Look Who's ONE

AVERY MAE

I really can't believe how time flies! People say it all the time but it truly boggles my mind. This little Avery has brought pure joy into our home since the day we met her. Caden and Kamrie have loved her since the moment they laid eyes on her and that love continues to grow with each new day. Celebrating her birthday was so much fun, we kept things pretty simple and spent the evening together as a family. When Avery woke up the kids started the day by singing Happy Birthday, she loved every minute of the song the first time and each of the million times she heard it that day.

Her Biggest FansThis is the excitement she had for opening presents...everyone got lots of applause.Here she is testing to see if the new lovie passes the sniff test...And it DID! Thanks Meredith, she loves it.The Cake!The famous "bite face" that started when she first saw the cake. It was sitting on the counter waiting for the festivities to begin and I walked by holding her...this is what I got. Each time she saw it after that, she pulled this face. She still does it if she really wants a bite of something.I'm pretty sure she is telling her "don't" because she wants it all to herself.

Here she is with her very own cake, timid at first but it didn't take long at all before she was enjoying every last bite.

Avery at ONE...

• she is below the 3 % for weight, we are trying to pack on the pounds but I am convinced she burns off everything she eats trying to keep up with Caden and Kamrie
• despite Kamrie's tendency to smother her, they are the best of friends
• she loves playing kitchen, dollies, and Caden's transformers
• she has started telling the other kids "don't" when they are doing something she doesn't like
• she LOVES her daddy
• she squeals every time she sees a dog and recently has started trying to bark at them
• she has a new love for shoes, she picks up any that are lying around and brings them to me to put on her
• she loves the Hammonds, lovies, bananas, and anything to do with music: listening, singing, dancing, she loves it all.
• she already loves to read. She goes to the book shelf several times a day and brings me books to read.
• she gained all the confidence she needed on her birthday to start walking all over, now she practically runs everywhere she goes.
• she does great with signing so we can communicate, she signs please, more, milk, thank you, and eat, each with a twist that is all her own

Easter Duds

Since General Conference fell on Easter this year we wore our Easter Duds the week before and the week after. I usually end up scrambling to find a dress I like at the last minute but I was really excited to find matching dresses for the girls super early this year.

The following posts are all a little out dated but I had to get them published so I could continue the blog with new, more current things.

Just recently life has placed another tiny little bump in our road. We had just made the decision to stay in our current rental home and put off buying a house for one more year to build up income history and pay off some student loans when we got a call from our landlord telling us we needed to move so that the owners could put the house on the market. So, now we are moving and since we have to move anyway we have decided to go to the opposite end of Denver to see if we love it there as much as here. I felt a little up-rooted at first but since we have found another home that will suit our needs, I can see that after the pain of packing, moving, unpacking, and adjusting life as a whole we are going to be just fine. The people I love most are going with me and the ones I have to leave I will have fond memories of and this won't be the end.

Now that I have the vaca. posts done I can move on to Birthdays, missing teeth, and all sorts of fun stuff...

Superbowl, Vacation Style

Since we planned our Disney World trip well in advance, we had no idea that it would take place over Superbowl Sunday, we also didn't know that our FAVORITE team of all time would be playing in said Superbowl. Although different from the norm, we had a great Superbowl celebration. We kept the day pretty low key. We attended a local church where we found that members are peculiar everywhere but the sweet simple testimonies can be found everywhere. We spent a few hours at Disney Quest and Downtown Disney before heading back to our condo to watch the BIG GAME. Thanks to Connie's great planning, we had great food and the company was nice. The game could have ended better but what can you do?

The Magic Continues

This was one of the most MAGICAL times during our trip for me. It was the end of the first day and it all still seemed a little like a fairy tale. We were able to find a quiet spot by these rocks and sit and enjoy the spectacular firework show. It was the perfect end to a fantastic day.

New Friends

Besides the Princesses, we didn't meet too many characters. Kamrie is terrified of almost everything in costume and when we asked Caden if he wanted to meet characters he said "I already know their name" so there wasn't tons of interest, but the day we showed up at the Animal Kingdom there were new friends to meet at the entrance with no lines at all, so we didn't pass it up. Kamrie stayed back with me but Caden was excited to have them sign his book. ...And I am happy to report that by the end of the trip Kamrie gave Dasiy Duck a hug (sadly we didn't get a picture because it was pouring rain and we didn't really think she would do it). Maybe next time she will want to hug them all.

Disney Quest

We had some pretty rainy weather so we spent one of those days at Disney Quest. Caden (and Brady) love video games so we had a great time. We got to fight bad guys on the Pirates of the Caribbean ship, raft on some rapids, and play all kinds of other games.

Epcot

Our day at Epcot was a little more relaxed so we didn't get to see everything there. We just took it easy and went at the kids pace. We loved Turtle Talk with Crush, the finding Nemo ride, and eating dinner in "Mexico" by the valcano.

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios was awesome as well, we loved the car stunt show, the face painting, the 3D Toy Story game, the American Idol show, Beauty and the Beast, and so much more. Just blogging about it makes me want to go back already.

Animal Kingdom

Our day at the Animal Kingdom was a blast. In the end we were all completely soaked because of the rain but we still had so much fun. It was like the zoo only totally better and with rides and all kinds of spectacular stuff. Someday we will have to do it without the rain, but what great memories!

Every Little Boy's Dream

At Hollywood Studios there is a Training session where you can become a Jedi Warrior. I'm not sure where it comes from but Caden is sort of obessed with Star Wars. Thanks to some great friends we knew about this before our trip and looked forward to it for a few weeks. The line was definitely the longest we waited in the entire trip but it was so worth to see the look on Caden's face as he was fighting Darth Vader.

Coloring Eggs & Easter Morning

Saturday between conference sessions we colored eggs, always a good time. We had a ball and ended up with some pretty fantastic eggs.

Sunday morning (April 4th) we woke to find that the Bunny had visited. We searched for eggs...

found someAnd enjoyed the stash before settling in and watching conference.

After conference we had a new family, The Gerbers over for a traditional Easter Dinner. It was a great weekend and a wonderful Holiday.

Easter Fun

Right before Easter our community had a little party just for preschool aged kids. While I was getting ready for Avery's Birthday, Daddy took the kids for a little pre-Easter celebration. They had a blast!

For any of you who know Kamrie or have read my blog recently you know that this getting this picture was no easy task, as she is terrified of almost anything in costume...this is a big step. Way to go Kam.

There was bouncy fun... ...and all kinds of other games and prizes. Perfect for a morning of excitement away from home so mom could get things done.

Missing Teeth

Right now there is a whole lot of teeth stuff going on in our house...Avery is getting four and Caden is losing them almost as fast as she gets them. Caden had been working on a loose tooth for about a week when he finally just gave in and let dad take a stab at it. Being the professional that he is, it wasn't long until...That was Tuesday April 6th, by Saturday he had pulled the one next to it all by himself. He couldn't have been happier. And although somewhat late the second time the tooth fairy visited and brought even more excitement to the experience.