Soooo...

I haven't been blogging much because about 85% of our readers don't have power, due to the bad storms. :( Western KY was hit really hard (as well as Southern IN). My brother finally got his power back, and Mom's work finally opened, again. You know it's bad when a large pediatrician's office closes for 2 days. My in-law's might not have power for another 3 weeks, but my sister in law did get power back yesterday (thank goodness she lives close to businesses, schools and hospitals or it would have been weeks for them, too). Most of Scott's family will also not have power for weeks, but we are praying it comes back on SOON!


So, I am going to take the time to just post some of what is going on with us and the girls, mostly for my own purposes, but feel free to enjoy and read!

***Scott-Scott is now going to the chiropractor for his neck pain. After YEARS of complaining about it and being in pain, he is finally feeling some relief from it. Of course, he is having to go 2-3 times a week and it takes forever and I complain about it (ha!), but I am glad it's helping him. Work is going good. He is very busy and might have some traveling to do soon. We are debating going along with him for one of the trips, but if not we will be going home and bunking with Mom and Dad while he's gone. (I do not like to be here alone with the girls...I'm a scaredy cat-ha!, so if he is gone for longer than a night or 2, we head home) He used my pregnancy to get out of a lot of traveling last year (he HATES to fly) but this year he has no excuse, and I am NOT getting knocked up again just so he can travel less....no way! haha! He takes every chance he can get to go hunting and is about to go crazy with this cruddy weather. He would much rather be outside hunting, working on the trench-ha!, fishing, or just finding things that need to be done. He's in luck because as soon as spring gets here, he will have this whole yard to landscape! YAY!


***Me-Week one of training is almost done...going good. Nothing real exciting to report. Just running and working out. However, I have found some funny things while reading more about running. One being bathroom issues. I was reading about taking bathroom breaks during long runs and what to eat before, etc. And, it was talking about how serious marathon runners often just pee in their pants and keep running. Sorry, but there is NO accomplishment worth peeing your pants in public ON PURPOSE! haha! And, everything talks about running at a pace where you could carry on a conversation. I laugh at this, too, because I am quite certain that 1. it doesn't matter how comfortable I become with running, I will NEVER be able to easily carry on a conversation while running, and 2. I doubt anyone wants to hear what I have to say while I am running because most of it would involve cursing, and questioning why on Earth did I think it was a good idea to try and run this far. haha! There's not too much else to report on my end. I am quite boring! I am hosting Bunco here this month (Feb.) and I am super excited. I love having people here, and the fact that I finally have met enough people to host something here is very exciting for me. ha!


***Oh....Scott and I are going on a mini-vacation without the girls in a couple of weeks. I am so excited. We will only be gone 2 nights and we arent going far, but it will be 2 nights of uniterrupted sleep and I can't wait. And, our condo is less than a mile from an outlet mall! YAY!


***Abby-She's doing great. She loves dance now and her recital is in May. She also does a program at the school, Parents as Teachers, that she loves and we have met some great people. She will start either tumbling or t-ball this summer. She is having some Mommy issues lately and is more attached than ever. She is also starting to show some jealousy towards Olivia. I knew that would come though, as Olivia is more lively and getting into things now, etc. But, she still adores her and is a SUPER big sister. She makes me laugh so hard every day. She is so smart it's ridiculous. And, she keeps us all entertained. She loves Tinkerbell things, Mamma Mia, playing games, playing dress-up (and demands to dress herself), music and making music, doing arts and crafts and cooking with me! :)


***Olivia-One word: GOOFBALL! She is so silly. The child laughs all day long. She is all over the place now. She grabs everything, takes things from us, can sit alone for a short amount of time, rolls to get to what she wants, learned how to eat rice cereal and has been sleeping through the night for the last week or so, since she started eating cereal. She is bigger than Abby was at this age, so to us she looks huge-ha!, but everyone says she is small. We will see...she has an appt. on Tues. It's two weeks late, but oh well! I hate takig them to the Dr. when they are well, as I am scared they will get something while we are there, so I had to make the appt. for a time when Scott could keep Abby. The fewer hands we have touching the germy Dr.s office, the fewer our chances of bringing something home with us. At least, that is my theory on it. My favorite part of every day is getting Olivia ready for her bath, because she laughs HYSTERICALLY when you take her onesie off. I have no idea why, but she thinks it is so funny and I love it. We have been battling some dry skin issues. Her little cheeks are chapped and she has cradle cap (2 things that we, actually, didn't experience with Abby). But, we finally got some stuff that seems to be working and she has to have her weekly hair treatments with olive oil and the cradle cap is under control now, too. She loves her little soft blankie that Uncle and Aunt Marsha got her, she still takes the paci (and I HATE those **** things), she's extremely ticklish, and she LOVES Abby.


***Dixon-He's more of a jerk than ever...haha! No, not really! We love Dixon to death, he's just a big baby and is like having another kid. He has been having to sleep in the garage the last week or so because he won't stop whining and barking at night (he goes through these phases), and once he woke Olivia up one night, that was it! I will be glad when it gets nice enough to run outside, because I will taking his big butt with me. He loves playing in the basement with Abby. He always tries to sneak her food, and sometimes she is more than willing to just give it to him...grrrr! He is truly a great dog. I am hoping that once the girls are old enough to help and enjoy it, to get him certified as a therapy dog and take him around to nursing homes and hospitals. He would love it and I know everyone would love him. :)


***And, that's all for now in the Utley Household! :)

Fancy, fancy!

Abby is a HUGE Fancy Nancy fan. The teachers and other parents at storytime even call her Fancy Nancy because she is always dressed in some elaborate get-up, etc. Well, she love to dress-up, 'put make-up on,' etc. and then we have to say...'fancy, fancy!'

Today, she found the lipstick, again. Thankfully I was standing right there when she did-ha!, and let her put some on!
Gorgeous...haha!

That shade suits you perfectly, Abby! :)

It's a good thing she is so cute!!! ;)

We've got cabin fever, yes we do!

We've got cabin fever, how 'bout you!? ha!

The snow and ice has kept us in for the past 2 days. Scott did make it to work today, and thankfully, we have power. They got it much worse at home. Mom and Dad have power, but Scott's parents don't, his Grandparents don't, my brother doesn't and his sister doesn't! Not a fun situation. Hopefully, it will be restored to all of them VERY soon! :(

Yesterday was a rough day. Abby woke up in a bad mood, stayed that way and went to bed in a bad mood. ha! I will spare you a big post about all of it, but some of the highlights were: throwing a pack of wipes and hitting Olivia in the head which was then followed by a nightmare scenario of her sitting in the naughty chair...ugh, trying to cut her hair with scrapbooking scissors, emptying half a roll of toilet paper into the toilet, throwing a whole bowl of water on me while I was trying to give her a bath...the list goes on and on. She was on the war path, so today I decided that every moment would be filled with a structured activity, in hoeps of keeping mischief at bay! ha! (aside from peeing on our couch, it has worked...(sigh)

Anyways, first order of business...BURN LOTS AND LOTS OF ENERGY! To the basement we go....This is perfect because Dixon goes down with us and they run and run and run, she can ride her bike, etc.

Olivia even snuggled up and joined the fun. And, sat in her stroller like a big girl for the first time! :)

Taking her sister for a few laps around the basement!

Ruff..ruff!

She even sat up shop as the 'library lady' and tried to sell me my DVD's for $28 a piece...she drives a hard bargain! ha!

We played down there for hours. After lunch, it was time to get to work on our Valentines...yes, I know it is still 2 weeks away, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and I needed something good and time consuming! ha!

She is so good at staying in the lines now! She takes her 'work' very seriously! :)

She also watched Cinderella for the first time today, and really liked it. Over the years, we have been getting all the Disney movies, but we don't really watch them, yet. I am slowly getting them out for her.

***We have had a fun day, but here's to hoping we can make it to our play-date in the morning. I need OUT of this house! ha!

Snow...FINALLY!

We finally got some snow at this frozen frigid tundra we call home. I guess having snow makes the icy cold wind a little more enjoyable. (I have NEVER in my life experienced wind like it is here...ugh!) Anyways, it finally snowed and the weather was nice enough to take Abby out for a while. YAY! She was SO excited!

The sled!! YAY!

Poor, Abby...this is the biggest hill she is going to find around here. haha! I can't wait to take her sledding FOR REAL for the first time. It will have to be when we are home visiting, but she will LOVE it. For today, though, the hill in our front yard was fun enough! :)

We wanted to harness the sled to Dixon and let him pull her around, but we couldn't think of a way to do it. We will have to work on that before the next wave of snow comes tomorrow night! haha! He needs to earn his keep around here, too!

Girls, girls, girls...

Just some pictures of the girls from the last few days!

You can really see how light Olivia's eyes are getting in this picture!! Her big sister sure does love her! :)
Brushing her hair...Abby's always taking care of 'her baby!'

If you get a little chilly in your leotard, just throw on your tek vest and uggs!...and do a little dance! ha!

Watching Abby...the thing she loves to do most! :)

Is that Abby?....Nope, it's Dora with chicken pox! duh...you all should have known that! haha! (that's Big Dora's outfit and she took a marker and drew red dots all over her face. never a dull moment in this house! ha!)

'Olivia can ride in the trunk!'

Yesterday, Abby so proudly made a car from her little chairs. She was concerned, though, because there was no where for Olivia to ride. A few minutes later she comes over and says, 'look, Mom...Olivia can ride in the trunk!' and she had added a litle box to the end of her car! haha!

Doesn't Olivia look thrilled with this idea!? (I hate to say it, but get used to it, Olivia!-ha!)

'Okay, fun's over...please, get me out of this box!'

'Seriously, GET ME OUT OF THIS BOX!'

Half-Marathon!

Just wanted to announce that I have committed to running my first half-marathon. YAY! I am REALLY excited (and nervous). I figure that my time at the gym and the miles I am running, might as well go towards something. It's April 19, here in St. Louis. I have heard it is a great, really fun run to do.


**My official race training starts Sunday. I think I will be fine the first few weeks or so, but once I get up to running more than 5 miles, it will be challenging. I am by NO means a distance runner, so I am pretty nervous, but I know I can do it.

**If anyone wants to join me, let me know! :) One of my best friends is coming in town to run it, also. She says she will stick with me and run slow, but I know she will smoke me! haha!

**I have no goals, other than to do it and finish...I don't care how long it takes me. I say that, but even last night as I was running, I kept trying to make each mile faster than the one before it-ha!, but I know once I start running more, time will not matter. It's easy to try and run fast when you are only running 3 miles, it's a whole other story when you are running 13! ha!

**So, here's to hoping I stay injury free and healthy!! I will keep you all posted on my progress and training.

Trip to the Denist, Part 2!

Well, our trip to the dentist went pretty good. We didn't even make it to seeing the dentist, if that tells you anything-ha!, but she was very brave and did good. She tried SO hard not to cry, but she was scared (which is to be expected!) Miss Peg, the lady doing the cleaning, was FANTASTIC, though, and in the end Abby did let them look at, count and even polish her teeth! Her teeth look prefect, and she still has 2 yr. molars that aren't in (I am not surprised, though, as she didn't have any teeth until after her first birthday). All in all, it was a good visit. I am VERY proud of her.

I didn't get many pictures, as she was on my lap for most of it, and when she wasn't I was helping convince her that she could do it or tending to Olivia. But, here are a few....

With her glasses to block the light and her goodie bag! :)
Showing off her perfectly healthy, pearly whites! :)

And, with Miss Peg! Again, she was so great. If it wouldn't have been for her being so patient and sweet, it would NOT have happened at all.

Time for the Dentist....

Well, today at 1:00 Abby will be seeing the dentist for the first time. Unfortunately, Scott won't be there to help (the original plan was for him to meet us there, but now he is suddenly 'too busy' at work. You will be paid back for this, Scott...oh yes, you will! ha!), and that also means that I won't be able to have a drink before this event, which is probably the only way that anyone would be able to half-way enjoy it. haha! I am teasing, of course....sort of! Abby is such a joy at the doctors, I can only imagine how this is going to go. I just told her a few minutes ago, as I wanted to save this 'special surprise' until the last minute. Her response was just as I predicted....(and I quote)

'I am NOT going to the dentist, you people are crazy!' (sigh)

**After realizing that I was not joking, she quickly ran to her desk and wrote a bunch of letters on a piece of paper and told me that it says, 'I am not going to the dentist, I am staying home!' I am surprised she hasn't told me that she is running away today. And, yes...thanks to a Little Critter book, she has told us that before. ha!

**So, I have bribed her with a trip to the coffee shop afterwards for a treat, and I even told her she could pick out a small prize at Target, if she is a big girl and does this for me. Her response, 'I don't want any toys, I am NOT going to the coffee shop and I am NOT going to Target, I am staying right here today. You and Olivia can go!'

**Don't worry, the camera is already packed and sitting by my bag. I am CERTAIN this little trip will be picture worthy!

**I am heading over to show her pictures of Grace and Seth at the dentist, Amanda!...she has agreed to stop acting like a lunatic long enough to look at them! ha!

The funny things kids say!

So, some of my friends and I set up a message board where we can post and talk to each other every day, post pictures of the kids, ask advice, etc. One of the on-going threads we have is for us to post funny things that are kids say. I LOVE this thread the most, because I crack up every time I read it. Here are some of Abby's latest, and some of hers from the past year that I have posted there, but forgot to post here....

New ones from the last few days!

***We were driving home the other night and her and Scott were messing with each other, as always, and she said to him, 'why don't you get back here and smell my pits!'


***The other day she went over to the pantry, opened it and said, 'I am hungry like the wolf!' A little too much RockBand in this house, perhaps!?


***The other morning she was up playing in the other room and Scott says to her, 'are you playing with your babies in there?' (because she was being SO loud) and she said, 'no, it's just me, Abby...working in my garden!'

***Some of her old classics....some of these are from last year, months ago, etc.

***The other night when she got out of the bath she was admiring herself in the mirror (the child has yet to meet a mirror she didn't like). She turns to me and said: 'Look, I have little-bitty boobies. When I get big boobies, we'll probably go get a bra.' (everything is 'probably' now! ) I said, 'yeah, probably!'


***Another one of my favorites was when we were at my in-law's and she came running out and told my father in law, 'I just pooped in the tub!' So, he says, 'oh no, you pooped in the tub?' And, Abby says, 'no, I just farted!' and laughs hysterically and runs away.


***Yesterday when I was trying on dresses, I came out and said, 'Abby do you like this dress?' She says, 'Sort of,' and walked off!


****The other night we were all outside and I couldn't find Dixon's brush. I didn't realize Abby was right behind me and I asked Scott, 'where is that big a$$holes brush?' Obviously, we don't cuss in front of her, but it slipped out. She didn't even seem to notice. No big deal, right? (yeah, right!) About 15min. later we were all sitting out front and she wanted Scott to sit on the front porch with us (he was standing). She went over and shoved him from behind and said, 'come on, big a$$hole!' OMG, I was laughing so hard, I was crying. We were trying so hard to ignore it and NOT let her know that we were dying. She hasn't said it again, THANK GOD! I guess she figured since I called Dixon that, it was a term of endearment.



***She loves telling 'secrets' and having us tell her secrets. So, she comes over to me the other day and says she has a secret. I ask her what, and she whipers in my ear, 'Daddy pooped in his pants at work!' hahaha! Scott is SO scared she is going to repeat it to someone because she tells me that EVERY time we talk about secrets. And, for the record...Scott did NOT poop in his pants at work...hahaha!


***Abby had had a runny nose for 2 weeks so we were constantly wiping her nose. The other night Scott went over to hand her a kleenex and she was playing with her blocks. She looked at him and said, 'why don't you get over here and play blocks with me, instead of wiping my nose!'


***We were driving down the road the other day and she says, 'Mom, do you call them spiderwebs or cob webs.' I said, 'I am pretty sure I say spiderwebs, why?' She responds, 'because Daddy calls them cob webs and he calls the potty a commode!'

'Do you like my hair!?'

After 3 years of not wanting me to even brush her hair, Abby is now obsessed with doing her hair. We have to do her hair about 10 times a day...I am running out of ideas.

She looks like SUCH a big girl with her hair up. Last night it looked so cute for dance class. Scott took her and he said that she was in the room with the other girls and the teacher and he could hear her asking everyone, 'do you like my hair!?' haha!

Yikes....

I am slacking. I just looked at our blog and the last pictures on here are from a week ago. We have been pretty busy this week. Between dance, me trying to get more time in at the gym, Scott now going to the chiropractor (which I have NEVER been so sick of hearing about something, as I am of hearing about his neck pain!..ugh! if this guy helps him, I might just have to drive there and give him a big hug and a kiss...haha!), other Dr. appts, and just life with a 3 yr. old and a 4mo. old, our 'free time' is filling up quicker than ever. Scott also had a 4 day weekend and when he is home, we seem to fill up our days a little more, doing things that we need to get done, etc. Saturday we went to a bday party in a town a little over an hour away, Sunday Gi-gi and Goggy came to visit and Monday we ventured out for some shopping. Nothing more exhausting than all of us out shopping for hours. My cousin has 4 daughters and she and her husband joke that trying to get their girls anywhere in a timely manner is like herding cats...it just doesn't happen! haha! Well, that is sort of how things are with me and the girls. We drive Scott CRAZY, but he hung in there with us on Monday, with very little complaining. I think he is just finally accepting his fate! ha! :)


The girls with Goggy and Gi-gi!

Some sisterly love!!

Awww, a kiss for her big sister! ha!

They look VERY guilty in this picture. Maybe Abby was helping Olivia with her newest adventure...escaping from the Bumbo. I swear, we thought Abby was a crazy baby, but she pales in comparison to Olivia. She is all over the place and can get away or get out of just about anything you put her in. You should have seen her destroy the miracle blanket (that they say babies can't get out of...HA!) She was out of it in 5min. She's a little houdini. Should be interesting when she starts crawling and walking! HELP! haha!

School!

I FINALLY got some pictures of Abby at her school. It's a great little program for pre-school aged kiddos that live in this school district. It gives them a chance to be at the school, meet kids they will be in school with, etc. Abby really loves it. This week they got to take a little trip to the library.

She LOVES storytime!

Waiting patiently to play the rhyme game.

I made her sit in this chair for a picture because I want to get a picture of her in it each year until she leaves the school for high school! :) Yes, the school is so small she will go K-8th at the same school.

Playing a game with some of her new friends. All of these girls, except one, will be in Abby's grade!! And, two of them have siblings that will be in Olivia's grade! (and, yes..they are all her age..haha! she's just vertically challenged! ha!)

Lining up to move to the cafeteria for arts and crafts. Her teacher taught Kindergarten at the school for 25 years and now runs this program for fun. She's great.

Painting!...Abby's most favorite activity EVER! ha!

Where are you going, Olivia!?

Olivia is all over the place these days. You can lay her down on the floor and a few minutes later, she is totally off her blanket, and on her way to the other side of the room. She rolls and scoots like a crazy girl! :)

She looked so much like Abby at first, but her look changes so much every day! She is definitely developing her own look, and I am not sure who she looks more like. People say Scott, but that's only because of the hair, Abby looks more like Scott than Olivia does.
Where are you going, Little One!? (that's what Abby calls her, it is SO sweet!)

Always such a HAPPY girl!!

***Funny Story: Abby still asks EVERY day, 'can we teach Olivia to walk today?'....'does Olivia have teeth, yet!?' But, here's the kicker....we were going to bed the other night and we were talking about the girls and Scott asks (being dead serious, so don't try to act like I am exaggerating, Scott): 'when is Olivia going to start talking!?' As in, why isn't she talking, yet! hahaha!! I said, 'oh, I don't know, Scott...maybe when she is a little closer to 9mo. or a year!' Sheesh! What do they expect...she's not even 4mo. old, yet! haha! Give her a few more months before she starts learning German and reciting Walt Whitman! Geez! haha!

Abby's Version of Breakfast!

This post is for my own documentation purposes, and one day, many years from now, when Abby calls me complaining about her daughter that won't eat, etc. I will have this to show her and tell her about! haha!

So, here it is...Abby's version of breakfast!

***Wake up before 7am, but refuse to speak about or eat breakfast until, AT LEAST, 8am!
***Finally, around 8 or so decide that she will eat something, requests waffle and bacon!
***Sit at the table sipping on her milk and still refusing to eat for about 20min.
***Finally, take a few bites of bacon, chew them for five minutes, then spit them back out on the plate.
***Decide that she is DONE eating and refuse to take another bite.

Exhibit A!

Now, I used to stress over this, since it is her health and nutrition we are talking about here, but now that she is old enough to tell me when she is hungry and she can get her own snacks, etc. I don't fret as much. Sure, some days I fight the fight and make her eat, but some days I don't have it in me and as long as I get a granola bar and some yogurt in her by 11am, then I consider that a succesful breakfast. (sigh) Lunch and dinner USUALLY fare much better, just depends on the day and the mood. But, eating battles are nothing new around here, we have been dealing with it since she was a baby, and it's actually 100 times better than it used to be. I know I drive people crazy with how anal I am about what she eats, not wanting her to have any junk, etc. but when you have a kid that eats like her, you have to make sure every bite is healthy and counts. Thankfully, we have some foods that she will always eat, and on the worst days, I can always fall back on those: cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, string cheese, yogurt and pizza! (and, I guess I can't fully blame her for the breakfast thing, I have NEVER liked breakfast...to this day I make myself eat a little something because I know it's good for me, but I still don't like it. I remember my Mom making me eat, at least, a slice of toast on the way to school each morning and I hated it, I would pick the crust off, etc.-ha!)

Dance Update!

It was a success! Whew...I never knew how stressful dance class for my daughter would be. We got there early and she watched the big girls for a while (I think that helped a lot). It was time for her to go into class and she started with the, 'I want you to go with me, Mommy...,' the lip came out...CRAP...what do I do now...am I scarring her for life by making her go, do I make her go and if she gets too upset say forget it, etc. You should see the text messages that I had going with Scott and2 of my good friends...I was seriously SO stressed! Anyways, I took her to the door and her teacher started talking to her, she puckered up, the teacher grabbed her and I just walked away. Every peep I heard from the room, I was a nervous wreck. The owner is so nice, she would go check and came out with a good report each time. After 30min. they came out for their water break and I was sitting where Abby couldn't see me, but I could hear her. As soon as the door opened, I heard her little voice and she never stopped talking the whole time they were taking break (now, THAT's the real Abby-ha!), it was SO cute. When class was over, she came running out, squealing...'I learned EVERYTHING, Mom!' haha! Her teacher showed her what they are wearing in the recital and she about fell over with excitement! So, that's that...we will be dancing for the next few months and recital is May 16. Mark your calendars! :) Her teacher said she sat there at first, and after a minute she said, 'okay, Abby...get up, it's your turn!' and she was fine from then on. I knew once she realized how fun it was, she would be good to go. The teacher said she and a little girl named Maddie became fast buddies and had a blast together. Now, to some of you Moms this might be nothing, but this was a HUGE step for us. I can't tell you how proud I was of her.

Dance Class, Take 2!

Yes, tonight is the night. We are giving dance class another try. Let's all hope that we survive tonight with limited tears and vomit...to ask for no tears and vomit would be settting myself up for disappointment! Although, I KNOW she can do. We have been talking about it a lot, and practicing a lot. We went this morning and got her ballet shoes and a new leotard. She has been dressed and ready to go since 1...class isn't until 5! ha!

What a gorgeous little ballerina!...and a sassy one, too...look at that pose! Geez...what do you think you are 16 or something!? ha!
Showing me what we have been practicing! She is quite good, if I do say so.

My sweet big girl! :)

I am just hoping that tonight goes good. She really needs this time away from Mommy to learn that I will still be there, etc. It's so frustrating, sad, etc. to see her upset because that is NOT who she is. She is always the life of the party, NEVER shy, always being goofy and silly, so to see her upset and not sure of herself and the situation is NO fun. I really hope that once she realizes how fun this could be for her, she lets the real Abby shine! We are also going to try a trial tumbling class in the morning. There is a little girl that she knows in the class and there is an observation window where I can see her and she can see me, so we will see how that situation goes, also. Check back later tonight for the report....I can assure you that it will NOT involve eating dinner until we are home! haha! Not taking that chance again.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Well, Abby is continuing to express herself through fashion! hahaha!

Eat your heart out, Russel Brand! (if you are wondering who that is, here is a link to a picture of him...she gives him a good run for his money in the hair and style department! haha! http://www.944.com/blog/russel-brand-teams-up-with-comedy-central/)

And, don't you just love Abby's new skirt....

Wait a minute, that's Olivia's new skirt, size 6-12mo. I saw her trying to put it on and said, 'surely not!' Well, it sure did fit her! haha!