Joel's new job asked him to go to McLean, Virginia to do some training, so we felt like it would be a great opportunity to go back and visit Northern VA (NOVA), especially since we hadn't been back since we last moved down, right after Avery was born. So that was over 3 years ago, that's a long time!!

While we were there we stayed at Windsor where I used to work and got to see all of the changes at Shirlington. It was surreal for me because I remembered visiting all of the shops and restaurants when I was pregnant with Avery and here I was visiting now with 2 children, those are pretty big changes.

We also got to see some amazing people, a few of my previous residents who I adored and our favorite Grillo girls, some of my old coworkers at HCMW and Windsor, and one of Joel's groomsmen, Mike.

Aside from rushing to leave shortly after Trick-or-Treating, the trip was amazing!! It made me miss living there, but only for a minute, then we were stuck in the usual traffic and I remembered there's no way I would have been able to be a stay-at-home mom if we were still up there.

But here are a few of our favorite pics from the trip! Enjoy!!!

Grandmom and Papa Bullock came down to North Carolina to check out some houses in the area. In case you didn't know they've been thinking of moving so they can be closer to the grandchildren and we're pretty excited about the prospect of having family close by. While they were in town we had a little bit of time to spend with them, it's never enough.

If you read my MommyB Knows Best blog (and you should if you're not!!), you'll know that this past weekend we visited Asheville, NC for a blog conference. Joel was an amazing husband and brought the girls and me so that I could attend the conference (since Colbie's still not taking the bottle.)

The conference was on Friday, so we decided that Saturday we'd enjoy Asheville as we ventured home. We got to see a lot of great places including a very Biltmore-esque Grove Park Inn. We got a peek inside the resort and it was beautiful. Maybe someday we'll save enough to actually stay there!! While we were there we also visited some of the cool museums and art studios, it was so eclectic and fun, I kind of wished we lived there, but I know the nutty-crunchy inhabitants would probably scoff at my disposable diapers and mini-van *LOL*

Here are some pictures of fun, art, and cars in Grove Park:

 After our adventures in the Grove Park area we drove around and found some local joints for lunch and dessert :) We enjoyed the New York Deli Style feel of Circle in the Square where we ate some yummy sandwiches and Avery enjoyed a Boar's Head hot dog. Then, we HAD to try out this fun ice cream shop, I'd heard all about it on Twitter so we went a couple of doors down to The Hop. The Hop is a very hip ice cream shop, they make their own ice cream, serve non-dairy ice cream and other tasty treats including organic ginger ale! Such a super friendly place and great stop for kiddos if you're visiting or passing by. Check out Joel's homemade Banana Pudding:

Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's been forever since I've written on the blog. I have to say it's much harder to get family bloggy time with the two girls now, and the fact that my mom blog http://www.mommybknowsbest.com has blown up, (in a good way.)

So needless to say the blog here has suffered for a few months, but we're going to start from current day and work our way back to where we left off. (Don't ask why I'm saying we since, well everyone knows I blog on here 99.9% of the time.) Guess that's because I have so much to say. Anyway we hope you enjoy lots of fun posts and we promise to be at least a little better!!

Love,
 Jenn, Joel, Avery, and Colbie

After Joel went back to work I was so nervous to take care of the girls all on my own. I did a pretty good job if I don't say so myself, but it seemed that that was the week that all the visitors stopped coming too, so not only was I stuck at home (still weaning off the pain meds that I couldn't drive on while taking,) but I was lonely because no one was visiting. So when my mom and sister Hayley came to visit it was a much needed "vacation" at home.

Avery loves her big Aunt Hayley especially since mommy couldn't be "rough" and play too much. Hayley's just the right age (almost 13), to still want to play with Avery, but at the same time know how to help her and be patient with her too. Avery got a chance to play in her homemade "tent", party with her stuffed animals, and get some fun books read to her. We even convinced Hayley to sit at the kids table with Avery one lunch, what a good Aunt!

It seems like each Easter we not only get a visit from the Easter Bunny himself, but also family. This year we were able to enjoy the company of Joel's mom and dad. This was their first opportunity to meet little baby Colbie. With Joel's dad being a teacher they had to wait until his spring break to visit. Boy did we have a great time with them!

I was still recovering from my c-section when they had arrived so they were a lot of help. Joel's mom made us some great meals and helped with cleaning and small chores around the house. That's right I actually let someone help me around the house, I guess I must have been in pain :) Seriously, it was a huge relief not to worry about all of that and just focus on getting better and hanging out with the girls and Joel and his parents. Avery loved having both of her grandparents here, we only get to see them so often since they are in Virginia.

Joel's dad was able to help us out in the lawn care department with a "new to us," lawnmower. Which Avery LOVED and called her mowercycle. Here are a few pictures of her and daddy riding it.

We also had to make some fence adjustments, luckily Joel's dad is a shop teacher and has so many great skills on hand. Colbie also loved his singing talents as he sang her to sleep.


One of the ladies in our mom's group sent Aves a little baggy filled with Easter goodies, check this fun bunny mask out. She looked A-dorable!



Joel hid some plastic eggs in the backyard and Joel, Grandmom, and Avery had a great time looking for all of the multi-colored eggs. We also had a couple of small baskets for the girls, this Easter was pretty low-key though because our new little miss was with us. Most importantly we enjoyed celebrating the fact that Jesus rose from the grave, what an amazing God we have!

Wow where has the time gone? In August we were announcing that we were going to be parents again, and now we have 4 more days until baby Colbie makes her entrance into the world. We've been trying to make sure the house is clean and as organized as possible to make bringing home baby less stressful.

We've also been trying to have fun and enjoy being a family of three. We had out last dinner out the other night, and Avery has been tearing off paper chain links since 15 days before Colbie's birth day. Can you believe we're already down to 4???

Wow has time really flown, we only have 2 more weeks until Colbie joins the Bullock family. It's insane this time around how fast things have gone and before we know it we'll be a family of four.

We've been preparing for Colbie's arrival setting up friends and family to come help us with Avery and recovery in general and my mom's group has amazingly offered to make some meals for our family as well. Again, super blessed.

Well, what have we been up to??

Recently I became a member of our church, Christ Community Church because I know it will be much harder to attend the 3.5 hour session once little girl comes. I've also been trying to make sure all closets, pantry, storage areas, and rooms are as organized as possible. I can be particular in the way I want things but it really does help save me time and energy if I know where everything is or can at least describe it to others.

All the baby clothes are washed and it really is crazy holding them up and being reminded of baby Avery. It seems like so long ago!!

Not only are we trying to get ready for Colbie, but I'm trying to do a few things to prepare for Easter and Avery's 3rd birthday because again, I know it will be much harder once the baby is here. We will definitely not be holding one of our huge kid birthday parties this year, but I think Avery will have a blast regardless. I still can't believe she'll be 3 although at times she acts much older.

Avery has been a computer wiz these days, she loves Sprout Online and Hooked on Phonics and is able to use the mousepad and type all by herself. We're very impressed, then again look at her web daddy and blogging parents :)

So it's been a while since we've had a family update post, I figured it'd be nice since there are a lot of great things going on in our lives.

Joel has been working on his blog doing a bunch of different things including attending to his new blog Theme Park Syndicate (in case you haven't already checked it out.)

Jenn is getting ready for Colbie to arrive, getting all of Avery's baby clothes washed and folded to go into the nursery. Colbie is doing great, at our appointment on February 4th her heart rate was 151 and the doctors said she's doing great. They even told us we'll be able to pick a date for our scheduled c-section. How exciting and weird.

Avery has been doing an amazing job, learning how to spell her name, and doing great with knowing her letters through Hooked on Phonics. She's a letter crazy lady now!

We've had a little bit of snow here and there and Avery really enjoys being outside these days when we get the chance.

Here are a few of the latest pictures from our lives, enjoy!!