5 months - Riley crawling

Here is Riley's new trick! Check it out! We can't believe she is already moving around...it seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital!

Week #3 Weigh In

Another week down and a few more pounds lost! This week I lost 2.6 pounds which brings my total to 10.6 pounds! YAY! I passed my first goal and I am on my way to the next!

Just playing around...Riley's Crib

Almost T-H-R-E-E!!!

In one week my sweet Avery is going to be 3! I can hardly believe it! I haven't posted much about her lately so I thought I would let you know what is going on with her. A few of her favorite sayings are: "That was pretty interesting" "This is not too exciting this morning" "That is disgusting" *She says any of the above about random things. And she says "this morning" referring to any time of day. She has such enthusiasm and expressions with each saying and I can't help but laugh at her! Today we were eating some ice cream after a trip to the park and the news was on. She says "Look Mommy it's Barak Obama". I was surprised that she could even say his name and that she recognized him. We did watch the news all day on Tuesday so she must have been paying attention! I had a parent - teacher conference with her preschool teacher on Friday. (Avery is in preschool 2 days a week for 3 hours) It was interesting to hear what the teacher said of her. It's not very often that you get someone elses honest interpretation of your child. Here are a few of the points she mentioned. 1. She usually has a baby in her arms where ever she is playing. 2. She has a very large imagination when she plays. 3. She always includes others in her play. 4. She is a natural leader but can also follow others in imaginative play. 5. Sometimes she needs reminding about her "inside" voice. - She must get that from her daddy! 6. She enjoys books, songs and finger plays. 7. She has very good verbal communication skills and understands well. 8. She is a very articulate child. She is sensitive to others feelings and is very sweet and loving to her friends. She is super excited about her Minnie Mouse birthday party and asks me every day. "Mommy, is today my birthday?" Stay tuned this week because I'm sure I'll be posting more pics of her while I reminisce over the past 3 years...wow has the time flown!

Snow Days

Yesterday it started snowing in the morning and by early evening we had accumulated about 5 inches at our house! We were so thrilled to see the snow and be able to play in it. It was even more fun to get up this morning and still see it everywhere! We had another fun day playing and we got to build some snowmen too. We were going to try to build a family of 4 but it's harder than it looks! So, we created 2 - Avery calls one mommy and the other one baby. Hope you enjoy our slideshow...it's just a fraction of all the pictures we took!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Weigh in #2

This is just my weekly update of my weight loss journey. I weighed in today at Weight Watchers and had lost 1.8 pounds! This brings my total loss to 8 pounds! My first goal was to loose 9 pounds the first month...so I'm almost there! Yay!

Did you know....

Karen tagged me. The things in bold are things that apply to me. () added for clarification. I tag Megan & Linda 1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland/world (more times than I can count) 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (Do I qualify being a SAHM now?!) 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (I've been to Venice but didn't ride a gondola) 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (again, I've been to the Eiffel Tower but didn't go to the top) 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Gotten flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book (haha, like Karen said "does a Shutterfly book count?!") 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House (twice) 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I guess this would include a fish right?) 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee (not to my knowledge)

Ouch! That hurt!

This morning Avery was playing with one of Riley's toys. It's the Bat & Wobble Penguin shown below. She had it on the ottoman and it accidentally fell off and bumped her sister, who was lying in the floor, on the face. Riley screamed pretty loudly for a minute or two and then about 30 minutes later I noticed a little red mark on her nose. So, I've got to record this one for the record books...the first time she was wounded by her sister! Oh, the battle scars of being a second child!

Dance & Dress Up

It's been really cold the last 2 days and we've had to come up with some fun activity in the afternoon to make the time go by. So, we started having a dance-a-thon after Avery wakes up from her nap. I turn on some music - jazz, mexican, kid tunes - whatever has a fun beat. Avery and I dance around like crazy people until one of us passes out from exhuastion...it's been ME the past 2 days! Riley gets a kick out of watching us and we get to burn off some stuck in the house blues. Today Avery decided to dress up and dance. Here's a few pictures of her and also of Riley with her baby Tinkerbell wings on. Enjoy!

Family Visit

Ryan was out of town for 4 days this past week. He went on his annual weekend trip with his "boys" from college in Asheville. The thought of 4 days alone with the girls seemed a little overwhelming so I asked my mom to come up and stay with me. She was a little reluctant at first since she will be coming back in a couple weeks for Avery's birthday. So, my brother was game and he ended up talking my mom in to it as well. They arrived on Thursday and we had an excellent visit. Avery enjoyed having Nana & Uncle Matt to play with and I enjoyed them making my load a little lighter. Mom helped with laundry, cooking, cleaning, bathing, diapering...the list goes on! She's one in a million and I am so grateful that she is "that kind of mom". God gave her a Servant's Heart and I am blessed enough to benefit from it! Uncle Matt helped keep Avery entertained by reading her some books and trying to teach her to ride her tricycle. He's a great Uncle and is really great with kids...he's single if you know of anyone interested! Here are a few pictures from their visit. Thanks so much for making the trip guys! It meant the world to me!

Nana & her girls

Avery made a train with her chairs

Storytime with Uncle Matt

Riley showing off for Nana

Back on the wagon

I was unsure if I wanted to post about my weight loss adventure but here it goes. There has been a lot of talk lately about losing weight, getting healthy and all that goes along with it. I mean it's January right and if you have 100 pounds or as little as 5 pounds to loose, 'tis the season to join the club. So, I decided to go back to Weight Watchers. I was successful with it prior to getting married when I took off 10 pounds. My goal is quite a bit bigger this time around but I am confident that I will reach it. I have 2 great women accompanying me on my weight loss adventure and they are really great at keeping me accountable and motivated! Shout outs to you both! Good luck on reaching your goal...I'm here to help you fight the urge for that giant bowl of ice cream anytime! Tonight was my first night to officially weigh in and the scale was my friend! I lost 6.2 pounds in my first week. WOW! I'm so excited! I feel like I've gotten a handle on my eating and am slowly retraining myself what a portion is and how to make healthy choices. I decided to update this weekly, as I weigh in. I want to challenge myself and be accountable to all my faithful readers. For now, I will sign off and be happy that another day in my journey is over! Wish me luck!

Christmas Cards

If you are like me you always feel like there is something you should do with your Christmas cards besides stuffing them in a box, cutting them up into gift tags for next year or throwing them away...'gasp'! My mom (who is always full of brilliant ideas) passed along a wonderful idea to me. We gathered all our cards (Avery had taped them all up on the walls of her cardboard playhouse) and put them in a basket. Each night we pull out a card and say a prayer for the person or family that sent us the card. We will leave the basket beside Avery's bed so we remember each night. We started tonight and Avery got to pray first, this is how her prayer went "Dear God, Thank you for Amy. Watch her Lord. Amen." Ryan and I looked at each other and just melted! I think she hears us say "watch over and protect" while we pray. Anyway, we kind of felt like she's been listening...because sometimes it's hard to tell with 2 year olds! haha So, a shout out to Mom and the great idea! We all need a few extra prayers being said on our behalf!

Something New

4 months

My little Riley was 4 months old the day after Christmas. I took some pictures of her the other day and wanted to share them. She is an absolute joy! We are so blessed to have her in our family! It's been fun watching her grow and mature these last few months. In the last couple of weeks she has started laughing (mainly at her big sister), grasping for toys, rolling over and cooing. She loves to hold on to your fingers and she loves to be held! She is a pretty good sleeper when she is at home in her own enviornment. And she looks more and more like her daddy every day! Avery's favorite name for Riley is Little Priss Priss - I'm not sure where she got this from but I think it's adorable! I can't wait to watch you grow sweet girl.