Bill, Megan, Sandy & Abby

Sunbeams

2012-01-02T09:31:00.001-08:00

Sandy went to Sunbeams yesterday! She was so excited. We practiced singing Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam all week. I glued pictures of her, her teacher, and the other two kids in her class on popsicle sticks and we practiced going to Primary all week.

Abby was sad that Sandy wasn’t in Nursery with her anymore. I’m glad they had two months in there together.

I didn’t take a single picture yesterday. In fact, I didn’t even think about it until I saw a friend blogging about her cute 3-year-old’s first time in Sunbeams.

The girls were extra tired yesterday, which might explain why we had the WORST. SACRAMENT.MEETING.EVER. We battle with the girls every week trying to keep some semblance of order, so it might seem hard to tell which week is really the worst. This one had the added embarrassment of a wardrobe malfunction. Near the end of the meeting, Bill stood up to take Sandy out for making noise. Abby started to cry so I stood up to take her out. My heel got caught in my skirt and when I stood up, my skirt ended up on the floor around my ankles. I sat back down and Abby screamed through most of the closing hymn, but I wasn’t standing back up again after that. I did manage to pull my skirt back up. Someone came up to me afterward and commented on what a rough day it looked like I was having and I burst into tears.

New Year’s Day is a hard day for church. We got the girls into bed at 8:30 (just an hour later than usual), but the fireworks in our neighborhood woke up Sandy. She came running out of her room demanding to know why someone was banging on our door.

I wish I knew what to do about Sacrament Meeting. I found this post online yesterday and laughed and cried while I read it.

Seriously, though, getting to church on time isn’t usually a problem. We sit in our bench a few minutes before Sacrament Meeting starts. The girls can look at a Gospel Art Picture or an issue of the Friend until after the Sacrament. We usually make it through that first half hour okay – not to say it doesn’t take a fair amount of effort and reminders to keep the kids quiet, but we manage. It’s the remaining 40 minutes of the meeting that are impossible. It doesn’t help that Bill stands up after the Sacrament to go count attendance and I’m left wrestling two girls that don’t understand why daddy gets to walk around when they have to sit still.

I bring them each a sippy cup of water. That does seem to help. We’ve gotten rid of snacks. I’ve gone back and forth on that, but I’ve decided the mess, noise, and fights over the snacks outweigh any benefit. I give them a snack right before church.

I try to bring a couple of quiet toys. Fewer toys seems to work better than lots of toys. I have boxes and boxes of quiet toys to choose from– books, quiet books, dry erase books, magnet dolls, finger puppets…. However, Sandy can turn any quiet toy into a noisy toy. For example, we brought lacing cards a couple of times. She laced the string through three or four times so it would stay, then cast it like a fishing pole onto the bench in front of us (no one was sitting there). When she got in trouble for that, she dangled it over the bench, but swung it into the bench in front of us. Then it got taken away. After a talk about how to play with them correctly, we tried it again another week, but the temptation was too great and it got taken away again and hasn’t been back to church since.

Coloring doesn’t entertain my kids for long, and our chapel is sloped so if I bring crayons or colored pencils, they all seem to get dropped and roll to the front. I’ve tried giving Sandy just one pencil and that works, but she gets bored really fast. That reminds me that one of my sister-in-laws got her daughter to color longer by having her make a picture for her teacher or friend. Sandy was a little young when I heard that, but maybe I should try that for next week.

It seems like it always becomes a battle of wills between Sandy and I. For example, on Sunday, she was singing…”All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought twas all in fun, then pop! goes the weasel.” She was singing quietly, but she was singing. in church. when everyone else was trying to listen to the speaker. So I told her to stop. She looked right at me and sang louder. So, I picked her up under one arm, Abby under the other and out in the hall we went. Into a chair she went with strict instructions that she wasn’t to move off the chair until she could show me she could go 1 minute without making a sound and then we could go back in. So what does she do? Sit on her chair and sing. I ignored her, she eventually got bored and gave me the one minute of silence and promised to be good and back in we went.

Abby takes every opportunity to dive under the bench. If I can focus on Abby, I can keep her pretty under control but it takes a lot of effort. But then Sandy seems to get jealous of the attention Abby’s getting and starts acting out.

If I felt good about giving the girls my phone to play games with the sound turned down, thing would go a lot more smoothly, but letting my kids play electronic games during church makes me feel like a horrible mother. Bill’s not sure about it, but he doesn’t seem to have the same amount of guilt either way. Of course, having disruptive children in church makes me feel like a horrible mother, too. I can’t believe how much guilt and frustration comes in this one hour. As a friend of mine says, “It’s the worst hour of my week. Isn’t it supposed to be the best?”

Merry Christmas

2012-01-01T14:15:00.001-08:00

Opening Presents

We celebrated Christmas Eve on the 23rd (Friday night). The girls opened pajamas from Grandma Sherri.

Saturday morning (the 24th), we opened presents. Apparently I don’t have any pictures of that, although we did get it all on video. The girls were excited to see that Santa had come. Sandy got everything she asked for (a dog dolly, pretend makeup, and pez for her pez dispenser) and more. Abby didn’t ask for anything, but seemed pleased with her presents.

Christmas Day

Abby and Sandy wore their new Christmas dresses from Grandma Buhler to church on Christmas Day.

Nativity

The Thursday after Christmas, we went to the extended Buhler family party. It is traditional to have a live Nativity play by the children; Sandy was Mary this year.

Abby was an angel:

Abby didn’t make it to the end of the play. She was sad and came and sat with me.

The girls had cute matching outfits on, but I didn’t think to take pictures until we got home and, by then, they were tired.

Some funny stories

We went to the post office this week. I was carrying Abby and a box, so Sandy was holding onto my shirt as we walked through the parking lot. She said, “Mom, you need more arms.” I said, “Yes, I could really use a few more arms.” Sandy said, “Then you would be an octopus.”

On the same post office trip, Abby took off while I was in line. Sandy went after her. I went after them and then we had a talk about how they need to stay right with me so someone doesn’t try to take them. Sandy said, “Because your heavy.” I said, “What?” She said, “Because I’m little and Abby’s little but you’re heavy mom, so the bad people can’t take you.”

Abby has three new words: yum, gum, and bum. She really enjoys saying them. She calls anything chewy, like taffy, gum.

Let the Christmas Season Begin

2011-12-03T14:10:00.001-08:00

We went to breakfast with Santa Claus this morning.

I've been working on some visiting teaching snowballs for my ladies. I found the idea and directions here, but I changed it up a little bit and one of my changes is I used a balloon filled with candy for the center. You can see my visiting teaching ideas for this month here. Sandy and Abby have been helping me make them and they absolutely LOVE the balloons filled with candy. In fact, Sandy's quote was: "This is my favoritest kind of balloon ever!!"

November

2011-12-03T14:06:00.001-08:00

How does time go by so fast? I just realized I haven’t posted a single blog entry for November. So here’s a recap of our month.

My sister, Kelsie, got married in the Houston, Texas temple and we were able to be there for that. My parents, siblings, and families were all there – the first time in 5 years that we have all been in one place.

Here is the bride and groom with their nieces and nephews.

I’ll have to post more pictures when I get them.

We also went to the Houston Space Center.

Abby in the ball pit:

We took a 90 minute tour of the space center – we rode on a tram, stopped at several different spots, and got to see everything from mission control to the Saturn V rocket to the grove of trees planted to honor fallen astronauts. Sandy was really interested in learning about the astronauts.

We also made it to the beach just as it was getting dark. Here’s a picture of Sandy with my dad on the beach.

Bill turned 35. Here is our traditional birthday breakfast and presents:

His parents hosted a birthday dinner for the family to celebrate the birthdays of Bill and his brother Eric. Here is Bill with his orange cake with chocolate ganache frosting. I made it using this recipe. It tasted good, but it was so moist it was falling apart when I tried to frost it.

Here is Eric with his cake.

Playing grandma’s piano:

Also, Bill finished the projector project he has been working on for the past 3 years. Here he is building a mount – and letting Sandy run a drill press.

Between daylight savings time, traveling to a different time zone, and kids being sick with croup, our sleep schedule has been very off this month. Here’s some random pictures of the girls jumping on the couch one morning in their pajamas. And, yes, Sandy did wear a skirt over her pajamas to bed. She loves skirts.

Ward Trunk or Treat

2011-10-29T20:27:00.001-07:00

Tonight was our ward trunk or treat.

Before I forget, here are a few funny Sandyisms.

She loves to go to Old McDonald’s. (that is what she calls the fast food place).

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I carry bags like this one in my car and sometimes stop to give one to someone with a sign asking for help. Every time I do this, she asks about it and we talk about how the person has a sign that says that they are hungry and we are so blessed to have food to eat and so Jesus would want us to share our food.

We were on the way home from the park and Sandy wanted a snack and I told her we’d get one at home. Then I saw someone with a sign and decided to hand out one of my homeless bags. After I gave it away, Sandy said, “I’m hungry just like that man is hungry!”

We had a very nice discussion about how we could go right home and have a snack, but this man couldn’t do that and how she is such a lucky little girl to have a nice house to live in, good food to eat, warm clothes to wear, and a mommy and daddy that love her so, so much.

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Speaking of being hungry, this morning Sandy came in and asked for breakfast. She said, “I’m so hungry my whole mouth is hungry!”

Fall Fun

2011-10-29T20:11:00.001-07:00

It doesn’t take much to entertain us:

I promise Sandy (usually) starts the day in clothes that match. This was, oh, I don’t know, maybe her fifth outfit of the day. I care less and less as the day goes on.

It was a beautiful fall day:

The weather was gorgeous – the girls wanted to wear hats, but they took off their shoes.

Sandy showing off some rocks she collected:

Contemplative Abby:

Clothes for Pictures

2011-10-15T11:36:00.001-07:00

We are taking family pictures next month when we’ll be in Houston with my parents, siblings and their families. The colors are black, white, gray, and red. I’ve been trying to figure out outfits and I think I’ve found something for each of the girls.

I love Abby’s gray sweater with a white onesie and jeans. She also has a red shirt, but I don’t think I like red on her as well.

I was thinking of this outfit for Sandy. She really likes it. Do you think the pattern is too busy, though?

They both have black boots. Then, I was thinking it would be fun to add an accessory with just a pop of red for each of them. Something like this headband for Sandy and this bow for Abby.

For me, I looked to see what I have in my closet.

I think the gray shirt in the bottom right corner is my favorite, but the sleeves are a bit sheer so I’d need to find a shirt to go underneath that doesn’t disrupt the neckline too much. Also, I’m not sure if I want to wear short sleeves? My second favorite is the button up, striped shirt. I don’t like either of the cardigans at all – maybe if I untucked the white shirt they’d be a little better. I usually wear them with dresses and I think they hang a bit better.

I love this cardigan (and the way it looks on her!):

I also love this necklace. I think it would work with the gray shirt, but not with the button up one. I have a simple strand of black pearls, though, that would work with the button up shirt.

I’m not sure what Bill will wear. He wants to wear black pants but the only shirt I can find that is even remotely in the color scheme is a gray sweater with a blue argyle pattern. I’ll have to go look for something. He has a set of swatches his sister put together for him of colors that look good on him. These are the reds – they are more burgandy and magenta than red, though, so maybe I should stick with plain gray.

I would love any comments or suggestions. And, for those that are taking the pictures with us, I’d love to see how this matches up to what you are planning to wear.

A few pictures

2011-10-10T11:17:00.001-07:00

Sandy showing off her pumpkin picture – and the outfit she picked out today.

Abby loves to brush her teeth.

The girls got these fun blankets in the mail from Grandma Sherri. Check out this crown.

Here I am with the girls and their blankets.

Also, I’ve had a couple of people ask about my craft blog. You can find it here.

General Conference Highlights 2011

2011-10-04T20:35:00.001-07:00

Who were your three favorite speakers?

President Thomas S. Monson (multiple talks, I love that he announced the temple fund that will pay for a one-time temple trip for those that would otherwise be unable to go!)

President Boyd K. Packer (Saturday morning, he has such a distinctive voice, I enjoyed his stories from his childhood, and I like his repetition – the children today are being born in enemy territory)

Sister Elaine S. Dalton (Sunday morning, to Fathers of Daughters. What a great message! This is the number one talk I hope we study as one of the Teachings for our Times lessons.)

Which talk spoke to you the most?

It’s hard to pick one. Probably one of these:

Elder Neil L. Andersen (Saturday afternoon) about having families

Elder Ian S. Ardern (Saturday afternoon) about using time wisely

What was your favorite hymn and why did it move you?

Consider the Lilies by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the Sunday morning session. Abby liked it, too.

It is a beautiful song, but it was more than that. I felt throughout the conference such encouragement and hope and this song really put words to those feelings.

Which speaker was the best dressed? (Come on, we can have a little fun.)

I don’t know, but my 3-year-old daughter was excited that Sister Dalton was wearing purple just like her.

Were there any topics that you felt like were repeated often? Any conference themes?

*The Book of Mormon, importance of studying it, gaining a testimony of it

*Not to fear

*Use technology/social media & time wisely

*Heavenly Father desires to bless us but we need to ask. I loved the back to back talks Sunday afternoon of Elder Bennett (his near drowning experience where the life guard had circled around the current and was waiting for him to call for help) and Elder Cornish (who talked of praying to find a quarter so he could buy a chicken thigh on his way home).

Share a few of your favorite quotes from any of the talks (paraphrasing is fine).

I’ll be glad when they release the printed versions:

*President Packer had some great quotes and promises about being protected if we follow the promptings of the holy ghost

*President Eyring had a quote about the Book of Mormon changing character I’d like to go back and look up

*Elder Cook had a quote about the tender mercies of the Lord, many of which we are unaware of

*President Uchtdorf: Man is nothing compared to God but to God, man is everything

Name something(s) that made you smile or laugh during conference.

Elder Alonzo (Saturday morning) when he talked of looking for his son that was lost and commented that they didn’t stop to have a planning meeting.

Bill’s orange-cinnamon rolls that he made on Sunday made me smile!

Was there any evidence that your children paid attention?

There were a few moments:

When Elder Bennett (Sunday afternoon) told the story of his 3-year-old granddaughter being given the choice between eating dinner and having ice cream or not eating her dinner and going to bed without ice cream, Sandy said, “I like to go to bed because I get tired.”

After Elder Cook’s (Sunday afternoon), Sandy said, “He said Amen. We say Amen to prayers and to talks, too.”

What doctrine did you learn as you listened to the choir(s) sing?

I thought “I’ll Go Where You Want me to Go” was a fitting song after Elder Ballard’s Sunday morning talk about using the correct name of the church (I’ll say what you want me to say).

Did the music enhance your General Conference experience? How?

Yes. I loved the primary choir in the Saturday afternoon session. It was wonderful to hear the children singing.

I also loved when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang I Believe in Christ after President Monson’s talk (one of the Sunday ones, I can’t remember which one now).

What are some of your post-conference goals?

*To read a conference talk with my scriptures before I go to bed. I’m hoping to get through the conference Ensign several times before next conference.

*Evaluate time spent on computer – i.e., waste less time

*Pray more for divine help with daily struggles

*Remember (more consistently) President Monson in my prayers and in our family prayers

And here are a few more pictures:

Note: These questions came from here.

New Hairdo

2011-10-01T08:38:00.001-07:00

Sandy’s hair is tricky to do – it has a very fine texture and it’s come in unevenly. I’ve tried to braid it, but I can’t get it to stay, even with a lot of gel. I put up one side, but it usually falls out as she is playing. Also, her bangs are getting long and always seem to be hanging in her face.

Yesterday, we saw one of her friends who had just come back from cookie cutters. I tried to recreate the method they had used and it worked great. I’m so excited to see Sandy with her hair out of her face and have a fairly quick hairdo that will stay put through some running around!

Basically, I made a little pony tail with her bangs, pulled the tail through the pony tail then combined it with a second pony tail, pulled that tail through, and combined it all into a third ponytail and pulled that one through as well.

Oh, and Sandy’s wearing her home depot apron because she has an amazing dad that takes her the first Saturday of every month to do the kids workshop project.

September Wrap Up

2011-10-01T08:33:00.001-07:00

We had a family celebration of the September birthdays.

Mine:

Autumn’s:

April’s:

Here are some other pictures from that night.

Grandma & Autumn working on a cake:

Abby & I:

I think this was my favorite picture of the night. Kate watching Autumn open presents and crying – she’s so adorable, even when she’s crying. I think Abby took off with the present right behind Kate at one point, but I don’t have a good picture of that.

I got to go to the General Relief Society Broadcast. It was nice to see it live.

Abby loves to swing and sometimes just wants to stay there even when I tell her I’m done pushing. One day she was sitting there, I was picking up the backyard and looked up to find this:

Sandy on the same day:

I love watching these two play together. Here is Sandy pushing Abby in a laundry basket:

Abby’s masterpiece:

This is what the girls looked like afterward (and the reason they don’t usually get to color with markers):

Swingset

2011-09-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

I'm so grateful for our swingset in the backyard. The girls love playing on it.

We've been home all week because Sandy has hand, foot, mouth disease. Her blisters are starting to heal, but it's contagious until 2 days after they heal completely. Abby has had a fever and I keep expecting her to get it, but no blisters yet. Our pediatrician said they don't usually get it again, though, so I'm glad to know we are getting this out of the way before they are in school.

Neck Ultrasound

2011-09-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

I had an ultrasound on my neck on Tuesday.

The doctor that did the ultrasound said:
*The thyroid tissue (the same tissue that was biopsied last August) looks like it is in the scar tissue from my surgery and he wasn't concerned about it.
*With the clear ultrasound and 5 years since my first clear scan (August 2006), I'm probably in remission. (Huh, and I thought I've been in remission since August 2006.)
*To be sure, he recommends doing another body scan. (I've done this before - it would involve going off my thyroid medication, 2 weeks of the iodine-free diet, and then I-131 radiation and I wouldn't be able to be around anyone for a week.)
*If the body scan is clean, then they can adjust my thyroid medication to be at normal levels. Currently, they keep my thyroid medication high enough that my thyroid stimulating hormone is 0.1 or below. Normal levels are 1.0 to 4.0. Side effects of the high medication include anxiety, racing heart, difficulty sleeping -- all things I've definitely experienced. It would be nice not to have the side effects.
*I asked him about the statistic I had read -- 40% chance of recurrence of thyroid cancer within 10 years -- and he said that is true but includes all treatment methods. If I do the body scan - which is what he would recommend - and it comes back clean then he thought I had nothing to worry about.

I really liked the doctor that did the ultrasound, he explained things well. He said he'd send a report to my doctor.

I've been waiting to hear from my doctor. This is the doctor that originally diagnosed and treated me and now, after some insurance changes and a clinic change for him, I'm back with him. I'm surprised I haven't heard from him yet. He should be calling me with lab results and to talk about the ultrasound. I'm supposed to schedule a follow-up with him in January, but I really don't want to wait until then to talk to him.

When I saw my doctor last month, I asked him about the body scan. He said that as long as my labs look good, he didn't think we needed to do the body scan. My last doctor expressed concern about how much radiation I've already had. They've revised the guidelines drastically in the last 5 years and the two doses I had were double the doses they now recommend.

So, my questions for him are:

*What did my labs look like? He's mainly watching the thyroglobulin.

*What are the pros and cons to doing the body scan? He's not recommending it but the doctor that did the ultrasound highly recommended it. Also, when I had my last scan, the radiologist said I would need a scan in 5 years because it was the only way to know for sure.

Wikipedia says: "Some studies have shown that thyroglobulin (Tg) testing combined with neck ultrasound is more productive in finding disease recurrence than full- or whole-body scans (WBS) using radioactive iodine. However, current protocol (in the USA) suggests a small number of clean annual WBS are required before relying on Tg testing plus neck ultrasound."

I like my doctor, but he is the one that told me I had less than a 5% chance of having cancer, so I don't really trust playing the odds. Also, I've been reading online and found several cancer survivors that had the scans 5 years later and their lungs or stomachs lit up on the scans.

*What about adjusting my medication? If I don't have the body scan, will he adjust my medication? If I do have the body scan, will he adjust my medication?

Sunglasses!

2011-09-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

My girls love sunglasses! Can you see Sandy's layered skirts? She's wearing a purple skirt with a brown and pink skirt underneath. Her latest thing is layering clothes. She came out the other day wearing 3 pairs of leggings, two dresses, and a shirt over the top. I asked her why she was wearing so many clothes and she said it was so if something got dirty she could just take it off and have clean clothes on.

Funeral

2011-09-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

Bill's grandma passed away. She was 88 and lived an amazing life. She taught primary for 49 years. She was a widow for 32 years. Talk about an example of enduring to the end!

Here she is with Bill at our wedding:

A four generation picture with Sandy:

Grandma with Sandy:

Grandma with Abby:

Sandy has been fascinated with death. We took her to the viewing and the funeral. We've tried to answer her questions. I just asked her about it so you can get a glimpse of her understanding of it:

Tell me about Grandma Krantz.

She died.

What happened?

The spirit jumped out of Grandma Krantz's body. The spirit hasn’t jumped out of my body yet. Cuz I’m still a kid.

What happened to her spirit?

That spirit jumped out of her body!

Where did it go?

To live with Heavenly Father and Jesus.

When Heavenly Father and Jesus comes back the spirit will come back too and jump back into the body.

Jesus is really strong. He will help her get the things off her legs (referring to the casket being half shut during the viewing so that Sandy was concerned Grandma wouldn’t be able to get out).

I think I better warn the nursery leaders before Sunday. Who knows what she'll tell them, it might help if they know her great-grandma died this week.

We got to see lots of cousins. Here is Sandy hugging her cousin, Christian, at the funeral lunch.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

I spent the morning looking through photos of Bill's grandma for her funeral video. It made me want to take more pictures. So, we grabbed Grandpa Buhler and got some three generation pictures with the girls.

Sandy got a new helmet and passed her old helmet down to Abby:

They love to go for bike rides:
Here's a random picture of Abby eating a jelly belly. Apparently not a flavor she likes.

I need a roll of stickers that say: I dressed myself today!

Dinosaur Park

2011-09-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

We went to the Dinosaur Park yesterday with Laurel & Elise. As we walked into the park, I was a bit shocked to see this:

Sandy insisted that her favorite dinosaur of the day was the "dead one with the blood on it."

I'm not sure if it is because I reacted to it when we first walked in or because she is fascinated by blood and death, etc...

This was Elise's favorite dinosaur:

The three girls:

Sandy & Elise at the Flintstones exhibit:

It was a fun day:

August

2011-09-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

August went by so fast! And I don't even have any pictures from the month!

Abby had her 15-month check up and she is in the 99th percentile for height. I'm not sure what her weight percentile is but she was 23 pounds with clothes on and she's been tracking about 50th percentile. The appointment went well. She has four words, which is the milestone for this appointment: mommy, bye, and thank you.

Sandy finished swimming lessons! After 5 sessions (10 weeks total) in level 1, she's ready for level 2.
I made a cake for Janna's baby shower. Janna was my little sister from Big Brothers Big Sisters several years ago and we've stayed in touch. She's having a little boy in September. I'm excited for her!

We spent a week in South Dakota with my parents, which was so much fun! But I don't have any pictures...

I had several stories to tell about the girls, but I've forgotten most of them.

One night we got talking about milk and where it comes from. Confident that Sandy would know the answer (since the week before we had milked a cow at Thanksgiving Point), I asked Sandy where milk comes from. "Costco!" she said. I said, "Remember, where did we go last week?" Sandy, replied, "Walmart?"

At Sandy's 3-year checkup, our pediatrician emphasized that she needed to watch less than an hour of tv a day. We don't watch a lot of tv, and we have days when it doesn't come on at all, but once it is on, Sandy will keep watching as long as I let her. So, I told Sandy that was two Curious George episodes. After a few days of me reminding her, "The doctor said you can only watch 2 shows." one day she came back with, "I haven't watched my two shows. The doctor says I have to watch two shows!"

July Wrap Up

2011-08-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more July pictures.

Sandy finished her summer ballet class; she loved it. Miss Kim is an amazing teacher.

The last day of class was a parent class so all the parents (and grandparents or friends or whoever else wanted to come) is invited to come watch and take pictures.

The kids took turns doing things. This was Sandy's turn to go across the floor jumping with both feet:

They lined up and practiced their feet positions and more jumping.

They sashayed around the room with a partner:

There was also plenty of free movement with fun props.

Abby really wanted to dance, too:
Abby & Sandy ready to go to a wedding reception for Bill's cousin:

Oh, and one random story to share. The other day, the mail came. Sandy saw it in the mail slot and said, "Look! Grandpa Krantz brought us our mail." I guess she's heard that Bill's grandpa was a mailman? He passed away when Bill was very young. I wish I could say there was something amazing in the mail, but it was just some junk mail and an unexpected bill.

Grateful for...

2011-07-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

This great country

Annual Buhler family 4th of July breakfast

Girls Night Out
(Pink Martini concert at Red Butte Garden)

The girls playing together!
I was folding laundry, both girls followed me into the laundry room. Sandy grabbed Abby's arm and said, "Let's play Ring Around the Rosies." She sang, and they both giggled and giggled each time they fell down.

Seeing family this weekend in Colorado

This amazing rainbow - the pictures don't do it justice. As I was driving down the freeway, I could see the full rainbow and a double rainbow on one side.

Sandy playing with some of her cousins

Seeing my parents, here is my dad feeding Abby jelly beans.

A safe and scenic drive home (and sleeping in our own beds after being gone for a few days)

Quotes of the Week:
Sandy (as Megan opened a can of tuna fish): "But that's cat food!" As we tried to explain that cats do like tuna fish, but people eat it, too. "I don't think so. Curious George feeds that to the cat."

Sandy: Read it again (for the 3rd time).
Bill: No. That story doesn't have the literary merit for a third reading.

Sandy: I need to hit it. (trying to ride her trike into Bill's car as he was blocking her.)
Bill: No, you don't. If you hit it, it could break.
Sandy: No it won't break, it's not glass.
Bill: Things can break even if they aren't glass. Please don't hit my car.
Sandy: I need to break a piece off and put it in there (pointing to the basket on back of her trike)

Sandy: The sun is up! I sleeped really fast! (the first morning in the hotel)

Sandy: I obey my mom and dad. Don't push Abby!
(This one was a couple of weeks ago, told by Sandy's nursery leader after a lesson on obeying parents).

Grateful for...

2011-07-03T20:49:00.001-07:00

I stumbled across a blogger that does a post each week with pictures of things she is grateful for. She calls it Grace in Small Things. I thought I'd try it.

Summer Fruit
(I love how Abby eats grapes. She puts the whole bunch to her mouth, bites into one grape and pulls it off with her teeth.)

A Washer & Dryer that sit side by side!
(My husband and father-in-law redid the plumbing in the laundry room this week. This means I can do laundry without having to open and close the washing machine door 3 times as I load it and 3 times as I empty it!)

Help with Dishes

A shiny sink (I've found the FlyLady)

Baby Steps
(Abby has taken off this week! After months of being able to walk around furniture and even stand up in the middle of the room, she's finally discovered that she can walk.)

A Good Book to Read

A husband who drove us to the Great Salt Lake for a Sunday afternoon outing, then didn't complain when I stayed in the car and read my book.

I don't have a picture, but I'm also grateful this week for

*Answered prayers: My brother-in-law, Michael, spent the week in the hospital (including several days in the ICU) because a vein was pinched between his rib and clavicle and it was causing blood clots. We got to visit him Thursday night and he is home now.

I'm sure there are several things that I'm leaving out, but it has certainly helped me feel more grateful to look for photo opportunities all week for this.

Happy Birthday, Sandy!

2011-06-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Sandy is 3 years old today! We started out the morning with pink birthday pancakes.

Sandy has been asking for a pink-princess-with-red-hair-cake for a long time now. Wilton makes these barbie doll picks for the cakes, but they don't make one with red hair. I searched for a red-headed Barbie and also struck out. I did find an Ariel doll, but she had a fin and I didn't think that would fit in the cake! Finally, I went to the dollar store and found a Barbie-like doll with red hair.

Last night I baked the cake (strawberry!) and set it on the counter to cool. I carefully covered it with a giant red Tupperware bowl to keep it from drying out. Sandy got out her stool and took off the bowl so she could look at it. I asked her not to do that anymore because we didn't want anything to happen to it. But, Sandy's stool was still there and when I went downstairs to grab something, I came back to this:

Sorry for the blurry picture, but you get the idea!

Here is what the cake looked like.

We ran to the store and grabbed some plain, unfrosted cupcakes (which we then came home and decorated). But after my initial panic, I thought, I can fix that! And, after frosting it, you really couldn't even tell.

I used a star tip to pipe on her bodice, then just frosted the skirt. She was taller than the cake so I had to build the waist up a bit with frosting:

Here is the cake surrounded by cupcakes:

Sandy blowing out her candles:

The cake after being cut:

10 Things About Sandy on her Birthday

10. She likes to count - she can get to 15, now we are working on getting to 20! And, of course, the main reason to learn to count is to play hide and seek - another thing she LOVES! As soon as Bill walks through the door, she says, "You count and I'll hide!" and runs off.

9. This girl has empathy! The first time we went on the wagon ride at Thanksgiving Point, she was very upset that the horses were pulling us and they were tired and their feet hurt! When we were frosting her princess cake for her birthday, she told me the princess was cold without her clothes on. If we hear or see someone crying she gets very concerned. Sometimes I'll ask her why she thinks they are crying and her answers are pretty interesting. I can't think of any right now.....

8. Sandy is an extrovert! If she could have someone over playing every minute, she would. I think she loves having a sister because she always has someone she can do things with.

7. She likes to go, go, go. She loves to run errands and hates it when we come back home. As soon as we turn onto our street, she'll say something like, "But, mom, we need to go to Costco (or Walmart)!" And, if I tell her "Maybe later." she says, "I'll just wait in the car." (And, no, I don't let her sit in the car until "later."

6. She is a big helper. She likes to empty the silverware out of the dishwasher, set the table, and run and get me things.

5. She loves to collect treasures. If she can find a purse or bag or box, she can fill it with her treasures. This is what was in her treasure box yesterday:

4. She likes to pray. Would it be wrong to video tape her praying? It makes me laugh! She is very specific.
*"Thank you for letting Ashley, Madison, and Rylee come to my house to play."
*"Please help my mom lay down with me for a nap so I can lay on her tummy."
*"Please bless me that I can go to grandma's house."
*"Please bless Rosie, my friend, to come to my house." (My sister Rosie is in Canada. We saw her at the beginning of the month and ever since, Sandy talks about her all the time.)
She was starting and ending her prayers "in the name of Jesus Christ." We tried to explain we start by talking to Heavenly Father and then end in the name of Jesus Christ. So now she starts and ends her prayers with "in the name of Heavenly Father."

3. She tries hard to do the right thing. Her latest concept is "obeying." For some reason, the word really makes a difference. If I ask her to do something and she doesn't do it, sometimes saying, "Will you please obey me?" or singing the Primary song "Quickly, I'll Obey" is all it takes. Sometimes I'll hear her repeating rules:
*"No hands in bums!" - She got me with this one the other day when I was trying to tuck in my shirt.
*"Don't push Abby!"

2. She wears a dress every day! She loves dresses, the fancier the better! And she has very specific opinions about what matches!

1. She asks why all the time! It is hard to keep up with her line of questioning sometimes, but I love her curious nature!

Happy Birthday, Sandy!

Summer Fun!

2011-06-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

Monday we went to Thanksgiving Point.

We had a KFC picnic, here is Abby enjoying a chicken leg on top of the picnic table.

Sandy loves the pony rides!

Grandma & Grandpa Buhler joined us, here we are on the wagon ride.

After seeing Farm Country, we went to the Dinosaur Museum. Abby loved the tunnels.

...and riding on Dad's shoulders.

She kept getting so excited, though, she would hit him on the head.

Sandy's favorite thing at the Dinosaur Museum is the sand and water table. It was almost closing time so she had it all to herself for a few minutes.

Abby loves the sand quarry!

Then we drove by the Children's Exploration Garden, which was closed. Sandy & Abby had fun in a coach outside the gates, though.

Abby really wanted to get in!

Sandy has been taking swimming lessons. She loves to go and she is pretty comfortable in the water.

Here she is waiting for class to start.

Still waiting....

It's kind of far away, but here she is in the water with her teacher.

We found these great swim robes at Costco!

Peekaboo!

Abby loves corn on the cob!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my husband, dad, father-in-law, grandpas and all the other dads out there!

An interview with Sandy about her Dad

How old is Dad?

I don’t know

What is Dad's favorite dinner?

Chicken nuggets

What is Dad's job?

To do the lawn mower

What makes Dad mad?

I don’t know

What does Dad do when he comes home from work?

I don’t know

What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?

Pick up Izzy (our babysitter)

What makes Dad laugh?

I don’t know

What does Dad do that makes you laugh?

Takes me to the Dinosaur museum

Is Dad a good singer?

Nods her head yes

What does Dad sing to you?

The Kitty cat song

What would you like to do with Dad?

Watch movies (at the movie theatre)

What is something that Dad always says to you?

Say please

What do you think Dad does when you go to sleep?

Be quiet (whispering)

How are you and Dad the same?

We both like chocolate

How are you and Dad different?

I don’t know

What do you love most about Dad?

Why don’t my dad have too much hair?

What color are your dad’s eyes?

blue

What color is your dad’s hair?

my daddy’s hair is white

What is your dad’s favorite treat

chocolate

what do you like to do to daddy

tickle his toes

Some of her answers are random -- Bill wants me to point out that chicken nuggets is NOT his favorite dinner, it is hers -- but I thought it was funny.

Abby loves her daddy, too! She's not old enough to answer questions, but she does think anytime he is around he should be holding her!

Catch-up Post

2011-06-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

Sandy started a ballet class this week. She loves it! Last month we went to her friend's ballet class to watch. For 45 minutes Sandy sat still and quiet. It was amazing! Ever since, she's been begging to go to her class. The last class of the session is a special class for parents, grandparents, etc. to come watch and take pictures. She's very excited for people to come watch her - it will be Wednesday, July 27 at 9:30 a.m. If anyone wants to come, just shoot me a message and I can get you the address.

Abby brought me some shoes to put on while I was taking pictures of Sandy. She was so pleased with her shoes.

We celebrated Doug's birthday last Sunday. Here is Abby ready to start eating!

I made the cake, it was this orange-chocolate marble bundt cake.

Last week was Stake Conference week - they had a whole week of things, including a family outing on Friday night. There were bouncy houses. Sandy had a blast!

On June 6, we went up to North Ogden to celebrate Gayla's birthday. Sandy loved the bunnies!

Abby is so close to walking!

Uncle Brandon with the two cousins

Couldn't get a picture with them both looking at the camera.

Bill won a family membership to Thanksgiving Point. It includes the Dinosaur Museum, Farm Country, and the Gardens. We have really enjoyed it! Sandy's favorite so far is the Farm Country, but we haven't been to the Gardens yet and I've heard they have a fun Children's Exploration Garden. She loved the Dinosaur museum, too.

One nice thing about the membership is that we can bring guests with us and they get 50% off admission. So, if you want to go to Thanksgiving Point, let us know and we'll go with you. We're planning on being there a lot this year!

Abby loves to wear her daddy's hat:

Well, I think I'm finally all caught up with pictures. Hooray!

Book Order

2011-05-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

I’m putting in a book order again, if you are interested in getting something, let me know by May 25. I just put in the order with all the discounts, incentives, etc. and then figure out what the exact discount is – last time I did this it was 50% -- and pass it on to you.

I can process credit cards if you give me the info before I put in the order, otherwise, I can take a cash or check when you get your books.

If you want the books mailed directly to your home it is an extra $5 charge (no matter how much you order) plus you have the regular tax and shipping costs that are added to each order.

I don’t have any catalogs or anything, so you’ll need to look online to see what is available.

This is my first order in 2 years – I don’t make any money on this order, but I do get to order books (I love to give books as gifts, especially baby gifts!) at the best price possible and I couldn’t order enough on my own to get the good price.

If you have any questions, leave me a comment or call me at 801-413-0124.

Happy Birthday, Abby!

2011-05-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

Abby is 1 year old today!

We started the day out with some birthday pancakes:

Abby had some help blowing out her candles:

We also let her choose from six items - a tradition that supposedly indicates future interest/ability. You can read about this tradition here.

She picked the ball, so perhaps she will be our little athlete.

Then we went to the doctor for her 1-year checkup. Not very nice, giving her shots on her birthday. I should have planned that differently. We have a new doctor and they didn't give me a printout of her height/weight/percentages. I believe she was 20 pounds, 8 ounces and that her weight was in the 47th percentile.

Tonight, we had a birthday dinner with cupcakes for dessert.

Abby's helpers helped her with this candle, too.

Abby enjoyed the cupcake:

Grandma & Grandpa Buhler were able to celebrate with us:

Grandpa Shupe & Gayla were able to come, too:

Happy Birthday, sweet Abby!

10 Things About Abby on her Birthday:

10. She has two teeth, both on the bottom. It looks like the top ones are coming in, though, and will be here soon.

9. She loves her blanket, a fleece blanket with a satin edge. She actually has two of them, which is good because she won't sleep without one of them over her head. Grandma Sherri made both blankets.

8. She lets us know she is done sleeping by throwing her binkie out of the crib -- and with wood floors it makes a very distinct sound.

7. She squeals when she's happy, she squeals when someone (usually Sandy) takes something from her, and sometimes she squeals just for the sake of squealing. We are working on teaching her about using an indoor voice, but so far we haven't had any luck.

6. She likes to pray. Before meals, we all hold hands and pray. Abby will now reach for my hand as soon as I sit down and bow her head. She doesn't keep it bowed through the prayer, but she's definitely getting the idea.

5. She loves to sit in chairs, especially the little rocking chair that was mine when I was a little girl.

4. She has no fear of heights and can be quite a little dare devil. Did you see her standing up and rocking in that video? I pushed the rocking chair against the couch so it would only rock so far. She was doing it with the rocking chair in the middle of the floor. Scary!

3. Her hair is blonde! She doesn't have much of it, and it is hard to see the color in the pictures, but it is quite blonde. It will be interesting to see what color it is as she grows.

2. She can be very serious. In fact, every time we take pictures I have to dig through a lot of serious ones to find one or two of her smiling. Her big sister is the most successful at coaxing smiles out of her.

1. She is very loved by her dad, mom, and big sister and brings lots of joy into our home!

April Wrap-up

2011-04-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

Sandy came up with an invention.
She had a pinwheel on a straw and figured out that it would fit into the hole on the back of her leap pad. Then, she put it in front of the air vent and watched it spin. Abby was happy to watch her do it.

Sandy loves to help her daddy, but she hates loud noises. So, Bill put some hearing protection on her and let her help him mow the lawn:
We made some really easy cookies and Sandy had so much fun helping. You can find the recipe here.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter - Saturday

2011-04-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

We did Easter baskets this morning:

We went to Grandpa Shupe's for an Easter party. We had a great time, but we forgot our camera. Sandy got to fly a kite and go on an Easter egg hunt, and swing.

The girls got matching pajamas in their Easter baskets. We got some shots of them getting ready for bed.

Getting Ready for Easter

2011-04-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

We've gotten several Easter cards - thanks to grandmas! Sandy and Abby have loved getting their cards! We've got them up on the door so we can admire them, but Sandy frequently takes them down and "reads them to Abby. Adorable!

Today we had some friends come over and we decorated Easter Eggs.

Sandy had a blast - she decided the wire thingy was too much work, so she just pulled the eggs in and out of the colors with her hands - check them out:
About a week ago, our house was egged:
What a fun surprise! The girls had a blast picking up Easter eggs outside:
Abby sleeping. Doesn't look very comfortable, does it?
We went to Ben & Jerry's at the Gateway for free scoop day. There was a little kiosk selling matching hats and purses. I fell in love with this little set for Sandy. The guy that owned the kiosk thought she was cute, too, he took some pictures and asked if he could use them on a flier.

Update & Videos

2011-04-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sandy's First X-ray
Sandy had her first x-ray on Monday, March 28. About 10 days before she fell off the couch. She's complained a couple of times a day ever since that her arm hurt. It never got swollen or discolored and, after the initial fall, she didn't cry. She didn't seem to be favoring her arm when she played, and she didn't cry or complain if Bill and I squeezed or moved her arm. But she did consistently complain about the same arm in the same spot. She also kept saying she needed to go to the doctor for her arm. So, finally I took her in to the doctor. Nothing showed up in the exam, but the doctor did an x-ray of her elbow just to make sure. There wasn't anything on the x-ray either. So, I guess she just wanted to go to the doctor. She hasn't said anything about her arm hurting since.

When we went downstairs for the x-ray, the technician said Abby couldn't come in. So, I said, "Sandy, go with this lady and she's going to take a picture of your arm." The lady looked at me like she couldn't believe I would send my 2-year-old in on her own. (I'm not sure what she expected me to do -- leave my baby unattended in the hall?!) Sandy went without even hesitating and was really good.

Prayers
Sandy loves to say prayers. We're trying to teach her that Bill gets to ask someone to say the prayer (her response is always, "I say a prayer first then you say a prayer."). She does a pretty good job with her prayers, except she addresses them to "Jesus Christ." We've had several conversations about how we pray to Heavenly Father, but we still need to work on that. Two amusing things in prayers this last week:

*Over lunch, Sandy prayed, "Please bless me to go to my grandma's house one day." When we talk to my mom on Skype, she will sometimes ask Sandy if she wants to come visit grandma one day. If they get a direct flight from Salt Lake to Sioux Falls, I'll go for a visit. Until then, though, I think it's going to be awhile - Bill can't get away and I don't want to do a layover with the two girls.

*The other day at dinner, she prayed, "Please bless Abby not to yell and scream the WHOLE night." Abby has been teething and we've had some rough nights.

Videos
Here is a video of Sandy. She sings the ABCs, then says her full name "Sandra Ruth Buhler," then I ask her how old she is and she says, "2, June." And I ask her how old she'll be in June and she says "5".

Here is a video of Abby. She does a half-scoot, half-crawl and she walks around the furniture. The bruise on her head is from the windowsill - she was walking around the couch and tried to hold onto the windowsill, but missed.

Abby says mum and da and knows who she's talking about. In fact, when Bill goes in to her room in the middle of the night, she'll often start screaming, "Mum, mum, mum!" because, of course, she thinks she needs to nurse at night. She loves to blow raspberries. She has two teeth on the bottom and there is one tooth on top that is just poking through.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

February Pictures

2011-02-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

Abby has two teeth on the bottom. She's wearing a shirt that says "bit o' trouble."

Sandy is so good to share with her sister. If only we could get her to ask before she gets things to share with her. What a mess, eating licorice in their church dresses. But at least it was after church. Good thing they are so cute!

For Valentine's day, we had a fun breakfast with heart-shaped waffles and hot chocolate:

Abby loved the waffles!

I got everyone a small gift. Sandy got a set of glitter glue pens. Oh, she had fun with them!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

Abby is 9 months old!

2011-02-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

I took Abby in for her 9-month checkup today. Her stats:
18.69 lbs, which puts her in the 48th percentile
28.25 inches, which puts her in the 75th percentile

She is healthy and growing well. She loves to stand, and will even take a step or two if she is holding on to furniture or hands. She isn't really crawling, but she can pull herself around a little bit. It's not quite an army crawl, and she doesn't make it very far. She doesn't really roll. In just the last couple of weeks, she has learned to roll from her back to her stomach. Sometimes she can roll from her stomach to her back. She doesn't do a complete roll, though. The pediatrician told me not to worry because she can sit and stand, so she's two milestones ahead of rolling.

She's a happy baby. She is serious with people she doesn't know, but as soon as she sees someone she recognizes she gets very excited. She loves kisses - getting them and giving them. She loves her sister, most of the time. She makes lots of happy sounds and is starting to make consonant sounds -- ba ba ba, ma ma ma, etc. She also waves.

She has two teeth, both on the bottom. She doesn't have any hair, and if she follows her sister's lead, she won't until she is 2.

She likes to sleep with the blanket pulled completely over her face. One specific blanket: a fleece blanket with satin edging that my mom made for Sandy. If she has her blanket over her face, she will go right to sleep. If she doesn't, she can scream for a very long time.

She loves to eat solid food and can eat just about anything. She likes to feed herself and she definitely does NOT like to be fed. She starts crying as soon as she sees a container of baby yogurt because she knows I'm going to try to feed her. So, most of the time, I just give her some of whatever we are eating and let her go at it. It's a little messy. She loves vegetables. One of her favorite things is when I give her a handful of frozen corn or frozen peas. I think the cold feels good on her gums. She also likes chicken flavoring. She loves chicken and rice - I don't give her any of the chicken, but she devours the cream of chicken-soaked rice. She also loves chicken-flavored ramen noodles. She's will also drink water out of a sippy cup, although she is still nursing for most of her liquid intake.

She loves books, dolls, and electrical cords. Yes, we really have to watch her, because if she can grab the cord to a laptop or lamp or anything else, she does. And, of course, it goes right in her mouth. I'm not sure what we're going to do about that when she becomes mobile.

She has just (almost) started sleeping through the night. About 2 weeks ago, we finally decided to cut her off from eating during the night. Bill had to get up and soothe her for the first week or so, but she's finally resigned herself to not eating so now I can go back to getting up with her. She still gets up once or twice a night, but it's a considerable improvement over the eating every 2 hours that she was doing. She and Sandy are in the same room and Sandy gets frustrated when Abby cries in the middle of the night. The other night Abby was crying and Sandy said, "Abby, stop crying! Daddy is trying to sleep JUST LIKE ME!" Then Sandy rolled over and went back to sleep.

Happy 9 months, Abby! It has gone by quickly!

Favorite January Pictures

2011-01-22T20:00:00.001-08:00

I hosted a bridal shower today. Here is Abby with a balloon from the shower.

Sandy was a big help. She put out all of the favors.

Here is a picture of the girls from yesterday.

Sandy loves to hold her sister. Abby doesn't love it very much.

Abby wants to crawl so bad. She leans forward and stretches to reach things. I'm amazed at how far she can reach, she will reach so far she almost flips herself over onto her stomach.

Here is a picture of Sandy sharing her sucker:

Oh, that's good:

Wait, I wasn't done.

I'll take some of those:

Sure, you can have some.

Sandy is generally very good at sharing with Abby, especially food. I have to keep a close eye on them because I never know what Sandy will decide to "share" with Abby.

Sandy has discovered youtube - specifically, videos of her and Abby that I have uploaded to youtube. She begs to watch them all of the time. So here are two youtube videos of them. They are just random videos - and kind of long - so don't feel obligated to watch.

Here is a picture of Abby from earlier this week:

Sandy:

The girls love their wagon:

Sandy thinks she is ready to give up her naps, but sometimes that means she just falls asleep in uncomfortable positions.

Catching Up on the End of 2010

2011-01-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

I thought things would slow down after the holidays, but that hasn't really happened. I finally downloaded pictures from the end of December.

Abby loves to stand. Here are a couple of pictures of her from December 31.

December 29 was the Buhler Family Christmas Party and the annual nativity.

Sandy was a wise woman.

Abby was the baby Jesus.

Here is baby Jesus playing with her presents.

Bill and his siblings gave his parents a combined Christmas gift: a photo shoot of the whole family. I have a CD for each family, just need to drop them in the mail. I also emailed out a link - you can see/download full resolution photos. If you didn't get the link, send me an email and I'll send it to you.

We used Despain Photography, and I'd recommend him, just in case anyone is looking for a photographer.

Here is a shot of everyone:

And another shot of everyone:

We also got photos of all the individual families:

A picture of grandma and grandpa with all their grandkids:

All the men:

All the women:

Grandma with her granddaughters:

Abby:

A Look Back at 2010

2010-12-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

As the year draws to a close, we reflect back on 2010.

We welcomed a new family member:

Abigail Aloha Buhler, born May 9, 2010

We celebrated Sandy's 2nd birthday:

We lost a member of our family:

We cleaned up lots of messes, started several home improvement projects (and finished some of them), and didn't get nearly enough sleep. But we have two healthy, happy little girls and we feel very blessed. Bill still owns his own business and Megan is still able to be home with the girls.

2010 has been a good year and we look forward to 2011.

Happy New Year!

Potty Trained!

2010-12-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

Sandy is potty trained. She did it mostly herself.

For a long time, she has been willing to pee in the toilet occasionally. I didn't pushed it, but did reward her with jelly beans if she went.

In November, Bill came home with a toilet seat. Without any prompting, she climbed up on her new seat and pooped. She never went back.

We did occasionally use pull-ups to get us through Nursery, etc. But she has now been in panties exclusively for 2+ weeks (naps, nighttime included) without an accident.

Wow, that was easy when we waited for her to be ready. I'm glad we didn't push it a year ago (and several times since) when our pediatrician recommended we do so.

Curly Hair!

2010-12-27T21:59:00.001-08:00

Jaydene gave Sandy a cute haircut and we discovered that she has some natural curl! More wavy once it dries, but at my cousin Heather's suggestion, I put some gel in her wet hair and scrunched it. I think it's adorable!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Sandy from Christmas Eve talking about what Santa is going to bring her.

Every time I've asked her what she wants Santa Claus to bring her, the answer has been the same: a candy cane. So, I put some candy canes in her stocking -- a couple of miniature ones, a regular size one, and a candy cane tube filled with candy. Christmas morning she was excited by everything, especially the candy canes. Every time she'd get to one in her stocking, she'd hold it up and shout: "A candy cane!" The next day I took her to nursery and her teacher asked her what Santa brought her. Her response? "A candy cane!"

Here is a picture of Abby from Christmas eve that my sister-in-law Heather took.

Here are some photos from Christmas morning.

Here is a video of Abby smiling and Sandy talking in the background.

December Part 1 (in reverse chronological order)

2010-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

On December 23, we went to the annual Shupe family Christmas party. It has been a green, rainy Christmas in Salt Lake, but there was plenty of snow at the party. So much snow, in fact, that we got stuck. Thanks to my grandpa and uncles for pushing us out, chauffeuring us up to the lodge, and then stopping later on the highway to help us pull off the plastic thing that got torn loose and was flapping around.

The first person we saw after getting stuck was my mom's uncle, Norm. He took me and the girls up to the lodge while Bill stayed to deal with the car. Sandy didn't remember him, so when he picked up Abby's carrier to take her to the car, she ran after him yelling, "Hey! That's our baby!"

Santa Claus was at the party.

On December 12, we got a family picture taken for the ward bulletin board:

On December 3 at our ward Christmas party:

November (in reverse chronological order)

2010-12-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

November was a busy month. I was busy with church: getting ready for our Primary Program November 14 and then our ward Christmas Party December 3. We are all exhausted. Abby still wants to eat every 3 hours at night. If I don't nurse her, she screams at the top of her lungs and wakes Sandy up and then we have two kids to deal with in the middle of the night.

Here are photos of the girls in their Christmas dresses on November 28.

My sister stopped by with her husband and son. They live in Canada but were down in Utah for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Corbin liked Abby's binkie.
We went to the Children's Treehouse Museum in Ogden for Black Friday. My kids loved it! They loved it a lot more than Discovery Gateway in Salt Lake.

Abby eating a graham cracker on November 22. She loves to feed herself!

Sandy ready to go on November 18. This girl wants to wear a dress every day. She loves purses, sparkly shoes, and anything pink!

On November 15, our Family Home Evening lesson was on being grateful. We each told something we were grateful for. I said I was grateful that we had a house to live in. Sandy looked deep in thought and finally said, "If we didn't have a house, we could live with Grandpa!"

Bill reading Sandy a bedtime story on November 14.
Abby and Sandy on November 11.

On November 9, we had to put our dog, Sage, to sleep. She had lymphoma and her lymph nodes were swelling and had nearly blocked her airways. It was a hard thing to do. I was really worried about how Sandy would handle losing her friend, but she has done really well. She went with her dad to give Sage a bath. Then a friend stayed home with the girls while Bill and I took Sage to the vet. We explained to Sandy that Sage was old and sick and that she had to go to heaven where she wouldn't hurt any more and that in a really long time when we get old and sick we will die and go to heaven, too. We explained before we took Sage and let Sandy say goodbye. Then we talked about families are forever for Family Home Evening and talked about Sage again. Other than that, we've pretty much left it alone unless Sandy brings it up.

Sandy still prays for Sage in her prayers every night. She knows that Sage is in heaven, though, and has seemed okay with that. She did comment once that "Sage went to heaven in daddy's car," (we took Sage to the vet in Bill's car) but she hasn't had any issues with riding in his car or with us leaving in it, so I guess that was just something she noticed.

Happy Birthday, Bill!

2010-11-06T15:34:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Bill's 34th birthday this morning with a stack of blue pancakes and presents. Here are a few things about Bill and how he has spent the last year.

1. He has been running his own business.
The bulk of Bill's time and attention this year has gone into his company, TeKnowledgy. He provides IT consulting services to local businesses -- functioning as IT administrator for small businesses that don't have their own IT staff and helping extend IT resources of companies that do. He's worked really hard, adding new customers and forming vendor relationships so he can supply printers, computers, and servers to his customers. Some days we feel like we are on top of each other with Bill working from home, but I do appreciate how hard he works to provide for our family.

2. He is an excellent dad!
Abigail was born on May 9, making Bill a father for a second time. He is affectionate with his daughters--and tells them he loves them every day. Sandy loves to help him as he works around the house/yard and he is so patient with her. The other day he made macaroni and cheese and pulled up a chair and let Sandy dump in the macaroni, stir, and add the other ingredients. She really responds well to his attention and patience and I can see her confidence grow as she helps him.

3. He puts God first.
I am grateful that Bill honors his priesthood and has been able to bless Abby and give the girls blessings when they've been sick.

4. He's very handy around the house.
He replaced the garage roof, worked on the girls' bedroom, built shelves to make a toy closet, and much more. I am really lucky to have a husband that is so talented and able to fix and build things.

5. He is a ham radio operator and likes to volunteer.
Bill volunteered at the Wasatch 100, an 100-mile endurance run. We also went as a family to the 24th of July parade and Bill and I both were volunteer ham radio operators for our corner of the parade route. He is also our Stake's emergency communications specialist.

6. He is involved in politics.
Bill went to the Republican State Convention this year as a delegate. He serves as Vice-Chair in our Precinct, and tries to be an informed voter.

7. He likes to read.
I don't know how I found a husband that likes to read as much as I do. I love that he will read a book that I'm reading and then we can discuss it together. Some books we've both read this year: The Hunger Games Series, Freakonomics, The Princess and the Hound, Before Green Gables, and The 10 Big Lies About America.

8. He has a few favorite TV shows.
After we put the kids to bed on Monday nights we like to catch up on our favorite TV shows: Chuck, Big Bang Theory, Eureka, and Dr. Who.

Happy Birthday, honey, I love you!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

Friday night we had a ward Halloween party/Trunk or Treat. Bill and I were both running around all night and didn't get many pictures. Bill did take this lovely one of a grumpy Sandy.

Bill dressed up as the Man in the Yellow Hat, Sandy was a monkey. This is the only picture we got of the two of them together.

We did our traditional hot dogs/hot chocolate in the driveway and the missionaries stopped by, too. When I lived in Kentucky, we had a neighbor that would cook hot dogs in the driveway for all the trick or treaters and their parents. I thought it was a very fun tradition and have really enjoyed carrying it out in our neighborhood. We handed out 64 hot dogs this Halloween, and ran out of buns about 8:15.

Poor Abby always seemed to be sleeping or something and we didn't get any pictures of her in her giraffe costume this weekend. Here are a couple of shots of her today.

The Royal Ball Part 2

2010-10-28T22:19:00.001-07:00

BookItPhoto took pictures at the Ball and made them available online for free download.

Here are the kids from our ward that were there:

The Royal Ball

2010-10-27T15:28:00.001-07:00

Sandy and Bill went on a daddy-daughter date to a Royal Ball, a fundraiser for a little girl in our stake with cerebral palsy.

Here is Abby watching them get ready:

Sandy is ready to go:

Bill and Sandy before they left:

Princess Amerah sang, read a book, and danced with the kids.

Sandy was always close by.

Sandy got a butterfly painted on her face:

Bill and Sandy had a fantastic time! And the ball raised $2500 to pay for treatments for Maggie!

BookItPhoto was there taking photos and said they'd make photos from the event downloadable for free. I'm excited to see the shots they got of Sandy - Bill said the photographers did an excellent job getting her to pose. I don't know when they'll be up, a week or two probably.

Bill took some pictures. The lighting was really bad, but the ones that turned out are here.

Regional Conference

2010-10-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

We had Regional Conference today. It was for 71 stakes and our stake was one of the ones invited to attend at the Conference Center.

Elder Evans of the Seventy conducted. Sister Wixom (General Primary President), Elder Nelson (of the Quorum of the Twelve), and President Uchtdorf (of the First Presidency) also spoke. It was a good meeting. They talked a lot about preparing for full-time missionary service. President Uchtdorf gave a pep talk of sorts; he also suggested three things for everyone to do: (1) Hold a current temple recommend, (2) read the scriptures daily, and (3) talk to Heavenly Father daily.

We left our house at 8:30 so we'd have plenty of time to find parking, etc. Then we ate the breakfast we had brought with us and let Sandy run around for a few minutes. We were in our seats by 9:30 -- the ushers told us to sit anywhere we wanted so we scoped out 4 seats on the end of a row near the back-- and then Sandy and Bill went walking around and were back by 9:50 to listen to the prelude music by the choir. The conference started at 10.

Why did we need 4 seats you might ask?

Yes, that is Abby sleeping in one of the seats! We knew space was limited so we didn't bring her carseat, but a 2-hour meeting is a long time, especially when it is right across her morning naptime.

My favorite binkie clip broke last Sunday and I haven't taken the time to find another one. After we lost Abby's binkie under the seat in front of us -- luckily the girl in front of us found it during the rest hymn -- I improvised a binkie clip using the strap of my nursing cover.

I was annoyed by all of the latecomers to the conference. The fliers that were handed out asked everyone to be in their seats by 9:45, the conference started at 10. There were people coming in all the way until the end. In fact, a lady got seated in the middle of our row at 11.

I really wish they would close the doors at 10. Maybe close the doors at 10, but let the people that are physically there slip in and be seated during the opening hymn. I was annoyed by the constant interruptions from the ushers throughout the meeting trying to find seats for the latecomers. They kept coming up to us and trying to take the seats we had for Sandy and Abby. Sure, Sandy spent part of the time on mine and Bill's lap, but 2 hours is way too long to not let her have her own seat! So every time one or both girls was in one of our laps, they'd come and try to get us to scoot to the middle so they could sit people in the girls' seats.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2010-10-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

It's my Dad's birthday today! We just talked to him over Skype, but I wish we could be there to celebrate with him.

We took pictures this morning on our way out the door for church:

This last one is just Sandy loving Abby, but you can see her pigtails in it.

I used to think this would be the perfect way to get regular pictures of kids. Just line them up and take their picture before church; they are already dressed up! That was before I had kids and experienced getting two kids up and ready for church while Bill is at early morning meetings. We are doing good to get to church without adding anything else!

Princess Ball

2010-10-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

Sandy is going on a daddy date to a Princess Ball!!

It is Tuesday, October 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. at a reception center in South Jordan.

There will be a real princess, stories, face painting, dancing, food, prizes, and more! Tickets are $13 and 100% of the ticket price goes toward treatments for a little girl with cerebral palsy.

If you or someone you know would like to go, you can buy tickets here.

Big Day!!

2010-10-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever, I was able to put two little pigtails in Sandy's hair! Oh, how I have waited for this day!

Sandy was excited, too! She has a friend named Ava that always has two pigtails in her hair and I told her we'd do it "just like Ava."

By the time she had pulled them out about ten times and brought me new elastics saying, "just like Ava" to ask me to put them back in, she looked more like Cindy Lou Who.

We went to Farnsworth Farms to pick apples and Sandy is eating her apple in the photo above. We were too late in the season for apple picking, but we did find two tiny little apples.

They had a fun play area so we stayed and played. My friend Laurel and her daughter Elise came, and we were the only ones there.

They had tons of Snoopy props - a piano, Snoopy's doghouse, a mailbox, and of course, Lucy's psychiatric help stand:
There were several hay bales and pumpkins stacked to make a fun photo opportunity:
But Abby was the only one that would cooperate, the other two girls were busy playing on the playground.

There was a metal plane the girls had fun sitting in.

And swings! Abby's first time in a swing:

There was a small corn maze:

This week Farnsworth Farms has their Great Pumpkin Festival every night from 3 to 9 p.m. It's free admission and they show Charlie Brown's The Great Pumpkin at dusk. They also sell food and tickets to carnival games. I don't know if we'll make it back this year, but I definitely want to go next year!

After we played, we were hungry, so we stopped at the mall to grab a bite to eat. Abby caught a nap in the stroller:

We took a ride on the carousel. I don't believe I've ever been to South Towne Mall before, they have a carousel right in the food court!

And, we took a ride on the train.

After all of that, I thought Sandy would sleep well! She fell asleep in the car, transferred well, and then woke up 20 minutes later. I guess it was too much excitement!

Abby was 5 months old this past Saturday. Today we decided to see how she likes rice cereal.
She loved it almost as much as Sandy loved feeding her.

Getting Ready for Halloween

2010-10-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

Sandy is excited for Halloween! She points out pumpkins everywhere we go. So for Family Home Evening last night, we painted pumpkins. Sandy is holding the two that she painted; she painted hers and Abby's.

Abby loves her vibrating chair and she pull the little umbrella that makes music over and over and over again...

Here they are in their Halloween costumes.

All dressed up...

2010-10-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Sandy got herself dressed this morning.

I'm trying to remember to get a picture of both girls when I pull out my camera. Abby doesn't like her picture taken, but luckily her dad walked into the room and got a big smile out of her.

Also, you are invited to girls night tomorrow (Saturday) from 6 to 8 p.m. (during priesthood session) at my house. For those that are in town, I'd love to see you. Kids are welcome. It will be very low key - just some light refreshments and visiting. If you need directions or have questions, post a comment on my blog and I'll get back to you.

Birthday Celebrations

2010-09-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated September birthdays with the Buhler family yesterday. Mine is September 4 and then April and Autumn share the same birthday: today. (Happy Birthday, ladies!) I thought this mother-daughter picture was adorable!

Abby had fun watching her sister and her cousins!

Sandy worn out from playing with her cousins!

Me and my cake -- and Abby, too, because Bill is taking pictures.

Autumn with her cake.

April with her cake.

Just Like Dad

2010-09-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

When Bill was younger (he says 3, his dad says about Sandy's age), his dad was up on the roof working on the swamp cooler and dropped a wrench that he didn't need any more. A little while later, he heard, "Here's your wrench, dad" and turned around to find Bill on the roof with him.

Bill has been working on the garage roof and Sandy and I have been picking up the shingles. Sandy was playing on the first rung of the ladder, but she didn't seem inclined to go any farther. So I ran and got my camera to take a picture of her playing on the bottom rung of the ladder. I didn't expect to find her at the very top. But I took pictures anyways while Bill very calmly asked Sandy to climb back down.

Then I decided it was time to go to the store with the girls and get Sandy away from the ladder! I tried to watch her really closely the rest of the day, but she just wants to be climbing the ladder (and bringing her dad used bits of shingle she is sure he needs). I hope this roof project is finished soon!

Sage walked into a tomato cage.

It didn't puncture the skin and we were able to get it off, but I am continually amazed at Sage's ability to get into things. She seems to be doing better on the steroids, but she is still throwing up once a day. We are trying to meter out her food and water so she's not eating/drinking so much at one time because we think that's what is causing her to throw up.

Abby's Stats

2010-09-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

We took Abby to her 4-month doctor appointment today. We are a little behind schedule on the appointments because I scheduled Sandy's 2-year appointment with one of Abby's and it's thrown Abby's schedule off ever since.

She is 15 pounds 11 ounces, which is 82nd percentile for weight! She is also 92nd percentile for height. Dr. Baar said everything looks good, including her head which at her 2-month appointment was developing a slight flat spot on one side. Dr. Baar encouraged me to cut out the night feedings so we'll start working on that. Abby isn't rolling yet, but the doctor wasn't concerned and said it is normal for rolling to take a little longer, especially when they are a little chubbier.

She is such a happy baby. If someone bigger than me woke me up in the morning by sitting on me, I would wake up screaming. But Abby wakes up happy every morning even though most mornings this is what wakes her up:

I love that Abby and Sandy are such good friends. Although, Sandy's latest thing is coming in and complaining that "Abby hit/pinched/kicked/pushed me." Now, Abby doesn't go anywhere. So in order for her to do anything to Sandy, Sandy has to be practically on top of her.

But this has led to my latest parenting breakthrough! I've found that if I give Sandy a hug or a kiss she will go back to play and I don't need to say or do anything more. So I've been trying that out in other situations and finding that it works. I mean, obviously, something needs to be done if there is biting or someone is seriously hurt. But if the little complaints at playdates, Primary, etc. can be solved with a hug or a kiss -- and no need to try to go mediate --this makes my job much easier!

Abby loves her dad:

Here's a picture of Sandy with some roll dough. We made homemade rolls the other day while Abby napped. It kept Sandy entertained for like 45 minutes, which is a long time for a 2-year-old!!

It's Finished

2010-09-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

2 1/2 years ago we planned a nursery for our coming baby. Two babies later it's finally (well, mostly) finished. We added wainscoting and put up all new trim (in green). The walls and ceiling are blue with clouds, dragonflies, and bees. We have butterflies and dragonflies hanging from the ceiling. We also replaced the light fixture and blinds.

We do still have to putty/paint the finish nail holes and hang curtains that my mom made for the room when she came for Sandy's birth. It won't take long to finish, but we started another project....

And have to get the garage roof finished before the weather turns.

Wonder what our kids have been doing during all of these projects? Well, the other night while Bill was on the roof and I was cleaning up shingles, Sandy painted in the driveway...

And then tried to move indoors before being quickly whisked into the bathtub...

She did create a masterpiece that we mailed to Grandma & Grandpa Bair and is now on their fridge. But she actually spent most of the night arranging her painting space. She would line up her paint pots all in a row on the back porch while I filled the wheelbarrow with shingles. Then I would take the wheelbarrow to the front of the house and Sandy would follow, line up all her painting pots and start painting just as I headed back to the backyard and the process would start all over.

Abby just slept.

Lymphoma

2010-09-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Not me.

Sage.

Tuesday morning I took Sage to the vet. She had thrown up a rock and we'd been watching her for the past day or so because she didn't seem to be eating much. I felt a lump in her throat and thought she had something caught here. The vet examined her and said the lump was a swollen lymph node and that there were swollen lymph nodes throughout her body.

He said the most common cause was lymphoma. He x-rayed to make sure there were no more rocks (there weren't) and ran labs on her blood and urine to rule out other possibilities (such as a rare infection caused by ticks) and then she went in for a biopsy on Wednesday.

This morning we got the call confirming it is lymphoma. Sage hasn't kept food down all week. So the treatment plan is to take her in today for anti-nasea injections and start steroids. The doctor explained the rule of thirds with the steroids: one-third of dogs will go into a complete remission (lasting 30 to 90 days), one-third will go into a partial remission, and one-third will not respond to steroid treatment at all.

Chemotherapy was an option, but we've ruled it out. It would be 6 months of chemotherapy and the doctor thinks she would get one good year out of it. It is expensive: $3,000 to $5,000 just for the chemotherapy. Not that any of this is cheap -- we've spent $1,000 so far this week on the exam, x-rays, labs, biopsy, etc. (We have a 6-month moratorium on getting any more pets after Sage. But if we start talking about it, will someone please remind me that we can't afford another pet!)

Remember my post about Sandy adding water to Sage's food and how we couldn't seem to stop her?

Now we think Sage has been having trouble swallowing for a month or more and the only food she was eating was the food Sandy added water to. But Sandy did it so often, we didn't realize....

So, now the biggest question on my mind is how do I prepare Sandy to lose her best friend?

New Posts

2010-09-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

I posted family pictures and baby blessing pictures, but you'll have to scroll down to see them. I backdated them so my blog will be in chronological order.

4 Months

2010-09-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Abby is 4 months old today! She is such a happy baby and we love having her as part of our family! She loves to play with toys, sit in her bumbo chair, and she just discovered her toes.

We celebrated her 4 month mark by pulling out the exersaucer and she loves it!

Now I just need to remember what I did with the toys that go in the holes of the exersaucer. There are several more toys that snap in.

I love both of my girls -- and I love to dress them in matching outfits! I think my mom likes matching outfits, too, because she brought them these outfits:

Here's a shot of Abby:

Sandy fights naptime some days, but this is proof that she still needs a nap! She refused to take one and then about 3:00 she crashed...for almost 2 hours!

Baby Blessing & Good-bye

2010-09-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

Bill blessed Abby today and it was a beautiful day and a beautiful blessing!

My mom made Abby's dress, a matching blanket, and a matching doll dress. Sandy was very excited to carry around her own "blessing baby."

Me holding Abby.

Sandy and Abby. Sandy is often grumpy after church, it is her naptime. Just one more reason we were excited about having the baby blessing party the night before.

A few cute shots of Sandy...

She's 2 going on 16!

Crashed on the floor, I love this picture of her sleeping with Sage.

It was so much fun to see my parents and sad to see them go!

I love all the pictures my dad took, but I realized as I looked back at them we don't have a single shot of my dad from this weekend!