Our new toy!

David has literally been begging for a Wii for about two months. We thought about getting one for Easter, but after the Priesthood session of conference ( I don't know who, but someone mentioned not spending money on "unnecessary" things) he thought maybe it wasn't a good idea. And really we just didn't have the money to get one. The real problem with buying a new game console is all the "extra" stuff you have to get! Nintendo really likes to nickel-and-dime you big time! Well thanks to Aflac and an unexpected hospital stay two weeks after the baby was born, we are now proud owners of a Wii system. I really wanted to get the Wii Fit, so I got one. (I figured I deserved it since I was the reason we get the extra money.) When I had talked to Aflac after my second hospital stay they told me that I might get $100 per day since the bulk of the money they only pay once a year and I got that money from when Avery was born. When I checked the mail on Monday, we had a nice surprise from them, $1115! I couldn't believe it! I told David that since we weren't expecting to get that much, we could finally get a Wii, and he was so happy! I must say that I love Aflac and I will definately sign up with them again if we decide to add more kiddos to the family. I love that you can make money from an insurance company instead of paying money for insurance you may never actually use! It is great!

I also took Avery for her two month check up yesterday and she is doing awesome. Here are her current stats:

10 lbs. 14 oz (50%)
23 1/2 inches (75%)
15 inches around her head (40%)

She had to have two shots and the drink for Rotavirus (sp?). She did really good. When the nurse gave her the first shot she shook her head and seemed okay, but when she got the second one she started wailing! She was not happy! She calmed down pretty quickly and fell asleep as soon as she was back in her carseat. She was a little fussy last night, but she seems to be her normal self most of the time.

Avery's Blessing and a busy weekend!

I have been meaning to blog about Avery's blessing this whole week, but I have been very busy! (Mostly I have just been outside with the kiddos and the other moms in the community enjoying the awesome weather!) Avery was blessed this last Sunday by her Daddy and it was a great day. He did an amazing job, it really was a beautiful blessing. I can already tell that Avery has a very special spirit. We had a luncheon at my parent's house with our grandparents, parents, siblings, and a few close friends. It was a really beautiful day! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Avery in her blessing dress. Right after we got to my parent's house she had a blowout diaper and was a mess! I had to put her back in the dress she had originally worn to church that day. I also forgot my camera so these are the only pictures of the occasion. All of these pictures were taken by Abbey too! She is actually really good at taking pictures and she loves to do it. Anytime she sees a camera she picks it up and starts taking random pictures. We have to keep the camera put away or we would be replacing the batteries all the time!

The day before Avery's blessing was a very busy day. The girls had a primary party in the morning, David and I had tickets for the Desert Star theater, and we celebrated David's mom's birthday. I also had to get everything ready for the blessing, take and pick up David's suit from the cleaner's, give all the girls a bath and cut David's hair. I couldn't feel my feet by the end of the day! It was a great day though. It was fun to be able to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday with David's family. We wished Joe and Jamie and Justin could have been there, but we still had a good time.

I can't believe it is almost summer! Alyssa is almost done with first grade! She is growing up so fast. She will be turning 8 this December. Abbey only has a few weeks of preschool left. She has her program coming up on the 11th of May. I can't wait to see it! She loves to sing, but she only sings when she thinks no one is listening. I hope she gets up there and sings her heart out! Avery has her two month check up on Tuesday (even though she is closer to three months old). The doctor is very busy and he was booked clear through April and I made her appointment the day we left the hospital (Feb 10th)! David is playing on two softball teams this year and sometimes fills in on a third team when they are short some players. He loves sports and I love that he can do the things he enjoys. We love to watch him play. He has his finals coming up next week and then he is taking the summer off school and I am thrilled! It will be nice to see him more. I am staying busy just being mom! I feel like I am in the car all day long (really it is only about 3 hours a day ;)). I am looking forward to school being out so I don't have to drive so much. I still love my job, and I am happy that I get to take Avery with me. She is such a trooper and she spends more time in her carseat than out of it. I hope she continues to love her carseat or I will be in big trouble.

Avery's Visit to the Cardiologist

When Avery was three weeks old she had a cold. I called the pediatrician's office to ask what the symptoms of RSV are so I would know whether or not it was serious. I really didn't think it was RSV because she wasn't coughing a ton, she was just really congested. The nurse I talked to said that there were so many babies with RSV at the time and that I should bring her in to be tested just to make sure that wasn't what it was. I took Avery in and we saw one of the other doctors in the practice and he thought he could hear a murmur when he listened to her heart. (Her RSV test was negative.) He thought that it was probably nothing serious, but suggested we see a cardiologist just to make sure. He said that it was most likely the artery that goes from the lungs to the heart that was a little narrow and it would naturally open up as she grows. A couple weeks ago I thought Abbey had an ear infection so I took her to see the doctor and while we were there, I had our pediatrician listen to Avery to see if he could hear the murmur. I told him that I had an appointment with a cardiologist to get it checked out. He said he couldn't hear it, but I should keep the appointment with the cardiologist just to be safe. Well, today was her appointment. They did an EKG and took her blood pressure. I explained everything to the doctor about taking her in to be tested for RSV and he said that sometimes when babies are sick, their organs are working harder and that could explain why the pediatrician heard the murmur in the first place. When the doctor listened to her heart he said he couldn't hear anything abnormal and that her EKG looked perfect! He told us to cross this off our list of things to worry about. I will do that for sure! I am so glad she is healthy- we are so blessed to have healthy girls! They also weighed her at the appointment today and she weighs 10 lbs 6 oz. So she has only gained about 3 1/2 pounds since she was born. I can't remember how tall they said she was, but we go in for her two month check-up on the 28th, so I will update that later.

Easter Weekend

The Easter Bunny visited our house on Saturday morning and hid some eggs around the living room. The girls woke up at 5:00 am. I guess it was my fault since I told them the Easter Bunny would be visiting. I made them wait unitl 6:30 to hunt for the eggs. The girls were having a lot of fun finding them. They also got some new jammies, a new outfit, and too much candy.

We then headed to our church for the ward Easter egg hunt. They also had breakfast for everyone. Once again we had a great time.

The reason we do the Easter Bunny on Saturday is so that we can focus on the real meaning of Easter on Sunday. When we got home from church we sat around the kitchen table and David gave us a lesson on the Resurrection and the Atonement. The girls had already learned most of it during primary, so they were able to add to the lesson. It was great. After the lesson we decided to watch "The Testaments" video. I was glad that we could feel the spirit of the holiday and remember the reason we celebrate and reflect on all Christ has done for us. We then went to dinner at my parent's house and we ate what everyone else in Utah was eating- ham and funeral potatoes. We also had rolls, deviled eggs and corn. The dinner was great and it was fun to hang out with our family. I wanted to take some family pictures too, so we did that as well. The girls are so cute! Avery loves to smile, but sometimes she makes funny faces. The picture of her is her smile. I love it!

Just as a side note, the girls did not get in to Monticello Academy, so we will wait and see how the Magnet school testing went. I am to the point now that I just want to leave Alyssa in the school she goes to now and have Abbey join her there. We will see though....

Flying kites!

I know I am on blog overload, but I wanted to add one more. Yesterday David had softball practice and he thought it would be fun for us to fly kites while he practiced. The girls were so excited to finally use their kites. There wasn't much wind, but just enough to get them up in the air. We had such a fun time! Abbey kept saying, "I need to make my string longer so my kite can reach heaven!" It was so cute. Alyssa was funny too, she would run with her kite and then she would just fall down on the ground and laugh. I could tell she was having a great time. Abbey's kite got stuck in a tree so David had to leave his practice to come save the day. I tried to get it down myself, but he had to climb the tree in order to get it untangled. After about 15 minutes, he finally got it down and Abbey was happy again. She had been crying the whole time thinking we were going to have to just leave it there. Thanks Daddy for saving the day!

More Avery pics...

Alyssa loves holding her baby sister and trying to make her smile.

Smiling for Grandma Jeri.

Hanging out with her biggest fan- Daddy! He absolutely loves having a baby around again. He grew up with all brothers but he is so good with his girls!

Hunter and Avery

This is my newest nephew Hunter Bryan. He looks just like his dad! He wasn't too happy to be getting his picture with Avery. He is crying in every picture except for the first one where Avery is the one who is crying. We have taken pictures of them more recently where they were both sleeping and they are way cuter. Hunter and Avery are about 3 1/2 weeks apart and I am sure they will be good friends.