Comedy

As a lot of you have seen, Stella will fake asleep on demand by tilting her head to the side and closing her eyes for 2 seconds. Well, she's lengthend her time these days. Last week she was just acting like she was asleep and when Aunt Natalie asked her if she was asleep, she nodded her still tilted head to say yes. She'll even talk to me while she's faking asleep.

Worn out!

I don't know how this happens in such a short time, but Stella just gets filthy now! She's shirtless in this picture because #1 - she'd already gone through 3 shirts by lunch time, #2 - she ate a jam sandwich and I wasn't going to change her shirt again. She was trying to be patient while I emptied the dishwasher and after faking asleep so many times, she actually fell asleep! I know she looks like a wreck, but she'd been playing outside too. She was just filthy!

Victory Acres Park

Here is the plan for the new park the city is going to build at the end of our street. Because of some 35 year-old morons that can't progress past "biker dude", the poor artist has to draw yet another draft to increase the size of the BMX park. Elliot was on the committee to plan this park and since he's in New Jersey this week, I was able to go to the meeting for him. I'm glad it didn't take 2 hours like his last meeting did. The city has all but signed the closing documents for the land and they've projected the park to be open in August 2007.



At the top left is the BMX park, next to it in the trees are 2 ping-pong tables, next to that are 2 horseshoe pits, then the park entrance walkway, and then in the top right corner is the kids play area with a little water park.

There is a gravel walkway that goes around the park and there are 4 smaller ramadas and 2 large ones on the N and S of the soccer field. Next to the soccer field is a full-size basketball court. There is a little theater seating area on the S side of the basketball court. There are benches all around the whole park under the trees.

Sister's Day at the Park

All of my sisters were in town last week! Well, Lindsay lives here, but Natalie flew in from Lansing, Michigan to stay with Lindsay as she continues to recover (besides her getting mad at me all the time, she's recovering nicely). Marci flew in from Kimberly, Idaho just to hang out with me! It was her Christmas present from Bill. I hope she doesn't get tired of it, because I sure like the Christmas gift too!

I think I got Marci hooked on my exercise ball. The first time she tried to balance on it, . . . let's just be honest . . . she was no good. But by the last day of her visit, she was a pro! Stella even tried to push her a couple of times. She loves to bounce on the ball with Aunt Marci!

Natalie and Lindsay woke up in time to come all the way to my house and so Marci suggested that we have a picnic at the park (what? go outside? . . . who would have thought?). Stella usually hates the swings, but now I've decided that she just doesn't like the kid swings because they are too high. She loved the lower swings and held on really well and occasionally tried to pump her legs. Brilliant, . . . I know.

Uncle Keith got to watch Stella for a while while we did another Sister's Day on Wednesday to get pedicures. Stella promptly stepped on my foot upon my return, but it was still fun! I think Stella exhausted Keith.

Marci and I got to get quite a bit of scrapbooking done while she was here. She nearly completed her Italy pages and I, of course, have no rhyme or reason to my scrapbooking, but I still got at least 6 pages done, one of which includes a blackmail page on Natalie and Lindsay. I tried my best to clean out my craft room for Marci to sleep in for some privacy so that means most of my scrapbooking stuff is on the counter. I need to seriously simplify if I have all I need here on the counter and yet another whole room full of other stuff.

Boxes

I remember several pictures I have of myself at about Stella's age where I'm just in boxes. What is so fascinating about them? Sometimes Stella will grab a book and go sit in the box and read for a few minutes. She even grabbed her sippy cup and sat down to rest and drink. Stella's friend Donovan came over today and they played in the box for 20 minutes. Donovan mostly just sat there and laughed as Stella entertained him by her comedy routine. I think she knows she's funny! She was purposely falling out of the box and doing other things to make Donovan laugh. I'm sure glad Stella was around because I don't think Donovan would have been very happy with me trying to entertain him.

Baby Powder

One morning I was doing something (I know I do something every day, I just can't think of what it is . . . ), Stella was playing in her room. Sometimes I can hear what she's getting into and it's fun to listen to her explore. All of the sudden, she just started crying kind of like the time she cut her foot on the closet door. So I went running to see what what wrong. She was standing there with baby powder all over her clothes and all over her baby doll and all over the changing pad and floor. She was acting like she was changing the baby's diaper and finally figured out how to twist the baby powder lid. She was really upset about it and wouldn't stop crying until I brought out the camera.

Friendly Competition

I'm pretty sure I'm not so easy on the eyes these days and since this blog is mostly of Stella anyway (the pinnacle of cuteness!), I've created another blog to document my weight loss instead of posting them on this one. That way you won't have to see me if you don't want to. Plus it's sort of embarrassing, plus I wasn't making any progress, plus I wanted to create another blog because I'm addicted now . . . thanks Adam. So if you would like to follow my progress, please visit my other blog called "Friendly Competition" (click on my links or at http://wdibble.blogspot.com/).

Also, my sister Natalie has a similar blog called "Intervention" (also located in my links or at http://interventionservice.blogspot.com/).

Dog House

We visited Aunt Lindsay again yesterday. Today we go to the airport to pick up Aunt Natalie and then on Saturday Aunt Marci comes! I’ll have all of my sisters here at once! When we get to Lindsay’s house the dogs (Maddie and Monty) get really excited (Monty sometimes pees). They jump up on Stella for a while until they calm down. The dogs had just taken a long nap in their kennel and went outside for a while. Stella climbed right into the kennel and closed the door. Brilliant or just plain weird . . . I can’t decide which one she is . . . look at her parents!

Socks and Shoes

On Saturday morning after Stella woke up, Elliot and I were in the kitchen fixing some breakfast and Stella was in the living room playing. Stella came in a little bit later and had her sandles on. I didn't put them on her. Elliot didn't put them on her. Could it be that we have a brilliant child? They were even on the right feet!

Stella also loves socks. I don't think a day goes by when I don't have to put a pile of her socks away. Sometimes she likes to wear them on her hands . . . probably because it's so freezing!


Stella was playing with Aunt Lindsay shoes yesterday and actually walked quite well in them.

A Busy Day

Stella and I went to the Phoenix Zoo again yesterday with some friends. We got a late start and I needed to be back home because Aunt Lindsay and Grandma Anderson were coming over. We went straight to the Walabee's (a cousin of the kangaroo), and then the kids were hungry so we ate lunch and watched Stella chase birds and ducks. She let a mallard duck eat a piece of bread right out of her hand. She wasn't afraid at all! Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough with the picture.



Lindsay made her first little jaunt out to my house yesterday. We ran some errands in the afternoon and wore her out. She rested afterwards and I put a blanket in the dryer to warm it up for her since our house is so freezing! Stella snuggled with her for a little bit until they went back home. She showed me her scar and it's looks really good. Now if Stella would stop pushing on it, it might heal completely.


We also celebrated George's birthday at a park near Adam and Xan's home. It was really cold outside, but fun to visit with family and friends. Somehow Stella ended up taking another trip on the USS Alexandra (Adam's little raft) with Raymond, and Xan's brother Luke and his wife Bonnie (thanks for babysitting Luke and Bonnie). Adam kept calling Stella "Stel-Lo" because of her jogging outfit and ghetto booty (I'm assuming that's a reference to J-Lo - Jennifer Lopez, for those of you who aren't quite with it yet). I thought it was a cute outfit and also warm since it's so FREEZING EVERYWHERE these days! We're going to have to do something about the flash on my camera since none of us can keep our eyes open in pictures.

Happy Birthday Megan!

Megan Lynn is 9 years old today! My memories of Megan are right in front of my face . . . seriously! Megan was so cuddly and touchy-feely that she was always in my face caressing my cheeks or playing with my hair or hugging me. I love it! This picture is actually taken with her on my lap and I had to tell her to move back. I remember a visit I made to Weiser a couple of years ago when Lindsay and I had just driven from Phoenix to Weiser and were exhausted. We were so excited when Becky and the girls (Ashley, Megan, and Brooke) showed up a little later to welcome us. With the little energy that Lindsay had left, Megan was persistent in running as fast as she could to jump on her several times and was just attached the rest of the weekend! If I remember correctly, Becky had to tell her to “get off” more than a few times. I’ve always loved and adored my nieces and nephews and when they return that adoration, it can’t do anything but bring happiness! Happy Birthday Meggie!

Happy Birthday George!

George turns 5 years old today! Some of my favorite things about George is his laugh, and another is that he’s not afraid of anything! I remember that ever since he became mobile, he was jumping off of Grandma’s couches and climbing on everything. One of my favorite stories about George is before I had Stella. Grandma was talking to the kids about how Aunt Whitney was going to have a baby. George asked what I was going to name her. I said, “Stella.” He tilted his head in deep thought and a second later in absolute agreement, said, “I like Stella” . . . I’m glad I got his approval! Happy Birthday George!

WEEK 8

I think last week was WEEK 8, but I was cranky and didn't do very well. It's really easy for me to stay in bed in the morning and not go to the gym, especially because it's 66 degrees in our house. Our heater is blowing out cold air. I'm going to go sleep in Stella's room because she has the humidifier. I worked out a few times last week and actually did my hardest workout on Friday, meaning I worked the hardest. I prefer to do my cardio workout by myself because I work harder. I think the music has a lot to do with it as well. I haven't lost any weight and I don't really feel any better, in fact, I'm really tired. I need to get control of the the nutrition side of this situation.

Grandma's Birthday

We got to celebrate Grandma Anderson's birthday with her at Aunt Lindsay's house. I made up a silly game with some pictures of Mom's grandchildren as babies. She had to try to guess which one was which . . . I'm not so sure how well she did with the 14 grandkids . . . including Monty and Maddie. It was fun to be with Mom on her birthday!



Stella had a little snuggle with UD (Uncle David) on the Love Sac.

Aunt Lora, Aunt Sandra, Uncle David

Lindsay Lou

Happy Birthday MOMMY!

Happy Birthday to my BEAUTIFUL MOMMY! I just finished writing a whole paragraph about Mom, but just deleted it because I’ve also been looking through some pictures and had such a great time that I’m changing what I was going to say.

I’ve found so many pictures of this woman’s beautiful smile! I think our whole family has been complimented on our smiles and I think it comes from Mom!


I’ve found pictures of her laughing that just make me laugh too because I can hear her. One of the things I just love about Mom is that she's so free with sharing her love for her kids. Very rarely does an ever-so-long update email from Mom go by without her expressing how much she appreciates us and loves us.


I have also loved how Mom and Dad express their love for each other. It helped me as a child, to know that Mom and Dad loved each other, whether it was a hello kiss or a pat on the bum. I loved it.


I have a new-found respect for Mom. She popped out 7 kids 10 years, and I'm just assuming here, that actually giving birth was the easy part.


My Mom was a very busy woman, but I think she did a great job with all of us. I don’t know who could make it out of raising us all with her mind still in tact, but as long as that smile and laugh stick around with her, I think we’ll keep her around too! Happy Birthday Mommy!

Trees

We finally called someone to come and remove our olive tree in the back yard and trim our neighbor's trees that were hanging over our house.






BEFORE








AFTER










It took 2 hours right during nap time, but Stella still took a good nap. I'm so excited that we're getting prepped for completing the back yard landscaping and addition!






BEFORE






AFTER










I'm glad we haven't finished the patio yet because they dropped some of those limbs pretty hard on it. Some of the pavers are bashed in now.






BEFORE






AFTER

Brennan - addendum

Natalie and I were talking yesterday about our memories of Brennan. She told me a story about this adorable little boy when we were last in Weiser for Lindsay's reception. She said that he found some play glasses (they used to have springing eyes hanging off of them) and put them on and was play vacuuming Grandma's living room. When Natalie asked him what he was doing, he said, "I'm Super Hero Glasses Man!"

Happy Birthday Brennan!

Happy Birthday to my nephew, SUPER BRENNAN! Brennan turns 6 years old today. I was about to type 3 years old just because I'm dumbfounded that my nieces and nephews are getting so old and grown up without me! Aren't they supposed to stay little and playful?

Sadly, I've not had many encounters with Brennan . . . it's sad for him too, since he doesn't even know I'm his favorite Aunt! The one that I do remember fondly is when Elliot and I went to Chubbuck, Idaho for the blessing of Brennan's baby sister, Kaiah, back in 2002 (wow, that means she's turning 4 this year). We were sitting around in the living room, resting from the long drive, until my brother Adam started practicing his new police officer moves on me, and Brennan and Elliot started attacking each other and wrestling on the ground. That boy has a lot of energy!

I asked Jenny to write to me about her kids a while ago since I didn't really get to spend time with them like I have with some of my other nieces and nephews. This is what she wrote:

"He also got new shoes and we call them running shoes because now he thinks he'll be able to run fast in them. So, when he's told to put on his shoes, he has to correct me every time and say "my RUNNING shoes mom!" then he proceeds to run through the house, the store, the parking lot, everywhere in them saying, "I'm so fast mom!"

Happy Birthday to my favorite little Super Brennan!

Todd and Julie Hillyard

My cousin Julie McAllister got married to Todd Hillyard last weekend in the Salt Lake City Temple. I'm totally happy for them but extremely sad that I missed the party! Congratulations Julie and Todd!

Happy Birthday Grandma Dibble

Happy Birthday to Elliot's paternal Grandma Carmen Dibble! I love this lady! I loved her the first time I met her! It might be because I knew she loved me right away too! Grandma Dibble is so funny. She is so old fashioned when it comes to the men and women roles in the home. Elliot has always been really good about cleaning up after himself and will even clear the whole table and do the dishes on occasion (more when we were first married, but he's still really good). When he tried to do his own dishes at Grandma's house during a visit, she told him to sit down and let her do it or let ME do it! WHAT?! He was insistent upon doing his own dishes until Grandma just told him he was doing it wrong and to sit down!

She also taught me how to make liver and onions from the poor "critters" they just slaughtered.

Last time we went to visit Grandma in Layton, Utah was when I was pregnant with Stella. Grandma gave me several bits of advice, but the one I loved was that I absolutely MUST sing to my children. Grandma was just singing her little heart out with all of the songs she could remember singing to her kids. Don't worry Grandma, that little Stella made me find my voice and now I sing my little heart out too! Happy Birthday Grandma!

WEEK 7

This has been a hard week. I feel really tired. I've gone to the gym 3 times and by the time I've been there for 7 minutes, I'm so tired that I want to go home. I've gained 5 pounds, by the way. It could be from the cookies I made last night for my chiropractor. He lets me come in for free, so I make him cookies and hope that that can be payment enough. Last week when I worked at the cannery I did something horrible to my lower back. It could be that I was leaning over a huge vat of rice for 45 minutes. I couldn't sit down without having a huge pain in my back. I was fine if I was moving around, but once I stopped, even for a minute, it would freeze up. I'm still a little sore, but I feel so much better.

I tried to lift as much weight at the gym as my trainer told me to, but I'm seriously so tired. I had to lower the weight at least 30 pounds on some of them. I need a nap.