The Jenkins Family

Let's talk hair...

2012-02-10T14:44:00.007-07:00

CAUTION: This is an extremely girly post and those of you who aren't interested in talking about hair please don't waste your time reading this post.
Every once in awhile I find myself seeking advice about hair, decor, etc. You all are a huge help and I appreciate your thoughts and advice!

So, here's my story. For over 10 years I have been highlighting my hair. Every once in awhile I will do low-lights too, but for the most part I have stuck with blonde highlights. Its been years since I've gotten a full highlight done simply because partial highlights are more affordable. I started out a naturally dirty blonde, but my hair is much darker now after having babies. Has that happened to anyone else?

On Monday, I plan to get an all over color put in my hair that is slightly darker than my natural color. Do you think I'm crazy? Do you think I should also get some highlights or just the all over color?

I took a couple of photos of my hair so you can see I have two very different colors going on. Look how dark my hair is!

Lovely roots...

Here you can really see how dark my natural color is now...

I decided to find a website where I could do a virtual makeover to see what my hair would look like dark. I found www.Taaz.com. Very easy to do a virtual makeover if you're ever wondering what you would look like with a different hair color or style.

What do you think? Is this color close to my natural that you see above? Is there more than one color in here?

Would love any thoughts/suggestions! That's if anyone made it this far in the post! :)

Here is a lighter color, but I'm thinking I like dark better...

Well...that was fun, totally mindless, Mommy wind-down blog....

Snow Day!

2012-02-04T08:53:00.008-07:00

We got pounded with snow yesterday! It was the ultimate snow day including hot cocoa, family time, movies, and pajamas! Gabe and Avery managed to get out for a walk to the mailbox down the street. It was a quick trip and Avery wasn't interested in playing in the snow once they returned from their walk because it was so cold. Gabe humored us with canon balling into our huge snow drift in our backyard later in the day. His goal was to make us laugh, he certainly did!

I hope you get a laugh out of it too!

He survived!

After their walk to get the mail

Avery loves feeding Sophie.
Sophie was so happy her big sister was feeding her!

Maybe today we'll get out and play in the snow! But today might look a lot like yesterday, except Daddy is at a wrestling tournament. I hope to get out a shovel!

LOVE

2012-02-02T05:39:00.004-07:00

I just LOVE these three!!!

Gabe's Birthday

2012-02-01T12:43:00.005-07:00

Gabe turned 31 on January 11th. My sweet friend Lex came over the night before his birthday to stay at the house while the girls were sleeping so I could take Gabe out for a Birthday date. Any guesses where we went? I had a few places in mind, but we stuck to what we love. Chipotle! We love going to the downtown Chipotle! It makes us feel like we are in a completely different city when we go downtown. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Gabe's actual Birthday began with singing, candles and cinnamon rolls but I'm pretty sure he would not be ok with me posting the GREAT photo of him just waking up! So I will leave that photo out. We celebrated with cake at lunch because Gabe had a wrestling dual that night.

We sure love you Gabe, Happy Birthday!!

Yaya and Gigi

2012-01-14T15:58:00.020-07:00

It was a blessing to see Yaya and Gigi a few days after Christmas. My Grandma (Gigi) was visiting from South Carolina so she and my mom came down to the Springs to stay a night and hang out with us. They were able to come watch Avery at her "play& learn" class at Gymboree. Thanks to my Mom, we signed Avery up for five consecutive weeks of classes at Gymboree. We have completed all five classes, but she absolutely loved it. It was such a nice activity for her and challenged her in many ways. We are now looking to start her in Gymnastics!

"There are bubbles in the air, in the air"

Sophie always enjoyed the class too!
She kicked with excitement with all the music and dancing we did.

Sophie with her Gigi

Avery is a great climber!

I love this photo of Avery and Yaya because I see such a resemblance in their faces!

Last weekend the girls and I went up to Greeley to hang out with my Mom for a night. We hadn't been up there since July, so it was way overdue for us to make a trip up there! It was wonderful to spend more time with Yaya!

We took the girls to the park at my Mom's school. It was freezing out so it was quick, but it was fun to get outside! Sophie stayed warm and cozy! I just love her beautiful big blue eyes!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2012-01-10T08:49:00.008-07:00

My Dad's birthday is the day after Christmas, so we usually make it up to Denver to celebrate with him. The girls always love going to Grandpa and Grandma's house! We also got to see Auntie Ash and Auntie Maddie, so it was fun to see everyone! I meant to get a photo of my Dad with the girls, unfortunately that didn't happen!

Happy Birthday Dad, we love you very much!

The girls had to soak up some Auntie Ash love, we aren't going to see her for awhile. She is headed to California for her internship.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-10T07:41:00.034-07:00

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating Jesus' birth with your family and friends! We had a great time celebrating with our little family of four and also seeing a lot of family over the week of Christmas.

Gabe worked Christmas eve and day, so we stayed close to home. We attended a Christmas eve service with Gabe's parents. It was a beautiful service and the girls did outstanding! Avery even got my attention during worship to tell me she had to go potty (our big news for the Christmas season, more later). It was such a delight to attend church all together! I will forever love singing "Silent Night" to candle light. So powerful!

Christmas morning we woke up early to eat waffles and open presents with the girls before Gabe went into work. It was so fun to watch them open gifts together as sisters. Thankfully Gabe didn't have to work very long because we spent the rest of the day lounging around in our pj's.

Christmas night we met Gabe's parents at the Broadmoor for dinner, which was wonderful. The Broadmoor is so beautifully decorated at Christmas time. Thank you for letting us join you for a wonderful Christmas dinner.

The post is definitely overloaded with photos, but I want to remember these sweet memories and our first Christmas with TWO girlies! And of course, the photos are backwards...

Gabe wanted to show his parents where he proposed to me just over 5 years ago. It was freezing cold and the girls were both having meltdowns, but it was sweet to revisit that special spot!

Avery loved looking at this beautiful display of gingerbread houses!

Gabe was having the girls wrestle one another...

Christmas Eve

Will You Marry...

2012-01-06T21:01:00.003-07:00

My husband wrote a blog about how my life has drastically changed...for the better, I think!

Check it out here.

I am sure blessed!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T04:27:00.003-07:00

Cookies and Tea

2011-12-24T05:39:00.025-07:00

Avery and I made Christmas sugar cookies together this week. She was such a big helper as usual! We had a lot of fun baking them together, but the end product was quite funny. Sweet Gabe faithfully reminded me over and over, " honey, it's the thought that matters" Ha! Well, we sure had fun and Avery was so cute decorating her cookies.

Our little baker!

Ooops! She dumped half the jar of sprinkles on her cookies!

Gabe and Sophie had fun watching us decorate

My Mom started a Christmas tradition a few years back of going to afternoon tea at Hotel Boulderado every year. For the last couple of years it has been just me and my mom, so it was fun this year to have my Grandma and sister Jenny join us! And, it was Sophie's first tea. I brought her with me because we are basically connected. She has no interest in a bottle! She was very happy to be at her very first tea. Gabe and Avery enjoyed a fun day together while we were gone.

Hotel Boulderado is so beautiful and they have such a lovely afternoon tea!

Thank you Mom!

Sophie adoring her Yaya!

Happy to see Auntie JJ!

Meeting her Gigi for the first time!

Jenny had to leave early which is why we isn't in these photos remaining...

Date!

2011-12-18T08:29:00.003-07:00

Thanks to my step-mom Eileen, Gabe and I actually got dressed up and went out on a date to the New Life Christmas dinner. It was held at the Antlers Hilton downtown which is where we had our wedding reception, so it was fun to be there and remember our beautiful wedding day. Eileen drove down from Denver to hang out with Avery. We put Sophie to bed before going out. Thank you SO much Eileen! Avery had a blast and it was so nice to go out!

It was a lovely dinner, fun to be with friends, and wonderful to hang out with my husband!

Thanksgiving Weekend (little behind)

2011-12-07T20:12:00.028-07:00

I'm a little behind on posting about Thanksgiving, but I still wanted to share and document the weekend. We spent Thanksgiving day at my Dad's house in Denver. It was a low key day, but beautiful! We were able to spend some time outside because the weather was so nice! Eileen cooked a delicious Thanksgiving meal and my Aunt and Uncle joined us too!

Lovely photo, I know, but Avery had fun helping Grandpa!

Fun finger painting with Grandma!

After staying over at Grandma and Grandpa's house, we went up to Breckenridge to spend the weekend with Gabe's parents. We stayed in a beautiful condo just feet away from the slopes and main street. Gabe and I went on our first real date since Sophie was born. We have had many "gym dates", but we actually got to go out to dinner thanks to his parents! I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked, but we sure enjoyed ourselves in Breckenridge. It was nice to get away, laugh, and ski. Thanks for a fun weekend Muttie and Pop Pop!

We helped Gabe's parents celebrate 35 years of marriage!
Happy Anniversary! You have such a sweet marriage.

Talking to each other on the phone while packing up to head home!

Snow Fun!

2011-12-05T14:48:00.018-07:00

Avery and I had some fun today shoveling and playing in the snow together! It was cold, but the sun was out, so it was the perfect time to get outside while Sophie was napping. Avery loves the snow and loved helping me shovel.

Attempting a snow angel, but wanted help up pretty quickly!

We came inside, got cozy by the Christmas tree and fire and enjoyed hot cocoa together!

Such a happy time together!

6 Months!

2011-11-28T21:25:00.012-07:00

Sophie is now a 6 month old! That's hard to believe! She sure is growing up on us. I tried to take some photos of her the other day; she didn't show off her beautiful smile as much as I wanted, but I captured a few cute ones!

Sophie, you aren't sleeping through the night, but you have made it a couple of full nights. I think you possibly could, but I'm too afraid you will wake your sister up, so I run in there to nurse you right away! You still sleep for long stretches, so I won't complain. You certainly don't mind having some cuddle time with Momma in the middle of the night! We just started you on solids. So far you have enjoyed rice cereal, apples and pears. You love eating your solids! I keep trying to get you to take a bottle, but you won't have anything to do with it. You want the real deal! I will keep trying, just so we can have a little bit of flexibility. But, I'm thankful you nurse so well and you have from the day you were born. I love that sweet time with you. You can roll both ways, but mostly you roll from your back to tummy. You always sleep on your tummy. You have found a deep connection with your thumb! In many ways I'm thankful, but I wonder if I will be saying that when you are 2 and I'm trying to make you stop sucking your thumb. For now, I think you look super cute sucking your thumb! I love you Sophie girl and can't imagine life without you and your sweet spirit! Your smile lights up the room and brings endless joy to my heart! You are a treasure!

And just for fun, I thought I would include a photo of Avery wearing this same outfit. She was 7 months in this photo!

A couple of things...

2011-11-19T21:01:00.004-07:00

Sweet Sophie had her first taste of solids today! We started her on rice cereal; she really seemed to like it! It's hard to believe she is almost 6 months, she is definitely ready for solids! Yum, yum!

Head on over to Gabe's blog to get a little glimpse into our day. He has an incredible way of storytelling! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!

www.gabejenkins.blogspot.com

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Just no words!

2011-11-08T21:11:00.003-07:00

Watching the Air Force vs. Army game at home after tailgating out in the cold!

Sweet Ballerinas

2011-11-08T20:08:00.015-07:00

We dressed the girls up as ballerinas this year for Halloween! They were too cute! Gabe's parents were in town because his Dad had heart surgery that same day (it went really well). I couldn't believe he was in surgery that morning and later he was walking down the street with us to Trick-or-treat. Amazing! We also met up with some friends and went trick-or-treating near our old neighborhood. Avery had so much fun running from house to house with her friends!

Checking out all her yummy candy!

Gabe kept up his Dad's tradition of the joke "treat" tray. You should have seen the kids reaction when Gabe offered them these items! Hilarious!

Trying to keep up with her friends Naomi and Bella

Two fist grab!

Apples and Pumpkins

2011-11-01T19:22:00.009-06:00

This year we enjoyed caramel apples while carving our pumpkins. I think we have a new tradition! Avery helped me make the apples; she loved unwrapping the caramels and throwing them in the pan. The girls had fun watching Mommy and Daddy get all the gooey insides out of the pumpkins. We tried to get Avery to help, but she thought it was too slimy!

Such a great helper!

Giggly Girls

2011-10-31T13:50:00.003-06:00

What would I do without the sweet sound of these giggly girls?

Room progress...just for fun!

2011-10-27T14:56:00.018-06:00

I thought it would be fun, even though I'm far from finishing this mini room makeover, to show you what I have done so far. I want to thank all of you who emailed me, facebook messaged, or texted many brilliant ideas for this room. As you can tell, I took a lot of your advice and will continue to as I add to this room. I'm sorry I haven't responded to each of your personally, but I seriously THANK YOU for your help! I needed it!

Remember the before??

You can look at all the before photos HERE.

I was trying to make it a front sitting room/playroom and that just wasn't working. So, now it's a playroom. I'm going for a fun and bright look!

The color scheme is now black, aqua/teal, cream. Many more colors like yellow, lime green, amd maybe red will be incorporated once I get a rug, curtains, and pillows. So far I'm loving the new and fresh feel of the room. I have my eye on a few rugs and pillow covers that I would love your opinions on. Of course it will be a little while before I can purchase them, but I'm all about planning and saving!

So here is the now...

View from the top of stairs

By the way, if you love that cute dollie on the shelf, check out my friend Megs' dollie shop HERE.

What I have done so far:

1. rearranged the furniture

2.took down the massive and beautiful ( just not me) painting

3. took down window treatments (again...not me)

4. found empty frames at goodwill and spray painted them

5.spray painted shelf on wall

6. painted sofa table ( it was brown)

7.new lamp

8.new storage bins to bring in the aqua/teal color

9.added photos to make photo wall

Now...for rug options. I'm not set on any of these and I'm still looking to see what's out there. I know I want more color in the room, but can't decide if I should go with a busy rug. Or just get a solid one and make the pillows busy. But I do like these rugs.

#2
#3

Pillow ideas...

I love this bright yellow!

If I went with a flowery pillow, I would think the rug should be solid? Am I wrong?

Ok...that's all. Thanks for staying with me if you made it this far!

Wishing Star Farm

2011-10-24T06:02:00.019-06:00

Last week we took the girls to the Wishing Star Farm to have some fun and pick our pumpkins. We took Avery to the same farm last year, but it was really fun to watch her enjoy it this year! She loved the hay slide, the many animals, the barrel train, and especially the "trampoline" which was a new addition this year! She still wouldn't ride a pony, maybe next year she'll be ready! Sophie was a joy as usual! Always happy, it doesn't matter where we are! She and I snuggled in the bijorn mostly. Such a fun and beautiful day for pumpkin picking!

Our attempt to get a family photo...not the best.

Helping Daddy carry one of our pumpkins

This photo is tradition whenever we visit pumpkin farms!

Barrel train ride with Daddy

So much fun jumping!

Sweet Sophie snuggled up

Checking out the sleeping pigs

Before we left for the pumpkin farm, in their matching outfits! Sophie LOVES her thumb!

Slumber Party

2011-10-18T20:13:00.013-06:00

I felt like I was 14 years old again last weekend! Four of my sweet friends came down to the Springs for a slumber party which we haven't done all together since we were 14! We live in various places, some even out of state, so we don't get to see eachother as much as we would like. It was definitely due time for a slumber party and I can't tell you how much fun it was! We even watched old videos we made as 14 year olds, absolutely hilarious! It felt so good to laugh with these girls! But beyond the laughter, I'm so thankful for these incredible and Godly women! Thank you for challenging and encouraging me! I love that we grew up together and have such a strong foundation for our friendships! We all went on our own journeys through highschool and college, but because of that foundation, God continues to grow our friendships! I love you girls!

It took me a few days to recover from staying up until 4am and getting 2 hours of sleep, but SO worth it!

We missed you Amy and Auds! Let's start planning our Christmas get together!

I can't thank Gabe enough for letting us take over the house! Such a sweet hubby you are!

Avery was showing Kim that she can do the splitz!

Sophie's Dedication

2011-10-16T11:44:00.013-06:00

On October 2nd we had Sophie dedicated to the Lord! We can't believe how blessed we are by Sophie, but we understand she belongs to the Lord! We are thankful and humbled He has made us her parents and given us the responsibility to raise her up in Him. What an incredible gift she is to us! We love you Sophie girl! God has amazing plans for your life!

So happy my mom came down to be with us on this day. She looks beautiful, but she was undergoing an intense skin treatment. Thank you for coming even though you were in so much pain and discomfort! We sure love you!

Such an incredible Daddy! Wow...these girls are blessed!

Avery helping Sophie open her dedication gift from the church

Thank you Muttie and Pop Pop for joining us! Means a lot to us that you made the drive from Kansas! Love you guys!

Love how Sophie has her hand on Avery's shoulder!

Denver Rock 'n' Roll

2011-10-14T06:23:00.007-06:00

Last weekend Gabe, his mom Connie and my stepmom Eileen all ran the Denver Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon! I'm so proud of all of them!

Gabe informed me that this race was the greatest physical challenge he has completed since college. That's 10 years! With that fact in mind, I am even more proud of him. Not long ago, it was quite the challenge for him to run 2 miles and now he has completed his first 1/2 marathon! Great job Gabe!!

Because of the weather, I decided it would be better to stay home with the girls. Up until the night before I had every intention of being at the end of the race. I was so excited to jump up and down in excitement at the finish line, but I knew in my heart the girls needed to stay home. It was just going to be too much to ask of them. It was a hard decision to make; the selfish part of me wanted to be there to cheer and experience the fun! All morning we waited and waited to hear from Gabe and when I finally received this photo from his Dad I was almost in tears. I couldn't believe how happy Gabe looked in this photo! It brought such JOY to my heart! Having done a marathon and two 1/2's, I knew what an accomplishment that was for him! I'm such a proud wife!!

Look at this joy on Gabe's face! I doubt everyone was that happy at the finishline!

Avery was so proud of our sign for Daddy!

I told Gabe to be ready for photos at 4:30am since I couldn't be at the finishline! He was a good sport!

Ideas?

2011-10-07T14:24:00.006-06:00

So, we have lived in this rental home for about a year now and since we moved in, I have constantly rearranged this room. I can't seem to find the perfect look for it. During Christmas it's easy because the tree makes it look so nice, but the rest of the year...it's nearly impossible. So, I thought I would pick your brains because I know I have many friends with extremely lovely homes! Give me your thoughts.

It's all around difficult.

For one: it serves as our front living room and our playroom. It's the first room people see when they come in our house.

two: the design is hard because it has a fire place, large window and the staircase. So only one main wall.

three: we aren't at a place where we can purchase new furniture, so we are dealing with what we have.

four: I'm not a huge fan of the window treatments or color, but because we are renting, those stay.

My first question: I have contemplated painting the black book shelves white. What do you think? Keep them black or paint them white? If I paint the black shelves, should I also paint the accent table that is now brown.

Second question: Do you like that huge picture on the wall? That belongs to the owners of the house. We have tried taking it down, but feel it fills up that large wall nicely. Not sure though.

Third question: Should I buy more storage bins for the bookshelves? Should they all be the same color?

Fourth question: Obviously I have the brown/cream theme going, but how can I bring more of the colors out in that picture without cluttering the room?

As you can tell, I'm just unsure of what I should do.I need some help! I would love to hear your thoughts, but completely understand if you don't have time to comment. Please do though if you have any great ideas! I need help! :) I'm open to any ideas! Of course, besides buying a new set of furniture. I want to make what we have work.

Thanks for your input!!

Now, for some current photos...

View from the front entry

Staircase wall

And just for kicks, I had to include this cute photo. My mom just gave us an old cassette player with a ton of stories on tape. So here is Avery listening to a story. Although she looks super cute with those huge headphones, she prefers to listen without them.

Denver Zoo

2011-10-06T14:06:00.018-06:00

We took the girls to the Denver Zoo last weekend with my Mom, Yaya! The last time Avery went to the zoo she was about 15 months, so it was fun to see her watch the animals this time. She loved watching the polar bear swim; she was jumping up and down with excitement! Sophie was dream baby, as usual! She is so chill and pleasant! Such a joy! Avery pushed through her fear of rides (remember the St. Francis Fair) and Yaya was able to convince her to ride the carousel, sitting in the big chair. She didn't want to ride an animal, but was happy to ride in the chair. Once it started and she realized she was safe with Mommy and Daddy, she enjoyed the ride. And of course...we all enjoyed a yummy ice cream cone! That was a must! Thanks Yaya for treating us to the Zoo, we had so much fun!

Time with Family

2011-10-04T20:02:00.012-06:00

It's always wonderful seeing family! A couple of weeks ago, my sister who lives in Durango, was in Denver for the weekend with her son Coby. I took the girls up there to hang out for a day. We spent a lot of time outside and Avery helped Grandma and Auntie Ash make brownies. It was great to see everyone and I was happy my sister finally got to meet and love on Sophie!

Sweet cousins! I love hearing Avery say, "Where is Cousin Coby?"

Of course she loved making brownies! This girl has a sweet tooth like her Mommy!

Sophie meeting her Auntie J for the first time!

A new journey begins!

2011-09-22T20:56:00.007-06:00

First of all, I must say, God is SO good! I'm excited (and a bit nervous) to announce that I am now a Thirty-One consultant! If you are unfamiliar with Thirty-One, check out our website here. I love God's timing with this and I have such an overwhelming peace that He is leading me! I'm going to stand on Proverbs 31, the verses this company was built on and simply believe!

You can also visit my personal website here. Please feel free to let me know if you see anything you like in our Fall Catalog!

I'm excited for this challenge!

Pure Joy

2011-09-12T21:36:00.009-06:00

These three bring me so much pure joy!

I am beyond blessed!

I love how the girls are looking at eachother!

Balloon GLO

2011-09-05T19:18:00.002-06:00

I love long weekends! It's so nice to spend time as a family! Every summer Gabe and I talk about checking out the Balloon Classic, but for some reason we never have. Finally lastnight we went to the Balloon Glo for the first time. We went out to Memorial Park early so we could walk around, hang out, and take it all in. Avery enjoyed watching the Helicopter take off and land and Sophie enjoyed sleeping in the stroller. We stayed just long enough to see 4 or 5 balloons inflate and glo. Avery loved the countdown everytime the ballons would GLO! It was a fun family outing and of course we picked up some ice cream cones on the way home! LOVE my family!

Saying Goodbye...

2011-08-31T14:44:00.000-06:00

Avery and Jane have become such great and cute friends over the last year. It has been so much fun having the Swishers live here in the Springs. But now it's time for us to say goodbye. It's very sad because Avery and Jane are finally starting to play "together". Over the last year, most of our playdates were spent managing their "sharing". Yes, they still fight over toys, but they are so cute together. I love watching them play! We had the Swishers over for dinner last week for the final time before they move this upcoming weekend. The girls played with their babies in the backyard and were just darling! We also let them play alone in Avery's room and they did so well together...well, atleast for a little while. They are moving to Greeley, so thankfully we will still get to see them, but we will definitely miss our frequent playdates!

Swisher family, we have so enjoyed having you live here in the Springs. We didn't get together enough with all of us, but I cherish the times us girls (and Henry) got to hang out. It will always be such a memory taking swim lessons together, drinking Starbucks or Sonic as the girls play, meeting at parks/Focus, etc. We love you guys and wish you the best in your next season! Of course we will keep in touch and we look forward to meeting up in Denver or seeing you in Greeley! Thank you for being such sweet friends!

It was fun having a final playdate at Chick-fil-a today! The girls are the cutest when they hug, wish we would have caught that on camera!

Behind....again.

2011-08-30T19:35:00.000-06:00

Do you see a theme here? I can't seem to get a grip! I feel behind on a lot of life's "to do's" and I can't seem to figure out how to get everything accomplished. Whether its blogging, laundry, cleaning, printing out photos ( I''m way behind), random projects, etc. I am just plain behind in life. Does anyone else feel like this? I hope I'm not the only one...

I'm not giving up though!

A few weekends ago, I took the girls up to Denver to see some of my family. My half sister, Cindy, and her daughter Kendall were visiting from Florida. They had never met the girls so it was great to have a pool day with them! We always love seeing Grandma and Grandpa too!

Avery had so much fun with Kendall! Kendall was so sweet to help me with the girls throughout the day! She is such a sweet 9 year old!

My sister, Cindy

Grandma and Avery shared an ice cream cone!

Pure delight!

Sophie slept in the shade while at the pool

So much fun swimming with Grandma!

Memory Lane

2011-08-12T22:30:00.001-06:00

On Thursday we made a trip up to Ft. Collins to celebrate the 30th birthday of our friend Bobby. Since Gabe has to work all weekend for his BASE56 retreat we decided he should take half the day off on Thursday so we could have a family day up there. It was fun taking Gabe to CSU's campus for the first time to show him around my old stomping grounds. It certainly brought back so many college memories good and bad. Most of all, it was nice to spend time as a family while we walked around campus on such a beautiful day!

Have I mentioned what an incredible Daddy Gabe is? He sure loves his girls!

Sophie was dressed for the occasion!

Having fun in the student center. She ran around and played while I nursed Sophie. Never thought six years ago that I would be nursing there...how things have changed! I'm so thankful they have!

She amazes me by how fast she is!

"Purple Castle"

2011-08-12T08:45:00.000-06:00

Last week my Mom, Uncle Bill and Cousin Paul who are both from South Carolina stayed with us. They had planned for a "hiking week" for quite some time and it was finally time to check a 14ner or two off their list. My mom has done quite a few now. On their rest days we were able to hang out with them. One of the days, we went to Garden of the Gods and experienced the "purple castle" with them. The "purple castle" is a very old and tiny restuarant downtown that my sisters have recommended. Avery loved eating in the "purple castle"! This place literally has about six seats! It was a great local experience and the food was delicious! We went for lunch, but I have heard their breakfast is yummy too! The actual name is King's Chef Diner so if you live in the Springs you should go experience it for yourselves!

Avery and Cousin Paul sitting at the counter in the "Purple Castle"

St. Francis Fair Weekend

2011-08-12T08:19:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we went out to St. Francis to take the girls to the Fair. It's such a great Fair, with the cutest rides for little ones. And...the rides are about 25 cents each!

Avery wanted to ride the cars first...

She looks concerned, but she was ok at this point...

This is how the ride ended! She wanted off about midway through the ride. Unfortunately, this ride scarred her. She didn't want to ride anything else, she was perfectly happy simply watching the rides, running around, and eating snow cones and popcorn! She spent most of her tickets at the duck pond where she received prize after prize! That was more up her alley!

Trying to convince Avery to ride the train with me. We got in it and she started crying..."no choo choo" she said over and over. I couldn't make her stay on. She was set on not riding anymore rides.

The following morning we went to the parade...

Haircut and Sunshine!

2011-07-30T16:00:00.000-06:00

This week Avery got her first official haircut. Up until now, I have been cutting her hair, but we decided it was time to get it done by a professional! It looks absolutely adorable and I love the layering! Avery did so well and sat very still. We told her she was sitting in a "princess chair", which she loved! She didn't smile much, she was just so interested. After she was done she ran around like she felt so beautiful with her new do!

The finished product!

Also this week, Avery and I enjoyed some fun in the sun last week in our backyard. I decided to blow up her tiny baby pool and let her play with the hose. This was the first time getting her pool out this summer since we have been so blessed to have an actual pool to go to, which we do a lot! She loves to swim! But, on this particular morning, we had a blast eating grapes in the sun and spraying eachother with water! I was happy to work on my tan too! Sophie stayed nice and cool while napping inside!

Wheat Harvest

2011-07-18T12:37:00.000-06:00

After spending some time in Kansas while Gabe worked a wheat harvest, I now know much more about farming. I should say I knew nothing about farming, but there is a lot of hard work and detail to the process. Gabe worked for two weeks and the girls and I spent about five days out there. Unfortunately, it rained a lot while we were there, so Gabe couldn't harvest on a few of the days. I was a bit thankful because we were able to spend some time with him! Thanks to Muttie and Pop Pop for letting us stay so long and being such good hosts! We love you guys!

I will let the photos do the rest of the talking...

This girl was on the go the entire time we were out there! She had a blast!

Sophie meeting her Great Grandma, June, for the first time

Pop Pop is a volunteer firefighter! Avery got to drive this truck! Pop Pop...send over some of those photos!

Tea party!

What's farming without getting a little dirty?

So proud of you Gabe, thanks for working so hard! Avery continues to tell Gabe weeks after, "Good job farming Daddy". So cute!

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-10T07:59:00.001-06:00

Obviously I still haven't figured out how to take care of two girlies and keep up with my blog at the same time. Someday I suppose I will get it down! So, I have some catching up to do!

I took the girls up to Greeley to celebrate the 4th of July. Gabe had to be in Kansas for wheat harvesting, so unfortunately he didn't get to join us. We missed him a lot!! It's just not the same when we aren't together as a family of four. We had a great time visiting my Mom, Yaya. On the 4th, we took the girls to the Greeley Stampede Parade for the first time. Avery absolutely loved all the horses, firetrucks, and music! She danced and danced! She was a proud American waving her American flags!

We ended up sitting with Meagan and her family which was so fun! We also got to see the Swishers!

With Meagan and her youngest, Ben.

The rest of the day we spent playing outside in the water and grilling up some yummy steaks! Sadly we all went to bed too early for fireworks!

Calling her Daddy!

So tired and hot on her first 4th of July!

"Avery LOVE"

2011-07-02T06:15:00.000-06:00

Avery spends the majority of the day saying "I wanna kiss baby sister". It is absolutely precious how much she loves on Sophie, but we have a new rule...she can only kiss Sophie when her eyes are open! I hope she always loves her sister this much!

I wanted some "Avery love" too! Somehow Avery got on this kick of saying "Mommy love". So now every kind of love has a descriptive name. Even though she is in a Mommy stage, thankfully she has started saying she needs "Daddy love" more often.

I was trying to get her to show her teeth! She just gets cuter and cuter everyday!

Sophie is 1 month!

2011-06-27T06:43:00.000-06:00

Finally, after a month, I got around to taking some "newborn" photos of Sophie. I meant to do this in the first week, but that just didn't happen. She isn't looking very newborn anymore, but I'm thankful I managed to get a few photos of her.

So far, she has been such an easy baby. She eats well and sleeps well. She has even made it a few 4 and 5 hour stretches at night. She doesn't sleep the greatest on her back, but we are working on that. I think once she can roll over she is going to be a tummy sleeper. She took her first bottle at 4 weeks and I plan to give her one once a day so we have flexibility. She did great with it. I wasn't sure if she would take it from me, but she loves Momma's milk however she can get it! :) She is growing like a weed! At her 2nd appointment she was 8.5 lbs, so she must be atleast 9 lbs now!

We sure love you Sophie girl...you add so much to our family! Your sister kisses and hugs you about a million times a day, you are so sweet and patient!

Still here!

2011-06-23T12:08:00.000-06:00

Wow...life is a lot busier with two girls! I'm hope to be back to blogging on a regular basis after I get a hang of having two kids! That still sounds weird to say I have "kids", but anyway, please bare with me for now please! While we are SO thankful for our two girls, it has been a bit challenging at times. We are all adjusting and I know it will only get easier. It must, otherwise everyone who has more than two kids is just crazy! :)

So, one of the many things we have been up to is transitioning Avery into her big girl bed. Unfortunately this transition came sooner than we would have liked. She was trying to climb out of her crib one day during naptime and got her knee stuck between two bars. I was finally able to free her knee, but it took a few minutes. That was enough to scare me and decide it was time for the big girl bed. She has done really well at night, but her naptimes have suffered. That has been really hard! BUT...each day gets a little better and easier!

I took these photos the morning after her first night in her bed! I thought it was so cute she has turned around...she needs to figure out her head should stay on her pillow!

Sophie's Video

2011-06-05T10:26:00.000-06:00

I'm super impressed by this video Gabe made of Sophie's life so far...

1 Week

2011-06-02T22:44:00.000-06:00

Sophie is 1 week old! So far, she has been such a sweet and pleasant baby! Avery is in love with her baby sister and wants to be with her, hold her, kiss her, etc. at all times. She has only had a few moments of wanting "Mommy love" when I couldn't give it to her right away. I just love seeing Avery's caring and loving heart show as she loves on her baby sister. She is constantly saying and asking..."baby okay?"

We are so thankful for the gift that Sophie is to our family. What a joy it is to be a family of four!

Sophie at 1 week

We attempted to capture a sister picture today...quite the task!

Avery was saying "It's okay baby sister"

Welcome...

2011-05-28T12:12:00.000-06:00

Sophie Elizabeth Jenkins

Born May 26th, 2011

1:33pm

6 pounds 14 ounces

19 1/4 inches

When will she arrive?

2011-05-21T16:47:00.000-06:00

Finally a day with no rain and the sun shining! We spent the morning at Garden of the Gods (trying to get this girly to come)! It was so nice to be outside! I can definitely tell I'm about ready to pop...the short "hike" we did got me huffing and puffing! Gabe showed off his photography skills and managed to get a few good maternity shots! As of right now, I'm just ready for this girly to come! I can't wait to meet her and see her face! We will be sure to give you any updates...I hope thats sooner rather than later!

You all should check out Gabe's blog! Find the link off to the right...

39 weeks!

Avery was looking at an airplane...

I love her new sunglasses!

Home stretch!

2011-05-15T11:50:00.000-06:00

We are counting down days now until our girly's arrival! In these last days, I'm trying to cross "to do" items off the list, rest and enjoy my last moments with just Avery! We are excited to say we finally have a NAME for her...but, have decided to keep it a secret until she is here! I love hearing Avery say her baby sisters name! She seems pretty excited to be a big sister!

Here are weeks 37 and 38 belly photos!

38 weeks

37 weeks

Date Swap

2011-05-14T05:50:00.001-06:00

We decided to start doing a date swap with some of our friends Lex & Clark, they have a little girl, Ava, who is about 6 months younger than Avery. For so long Gabe and I didn't have anyone to watch Avery. Thankfully this swap has worked out great and Avery loves playing with Ava. Lastnight, while watching Ava, Gabe and I said...This is so nice for us too because Avery actually has someone to play with! The two girls are so sweet together, we can tell they enjoy eachothers company! Round one of the date swap is complete and I think all of us parents agree it should continue!

A sweet shower...

2011-05-11T09:55:00.000-06:00

I was blessed this weekend with such a sweet baby shower for our baby girl we are expecting any day now. My sister Jenny was the official host, but everyone really contributed to make it a beautiful shower. It was also a great last minute surprise that my sister Steph could come out from Atlanta, thanks to my Aunt Diana! A big thanks to my sisters, Mom, Connie, Eileen, Aunt Diana and everyone else who contributed to the shower! I appreciate you all and thank everyone for your sweet blessings for our little girly!

It was a sweet and intimate shower, perfect for our second daughter!

Sweet Gabe took Avery to Chick-fil-A and the park so that I could enjoy and relax at the shower! That was so nice! Avery definitely had more fun with Daddy on a date! :)

This post is photo heavy!

Sarah is also expecting a little girl in September!

Aunt Diana with my beautiful niece, Quinlan

I just love my nephew, Coby!

The beautiful diaper cake!

Pink Back Pack

2011-04-29T21:35:00.000-06:00

Our Avery girl is growing up way too fast! It's really starting to hit me that we are now in our last month with just Avery. And at the same time it's dawning on me how much she is growing up. In some ways it makes me sad. But it other ways, it makes me so full of joy to see her grow into such a sweet little girl. She is no longer our "baby"!

The other day she took her pink back pack to church for the first time. I took the day off from work because I had been sick, but I still took her in since she loves going to church. If it were up to her, she would go to church everyday!

Sidenote...For those of you who don't know, since I started working at New Life, Avery has been going with me every Monday and Thursday from 9-1:30. She absolutely loves going! It's a blessing because it isn't just childcare. The kids always get a bible lesson and time for worship, which she loves! I'm so thankful she likes it so much! I will only be working the next two weeks, but Avery will continue to go, even after her baby sister arrives. I think it's going to be a great outlet for her.
So, back to my point. She was so excited to take her back pack. Up until this day I always just sent her with a diaper bag. But it dawned on me that now she just needs a lunch and a few diapers. She was so proud of her pink back pack. She talked about it the entire car ride there and carried it into church herself. I know it seems silly...but that almost made me sad! My Avery has her own back pack! It just made me realize I need to cherish these moments. Before I know it she's going to be carrying her back pack into the preschool, kindergarten and so on! I think she looks absolutely precious wearing her back pack!

35 and 36

2011-04-28T08:24:00.000-06:00

I think our little girl is starting to drop!

36 weeks

35 weeks

He is RISEN!

2011-04-24T17:40:00.001-06:00

What a sweet day to celebrate that Jesus is ALIVE! We had a great Easter, but unfortunately, considering the nature of Gabe's job, we don't get to spend it all together. Just like last year, I took Avery to early church service and then went up to Denver to see my family. It's always sad leaving Gabe behind, but Easter is obviously one of his busiest days of the year! Before church we ate breakfast together and watched Avery dig into her Easter Basket.

Our family photo at church

As usual, Avery had a lot of fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She hunted for Easter eggs, ate a lot of jelly beans, played guitar with Grandpa, rode on her favorite cow and kept herself busy playing for a very long time. She exhausted herself, she actually fell asleep on the way home which she never does anymore! It was so cute to hear her calling them "Grandpa" and "Grandma". She is talking so much these days. At one point, while we were waching golf, she walked up to Grandpa and said "Hi Grandpa", it was so cute!

With her Auntie Ashie and Stevie, Ashley's friend from college

She loves riding on this cow. They have had this cow since my little sister Maddie was Avery's age! So happy they didn't get rid of it!

Like always...Grandpa was cracking Avery up!

After I pick Avery up from her class at church, she is always so excited to go find Daddy where he holds his service. She has no problem getting up on stage and playing with Daddy! She loves it! She had the whole stage to herself!

I tried to get some photos of her before church. She wasn't interested in looking at me!

She was too busy talking about the "treats" inside her eggs!

We dyed Easter eggs on Good Friday. This was Avery's first time dying eggs!

Two sweet girly rooms!

2011-04-21T17:22:00.001-06:00

So, I'm finally posting photos of the almost complete girly rooms! There are still some finishing touches, but I wanted to make sure to take photos before our life gets really busy!

First, Avery's new BIG GIRL room! She has yet to sleep in here; we are waiting to move her to the big girl bed for a little while. Since we plan for baby girl to sleep in our room for the first few months, she has some time to make the transition. We also still need to buy a bed rail.
View from the door

The entire room was inspired by this painting! My talented sister, Steph, painted it for me while I was in college. I have always loved it and thought it was the perfect fit in Avery's BIG GIRL room! As for the bedding, I have had that yellow duvet since I was probably a sophomore in highschool. I used it in college but it hasn't been used since. It's still in great condition so I was happy to be able to use it again! It's a full ,but I'm just making it work on Avery's twin.

The dresser I repainted for her. As you can see I still have 4 new knobs to screw on.

The lamp base was a treasure found at Goodwill and spray painted pink. My Aunt Diana helped me with the lamp. We bought the plain white shade and target and then added detail. My Aunt is very creative! She helped me decide on the detail and then we super glued away!

I recovered Avery's letters with scrapbook paper. Very easy way to make cute letters. They were originally painted to match her old room.

I love tissue flowers. So easy to make and super cheap decor!

Obviously this shelf is incomplete, as you can see the plastic underneath. It still needs another coat or two of paint. I have procrastinated, but it will eventually get finished. I also wanted to buy a couple of storage bins to fill in some space.

I spray painted the frame...

Now, here is the baby room! I added a few details to make it different from the way it looked originally for Avery. It also needs the final touches, but it's getting close. Once we figure out baby girl's name, I will make letters to hang above the crib.

View from the door

The art I painted for Avery and handmade tissue flowers...

Soon, the pile of books that you see will have some organization. I just need to spray paint a treasure my mom found for me to use.

3D photos of baby girl!

So there you go! Their rooms are almost finished!

It's been fun nesting and getting ready for our 2nd little daughter! Avery loves playing in her big girl room. I will let you know when she actually starts sleeping in there! :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-20T15:38:00.000-06:00

6 more weeks!

2011-04-16T05:33:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe we get to meet our little girl in 6 weeks!

34 weeks

33 weeks

Boom Boom Clap!

2011-04-14T18:09:00.000-06:00

You know it's CROWN season at church when your 2 year old keeps asking to listen to the "Boom Boom Clap" song. For those of you who don't know, CROWN is the kid's verson of the Thorn, which is the easter production. They both make a huge impact for Christ each year, very powerful!

Here is Avery's version of the Hoe Down Throw Down dance...

By the way...you need to see the CROWN to understand why this song is in the production.

Quick trip to Kansas...

2011-04-10T20:17:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend we made a quick trip to Kansas to see Gabe's parents. We stayed on Friday night and had a great day enjoying the sunshine on Saturday. Avery loved seeing her Muttie and Pop Pop and Libby Dog. Avery calls her "Bibby Dog".

Gabe was pretty impressed, 4-wheeling while big and pregnant! We tried to get Avery to ride with us, but she was hesitant. So she rode in the car with Muttie and Pop Pop so we could go see some horses. It was so nice out...even though very windy. Can you tell by Avery's face?

Fun at the park!

By the way...Gabe had me on the teeter totter...I decided to spare you that photo!

31 and 32!

2011-04-05T19:00:00.000-06:00

We are growing everyday! Last week was a rough one. I had some unexplained abdominal/back pain, which was quite concerning. After a trip to the hospital, pain meds, and an ultrasound, I'm happy to announce everything is fine and healthy with our baby girl and myself. The pain is nearly gone, as long as I don't push myself too much! I'm so thankful! The pain had me in tears! Sweet Avery asked me over and over..."Momma ok?". She has such a sweet and caring heart! And not to mention my husband, what a caring man! He really took care of me and did all that he could do to help. Thanks Gabe!! I'm happy to be feeling better and from now on I'm going to listen to my body.

I'm excited...we are getting closer to deciding on our baby girls name! We thought we knew it, but had second thoughts. She's going to have a beautiful name!

32 weeks

This is pretty much what I looked liked all last week! Yikes, it was a rough one!

31 weeks

Prayer Warrior!

2011-04-02T15:15:00.000-06:00

We have a powerful prayer warrior on our hands!!!

If you want to see a more humorous version of this prayer, visit Gabe's blog at www.gabejenkins.blogspot.com

A few adventures...

2011-03-27T08:28:00.001-06:00

While we make the most of the time we have left with just our Avery girl, we are trying to keep busy on the weekends and also trying to soak up any nice weather we have had so far. I'm so thankful it's starting to feel like Spring. I'm ready for more sunshine and outdoor adventures!

Yesterday we went to Garden of the Gods. It was a beautiful morning and it felt so nice to get out and hike around for a bit! Avery is quite the little hiker!

Out hiking at 31 weeks...

She loves riding on Daddy's shoulders!

A couple of weekends ago we decided to go to the Air Force Academy (since its in our back yard practically) to walk around. Avery loves airplanes right now, so we thought it would be fun to go see them at the Academy.

We went to find my Grandpa's name on one of the memorials. He was a "Hump Pilot" in WWII. These pilots flew one of the most dangerous routes in order to deliver supplies. They flew from India over the Himalayan mountain range into Western China. I am so proud of my Grandpa!

William B. Westfall

The beautiful Pikes Peak in the background.

Sometimes I can't believe we actually live here!

Fun Weekend in Greeley

2011-03-22T15:40:00.001-06:00

Last weekend Avery and I went up to Greeley to hang out for a few days with Yaya! Gabe went to Philidelphia with his Dad to attend the College Wrestling National Championships, so it was the perfect weekend to get away and spend some time with my mom! The weekend was filled with seeing friends, visitng my mom at her school, going out to eat, playing outside with the kitty cats, going to the park, going to the COZY COW dairy farm and simply hanging out. I only took photos of our adventure to the dairy farm, it is a small farm just outside of Greeley. It was a great day to go because we were practically the only people there. We watched the process of the cows being milked, pet the cows and best of all, ate yummy ice cream!! Avery loved seeing the cows, but she was not about to pet them. It was a very cute dairy farm; Avery still hasn't stopped talking about the moo cows!

Thanks Mom for such a fun weekend and treating us to everything!! We love you so much and love visiting Yaya's house!

Gabe and I think this photo below shows what it's going to be like a few (hopefully A LOT more than a few) years from now. Except it won't be cows who are prying for her attention, it will be BOYS! Yikes!

Yaya teaching Avery how to feed the cows...

All the cows came over to say hi to us! My mom thought this was funny...I will certainly have milk very soon! :)

My mom also thought this would be a funny photo. Lately I have been feeling a lot like a MOO COW because I'm getting so large! I'm 30 weeks here.

Having fun watching the cows being milked...

"Hi cows"

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Growing!

2011-03-21T08:43:00.001-06:00

She sure is growing!!

10 more weeks to go!

30 weeks

29 weeks

28 weeks

Avery's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-03-06T13:46:00.001-07:00

This year we decided a small and simple family birthday party would be best for Avery. We went all out last year with her 1st party (see here), so we thought it would be okay to keep it simple! It ended up being a blast. Avery got to celebrate her birthday with all of her grandparents, plus my Aunt Diana and Uncle Don. It is such a blessing to live close enough so everyone of her grandparents could come! We of course missed all of her Aunts and Uncles and wished they all lived closer! You will probably notice I reused some of her decorations from last year! Other than that I didn't do much besides a few streamers and xballoons and still Gabe made fun of me because I said it was going to be a "super simple" party. For a birthday party you have to have some decorations, right? Trust me, it was simple. We enjoyed pizza and ice cream cake. Most importantly, Avery had a great time; she was a ball of energy and entertainment!

Thank you all for coming to celebrate with us and for all your sweet gifts! We love you all!!

Yaya

Grandma and Grandpa

Muttie and Pop Pop

Aunt D and Uncle Don

Entertaining everyone!

Yaya got her a harmonica, which she loved!

Yummy ice cream cake!

Eating pizza surrounded by her grandparents!

Checking out her new Noah's Ark table from Muttie and Pop Pop

Playing with Yaya before her party

And the celebrating begins...

2011-03-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

Avery turns 2 on Tuesday...but the celebrating has already begun! We decided to give her our present today since we are having a family birthday party for her tomorrow. We found her a cute kitchen on craigslist (so happy I finally found a cute one) and she absolutely loves it! It came with food and a little shopping cart. She has been playing with it all day! I love when she brings us food that she "made".

almost 2!!

She had fun reading and playing with Daddy today! She makes the best of every minute with her Daddy on Friday's! I can actually get caught up with cleaning and laundry on these days! :)

She gets to see all her grandparents tomorrow and is very excited for her little pizza party!

Keeping Busy!

2011-02-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Gabe was at State Wrestling in Denver for 3 days, so Avery and I kept busy, busy while he was gone. I started on and nearly finished painting her dresser for her "Big Girl" room. We bought this dresser off the curb before we moved out of our apartment over a year ago. I had always planned to paint it for our guest room, but never got around to it. Since Avery needed a dresser for her new room, I decided to use that one and just repaint it white. It was very chipped and gross looking. Now it looks so fresh and beautiful! I'm very happy with how it looks now. I just need to buy new knobs for the drawers and it will be completely finished. Stay tuned for those photos! I can't wait to show you the finished product of her new room! It's starting to look REALLY cute and "Big Girlish"!

I'm totally in the nesting phase...

Also during the weekend, I broke Avery of her PACI! Whew...it's a relief to be able to say that! I'm so thankful I met my goal. I had always planned on taking it away by the time she was 2. Her 2nd birthday is creeping up on me, so I knew it was time! The first few naps and nighttimes were the hardest, but after that she stopped asking for it. I cut off two of her paci's and gave them to her babies. She always has to have two babies in her bed, so I tried to get her to understand paci's are for her babies. I told her over and over how sweet that was of her to give her babies her paci's. That seemed to work. Anytime she would ask for it, I just said "Your babies have paci's". I'm just so proud of her! It took major discipline on both our parts, but it's done and I'm so thankful!

One of the mornings I took Avery to Focus on the Family to play. She loves it there! I forgot my camera, so unfortunately I didn't get any photos of her playing in the airplane! It was such a fun girls weekend, but we were really happy when Daddy got home!

This girl loves her babies! I can't wait to see her with her baby sister!

She loves changing her baby's diaper now, she is such a little Momma! She is now sleeping in her little sisters room until we finish her room. It will probably be awhile until she actually sleeps in her new room though, we will have to make the transition into a big girl bed in order for that to happen. I'm in no rush to get her in the "Big Girl" bed, I'm just happy that she is over her PACI. Both rooms are down to the finishing touches! :)

This is what a busy, almost 2 year old does when her mommy is painting. Climbs into the sink on her own and plays with the old hardware from the dresser! She was so cute I just had to take a picture. Don't worry, I could see her from where I was painting. She played up there for atleast 20 mins!

The painting project in progress...

Here are the lastest belly photos!
Weeks 25,26, and 27

27 Weeks

Here is my 27 Week photo from Avery's pregnancy!

I think I'm bigger and lower this time round...what do you think?

26 Weeks

25 Weeks

Our Valentine's Day

2011-02-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

What a sweet heart day it was. We never make a huge deal of Valentine's Day, but Gabe was so sweet to surprise me in many ways. He started with waking up super early to make breakfast for me after I got home from the gym, flowers, brought me lunch at work, thoughtful notes, and he cleaned the house!. What a wonderful husband! We enjoyed a fun Valentine's date to Qdoba as a family. Looks like we have a theme going...we went to Chipotle last year! :)

Avery and I made Daddy a special Valentine ...he loved it!

Gabe surprised me with these beautiful flowers!

My two Valentine's!

We love Fridays!

2011-02-11T15:25:00.001-07:00

We love Fridays! We get to hang out with Gabe/Daddy! This weekend is regionals wrestling, so we made the most of our Friday morning!

Gabe and Avery had fun working out together!

Belly Growth

2011-02-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

I had originally wanted to take weekly prego photos, but I am behind. I started taking weekly photos at week 22. So here are the latest photos of the baby girl belly growth!

I'm definitely growing a lot faster with this pregnancy. It has me a little nervous about what week 40 will look like!

24 weeks

23 weeks

22 weeks

Madi turns 16!

2011-02-02T20:14:00.001-07:00

My little step sister, Madi, turned 16 last week. It's still so hard to believe how fast she has grown up!

It was fun celebrating her sweet 16 with her at Maggiano's in Denver. Hope you had a sweet birthday Mads!

My two cute step sisters...Ash and Madi

Avery and Aunt Diana were buddies for the night!

Denver Aquarium

2011-02-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

Last week my sister and her husband Adam were in Denver for a day because Adam had a job interview. They live in Durango, so we don't get to see them as much as we would like. But because they were going to be in Denver, we spent the day up there in order to see them. While Adam was at his interview and Jenny went into her office (she works from afar), my mom and I took Avery and her cousin Coby to the Aquarium. Last minute, Gabe decided to take the morning off to join us! That was so much fun having him go with us! He has wanted to take Avery there for a long time, so I'm glad he could come! Mom, thanks for treating us to such a fun day! Avery absolutely loved running around the Aqaurium and seeing all the big fish! We even saw a mermaid show!

After the Aqaurium we hung out with Jenny and Adam for a little while. They met us where we were having lunch and then I went to my Dad's with them to hang out for a bit. It was great to see them and my cute nephew Coby. He is such a sweet, sweet baby. He didn't fuss at all at the Aqaurium!

Avery got to see her Grandpa for a little bit, which you can tell she was happy about!

Jenny and Coby

Checking out the rays

There was a tiger at the aqaurium! Gabe loved it of course!

Such a sweet Yaya, her grandkids sure love her!

Coby giving Avery kisses

FLY!

2011-01-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

One of Avery's favorite things to do with Daddy at lunch time...FLY!!

I caught this cute video of them today! And of course she has to fly her baby once she is done flying with Daddy! We are so thankful he comes home for lunch most days!

We need to work on her hand placement! Poor Baby!

Post-Op

2011-01-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

Avery had another post-op appointment last week and unfortunately the news wasn't what we wanted to hear, but we somewhat expected it. Since her surgery we have still seen her eyes wander out, not nearly as much as before, but still discouraging. We found out that we have to proceed with patching and exercises to try to get her brain in synch with what her eyes are doing. I'm thankful that majority of the time, she has great focus. We are still praying and believing for a full miracle on her eyes!

Gabe found a great verse that we are now praying over Avery!

"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." Proverbs 4:25

It's a...

2011-01-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!

We are so excited to announce that Baby J #2 is a GIRL! We had the ultrasound tech write down the gender on a card I made and waited to open it at dinner that night. It was hard to wait, but so much fun to open it just the two of us on a date for Gabe's birthday!

I loved growing up with sisters, so I couldn't be more thrilled that Avery will have a sister of her own! Can't wait to meet you in May ( or June) sweet little girlie!

We are getting closer on deciding the name, not sure if we will keep it a secret or not, but I'm excited to start calling her by name!

Wedding Bells Ring!

2011-01-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Ashley DeVore ( now Ashley Cook) got married last weekend ! I had my sister Ash go with me and Avery since Gabe wasn't able to go; he had an all day wrestling tournament in Pueblo. It was such a beautiful wedding and Ashley was a gorgeous bride! It was also great to spend time with my sister and see friends I don't get to see all the time! Once the music started, Avery and Jane danced the night away!

Dancing with the bride and my friend Jess

Dancing with Auntie Ash

Me and Megs!

Dani, Me, Jess and Megs

Such a beautiful bride!

Gabe turned 30!!

2011-01-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

This past week Gabe turned 30 on 1.11.11! Because it was such a big birthday, I decided to surprise him over the course of a couple of weeks. First off, I surprised him with his present which was a flat screen TV. He has wanted one for so long, so I thought it would be the perfect gift. And it was! He was definitely surprised and impressed with my ability to pick it out, get it on sale, hide it in the basement, etc. It was fun surprising him with it on Rose Bowl day because his friend John was coming over to watch the game. Thanks to his mom and my mom for helping me get this gift for him!

Next, was his surprise party. I had it at Champps and for the most part he was completely surprised. He got a bit skeptical the afternoon of the party because my story was getting interesting. He thought I was planning something for his actual birthday, not the weekend before, so I think I caught him off guard. Regardless, he had a blast and we are so thankful to all of you who came! Thanks for making Gabe's birthday so memorable and special!

Lastly, on Gabe's actual birthday we found out what Baby J #2 is! For all of you who don't know already...you will have to wait for the reveal post! Stay tuned ...

Happy Birthday Gabe! You are such an amazing Husband and Daddy! We love you!

The birthday man!

Avery and Grandma had a blast playing with this pole!

Avery and Grandma playing!

Yummy Cake!

Muttie and YaYa

Avery with Muttie and Pop Pop

Ash and Eileen

Bobby, John and Gabe

John Hutton with his little guy, Aza

With my sister Ash

Shawn & Mary Yost and John & Jessica Zachman

My little sister Ash and her friend Alyssa

Bobby and Alexandra Rainbolt. Gabe grew up with Bobby. They live in Ft. Collins now. Thanks so much for making the drive to come to the party guys!

Billy Gabel and Gabe's Dad

Lots of Grandparents to love on Aves!

Avery so excited to see Daddy!

Surprise!

Sweet Friends

2011-01-06T16:52:00.001-07:00

Avery and Jane had a fun playdate yesterday...as you can tell from this video!

Around Christmas, I was able to get together with these sweet friends. Some of us live in CO, but others live across the country, so it's always a treat when we can all get together! I have known them since elementary/middle school. They are such sweet women and I'm so thankful they are still in my life after so many years! We always have so much to catch up on, but we can always pick it up like we see eachother everyday! I just love them!

I'm excited to see some of them again this weekend for Ash's wedding!

Check this picture out...I found it in one of my old photo albums. I don't have a scanner so I just took a picture of it.

This is our last day of 9th grade!

WOW! Look how we've changed!

I pray that Avery would always have strong and lasting friendships! I pray she would always be a faithful friend! There is nothing like a sweet friendships!!

2011 Snow

2011-01-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

We finally got some snow, so we spent time playing in it on New Years Day! Avery was not so sure about it at first. Probably because she could barely move in her snow suit that was HUGE on her. I couldn't find her other snow pants, so that one had to do. She eventually started having fun once Daddy was jumping over her!

Daddy/ Daughter kiss after they were done playing! So cute!

The flying marshmallow!

Watching Daddy shovel while enjoying her snack

More family fun!

2010-12-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

This week has been so wonderful because Gabe took the week off from work. He has had a few wrestling practices, but that's it! So, we have enjoyed a lot of family time together!

On the 26th, my Dad's birthday, we went up to Denver to have dinner with some of my family. Avery had a blast as usual at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Also, Grandma came down one night this week to watch Avery so we could go out on a date! We went to the movies, which we only do once a year! Thanks Eileen for coming down!

We have spent the rest of the week catching up on things around the house, napping, laughing, taking Avery to the mall play area, and hanging out as a family!

She was so cute sitting on the counter helping us make tacos! She is wearing one of my tank tops around her neck, which she loves doing for some reason!

Every time we go to Grandpa's house she loves playing with the coasters! Grandpa can always make Avery laugh!

loving the birthday cake!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here is our Christmas in photos. We had a pretty low key Christmas since we stayed here at home. Avery is still recovering very well from surgery and had a great time opening up her presents. She loves her new building blocks, or should I say she loves watching Mommy and Daddy play with them. We competed over and over to see who could build the highest tower...she thought it was hilarious!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! It's hard to believe its almost 2011!

Using all of the blocks, we built a very tall tower!!

Playing with her new barn!

She loves her new phonics toy from Yaya!

Pop Pop stopped by on Christmas morning since he was in town. Poor Muttie had to work on Christmas!

She loved her disney friends she got in her stocking. She got Minnie Mouse from her sweet friend Jane after her sugery...but she wanted to hold her while she opened her stocking...

Christmas Eve

Running around the sanctuary...she was so happy to be out of the house!

"Cheese"!

Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Ash came to see us on Christmas Eve. Avery was happy to have visitors after surgery!

Playing with Grandma's watch...

Her cute new back pack!