5 on 5 and Family Update

I'm not sure if you remember but I wanted to do a new thing this year called "5 on 5."

Five pictures on the fifth day of each month.

I forgot last month.

And today I haven't felt like taking pictures and Avery wasn't really in the mood.

See...

Avery did cheer up after her bath so I snapped a few pictures then...

To make up for the lack of pictures today,

I will share some pictures I took of the girls yesterday...

And now some pictures from our recent adventures...

Last week we went to the Botanical Gardens.

It was gorgeous and sunny!

Oh, I love spring in Albuquerque!

So does Lexi, she gets so excited every time she sees a tree with flowers on it.

Or just flowers in general.

At the Botanical Gardens there is a little farm section with some animals.

There were a bunch of bunnies just wondering around.

Here's a pictures of Lexi chasing one.

It was Sean's idea.

And some more pictures from the gardens...

This past weekend was our church's General Conference.

We have a tradition of getting treats before the first session on Saturday.

This year we decided to get Costco muffins and croissants.

I snapped some pictures at Costco.

Lexi already seems embarrassed by me...

Eating while watching conference.

Recently my life has consisted of bows.

Tomorrow night I'm going to be teaching the Young Women how to make bows.

I've been spending weeks getting ready.

I even recently started a Facebook group called, "Beautiful Bows" where women can share pictures and tutorials.

And here's a picture of me modeling a jean bow I made with pearls.

Love it!

And just for fun a recent picture of Sean and Avery.

And speaking of Avery...

She took her first steps today!

She also got her first blooding nose today.

The two were not related.

And three out of the last four nights Avery has sleep through the night! HIP HIP HURRAY!!!

FINALLY!!!

Also, I've officially began planning her first birthday party.

I can't believe this little girl is going to be one in three weeks!

What We've Been Up To - Sickness and Spring

Two weekends ago we bought a membership to our local Zoo/Aquarium/Botanical Gardens.

So any time this next year Lexi and I and any adult guess can go "free" of charge.

And since we actually bought it we have almost gone enough to have it already paid for.

Here are some pictures from the zoo...

Lexi wanted a picture with this elephant. Whatever. She's two.

Next, is a picture of me and the girls on the train.

We decided to ride the train around the zoo.

Let me just say, don't ride the train for the view.

You just ride behind all the exhibits.

But Lexi just enjoyed riding the train.

Sean and Lexi posing with some lions.

For Lexi's first birthday we took her to the Idaho Falls Zoo and bought her a lion.
Little did we know, that that lion would become her post prized item.
We are trying to encourage her to love other lions.
So we bought her this guy at the zoo gift shop.

Trip to the Aquarium #1...


Trip to the Aquarium #2...
This time with Emily and Folken.
Avery and Folken rode in our double stroller and pointed at all the fish.
So adorable!



We also went to the Bio Park. We hadn't been there since we went to the River of Lights.
It is so cool in the day!
Here are the babies in front of the castle...



There is a section we're you walk around and everything is huge!
I think it's supposed to make you feel like a bug?



Lexi riding an ant.

And a picture of all the Christensen chicas!

(I think my girls look a lot a like in this picture. Maybe it's the blonde hair and squinty eyes?)

Lexi walking through a giant carrot...

If you hadn't guess by the pictures, spring as sprung here in Albuquerque!

There are blossoms on the trees and flowers!

I'm so in love with this sunny 70 degree weather.

We went and walked around the temple grounds yesterday and Lexi smelt all the flowers...

I have loved taking the girls on walks everyday.

They love it too, despite what Lexi's face looks like in this picture...

Spring = Sunshine

Sunshine = Sunglasses

I just can't get enough of this adorable little face!

Avery just keeps getting cuter!

Spring + Sunshine = Warm Weather

Warm Weather = Swimming!

Yes, I know there is actually no water in the pool in this picture.

Spring hasn't been all fun here though.

Two Sundays ago, Lexi started throwing up in the middle of the night.

She threw up ALL Sunday and had a really high fever.

We were starting to get REALLY worried that she'd have to go to the hospital for dehydration.

She couldn't even keep liquids down.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, she went back and forth

between having diarrhea and throwing up.

Sunday and Monday, it seemed that Lexi had NO life left in her. She didn't talk much.

She didn't move much. It was SO unlike her.

But slowly she got more energy.

And as of last Thursday she has been able hold down her food.

Having a sing child is the WORST thing ever!

And that's why we were so upset when Avery threw up TWICE this past Saturday.

Luckily, she didn't have a fever and she was SO cheery. She didn't even seem sick.

So whatever she had seemed to pass quickly.

Happily we have two happy, healthy, beautiful little girls!

Here are some pictures Sean took of me and the girls before church yesterday...

Avery makes the cutest scrunched nose face.

I just love her in this next picture...

And in case you were wondering what crafts I've been up to lately...

More Barbie Bride's Maids' dresses...

I'm also getting ready to teach the young women at church how to make bows.

I will be doing a post about that soon with LOTS of tutorials.

I'm Famous!

"Modest is Hottest - Even for Dolls?"

That's the name of the article my friend Ailinh (pronounced "eye-lean") wrote about me and the girls in Latter Day Woman Magazine.

Ailinh used to work with me at the Student Health Center on the BYU-I campus

and then was my neighbor for years in Rexburg.

Her two sons are supposed to marry my two daughters.

Now she lives in Utah and write for the magazine.
She's one of the funniest people I know. And I was excited when she asked to write this article.

Thanks again for writing this Ailinh. It was a lot of fun working with you!

Click HERE to see the article.

And go ahead and leave a comment and let Ailinh what an amazing job see did!

12 Dresses

If you're wondering what I did this weekend, well this is it...

I sewed my first Barbie clothes collection.

I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

I'm really, really excited about these dresses that I completed with sleeves.

Thank you to my beautiful models - Belle, Beach Barbie and Cinderella.

Next on my list is skirts and shirts.

And later Lexi and I are going to go to Joann's and pick out some fabric for bridal Barbie clothes!

New Wardrobe

I've decided that Lexi's Barbie's new some new clothes. So I "whipped" these up this morning. I have several more dresses "in the works" and have even decided that I want to sew a Barbie wedding dress. I'm feeling adventurous and Lexi is so excited!

I used this tutorial for the dresses.

Valentines Day - Homemade Decor

We really had no Valentine decor besides a wreath I made last year. So this year I took matters into my own hands and get my craft on...

Craft #1 - These adorable Valentine Chair Backers (click here to see tutorial)

The one on the left is Lexi and the one on the right is Avery.

It's hard to tell but the fabrics are a little different.

These bags are like little back packs for chairs.

Below is a picture of the surprises we got Lexi (some dresses for the little princess dolls she collects, a princess poster, another princess sing-a-long DVD and a Little Critter Valentine book)

Craft #2: This festive "banner." These are all over blog land. I finally decided to make one of my own. I love how it turned out so much that I've already started making one for St. Patrick's Day.

There are several tutorials out there.

Click here to see one.

And in case you're like me and not a fancy sewer than perhaps you don't know what

bias tape is or how to sew it.

So look here at this tutorial.
(I case you're wondering, bias tape is that long white strip of fabric.)

Craft #3 - This cute little LOVE sign (click here to see tutorial).

And a close up.

I also made some of my own Valentine subway art but forgot to take a picture. Oh well. Maybe you'll see it next year.