Thanksgiving and Wisconsin Mommy-Daughter Trip!

Well it's been about a month because now Avery is already 5 months!!! Time is going to fast. My little baby girl is getting so big. I will have to take her and weigh her tomorrow for her official 5 month stats.

But lots of other things to blog about!

Thanksgiving was great. We went to Josh's parent's house for lunch. I made my favorite pecaned yams and then also some secret family recipe chocolate pie.(Josh's sisters were joking, "Is this like the special chocolate pie from the movie The Help???" haha. No.) I made two to take and two to leave at home. We had them all gone within the next few days. This year was the first in a while that I have NOT gone out shopping on Black Friday! I placed an order online at Kohl's at midnight and went to bed. It was much easier. Then we went out the next day and bought a Christmas tree (from a gas station that was about 1/2 mile away... we were feeling lazy this year) and spent the day decorating the tree and the house.

Then the next week, we all drove down to Salt Lake City and spent Thursday night there, seeing the lights at temple square, so Avery and I could fly out to Wisconsin early Friday morning. I get a stomach ache just thinking about the stress I had about flying this time (I don't know why but I think I get more freaked out now than I ever have) but Avery was perfect as usual (seriously, that probably sounds annoying but she is honestly sooo good!) Even people on th plane were like, "She is such a good baby! Not even a peep!" It was great.

So Wisconsin was good. We did a lot of shopping and eating - two of my favorite things. We were there from Friday until Wednesday so it went by fast, but it was a good visit for just us girls. Hopefully the first of many mommy/daughter trips! :)

When we got back to Idaho, the next couple weeks of December were filled with more Christmas preparations. Gabe had his Christmas program at school last week and he sang, "Here comes Santa Claus" with his class. It was very cute. They did lots of actions. Caleb was in his preschool class at the time but they brought the preschool kids down and sat them in front on the floor so Caleb had a front row seat! (Josh, Avery, and I were closer to the back). It's crazy to think that while we were there at about 1:00 pm such a horrific tragedy was just finishing occuring across the country in Connecticut. I can not believe this nation is turning into a place where you can't even send your kids to elementary school without worrying they might get shot and killed. It's horrible. I don't know what the solution is except for to teach your kids to be the best people they can be and to love God and one another because every day might be your last. So unbelievably sad.

But I will try to finish this blog before I get too depressed again and cry!

Caleb hs had so many funny little moments I need to just write every one down on here because they make me laugh. Gabe is getting so grown up and mature. He helps me a lot - when he wants to - and is really excited to get more legos for Christmas this year. Josh recently went to Gabe's class last Tuesday and did a presentation with Truck (the dog) and the kids loved it. He had some kids hide drug-scented towels in the classroom in file cabinets and backpacks and then ad Truck go sniff them out. It was fun to watch. And Miss Avery is just our same old sweet little girl. We got her a walker off craigslist that she sits in and the boys puch her around and she laughs away. She is so quick to smile at just about anyone and has been more vocal lately, discovering how to blow raspberries and making different singing sounds to amuse herself. She's also discovering her hands and sometimes she'll just look like she's in a trance staring at them and slowing forming fists and moving her fingers. It's funnny. I love that she has so much hair. I can put bows in her hair now without even needing the headband to attach them too. She still has the smoky blue eyes, maybe they will change, maybe not.

So that is all the news I can think of! We're excited to almost have Christmas here! Now for all the pictures... The one of me with the bear is at the Idaho Falls Museum. They had a gingerbread house exibit we took the fam to. Then there's also baking sugar cookies, temple square, our Wisconsin visit, Josh's K-9 presentation with Gabe's class, and my latest couponing haul for those interested (probably just me) But for my own record keeping, I spent $28.01, retail was over $95. 43 items (4 things not pictured), average of 65 cents each. Yay for coupons!

Avery is 4 Months!

Avery turned 4 months old yesterday! Here are her stats!:

Height: 27 inches (the nurse even rechecked it because she was only 24 inches at her 2 month appt and she thought maybe she measured wrong... nope)
Weight: 16 lbs 7 oz

For her height she is over the 100th percentile. For her weight she is 95th. For her head size she is like 60th (little head!) The doctor said she is the biggest tallest baby he's seen in a long time. I am trying to picture her as a supermodel in 20 years and not a WNBA star. :)

She is not rolling or anything yet. She smiles and laughs at pretty much anyone who looks at her. She likes her new little bumbo chair we got her and still likes to be wrapped up at night. She still sleeps all night from about 8:30 to 7:30 am. She is the best baby I have ever seen. Even the doctor (as he checked her ears, eyes, etc. and she just laughed and smiled away) was like, "She is pretty easy going huh?) I just hope she stays this easy forever!

Now, just for fun, here are Gabe and Caleb's stats:

Gabe:
Height: 50.5 inches
Weight: 60 lbs
Shoe size: 1
Size: 7x or 8
Age: 6 years, 8 months

Caleb: Height: 45 inches
Weight: 56 pounds (4 less than Gabe!)
Shoe size: 13
Size: 6
Age: 4 years, 5  months

When Gabe and Caleb held their feet up to each other's tonight, Caleb's was seriously practically the same size. Maybe only a cm less. He is definitely a big boy. Gabe is tall for his class too but when Caleb comes out of his preschool in a little line with all the other kids, it is like, "What is that 1st grader doing with the preschool kids?"

Here are some cute Avery pics and some of the boys:

I also wanted to brag about my latest coupon adventure. I am definitely not going to win any awards from the extreme coupon ladies who save like, 97 percent on each purchase, but I am still pretty happy. We go through crackers like crazy at this house, so that was something I wanted to stock up on. I ended up spending about $43 and the retail price before coupons that I added up from my receipts was over $150. I got 53 items, so an average of $.84 per item. Some of the items I didn't even have coupons for, I just needed them for Thanksgiving and they were on a good sale. This is what I got:

3 Mayonnaise (Best Foods/Hellman's) (about $1.50 each!)
4 12-pks of Dr. Pepper ($1 per box!)
3 Cool-whip (for my Thanksgiving pies)
5 Powerades (for our 72 hr kits)
12 boxes of crackers (Club, Ritz, Cheez-its) (about $1 each!)
8 cans of Cream of Chicken or Mushroom soup (.29 cents each!)
5 Cans Swanson chicken broth
5 bottles of soy sauce (.39 cents each!)
6 Pasta Roni's
2 Kraft Ranch dressings (.99 cents each!)

I probably at this point have not lowered my monthly grocery bill, but I am getting a TON more for my money and for my food storage, which was my goal. So it's going good! Even though I might be turning a little crazy about saving money! I actually think it's kind of fun to sit down with the ad and my coupons and do the math to figure out which deals are the best. Am I a nerd? Yes.

Caleb-isms

Here are some funny momemts I have had with Caleb lately. He always makes me laugh!

Caleb was sitting in the recliner and rambling on and on about something as usual, but I wasn't really paying attention and was playing pee-a-boo with Avery. Finally he got so frustrated that he went, "Arrrrgggg! Mom! You're not even listening!! Now I am NEVER going to tell you how bouncy balls are made AGAIN!!!" My loss on that one I guess.

Caleb had been telling me and Josh about a game of memory that they had played at preschool. You know, where each player takes turns trying to flip over 2 cards at a time that match? So, Caleb is telling this story and he's really giving us every detail, but the premise was basically  that he was kicking everyone's butt in memory. Now, I was right off the bat, thinking, "Well, a lot of the kids in Caleb's class are handicapped to he probably WAS winning, because he does't have a developmental delay, so that probably wasn't quite fair.... but anyways, then Caleb says, "And I just kept getting matches! And do you know how I did it???" and I thought he was about to say, "Because I remembered where they were!" But no. He exclaimed, "Because! I COULD SEE THROUGH THE CARDS!!!!" *Big grin*

When we were watching Curious George, Caleb said something about the man in the yellow hat being George's dad. I tried to explain, "Well, he isn't actually his DAD... he is more like a really fun friend that helps take care of him..." Caleb looked at me and said, "Ohhh.... so he is his GRANDPA!" haha

Then last night before bed he randomly said, "Mom, Thank you for pushing Avery out of your tummy cause I really like her!" That's good to hear!

How cute is this girl???

Diane (Grandma Rhodes) took these pictures one day while babysitting. Soooo cute!

Halloween!

This year for Halloween, Gabe was a "cowboy sheriff", Caleb was a red Samurai Ninja (why???), and Avery was an adorable butterfly/caterpillar. I made her costume myself based on the idea of her little bedtime blanket/wrap that she loves. The wings wrapped around her and turned her into a caterpillar. Caleb's costume was bought at Wal-mart, and Gabe's was real cowboy clothes borrowed from his cowboy/indian cousin, Orrin (seriously... if you know us you will get that.)

So on Halloween day I went into Caleb's preschool for their party from noon to 1:30 then I went to Gabe's party to help from 1:30 to 2:15. Kristy watched Avery for me. (Thanks!) Then we came home, Josh got home from his K-9 training at about 4:00, then we ate dinner and went out trick-or-treating from about 5:30 to 7:30. We did our street with all our neighbors and then went to one other neighborhood in the Willowbrook subdivision. I would say the boys had fun but also didn't get totally obscene amounts of candy, which was good. They actually have it pretty much gone already! I reached in their pumpkins for a piece and came out with a handful of empty wrappers! :(

The other exciting news....
Josh had been looking online for mini vans for the past few weeks. We had kind of discussed it and decided that our time for a van was coming, but I wasn't in any hurry just yet. Our Highlander is all paid off and I was not looking forward to having a car payment again... and driving a van. But Josh kept looking online all the time and we were planning to spend about 16,000 on a 2008ish Toyota Sienna, so one day he saw one in Idaho Falls priced at $12,900 for an 08 with low miles and we got all excited. We jumped in our car and sped down there ready to buy it. But then.... we saw it. And it was not pretty. It was pretty UGLY! It was totally trashed inside and out. We were depressed. So then we decided to go get some Chick Fil A and call it a night. However, on our way there, we passed another car dealership that had a white Toyota Sienna parked off to the side. I told Josh to pull up so I could just quick run in and see if it was for sale and what the price was. Well.... four hours later.... we were signing paperwork on our new van. Crazy. I must say I am a pretty good negotiator though. We ended up driving out of there in one of their vans as a loaner so they have a few days to get our new van cleaned and ready. It was just traded in the day before we saw it so it hadn't even been detailed yet (and it was still cleaner than that other one we looked at!) I am excited because we are still not going to have a car payment. We basically traded our Highlander for a one year newer, 15,000 miles less Toyota Sienna van that will fit our family a lot better. After all the negotiations.... we are only paying about $700, including all the fees, taxes, registration, etc. So we are pretty excited. It isn't an 08 like we were planning on, but it's still really nice and it won't cause us to go into debt! Yay.

I need to find my camera now so I can post some pictures!

Crazy Snowstorm and Crazy Coupon Lady!

Before all the cute Halloween pictures (next post I am sure) I wanted to quick write about 2 things.

First, we had a freak snow storm last week that dropped probably about 5 inches of snow on us within a few hours. It was so insane and random. It had just barely dropped a few flakes the previous day and we were all like, "It snowed! That was weird! Glad it's over!" Then like, the very next day, it REALLY SNOWED! We were like, "Nooo! Not yet!" Well I was anyway. Gabe and Caleb couldn't wait to get on their snow gear and help dad shovel at 7:30 in the morning! But now it is Tuesday (so about 3 days later) and the grass is totally green again. There is like, a 5 by 5 inch patch of snow left by our front curb where it was piled up when we shoveled. It was 63 degrees today and is supposed to be 65 tomorrow for trick-or-treating. Who knows what the weather will ever do these days right? I also have a friend who flew out to NYC to visit someone last week and was supposed to return on Sunday. Now she has been stranded there with all the hurricane stuff! She hopes to get home in a couple days. Crazy weather. Anyways, so here are some pictures of the kids in the snow.

Second, it has long been a complaint of mine about the amount of money I spend on groceries. I feel like ever since we moved to Idaho, I have spent at least 30 percent more per month than I did in Wisconsin. It is really no lie. Groceries here are insane. Our little town of Rexburg doesn't have a Super Walmart and the two other grocery stores I think are really expensive. Back in Wisconsin I was able to shop at Aldi for a lot of stuff anf I never felt like groceries were that much. So, after being bored one day while Josh and the boys were gone on a road trip, I discovered this TV show called, "Extreme Couponing." It really made me say, "Whoa! How the heck do they do this? They save so much money!!!" I started asking around. "Hey? Have you couponed???" I asked all my neighbors. They looked at me like I was their 80 year old cat-lady neighbor. Like, "That's too much work. Who has the time to clip coupons??" So I had to dig a little deeper. There is this website I frequent that is basically like a craigslist for just Rexburg. I met this girl kind of by chance on there who knew how to coupon. She offered to give me a little lesson. I said, "Okay..." a bit hesitantly. So I went to this girl's house whom I have never met, paid her $10, and then sat there for 2 hours to learn about the crazy world of couponing. It was pretty entertaining. I was very intrigued. You would think it involves hours sitting with scissors, cutting millions of coupons from ads. But in this day of internet and blogs, you can pretty much spend 30 minutes on a Sunday night planning out your deals and save some BIG money by just cutting a few select coupons or printing them off from the internet. The ten dollars I spent on my "coupon consultant" was easily saved in my first trip to the store today. I posted a picture below of my big deals. I was pretty happy because I usually buy my shampoo for about $3 a bottle and I needed to stock up on some more. So 6 bottles of shampoo would typically cost me $18. Today I spent $21 and got 6 bottles of shampoo/conditioner.... and a whole lot more. Retail of itall on my receipt was about $65. Now, I am not saying I will instantly be a crazy coupon lady... but today definitely peaked my interest. It may either be something I try and then fizzle out at... deciding it's not worth it. Or... maybe... just maybe... this could be the start of a whole new adventure. And a crazy couponing addiction. ;)

Avery is 3 Months old!

My little girl is growing fast! (And seriously... she is a big girl for her age....) I actually had my mom pull out my baby book the other day to see what I was at this age and I guess I was even fatter! So there is still hope that she won't be obese when she grows up, although I think she will definitely be tall. I took her to get weighed at the doctor's yesterday for her official 3-month weight and she was 14 lbs, 11 ounces and is 25 inches tall. For sleepers, she is starting to wear 6 month, basically for the length. In most other clothes she is in the 3-6 month size. She is definitely getting meattier, and has some little rolls on her legs and has a little double chin going. I will have to post this one picture I took of Gabe holding her the other day. I said, "SAY CHEESE!" and Gabe pretended to be asleep (boys) and Avery did the hugest smile I have ever seen! It was great. You can see her double chin really well. :)

Gabe is really getting into the swing of things with first grade. We had his first parent teacher conference with Mrs. Henneke and she said he's getting over the first month anxiety he was having. He was missing us a lot during the "long day" (he said it was sooo long compared to kindergarten! I was like, "Well... get used to it") and so I sent a family picture of us for him to keep at his desk at school. Mrs. Henneke said, "That picture was a great idea. I only catch him pulling it out of his pocket to look at it a couple times a day now..." awww! He is so cute. He is definitely attached to his family I guess! But he has a lot of little friends and every time I go in to volunteer for center time, all the kids are nice and say, "You're Gabe's mom!" and we have a fun little time. I like kind of sneaking in there for centers so I can check everything out and know all the kid's myself in case any of them are mean to my little boy. Then I know exactly whose house to tp. jk. I am a little overprotective...

Caleb is also doing well in preschool. One of the moms in my neighborhood that works over there said, "Caleb and those other boys play so rough at recess!!!" I believe it. Caleb is my crazy tough little guy. Gabe is a little more sensitive. When Caleb gets mad it comes on fast and furious but is over within two minutes and he's on to the next thing. Gabe will stew things over in his head for a while and bring them up later. Like he'll say, "Mom... last night you snuggled with Caleb before bed but you only scratched my back for a minute. That isn't fair." He's all about keeping things fair! I tried to explain to him that I have snuggled with him for two extra years already since he is 6 and Caleb is 4 but that was no consolation.

Both of the boys love Avery and get a kick out of her now when they make funny faces at her and she actually smiles back at them. They say, "She is smiling! She is soooo cute!" I must agree. However, the past four nights she has woken up in the middle of the night at some point to want to eat. That is not cool. She seriously was sleeping from 9:30 to 7:00 am since she was about 3 weeks old. Now that she is waking up I am like, "What the heck??? Are you going backwards in development???" Or she is just getting huge and wants to eat all the time to stay full! I don't know. But pretty soon I think I can start rice cereal so maybe she was keep full longer.

Josh is doing well at work. He's busy with Truck (the dog) going to trainings and stuff sometimes, but it's actually pretty nice because he gets two extra days off a month and he gets to trade out his crappy shifts to go to day trainings in Idaho Falls once a week. So you'd think he'd be home a lot. But no... he decided to fill all his extra days off working at this bird hunting place about 30 min away. I think he actually just enjoys it. The money is just a bonus. He loads guns for these rich guys that fly out and stay at this lodge and hunt for three days. Then they give him a big tip at the end. So we've been using the extra money to try and build up some food storage and other stuff. (His "other stuff" was buying another gun. Why? I don't know. I guess it's a guy thing.)

So that is the latest with our family! I have been busy trying to lose the last of my baby fat with Zumba classes. I have been 5 times and am still struggling in the back row to keep up with the 80 year old women who is shaking it to the salsa moves in the front row! She must go every day. She is a pro. I am like, "Can you show me that move again???" It's fun.

Here's some pictures! The ones at the end are with Noah and Rowyn Rolph, our neighbors, (and maybe Caleb's future wife?) when we went out to the desert so the men could shoot their new guns.

 

 

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures taken last week for the first time (professionally) since well.... ever. Just for fun I am posting this one that was taken in this archway at the BYU-Idaho campus gardens. 8 and a half years ago, Josh and I stood in that very same arch and had our engagement pictures taken. Now here we are, back again, with our whole fam. Kind of fun! We look a little aged, but not too bad... :)