All you mammas know how certain days can go. There's so much to get done, the hours fly by, and the kids can get a little attention deprivation. The day starts out with an attempt to feed Teya some medicine for the first time in her life.

It didn't go well, nothing ended up in her stomach. Watching the Caillou episode on Taking Medicine and all that talk about it being yummy candy juice didn't work.
Then I get down to business: appt managing stuff, phone calls, cleaning, etc... I eventually check on Teya and this is what she has become.
My orphan child.

The poor thing is so dirty she can't even remember how to smile correctly. Those sad little eyes.... this is proof Teya probably gets TOO MUCH attention from me. Really only an hour has passed and she is acting like a deprived soul...
This is a close up just to show you the many details. Where did that piece of tape come from? Why are her fingernails black? Did I really forget to wipe the spaghetti sauce off her face & hands?

Welp, into the bath you go! I let the water run while I checked on something, and this is how I find her, bearly peaking out of the mountain of bubbles. There's only and inch of water in there... it's ALL bubbles. (That Deseret Shampoo lathers REALLY well ;)

Ahhh! The euphoria of bubbles, getting clean, and having mommy's undivided attention once again!

Teya learns about the band-aid the day before this picture is taken: I fixed an owe on her foot. The next day she gets hurt again... five minutes later I find her with a great big band-aid on her leg. She did it all by herself too, how did she know it would stick? Wonderful usage Teya!


Still working on that nose-picking habit.

Concentrate, must lather evenly...

ELMO & ABBY Story Time at the bookstore. After eating cookies, coloring, & listening to Elmo read a story, we finally got to meet them! But not before a long wait in the line... you see her face? It says it all...


But it was all worth it to see her interact with the characters. She was thrilled to be able to talk to & hug them. She even knelt beside them after the picture planning on hanging out and playing for a while. So the attendants let her sit there for a bit since she was SO cute about it! I think they were surprised since most kids we watched were either stiff or terrified to meet Elmo.


A night on the town with Gma Coco & Gpa Dimples. Do kids like these little rinky-dink horse rides, or are we just fools lured into giving a dollars worth of quarters to see our cutie smile for a 45 second ride? I take the latter.


An impromptu Tea Party at Ikea while we were picking out Teya's new big-girl-bed, an early birthday gift from her Grandma Coco and Grandpa Dimples. I'm thinking this craft table set is going to be her Christmas gift this year...

Ma mère. Elle est belle. Elle est angélique. Elle est le modèle femme,
compliments de son mari et lui toujours soutenir.
Elle est le parfait mère, ce qui donne tout son temps et d'attention à ses enfants. Elle enseigne par exemple, qui est la raison pour laquelle tous ses enfants ont grandi en forte individus. Elle nous a appris à aimer en aimant tout le monde le sait, elle.
Je ne me souviens pas de lui crier ou d'être grossier, jamais. Ce serait bizarre.
La bonté, la charité, et de compassion de rayonner d'elle. Elle est altruiste, mais ne l'a pas oublié qui elle est comme une femme.
Tous les jours je remercie le Seigneur bénédiction pour moi d'être sa fille. Chaque jour, je plaide avec le Seigneur à Donnez-moi la force élever ma fille de la même manière. Tous les jours mon amour pour elle grandit à mesure que je passer par mon propre procès maternage. Je comprends plus clairement ce qu'elle a fait pour moi et combien elle doit aimer moi.
Merci Maman vous, vous êtes mon héros! Je t'aime! Je suis béni d'être scellé pour vous pour l'éternité. Je suis honoré d'être votre fille, et je suis honoré de croître votre postérité. T'aimer.

My mom, Lynnette, and Niece Ava.

Mom & Dad on Fathers Day

My Big Little brother, Brennan, with Mom & Ava.


This picture is priceless, one of my all-time favorites! Look how Beautiful she is. Can't you just SEE her kindness and sweetness in this picture? She's holding my older sister (and best friend) Jessica. This picture must have been taken not long after their one year anniversary (mm-hmm, Jessie came quick ;)


Because she is so Beautiful, I felt it appropriate to honor her in a language also recognized for its beauty. Here is the Translation from above:
My mother. She is beautiful. She is angelic. She is the model wife,
complimenting her husband and always supporting him. She is the perfect
mother, giving all her time and attention to her children. She teaches
by example, which is why all her kids have grown into strong individuals. She has taught us how to love by loving everyone she knows. I can not remember her raising her voice or being rude, ever. That would be weird. Kindness, charity, and compassion radiate from her. She is selfless, but has not forgotten who she is as a woman. Everyday I thank the Lord for blessing me to be her daughter. Everyday I plead with the Lord to give me strength raise my daughter in the same way. Everyday my love for her grows as I go through my own mothering trials. I understand more clearly what she has done for me and how much she must love me. Thank you Mom, your are my hero! I love you! I am blessed to be sealed to you for eternity. I am honored to be your daughter, and I am honored to grow your posterity. Love you.

Teya + Ice Cream = True Love!

Need I say more?











It is a moment in which everything else in the world blurs into the muted background, then slips away. Each bite is savoured and devoured

I saw this on Harmony's blog and couldn't resist! I'm not surprised by the results. Not only was I obsessed with Ariel as a kid, (I had all the toys, a whole birthday themed after her) but I very much get lost in dreaming and exploring. The description is right on! You all should take the 2 second test, it's fun to feel like a little girl again.


You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

YA YA, I know. This post is a few weeks late, but I still want to get these pictures up so all you chikitas can enjoy them and copy any you'd like to keep. Allison is so stinkin cool that we couldn't get all the festivities in one puch, so we had TWO birthday dinners for her! Well... sort of ;)We went to Buca de Beppo one night for a girls outing. A couple days later we celebrated at Rachels house... Rach you're an insaine hostess! It's your calling in life. Run with it!
Ally, we love you and had so much fun celebrating the joy of your life!!
She got lucky with having just ONE candle
Can you SEE Brandon's face in the background??
The entire herd is here. Ally draws a crowd ;)




Andy and Rachel
Ally, Naomi, Andy, and Rach
Claire and I
Clair, Tawny, Allison, Naomi
Can you make out Hillary?? She's just peeps over the pizza tray...

I don't have much time, but I wanted to update on our past month. We're still at the Heder's, but we'll most likely be moving out in a couple weeks. They've been so kind to us! They went to Rome for a couple weeks to finish some filming and left their daughter behind with us. She's about 14 months old. So for two weeks I had TWO babies ;) It was actually really easy, Teya and her were like sisters right away. They loved always having a little playmate around... until the Mommy Jealousy started. It got a little competitive for my attention. PLUS, two days a week I still watch my friends kids (a two year boy and 4 month girl) so twice a week I had FOUR kids under the age of two! Yikes, talk about insanely busy days. I have respect for those Mammas with multiples!! Luckily I had help for a few hours from some friends in the ward. Thank you, you know who you are ;) We survived though, and now the days when I only have Teya seem ridiculously easy!

They look so cute together bacause they're polar opposites in appearance: Teya is tall and chunky, tan, dark eyes and brown hair. Evan is SO skinny, with blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. I love it!
Teya's playing peek-a-boo
The girls are lounging after a long day in the pool while eating plums from the tree.

This is frequently how the kids end up in the pool, au natural! It was so hot this weekend (106 degrees for 4 straight days) that the pool water was 100 degrees in the shade. It felt like an extremely warm bath... not what you call refreshing, BUT it was still cooler than the air.

(We don't have consistent internet access, they're in the process of setting up a new network, so I won't be posting much for maybe another two weeks.)

Here is the proof, it's not just a myth or an exaggeration that we tell...



I am finally going through my videos and recording them onto DVDs and organizing them. I figured I better get on top of it before we have baby number two (no, I'm not preggy... just baby hungry) I came across the video we took when Teya first started walking, at just seven months old. I thought it would be fun to share it cause most of you have never seen her at that age and it's so fun watching a baby as fat and little as her take steps. These were her first few, and by 7 1/2 months she was holding her own pretty good. By 8 months she was cruising! I miss those huge legs of hers... I know they're still pretty chunck, but just not like they used to be! (and can I just say, what on earth happened to my nice boobies and my long hair??? They've BOTH DISSAPPEARED! I didn't realize how far down I've gone until I saw this clip, dang)

One of our friends, Brook, threw a Pink Party for her little girl, Darby. It was such a CUTE party with a bracelet making activity, a bouncy thing, water to play in, and ALL the treats were pink. Thank you Brook for such a fun time and for the Pink Playdough, Teya is obsessed with it ;) She still tries to eat it everytime even though she knows it's nasty, I think she is hoping it will get better with age.
Here she is eating her Pink Cupcake...it dropped on her belly a few times, but thanks to the de-lish frosting it stuck and we were able to salvage the cake!

Teya's best buds, Josie and Chloe, chillin on the bouncy-castle. Check out the pose Chloe is striking! Teya gave it a go, but, by the look on her face here, she obviously didn't enjoy it. Much too intimidating. So she resigned to being the slide monitor on her little red chair. It was much safer to observe from there.


Josie just finished munching on her cupcake too, miam-miam! It's time to show Teya how it's done on the slide (Sarah, I made sure to post these pictures not only because Josie is darling but you can copy & save them to your computer if you'd want them ;)