Birthdays!

Birthdays change as you get older. This particular year  I knew that it would be especially different as Scott would be practically living at work all the week while they changed over the computer systems.

The Saturday before my birthday the wives of all the Bishopric members and clerks were "kidnapped" for a girls night out on the town without our kids or husbands. I got a creepy phone call like the ones from the movies where the computer voice gives you instructions on what to do. Later there was a knock at the door and a guy who looked vaguely familiar was standing there. He handed me an envelope, a piece of fabric and a piece of paper and told me that he had come by to see Scott and found these on my doorstep. Turns out he was there to watch Abby. I couldn't remember his name and was a little apprehensive about leaving my most precious possession  with a stranger. I finally asked his name and then he felt really bad about  not introducing himself. Anyways, it was a guy from the ward that I didn't recognize with casual clothes and a baseball hat on. He stayed with Abby while I tied on the blindfold and stood on the curb waiting for "my ride". While standing there I kept wondering what would happen if a police car drove by, "what would they think?" Anyways, they came and picked me up and after putting together all the puzzle pieces from out envelopes we figured out where we were headed for dinner. We got our next clue at dinner. We had to put together our clue that was written in braille. It told us to go to the Covey Center to see Wait Until Dark (it's about a blind woman, hence the braille). We had a wonderful time. It was so nice to have a break and some girl time!

When I got home I discovered that Scott had come home and decorated with balloons and streamers for my birthday! We celebrated my birthday and had Key Lime Pie, which I love!

Sunday we were able to go the the Dedication broadcast for the Brigham City Temple.It was a wonderful experience, there is something about the peace of the temple that you can feel even watching the dedication over satellite. Sunday night we went to my in-laws to have dinner and celebrate some more!! We always enjoy the time we get to spend with family. I got more balloons which made Abby super happy

On Tuesday my parents came down and took Abby and I to dinner at Texas Road House for my birthday. We had a wonderful time and Abby thoroughly enjoyed learning how to ride the escalators at the mall close by with her grandparents!

Wednesday was my actual birthday and Abby was sweet enough to sleep really well the night before and the night after my birthday. Not only that but she was an angel all day!

So, despite having a husband who has been sleeping, eating and showering at work all week during my birthday week we had a good week and felt very loved! Our house  is filled with balloons and flowers  and Abby and I have been loving it! We are really excited to get our husband and daddy back today(hopefully) and have things return to normal!

Dick's Sporting Goods

Big fail for Dick's Sporting Goods this morning. they definitely didn't earn my business in the future.

 They had their grand opening celebration in Orem this morning. They advertised  that the first 100 people in the store at 8 am would get a gift card in varying denominations from $5 to $500. I didn't want to get up early to get there and get in line so I figured that if I woke up on time  I would head down and see how long the line was. When Abby and I arrived at 7:45 there were only about 35-40 people in line so we jumped in the back of the line. By 8 there were more people and we headed for the door. They checked ID to make sure everyone was over 18 and we got our gift cards. Everyone stood around inside the front door on their cell phones calling in to see how much their gift cards ended up being. Well........everyone got $5 gift cards. Abby pushed the stroller around the store for almost an hour, entering giveaways and comparing the store to other sports stores in the area.

We ended up getting something small for Scott's stocking for Christmas with our gift card. When we were checking out I asked the cashier about the gift cards and she admitted that she had seen one or two $10 cards but the rest had all been $5.

So, Dicks's almost exclusively gave out $5 gift cards, a couple of $10 cards and (supposedly) one $500 gift card. So much for the varying denominations! I understand that it's a marketing tactic to get people in the store but come on, they could have done better than that! I wasted my time, felt slightly deceived and combined with the fact that their store didn't seem any different from other similar stores in the area leads me to the conclusion that I won't be frequenting their store in the future.

BABY GIRL!

We are expecting a new addition to our family when our baby girl arrives February 6th!

Rice Krispies

On Sunday I was making rice krispy treats and Abby wanted to help. She got my extra apron out of the drawer and tried to put it on all by herself. She needed a little help but it looks super cute on her with a few adjustments! I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Licking the empty bowl of melted chocolate chips that we stirred into the rice krispies.

Showing off "her" apron

Helping mom stir a batch of pudding. (And yes, I am pregnant in this picture :)

Getting dressed....

Abby has been a bit of a challenge the last few days and been SUPER clingy, whiny, etc...so when she disappeared into her room and I heard her opening her drawers I let her play in peace, I was just happy to have two seconds all to myself. Who knows, I might even be able to eat something without having to share it! When I went to check on her this is what I discovered! Someone was trying to get dressed all by themselves.

Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Small moments

 Some of you may know that we have started unofficially potty training. Right now it's mostly just getting Abby used to the idea and then next week Abby and I will be housebound for several days while we try to do the real potty training. Somethings seem to be sinking in as Abby came to me yesterday to tell me that "baby" had a poopy diaper, She pulled off baby's diaper and took me into the bathroom and placed baby on the potty! She then pointed at baby and said, "baby treat!". After several unsuccessful attempts to feed baby the skittle that is Abby's reward for sitting on the potty(clothes or unclothed), Abby ate it herself and looked very proud of herself!

 This morning we walked to the library and read books together. Not too long after getting home I discovered this miracle in the living room. If you know Abby you know how active she is and how hard it can be to get her to sleep! This is the second time in her life that she has fallen asleep anywhere besides her bed, the carseat or someone's arms.

Abby is now tall enough and adept enough to open doors by herself! We discovered this a few days ago but she hadn't done much to alarm us until yesterday. Yesterday morning I ran out to drop a few things in the garbage can by the road before the garbage man came by and by the time I got inside again Abby had disappeared. I looked and looked and then I heard this little voice calling, "mommy, mommy?" She had opened the door that separates the stairs to the basement from the first floor and was sitting on the landing at the top calling my name because she thought I had disappeared into the basement. I was grateful she didn't attempt to go down the stairs because our basement stairs reflect the age in which our house was build and can be a bit treacherous. Thankfully we already had the plastic safety handles for the door handles and that was the first door to be "fixed". Hopefully we can keep her from wandering too far!

Her newest word is sorry. Every few sentences you hear, "sahwe, sahwe". She says it when she bumps into you, or the chair or anything else. When her food falls off her fork and onto her booster seat she leans down, looks under the table and says, "sahwe" to the food. Sometimes I think she says it just because it's a new word and must feel good to say as much of the time it isn't in context at all!

Latest happenings

A few weeks ago Abby and I went to the park with some friends and had a blast. I didn't get a picture of the two girls together but here are some fun ones of Abby. She was so much braver and tried more new things with a friend there to show her how!

                                            Trying the bigger slide and loving it!

Abby has discovered her ability to "wear" our shoes and thinks it is the funnest thing ever!

My mother makes the best rolls and cinnamon rolls you will ever eat. She is pretty famous for them and gets asked to bring them to activities or teach people how to make them quite often. I have been trying for the last few years to make them like she does and I just keep thinking that if I practice they will eventually be more than just edible and actually be enjoyable. So, last week I tried again to make cinnamon rolls and Abby wanted to help so I got her a mixing bowl of her very own and dumped  in some flour, cornmeal, popcorn kernals etc and gave her a measuring spoon. She was in seventh heaven mixing away to her hearts content!