Galya, Spring 2008 - October 7, 2009

As much as I ranted against Galya for her incessant quacking and for creating a poop-infested yard, she really was an good duck.

I remember when Stephen first brought her to show me with Ashton. He showed up with a brown paper lunch sack and excitedly told me to come check it out. When I first saw the bag, my thought was, "Oh, he's found some Ukrainian pastry. How exciting!" But I don't think I've ever been more surprised than when I looked in expecting a frosting-covered carb and discovered a tall, brown duckling stretching to get out of that bag.

When we lived upstairs, Abby used to love watching for Galya out the sliding glass door. Abby would sit for minutes (which is a long time for babies) at the window and watch Galya walk back and forth. Abby's first word was "duck."

This summer was exciting when Stephen and Ashton discovered that Galya was laying eggs! I guess it makes sense, but I had just never thought of it and we hadn't seen any. But Stephen discovered several nests throughout the yard and Abby soon began the game of hunting and then counting the eggs.

Since we moved to the basement recently, it's been funny to watch Galya through our little windows. She loved to sit in the windowsills and watch us. When we moved to a different room, she would follow us to find the accompanying windowsill. Come to think of it, she's actually been really quiet the last few months.

It will be weird not to have our watchduck anymore. She's almost a comfort now when I come home to have her nestled somewhere nearby in the bushes. Ashton and Stephen found her poor body on the front porch this morning. They think a local black lab killed it in the night. We're burying her tonight

Good-bye Galya. You will be missed.

Abby's reading ...

The Book of Mormon!

What a brilliant baby I have! Okay, just kidding. But I do have a funny story. Tonight, I decided to rest on my bed while Abby was supposed to be going to sleep on her bed (we share a room, for those who don't know). I was just so exhausted and I needed to get off my feet. I accidentally fell asleep. I woke up to the rustling of thin pages and a little voice saying, "And it came to pass... And it came to pass... And it came to pass" over and over again. It took me a minute to realize what was going on, but I soon realized that Abby was trying to read her Book of Mormon! We only read 5 or so verses a night with her because she has the attention span of a petite pea, but this let me know that she's actually listening! I began to be astonished. :) It's amazing how much your children actually hear when you think they're doing nothing but rolling around the bed humming. This was a wonderful moment of motivation for me to continue creating this habit of family scripture study. Grief, I know I should anyway, but you know what I mean. Hurrah!

Cinderella

This is my dilemma: Abby is OBSESSED with watching Cinderella. It is literally the first thing she asks to do when she wakes up. So as it is nearing October, I started thinking about Halloween and what costume to do this year for Abby. This the first year we're taking her trick-or-treating. Hooray! So back to the costume. Jesse really wants her to be Boo from Monsters Inc. It'd be CRAZY easy to throw her in an oversized pink shirt and leggings, and then stick some pigtails in her hair. But she doesn't care much for Monsters Inc. anymore. And neither do I. But we're both attached to Cinderella. I started researching Cinderella costumes and they range anywhere from $20 - $80! Then I thought: well maybe I'll make one. So I started researching that possibility. But really, after you've bought the pattern, mushed your brain deciphering the pattern, purchased the fabric, and put it all together.... will it really be less than just buying a costume for $20 or $30? That's my dilemma: do I buy a costume? or is it worth it to attempt making one?

What do you think?

The Boo costume is not an answer. I'm trying to avoid that one right now... In the meantime, I'll stop plaguing my mind with research and await your brilliant responses. Happy autumn!

Abby's secrets

So many of you know, Abby is addicted to her pacifiers, or "binkies" as we call them. She has her "bubble binky" and her "flower binky", because they have bubbles and flowers on them, as shown above. Abby has to have one in her mouth and one in her hand when she goes to sleep. Or she doesn't sleep (I know she's two and we need to stop this habit). On Saturday, the bubble binky mysteriously disappeared. I searched the beds, behind the beds, under the beds, in the toy box, in the dressers, in the closet (yes, singular), EVERYWHERE. And I could not find it. Of course that meant trouble when night came. She cried and cried because she wanted her bubble binky, but I didn' t have a clue where it was and she couldn't remember where she put it. She finally decided that one of her doll's binky was okay and she tried to sleep. But it hasn't been easy the last few nights. Just barely I went into our room to go to sleep. I always reposition Abby on her pillow and put her blankets on her before I go to sleep. So I was shifting her back to her pillow and looking for her binkies so she'd have them when she wakes up in the night, and there on her bed... was the bubble binky. I gawked at it for a moment. WHERE THE HECK HAS THIS THING BEEN?!?! I grabbed it and walked out to Jesse and frustratingly said, "Seriously?" He looked at me and with equal shock said, "I know! She brought it out while you were at your relief society visit and said, 'I found bubble binky, papa!'" Jesse asked her where she found it, but with a sly smile she refused to respond. The bubble binky has returned. I honestly want to know where it has been this whole time. We have a small apartment and not a lot of places for it to go. I'm beginning to think she stashes them.... Anyway. That's my story. Now go to bed.

Twins and their babes

There are SO many things I need to post about: Abby's birthday, my high school reunion, Seth's farewell, Seth entering the MTC, etc. etc. etc. But for now this will have to suffice. A picture of my twin and our babies. It's so awesome that we are both parents. And surprisingly, I wasn't one bit jealous of Samuel's attention. I love that little bundle of ... grunting joy! Abby absolutely loves him too. That's good news for me. Anyway, here's a couple pictures. The other is of Abby at a friend's reception. I promise to post again soon. :) Plus, we're moving back to Provo tomorrow so we'll have TONS more time to blog. Love y'all.