13 months

This handsome little guy is already 13 months old...and look at him, he thinks he's four! He is definitely an independent little feller and will let you know when he wants something. When he is fussy I say he takes after daddy...when he is happy and joyful I say he takes after mommy :) Most of the time he is happy and joyful...just don't change his diaper, try to dress him, or put shoes on him. This is probably not how you are supposed to do things (as in you won't find this in any parenting books), but when we don't want to hear him cry and fuss, like when we change his diaper or get him dressed, we give him a bottle :) that always makes everything go so much smoother. I don't think that is teaching him anything, but it sure helps our ears a little bit. He hasn't started saying much other then his favorite word "up", and he still spits out pretty much everything we give him but milk and dirt...well we don't give him dirt, but he will eat dirt if we let him...surely that can't taste better then strawberries and bananas??? To him I guess it does...go figure.



Spring in Alaska

It really is spring here in Alaska! And here is proof! The bottom picture was taken the beginning of March and the top picture was taken the end of May. What a transformation! When my mom came in April I warned her that it was ugly...and believe me it was. The snow had recently melted, everything was brown, dirty and blah and there were NO leaves on the trees. Now, it is beautiful again...she doesn't believe me...but it is :) She is coming back in August so I hope the fall colors woo her this time.

Breakfast with Daddy

Breakfast with daddy is always a messy endeavor...at least the bowl is big enough to share (have you ever seen a bigger cereal bowl?!?)

 Thats a big ol bite daddy

The spoon is bigger then his face...

More cereal on my shirt then in my mouth daddy :)

Is that bite for me?



Yay! It made it to your mouth! :)

A drawer to call my own

Avery has found the bottom drawer to the stove and all the goodies it provides.

 We were hoping to find a place to live this weekend, but still no luck. It seems as though all the housing has been snatched up as the military came back into town. We went to look at a place tonight after work that looked like it had potential but it was a huge flop. With 3 cats running around my eyes were itching, my nose was running, and I was sneezing before even walking in the door. It is kinda frustrating that we can't get a decent rental for less than $1500 and THEN we still have to pay heat or electric. I was dead set on not paying a penny over $1200 (and I thought THAT was steep) but it seems that there is nothing out there in decent shape in that price range, or at least we just haven't found it yet (thats my encouraging side coming out). Back home we could buy a nice house for that kind of money. Praying the Lord blesses us with the right place...in the hills wouldn't be so bad, with a deck and a view of the gorgeous mountains toward Denali...is that to much to ask ;)

This is another place we found to explore this weekend with tons of trails. It's called Birch Hill Recreation and is used for cross country skiing in the winter, but also has a pretty good Disc Golf Course for spring/summer time fun. They were having some kind of festival the day we were there exploring.

30's not so bad

Well, here I am in my 30s already...sure never thought I'd get here so soon. I kinda slipped into this age bracket without making a scene :) It was easy to do in Fairbanks because no one really knows us yet. My husband however did not let me get away with it so easily. Only one person at work on Friday knew it was my birthday and that was because she just happened to ask me how old I was...since I couldn't say 29 anymore, I let her know that today was ONLY the first day in my 30s...making her well aware that I am a young 30 year old! While I was at work Zac was busily decorating the house, blowing  up balloons, baking a cake, cleaning up, wrapping presents and making dinner (I forgot taking care of Avery the most important part!). Have I mentioned that I have a good husband?

After dinner we went outside so Avery could play for a while since the weather was so nice and it doesn't get dark until after midnight. While we were playing we kept seeing a boy follow us where ever we would go. He finally got close enough and we started talking to him. We could tell he just really wanted to be loved. His mother travels every couple of months taking jobs in different states so you could imagine how hard that would be for a kid trying to make friends. Through the course of conversation we found out that his birthday was the next day and he was turning 12. I invited him over for cake and ice cream and even told him our apartment was already decorated and we could celebrate his birthday too. He was so excited and jumped at the opportunity. He seemed like a really great kid and had fun playing with Avery. We even blew up some water balloons in the house and let them play with them in the kitchen. He said "WOW I've never met any parents who would let you have water balloons IN the house" (It was only one and we just let Avery bounce it around on the linoleum) but he still thought that was cool. It was fun sharing that day with someone who really just needed some attention and love. I hope it made his day as much as it made mine!

 Beautiful tulips Zac got me for my birthday

My new Keurig...Oh HAPPY DAY!

 Daddy and son enjoying the view

A touching moment with Daddy :)



“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 

Our little hiker

We have been getting out more and more as the weather gets nicer and nicer. Things are starting to bloom here in Alaska. They have whats called "greening up" where litterally overnight things turned green. It was pretty neat and things do not look near as yucky and drab as they did back in April after the snow had melted.  So, we have checked out some new trails, and I think we have a little hiker on our hands! Avery still has a fascination for sticks, and we have been letting him walk on the trails, but it takes forever because he stops and picks up every stick we encounter.

Our Little Hiker...found himself a great hiking stick

Mom I LOVE hiking...oh and mom, I LOVE MY STICK TOO!!!

Was that a bear I heard....nah mom, it was just a Moose

 Can we go hiking EVERY DAY!?!

 Oooo look at all THOSE sticks

 Coming mom

 WHOAH...The MOTHER Load