These are a few of my favorite things (this sunday)...

Spending time in Idaho the past week reminded me how much I love horses.  When I was little I was obsessed with horses (what little girl isn't?).  This last week my Aunt Amy let us ride her two horses, and when she brought them over, she told me "Smell them.  It's heaven."  My gosh.  The smell of a horse really is so amazing.  And I know that sounds weird, but if you've been close to a horse before you understand.

When Lincoln was born, Rachel let us borrow her noisy fan for a few weeks.  Once she needed it back, we bought one for ourselves, but it was so quiet!  When my mom visited she brought her own fan (we're serious about our fan/white noise in this family, no kidding) and I fell in love.  We didn't have to whisper, we could open and shut drawers without holding our breath even!  Reason #453 I loved my mom visiting is her fan.  And then...she left it with us!!  This fan is beat up, old, and super loud.  And I love it.

My mother-in-law left me a message yesterday and said a quick "I love you, bye" before she hung up, and it's made me feel like humming a little tune all day.  Isn't hearing the "love" word the best?

Today I'm also obsessing over fat baby thighs.  And fat baby everything else, really, but the thighs!  The little baby legs are killing me lately.

ice ice baby

We recently saw our pediatrician for Lincoln's four month "well child" visit (yeah shots!). L's doctor asked if he was interested in food, to which we replied "oh not at all!" So we sorta skipped over the information about what to do when he does become interested, since we were are bound and determined to wait until he is 9 months to feed him solids.  We left the appointment, and I swear by that evening he kept eyeing my popsicle, then cried when we held him at the dinner table and he didn't get to eat the same stuff we were.  As my mom puts it, "he's getting it."  He's getting, or understanding, that what we eat is not the same as what he eats.  Apparently he thinks it's better than what he's getting?  Rude, Lincoln.

So again, good thing my mom was here visiting for the beginning of this traumatic stage, because she kinda swooped in and saved all when she let him taste a little piece of ice (the lady is crazy about her ice.  Seriously though).  It served as something new and exciting, and gave me the idea to make [what Tyce has dubbed] milk-sicles.  Now every time we eat and L gets a little cranky because he can't have the "big kid food," I break out the milk-sicles.  For now, this serves as a distraction until I can think of other options to get us through the next five and a half months!

temple square

Last week we went to Temple Square (a few times, actually).  Since we live in Salt Lake City and drive by the temple regularly, we rarely get out and walk around.  Having my mom here was great (for multiple reasons) because she gave us a reason to be a little touristy in our own city.  Having Lincoln has changed both Tyce and my view of life, and we are so fortunate to have a gospel that offers the promise to be sealed for time and all eternity.

kiss them goodbye

My mom kissed Lincoln goodbye this morning and it's been no fun since they've left. Our little apartment seems so quiet, not to mention L's incessant need to be held, and this time around the bumbo isn't cutting it.  He wants to be held - as in picked up, in my arms.  Um, how about you guys turn around and come back?

we're home!

We're finally home. Somehow Hannah, Spencer, Rachel, mom, Lincoln and I (not to mention the tons of luggage we had - everything from a blender to a fan) all fit in the car, and are back safely. The last few days have been filled with raspberries, homemade bread, and fresh vegetables from the garden. Every time we visit Inkom I have flashbacks of all the memories I have of Idaho. Although I did grow up with more nature in my backyard than most kids, it is nothing compared to my grandparent's farm and the beautiful land that surrounds their house. It makes my heart hurt to drive away because of the wonderful memories it brings back, but we're on to new adventures with our own family now!

We've also managed to squeeze everyone into our apartment for the next day or so (i convinced my mom to stay in Salt Lake with us for a little extra time). I am dreading the day they have to leave, and I think L especially will have "Avarell withdrawals."

p.s. L did surprisingly well in the car, thanks to some talented singers and air-drummers!


*pictures (from left to right): 1-my cousin Taylor with the trout she caught 2-grandpa 3-Spencer and Hannah picking cherries 4-raspberry bushes 5-the creek behind the house 6-Rachel with Lincoln 7-grandpa and Lincoln 8-grandpa's hat 9-Lincoln on the way home

express.

So I thought a clever and time-saving solution to whitening my teeth would be the new 2 Hour Express whitening strips by Crest. I timed exactly two hours but it didn't matter. The nerve damage was already done, so today, every time I even opened my mouth, the air hurt my teeth. I had to forgo a slurpee because I knew it would most likely kill me, my liver is now suffering from the effects of how much Tylenol I had to wash down to keep my sanity in check, and I hardly smiled all day long (and if I did on accident, I immediately frowned afterwards because of the pain). It doesn't even matter that my smile is a little whiter because I can't open my stupid mouth! It's almost been 24 hours since I took the strips off and the pain has hardly subsided. I guess next time I want to go on a diet all I need to do is use these! Advice? Don't use the Crest Express whitening strips. Yikes.

In other news...tomorrow L and I leave for Idaho to visit my grandparents (his great-grandparents). It will be a great time for Hannah and Spencer to get to know L a little better, and to get a few more days with my mom until they leave to go back home. I just hope everyone is prepared to be high energy entertainers, because we're gonna need it for the car ride up!

I was looking through my pictures today because we were talking about our life a year ago (before we even knew we were pregnant) and I found one that was almost exactly 12 months ago. We were definitely happy, but there's something (or should I say, someone) missing (technically, he's there, we just didn't know it yet)!

pictures from when we met Tyson's family in Ogden

After we watched the boys on the Flow Rider in Ogden, we went to dinner at Ruby River. Thank goodness grandma Fuller was there because L was a little stir crazy so she walked around the restaurant with him while I ate. Gotta love those grandmas! I know Lincoln does!

Hannah Sue Hannah

My mom and I were talking today about Hannah, and what a happy baby she was.  There's so many stories of Hannah because we like to remember how much fun she was when she was little, but the best part about Hannah is she is still just as fun!  I love that she's so easy going, that she loves my little brother and makes him apart of her life, and that she has the kind of personality everyone can be around.  When I brought Tyce home to meet my family, she was the one to make him feel comfortable, who talked to him and made the effort to show me she loved me by including my boyfriend (even if he had a mohawk)!

Did I mention L is in love with her?

Heaven.

Am I right, or am I right?

Surfs Up

On Tuesday Britton surprised us by taking Tyson to the Flow Rider event in Ogden (we even got our gas paid for to drive up and have fun - now that's what I call a good time)!

After a few wipe-outs, Tyce was able to stand up and surf (enough time for a picture, anyways. We'll have more time to practice our surfing skills when we take our beach trip in August so don't worry)!

Stud Muffin

My brother is a stud muffin.  Or should I say, both of my brothers are handsome devils, but wow!  I used to know Spencer, and last night I met Spencer, the Stud Muffin.  Not only is he tall and good lookin (the girls know what I mean), he was amazing with L.  I haven't seen anyone make L laugh like he did, even when he had to make funny noises and silly voices.  Handsome and good with babies?  Hold on, hold on...he's only 13, so go easy!

Crazy part is - I was only a year younger than Spencer when my mom had him, so Spencer and Lincoln have about the same age gap as he and I do!

These are a few of my favorite things...

My sister once tried to tell me that her "nails were too short to look good with nail polish on." So I did what any sister would do, naturally, and painted her nails a dark plum to convince her otherwise. The entire weekend I would glance over and see her looking at her cute little nails, all painted and beautiful, as she picked up things or typed on her computer. Suddenly, everyday things became exciting again! I can look adorable drinking this bottle of water? Done. I can pinch Lincoln's pudgy legs, and feel pretty?  Yes!

 And so we come to the point of this post: I love when my nails are painted!  It makes everything feel more pretty, it makes me feel cute when I haven't showered, and what?  I can scrub the tub and enjoy it because I get to look down at my hot fushia pink sparkley nails?  Wonderful.

Dirty 30

For Tyce's second birthday celebration (we got so crazy at his first one, I know you're wondering why he needed another), we had dinner with our friends, Devin and Steph.  They live [not even] a block away, so we walked over pushing the stroller carrying a side dish.  At one point, Tyce looked over at me and asked, "what Mormon movie are we in?"

Dinner was waffles and chicken (soul food!), then Devin pulled out the cake he homemade Tyce.  Six layers.  Chocolate peanut butter.  Just carrying a portion of the left overs the half block home was a workout.

The best part was how both Devin and Stephanie held Lincoln.  They both knew how to support his little body and I couldn't help but notice how comfortable they looked with him.  Can I say they're going to be great parents without sounding too obvious?  Well, they are (she's due in February)!

Thirty.

A few months ago, Rachel was telling us how "old" a few guys were in one of her classes. She said, "it's so crazy to be in class with such old guys, they're like 30!" We're still laughing about that one.  To be fair, Tyce doesn't seem 30; he's still lighthearted and fun (unfortunately something that fades in the majority of people as their age increases), so why wouldn't people be surprised at his age? Now, as new parents, we count how old we will be in comparison to how old Lincoln will be: "so when he is graduating high school, i'll almost be 50!" Now that will help 30 seem young (which, it is)!

Tyson does rock those sunglasses (as I pat myself on the back for a gift well chosen)!  I guess anyone that good looking would, though.

mumbo jumbo

We got a bumbo as a baby shower gift...and after learning it cost $40, we took it back and used the money towards the billion other things that were still "must haves" at that point. Now that L is old enough to hold his head up, the bumbo slowly slipped onto that "must have" list. I can make dinner with both of my hands while L is propped up to see me work - all.on.his.own!?  Unloading the groceries, doing my hair, folding the laundry, the list goes on!  He feels like he's part of the action, gives me a minute to use both hands, and what is even better is he looks adorable just sitting there.  Doing nothing.  No kidding, am I a mom or what? After all is done and said, I'm still a little mad that thing was so expensive.  I'm not sure if I want to high five, or kick, the guy who created it!

"Let me out!" he cries, when he has had enough sitting for one day. Sometimes you just can't replace dad's arms!

900 East 900 South

Last night we visited my old neighborhood, on 9th & 9th (I lived there while Tyson and I first started dating). We decided to get gelato and take a walk to the my old apartment building on Lincoln Street.  I miss the little hipster community on the outskirts of downtown!  The gelateria we ate at was adorable, and like most of the shops in that area, it was unique and independent (except for the random Great Clips squeezed in), so it gave us one more reason to buy gelato there (like we needed one!).

We love you too 9th & 9th, we love you too.