Old Man

On Saturday, Jaron turned the big 3-0 and we celebrated J-dogg style. First we opened presents right away as Avery could not wait to see what he got. He received a dutch oven cookbook, a t-shirt, a whoopie cushion (loads of fun), beef jerky, a monster energy drink to get him going, and another Amp energy drink just in case.

We then headed out to Santa Cruz with our great friends Mike and Zariq who came up to stay with us for the weekend. The boardwalk was very crowded since it was such a beautiful day, but we had fun on a few rides and enjoyed the beautiful views.

Back at home, Jaron fired up the smoker for a yummy chicken and ribs barbeque complete with corn on the cob and dutch oven biscuits. We closed out the birthday with a homemade pazookie (baked chocolate chip cookie with icecream).

I realized, of course, after Mike and Zariq left that We did not get very many pics and we did not get any of all of us together. I hate when that happens!! Thanks guys for coming up and making Jaron's birthday a ton o' fun.

"Meme"

I love to read these little "memes", but I have never done one. I saw this one on my friend Christi's blog today so I thought it would be fun to try it out.

What I was doing 10 years ago:

1998: I was in my sophomore semester at Biola University going out of my mind taking Microbiology and awaiting an acceptance letter into the Nursing program (which I got :). I was also preparing to work at Frontier Ranch, newly hired by my future bro-in-law, Derek. Little did I know I was about to meet my future husband!

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. chocolate of any kind
2. Cafe D'Vita Mocha, but I recently had to go through detox because I was totally addicted
3. Chocolate and oats fiber 1 bars
4. cereal
5. dried fruit

Five jobs I have held:

1. I worked at Sears, my very first job.
2. Camp counselor and red hat at Frontier Ranch. Mission Springs will always hold such a special place in my heart.
3. Physical Therapy Aide - I worked at a clinic in Morgan Hill then when I moved to Sacramento I worked at a clinic for 2 years until Jaron and I moved to Watsonville. It was a great job.
4. Teacher - I taught 7th grade Life Science at Monte Vista and loved it! My first group of students will graduate from High School this year. I also taught 6th grade Earth science, Math, and Bible at Milpitas Christian School last year.
5. Pre-school aide. I took this job during our year in Simi Valley so I could be with Avery and work at the same time. I loved it because during nap time I got to read.

Five Habits:

1. I bite my nails. I really need to stop as now Avery has taken on this habit as well.
2. I have to have something warm to drink in the morning. As I mentioned, I was addicted to Mochas, but now have switched to coffee with vanilla creamer. I don't know if this is any better since I drink 2-3 cups.
3. When Riley is sleeping, I have to get real close to her face to make sure she is breathing before I can go to sleep and when she is napping I have to check on her multiple times.
4. I have to vacuum at least once a day. I love to see the fresh vacuum marks on the carpet. This is only one example of my obsessive-compulsive behavior.
5. I love to throw things away. Jaron hates this specifically because I have thrown away important things such as CPR cards and checks - yes, one for 2,000 dollars once.

Five places I have lived:

1. San Jose, Ca
2. La Mirada, Ca
3. Sacramento, Ca
4. Watsonville, Ca
5. Simi Valley, Ca

Avery

This girl cracks me up. It is so fun to see Avery grow and watch her personality unfold. She is very imaginative. She loves to pretend play and today told me she had some imaginary friends whom she buckled into their carseats when we went out today. She loves anything to do with being a princess, loves to dress up, have her nails painted, and wear lipgloss.
She is shy at first, but after a while will warm up and jump around like she normally does in the comfort of her home. She loves to snuggle and be "comfy cozy" with mom.
She is stubborn and independent, wanting to do everything by herself. She pouts and has become a pro at sticking her bottom lip out. She is a creature of habit and loves/needs to stick to her daily routine. She loves her baby sister and no one can make Riley smile like she can. She gets sad for her dad during the day and always greets him with a "Daddy, Daddy!!! and a big hug. She is clumsy and falls at least 3 times a day which is why she is always covered in bruises.
She is beautiful and those blue eyes against her pale perfect skin are hard to resist when she is acting a bit stinky.
We love our Avery Lynn!

Garden

We have been wanting to start a garden for a while now, mainly to grow our own pumpkins. Jaron got the area all ready and on Thursday he and Avery planted pumpkins, watermelons, corn, tomatoes, squash, carrots, and sunflowers. They have been out there together for a few nights now and it is so cute to see them working together. I'm not sure how much we will harvest, but having something fun to work on as a family is worth it!

New Foods

I know this picture is a bit fuzzy, but I thought it was so cute. Riley is now eating a ton of new foods. Some of her favorites are prunes, shown in these two pics, peaches, pears, bananas...really any and all fruits. She will eat a bit of some veggies, but not too much. She also will eat graham crackers, cheerios, and biter biscuits. She is growing up so fast!!

Sleep, oh precious sleep!

The time was finally upon me to start teaching Riley that night time was for sleeping. Since she was born, she has always woken up a few times in the night to nurse. In the last month or so, she has been waking at the same exact times to just soothe herself for a few minutes then go right back to sleep. She has also been sleeping in our bed so neither Jaron nor I have been getting restful sleep.
I post this simply for myself, so that if we have another child (probably a 5% chance) I will have record of this trial, and for any other moms who read this. I always enjoy seeing how other moms do stuff.
I decided that after Derek and Amy left, I was going to let Riley cry it out. Now, I had done this with Avery at 6 months and it worked beautifully. She woke up and cried a few times during the night in the first 2 nights, but by the 3rd night she was sleeping great. Unfortunately, we moved when she was 9 months old and she ended up sleeping with us for a few nights and we had to train her all over again. By this time, she could sit and pull herself up so she would cry and cry then fall asleep sitting up. When she started to fall over in bed, she would wake herself up. It was horrible. She was not a good sleeper again until she was about 2 years old. All this to say, I was determined to train Riley before it was too late.
I started on Saturday night. I put her down around 8:30pm. She cried for about an hour and fell asleep. She woke 2 or 3 more times (the exact times she had been previously waking up at out of habit), crying for about an hour each time. She finally woke up around 7:30 am. Not bad.
Sunday night rolled around and she had a harder time going down, waking up and crying off and on until around 2am. She then slept solid until 5:30am. She started crying so I went in and put her on her tummy and she fell asleep until 7:30.
Monday night - night #3. As per all the books, by night three, the child usually gets it...and she did! She slept from 8pm, going down with minimal fussing, until 5:30am. At 5:30, I again turned her onto her tummy and she went back to sleep until 8am. A true miracle.
And so every night since, Jaron and I have enjoyed uninterrupted sleep and a bed with zero children in it. Oh how sweet it feels to sleep through the night!

Big Basin

Today we headed out for another adventure. Destination: Big Basin State Park. We started off with a picnic lunch and then went on a .6 mile hike down the Redwood Trail. It was a gorgeous day and the girls were both in great moods so we could not ask for anything more. The trees were absolutely amazing and we were in awe of God's creation! After that hike, we headed out for another one just until Avery got tired. She did pretty well and lasted for quite a while, but after almost 2 hours, was ready to sit in front of the fire at the store. Today's fun was another reminder of why we love California!

Old Haunts

On Monday we went on a beautiful drive over part of Hwy 17 and then took Summit road over to Soquel. It was such a beautiful day. We drove through Capitola and made our way to Pleasure Point to watch the surfers and enjoy the view. How we miss living over that way!! Jaron and Avery had a fun time looking for sea anemones, shells, and crabs. Riley and I simply enjoyed watching. We then headed over to Aloha Island Grille to meet up with Matt, Rachel, and Joey and enjoyed a yummy dinner.

I always feel so blessed to live near the ocean and wish we could enjoy that beautiful view every day!

Crafty Amy

Amy made these adorable dresses for Avery, Kaylin, and Ocean and they modeled them for us all last night. Thanks, Amy!!

This one's for my bro, Derek!

Ahhh, how cute! Look at those beautiful princesses twirling and dancing around!!

New Hair

Amy and I both got new cuts this week! I went and had all my hair chopped off on Tuesday. I still cannot believe how incredibly short it is. I do love it, but am still getting used to the reflection in the mirror sometimes. I have never had it this short before. I do love that it is super easy to style...5 minutes and I am done!

Yahoo for new super fun hair.

Easter Pics

Two full and heavy easter baskets!

Soccer

Avery started a soccer class at the YMCA last Saturday and she did pretty well. I want to expose her to as much stuff as I can, but I am not sure she will be our athletic child. :) She had fun learning to dribble, shoot, and stop the ball, but I think her favorite part was at the end when she got to run through a tunnel the parents had all made with their arms.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Today we headed down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was Avery's first time and she had a blast. It was a bit crowded, but fortunately we bought membership passes today so we can go back whenever we want! Our favorite spot was watching the huge tuna and it was especially fun watching Avery see and discover new things. On our way back home, we stopped in Moss Landing to eat at Phil's Fish Market. It was a great way to end a beautiful day.

Fun, Friends, and Fondue

Last night, after much anticipation by Rachel and I, we finally had our fabulous fondue experience. We went to a fondue restaurant in Saratoga called La Fondue. We started off with a complimentary pear schnopps followed by salads. We then had our yummy cheesey fondues with an assortment of dippers. The main course was next which consisted of lobster, shrimp, and filet mignon for Jaron and I. Matt and Rachel chose a variety of meats including ostrich, shrimp, chicken, chinois, and some others. Then the best part of the meal was next...chocolate. We ordered chocolate peanut butter and the flaming tortoise (chocolate, caramel, pecans). We had a ton of dippers - strawberries, grapes, marshmallows, cheesecake, poundcake, snickers, rice krispies, and a few more. We were definitely full by the end!! To top off the evening, Matt and Rachel gave me my own fondue set for my birthday. When's the party???

Photo Shoot

A while back, the girls had their pictures taken at The Picture People. There were so many great shots to choose from. My mom scanned these from our prints so now I can show off my beauties!

Birthday Celebration

We headed out to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday dinner. So yummy! This is one of my favorite restaurants. I am a brand new cheesecake lover so it was my first taste of this incredibly yummy dessert. I had the original cheesecake with fresh strawberries and it was worth every calorie!!

Jaron got me this fabulous watch for my big 3-0! I love it!!

A different ending, please!

Do you ever watch movies and wish that you could change the ending? This happens to me a lot and I often find myself watching the movie again in hopes that I can change the ending just this once to see how things could be different.
I absolutely love period movies. Some of my favorites are Little Women, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Shakespeare in Love, Anne of Green Gables, and today I can add another...Becoming Jane. As I watch, I always wish I could have lived during that time. I can watch these movies over and over again (as Jaron will tell you). I think I have seen both Sense and Sensibility and Little Women well over 25 times each. Thankfully, both of those have wonderful endings.
Anyways, I watched Becoming Jane and was so saddened by the ending. (If you have not seen it and want to, please stop reading!) I so wanted Jane and Tom to end up together! I know it sometimes makes for a "better" movie if the characters do not end up together, but come on...on a rainy day when your kids are both napping and your husband is working a basketball game and tears are starting to fall, you just want that happy ending!