Moments that make you melt

Our lives have been chaotic the last month, we lost my Opa & the grieving has brought with it family stress and high emotion. On top of that, Andy & I are possibly buying a house & trying to rent out our condo, all before baby #2 arrives. It's easy to dwell on the stress and sadness and with a well, challenging child like Avery it's sometimes easy to forget just how blessed we are. Today Avery and I had quality time together while Daddy was at work. She was a really good girl for me, even giving me the biggest hugs and kisses before bed. 20 minutes into bed, she wokes up crying for Mommy & wouldn't go back down so I let her cuddle with me in the living room. She soon passed out, snuggling up warm with me. I laid my sleeping princess back down in bed & before she turned to pass out again, she whispers "Love You." Made my heart melt.

My sweet Avery Love: you are the greatest joy of my life. You show me what unconditional love is and consume my heart with love for you. I will always be so grateful to be your Mommy. I love you more than all the stars in the skies. ~Mommy

More updates and pictures to come soon!

Mommy-Daughter-Daughter Day

What's better than being pregnant with your 2nd child?  Being pregnant along side your best friends!!!  My good friend Diana is 3 weeks ahead of me, due 1/06/13 with a girl, (Maria who sadly lives in Delaware is due the same day as me, 1/27/13 with a little girl), and my KK is 6 weeks behind me, due 3/10/13 with a girl!  (That's alot of pink!)  I feel so blessed that our 2nd baby girl is coming into this world with built-in best friends.  I hope they cherish the friendships with each other as much as I cherish the friendships I have with their Mommies.

To celebrate our exciting news, we had a Mommy-Daughter-Daughter day in Bellevue last weekend.  We had a delicious brunch, shopped for all things pink, and got pedicures.  We had a GREAT time, can't wait to do it again!

My first munchkin got to play with the girls through brunch then Daddy picked her up for nap time.

Avery looking too cute in her outfit fom KK.

 Getting pampered at InSpa.

Our 3 sweet and beautiful Mommies.  I know I'm biased, but I don't think you can ask for better.  Thank you Moms for making us who we are and for already loving and supporting our daughters to be!  We love you!

Love, Jenn, Di, and KK. 

Baby #2, it's a....

Last Friday we got to peek at Baby 2 and got to find out if there was more pink or blue in our future! We made it a family affair at the office, Nana, Grandma, Daddy, Avery and Auntie KK were all in the room, watching and waiting.

Since Aunty KK is also a Sonographer, she got to make the big announcement: it's a GIRL!  Avery is going to have a little sister!  We were a little shocked, we really thought this one was going to be a boy.  I guess Andy, like Opa, is destined to be surrounded by beautiful wormen. :)

Later that night we got together with our good friends, the KM crew: Margie & Scott, KK, Tammy, Mandi and Amy & Jay at the Grazier Ranch.  We got to do a fun reveal and share the news. 

 It's a GIRL!

20 weeks down, 20 to go!

My 2-year-old little lady

Last weekend Andy & I attempted one more shot at Avery's 2-year phtoshoot.  We took advantage of the sun, though it did make photography a bit more challenging.  We ended up with a few good ones.  It kind of makes me sad to look at these pictures - my baby girl is growing up way too fast.  She's still a baby in alot of ways, very dependent on Mommy still, but she's growing more mature by the day.  I just want to keep her little forever!

This one is my favorite.  So grown up.



Smiles for Daddy!





People say they can see Mommy in some of these pictures.  I love it!  She's still very much Daddy (well, Grandma to be exact) but I love the Mommy moments. 

Avery has hit the terrible 2's with a bang.  She's stubborn, willful and knows that if she cries long and loud enough, someone's bound to give her what she wants.  At times I find myself at a loss, how did I end up with such a spunky kid?!  But days I'm away from her I miss her crazy antics, her sweet smile, her cuddles, her class-clown tricks to make people laugh, and her loving heart.  She cracks me up daily with things she says, faces she makes, dances & songs she sings.  She has enough personality for 2 kids for sure.  Daycare is proving to be a huge success: she now enjoys going, and we find she's more even-tempered on daycare days.  She's a kid who needs structure.  And all of her teachers absolutely adore her.  I still drive up to an excited little girl, running into my arms at the end of the day.  I wish that would last through her lifetime, to know that she's as happy to see me as I am to see her.  She is super excited to be a big sister, proclaiming "I big sisser!" and taps Mommy's tummy.  She's loving and caring to her dolls and other babies, hopefully she's that way with her sibling on the way!

I wish I could bottle my little baby girl up, keep her from growing up and shield her from the pains and hardships of life.  But I have to admit, as she grows more into the spunky little girl she is I love her more than I think possible.  Just don't grow up too fast my sweet Stinker, Mommy loses too many tears!

Soaking Up Summer

Summer seems to be back the end of August and into September, so we're soaking up all we can!

We took the boat out one last time before Mommy decided to retire for the season to keep baby #2 safe. We even got Avery in the tube!

Avery finally found the frog that Nana has been telling her all about.  She thought that was the coolest thing!

We got to go to the Aquarium with the Graziers & sweet Cole ("Baby Tole" as Avery calls him).

We get as much park time in as possible.

We go for our weekend walks to Kirkland/Bellevue.  Last weekend Avery lost the battle to a squeezer (and ended up topless) and passed out before we got home.

And we kicked off Husky football season!  Avery's game days are numbered as she's not the patient sleeping fan she used to be.

Anniversary Weekend





Andy and I have a tradition for our anniversary, taking turns every year and surprising the other person where we go.  This year was my turn, and we took the Amtrack down to Portland for the weekend.  We had a great, relaxing, quiet weekend.  The weather started out hot but suddenly changed the very next day to cold and rainy.  Still a great time. 

 

Meanwhile, Avery was at Nana & Opa's having a great time without us, getting spoiled and even got to play with Auntie!

Thank you to Mom and Dad for watching our munchkin so we could enjoy a weekend together.  And thank you to my Andy for 6 years of wedded bliss!  I can't believe all that we have accomplished in our 12 years together, a beautiful spunky daughter and another baby on the way!  I love you babe, couldn't imagine a better partner in crime!