Brush Family

Family Pics and Homemade Pretzels

2011-12-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Here are a few family pictures from Christmas Day, 2011. We were lucky enough to catch Andrielle and Grayden while they were both cooperative and happy.

There is something about the colder weather that just makes me want to bake! Today, I made homemade pretzels and pretzel bites. Oh man, they are SO yummy! They're super easy, too. I'm going to post the recipe, mostly because I want to pin it on Pinterest (my new favorite thing!) so that I have it to always remember (lol!).

Homemade Soft Pretzels:
Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 cups flour

Dissolve sugar in water and add yeast. Add salt and flour and knead 5-10 minutes (no, that's not a typo - and you really do need to kneed the dough that long!). Divide into 10-12 pieces. Roll out in ropes and either twist into pretzels, or cut into pieces for the pretzel bites. Brush with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes for pretzels (or until the bottoms of the pretzels are a nice light brown), 8 minutes for pretzel bites. Brush again with butter after baking and sprinkle with coarse kosher salt, parmesan, or cinnamon & sugar. Enjoy!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

I know it's late, but here are our Halloween pics. We decided to dress "Goth" for Halloween. Gavin even let me do his eye make-up. Pretty fun. Best part is I got Andrielle's costume for $1!! Yep - I got a coupon code for an online Halloween costume site, it was originally a $50 costume, but it was on sale and after my coupon code and shipping costs, it only cost a buck. Love it.

Here we are at a pumpkin patch in Orem, UT:

Another blog

2011-10-14T08:49:00.001-07:00

I've been debating since I first set up another blog (about 2 months ago) whether or not I wanted to share it with others or keep it as my own personal journal. And I've decided now to open it up. It is mostly about Andrielle and everything we have been dealing with. If you would like to follow our journey - the blog link is: http://www.thislittlefish.blogspot.com

Note: I will still be keeping up with this blog :)

Crazy

2011-10-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Today probably could have gone a little smoother, but what would life be like if we never had any challenges, right? I was rushing around trying to get her ready for her playgroup this morning, got a couple of phone calls and texts and left the house a little frazzled. Well, with everything going on I forgot my diaper bag. We got to playgroup and of course Grayden has a major messy diaper that explodes all over the place. His clothes were disgusting and I had no change of clothes for him or a new diaper. Luckily for me, I did have an emergency bag in the car for Andrielle (I need to get one together for Grayden - on my to-do list for tomorrow for sure!). So I put Grayden in a size 5 diaper and one of Andrielle's shirts. He looked like a very nice girl - lol. I would have taken a picture, but I didn't think he'd appreciate that later in life :)

Thanksgiving Point Farm

2011-09-08T13:47:00.001-07:00

Andrielle, Grayden, and I went to the Thanksgiving Point farm with my mom and Carson today. It was really fun. Andrielle loved looking at all the animals that she's been learning about in her preschool/playgroup and did a great job at imitating most of their noises.

Here we are on a horse-drawn carriage ride

Andrielle and Carson are playing in the pretend jail. Carson is such a good uncle to play with Andrielle! :)

Andrielle in the jail

Here's Andrielle feeding the ducks with Grandma

This was a cute little playroom with pretend food cards that they could pretend to plant or pick from the ground, put on a conveyer belt to send to the big truck, or sort at the market. In this picture, Andrielle is sitting on a pretend tractor.

And, of course we can't forget the pony ride! Andrielle wasn't so sure about it at first, but I think she enjoyed it once it got going. Grandma is watching Grayden for me so that I can walk beside Andrielle.

Daddy, Grayden, & Andrielle

2011-09-08T09:26:00.001-07:00

Daddy, Grayden, & Andrielle

Daddy & Grayden

Andrielle & Grayden

We're all adjusting to life as a 4-person family. Andrielle is doing pretty well, but I can definately tell she's jealous of the attention that Grayden has been getting from everyone (including Gavin and myself). She's had a few melt-downs this week, I think she's finally realizing that Grayden isn't going back - he's here to stay. But Gavin's great to take extra time with her when he comes home from work. Hopefully it's uphill from here!

Grayden Lyle

2011-08-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Grayden Lyle Brush was born August 20 at 12:47 am. He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long.

I'd been having contractions since about 4 on Friday, but they got pretty intense while we were having dinner at my sister in law's home. After leaving Andrielle at my parent's home, we got to the hospital at about 9:00 and got checked in. I was dilated to a 5 and having contractions about every 3-5 minutes. They called my doctor, he showed up and broke my water around 11:30. About an hour and 15 minutes later, Grayden was born. I decided not to have an epidural again, and because of how quickly he came, I didn't get the pain killer through my IV this time like I did with Andrielle - so I really went completely natural. Everything went great and I was able to hold and feed him right after he was born.

Grayden is doing really well. His biliruben scores are a little high, and he's been tested 5 times now but the levels are going down and he won't need the bili-box. :)

Andrielle is a good big sister. She's still acting a little confused about who this new little addition to the family is but for the most part has been really good.

Grandma and Grandpa Brush brought her dry erase crayons while they were here and she has loved playing with them. Lucky for us, they clean up really well.

35/36 weeks

2011-08-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

Last week I started having lots of contractions and major back pain, so even though I wasn't scheduled to see my doctor for another week, I made an appointment. We were supposed to leave for my grandparent's cabin to spend the weekend with my family Friday, and I didn't want to risk anything. So I went to the doctor Thursday evening, he told me I was dilated to a 2 and put me on bed rest - no cabin trip for us (though we did sneak up to spend the day there on Saturday). 5 weeks early is just a little too early to be going into labor. My mom was kind enough to take Andrielle every morning for a few hours and then picked me up and took me back to her house. It was nice having the extra help with Andrielle since I wasn't able to pick her up, and really do anything else, for that matter. However, it was super frustrating to not be able to do anything. I feel like I still have a huge to-do list before the baby comes, and I haven't been able to get any of it done.

I had another appointment last night (36 weeks). I am now dilated to a 3. Contractions still haven't stopped, I'm even more uncomfortable, and the back pain has only gotten worse. I'm now on a modified bed rest, I'm allowed to get up and move, go on short shopping trips, do a little cleaning - but still not supposed to pick up Andrielle (or any other heavy things), go running/jogging/swimming or basically do any excercise. My doctor said as of today, if I were to go into labor, he wouldn't stop anything - but it would be best if this little guy could wait at least one more week to make his entrance. He did basically guarantee that I won't be going full term. Kind of exciting - a little bit scary. I'm still not sure if I'm ready to be a mom of 2! Ready or not, I guess, huh?

Day in the Sun

2011-06-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Andrielle and I had a day off yesterday with no therapists or preschool/playgroups, so we tried to take advantage of the sunny day. We went to the neighborhood park and then I set up her pool in the backyard.

I found these little sunglasses at a swap meet we went to in Vegas for $1 :)

Las Vegas Trip - Mandalay Bay

2011-06-01T07:24:00.001-07:00

Our family took a little trip to Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. Gavin's sister was nice enough to let us stay in her home, and even gave us free tickets to the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay hotel. It was really a nice getaway.\

Andrielle by the Rays

Gavin with a Komodo Dragon

Andrielle by the crocodile tank

Andrielle and myself in front of the jelly fish

23 Weeks

2011-05-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

Gavin and I found out last Thursday that we are going to be having a boy! We're very excited about it :) I'm 23 weeks along in my pregnancy, and due Sept 2.

I'm quickly finding out that there are not as many cute boy crafts as there are girl crafts. No hair bows and ribbons for this baby. But I have found a new craft for boys. Pee Pee Teepees - Check 'em out :)

Aren't they fun!? If anyone wants the instructions, let me know! They're super easy to make :)

Christmas

2011-01-17T09:46:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2010

Andrielle got lots of Fisher Price Little People toys for Christmas this year:

Here's Andrielle in her Christmas dress:

Halloween

2010-11-15T01:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I'm late posting these, but better late than never, right?

Here's Ellie Halloween day, before she got in her "real" costume.

Andrielle with uncle Carson. Ellie is a nurse and Carson's a dragon.

Pumpkin Land

2010-10-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

My mom, Carson, myself, and Andrielle went to Pumpkin Land Yesterday. It was a lot of fun. We got to walk through a little corn maze, see some farm animals, and enjoy this nice Fall season :) Andrielle and Carson wore their costumes. Andrielle is a nurse and Carson said he was an astronaut (I think it was an old Power Rangers costume...)

Andrielle with Grandma (my mom)

Andrielle and my brother, Carson

Andrielle and Carson with a blow up Halloween pumpkin.

Trip to San Francisco

2010-10-21T14:34:00.001-07:00

For Gavin's birthday this year, we took a trip to California to see his family.

Here's Andrielle in her car seat. She was such a good traveler. She just kicked her feet up and relaxed, lol.

We spent a day in San Francisco on Pier 39

Here's Gavin at a display. I can't remember exactly what it was for....

Here's Gav in front of a big submarine

Golden Gate Bridge

This was at a little place we stopped at called Treasure Island just before heading into San Francisco. This is also where Gavin's pic was taken (above)

We also visited a Reserve Zoo where they bring injured and endangered animals. It was really cool. I saw animals I've never seen before in real life, like a skunk, a fox, and wolves. They didn't have typical zoo animals.

While we were in San Francisco, we found this little arcade full of old-time arcade games, fortune-telling machines, and wind-up movies. It was really cool. I think it was my favorite part of the entire trip.

Here's Gav with a pin-ball machine

Here is a fortune teller machine that you had to put your palm on and it would spit out a card with your fortune on it.

Here I am with another fortune telling machine

This "grandma" fortune teller was kind of creepy because the lady moved around and talked to you.

We really had a good time visiting family and spending some quality time with just our little family.

Hogle Zoo

2010-07-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

For Carson's birthday, we went to Utah's Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. It was really fun. Here are a few pictures from the day.

At the entrance to the zoo. I don't really know why Brady is making that face.

These were some little monkey-like animals. I don't remember exactly what they were called. Andrielle enjoyed watching them climb all over in the cage.

Here are the giraffes! :)

Here we are at a bird show. Carson's holding Andrielle. He's such a nice uncle.

This is the merry-go-round. I think we're riding a lion...

Soggy Pretzels

2010-06-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

I left a bag of Snyder’s pretzel bites (Honey Mustard and Onion flavored) on the couch and Andrielle was helping herself to them. I went to grab a handful and got a handful of soggy pretzel bites. Andrielle had sucked off the powdered flavoring off the outside of a bunch of them and then stuck them back in the bag. I don’t think she actually ate any of them. Gotta love kids! :)

Favorite Things

2010-06-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

A not-so-all-inclusive list (I'm sure I forgot lots!) of things I love in life

*Gavin
*Andrielle
*Long afternoon naps
*An empty sink / dishwasher
*Bubbles
*The exhausted feeling right after a great workout
*Thunderstorms
*Drive-through car washes
*Really great blinkies/tearpads/freebie coupons
*Low OoP's at the grocery store
*Big Bang Theory and The Bachelorette
*Guys (or anyone really) who open doors for me when I'm pushing Andrielle in a stroller
*Fettuccini alfredo
*a full sheet of stamps
*Nail polish
*A night's sleep with no one crying or needing a bottle at 3 in the morning
*Thrift stores
*Roadtrips
*Kisses on the forhead
*Gummy worms
*Haircuts
*Getting fun mail
*New makeup

Family Cruise May, 2010

2010-05-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise on Sunday. We cruised on the Mariner of the Seas, one of Royal Caribbean's cruise ships, and visited Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. It was a lot of fun

Here, we are at the very front of the boat on the helicopter landing pad.

This was our state room. It was small, but we didn't want to spend a lot of time here anyway. When you closed the door and turned off all the lights it was pitch black. We could sleep forever in the room because it was hard to know what time of day it was when it was so dark.

These pictures were taken on a beach at Cabo San Lucas. We had to tender (meaning we had to take small boat from the cruise ship to land). Then we walked close to a mile to get to this beach.

In Mazatlan, we visited an aquarium. They had a shark feeding show where the man feeding the sharks actually got into the shark tank and fed them by hand. It was crazy! In this picture, we're in front of the sea turtles.

Here's my family all together before going to the dining room for dinner one evening.

These pictures were taken in Puerto Vallarta. We found a nice beach with these nice cabana things.

Here we are before one of the formal dinners.

This was our waiter, Mevin. He was so nice. He brought Carson chicken finger and french fries every night for dinner.

This is Foustino Walters. I think most of us called him Walter (or maybe that was just me?). He was the assistant waiter who brought us bread and refilled our water glasses.

This man was the waiter for the table next to us. Every night he would come over and talk to Andrielle. Here she is trying to share one of her french fries with him.

Fun Surprises

2010-02-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

I tried posting yesterday, and just as I went to save my post, I lost my internet connection and lost my entire post. I was so ticked off about the whole thing, I just walked away. So, I'm back today to post what I was going to post yesterday. :)

First fun surprise: Gavin surprised me with a super fun one-night trip to Vegas for Valentine's Day. It was SO fun. We stayed at a Holiday Inn express. While we were in Vegas, we went thrift store shopping. I L-O-V-E thrift store shopping, and Vegas has much better ones than Utah. We also stopped in St. George on the way home to go to the D.I. there. There D.I. is TONS better than Utah County D.I.'s. The stuff here is crap and is priced ridiculously high for used, donated stuff. St. George, on the other hand, has pretty nice stuff and it's priced low. It was such a relaxing 2 days. I really enjoyed the car trip. Andrielle is such a great traveler, she just sleeps the whole time, so Gavin and I were able to just talk. It was really nice.

Second fun surprise: My brother, Jeff, got his mission call!! He's going to be serving in Des Moines, Iowa. He leaves at the end of May. We're really excited for him. I think he's excited, too, that he will be serving state-side, and speaking English. He's such a great "kid" - I'm proud of you, Jeff!!

Third fun surprise: My parents surprised my whole family (Gavin, Andrielle, myself, and all my brothers) with a 7-day Mexican Riviera Royal Caribbean cruise in May before Jeff leaves. I am so so SOOO excited! This is my first cruise ever, and I am so excited to be going with my whole family.

Catching Up

2010-01-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

It has been way too long! I guess there's a lot I need to catch up on!

Andrielle is now 14 months old. It is crazy how fast the last year has gone for us. She's turning into a real person, and it's so much fun! She is so close to walking - she's taken a few steps, but mostly just walks around holding onto furniture. I'm sure she'll be walking around on her own really soon. She's talking a little bit, she says mom, dada, uh-oh, and yum. In addition to giving regular kisses (on the cheek), she has started blowing kisses and it is SO CUTE! We love her so much!

Gavin and I just celebrated our 2nd anniversary on Monday. Again - how quickly time flies! It has been the best 2 years of my life. I can't imagine being any happier - I'm living the life I always dreams of, and it is wonderful!

Here are a few pictures from the last few months:

She likes watching Ellen with me :) :) :)

Here she is eating her birthday cake - yum

We're in San Francisco. Another fun trip to CA

Christmas morning - almost awake, I think mom & dad were more excited than Andrielle.

Gay Mount Everest

2009-10-30T09:56:00.001-07:00

I'm stealing this from a friend's blog (thanks Kerri :D). It is SO FUNNY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Y6PchDYfw&feature=player_embedded

Poor reporter! And I really want to know how the male reporter kept a straight face!

Trip to Newport Beach, CA

2009-10-27T10:02:00.001-07:00

Gavin's sister, Becky, invited us to come spend a few days with her family in Newport Beach, CA. It was so much fun. Gavin took a whole week off and we drove to CA. Andrielle was SO GOOD in the car. Mostly she just slept. We took it easy, and took two days driving there. We stopped in this town, Barstow, on our way and stayed in this little Motel 6 and then continued on our way the next morning. While in California, we spent one day at Sea World. Here are a few pics of that...

Here's our family in front of the sharks

We got to see the Shamu show. It was really cool!

Here we are in front of the Bat Rays (sp??)

Here's Gav with Andrielle in front of the bat rays, again. Gavin would hold her on his shoulders and she would hold on to his ears, it was so funny!

Here's Gav and Andrielle in front of these huge sea turtles

Gav with the star fish.

Look at this massive fish! It was so creepy, lol!

Then we spent one day at Laguna Beach. Andrielle hated it! I think she was scared of the loud waves crashing.

Gavin buried her up to her waste in the sand and she kept eating the sand.

Gav and Andrielle...

Our family in front of the ocean. (Doesn't Andrielle look thrilled!)

Ok, then on the way back we stopped in Las Vegas, NV. We stayed in the nicest hotel of my life! Take a look at these...

Andrielle on our bed

Here's Gavin in front of the flat screen TV. See the bottles and little boxes of treats? They were on weighted sensors. If we moved anything for more than 45 seconds, we got charged!

This was the view out of our window. That's the pool(s). We went swimming and had a pool all to ourselves. All of the pools had different temperatures. They went from really cold to hot tub temps. It was awesome!

Ok...So a few things I did for the first time ever while on our vacation:

1: Visited Newport Beach & Irvine cities

2: Went to Sea World, saw Shamu

3: Ate sushi (Sashimi!!)
4: Visited Laguna Beach & Long Beach

5: Ate at new (to me) restaurants (Wild Fish, The Melting Pot, Ruby's Diner, Cheesecake Factory, Panera Bread, & BJ's)

6: Stayed at the nicest hotel of my life

7: Walked the strip in Las Vegas

Biggest Loser 10-13-09

2009-10-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

So did you all see Biggest Loser last night!? First of all, shocking that Tracey won the challenge, huh? Gavin thinks it's a set up somehow. She's off her rocker for the team choices she made. And second….I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY DIDN’T SEND TRACEY HOME!!! That was absolutely crazy that Coach Mo killed himself off like that!! She’s going to be this season’s “Vicky”! haha

My favorites right now: Danny, Liz, Rebecca, and Abby

Pictures...

2009-10-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Andrielle:

October 1, 2009

2009-10-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

It's October! We are so excited for this month. Not only the weather getting colder (yay!) but our little family is going to be visiting Gavin's sister (& her family) in California for a week. Woo Hoo- VACATION!! And, of course, there is Halloween to be excited for, too! :)

Everything has been going so great for us. Andrielle has just been so much fun. She is crawling everywhere and pulling herself up on everything and putting everything in her mouth. It's really been a good motivator for me to vaccuum more often! She now has 4 little teeth - 2 on top and 2 on the bottom. According to her last doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, she's still really tall and skinny (13% for weight and 83% for height) I don't really know where she got those lucky genes!

Our home remodeling is kind of at a stand-still right now which I'm kinda bummed about. Everything costs MONEY and for the projects I want done, it's going to take alot of it. So for now, we're just enjoying frequent trips to Home Depot, Lowes, and Ikea to dream about what we'd like someday. My awesome visiting teachers came over last month and gave me some great tips on how to rearrange my living room and it is so fabulous. It serioulsy looks like our living room is twice the size now.

My brother, C.J, got back from his mission a couple weeks ago and it's been so great to have him home. And another of my brothers, Jeff, is now attending USU (it should make for an interesting game this Friday night - USU vs BYU, haha!) I can't believe how old my family is getting!

Anybody watching Biggest Loser this season? I love love love this show! I'm really excited about this season. I absolutely LOVE Abby! What an incredible woman she is! And I'm so glad they brought back Daniel from last season. Tuesday nights 7-9 on channel 5, you gotta see it! ;)

Whoa...it's been a little while!

2009-08-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

I'm BACK!!! Our family laptop died about a month ago and we've been without internet until now! We just bought a new laptop on Saturday, so I have my internet again. I think I was going to go crazy without it! We even got a screaming deal on our new lappy. I'm a happy girl. :)

Our little family is doing well. Gavin's job is going really well. I think he's actually really enjoying it now that he's been there for a few months. Gavin and I will be going to Lagoon this Friday with his work (FREE!!!!) and leaving Andrielle home with my mom. I'm very excited!

Andrielle is doing great, too. She is now over 8 months old! It's crazy how fast the time has gone. She is quite a handful, but we love her. It's especially fun when daddy comes home. As soon as she sees him putting on hand sanitizer, she knows it's play time. And she even has her first tooth poking through!

And I'm doing good, too. I've been busy at home being "just" a homemaker. My wonderful mother-in-law gave me a sewing machine and I've been busy making skirts and pajama pants for Andrielle.

Gavin and I also just finished our bathroom remodel on Saturday. It took a few weeks longer than we thought and we almost flooded our house, but now it's done and I think it looks pretty good - it definately looks a lot better than before. We tore out the old lanolium and put in tile, replaced our old sink/vanity and put in a new sink, vanity, mirror and medicine cabinet and got new fixtures for our towels. I'll post some pictures once I figure out how to upload to this new computer.

So, yeah, our family is doing great!

For anyone who knows my brother, C.J, he gets home from his mission in 6 weeks! We can't wait to see him! A lot has happened since he left (We got engaged, married, and had a baby!) Fun stuff :)

Brush Family Update

2009-05-29T13:00:00.001-07:00

So, it's been a while since I've posted! I've missed Andrielle's 5-month post and she turned 6 months old last Monday, so I barely missed that, too. But I'm posting now! She's been doing great. She had her 6-month check-up on Tuesday. She now weighs 14 pounds 7 oz and is 24 inches long. So she is still tall and skinny - but she's growing! The pediatrician started her on stage 2 foods, and she LOVES them! She's such a funny girl. She likes to bow her back all the time, and she scoots herself around the floor. She's got a big bald spot on the back of her head from scooting around like that. She also flips herself out of her bouncer when she decides she's done being in there, so now we have to buckle her in.

Gavin and I are doing well, too. Gavin's job has been going well and he seems to enjoy it. Not a lot has been going on with me. I've been really into this coupon thing, and I've actually saved a lot of money. So fun :)

Haha... I guess we're kinda boring! I can't think of anything else to say! LOL - I hope everyone else is doing great! :)

8 Things

2009-04-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

8 Things
I've been tagged -

8 things I am looking forward to:
1: Going to San Francisco this Fall
2: Andrielle Sleeping through the night in her own bed
3: Going out with some girlfriends tonight
4: Seeing the finale of the Biggest Loser (2 weeks!)
5: Getting a printer hooked up
6: Sending/Recieving my first Q train
7: Getting the mail
8: The weekend

8 Things I did yesterday:
1: Hip Hop Abs with Shawn T.
2: Cleaned my bathroom
3: Cleaned out my car
4: Sent out an RAOK envie
5: Cried
6: Went to dinner with Gav and Andrielle
7: Went shopping to Target, Babies 'R Us, and Walmart
8: Bought a bouncer for Andrielle

8 Things I wish I could do:
1: Move
2: Ride/drive a motorcycle
3: Go to Europe
4: Go on a cruise
5: Have twins
6: Sleep, un-interrupted for 8 hours
7: Have my pre-baby body back
8: Make everything better

8 Shows I watch:
1: Biggest Loser - every week, I don't miss it for anything
2: Ellen
3: Big Bang Theory
4: Family Feud
5: Wheel of Fortune
6: Jeapardy
7: Good Things Utah
8: Price is Right

8 People I Tag:
I don't really care - if you want to do it, that's great :)

Coupon Queen

2009-04-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

So...I've started couponing....I have a binder that I keep all my coupons in, I am a member of AFC (there's a link on the side of my page - check it out!), and I must say, I think I'm doing pretty amazing. Check out what I did today:

Walmart trip (See picture):

I bought:

1 Huggies wipes ($2.33)

1 Finish/Electrosol Gel Packs ($3.50)

2 Glade air fresheners ($.97 each)

1 Glade sense and Spray ($5.00)

1 Airwick iMotion ($5.00)

1 Suave deodorant ($.94)

2 Rimmel nail polish ($2.92 each)

My total (w/out tax) pre-coupons came to $24.21 After coupons my total was $8.07 - with tax $10.30! I also saved about $8.00 on my actual groceries taking my total from $42 and some change (pre-tax) to $35 and some change (post-tax).

Then I made a quick trip to Albertson's this afternoon:

2 Aquajuice ($3.79, but with preferred card 2/$5)

2 Challenge Butter ($4.29, but with preferred card $2/6)
1 Right Guard deodorant ($2.99, but with preferred card $2.00)

Pre-tax/coupons's/catalinas/preferred card my total was $19.15, after all that my final total came to $5.21 and recieved 1 $.55 catalina for next time. :)

Rice Cereal and Prunes...Yum!

2009-04-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

At Andrielle's 4 month check-up, our pediatrician recommended that we have her to start try eating real baby food. So, last Saturday Gavin and I picked up some rice cereal and a couple of jars of prunes. And guess what - she LOVES it! She eats about 2 tablespoons twice a day. I'm so proud. I thought it would be a little early, but she seems so ready! She eats of the spoon really well and swallows even better. It's so fun watching her grow! :)

4 months old

2009-03-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Andrielle is 4 months old now! The time is going so fast. She now weighs just under 12 pounds - so she's almost double what she was when she was born!

Our baby girl was diagnosed with RSV, a respitory illness, last Tuesday so we had a pretty rough week.. We had another doctor's appointment today(our 5th appt in 1 week) and the doctor said she's doing better. We're very happy about that. I'm mostly excited to stop giving her the nebulizer treatments. It was a little machine to give her a medicine to open her air ways - similar to an inhaler for asthmatics. Here's a picture of our poor baby girl on the nebulizer and then a picture of the nebulizer -it's a cute cow! It even came with a case shaped like a barn. And the face mask she's wearing is shaped like a fish. I guess they're trying to make breathing medicines a little more fun for these little ones :)

Thought I'd share a great thing....

2009-03-11T09:00:00.001-07:00

I am so excited. My mom and I have really gotten into coupons and money back offers this week and guess what she found....a site that you can print off two $3.00 and two $5.00 coupons for Huggies diapers AND a site that you can send in your Huggies receipts and get $0.75 back on each package! I guess it's kind of funny because we both have one in diapers ... so we're both pretty excited. So for all you moms wanting a great deal on diapers, check out these sites!

Coupons: http://freebies4mom.blogspot.com/2009/02/huggies-coupons-5-3-off-jumbo.html
$0.75 back: http://caregiversmarketplace.com/FrameSetup.asp

I used to buy Pampers because they do the Gifts to Grow points, but it's a MUCH better deal to buy Huggies now! Hope these sites work for you guys, too!

There is Sunshine

2009-03-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

Well, my wonderful husband started his new job today! He accepted the R & D chemist (Research and Development chemist) position at Nature's Sunshine here in Spanish Fork. I'm so excited! He is literally working 5 minutes away from home! I'm so thrilled to have him close instead of having to drive to Sandy every day. Our family has been so blessed. I'm so grateful to have such a hard-working husband who is willing to go to work every day so that I can stay home with Andrielle. I'm the luckiest. I love you, Gav!

Baby Clippies

2009-03-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

I've found another project....hair clips! I got the idea from a fun website and a friend in the ward. I bought alligator clips and no-slip grips (they're so cool-they're for girls with fine hair so their bows don't slip!) on eBay and then got ribbons, flowers, and brads at walmart and a scrapbook store in Sandy.

Here are the cork screw bows.... They're the most time-consuming because I have to make the cork-screw ribbon myself. I think they turned out pretty cute. If you want to know how to make your own, leave a message!

Here are the flower clips. I bought artificial flowers and just cut off the flower part from the stem and glued it on the clip.

These ones are my least favorite. They're just ribbon shaped into bows and then there are also two examples of the alligator clips covered with ribbon before having a flower glued on.

These ones are actually scrapbooking embellishments. They're little flowers connected with brads and then hot-glued to the ribbon-covered clips.

3 Months Old

2009-02-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

[L: Yesterday-Feb. 24 R: Day after Andrielle was born-Nov. 26}
Andrielle is now 3 months old - but as you can see from these two pictures ^, she's still pretty small. She is still wearing the clothes we brought her home from the hospital in. I'm getting excited to see her in some new clothes - but at least we get a lot of use out of them!

Just more pictures....

Andrielle's latest accomplishment

2009-02-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Andrielle has really started flipping over. It's been so fun! I didn't think to bring out the camera til we had been 'practicing' for a few minutes, so she was getting tired by the time we actually taped it (I think that's why she started crying - because she was happy again as soon as she made it to her back.) She can go from her tummy to her back but has only gone from her back to her side, so we still need to work on flipping from the back to the the tummy but from what I hear, that takes a little longer. Check it out!

Latest Project

2009-02-17T07:19:00.000-08:00

I made Andrielle this to clip her bows on to so I don't lose them. I painted the letter 'A' baby pink (you can't tell it's pink because of the lighting, but it really is pink) and then hot glued the little flowers and ribbons on.

Brush Look-alike Meter

2009-02-13T12:54:00.001-08:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology

Baby Bracelets

2009-02-06T09:46:00.001-08:00

I found my beading stuff that I used to do in high school and made a few baby bracelets... I think they turned out pretty well :)

Blessing Day

2009-02-02T06:45:00.001-08:00

We blessed Andrielle yesterday. She wore the same dress I was blessed in 21 years ago :)

Andri also had her 2 month check up last week. She's now 8lbs 12oz and 22" long. She's in the 5th percentile for her weight and 60th for her height - so she's tall and skinny.

Smiles

2009-01-29T13:23:00.000-08:00

Andri started smiling this week - real smiles! It's been so fun :) These were my attempts at catching them on camera...

Bath Time

2009-01-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

Andrielle got this cute little princess robe with matching slippers... She's so tiny it drowns her. It'll be nice when her clothes actually fit! Haha :)

2 Months Old

2009-01-20T10:34:00.001-08:00

Andrielle is 2 months old today! It seems like time is going so fast! Gavin and I are quickly learning what she likes and what she doesn't. I have to be SO careful about what I eat because Andri is quite the picky eater. Chocolate, onions, tomatoes, and milk/dairy products are all out. She still prefers being held to sleeping in her bed, bouncer, or swing, but it's definately getting better. And she loves getting her hair washed but hates the rest of bath time. Life is so fun

Gavin and I have our first anniversary this Sunday - what a quick year it has been! When we got married, we'd talked about going on a cruise for our first anniversary, I guess that's out for a little while, haha! I don't think I expected to have a baby so quickly, but I'm so glad we did. Andrielle has been such a blessing in our lives. She's taught me so much about patience and love. She has really taught us that we need to rely on the Lord for so much. I love having her in my life.

Big news

2009-01-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

Look at my baby....she's sleeping IN HER BASSINET!! This is a major accomplishment. Gavin came out to the living room Saturday morning around 5:00 am (where Andrielle and I were sleeping on the couch) and sent me to bed. He took Andri and put her in the bassinet and sat and sang to her and stroked her hair 'til she fell asleep. He also turned on her white noise bear. That was all it took! She has successfully slept in her bed (with only the bear) for 3 consecutive nights - waking only to eat & have her diaper changed and then goes right back to bed! She has also slept in her own bed for most of her naps during the day. It's been amazing! It's so nice being able to do my work out, take a shower, and get some things done around the house while she sleeps. Life is good :)

Andrielle - 6 weeks old

2009-01-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

Andrielle is 6 weeks old! It's crazy how fast it's gone. She's kind of a picky little girl. She hates her car seat and going anywhere in the car. She really doesn't like her bouncer and seems to only tolerate the swing-but still won't stay in it for more than about 20 minutes. She still isn't sleeping very well at night and for the most part I sleep on the couch with her on my chest so that we don't wake Gavin every time she cries and because she really only sleeps when someone is holding her. If anyone has any tips on how to get her to start sleeping in her own crib or the bassinet, I would love to hear them!

As of her doctor's appointment last week, she weighs 6 lbs, 15 oz and is 19.5 inches long. She is still so tiny and most of her newborn clothes still drown her, but the premie size is finally looking a little too small.

Even with all her quirks, we love having her in our family. She has been so much fun and we just adore her.

Gingerbread Houses

2009-01-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

Gavin, Andrielle, and I joined my family for our annual gingerbread house family night.

Bilirubin :(

2008-12-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

Andrielle had to be put under bili lights for a few days because of her jaundice. It was miserable. In the hospital we were told her score was really good - a 6.5 We went to the pediatrician 2 days later and had her tested again and she was at an 18.5. That's a HUGE jump, so we think the first test was wrong. Bili lights were delivered to our house and we had to keep her in them for 3 days. It was so hard not being able to take her out! Her score is down now and we're just hoping it stays that way! I never realized how many things to worry about with a new baby. Hopefully this jaundice will be the worst of it.

Andrielle Serenity

2008-12-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

We had our baby!! Sorry it has taken me so long to update...life has definately been different and more than a little crazy. We had our last doctor visit at 6:00 on November 25th. My doctor sent us straight from his office to the hospital because I had dilated from a 3 1/2 to a 5 since the previous day. My doctor was the baby doctor on call at Utah Valley Hospital that night and told me that he wasn't going to send me home without my baby. So we went to the hospital and I got all hooked up, my doctor showed up at 7:00, broke my water, and 4 hours later, we had our baby girl. As far as labors go, I think mine went amazinigly well - not that I personally have anything to compare it to! I even did it without an epidural like I'd wanted - yay me!!

We named our daughter Andrielle Serenity. She was born at 11:05 PM, weighed 6 lbs 7oz, and was 19 inches long. We love being parents!!

Baby Shower

2008-11-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

My friend, Casey, and my mom threw me a baby shower a couple Saturdays ago. Look at this cute blanket Brittany made! It's ADORABLE!!

Doctor's Visit

2008-11-12T10:11:00.001-08:00

Gavin and I had a doctor's visit last night. We're 36 1/2 weeks along! Only 25 days til I'm due! But I'm so excited - I'm dilated to almost a 3 and the doctor said I'm almost completely effaced. Pretty excited! Especially since we went to the hospital last Saturday with a bit of a scare because I thought my water may have broken (it hadn't) and I was only dilated to an "almost" 1. So - not that it really means I'll be having my baby any sooner or anything, but there's a chance!! So fun :) I've been busy at home washing baby clothes and getting my overnight bag and diaper bag ready. We're so excited to be bringing this baby girl into our home! I can't wait!

Prenatal Class

2008-10-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

Gavin and I started our 4-week prenatal class last night at Utah Valley Hospital. It's so great. I really think it will help us be more comfortable with everything that will go on with labor and delivery and all the pre-cursor things, too. We talked about all the 'pains of pregnancy'. The nurse instructing the class went around the room and had all the husbands say one thing they've noticed that seems to bother their wive's the most. It was funny to hear all the answers not only because they were all TRUE, but also because of the perspective some of these guys had. The nurse then went over a few things we can do for our discomforts, but she said the best remedy is to have the baby - yeah...like that's an option right now. Haha. If nothing else, maybe it will make Gav feel better that I'm not the only one up all night with heartburn and crying over the smallest things (like burning toast or forgetting to put clothes in the dryer....) She also asked if anyone was planning on going un-medicated. I was the only one to raise my hand. Everyone laughed because just a minute before, she'd asked who was planning on having an epidural, and Gavin had raised HIS hand. I don't think he believes me that I really WANT to go natural if I can. I guess we'll see. Next week we take a tour of the hospital. :)
When we first got there, there was only one couple having a boy, everyone else is having girls. By the time we actually started a few more boy-expectant mothers showed up, including one mom expecting TWIN boys. *so jealous* (That's interesting because in my ward, there are 12 ladies who are expecting, and only 2 of them are expecting boys.) For the most part we are all due around the same time, due dates only ranged from the last week of November to mid December.
We got to the hospital early, so we went ahead and pre-registered. I'm not exactly sure what that means...I think it just means that once I do go into labor, I won't have to fill out paperwork once I'm at the hospital because it will all be done now. My doctor didn't seem to think it was that big of a deal to do it because it doesnt take that long, but I figured it couldn't hurt, right?
Well, that's all I've got for now. Til next time....

Labor Day

2008-09-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Labor Day I called in sick and spent the day with Gav. THe day started out COLD, rainy, and it even hailed! We went to breakfast at IHOP and spent the day pretty much doing nothing. It was so great! The weather cleared up for our Lewis family barbecue that night. So fun. :)

We're expecting!!!

2008-08-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

Gavin and I are expecting our first baby. I'm just about 6 months along right now. We found out a couple of weeks ago that we're having a girl! We are so excited! We've painted our baby room and have put up the new crip, changing table, and toy box. Working at Mervyn's has been kind of nice because I have found tons of great deals on baby clothes. We're due December 7th of this year.

Trip to San Francisco

2008-08-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

Gavin and I took a weekend trip to California. We stayed with Gav's dad in Orangevale and took a day trip to San Francisco. We stopped at the Jelly Belly Factory on the way. We visited the pier and a couple of the bridges. We even ate at a restaurant that had valet parking. I have never been more uncomfortable in my whole life than I was at this restaurant! I felt so out of place!

Honeymoon

2008-08-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

For our honeymoon we stayed at a bed & breakfast called Hines Mansion in Provo, UT. It was so nice. We stayed almost a week and got to relax and just do whatever we wanted without having to worry about any kind of schedule. It was so nice.

Reception

2008-08-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

Our reception was held in the Spanish Fork South Stake center. We had a company decorate the gym for us, so it actually wasn't too bad.... I loved my cake!!

Wedding day

2008-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Gavin and I were married January 25th, 2008 in the Mt. Timponogos temple in American Fork, UT. It was a beautiful, cold day. It snowed the night before, so we had a pretty layer of fresh snow for our pictures. My grandpa Lewis was able to seal us.

Our beginning

2008-08-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

Gavin and I met August 10th, 2007 at a Flonette single's ward overnight camp out. We spent the night under the stars talking and getting to know each other.

We saw each other almost every day until I left for my junior year at BYU-Idaho a few weeks later. Every two to four weeks one of us would drive to see the other. Over conference weekend (October 6th) we got engaged and were married January 25th, 2008.