Ode to Avery

Avery, Aves, Missy Mae, A-town, Ry-ry. She is our little sweetheart.

She poses for pictures, such a ham. She loves her swimsuit. She finds it in her dresser, waves it at me, and pulls on her clothes to take them off.

She loves to read.

She loves to make her sister laugh. I sometimes put her in the pack n' play while I get ready and she loves to do this. Isabella thinks it is hilarious, and so do I.

She loves walks. As soon as she is in the stroller she sticks her fingers in the two little holes that the crossbar hooks into. They typically stay there the entire walk.

She looks more like her mom everyday, what do you think?
She is very independent. She likes to feed herself and likes to play with toys on the floors by herself, but every few minutes she looks up at me just to make sure I'm still there and smiles.
I love this little girl.

Ode to Isabella

Isabella, Izzy, Is, Bug, Frog, Izza-bug. She is a funny little thing.

She's can squeeze her way between anything, but can't get herself out.

She has "crazy eyes." That's really the only way to describe them. Everywhere I go people stop and and say "oh they are so cute....yada, yada, yada...and that one has...(trying to think of a nice way to describe them)...crazy eyes." They are big, round, blue, and at any given moment you can see white around the entire outside. Oh yeah, and check out the crazy hair to match.

She likes to put ping-pong balls in her mouth...

She likes to empty the entire box of baby wipes...

and eat them.

She'll chase you around the house with this look on her face and snorting. I love this!

Child Prodigy!

My girls are master pianists already! They didn't even need a lesson!

Although, Isabella likes to climb on the keyboard more than anything.

Which really irritates Avery.

Speaking of climbing... Isabella is a climbing machine! She climbs on anything and everything. Pretty sure she gets this from her dad. He could climb out of his crib by the time he was 1! She is getting really fast at climbing the stairs. She is so squirmy that it's almost impossible to change her diaper. Hence, her pajamas are not buttoned. And she is so strong! Isabella had RSV a couple weeks ago (Avery had it the next week, long couple weeks, glad it's over) and the strong, male doctor and myself could not hold her down to check her ears, we had to call in a nurse for help.
She pulls herself up on everything. Including her sister's face. Yes, if Avery is lying down, Isabella will crawl her way over and use Avery's face as a boost to stand up. If' I'm not giving her enough attention she crawls over and pulls herself up on my leg. It's really the sweetest thing in the world.

cutie patooties

Boy, I love these girls! Aren't they cute!!

Typically Avery Faces
Isabella being her silly self. She loves to eat her socks...gross, I know.
Now that Isabella is mobile, it's hard to get a picture of both of them together. Here's what happens when I try.

Moo, Baa, La La La!!

A cow says Moo.
A Sheep says Baa.
Three singing pigs say LA LA LA!
"No, no!" you say, "that isn't right. The pigs say oink all day and night."
Rhinoceroses snort and snuff.
And little dogs go ruff ruff ruff!
Some other dogs go bow wow wow!
And cats and kittens say Meow!
Quack! Says the duck.
A horse says neigh.
It's quiet now. What do you say?

Sadly, I recited the entire book without even checking to make sure I have it right. I know I have it right. Down to which animal "says" and which "goes". This is Avery's favorite book. I read it at least 5 times a day. She doesn't care if she's looking at the book or not. If she won't eat her mashed carrots, I just say "The cow says moo" and she looks up with a big grin on her face and I slip them in.

Our favorite comedian is Brian Regan and I am convinced he is talking about this book in one of his jokes. Here's a link to the video to see for yourself.

http://comedians.comedycentral.com/brian-regan/videos/brian-regan---animal-sounds

March Is Upon Us!

Yipee! Spring starts in 21 days which is one season closer to SUMMER! This summer will be particularly wondrous. I spent the first half of last summer hugely pregnant and on bedrest. Then of course the second half of the summer was consumed by 2 tiny little babies. So, I spent zero time outdoors. Such a shame, Utah has incredible summers! I couldn't limit it to 10, so here is my list of the 11 best things of summer 2010.

1. Boating. Every Saturday. Everyone is invited!

2. Sunbathing. I know it's really terrible for me, but I love it.

3. 4th of July. My favorite holiday. Oh yeah, fireworks are pretty sweet too.

4. Fruit! Strawberries, cantaloupe, peaches, cherries, watermelon, and although it's not a fruit, it still deserves to be mentioned, corn on the cob.

5. My family coming to Utah. My parents and siblings that are still at home always make a trip to Utah in July. We have been doing it for 25+ years.

6. For those of you that get excited for boots and scarfs... Blah! Boots and scarfs and suck it! It's all about sandals and sun dresses.

7. Looooong Days

8. My Brother-In-Law, Jon, comes home from his mission. Everyone says this, but I can't believe he has been gone for 2 years

9. Long walks OUTDOORS! I go to the Orem rec center and walk around the indoor track, but I'm really tired of looking at those brown walls and the smell of sweat.

10. Grilling. Grilling is awesome.

11. The ice cream truck. Those magical notes make my heart beat every time.

Built in Playmate

I've been told twins become easier as they get older because they play with each other instead of you entertaining them. I don't know about this. You be the judge....

The video and picture were taken on their half birthday!

The last 2 months

I decided after my last post that I hated blogging and I was never going to blog again. Haha, sometimes I can be such a teenage girl. I know where Isabella got her drama queen personality. But really I do hate to blog, but I like to read other blogs, so maybe others like to read my blog.

December started with Dallin starting a new job at Ancestory.com. He had been working there for several months as a contractor. They liked him so much that they "bought" him from the contracting company he was working for. He really likes it there and was very happy to make it permanent.

We went down to Texas for Christmas and guess who showed up on Christmas Eve!

Santa!!!!!!

Yes, I am looking at the wrong camera, Avery is screaming, and Dallin has his eyes closed. ehh...
My 6-year-old nephew was not fooled however. He knew is wasn't the real santa because "Grandpa was missing." It really was awesome. My dad really did a good job with all the hohoho's. I hope this becomes a tradition.

Christmas morning was a free-for-all.

At first Isabella wasn't sure what to think of all the excitement.

But eventually she came around.
As always, Avery was just happy to be alive
New Years Eve was spent in Texas as well. To welcome in the new year we decided to play a scandalous game of "truth or dare" minus the truth part. I'll spare you all the details, but lets just say Jared ended the night with an asphalt scrape on his butt, dallin had permanant marker on his chest for days, and Preston may not eat peanut butter ever again.

Of course the best part of the trip was spending time with these people!

My insanely cute nephew Bryce was a champion bowler.

All the Neeley's managed to spend an afternoon rollerskating without any broken bones. That's pretty good considering our history with the sport.
Me, sisters Jenna, Heather, Rebecca, Rachel, and brother Jared

Avery and Isabella got so much attention they didn't know what to do with themselves.

Avery with Grandma Lisa.
Lindsay with Isabella and Rachel with Avery.


And of course I got to hang out with these cute kids which always makes me happy

Nephews Austin and Bryce showing off their spiderman webs.

Niece Leah
We got back to Utah and spent the next week in depression trying to get used to the snow. blah...

The girls turn 6 months in 6 days! Wow, I can't believe it has been that long!