Go Team(s)!

Today was a big day for our favorite basketball teams.

We started out the day cheering for our Cougs as they smoked San Diego State. Sorry Aztecs--you got Jimmered!!!

(As you can see, neither child was feeling especially photogenic or cooperative today. Maybe it's because they didn't have their hair combed or faces washed and didn't want their pictures taken and broadcast to the world. Sorry about that.)

We had to do a quick costume change into our Aggie apparel and Garrett and I enjoyed attending the USU game with Pops. Garrett's favorite things about the game: riding the bus, getting an icee and a hot dog, seeing Big Blue and the cheerleaders.

When we got home from the game, Garrett was having Greg draw him pictures on his Magnadoodle. He asked him to draw "The Aggie Game," "Big Blue," and "That Girl." (That girl would be a cheerleader. Awesome.)

He was beyond ready for bed at this point and wasn't very excited about getting his picture taken, so this is the best we got of him in his Aggie shirt.

(This is where the Phillips family leaves comments about Garrett not being happy because he is wearing an Aggie shirt. I can see the writing on the wall with this one!)

Now if only the Jazz had won...it would have been a perfect day for Utah sports!

All About Abby--I Forgot Something...

I realized I totally forgot to include one of Abby's most distinguishing characteristics in her one-year-old post.....her CRY!


Abby has the best cry ever. It's hard to explain and I need to get a video of her doing it, but she rolls her tongue when she cries and it is just plain and simply awesome. We have a hard time feeling sorry for her because it is just so funny to listen to her cry. (She is going to be a great Spanish speaker one day because she can roll her tongue like a native.)


Whenever she cries in public, people always laugh and we get comments about two things everywhere we go: Garrett's red hair and Abby's cry. I was in a store the other day and ran into one of my former students. Abby started crying while we were chatting and the girl laughed and said, "Your baby has the funniest cry." And then she got really embarrassed and said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Phillips. That wasn't very nice of me to say, but she does have a funny cry."


Yes, it's true, Little Abbs has one heck of a funny cry. My mom always told us, "It's never funny when you get a laugh at somebody else's expense." Mother usually knows best, but in this case, she's wrong. A sad Abby makes for great entertainment! :)

P.S. Abby also has a really cute little giggle, but her cry still takes the cake.

All About Abby

We finally got Miss Abigail in for her 12-month check-up. The results are in...and she's a giant!!!

Height: 32 inches (99th percentile)
Weight: 24 pounds (84th percentile)

Her "heed" is also large and measuring in the 99th percentile. (Totally to be expected from a kid who is destined to be brilliant. She's got a lot of brains to house in that noggin.) :)



She's a pretty normal one-year-old, but here are a few highlights:

• She is a great little walker and is even working on picking up the pace and does a little trot occasionally. She can stand up all by herself and doesn't have to crawl over to the wall to help her stand up anymore.
• She has a few words: "Mama" "Dada" "Duck" "No, no, no" "Nana" (banana)
• She LOVES her blankie (just like her big brother). She has three different blankets with pink minky fabric and she loves them all. Funny story: We were in Hobby Lobby the other day and were walking past the fabric section. She didn't have her blankie with her, but started making the little noise she always makes when she sees her blankie. She had seen the bolts of pink minky fabric and about fell out of the cart lunging for them. Funny girl.
• She loves music and will dance/wave her arms like she's leading it whenever she hears music. She also likes to twirl and turn herself around in circles.
• She loves books and enjoys being read to. Her favorite book is Have You Seen My Duckling? She picks it off the bookshelf multiple times a day and brings it to me to read to her. (Garrett also loved this book. Personally, I don't think it's as great as some of our other ones, but I guess there's just something about kids and ducks.)
• She was a fussy baby, but has turned into a delightful little girl. She is so sweet and her dad and brother are both totally smitten with her. Garrett is very protective of her and doesn't like other people to hold her or play with her. (One of the girls in my Primary class was holding her in the hall one day after Church and Garrett got really upset when he saw her. I was so embarassed when he yelled, "Give us back our Abby!") Greg tells me all the time how cute/sweet she is and how glad he is to have a little girl.
• Abby is a sweetheart, but she is also getting a little bit of a sassy side. She knows what she wants and she'll get a bit feisty if she doesn't get it. She's pretty easily distracted, though, so it's not too difficult to keep her happy.
• She is loving table food and will eat just about anything. Her personal faves are lunch meat and cheese. She also really likes strawberries.
• If you catch her in the right mood, she gives some great slobber-kisses. She also likes to blow kisses.
• She likes to play "chase" and giggles and runs away and expects you to follow her. She always wants in on the action when Greg and Garrett are wrestling and playing.
• Most importantly, Abby is turning into a pretty decent little sleeper. She sleeps through the night most nights and will occasionally have a rough night, but it could be worse and we won't complain.

It's been a fabulous first year with our little Abbs! She has been such a fun addition to our family and we're excited to watch her grow. We know it's going to be a bit scary as she gets old enough to be Garrett's partner-in-crime, and we really hope we're up for the challenge!

Why I Love Sundays...

While these two sleepyheads were snoozing away, I baked these yummy cookies. (They were delightful--all except for the batch I set to bake for 8 hours instead of 8 minutes. Oops! If you like crunchy cookies, come on over!!!)

Meanwhile, Little Orphan Abby emptied out the cabinets. (Notice the scare-hair and dirty clothes. I needed somebody to share my crunchy cookies with!)

P.S. It's a good thing we like her so much. To be honest, I would have much rather been napping with the boys than baking cookies, but the little gal didn't like that plan. If you have to be awake on a Sunday afternoon, you might as well be eating something chocolate, right?

Before the Snow Falls...

We heard rumors about a nasty storm brewing, so the kids and I hit the park this morning to catch a little sunshine. We have been so spoiled with lovely weather and we figured we better make the most of it before it gets ugly again.

This was our first park outing since last fall and it was definitely a hit! It was a bit windy, but the sun was shining and it was warm enough. I felt slightly guilty having Garrett outside in the semi-cold with his nasty cough, but I remember our doctor telling me that fresh air is good for congestion, so we went for it. We played and played and played until I coerced the kids home with promises of hot dogs and strawberries for lunch. Sounds delicious, huh?

Check back tomorrow for pictures of us playing in the snow. :) What a crazy weather week!!!

February 14

I love holidays. All of them. Any reason to celebrate and par-tay is great with me. This Valentine's Day season has been a fun one. I tried to do something simple (but special and fun) for the kids and Greg for the 14 days of L-O-V-E leading up to the BIG DAY. Cupid even struck Greg with his arrow of love and he had a few fun surprises for me, which is always nice. It's a good thing we had a 14 day celebration, because Valentine's Day itself turned out to be a bit anticlimactic.


I'm very guilty of being the "Martha" in the "Mary/Martha" story from the New Testamant. (Just in case you don't remember, Martha is the one who was so busy trying to make everything perfect that she almost missed the good stuff and the opportunity to sit at the feet of the Savior and learn from Him.) I really wanted Valentine's Day to be a special day for our family. I wanted to make a fun breakfast, color some Valentine cards and make treats with Garrett to deliver to his friends, run a few errands in town, make a lovely Valentine's Day dinner for the family, get the kids to bed a bit early, and enjoy the evening with Greg. It was going to be a tight schedule to fit it all in, but I thought I could do it. (This is always my fatal mistake and my overestimating of my time and abilities drives my dear sweetheart CRAZY.)

Needless to say, it didn't really fit into my plans for a perfect day when Garrett wasn't feeling well with a yucky cough and could have cared less about any of the fun stuff I had planned for us. It also just happened to be the day a friend needed help and I had to spend several of my "precious" hours giving last-minute rides and shuttling back and forth. (Why don't people ever need me on the days I have nothing to do and would be thrilled to help???) So, I was a bit behind schedule, but was probably still going to be able to pull it off. I was cruising along in the car and feeling a bit stressed about everything I still had to do, when I noticed a car pulled off the side of the road. I slowed down to see if everything was okay and saw a woman in the ditch holding a balloon and a bouquet of flowers. She was sitting next to a little white cross with her head in her hands.

I felt instantly guilty and realized how much I had totally missed the mark on this day that was supposed to be so special. I was so busy trying to do trivial little things I thought were important that I had totally lost sight of what really mattered. I should have been grateful to be able to help a friend and I am truly blessed to have all 3 of favorite Valentines (1 big and 2 cute little ones) alive and well. My attitude instantly changed and my stress level went from "a 10 to about a 2" (Greg and I always say this to each other when one of us is worked up about something and needs to calm down). I vowed to just enjoy the rest of the day with my sweethearts and forget about the stupid things that didn't matter. (Like making heart-shaped ice cubes and napkins.)

I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the day and was totally fine when a very apologetic Greg called to tell me that despite his best efforts, he was going to have to work late. (Sometimes it stinks to be your own boss when you are building a house for somebody and it's Valentine's Day and the cabinets are coming in the morning and you have to help make sure the tile gets done before the cabinets get there. Bummer.) Abby was ready for bed early, so Garrett, Ruben, and I enjoyed a lovely dinner with lots of pink, red, and heart-shapes. I got Garrett to bed and enjoyed a nice bubble bath while reading a sweet little romance novel. (Hey, you might as well read about somebody else's love story if your sweetheart is stuck laying tile at 10 PM on February 14, right?)

It's all good though, because my dear Valentine promised he would make it up to me with a fantastic date this weekend. And since he always keeps his word when he is digging himself out of the doghouse, I can hardly wait. :)

And because posts without pictures aren't nearly as fun, here is my little cupcake in her V-Day best. (Thanks to Kami and Kyle for the darling jacket and leggings and Emily for the hand-me-down skirt and shoes. Nothing like a free outfit--especially when it's this cute.)

(And a big NO THANKS to Abby for not cooperating while her mom was trying to get a picture to document the 2nd Valentine's Day of her sweet little life.)

OOPS--I felt awful when I realized I had forgotten to get Garrett a shirt for V-Day. At the request of his formerly-redheaded father, we don't really buy him red shirts (and you'll be shocked to know he doesn't have a collection of pink shirts, either). So, poor Garrett's clothing was nothing worthy of a picture on this great Day of Love. Abby had enough pink and red hearts on for both of them, so it all worked out. :)

How Many Days Until September???

We got a flyer in the mail today inviting us to register Garrett for pre-school next fall. The appropriate blog post would probably be for me to say something like, "I can't believe my baby is going to be old enough for pre-school. Where has the time gone? He has just grown up so fast. I swear just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital." Blah, blah, blah...you've heard it a billion times and know the drill.

My actual thoughts: "We only have to pay $25 a month for Garrett to go to somebody else's house for 2 hours, twice a week? And as an added bonus he will be learning, having fun, and making new friends? You mean 4 hours a week with Garrett at school? Like maybe I could talk Abby into having a nap during that time and I would have 2 hours, twice a week to myself? WOAH...Bring on September!!!"


Of course I'm being partially sarcastic. You know I love my G-Man more than life and he is my best little buddy. With a face like that, I will definitely miss him while he's at school. :)

And he definitely lives up to his t-shirt. He was eating a sucker today and Abby grabbed it right out of his hand and ran away with it. He looked distressed for a minute and then said, "It's okay. Abbs can have my sucker."

He woke up at about midnight last night and set up shop for himself on the living room floor. He had everything he needed for a slumber party: a bed made out of pillows, Mr. Giraffe, his bear, his beloved "blanks," and some age-appropriate reading material. That's my boy!

An Important Question from a 2-Year-Old

We were awakened at about 3 o'clock this morning when Garrett climbed into our bed and on top of Greg. I was half-asleep when I heard Garrett ask, "Dad, do you think I'm stupid?" Greg and I looked at each other with concern and then Greg launched into a middle-of-the-night discourse on all of the reasons why we love Garrett, what a good boy he is, how smart he is, how proud we are of him, etc. About 30 seconds into it, I started cracking up and realized that Garrett had totally lost interest in the conversation and most likely has no idea what the word "stupid" even means and was more than likely just repeating a line from one of his beloved Disney movies. (Abby got "Pinocchio" as a birthday present and Garrett has enjoyed watching it the past few days. I'm 99% sure the, "Do you think I'm stupid?" line came from the movie, but it's still a pretty sad question for a 2-year-old to be asking his dad at 3 in the AM, don't you think?) I feel bad about it, but I have to admit I have laughed out loud multiple times today just thinking about it.


While we're at it, here's a couple more good Garrett lines from the day:

*He was sitting on the floor studying some random papers with a very serious look on his face. I asked him what he was doing and he responded, "I'm reading my emails."

*He pulled his latest favorite stunt and snuck into Abby's room while she was napping. I heard her squeal and knew exactly what had happened. When I asked Garrett why he had woke Abby up, he answered with, "Because she was asleep and I wanted to make a mess with her."