Larger Than Life...

Yes it's true, our faces are actually a tiny bit larger in the picture than in real life... the picture is that big! It definitely makes a statement! The actual print is 32x48 and the frame is 4 1/4 inches so it's a whopping 40 1/2 x 56 1/2 framed... and I just love it! I was nervous we were going to look like big melon heads since it's a close up but I think it turned out perfect! Believe it or not we painted this wall a couple years ago and the color in the picture just ended up being a perfect match (I was nervous about that as well... because different shades of orange can really clash.) We also spent forever trying to find a frame we loved that didn't cost an arm and a leg and ended up finding exactly what we were looking for at Hobby Lobby (which is the coolest store I must say) for half the price of the other one we were considering and we even loved this one more! Here are a couple close ups...

Busy Busy Busy...

January and February are usually my least favorite months of the year. The weather is just yucky, there's nothing really going on, the kids are usually sick a lot and I'm so ready for it to be Spring so we can get out of the house and enjoy nice weather and have fun. I usually end up with a mild case of the "blah's," but I think I managed to dodge it this year. We've been staying really busy and I think that has helped a lot. We've been busy painting all three bedrooms and our master bathroom as well as doing some deep cleaning and organizing along the way. Since finishing our basement almost three years ago and painting our main living areas about two years ago, we have painted all the rooms in our house except the laundry room and the main bathroom (which we plan on painting soon.) I guess you could say we love painting! Steve and I have also been busy working out (Steve has been getting ready for a photo shoot and I finally decided to take advantage of my Trainer/Dietitian-of-a-husband and let him train me and do a meal plan for me.) He's been training me five days a week (I know I'm spoiled) and we also completed the 200 sit-up training program together. We also finally got some enlargements done to hang in our house and I absolutely love them! Here are some pictures of the rooms we've painted and the enlargements we hung in them...

We painted the accent wall "Robin's Egg" (Glidden) and painted all the other walls "Silver Dust" (Glidden.) We left the ceiling, trim and doors white. We also painted our master bathroom the "Silver Dust" color. All the "Silver Dust" walls used to be a light tan color that just looked dingy after we painted the accent wall. The "Silver Dust" really brightened up the room and made it look a lot better. I know I've already posted pictures of these pictures but I thought I'd post them again on the painted wall (because it looks so much better and makes them really pop.) The wall they are on looks more grey in the pictures below-the true color is closer to the above picture and the pictures are b&w not sepia...

18x24

24x36

18x24

I'm not really a fan of the whole pink/blue girl/boy colors but those are the colors that were in the kids bedding so those are the colors we ended up painting their rooms...

I actually wanted to go really bold and do a really bright pink on Avery's wall and we tried but it was a disaster... think Pepto Bismol pink. It was so bright, it reflected off the white walls and you could see the pink glow way before even entering her room. Needless to say we found a "softer pink" and redid it. The color we used was "Pink Chintz" (Behr.) We left all the other walls, ceiling, trim and doors white and it looks so soft and girly! She loves it and I guess that's what matters. I did a small collage of b&w photos of her to hang on her wall (they are all done on a 3/4 in. "standout" mount because I didn't want to frame them)...

11x14 (4)

We painted all of Maddy's walls "Waterfall" (Martha Stewart) and left the ceiling, trim and doors white.

11x14 (3/4 in. standout mount)

Maddy wanted a picture of him in his new blue room :)

Avery was sick most of the time we were painting and spent a lot of time sleeping on the couch.

Maddy of course had to be in the middle of it all and help :)

I was at Pro Digital Photos ordering our big family picture for our living room (pictures to come shortly) and the kids were being crazy and touching things. The employee told them he had balloons for them if they were quiet... it worked like a charm and they sat on this chair and didn't make a peep the rest of the time. Maddy asked me to take of picture of them behaving so I took one with my phone...

Cousins' Dallin & Claire's Birthday Party...

Saturday we went to my nephew Dallin and niece Claire's birthday party. It was all about Dragons and Princess's. Aren't the cakes my sister Jamie made for them adorable! Seriously... she stole all the crafty talent in the family! I usually find a way to bribe her into making cakes for my kids birthdays because she does such a great job!

Dallin, the birthday boy who turned seven.

Claire, the birthday girl who turned four.

The kids had to complete "Knight Training" and save the Princess's. Lots of fun activities including killing a dragon...

The girls got tiara's, wands, rings and hair clips.

The boys got swords, crowns, dragon manuals and eye patches. 

Thanks Jamie for such a fun party!

Saturday 3/5/11

School Patriotic Programs...

On Thursday the kids had their Patriotic Programs at school. I love that they are taught this and their performances were so cute. Maddox's class was up first (he's on the bottom row, first one on your left)...

He is still pretty shy but participated a lot more this time. The other day he came up to me and put his hand on his heart and recited the "Pledge of Allegiance" all by himself. I was pleasantly surprised and so proud of him!

Next up was Avery's class (she's on the top row, third one in on your right)...

During her previous school performance (which was also her first one) she didn't sing at all and just stood there. Before she went to school I told her that we were so excited to come watch her sing and I told her to not be afraid and to sing for us and she did... :)

Here are some short videos (I took video of almost all of the performances so there are quite a few)...

Maddy's...

Avery's...

P.S. Some of the pictures were taken with Steve's phone so they aren't the best quality.

Thursday 3/3/11

Little Ninja...

Maddy told me he was a Ninja and that he wanted me to take some pictures of his moves...

Don't you love the belt around his head and his game face!?!

Thursday 3/3/11

Steve's Birthday Celebration...

This past Tuesday was Steve's 38th birthday. We kept things pretty low key and just celebrated as a family when he got home from work...

Maddy was so excited for Steve to open his present from him that he HAD to help him. He also planned months in advance to get him some Ben 10 figures (ones that he doesn't have of course.) Steve couldn't help but laugh and suggested that we "store them" in Maddy's room :)

With Steve's strict diet I knew he wouldn't be up for much cake if any at all, so I bought this little tiny cake and thought it would be funny to put 38 candles on it :D It didn't turn out to be the greatest idea... I couldn't light them fast enough before they started melting all over and burning my hands so I gave up and we sang Happy Birthday to him and then he just blew out the candles I was able to light...

Tuesday 3/1/11

Cousin Jace's Birthday Party...

Last month my nephew Jace turned three. My sister Stacy threw a really cute Toy Story themed birthday party for him. He is obsessed with everything Toy Story and has even given his brother, mom and dad "Toy Story" names. He gets really upset if you call them anything else... it is too cute! Here are some pictures from the party...

Not only did we all get cake and ice cream but everyone got to make their own personal pizza... yummy!

My Dad with Avery and my niece Claire.

Thanks Stacy for hosting such a fun party!

Saturday 2/19/11

Happy Happy Birthday Steve...

Today is Steve's 38th birthday... doesn't he look amazing! I can honestly say he's in better shape today than he's ever been! 

Thanks for being such an amazing husband and father Steve! The three of us love you so so much and are so grateful for everything you do for our little family!

Blog Makeover...

I finally got around to giving my blog a makeover... new header, updated sidebar info. and sidebar pictures. I really love how it turned out and hope you like it too :) Now if I could just get all those broken links on my Playlist fixed :/

Tuesday 2/21/11

Chef's-a-Burning...

After running in the house cold from playing outside...

Maddy: "I'm burning like ice!"

... I'm pretty sure he meant freezing :)

After sucessfully making both he and Avery peanut butter and honey sandwiches all by himself...

Maddy: *sigh* "It's a lot of work being a Chef!"

Tuesday 2/15/11

School Valentines Parties...

The kids were so excited for their school Valentines parties last Tuesday. They made cute heart cookies in their cooking classes and even got to bring one home for Steve and I :) They had parties in their home room classes and came home with some cute valentines and yummy treats.

Tuesday 2/15/11

Our Valentines Day...

We all had a great Valentines Day this year! Steve had these beautiful flowers delivered to me at the house and sent me the sweetest email. He also sent me a hilarious e-card... I will just leave it at that ;) I gave him a gift certificate for 6 laser hair removal treatments... before you laugh just know that he was excited about it because he spends so much time shaving most of his body. I also made this card for him online at Pro Digital Photos and absolutely loved how it turned out so I thought I'd share it...

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Steve also arranged for a babysitter to come over that evening so we could have a date night. We had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Cafe Paesan (you have GOT to try their new Steak flatbread sandwich-seriously to die for) and then went shopping for a frame for the family picture we want to have enlarged.

Earlier in the day the kids and I walked around the neighborhood and delivered Valentines from the kids to some of their friends. It was so cute to see their reactions.

Thanks Steve (and kiddos) for such a wonderful Valentines Day! I love you so much and am so glad your mine forever...

Tuesday 2/14/11

My little Valentine's...

The kids have both been so excited about Valentines Day this year. They picked out their own Valentines (Hello Kitty for Avery and Scooby Doo for Maddy) and got them all ready for their friends. Maddy got lots of practice writing his name and wrote his name on all of them. They took some to their friends and teachers in their church class and to some neighbor friends as well as their school friends. I snapped these pictures of them before heading to church on Sunday because they looked so cute. They insisted on doing this for one of the pictures...

I love them so so much and am so happy they're mine forever!

Sunday 2/13/11

Primary Talk

This past Sunday Maddy gave a talk in Sharing Time at church. He was so excited! I love that he's not afraid and actually looks forward to giving talks and participating in Primary. I teach the class older than him so I'm in Sharing Time when he is. I love being able to watch him participate and learn. Steve wrote the talk for him and then I helped him give it. It just melts my heart hearing his little voice talk about the Gospel. Here is his talk...

Theme: The Scriptures teach of Heavenly Father's Plan

The plan of our Heavenly Father is simple.

 He wants us to return to Him, but first we must work towards becoming like Him. 

We must strive to follow the Commandments. 

We must be kind to others and always be humble. 

If we read our scriptures we will have the Spirit with us which helps guide us to the straight and narrow path. 

This is his work, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. 

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Sunday 2/13/11

NICU Follow Up Appointment...

This past Friday Avery had her NICU Follow up appointment. She sees several different specialists who assess how she is doing developmentally. There are usually lots of kids and it usually takes about four hours. This time however, it wasn't bad at all and we were only there about 1 1/2 hours.

First she saw a Pediatrician who did a full physical exam. She could hear a heart murmur and recommended we see a Cardiologist to make sure it's nothing serious. Most likely it is a Venous Hum that she will just grow out of, but we scheduled an appointment just to be sure. She was really pleased with her physical development and had no other concerns and was amazed that she's never had any ear infections, hospitalizations etc.

Next she saw a Developmental Psychologist. He just did a quick evaluation and will do a long complete evaluation before she starts Kindergarten. He went over colors with her (she knew them all) and also would draw different lines and such and see if she could do the same. She did a great job and is right where she should be.

Last she saw a nurse and had her measurements taken...

Weight = 29.5 lbs. (25%)
Height =  101 cm-just under 40 in. (75%)
Head = 48 cm (25%)

She is growing at a great pace (they were really happy with her numbers-especially considering how small she started out) and jumped in the weight category (previously 10%) and let me tell you, you would never know it but she eats all day long. It's looking like she is going to be tall and lean just like her Daddy.

Friday 2/11/11

Valentines Cupcakes...

Last Wednesday my sisters (Jamie & Stacy) and I got together at Jamie's house for a playdate. In the spirit of Valentines Day Jamie made Red Velvet cupcakes for the kids to decorate. Of course they had lots of fun decorating (and eating) them. Us big girls had lots of fun catching up... It'd been a while.

Thanks Jamie for having us and making the cupcakes!

Wednesday 2/9/11

Minor Surgery...

More medical stuff for my record...

Last Tuesday I had a hysteroscopy done. It is known that I have a bicornuate uterus, but my Dr. doesn't know how severe the inside lining of my uterus is. If it's severe enough or separated by a wall then there probably isn't room for a baby to grow to a full term size. So he recommended doing a hysteroscopy to find out and look for any other abnormalities that might be causing me to miscarry late in the first trimester/early in the second trimester. I've been pregnant 7 times, 3 of those in the last year and a half. I miscarried twice at almost 11 weeks and this last time at almost 16 weeks. It's so frustrating to get through all those weeks of being so sick and such and then have nothing to show for it :(

As far as the procedure goes... I was given some pain medication and "relaxers" to take beforehand and also received a nice shot in the rear right before. Once I was all prepped, I received 4 shots in my cervix (really big ouch) to numb it so they could then manually dilate it. Steve was able to be in the room with me and said that was pretty brutal (luckily I couldn't really see anything.) Once that was complete the Dr. injected a bunch of water (which usually makes the uterus expand so they can see better) and used a scope to go in and take a peek. Unfortunately there was a pretty good sized mass on the top wall of my uterus that was pushing down so far the Dr. couldn't get in far enough to see how severe my bicornuate uterus is. Also the water wasn't helping at all either, my uterus would not expand. He kept pushing up on the mass with the scope (which I could totally see and feel *ouch* poking up through my stomach-I was afraid he was going to poke a hole in it) to try and get in further but it just wasn't happening. He's pretty sure the mass is a fibroid and he didn't want to torture me anymore (while I was awake) so he recommended I have a "operative hysteroscopy" to "shave away" the fibroid and look for and hopefully fix any other abnormalities he may find at that time. It's a more invasive surgery so I'm not real excited about it but I'm glad that we are at least getting some answers and so far they are issues that can be fixed. I have my follow up appointment at the beginning of next month (on Steve's birthday-bummer) and a surgery date will probably be set at that time. They also had me get a pelvic ultrasound (not fun either) the same day (by that point I was so out of it due to the meds. I almost fell asleep) to see if anything else abnormal could be found. We will be discussing those results as well at my follow up appointment. Once I got home I was so tired and out of it that I slept most of the rest of the day. Steve was awesome and took care of the kids, made dinner and woke me up to eat. After eating I laid on the couch for a bit and then went back to bed and slept soundly until the next morning. Recovery wasn't too bad and I didn't end up taking any of the meds. I was sent home with.

Thanks Steve for taking care of everything and being there with me, you are the best!

Tuesday 2/8/11

Haunted House...

The kids were running around pretending they were killing monsters...

Avery: "Maddy, please play house with me!"
Maddy: "We were playing house, we were killing monsters..."
Avery: "But I want you to play house with me."
Maddy: "We did, the house was haunted, now lets finish..."

Monday 2/7/11

Slumber Party...

Lately Maddy has been coming into our room during the night because he says he is either scared, having bad dreams or just doesn't want to be alone in his room. So since we won't let him sleep in our bed he's perfectly happy sleeping on the floor next to our bed. Avery usually wakes up before Maddy in the morning and goes looking for him and this is what I saw when I climbed out of bed one morning...

Such cute faces to wake up to!

Monday 2/7/11

All Packed Up...

Not sure where they were planning on going (they love pretending), but I thought they looked so cute!

P.S. Got to love Maddy's mis-matched jammies/hat combination and Avery's bed head :)

Thursday 2/3/11