Still have 7 weeks

but I've been planning Ava's first birthday pretty much since Christmas was over :) I've already got her outfit she's wearing for her pictures and her outfit for her tiny party (and yes that means 2 outfits). I am getting so excited :)

Her birthday party is going to be really small, just whatever family is around but I still want to do cute cards to send to our family even if they can't come. Snapfish had this cute card design so I just plugged pictures into it. Can't believe my baby will be 1 so soon!

9 Months

Its amazing how LONG 9 months feels when you are pregnant and how short it feels when you have a 9 month old!

On Wednesday Ava will be 9 months old and that will also be the same day that I will have officially had Ava out of my body longer than in it. She was born 39 weeks and 1 day and Wednesday she will be 39 weeks and 2 days old :)

I always wonder if a 2nd pregnancy goes by faster than the first because waiting for the first was the longest 9 months of my life!

OH and today is my wonderful Mother's birthday!!! AND one year ago today was also the very first time Dan felt Ava kick. Yes I was almost to my 3rd trimester but he was never patient enough to feel her move till then or he wasn't awake for it. She was most active in the middle of the night. Funny thing (or not) she still is. That girl kicks and wiggles and moves more in her sleep than any other person I've ever met. You cannot cuddle with her while she is sleeping or she will hurt you!

Happy birthday Dan and

We bought a mini van today....and so it begins. Never thought I would own a mini van, oh well, its awesome when you have a baby, a huge stroller and want something safer and more comfy than a tiny ford focus!

6 Months Old

As of today Ava is closer to her 1st birthday then the day she was born. Its official, time will never slow down.

We have put away a lot of Ava's baby things this month. Her swing, her bouncer chair, a HUGE tub of clothes, baby towels, socks, shoes, etc. I am no where near ready for a 2nd baby but most of Ava's baby clothes look brand new. Only a few outfits were worn enough to even look a tad worn. So cross my fingers we will be able to use these clothes again someday. If we ever have a boy I am going to buy FAR less outfits that are smaller than 12 month size!

Anyway Ava is starting to feel better. She has gone to the Dr twice about her ear infection and cold and I think the new medicine she is on is actually helping this time. Our little sweetie weighed exactly 20 pounds yesterday at her appointment! She is in the 98th percentile for weight. The nurse measured Ava's height and then put it in the computer with a response of "well that can't be right" I asked what was wrong and she replied "her height is off the chart, I must have measured her wrong" I reassured her that she was right but she measured again to see for herself, and yes Ava is 28 1/2 inches which is the 99.9th percentile. She's tall, whats new.

Anyway Ava is such a happy girl, even when she is sick! She is moving everywhere now, either by rolling or army crawling. She gets on her knees and tries to crawl that way but it usually ends up looking like she is break dancing. She sits like a pro now and doesn't have to use her arms to hold her up. She is no where near having teeth and doesn't seem ready to say any words yet.

We are taking a trip to AZ in 2 weeks or so! We will be there for about 2 weeks as well. I am so excited but I wish Dan could come with us. I am sure he won't mind being a bachelor for a few weeks but he won't have a car. I'm going to have to make the drive alone but thankfully I only have to do 6 hours at a time and can stay in Vegas with our cousin.

Anyway here are some pictures from yesterday! Ava's half birthday and my father in law, Marks, birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday Tiny

Tiny is 1 today! We weighed him as well and he weighs 25 pounds! I wonder when he will stop growing, he is huge!

We love our puppy so much, even if the last month has been hectic! We are just now letting Tiny sit around Ava and he really has no interest in her :) He licked her foot once. They went on their first walk together this week as well!

Owen Matthew Calkins

We can now go by Uncle Dan and Aunt Brittany!! Our sister in law Kandace had Owen this morning at 3:29!

Kandace's due date was exactly a month after mine I always thought it would be fun if they would be born a month apart! So here we are, Ava's birthday is March 15th and Owen's is April 15th!!

Owen is 8lbs 8oz and 19 inches long! He looks a lot like his dad!

These are both cell phone pics but I think Ava and Owen look alike even if no one else thinks so! I think they have the same chubby cheeks and lips! I love these babies so much!
Ava 3/15/10
Owen 4/15/10

She finally kicked Dan!

Sunday was my mom's birthday and also the day Dan finally felt Ava kick! I have been feeling her kick my hand for a few weeks now every so often but she has gotten a lot stronger in the past week! Not to mention at 11:45pm on Saturday I talked Dan into taking me to Wendy's because I really really wanted a burger... bad I know.

So she was going nuts after Wendy's so I went and got Dan (he was watching a movie at midnight) and told him to come try and see if she would kick him. Normally when he tries she stops kicking and moving. I was happy that within a minute or so of laying there and drinking some ice water she kicked him 3 times in a row and he felt it!

I have less than 13 weeks to go now. I feel like I am in my 3rd trimester since my pregnancy will only be 39 weeks and that divides down quite nicely into 3 sets, but technically it doesn't start till Sunday once I hit 27 weeks. I have been feeling really good and haven't been sick since Thanksgiving weekend!

Just for fun... how my belly has changed by the end of each trimester so far! I can't wait to add the 39 week picture at the end of this!

Happy Birthday Dan!!

Yesterday was Dan's 23rd birthday! We went to dinner with my family to celebrate! I made him a cake, but we never got a chance to put candles on it because some how I went to bed early and Dan hacked into the cake in the middle of the night!? Oh well!

Tiny is 5 months today. We weighed him this morning and he is a stinking 16 1/2 pound pug!!! His greatest accomplishment this past month is that he has mastered the command "sit"!!! We love him, so we can't help but talk about him a lot. We took him swimming today and I can't tell you how funny he is when he swims... He thinks he is in a giant drinking bowl and that he should be drinking the water while swimming!

I'm 23!

Yesterday was my birthday, but it feels like we have been celebrating for days. On Friday night the Calkins had a fun little party for me in Orem! It was so thoughtful and I appreciate Dan's family so much!

Yesterday I spent most of the day with Tiny while Dan was at work. Dan took me to lunch and dinner, I am spoiled, I know. Tiny gave me a good birthday present though last night, he slept the whole night in his kennel without crying and didn't wake up until 6:30!!! Good puppy!!!

Today I celebrated with my family by going to dinner and having the cake Dan made me. Dan asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and all I wanted was a cake that was NOT CHOCOLATE! haha so he made me a white cake with white frosting! Its my favorite! It was so nice to go to dinner with everyone and I still can't believe we live here now.We have been experiencing a few moving problems. The first week and a half we were here we had no car, and now we have 1 car (which we were supposed to have 2)... Dan's car was having some problems so it couldn't make the trip. Now we are making another trip back to get Dan's car, but hopefully we will be meeting Dan's parents in Saint George instead of going to Orem. As much as I do love Orem, I have been having a hard time staying awake long enough to drive more than an hour or two... ick no good!

Anyway I had a wonderful birthday, I loved it! I cannot believe I am 23... I am entering my midtwenties and that feels weird to me. I told Dan I am the older woman for a few months and he quickly responded that I "am always the older woman" but I disagree... no one knows I am older when we are both "22" but when he 22 and am 23... hahaha I guess I am just splitting hairs.Here is an adorable picture of Tiny, seeing as he was my birthday present this year! I love him!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

My mom is on the far right! She is so beautiful!

I wanna be like my mom!
Family Photo from way back when!My mom and I at Ally's wedding in May!

My baby is turning 11!

Carley is favorite little cousin! She was born October 1st 1997 when I was 11 years old! I was so excited for her to be born I couldn't even stand it! She was going to be the closest I ever came to a little sister! My mom took me to the hospital to see her the day she was born. She was so cute and little and I can still see 1 day old Carley in my mind!
I stayed with her family often and babysat her and loved being able to be there to watch her grown up. She was such a bubbly and happy baby! I remember many a time taking care of her and playing dress up. It was also so fun when her little brother, Chainey, came along 8 1/2 years ago and I had even more fun playing with the 2 of them!
I have missed them so much in the 4 years I have been away at school! Carley turned 7 just after I left for school. I cannot believe that she is almost 11, the same age I was when I fell in love with her as an infant! I can't wait for the day that I have a little girl and Carley can take care of her!

Fall is here!

So far I am 3 weeks into school and everything is going well! I haven't missed a class yet which is quite a success for me. My classes aren't too bad and this is my last semester with a full class load. I have already started doing some research into what I would like to do for my internship. So far I have decided that I am minoring in Gerontology and that I want to do my 9 credits of internship at Jamestown Assisted Living in Provo. Its just 3 miles away and I would be planning activities for the seniors that live there. I am looking forward to walking during the April graduation and finishing up with my internship in June!

We celebrated Dans 22nd birthday this past week! His birthday was on the 18th but we started celebrating the Saturday before! He had a great birthday and I want to thank everyone who made it a great week for him even though he had finals!We also celebrated my sister in law Kandace's birthday and my father in law Mark's birthday this last week!

I have to say that I am so proud of Dan. He has just finished his 5th quarter at Neumont University and got amazing grades!! He has 3 quarters left and I am so excited for him to start his career. We have discussed our post grad plans and are hoping that Dan has a job lined up before he graduates. I am hoping that we can move to either Las Vegas or Phoenix. Those would be my top two places to live! Either way I am looking forward to finding a full time job at a senior center or assisted living home as well as becoming a Certified Nurses Assistant.

Yesterday we went car shopping (not for now but hopefully the near future)! I officially hate shopping at dealerships but we drove some cool cars! We are looking at getting a Hybrid and so we looked at the Toyota Prius, Camry, and Highlander! Dan and I agreed that the Prius (although gets about 45 mpg) is very small and has an obstructed rear visual field. Dan loved the Camry, it was tons more roomy and has a sleek design. I loved the Highlander for its 3 rows of seats and SUV style while still getting almost 30 mpg! For now we don't have to worry about it but I look forward to getting a new car in the future!

Anyway, Fall is here which means winter is around the corner. I truly hope that next winter we will be living somewhere a little warmer!!

In a flash what we have been up to this last month!

My momma made me a wonderful 22nd birthday cake and I am so happy we got to spend my birthday with my family!

Dan looking hot next to the burning hot car after we got to our resort!

Peek-a-boo! We lived at the pool on our honeymoon!

Our 1 year anniversary dinner at the Cheesecake Factory while we were on our honeymoon!

Look my shirt is Purple instead of Black or Red!

My handsome husband!We have spent most of our time since July 7th moving into our new little apartment! Its still a mess but its coming along!

We had to buy kitchen racks to store our stuff!

Our Wedding photos over the sink. I love these frames!

Our kitchen nic-nac board