top five friday {christmas 2014 edition}

i'm just going to skip over the part about how bad i feel for never posting on here anymore, because i find it boring when people write crap like that. so, let's just pretend i post on here regularly and this isn't anything out of the ordinary.

it's friday {hence the top five friday post} and i've found myself sitting in my living room alone, with adelaide in bed and zach on alert {shh, don't tell the crazies} and i was thinking about how awesome this christmas was and wanted to document a few highlights.

we went home before christmas this year, which was hectic, but awesome, so we didn't get to make it home for the actual holiday. this was our third time in the four years we have been married that we have spent christmas by ourselves and the past two times were rough. i had that homesick feeling during the entire month of december and christmas just didn't feel the same. this year was different though. this year, i looked forward to spending it with my little family, in our own home, without having to worry about anything except ourselves. don't get me wrong, i sure as heck missed our families, but having christmas here at home just felt right. maybe zach and i just advanced to legitimate-grown-up-status this year? who knows. all i can say is that it was awesome. and here are a few reasons why:

1. pomegranates and cream.

yep. that would be a huge-a$$ bowl of pomegranates, cream, and sugar. zach and i are pretty sure we started a new tradition with this stuff. we spent christmas eve eating it, with our backs turned to each other, wrapping presents, listening to christmas music, and talking about everything. might sound lame, but it was actually kind of magical. it totally set the christmas mood.

2. painting toe nails with the babelet.

can i just say how much i looove having a girl? which is funny to me, because almost two years ago, that wasn't the case. in fact, when i was finding out addi's gender, there was some miscommunication and for a split second, i thought she was a boy. i was elated! then, the mix-up was unmixed and i realized she wasn't a boy, but rather a girl. i was this---> |-| close to bursting into tears. i probably would have if we didn't have family around. i was so disappointed! but now, i'm so glad it happened the way it did. i'm pretty sure everyone thinks that way, but let's just pretend i'm original. i was painting my toenails yesterday and she came over and wanted me to paint hers, too. she sat real still and when i was finished and showed her how i was blowing on mine to get them to dry, she blew on hers, too. that wasn't the first moment that i've been able to sit back and soak in the joy of being a teacher and a mom, but it was probably one of my top five favorites.

3. we had a white christmas! sort of. it snowed all day starting at about noon. that still counts, right?

this is a really crappy picture, i know, but when i turned down my street, i needed to take it because this reminds me so much of growing up. when the roads were like this, that's when we would tie a couple sleds to the back of our car and my dad would drive us up and down the streets, giving us a good case of whiplash and a cough from the exhaust. we loved it. to this day, the smell of exhaust reminds me of sledding. because of this scene right here, i spent all day trying to find snow bibs and a sled to take addi sledding. {don't worry. not behind the car.} sadly, target is too busy filling their shelves with swimsuit and pool noodles and walmart said they never got any sleds in this year. what kind of place is this?! maybe tomorrow, i'll have better luck.

4. my super thoughtful husband. {warning: sappy post ahead.} i know that around the world, there are about a kabillion girls a day that go on and on about how they have the best husband/boyfriend/significant other/etc. ever, but can i just set the record straight and let everyone know that my husband is actually the best husband/boyfriend/significant other/etc. ever? {yes. he fits into all of those categories.} not only did he get me everything on my christmas list {hooray for grocery bag carriers!}, but he also got me a few other meaningful things, including this gorgeous ornament:

he hand carved this out of the same christmas tree that we used for our first christmas as husband and wife. i about died! i'd say he did pretty dang well. gift giving isn't the only thing that wins him the best husband/boyfriend/significant other/etc. ever title, though. zach is kind of like a ninja. if anyone knows me, they know how much i love my sleep. zach has mastered the art of getting out of bed, showering, getting ready for the day, doing the dishes, and whatever else he does in the mornings, without even so much as making me stir. it's probably one of my favorite qualities about him. that and his ability to come up with analogies, to dumb smart things down. that comes in handy a lot around this house because he's so much smarter than me and uses big words a lot. oh, and he also has a flawless perception of time. he could guess when we will be home from a road trip down to the minute, before we have even left. i'm awful at that. just last week when i was christmas shopping, i told him i would be home in 45 minutes and i actually believed it. 3 hours later, i pulled in the driveway. oops. anyway. i definitely got a keeper and i'm glad zach is the one that i will be spending the rest of my christmases with!

5. lastly, i loved having a real christmas tree.

can i be honest with you here and say that christmas tree hunting was not my favorite this year? i remember going tree hunting with my dad and we could spot good ones from our car. so, you can imagine my surprise when we traipsed all over those woods for hours and this tree was the best we could come up with. pfft. it's not a looker by any means, but once we brought it in the house and decorated it and we could smell fresh pine every time we walked through the door, we grew to love this little tree and i'm so glad we spent the time and energy to get it. even if i'm pretty sure we killed it while we were in disneyland. this tree was good to us this year and despite the hunt being difficult, we will probably end up doing it again next year. isn't being able to forget bad things such a blessing? #hellochildbirth

there you have it. 5 things that made this christmas special for us. of course, the most important thing that wasn't mentioned, was the Spirit of Christ that we felt so strongly this season and are grateful to have in our home year-round. without it, everything said above would be meaningless. i am so grateful to my Savior and his willingness to sacrifice for me, so that i can have the joy and peace that i experience daily. i hope you had a very merry christmas and have a happy new year, too!

-the mrs.

dear baby a,

happy 14 months, my sweet girl!

a year ago, you were two months old and being blessed at church. crazy how different you are today!

  

i seriously can't get over you and your cuteness. sometimes, it feels like my whole body is going to go into sensory overload because it can't handle all the pent-up love i have for you.

i know. super cheesy. but, during those moments, i just have to hug you and kiss the crap out of those chubby cheeks of yours.

i'm starting work here soon. just 1-2 days a week. nothing big, but at the same time, it's huge. 

i missed you tonight after an hour at the gym. i don't know what 9 hours is going to do to me. don't worry though, daddy will be home to take care of you. just be sure to tell him how much you miss me and that you love me more. ;)

with it being your 14 month birthday today, here is what you are up to as of now:

-you like to tell us no. but, not in an annoying i'm-a-toddler-and-i-have-dominance-over-you sort of way, but in the kind of way that makes our hearts melt and we want to say yes to all of your demands. your dad usually tells you no by shaking a finger at you, so you picked that up and usually when you don't want something, you give a little finger shake back and forth and through your tears say, "uh-uh" over and over. it's about the cutest thing ever.

-you are obsessed with belly buttons. i can't lie down anymore without my shirt being lifted up. today you discovered that you have a belly button too! life is so fun, huh?

-you love shoes and will match them up and then proceed to have us help you try all of them on.

-you've gotten over the crying phase when we put you down for naps or for bed. usually i will snuggle you right before bed, but nowadays, you like to forego that part and you point to your crib instead. i get the picture.

-you like to get people's attention by waving, but then you're really shy about it and will hide behind me every time.

-you're obsessed with animals. i went to target the other day with the intent of buying you your first baby doll. i was letting you pick out which one you wanted, but you were too interested in the dog stuffed animals in the next aisle. i'm sure you can guess which one won.

-speaking of animals, you can now say, "dog". or rather, "duh". any time a dog barks in the neighborhood, we know about it. you haven't learned a whole lot more words since last month. you definitely know that 'dada' is your dad and 'mama' is me. how about you call me mama for the rest of your life? because it's pretty much adorable.

-you enjoy swimming with your bff, ashtyn czarnocki.

-you think copper's bed was designed especially for you.

-you're afraid of holiday inflatable decorations.

-and you love balloons.

you're the coolest 14 month old there ever was, sweet cheeks.

love,

mama

oh, hello fall.

it's here, it's here! fall time, that is. it's been cloudy and overcast all day today and i don't think it's gotten above 65 degrees. zach is going to hate me for saying this, but i'm so glad summer is over! don't get me wrong, we had a freaking awesome summer and i loved every second of it. but, fun fact about me: i hate the heat. that's not to say that i hate summer, but since summer is hot, it's not exactly my favorite season. yes, you can go outside and go swimming and go hiking and all of that fancy stuff, but you can do all of that during the fall, too. and guess what? you can do it while wearing cardigans and boots and eating pumpkin bread and roasting s'mores and doing all of the fun fall things and not want to strip down to your birthday suit while you're at it. see? fall rocks.

zach and i have been trying really hard lately to get a babysitter each week and go out, just the two of us. but sometimes, we don't really want to have it be just the two of us. most nights we want addi with us, so yesterday we had a date night at the park, where we packed up the babelet, the dog, sandwiches in a picnic basket, and had ourselves a cute little dinner, right there on the grass.

it was lovely. as we were sitting there, it hit me how quickly fall has come and how quickly it will probably go, so we need to make a bucket list, fast. and that's why i've brought you here today. here is our fall bucket list and i'm so excited to do everything on it! let me know if i missed anything important.

averett fall bucket list:

-go to a pumpkin patch
-drink apple cider {advanced option: make it as well}
-carve our pumpkin {the one that we accidentally grew when zach threw last year's pumpkins into the backyard to "fertilize the dirt'.}
-make a fall wreath
-make pumpkin cream cheese bread
-pick apples
-go to a football game
-watch a scary movie {most likely, it will have mickey mouse or scooby doo in it, because i'm a lightweight when it comes to scary movies.}
-dip and eat caramel apples {emphasis on the 'eat'.}
-go to a corn maze
-read a book
-roast s'mores over a fire pit
-decorate for fall
-make a pumpkin pie
-watch hocus pocus
-make caramel popcorn
-go on a picnic
-make and decorate fall cookies
-go for a hike
-make an apple pie {advanced option: make it with a lattice top.}
-go on a hayride
-go for a drive to see the fall leaves
-find our halloween costumes {if anyone can point us in the direction of some epic star wars costumes, we'd appreciate it mucho.}

you can bet your bottom dollar, that every one of these things will be happening. happy falling, my friends!

-the mrs.

colorado run half marathon. an #ophotwife segment.

today started off like any other. except i willingly woke up at 6 am and i was so nervous that i could hardly eat my cereal without wanting to ralph. ain't nothing that gets in the way of my cereal and me, most days. the question 'why?' might be going through your head right about now. well, it just so happens, that i was crazy enough to run my very first half marathon this morning!

i'm glad i was able to rope my friend meghan into running this with me. hopefully she doesn't hate me for it!

i've been training for this thing for twelve weeks now. twelve. that's a long time when you think about it. that's, like, a third of an entire pregnancy! it wasn't always easy. especially since i had the bright idea to run this race at the end of summer. meaning i'd be training for it all summer long. in the heat. i hate the heat.

lucky for me, the actual race was better than some of my training runs even were! with zach working, i had no choice but to train with addi in tow. i had an internal struggle as to whether or not i should push her in the race and when it came down to it, i couldn't let myself get this far with training with her and then just drop her like it's hot. so, this little beauty of mine tagged along for the entire 13.1 miles with me.

she even slept for a good 45 minutes of it! i don't blame her. running is exhausting.

i got to about mile 5, when i saw a bunch of people holding signs and cheering for passing runners. i looked for zach, hopeful that he might be mixed up in the crowd. no dice. as i went a little further though, past the majority of the crowd, i saw copper sitting there being a good dog, with zach next to him holding a sign to cheer me on. it might sound cheesy, but that gave me just the boost i needed to keep going! zach met me at three or four different spots along the route, with a different sign each time. have i ever told you how much i love that man? he was so unbelievably thoughtful and supportive through the entire race!

i had three goals for this thing. 1 - finish in under 2 hours and 30 minutes. i ended up coming in around 2 hours and 18 minutes, so i was stoked about that. 2 - run the entire time and don't stop once. this wasn't a problem for me until about mile 8, when i could feel the blisters popping up all over my feet. talk about killer. even then though, i didn't have as big of a desire to stop as i have on other runs i've done. that was a blessing. 3 - to push addi the whole way. i'm happy to say that all three of those goals were successfully accomplished! i can't even begin to tell you how incredibly awesome it feels to not only have finished the half marathon, but to have completed these things that i set out for myself on top of it. it made me feel like a million bucks!

never in my life would i ever have thought that i would become a runner like this. my soccer coach can attest that i was always one of the ones in practice that would complain about having to run a mile. people aren't lying though when they say that during an actual race, you get an indescribable runner's high and that's what makes you want to do it all over again.

at least, in the beginning, that is. this picture was taken seconds after i crossed the finish line. zach thought i was ticked at him for no reason at all, when really, i was celebrating inside, while telling myself to keep breathing. proof that you can't judge a person by their face. ;) if you were to ask me today if i would ever do this again, i'd give you a h3!! no. but maybe when my knees aren't killing me anymore and this gargantuan blister goes away, that answer might change.

if anybody has good running shoes recommendations, send them my way. because heaven knows i need it!

zach was so stinking sweet and had a cute sign and flowers for me at the end of the race. that alone, made it all worth it. i'm so lucky to have such a supportive husband! 

and a supportive daughter. i just know if she could talk, she would have been cheering me on while i ran. ;) 

p.s. if you haven't tried this stuff, you need to immediately. it's the bomb and tastes amazing.

thanks to everyone that sent me words of encouragement! it means the world to me. i'm happy that this is done and over with and that i can move onto bigger and better things. i'm officially one step closer to completing #ophotwife. now, bring on the season of toning!

-the mrs.

dear baby a,

happy 13 month birthday! even though it's a little late, you still turned 13 months and i'm still writing about it, so that's all that counts. 

so much has happened since your birthday. if i didn't know any better, i'd think that you knew you turned one because you're a completely different baby than you were on that day. it's so weird. the day after your birthday, we flew to utah and were there for three weeks. in that time, you learned a few tricks, turned into more of a little sassafras than you already were, and became the cuddly baby that i've always dreamed of having. seriously. random cuddles for no reason at all have made my day. along with these few things, here are some other things that you've been doing:

-you aren't nursing anymore! i think this is my favorite milestone out of all the things listed here. i will admit that i was super sad at first. we all know that breastfeeding wasn't the easiest thing in the world for either of us, so it really surprised me at how sad i really felt. but that quickly went away when i realized that i can go anywhere for any length of time and not have to worry about you starving to death. i can even leave you with other people and not have to stress about whether or not you will take a bottle and such. it's the most liberating feeling in the world! that doesn't discount how awesome it was to be able to do it for an entire year though. i know a lot of moms that aren't able to at all and i definitely don't want to sound ungrateful in any way. but still. i can't believe the day has finally come, even after it being a whole month later.
-you're officially walking now! whether it's free standing or holding onto a chair, you definitely walk more than you crawl. you're the cutest little walker I ever did see.
-you're a little chatterbox, too. you have mama, dada, hi, and uh-oh down pretty well, but you're always down for repeating other words that we say. even when you get them wrong. which you do. every single time.
-i don't know if it's all the travelling we have been doing for the last month or what, but you have picked up the habit of crying every time i put you to sleep. i hate it! i miss you going down without a peep and it breaks my heart to let you cry, but you and i both know you need the sleep. it's given us an excuse for lots of extra cuddles though, so things could be worse.
-every time you see a comb or brush, you have to comb your hair with it. the same goes for having to put bows in your hair when you see them or shoes on your feet. you're such a girly girl.
-speaking of which, you're completely enamored by jewelry. it's one of my biggest fears that you will rip my earrings right out of my earlobe. you love holding onto my wedding ring, too. soon enough, i'll have to buy you some jewelry of your own!
-you still love books. if you're fussy or i need you to sit still while i change your diaper, i can give you a book and you will immediately start laughing. it's adorbs. animal books are your favorite.
-actually, animal anything is your favorite. you can't see an animal without pointing it out to us. you definitely took after your mama there.
-you like to pick flowers. your uncle michael made the mistake of showing you how to do that and i can't put you near flowers anymore without you destroying them.
-you love babies. which is weird because you're kind of a baby yourself. there was a 15 month old little boy at the airport and you would squeal every time he got near you. you little flirt.
-you started giving kisses and they are so stinking cute! at first it was just a big, open-mouthed mess, but you've gotten the closed-mouth part down finally and you do it even when we ask for it. or when we don't. tonight for instance, dad and i were laying on the ground while you ran around being your cute self, when you walked up to dad, gave him a kiss on the nose, them the mouth, then walked over to me and gave me one too. it was pretty much the cutest thing i've ever seen.

even though i'm sad when i look at pictures, to see the little baby self you're leaving behind, i'm loving the little toddler girl that you're becoming! i love you, sweet pea.

-mama

one year.

i've been thinking about what to say in this post for weeks now. yes, i'm one of those moms. i won't go into details about addi's actual birth day. if you want that, you can visit here. but i'm pretty sure that every mom feels the same way that i do, now that this milestone has finally happened - how is it possible for my little, tiny baby that i gave birth to what seems like yesterday, to be a year old? an entire year. 52 weeks. 365 days. 8,760 hours. 525,600 minutes. 31,536,000 seconds. i'm interested to know how many of those seconds, minutes, and hours were spent awake, trying to get the little bean to go to sleep, when i myself should be sleeping. i also wonder how many of those seconds, minutes, and hours have been spent giggling together, taking pictures to document just about everything, and simply staring in amazement that i have a child. all moms feel like this, right? the thing is, i've only ever heard about moms feeling like this. this is the first time i've ever felt like this myself.

i've had more than a handful of people tease me for how many pictures i'll probably take of adelaide and not of my future children. when thinking about why this is, i came to the conclusion that never in my life have i seen a person grow up right before my eyes like this. sure, i've seen nieces, nephews, cousins, friends' babies, etc. grow up, but only in an 'i see you every other week' kind of thing. it really is the most amazing thing ever to see a baby go from a tiny, helpless thing like this:

to this little bundle of joy:

it may have been a year, but i still have to stop myself sometimes and let it hit me all over again - the fact that i'm a mom.

i think if i said that this has been the best year ever, i would probably be lying to myself and to all of you. has this year brought some of the best moments ever? definitely. but, there were also, some not so good ones that i try really hard not to think about. my patience has been tested time and time again. i have felt more insecure and inadequate than i did as a 14 year old girl. and i lost more sleep than i'd like to even know. but, as cliche as it is, nothing has been more rewarding than getting to be a mom to this sweet girl.

here are some fun facts about my little one year old lady:

-she's turning into a little sassafras. she does this thing, that we affectionately call 'when babies attack' where she starts grabbing and pinching at the closest thing to her when she doesn't get her way. it's pure joy. #not
-she learned to go down the stairs on her own last week! i can't even tell you how much stress this has relieved. she would only do it if you put her halfway up the stairs for a while, but today, i set her at the top and she immediately turned around and went down every single step. booyah!
-she loves playing with the faucet in the kitchen sink. i'm tired of all the dirty clothes that come simply from just feeding her, so i've been stripping her down to her diaper lately and then spraying her off in the sink when i'm done and i think it's one of her favorite activities of the day. she loves it! {if you couldn't tell.}

{i promise i put clothes on my kid sometimes.}

-she has 5 teeth...i think. i haven't checked in a while. i don't want to jinx myself or anything, but we have had a pretty good run with teething. i'd heard horror stories before i had a baby and then when addi's first tooth came through is when she started taking longer than 40 minute naps, so i was in heaven! her second tooth was kind of a struggle, but since then, we haven't really noticed a difference when she's teething. i'll consider it a huge blessing!

-speaking of teeth, this girl loves to brush her teeth. she'll do anything she can to get to her toothbrush when she sees it and when i start to put toothpaste on it, she squeals. when i actually brush her teeth {and by brush, i mean try to wiggle it around when she doesn't have her teeth chomped down on it}, she laughs the entire time. glad to know she has such a good relationship with brushing her teeth already.

-she has turned into a full-blown daddy's girl. she's always gotten excited when zach is around, but for the first time a few weeks ago, he was holding her and when i went to take her from him, she burrowed into him and started to cry. it might have stung initially, but i must say that it's pretty much the cutest thing ever. you know when people say that they fall more in love with their spouse when they seem them love their kids? yeah. it's all true.

-she picks up on things and has copied things that we do for a while, but it hasn't been as apparent as it has been lately. she was tapping a pot with her hand at breakfast the other day and i hit it with the backside of my finger. immediately, she whipped out one finger and started laughing as she tapped the pot just like me. then the other day, zach, addi, and i were laying in the living room and zach patted me on the leg. addi crawled over to me as fast as she could and started tapping me exactly where zachary just had. it's amazing how much they notice and want to imitate.

my heart hurts to let this sweet baby turn one year old today, but i can't wait for the adventures in learning to walk, talk, ride a bike, tea parties, dress up, learning to drive, stay up late giggling over boys, and every other fun thing that comes with having a little girl. it's definitely true when they say that "making the decision to have a child is to forever decide to have your heart go walking around outside your body." you feel completely naked and vulnerable, but in the end, it's totally worth it!

-the mrs.

The Great Regression

Family, friends, frenemies,

Let me tell you about the Great Regression. It hasn't happened yet, but scientists can predict it with uncanny accuracy. You know how it happens? Well, you see, when a man has lived 26 years of his life as a bachelor and then gets married, something marvelous happens. After a little while, he actually ENJOYS not being a bachelor. Well, when the spouse of said man goes on a... let's say 20 day, 2 hour, 35 minute vacation without him, there is an almost unavoidable potential for the Great Regression. That is, that man will regress into a degraded, depraved, and untamed bachelor state.

Sarah and the babelet are going out of town next week. You see, such an experience, if of a short duration, might encourage Zach to be optimistic and try and find enjoyment in his loneliness. Perhaps he would go to a few movies, go for a drive up the canyon, eat cereal and macaroni and cheese for every meal, and maybe even start up an old neglected video game (after clearing away the cobwebs and hurt feelings... if video games could have hurt feelings).  Normally, Zach could extract at least SOME enjoyment in-spite of the absence of two HUGE puzzle-pieces of his life.

You see, that's the problem. Normally such experiences CAN BE a great time BECAUSE they are short-lived. Man was never meant to be alone. Most of you might be nodding your head in agreement but let me illustrate the gravity of the possible outcomes.

Story #1:

Sarah pulls into the driveway after being gone for 20 days. She leisurely gets Adelaide out of the car, grabs a bag or two, and walks up the steps to the porch. As she reaches for the handle to the front door, she is suddenly aware of how dark it looks inside her home. That’s strange. I thought Zach would be home, she thinks. She gasps as she touches the handle. It’s ice cold!

Now, very concerned, she barrels through the front door. Air rushes through the doorway, as if the house itself was starving for oxygen and hadn't taken a breath in ages. Mist coalesces and hovers around her ankles. She can hear a pronounced drip, drip, drip deep within the caverns of her home. “Zachary!” She yells, now more concerned.

She hears a screech as a very large bat with the face of her husband flies out the door, never to be seen or heard from again.

Story #2:

Sarah pulls into the driveway after being gone for 20 days. She leisurely gets Adelaide out of the car, grabs a bag or two, and walks up the steps to the porch. The door is open just slightly… Pushing the door open she gasps at the sight, dropping her bags and nearly dropping the baby.

Zach is lying on the living room floor with boxes of macaroni and cheese strewn about. The room looks like a mad scientist’s lab; test tubes, burners, and various varieties of mac’n’cheese all over the kitchen table. Something is bubbling on the kitchen stove. Sarah runs to Zach and finds cheese oozing from his nose, mouth, and ears. She sees a syringe, clearly filled with Kraft Cheddar Explosion lying next to Zachary’s arm. He’s breathing, just barely.

Story #3:

Sarah pulls into the driveway after being gone for 20 days. She leisurely gets Adelaide out of the car, grabs a bag or two, and walks up the steps to the porch.  She opens the door and yells, “Zachary, we’re home.” Silence. “Zach?!” Strange, she thinks, I thought for sure he’d be home. Everything seems normal around the house, with of course, the exception that Zach and Copper are missing.

She puts Adelaide to sleep and calls Zach’s phone. It rings down the hallway. Why would he leave without his phone? She walks to the bedroom and picks his phone up to discover he has 17 missed calls and 3 missed messages. Ten of those missed calls and all of the messages are from a number she doesn’t recognize. She listens to the first message. Hi, Mr Averett? Yes, this is deputy Sharp from the Fort Collins PD. Someone turned in your wallet to the Police department downtown here. Do you mind coming by to pick it up? Also, er, the clothing they found with it?

Sarah clicks on the second message. Mr Averett, deputy Sharp here. We haven’t heard from you. Please call us immediately. We know it’s you who’s terrorizing the neighborhood, we have all the evidence we need, there’s no use running.

Third message. Mr Averett, if you don’t turn yourself in, we will be forced to tranquilize you and bring you and your dog in by force.

Suddenly very alarmed, Sarah redials the number from Zach’s phone. “Yes, deputy Sharp? My name is Sarah Averett. I just got home and – yes? Really? No, that can’t be, are you sure you have the right man? The animal shelter? But why the animal sh— Oh, sorry for interrupting. Yes, I’ll be right down.”

After piling a very sleepy and as a result, grumpy Adelaide into the car, Sarah makes her way to the Fort Collins animal shelter. Deputy Sharp is waiting for her, “Mrs Averett, I must say, you might be shocked by what you see.” He leads her inside. At first everything seems normal. You know, the typical sounds and smells of an every-day animal shelter. But as she turns the corner to the canine section, she is stunned to see a very naked and very feral Zach, running on all fours in the dog kennel, howling and barking with the other dogs.

Story #4:

Sarah pulls into the driveway after being gone for 20 days. She leisurely gets Adelaide out of the car, grabs a bag or two, and walks up the steps to the porch.  She opens the door to find Zachary standing there, emaciated and red eyed. She quickly puts Addi on the floor and Zach collapses into her arms. As she lowers all 98, sickly pounds of him to the ground, he whispers the last 5 words he will ever speak, "I missed... you... to... death...*long, drawn-out and dramatic exhale*"

These stories, of course would never happen! *Zach scoffs and hopes that this obvious statement hides the concern hidden behind his eyes*

Really though, I am a little concerned that the 20 days without my wife will turn me feral and wild, perhaps reverting to my old bachelor self, lonely and miserable, crying and rocking myself to sleep every night. Not that I did that as a bachelor or anything… What is a man to do?

I have plans. For example, I plan on working on projects around the house. I plan to go to the shooting range and finally find time to sharpen my marksman skills. I’m hoping to finally see a movie… in an actual theater… with actual popcorn in my arms. These things will be glorious and wonderful! Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to certain aspects of being a bachelor, but how do I prevent myself from morphing into Dracula? How do I stave off the mac’n’cheese overdose and subsequent rehab time? How do I prevent my wild adventures with Copper in the streets of Fort Collins? How do I NOT die from missing-itis?

I’d appreciate suggestions.

-The Mr.

dear baby a,

isn't it funny how this blog is titled 'the mr. and the mrs.', but really it's just turned into a bunch of letters written to you?? haha! {okay, not that funny.}

happy 11 months to you, my cutie pie, nugget chunkalicious!

  

i haven't been able to stop thinking all day about how the next time we celebrate your monthiversary birthday, you'll be a year old. an entire year old. part of me is so excited that we all made it this long and part of me wants to run away with you to neverland where you will never grow up. here is what you are up to these days:

 

-you pull what we like to call the 'scared face'. i don't know where it came from or why you even do it, but you have been doing it for a while and your dad and i bust a gut every time it happens. just recently though, you've started doing it on command or any time you want to get a rise out of us and it's hilarious. {everything you do is hilarious to us. that's what makes us good parents.} you've already got this wrap-mommy-and-daddy-around-your-finger game down pretty good.

 

{note: my computer doesn't have sound right now, so i have no idea how truly obnoxious my mom voice/laugh is in this video. don't judge.}

 

-you pretty much don't stop talking while you're at home. ever. so, when there is a binky in your mouth, it just turns into a bunch of noises coming out of your nose. it's totes adorbs.

-you don't like being taken by surprise. today, for instance, your boyfriend, dean, {i say your boyfriend, because he is totally enamored with you. you haven't decided how you feel about him yet. he's cute. you'll come around.} wanted to love on you, so he tapped you on the head to get your attention when you weren't looking. after a full on wail of a cry and some serious lovin' from dad {combined with your favorite purple binky}, you decided you might just live, but you don't ever want to experience that kind of surprise again. i can't make any promises.

-you still love books. {i may have said this one last time, but it hasn't changed. so...} if i leave you in your room to play, i can usually find you flipping through the pages of 'pat the bunny' - your favorite book that was given to you by one of your biggest fans, lauren cyr. you love that thing. every time we get to the page where you are supposed to play peek-a-boo with paul though, you get confused and think you're supposed to chew on the blanket that paul is holding. it's weird. so, there's that.

-you've been a fairly good sleeper for the past few months, but this last week has been awwwwesome. okay, you have woken up at 5:30 on the dot almost every day, but luckily you will go back to sleep until at least 7:30. until last night when you went to bed at 8:30 pm and didn't wake up until 8:00 am. i could literally hear angels singing when i woke up. {that was a lie. i didn't literally hear them, but i wouldn't be surprised if i did.} i think you've slept that long consecutively, maybe twice in your entire life. it rocked my world. #mombrag

-you can down almost two whole bananas in one sitting. i don't think that i can even do that. way to go, girlfriend.

-you love camping. how do i know that? because when it was time for bed, instead of going to sleep like a good little girl or even throwing a tantrum because you're awake three hours past your bedtime, you giggle and crawl all over your dad and me. in all honesty, i don't think this has anything to do with camping. i think you were loving the idea of having a sleepover with us. this was the first time in my life that i wished we coslept with you, so that you would know it was time for bed. {that quickly went away when we came home and i put you in your crib and i had half of our bed all to myself.} you really were a camping champ though and we will definitely be doing it again. get used to it. this is going to be your life!

 

 

 

-you have always loved peek-a-boo, but now, you've learned to do it back to me. you'll do it with anything - blankets, towels, sunglasses, cheerios. some items work better than others. it's freaking adorable how hilarious you think it is.

-i'd like to say that you're getting close to walking, but i don't know what happens when a baby gets close to walking. i mean, you pull yourself up to things and cruise along them, like it ain't no thang, but word on the street is, that some babies do this for months before they actually learn to walk. i'm really hoping it'll happen before your first birthday, because i would kill to see you and your cuteness, toddling around in the tutu i'm making for you. that means you have a month. get on it, girl.

 

i know it's not much, but it's 11 o'clock and i'm tired. so, i'm peacin' out. keep being the ridiculously adorable girl that you are and know that i love you, sweet pea!

 

-mama

 

dear baby a,

You’re 10 months old today!!

 I can hardly even believe it. Just stop growing up, please! Here is what you are up to as of today:

-You are crawling on hands and knees now. Finally. You've been belly crawling for a while, but you just found out this week that crawling on all fours is a lot faster and takes a lot less work. Not to mention, it’s super cute to see your little bum in the air, everywhere you go.
-You pull yourself up to everything these days. Your walker, your changing table, a basket, my leg. EVERYTHING. You can usually get out of it, but on the rare occasion that you can’t, you freak out. A lot.
-I found out today that you hate grass. You cried every time I put you on it, but you were perfectly fine on the cement. Ya weirdo.
-You have gotten to the point that I think you know when dad has been gone for most of the day and when he comes home, you get excited. Most of the time you smile and are super giggly, but sometimes you even put your head on his shoulder! That’s actually a really big deal in this house.
-Speaking of which, you’ve been really cuddly this week and I love it. For the past few nights, I haven’t been feeding you when you wake up at night {which has been a lot because you’re teething.}. Instead, I just give you your binky and cuddle you and you put your head on my chest and fall right back to sleep. There have been times where it’s 1 in the morning and I know I should go back to bed, but I just have to sit and soak up the moment with you for ten minutes. I’m sad that you don’t feel good, but it does my heart good to get some snuggles in with you!
-You have 2 and 1/2 teeth. That 3rd one should break through any day now! I think we're all pretty excited about it. For more reasons than one.
-I think you’re addicted to Cafe Rio just as much as I am.
-You’ve gotten really big into pointing lately. Half the time, I don’t know what you’re pointing at, but it’s like you want me to notice every little thing around me. I love seeing that tiny little finger pop up.
-You’re really into ordering Copper around. Or at least that’s what it looks like. You will point at him and yell, but the weird thing is, you don’t do it to either dad or me. Just Cop. You love him so much. He just tolerates you.
-You have ridiculously tiny feet. You’re still in size 0-3 month shoes. I keep buying you size 3-6 because I know you’ll grow into them and all, but as for now, your feet keep slipping out of them and it’s kind of annoying. Where did you get your tiny feet from?!
-If I put socks on your feet, I can guarantee that they will be off of them in a matter of seconds. I rarely will open the car door to get you out of your carseat and see you with socks still on. It’s okay though. I’m not a socks girl either.
-You love going down the stairs, backwards. Your doctor said that now that you’re crawling, one of the first things we need to do is to teach you how to properly go down the stairs - on your belly with your feet first. You can’t do it on your own yet because you’re kind of a shorty, but every time I show you how to do it, you think it’s the funniest thing ever.
-You motivate me to keep the kitchen clean. I can’t leave you to play with your toys in the living room when I have stuff to do in the kitchen anymore. You want to be right by my side and of course, you manage to find every piece of food {or not food} on the floor and it goes right into your mouth. Gross.
-You love books. Reading stories with Dad is seriously one of your favorite times of the day. You like turning the pages for him.
-You’re slowly learning ‘nose’, ‘ear’, and ‘mouth’. You’ve known ‘nose’ for a while and will point to mine when I say it, but you haven’t quite caught onto the other two yet. You mostly just like to point them out, even when I don’t say them. I will be looking at you and you will grab my face and fling it to the side, just so you can touch my ear. Or you’ll poke me directly in the eye. That’s always fun. You love that my eyes open and close.
-I bought you a picnic basket for Easter with play food and cups and plates and your favorite thing about it is taking everything out and scattering it all over the living room. Same with the remote console downstairs. You don’t give up on that thing until every last item is taken out of it.
-You can’t hold an ear plug without it going directly into your mouth. And that’s just gross.

That’s all that I can think of as of now. I can’t believe how much you are growing and learning. It’s exciting to see the new phases that are happening, but it’s breaking my heart that you are slowly becoming more of a toddler and less of a baby. :( I sure do love you, sweet pea!

Love,

Mama

dear baby a.

happy 9 month birthday today, sweet cheeks! 

i can't believe you're 3/4 of a year old. oh, how quickly time goes by. i wish i could slow it down, but then again, things keep getting more and more fun with you that i think i would be missing out on a lot. we went to the dr today and they determined that you are ridiculously disproportioned. your head is huge and you're way short. it's weird. but at least it makes for you being adorable! here is what you're up to these days:

-you've learned how to army crawl. you can get up on your hands and knees, but you can't quite go anywhere yet. i think it's because of your big head and belly.

-you are eating all kinds of foods. you seriously eat anything that i eat. except for the really sugary stuff. which i eat a lot of. you choke a lot too. which scares the crap out of me. i thought that you could handle bigger stuff and just bite it off, but you don't. if it can fit in your mouth, it's going in there.

-you love mirrors. mostly, you like seeing me in them, but you'll take whatever you can get.

-have i mentioned that you take a binky now? it's awesome. sometimes you will wake up from your nap, then find your binky and fall back to sleep. it gives me so much time to get things done!

-you shake your head when i shake mine. it's tots adorbs.

-you are starting to babble 'mama' now! you've been saying 'dada' for a while and dad doesn't hesitate to rub it in. ;)

-this may sound crazy, but i swear you keep trying to say copper's name. every time we say it, you give a cute 2 syllable noise or just say 'per'. i'm pretty sure you're copper's best friend.

-you can walk along the coffee table downstairs! puffs are your biggest motivator. you get really frustrated when you don't get them right away though.

-your giggle is absolutely contagious!

-you have a hanging toy in your car that sings songs when you pull the cord. every time i put it up when I put you in your carseat, you give me this grin like, "hey, are you looking?" and then you pull it and smile so big and look over at me to make sure that I saw it. it pretty much makes putting you in your carseat the best thing ever. 

-speaking of you and your carseat - you love it. very rarely do you cry in it and if you do, it's because you're hungry. and even then, you are a rockstar and usually just fall asleep in a few seconds. it makes life so good that you love it!

-after waking up every two hours at night for like a month, you slept the whole night through for like 5 nights in a row, and now the last two nights, you've woken up once. that's not that bad really, but i just want you to sleep through the whole night always. :(

-you now throw full-on temper tantrums. if i take something away that you shouldn't be playing with, you throw your head back and cry so hard. it's sad, but really funny.

-usually when you wake up from your nap, instead of crying these days, you just babble all cute-like to yourself. then when I come get you, you stop whatever you're doing and stare at me before you get wiggly and bounce up and down and giggle. it's the best post-nap greeting ever.

so much of your personality is starting to show. you still aren't much of a snuggler at all, which honestly makes me super sad, but i love that you are happy and content when i'm holding you. you act like it's your happy spot and that makes me happier than i can even put into words. i've had you in the boba wrap a lot this week and i love being able to kiss your little head any time i want. also, you love seeing yourself in the mirror when you're in that thing. you laugh like none other. people used to say that the love they have for their kid makes their heart want to burst and i never knew what that was like until i met you. my heart has felt like it's wanted to pop out of my chest multiple times this week! you have been the best thing that has ever happened to our family, little girl and i thank God every day that i am blessed enough to be your mama. i love you, sweet pea.

love,

mama

top five friday {4/11/14}

happy friday!

without going into too much detail, because it probably won't make sense anyway, zach just got kind of a different job, so weekends are officially a thing of the past. boo. on the flip side though, he will have random days off during the week, so that will be nice. he actually had last friday off and then he asked saturday and sunday off and he didn't have to go in monday and only had to go in for a couple hours on tuesday. it was awesome! addi has been sleeping like poop at night, so zach has been a rockstar of a husband and has gotten up with her at the buttcrack of dawn, so i can get some extra sleep. i sure married one awesome man. anyway, because he's been home during the day, he's been having to go into work at night and doesn't get home until midnightish. on paper, it sounds like a fair trade, but i hate going to sleep alone, so i end up waiting up for him and then we are both exhausted the next day. it's a joke. so, pretty much, that was just a really long way of saying that zach isn't home now and i'm killing time until he is and thought i'd share my top five favs from the week. ;) 

1 - i just started another job. yep. another one. do you want to know the best part about me working two jobs? both of them can be accomplished in my pajamas at home! i've been talking to my boss from the pharmacy for months now about doing some computer work for him and things have finally started rolling with it. i feel so grateful that i can earn a little bit of money while still being able to stay home and play with adelaide!

2 - hiking. once upon a time, i went hiking with a bunch of peeps and we thought it'd be a good idea to leave at 1 in the freaking morning. note to self: the next time you want to go hiking at a time like that, do not do it. it was sooooo miserable, i can't even put it into words. since then, i've been convinced that i hate hiking, until a couple weeks ago when i went with my little brother in estes park. that was kind of a lame hike though. ever since the flooding in colorado last fall, estes park has been demolished. so, last weekend, zach and i went to a different area and i loved every second of it! i kept saying over and over that i wanted nothing more than to go hiking every weekend. not only does it get me out and exercising, but it's so dang pretty! also, addi loves it. she sat in her chair and giggled the entire time.

3 - this song:

i seriously can't help but roll the windows down every time it comes on the radio. it's definitely my favorite feel-good song as of late.

4 - i'm officially 4 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. you'll probably get an update when i'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight too, so just deal with it. i've been hovering between 4 and 6 pounds for a few weeks now and although i'm not where i want to be completely, i feel pretty dang proud of how far i've come! it wasn't as easy to get rid of it all as it seems like it is for a lot of moms. probably because i love chick-fil-a milkshakes too much, but still. it may have taken almost 9 months, but it's still happening nonetheless. it blows my mind to see the difference between these two pictures. i know you can't compare bellies or anything since i was pregnant and all, but my face? good freaking night. that's 36 pounds that i hope to never see again!

{36 weeks in, 36 weeks out!}

5 - i've been feeling all sorts of nostalgic this week. yesterday marked 4 years since zachary and i went on our first date. on that date, he took me to my very first thai restaurant and i have been in love with thai food ever since. so now, it's tradition to eat at a thai restaurant every year. 

{the one we went to this year was a total let down, by the way. but that's beside the point.} 4 years. i can hardly believe it. it's nuts to see how much has happened and all the places we've been in those 4 years. we did a little reminiscing and played the "remember that one time?" game where we just recall memories from the last 4 years and they all start with "remember that one time?" {duh} and holy cow, i was busting a gut. it's amazing, the pathetic kinds of things your mind remembers.

i sure love this boy with all of my heart and i'm so grateful that out of all the people in the world that i could have ended up with, i ended up with him. i'm grateful for that beautiful little girl that he has blessed me with and that even though it sometimes feels like we are out here in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of miles away from our families and feeling a little lonely at times, at least we have each other! and i wouldn't have it any other way.

-the mrs.