Fun in the Yard and First Sleepover

Last weekend, we spent all day Saturday doing yard work. This is a first for us since we've never had a yard. We planted our first attempt at a garden. We'll see how it goes.

This (below) is a rare photo indeed. There is nothing, really, that I enjoy about being hot, sweaty, and dirty. I forced a smile for the camera.

Allary was anxious to jump right in and help. I'm looking at this picture thinking, "why didn't I take off her sparkly shoes?"




Also over the weekend, we splurged on a new toy I've been wanting for Allary. This is the best toy for her as she absolutely loves water.



Friday night, Allary had her very first sleepover. Kevin and Leslee offered to have her come spend the night so we could have a nice break. It was so wonderful. We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then to a movie. We were able to be rebels and linger at the restaurant as long as we wanted and we even went to a late movie and stayed out well past bed-time. And, the next morning, there was no little knock on the door across the hall and no little voice demanding milk and cartoons. I must admit I did miss her a little. It's weird being without her, a nice break, but still weird. She had such a great time with her cousins and I'm pretty sure she didn't miss me at all.

Also, I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Jason and Allary made me breakfast and let me have a nice, relaxing day. I got to have all the cuddles and laughs, and Jason took over the potty training, baths, cooking, and work. It was great.

Exciting News

We are ready to add another child to our family! We are "expecting" we just don't have a due date. We are adopting! It has been a long few months of paperwork, gathering documents, interviews, and classes, but it has been surprisingly therapeutic for me. I have really gained a strong testimony of adoption and how it, and I, fit into God's plan. I have a lot I could (and maybe will in a later post) say about not being able to have a baby, but for now, I just want to let everyone know we are adopting and how excited we are. We are going through LDS Family Services, which is a wonderful agency and we love our caseworker. We have completed all of our paperwork required for approval and we are just waiting until our caseworker writes up our adoptive study and lets us know we are approved. After we are approved, our profile is then circulated among birth mothers until we are chosen.

4 Years!!!

Today is our Anniversary! I love my husband so much. He is handsome, and sweet, and hard-working, and talented, and caring, and devoted, and etc etc etc. We have certainly had our share of trials these first few years of marriage, but it has only made us stronger as a couple. In every stressful or emotional situation, Jason is my rock. He has never once in all 4 years lost his temper with me or Allary, or in any situation I have ever seen him in. He absolutely adores Allary and me and never forgets to tell us how much he loves us. I feel so lucky to have been led to that particular multimedia class at UVSC where we first met 4 years ago.

New Wheels

I have had my eye on a cute little red tricycle for Allary ever since we decided to move here and we would finally have a backyard. I happened to see it on sale, convinced Jason we needed it, and then we surprised Allary with it.

Helping Daddy put it together. I'm not sure what's up with the crooked smile.


She of course wanted to ride it right away and it was pretty cold outside. So I just put on her sweats, and out we went.


Pretty much ever since we got the bike, the weather has been miserable. Poor Allary stands at the window and just stares out at her cool new bike. I snapped this shot just a few days ago when we woke up to snow. Grrrr.

New Clothes, Good Friends, and Fun in the Tub

It's still pretty cold outside, but I couldn't resist putting Allary in some of her new summer clothes today. I told her we should take some pictures of her cute outfit and she said "Okay, but I have to sit on the chair." and these are the photos I ended up with. She cracks me up.



It ended up being quite the photo shoot.




Allary fights her nap every day. I have started letting her just have quiet time where she has to find something quiet to do either in her bedroom or her playroom. Some days, she does okay without a nap. Then there are other days where I come in to check on her during quiet time and this is what I find.
Yesterday I met up with some of my friends from our previous neighborhood. We took the kids to a fun place with lots of fun equipment to jump on. They had a really good time and it was great for me to get to catch up with good friends. In the picture are Caleb, Abby, and Allary. I don't really think about how small Ally is for her age until I see her around other kids her age.


I mentioned once or twice that we would go swimming with Megan when the weather gets warm enough. Allary has been asking me over and over when she can go swim. It seems like the warm weather is never coming and so I guess her bath is as close to swimming as she's going to get for now. She always wants me to fill up the tub even more because she "needs to swim." I've never seen a kid who loves the water like she does. She puts her head under the water as it comes out of the tap, she lays down in the water on her back, she splashes like crazy, and she pours buckets of water right on top of her head. Sometimes I think she's going to drown herself.

Twilight Movie

I am a huge fan of the Twilight book series by Stephenie Meyer. On her website, she recently announced the cast of the movie being made. If you are a fan like me, be sure to check it out...

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_movie.html

The Princess and the Potty

As if potty training isn't hard enough... add in the element of a few layers of princess dress-ups! Oh my goodness.
I normally would not post any potty pictures simply because it's mean, but I just thought this was so funny and so typical of my girl. The potty training is going okay. I am tired of it and it seems like she'll do really well for a day or two, and then just decide that it's not something she has time for in her busy schedule of coloring and reading. It is hard for me to keep her motivated and excited about it and I feel like I am her personal little cheerleader who is running out of energy.
It's hard to think of any other news as potty training has pretty much taken over my life lately. Oh, I got a calling in our new ward. I play the piano in the primary and I love it. The primary is pretty small, usually about 12-15 kids. There are usually 2-3 kids in the nursery but some weeks Allary is the only one. The primary president told me my first week that if Jesus were to come to church, He would be in the primary. I think she's right, I just love it. Jason hasn't received a calling yet. I think he's enjoying this little break after being a very busy Elder's Quorum President.
Other than potty training, I've just been busy with the usual house work and errands. Any free time I have I am either blogging or working feverishly on my family's Christmas present. "Christmas?" you say? Well, it would be wonderful if I were 9 months ahead of things, (HA!) but instead I am over 3 months behind on things. Oh dear. I make a DVD full of pictures and video for my family every year, and this one is taking an especially long time. I just need more time in my day.
I am excited for Conference weekend, and not just to get to watch Conference but because Jason actually has the weekend off. Yea!