Daddy and me!

Clint and I thought it would be fun to get up on Sunday and head out to the Mall of America for a day of rides with Alivia. We woke up and made a big breakfast and then headed out. Once we got there and Alivia saw the rides she could not stop smiling.
We bought our tickets and made our way to the balloons. Since mommy is pregnant that meant daddy had to do all the rides which made it hard to go on some of the rides since daddy is 6'4. Alivia had been on some of these rides way back when she just turned one, but it's been awhile and this time she was so excited it was hard to wait in line.


Daddy and Alivia waiting so patiently to go on the balloons. I love capturing these moments because Alivia is really turning into a daddy's girl.

Out of the two of us dad is definitely mister safety which isn't a bad thing at all. I think he checked the seat belt a few times before the ride began.

Daddy giving Alivia the pep talk and getting her pumped up for the ride. I wasn't sure who was more excited about riding the ride. It was a toss up on this one.

Up...up...and away they went

I couldn't get a good picture of it, but Clint kept putting Alivia's hands in the air as they went around. She would just laugh and laugh as they went around.

Onto the next ride which was the merry go round. We did this ride twice since it was fun to pick out the animal we rode on. I think the first time we rode the giraffe and the second time the not sure what animal is in the above picture.

Waiting so well for the ride to start.

After a long morning of rides and lunch we finished the day with the ferris wheel. This one was fun because we went high up in the air and could see all the rides from the day.

Checking out the back view of the roller coaster.

Oh yeah mom got to ride this one too.

To finish a big day is always nice to come home and relax with daddy. These two have become couch buddies lately oh and we can't forget our naked baby who we hold so dear to us.

Where does the time go....

When you are pregnant you want everything to go by so fast because you want to see and hold your baby so bad. When they finally come into this world you find yourself waiting for the next stage or excited for them to reach the smiling stage, laughing stage, sitting up, crawling, pulling up, first words and so on. Then one day you look at your toddler and wonder where did all that time go. You forget so fast the baby stage and how precious they are when they just look at you without saying anything, but saying so much. All of a sudden they are talking back to you, answering your questions that never got responses before. They tell you what they are feeling and start to show a small glimpse of what they will be like at 15.

(The sweet innocent look)

I have learned so much in the last 20 months with Alivia. She has taught me to cherish every moment even if it's staying up all night to hold them because they can't sleep or let them have their moment/tantrum even if your in the middle of target. These days come and go so fast. For some reason you always remember the best moments and those not so good ones tend to disappear.

(Where did this chubby little smile go)
When your child starts acting or coping you is when you know they love you. I laugh every time Alivia walks around the house on the her cell phone talking to who knows just chatting away. A typical conversation tends to go like this:
hi.....yeah.....ummmmmm........yeah.........k......bye (all of this is done while walking around with the phone under her ear and chin, purse on the other arm and one hand moving all over like it's talking too)
I knew I always wanted to be a mom, but these days I couldn't ask for a better job in the world. Each day is an adventure that I can't wait to take!

Girls at play....

It is so fun these days watching Alivia and Presley play together. They have now figured out they are similar in age and Presley realizes she is not a baby anymore. The two of them play house and make each other laugh which is so funny to listen too. Presley obviously does majority of the talking while Alivia just answers "yeah". I am afraid when Alivia's sister arrives these two will want nothing to do with her down the road and she will be left with no one. I think Jack will come into play and still love having another girl cousin to protect and take care of.

Some cousin love.....
Playing house and of course we all have to have nukies......

Coloring a picture together and sharing the crayons..

Couldn't resist this picture. They were playing so well and chatting back and forth...

Go team!!

Silly little girl...

As Alivia gets older her personality has grown so much. She tends to be shy when she is first around people, but once she warms up she has a crazy little mind. From the faces and things she says you never know what is going to come out of her. She now knows her feelings like if you ask her what babies do when they are sad she will make her sad face or when they are happy she will open her mouth up wide and smile. I will have to get a video of it soon. She also has become very into her shoes. We have to pick them out everyday even if we don't go anywhere. She really loves to put them on and dance around on the wood floors.
We also have started putting in big girl pony tails. When we get ready I ask if she wants a bow or pony and usually it's a bow, but mom always ends up with the final decision.

Our sunglasses have become another part of our getting ready. The past three days we have had then on. We eat with them, run errands with them and play. I am not sure what started it, but it is pretty funny to see.

Here is a typical morning in our household. We usually after breakfast go downstairs, but now we have to pick a pair of shes to wear and another article of clothing. I think dress up might be in our near future.

28 Week update...

I love this picture so much since it's one of our few that we all are looking at the camera and look happy. Usually Alivia is looking somewhere else or has no expression on her face. Well the Varleys headed down to the dome yesterday for the Vikings playoff game which was AWESOME. We had a great time and wish they were at home again next week. I think Clint is officially a true Minnesota Vikings fan. Go Vikes!!!

This weekend I also made me 28 weeks along. I can't even believe we are heading into the home stretch of this pregnancy. It has gone by so fast this time. Both mom and baby are doing well. She is a mover and shaker though which is completely different from Alivia who never moved. I have been feeling great and still am able to run 3 days a week and do the elliptical the other days. We are looking forward to her arrival and hope she brings us nice weather when she makes her appearance.

Getting bigger every week...

Fun times in Iowa!

We had a wonderful time in Iowa these past three days. Alivia was needing some Grandma and Grandpa Varley time for sure. We did a lot of playing and baking with grandma which seemed to be Alivia's favorite thing to do. Once again Alivia had a hard time leaving grandmas side so she became her shadow for a few days. We also were able to finally celebrate Christmas since we were not able to make it down in December due to bad weather.

Alivia and grandma making chocolate chip cookies and yes Alivia measured out most of the ingredients. I think by then end we had more flour on our self than in the bowl.
Measuring out the sugar and taking a lot of time to stir the sugar.

Stir, stir, stir

and the finished product wasn't to bad according to the chef.... yummy!

One of Alivia's favorite or best gift was this pink motorcycle. It drives around so Clint and I have our hands full with a student driver at home now. It goes forward and backwards. Right now the horn that beeps is the coolest part. Oh yeah it also starts up like a real motorcycle which is also fun to hear according to a toddler.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a fun three days!!!

Check up update.....

Alivia had her 18 month appointment today (a month late) and it went great. She is healthy and growing. Right at the correct level on her verbal skills and physical skills such as running, jumping and walking. We have made it so far with only two colds in our life so we hope the next baby is just as healthy. Okay so what everyone wants to know......

Height: 35 1/2 inches

Weight: 26 lbs 12 oz

Two cuties.......

cont.....

If Alivia was a boy this is what she would look like...... (still a cutie)

another beach shot with her spider legs....

showing mom how it's done at the beach

picking out shells...

Our Florida Trip!

This year in Florida we had a lot of fun. It was fun to see Alivia enjoy herself at the pool, beach and with her cousins. This was a good age to do all sorts of fun things. Next year should be interesting with a 9 month old. I hope that her sister doesn't try to run the trip next year. Well on to fun things...... Enjoy the pictures......

Playing hide and go seek with daddy on the porch. Alivia isn't the best hider, but will work on it.
CHEESE......

Big hugs before bed with Jack

First day at the beach. It was funny to see my little lady in a bathing suit since she has grown.

Working hard on shoveling...

Taking a stroll down the beach with mom.

Having fun running in the water and then running out...

Couldn't resist on capturing this....

Mom and my little lady...

Mom bugging Alivia again while trying to have fun....

Okay one more shot of her playing....

My future swimmer and nerd. ha ha ha

Oh mom the sun is to sunny, stop with the pictures.

The Naples beach police stopped and let all the kids take pictures.

Goggle girl heading down to the pool.

Enjoying a nice cold shower before the pool.

New Years! Yes I am burnt to a crisp, but hey I forget how sensitive your skin is when pregnant. As you can see Alivia is very concerned.

Having fun on New Years.....

Family picture. We have to work on Alivia looking at the camera.

An afternoon playing in the sand after a long nap.

Wow she is looking at the camera for once.

Moms birthday night!!!

On an important call. Love the ketchup face.

Showing off your dance moves at Tommy Bahamas

Dance, dance, dance

As you can see we had a great time and look forward to next year with our new addition. I do have a few more pictures and videos that I will post later.