A Celebration

We did it! We threw Abby-Cakes a 1st birthday bash that TAMN would be proud of. (If you don't know who TAMN is, click here. She actually probably wouldn't have been proud of us, but would have thought it was "cute" that we tried so hard to throw a party that would never be as cool as hers.)

It's kind of ridiculous going to so much work for a party the kid will never remember, but in my opinion, the baby's first birthday party really isn't just about the baby. It's a celebration for the whole family because we survived that crazy first year!

Here's just a few reasons to C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E (and a justification to eat one more of the 50 billion cupcakes I baked last night.)

• We survived our first year with TWO KIDS! (As an added bonus, I don't think we were even reported to DCFS, so I guess we're good enough parents.)
• Greg survived all of the PINK, flowers, bows, headbands, ruffles, lace...all the sugar and spice that comes with a little girl.
• Garrett has been an awesome big brother and loves his Abbs. He is a wild man, but he is always nice to Abby and worries about her when she is not with him. He gets really nervous if somebody he doesn't know is holding her and he frequently wakes her up from her naps so she can play with him. (The waking her up thing is not really a cause to celebrate...)
• I survived a baby who was a big-time momma's girl, didn't really like sleeping and wanted to be held CONSTANTLY for the first several months of her life. Garrett also decided to quit taking naps about this time, so it was pretty crazy at our house for awhile, but I didn't die of exhaustion and we lived to tell.
• I tried to nurse Garrett and it was a DISASTER. We both hated every minute of it. Seriously. I decided to give it another shot with Abby and it turned out okay. I'm not going to be running for President of the La Leche League or anything, but I do have a few positive thoughts about breastfeeding, which is a plus.
• Our parents will be glad to know we are seeing some light at the end of the crazy we-have-two-kids-under-the-age-of-two tunnel and I am thinking there is a pretty good chance we might have another baby someday. I'd by lying if I didn't admit there were multiple times this year I thought, "I'm glad I have a boy and a girl. Now I don't have to worry about having any more kids." Terrible, but true.
• One year later, I am happy to report I can wear all of my pre-Abby clothes. (I didn't say they fit great or look good, but I can get the zipper up. That counts, right?)
• One major reason to celebrate: I don't look like this anymore!

But it was worth it all...because in the end, we got her!

Another reason to CELEBRATE--Miss Abby was a winner in the local newspaper's baby contest. Go ABBS! Check it out.

I will post a few pics of tonight's fiesta later. I wanted to just enjoy the evening, so I didn't even take out my camera, but my sister and sister-in-law were sweet enough to take a few shots for me. (Plus they are good photographers and have fancy cameras and their pictures will look a billion times better than mine ever would.)

My dear brother-in-law reminded me I never posted a picture of Abby in her new Carhartt overalls. Because he is the reason my laptop is fixed and I am blogging like a champion these days, here she is:

The Big ONE!

I dreamt last night Greg and I were on vacation in Hawaii. We were staying in a house on the beach and it was so beautiful, relaxing, peaceful, romantic, you name it. Miracle of miracles, Greg-the-travel-hater was even enjoying himself and it was such a perfect vacation. We did have to make a quick trip home from our vaycay for my cousin's last minute wedding, but it was no big deal and we were back in Hawaii in no time. I was seriously bummed when I woke up this morning and realized I was snug as a bug in my own bed and far, far away from tropical islands. I was lying there feeling sorry for myself for about two seconds when I remembered....TODAY IS ABBY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY! YAY!!! Seriously better than a trip to Hawaii, any day! Bring on the PAR-TAY!!!


Okay, so the big party is going to be on Sunday and today was actually really low-key, but that's just fine. We had a great day!


Here she is...the birthday girl! Isn't she sweet?

Greg took Garrett shopping this afternoon to find a present for Abby. Greg called me laughing and said he had just asked Garrett what they should get Abby for a birthday present. His response, "A tractor and a dump truck."

They ended up getting her a darling little pair of Carhartt overalls with a matching shirt. I'll post a picture when she wears them tomorrow. They also got her this pretty little flower--one flower because she is one year old.

Abby could've cared less, but Garrett really enjoyed tearing into all of her presents for her. I don't think he really understood that it was Abby's birthday and not his. My parents gave her this darling little dress and Garrett opened it up, looked at it, threw it on the floor, and said, "This won't fit me." And then he proceeded to tear into another present. Awesome.

When my mom asked me what she should get Abby for her birthday, I told her we would love a set of blocks for Abby and Garrett to share. Garrett loves to build and stacks up just about anything he can find. We are lame and had yet to purchase a good set of classic building blocks, so he was thrilled to open those up and didn't worry anymore about the dress that didn't fit. :)

Garrett is looking so grown-up these days. (He's also looking a bit shaggy and really needs a haircut. Please bring your scissors on Sunday, Grandma Jan!)

Abby LOVED this cute little singing book from my parents and would dance every time she opened it. I tried to get a video of her doing it, but as soon as she spotted the camera she threw a fit and stopped dancing because she wanted the camera. Little stinker!

We did get some nice footage of her little tantrum. Enjoy!

January Smanuary...

January has always been my least favorite month of the year. Here's a few reasons why:

• Christmas is over.
• Christmas is over.
• Christmas is over.
• It's cold. BRRRR!!!
• Ice (I'm a bit klutzy at times, so ice isn't really my friend.)
• Inversions and yucky air

You get the idea. In fact, I can think of only one reason to love January....

My Abby Baby! She wasn't even due until February and I really didn't want her to have a January birthday, so I was praying to go a week overdue. My doctor even wanted to induce me early because I was showing all of the signs of being ready to deliver early and it could be a fast labor, but I told him I didn't want to and wanted to let her come on her own--and hopefully it would be later than sooner! (I was wishing I would've listened to him when I arrived at the hospital later that night in agony with contractions one minute apart and dilated to almost an 8. Apparently there's a reason we pay him the big bucks--she was ready to come and she came fast!)

I am 100% postive that Abby coming early enough to have a January birthday was a gift from heaven to remind me that life is worth living, even during the first yucky month of the year. :) Tomorrow is her big day, and we are so excited to celebrate!

*The cute picture of Abby was taken by Carrie Poulsen (Edge Photography)*

The Best Big Brother

A few days ago, I was on the phone while Abby was napping and Garrett was "reading." I first heard Abby cry out and then I heard her squealing. When I got off the phone, I went in Abby's room to find this:

Garrett's explanation: "Abbs was sad, so I helped her."

A few other Garrett highlights:

• He also likes to go into Abby's room while she's trying to sleep and sing, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to her.
• He continues to make up his own delightful versions of songs. This one is a combination of a new Primary song and a Disney classic. "I know He lives, I walked with him once upon a dream."
• I made ravioli for dinner a night this week. It wasn't Macaroni Grill quality, but I thought it was okay. Garrett took one bite, made a funny face, and said, "It's just a little yuck. Can I have some steak?"

Some Advice from Garrett...

When you are "helping" your mom cook and she tells you not to eat a raw jalapeno pepper, you should probably listen and not bite into it when she turns her head. It burns your mouth really bad and you will probably scream for a long time. Your mom will first try to get you to drink milk and eat bread, but you'll keep right on screaming and throw them on the floor. She'll probably get desperate at that point and start rummaging through the pantry for anything you will put in your mouth to help the burning go away. You will refuse all of your obvious favorites: marshmallows, candy canes, Oreos, Goldfish. Finally, she finds a ginormous lollipop that has been hiding in the back of the cabinet because she hasn't wanted you to have it. You will perk right up when you see the lollipop and quit crying long enough to try it. Life is good! If this is what it takes to get a giant lollipop, it's worth it. Trust me.

P.S. I have a new favorite song I like to sing. It's about Frosty the Snowman and it goes something like this, "...down through the village, with a corn dog in his hand..."

P.S.S. This is my little sister, Abby. I'm a really good brother and today when we were driving in the car, I reached over and held her hand and said, "I love you too, Abby." My mom thought it was the sweetest thing!

Funny Little Guy

Garrett has been a hoot this weekend. He's had me laughing out loud more than once.

Here's a few highlights:

• He's learned a few new favorite phrases. His current favorites: "I promise" and "If I want to." You're probably thinking this isn't really blogworthy, but the funny thing is that he totally doesn't understand the context for using them. For example, he'll say things like, "Let's have soup for lunch today. I promise." Or, "I can clean up my toys if I want to." (Normally kids say, "I can (insert whatever they are mad about) if I want to," out of defiance, but Garrett adds it (or "I promise") to the end of just about every sentence. You'd have to hear it to appreciate it, but it's funny.
• He has started referring to Abby as "Abbs." Again, you'd probably have to hear him say it, but it's great. "Come on, Abbs. Let's go play upstairs with my toys." "I need to help Abbs." "Let me hold you hand, Abbs." (And no, that's not a typo, he does say "you" instead of "your" all the time. Cracks me up.)
• We were reading our scriptures last night--something we don't do nearly as often we should. (A good goal for 2011, right?) Garrett was feeling pretty spiritual and was running around and climbing all over us. Greg read something that talked about "killing the prophets." Garrett stopped and looked at us and asked, "They were killing the prophets? Did they kill President Monson?" We tried not to laugh and told him it was some other prophets who lived a long time ago. That seemed to satisfy him and he went back to playing.

Oh, the joys of having a two year old chatterbox!

My Little "Helper"

CONFESSION CORNER: I've been feeling a bit guilty lately about all of the time Garrett spends watching TV and movies. I've also been noticing lots of projects that need to be finished at our house that I've been meaning to do since we moved in.

THE PERFECT SOLUTION: While Abby was napping this afternoon, I took Garrett down to the basement with me and told him we were going to "work." He found his hammer and pounded on boards while I painted our barstools. Life is good: I'm getting a much-needed project done and Garrett isn't watching TV.

My mom gave us some hand-me-down, hand-me-down barstools when we moved in. (As in somebody used them and gave them to her and she used them and gave them to us. Did you follow that?) I've been meaning to paint them black for a long time and decided today was the day!!! I was almost done painting and had them lined up and drying while I was touching up a few spots. I looked up just in time to see my little "helper" take a scoopful of sawdust and dump it on one of the so-freshly-painted-that-the-paint-is-still-wet stools. AAAHHHH!!!

I was mad. Really mad. I tried to remind myself of a few things:

1. The stools are just a "thing." Garrett is a "person." People are always more important than things.
2. The stools were given to me. I gave birth to Garrett. (Hence, he should mean more to me than the stools.)
3. The stools were free. We paid a lot of money to get Garrett here and continue to pay a lot of money to take care of him. (Clothes, shoes, food, diapers, Disney movies--they all really add up. However, if you read my previous post you will see that we only have to buy diapers for Garrett until March, so that is good.)

Garrett can be a bit mischievous at times (or all the time), but I could tell he felt bad and I'm not sure he realized when he did it that dumping sawdust on a freshly painted barstool was going to be a problem. So I got over it and talked to him about it and we moved on. I decided I was really grateful he just got the sawdust on one stool instead of all four. One is much easier to fix than four!

Tomorrow we will be going to town and buying two things:

1. Another can or two of paint so I can re-paint the stool after I have sanded the sawdust off.
2. A new Disney movie to keep Garrett occupied while I do this.

Maybe watching TV isn't such a bad thing after all...

Just 48 Days Until...

MARCH--My favorite month of the year!!!

Here are just a few reasons why I love March:

• SPRING, SPRING, SPRING!!!
• My birthday (which also happens to double as the first day of Spring)
• I got engaged in March
• Garrett's birthday

And now, one more GIANT reason to look forward to March, compliments of the G-Man.

I was changing his diaper this morning and I asked him, "Garrett, when are you going to start going potty in the big-boy toilet?" His response, "In March."

A Few Firsts...

It's been an exciting week at our house!

First (and most thrilling): Miss Abby-Cakes is a full-fledged, honest-to-goodness, bonafide WALKER!!! Her very first steps were reported by Grandpa Willy back in November when Greg was in the hospital. How sad that we missed them, but such is life! She has been taking steps here and there and getting more confident over the past few weeks. On Sunday morning, we were in the bathroom getting ready and Abby was playing on the floor in the other room. We heard her squeal and looked over to see her strolling in with a huge cheeser grin, and that was that! She's been cruising like crazy ever since.

You don't even have to take my word for it--see for yourself!

Another FIRST: We left the kids tonight with a babysitter and went on a date! Explanation: we've left the kids with babysitters before and we've been on dates before, but this was different. We've been fortunate enough to always be able to leave our kids with adult family members and have never had to hire a young babysitter. Tonight we decided to branch out and call a darling neighbor girl to watch the kids for us while we went to a movie. She did a great job and the kids loved her. She texted me during the movie (how convenient to be able to text with the babysitter) and said she was really sorry, but Garrett had broken an ornament off the Christmas tree while she was putting Abby to bed. (Yes, our tree is still up. Semi-embarrassing, but it's really not because I'm lazy and just don't want to take it down. I happen to really like it and it makes me happy to look at it, so I decided to keep it up until I felt like taking it down. Which will probably be tomorrow...) Anyways, she was wondering if I wanted her to try to fix the ornament or if she should just throw it away and buy us a new one. We told her not to worry about it and tried to reassure her that it was nothing special--just a crappy old ornament--but I could tell she felt really bad. Poor girl!

She said Abby did great and was perfect--that's my girl! Garrett had a bit of a meltdown and wanted to talk to Grandpa, so she called my dad and Garrett chatted with him for a few minutes and was fine. Funny kid! (Does anybody remember the days when Abby was such a little stinker and a nightmare to babysit because she would just cry the whole time??? I dreaded leaving her because I knew it was going to be torture for all parties. How wonderful that she has turned into such a sweetheart!)

In other news: Garrett has been practicing his fatherly skills and I think he's going to be a great dad one day. (Hopefully "one day" is later rather than sooner!) We visited some friends the other night and they sent Garrett home with a bag of grapes. (He LOVES grapes.) On the ride home, he started talking about his "baby caterpillars." When he got out of the car, he told me we needed to be careful with his baby caterpillars and cradled his grapes in his hand. When we got in the house, he found his beloved blankie and wrapped his "babies" up in it and carried them around for awhile. It was pretty funny--until his hunger got the best of him and the baby caterpillars disappeared.

Now that he's approaching the ripe old age of 3, we've decided it's time Garrett does something with his life besides watching Disney movies. (Did I just admit that on the WWW?) We've put him to work in the basement and it's coming along quite nicely. If they gave an award for moving tools, emptying sawdust buckets, and stacking wood blocks, Garrett would definitely be voted the "Builder of the Year." (Thank heavens for Snow White's Seven Dwarfs who have really taught him a lot about work ethic. "Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go...")

It WAS the Most Wonderful Time of Our Year!

I'm sitting here tonight feeling all sad that the 2010 holiday season has come to an end. It's been such a good one for us--full of everything great about Christmas and lots of fun memories.

We enjoyed the annual Phillips Family Christmas Party at the bowling alley in Helper/Price. We were crazy enough to drive four hours each way in a blizzard to attend the event. Luckily, we all survived--both the drive and the party! :)

Garrett and Abby got all spiffed up in their Christmas best for church the next day. Unfortunately, neither of them was feeling very photogenic that morning.

We celebrated Sweet Gracie's 3rd birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese. Garrett was totally in the zone and just wanted to dance the whole time.

Our best Christmas present came a few days early and Mal Pal came home from Virginia for an early Christmas. She had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we had Christmas morning a few days early. We missed Matt the Missionary and Mike the Surgeon like crazy, but we understand the importance of saving souls and saving lives, so we did our best to have a good time without them. The grandkids LOVED it and Garrett now thinks that every morning we should open presents and have a big party. I'm kind of inclined to agree. :)

Greg's brother Brian had the BRILLIANT idea to send all of the ladies to the spa for pedicures (or "pedophiles" if you're Aunt Diane). MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US!!!

We enjoyed celebrating Christmas Eve at Greg's grandparents. (I was too busy eating and chatting to take any pictures.) We came home to our house that night and Brian, Cathy, and Annabelle joined us for a sleepover. It was so much fun! Jan and Eric came up the next morning and we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day.

I thought multiple times throughout the day about how grateful I was for the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with my very own Scrooge (aka Greg.) I thought about the night in July when I frantically signed papers authorizing the doctor to perform emergency surgery on him. They told me it was our only option and he wouldn't make it through a life flight trip to a bigger hospital in Salt Lake. I felt so helpless as I watched him being wheeled away from me and I wasn't sure what the future would hold for us. I felt a strange feeling of peace during all of it and I knew we would ultimately be okay, but just didn't know what "okay" meant. I can't even express how grateful I am for the real meaning of Christmas: the birth of a Savior who lived and died for us so we can feel peace during our darkest times and find hope for a bright future. Those were some rough days and we are very glad to kiss them good-bye and celebrate good things--like the joy of kids at Christmastime!

Garrett is nestled all snug in his (or our) bed...

Garrett loved his truck and horse trailer--"just like daddy's"--and had so much fun pushing it all around the room. He has been so much fun this Christmas and I have loved sharing in his joy. The Santa part of Christmas really is for kids and Garrett made it so fun for us this year.

We turned the kitchen over to Ruben and he cooked us a delightful Peruvian breakfast. It was actually really good and honestly much better than I was anticipating. Apparently they don't have Teflon in Peru because my lovely pans didn't fare so well after he took a fork to them. AAAHHH!!! It was Christmas and I was feeling extra generous, so we didn't kick him out. :)

Ruben was THRILLED when he found this bag of Maca at the Latino market. According to him, this stuff is good for university students who need help with their studies and "old men who need help with the ladies." He was dead serious when he said it and it was all I could do not to spit my drink across the room. Needless to say, we had some good laughs and I still crack up every time I think about it. I'm laughing right now just typing this.

TMI: Greg and Brian tried the stuff and said it tasted like "dirt mixed with SH*%." Apparently they didn't drink enough because we all went to bed exhausted Christmas night and nothing magical came from Ruben's special potion. :)

Santa brought Abby this darling little doll and stroller. She is so cute when she plays with it and it just melts my little heart to watch her push it around. Oh how we love this little girl!

We headed down to my parents' house Christmas evening and enjoyed a lovely evening with my fam. Our kiddos were spoiled (again) and we had a wonderful meal and lots of fun.

The funniest part of Christmas next to Ruben's miracle Maca: Gracie's leotard. I picked up this little beauty during the summer off the Wal-Mart clearance rack and have been saving it for Christmas. It was worth the wait because it was a HUGE HIT with little Grace. She immediately stripped down (in front of everybody) and danced/modeled around the room. We were laughing our guts out. So cute/funny!

Poor Sher was one sick cookie and had been barfing her guts out, but she still looked better than any of us and was such a great sport.

We had to be in SLC the day after Christmas at 9 AM for Greg's cousin's mission farewell. ARGH! Miraculously, we pulled it off and brought Ruben along so we could visit Temple Square that evening. Of course, it was beautiful and Ruben loved it and wanted a picture of practically everything. He even found a lovely sister missionary from Peru to hit on/visit with. He is going back to Peru in February and she is going home in March. Hmmm....

Garrett was AWOL with Grandma during this lovely family pic.

Garrett wasn't quite ready to give up on Christmas and made this lovely mess while I was in the shower and he was supposed to be watching a movie. I asked him what was going on and he said, "The presents are going down the chimney with old St. Nick." Apparently hand-me-down bar stools make really good chimneys for Santa and his little redheaded elves to send presents down. Good to know, huh?

And last, but certainly not least, we celebrated New Year's Eve at my Aunt Paula's annual party. Good times all around!

And that's a wrap! BRING ON 2011!!!

P.S. This blog post was a true labor of love. It only took me about 2.5 hours to do and it probably took you just as long to read it. You deserve a prize if you made it this far.