Later that night

This is definitely my new addiction. I love seeing the people that find us through random other people's blogs. An old friend just found my on my sister's blog but I had no idea they knew each other. Weird.

So this kids were a little better tonight except for Kylie's 20 minute crying fit which abruptly ended when she passed gas and burped at the same time. It was kind of comical. Yesterday we went swimming are some friends pool in the hotel where they are currently living. Macy hadn't really ever swam in a big pool before and she loved it. I took Kylie in also and she was too cute in Macy's swim suit from our Hawaii trip last year. I thought she wouldn't like the water but she just cuddled up to me and eventually fell asleep. It was very precious. Justin threw Macy into the air many many times and she didn't want him to stop. it was fun until we had to leave and Macy threw a tantrum. Oh well, we take the peace when we can get it.
Here's some more pictures from our Seward trip. There is our family picture although Kylie is hidden, and some people jumping into the water. There are SCUBA divers in the water from the coast guard in case anyone gets into trouble. The pic with me and Kylie is kind of scary (of me- it was cold) but I wanted everyone to see how cozy and cute Kylie was. And the other one is Macy with my cousin Randy.

Polar Bear Plunge

Since both girls are actually asleep at the same time I am finally getting around to posting what we did on Saturday. It was very exciting because we don't do too much so, although it sounds silly, I was so excited to be leaving the confines of my apartment.

We started the morning with eggs and pancakes at my house with my cousins Randy and B.J. and Randy's girlfriend Debbie. My cousin's dad and his special friend came too but they went snowmobiling so we didn't really see them much after we got down there. We then all drove separately down to Seward, which is a cute little fishing town on the peninsula about two hours south of us. Macy wasn't feeling very well so she slept for most of the trip which allowed Justin and I some "alone"time to have a conversation without getting interrupted every two minutes. We finally got on the road just after 9 and the first hour or so of the trip we drove with the ocean on our right. The sun was rising (yes, at 9:30) and coming over the mountains and the ocean was frozen over. It was weird looking, it made me think of craters or the moon because there were big ice chunks all over the frozen water. It was my first time seeing the ocean frozen so it was a pretty exciting drive for me. Plus, I must mention again how nice it was to have a conversation that didn't solely consist of, "Macy, take your finger out of your nose. Do you need a Tissue? No! Don't touch it! I'll wipe it! Get your finger OUT OF YOUR NOSE!"

The rest of the drive was nice and I am very exciting to do it again in the summer when it will look completely different. Oh, and we saw several moose on our drive down. We got there just in time for the parade but Justin and I realized about an hour out on the drive that we had both forgotten Macy's coat. Obviously we were not going to win the parents of the year award this year because who forgets a child's coat in January in Alaska?!? In our defense, we had put her in her car seat in just her long sleeved shirt so she would be comfortable for the drive. Fortunately Debbie had a hoodie that we put Macy in and it kept her pretty warm. She also thought that she looked pretty good in it. Well, we watched the parade of people in crazy costumes as they walked down the streets of downtown. Macy and I got many Mardi Gras beads (we'll never tell how) and also a bunch of candy. We then walked over to the docks where they had chipped away the ice so the people would have a place to jump into (In case you missed it, it's not actual polar bears that jump in, just people. Some person I had invited to come was VERY confused on this point).
Pretty soon the announcers came on and we watched as over 100 people in their costumes, jumped into the freezing ocean. Most people get sponsers to donate money that goes to cancer research but I think it would take a lot more than a thousand dollars that went right into my own pocket for me to do that. Sorry, I am just not that good of a person. My toes and hands were freezing just watching.
Kylie was in the baby carrier against my chest in a cute outfit Justin's mom had gotten her, with my coat wrapped around. Our camera batteries died so I will post those cute pictures once my cousin sends me the pictures he took.
After that we had lunch at some Chinese buffet and then we went to a kid carnival for Macy where she got a fish tattoo on her arm, won a stuffed seal at the fish pond and jumped in a little jump house twice. We then drove around Seward and saw a dirty bald eagle and 5 seals in the ocean (the unfrozen part) catching fish. It was a pretty fun trip and leaving anchorage for the day saved my sanity.
That night the girls took their first bath together and it was a lot of fun to watch. Macy also decided to climb into Kylie's toy with her, which was cute at the time but now she does it and gets stuck and they both end up crying so I have been trying to put a stop to that. Enjoy!

Wild

So today I saw my first bald eagle since I have been here but if I had been paying attention at all I am sure I would have seen one sooner. We saw it as we drove from the craft store to the bread store- that's right, it was just chillin' in the middle of town. Weird. Anyway, I guess they are everywhere here so I had better start paying attention and I will see them more. Usually I just see large ravens everywhere. Macy especially likes them., Whenever we go outside she signs "bird" constantly because they are everywhere.

Normally the parking lot outside of our apartment is icy or super snowy so we carry Macy to the car but today Justin shoveled a bunch and let her walk and she loved it. We ended up letting her play outside a bit because it was a toasty 25 degrees and thought she had died and gone to heaven. We also let her run around Costco a bit today to and I think the whole store could hear her giggling.

Well, not much else new. Kylie was cute and happy today- much better that yesterday's constant fussing. Justin is flying and will probably get home around 10:30 tonight. I just cleaned my house for the umpteenth time today and now Macy is crying because she doesn't want to go to bed. I just checked on her and she wanted to blow her nose but she insisted I use the blue bulb sucker thing that she learned about during her last cold. Anyway, finally she is calming down so I can relax until Kylie wakes up from her evening nap.

Oh, and this pic of Kylie is an example of how Macy likes to dress up her little sister!

I am sure all of that information was very exciting to all of you but that is the excitement of my life. :) Excruciatingly dull but I am counting down to our big trip!

flashback...

I just really had to post this. This is the day Justin left Utah t
o drive up to Alaska and Macy found his water cooler full of money...



"Hmm.. money..."




"Do you think anyone would notice?"

















How did they get that in there? It won't come out!!!







"I am so busted! Do you think they would let me keep some?"

















Anyway, I just thought these were funny.

Snow Snow Snow

So it has been snowing for the last 24 hours without stopping. We easily have more than a foot on the ground and I don't think it is going to stop anytime soon. Maybe we'll be able to jump off of the roof soon and land in 3 feet of snow. I saw a video of my cousins doing that years ago when they lived up here and I always thought that looked like fun.

So today, I saw the first hint of attitude from Kylie. I remember the day when I saw this from Macy. It's when they decided they no longer want to be in their car seat and so, instead of crying, they arch their back in an attempt to get out. When I took Kylie into the grocery store today she started squirming and arching and trying to get out. When it happened with Macy I immediately realized that now she was a little person with an opinion. She could now decide if she didn't want to be somewhere. And so now it starts with Kylie. From here on out, she is a little person, not just a quiet baby. She has also started making this low grumbling gurgle sound. It's pretty entertaining. She will make it for more than an hour straight and its pretty cute except for when I am trying to get Macy to bed and she can hear her sister "talking" in the next room. Also, Kylie slept from 10:30 last night until 8 this morning and she did it in her bed. I didn't even have to get up at all to give her her pacifier. That was probably the high lite of my week. :)
Alright, I had better wake up Macy from her nap or she will never sleep tonight. Later!

What will the new year bring?

I was just playing with my girls and thinking about how much joy they bring to me and specifically, what a surprise and blessing little Kylie has been to us. It is crazy that at this time last year I didn't even know I was pregnant and then how stressed I was when I found out. Now when I kiss her chubby cheeks and watch her smile I am overcome by what a miracle she is. Her birth combined with our move to Alaska and Justin finally flying for a job has left me to wonder what will happen this next year. A year ago I never would have guessed things would be as they are now but here we are and I couldn't be happier (ok, maybe if it wasn't in the single digits outside I would be a little happier).

Macy has been a lot of fun and is Finally going to bed at night without a fight- except last night when she was up until after midnight and only wanted dad to hold her. We're still not sure what that was about. I find myself entertained by the new words that Macy learns every day. It really catches me off guard when she says something that I didn't even know she knew, such as "bubbles." Some of my other new favorites are "Elmo," "I Dunno!" "There it is!" and "Boat." She is also such a good little mommy and can spend hours wrapping her babies up in blankets and feeding them with her play dishes or a bottle. I never knew so much personality could fit in such a little body!

Justin is leaving this weekend after work to try out his jump seat privileges. He is able to jump on almost any flight for free so he is going to take a few days and fly from here to California to Utah and back. In exchange for letting him go, I plan on getting a babysitter to watch Macy one day while I go get a few scrapbook supplies. :)

It is so great for him to have a job that he likes. We are very fortunate to be where we are and to be doing well. Occasionally I get a little bored being stuck in the house but I am making more friends and I am really looking forward to our month long trip down to Utah and Idaho for Ashley's wedding at the end of February. I will try to be better about updating this more so until next time!