and her aunt Steffy, and never wants to leave their houses when we're there.

Lance is busy with school but he is loving it. He has had some really cool opportunities so far that he has been able to participate in. In October he was invited by Nestle to their headquarters to attend their Brand Management Boot Camp. He learned a lot and met some great people. He even won one of the competitions that resulted in him winning a coffee maker. We sold it on ebay for $100 :)  He is learning so much and I'm hoping it pays off in the end with a good paying job. He did give in and buy a Utah Ute shirt that he wears occasionally but he wears his Utah state stuff to school most days. I got a Ute pullover as well and I still have yet to wear it out of the house...I feel like i'm cheating on USU.

I'm staying at home with our two little ones. They are crazy and it is so much work. I made the decision recently to go back to school and finish up my Degree in Family Life Studies. The plan was to start this Spring semester and graduate in the Fall. However, because I'm not a Utah resident any more, tuition is triple the amount. So I'm going to wait 2 more months, get residency, then start in the summer. This means I'll graduate in the spring with Lance.

Now onto the girls, this very well could take up an entire blog post itself. They are absolutely adorable, crazy, fun, loving, and exhausting.

Haylee seriously wakes up running and doesn't stop till I put her down for her nap. Then it begins again and continues until she goes to bed at night. I've learned that terrible two's are a real thing and there is absolutely no sense in trying to negotiate and compromise with a two year old.  There are lots of tears and tantrums (some even by me) in our house but we are slowly getting through it.

Even though having  a two year old is hard the good times completely out shine the bad. She keeps us laughing constantly.

Let see....some of the things she has done recently.......
-Whenever we sneak up on her or catch her doing something she's not supposed to do she exclaims "Oh! Mommy! You scared me!"
-She insists on wearing the same color of shoes I'm wearing, Putting on lipstick and lotion whenever I do, and she begs for perfume on a daily basis. Then she proceeds to do the "smell good dance" that her aunt and her came up with when they put on perfume.
-She is a little Mommy and tries to boss Avery around and take care of her herself.
-She insists on getting naked whenever she can. especially during nap/bedtime because she knows we then have to come into her room and get her dressed.
-She asks everyday if she can go to church.
-She doesn't even sit by us at church any more. The C.O.O of the Utah Jazz is in our ward and Haylee has somehow managed to adopt them and their teenage kids as her own and insists on sitting with them each Sunday. They love her and she is WAY more reverent sitting with them then she is with us so we are totally OK with it!
-She sings her little heart out all day long and it is the cutest thing ever
-She wears her Elsa dress more than her regular clothes and insists on watching Frozen everyday
-She can proudly name pretty much every Disney princess, and finds it fun to randomly list them throughout the day. Tiana is her favorite and we watch Princess and the frog constantly (Prince Naveen is a hunk).

Now onto Avery
Avery is a chunk, and the happiest baby ever. She is mellow, quiet, and just wants to be loved and cuddled. She constantly smiles and loves her sister.
She has been sitting up since about 4 1/2 months which is way sooner then Haylee did and she is already starting to try and crawl.
She loves eating and I'm praying she isn't going to be a picky eater like her sister.
She mainly spends her day rolling around the house, pulling Haylee's hair, eating, giggling, and being cute.
She is a total Momma's girl which I LOVE!

Already Best Friends!

Basically that is what has been going on as of late. I'm pretty much a single mom because Lance is gone so much but luckily things should slow down a bit next semester. Overall we are doing great, and we are loving Salt Lake.