Help with Arden's fight!

I added a little video on my sidebar, it is of my niece Arden. Arden was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was just 3 months old. On May 16th (my due date) we will walk with Arden and thousands of others who have CF in the CF Great Strides walk. This is of course a plea to anyone who wants to help find a cure for CF. Every dollar counts! I know money is tight for a lot of people right now, but if you can help Arden and the rest of her family, we would really appreciate it. For those of you who don't know Arden let me describe her in just three words: fashion and rock and roll. Here is the video and a link on the side bar if you want to donate. Arden we love you and we want you to outlive your Mom!!

Party like a princess

Ayda had a great birthday. When she woke up she wanted to open presents from Grandma Pam and Grandpa Mike. She got the cutest pair of ballet slippers and a great alphabet puzzle. We put the puzzle together A LOT that morning. Then last night we went to Gaco's for cake and ice cream. Ayda's Oregon cousins were all there to help her celebrate three years. Gaco made Ayda's cake again this year, we went with a princess theme. Gaco made a castle cake and a little princess cake too (all of the flowers on the cake and princess' dress were hand made by Gaco.) Ayda had a lot of fun with her cousins and woke up this morning singing happy birthday.

Ayda is THREE!!

Happy 3rd birthday Ayda!! I know all parents say it but time sure does go by fast. I can't believe my baby is three!! Since we didn't blog when she was born here are a couple of my favorite moments not long after she was born. The first time I held her, her first bath, we didn't know it then but we know it now, her favorite person Gaco (can you see her little smile, maybe she knew). The last one is of her before we left the hospital. We love you Ayda!!

Easter Sunday

We had a little egg hunt for Ayda, some eggs were easier to spot than others. If I gave her an idea of where the eggs were she did okay tracking them down. Travis hid eggs in high places (like where the pots and pans hang) but she managed to crawl up the counter to get them down. Then we got all dressed up in our Sunday best to head to church, I love a good Easter dress (thanks Gaco). Enjoy.

We are going to do what with our eggies?

That is the question Ayda kept asking as the great egg decorating day approached. This was Ayda's first time decorating eggs (I know what took so long). I thought having 10 kids (Endre's and Keely's) under nine years old, all coloring eggs would be pure chaos, but it wasn't at all. We had all the kids put on their "work shirts" (thanks Keely) and then the kids got six eggs to decorate and for the most part they just did the task at hand. Ayda was in heaven, she gave me a couple looks like, are you sure I am okay to be painting on these eggs. Her six eggs turned out so cute!! Here are some shots of her hard at work.





(this one tried to get away)









(steady hand--watch out Bob Ross)









(I hope this paint comes off)

(two colors are better than one)










(finished product)

Healthy and happy!

Ayda is healthy again and she is happy to be done with her ear drops! We still have no washer... we are on our third repairman (he goes to our church and is trying really hard to figure out what is plaguing our washer.) The second repairman said he thinks we need to just buy a new washer, so I am REALLY hoping Mitchell can figure it out for us! Here are a couple random pictures of Ayda, my favorite is the one where Travis is hanging her upside down to tickle her, talk about torture.
Oh, in case you are keeping track baby is due in just about five weeks...yipee!

I have a "bestion"

In Ayda speak, that is "I have a question?" Normally when she says this, it is followed by a song, rather than a question. But today feel free to ask me two questions.
1. Q. Nika, when is your baby due? A. next month. (I like to be able to say that)
2. Q. Nika, is your washer fixed? A. No, it appears the timer wasn't the problem...