My Tummy and Chris's Shotgun

A few of you have requested to see my growing belly. I had Chris take this picture of me a few days ago. I'm honestly not as big as I look though. We had just eaten dinner and I was pushing out to make sure my belly was visible in this shirt. I guess that wasn't necessary. It's really obvious. But trust me on this. I don't normally look that big. I've only gained 1 1/2 lbs.

And a cute story about Ava. A few days ago the missionaries from our ward were having dinner with my in-laws. In their conversation they were trying to distinguish for the missionaries which of Barry & Marilyn's kids were married to who and had which kids. While trying to describe us one of the missionaries says "Oh, are they the ones with that adorable little girl?" And Marilyn (being the proud Grandma) says "Yes, that's them". The missionary then replies "Oh, she is so cute. I'm saving myself for her. I know I'll be old, but...." Barry and Marilyn just laughed. When they told the story to us all I could think was "Chris, you'd better get your guns ready!"

Ava's 1 yr Pictures

Last week I took Ava to have her 1 year-old pictures taken. I think they turned out so cute. Especially considering the fact that she was whining and crying about 80% of the time (hence the blanket and pacifier in the last few pictures)! I made the tutu Ava is wearing in them myself and I am extremely proud. So, here is a link for you to view all of her adorable pictures. (And my adorable tutu!)

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0620109071JCP

enter customer name: Jennifer Shidelas

YES THAT SAYS SHIDELAS. They spelled my name wrong so be sure to enter it as it is written above.

Ava's First Friend

Here are a couple of cute pictures of Ava and her friend Oakley.

Look how well they play. They are even reading a book together!

Yummy Apple Dip

A friend of mine gave me this recipe a few years ago and yesterday I got a craving to make it. I thought I'd share this yummy recipe with all of you too. It's delicious!

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 C. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 C. toffee bits (with or without chocolate is fine)

Cream together cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix in toffee bits. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving.

Baby Shideler

My sister says I haven't been very "bloggy" lately and it's true. I just haven't had anything I felt was exciting enough to share. I'm not one of those witty clever people who has funny things to say or stories to tell. And I used to be obsessed with taking pictures of Ava but that has slowed down also so I don't have any new pictures to share either.

But I did have my first doctor appointment (midwife actually) so I can finally share some news on baby shideler. My due date has finally been confirmed (seeing as how this was a surprise and we weren' keeping track, my due date was just a guess). But I had an ultrasound done and my due date is June 30th. I'm 17 weeks today. It was too early to see the sex of the baby but the technician did take a guess. But since it was just that, a guess, I'm not going to say what it was. (Plus my dad doesn't want to know, so announcing it on my blog would ruin the surprise).

So that's it. That's the news. Baby is healthy and my due date is June 30th.

It's Payback Time!

Once upon a time I lived next door to my sister-in-law Lorie. We were (are) great friends and had a lot of fun hanging out together. Then one day, Chris's birthday to be exact, Lorie gave Chris a present that changed everything! It was a tie-dye shirt (no offense to anyone who likes tie-dye)! It was the ugliest shirt I had ever seen. I laughed of course, it was a funny joke. haha.

OR NOT! Chris actually liked it! I couldn't believe it. He actually wanted to wear the thing in public! I vowed right then and there I would never be seen in public with him while he was wearing that shirt!

It doesn't end there. For his next birthday, Lorie gave Chris a shirt that said "Just Another Sexy Redneck" and to my utter horror Chris AGAIN liked the shirt! Unfortunately (or fortunately) I don't have a picture of Chris in his tie-dye (it has mysteriously disappeared, but I swear it wasn't me), but I do have a picture of the redneck shirt. (see below)

This Christmas, it was payback time!! I drew Lorie's husband, Richard, in our Christmas name drawing. ha-ha-ha!! I found this shirt at a gift shop in Florida last year while on vacation. There was an entire rack of the ugliest shirts I'd ever seen. There were quite a few competitors but in the end the bucking horse won out. I think I did a pretty good job!
And just for the record, the payback is for Lorie. Richard actually liked the shirt and wore it in public while we were in San Diego! Richard's birthday is in August, Lorie. Are you scared?!?!?

Thanks for posing for me Rich. You were a great sport!

(And FYI, Lorie and I are still great friends!)

Goodbye Sunny San Diego

For the New Year we went to San Diego with Chris's family. Chris's parents rented a beach house that we all stayed in for a week. It was so fun to get away from snowy, cold Colorado and enjoy some sunshine. Here are a few (a lot) of pictures from our vacation.

This parking lot was right across the street from our house so the kids (Chris included) would go out almost everyday and feed the birds. Ava now loves birds.

Go Broncos!! (Too late? Darn!) The last Bronco's game of the season just happened to be against the San Diego Chargers and just happened to be in San Diego while we were going to be there so of course we got tickets. 10 of us went: 9 bronco fans and 1 charger fan (see above picture). Unfortunately for 9 of us, the Bronco's got run over. Fortunately for the Steelers (and anyone else who might play the chargers post season) they have a new fan! I'm rooting for your team Burg!

We went to Sea World and Chris insisted that we sit in the 4th row while we saw Shamu. This is a post Shamu picture. You may not be able to see it, but we are all drenched!!Ava's first birthday happened to be on the day we were flying to San Diego so we had a birthday party for her a few days later. It wasn't anything too exciting or grand but since she won't remember anyway, I guess it doesn't matter.

She did have a grand time eating her cupcake though!

Ava LOVED the beach. She was cracking up and running around.......

...and even trying to eat the sand (successfully, one time).

Chris, Richard (the Chargers fan), and his daughter Carlee rented wet suits (the water was a bit chilly) and tried their hand at body boarding and surfing. They actually did pretty decent, too.

Ava also tried her hand at (sand) surfing.
The second day we went to the beach it was pretty windy and a little cool so I kept Ava out of the water but she had a blast digging in the sand.

Grandpa was kind enough to bury Ava's legs in the sand (like every kid does) and she enjoyed every second of it. She also LOVED playing with her cousins.And lastly, the pool in the backyard of our house was freezing but Ava loves all water so she wanted to play in it anyway. She was only allowed in up to her feet but she had a blast.

I was sad to come back to what seems like 10 feet of snow (probably more like 2) but I did miss being home and it was nice to come back. Goodbye Sunny San Diego! Hello Cold Colorado.

Christmas

I know it's a little late and most of you don't care but I wanted to share a few pictures of Ava's first Christmas. Chris chopped down our tree here on the ranch but I didn't have my camera with me while we did it. But I think for a tree that was naturally grown in our backyard it looks pretty good. Ava's big present was a mini Power Wheels 4-Wheeler. I love it! I was so excited about giving it to her. She went straight to it Christmas morning and wouldn't get off.

In fact, she loved it so much that she didn't want to open any other presents so we had her opening them while sitting on the 4-wheeler.

Ava also got a laptop, a mini piano, an elmo toy, a few books, and some other nick nacks.

And lastly, her gift from Grandma Shideler..............

Her very own Cowgirl hat!!!