This is Avery

I only have one niece on my side of the family.  Yes that means I am single handedly keeping my mom in girl grand-babies.  

My nieces name is Avery.  It took my sister and her husband almost a week to name her.  She is that unique. :o)

Avery is a joyful menace.  No really.  She is silly, fun, and has a stubborn streak a mile wide.  And I absolutely adore her. So do my girls.  They play and play and play.  And cry when they have to leave. 

In case you can't tell, she hates to take pictures.  I have to coax and ply and generally act like a crazy-face to get her to work with me.  

It's worth every minute. 

I love you so Avery.  My girls miss you very much and can't wait to hang out again sometime soon. 

Family Visits

Whitney and Cord came to visit to meet Tyson and we had so much fun hanging out with them. I also got some new shots of Avery.
New things I have learned about Ave...she almost always looks surprised and she almost always has her mouth open. I love it!


Cadence was mad cause I told her that she had to wait to go swimming and this was the look she was sporting for about 15 minutes....


More of darling Avery...


After Whitney and Cord left Cadence was refusing to take a nap. She needed one badly...I know this because she was throwing fits left and right about things she normally doesn't have issues with. So she had to go to time out (put her nose on the wall). When her 2 minutes were up she went and found her Eeyore and just about every baby doll she could find and climbed up in a chair and told me that she didn't like me. I left her a lone for a bit since I was on the phone with Dr.'s office and by the time I finished (we are talking like 5 minutes) I looked over and found this...
This was at 4:45pm...much to late to be taking a nap. I only let her sleep for 40 minutes and then woke her up. She was still up till about 10pm that night. It was insane. But the picture was priceless.

Cecily's Babyshower and Cadence and Avery

So much has happened in the last little while!  To start off, on the 10th we had my sister Cecily's baby shower!  I know some of you didn't know she was having a baby.  She is due to have a little boy (the very first boy in our immediate family!) around June 9th.  Her shower was AWESOME!  So many people showed up and she and the baby made out like bandits!  I can't wait to meet her son and see what a great mom she will be.  

Whitney and Avery flew out a couple of days before the shower and we had a great time hanging out.  I don't think Cadence left Avery's side unless one of them was sleeping!  She was such a big help and still asks when Avery is coming back to our house!  We took some pictures while they were here.  Much thanks to Whitney, Mom, Cecily, Cadence and Avery for going with me out to the JW Marriott to scout some places to take photos for my shoot on the 10th!  We had such a great time!

We also got to go up to Cedar City this past weekend.  Brady, Whitney,Cord, and Cord's brother's and sisters (some in-laws) all went paint balling!  They had a great time.  Cadence and I had a great time baby sitting Avery!  Cadence was once again a huge help.  Avery is teething and was a bit grumpy from time to time (who wouldn't be...I remember my wisdom teeth...not fun!).  I need to pick up some food stuffs at Walmart while everyone was gone, so I packed up both kids and went.  Both kids were being so very good.  Cadence was sitting in the basket with Avery in the seat.  We were getting a goodly amount of attention though...I think most people were trying to figure out how old Avery was and just how far along in my pregnancy I was.  Only one person actually asked me about it.  We managed to get everything we needed before Avery had a complete meltdown...lol...poor girl was hungry and tired.  We made it out of the store alive and I am happy to say that I think I will survive having two little girls out in public.  The weekend was great fun, but I am happy to be home.

Other than that things are going as usual for us.  We are waiting to hear more on our house.  I will drive over this week and get some pictures of the lot.  I hope to do that every week so we can keep track of the progress!  

I hope that everyone is having a happy May and that all you moms out there had a great Mother's Day!

Cadence's 2nd Birthday!

Better late then never. I meant to post this much sooner, but the days have just been crazy.

First things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU CADENCE! I cannot believe that she is 2 years old already! Her birthday was Saturday and boy did we have a blast of a party. Friday night I was busy getting food ready to put together on Saturday morning and baking Cady's cake. We woke up early the next morning so I could decorate the cake and start the Chicken, Apple, Grape, Super Yum Salad (It doesn't have a name that I know of so this is what I call it). The Salad then went on Crousaunts and then we put together the veggie tray and the fruit platters. It was a really Yummy party. Here is a picture of Cady's completed cake...no making fun of my cake decorating skills...

It was a beautiful day outside and all the kids played outside for about 40 minutes before we herded them inside to either eat cake or open presents. Cady picked open presents first and actually did open a few before it degenerated to this:
It was awesome. Totally the most fun I have seen a bunch of 18 month to 3 year olds have in a long time. This is what the floor looked like when they decided to move on to other things:

Then we had cake and ice cream. We of course sang to Cady. I don't have pictures of her blowing out the candle, but we got it on tape. The cutest part was that Cady's older cousin, Saylor, insisted that she sing happy birthday to Cady by herself. IT WAS ADORABLE. And she got pretty much all the words right! We got it all on tape. Then everyone sang and Cady blew out her candle (after Saylor told her too when the song was over...thank goodness someone knew how it was supposed to work! We love you Saylor!). Anyway here is Cady enjoying her cake!

Brady and I got Cadence a couple of Princess Dress Up Dresses for her birthday (she is obsessed with the Disney Princesses and insists that she IS one. We agree whole heartedly!). She of course wanted to try them on and dance around. Then she found the bubble gun that Uncle Kyle got for her and this was the fun that resulted...

Yeah, there was bubble juice all over the floor but she was having a blast and got Avery to grin...


As you can see, Cadence had a really good time. So did everyone who made it out to celebrate with us!
Cadence also had her 2 year check up with her doctor on Monday and was actually chatty with the Doc for the first time ever. She kept asking her what she was doing and telling her that after the Doctor we were going to eat. I never said we were going to eat, but Cady had apparently decided that we were. The Doctor was very impressed with her verbal skills. Once again she was 75th percentile for weight (30lbs...my darling little tank) and was above 97 percent for height (she is now three feet tall...insane...people think she is 3 not 2). I then explained to her that she had to have two shots and that they would hurt but that she would get a bandaid and a sucker for getting them. She was all excited until they actually stuck her with the needle. She told the nurse, "You hurt me! I need kisses!" and bawled for about ten minutes. As we were paying and checking out she told me that we were going to eat and that she wanted Mac and Cheese because she got an owie and she was sad. So I took her to Denny's where she proceeded to order pancakes and eggs...go figure. She ate it all though! :o)
The rest of the day she milked the owie card for all she was worth. It was pretty funny.
Anyway, Happy Birthday Cady! We love you and can't wait to see where you are at next year!

Christmas with the Lantz's

Well! I hope that everyone has had a very great Holiday Season so far! Ours has had it's ups and downs, but we have had a blast and we are looking forward to a new year filled with wonderful new experiences!

To start things off, thanks for all the birthday wishes! I had a great day topped with Brady's office Christmas Party at Lowery's (where I had to sing the Fa la la la la's with the Carolers...I think that everyone was pleasantly surprised when I could ACTUALLY sing...lol) and then a stay at the Red Rock Hotel that night. I had so much fun and it was nice to take a real bath with bubbles and such without a time limit!

Here is a picture of Cady in Christmas Dress #3:

Yeah she looks good in everything. I really didn't think the Lord was being literal when in my Patriarchal Blessing he said I would have "beautiful children." Apparently He meant just that. Cadence now has two MORE Christmas dresses to wear that she received as Christmas gifts. Don't worry I will post pictures of those as well. :o)

The Sunday before Christmas we had our Family Christmas Party with Brady's side of the family. We were totally SPOILED. Cady got the worst of the spoiling though. Here are a few pictures of the party.

Among all the loot was a kids size rolling luggage with Cadence's name on it (very handy now that her stuff won't fit in with mine anymore when we travel) a Hokey Poky Elmo (really very funny and even funnier is watching Cady try and do what he does) and a new baby doll complete with changes of clothes, diapers and bottles. She LOVED her new baby and when we asked her what her baby's name was she said "Kennedy like mommy." About made me cry it was so sweet.

Christmas came and at our house Cadence got a play dough play table and a baby play set complete with stroller, swing, diaper bag, play mat and a mini pack'and'play. At my aunts she got two more babies (the girl is in baby heaven) and the two new Christmas dresses. She was so excited to go everyone and see all the presents and then open them. She wasn't just excited for her presents either...she wanted to see what everyone got and exclaim "Oh how cute!" over everything. It was wonderful. All my Sib's where in town and it was great to see everyone. Avery was a huge hit with those family members that hadn't seen her yet (which was just about everyone). Here is a picture of Avery and Megan crashing out after all the present opening. Avery has really porked up. She was 6lbs 1oz at birth and now weights a hefty 10lbs.

After Christmas things have settled down a bit. Whitney and Cord headed home and Ryan, Megan and my mom left to go Camping with my uncles (mom has three brothers) and their families in Texas. Those of us left at the house are trying to get things cleaned up and find homes for all the new stuff. This morning we had another surprise...

We weren't exactly trying, but were weren't NOT trying if that makes any sense. We are so excited and figure that my due date is sometime around September 8th or 9th. Yes I took two tests. That is one less than I took when I got a positive with Cadence. The first one is just so unreal to me that I take two just to make sure. I know. I have issues. :o) But we are very excited. According to the Pencil Test we are having another girl (followed by three boys). If you would like more information on the Pencil Test let me know. I would be happy to explain and even conduct it on all you females out there...so far it hasn't been wrong. :o) So any ideas on girls names (heck we will take boys names too) send them my way. We were fresh out after Cady.

Anyway, hope that everyone has a happy new year!

Avery's Blessing

Last Sunday Cadence and I had the opportunity to visit my sister Whitney and her husband Cord. They also blessed their little girl that Sunday and it was wonderful to be able to attend that Sunday Service.

We drove up Friday and made it in really late and spent Saturday morning just sleeping in and catching up with Cord and Avery since Whitney had to work. Then we met up with Jeremy and Tiffani for the afternoon and we had a total blast catching up and meeting their adorable little boy Aiden! Jeremy, Tiffani, and Aiden also joined us for dinner at The California Pizza Kitchen (where my sister works). The food was fantastic and the company was even better! Thanks again Jeremy and Tiff for letting us take over your day! We had some much fun and we can't wait to do it again!

The next day we got ready for church and Cadence got to wear the second of her Christmas Dresses. She wouldn't look at the camera, but she looked super cute!

She actually posed with me in a picture too!

We made it to church on time and Cord did such a wonderful job with the Blessing! It is truly a wonderful thing to hear a blessing from father to child! I felt so honored to be there and share in that moment. Avery didn't even cry! :o) Cadence made it all the way through the passing of the Sacrament and then had a melt down. Once we were out in the hall she promptly fell asleep on me (something she hasn't done at church in a VERY long time). We had such an awesome weekend and I can't wait to visit again! Thanks to Whitney and Cord for letting us crash at your place again. :o) You guys are the best!

Visiting Avery

Well it only took me two weeks, but I have worked though all the pictures of Avery! We had such a good time hanging out with Whitney and Cord and watching them learn to be the wonderful parents we knew they would be!

To start off, Avery was so tiny! She was 6lbs 1 oz when she was born and a bit smaller when they went home. But she was 20 inches long! She has this perfectly round head and the cutest little chin! Anyway to get a feel for how small she is here is a few pictures! The first one is of Cadence kissing her.

Despite her face in the above picture Cadence really did want to hold the baby. It was all she wanted to do the whole weekend. And she was so gentle! I was very impressed!

This one is one of my favorites! Avery was so fun to shoot! There are a bunch more pictures on my photo blog along with some of my other niece Saylor! Check them out and let me know what you think!

Welcome to the world baby Wiltbank

Whitney's little girl made her debut in to the world on Monday evening, weighing in at 6lbs 1oz and a tall 20 inches. The few pictures I have seen are darling and I can't wait to go and visit and take some of my own. Mom and baby came home from the hospital after only 24 hours and all was fine with one small exception...Baby Wiltbank didn't have a name yet! I am happy to announce that after much deliberation between mom and dad, Baby Wiltbank is now Avery Wiltbank! We are so happy you decided to join the family Avery! And we hope that you will let your parents sleep sometime in the near future.