Avery's Surprise Tooth

Back in September, there was a period of two weeks when Avery would get so fussy and inconsolable every night that the only thing that would quiet her down was a walk outside. I figured she was teething at the time because she also had a little fever. As time went on, she stopped fussing and we got busy with moving, so I didn't think much about it.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving week. We had Nathan's brother Jason and his family here. While they were here, Ashley, my three year-old niece was playing with Avery and said, "Aunt Jelaire, Avery has a white thing in her mouth." "Ohhh, that's nice," I replied in that classic I'm-not-paying-attention-to-you-but-I'm-tricking-you-into-thinking-I-am voice. I had no clue what she was talking about. To me it was just three-year-old gibberish. Here's Ash doing the dishes at our place.


Later that night, Jasmin, my sister-in-law said, "Hey Jelaire, did you see that Avery has a tooth?" Here's Jaz and Avery!

A tooth? The first thought that crossed my mind was, "But she's still a BABY! She can't have a tooth yet!" I was shocked. I always imagined Avery's first tooth as one of those milestones that would be so obvious, I'd have to be blind to miss it. I went to check, and sure enough, her little tooth was sticking way up out of her little pink gums. My guess is that it had been there since that September fussiness stopped!

It made me kind of sad to realize that I had missed such an important moment. I know it's not a huge deal and she'll have plenty of other teeth, but it definitely made me stop and think about taking time to notice and savor the little things while she's young (we now lovingly call her "Savory Avery"). It was the first time I had felt that Avery was really growing up. Images of her with a full-toothed smile flashed in my head. That feeling I had made me want to try even more to never again let those little moments slip by.

Sometimes I get so caught up in things, when they could wait 5 minutes so we can have some good ol' Momma and Avery time. I was really grateful for this little "aha moment." Since then, I've had to consciously pry myself away (more than once) from the less important stuff to just have some good ol' uninterrupted Mom and Avery time. I love it and it has made me a little less stressed with life.

I now religiously check her mouth every day for more teeth. :) And to my surprise, she cut a new tooth on Wednesday night right next to her first one! Yay!

I included a picture of how she usually sleeps. It's so funny! She sucks her thumb and puts her other hand over her eye. She likes to have a little bit of the blanket in each hand, too!

The Sunday school lesson that went awry

Whether you go to church or not, I think you'll enjoy this story, especially if you've ever tried to explain a piece of literature to adolescents.

Two summers ago, my responsibility on Sundays was to teach a class of about a dozen twelve-year-old boys. On this particular Sunday, the lesson in the manual was on honoring womanhood and treating women with respect. I decided to start with a little symbolism from the Bible, just to get their little craniums chugging. Then I wanted to brainstorm some ways they can show respect for the ladies in their lives.

I had an adult co-teacher (I'll call him Steve), the father of one of the boys in the room. He's a great guy, and I usually appreciated the thoughts he would interject periodically into the discussion. But on this day, for some reason, our brains just weren't clicking in unison.

Adam's prime rib

Since we were talking about honoring women, I thought it would be fun to explain the symbolism of Adam's rib. I had the boys pull out their Bibles and read that passage about the creation of Eve.

²¹The Lord God ... took one of [Adam's] ribs. ... ²²And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
    ²³And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.
    ²⁴Therefore shall a man ... cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:21–24)

Now, whether or not you believe the Eden story literally, it undoubtedly has several allegorical lessons to offer. I wanted these boys to understand the lesson this story teaches about how men should regard women—not as superiors or inferiors, but as equals. Hence the rib—since it is from Adam's side, not above or below him. Getting twelve-year-olds to think figuratively, though, was harder than I thought, especially when they get derailed by the co-teacher. :-)

I said, "So guys, why do you think it says Eve was created from Adam's rib?"

They started thinking about it, and I even think some were about to suggest some symbolic meanings. Then Steve spoke up, "You know, boys, this is why, to this day, men have one fewer ribs than women."

When someone brings folklore like that into a lesson, usually you correct it. But I didn't—partly because on the spot I couldn't immediately think of how to phrase my correction without possibly embarrassing a fellow adult leader. But also, this particular folklore isn't a big deal, and I didn't want to take away time from the point of the lesson. So I just went on: "What could this story be teaching us? Why doesn't it say, 'Eve was created from Adam's foot'?" I wanted to get them focused back on the symbolism.

But the damage was already done—they were completely thinking literally now. I can imagine their thought process: Well, since making her from Adam's rib means he was missing a rib for the rest of his life, I guess making her from Adam's foot means ... One boy hesitantly said, "Because then he would only have one foot?"

Nuts. I tried to get them out of the Rut of Literalness. "Well, no. It's because your foot is from the bottom of your body. That would imply that Adam was above Eve—that he was better than her or more important than her. See how it's symbolic?" Try again. "So why doesn't it say, 'Eve was created from Adam's hair'?"

Another boy offered helpfully, "Because then he would be bald?"

I mentally slapped my forehead. I was no good at teaching this! "Well, no. It's because your hair is from the top of your body. That would imply that Adam was beneath Eve—that he was worse than her or less important than her. You see?"

I think a few boys were able to leave the concrete long enough to understand this way of interpreting the story, but several were still completely in the dark. I gave up my clumsy attempts at explaining symbolism and suddenly appreciated how good my high school English teachers were at doing it.

What women want

I told the boys about a time when I was preparing a lesson a few years ago to give to a class full of single college guys. As part of my preparation, I called four girls (my sister, my cousin Stephanie, and two former girlfriends) and asked them what they looked for in a guy. They had lots of interesting things to say. One interesting fact is that each of them, independently of each other, said something like this: "I look for how he treats girls he's not interested in. Does he only open doors for the cute girls, or does he open them for any girl, regardless of whether he thinks she's attractive?"

"Hey, that's interesting," said Steve. "Are you boys paying attention?"

We discussed why that would be, and the boys understood that we should treat all women with respect, not just because we hope to get something out of it, like favors, social approval, or a date.

Then we started making a list on the chalkboard of "How We Can Show Respect for Women." The boys chimed in with several ideas, and I was really pleased with what they were sharing. One boy said, "We can pick up her books for her if she drops them in the hall at school."

"Right!" I said. And then to reinforce the earlier principle, I asked, "Now, should we only pick up the books for the pretty girls?"

"No!" several said.

"That's right!" said Steve, my adult co-teacher.

"And why should we pick up the books for just any girl who happens to drop them?" I almost closed my eyes, puffed out my chest, and smiled expectantly, waiting for verbal proof that my lesson had been thoroughly understood by these, the noble men of our future.

Before the boys could answer, Steve wagged his fingers at the boys and explained, "Because the pretty girls might be watching."

I wanted to slap my forehead again. I felt like a deflated balloon. I opened my mouth a few times, trying to be diplomatic. Finally I said almost apologetically, "Well, actually, I was going to say, it's because she's a woman, and that's reason enough to treat her with respect."

Steve furrowed his brow thoughtfully and cocked his head. Then he leaned back and said in his slow, deep voice, "Hey guys, that is a way better answer than mine."

I couldn't help but laugh helplessly at what did and didn't come across during my lesson. I suppose as long as they learned something, then that's progress, right? :-)

Me + Nathan + Jungle Gym = Fun

When Nathan and I became managers of the trailer park, one of the first things we were told to do was to find a reasonably-priced jungle gym, buy it, disassemble it from its current location, transport it, and reassemble it in the trailer park. Easier said than done. It took us 2 months of weekends and weekdays to finally get the thing put up. This is a pic of it before we disassembled it.

But, you know which part took us the longest? Leveling the ground. I know! Who woulda thunk, eh?

I was so anxious just to get the thing done I was just flinging the grass I had dug up over my shoulder into the lot of dirt nearby. Nathan was nice enough to take the grass that I flung, turn it right-side up, and line it up next to the other grass chunks in the dirt lot. Then he went and got a pitcher of water from inside the house to water the grass so that it would hopefully take root in the spring. I felt guilty for being so careless with the grass. I'm a grass killer.

Jason, Nathan's brother, helped us assemble the jungle gym while he and his family were visiting from Idaho. We actually got it done before it snowed! THANK YOU, JASON!




The trailer park kids love it and it's so fun to watch them play on it! Yesterday, a few of the little girls got their shovels and were shoveling the snow around the jungle gym. It was so cute, but I unfortunately didn't get a picture until after they were done!
Also, I think I have officially turned into a stalker. Every time I see kids playing on it, I can't help but just sit there and stare at them from our kitchen window. It's a nice feeling knowing we were able to contribute a little something to the trailer park. And it's a nice feeling to know what it feels like to be a stalker.

Trailer park dialects

A few weeks ago, before Halloween, a little boy and his younger sister knocked on our door. The little girl asked Jelaire, "Do you have any coksipples?"

Her brother helpfully clarified, in a very mature tone, "She means pocksickles."

Jelaire answered both honestly and conveniently, "Nope."

My Victory Over the Curtains

Once upon a time there was a girl named Jelaire. She was in her sixth grade Family and Consumer Science class when each person in the class had to pick a pattern for a pillow to sew. She picked the easiest design to sew: the boxing glove-shaped pillow. The description said that it "teaches practical sewing skills while building self-esteem, reading, and math skills." "Cool," she thought. She knew this would be a breeze.

Much to her dismay, she had such a difficult time sewing the darn thing that she was the only one in her entire class who had to stay after every day to finish it. But the point is is that she DID finish it. After much blood, sweat, and tears, she realized that sewing wasn't worth it and vowed never to do it again. After the pillow was completed, she lived happily ever after...until fifteen years later when she thought she may have to sew again.
To this day, Jelaire has horrible flashbacks when she thinks about sewing. The picture above is a picture of exactly what the pillow looked like (except my initials were on the front).

Well, I tried something that was extremely out-of-my league these past few weeks: I tried to be a creative, but frugal housewife. NOT very easy for someone who has next to ZERO cutesy-creative skills.

When we moved in, every window in the house already had curtain tracks installed above them. We figured, "Hey, why don't we just save money by buying curtains that already can go onto the curtain tracks instead of removing the curtain tracks, buying, and installing different curtain rods?"

Well, AFTER we got the curtains we liked at Walmart for $100 ($25/panel), we realized that because the curtain track was mounted so high on the wall (just below the ceiling), the curtains came to an end about 9 inches off of the ground! It made our living room window and sliding-glass door look like they were wearing high-waters. Very ugly. There had to be an easy way to extend our curtains to the ground, so I checked online. Unfortunately the only thing I could find entailed adding fabric to the curtain, which I did not want to do. Too little time, and too few skills!

Some of the ideas required a sewing machine, but we don't have one of those either. Heck, let's be honest. Even if I did have one, it's not like I'd know how to use the thing.So sewing was out of the question. Don't they say that necessity breeds creativity? Well, it's true. We had gone over a month without curtains in our living room, so here's what we did, and I really liked how it turned out for the price we paid!

1. We installed the pin-hooks onto our curtains.
Our curtains were very sheer/thin up top, and we were afraid that the weight of the curtains would tear through the pins. To reinforce the curtains, we cut up some old fabric and glued it, then ironed it to where we stuck the pins through. We used Liquid Thread, which I got at JoAnn Fabric for like $6 (I think the Liquid Thread glue would normally have worked but our fabric was too sheer, so we gave up on the gluing/ironing part).



2. I bought 2 types of black chain from Lowe's: 1. A bigger swag-type chain, and a smaller, cuter weave-type chain.

We just used pliers to connect them together.

















3. We used fishing line to tie the sliding curtain tracks together because the little plastic tracks would get stuck when we opened and closed the curtains.

So how much money did we really save? Before we had decided what to do, we went to J.C. Penney to see what would cost less. Here was our verdict. Buying the 2 new curtain rods, 4 pinch-pleated curtain panels came out to about $250-$300. Using the curtain tracks already in our house and just buying the chain and curtains came to $140! That means we saved about $150-$250 and I didn't even have to sew! I still haven't had to sew since sixth grade. Victory! Take that, Boxing Glove-Shaped Pillow!

Our New Addition!

No, I didn't just have another baby. But our new "addition" is almost as good! We just moved in my grandmother's beautiful Kawai studio grand piano to our house! My grandmother (the one whom I'm named after) passed away in July. The piano belonged to her and ever since I began taking lessons at age 5, I always looked forward to playing it when we'd take our annual vacations to Utah. I have so many sweet memories associated with this piano and with my grandmother!

I was a little nervous when I saw the piano movers bringing it down the ramp. They said that this piano wasn't nearly as heavy as some of the other ones the same size, though. I'm glad at least they were confident and knew what they were doing.

Almost there...

A tight corner...

Removing it from the glorified skateboard...

Putting the legs on and lifting it up! That's gotta do some not-so-good things to your back after a while!

Attaching the pedals & a few last adjustments...

And...Ta Da!

I love it!!! I played it ALL day today! I'm a little rusty, but I'm hoping to remedy that. :)

Avery's Ticklish Spot

It has become an evening tradition to squeeze Avery's legs when we are changing her into her pajamas. For some reason she has always been ticklish on her legs! I freaking love her little laugh.


Nathan is such a great dad! He'll watch Avery after church most Sundays so I can take a nap. I came into the living room after my nap one Sunday afternoon and had to capture the moment.


Now that we are almost all settled in to our house, I've had more time to spend with Nathan and Avery without worrying about unpacking and getting things done. I love it! The next thing I'm looking forward to doing is decorating for Christmas! :)

Our “New” Groovy House!

Nathan and I have moved four times in the year and a half that we have been married. We’ve loved the places we’ve lived in, but now we have found a place that can be as permanent or temporary as we want!

We came across an awesome deal that will let us rent a house for a great price because—get this—we now manage a trailer park!! We really don’t mind for the price we pay. Plus, we’ve already had so many encounters and stories to tell. The house even has benches and a fire pit in the backyard!



I’m sure this house was state-of-the art back in the day, but it needed a little updating to say the least. The walls were just painted before we moved in. Everything else (tiling and carpet) we get to do! Check it out:

It’s complete with orange creamsicle carpet with our fireplace,

orange shag carpet in the basement,

green shag carpet & hanging lamps for our bedroom,

brown carpet in the KITCHEN (eww),

and very psychedelic curtains! (We replaced these.)

This room's carpet had a little bit of every other room's carpet in it. The previous owners must have been pretty thrifty and creative.

It even came with a radio/intercom that can be broadcast throughout the whole house!

We LOVE all the space it has though! Now we have enough room to have family or friends over!

Jelaire Avery & Halloween 2009

AVERY finally came if you haven’t heard! (We call her by her middle name so we don’t get confused.) She’s so fun! She came on May 29th and was 6 lbs. 8 oz. (and 19″ long if I remember right).



I actually really, really, REALLY like being a mom! I know, I know—who'da thunk, right? But I’m glad to say that I DO! She is an awesome baby and has been sleeping through the night (at least 8 hours) since she was 6 weeks old! She's such a great baby and rarely cries!

I have lots of catching up to do, so here goes! Since my first post, I finally graduated with my masters in social work from BYU (lots of miracles happened to make this a reality) and moved twice. Hence the lack of bloggage. But yay for not having any more school! Now I’m a full-time mama. Plus I love not being sick 24/7. I guess I’ll just jump in with current news!

We went to our ward (congregation) Halloween party and we got to dress her up as a PINK BEAR!!! She is really ferocious if you can't tell from the picture. We told her to growl and frown at people, but she just wouldn't listen!

I had to run some errands that day, so I just decided to leave her in her costume. It was entertaining to hear everyone ogling over her exquisite cuteness. And ya know, I never quite get sick of it! Just to let you know, I promise that the rest of my posts will not be quite so bragful. I'm hoping to get it all out in this one!

Nathan was Frodo/Samwise from LOTR and I was a pirate. He’s had so many people tell him he looks like Sean Astin (the actor who plays Samwise), it was only fitting he be a hobbit!! He also had several people ask him why he didn't dress up for Halloween. Haha! I loved Halloween this year. I didn't get to dress up last year because I was so sick. I managed to barely get out of bed and I got to walk up a street for Halloween last year...and that was the HIGHLIGHT of my day! So, I'm grateful that this year we got to go out and actually do some fun things!

I’ve decided that it’s much easier to keep a blog when there’s a cute little baby to blog about! I LOVE my little family and can’t wait to share more with everyone!

Getting to Know the Toilet

I've made a new friend in the last 7 or so weeks. Ms. Porcelain and I have become very close ... a little too close, maybe. That's right. I'm pregnant! And with that comes all the joys that pregnancy brings.



I have been attacked by a bad case of nausea (the fancy medical term is hyperemesis gravidarum if you get bored enough to look it up). How bad, you ask? Well, pretty much whenever I stand up or even sit up! Stats say that about every 1 in 200 or 300 women get sick this bad. So, that's left me in bed for the last seven weeks. I was so dehydrated a couple weeks ago that I had to visit the hospital a few days apart because I couldn't keep anything down. They pumped me full of fluids and Zofran and sent me home. I always feel much better afterwards for at least a couple of days.

It has made school a bit of a challenge. But luckily my professors are understanding! I'm supposed to graduate in April. ... I just wonder how I'm supposed to make up all the 2+ months of internship hours I've missed. Frankly, I don't know. I just know that Heavenly Father has some cute little Jelaires and Nathans he wants to send us and that we had to get going! (I mean, c'mon—Nathan's thirty. He's not getting any younger ...) I figure everything will work out eventually. I'll let Heavenly Father work out the details of school. :)