tave

Kapria loves Tave so much.
She asks about him all the time,
loves to try picking him up (much to his distress),
and smothers him with kisses.

They're already great friends.

It can only get better.

what kapria has been up to

April was a crazy busy month, and Kapria was busy right along with us. Here are some of the big things from this month.

Pretend Play
She loves playing with her dolls and does everything with them that happens to her. Time out, eating, riding in the stroller, taking a nap. Her babies do it all.

Helping
She also likes to help me with whatever job needs to be done: sweeping, cleaning the bathroom, wiping the table. She's a great helper.

Long-term Memory
She's starting to remember a lot. I mentioned earlier that she remembers all her family now, and asks about them every day by name.

New Tooth
She got a new tooth: her bottom right incisor. This was preceded by probably the worst teething she's had. She normally gets really acidic diapers when she's teething, but they go away within two or three days. Not this time. They lasted over a week, and she had a horrible diaper rash. We decided to look into some remedies online and found out that milk can make diaper rash worse. Who knew?! We've never stopped her from drinking milk before, and the rash has always gone away. Not this time. We felt horrible. So we decided to quit giving her milk, which was a little nervous making because she was still taking a bottle every morning when she woke up and every night right before bedtime. I loved that time with her, so I was sad to give it up. I actually tried to hold onto it, and so put other things in her bottle, but she would have nothing to do with it.

No More Bottle
So, just like that, she was done with the bottle. When she could drink milk again (after about a week), she did not want it in a bottle. So sippy cups it is.

About two weeks after all this, she did ask for a bottle one morning. I gave her the cup instead, and she was fine. However, she won't drink milk now unless it's in her cereal bowl. So I highly encourage her drinking from a bowl - whatever gets her those healthy calories!

Bathtub Prayer
Kapria said her first prayer at the beginning of this month. She was playing in the bathtub when she knelt, folded her arms, and asked to say prayer. She repeated a lot of it after us. Now every time she takes a bath she wants to pray. But so far that first time is the only time she would "say" the prayer.

Every month is a new adventure with her, and we're loving every minute of it.

favorite faces: april

eating is fun to do

especially when you share

happy birthday syanne!

Syanne turned 3 today!

I can't believe how fast 3 years can go and how quickly life changes in that time.

Syanne, we love you,
and we love your happy, happy attitude!

painting

Trav worked pretty much our entire vacation to finish a job. Shawn had hired him to do a painting that he wanted to give to Abby for her wedding present. With the crazy work schedule Trav ended up having before our vacation, he wasn't able to get as much of it done as he hoped. Shawn was willing to wait longer, but Trav really wanted to have it ready for him. So he worked nearly every day in AZ and CA to get it done. I love the style. Does anyone recognize what famous painter's style he based it on?

My Artist

His Work

Trav was disappointed that he didn't have time to completely finish it. But I think it turned out beautifully. He's planning on bringing his paints with him next time so he can finalize it the way he wants. I hope he doesn't mind that I'm showing it off anyway.

Oh - and Shawn made a frame for the painting, which looks great.

Now I want a portrait on my wall!

california visit

We arrived in CA Wednesday afternoon. For only a 6 hour drive, we sure were sick of the car. Kapria was thrilled to see Oso. She loves that dog. Well, any dog really.

She had a great time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. My mom and dad took her a few mornings so that Trav and I could sleep in (thank you! you guys are awesome!). Sleeping in was wonderful. It was fun to wake up and wander out to the kitchen to see Kapria sharing breakfast with my dad. One morning she had already gone out with my parents to run an errand, wandered around the yard for awhile, played with Oso, and ridden the tractor. And it really was all before 10am!

Kapria also loves her uncles. She would sit on Mckenon's lap to read him a story every day. And she loved Shawn teasing her and chasing her around. She also helped Abby give Shawn backrubs. Now she's really into giving them, and will pat us on the back all the time. Thanks for teaching her, Abby!


The week was pretty hectic as we got ready for the open house, and as you can see, everyone was pretty worn out.


We went out to breakfast before everyone had to leave town - Abby & Shawn were headed on a cruise for their honeymoon, Abby's parents were headed back to AZ, and the three of us + Mckenon were packing for Utah. So many people to keep the house noisy, and suddenly Mom and Dad will be all alone. Pretend to miss us for a little while please ;o)

As usual, it is nice to get home and back into the routine of things after being gone for awhile. But saying goodbye seems to get harder and harder each time. It's a good thing we'll see everyone in Utah when Mckenon goes on his mission. I do better when leaving if I have a date in the not-too-distant future to look forward to.

Kapria makes living faraway hard, too, by always asking where everyone is. She'll go through the whole list of family she knows:

Where's Grama?

Where's Pa-pa?

Where's Kenon?

Where's Shawn?

Where's Abby?

Where's Yaya?

Where's Kimball?

Where's Bitt?

Where's Kynda?

Where's Mckay?

Where's Kjerstin?

We miss you and love you! We're so glad we got to see you all.

shawn & abby's open house

The Open House in California was gorgeous! Shawn was able to hold it at a friend's home, in their backyard. It was a beautiful, huge yard, with lots of palm trees, green grass, and open space. Mom, Dad, and the whole family worked really hard to put it all together, and it was beautiful.

Saturday, April 25

The Setting

The Family

Unfortunately, I didn't take very many photos. I did get to talk to a lot of people, which was awesome. It was great to be back where I grew up and to see so many friends from "home." I don't realize how much I miss them until I see them. It's so hard to have to move on to new things in life when you love so much what you are leaving. I'm glad we were able to go.

arizona visit

We stayed in Arizona from April 17 to Wednesday April 22. We loved being able to see both our families at once. Mom and Dad Pardini were great and watched Kapria during the reception and one afternoon so Trav and I could go out to lunch. Here are some of the fun things we did in Arizona (after the wedding fun).

Spent Time with the Abreu Family

Went Swimming & Played Outside

Went Miniature Golfing & Out to Dinner

Celebrated Kimball's 14th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Kimball! We're glad we were able to be in town to share the day with you. We love you and think you're such a great brother and uncle. Thanks for always making the time to hang out with us as much as you can. Love you!

_____________

The days in Arizona went too quickly, as usual. We drove to CA on Wednesday morning.

shawn & abby's wedding

The Announcement
Here's the announcement that I put together.
It was a lot of work getting it just right for what Shawn & Abby wanted, but I think it was worth it. They had a vision and we made it happen. I love that!



(And I love the flowers - they're modified from a brush set I bought from my friend Natalie. Thanks, Natalie!)

The Wedding Ceremony
Friday, April 17

The wedding was beautiful and so was Abby!

Family Photos


Poor Tave and Trav weren't feeling well, and Kapria and Weston were done with sitting still by the time the ceremony ended. So we had to be fast to get any pictures. We sure missed Chelsea and her family.

The Reception


We all had a great time dancing, eating, and visiting. (side note: I will never dance with a huge belly like mine again. It was embarrassing...but still fun.)

Opening Gifts
Saturday, April 18


We gathered at Abby's parents' house to watch Shawn & Abby open their wedding gifts. Their items of duplication: tupperware sets (5+) and floor lamps (I believe 4+). I think Trav and I got a whole bunch of George Foreman grills and waffle irons.
No matter - we're all grateful for gifts!

And here's some backyard fun at Abby's house:

easter

We celebrated Easter morning by going to Nicole & Jeff's for brunch. After breakfast, the kids hunted for their baskets. Then we all headed to church together. It was a beautiful day, and we loved spending it with family.

We are grateful to our Savior - that through his atonement and resurrection we can be made perfect and whole again, able to live eternally with our Father in Heaven.

Here are two of my favorite paintings by Liz Lemon Swindle--Christ, and two of his apostles upon hearing that he has been resurrected. Their painting makes me think of what it will be like the day he comes to earth again.

egg hunts

Kapria had a lot of fun hunting for Easter eggs this year. Nicole took her to their neighborhood hunt Friday when I was at work. Then Trav and I took her to our ward Easter celebration.

What fun!

march madness

I've added most of what we did the last few weeks of March, including visits from Trav's family, bathtime fun, and party times.

You can click HERE to read all about it.

A few more March posts to come...


Enjoy!

we miss you

About two months ago, Trav was hired by a man in our ward to work with him on the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. Roy does decorative painting and gold leafing on the ceilings and has done many temples. We were excited for the job, and overall it has been a great opportunity for Trav.

However, this being the last week for them to complete their work, they have been gone for long, long hours. For the past two months, Trav leaves for work at 6:30 am and arrives home anytime between 6:30 and 8:30 pm. Usually it's just in time to play with Kapria for 20 minutes or so, then I put her to bed while he eats dinner.



This week I don't think he's been home before 9pm. Kapria hasn't seen him since Monday night, since she goes to bed before then and wakes up after Trav is gone.

We miss him a lot.

We are both grateful for work in such hard times, and we're a little nervous about what comes next now that the job is ending. But Heavenly Father continues to bless us, and we know that it will all work out somehow.

And in the meantime, I'm excited to get to see my husband a little more very soon.

the hat

Nicole made this adorable hat to sell in her etsy shop,
and Kapria got to model in it.

I really should just buy it.
It's adorable!

happy birthday kjerstin!

We hope it's a great day! We wish we could be there to celebrate with you.

things we love about you:

you're easy to talk with
you're always willing to try new things
you have a great sense of style
you are a peacemaker
you really listen
you're fun to be with









things we wish you:

a dream vacation
painted walls
more trips to Utah
a one-time unlimited shopping spree
a baby girl (someday)

We love you!