Mm-hmm

Aubrey continues to pick up more and more grownup ways of talking. It is so endearing! Her latest feat is simply saying yes with an mm-hmm noise. Like Uh-huh, but with her lips closed. Apparently we do that a lot around here. :)

"Aubrey, do you want some lunch?" "Mmm-hmm."

Her Fisher-Price nativity set is getting a lot of use this year. She arranges the characters all looking in one direction, usually away from the stable. The sheep has replaced the angel on the top of the stable. Only the sheep is allowed to be up there.

She is captivated by Frosty the Snowman. She loves his movie and anytime she sees a snowman character she exclaims "Fwosty!" She pulls me out of my chair so we can march around the room with the kids in the movie too.

Aubrey also calls Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer movie the "Donkeys" movie. Yes, Aubrey thinks donkeys are pulling santa's sleigh.

As for Amber, I had my 35 week checkup today. Everything is looking right on track. She still can move around quite a bit, though she stays to my right side most of the time. It has been really interesting to notice the difference in movement between her and Aubrey (in utero). I used to get surprised by Aubrey's kicks. She mainly seemed to "protest" me resting a hand on my stomach or daddy trying to feel her kick. She would powerfully kick right at the spot of pressure once or twice and that would be it. I would be sitting at my desk at work, rest my hand on the top of my stomach without really realizing and pow! She'd kick right at it. It was really funny cause I'd jump a little. Ryan and I were amazed at her accuracy and felt like she was showing us her personality right from the start.

Amber is not really like that at all. She seems to move her body around where my hand is resting. Or she seems to just move around on her own, not really reacting to my hands or Aubrey sitting close next to me. She's definately going to be used to more noise than Aubrey was. She'll probably recognize Aubrey's shrill scream right away after she's born. haha!

Only about 36 more days until we get to meet her!

Fun times with Santa

Our ward had a great primary activity, complete with pictures with santa. Aubrey is holding up her Snowman ornament she made. Santa was very nice, but she only wanted to sit on my lap. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Hairstyle by Daddy

So, obviously I style Aubrey's hair during the day (how long it lasts is another story!). But, daddy is in charge of bathtime hairdos. :)

Snails for Aubrey

One of Aubrey's favorite art supplies is Playdough. I've made the mistake of creating quite a few animals with the playdough. So she now demands that we make the same ones over and over again. Her favorite animals are snails, spiders and squirrels. If I make one animal, she asks me to make another version of the animal. Like "Ok, mommy, make a daddy snail. Make a mommy snail. Make a grandma snail and an Amber snail" (her little sister's name). She then arranges the animals in a certain order. Usually all in a row. What a funny girl!

Mmmm...Apple Hill

The day before Halloween we made the famous Aten/Cadle Family trip to Apple Hill. We figure this is a tradition we've beeen keeping for 5 years. Boy, do we love Apple Donuts!

It was pretty chilly, so Aubrey stayed nice and bundled in her stroller for most of it. Our little sweet tooth loved her apple donut. Wish we had another box to enjoy as the first one was gone too quickly (I may or may not have had a dream last night that I was back at Apple Hill enjoying another crumb topped apple donut). :)

No trip there is complete without a Pony Ride to top things off. Despite her face, she was so happy to be on that pony. She begs to see ponies and even rides around the house on her stuffed cheetah calling it a pony. Future cowgirl on my hands?

It was another great trip! Thanks right back at ya' Cadles!

Really?!

I just timed uploading pictures and typing out this blog post. Before new laptop, I was sitting at least an hour while my sad computer tried to process the few pictures. Then it would quit and I'd be back at square one. That's not even including the blog post I would have written that would also goof up and never make it to the publish stage. So I did what any person with zero patience for continued errors on blogger...I let it sit...

Hooray for a new laptop! Here are some pics of Aubrey's Halloween costume. She was a Ladybug and she loooved her "wings." She had so much fun at her Trunk or Treat party given by her Ward Primary.

Ryan and I were invited to our FIRST grownup Halloween party for the following night and enjoyed once again getting a little creative with our costumes. Yes, those are tattoo sleeves on our arms, not makeup. Soooo much easier to remove and I couldn't wait to see my normal arms again after a few hours. You can only look at Dragons and flames for so long.

We made our first trek to Bishops Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland with Gigi (Ryan's mom). Aubrey was determined to get a green pumpkin. No normal orange one for her! It was a lot of fun and we can't wait to go back next year. Amazing pumpkin pie is served there too...food always gets us back to places.

Speaking of eating, you can definitely tell in the pictures that I'm only about 70 days away from meeting Aubrey's little sister. It's going fast. Thank goodness for Zofran and the ability to eat much more than just popcorn, white bread and cereal (Aubrey's pregnancy). Of course, she was worth every sacrifice! We love her.

Pictures are coming...

So my biggest block in posting more has been the lack of computer access. Our desktop is maxed out with pics and over 5 years old. It runs all day to just pull up a website. My hand-me-down laptop has been shot for awhile too.

So I'm happy to announce that in 7-10 days a new laptop should be arriving at my doorstep! Hope to get pics up soon. Our little Aubrey isn't so little anymore. :)

Great to be back. Thanks for the love, everyone.

Well, hello again!

Sooo... It's been awhile since my last post.

Lots of changes since then, for the better! We moved in May to a 3 bedroom house with a yard and a garage! After 7 years of apartment living, we are so grateful for a little room to stretch out. It's been a huge blessing! Ryan's mom moved out of the house he grew up in for something more managable and we are renting from her. It's been great.

We are also excited to announce that Aubrey is going to be a big sister in less than 100 days! I'm 26 weeks pregnant with another girl. We are so happy. Every time we would ask Aubrey if she'd like a brother or a sister, she'd say "umm, I think I will have a little sister." she was right on.

Ryan's work location has changed also. Same job, different building. With less of a commute, we get more time with him now. Love that!

We are now in the Tempo park ward activily serving away. It's been fun making new friends.

Life has been very good to us. So we've been busy living it! I hope to update a little more frequently.

Love you all!

Insert Clever Lion Joke Here

Last month, Aubrey and I went to the Wild Animal Park in Southern California with my siblings and parents.


Uncle Orrin and Aubrey. Aubrey and her cousin, Lily. They are only 4 months apart and such buddies already.

It's Auntie Beck!




We couldn't take our eyes off the majestic lions. Then a lioness came walking over to our glass wall and started watching us. They are really massive, but Aubrey didn't seem to mind the "big kitties."

Yahoo for Coupons!

Any guesses on how much I spent on all this at CVS??

$4.09!

If you haven't tried using coupons on some things, you might want to check it out. It's really fun! CVS has some great coupons like $5 off a $20 purchase. Combine that with coupons for other items you need and you get a low total everytime. Great way to stockpile some essentials and even some candy for all your Young Women's lessons too.

If you need more info: check out www.Moneysavingmom.com (she's a pro in Kansas) and www.myfrugaladventures.com (she's a pro in Roseville, CA).

Have fun!

I'm two!

Happy Birthday on the 16th, sweet girl! We love you!

PFAQ: Possible Frequently Asked Questions

Hi everyone,
I'm back. As in I hope to be back blogging regularly again. Now, I want to introduce a one time only segment called "Possible Frequently Asked Questions."

i will take the time to try and think of questions you might possibly have for me while I've been gone. Here goes...

Q: Arianna, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Its been months since you've been posting anything.
A: Well, that is VERY true. The answer is that while I love to blog, show pictures, and share my latest projects...it's the first thing to go when life gets a little...interesting.

Q: What do you mean by interesting?
A: We enjoyed a wonderful Holiday season, complete with staying at my parents for Christmas. Ryan has continued to stay very busy at work with lots of traveling. We both are in the YM/YW presidencies in our ward. That is crazy busy and fun(emphasis on crazy and fun). After everything was starting to get back to normal, we found out I was pregnant!

Q: WHY HAVEN'T YOU TOLD ME YET?!

A: We decided to keep this tidbit to ourselves until we saw a sweet little ultrasound picture. Hardly anyone knew. It was tough. Morning sickness kept creeping up at each passing day. Luckily just a lot of "I'm feeling so sleepy and my stomach is on a carousel" feeling and not the "I'm going to throw up everyday" feeling.

Aubrey and I laid very low. It was raining ALOT so we stayed inside, did art projects (without food) and watched movies and cuddled. Sadly, I miscarried at 11 weeks on Feb 23rd without ever seeing anything on the ultrasound screen. We were warned by the Drs, which made it a little less of a shock.

Q: ...I don't know what to say. How are you doing?
A: I am actually much better now. It was quite the experience (including going into labor and being at the ER 7 hours). But, the Drs took great care of me, as well as my family. I had my tears and hugged Ryan alot. It will be okay. I think the best thing for anyone to say to ME is that they are thinking of us/love us. We have felt so much love through all of this and it is so wonderful.

Q: What/How are you doing now?
A: Currently, I am doing amazing. It is very bittersweet to be happy about having energy back and no morning sickness. I am catching up from all the laying low. It feels really nice. I am looking forward to a beautiful spring and going outside with Aubrey. I am also a returning coupon junkie and getting enough courage to finally admit it! You may see some recent deals on this blog. It's so fun! Time to restock our food storage...

Q: What is Aubrey up to?
A: She just turned 2 yesterday! She is such a joy. I catch her reading out loud to herself from her books in her little language. She loves to sing songs and give me hugs. I am so grateful for her cheerful disposition.

Q: How is Ryan through all of this?
A: He is doing well. He continues to work so hard and readjust to growing demands from work. I am grateful to have him in my life and he is such a best friend to me through the fun and tough times. He works with the 12-13 year old deacons in our ward and has such a strong desire to help each boy succeed in the program. I truly am blessed.

Q: Anything else I should know?
A: I just returned from my sweet Grandmother Herterich's funeral. It was nice to be with family. I have also had my ipod touch disappear through all of the commotion at my parent's house. That is my link to my email. So I am not ignoring you if you don't hear from me. I am just waiting the 30 minutes it takes from my ancient desktop to decide to start working. Sometimes I just give up and go read a book instead. Please don't be offended.

Q: Well, glad everything is ok now.
A: Yup, everything is ok. We love you all and will now be rewarding you with pictures!!

Love, Us

We love you grandma...

My Grandma Herterich passed away this morning after a long battle with throat cancer. She is joining my grandpa who died a little over a year ago. I love you grandma and grandpa. You always made me feel so special. I miss you both.



I'll post an update about what we've been up to these past few months - later.