Whose Bed is This?

Avie is under the misapprehension that my bed is in fact her bed. I've created a monster, that' s the worst part about this situation. I caused it, and I continue to exacerbate it. Why can't I be one of those mom's that let's their kids cry it out for a couple of nights? I chalk it up to laziness. I've chosen the path of least resistance and now I have to deal with it.
She does look awfully cute all curled up there...doesn't she? That is exactly why I am dealing with this in the first place, I'm not tough enough! Well, until I toughen up maybe Avie will continue to allow Dan and I to share her bed!

11 Months

Avie Jo is 11 months today!

Maybe I haven't mentioned it yet, but this baby is a hand full! She is the epitome of high maintenance. We sure do love her though, she adds so much to this family.

She's the first baby I've had that I don't think will be walking by 1 year. She doesn't seem to have much interest in learning how to walk, plus she just doesn't get put down that much!

Despite, my quest to get her to say "mama" first, she says "dada". She is stubborn, but oh so cuddly. I love this baby!

Fun, Fun, Fun

The whole family got the flu a couple weekends ago. It was pretty yucky stuff, and very contagious! It didn't take long for it to run through the whole family. So being flu free this last weekend, Dan and I wanted to take the kids to do something fun. We thought that bowling would be something that everyone would enjoy. I made the mistake of not calling the bowling ally ahead of time, so we were unaware it was league night. League night on a Friday! Lame! Rayce was pretty beside himself that we couldn't stay and throw big heavy balls to knock stuff down, so we had to think of something else fast. We settled on going to Peter Piper Pizza to play video games. The kids had a lot of fun!

Rayce was so mesmerized by this game, I don't think he once pulled the trigger!
Now, some parents may think this sort of thing is a giant waste of money...and they would be absolutely correct. These places are the biggest rip off in the history of rip offs. Danielle would play these elaborate looking games where the only required action was pushing one button to determine how many tickets you would win. Dan and I had to hold our tongue's the whole night because the kids were having a blast, and sometimes they're worth wasting a little money on.
So $12.50 later we ended up with a plastic slinky, a pair of vampire teeth and a couple of flavored tootsie rolls! Hey, at least they didn't have a ball pit! Am I the only one that is creeped out by ball pits?

Oh My!

For those of you that do not reside in Arizona here are a few pictures of what happens here when it rains a bunch. The ground does not absorb water quickly like in other places, so the water just sits on top of the ground. It's a pretty crazy site. It rained for most of last week, and here was the result:

Danielle wanted to go swimming, and she probably could of!

This is the walkway that runs behind our house.

What a nice little pond? No, this is actually a big grassy area by our house. Well, it's usually a big grassy area.

29

So today was my 29th Birthday. Since I've become a mother, birthday's are not a huge priority. At least not my own birthday. It becomes all about your kids and less about you, which is fine with me. I do have to say it was a great day and my family really made a big deal about it, which made me feel pretty darn special.


Danielle made me breakfast in bed which consisted of two pieces of toast and oj. It was lovely. I came downstairs and Dan had already left for the day, but he left me a single rose, so sweet! What a wonderful family I have. Rayce even said Happy Birthday right before he asked when we would be having cake.

My friend Valerie treated me to a delicious lunch at Chili's, Yum. We also did the whole cake and ice cream thing tonight. I picked out a chocolate cake with Oreo frosting!

My gifts to myself, Gone With the Wind on DVD, and a new yoga mat.

Dan got me this amazing watch! I can't really tell time on it, but isn't fashion supposed to come before function?

Henry

I thought I should take a few moments to remember our fish Henry who died while we were in Utah. We left him with our neighbor who felt horrible that Henry died in his care, but Henry wasn't looking too hot before we left.

He lived almost two years which is pretty good for a Betta. We got him while Dan was in Boston interviewing. Danielle was missing her dad, so we got a fish. Kinda silly, but Henry was a great fish. He survived two moves and Rayce. Pretty tough fish.
Goodbye Henry, we'll miss you.

The Big Event

While we were in Utah Dan had the opportunity to Baptize Danielle. It was a snowy day, but so pretty. We decided to have her Baptism in Sugarhouse, in our old Ward. We feel more at home there than anywhere, and if we return to Utah we can't imagine living anywhere else. The Baptism and Confirmation went smoothly. It was a great day and Danielle looked beautiful of course. I wasn't able to take pictures at the church and we didn't have an open house because we left right after to drive home to Arizona. We stopped for breakfast at the Park Cafe and I took a couple of pictures.

Not So Merry

Right before we left to Utah Avie was put on Amoxicillin for double ear infections. I was hesitant to use it, because Rayce had a horrible allergic reaction to it called Erythema Multiforme. It wasn't your typical allergic rash. It started out looking like hives but progressed to swelling and the "rash" turning into bluish, yellowish, redish welt looking marks all over his poor little body. This is what it looked like:

Well sure enough Avie had the exact same reaction to the medication.

Her brow area was so swollen she looked like Cro Magnon baby. It's one thing to get sick when you are in the comfort of your own home, but it stinks to get sick when your traveling, or to have your kids have an allergic reaction while your traveling. Fortunately for her, her reaction was not nearly as severe as Raycey's. She was still pretty miserable! Next time I think I'll go with my mother instincts.

Just Some More Stuff

Well it was a Christmas miracle, Danielle found my camera in the car (I thought I had looked everywhere). Unfortunately not in time to capture the great gift frenzy, but I'm just grateful it wasn't lost for good. So now I'm playing blog catch up for the last month. Here are some pictures from her Birthday.

Chloe, Danielle, Maddie and Logan.

Who wants cake and ice cream?

A week before Christmas we were able to go see the Mesa Temple Lights. They were fantastic. We didn't get to go last year and I didn't expect them to be as great as they were.

So beautiful!

Rayce and his friend Brighton.

It was so nice to take a break from the busy season to reflect on what Christmas is supposed to be about. I'm grateful that Christ is a part of our Christmas. Merry Christmas!