our crazy christmas week

We had a whirlwind of a week (and there are more festivities to come)! Last minute preparations of shopping, sewing, cooking, and baking, (as well as a few unexpected events) consumed the days leading up to Christmas and after....

Saturday 12/20- Paul, his brother Chris, and my brother Robert (a.k.a. "Bubba") all worked hard to put together the HUGE trampoline that we got for the backyard. Even though we took every precaution to prevent Avery from seeing it (putting it together behind the house, covering the deck banisters with blankets, closing all the blinds, and trying to keep the girls in no view rooms) she still figured out what was going on. She came to me after finding a little hole on the deck that wasn’t covered by blankets, had me get down to her level so she could quietly whisper to me, “I think they are building a bounce house.” I tried to play it off as best I could, but the cover didn’t last long. She came to the conclusion that mommy and daddy got her the trampoline. At least we got to take the credit! We ended up letting her use it a few times before Christmas- in between the rain storms.

Sunday 12/21- Paul’s older brother Chris was ordained an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was a very special event for the whole family as Chris has come back to full activity in the church this past year after a 30+ year period.


Monday 12/22- I finished up my mom's gifts (I made her a family tree and filled a set of wall frames with photos) and wrapped them before she got here. My mom came into town to help with preparations and to spend a little extra time with the girls.

Paul's brother Tim and his family also made it in from Utah. We also had an unexpected visitor....

'Twas three nights before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring EXCEPT for a mouse! I kept hearing something scratching around in the middle of the night and woke Paul up to check it out. The sound would disappear as soon as he turned on the light. We went back to bed, but the scratching resumed. Finally around 4 a.m., Paul emptied all the clothes out of my dresser (haphazardly making a COMPLETE mess that I would later have to deal with), pulled the drawers out and found a little mouse inside the dresser. Paul tried to catch him in a tupperware container, but the little bugger hopped out of the dresser and under a pillow. Paul trapped him and the little guy didn't survive. I was just happy to go back to sleep (for a very brief time) sans scratching noises.


Tuesday 12/23- Despite my exhaustion from the lack of sleep the night before, and with my mom's help, I got most of the sewing projects done that I had planned for gifts. The aprons I made for my girls and all the nieces turned out great. I got the inspiration HERE. I LOVED theirs, but did not have $28 to spend on an apron for each girl, so I tried to recreate them myself. They are not perfect, but for a total of about $6 per apron I think they turned out pretty good.

Wednesday 12/24 (Christmas Eve)- We took the girls out to see Santa (at the Mission in downtown SLO) so they could give him their last-minute requests. Avery told us ahead of time that she would stand next to Santa for a picture, but she would not sit on his lap. I had to get in the picture too, but there was no screaming or crying involved which was a dramatic improvement over years past. Then we also took a ride on the carousel, which Avery LOVED and Finley wanted absolutely NO part of- she had fun watching Avery from the side-lines.

Paul's parents reserved their community clubhouse for Christmas Eve dinner and festivities. When we got there, there was no electricity! The power came back on just about the time that we pushed all the tables together under the emergency flood lights to eat our pizza and salad. We ended up having a wonderful time all together exchanging gifts and letting the kids run around (Avery, Audrey and Finley running around screaming while the older girls sat back and watched).

We got home late, let the girls open one present (pjs and slippers), put them down for bed, and set up to do the last of the wrapping. We didn't get far before Finley woke up screaming. We tried letting her cry it out, but after 30 minutes (and a house full of people trying to sleep) it was obvious she was not going to go back to sleep on her own. Nothing would calm her down- I offered her food, held her, rocked her, read a book, took her into our bed and turned on a movie- with no avail. Finally I had Paul drive her around to look at Christmas lights so I could get the rest of the wrapping done. She ended up falling asleep in the car and I was able to transfer her to our bed (I did not want to risk another screaming fit in the middle of the night) without further problem.

Thursday 12/25 (Christmas Day)- We got up, (not too early since Finley was tired from her crying fit) and opened presents with our family, my mom, Larry, and Bubba (my brother Robert). The girls had fun- Avery really got the present opening thing this time around. She just wanted to open more and more asking constantly, "what can I open next?!"

We had a nice relaxed morning, until....
the crazy wind gusts threw our brand new trampoline into the side of the house, broke an exterior light fixture, and busted the trampoline and enclosure completely. Paul and Larry had to go outside in the heavy wind, pouring rain, and muddy mess of a yard to try to tame the beast before it did more damage. They ended up taking off the enclosure and turning the trampoline upside down so that it wouldn't be able to take flight again. You can only imagine how happy Paul was during all of this. The brand new trampoline that he, just 5 days earlier, spent several hours putting together just broke- before we were really even able to enjoy it! Plus, he was wet, cold, and muddy to boot. I didn't hear any profanities while inside so I thought he was doing pretty good, but he assured me that he did let a few escape his lips during the ordeal. I was pretty upset myself- the idea of spending that $ again to replace something we just bought made me absolutely sick to my stomach. We are going to try taking it apart and take it back to Walmart to see what they will do- I am pretty sure they will take it back?! I hope! But, that just means that Paul will have to take it apart and put a new one together! All we can do now is laugh and do what needs to be done.

My mom and I prepared our Christmas dinner and the troops all gathered at our house that evening. The main topic of conversation of the night was names for baby girl #3- everyone was giving suggestions (except Paul of course). I don't know if we are any closer to narrowing it down, but we got a few good ideas to add to the list.

Friday 12/26- My mom and I resumed sewing as well as finished up baking cookies and making treats that we didn't get a chance to make before Christmas before she and Larry left to go home and we packed up to drive to L.A. for the night.

Saturday 12/27- The girls and I hung out at the hotel, watching the airplanes land and watching movies while Paul went with ALL his siblings, mom and dad to the L.A. temple. Chris was going through the temple for the first time. What a momentous occasion! Lee and Harvey had all their children in the temple with them! I would have loved to be there, but I am so happy that they had that opportunity and were all able to support Chris in this exciting event.

We then gathered with the extended White family to visit with Paul's grandma- Grandma GG, who recently moved back down to Glendale from her senior living center here in San Luis Obispo. I got to meet Paul's cousins that I have never met in the 8 years we have been married. We also got to meet the "other" Avery that we had heard so much about. One of Paul's cousins had a little girl they named Avery, just 2 months after our Avery was born. All the kids were tired, but we got a few pictures before we loaded up in the car and headed home!

Whew! What a week! And the fun continues...tomorrow the other side of Paul's extended family are coming to visit for the day. We will be having a big lunch gathering at our house, after the boys get back from their golf excursion. We are also gearing up for my dad, my brother David, and his girlfriend Mary to get here tomorrow evening. They will be here for the week, which will also be full of activity- watching the Oregon Ducks in their bowl game, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day (watching football- blah) another round of gift exchanging, and hanging out. Plus, I have a couple of photoshoots scheduled! Busy, busy, busy!

what we will NOT be naming baby girl #3

It has been brought to my attention by several people (my dad included- how does he know these things?!) that Angie Harmon (of Law and Order fame) and her NFL player husband Jason Sehorn have 2 girls- Finley and Avery- just like we do?! Yes, I am VERY aware of this. This was not done intentionally- in my defense, we had an Avery and a Finley before their Avery was born.... I am just saying. When I heard they were expecting again (which was also brought to my attention over and over again) I was bound and determined to wait to see what they named their new addition before we got too set on a name of our own. I just saw HERE that they welcomed baby girl #3 into the world today and her name is Emery Hope. So, just to clarify- we will NOT be naming our baby girl #3 Emery. It is a cute name, but we will be going with something else- I don't know what yet, but rest assured Emery is off our list. I was thinking seriously about Emerson, but I think that might be too close?!

Now, the serious contemplation and discussion can begin- suggestions welcome! I just have a few requirements- it can't start with the letters P, M, A, or F, I would prefer a name that doesn't end in y, and I would like to use Bailey (my maiden name) as her middle name. Any ideas?

2008 in review

Our Christmas cards have been sent- FINALLY!

In lieu of an update letter within the card itself, I just included our blog address. I thought I would just post a quick year in review for those wanting quick access to the highlights....

1. We continued, and for the most part, completed our REMODEL. We still have no yard, but the house is done. There is still a garage of boxes waiting to be unpacked (things we have lived 2 years without?! at this point do we really need it all?) I must say that while we have other forms of craziness and stress, I am VERY happy not having to deal with construction, dust, noise, etc.. anymore! Yahoo!

2. FINLEY turned 1 in February. She has continued to grow in stature and attitude. She loves to do anything and everything her big sister does (when she is in a good mood- when she is not in a good mood she wants NOTHING to do with Avery). Finley is talking up a storm as of late. Her favorite phrase is "baby tummy" pointing to my growing belly or while lifting up my shirt to show me (and everyone else).

3. We celebrated AVERY's 3rd birthday in March. She has grown up so much this year. She loves being a helper- especially in the kitchen. She also tries to discipline Finley, but Finley doesn't really accept Avery as an authority figure. Avery also started preschool in March (at the same preschool Paul went to - with the same teacher) and LOVES it! It has been great for her!

4. We went on a White family vacation to Disney World and on a Disney Cruise in April, which was an amazing experience. Avery was at the PERFECT age and loved every minute.

5. Avery "graduated" from Tiny Tigers for the 1st time. She will have a couple more of these before she actually moves on to kindergarten, but it was fun none the less- she looked so cute in her little graduation cap!

6. The girls and I spent almost the entire month of July in Oregon with my dad. Paul joined us up there in Harrisburg for the Old-Fashioned 4th of July festivities, which is always my favorite place to be on the 4th! We had a great time spending time with family and friends.

7. Paul and I celebrated our 8th anniversary in August. I can't believe it has been 8 years! Crazy! It feels like just yesterday and forever ago all at the same time.

8. I turned 29 in September! Wow!

9. Paul turned 31 in October! We really are getting old- or at least he is!

10. Avery was Snow White for Halloween, Finley was the wicked queen, and Paul was the prince... all Avery's idea. Very cute! Avery has already decided she is going to be Elastigirl (from the Incredibles) next year. We love Halloween in our house- any excuse to dress up!

11. As previously elluded to we found out the first week of December that we will be adding BABY GIRL #3 to our family in late April/early May 2009. We are very excited for our new addition. As of yet, no name has been decided upon- we are struggling this time around to find a name we both like. Paul does not really make any suggestions, he just shoots down all of mine. Thankfully we have several more months to come up with something.

12. Since I have nothing else going on, and wanted to add a little excitement to our lives, I started a photography business- just in time for the Christmas card photo rush! I have been really busy and have gained a lot of experience over the past month- thanks to all who answered the call! I have been having so much fun! A lot of other things have been neglected as a result, but it has been fun none the less!

As you can see, 2008 has been a great, CRAZY, fun-filled year in our house! I think we might have even more craziness in the year ahead! I have come to accept that life just is that way- we are just trying to enjoy the ride! Stay tuned!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

I have been so busy with photoshoots, working on getting everyone their photos in time to get Christmas cards out, atttending Christmas parties, and dealing with a house full of sickies that things have been kind of CRAZY around here! Almost no shopping has been done, none of the gifts I am planning on making have been started, our Christmas cards are designed, but not printed, envelopes have not yet been addressed, and until today the only decorations we had up was a tree with just lights on it. I finally just TOOK some time to get the house (and us) in the holiday spirit.

I wanted to bring a little merry here also, so here is our Christmas-y header!

Ahh, that's better. We are getting there! Now, if there were just a few more hours in the day to get everything else done! I can't believe there are only 14 days before Christmas! YIKES! So much to do! Next year my goal is to have my cards finished and mailed as well as all my gifts bought/made, and wrapped by Dec. 1 to alieviate all this stress! One of these days I will learn! In the meantime, we will just go with it- CRAZY and all! What else is there to do? Smile, breathe, and enjoy!

Christmas-y fun!

I got this link for personalized Christmas stories from my friend Cheryl's blog today. It is most definitely worth checking out. I printed the "Elf for A Day" story personalized for Avery and we read it at bedtime tonight. It was a complete hit! She LOVED hearing her name as part of the story. It really was a cute little story and a fun Christmas activity. There are several stories, including the one we did, that you can personalize and print out. Plus, there are a lot of other fun activities for kids on the site like sending a letter to Santa, making holiday postcards, games, coloring pages to print, and more... all for FREE! Love that! Just click on Santa above to go to the main page where all the options are listed.

I think with all of these Christmas activities I have found my saving grace to help Avery stay busy and entertained during these few weeks without her normal Tiny Tiger outlet (it is the beginning of a new quarter at the high school- new students/teachers have to be trained before the kids can come back. So, I have a VERY restless 3 year old on my hands). Thank you Cheryl for sharing this link!

the wait is over... 2 + 1 =

We have all been waiting with baited breath around here for the past 18 weeks to find out if this new baby would break the White Family string of girls (there are 6 granddaughters and 0 grandsons on Paul's side of the family). Today- after waiting an hour in the waiting room (seriously?! as if I wasn't nervous enough), we discovered that our baby looks healthy and all is well (which was my main concern) and, we are sticking with tradition and are having yet another White GIRL to add to the bunch... this will make 7 (3 for us).

To be honest, we weren't all that surprised (or at least I wasn't) that we are having a girl . So far, my pregancy has been almost identical to my other two- same severity and duration of sickness, etc... Plus, Avery has been saying all along that she was going to have another baby sister. She never faltered from that story. She was right! I am pretty sure she knew. Plus, the doctor did say (before the ultrasound began) that having several children of a single gender is an indication that there is a biological/mechanical reason behind it, making it more likely to have another of the same gender. There must be some truth to that for us!

When baby girl #3 revealed herself today, Paul just laughed and shook his head. I really think he took the news better this time than he did last time. After reality sunk in and the hopes of producing a tall NBA basketball player slipped away yet again (I am pretty sure he is dreaming- even if we did have a boy), he was happy. He truly LOVES his girls and they adore him. We are both just excited to be adding another healthy baby to our family. We would, of course, love to have a boy, but in this economic climate, it might prove to be a great blessing that we are having another girl this time around. We really have enough baby girl clothes to clothe a small nation and enough pink to go around. We should be set. Regardless, we are very excited and look forward to meeting baby girl #3 in April/May! Now the hard part begins... agreeing on a name! That can be a most difficult task for us! Any suggestions?!