Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year! We started off the New Year by being a little lazy this morning, just hanging out around the house. Scott and I cleaned out the garage this afternoon. It took a couple of hours, but my car will now fit (though I am a little scared to pull it in because the car is so big and the garage isn't!). Scott took a truck full of stuff to recycle and another truck full of stuff to good will. We have more to take to Good will, but I can get that done. The girls played out in the snow for awhile and then came in to warm up by the fire. It wasn't cold out, it was just wet as the temp was in the 40's or 50's. Very nice day to organize the garage and play outside. When we came inside to check on the girls, they were both running around in their undies. Abby said it was because they were cold. I guess that means their clothes were cold so they took them off. Not really sure, but I do know our kids like to run around sans clothing. I managed to clean out our closet today and I am determined to get something done with all those baby clothes we still have. I had Scott bring them downstairs for me so there will be no way I can continue to ignore them! I also managed to get 5 or 6 loads of laundry washed, folded, and put away!I didn't get to play with the kids much, but I was trying to let them have a little alone time with Scott. Besides, if I watch him play with the girls, all I can think about is how this is the last night he gets to play with them or tuck them into bed for quite awhile:( Abby was funny at dinner tonight. She asked me when her boobies were going to get long like mine are. Not exactly the description I was looking for... Tonight at bedtime, Scott gave each girl a quilt that has photos of the family on it. Just another way he can be with the girls whenever they want him to be.

The last day of 2010. This year has gone by so quickly and so much has changed. We have gone from living out of temporary lodging into a home, from a life where Scott was home just about every night to one that he spends many nights away from his family. From being homeowners to renters, from having a little one that I could still call a baby to one that is most definitely not anymore. So much happens in just one year and I am so glad that I have been able to capture our life through this blog. It hasn't always been pretty, but it is who we are. I want our girls to be able to look back at this one day so they understand where they came from and how they became who they are. Scott and I were talking the other day about how wonderful it would be to know what our lives were like when we were this little. Sure, we know what our parents tell us, but as a parent now, I realize how quickly one forgets the little things and how easy it is to think you remember something one of your children did, only later to realize it happened, just not to the child you first thought. We aren't perfect and so how could our memories possibly be perfect? So, I am grateful to have the ability to capture our day to day life. I want to see if there is some way I can make a book out of this blog so the kids will have access to it when they are grown. I am so thankful for many things this past year and I look forward to 2011 being just as wonderful. It was hard starting out the year in a new place with no friends living nearby, but we have been blessed with new friends and it is starting to feel like home here now. I think Abby feels the same way. She still asks about Florida and says she wants to go back, but it doesn't happen as often and it doesn't seem to upset her when we tell her that isn't possible. Mckenzie is lucky this move. She was too young to understand what was happening. This is where her first memories will come from and I hope we can make them as memorable as Abby's are for her.
Today was busy for us and started off early. 6:30 is when Mckenzie came over to our room. (Funny how I consider that early now when it wasn't too long ago that we considered that sleeping in. Can't say I miss getting the girls up so early in the morning so I could go to work.) Mckenzie was ready for her first yogurt so Scott took her downstairs. We went to Perkins for breakfast this morning and then we headed over to the mall. Scott needed a haircut and after he was done, we split up and finished our errands with only one kid in tow. Makes life much easier. Scott wanted to do a little shopping for birthdays and I needed to make arrangements for Abby's birthday. Got those things squared away and we all met up for a kids New Year's Eve party at an indoor play area. The girls had a blast playing, eating pizza, getting their faces painted, and ringing in the New Year with horns and balloons. Lots of fun and only a few tears. Mckenzie got scared in the big play area once and another time she starting crying because a boy hit her. Other than that, it was all good. Abby played so hard, she was sweating and her little face was so red! Scott and I were exhausted when we left, but the girls seemed to be filled with energy. I don't know how that works! Scott had to finish up a couple of errands so I took the girls home while he did that. We took the easy way out for dinner and ordered in. We really need to stop doing so much of that this coming year. Scott gave me my birthday present and bought a cake for Abby and me. So, we did our birthday cakes a little early. Very sweet and thoughtful of Scott. We let the girls run a little bit of the sugar out of their body before trying to put them to bed.I am hoping we can stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop. It would be fun to be able to be in NYC to see it live, but there is no way I would ever do it with kids in tow.

Mckenzie wanted to show me her sad face.

Abby ended up in our bed again last night. Even though it is a big bed, it gets a little cozy in there! And then, Mckenzie came over this morning and wanted up as well. That didn't last long and her and I ended up downstairs getting her a yogurt. I swear that kid could live off of yogurt! Abby came downstairs a little later, letting Scott sleep in for once. I made some pancakes for breakfast and we hung around the house today. We finally got some shelves hung up in the girls' rooms and Mckenzie's room is finally completed (minus a bookcase, just need to find one I like that doesn't cost a fortune!). We still have a couple of pictures to hang in Abby's room, I just can't decide where to hang them. We ran to the base so Scott could pick up a few things and then we met some friends for dinner. They are in the area visiting family so we picked a place half way between to grab a bite to eat. It was great to catch up with them and so much fun to watch the kids get along so well. It was a short visit, but great nonetheless. Much less traffic on the way home and the girls were both quiet unless they were singing the Diego theme song. Both girls are in bed. Abby didn't want to go to sleep again so I am guessing we will have a visitor sometime in the middle of the night.

Abby ended up in our bed some time during the night and Mckenzie slept in. Go figure!  Scott took the car in to get an oil change and the girls and I stayed at home and played. Seems like they fought over every little thing this mornign. Gotta love those days. After lunch, I took the girls out to play in the snow. They were wearing last years snowpants which were about 3 inches too short and tennis shoes because their snow boots don't fit any more, but they had a blast out there! Scott came home shortly after we went out and it was so fun for all of us, Dakota included, to play outside. Abby couldn't get enough of being the "king of the hill" and rolling down the hill or throwing snowballs. Mckenzie had a heck of a time standing up in the snow and so she decided she would roll everywhere she went. She liked throwing snowballs at me. She would get so close to me and then still miss! It would either fall behind her as she lifted her arm to throw, or she would miss me by a mile. I love how much fun they had running around out there. Watching the dog was funny too. She would chase snowballs and then wonder where they went or take a bite out of the snow. A couple of times, we caught her rolling around in the snow. I had a follow up eye appointment this afternoon and Scott took the girls with him while he got his truck cleaned and oil changed. It seems like we have so many things we need to get done in the next few days.  I ran a few errands before we met up at Best Buy. I needed to get boots for the girls as they were wearing tennis shoes earlier and their poor toes got very cold! We went to dinner at Pei Wei (a Chinese restaurant) and were pleasantly surprised. It was very tasty and great service. Abby wanted to use chopsticks and did a good job doing so. A very nice lady next to us gave us the holder that makes it easier to use chopsticks. The best part  was how fun Abby had using the chopsticks. Mckenzie just played with her sticks and kept dropping them. Knowing that in just a few days, our dining out experiences will probably be limited to Chick fil A, I had a great time. Abby and I put together her Tinkerbell puzzle and she was so proud when she finished. It was 100 pieces and the first time she has done one that big! Mckenzie and Scott worked on shapes and colors while we did that and then it was bedtime. Abby has been fighting going to sleep a little bit, but Mckenzie went right to sleep. Probably because she didn't get much of a nap (she did fall asleep on Scott's shoulder in Best Buy, but I'm not sure that counts!).

GAME DAY!!!!!!

Scott had to run to work this morning to get things completely squared away for his deployment. It turns out they are letting him leave on Sunday instead of Saturday, he just had to arrange for his airline ticket. Yea for that! Scott took Abby with him to work and said she was very good and spent her time drawing and eating tootsie rolls! Mckenzie and I stayed at home while the housekeeper was here. I felt bad because the house was such a mess from taking down all the Christmas decorations last night. I didn't want to have to take everything down by myself so as much as it sucked, we took things down early. We did leave the tree up because the girls were upset by the idea of everything being gone. We can take that down later this week! Scott took both girls out on a date to Chick fil A for lunch. He said they had so much fun and made some new friends! I ran to Target while they were out to pick up a new storage system for the toys in the playroom. Both girls were supposedly napping in our room when I got home. Turns out, they were playing in there instead. So, Abby came downstairs to play and Mckenzie took a nap. Then, it was time for us to go to the game! Scott and I went to our first NFL game tonight. Vikings vs. Eagles. We were expecting a blowout since the Vikings have been playing terrible and Farve was still out, but it turns out the Vikings won!!!! 24-14!!!! It was so fun. At first I was a little nervous to be cheering so much since every time we cheered for the Vikings, people would give us dirty looks, but finally I decided it didn't matter! One guy behind us joked that as long as we were in the stadium we were safe, but as soon as we got to the parking lot, there was no telling. I find it funny that people get annoyed that we wanted to cheer for our team, as though we should sit there quietly when our team did something good. Seriously people, we are fans just like you. I don't begrudge you cheering for your team, you should have the same respect for me! Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I am so glad that we got to have a date. I am really going to miss Scott and I hope this time goes quickly! Getting out of the parking lot took quite a bit of time, but we made it home by 1. Mckenzie gave our babysitter a tough time, not wanting to go to sleep and she ended up putting her in our room. I managed to transfer the little bugger without her waking up so I am very happy for that!

We ended up getting about a foot of snow. It always looks so pretty when it is untouched! It was very windy today, so we didn't take the girls outside to play in the snow. They both wanted to go out a lot, but they were content to watch Scott shovel the driveway and sidewalk. Thank God for great neighbors who came over with their snowblower! What a great help! After nap, we went to Best Buy to exchange one of my Christmas gifts. It was pretty busy in there, but didn't take too long to get in and out. We decided to go out to dinner. Shocking I know! We went to Olive Garden for an early dinner, jokingly referring to it as my birthday dinner a little early! (probably won't venture out by myself with both girls to a nice dinner on my actual birthday!)  I think we even beat the early birds! Thankfully the girls were well behaved at dinner. We never can predict how they are going to behave when we go out. Sometimes they are as good as gold and other times, we wish we would have stayed at home! On the way home, Abby was kind of funny. She asked me if they could play for a little bit when we got home and considering it was only after 6pm, I agreed. Then, I heard her tell Mckenzie how it was going to go down when we got home. She basically said they could play for a little bit, but then it was time for pjs and no story tonight because they were staying up past their bedtime. I love how she thinks it is so late because it is dark outside!

It started snowing this afternoon, so we took the girls out for a little bit before it got too cold. It was pretty windy and there wasn't much snow yet, but the girls had so much fun! They both love playing in the snow! We were all pretty tuckered out after that, so we took a nap. We were supposed to go to the Vikings game against the Eagles tonight, but it was postponed due to the weather. So, we made some appetizers for dinner and watched Christmas movies as a family. It was a nice relaxing day. The girls opened just about every toy they got for Christmas. Although, it seemed to me they were bored with a toy before we got all the packaging off. Mckenzie just loves driving her car around and has gotten pretty good. Abby likes to hop on the back for a ride and sometimes Mckenzie will let her! We played Perfection tonight and Abby is starting to get the hang of it. It's fun to see her playing with a game that I played with as a kid. I remember my sister Sarah got Perfection as a Christmas gift one year and we had so much fun playing it! I hope Abby has good memories with it too!

Ok, it's officially Christmas, so Merry Christmas today! We woke the girls up because they slept in. We all came downstairs together to see what Santa had left for us. Boy was he good to the girls! Mckenzie got a quad wheeler to ride around and Abby got a camper for her Barbie dolls, plus a bunch of other little things. Both girls were very excited for their gifts. Abby was a little disappointed at first that she didn't get a new car to ride, but once she realized she had new Barbies and a camper, she was over it! It was so fun to watch the girls dig through their stockings. Oh, I think their favorite Santa gift may have been the harmonica. Not sure what Santa was thinking when he sent that along! I made an egg bake for breakfast and it turned out pretty darn tasty and it was a great way to use up some of that ham we had for dinner. We spent the day in the house, playing with all the new toys. Scott bought me a popcorn popper so I ran to the store to pick up some popcorn. Good thing Walgreen's was open! So, we had popcorn and watched Toy Story 3 tonight. Both girls really enjoyed watching it. Great family night!

Merry Christmas! Ok, well, Merry Christmas Eve. What a wonderful day! Scott got up with the girls this morning and they were so anxious to open presents. It's hard to be so little and have to wait so long for presents! I ran to the mall because I realized last night that I hadn't bought the girls dresses for Christmas. I bought them outfits for our pictures that I thought we could use for Christmas as well, but after seeing them in pictures, I decided it wasn't what I wanted for Christmas. Anyway, long story short, I managed to find matching dresses for the girls pretty quickly and even had time to pick up some Chipotle for lunch on the way home. We did nap time and then worked on preparing for dinner. We went to church this evening and then back home for Christmas dinner. I made the worst ever mashed potatoes and had to throw them out and opt for instant ones instead! They were so bad Scott couldn't even lie to me and say they weren't that bad! After dinner, we did a quick clean up and then the best part of the night. The girls got to open all their presents and it was so fun to watch! Abby kept giving me hugs saying thank you for the great gifts and telling me how much she loved me. Her favs had to be her Olivia stuff and her zhu zhu pets. Although, she was so excited every time she opened a gift it was hard to tell what was her favorite. Mckenzie actually wanted to open her own gifts this year and enjoyed doing it. Her hands down favorite gifts were a computer and a kitty that walks and her baby dolls. When she opened her doll, she got a big smile on her face and in her sweet little voiced said "a baaaby doll!". This Christmas so was much fun! Both girls were well behaved and shared their new toys with one another. I loved watching them open their gifts and seeing the smiles on their faces as they ripped off the paper. It was a wonderful night! We let the girls stay up a little late to play with a few of their toys. Then we went outside to spread around some reindeer food for Santa's reindeer. The girls wet out a plate of cookies for Santa and then it was off to bed. A few minutes after the girls were in bed, I heard a noise that sounded like Santa so I ran upstairs to get the girls out of bed. Turns out it was "Santa" eating his cookies! I told the girls not to make any noise or to let Santa see them as we watched him from the opening into the living room. Abby was a little shy about going to see Santa, afraid she would get caught. Mckenzie put her hands on her cheeks with a huge smile on her face and ran to see Santa! It was so fun to watch them watch Santa. Luckily, I got the girls back to bed before Santa saw them! It was too bad that Scott missed seeing Santa;) Scott talked to Abby about what she saw and she was so nervous Santa was going to come back and take her toys away. She told Scott how santa was dressed in red with black boots and how he ate the cookies and even said "ho, ho, ho". I love it. What a most wonderful Christmas Eve!

Yay! Both girls slept in their own beds all night long! I forgot how restful a night of sleep can be! I ran to the store to pick up a couple of forgotten grocery items for our dinner tomorrow. I have to say that even though there was no parking to be had at the grocery store, no space to maneuver through the aisles, it was the most peaceful and enjoyable shopping trip in a long time. Why might you ask? Because both girls were at home with Scott and I didn't have to push that huge car cart! Scott had to run into work for a little bit today to get things squared away for his deployment. Mckenzie took a nap and Abby and I played a few games and I worked on the laundry. The girls had gymnastics tonight and Abby learned how to do a pike jump. She is doing great! Mckenzie did well too, but I think she did better because Scott went onto the floor with her. Every time Mckenzie finished her circuit, she would head towards the table with stamps. Dinner out at our local restaurant and then bed for the girls.