Buh-Bye

I'm off to Texas for the next 9 days. If you are looking for some play time with Kathryn and Avery, you will just have to wait until after May 2nd. Joe, however, will be here. So if kindness or compassion drive you, feel free to call him up and invite him over for dinner since he will be living on frozen pizza and hot dogs until I get back!

Teach Them in Their Youth

Who does she take after, do you think? Do I even have to say out loud that this is my proudest moment so far as a parent? Never mind she tries eating it 5 seconds later, for a minute she really seemed like she wanted to read what was on those precious pages. Ahhh, the love of books. A quality passed on from generation to generation.

Happy Birthday, Anndalyn!

Another birthday this week! And so, another excuse to bake a cake! This time it was my friend Anndalyn's birthday. This is the girl who is helping me learn how to sew and use her machine. Her husband was out of town and she wanted to practice her smoothie skills on her new blender so we got a few people together to have a little BBQ and other fun foods gathering at the Hutchison's house. The smoothies were a total success! Peaches, yogurt, OJ, and some banana. What could be tastier? Mmmm, how about some cake?

Okay, it might not have been tastier than the smoothies, but I have never been so excited about a cake that I have baked before. Let me just hint at the deliciousness that I was anticipating. White cake, three layers, strawberries and whip cream with...wait for it...cream cheese! Oh, my goodness! It was a delicious night! Hooray for Cook's Illustrated Magazine for the delicious recipes!

In the end there was just too much good food to eat, and there was lots of good conversation to be had. Thanks to the Hutchison's for letting us party at their place, and Kelli for planning the big hooplah! I love a good birthday party! Who's next?

Indulge Me

As if 3 birthday parties wasn't enough, I have been indulging all week in my weakness for young adult literature. Specifically, I have been reading a TON of fantasy books. Old favorite Tamora Pierce has supplied much of my reading, while I have discovered Cassandra Clare and am getting to Trenton Lee Stewart (not fantasy, but still YA). I generally try to make my readings cover a large spectrum. I try to infuse some adult fiction and non-fiction into my list of things to read. I take people's recommendations and try to find grown-up stuff on my own. But the month of April, and probably December, is mine to indulge all I want in stories that have witches, wizards, mages, orcs, the fair folk, vampires, and magical runes. And when I get a stack of books I'm excited about, I think I go through a book a day. Truly, a book a day until I run out of my birthday, or Christmas, presents that came bound in a pretty cover. I've learned to nurse, cook, and clean while I read. If Avery is asleep, I have 1-2 hours of uninterrupted reading. After she is in bed, I read until Joe makes me turn the lights out. I love April and December.

Happy Birthdays!

Today is my real birthday. After a couple of parties and many cakes, today is the real thing. It is also my sister-in-law Kristy's birthday! Kristy is married to my brother Dave and is the newest member of our family. (If you aren't counting Lola the dog.) I love birthdays to celebrate people's lives so HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTY!

Easter

What can I say? A sick baby kept us from church (we watched some General Conference talks that we had missed online instead). We went to the Jackson's for some tasty food. Have you ever had orzo salad? YUM! We took family pictures, and we had a mini-celebration for my birthday. More cake! I received a gift card to Barnes and Noble and another to Amazon. More books! What a good day.

Birthday Bocce Books

It is not my birthday yet, I know, but, I have had 2 birthday parties already! This is mostly because I was supposed to be out of town for my real birthday, but also because I like to drag out birthday festivities (and by this I mean excuses to buy cake) as long as I can. On Friday we gathered with a few friends for food and some bocce. That's right, bocce. I LOVE this game. As my friend Kelly pointed out, it is not easy to play but requires almost ZERO athleticism, and so is fun for ALL. And when is pizza and dessert not a good idea? Have I ever mentioned before that I like cake? Well I do. I LOVE cake. At this particular part I got THREE kinds! I made a Jell-o-poke cake myself, Katie provided the Triple-Chocolate cake, and Kelly brought the Coldstone ice-cream-cupcakes. What a night! And to top it all off, Joe bought me 6 new books. SIX. Now do you see why I celebrate as long as possible?

During the last General Conference...

I was in labor. 6 months ago, Avery was born. And just look at her now.

She can sit up. She still topples over a bit now and then, but she can sit all by herself and is grasping the whole catch-yourself-when-you-fall step. It is strange because I feel like she was able to do this almost immediately after I first sat her up to try it.

She scoots backwards. She still hasn't figured out how to get her belly off of the ground and go forward to the toys she wants, but she has backwards down pat. It was startling the first time she did this. I put her down and went to do the dishes. When I looked up, she had moved 3 feet from where I had set her. Suddenly my 3-story condo is looking VERY dangerous.

She has started eating food. It is just oatmeal at this point, and it's only been twice, but she has started. The first time did not go so well. I think I ended up with more oatmeal in the bowl than I started with. The second time went a bit better. I think she got about half of the tiny portion down before she was just fed up with my pushiness.

Her emotions are gaining a wider range. Meaning: she gets really happy, she gets really mad, and she gets her feelings hurt. This has made the last week a little hard for me. She never used to cry when I would walk away or lay her down for a nap; she does now. I think you could even call what she does "throwing a fit." And the other day, she did something that hurt me and I said sternly, "No, Avery. That hurts Mama." And she looked at me all sad and started to cry! Then I wanted to cry! It was the saddest thing.

Her awareness of things around her has gotten out of control. She wants to touch everything. It is no longer safe for me to drink anything while I'm holding her because she will knock the cup out of my hand. She wants to chew her clothes to death, hold on to everything with 2 hands, yell at herself in the mirror, and so much more. It's actually really fun.

I love my Birdie!

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