Turning 6

Whit is turning 6 on Christmas morning. I had a little friend party for her yesterday. The theme was snow and they decorated snowflakes, made snowglobes, ate hotdogs with mashed potatoes and cheese on top and fruit dipped in yogurt (the mashed potatoes and yogurt were the snow...work with me). Anyhow, as you can see in the top picture, Whit was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.

Snow Much Fun

I finally posted another blog! I haven't been in the best of health lately, plus all the holidays...it's set me back a bit. Anyway, we had our first snow that actually stuck last week. This is Belle's first time playing in the snow (well, last year, but she could hardly walk in the snow). I took a picture of her first reaction being outside in the cold, but regardless of what this picture portrays, she did enjoy herself. Whit loves the snow and wants to play out there everyday.

Dinosaur Drama

My parents came to Vernal to visit on Friday and Saturday, so we decided to go to a dinosaur museum. Whitney, of course, loved it! As you can tell from the photos, she was very much in character with the statues. Belle, on the other hand, was traumatized. She saw the mammoth and I had to console her for every other dinosaur that we came to. I told her they were silly toys, but she still refused to take pictures near them. After, I bought them both a toy dinosaur and Belle just loves hers. She says "Stegasauras is sad" and will give it kisses. She actually sounds it out perfectly. She talks really well for 2-year-old.

Halloween

The girls had a lot of fun this year. Belle is supposed to be Minnie Mouse, but refused to wear the mouse ears. The other picture of Whitney is the costume for school. The kids are not allowed to dress up for Halloween at school, so they had a vocabulary parade from a book the school children were encouraged to read. We had to pick one of the words from the book, then place the word and definition on them. If you cannot tell, Whitney is a scribble.

Smiley

Well, Abby finally decided to sit up. She was so funny when I tried to get her to do it before because she would straighten her body and refused to try. She loves it now and sits for almost an hour just playing with her big sisters.

We finally got in the internet at our new/old house. This small town stuff is hard to get used to again because some things just take longer...like the internet. I felt like I was out of touch with the world for weeks. We're enjoying the house, though. It was built in 1898, but has been renovated a bit....except for the no closet, no pantry issue. The house has lots of character and we know it's temporary. Whit and Belle are missing all their little friends. There are not any little ones around us, but there is the Library and a nice big park across the street.

YIKES!

Okay, so I was bringing my groceries in from the garage at night. I turned on the light in the garage and noticed this HUGE spider that was coming into the garage. I honestly have never seen a spider that big in person before (not counting the zoo). The spider stopped for a while and I grabbed Abby and the last of the groceries and pulled the garage door down as fast as I could. I was just hoping that it couldn't squeeze under the door. Judy, my sister-in-law, came shortly after to drop Whit and Belle off and I told her about the spider. She called me a few minutes after she left and told me that as she was pulling out of the garage, the spider started chasing after her headlights. She stopped the car, pulled out some sort of spray from the back and killed him! Hurray!!! She totally saved me. I think I would have kept the girls and I in the house for days after because I would be afraid of seeing it...or it seeing me. The next morning I walked out to the driveway to see it....YUCK! It was even hairy. I hurried and took a picture of it next to a pencil to reveal its size (after being crumpled up from death) and I can't look at it anymore.

Wedding Weekend

My sister, Becky, joined the club of wedded bliss on Saturday. The wedding turned out nice. I was in the wedding because I was the Maid of Honor. Five minutes before the wedding was to start, Belle informed me that she needed to potty (this only happens when we're not at home...) and I decided to hurry and take her. I had forgotten that I had duct taped her diaper on earlier for her nap so she couldn't remove it. She went potty, but the diaper was ruined from the tape and I didn't bring another one with me to the restroom. I pulled the diaper up thinking that it would stay until I could get back to the cultural hall. I walked in and the whole group was waiting on me to start the wedding!! Not only that, but Belle had her diaper around her ankles. My sister-in-law, Mariann, saved me and took Belle to fix the situation. After the ceremony, I picked up Abby for a while and was putting her down when she spit-up all down my dress. By that time, I had to pose for some pictures. Then, Abby bombed me again when we had the family picture. Then, at the dinner, Belle dumped water all over my lap. I just had to laugh! I'm glad all that happened to me and not Becky. (The bottom picture is of Belle wearing my heals as we were cleaning up the gym).

"Memory Game"

So, I am participating in the "Memory Game." Here are the instructions:

1. Leave a comment about a memory that you have of me and/or my family
2. Post the same instructions on your blog and I can leave a memory about you.

Happy Birthday

I turned 31 on Thursday. Steve was able to come home that night from work and he and the girls left the house for a couple of hours to put together a little party for me. Whit was more excited about the party than anyone and was just beaming when she handed me my dozen red roses. They also bought me this cake and a beautiful silver box. For those of you that may have missed my special day, I still accept cash or check - HA!! Anyhow, it turned out to be a fun day and I am grateful to have a husband that makes sure that my day is well celebrated.

Kindergarten Kid

Whitney started her first day of Kindergarten this morning. She was a bit upset that I drove her to school instead of having her ride the bus, but she rode the bus home. I'm not quite sure how the day went: when I asked her if she made any new friends, she said yes, but she doesn't know her name. When I asked her what they did, she said the teacher read a book. That was that! Little kids are so funny sometimes. I know she had a great time. Belle wasn't quite sure what to do with herself with Whit gone and tends to get into more trouble....oh well!

Hangin' with the Animals

We went to the Hogle Zoo last Friday. Of course, we picked one of the hottest days of the summer to go!! Anyhow, the girls had a blast and Belle is at the perfect age where every animal fascinates her. Abby was so patient, but she finally was fet up with the heat and demanded air conditioning. Whitney's favorite attraction was the bats and Belle loved any animal that was small and would come to the window. We managed to go through the entire zoo before the melting point.

Another Excuse for Cake

We finally had Abby blessed on Sunday. We figured that she should be blessed before she crawled up to the pulpit and bore her own testimony! Anyhow, since Belle's birthday is on the 22nd, I just celebrated both occasions the same day since all the fam would be around. Abby barely fit into the slip my grandma made to go under the dress for her sisters; I suppose it wasn't made for a 4-month old. Belle loves Nemo and I was so proud of myself when I made her cake. It was a bonus when Belle knew who it was. We had a great time and it's always nice to have an excuse to have family around.

Good,"Clean" Fun

We decided to go camping since we don't live too far from some camp areas. We had a great time. As you can see, Belle had fallen in the dirt about 50 times while we were there. It was comical to watch her because she kept getting more and more black with dirt. Abby loved the trip too. The next morning she didn't get up until after 9 and she usually wakes around 7. I checked in on her several times to make sure she was alright. I'm so glad the girls enjoy camping because that is something that I grew up doing when I was growing up.

Kayak Adventure

I have been promising to buy Steve a kayak for 2 years now and finally got one for him last week. It was such a great deal, we couldn't pass it up. We decided to take the girls to the reservior past Mount Timpanogos cave. Whitney loved it (I knew she would) and would beg Steve to let her out and swim. I was really shocked when Belle enjoyed it because she is so different than Whitney and gets nervous to try new things. It was a great afternoon, but came to an abrupt end when Abby decided that she had enough of the heat.

Little Sales Diva

My Grandma had a yard sale last weekend, so I decided to go and sell a few things of my own. Whitney and I decided to bake a few batches of cookies and sell them for a quarter a piece. Well, little did I know that she would take this seriously. She sat at her table for two days and if she did leave for any reason, she found someone to take over and gave specific instructions. When the cookie sales were dipping, she decorated some with morning glory (which I caught and strongly discouraged), held up her cookie sign, and carried a cookie around on a napkin to show the future customers. I thought it was hilarious! Nonetheless, she ended up with over $28.00 of, I think, hard-earned cash.

Potty Mania

Well, I'm in the middle of potty-training Belle. As you can see, she knows exactly where the underwear goes! It's moving along very slowly and I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel as of yet. "Why are you training her now?" you may ask. I was not planning on doing this for at least another year, but she is insistant of throwing any items in her diaper on the floor. I couldn't duct tape her diaper on like I did Whitney because she doesn't take her diaper off...she digs under and drives her mother insane. I am keeping remarkably calm; I am very impressed with me!

At Home with Abby

Abigail is doing awesome! She is almost 11 pounds already. She loves to talk and watch her sisters and tv. She is already sleeping through the night which is wonderful for me. We are so blessed to have her home for good and only have check ups once in a while with the cardiologist. Whitney is such a big helper by getting diapers and keeping Abby company while I need to get things done around the house. Belle mimics me with her own baby, but knows Abby's name and repeatedly reminds her of where her eyes are located along with her ears, hair, cheeks, mouth, teeth (?), hands, and belly.

Life in Draper

We moved to Draper March 8, 2008. Yep! Just 3 days after Abby was born. The Ward has been great and Whitney is loving all the little friends around. This is also the first time we ever had a backyard that the kids could play in without intense supervision. Whitney is starting Kindergarten in the Fall and is driving me crazy with counting down the days. I am going to make a countdown "something" to help her understand.