R&R

So for some reason this week ended up being an R&R week for me. I got to do a lot of things for me and me only most of the time! :o)

I went to see Horton Hears a Who with Lily on Monday...a little mom and me time. Andrew's not too hip on seeing 'kid shows', but they're actually the type I like the most. Lily did pretty good, she got a little restless and decided to go up and down the lighted stairs while watching the giant screen, but for the most part watched the whole show without disrupting anyone else. I really liked the flick, it was really well-made with a cute message.

Tuesday night I got to go out with some of my fam AND Andrew's fam. Andrew's sister had purchased tickets to go see Odyssey dance theater's production of "Shut Up and Dance", a plethora of dances set to the music of the Beatles. She got tickets for all the Pedersen girls but some couldn't make it in the end, so I got to invite my Mom and sister, Hannah, to accompany us. We enjoyed a nice, relaxing dinner at Olive Garden and then headed over to Kingsbury Hall for two hours of great entertainment. It was a lot of fun.

And then Wednesday I had a facial/massage scheduled via an awesome rebate through Walgreens. I'd been able to do 2 other sessions in weeks past, all in all--$300 of services for about $5 plus the tip. Can't beat that! It was so great, and I will miss the guilty pleasure of just being pampered. Pure bliss!

And all through this Andrew willingly watched the girls--no complaints. What a great guy! I guess he's saving up his 'solo' time for the near future when it'll be a little warmer and he'll want to go golfing.

To top it all off, we went to the mall to do my least favorite thing to shop for-- a new bra. While I didn't find anything but pure frustration in the bra department, we ended up getting our cell phones upgraded for FREE! Good thing, too, because our old ones were two years old and in desperate need of new batteries. The new Sony Ericcsons are very cool and Andrew was very stoked to show off all he had learned from the salesman while I was off in the dreaded dressing room.

Gotta love a little change-up of a week thrown in here and there from time to time. (and how's that for a great sentence?!)

Dance, baby, dance

(you'll have to pause the background music to the blog first--that way you can hear the music that zoe is grooving to. Go to the playlist box on the right hand side of the blog, near the bottom and press the pause.)

Zoe is quite the little dancing queen as you can see. She loves to be-bop to any type of rhythm/melody and really gets into it. She's sitting down here and is limited to what she can do, but when she's standing her little legs bounce up down in beat to the music and her head gets going. She must get the dancing gene from her mother. (we'll have to work on the lips though...it's all about the facial expressions)

Easter

Easter was so fun this year. Lily really caught on to the excitement and anticipation of the Easter festivities. Andrew had to work Saturday morning, but my mom was able to come out and help me take the girls to an Easter egg hunt at the IHC Clinic in Layton. They did such a nice job. There was tons of treats and prizes, balloons and free pictures with the Easter bunny. Lily would not, however, sit near him....I guess he sounds better when he's secretly hiding eggs than when he's a giant life-sized bunny. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to participate in the free activity.
Zoe went down for a nap, and the Pedersen family Easter bunny hid a bunch of plastic eggs outside in the front yard along with some strategically placed baskets. Lily had a blast. We figured Zoe couldn't do a whole lot in the actual hunt, so we just let her sleep. She is standing solo quite well and has taken a few steps here and there, but I didn't really want her crawling around on the grass eating leaves. So she got her own little pile of eggs to play with when she woke up. The easter bunny brought the girls two Disney movies and a bubble mower--both were a hit.

It's such a fun, spring holiday and really holds a lot of happiness and hope. I am comforted to know that even with all the commercialism and consumerism there is much symbolism is all the aspects of Easter---bunnies, eggs, spring, and even Easter dresses. They all remind us of the newness and rebirth of the world as Christ suffered for us all and was resurrected--allowing us all the ability to 'start over', giving us hope that we will be with Him again. I am grateful for the testimony that I have of Him...for I know without Him we would not have all this happiness and hope. And I'm so thankful for the chance I have to see that same hope and newness in my little girls...I am reminded of the purity and innocence that I strive to keep in touch with. Being a mom has given me new eyes in so many ways. I am so blessed...Bring on the Spring!

Here are my little ones in their cute new Easter dresses.

And here's our happy, little family, enjoying the springish warmth of an Easter Sunday

Zoe's First Birthday

Our little Zoe is 1!!
She had a very nice but very busy birthday on Saturday.
We did our Easter activities in the morning and early afternoon and then celebrated Zoe's birthday with the extended family that night. She wasn't too aware of everything going on but did really well with all the choas around her. She's definitely a ham when it comes to being the center of attention. She opened her presents with a lot of help from Lily and Mommy. She came away with a lot of loot, and we appreciate everyone who came. Zoe had a great time, and Lily thought it was just as much her birthday and enjoyed the festivities immensely.
I made and decorated a cake which I pictured differently in my mind, but I think it turned out cute considering the modifications I made at the last minute. Some people thought it was a little girl with a beard but it was supposed to be a little girl eating her first cupcake. Anyhow, Zoe enjoyed eating it. She was a little hesitant when I plunked the whole girl down on her tray. I'm sure she didn't have a clue what it was at first. She poked at it and wasn't doing much, so I took off the head and fed her a bite, and then she caught on quickly that it was edible.

It was a fun day, and I can't believe how fast a year can go by.

It honestly feels like I was just meeting her for the first time not too long ago. We're so glad you came into our home and joined our family. We love you, Zo! Thanks for a memorable year!

One year ago...A little and scrunched up Zoe with her proud parents (3/22/07)

Plastic surgery?

It's funny how little bits and pieces of the people closest to me come to light at the most unexpected times. Tonight I was watching a show on TLC called 'John and Kate plus eight'. Basically it's a show about a family that has twin girls and then sextuplet 2-year-olds. Wait for it...yeah, I felt that that incredulousness shiver too. CRAZY! Anyhow, I've heard about the show but never watched it until tonight. Of course the first episode I choose to see is about plastic surgery. The mom, after carrying six babies, is a little, uh, stretched out in the tummy area, and some plastic surgeon sees her on an interview on the Today show and offers to give her a free tummy tuck. HA! How would that be?! She of course says yes, and the episode follows her preparing the kids, her husband and herself for the surgery and its recovery.
Then the surprise. So I'm thinking they won't show anything, it's TLC for crying out loud...she's prepped for surgery, and Lily looks up from her playing and sees the surgeon marking this lady's belly skin for removal. She is FASCINATED!
Lily: "what is that?" (you'd think this be an obvious observation to a toddler who knows all her body parts, but consider the fact that after holding six babies, a stomach is not going to look too much like a stomach)
Me: "that's the lady's tummy" (Then the surgeon starts to cut...ewww! I switch the channel. I don't do blood and surgery and stuff. Makes me nauseous. )
Lily: I wanna see her tummy!
Mom: Lily, it's yucky...she has a yucky tummy.
Lily: I wanna see her yucky tummy!
(I switch back to let her get a glimpse...hopefully just enough to convince her that is really is yucky....they're holding up the big skin flap with attached fat, muscle and yuckiness...making me sick thinking about it. Lily is absolutely enthralled.)
Lily: What he doing, Mom? what is that? I wanna see the lady's yucky tummy!
(thankfully the footage stops and they go to her recovery....But Lily is still adamant)
Lily: I Want to see the lady's tummy, Mom! I wanna see her yucky tummy!
I try to explain that she has clothes on and it can't be seen, but to no avail....all she wants to see is the lady's yucky tummy. Oh the curiosities of a 2 year old!
(side note addendum: the next morning after Andrew had gotten up, the first thing Lily says to him is, 'you wanna see the lady's yucky tummy? Tum on, dad, let's go see her yucky tummy!"--all the while pulling him towards the t.v. I really hope this is not a new infatuation)

Are we bound to have an MD on our hands? She must get the fascination from Andrew...he finds is very interesting to see blood and guts. I, on the other hand, got terribly sick when watching the train wreck documentary in drivers ed and have never had any sort of interest in seeing body parts in an abnormal way.
So there's my random story for the day.

Holiday week ahead...

The little poem above is a little hard to read so here it is again:

Look at me...see how I've grown!

The last twelve months have really flown

Longer hair, new teeth, I'm cruising around...

I love to babble and make lots of sound!

I love to be silly and most of all eat,

And a birthday cake is a special treat!

I'm sweet and zany, and oh so fun--

I, little Zoe, am turning ONE!

My little Zobots! What a fun and surreal last year this has been.

Here's to a great St. Patty's, First day of Spring, birthday, and Easter week!

The last lecture...

a good reminder...
please take a moment to watch
http://video.google.com:80/videoplay?docid=8577255250907450469&pr=goog-sl

daylight savings time?

I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like this new time change has put my days in major fast forward. While the extra daylight is nice, it's also harder to 'get ready' for bed. As Lily says, 'it's not dark. no night night.' Or when it's morning, she'll say, "see! it's springtime! (daytime)"

Today I'm grateful for a working dryer. My handy stepdad, Scott, has been over 3 times now and was able to fix it completely today. So yeah for a working dryer (and ughh for loads of built-up laundry). I'm also grateful for my mom and her willingness and 'just do it' attitude in painting my downstairs bathroom. We hit a wall with doing all the finishing work on the downstairs project, but it's looking a lot more finished with beautiful green bathroom walls :o)
And I'm most grateful for the warm weather--mid 50's today. I spent a good part of Zoe's second nap outside pruning my roses. I have so missed my shears and the satisfaction of snipping away. Half my rose bushes are now in the garbage, but they are looking closer to where they should be at the beginning of Spring. I actually had to stop because of a rather painful blister that formed from the repetition of clipping along with about 3 dozen thorn sticks. Every time I'd get stuck i'd think to myself, 'you really should wear gloves' but was too lazy to walk to the shed and get them. So I guess it's 'serves you right'. I'm no rose pro but am trying my best to care for them in a way where they'll maintain their beauty throughout the entire blooming season. I didn't think I would be such a gardening person, but I find great satisfaction in having a weed-free and neatly adorned garden. Gotta love curb appeal!
Also, this wonderful springiness has done wonders for the mood at our house. Being able to take the girls on walks has helped with the crabbiness for both me and them. It really is so great to feel happy.
Well, Andrew is finally home from the gym, so I'm off to Albertsons to take advantage of a good deal...yet another wonderful pick-me-upper...
Here's to a good week!

We're up and running...

Got out replacement camera today. And as I'm getting ready to download all our photos finally, Andrew says to me, 'did you know that our computer has a slot to read the camera card?' I was like, 'that would have been nice to know a week ago when I was wanting to download these photos...' You learn something new every day. Nonetheless I now have a camera that is totally workable. hooray!

Here's some cute pix of Zoe, 11 months old already...her birthday is right around the corner, and I can't believe how fast the time has flown. I've found with her being my second child, time seems to speed up. Two kids growing up alongside one another, half as much time, twice as many memories...but it's been so fun to see her grow. I remember Lily at her age not too long ago it seems, and it boggles my mind. They are very much their own person....some similarities, but a lot of differences.

11 months old
"Little Mooch"-- mooches at every and any chance she gets.
'sneaking' outside...who left that door open?!
reading with daddy...
...and by herself

swimming for the very first time

Zoe definitely keeps us laughing...