Camping

We had fun at our ward campout this weekend! Both of the girls did really well with the overnight campout. Sandy slept in, too!

There was a zip line at the campsite. Bill was the first one down it, and Sandy jumped into line for her turn. Bill took her down it on his lap.


Sandy's new fashion statement:

She likes headbands -- if she puts them in herself. So I bought a pack of five headbands at Walmart the other day. She likes to wear them all, sort of like a multi-colored halo.

Happy Birthday, Sandy!

Sandy is 2 today! We started out the morning with a tradition we started last year -- colored pancakes with candles. It had the added benefit of giving Sandy some practice at blowing out candles. She wasn't sure what to do, so I blew out the candles on the pancakes and re-lit them. She blew them out just fine the second time.

Notice Sandy's hair: Grandma Buhler trimmed it up for her this week and it is looking much better! It's still not very long, but at least it is even.

10 Things About Sandy on her Birthday:

10: She is learning empathy and it makes me so proud! For example, the other day, she grabbed my hand harder than she meant to and it hit the wall (didn't really hurt me, but it made noise when it hit). She said, "Ouch!" and kissed my hand.

9: She is tall - she's wearing 3T dresses.

8: She has the longest eyelashes I've ever seen.


7: She's learning to verbalize her feelings. When she cries, she says, "I crying."

6: She loves to go places -- even if it's just to the store or for a walk around the block -- and she is really good when we are out.

5: She hates to be left behind. Sometimes when she is headed the wrong direction or I can't get her to come with me, I'll say, "Bye!" and walk off in the direction I want her to go. She usually comes running saying, "I come!" (Of course, she's tried the same thing on me once or twice, too... she is way too smart for her own good!)

4: She loves lotions and creams. She loves to watch me get ready in the morning and wants to do everything I do. Of course, her favorite thing to do is smear whatever she can find in her hair - we've had numerous emergency hair washings on our way out the door...

3: She gives great hugs!

2: She is a good big sister. She "protects" Abby from other kids and won't let them near. She loves to show Abby off to adults, though. When we see people, Sandy will often "show" them Abby, moving the car seat cover and chattering away at them to look at the baby.

1: She loves to help around the house. She throws things in the garbage, takes dishes to the sink, mops the floor, wipes up spills, puts away toys, brings her dad his tools.... She is a great helper!

Birthday Party!!

We had a small dinner to celebrate Sandy's birthday. We tried to keep it simple, but even still, I think it was a little overambitious for me between 6-week doctor checkups this week and having been out of town all last week. It was fun to celebrate Sandy's birthday, though.

Here are the invitations that I made but never got mailed:

The food: (sloppy joes, watermelon, chips and dip, carrots, jello salad)



Banana cupcakes. We also had banana splits.


Sandy blew out her candle, then wanted it re-lit so she could blow it out again. So she got to blow out her candle twice - she would have liked to do it again and again....


Sandy with Grandpa Buhler:

Update on Abby

Abby is 6 weeks old, she'll be 7 weeks old on Sunday. We weighed her Wednesday and she was 10 lbs even, so she is growing well. She is a great baby, very easygoing and sleepier than I remember Sandy being. She started smiling last week while we were in Atlanta, although she stops every time I pull out my camera.

Sandy got a birthday box today from my mom. There were a couple of things in the box for Abby, including this Sophie the Giraffe. Sandy started playing with it and I explained that it belongs to Abby. Now every time I turn around, Sandy has brought Sophie the Giraffe and laid it next to Abby. I'll put Abby in her carseat and run to get one quick thing and come back and there is the giraffe... Or put Abby down for a nap in her bassinet and come back and sure enough, there is the giraffe...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Fathers Day to my husband and the father of my children! This is Bill's second official Fathers Day (Sandy was born after Fathers Day in 2008). Here's a picture taken last month of him and Abby:


Bill is a wonderful father. He is affectionate and I think my girls will always know that their daddy loves them because he hugs them and tells him he loves them many times each day. He gives each of them a goodnight kiss before he goes to bed, slipping into Sandy's room to check on her one last time. Abby's still in our room so he doesn't have to go far to check on her.


Bill and Sandy have become good friends. She is quick to cry for daddy when mommy says no. (Bill is very good to back me up, but he will give Sandy an understanding hug even while telling her that "Mommy's right."):


Bill reads to Sandy and plays with her. He lets her help him when he is working on things around the house and I am amazed at how patient he is with her. He'll let her help him screw in screws or give her a hammer and let her pound nails into scrap wood.


We are blessed to have many fathers to celebrate today. My dad is a wonderful father and I have always been able to count on his advice and sense of humor. It is so much fun to watch him as a grandpa. This is one of my favorite pictures of Sandy with my dad, taken last summer when we visited him in South Dakota:


I'm also thankful for my father-in-law. So many of the things that make Bill an excellent father he learned from his own dad -- patience, willingness to let a child help out with projects, and much more. Here is a picture of him with Abby taken last month:


I am so blessed to have both of my grandfathers alive. Here is Sandy with her Great-Grandpa Pete:


....and Sandy with her Great-Grandpa Shupe:

Both of Bill's grandfathers passed away before I joined the family, but we honor them as well today. If I had pictures of them, I would post them.

Trip to Atlanta

We spent a fun week in Atlanta, Georgia! My cousin, Kayli, came with us and was such a big help! It's always nice when the adults outnumber the kids....

We got there Sunday night (June 13th). Sandy had fun flying - she loved take-off and landing, the bumpier the better! Abby did really well on the flights, too. It was late by the time we got to our hotel (two flights, a train ride, and a shuttle ride) and Bill's brother, Richard, met us at our hotel with sandwiches. Thanks, Richard! Here's a picture of the girls getting ready for bed.


Monday we went to the aquarium. Well, Bill went to a training, but the rest of us went to the aquarium. It is the world's largest aquarium and it was amazing. My favorite part was walking under the ocean (glass ceilings with fish swimming overhead). Sandy was pretty tired from all the travel the day before and the time change so we didn't last long at the aquarium.



Our hotel had a pool. Here is a picture of Sandy getting ready to swim - she used her jacket as a cover up over her swimsuit and put on her hat. It was an indoor pool, but she likes to be prepared, I guess.


I got to see a friend, Angeli, that I haven't seen since we both lived in Kentucky 14 years ago. It was fun to meet her for dinner and catch up on old times!

Another night, we went to Richard's apartment for a barbecue and Rock Band. Here's Richard and Sandy with the guitar:


Another night we ordered pizza in and hung out at the hotel pool:


Here's a picture of Kayli and Sandy in the pool. Sandy loved playing with Kayli -- and Kayli is amazing at handling Sandy, she teaches 3rd grade so she gets lots of practice dealing with rambunctious kids. She taught me a few tricks, like having Sandy point to her eyes, nose, etc. during diaper changes.


We bought an inflatable hippo at Walmart. The hotel shuttle would take us anywhere in a 3-mile radius so we bought rail passes instead of renting a car. The shuttle took us to Walmart a couple of times during the week - I don't think we were their typical guests... Everyone was very nice, though, and we got to know the hotel staff pretty well. I wish I'd taken more pictures!


Thursday and Friday I was in a sales training class as well. It was really interesting to learn about the new product Bill trained on earlier in the week -- an out-of-the box IT solution for small businesses that gives them everything from office software to firewall to phones. It's pretty cool -- I wish I'd had that level of unified communication when I was working, and I was working for a very large company. This is targeted to customers from 1 to 500 employees, although Bill's target market is probably closer to 20- to 100-employee companies.

It was fun for Sandy and Abby to spend time with their Uncle Richard. I'm sure Sandy will remember him when he comes to visit next. She has a very good memory!


Sandy loves her baby sister, but I know she sometimes resents the attention Abby requires. Can't find a better picture to show it than this:


It was a very fun trip, but it sure is nice to be home!

Long Day

It's not even 9 a.m. and so far our day has consisted of:

*1 bottle of children's motrin: apparently the child proof cap that I have trouble opening can be opened instantly by an almost 2-year-old.

*1 call to poison control: they wanted to know if she had ingested more than 3/4 the bottle. Luckily I had mopped up at least 3/4 of the bottle off the kitchen table and chairs so I know she didn't ingest that much.

*1 jar of peanut butter and *1 tube of mascara
while I was on the phone with poison control

*3 outfit changes, numerous hand washes, and one bath with bubbles

Bill came upstairs to see what all the noise was and decided to go work at an internet cafe for the rest of the day....but first he had to go change his pants, which got stickified by little fingers.

Update at 1:30
Sandy's odds of surviving the day have increased dramatically. She finally went down for a nap -- an hour an half after I tried to put her down for one. Let's hope she sleeps a very long time!

Oh, and I just need to point out that Sandy picked out her own outfit. That particular one was outfit #2 so it didn't stay on long, anyways.