And the Winner is. . .

A few weeks ago, Beemer asked for a new "Fashion" Barbie while we were at the store. In the time honored tradition of mothers everywhere, I said, "Not today sweetie." She agreed patiently. When we got home she asked if she could buy the Barbie with her own money. Beemer is very careful with her money. She is saving it for a trip to Utah (whichever trip happens to be coming). Her offer to use it told me how much she wanted the Barbie. So, I agreed.

We went back a few days later, money in hand to buy the Barbie. Inside the box was a "pink ticket" to register online for an "instant win game." Not being a fan of these 'games' personally (perhaps because I never win anything), I have never entered Beemer in one. But for some reason I decided I would that day. So, we sat down together and she filled out the information on the computer and entered her "ticket." Moments later, the computer declared her a winner! Beemer liked the idea of being a winner that day, but I don't think she realized what it meant until this week when her prize came in the mail!

She won --

A Barbie Dream Bathroom! She was SO excited!!

Her favorite part is the pink and purple toilet. It was a fun, unexpected perk to our day! In her words, it was "the best day EVER!"

Valentine Kisses and Sweet Wishes

This week the girls and I made Valentine's cookies.

Beemer really worked hard frosting and sprinkling.

Audi worked hard eating them as fast as should could. (She did take a break to dance every few minutes!)

See that adorable apron that Beemer's grandma made her for Christmas? She LOVES it!

I asked to take Audi's picture while she was covered with frosting. She looked at the camera and blew a kiss right as I took the picture. So, here are Valentine kisses from our home to yours!

Snow Day

Last week we got fourish inches of snow which meant that we had a snow day. (I know this seems laughable in comparison to the feet that the East coast got. But for St. Louis, this is a decent storm). So, I bundled up the girls and we headed outside to play in the snow before it was gone. It felt a little weird to me to "play" in three inches of snow and two inches of mud underneath, but Beemer was so excited to get outside in it!

This sled is great for pulling the kids - and it deflates afterward so I can store it easily for the 362 days each year we don't use it.

Audi thought the first time around was great fun! She giggled the entire time.

The second time around wasn't so successful. The worst part was when she tried to brush off her face with her snow-encrusted glove!

After I got her back on her feet, she decided to play on the slide for awhile. She did get back onto the sled for another ride before we went inside and told Beemer that it was "good, fun."

The Incident

Last Sunday, Audi and Beemer were playing downstairs when I heard tears. A few moments later Audi came to find me with a goose egg beneath her left eye. She had somehow hit herself right below the eye with a metal basket (rounded corners). I cuddled and kissed her then sent her back to playing when she was ready.

Then Monday morning, she woke up with this:

Poor thing! Her first black eye before she's two! (Sorry about the quality of the picture, it was difficult to get her to hold still.)

Gifts to Remember

We've received some memorable gifts at our house the last two months. The first came from Santa. But a little back story is required.

Beemer is a marketer's DREAM. She is constantly telling me we need the things she has seen advertised. She has even run to find my phone after hearing "Call Now!" Last fall she developed an appreciation for the "Touch and Brush" - a toothpaste dispenser that dispenses the "perfect" amount of toothpaste, thus saving you from the fight to get the last of the toothpaste out of the tube. It is also supposed to reduce the "toothpaste mess" in every bathroom.

At first I just smiled at Beemer's insistence that we needed this item. But the weeks went on and her requests continued, along with her ability to quote the commercial. (Opposed to the other requests that are forgotten the minute the commercial is over.) Then, one night as she was brushing her teeth, she dropped the toothpaste cap behind the toilet. She couldn't reach it with toothpaste on her toothbrush without getting toothpaste everywhere, so she called Ahenobarbus for assistance. As he reached the doorway to the bathroom, Beemer stated, as she pointed to the cap, "That, that right there is why we need a Touch and Brush." After AT and I stopped laughing, we agreed that Santa needed to bring one to our home.

Christmas morning, Beemer was THRILLED when she opened her very own Touch and Brush. She hugged it and jumped around. It was touching and hilarious all at the same time. We are just glad she is so easy to please. The Touch and Brush is now installed in our bathroom and happily dispensing toothpaste. Beemer is thrilled, as you can see.

On a side note: I have cleaned up more toothpaste in the last month than ever before.

The second gift was my favorite birthday gift. On the morning of my birthday, we were all cuddling in my bed enjoying a few more moments of warmth and peace before the day began when Beemer asked AT if I had any presents. I had asked for money for my birthday so that I could get my netbook, but it wasn't here yet. As we explained this to Beemer, she was NOT okay with my not having gifts to open on my birthday! (I mentioned in a previous post that she was very concerned about the milestones that came with my birthday this year.)

So, she thought for a minute or two and then left our room singing "I'll give you something of mine" quietly to herself. Five minutes later she called AT to show him what she had found. He agreed that it was a great gift and helped her to wrap it for me.

When I unwrapped the gift later that day, I found a copy of this book:

She said she picked it because the cover is yellow (my favorite color) - it's a dark cream, you can't really tell in the picture. When AT asked her if I could keep my new book on her bookshelf. Beemer said no - the book was mine now, so it should go on the bookshelves in my room. So, that is where it went.

What Beemer didn't know is that the book was already mine. Many of the books in their room are mine, but I keep all the children's books together. This book was given to me years ago by my mom on Easter. But that wasn't the point on my birthday. I was so touched my my five year old making sure that I had a gift, putting such thought into it, making sure it would be something I would like, and selflessly giving me something of hers to fill what she saw as a void. What a great birthday!

When my mom gave me the book she wrote inside the cover. I will now be adding this story to the inside of the cover so that I will always remember the details of the second time I received that book.

Alive and Well

Yes, we really are. Unfortunately my camera cord is not (it got ran over by the office chair), so the downloading of all pictures came to an abrupt stop for a few weeks. I kept thinking that I would get a new cord and put off posting until I did so. That hasn't happened. So here is a picture-less update from the last month.

- We all went to Utah for Christmas and spent some much needed time with family and friends. While there, we visited two hot springs--SO relaxing-- and tried to get our fill of "winter" sports involving snow and ice - sledding, skating, fort building, snow ball fights, etc. Also, one day of our trip Audi started using full sentences kind of out of the blue - she is so adorable.

-AT started back at school. He is really busy between his own research and classes as well as the sections he is teaching and his Bishopric duties. But the girls and I love the time we do get to spend with him!

- Beemer is also back at school and "thrilled" about it because she missed her classmates "so much more than expected" over the break (her words).

- Celebrated my birthday the middle of January. Beemer made sure that I had a cake and presents and that she, AT and Audi took me to lunch (It was the first time she was so concerned about the milestones that make up a birthday - she was so sweet about the whole thing). It was a great day! Also, I pooled all of my birthday money to get a netbook so that I can get online while the girls are playing. Hopefully, this will allow more posts and solve my picture problem because I can just transfer the SD card!

-Spring is coming to St. Louis. The geese have begun their return migration and the bunnies are once again out and about. I LOVE that spring starts in January/February here. I am ready for the cold to end. Maybe it will start to feel like spring by the end of February.

I think that is all of the major things. For all of you patient readers out there - you know who you are- I'll see what I can do about getting some pictures up later this week!