18 months & more!

Our little Aspen is a full 18 months and filled with life! She is sweet, happy, and so dang cute. I adore her toddler walk, especially when she's trying to go fast. She just recently started learning to name her body parts (nose, ear, mouth, feet, toes, teeth, eyes, belly) and loves to show off her vocabulary (probably because we love it so much). Today she learned 'please.' That's a winner. 

She has 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. She is 20 lbs (11%-tile), 5%-tile for height, 70%-tile for head. She's our petite little thing! Oh, so loves to give big squeezes for hugs and learned how to blow kisses a few days ago. Just learning, learning, learning.

She likes yogurt... a lot.

And occasionally causing mischief...

 Avery learns things like this on her own and we think it's hilarious what she comes up with. She's observant and says "oh, that looks like a ..." i.e. the pancake looks like an owl or similar things. She's imaginative and likes to pretend all sorts of scenarios

Our happy girl has the biggest sun tan ever! She is in the middle of swim lessons and LOVES it! Sometimes we stay at the pool for 4 hours a day. You should see her tan lines because it's like she has a white tattooed bathing suit. 

An explosion!

These past short weeks, Aspen's vocabulary has exploded!!! I'll give you some examples in the order of when they came (the first 3-4 are from long ago, but she has added many since)...

• ma / ma-ma / mommie
• da / daddie
• Nala (her first word long ago).. our dog
• "bye"
• "no"
• "uh-oh"
• night-night "nigh-nigh"
• "ow-ie"
• "hot"
• "poop"
• down "dow"
• "out"
• stop "dop"
• "up"
• drink "dyink"
• "hat" (pats head)
• bowl "bow"
• shoes "shoosh"
• sock "ock"
• ball "baw"
• "nose"(and points to it)
• yes "yesh"
• dog "daw"

She also nods very effectively and it shows us how much she understands and is ready to communicate. Her words are SOOO cute!

To Do

When I get overwhelmed, I make to-do lists and it makes me feel much better and not so scattered. So maybe this is weird, but I'm posting my to-do list. I thought it'd be neat to get a glimpse of other peoples' to-do lists because I believe they're very telling of a person's life. Now you have a glimpse of mine....

• budgeting
• filing / clean up computer area
• Sanguine logo
• Dad's flier
• Baptism testimony for Matthew & McKenna
• deposit check
• sort LPM (Let's Play Music) students into classes
• Metzgers: buy drill extension
• Lowe's: return curtain rod, buy curtain rod & 45" blinds
• Walmart: return curtains
• make menu & grocery list
• sand shutters
• hang up mirror, shutters, height plaque, and frame
• clean family room windows & caulk sill
• paint touch-ups by handrail & hallway
• blog about Aspen
• set up Aspen's 18 month appointment
• create class schedule for LPM
• Look over Snack bar material from Andrea
• Confirm our first delivery from the farm

Some house projects

We're getting real close to installing new carpet downstairs & on the stairs - it should be just as pretty as the penny we paid for it! Yeah, it turned out to be, oh, about $500-$1000 more than what I was anticipating. Guess that will push back some other projects we want done. Poo. BUT, we will have BEAUTIFUL carpet and a finished 'basement'!

Speaking of finishing projects, we had a few little things to accomplish before the carpet gets rolled in. 

One- the guest bedroom closet. It is a tiny room and we want the closet to be open (no doors), so those were taken out and Brian created angled finishes on the corners. Of course, we painted the whole inside too.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 (above) Even the piping was black with splattered paint so I cleaned that right up!

Two- the railing. Brian had a lot of unpretty words to say over this piece of work. It was really a grandiose PAIN to put together, but it has been accomplished! This is Brian staining.

Three- the window sills in the basement; they're not done yet, so no picture!

Oh, and here's a sweet pic of Aspen....

college girl?

Here's Avery at 3 years going on 6... or maybe 18? We're growing out her bangs and these pictures remind Brian of college pictures. She's super silly and very cute.

(And Happy Father's Day, Dad!)

A day in the life

Aspen watches Avery spit in the sink and bends over to do the same. Hilarious :)

We went cherry pickin' at a neighbor's house! Just me and Avery 

I like those kids

Avery is really becoming a little girl and Aspen has now taken over the toddler position.

Avery is great at repeating all our phrases and mannerisms. The other day I said, "I better sweep this floor because it's driving me nuts." and that night in the tub, Avery says "I'm trying to get Aspen to sit down, and she's driving me nuts." haha! They actually get along quite well.

• Everything she says makes us smirk at how much she's picking up. 
• She's also quite the negotiator. 
• She loves to carry her purse and baby doll, especially like mom, and loves to dress up as princesses. Sometimes she pretends to be Wolverine and I'm Storm. 
• I have to put on makeup in secret or she will want to.
• Likes to watch: Diego, Dora, My Little Pony, Xmen, Inspector Gadget, Sesame Street
• She can sure stamp her foot when she gets upset (I want to bust out laughing so bad, but I try not to). 
• Avery often says things like "When I finish my burrito, I can have ice cream" 
• and also "I didn't get to eat my ice cream because I didn't finish my burrito; next time I can finish my food and I get ice cream." 
• She really drags her feet when she eats; Aspen often eats more than her. She LOVES having a snack.
• She is well aware of her conditions as you can tell. 
• She pays attention where we're going in the car and knows when we're "off course." 
• Other phrases: "I'm being funny, mom." 
• "That's not very nice."
• "I'm a good girl"
• For some reason, when we get onto Aspen for doing something, Avery always says "I'm not doing that."
• She is very good at dressing herself and has rather good sense of style (making a good outfit). She only cannot turn her clothes right side out and zip/button her pants.
• Avery is completely potty trained and doing very well.

Aspen is super sweet and laughs all the time! She will even laugh at herself after saying 'no' (I think it's her favorite word and she gets a kick out of it). She understands the word "prayer/blessing" and will immediately fold her arms before we do. She understands a lot. She says: down, uh-oh, no, ENH (to the dog), hi, bye, poop. She shakes her head vigorously, especially when I say "do you want milk?/breakfast?/down?" She will shake her head no when she's done with food. She's really good at pointing too. I love how almost every time I pick her up, she'll briefly lay her head on my shoulder and cuddle me. She's got 5 teeth now and shows 'em! Her cheesy smile is to die for.