Utah Escapades

Paul had a conference up in Bountiful, Utah this past week, so the girls and I tagged along! We broke the 12 hour drive up into 2 days up and 2 days back, stopping in Las Vegas each way. All I have to say about driving long distances with children is... THANK HEAVENS for DVD players! Poor little Finley is still not 20 lbs and therefore was unable to be turned forward facing for this trip (we were going to turn her anyway...what difference does 3 lbs make really?, but our police officer friend said we could be investigated and thrown in jail if anything were to happen- that scared us a little so we decided to follow the letter of the law)... she had to crane her neck to see the screen. I think she got more than a little tired of looking at the back of the seat for hours on end. There were a few moments during the endless hours of driving that I thought we would all go crazy, but for the most part everyone did pretty good- we made it there and back in one piece, so that says something! We have had a bit of hard time adjusting back to Pacific time with daylight savings time on top of that. We have all been a little sleepy since we have been home .

The girls and I did a lot of additional driving all over the Salt Lake Valley while Paul was at his conference during the day. In the evenings we would pick up Paul and head back out for dinner with friends and/ or family. We were busy, busy the whole time (living on NO SLEEP because little miss Finny was waking up SEVERAL times each night for who knows why), but we really had a great time!

We spent a couple of fun days with an old friend of mine from Oregon Girl's State, who also was one of my roommates at BYU, and then a bridesmaid in my wedding- we figured out we have been friends for 13 years now! I just LOVE her- she is one of those friends that no matter how long it has been, we can pick up as if no time has past. Anyway, Kelli and her two kiddos (with #3 on the way) showed us some fun things to do in Salt Lake. We went to a great discovery museum, which Avery just loved! I am in awe of how family friendly it is up there- EVERYTHING is geared towards kids (which is really not all that surprising given the sheer number of families with children in the area, but still).

We also had a great time with another friend Kelly (this one was a SLO 3rd ward friend going back 10 1/2 years... it is still crazy to think how quickly time goes by). We had fun hanging out, catching up, drinking smoothies (as you can see from Finley's smoothie mustache), and going shopping at some very fun places that we don't have here in San Luis Obispo, or even in California for that matter. Avery had a great time playing with Kelly's daughter Cate! I also was privileged enough to see Kelly's amazing Etsy wares up close and personal- she is amazingly creative and crafty. Take a look at her shop HERE. The next day, Kelly took some family pictures of us around temple square in Salt Lake. I can't wait to see how they turned out... she is truly gifted! Check out some of her other photo shoots.

So much fun to visit, but I am still not convinced I could live there.

It was WAY too cold for me, though it probably didn't help that I left my coat sitting on our bed at home!?

Strollin' Along

Finley is sooooooo very close to walking. She is starting to take a few steps on her own, but then quickly drops into a crawl if she is actually trying to get somewhere. If she has anything to hold onto (even something awkward and unstable like an empty doll stroller) she just cruises along. At this point I think her biggest hang up is confidence. Avery is having a great time cheering her on (as you can see from the video)... but she also wants her moment as well (she pretends that she is learning to walk too and will tip toe across the room then fall into our arms, or demand a turn to be captured on video "practicing" her walking skills and then RUN to come see the footage).

Good Times

family+ friends + pizza + a cupcake cake + ice cream + lots of candy + balloons + cupcake decorating + kids running around screaming like banchees + eating too much = GOOD TIMES!

A BIG thank you to everyone who was able to come help us celebrate Finley's 1st birthday!

Birthday Baby

Finley is 1 year old today! It has been a crazy year, but it has been so much fun to watch Finley grow and see her personality emerge. It is so amazing to me how much they change in a year's time. It has gone by so quickly!

Finley was a pretty mellow baby, but has developed into a fiesty little pistol over the past few months. I am writing this as she is SCREAMING in her room trying to go down for a nap. She does not back down easily. I have really had to learn how to stand my ground, which has been hard. This has been a whole new experience for me. Each of the girls has come with their own personalities. Finley is as stubborn as all get out... my good gracious!

• Things she likes: feeding herself, watching her sister be silly, playing with anything electronic (namely remotes and phones of all shapes and sizes), being held, cuddling, playing with whatever Avery is playing with (much to Avery's dismay), chasing after the "bigger" kids, books, climbing (stairs, chairs, stools, or anything that stands still), "exploring"
• 
  Things she does NOT like: being fed, taking a bottle/cup, sleeping, being attacked by her sister, facing backward in her carseat (she still has 3 lbs to gain before she can turn around), diaper changes, being forced to do anything against her EXTREMELY stubborn will

We love everything that is YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FINLEY!

Be Mine

Clean Slate!

Now that the inside of the house is almost done (that darn fireplace is STILL causing hang-ups) we are moving on to the outside portion of the remodel. The siding is almost all torn off now, and over the weekend, the front yard was torn out as well to improve water drainage AWAY from the house (instead of INTO the house). Avery and Finley sat and watched for hours (with a few wrestling matches in between) as our friend Billy drove the backhoe and bulldozer past the front window, taking down trees, ripping out bushes, pushing dirt around. They thought is was GREAT fun!

After it was done, Avery looked out the window and said, "Look, all clean!" Actually, our front yard is now one big mud pit, which is anything BUT clean, but I understand what she was getting at. It is a clean slate!

Tender Mercy

I need to write this down for my own benefit and this is the easiest place for me to do that...

We have all been so sick this past week- especially Finley. She has not let me put her down for even a minute without SCREAMING! I completely understand that she doesn’t feel good (she has a double ear infection, sore throat, and a horrible cough), but my patience has been wearing thin, none the less. Plus, Avery doesn’t feel good either, but my attention is so completely consumed by Finley that she is not getting the TLC she needs. So, the weekend SHOULD HAVE BEEN somewhat of a relief, to have Paul home and another set of hands around to help tend to the little sickos. Unfortunately, Paul was dealing with house stuff Saturday morning and then had to tend to church responsibilities and go to Santa Barbara all afternoon/night. He got home at midnight, had to be at the church Sunday by 7 a.m. for meetings, and won’t be home until 1:30 p.m. or so this afternoon. So, my usual weekend reprieve vanished before my eyes. Usually I am (or at least try REALLY hard to be) completely supportive of Paul in all of his duties and responsibilities, but yesterday I was just frustrated. I didn’t think I could make it through one more day cooped up in the house, tethered to runny noses, syringes of antibiotics (that get spit back in my face most of the time), and a near constant stream of tears. I did get a couple hours to myself, thanks to Gramma Lee, who came over and read stories, sang songs, and played with the girls while I just got out and drove around. I was quite renewed when I came home, but that only lasted a minute or two. Then the crying started up again. Nothing I could do seemed to settle Finley down; not even a little bit. Paul called to tell me they got down to Santa Barbara ok and see how we were doing. He could hear Finley screaming into the phone, so he knew the answer to his question…. I was just barely hanging on.

Now, here is my whole point in writing this…
While Finley was screaming, and I was barely maintaining my sanity, Avery was perfectly content in my room watching Ratatouille. I sat Finley down (you would have thought I had just set her on a bed of hot coals the way she was wailing) so that my bladder didn’t explode. I walked back into my room and found Avery asleep on my bed at 5:00 p.m.! Usually, a nap this late would have been a disaster! Avery would wake up cranky, yet refuse to go to bed and it would just be a struggle all night. This night however, Avery woke up (cranky) but asked to go to her bed and go to sleep. I put a pull- up diaper on her (we still use those only at night for precautionary measures- even though she continually wakes up dry), put her under the covers, kissed her, and shut the door (all while Finley was howling in the other room). I didn’t hear another peep out of Avery until the morning. Heavenly Father must have known that I was at my wits end and that I couldn’t deal with both of the girls screaming, crying, and whining at the same time (at least not today). So, He blessed me with the gift of a child that decided on her own to go to bed at 5 p.m. Finley kept me on my toes until 9 p.m. or so when she finally settled down, but I managed to hold on. Heavenly Father recognized and took care of my needs while Paul was away. I just needed to acknowledge that for myself, so I can look back at this the next time I feel this way.

In a talk given by Kathleen H. Hughes (First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency) titled Remembering the Lord’s Love, she says,

“There are times when you are fearful, when the stress and busyness of life seem
to overwhelm you, when you feel adrift from the Spirit. Perhaps you even feel as
though you have been abandoned. When I encounter those feelings, the best
antidote is my memory of the moments when Christ’s peace has come to strengthen
me.”

I am putting this memory in my pocket to pull out when I need to feel Heavenly Father’s love and peace again.

My little mirror

I was putting Avery to bed last night and she was just chatting away (trying to postpone the inevitable lights out). She started talking about her birthday and how she will be 3 years old…one of her favorite topics as of late. The following conversation ensued….

Avery: I want a BLUE birthday.
Me: How about a blue and GREEN birthday?! Your birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day, so you have to wear green so that no one will pinch you.
Avery: Do BLUE and GREEN match?!
Me: (trying very hard not to laugh at her most serious question)….yes honey, blue and green match.... they look good together.
Avery: Ok, then I want a blue and green birthday.

That is my excuse for not letting her wear her black shoes with her brown dress or a purple clip in her hair when her outfit is all pink…. “Sorry honey, but it doesn’t match.” I am probably a little obsessive about it and apparently it is rubbing off on Avery! It is always funny to me to hear her spout off things that I say or do things that I do (without realizing I say or do them OFTEN). For good, or bad, children truly are little mirrors!