Ringing in the New Year with the KINGS GAME!

First off, Christmas this last year was a memorable one to be sure. It was the first time in 4 years since the whole Parkinson family was together. It was soo fun to see everyone. However, 10 out of the 12 people in Ryan's family got the flu while we were there. We thought we missed the bug when 4 days passed with no one sick, and then Avery went down with the flu at 12:20 am on Christmas Morning. Poor Avery had a rough one.. she threw up at least 15 times and was up most of the night, but luckily High School Musical was there to help her and us pass the time. She loved her toys from Santa, but then got a pretty bad fever latter that day (Which was the PITS because we didn't have any fever medicine and EVERYTHING in Utah was closed as it was Christmas day and Sunday. Eventually we got a hold of some). Ryan was sick with the flu the next day and then I had a milder taste of it the day after he did. It was CRAZY! We still managed to enjoy our time relaxing and hanging out with the family. I also got to see my friends from high school, Brittney & Oakley, with their little baby girls too. So, it was eventful in its own way, but we still really enjoyed being with the family.

JIMMER TIME! So, Ryan and I have recently gotten excited about the Kings basketball team ever since they signed our favorite BYU basketball player Jimmer Fredette. Apparently the King's gear sales have been up by 500% from last year, and 75% of which was all Jimmer stuff.  Ryan had never been to a professional NBA game, and we were spoiled with a great game to watch. The Kings were down by 22 or so at the half and somehow slowly chipped away at the Bucks lead coming back with a win in the final seconds of the game. It was SOOOOO fun! We're excited to watch and see how Jimmer progresses in his NBA career.

Us enjoying the game

 JIMMER #7

 The Final Score

 Our New Jimmer Shirts

 What good is a post without a picture of Avery???

Trunk or Treat

Our ward's Trunk or Treat activity was just last weekend and little A went as a Fairy. Isn't Avery "Fairy" cute? It was so fun getting her into costume. She could see the wings just over her shoulder and so she kept spinning in circles trying to grab them (not realizing they were strapped to her back). It was hilarious to watch. Avery was a little nervous at the Trunk or Treat party at first because everyone one looked well... a little bit "different" than usual. Mom and Dad were no exception either.

Ryan and I went as teen punk rockers.. I wish we had taken a full body picture of us because Ryan was wearing MY SKINNY JEANS!!! It was SOOOOO Funny. We got a lot of comments on the costumes and really I think the best part of Halloween sometimes is the actually getting dressed up crazy part. This was a great fun Memory:).

Walking!!!!

Avery started walking while we were in Denver. She now walks like a champ everywhere she goes. It really is amazing how fast they learn.. here is a video of when she was learning. enjoy:)

Denver

 I love this picture of Avery. It totally captures the expression she makes every time she's showing me something she's found. 

 Brittney took some fun pictures for us while we were out there. Thanks Britt!

 Waiting for the Dad's to come home... so cute!

 Brittney, Josh, & Drew at the Red rocks with us.

 Avery and Drew like to hold hands.. this was too sweet not to get a picture of it.

 Our little family at the Red Rocks! It really was an amazing view.

Last month Ryan had to go to Denver for 3 weeks for work. After about one week, we decided that that was just toooooo long not to be together. So, Avery and I jumped on a plane and and spent the remaining 2 weeks with Ryan in Denver. The flight out there with a baby by myself wasn't easy, but somehow I don't think it could have gone much better than it did. Avery and I sat next to a young grandmother who was sooo helpful; I almost felt as though my own mother was sitting with me and helping me with Avery. She has no idea how much that meant to me.
The trip turned out to be tons of fun as Ryan's college buddy and his family happen to live in Denver. Josh, Brittney and little Drew made our trip to Denver so much fun. While the boys were at work, Avery and I got to hang out with Brittney and Drew quite a bit. Brittney and I had only really met once before this trip and that was at her and Josh's wedding. Who would have thought that we would be so similar.. we're kind of like the same person. By the end of this vacation we had become super good friends and had lots of fun watching Drew and Avery play together.  Hope you enjoyed some of the fun pics from the trip.
Oh.. how could I possibly forget to mention that Avery learned to walk while she was in Denver. That's right everyone... AVERY IS WALKING!!!!! So fun!

Amazing the Difference ONE Year Makes!!!

Our Little Girl is all grown up. Words cannot describe how much we love our little Avery. She is soooo much fun and really brings such joy to our lives. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for blessing our family with this amazing little girl. Avery turned ONE last week! It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed by since the moment Avery entered the world and our whole world changed. She has changed so much in the last year, and I'm afraid I'll forget some of the really cute, funny, and frustrating things she does.. so I thought I would list a few of our Avery favorites...


Avery Favorites:

1.) She's our little monkey (and yet somehow we call her Frog). Avery uses her feet like none other to do anything and everything. It is hilarious watching her read a book while she's lying on her back.. using her feet to hold the book and her hands to turn the pages.
2.) Tummy Time.. Guess again Mom. She hated being on her tummy. In fact she hated it so much that she learned to crawl, or I guess scoot, on her back before she ever figured out how to do it on her tummy. Avery would be on her back and use her feet to push herself around without being able to see where she was going.
3.) Her Noises. Ryan and I have often said how we wish Avery would never learn to talk and always just make the cutest little noises that she does. The "ooohhh OOOOOOHHH"  noise is a personal favorite and is often used when she's talking on the phone. The "Ga GA GAAAA!!!"  noise when she sees something she likes or is excited. And the AHH AHHH AHHH noise she makes as she crawling in a hurry on a mission of some sort.
4.) Avery loves being Outside! Ryan always takes her outside first thing when he gets home and she LOVES it.
5.) Miss Independent... Avery for the longest time did not eat from a spoon because she did not like being fed.. she wanted to feed herself. So, after much frustration, we gave in and let her feed herself. But how do you get pureed baby food into a baby without a spoon??? We found the solution. Dip the gerber puff snacks in the food first, then setting it on her tray for her to grab and feed herself.

6.) All Smiles..Avery is such a happy and friendly baby. She loves attention and always stands on our laps at church to give everyone in the congregation behind us a big bright smile and some of her very cute (but sometimes very loud and disruptive) happy noises. She has so many friends at church because of it. 

Our little Bookworm in the Car...

And here's a fun pic with Dad

Too Cute...

Avery is as fun as ever. She is such an explorer crawling around and getting into absolutely EVERYTHING! Which, makes life a little difficult as we have neglected to start baby proofing the house until now. Avery is no longer going to bed or taking naps easily as she did before. Instead of laying down easily and taking her naps, she rolls over, sits up and gets herself into standing position in the crib and simply cries continuously until we come and get her. However, we still can't complain too much because otherwise she's has been and still is a pretty easy baby.We love watching her grow! And thanks for the super cute outfit Matt & Marisa! We love you guys!

What are the Odds???

So, what are the odds that my husband becomes good friends at work with a guy who we later find out is the husband of a friend of mine from High School???? Who would have thought? It's definitely been tons of fun having Rob and Cindy to hang out with, and not to mention Avery LOVES them. Here are some fun pics from our hiking trip to Horse Tail Falls. 

Me and Cindy

Ryan and Avery & the beautiful waterfall

Rob, Cindy, & Avery

Avery and Rob are BFF's. Rob even let her drink from his water. (She loved that)

Our little Family on top of the world

Avery, Me, and Cindy