By the way...we're pregnant

Hello! So, like most people already know, we are going to have another baby. I am 16 weeks along already. Well, maybe I shouldn't put 'already.' It has been a very difficult and slow pregnancy thus far. I have been feeling like I've had the flu for about 3 months or so. Not fun. And on top of it all, I've had 2 terrible colds these last 2 months. Yikes. Anyways, don't worry about me--I have high hopes my morning sickness will go away in a month or so. Then, I will get to maybe enjoy being pregnant for a minute.

Anyways, Brian and I are extremely excited for this new addition to our family. And we think Avery will be pretty excited to have a new brother or sister to play with. We find out the sex of the baby on May 21st. We are so excited to find out!! Then, the real name choosing shall begin.

Lately Avery is getting really good at walking and she is loving her new little talent. She also loves to dance! Her little dance moves always bring a smile to my face. Today she said a new word: Tigger..lol. She said it more like Tidder, but it was so cute. She attempts words when she feels like it but it seems she never will say a word of hers on command. She only says her few little words when she wants to--not when we want her to. She is discovering her own little autonomy and enjoying herself.

Yesterday we went to Disneyland and California Adventure again as a family. It was a lot of fun. Avery enjoyed the rides but got pretty querulous in some of the longer lines. I noticed a lot of disgruntled parents at the parks yesterday. A lot of jaded, frustrated parents who did not seem to be enjoying their children's tantrums, whining, wandering off, etc. I'll be the first to admit parenting is no easy venture, but I couldn't help but feel like some of these parents had lost some of themselves because they were too busy seeing the hardship of child rearing. I heard comments like: "I'm so mad at you, I wish I could just kick you across the park" or "No! Stop it! What are you thinking?!" "Get back it that stroller!" "You're staying on this leash the rest of the time, young man!" One lady had that disgruntled look but didn't have any kids around her. But I just knew she was a mom who was fed up with her kids. She looked tuckered out, had a stern look on her face, and was walking with a chip on her shoulder. I followed her for a minute or 2 with my eyes only to prove myself right. A minute later, I saw she had 2 kids with the dad pushing the stroller. I turned to Brian at one point and pointed out all the things I had observed. So, we then promised each other we would never turn into one of those kinds of parents. And after that little promise, any time Avery would act up, I would just try to laugh it off. Taking that attitude helped me through the rest of the day. Well, I think this blog is plenty long, so I'd better end it! So, just as Tigger would say--TTFN! (Ta Ta for now) :D

Disneyland and the Beach

We had some great times together as a family going to Disneyland and the beach a few days later. Brian and I couldn't stop smiling about how cute Avery looked in her little tankini. Even though she is getting big, she is definitely still a baby. (Especially to us) Avery is still crawling right now, but we can tell she thinks about trying to walk sometimes. She just isn't brave enough to actually try it yet.

Today Avery and I had a little girls day out while Dad was working. We went to a bunch of fun stores at South Coast Plaza: H&M, Banana Republic, Gap, and of course, Baby Gap. I LOVE Baby Gap's baby clothes!!!!!! If I could have my way, I would buy all of Avery's clothes and shoes from there. They had these cute little baby espadrilles that were just a little too small for Avery. I was bummed I couldn't get them for her.

Brian and I are preparing for our Spring OCMCO concert. (We are in the Orange County Mormon Choral Organization's professional adult choir) Our concert is March 31st and I am SOOOOO excited for it. It is going to be so beautiful. Our director composed an Oratorio with the text from 3rd Nephi3-17. It is genius!! I absolutely love the music and am stoked we are recording a CD so I can have it for my own personal collection. Well, Avery is getting mad because I'm not playing with her, so I guess I'll cut this blog off. If you want tickets for the show go to ocmco.org.

Busy busy busy

So, I have been so busy with the stake production lately, I have all but given up on blogging. This will be a simple blog, since I do still have some costume work to do today on my day off. However, I just thought I would post these new pictures taken of Avery because she looks so adorable in them! Avery loves her little outfit Grandma made her. She will be 9 months in one week. I can't believe it! Right now she is about to get teeth # E & F. She has # O & P already. Dental jargon--she will be getting her two front teeth for Christmas after all. Her other tricks include: scooting around a little and pulling herself up to a standing position using my hands. She can say: dada(dad is happy she finally learned that one!), yaya, baba, and mama(her first sound) and she says some "s" sounds a lot, too. Avery is such a happy little baby. This photo shoot was so fun. I'm sure everyone at the park was laughing hysterically at me as they walked by because I was jumping, dancing, and singing to get Avery's attention and to keep her from eating the grass and leaves she was sitting on! We got her to smile a lot using an Elmo book her Aunt Sandy gave her. She loves it when we talk like Elmo and move him so she thinks he is talking to her. It is so cute--Thanks Aunt Sandy!
Lately, Avery has become very aware of the cats. She loves to watch them and touch them, when she can. Moglie has learned to run for it whenever Avery starts to reach for him. But Jasmine is so sweet and a lot of times will let Avery touch her--even though Avery bats at her and pulls her fur out. Jaz is so cute and doesn't really mind it.
Well, I have had so much fun doing this stake play! I have gotten to dance my little heart out and let loose! Although the politics of the play are a bit annoying, I am so glad to have been able to be a part of this musical production.Thank you to my wonderful husband for helping out so much and letting me enjoy this new experience! I love you, my deer! Opening night for Curtain Up is this Thursday!

Almost 7 months

I know I haven't blogged in forever...so I figured it was time to do so. Avery is at such a fun age now. She is curious as a cat, very happy & giggly, playing with things all the time, and so responsive to the world around her.

Avery has been starting new foods. She is a great eater, I must admit. We have tried: prunes(as seen above), rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, bananas, applesauce, & peaches. I'm not sure which is her favorite, since she eats whatever is given to her without any resistance. Hopefully this remains the same after I begin vegetables!

Lately I have been enjoying having my husband back! While he was taking his class, I felt like I was a single mom--not fun. But now we have been able to go to the beach a lot, hang out with friends, etc. I love my little family so much.

One thing that's new with me is I'm going to be in our stake play. We'll see where I am cast... It is a Broadway medley entitled "Curtain Up." It will be nice to be involved with something new where I can meet new people and perform..lol. I'm not sure how well I can act or dance, but I am sure going to try.

Today at church, I was in awe of how beautiful Avery is. A friend of ours held her for most of sunday school, and I was in mommy heaven just watching our little baby. She was just smiling and playing, loving life. I seriously think she couldn't be any cuter. I could be just a little biased though. :-)

Already 4 months old

Look at this Daddy Daughter shot. Priceless.

Brian and Sharie look so much alike in this picture!

Baby Avery watching the swim meet
About 2 seconds later she got a little bored.

Zander swimming in his race! What a stud.

Jozie dives in! Look at that form. Impressive.
Eden was soooooo fast. She killed the competition.

Kids are so amazing to me. How they can jump in that freezing cold water on a cloudy day and smile about it astounds me. They must be part fish. I was remembering the last swim meet we went to of the kids--it was last summer and I was feeling terrible. I was maybe 6 or 7 weeks pregnant with Avery and I hadn't told Brian's family we were expecting. Where does the time go?

Avery's latest is kicking sprees accompanied by lots of talking. And she loves her infant seat. She is kicking so hard against that thing; Brian and I worry she is going to bruise her heels! She especially loves to look at herself in mirrors. One of these days we'll post a video of her on here--when Brian figures out how to post just a clip of film on the blog instead of all the video camera's memory.

Gaining Speech & Loosing Hair

Sunday night I was in the mood to sing. What can I say, I love to sing! In fact, becoming a professional singer has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I used to be embarrassed to admit this. I remember when I was about nine, my mom told some people that I wanted to be a rock n' roll star when I grew up. The people she told chuckled a little at my quixotic ambitions, and I about died of humiliation. Anyways, I'm getting side tracked. So, I decided to put on a concert for Avery Sunday night. I sang to her for probably about 30-45 minutes. And she watched and smiled intently. :-D Needless to say, she loved the little concert. Then, about ten minutes after I had finished singing, Avery started talking loud and long. It was so cute. And she hasn't stopped talking since!! She has discovered her beautiful voice and I'd say, she is going to be a talented little singer one day!

And now to the the losing of the hair...Avery and I are both losing our hair! A lot from me and a little from her. Who knew pregnancy caused baldness? Not me. Apparently I was the last to know. Everyone assures me this is normal and that I wont go totally bald. We shall see. As if pregnancy doesn't leave you with enough physical defacement. This just adds insult to injury.

On a Baby High

Our little baby enjoying the spotlight in her bumbo chair
Avery is discovering she likes to eat things
Her favorite thing to eat is her hands...delicious!
So photogenic
We went on our first family hike! We trekked up to Inspiration Point and could see downtown L.A. and the coastline all in one shot--very cool. Brian carried Avery in the Baby Bjorn and got a good work out in! Here is Avery and me in our hoodies staying warm. I love this picture!
Look, mom, I'm WAY up here!


So, I figured it was about time for a new blog about motherhood and all its glory. Today I came home from church and was just having the time of my life holding, kissing, and talking to my darling baby girl. She had been SO good at church and then when we got home, tons of smiles and even a little giggle! She is so content and happy to be alive. I had to stop and just think to myself: "Wow, I am in Heaven!" Motherhood is truly the greatest calling on Earth. I never knew being a mom (with the world's best husband at my side) would be this wonderful. Avery smiles at me and I just melt. All my troubles go away when she brightens my day with her sweet smiling face.

I should mention that life as a mom is not all peaches and cream. There are days that go by where I think about how easy life used to be before I had a baby. When I had time to do whatever, whenever. When I could just hop in the car and go to the mall for hours.(this used to be one of my favorite pastimes) And there are plenty of days I wish I had a nanny to help me out and give me a break. But today I can't imagine life being any better. Brian and I are so incredibly blessed to have all that we do. I keep thinking to myself: What did I do to deserve this sweet, sweet beautiful baby? Perhaps, it's my reward for enduring a rough pregnancy. And at church, people are constantly telling us how good she is and how lucky we are. AND, I am almost afraid to type the words for fear I'll jinx it--but I'll just mention that Avery sleeps through the night--usually 8 hours and has a predictable feed, wake, sleep schedule! I give a lot of credit to Babywise for Avery's cheerful disposition and predictable schedule.

Believe it or not, I was thinking... if this is how incredible babies make you feel, then I want to have at least ten kids. It sounds absurd now that I'm typing it out right now, but I was seriously contemplating ten kids less than an hour ago. Although, since Avery is so good, I'm sure my next kid will be a terror as luck would have it. And then, I would probably be so exhausted that I would say: 2 kids--that's plenty! I guess we shall see how it all plays out! But seriously, babies are so special. There is nothing better than holding your child close and kissing them over and over. :-D