So Studious!

We recently bought Abby a "Mrs. Potato Head" and she has totally fallen in love with it. She loves to put all the pieces in the back, then dump them out. She also discovered the glasses, and likes to wear them. It is so funny, she will walk around with them on for quite a while. So we ended up buying her some sunglasses so she would have a pair that actually fit on her face.

Activity Days (or is it Achievement Days?)

I have been an Activity Day's leader with my friend Jolynne for about 9 months and have really grown to enjoy it. Getting to know the girls in the ward has been so much fun. They all have such sweet spirits. Watching them makes me excited (and anxious) for Abby to reach that age! This last activity I asked Cameron to teach the girls about fire safety and talk about his job a little. I think that the girls had a good time listening and participating. We also let the girls try on his gear.




I love to watch Cameron do these little presentations. We have gone to do a couple of them at his moms school, and it fills me with such pride to listen to him talk about his work.

Learning to Undress

Well, Abby learned how to undo snaps and zippers. So her pants are almost always unsnapped and her jackets are always unzipped. I am now finding it difficult to keep clothes on her. Luckily it is almost summer and the jackets will be a thing of the past. However, I think she will still have to wear shorts this summer. Maybe it will just have to be elastic waist bands.

What's the hype?

Well I finished the Twilight series of books, and I have to say "What's all the hype?". I guess I just don't get it. They were good books, and I finished all four of them (even though the last one dragged on for awhile). I enjoyed the love story (who can resist a good love story), but the vampire/werewolf stuff was hard to digest. This is the first fantasy series I have ever read. I've never read Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia, and I think this just confirms that fantasy books are not my cup of tea. However, that being said, I will probably end up watching the movie. I just feel like I've got to truly follow this thing to the end.

Now I guess I need to find another book to read!

Crummy Week

I know that my last post said that the removal of the binky had been easy and successful, but over the last week things have totally gone downhill!!! Abby will go to sleep fine when it's time, but almost every night she has woken up in the middle of the night, and just played in her crib for HOURS. I have tried giving her stuffed animals to comfort her for when she wakes in the middle of the night. I have tried to wait it out, thinking it will get better, but it was getting worse. And finally I reached my breaking point. I was tired (more tired than I can remember in a long time), Abby was tired, and I no longer had the patience. SO, I gave in. She has her binky and her bear, and we both got a restful nights sleep. I guess we will try again in a month or so. I think that the most frustrating part was that I couldn't understand what the problem was. She easily fell asleep at the beginning of the night, but was unable to fall asleep in the middle of the night. Whatever, it might just remain a mystery.

So on top of that, Cameron's been sick. And I seem to have developed shin splints putting a stop to one of my favorite things, running. I am trying to train to run a half marathon, but this sore leg is holding me back. It's kind of funny to think that running has become something that I enjoy. Several years ago, I couldn't fathom why ANYONE would ENJOY running. Now, I can't wait for the hour that I get to run and sweat.

Anyway, just needed to complain, and update on the binky situation (which I'm sure isn't all the interesting).

No More Binky!

Well, Abby is now 18 months old, which has always been that magic number for when the pacifier would be taken away. She really only uses it for sleep and if we are going out and I know she is going to be tired or cranky. I have totally dreaded this day for SO LONG. I was afraid there would be many tears, little sleep, and tons of frustration. We took it away on Sunday night, and it really hasn't been that bad. She will cry for a few minutes, and always ask for her "mimi" (translation: binky). But we have explained in words that she understands that the binky is no more. SO, there have been few tears, plenty of sleep, and only a little frustration. Now I'm wondering "why did I wait so long?"

Las Vegas

Well, I finally made my maiden voyage to Las Vegas. In all of my 26 years, I've never been, and the opportunity arose and I took it. I went with Jolynne for three nights. Just us girls. It was SO MUCH FUN! We stayed at the Stratosphere hotel,



which isn't that exciting unless you ride the rides (which we didn't) but it was a comfortable place to sleep each night. We went to a lot of the classic Vegas destinations. The Belagio Hotel to see the water fountain show, lots and lots of casinos, M&M World, tons of stores and it all required SO MUCH walking. We went to FAO Schwartz in Cesears Palace and played on the big piano that was like the one in the movie "Big".



I wasn't able to play any real tunes, but it was awesome to see it.
We even were able to catch a Cirque Du Soleil show "Mystere".



It was amazing and totally made the whole trip. Those people do things that human body's aren't meant to do! We saw other shows too, but the spontaneous ones that the drunk people put on, forgetting what room they are in, passing out, throwing up and they were all FREE!



This is a picture of me in front of Trump Tower. We saw some pictures of the hotel online, and knew we had to see the inside. Unknowingly, we slipped past the employees into the area for hotel guests only. It was absolutely beautiful and amazing inside.

I enjoyed my time away, but was very excited to return home to see Cameron and Abby. And it actually was quite an ordeal trying to get home, it involved about 6 hours stuck at the airport and a delayed flight, which finally got us home at midnight.

Thanks Jolynne for suggesting this trip!