What We Should've Done

What we should've done today was clean the house, tackle the many loads of laundry and go grocery shopping. Instead, what we actually did was go with some friends to a place called JumpStreet! It is wall to wall trampolines, and was SO MUCH FUN. We jumped for 2 hours straight.

We will certainly return, and next time we do, the video camera will join us. Michael's crazy flips (that Ava tries to mimic) just can't be caught on camera! Seriously, it may just be the best place ever invented. It was THAT fun.

Father's Day

I am seriously so blessed to spend my life with the one and only, Michael Garland. He is the most incredible husband and father I know. His little girls love him more than life itself, and I have to admit, I do too. Happy Father's Day, my love. Today, we celebrate you.

Jumping Off A Cliff...

Last weekend I felt like I jumped off a cliff. I did something I never thought I would do. Something, in fact, that I said I would, "NEVER do!" Funny how that works out.

I've been asked to speak several times at our church, but my reply has always been, "No." No questions asked. No further discussion. But for some reason, for some time now, I've felt like a day was coming for that opportunity. Although, I had no idea though that it would be so soon.

For one of our services we've been having a rotation of speakers, so in order to get my feet wet I added my name to the list. I had no idea what would actually happen. As I was going over my outline and message with Pastor Lee, our Senior Pastor, he presented to me the idea of speaking all weekend. My initial reaction was the same as always, "No way." But something told me, God told me, I should go for it. After a few hours of contemplating the idea, I agreed to speak. So I did it. The one thing that's held me back this entire time is the anxiety I feel when speaking in front of large crowds, adults specifically. And now I'm absolutely positive that the only other time I've felt as nervous was my wedding day, right before I walked down the isle! Even though the nerves stayed with me all weekend God helped me to make it through, and I did it!

The funny thing is that in my message I actually speak about saying never to God, and how you shouldn't do it. Last weekend is the perfect example. Guess I should have listened to myself before I said I would, "never do that."

Re-Inspired

With the joining of Facebook, came the neglect of our blog. Everytime I had the thought or the story that I felt needed shared, I would return to write, and come up completely short. I was un-inspired. So, after a friend's recommendation, I took the plunge and had our site re-designed. I love it! Thank you, Lindsay, for our new blog, we couldn't be happier!

With that being said, I introduce you to: Life With the Garlands. We hope you enjoy!

Mother's Day

For whatever reason, I think that every Mother's Day means more than the one before. Maybe it's the time that has passed with my kids, and the realization that I'll never have those moments back. Or maybe it's the understanding that this job, the one of being a mother, is completely worth it.

It's worth all the middle of the night feedings.

It's worth all the temper tantrums.

It's worth dealing with teething.

It's worth dealing with illness.

It's worth all the tears.

It's worth all the time-outs.

It's worth all the signing in the car.

It's worth all the smiles.

It's worth all the hugs.

It's worth all the kisses.

It's worth all the laughs.

It's worth all the love.

Being a mother is the greatest job anyone could ever ask for. It's totally worth it.

*picture taken by Carrie Fay Amaro

Family Vacation!

We've been to a lot of places for vacation as a family, but one thing we've never done, until this year, is go see the snow!

For the last week we've been in Breckenridge, CO. We enjoyed the family time, the weather, the sight-seeing, and letting the girls see/touch/taste the snow for their first time! Ava even braved Ski School all by herself!

It was an experience from the beginning of the trip until the end. It started - and ended - with a 15 hour long car ride there (yes - we drove), but surprisingly enough, the girls did remarkably well. (It could have been because we loaded the car up with anything and everything we thought stood a chance at entertaining them for that long)! We visited the Children's Museum, played lots in the snow, Michael was able to snowboard for the first time and we just enjoyed being around family.

It was amazing. It was relaxing. It was exactly what we needed.

Growing So Fast…

Seems like there is never enough time in each day, week or month to cherish the everyday moments we have with our girls, so I do my best to capture them on this blog and with my camera.
Here are a few recent moments too precious to miss.

I love the way Ava is always trying to help Emma. She loves her baby sister. The other day Ava was pushing her stroller around when she turned to Emma and said, “Come here, sister, push with me. I help you!”

Emma loves whatever Ava is playing with. This is sometimes good and sometimes bad. Recently Ava was playing with her easel in her bedroom that we got her for Christmas (it is a dry erase board on one side and a chalk board on the other). I came around the corner to find Emma covered in marker. Apparently she thought her skin was also a dry erase board?!

Babies. Babies. Babies. There are not enough baby dolls in the house to keep Ava content. She loves her babies, and all the stuff that comes with loving babies. For Christmas she got a shopping cart that has a spot for a baby to sit, so her new favorite thing is “taking her babies to the store.” Her birthday request? A double stroller so she can push two babies around at once! I’m pretty sure her Gram is going to make that one happen…J

A few days ago we were able to take the girls to ZooLights with my mom and step-dad. We were supposed to go before Christmas, but didn’t make it, so we had to make sure we went before they stopped. They were both bundled up for the cold, watching the lights in awe. I think Emma said, “Wow” about a thousand times! Ava’s favorite thing there – the carousel. She rode it 4 times, once with each adult there!

Most recently Emma heard someone sneeze and started giggling! So now, it’s a game. She says, “Ahh” and someone else will say, “Choo” and then she laughs and laughs. Her laugh is so contagious; it’s the cutest thing ever.

Ava now knows all of her letters and can spell her name and Emma’s name. We are so proud of her! For a while Emma’s name was E-M’s-A, but she now knows that there are two M’s in Emmas name and spells it correctly!

Small updates from our everyday moments...

Priceless Moments

All too often we become busy with the things of life forgetting, or moreso taking for granted, the priceless moments that pass by. This is an attempt to capture some of those most recent encounters...

Emma:
-Kissing with her mouth WIDE open!
-Saying "whoa" to animals and things that are much bigger than her.
-Chasing (and by chasing I mean crawling really fast) your sister around the room, laughing hysterically the entire time.
-The happy circle dance she does. If she gets excited she squeaks and spins herself in a circle on her booty.
-Standing up all on her own - most often it is to reach the coveted sippy cup of Ava or food!
-How excited she gets when we walk in the room to pick her up from school - often resulting in the happy circle dance!


Ava:
-How gentle she's become, wanting to cuddle on our laps and watch Mickey Mouse.
-How she's already memorizing scripture. Psalm 139:14, "God made me" is her first verse.
-How were trying to teach her manners. By manners I mean saying, "Excuse me" when interrupting adults speaking or by saying, "May I please be excused" when she's done with her meal. Her versions, "Excuse you, Mommy" and "May I excuse you, please?"
-How she's been dealing with her own separation anxiety, but when she sees her friends deal with it, it's a different story. She walks over to them, puts her hand on the pack and says, "It's ok."
-How she prays with both of her eyes always open watching to see what we're doing. And how she always prays for her friends and family - most often by name.
-How she adores her baby sister. Playing with her, teaching her new things and protecting her.
-How she sneaks into our bed in the middle of the night, and yes I mean sneaks! Last night, before we went to sleep she had crawled in and fell asleep, lights on and all. Hard habit to break, I know, but every once in a while, I just enjoy the cuddle time.

We couldn't ask for anything more in life than this. So grateful God blessed us with these two girls.

*photos taken by Ginger Morby

KidFaire

This weekend we went to an event called, KidFaire. It was supposed to be a fun, community wide event that had lots of stuff going on for younger kids, so we headed out! My mom and step-dad decided to join us, for what was surely going to be a fun day of excitement for both Ava and Emma. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the MAIN REASON we even went was because the princesses were supposed to be there (the real Disney princesses, that is). Ava LOVES the princessess now days... so we wanted to facilitate their introduction!

When we arrived, we should have just turned around and left. What we found was a mob scene of parents and strollers, some of which were using their strollers as bumper cars! Yikes! We waited in line for about 30 minutes just to get the tickets, and then made our way inside.

Once on the bottom floor (it was on the ground level of the local football stadium) we were finally able to figure out where to go to see the princesses. After wandering around for about 20 minutes we find "the princess headquarters". Let me just tell you, that all the "princess headquarters" entailed were some paper crowns, nail polish and paper wands for kids to glue. All fun things for a little girl - but the Cinderalla encounter we were hoping for was not going to happen. We were bummed.

We were able to have some fun walking around, the girls met Larry and Bob from VeggiTales, jumped in a bouncy and Ava even did the bungee jump (in the picture) although, I’m not sure she was too thrilled! In my defense, I didn't force her to do it, she asked to. :) Just felt the need to throw that out there!

Emma was able to see a camel for the first time, at which she said, "Whoa" as it approached! Too cute. All in all, if you could get past the stroller nazis it was an eventful morning. Will we go again next year - probably not. But hey, when you pay $5/person to get into something you have to make the best of it!

Staycation = Potty Training Success!

This last week has been amazing! Michael and I took 8 consecutive days off of work and have just stayed home. No plans. No agenda. Just good, old fashioned, quality time.

Steve and Tammy (his mother and step-father) came into town to visit for a few days. We were able to play catch up with them, and just relax. It was really nice. We went to Scottsdale with them for a few nights, relaxed by the pool and of course they enjoyed some golf.

While on our vacation, we took on a challenge. Quite possibly the biggest parenting challenge we have had to tackle thus far...potty training. We were (I was) determined. Thursday night when we got home from work, the switch took place. From then until the present, she has been in panties! There was a lot of laundry done the first 48 hours, but after that it clicked for her. It's now been 14 days for her and she's only had a handful of accidents! Thank you, Jesus!

We also had our follow up appointment with the surgeon for her umbilical hernia. The surgeon would like to operate soon because the size isn't decreasing, so her surgery will be on Sept. 8th. Please pray for her. It's a simple procedure - outpatient - but she will still be required to go under anesthesia. The recovery will be approximately 2 days at home with no climbing or heavy lifting.

Emma officially hit the 9 month marker, is off the bottle and on table foods. Can't believe it. She's growing up so incredibly fast, it doesn't seem fair.

All is well in our home. We love being a family and love the time we get to spend together.

Exciting Times

So a lot of things have happened this week, here is a list of just a few.

1. Emma started clapping, and she loves to do it!
2. Emma started crawling! It seriously happened overnight.
3. Emma can now say, "ma-ma" and "da-da".
4. Ava finished another semester at The Little Gym.
5. Ava told us for the first time BEFORE she had to go potty, and held it until we could get to the restroom in the store! Huge accomplishment!
6. I ran my first 5K - which was not a flat course at all - in case anyone cares.

It's been an exciting week, just wanted to share it with everyone.

Christmas Presents and New Year's Resolutions

The one thing I asked my sister to give me last year for Christmas/New Year's was more quality time with our families together. We live 15 minutes away from each other, but until this year have only seen each other on special occasions and/or holidays. This year, I wanted that to be different. I wanted it to be different for me, because I want a closer relationship with her. But I also wanted it to be different for the kids - I want Ava and Emma to know their cousins and be able to spend time with them on a consistent basis.

We both knew that this would take intention on our part, and we would have to make time in our already hectic schedules, but somehow this New Year's resolution has been one that has already come to fruition.

We still have time...right?!

4th of July

The fourth of July for us is usually marked by a
family BBQ, time in the sun and time in the pool (or fountains, or hose!). This year though, it landed on a Saturday night, which for Michael and I translates into being at the church. This meant our quality time as a family needed to happen before the 2:00 call time.

Keeping all of that in mind, we woke up early and spent the morning in the pool and sun just relaxing! After lunch and naps, we made our way to the church. They did a great job at offering an experience of free food, water bouncies for the kids and a section of the parking lot blocked off to sit and watch the fireworks from the nearby Surprise Stadium. So after two services, we made our way outside to join in the fun.

One of the water bouncies was a giant slip and slide. Michael thought it would be fun to throw Ava down the slide (since she is too small to get the running start like the bigger kids) and this scared the living daylights out of her. She screamed bloody murder! Needless to say we went back to just the regular bouncy!

Not too long after the bouncy experience the fireworks started and we enjoyed the 30 minute show. Ava loved the fireworks. She said, "I want to eat the fireworks Daddy!" I'm not sure Emma noticed them until we got to the grand finale and then her eyes were fixated on the colors.

It was a great day - lots of quality time - and lots of fun!!

New Updates and New Adventures

There has been a lot going on for the past few weeks - so here's the Garland Family rundown:

Ava is little miss independent, with her new favorite saying, "I wanna do it all myself." We're still struggling with the potty training - still trying - but I think it would be a stretch to say we are successful at it! She loves the pool, and has the tan lines to match. She's still doing really well with Emma, almost too well at times trying to hold her, which means more often than not attempting to pick her up from her head...yikes! We've introduced her (I can't even remember how) to chocolate milk, and she LOVES it. Although I'm not sure of a kid who wouldn't. It's a fun treat for her to have once or twice a week.

Emma is getting so big so fast. I swear it goes faster with the second. She is now 7 months old, sitting up on her own, rolling all over the room and beginning to show signs that she is ready to crawl. I don't think it will be long before she will be chasing Ava all over the house! I am beginning to question whether or not she is a little behind developmentally on her speech. This is likely because her sister is talking non-stop, and saying things for her, so we're trying to work on that. We're trying to spend quality time just with Emma talking to her and reading her books. She's getting there - there hasn't been a "ma-ma" or "da-da" yet, but they'll come soon enough. She's in week 3 of swim lessons (she took a week off because her instructors were on vacation) and is now rolling on her own from her stomach to her back in the pool. It's very nerve racking to watch, but also very exciting. We're working on speeding the whole process up because she does take her time getting from her tummy to her back - but she isn't upset at all once she does make the shift. She's eating real foods every day - and loves them way more than her bottles. Sometimes you can't get the food in her mouth fast enough - she's crying because she wants more! Soon enough she’s going to be running around chasing her sister, it won’t be long.

Michael and I are doing well. I began training to run my first half-marathon in January (there I said it - now I'm committed!). It's been hard, but good. Running is good stress relief and good time with just me. Michael is still following his workout plan, working out 4 days a week. He’s in the best shape of his life! I’m trying to catch up to that. He still loves his truck and is continually looking for more things to enhance it. It all just takes time…and of course money!

That’s the Garland Family update for June in a nutshell! More to come soon!

Realization

This last month for me, for us as a family, has been all about realization. On many fronts this has been a harder month that usual, but we have come out of it stronger and closer to each other than ever. Don't get me wrong, when I say, "harder month than usual" I'm not referring to home life, but to work life. Lot's of changes, long meetings and needless to say: personal growth. However, I really believe, deep down, it’s God's way of giving us the realization that there is so much more to life that what we get caught up in during the everyday grind.

This month has been about realizing that there has to be balance between long work weeks and quality time spent with the kids.

Realizing that I love Ava, I love her so much I'm willing to set boundaries and limits for her. After all she's two - and we all know what that means - I don't have to explain it!

Realizing that I love Emma just as much - enough to get up from my desk - even in the busiest of days to try and go feed her a bottle. Recognizing that there will come a day that this will no longer be possible.

Realizing that I love my husband more than anything - I would do anything for him - no questions asked. He blows my mind every day.

Recognizing that Father's Day was filled with business (or should I say chaos at work - thanks to a car show) and lots of happiness; but also sadness. Sadness because an icon in my life, my father, is no longer here on this Earth to celebrate. That just hasn't gotten easier yet.

Needless to say, this month has changed me (us) from the inside out. We are now much better at prioritizing what's important - and recognizing that 99.9% of the time -it doesn't come in the form of a paycheck.

Mother's Day

We had (I had) a nice Mother's Day. The weekend started off by me spending a few hours in Ava's class for the "Fancy Nancy Mother's Day Brunch!" It was fun to spend some time with her in that environment!

Knowing that Sunday would be a very busy day for us, when I walked into the kitchen on Saturday was a beautiful bouquet of flowers (from Michael), along with several gifts. The best part - the disclaimer from Michael! He said, “Just so you know, Ava picked out everyone of your gifts." Is that a good thing or a bad thing?! I received some bath products, a stuffed pig and a snow globe. In addition she picked me out a plant! Very sweet.

Sunday afternoon was spent with the family; they came to our house for a bbq. It was fun just to relax and hang out with them. We went swimming, ate great food and spent some quality time just talking. Good times.


Here are some pictures from an impromptu photo session with Carrie Fay on Saturday night!

A Month Already?

Wow. I was even paying attention to the fact that it has been a month since my last post. I say this all the time, but it really is insane how fast the time flies. There's been a lot that's new since I last wrote, so here is the latest update!

Ava has officially completed her swimming lessons. She is now a fish! She loves to go swimming and it's extremely comforting to know that she has the skills necessary to do so. She jumps off the side of the pool all on her own and comes right up to a float. It's really amazing how well she is doing; every time she swims I'm blown away.


She is also beginning the process officially of potty training. Part of the problem has been that while we want her to be out of diapers, we haven't been as consistent as parents as we need to be. So - we've begun. They're working with her at school as well; she has been using the potty about 2 times a day. Not too much longer and we'll be there. I will for sure do a victory dance when that day arrives!

Emma will be six months old next week. I can't even believe it. She is doing so well and is such a happy and content baby. Last night Michael was playing with her and she was giggling away - it was the first time I had heard her actually laughing - it was so cute!

She has begun to eat solids, first with oatmeal then onto peas. This week she is eating carrots - yum! She does pretty well with them; she's learning to swallow instead of just spitting them out at us. She's still rolling all the time from her back to her tummy, but is still not consistently rolling from her tummy to her back. It will come in time.

Here are some recent pictures taken by my friend Ginger Morby. She loves photography and is great at it. Enjoy!

Feet and Curlers

Emma has officially found her feet! She's been playing with them every day for the last couple of days. She hasn't quite got them into her mouth yet, but she loves hanging onto them and rolling from side to side!


She also rolled from her tummy to her back yesterday for the first time all on her own! Here is a picture of her in the middle of the roll!

Ava wanted to make sure that she wasn't left out from the camera too, so here is Ava "finding her feet" as well! Don't mind the crazy hair, they had just woken up! :)

Later last night, after swimming lessons, we gave Ava a bath and I put her hair in curlers for the first time. She was so good and just sat there and let me do her hair! Unfortunately, by the time she woke up, they were all out, not one of them made it through the night...bummer.

Yesterday was a fun day, hope all is well for everyone. Here's one more "cheese" picture to help brighten your day!

Busy week in the Garland home...

So this has been an extremely busy week, both with work and with the girls.

Ava officially started her swim lessons, and while she's not completely enjoying going under on her own (ok that is an understatment to say the least - she screams the entire time!), however, she's progressing well. Her instructor says that most kids cry for the first week to two weeks until they become more confident in the skills they're learning, but that it doesn't effect their learning process. Here is a video of her today at her lesson, this is only her 5th one, but we're confident she's going to do great!



Emma went in for her 4 month well check today (Friday). She is now 12 lbs and 15 oz and 24 1/4 in long now. She officially is able to start rice cereal next week, after her diaper rash goes away completely. The doctor also said that it's time to start weaning her off of her middle of the night feedings - trying to offer her a pacifier and roll her over - but not feeding her everytime she wakes up. So looks like we're in for some sleepless nights in our near future...praying it works quickly...but fearing it won't. She also received clearance from her doctor to do her swimming lessons at 6 months, which we are extremely excited about.

Needless to say, all is well.

Growing so fast...

When you have your first child you realize what everyone has told you all along is actually true, "it will go by so fast - before you know it she will be driving." But, when you add a 2nd into the mix, I'm learning you have to try even harder to not miss any special moments. Life is so much busier with two kids, instead of just one, so it's much easier to not take out the camera as often or to not spend time just holding each of them. Most of the days are the same: wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to school, go home, eat dinner and go to bed. The challenge is to make the days when they aren't in the preschool all day memorable for both them and for us. So we've decided to do some things different - we're going to be more intentional about having at least one day a week where we are just WITH the kids. Not grocery shopping, not running errands, not going to doctors appointments - just being with them. Going the zoo, the park, having a picnic, whatever it is we just want them to remember their time with their parents wasn't always just about going from one place to the next.

Emma is growing up so fast. 3 1/2 months old now, she can almost completely hold her head up on her own. She is smiling more and more every day and is such a happy baby. A far cry from the first 9 weeks of her life when she screamed all day, every day. She's talking (or should I say coo'ing) all the time and loves it when Ava talks to her. She's officially at the 11 pound marker and even though she doesn't sleep all night long yet, she goes to bed at 8 and only wakes up 1 time to eat between then and 7am. Not too bad!

Ava is doing awesome as well. Although - we are starting to see bouts of what I'm considering the "terrible twos." Sometimes, even the smallest things will set her off into a crying fit that will take us 45 minutes to get her calmed down. She's even having some night terrors at night - which are awful. She wakes up in a panic and screaming like she is so scared. It is the saddest thing ever. She loves the Little Gym - even asks for it and knows when we're going there. When Michael or I go to the gym she even thinks we're going to the Little Gym! We've recently enrolled her in swimming lessons - through http://www.infantswim.com/. She will start her lessons on March 16th - they are every day of the week (M-F), 10 minutes a day, for 4-6 weeks. When her lessons are complete she will be able to swim with her head down, roll over and float to take a break, then roll over to keep swimming.

Emma will do the same lessons (however she can't start until she is 6 months old - so in May). When her lessons are complete she will be able to get herself to the top of the pool, roll over and float until she is rescued. We just want to be extra careful with two little ones and a pool in the backyard. We're trying to add layers of protection so that we don't have any water tragedies with our girls.

That's what happening in our world for now...hope everyone else is doing well!