Growing Family

Well we thought it was time to go public with our little announcement. We will be welcoming another little girl to our family....February 8th. We thought we might get a boy this time but I guess we are really good at making girls:)

We did not tell the girls till our ultrasound and when Avery found we were having a baby she was pretty excited but determined to get her baby brother. When the ultrasound technician told us it was a girl Avery told her she was wrong and that she had been praying for a baby brother. She pouted for a little while and eventually got over it. Now she has been telling everyone she is going to have another baby sister.

Our Little Family

My little cuties. We had to take these pictures on a cold windy day. Their little noses were so red and runny but we made it through and the girls looked so adorable.

Avery came home from school the other day and informed me that we need to buy some drums. This was our conversation...
Avery: "Mom you need to buy some drums...ok."

Me: "Uhh why?"

Avery: "Because my friend Kayden wants to come over and play some drums....and we don't have any for him to use."

Me: "Why does he want to play drums at our house and why can't he buy his own?"

Avery:....rolls her eyes and says..."Mom Kayden and I are forming a band and he wants to play the drums and i want to play the keyboard....so you need to go to the store and buy them..ok!"

Me: "Ya that is not happening....our house it too small for your band practice."

Avery: "So lets just move to a bigger house so I can have a band."

I got to hand it to her...she makes a good argument :)

Homework time

I watch Matt's cousins a few times a week and the other day after school I found the girls working hard on their computers. Sam and Avery were watching Justin Beiber (not sure if i spelled that right) music videos and Hailey and Morgan were working hard on their homework. For some reason this little scene cracked me up.

P.S. Not a fan of this Justin B. and I especially hate that his stupid face is on 50% of the little girls clothing. Trying to clothes shop for a five year old was tough we had the choice of Justin B., Hello Kitty, or a plain old T-shirt. I had to buy half of her clothes online to avoid this little problem.

My first cake

This was a cake that I made for a friend. It was her daughters 12th birthday and she asked me to make a cake for it. The only thing her daughter really requested was the lime green color. So I went for a lime green zebra print made out of homemade fondant. The top layer was supposed to kind of look like a cheetah print. I did it out of buttercream frosting because I was worried not everyone would love fondant. The little cheetah spots I made out of chocolate as well as the number 12 on top of the cake. The stars were made out of fondant as well. I also made the cake stand.
I didn't realize how heavy this sucker was until we went to drop it off. My arms were burning from holding it for the 15 minute drive. But it was a fun experience and I think the birthday girl liked it...so that made all the hard work worth it. I see people do this stuff on TV or online all the time and you don't realize that it is time consuming.

School Time

It is official I now have a kindergartner. It was so much fun going school shopping with her and getting everything ready for the big day....and when that day arrived I am not sure who was more excited ...me or her.

So we got her all ready...she had picked out her outfit the night before...and we took some quick pictures before we walked over to the school. But before we could leave her grandma Berry came over to get some pictures. Avery started to get a little impatient and with hands on her hips she says "Mom we really need to get going, I really don't want to be late."

I was amazed how ready she was for all of this. She went up and introduced herself to her teacher....I saw other kids in her class hanging on their mothers legs with tears in their eyes and I wondered if she should be a little more nervous.

The next day I dropped her off a little earlier so she could eat breakfast at the school. I asked her if she needed my help getting her situated and she instantly said "No mom, you can just stay in the car I know how to do it." I love her independent spirit. But most of all I love having her gone most of the day....I don't mean that to sound bad...but she is so much happier and I am more productive. So all in all ........we are loving school.

Stanford Grad

This is also old news but my amazing sister graduated from Stanford this spring with her masters. There were 8 people total in her program and they were all so talented.
My sisters....on just graduated and is now traveling the world and the other is experiencing the adventures of a newly wed.
To celebrate the occasion I was able to stay and hang out with Jenni for a week and enjoy the life of luxury....with no kids and no worries. We played rock band...shopped...ate...hung by the pool...ate....and ate some more.

Blog Updates

So I have tried many times to upload these pictures....and then months went by and I am trying again. So this is old news but Josh went on his mission. He is doing so good. He loves his mission and he is working really hard....which surprised us all :)
Hailey at Avery's T-ball game. She really wanted to get in there and play with her big sister.
Avery and her T-ball buddy. Watching her team play was funny and frustrating all at the same time. When the ball was hit they would all run after it and then dog pile on one another. I am hoping next year she might get the concept of the game.

I am going "insane"

Just started a new workout program called Insanity. After 6 months of P90x I was not seeing the results I had hoped for...and the routine was feeling a little old. So my friend and I decided we would switch gears and try this more cardio based series. So far we have done one week and it sucks...in a good way...it kicks my butt...I am literally drenched in sweat after a workout. I am hoping it will help me reach my goal..... to look like a hot black guy with ripped abs...just kidding.....I am just hoping to get in better shape.

5 years old

I can't believe I have a five year old. She is getting so big it is hard to remember all her cute baby stages. This last week seemed like a big step for us. We had her birthday, she started tee ball, and we had to sign her up for kindergarten. She was so excited when she found out she would be eating school lunch and getting her own locker. I was excited when I found out they were offering full day kindergarten!
I over dosed on cake this week. Cake and frosting is my Achilles hill...I love it.....so much that sometimes I get that weird urge to just...smash my face in it...ya I know... that sounds a little disturbed.
"Holy Crap....a bike"


Avery got a bike for her birthday from Gma and Gpa Berry. She loves it...every morning she goes out to check on it. Our friends gave her a little bell and every morning I hear her ringing that little bell. Now if it would quit snowing we could go out and ride.

Milestones

Ok so i really do hate posting pictures of myself. My kids and Matt are so much cuter and interesting but I thought I would document this milestone. My whole life I have never been happy with my weight and after having two kids...I hate my weight. Throughout my life I have always made goals to loose weight but now i am finally doing it.

So I realized that I can not live like many other women. I can not have a baby and then just magically be at a good weight again. I will have to exercise and diet my whole life. So a few months ago my good friend and I started working out...and we do P90X six days a week.

So far I have lost almost twenty pounds...and I have about 25 more to go...but it is a start and I am finally changing my lifestyle. So loosing the weight has been great and I really hope to loose a lot more...but best of all I have been happier and felt healthier. I have also gained a great friend...which is probably one of the best gifts of all.

My little cuties

Avery loves to have her picture taken.....the kid loves the camera....
Yeah she clearly gets her attitude from her dad.
I swear this is what we have to do after every meal. Hailey has to feed herself and she is constantly messy. Just to prove again that she really is my child....this girl loves chocolate...I mean she loves it. She is a picky eater but she will eat anything with chocolate on it....which happens to be all over her face in this picture.
Hailey...like her mom loves shoes. She loves to prance around the house in any shoe she finds laying around. Most people probably do not know I have a secret love for shoes. Although my collection is smaller then I would like due to my budget ...and my freakishly large feet...hopefully my girls will not inherit this. But I love to see all the new styles and have seriously contemplated cutting off my toes just so I could fit into a normal size:)

When do we go sledding?

My favorite time to go sledding....spring. Ya we have winter about 6 months out of the year....and I absolutely hate the cold. So when it kind of starts to warm up I let the girls go out and play.
Avery loves the snow....which is great...snow is fun for kids.....well most kids.
Hailey is definitely my child...she was not digging the cold and the sledding.
My cute little bundle...who did not like being bundled up at all. She hated being in that snow suit.

Valnetines Day

Ya i know this post is way old...but I thought I would add it anyway. So I love to cook....it has become a fun hobby and challenge. So instead of going out to eat on V-day Matt and i just had a quiet evening at home. But instead of buying him chocolates....I mad him his favorite....cake pops...or in this case cake bites. They are delicious morsels of cake and chocolate and icing....and pretty much just pure goodness.

For dessert....creme brulee....one of Matt's favorites.
Steak with an herb infused butter, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. It was pretty yummy and a lot cheaper then going out. The only bad thing...you have to do the dishes:)

My Girls

So the last few years I have been coaching high school girls basketball and this year it seemed to really consume me. I am the JV coach and I love it. I had some great girls but we had a lot of work to do. Unfortunatley my girls got to this high school level without being taught a lot of the basic fundamentals.....I worked them over and was constantly pushing them and they improved and really became disciplined. One of my highlights was when we came back from a thirty point deficit at half time to barley loose by two too South Fremont. Although it is crappy pay and stressful.... I love my job.
My little team. We started with eight but mid way through the season my starting point guard was moved to varsity so.....my team adapted and we made it through with seven girls.....some games we only had five due to sickness and foul trouble.
My biggest fans. Matt and the girls were at almost all of are games cheering us on. Matt is so supportive during the season and puts up with a lot. The late nights discussing the games or how to improve my team.....driving to all the games....packing the girls around....dealing with my stress....he was a champ through it all. Matt was such a big support in so many ways....he always had my back especially when we were stuck with crappy refs. Even from the top of the bleachers i could hear him cussing out the refs.
My girls decked out in their Teton gear. Win or loose Avery always said "Mommy you did great I am so proud of you." Ahhh pretty cute.
So this picture is to document me actually sitting in my seat. I usually stand most of the game and pace....and yell....:)

Our little Family

One of my favorite times of the day is... well when my kids are asleep. I know that sounds bad but I love just having a litttle peace and quiet. Latley Matt has been working like crazy....we rarley see him and when he comes home he eats and sleeps. The other day I asked him to hold Hailey while I get a few things done...and this is what I found.....
I love my childrens faces when they sleep...all cute and innocent.....even though moments before they were screaming and getting into things...or leaving me little presents in the bathtub. Ya Hailey just did that to me the other day....It was the first time I had to clean a nasty out of the bathtub....I didn't handle it very well. I almost puked.
Hailey loves her baby dolls which is really cute....what is not so cute is when she tries to poke out their eyes....oh well I am sure that is normal....Right?
Having winter for 5-6 months out of the year can be very depressing....especially when my kids keep getting sick. So we have to mix things up and find fun things we can do in the house...because going out and playing in a blizzard is not an option. So we occasionally build tents and of course watch lots of movies.
Avery's kitty is a hit with the girls. Hailey loves it and goes crazy when she sees him. Avery has changed the cats name about 20 times but I think we are finally settled on rascal. By the way this cat is not tame and it scares me when the girls want to pet it. But it still climbs on to our roof...and the other day I was trying to get Hailey to eat her lunch, but she was so distracted. She kept laughing and pointing at the ceiling. It took me awhile to realize the cat was looking down at us through the sky light. Our very own peeping tom:)

Update on the girls

What is it like having two girls you may ask..........uhmmm lots of screaming. Avery loves being a big sister and although she may seem cute and girly....she loves to wrestle....and Hailey just happens to be the perfect victim. She loves to torment her.....and although Hailey is learning to stand up for herself I just want a day without.....screaming.
Avery modeling one of her Christmas outfit. She loves having her picture taken....especially if we are taking pictures of Hailey.

More wrestling = more screaming.
Ohh our little Hailey....she is almost 17 months old and a very unique child. She loves to cuddle and when Avery is not messing with her she rarely makes a peep. When she is not sick or teething (she is getting eight teeth in right now...not fun) she wanders around the house or plays with toys. When she doesn't feel good she is a monster and wants to be held every second. She is also a picky eater and wont eat anything but noodles, rice or treats.

Hailey loves to watch people and observe. She has been that way since she was born and she knows just what faces to make or things to do to get you to laugh. She is very tender hearted and when I tell her "no" she gets very upset. I think she will easier to discipline then Avery though. :)