My Valentines

They are my cuties.



They are my loves.



They are my heart.



They are my soul.



Best of all, they are mine.



And here’s a picture of Riley’s Valentine’s that he took to preschool. :0) Thank you, Pinterest.

 

We had a very low-key Valentine’s Day, but really, it always is. TAG & I have never done big gifts for Valentine’s Day, so this year was no different. We do though, usually at least go out to eat or to a movie, but this year TAG was working so we didn’t get to go anywhere. TAG got a new job that started on February 6th. We are so excited that such a great job finally came open. He has been working nights at UPS & was hoping to be able to keep it at least for a little while for some extra income, but these past 2 weeks have proved that he just can’t do it. He has been getting 4 hours of sleep everyday (if he’s lucky) & I know he is worn out. So today is his last night at UPS. I am happy though because he will be home at night & the kids will actually get to see him through the week. Right now they only see him on the weekends because they are asleep whenever he is actually home. Riley asked me one night last week as I was putting him to bed “When is Dada ever going to come home from work? He has to come home sometime!” Poor babies miss their Dada! And so do I!

Oh, and did you notice Averly’s “cheese” face smiles? She is starting to do the silliest smiles now for the camera & I can hardly ever just get a normal one out of her! Silly goose!
Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Logan & Jaxson’s Birthday Parties

A couple weekends ago, we went to our friend, Logan’s 3rd Birthday party. It was at a cute little two-room house that you can rent out for parties here in town. It sounds like a great idea to me--no clean up before or after for the most part! They had cute little tables set up for coloring & making party masks for everyone to wear when we first got there.



They played pin the nose on Elmo.



Averly cheated.



The Birthday Boy!



Happy Birthday Logan! We had fun!

Then, the next weekend we went to Jaxson’s 2nd Birthday party. It was an adorable theme with Planes, Trains, & Automobiles and everything was decorated so cute. Unfortunately, I only got 1 picture of the Birthday boy opening his presents. My kids had not napped that day & were running wild so I was occupied with them. ;0) Happy Birthday, Jaxson!

First Trip to the Dentist

Back on January 12th, the kids made their first trip to the dentist. I knew Riley was way overdue for a check-up since he’s over 3, but the dentist just hadn’t been on the top of my to do list with everything else that’s been going on. Until I noticed something going on with Averly’s teeth. We have always had a good brushing schedule-brush them twice a day, everyday & either I or TAG do it—not Averly. Point being, her teeth get brushed. But I started to notice a very thin grayish line on her teeth around her gums. I called the dentist to get them both in at that point.

Riley & Averly playing in the waiting room before seeing the dentist.



When it was time to go back, we let big brother go first so Averly would see everything is fine. She still has some pretty bad stranger anxiety. Especially men with white hair—due to the Santa phobia she has. And of course, our dentist has white hair. He was super sweet & made Riley laugh a lot while he was checking his teeth. Riley did so good & was such a big boy letting the dentist count his teeth. He also said that they “tickled his teeth” with the brush. He actually really liked everything about the dentist!



Smiling the whole time!



Now Miss Averly was a whole different story! From the time she realized it was her turn, she clung to me so tight her little fingers were clinched around my shirt. We tried to console her but it just wasn’t going to happen. The sweet hygienist said she would hold her while I got a picture. I was going to just say forget it, but they said I need a picture of her first visit too, which I did really want one—screaming or not. :0)



Before he got started on her, I told him my concern with Averly’s teeth & after looking at her, he said that she has an iron abundance. Her body is secreting the extra iron through her teeth/gums, causing that grayish color. He said it was nothing to worry about & that he could just scrape it off the next time we come. He said that since it wasn’t hurting anything for it to be on there, he would rather not traumatize her anymore that day with scraping! Ha! So basically, he suggested just cutting back on her vitamins. Giving her 1 instead of 2 or just one every other day because she is obviously getting enough vitamins from her food. So I guess we’ll try scraping it off when we go back in 6 months!



Poor baby! I'm still proud of her & Riley for their first trip to the dentist!



When we got home that afternoon, it was snowing! The weather this year has been so crazy! One day it’s in the 70’s, then a couple days later it’s back down in the 30’s.



The kids weren’t too fond of the snow. Maybe because there wasn’t really enough to play in or build a snowman. Riley was actually very disappointed that we couldn’t build one.




So we decided to go inside & color by the fire while we stay warm!

Peanut Butter & Jelly

These two go together like peanut butter & jelly. They (most of the time) are just like this every day—glued to each other’s side. They love being together & nothing makes me happier. They are the best of friends! 

(War paint on their faces & all!)



Every single day when Averly wakes up from her nap, she says “where’s Ri-yee?” And she knows it’s time to go get him from school. She sure does miss him when he is at school & gets so excited on the way to get him.



I pray they stay this close forever. Be still my beating heart…

My Blue Eyed Beauty

I can’t believe she will be 2 in 28 days! My sweet baby girl is growing up before my eyes.

 

Happy 23 months, my sweet Averly! I love you so, so much!

Christmas Day

When we got up on Christmas morning, Santa relaxed after a long night of delivering & putting together toys!



Bubba liked Riley’s new Harley he got.



Little Miss was definitely more aware of what was going on this year. Her first reaction was a little bit of un-sureness but she caught on quickly!



Averly cooking in her new kitchen! My dad made it out of an old entertainment center that I had in college. We still have a few more tweaks to make—like adding the oven door & a little curtain under the sink, and I may paint something on the back??



After we played with our new toys for a while, we packed up & headed to Bubba & Vivi’s house. When we got there, we saw that Santa had been there too!



I just have to point out that Averly is wearing an old sweatshirt of mine that one of my mom’s friends made for me when I was her age. I just love having things of mine that she can wear too!



My best friend, Kelly, stopped by like she does every Christmas. :0)



Mom & Mindy with their door hangers I made them.



These are the people I love the most!!!



Averly loves to color with her Minnie.



I know I’m late, but I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!