Birthday Boy

Cameron turned ONE on November 18th. Can you believe it?! Growing up too fast, if you ask my opinion :) For his special day we invited a few friends to a nearby park for a little Birthday BBQ. It turned out perfect, what a fun day. My sweet friend Julia took all the pictures for us, she is so great! Party Guests...Our friend Amanda Rock, in the bottom left corner, was also celebrating her birthday. She had just completed a FULL MARATHON and stopped by after her run. And our friend Lindsay Untch, above her, had just completed a half marathon! Go girls!Time for CAKE!! Cam gobbled it up like a real man :) Last year for Avarie's first birthday, she just poked at it and was so dainty. There is nothing dainty about Cam.Avarie and her good buddy Ryan. I think Ryan is saying, "Uh, you got a little somethin-somethin on your face there". Hehe

My 2 favorite little people in the world. Happy Birthday Cameron Spencer!! You are the sweetest Cam-chop Chuskers ever :)

An Attempt at Family Pictures...

So much work goes in to family pictures. Seriously. Coordinating wardrobes, setting a time, getting primped and groomed, being on time at the location, and making sure everyone has their best happy face takes A LOT of effort. And of course Avarie decided to be a diva on the day of our pictures....

Here we are trying to console her...even Cam offered a helping hand.Hey, staring or scowling is better than screaming!And our other successful picture! Woohoo!Though our family pictures were a little rough, the solo shots of Avarie and Cam are insanely sweet.
Such a beautiful little person. How did I get so lucky?? Yes, she is Miss Independent, but I wouldn't have her any other way. She is our tootle-bug :)And HELLO adorable. Cam has me wrapped around his short, chubby little finger. Couldn't you just squeeze this chuskers all day?!? Look at those little loafer shoes!! Hehehe :)

And I love these handsomes.

Bring It

January 28, 2012

Let the training begin.

BOO!

Happy Halloween from the Princess and the Pea

Snackin' on the loot.
Cutest little peapod.

Don't forget the "Black-eyed Peas"

(notice Bennett's shirt, you couldn't see the P's on mine in this picture. Many people came up to me and asked if I had been punched....then they noticed the shirt. Hahaha) And just for the record, Avarie and Cam won BEST COSTUME DUO at our church trunk-or-treat party. Boo-ya.

And Bennett says that everyone needs to brush their teeth after all those sweets to avoid being his patient in the future ;)

Oh, hello.

I could SERIOUSLY smother this cuteness. Please don't grow up, Cameron. Be my teeny sweetness forever :)

2 Birthday Girls

October is such a fun month :) The beginning of Fall, beautiful weather, Halloween and baked goodies...oh, and 2 birthdays in our family. For Avarie's special day we started out by going to IHOP for breakfast. She loved it and was such a good girl. Later that night we had our family party with cheese pizza (Avarie's fave) and cupcakes with icecream. Watching her open her presents was awesome. She has the best reactions. She exclaimed, "Oh my! Oh my goodness!" for every present.
For my 27th birthday, I started the day with an appointment at the dental school for Bennett to finish my crown. Hooray! It actually wasn't too bad and he did a GREAT job. Then I went to the park in the afternoon with the tootles to enjoy the gorgeous weather...followed by the tradition of Red Robin - YUMMMMMMM (I couldn't resist). Then we came home for cake and presents. I must say, I was very spoiled. Bennett is so good to me and got all the presents on his own! We had our birthday date this past weekend and went to Texas Roadhouse (another fave) and saw the new "Footloose" movie. I love birthdays, holidays, and pretty much any reason to celebrate! And just because they are so darn cute...

Sleeping Beauty

Only REAL princesses sleep in their heels.

Party Girl

Today we had Avarie's "friend" party. I originally wasn't going to do any party for her birthday, but I couldn't resist. So we had a few little ones meet us at McDonald's for Happy Meals and cupcakes. It turned out perfect...and required very little effort :) Tomorrow is her actual birthday, so there will be another post about that in the future. For now enjoy a few pictures of my favorite little girl and some of her buddies.
Sweetest little 2-year-old I know :)

Waiting for friends to arrive...
Opening presents...
Admiring her generous gifts :)

Thank you to those that were able to make it! We enjoyed having you there to celebrate :)

The Diva and The Mooner

Oh Miss Avarie. A few days ago she pranced out of my room wearing these. She went about her business as if she wore heels all the time. Like mother like daughter, I guess. Her little leggies just kill me.

And then there is this little man. He decided to give me a peeky peek of his backside while crawling around. Just after I took the picture the entire diaper came sliding off. He continued to crawl around half nakey, giggling, as if nothing was wrong. Look at that face...isn't he just the cutest?!

"Dat's a No No"

Avarie is a smart cookie. She recognizes when things aren't "correct". For example, when a page is torn in a book, when crayon is on anything BUT paper, and when she drops food on the floor, she promptly tells me "dat's a no no". This is probably because I am constantly telling her what things are "no no's". This brings me to my story. We have felt that Avarie needs to be rid of her paci (pacifier). Bennett, being the dental student that he is, noticed her front teeth were starting to "flare". She only gets her paci at naptime and at night, but the time had come for the grand farewell. Bennett decided on the "cutting the tip" method. He snipped the end of the paci and put it in her crib. I was at the Relief Society broadcoast for the first evening of snipped paci. Bennett told me what happened...at bedtime, Avarie grabbed the usual - Elmo, Dolly, Blanket, and Paci. She put paci in her mouth, and directly pulled it out. She looked at it a little puzzled, poked her finger at it, and declared "dat's a no no". She continued to repeat this over and over. She went to bed crying. The next night I was home and it went the same as the first. We told her paci was broken. She went to bed that night with tears in her sweet little eyes, sobbing "paaacccciiii" and "no-no" over and over. I felt so bad, and I almost started crying as well. The next night was the same, and she was very sad. So I decided to throw it away, and told her it went bye-bye. The last few days have been rough, but she is surviving. Dolly and Elmo are doing their best to console her. The second change of the week was the installation of this:Avarie's little world has gotten smaller. She and Cam are no longer allowed in the kitchen. Though it has been sad for them, it has been joyous for me :) No more little fingers clinging to my legs and feet while I try to cook dinner, do dishes, or sneak a snack for myself. Thus far it has definitely been worth every cent of that $22 I spent. Overall, a successful week of change.

Baby Shower

My beautiful friend Lindsay and her husband Adam recently adopted a baby boy (They named him Michael). They had been waiting for 7 years to have a little person to be in their home. Their story is incredible, and has strengthened my testimony and love for eternal families and Temples. I was so grateful to witness such a wonderful moment in their life. With it being an adoption, Lindsay didn't have many baby things prepared. There is always a chance that something may not work out. I am so happy that it did! Our church congregation has rallied around their family and provided whatever they can for them. A few friends and I recently threw her a baby shower. And I must say, it was a beautiful shower. From decorations to food to favors, it was perfect :) Especially since we put it together in one weeks time! Here are a few pics of the fun day.

With Michael being only a week old, Lindsay left him at home and brought pictures with her so guests could see him. He is one BEAUTIFUL little boy.

The baby shower committee and Lindsay. From L to R: Brooke, Amanda, Lindsay, me, Emily. I love helping with and planning events...it's just so fun :)