sweet and sassy

this little girl is the perfect combination of sweet and sassy.

she wakes up in the morning, asks for her chocolate milk, throws a little fit if she doesn't get it, but is so happy when she does. never fail she will beg to cuddle in the rocking chair to get warm after her drink and bowl of oatmeal.   we usually sit and read books together for a good hour before we really start our day.  she might give me a little attitude when it's time to clean up the books or other toys through-out the day but it doesn't take too long until we're happily straightening things up.  it's possible she throws a tantrum when she doesn't get to play with my phone or watch multiple movies a day, but goodness she can make me smile when she plays make believe with her dolls for hours on end, and wants me to play along.  and it's almost a guarantee she'll put up a fight when its bed time, but she sucks me right in when she begs for more lullabies and kisses and hugs.

somedays there is a little more sweet, other days there is a touch too much sass.  there will probably always those moments when i want to rip out both my hair and hers, but i am so lucky that  i have her.  i am so happy that as independent as some little kids are, there are still so many things that she depends on me for.  i love that i am learning right along with her how to do this mother-daughter thing, and that the process is so forgiving of our mistakes and gives us both so much wiggle room to learn and grow.  we're both gonna be just fine even with our frequent off days.  i love my avery!

party

Gracie turned 3 last week and we got to go to her fun little party and 'party hardy.' it's a fun little bounce house with lots of additional play rooms.  i loved it and thought ave would be going crazy with all the fun blown up tramps and slides, but no, she would have rather played with the one bouncy ball and her little minnie and daisy figurines for 2 hours.  i have a slight anti-social on my hands.   she plays so well by herself and can keep herself entertained for hours.  most days it's quite nice, but there are some days i just want her to be a social butterfly.  one day i'm sure... she is only 2.  meag and preston were in town so they came along and preston loved it.  it sure is nice being back where we get to see eachother often.  meag is having a baby girl a few months after our little girl.  i am soooo excited that girl #2 will have a friend close in age in the family... trae's side of the family isn't really pulling through on the 'give our kids some cousins' part yet... (they need to get on it). anyways. i can't wait.

here's some party hardy action. 

notice avery's tackle-like birthday hug.  no messing around there.  thanks for having a birthday grace and letting us come celebrate with you!

being a little domestic

i've been busy being a little bit domestic lately.  last week i froze 65 bags of corn. made lots of raspberry and raspberry-peach jam, and canned salsa.  i've always been a little intimidated by the whole canning process. i've only done it on my own a time or two, but once i actually got the courage/my mom told me it was time i learn, then it really wasn't that bad.  i love the feeling of knowing that my storage supply is building up with all of these fresh foods, saved up for a rainy day.  

the corn process wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it was.  we picked sooooo much corn out on our farm and husked it the night before, and then trae and i got up super early and had it all done by 11 am.  it was so good to have trae help, seriously would have taken me 15 hours without his help.  we are still enjoying fresh corn on the cob but can't wait to dig in our freezer and enjoy it the rest of the year.

(ave sneaking a piece of pre-cooked corn)

(bits of the process)

(she was a serious champ while being neglected for a few hours)

next were the raspberries.  i wish i could explain the awesomeness of these berries.  our farm has 18 rows, each about 75+ yards long, full of the most amazing raspberries.  meag went out and picked yesterday and got 2 gallon buckets full on one row.  it takes forever to pick but i am so in love with raspberries it's always worth it.  i have enough jam to keep me happy this next year, enough frozen in my freezer for smoothies and desserts and will probably keep picking until i am sick of seeing raspberries or until they stop growing, which ever comes first.  they are seriously the size of small strawberries.   these were my pickings last week. 

i didn't document salsa making, but i dont think i'm done yet.  trae's grandparents bring up bags of tomatoes to us daily.  i think i might try marinara sauce or something else with the rest.  hopefully peaches are next and last, and i hope i can get them done before baby girl makes her debut.  oh man, i can't wait for peaches!

here are a few just for fun.

as for baby girl news, she is still growing, and so am i.  i'm the girl who hopes this baby stays put until at least my due date, if not past.  i think i'm getting a little nervous and want her to stay put for as long as possible.  i'm kinda having the same problem as my first pregnancy and continually measuring a few weeks behind. i had a ultrasound a few days ago just to make sure everything is still okay.  i'm a little low on amniotic fluid again, but not yet to the point where they are super worried.  i'm crossing my fingers that i dont have to get started early.  she's a little bit small but looks healthy! can't wait to meet her, well i can wait a little bit longer, but i am getting super excited!

i really do hate pregnant pictures of myself but because i was just searching my blog/computer for a picture of me pregnant with avery and couldn't find one except for right before delivery i decided to take one. i'm about 35 weeks here but this was in the morning and by night i think i about double in size.