Then & Now

Can you tell which one is Avery and which one is Dane?

Just Pictures

Dane is a big nursery boy now! We walked into the nursery, he saw toys to play with, and he has been happy to stay and play. No tears, so far! So different than his sister.

Taking advantage of some beautiful winter weather

My little helper

Four Years Old

Our little Avery is 4 years old. This year she wanted a brown horse cake with a purple mane. We definitely needed a horse cake for our girl that LOVES horses.

Grandma and Grandpa were out visiting over her birthday weekend, so we were extra spoiled to be able to celebrate the big day with them. We went hiking at Garden of the Gods, visited the zoo, opened up birthday gifts, and ate cake and ice cream.

Horse cupcakes to take to preschool.

We love this girl and can't believe that she is already four. She is growing up way too fast!

Look whose walking

He's been taking two or three steps for a couple of months. Now he is officially walking!

What is it with boys and the bathroom?

This is a whole new type of baby proofing for me. Avery was never interested in the bathroom. Dane is in there any chance he can get; unrolling the toilet paper, flushing the toilet, and/or opening and slamming shut the toilet lid! Luckily he hasn't tried sticking anything in the toilet. Was Avery just an odd toddler to not be interested?

Ohhhh, now how can I be upset at this!

An Update........FINALLY!

So, I doubt if anyone is even checking this blog anymore since the last entry was made, what, 9 months ago. Sorry I have been so lousy at getting some updates sent out. Here are some highlights of what we have been up to.

Dane is 1!

My sweet little baby turned one this month. The morning of his birthday we went swimming at the pool and then that afternoon drove up to the Denver aquarium. Since the kids fell asleep on the way home from seeing the fish, Dane opened up birthday gifts the next morning, and then we had his birthday cake and icecream with good friends that weekend! We got to celebrate his big day throughout the whole week.

Devouring the birthday cake

The cake

Some of Dane's favorites:

• Balls
• Being outside
• Watching for airplanes
• His passie
• His bottle
• Playing with whatever big sister is playing with
• Unrolling toilet paper rolls
• Being in the bath tub

Favorite Foods

• Vanilla Yogurt
• Crackers, Cheerios, anything he can crunch
• Peaches
• Noodles

Words he says

• ma ma
• da da
• uh oh

Some of mom's favorites

• I love his hugs
• I love how he points his index finger to show us something and says "Ooooh"
• I love how he giggles when he sees his bottle

Dane has been the sweetest little baby. His grin can put a smile on anyone's face and that giggle, well, I just can't get enough of it. His mischievous side is starting to show, this little boy is into everything now! Happy Birthday Dane.

Trips to Visit Family

The kids and I made a trip to Idaho in June to visit the Geisler family and then we all headed out to Utah in July to visit the Dial side. We had the best time visiting, playing games, swimming, feeding the horses, and just hanging out. It was especially hard for Avery to leave each place this time. She had a blast playing with all of her cousins and seeing Grandma's, Grandpa's and the Aunts and Uncles. It's tough being so far away, so come and visit us soon!

Playing with the cousins at the pool

Dane loves to be in the pool and splashes like this the whole time

Avery has been in love with horses for almost a year now. She was in heaven when she got to feed and ride the horses that are down the street from my parent's home

The House

Almost exactly a year ago, our builders started digging the hole for our house. We spent countless hours picking out flooring, light fixtures, paint colors, door handles, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, counter tops, etc. They finished up in about 8 month and we were able to move in the middle of April. After living in a 2 bedroom apartment for nearly 7 years, we are loving having a place of our own! This summer we have especially loved having a backyard, planting flowers, and taking care of the yard. Now we are just trying to get all of our boxes completely unpacked and settled in!

Good Times

This post is long overdue, but I couldn't help posting pictures of our little guy in his blessing suit. We blessed Dane the end of September in Utah. All of my family came down from Idaho and all of Dustin's were there to participate in the blessing and to meet Dane. Thanks to our family and friends for your support! It was a quick weekend, but it was so great to see everyone. Avery especially had a blast playing with all of her cousins, aunts, uncles, and both grandparents. I think that she wore both Grandpa's out! She never gave them a break. They were either jumping on the the tramp or pushing her on the swing.

My mom made Dane's blessing suit. I thought he looked so handsome in it.

Avery has been such a great big sister! She loves to sing to Dane, help get diapers, and is always getting a toy for him to play with. It is so much fun to see them interact with eachother. Dane gets the biggest smile on his face when Avery talks and plays with him. It's these little moments that help me get through the tough days!

HALLOWEEN

Minnie Mouse

Cute little monkey

This year for Halloween we were in St. George with the Geisler family. We had a great time going to the Sand Dunes, golfing, shopping at the outlets, hiking at Zion National Park, and of course trick or treating.

Sweet Boy

Happy Birthday!

Our sweet little Avery turned 3 a few weeks ago. This year she wanted a lady bug birthday cake. I couldn't quite figure out how to make black frosting, so we settled for a pink and brown lady bug! She had a birthday party at a nearby park with a few friends where we had pizza, cake and ice cream, and went on a bug hunt (the kids captured little plastic bugs that Dustin hid in the grass).

The following weekend we were in Utah, so we were able to celebrate her birthday with both of our families.

Some of Avery's favorites from this year:

Playing tickle tackle with Dad

Having parties with her stuffed animals

Playing with her cars

Talking to Grandmas and Grandpas on the webcam

Jumping on the trampoline

Nola bars (granola bars)

Being a big sister

Dum Dums

Preschool

Listening to "her" music in the car

Dates from the granola cereal

Playing catch

Reading Curious George

Happy Birthday Sweetie! We love you!

Meet Dane Dustin Dial

Dane joined our family on August 10th. He came one week early by c-section and was 6 lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long. It has been so much fun cuddling with a little newborn again!

Avery is taking the role of big sister very seriously! She has done a great job and loves to help take care of baby brother.

Staying Cool

We've been spending a lot of time at the pool this summer. Avery loves it and to be honest, so do I. It's keeping this pregnant lady cool during the summer and it wears Avery out!

A Girl and Her Trucks

Some of Avery's favorite things to play with; her cars and trucks and the buttons!

Life in Colorado

I can't believe how fast this summer is flying past us. We've been enjoying every minute of it, I just haven't been blogging about it. Here's a little update on what we've been up to.

Avery is potty trained!!!! The beginning of May, Avery and I went shopping and she got to pick out a potty seat cover and some princess underwear. May was going to be such a busy month for us so I was planning on waiting until June to get started. When we got back from the store she wanted to sit on her little potty and for the next couple of days asked to wear her princess underwear and sit on her little potty. How could I say no to that! We put the diapers away and got started. For the first 2 days I was wondering what I had gotten myself into, but after that, something clicked and it was a whole new ballgame. (The fact that she hates, hates, to be wet also was a huge motivator for her to make it to the potty). She has been out of diapers now for about 2 months and is doing great. We still have the occasional accident and she is wearing pull-ups at night, but man, it's been so nice NOT having diapers to change.

The middle of May my parents came out and stayed with us for a week. We loved having them here, especially Avery who had Grandma and Grandpa all to herself. We went hiking, sightseeing, to the zoo, swimming, to a sky sox baseball game, and the boys got a few golf games in.

On May 24th, Dustin turned 30! For his birthday, I booked us a night at a condo in Estes Park. A good friend watched Avery so we had a couple of days to spend some time together and get away from the every day distractions. Estes Park was beautiful and is right at the mouth of Rocky Mountain National Forest. We had a great time driving through the park, fishing, hiking, sleeping in, and walking through the shops on Main Street.

Rocky Mountain National Forest

There was still a ton of snow on the sides of the roads at the top of the mountains.

We had a little miscommunication getting stuff packed up in the car, so my tennis shoes were left home. We had planned on doing this little hike to Alberta Falls, and since it was less than a mile long up to the water, I figured I would be just fine doing it in flip flops. As we continued to climb the trail we ran into snow. It actually felt good since it was pretty warm outside, but I'm sure that the other hikers we met on the trail were thinking that I was crazy. Here I am pregnant, hiking in flip flops, and trudging through the snow. We had a blast and it was a much needed little getaway!

The beginning of June, we flew up to Idaho to spend a few days with family. My mom and two sisters, Grandma, a few aunts, and a cousin, all went to Time Out For Women in Pocatello while the guys played with the kids. Here are some pictures of their trip to Bear World.

We have about 4 more weeks until the little guy will join our family. The rest of our summer will be spent relaxing at the pool and getting ready for his arrival! We love summer.