Avery is 5 Months!

Here is Avery's official 5-month post!

Weight: 17 lbs, 14 oz

Height: 28 inches

Clothing size: going into 9 months, a few 6 month things still fit her barely

Sleeping habits: bath before bedtime, wrap her up in her nearly too small swaddler blankie (I am going to have to MAKE her a new one since they don't sell a bigger size!!! I am stressing out about this!) then she will sleep usually from about 9:00 to 7 am, but sometimes she does wake up once, usually around 4 am to 6 am. If she does this, she eats a little bottle, then goes back to sleep until 7 or 8 am. She LOVES music. Wrap her up, turn on her music, and give her a pacifier for a minute, and she's OUT.

Diet: Still just bottles! We have tried giving her rice cereal twice and plan to try again soon. She was pretty stubborn about clenching her mouth shut though! Hopefully she will eat it soon because I think it would help her sleep through the night better again if she would be really full before bed.

Personality: A sweetie pie! She is starting to figure out though that she likes attention. Sometimes I will lay her down in the living room and start to do something in the kitchen and she will just start yelling at me. Not even crying, just general squawks and squeals like, "Hello! Come get me!!!" Then as soon as I go over and smile at her she smiles back really big like, "Oh good, you heard me. Now pick me up!" The boys can keep her very entertained, especially Caleb. He had her full out laughing the other day when he was pushing her around in her walker.

Tricks: She does nothing really at this point. She can sit up in her Bumbo chair but not on her own. I did, however, put her on her tummy just today and she instantly rolled onto her back! I was so surprised! Then I tried to get her to do it again for the next half hour and she wouldn't. Haha, maybe it was just beginner's luck!

Here are some pictures of our little sweetie!

More Caleb-isms

Caleb was trying to convince me to let him drink soda one day.
I said: "No Caleb, too much soda is bad for you."
He responded with: "No it's not! Dad said it makes you STRONG!"
Me: "No way! When did he say that?"
Caleb: "He was drinking soda yesterday and I heard him say, 'That is some strong stuff!!!"

In preschool Caleb is learning both Spanish and sign language. One day Caleb holds up his hand in the "I love you" sign, with pinky and pointer fingers up and says, "This means GOOD right?" I (knowing it meant I love you) said, "Yup that it really nice!" Then Caleb holds up his middle finger by itself and goes, "And this means BAD!" Oh boy. Where did he learn THAT????

I was singing, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with Caleb. He was still trying to learn all the words. I kept singing at the end, "Life is But a Dream!" and he wasn't getting it and he kept singing, "Life is JUST a dream..." but I kept repeating it the right way. Then he finally sings, "Life is just a butt dream....!" So close.

We were having a discussion about food one day and the boys were eating corn with their meal. Caleb asks: "Which animal poops out corn???"
Me: "No animals poop out corn. It grows from the ground. The only time an animal poops out corn is if an animal has eaten corn.We don't eat animal poop."
Caleb: "Well chickens poop out eggs and we eat them."
Me: "Kind of, but it's different."
Caleb: "And cows poop out milk and we drink it."
Me: "Well...no, it's not exactly their poop."
Caleb: "And pigs poop bacon right???"
Me: "No, no, pigs ARE bacon. We are eating the pig. Does that sound disgusting?"
Caleb: (shrugs) "It's very yummy though!!!"

Guess after all that potentially scarring conversation, he really doesn't care what he's eating as long as it tastes good.

Also, funny side note, I found Caleb one day playing spies by himself and talking about, "Enter the secret code to get in the door," then he would press "buttons" on something and flip it closed and jump around like he was a spy entering a room. He would even talk into this device like a walkie talkie. I was wondering what cool toy had him so occupied. Upon closer inspection I realized, it was a package of my birth control pills.

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!