Scott Stories

Edisto Island

2011-07-10T05:16:00.001-07:00

Sorta Snow Day

2010-12-21T04:54:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday Greenville County called off school for icy roads. It wasn't bad around our parts, but I heard it was bad in Simpsonville where I work so I was glad for that. My little family had a nice leisurely day in the house--just what we needed. I feel like we've been going so much lately that we come home in time to take baths and go to bed. For two weeks we had something almost every night. So we loved just staying in our pjs all day and resting. Quay and Ava especicially enjoyed it.

Sam also took a four hour nap that day, but I didn't dare try to take a picture of him for fear he'd wake up. While they napped I cleaned a little bit then started some of Sam's scrapbook pages. Here they are

The most perfect day for Ava

2010-12-14T08:58:00.001-08:00

Yes I'm still alive. I have been MIA for an embarrasingly long amount of time. Day to day stuff makes the days I've missed turn in to months, and all of a sudden I haven't blogged in 9 months! I could've had a baby in the amount of time I've missed on here!! (No I'm not pregnant :))

Last Saturday we took Ava to see Disney Princesses on Ice. Sherry, or as Ava calls her Grandma's Sherry, bought tickets for all the women and girls in our family to see the Princesses together. We knew we had pretty good seats, but I was not prepared for how good Sherry hooked us up!

You see the four people sitting on the very front row? So close they could trip the skaters if they wanted? Yeah, that was us. Don't be jealous :)

Ava was extremely excited to go see the princesses. I love this age, because everything's so real to her. I'm not sure she blinked through the entire thing. Actually, I don't think any of us blinked. My mom and sister and I loved it as much as she did. The princess were gorgeous, the princes were dashing, and the dancing and skating was amazing. The best part was that we were right at the podium where they would do part of the scene. Ava would grab my hand any time a villain came on stage, particularly the evil stepmother from Cinderella. Here's a picture of her eating her snow cone while watching Cinderella.

Ava kept asking if the show was almost over. At first I thought she was becoming bored and wanted to go home. When it was over, she asked if we could stay and if they'd come back out. She was asking if it was over because she was worried we would have to leave! We had to talk her in to leaving the auditorium at the end.

Ava absolutely loved the show, and I know all of us adults did as well. For just a few hours, you're transported back to Ava's age, believing in fairy tales, believing in magic, and thinking when you grow, you're going to be just like them.

Thanks so much Sherry for the tickets! It's something we'll always remember!

Happy Birthday time!

2010-03-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Where did this year go?!? It seems like only yesterday Quay, Ava, and I were left church to meet my parents at FATZ for their meat and three Sunday meal. I ordered a humongous portion of country style steak with gravy and all the fixin's. We came home for all of us to take a nice Sunday afternoon nap. After getting Ava up, I sat down on the couch to cut coupons, and my water broke. Four short hours later, Sam turned our family of three in to a family of four. Sam has been the absolute perfect addition to our small family. He's calm when Ava's wild, he's always in a good mood where her female personality of mood swings is starting to show. He always has a smile on his face-he can be losing his lunch, look up at you, and grin like he's the happiest he's ever been. He's a wonderful sleeper, loves his naps, and would rather you lay him down and let him fall asleep on his own rather than rocking him. I do wish I could rock him more, but I know I'll be grateful he lays down on his own as he gets older. Actually, I do go to his room every once in a while after everyone's asleep, pick him up and rock him for a few minutes. Shhh, don't tell! Quay and I are extremely blessed that out of all the couples in the world, God chose us to lead him through this world.

Happy Birthday Sam!!! We couldn't have picked a better, more perfect son if we had tried. Here are some pictures through the year:

March 15, 2009 8:49 pm

April 2009--Ava's already stealing his stuff

May 2009--Sam's favorite napping spot

July 2009--Scott Family trip to Edisto

August 2009-your NEW favorite napping spot

September 2009--He was so proud when he could sit up on his own

November 2009--Thanksgiving at the Beach with his best friend

December 2009--This is the "Little Papa Taylor" picture

January 2010--Jump Zone fun

February 2010--snack time

March 15, 2010--Happy Birthday!!

Sweet Sam

2010-01-18T05:11:00.000-08:00

It doesn't

get much

cuter than

this!!

Iron Man!

2009-11-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

Quay became interested in triathlons about three weeks before Ava was born. He went in to a triathlon store to be fitted for a new pair of running shoes. He and I joined a gym after we were married, and he was starting to run a little more and hadn't bought shoes in a while. Anyway, he came home from the store and said, "You know, I look as in shape as some of those guys. If they can do a triathlon, I bet I can, too." That's all it took for him to get started. Now, this is when I was at my biggest, so while I was still gaining weight and waddling like a penguin, Quay started losing lots of weight....this wasn't a real nice time for him to start gettin all fit!

The first year he concentrated on just getting fit enough and building his endurance enough to do sprints. Those are triathlons that take a little over an hour to complete. The swim and bike can vary a little, but the run was almost always a 5k. Around the end of the triathlon season--late fall--he decided he wanted to do some longer distances. He got a wild hair and signed up for the Florida Ironman. I remember we had to leave early one Sunday morning for him to get home and get on the computer. He had to be on the computer when the registration opened in order to get a spot.

The next year, he spent hours upon hours training for the Ironman, and longer distance triathlons. He did a few international distance triathlons, a marathon, and a half ironman. The international distance is somewhere between the sprint triathlon and a half ironman. Many Saturdays I woke up to an empty bed because Quay would leave around 5 am for 5 and 6 hour bike rides. I do admit, there were certain times I'd get fed up with the amount of time he spent exercising. But most of the time I was okay with it, because I know this is something he really enjoys and has become very good at.

Man, I didn't expect this post to be this long! Anyway, to make a long story short, (haha it's alreadyong!) Quay competed and completed the Florida Ironman last weekend! His goal was to finish under 11 hours. First off, I can't imagine doing any type of exercise for 11 hours, unless shopping becomes a sport. Here are some pictures of the race!

Quay checking all of his gear before the race.

The mass start. Quay said it was like in the movie Titanic when it showed all of the people trying to tread water when the ship went down. He said he was beat up for the first half of the swim with everyone kicking and swimming.

Woo hoo! He finished!

Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside...

2009-08-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

We sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness" last night in church, and I remembered how much I love that song. I really enjoy all the contemporary praise and worship music that's out on radio now, but there's something about the old hymns that still touch my heart like other music can. While we were singing it, I got to the verse that says:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!

I began to think of all the blessings God has graciously given me, and how unworthy I am of them. Ava and Sam are by far and away the sweetest children I could have asked for. Yes, there are times when I get tired, frustrated, ill, and mad. I think all parents have those days. But they can always make me smile, calm me down after a bad day, and make me happier than I ever thought I'd be with children. I knew I'd love them, but I don't think I realized the depth of that love before I had them. I think it's a kind of love that you don't know exists until you become a parent. I thank God for them and that He's entrusted me with them while here--it's a job that I'm truly not worthy of. He's blessed me far more than I could have hoped for or even imagined.

CVS fun

2009-08-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think I'm starting to figure this CVS thing out.

The women in my family have really gotten in to coupons the past few months--I never knew you could save so much money! My best deals to date:
Publix--I paid ~$4.00 and saved ~$64.00
Bloom--I paid $4.81 and saved $76.43
Bloom was a triple coupon day, but Publix is normally the best place to save money with coupons.

It's a wierd kind of high you feel when the cashier rings up everything, and starts scanning your coupons, and you watch what you owe go lower and lower.

I've read that CVS is a great way to saved on daily essentials. I went yesterday and did 3 transactions. I spent $23.00 and here's what I got:

Resolve Carpet Cleaner
2 Lysol Disinfectant Sprays
2 boxes of Electrasol Dishwashing Geltabs
Pantene Mousse
Pantene Root Lifter
Blink Teardrops
2 1 subject notebooks
1 big eraser
1 Jumbo pack of Pamper's size 2 diapers
1 Jumbo pack of Pamper's Easy Ups
1 CVS Brand Cocoa Butter Lotion
1 Softsoap Nutriserum Bodywash

And get this---I got back $10.00 in Extracare Bucks. So really, it's like I spent $13.00 for all of that because they gave me some money back. 1 pack of diapers is $11.29! The Extracare Bucks are a great deal, and really help us save money, because we'll use everything I bought-especially the cleaning supplies and diapers.

I did 3 transactions to get back extracare bucks to use on the next transaction. I could've bought everything at once, paid more money, but then had tons of ECB for next week's deals, but I'd rather not pay all that out of pocket at one time. I also did it this way so I didn't have to pay but $5.00 out of pocket on the diaper transcation. These were my transactions:

#1
Softsoap Bodywash
Blink Tears
I had coupons for both and received $11.00 in ECB to use on #2

#2
2 Lysol
Resolve
2 Electrasol
I had coupons for everything, I used my ECB to pay for it and received $10.00 in ECB to use on #3

#3
2 Notebooks
1 Eraser
1 Lotion
2 packs of diapers
I had coupons for the diapers, I used my ECB to pay for it, plus on #2 transcation I received a coupon on my receipt for $5 off of $25 and a coupon for a free CVS lotion. I received $10.00 ECB for next week.

Quay has a CVS card, too, so I'm going to do it again today with his card to get more diapers!

100% Guaranteed Weight Loss Program

2009-07-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

I have come up with a no fail plan for losing those unwanted pounds.

Got your paper and pen ready? Here goes--

Round up 13 3-year olds from 6-9 pm. Keep them in a small room with bad air conditioning and a gym with no air conditioning. Plan lessons and crafts, transport them to snacks, crafts, and music all the while making sure they don't trip over their feet, fall down stairs, beat up each other, and break down wanting their mommy. Repeat for five nights straight.

VBS is kicking my tail this week! But hey, at least it's making that tail a little smaller.....the scales are finally moving.

See, what had happened was....

2009-07-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

****NEW POSTS BELOW! I finally imported all of our pictures from our old computers, so they're added now.****

Yes, I've been terrible at writing blogs lately. Going back to work full time then coming home to two children has been a little crazy, then Ava broke our computer once school was out. So we sent it to a repair shop along with another computer from a few years back that quit working, and it turns out it's cheaper to buy a new one than repair either one. A lot of things have happened since my last posts, and I've been keeping a mental list of things I want to write about--Ava moving to a big girl bed, Sam's four month update, Quay's triathlons, etc. We now have a new computer so I've begun a few of the posts, but I don't have a lot of pictures to go along with them. They were all on the computer that broke. We're supposed to get all of the docs and pictures that were on the computers on CD's sometime this week, so I should be able to post soon.

This needs no pictures though. Ava has started saying the funniest things lately. Our car rides usually consist of us going through the alphabet, numbers, and pointing out colors. We've been working on last names the past few days at home, and she knows Ava Scott, Mommy Scott, Daddy Scott, and Sam Scott. Of course, she assumed everyone was Scott (Eeby Scott, Granny Scott, etc) I told her that Emily (Eeby) was Emily Wentzky and she replied, "Oh Eeby Whiskey." She thought for a second and said "and Joe Whiskey?" Such a smart little thing, she put those two together.

So today after church, we were riding in the car and out conversation went something like this

Me: "What's your name?"

Ava: "Ava Scott"

Me: "What's my name?"

Ava: "Mommy Scott"

(I won't bore you with all the others, but we went through Daddy, Sam, Oscar, Emily, and Joe. She got all those right)

Me: "What's Grandma's name?"

Ava: "Grandma Scott"

Me: "No, Grandma is Grandma Brown"

Ava: "Oh"

Me: "So what's Grandpa?"

Ava:".....Grandpa Purple!"

Maybe we should just stick to teaching one thing at a time.

4 months old!

2009-07-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Whoops, I think I missed the 3 month post :) Poor second child, he's already getting left out! Sam weighed 15.5 pounds and was 24.5 inches long at his appt. I looked up Ava's stats from her 4 month and she was 14.5 pounds and 25.5 inches long, so she was a pound less but an inch more. Sam's in the 65%ile for his weight and 35th for height. He's short and fat!! But he's cute and sweet, so that's all that matters.

Sam now eats about 6 oz at each feeding, we've started on rice cereal at night, and he sleeps like a champ! He rolls from his back to his side, but can't get over his arm to get all the way over. He smiles all the time, but he makes you work for his laughs.

Sam after a bath.

Ava helps me during feeding time.

Almost all the way over!!

Our big girl!

2009-07-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Ava moved to her big girl bed! I tell ya, it was a little hard for me. Just like losing her baby fat on her legs, it's one step closer to looking like a big girl and not a toddler. Makes me tear up a little. We were prepared for a few nights of whining, crying, screaming, and putting her back in bed after she got up, but she sure surprised us! The first night she cried for a little bit, but never tried to get up. After that night, she went straight to bed without fussing! Now, when it's time for bed, we ask her if she wants us to carry her, or is she going to walk like a big girl. She says "I do big girl," picks up her blanket, walks to her room and gets in bed. She never ceases to amaze us. We just hope she'll keep this up! This is a picture of her the morning after her first night. Just like her mom, she's not much of a morning person when she wakes and she's not fond of pictures before she can fix her hair. She was trying to hide her face while I was pushing a camera in front of her.

Cola Triathlon

2009-07-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is Quay's third season doing triathlons, and he's gotten better and better every year. I try to go to as many as I can each year, but it's getting harder now with the children. Ava and I did travel to Columbia with Quay for one a few weeks back. We decided to take her back to this one because the triathlon is in a neighborhood instead of a state park and there's a lot for Ava to see and do while there. Quay did great like he always does, and had a great time. He was ranked first in his age group throughout the state until last week's Tri the Pee Dee. He didn't get to to do that one because we were on vacation, and two racers passed him in rakings. Quay's taking the next month or so off from racing and just focusing on training, because he has a half iron man and iron man coming up in the fall. Here are some pictures from the race. We'll be heading to Alabama in August for Nationals--I can't wait to go to that one with him!

Ava's waiting to see Daddy come out of the swim.

Finishing the swim, sorry it's blurry

Finishing the bike

Done!!!

New posts!

2009-05-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

With two children and back at work full time, I haven't had time to post anything new. So I played catch up today. There are three new posts below!

I have a problem..

2009-05-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

I take too many pictures of Ava! Is there a support group for this? When she's this cute and funny, how can I resist?

2009-05-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

Just minding his own business....talking to the star when..

Ava decides to take over!

Poor boy can't have any time to himself.. :)

Happy 2 month Sam!!

2009-05-25T05:10:00.001-07:00

I can't believe Sam is already 2 mths old. Where has the time gone?!? He is such a precious little boy and so easy. As I'm typing this, he's laying on his playmat talking to the star that plays songs and lights and smiling at it. We thought Ava was pretty laid back as a baby, but Sam puts her to shame. He has the most pleasant personality. If I knew I'd have more babies like him, I'd have 5 more!

Here are his stats from his docs appt:

Weight: 12.5 lbs (65th percentile)

Height: 23 in (48th percentile)

Head Circumference: 16.14 in (72nd percentile)

Happy 2 Month, Sam!!

2009-05-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

My precious boy is two months old today! And he decided to celebrate by.......sleeping through the night! Woo hoo! How sweet of him to give his parents a gift :) Sam fell asleep at 10:30 and got up at 5:00. Of course, I still woke up a few times during the night because I'm used to being up around 3. I really don't think I've ever known a more content child than him. He hardly ever cries, is happy wherever you put him or with whomever is holding him. The time is going by too fast-I can't believe it's already been two months!

I had to go back to work this week (tear) and Sam is going to stay with Miss JenJen along with Ava. I think he's really enjoying it there and I hope Miss JenJen loves keeping Sam. Speaking of Ava, she gets funnier and funnier everyday. She is starting to be able to have conversations with Quay and me. A few mornings ago, I got Ava out of bed and brought her in the den. Quay always makes a big deal about seeing Ava (because he's such a wonderful daddy) and said, "Ava!! Where have you been?!?" Ava looked at him kinda funny and said "I go night night." Quay asked her if she had a good time going night night and she said, "I cry. I wah wah" and rubbed her fists at the corners of her eyes like she was crying. It was funny to us because she's never answered that question, and she really did cry when we laid her down. Such a cute kid!

My favorite day is today! Triple coupon at Bloom started today and will go through Sunday. Coupons have become sort of an addiction with the women in my family now. We all cut coupons on Sunday, and we tell each other about the good deals we find. For instance, Kraft salad dressing is on sale at Bloom this weekend, and there's a $1.50 off coupon from last week. It ends up being about 16 cents for a bottle of dressing. I think my mom picked up five bottles a few days ago. Anyway, I'm going this afternoon to use my first 20 coupons at Bloom. You get sort of a high when the cashier rings up your purchases then starts scanning coupons. It's so fun to watch your total go down. I'll let you know how I did later on!!

2009-04-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Sam is now 5 weeks old. At his 1 month appointment, he weighed 10 pounds and was 21.5 inches long. He's a big boy! You can tell he hasn't missed a meal! He's been a great, very mellow baby. Sam did get a little cold last week and he's still getting over it, but he's been very good throughout it. The only thing he doesn't really care for is the nasal aspirator. But as soon as I pick him up, he quits crying.

Ava seems to be getting bigger everyday, too! Her vocabulary has skyrocketed the past 3 weeks. She repeats the last few words that you say, but she's putting a lot more words together now to make complete sentences. That's a relief, because we understand more of what she wants now. At first, we couldn't understand her so well, and she'd get frustrated. She's such a precious little girl. We're really blessed to have her! By the way, she used her potty today! The first time was a complete accident. She regularly asks Quay or me to go to the potty with her. She'll sit down for about five seconds, say "all done!" and get back up. Well this morning, she pee peed just a little bit when she sat down. So I made a huge deal out of it and gave her two chocolate covered pretzels. She asked for more and I told her that those were for using the potty. She asked to go back to the potty and used it for real that time! There's nothing like good ole bribery! She also pooped in the potty as well, but that scared her. She tried to jump off of the potty when it started happening, and I had to keep her on it until she was through. I doubt she'll try pooping again in the near future since it sort of scared her, but she was pumped about pee peeing! She even told my mom and sister what she had done over the phone afterwards.

I go back to the doctor next Monday for my six week check up and I'm hoping they'll give me two more weeks at home with my little man. I miss work because I really love what I do, but I'm not ready to leave him yet. If I get two more weeks, I'll only have to go back for four weeks, then I'll be home again for the summer.

Here are some pics of my gorgeous children and family:

Sam's favorite napping spot

Sam has on a little tie!!! It's just an applique (is that how you spell it?)

Our growing family

Ava hunting Easter eggs.

Sam's here!!

2009-03-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

Actually, Sam's been here for over a week now, but I've just now found time to write about it. Last Sunday my water broke while we were sitting around the house. Quay was still napping and Ava was watching Backyardigans. We got to the hospital around 4. Sam was born at 8:42. It was the easiest delivery I could have ever imagined! My contractions never got terribly bad, and I only pushed twice. I'm so glad Sam was so nice to me :)

Ava has done wonderfully well getting used to having a baby in the house. It seems like he's always been here to her. She likes him and will talk to him and kiss him on the head, but then she's ready to go play with her toys. The only times she gets a little antsy around him is when he's in the bouncy seat, because she thinks it's her seat.

Nursing is going okay. I'm having to supplement right now, but I hope that won't last for too much longer. I'm taking two different medications that are supposed to increase milk supply, so I'm praying that works. If not, then we'll bottle feed. I'd rather nurse, but if it doesn't work, I won't be devastated. Ava was a bottle fed baby, and she's been very healthy.

Emily had her baby yesterday and is doing great. I'm sure she'll post about it soon!!

Umm, we may have a problem....

2009-03-02T18:35:00.001-08:00

Sooo, last weekend Quay brought down the swing, bouncy seat, and mini-crib for Sam. Ava has found her a new favorite seat--the bouncy. Looks like there might be a little struggle over who will get that seat when Sam gets here!

The Stud-man

2009-02-21T18:22:00.000-08:00

We went to Myrtle Beach over Valentine's weekend for Quay's first marathon. He's been doing triathlons for almost two years now, but only sprint triathlons. Those last for about an hour. He's planning on doing his first ironman this November in Florida. That will last 11-12 hours. The swim will be two miles, the bike 112 miles, and then a marathon. So Quay, being the smart guy he is, decided maybe he should at least do a few marathons before the big ironman. His plan was to be under 3:30 and he ended up having a chip time of 2:39:47. He made it by 13 seconds! Quay said the first twenty miles were very easy, the next four were pretty bad and the last two were almost unbearable. He almost quit running during the last two but decided that if he had ran 24 miles, he could run two more. Personally, I don't know how he did it--I can barely run half a mile without hyperventilating! I think people who do ironmans and triathlons, and even marathons, have to have something inside them that doesn't mind putting themself through terrible pain. It's just not in me. I'm planning on trying to start running again after Sam gets here, but I hate it everytime I do it. Maybe if I keep at it, it won't be so bad.

It was pretty interesting traveling with an almost two year old. It's just funny to stop and take a step back and realize how different your days are when you have a toddler. I mean, everything we planned on doing revolved around Ava's schedule--when she needed to eat, her nap time, getting back to the hotel in time for bath to keep her on her schedule. We had a great time, and Ava was wonderful, with the exceptions of a few little tantrums. But she's hitting the terrible twos, so I guess that comes with her age. My parents went with us to Myrtle Beach--I wouldn't have been able to do it without them there. They helped us out so much--not to mention Ava loves having them around! Too bad Emily and Joe couldn't come.

Speaking of those tantrums, Ava has started having them more frequently now. I think she's at the point where she thinks she's telling us what she wants, but we don't understand her. She's getting to the point where she starts crying, then will either throw what's in her hands or will try to hit us if we pick her up or lead her away from where she's standing. Part of me feels really bad for her because she really thinks she's telling us what she wants, but the other part of me knows that we have to stop her if she's throwing things or hitting us. Poor Ava, I guess we'll get through this time together. :)

Oh the joys of pregnancy...

2009-02-05T00:13:00.000-08:00

I am writing this post at 3:14 am. No, that's not a typo--I can't sleep. I woke up last night at 1:30 am with a cold, but was able to go back to sleep. Not tonight. I was hoping I'd make it through this pregnancy without catching a cold. I had one with Ava that lingered for a while and I was miserable. I pray this one doesn't stay around for too long. So, since I can't sleep, I'm playing on the computer while watching Sportscenter on ESPN to check the Clemson score. (They won by the way!!! Woo hoo go Tigers!!!)

I have also started to swell a little bit. I have 5.5 weeks to go, and I think I started swelling with Ava around this same time. Not bad swelling, just enough in my legs that I can tell they're a little bigger than normal. Oh fun fun. Five weeks can't come fast enough!!!

I've heard people say before that every stage in your child's life becomes your favorite stage. I have caught myself saying the same thing. But honestly, I'm not sure if I could enjoy any other stage in Ava's growth and development like I do this one. She's so funny right now! She's putting little sentences together, she dances all the time, and she'll do anything you ask her to do. She also loves to sing with us and will finish lines in Twinkle Twinkle, the ABC's, and Itsy Bitsy Spider. It seems like everyday she remembers a little more of each of the songs, and it's so fun to sing along with her. The only thing I think I look forward to is when we can understand her a little better. She gets frustrated when she tries to tell us something she wants and we can't understand her words. She'll say the same thing over and over, so she knows what she's saying, but we don't.

My aunt and sister have also taught her the wonderful art of sticking her tongue out. Great. My mom and I decided when Ava has to go to time out because she sticks her tongue out, we're putting them in time out, too! But Ava knows she's not supposed to do it, because she'll call me, and when I look at her she'll stick her tongue out and say "Not nice." It's so darn cute that I have to smile, but I try to make sure she doesn't see that too much so she won't think it's a good thing to do.

We're working on Sam's room and it's coming together slowly but surely. The crib will be in Friday morning and I'm taking the quilt to be monogrammed this weekend. I'll get pictures up soon, but for now just enjoy this cute one of Ava.

Christmas and No Camera

2008-12-31T05:33:00.000-08:00

Man time slips away from me! I had wonderful intentions of keeping up with this blog and other stuff on the computer when Christmas break began and, as you can see from the date of the last post, I failed miserably. The two week break is WONDERFUL, but goes by way too fast!

Christmas was so much fun this year. We celebrate with family for 3 days, so it's a whirlwind and a little rough on Ava's routine, but she's a champ and did great (with the exception of one night). Here are some pictures from Christmas.

Playing with her new kitchen from Santa:I just like this one because she has her "deedee" and she looks like such a big girl!
Oh yeah, and Ava accidentally dropped our camera on Christmas Eve, so these pictures are from my mom and sister. We're looking at new cameras right now, because we'll need one before Samuel makes his debut in March. We're looking at the Nikon D40s, but if anyone has suggestions on good cameras, let me know!

baby bumps

2008-12-12T07:43:00.001-08:00

Here's the latest picture of Emily and me. Now that my mom's decorations are up, we're gonna try to take the picture in front of the tree every week. In case you forgot, Emily is due 12 days behind me. So I'm 26 weeks in this picture and she's 24.

As you can plainly see, I'm A LOT bigger than Emily. She loves hearing that from people. :) Actually, Emily's done wonderful during this pregnancy. Her and her husband Joe had quite a scare at their 20 week ultrasound, but God answers prayers and their baby boy is doing great. If you want to read more about her journey, click here.

Prizes, Scrapbooking, and Ava

2008-12-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to be better at updating my blog, and reading other blogs have started to be inspiration for me. I read MckMama's blog daily and love it! She has such a fresh approach to mothering and her stories are always entertaining. Her youngest child was born about a month ago, but had some complications during the pregnancy. For a while it was touch and go, but baby Stellan was born absolutely perfect! It was amazing to read about his progress, and MckMama's faith throughout the entire time. It was also amazing to watch how God answers prayers and listens when his children call out to him. Following Stellan's story has been a major blessing to me and to my family, because my mom also keeps up with this blog, and we told all of our family about it as well.
Anywho, MckMama has an awesome prize up for grabs right now! There's a link to it on my sidebar--it's called Rebel for a Cause. The prize is great--it's too many wonderful things for me to name on here! The main prize is a new camera. Click on the button to the right to get more information on how to enter. $10 gets you a raffle ticket with all proceeds going to some really wonderful charities!

Scrapbooking
I think I'm turning in to someone who starts projects and never finishes! I started Ava's scrapbook after she was born last April. I've already filled the book with the pages that came with it with shower pictures, and pictures from the hospital. I've had great intentions to buy more pages and supplies, and keep going. Well, I'm over a year behind! whoops :) While reading through blogs at work (when I should be working) I found a blog that's all about scrapbooking. Let me tell you, she has found her niche! Her pages are absolutely gorgeous. I'm letting them inspire me (hopefully) so I can get started on Ava's again over Christmas Break. It'll take some work, but my hope is to have hers caught up in time for Sam's arrival. That way I can start on Sam's book once he gets here.

Ava

Have I ever mentioned how blessed I am to have a precious girl like Ava?? Sure, there are times when I feel like pulling my hair out, or I get really frustrated because she's upset or telling me something and I can't figure out what she wants. But those times are few and far between. She's almost always in a great mood, she loves healthy food, and she's a wonderful sleeper. She's also getting very good with words. She's putting sentences together now, some even 3 and 4 words. Her favorite thing to say is "I get it!" She's turning in to a very independent little girl now. I'm amazed everyday at how much more she learns--and I don't think it's me at all! She stays with a lady from our church who is WONDERFUL! Her name's Jennifer and she has class with them everyday, plus tells them bible stories. I love it that Ava's getting such good one on one attention. I think that's the main reason she speaks so well and understands so much.

One other thing about Ava (I could actually go on all day): she has hair that I would die for! I dry it now because it's getting so long and thick that it would take forever to air dry. A few nights ago I dried her hair, and was green with envy. I wish I had hair like hers!!! She got my color and curls but Quay's texture. Quay's hair is so thick he has to keep it cut really short or he grows an afro! Here's a picture of the back of her hair after drying it. I don't think I've seen many19 month olds with this much hair.

We're having a...............

2008-10-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

BOY!!! Quay, Ava, and I will be welcoming little Samuel sometime in mid-March!! We had our ultrasound today and everything looked great. Little Sam measured perfectly--dead on his estimated due date. The docs said he looks perfect! We are so very excited!! We told Ava, but she just looked at us funny. Poor thing, she doesn't know what's coming. Little Sam's profile picture looks just like Ava's picture from her 20 week visit. I mean, exactly the same! The only way we can tell them apart is the little date at the top of the picture.

I'm a little scared though--we don't have many boys born into our family. This will actually be the first boy on my mom's side in a LONG time. There have been four generations of just girls in our family. My grandpa has been waiting 50 years for a boy to be born in our family. I called him first after telling my parents, because I knew he'd be thrilled. Quay's also pretty proud of himself--he says he single handedly brought a boy into our family. I'm figuring I'm going to need lots of help at the beginning with rearing a boy--I think I've only changed two boy diapers my entire life. This should be fun!!! Here are some pictures of little Sam.

**Another new post below**

Pumpkins

2008-10-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

Quay and I took Ava to Fisher's Farm in Greer to pick out her very own pumpkin this past weekend. She really could've done without the pumpkins, because the LOVED the animals. We spent most of our time looking at and trying to pet all of the farm animals they had. Fisher's Farm was so much fun and a really good deal!! Ava liked the "wabbits." Quay called them bunnies, and she looked at him real matter of factly and told him they were wabbits. It was cute as can be.

Her other favorite was the pig. This is her trying to call the pig. She just kept yelling "pig" at the poor thing. You can't see him in the picture, but you can see the hole he was digging with his nose at the bottom.

I thought this was the funniest picture! We were on the tractor ride, trying to show Ava the trees, apples, and the little things Fishers Farm had put out--pumpkins and little ghosts in the trees. She looked at them but didn't get too excited. Then all of a sudden, some birds flew out of the woods a little ways away. Ava loves birds, I mean LOVES birds. She can spot them anywhere and will quickly point them out to you. I think that comes from my dad always showing her birds and squirrels when she was younger. The funny thing about this picture is I look just as excited as she does!! It reminds me of pictures we used to take in high school. If people were posing for a shot, others would get in the background, one would point in some far off direction and the other would look that way. I have a few of those tucked away in my high school scrapbook. It looks like Ava and I are doing the same thing.

The family picture (plus baby in the belly) on the tractor ride. A nice couple offered to take this of us--it was our only picture with Ava looking at the camera. Funny she'll look for other people but not Quay or me. Oh well.

All in all, we had a great time! I can't wait to go back next year. Ava will be bigger and can understand it a little better, and we'll have baby #2 with us!!! woopee!!!

Church Pictures

2008-10-10T10:59:00.003-07:00

Quay, Ava, and I had our first church pictures made together for a new directory. Ava did great! Thought I'd share a few photos with you. Enjoy!!

Jump Zone

2008-10-07T07:21:00.001-07:00

Ava's cousin Anna Claire had her fourth birthday party at Jump Zone last Sunday. I wasn't sure at first if Ava would like the moonwalks and slides. Well, those thoughts vanished in the first few minutes. We let her start on the small moonwalks, where she could just run around on it. She just sat and watched the older children at first, but then she got the hang of it. This is Anna Claire jumping with Quay and Ava in the background.

After she was used to the big jumping toys, Quay, Joe, and my dad decided to take her on the slides. Emily and I couldn't slide because we're pregnant. :( Too bad. Well, she LOVED them!!! Every picture we took had her smiling with her mouth open as wide as it would go. She would get off the slide, and try to go back up it saying "me, me, please." I think we might be in for some crazy years if she already has no fear of big slides--she's already so active. We might have her party there next year since she liked it so much. All of the other children love it, too.

This is the last picture we took before opening presents. Ava walked over to her diaper bag, grabbed her blanket, and laid down on the floor. She wore herself out!!

Eye Teeth and a big ole belly

2008-09-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Ava's been cutting eye teeth this week, which means she's been ill and her tummy's been upset. I feel so bad for her--all of her other teeth didn't cause this much trouble. My mom, sister, and I took her to the mall last night and she was great through most of it, then started throwing a terrible fit in the middle of a store. I know it's just because of her teeth and she doesn't feel good, plus it was getting late, but I wish I could help her :( Luckily, one tooth has come through, and the other is almost-it should be through in the next few days (Lord, I hope so!). My mom said when I was little, my eye teeth were the hardest for them, and I wonder if it's like that for most toddlers. She already has four up top, four on the bottom, and her first molars.

Now if I point to my belly and ask Ava what's this?, she'll says BABY!! It's so cute.

Speaking of my belly, it's gotten HUGE in the past week. I woke up one morning, and I look like I'm five months pregnant!! I've always heard the second shows a lot earlier, I just don't think I was expecting THIS much to be showing! I am almost 16 weeks now so I guess it's all right if I have a belly :). Emily's hardly showing so far--she needs to start showing so I won't be the only one!

Lightning

2008-09-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

So on the way in to work this morning, a really bad storm was right above the school. I get out and start walking pretty fast so I won't get too wet, and I have my umbrella up, but the wind is so bad it's not really helping. About halfway through the parking lot, lightning and thunder strike at the same time right above us---and I get struck by lightning through the umbrella. Apparently umbrella's double as lightning rods now. Well, it scared me half to death, and I drop my umbrella. I pick it up really fast and run as fast as I can in three in wedges to get in the school. About 5 car's alarms are going off then, too, because the thunder was so loud. My thumb and index fingers as well as my elbow is hurting by the time I get in school. I could see the spark go in my fingers, and I'm assuming that it went out my elbow. I'm shaking just because it scared me so much, and the guidance clerk sends me to the nurse to ask about it.

I end up calling the docs office to check with them and make sure everything's all right, and they call me back and tell me to come in for an ultrasound. Needless to say, all of the nurses and docs say they have not had anyone every come in for being struck by lightning!!! The good news is baby2 looks great and has a really strong heartbeat--162. Quay has now decided that this baby will have superpowers now. He's trying out new nicknames--lightning, rod, or powder (remember that movie?) The doc said we should name him Clark Kent Scott if it's a boy :) Yeah, I don't think so.

Baby #2!!

2008-09-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

So, Quay, Ava, and I are expanding our family!! Baby #2 will arrive around March 16th. We're very very excited about what God has in store for our family. I've been trying to work with Ava. She loves playing with her baby dolls so I point at my belly and say "baby." She will do it every once in a while now. We went for an ultrasound two weeks ago and the baby is measuring right on schedule. We will find out around the end of October about the sex of #2. The ultrasound technician says she's willing to bet it's a boy because there were "boy parts" visible, but we'll wait to find out for sure later on!! We really don't care either way if we have a boy or girl, we're just excited about #2!

Sorry!!! I'm a slacker

2008-06-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

Well as you can tell I haven't kept up with the blog. My sister and Karis have both updated, so it reminded me I need to do so as well.

We just returned from family vacation last week. 13 people in the same house could be a little much for most people, but we were all pleasantly surprised that it was drama free all week! The kids had a blast, and Ava had fun watching the others. For the first part of the week, she didn't really know what to think about the water. It scared her when it would come towards her feet. She liked the sand okay. She took about a three hour nap everyday, which Quay loved, because that meant he also got a three hour nap.

Some of you may know that Ava has been on the brink of walking for a while--she just wouldn't let go of our hands. Well the last night there, she took off! It's kinda funny how it happened. My mom was walking her, holding her hands of course, and Emily was standing in front of her singing. (When you sing to Ava, she bounces up and down. That's her version of dancing) Emily started singing "Jump, shake your booty." I think it's from an old cheer we used to do as children. Isn't that nice that we did a cheer that tells you to jump shake your booty when we were in elementary school?!? So, she was bouncing up and down, and I guess she decided in her little mind to let go and walk! The entire family gathered at the bottom of the steps to watch. She walked to everyone!! Such a good little equal opportunity child. :) I've posted some pictures below of her walking, and everyone watching.

It was great she decided to walk when everyone could be around to watch.

We're back at home now, and Ava's staying at home with Quay and me all summer. I think it'll be great having all 3 of us at home all the time, but it's going to take some getting used to. After we get in to our schedule, I think it'll all work out fine.

On another note, some of you may not know that I do not have a job next year. I have to finish my master's in counseling, and the last semester is a 600 hour internship. I could have gotten a job as a counselor, but there weren't many positions available and it would hurt a school to hire me right now because I'm not considered "highly qualified" under the state's rules. So I'll be doing my internship at some high school near here for free, then I'll be at home after Christmas. It's a very scary adventure Quay and I are about to start. I think we're going to learn a very good lesson on budgeting, since we'll be living off of one teacher's salary for a year. Please keep us in your prayers as we learn what we need to do to stay afloat for the next year. We're going out on a leap of faith because we know that this is what I need to do for my future job and for our family's future.

That's it for now!!