My Girls

I laughed when I took these pictures, because they are SO typical of their personalities.
Lilly:
So flippin funny.
My sister in law describes her as being "Zany". Perfect description.
She has such a tender heart.
She is hysterically funny.
"What Happen to Wiwwy" is the funniest phrase she says.
Decided the Nutcrackers mouth was the perfect place to put her booger. Sick? Yes. Funny? Yes!
Is such a home body.
Loves to "snuggle on the couch".
Favorite foods: popcorn, chips, grapes
My favorite 2 1/2 year old in the whole world!

Claire:

Has two little teeth that are crooked! So funny!

Does the stinky face on demand.

Shakes her head when we say "No No No!"

Every time I go to put a bow in her hair, she shakes her head No.

"Ba Ba Ba", "Da Da Da", "Ne Ne Ne" is her language.

Doesn't do well in crowds or when people get really close to her face to talk to her.

Finds Lilly so funny

Is really wanting to be mobile. 

Loves her new lamb and play table she got for Christmas

Loves to suck her thumb.

My favorite baby in the whole world!

Christmas 2010

To start off Christmas Eve, Anton played a mean game of racquetball with my brother and I took Lilly with my parents and most of her cousins to go see Tangled. It was so fun!! Each year, I cook a fancy meal and we stay in and watch movies. This year, we decided to mix it up a bit. Neither of us were feeling like cooking a big meal, and cleaning it up, so we decided to go out! If you know us, you know we love Mexican food...so thats what we decided on. Not your traditional Christmas Eve meal, but it was so fun. After dinner, we decided last minute to go downtown and take the girls to see the lights at Temple Square. We chose a good night...it wasn't that cold, and really not that busy. The girls loved it! After the lights we headed home to get working on "Santa's gifts". wink wink. Setting up all the toys and laying the presents under the tree, brought back that feeling of being a kid again. I left the room for a minute, and came back in and when I saw all the presents laying there...I could barely wait for morning. All I wanted, was to see how Lilly was going to react to her special gift from Santa. Christmas Eve this year was so much fun. I loved that it was just our little family. It was a perfect night.

Christmas morning was truly magical. We both went in to wake up Lilly, and she SHOT out of bed. I had to grab her hand to slow her down so Anton could get it on film. Of course the moment she walked into the living room, she said "A Kitchen!". We had to convince her that her kitchen wasn't going anywhere, and that Santa had brought her more gifts. Claire was just Claire...mellow and happy to be with us! She loved the paper and the bows....more so than her gifts. Typical baby! Lilly's new toys have been a life saver for me! She just plays and plays and plays...she pushes her babies up and down the hallway with her stroller, she cooks for them, she is in pure heaven. It is really fun - and quite nice!

Anton and I don't really do much for each other throughout the year, so we take the opportunity of Christmas to really spoil one another. And, I tell you what...every single year, I think "oh man, he is going to love what I got him", and then he always manages to up one me. He is so sweet with how much thought he put into my gifts. I just adore him.

This time of year can be hectic with going from here to there, making sure you have gifts for everyone, schedules are off etc., but really the best part of the holidays is the time spent with our families. We don't get to see Antons family very often because they live in St. George, so around the holidays they always come up and it is great to see them. Lilly adores her Grandma (and pompa of course!), and loves every moment she gets to spend with her. It is also so fun for Anton to get to have his family around for a few days. There are always tears shed between Lilly and grandma when it comes down to saying goodbye, but we are grateful they come up to see us for a couple of days during this crazy time of year. And, we are grateful that they live in St. George and not farther away! I am so mad at myself for not getting pictures with them this year. There is always next year!

I am so in love with my little family, and this Christmas could not have been any better. It really, truly, was a magical Christmas...one I will never forget!

Woodward Christmas 2010

Another year, another fabulous party!
My parents Christmas party is now one of my very favorite Christmas traditions. I get so excited when the party is near. Lilly absolutely loved every moment of the night. She adores her cousins, and is so in love with her Nana & Pops. The evening started with a delicious meal my mom cooked (to be honest, I had the flu so I didn't eat much, but I heard it was SO delicious!), then the grandkids did the nativity scene, followed by talents. Lilly showed everyone her special trick of winking. Talented, I tell you! Then, it was time for presents. Too fun!
This Christmas tradition is so special, and so fun. I adore it. There is just something special about that night.
Thank you Mom and Dad for yet another fabulous Woodward Christmas party!

A Visit to Santa

Lilly was THRILLED to see Santa! She let him know what she wants most for Christmas: a Teddy Bear. Claire's feelings about Santa are obvious from the pictures. Maybe next year!

Friends

Yesterday I got the sweetest email from one of my longtime friends. It was sent to a group of us girls, who are still friends after years and years of knowing one another. I still keep in touch and get together regularly with my friends whom I have known since early elementary school. It is so fun to see where all of our lives have taken us, and feel blessed to still call them my "dear friends". We have seen each other move away to school, get married, some divorce, some have children, some have great sadness with their children...but regardless of the different paths our lives have gone, we are still dear friends. I can always count on a good laugh when I am with them, and I love that I can show up in my pajamas with no makeup on and no one will care how I look. Not only am I lucky to still be friends with my girlfriends from high school, but since I have been married and and lived in this home/ward, I have met some truly remarkable and dear women who I am so lucky to call my friends. They are such wonderful examples to me, and I am so lucky to have my girls grow up with their children. They are the type of mothers who just get it. I will never have to worry about Lilly or Claire being at one of their homes, and in this day and age, I feel like that is so rare. And, I can't speak about friendships without mentioning these women: my mom and sisters. Don't get me wrong, I adore my brothers and dad, but there is something about your mom and having a sister. I was over the moon when Claire was delivered and the doctor said "It's a girl!". All I could think about is how lucky Lilly was to have a sister. Being the youngest of 5, I was never very close with my sisters (who were the two oldest), it wasn't until I have been married and since had children that I feel so close with them. My sister called me the other night, so sad and upset...and after I hung up the phone from her, I just thought how glad I was that she felt like she could call me and lean on me when she was so sad. Then there is my mom...she gets me, she knows me, and she loves me...unconditionally. Is there a better friendship than that? I don't think so. I don't have to act a certain way with her, I can just BE....and to me, that is the best feeling. I have mentioned before how for the birthday's in my family, my siblings and my parents get together for lunch. Just recently, we got together for my brothers birthday's. We spent a good two hours talking non stop about everything from books, movies, our children, funny stories, sad stories...you name it, we covered it! I love this tradition! I love the relationship and friendship we all have as adults.

I hope and pray that Lilly and Claire will be blessed with good friends, and that they will one day understand the importance of good friends. I don't want for them to strive to have lots of friends...I just want them to have good, dear friends. Because I know that my life has been better because of all the wonderful and dear friends I have.

#2

Meet "Squirt #2"!
These girls are keeping me on my toes lately!
She was so super proud of herself for pulling out the brand new roll of paper towels!

SQUIRT!

Remember in my last post, how I called Lilly a squirt? Well, she is exactly that! Let me explain:
*It's Friday night and Anton is at the Jazz/Lakers game with my dad.
*I am feeding Claire.
*Lilly comes in crying and pointing to her nose.
*She has shoved a piece of sponge up her nose and I can't get it out.
*It looks small, so I hesitate to even do anything.
*Call my mom and sister for advice. End up calling the InstaCare.
*Anton has my car with the car seats. Calling neighbors to borrow car seats so I can take Lilly in.
*Pile into "daddy's big truck", and scream "weeeee!" the entire time there.
*Meet my dear mom at the InstaCare, who is there to help.
*1 doctor, 2 nurses, and me holding down a screaming hysterical 2 year old.
*I BIG piece of sponge pulled out of Lilly's nose. It wasn't as small as I was thinking.

The doctor told me that if I would have let it go, it would have gone up into her sinuses, where they would have had to put Lilly under and done surgery to get it out.

See. She is a squirt.

A darling squirt though.

Finally

I applaud those mothers with 3+ children and still function like normal human beings! I feel so behind on things. My house is always messy, I am behind on my "journal" aka: my blog, I should exercise more...you know, all that day to day stuff. I always have to remind myself of balance, and that Anton and my girls come first. The other stuff can wait. Anyway, I thought it was finally time to catch up. So...this is just a little bit about what we have been up to:

*This past weekend, I went up to Midway with my mom and sisters/sister-in-laws. It was SO fun and SO needed. We all worked on projects that we have been wanting to finish (my photo album), went out for a fun dinner, and stayed up WAY too late. Not a good idea when you have to get up with a baby first thing in the morning. Anton was awesome and stayed home with Lilly bug. He said he enjoyed having a night of "bachelor living" again. Which means, he ate fast food, watched sports, and stayed up till 1 am. It think we both needed a night "off".
*He will be so mad at me for mentioning, but I am going to anyway! Anton has been the very most stressed I have ever seen him since we have been married. I guess you could say it is "good stress". In this economy I am so incredibly grateful for his job, and the stability it has brought us. Recently he has been offered to make some changes with his career. Not just one offer, but three! It has been one of the hardest things for him to decide what to do. I am so proud of him, and I have every confidence in the world in him.
* I am so excited for the holidays this year. Lilly is going to flip out over what Santa is bringing her! I can't wait! We have Thanksgiving with my family this year, and I always look forward to the wonderful feast my mom puts on.

Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!!

(I posted below on whats the latest with our girls...)

Lillian Virgina

Oh Lilly Bug...I can't begin to tell you how much I love this child. What a squirt! That is the best description of her right now. She is so lovable one moment, and the very next moment she is spawn of Satan!! She makes me laugh so hard. I wish I could carry around a tape recorder and get some of the funny thing she says on tape. I love how quirky her personality is. Poor little thing had a 24 hour bug a couple of days ago...throw up and the works. Yuck. All she wanted me to do is "lay down and cuddle me mom". It is moments like those that keep me going as a mother. She has so much love for her mommy and daddy....what a sweetheart. It is so hard for me to believe that I am going to be registering her for preschool in a couple of months. I hate it. She is so innocent and sweet. I can't bear the thought of her growing up. Her favorites at the moment:
*Listening to the Nightmare Before Christmas song 450 times a day.
*Shouting "I did it!!" when she goes to the bathroom.
*Helping me wake up Claire from her naps.
*Luke, April, Dylan and Izzy. She talks about them all the time. The other day she said "Lets go to the park with Luke and April and Nana". Uh, OK! Luke painted her nails the other day, and she is still so thrilled to show them off.
*Anything Christmas! But, sometimes she still calls it "Nightmare Before Christmas"!
*She loves to "cook". Every night in the bath, she makes me something. "Hey Mom, I got some dinner for ya". It is so darling.
I Love her.   

Claire Elizabeth

I am having a hard time with Claire growing up. I was shopping the other day to try and find her a Christmas outfit, and realized I was shopping in the wrong area because I was in the newborn section. I keep thinking she is just a brand new baby girl. I hate that she is closer to one year, than a newborn. She is pure joy...really, truly, she is a slice of heaven. She has brought such a sweet spirit into our home. Every time I am holding her, I maul her. I could kiss those cheeks all day long! Some of my recent favorites....
*She LOVES to maul whoever is holding her. Especially her Pops (as you can see below)
*She is a jabber mouth. She talks all day long. It is the sweetest sound.
*She is going to be a busy busy busy child. Her little hands are so quick, and she wants to grab everything in sight.
*She is so close to sitting up. She almost has it down, but still falls backward.
*Her little "jumper" toy is her favorite thing. She loves it!
*She still loves to gaze up at whoever is holding her. This is Antons very favorite thing she does. I am glad I caught it on camera.
*There is a budding friendship between my girls. Claire has always been fascinated and throughly entertained by Lilly, but the feelings haven't always been mutual....until just recently. Lilly loves it when Claire comes in her room to play. I love it.

Beautiful!

This morning, I was sound asleep when Anton came in to kiss me goodbye. I rolled over to wish him a good day and he started to laugh. Apparently, I looked really beautiful!

I had a sticker plastered to my face. Nice.

Oh the joys of motherhood!

On my mind

1. This fall has been so beautiful. Sunday after church, I took Lilly up the canyon (one of her favorite things to do) for one last hoorah before the snow gets here. She loves to think about Ichabod (one of her favorite movies) while wandering around in the "spooky forest". So funny.
2. My baby turned 7 months today. SEVEN MONTHS. Are you kidding me? Where has the time gone? I seriously cannot get enough of her. Every single little thing she does I think is adorable. Even when she cries, I think her cry is cute. Now that is what I call whipped!
3. My parents just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! They are such a cute couple - I am very lucky to have them. We went up to Log Haven for dinner Friday night to celebrate. Fun!
4. I can't hardly believe how close we are to the Holidays. Man oh man, I better get some shopping done.
5. I made Lilly a CD of Disney songs and primary songs. She was listening to it the other day while playing in her room, and I peeked in on her and she had grabbed her pillow and her blankie and was laying on the floor singing along. It was darling. She is so sweet and so innocent.
6. Today was a wake up call...what am I going to do all winter long couped up in my house!? Yikes!!
7. The girls in my family are having a "sewing/crafting night" up in Midway. I am so excited to have a night away and be with my sisters/mom. But, I am struggling with what to make. Suggestions are welcome :)
8. As darling as Lilly is - that child is really testing my patience at the moment. She says my name maybe 750 times a day, and is throwing major attitude.
9. Anton is amazing. His work is keeping him super duper busy, he is teaching at the University of Phoenix at night, and now is going to be teaching a finance class for our ward on Sunday nights. I am so grateful for everything he does for us. I love him.
10. My dearest "angel" on earth has been diagnosed with cancer. I cried so hard when I found out, and am still so sad about it. I love her so dearly, and am praying and pleading that she can beat it.

Halloween 2010

Well, I think it is safe to say that Halloween was everything Lilly thought it would be and more! We had the ward "Trunk or Treat", my family Halloween party, Trick or Treating...she was in heaven! I am so glad I went and took the girls to go get their pictures taken, because with everything going on that day, I didn't get very many good pictures of them in their costumes. Lilly was a spider, and Claire a little duck. Lilly really got into the Halloween thing this year, and didn't want to come home from Trick or Treating, so Anton stayed out with her for a little while more and I took Claire home to sleep. At my parents annual Halloween party, their neighbor Lisa came dressed up as Snow White. Lisa was born with some mental disabilities, and is very special to our family. When she came to the door in that Snow White costume - Lilly was star struck. (she really did look a lot like her). Lilly thought she was the most beautiful thing she has ever seen, and truly thought she was the real deal. It was SO sweet. Brought me to tears and everything! My parents set up a "spookly alley" in their basement, and of course Lilly was getting anyone she could to go through it over and over and over. It was a hit. So, needless to say, it was a very fun Halloween! 

My favorite costume of the night...

So beyond excited for Jake & Katie! We thought they were "done", so it was such a fun surprise!!

Claire with Uncle Jake

Lilly with some of her favorite people in the whole world. They were so cute to help her go from door to door. She loved it!

Happy Fall!

Time of year

Wheezy breathing 

+ 

Two oxygen treatments, and even more from home 

= 

One sick little girl.

Guess its that time of year! Darn!

Now, lets just hope Claire doesn't get the virus. 

Pictures

Pretty Pretty Princess. I mean, doesn't that hair just scream "Beautiful!!"?

We finally lit a fire this weekend in our fire pit! So fun! This picture makes me smile because it is so typical...Claire hanging in the background, Lilly jabbering on and on about something, Anton thinking "I have no idea what she is talking about"... all while lighting his marshmallows on fire. Good times. 

We have teeth!! Two of them!! What a love bug - I didn't even know she was getting them. Oooh, I love her.

Mission Accomplished!

Lillian Virginia is now potty trained.

HALLELUJAH!!!

She is such a big girl now, and is very proud of herself!

Another accomplishment: she puts her dirty dishes from breakfast into the dishwasher. Of course, they don't go in correctly, but that's OK, at least she puts them in there!

6 Months

6 Month Stats:

Weight: 15 pounds (38%)

Height: 25 inches (43%)

Oh my little Claire Bear...you melt my heart. I love you so much, I can hardly stand it. I am so glad you are forever mine. And, your daddy is so absolutely smitten with you, I have never seen anything quite like it! I can honestly say, this is one of the happiest times of my life...and it is because of you and your darling sister. I am so in love with being your mommy. I love every single teeny tiny thing about you.  Some of our most favorite little details about you are:
*When one of us is holding you on our lap, you always turn up to gaze at us. I can't even describe how sweet it is. It is our favorite thing you do.
*The moment one of us comes and gets you out of your bed, you smile. No matter how tired you are.
*They way you twirl your little feet when you get excited about something.
*When you are ready to go to sleep, you kick your legs up in the air, roll away from us and suck your thumb. That is one of your daddy's very favorite things you do.
*You are fascinated with Lilly. You love to sit and watch her.
*You love your mom and dad very most. We tease that you are the sweetest baby in the world...but only to us. You are slowly starting to let others snuggle you...but not many!
*Your laugh is so funny. It sounds like an old man laugh....deep and raspy.
*Your eyes are the most interesting color. We aren't sure what color they are, but they are gorgeous.
*You love the sound of your voice, and talk the very most when you are on your changing table, or in your red chair.
* The way you scrunch your nose when you cry.
*Your smile. It is addictive. The moment you smile at someone, they can't help but smile back.
*You like to be snuggled. The feel of your squishy little body is the best! Especially when you are in your snuggly jammies.

We love you little Claire Bear! So so so very much!
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, Lilly Bug

October

We are so glad it is October around our house! We put our Halloween decorations up on October 1st, and now I can finally dress my girls in these adorable shirts. As you can imagine, Lilly was in heaven wearing her new Halloween shirt that Nana gave her! I love October!!

Chicken Pot Pie

I don't usually post recipes, only because there are a million food blogs out there for someone to go find a recipe. But, I am making an exception with this recipe. I am telling you what...it is a keeper. It is so delicious! I will never use another Pot Pie recipe. It is that good. And, this is a perfect recipe for fall!

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
 1/3 cup Butter
1/3 cup Flour
1/3 cup Chopped Onion
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
2 cups Chicken Broth
2/3 cup Milk
2 cups Cooked, Pulled Chicken
2 med. Potatoes, diced & cooked
2 Carrots, diced & cooked
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
 
Melt butter; mix flour, onion, salt, & pepper, then blend with melted butter.
 
Add Chicken Broth & milk.  Heat to bubble & cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  
 
Add veggies & chicken.  Pour into casserole & top with pie crust.  
Bake @ 425 for 30-35 minutes or until pie crust is golden.  


*I use the Marie Callender's frozen pie crust or the Pillsbury refrigerated crust. They are both very good, and I like the convenience of them rather than making my own crust. Also, I would cook it for closer to 45 minutes.  My potatoes didn't finish cooking in the 30-35 minutes it called for. But, be sure to check your crust to make sure it doesn't burn. I have also used turkey in this recipe, and I actually think Turkey is better. Perfect recipe for left over Thanksgiving turkey. 

Worst EVER

I HATE potty training. I loathe potty training. It is the WORST JOB ON EARTH.

OK, I might be over doing it a little. But, it still sucks. I have been locked in my house for the last two days, trying to get Lilly trained. I figured we can't do much with the girls being sick anyway, so it was the perfect time to just stay home and do it.Yesterday was just a disaster. I am not even going to try and go back to yesterday. Today however, is a much better day. Lilly is SO proud of herself for being "a big girl" and using the potty! We have only had one accident today - which is pretty good. I am hoping tomorrow is even better!

Wish us luck!!

GRS Meeting

Every year, my mom and sisters head out for dinner then settle down at my moms house to watch the General Relief Society Meeting together. I love the tradition! So, we headed to Trio for the most delicious of dinners, then took some yummy dessert back and watch the conference together. The talk from President Monson was truly beautiful. It couldn't have been a better talk. Because of the way he spoke with such sweetness and love, the message was even that more touching. It was a talk that applies to every single person. It was such a good reminder to not judge and be accepting of those around us, and reach out to those who may get over looked. I love it. Absolutely loved it.

In other news, both my girls have big fat colds. Boo!

A Must See

This past week, we have been watching this show:

It was fascinating. Before, I didn't have much knowledge of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda etc., so it was very interesting for me to learn about all of that. The show is in two parts: the events leading up to 9/11, and then the day of the attacks. It was so sad, humbling, scary, interesting, and SO well done. I highly recommend it. We have really enjoyed it.

(p.s. we found ours on Netflix)

Likes

Claire: Little bug had cereal for the first time yesterday. She kept grabbing the spoon and shoving it in her mouth. I think she kind of liked it.

Lilly's latest "like": wearing her fairy wings. Everywhere. Had a fit when I took them off to go to Walmart.

Antons "like": Hiking. Anton and Luke hiked the Pheifferhorn last weekend. Pretty impressive. 

Me: Playing cards with sister and brother-in-law. Can always guarantee that Anna's mascara will run down her face, from tears of laughter. Good times. And, I am making these tonight for dinner. Going to use fresh peppers from our garden. Holy Smokes, they are beyond delicious. You must try them!!