The most fantastic year of my life!

It's official. My baby will be one years old in nine days! I really can't believe it. I'm sure all of my friends out there whose own babies have recently turned or are going to turn one can relate. It seems like yesterday that we were picking up my pain pills at the local pharmacy that a women asked how old our baby was and I replied with a huge smile, "one day old." I can still remember everything about that day. Can it really have been a year ago. It doesn't seem possible. Throughout this last year I have loved and cherished each time a stranger in a store has asked me how old my baby was. I wear Avery like a badge of honor. My perfect little creation. Each time I was asked this question I would beam back at the asker and respond. When she was a day I was so proud of this new life that Jeff and I had created. When she was three months I was so excited that I had kept her alive for that long. At six months it was so fun to see how alert she was and I knew the only reason people were asking her age was because she was the most remarkable baby in the world. There were times I remember wondering if the thrill of telling someone your child's age ever wears off and I honestly do not think it does. They just keep changing and growing and with each new change there are so many more reasons to be so proud of the stage that she is at. I am guessing as she gets older people won't ask her age as often but I have a feeling I'll be volunteering it at every chance. This is Avery my first grader. She's the smartest first grader in the world. There's so much to look forward to. This last year has flown by but I can honestly say there's not a second of it I don't remember and cherish for what it was. Even the three a.m. feedings - a chance for me and my baby to be all alone in the middle of the night. The days when she didn't feel good and I got to comfort her. All the worry of whether or not the bumpers would suffocate her or if she would choke on a graham cracker. Getting up every two hours to make sure she was still breathing. These times made me the mother that I am and I wouldn't take any of them back. Then there were the most fantastic days, her first smile, her first laugh, the first time she said Mamma. What a trip. I could never have imagined what life would be like with Avery and now I can't imagine what it would be like without her. The excitement of what she will bring us this next year is almost consuming. So here's to the most fantastic year of my life. Thank you thank you all for being a part of it.

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I've been tagged

Ok Karnop (as Rosie said, you'll always be Karnop to us) sorry I haven't gotten to this sooner but see the previous post for an explanation :) I've been tagged so here are my answers - too fun!

How long have you been together? married for 7 on July 23rd.

How long did you date? two years

How old is he? 30

Who eats more? That's a toss up. If it's desert - definitely me but Jeff would kick my butt in a pizza eating contest.

Who said "I love you" first? He did and the funny thing is it was on the phone while I was at college in Missoula and he was stuck in Great Falls. It just kind of came out while saying good bye one night on the phone and I don't think he even realized he said it until I said, "wait a minute did you just say..." It was too cute.

Who is taller? Jeff by like 6 inches (we're both on the short end)

Who is smarter? Jeff is way way smarter at Math and Science then I could ever wish to be but when it comes to English and finances I'm smarter.

Who does the laundry? I do, but Jeff occasionally throws a load in.

Who does the dishes? Mostly me but again Jeff sometimes pitches in.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Jeff does (must be a guy thing) if he sleeps with me - I have a major snoring problem, that as soon as I get up the nerve to go to the Dr will hopefully get fixed. The surgeries to fix that stuff are yucky, so for now, the guest room works for Jeff :)

Who pays the bills? I do, I'm the finance queen. I have a major obsession with budgeting (thus my job as a bookkeeper) and I find myself tweaking our budget daily on excel ( I love excel). Yes I'm a nerd!

Who mows the lawn? Jeff does. We have 1/4 acre with a hill on it, so it's a pretty big job.

Who cooks dinner? We both do and we even sometimes fight over it. Jeff likes things a little spicier than I do so we take turns making spaghetti sauce and Mexican food. When he makes it, it's a little too spicy for me and when I make it, it's a little too bland for him. I guess that's were the marriage compromise comes in.

Who is more stubborn? That's a tough one. I'd say Jeff is and he'd probably say that I am. We're both pretty darn stubborn and we both like to get our way.

Who kissed who first? Jeff kissed me in my parents driveway - how romantic :) I remember telling him that I'd like to kiss him more but I didn't want my parents to see us. Oh young love!

Who asked who out? Jeff asked me out when we were working together at Kmart, of all places. Our first date was dinner at El Comador. MMMmmm El Comador!

Who proposed? Jeff did on New Years 2000 with Neil Diamond singing "Coming to America" in the background :) My whole family was upstairs waiting for us to come up from my room as they all already knew.

Who is more sensitive? Me by far.

Who has more friends? That's a tough one. I'd say it's a tie.

Who has more siblings? I do. I have two bros and he only has one.

Okay Shawna you're tagged :)

Feb Update

So I realized today that I haven't gotten even one post out this month. Thinking back, it's been kind of a hectic month. Avery has battled the stomach flu (which made itself evident while eating out - I'll spare you the details) and she's still battling Influenza type A with croup to top it off. Poor kid. She's been keeping us really busy. On Friday we got the diagnosis that she had the flu so we spent the weekend catering to her. She never got the fever but her chest congestion and cough were a little scary. We even took her to the ER on Sunday just in case. She had chest X-rays done and they said everything looked fine (aka no pneumonia) and that the crud just had to run it's coarse. I started taking Tamilfu Sat after getting that feeling that something was coming on. I've managed to not get the full blown flu but I have felt kind of crappy the last couple of days.
With the exception of Avery's horrible cough and wheezy breathing she's actually been a really good kid the last few days. Yesterday she learned that if we say where's Avery's nose, and she points to it, we cheer. So that's the latest trick . The funny thing is once she finds her nose her finger automatically moves to her nostril and deposits itself inside. She even got both fingers up her Daddy's nose the other day. Apparently she thinks the holes are interesting.
She's still pointing at everything. Oh and when she's done eating she tries to feed us whatever's left on her plate or sometimes she'll pull food out of her mouth and offer it to us. Sweet but a little gross, especially when it's covered with the flu virus. The other trick when she's done eating is to start hitting and throwing her food off of her tray. She thinks this game is pretty funny. Even when Daddy and Mommy tell her not to do it in our sternest voices. Obviously we're not that scary. I'll try to get some pictures up soon.
I hope everyone else is making it through the flu season uninfected!