Doughnut World

So, yesterday I babysat my niece, Sara. It was a crazy day, and Kate was struggling with not getting as much attention as usual. So, when Andie and Sara went down for naps, Kate and I headed off to the local bakery. (I'd heard the sugar cookies there were to die for!)

I didn't tell Kate where we were going, just that we were going to have some special mom and daughter time.

As we pulled into the parking lot, Kate saw the sign, which has a big doughnut on it. She said, "Mom, we're going to Doughnut World?" I then proceeded to tell her that it was not in fact "Doughnut World," but just the Bakery. She didn't believe me.

Kate pointed to the sign (with the big doughnut), "Mom, there's a doughnut, look (she points to said sign). It's Doughnut World." She has such good logic for a three-year-old.

Through my laughter I reply, "Okay, Kate."

So, I hearby bequeath the name "Doughnut World" upon our local bakery. May the name forever remind you of the day I took my daughter to your fine establishment. At least in my mind this bakery will forever be "Doughnut World."

Andie's First Birthday

I was browsing through my pictures today wondering what to write about, when I came upon the pictures from Andie's first birthday. Boom! It hit me. These pictures show Andie's personality PERFECTLY!

For Andie's party we had family over for cake and ice cream. After everone arrived, Andie opened her presents. Of course, like any one-year-old, she was more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes than she was the presents. It was fun for Kate because she got to open about half the presents for her little sis.

Then it was time for the cake!

For any of you first-time-mommies out there, Walmart gives you a free mini-cake when you order the child's first birthday cake there. This was Andie's free mini-cake. I expected it to be much smaller.

When Kate was a baby, being the first time mommy that I was, I fed her every meal so she wouldn't get her clothes dirty. When Andie came around, I fed her minimal amounts of the basic baby foods to make sure she didn't have any food allergies, and then she ate whatever we ate. And she fed herself.

So, back to the cake. At first Andie was pretty dainty with her cake, touching the icing, and licking it off her fingers. It took her awhile to realize there was actually cake in there too. Once she realized there was cake, she started taking handfuls.

Then my little sister, bless her heart, thought it would be funny to get Andie to start playing Peek-A-Boo. Oh, the innocence of the childless. Her turn will come, and oh, the sweet taste of revenge will finally be MINE! (Oh, did I really just say that out loud? Oops!)

Needless to say, after the Peek-A-Boo incident there was no holding Andie back any longer. She continued to dig, and I mean DIG, into her cake. She even doubled fisted it at times.

The end result? One completely happy, completely full, and completely messy baby!

She even had to have a "hose down" in the sink before we could even put her in the tub.

After the sugar high wore off (about 3 hours later), she slept soundly all night. I think I would call the party a success! I think...

Andie Rae

What can I say about my sweet Andie Rae? I love having this kid around. She loves to be held, which, I must admit, gets old at times, but mostly I love it. She is a snuggler. She's only one, yet she knows how to get what she wants. She's not as smiley as Kate was. It takes a lot more to get this kid to smile, but when she does it's genuine.

Andie is a pretty mellow baby. She only took a pacifier as an infant. She never really liked them, however Kate did, so we just got rid of them (see earlier post, "Kate...Devil or Angel?"). She's never really needed them. She's just an all around good baby.

Case in point. Last week, I was getting ready one morning, and the girls were playing in my room. I was to the point of putting on minimal amounts of makeup, and I realized I wasn't hearing Andie's usual baby talk. I asked Kate where Andie was, and she didn't know. I told Kate to go find Andie and tell me what she was doing. Kate returned a few minutes later, and replied, "She's asleep on the floor." Andie must have decided she was tired, and decided to take matters into her own hands. Literally. Andie can't fall asleep without her favorite blankie. She had gone into her room, reached through the slats of her crib and found her blankie. When I found her she was curled up on the floor sleeping soundly, snuggling with said blankie. What a good kid!

She rarely fusses. Which is nice for me. She puts up with Kate trying to be the mommy (Kate tries to pick her up and carry her around the house). She is happiest when playing alone. My mom and dad have been staying at my house, and my dad's favorite thing to do with Andie is to let Andie play in Kate's room (where all the toys are) without Kate. She just plays. It's pretty cute. Kate's not there to say, "NO, Andie, that's MY toy!" Andie is such a good baby.

Andie is getting to the age where she's trying to talk. It's so fun. She'll jabber and look up at me with a look on her face that says, "Don't you understand what I just said?!?" I love this age.

Andie is just a good kid. I love having her around, and snuggling with her. She's so much fun. It's having a baby this good that makes me think, maybe I can do this again sometime in the distant future. Right now I feel like my hands are full, and I'm not ready to have another. But if the next installment is anything like Andie, maybe I'm more ready than I think!

Kate...Devil or Angel?

Have you ever wondered why more children don't suffer from "Shaken TODDLER Syndrome"? Sometimes I just want to grab Kate and ask her what she was thinking when she bit Andie's finger, or head butted her sister, or emptied a whole roll of toliet paper into the toliet. (By the way, scooping sopping wet toliet paper out of the toliet is NOT my idea of fun!) AHHHHHHHHH! Will she ever learn?!?!?!?

I can be so fuming mad at her that smoke should be coming out my ears! Then she'll say the cutest thing and completely melt my heart. One minute she can be a little devil, and then turn it off and become the sweetest angel you've ever seen. Once when Andie was still a baby, she swiped Andie's plug (aka binky), and proceeded to stand in front of the mirror in my room and tell me "Mom, I'm cuter wif a pwug." She knew that she wasn't supposed to take Andie's plug, yet she did, several times a day. It drove me crazy! Luckily Andie didn't end up liking the plug, and we got rid of them all anyways. The plug swiping problem, solved!

This child of mine, you just have to know her. She is cute, sassy, crazy, independent, wild, and funny all rolled into one little girl. And boy, does this kid have energy! If I had even half the energy she has, my house would be spotless, the laundry would be folded (the most dreaded chore of all), and I would cook four-course, gourmet meals every day. She is definitely my challenge in life right now. This is the child who does not slow down until her head hits the pillow. Usually, and I repeat, usually if I can get her to lay still for two minutes, she's out like a light. That is if I can get her to lay still! The only time she sits still is if I am reading her a book. She loves to read books. Thankfully! If I ever need her to calm down, all I have to do is read her a book. She loves it!

When she does something naughty, which she does quite often, I try to be consistent with her punishments. Kate usually ends up crying, but sometimes she's just so cute when she cries that I can't help but laugh. When I start laughing, she gets angrier and angrier until I have distract her by turning into the "Tickle Monster," and we both end up in a heap on the floor giggling beyond all control.

I guess moms have to give in sometimes!

Boy Scout Widow

It is 10:18 pm. Rob is on yet *another* camp out with the "Scout Boys" (as Kate calls them). What does this mean for me? One more night of no sleep...I never sleep well while he's gone. Both girls are asleep, finally. I wish I could fall asleep. My only hope is to get so completely exhausted that I'm falling asleep at the computer. Obviously that's not happening yet. I'm still playing with this new space. Thanks for introducing me to this Gerb. Now I have one more thing to check everyday during my "puter" time. Now that we have finally (and I stress FINALLY) joined the world of high-speed internet it won't take to long. This would have taken forever with dial-up.
Rob called me from Idaho awhile ago and informed me that his brother, sister-in-law, and their two kids are coming tomorrow to visit Rob's mom who is on a mission in Salt Lake. How nice of him to *inform* me of this slight problem. Problem, you ask? You see, my parents are in town, and not only are they in town...they are staying here, in my house. So, I will have to kick my parents out (to one of my sisters' houses) until they leave. Interesting situation, huh? Oh, and Rob's older sister may be arriving with her new fiance expecting to find a place to stay. So the rest of this week will be oh so fun for me! (Can you sense the sarcasm here?!?!?!?)
Meanwhile I'm still awake, and keep thinking of all the cleaning I could be doing right now. Oh well, this is better than cleaning. Besides, I don't want to wake the kiddos.

10 Things I Don't Like

1. Seafood. I've tried a lot of it, but I just don't like it. I do like my mom's clam chowder, and I will occasionally eat a tuna fish sandwich.
2. Immigrants who blatantly refuse to learn English. I have a neighbor who is Spanish, and they are really nice, but only the daughter speaks English. We have lived here for 2 1/2 years, and it hasn't gotten any better. The parents have absolutely no intention to learn English. It drives me nuts.
3. Bush bashers. He may not be the best President we've ever had, but hopefully he is doing the best he can. We need to support him as our President even if we don't agree with how he is handling things.
4. People who take advantage of others.
5. Rude people.
6. Feet. Yes, this may seem wierd to some of you, but I absolutely DO NOT like feet. They are discusting, dirty, smelly, stinky things. I refuse to use public showers or hotel showers without wearing flip flops. I even have a hard time using other people's showers. I won't even let Rob put his feet on me to get them warm. Feet are just gross!
7. Sleepless nights. They were fine when I only had Kate, because we could both sleep the whole next day. Not now. If Andie is up all night, I still have to be up all day with Kate.
8. Spending to much time inside. I have to get outside several times a day. I hate being cooped up all the time. I looooove the fall, it is definitely my favorite season.
9. Being rushed. I like to take my time doing things, and hate having to rush. I like to be early to things (church, meetings, Dr's appointments, ect.) just so I don't have to feel rushed.
10. Onions. I like the flavor they give things, but I always pick them out of things. It must be a texture disorder.

10 Things I Like

1. My husband & kids. They are awesome. I love my husband so much. He is amazing. I just wish we could see more of him. Kate and Andie are the CUTEST kids in the whole world! I know, I'm biased, but they are!
2. Working with Young Women. It's the best calling. The girls are so fun. They are so strong and they don't even know it. They have such strong testimonies and are constantly helping mine grow even stronger.
3. Yard work. Yes, I know this sounds odd, but I love it. I planted my first garden this year. I am so excited, I planted corn, zucchini, lots of tomatos, bell peppers, and strawberries. I get such satisfaction out of gardening.
4. Chocolate. Anything chocolate. Black Angus has the best chocolate cake ever. If you haven't been there, you have to go sometime...even if it is just for the cake. It is sinfully delicious!
5. Scrapbooking. I don't have as much time to do it anymore, but when I do make the time I remember how much I love it.
6. Decorating my house. I have finally started decorating my house. It's been so much fun. I just wish I had more of a budget for it. We painted Kate's room, and it turned out beautiful. I'll have to post pictures later.
7. Fall. This is my favorite season of all. I love getting ready for the holidays. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving, and of course Christmas. I love it!
8. Shopping. Not for me, but for the kids. They have such cute things. Like decorating, I wish I had more of a budget for it.
9. The mountains. Although I miss the green trees and changing leaves of Indiana, I sure love the mountains. Camping goes along with this one. Just to much fun.
10. Dr. Pepper. Yes, this is my one true vice. I'm not even addicted to the caffiene. I buy the caffiene free 12 packs. I just love the taste. But, I've decided to stop drinking all soda. Soda is so bad for you. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.
These are just a few things I like. Hope y'all are having a good day.