Spring Break!

I was so excited for spring break, just to take a vacation from the non-stop studying I feel like I've been doing.  On Tuesday Sophia was over so I thought I would do this activity that I saw on  Kelly's Korner  blog.  Someone said that they let their kids play with finger paints in the bathtub.  So I thought it would be a fun thing to do since it is still too cold most days to play outside.  They loved it!!

The proud artists.

Notice that Sophia has a small amount of paint on herself, and my daughter misunderstood when I said finger paints...she must have heard body paints.

On Wednesday Avery and I headed to Virginia.  Greg had to work so he came later the next day.  We were there to spend time with our good friends Kris, Sara and their daughter Izzy.  We used to spend a lot of time with Kris and Sara when we lived in Chesapeake, and miss spending time together like the good old days.

Avery killing time before we got on the airplane.

On our first flight, we had the row to ourselves. 

We flew out of the Akron/Canton airport which is much smaller than the Cleveland airport.  It is much less busy, but somehow I was still stopped for a complete security pat down.  Avery was not a big fan of all the attention we were getting.  Once we were no longer considered potential terrorists, we killed some time playing in the Step 2 toy area.  I was able to pull her away with just a minimal amount drama in time to catch our first flight to Detroit. We had a short layover there.  I had toys, dvd's and lots of snacks but somehow forgot to pack lunch.  But I got lucky and found an uncrustable and banana.  It worked out perfectly.

We had a wonderful time in Virginia just getting to spend time with the Wilson's.  We also had a small get together one night which gave us the chance to catch up with some of our other friends. We even had time to drive past the townhouse we still own in Virginia.  Everything seemed to be ok.  Of course I never think it is being taken care of as good as I would like.  I just need to be thankful it is rented.  I hope that one day soon the economy will turn around so that we can sell it.  I have always thought it was cute, in a good neighborhood and a great location but it is just something else for me to worry about since we live so far away.

The girls had so much fun driving this huge cart around Farm Fresh.

The girls ate at this cute table. 

Izzy sharing her new tricycle with Avery.

Unfortunately we brought our lovely Ohio weather to Virginia.  It was cold most of the time we were there. Not was you picture when you say "Spring break",  but we made the most of it.  We cooked dinner at home, and just enjoyed spending time together.  One day we decided to go to the aquarium.  I was suprised by how much Avery seemed to enjoy herself.

The girls spending some time on the deck.

Avery loved the aquarium!!

Love this picture!

Izzy and Avery loved this part.

Bath time was their favorite thing to do!!

I want to thank Kris & Sara for treating us like family.  They are great friends, and wish that so many miles didn't seperate us.  Hopefully that won't always be the case.

I Heart the Vintage Pearl

I would love to have something like this with Avery's name on it.

I know it has been forever since I have blogged, but I promise I am (slowly) working on a spring break post.  On another note...my favorite jewlery blog is giving away a $100 gift certificate.  I could spend lots of hundreds in her store.  I hope to one day buy myself something nice from her shop, but for now I'm hoping to win a gift certificate. Stop over and enter too....

The Vintage Pearl blog

Not so wordless-Wednesday

This was recorded about a month ago.  I thought I would share it finally.  I love to record her, but as soon as she notices the camera she stops what she is doing to come check it out.

Avery update

I have not been very good at Avery's updates or blogging for that matter.  I started this blog for our family who are spread out all around, and I've done a terrible job of keeping you updated.  I apologize, I don't seem to be as good at multi-tasking as I once thought I was.

 Avery is 18 months now.  As you can see from these pictures from the last 6 months, she is growing up so quickly.

We put a lot of miles on this car over the summer.



This picture was taken at the Simmons family cabin in Alpina, MI.



Ready to watch college football.

The cutest pumpkin ever!

Greatest smile.

On our way to see Santa.

• You say Mama, Da-ddy, Bumpa, doggy, No, ba-by, hi, bye-bye, waffle, nanna (banana), uh-oh, yeah, wow and attempt to say a lot of other things.
• You sign more, please, thank you, milk, eat, dog, cat, all done, fish, grandpa, grandma, drink, baby, banana, read.
• When asked what noises a cow or duck say, you answer with moo or quack.
• You give the most amazing kisses!!
• You love to watch your Elmo video.
• You love to dance around to any kind of music.
• You can point to your bellybutton, nose, eyes, and ears when asked.
• You love to read books or have books read to you. 
• You love to sing the alphabet song, and wear everything around your neck. 
• You wear size 4 diapers.
• You wear 18 month - 24 month clothes and a size 6 shoe.
• You can use a fork to eat pretty well.
• You go to bed around 8pm and wake up each morning at 745am.
• You are down to pretty much 1 nap a day.
• You know how to throw some great tantrums.  I believe that it's because you want to communicate, but don't know how.  In addition, you are very independent and have definite views on some things.  If someone puts a stop to your plan, it makes you very upset. 
• I think something I notice in pictures is how much your hair has grown.  If we want your hair to stay out of your face, we have to put it in pigtails.  I've recently tried headbands again, but you don't keep them in for very long.
• If we tell you something is hot, you blow on it.  And I don't just mean food.
• You have 16 teeth.  Your "K9" teeth were the last four to come in all
   at once.  Similar to how your all 4 pre-molars showed up at once in August.
• Most recently you've learned how to climb onto the kitchen chairs and on top of the coffee table.
• You are in this phase where you like to take clothes and wear them around your neck.

Avery I can not believe how much you have changed in the last 6 months.  It's exciting to see you grow into a little girl, but makes me sad that my baby is growing up so fast.

Facelift

Now that finals are over, I gave some much needed attention to our blog. Hope you like the new look. I promise to add new posts too.



Amazing how much fun a strainer can be.

Day 2: Meaning Behind Your Blog Name

Our Sweet Life came about after lots of brainstorming.  Both my husband and I are type 1 diabetic.  Although diabetes does not define who we are, it is definitely something that we deal with each day.  Our life became much sweeter after having our daughter in June 2009.  I can't imagine a greater love.  I created this blog because we live so far away from our families.  I wanted them to be able to watch Avery grow and change.

 Interesting fact....our blog was almost named New Pants On the Block.  I'm not afraid to admit that I am a New Kids On the Block fan, and my husbands nickname for me is Pants.  Avery has been referred to as baby pants on occassion amon many of her other nicknames.  But in the end I'm glad that I chose Our Sweet Life.  It just fits.

30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 1

I have seen the 30 day blog challenge on a few of the blogs I read.  I decided that I've not had too much to write about or much time to write, and I thought this might me just what I needed.  Bear with me as I play catch up for the first few days.

Bedillion Wedding 7/31/10

My name is Kristen, I am a wife to Gregory, mom to 16 month old Avery and a nursing school student.  I had a real job as a merchandise buyer for over 5 years, but with the encouragement from my wonderful husband I am back in school to pursue my true passion.  I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and now live in Ohio. 

15 Random facts:

1) I could honestly each pizza every single day of the week.  Avery is a fan too.  Some say it's because I ate so much of it while I was pregnant.

2) My next guilty pleasure is Chik-fil-a.  We are what you call "regulars" at our local restruant.

3) While on the food facts, my favorite ice cream is Baskin Robbins Rocky Road.

4) I played fast pitch softball since I was in the 2nd grade until Jr. year in high school.  Then I thought having a car was more important.  I would go back and do things differently if I could.

5) I played the flute in band, but only did marching band for one year. 

6) I only knew my one grandmother, and she passed away when I was in the first grade.  I think that is the reason I treasure Greg's grandparents so much.  And makes me so happy that Avery not only knows her grandparents but her great grandparents as well.

7) My dad passed away when I was 2 years old from pancreatic cancer at the age of 31.

8) I have a Bachelor of Science in Global Business from Arizona State University.

9) I have lived in AZ, NJ, VA and OH.  Arizona will always be home to me.  We've lived in Ohio for the last 5 years.  We have beautiful Summer's, gorgeous Fall's, wonderful neighbors and friends here.  I just have a hard time with the long winters.  Hopefully one day we can live somewhere a little warmer.

10) I'm a much better student the second time around. 

11) I am practically the oldest student in two of my classes this year.  I swear none of them are paying any attention to the teacher, they are all on Facebook or texting.  Boy that makes me sound old doesn't it!!

12) Since meeting my husband I have become a big fan of college football.  We root for Michigan State in this house.  (Arizona State too, it's just never on tv here)

13) I also love to watch Michigan State basketball!!

14) Stacey and Lea have been my best friends since elementary school.

15) After getting my BSN I plan to become a Certified Diabetes Educator.