The Dillier's

My grandfather Joseph Anderson passed away the Monday before Christmas (the 19th). Although I am sad about it, I watched him the past year roller coaster with his health. He went into the hospital on the 1st of December with pneumonia. He got better and was moved to an assisted living place and was there for about four days before he passed away.
I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with him the night of the 14th. He kept saying he wanted to go home and when he could go home. I got a strong impression that he was not talking about his earthly home and trying to hold it together at 26 weeks pregnant is not a very easy task. My grandma and I kept telling him he could go home soon, knowing that home was probably not an option. Being able to serve my grandpa, if but for a couple of hours, in his last week was a great blessing to me. My grandmother kept telling me that I chose the wrong profession and should have been a nurse because I was so good at it. It was more if I threw myself into serving and doing something I didn't think about the inevitable.
While I was visiting with my grandfather, he was sitting in a chair for awhile. He was on oxygen and my grandmother kept telling him to lean back and he would be able to breathe better. My grandfather kept leaning forward, so my grandmother would push his forehead to make him tilt back. I know I should not laugh but after my grandmother did this a couple of times my grandfather reached over and started tapping my grandmother on the forehead. That was his way of asking does that feel good, no so please stop.
Grandpa Joe was am amazing man. I learned so much about him at his funeral. He was a musician and would make up songs about working and the nation. The grandchildren sang Give Said the Little Stream at the funeral. If you are a little confused about the choice of song, apparently it was one of my grandpas favorites and my uncle found this really neat version on line.
The viewing was the night of the 22nd and the funeral was the 23rd. Although it was cold that Friday, the sun was shining and it could not have been a more beautiful day. There was a gun salute for him and then they played the song they do when a soldier has fallen. (I am not sure of the name). I am SO grateful for a grandfather who had so much integrity and taught me about hard work. This little boy I am carrying is really going to have big shoes to fill with all the Joseph's that have preceded him.
I am grateful for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the knowledge I have that families are forever and that I will see my grandfather again. It really does make it a little easier to know I have not said my last good by, only a so long for now.

Abilynn is technically 18.5 months but I haven't posted an update FOREVER so here you go. Abilynn is FULL of energy. She is very curious about how things work and once she figures it out she likes to show off and do it ALL the time. Like flushing the toilet, for instance. Thankfully she does not put anything in the toilet but she loves to go into the bathroom and flush the toilet anytime she can. She still calls little brother a sister but we have time to work on that.
Abilynn LOVES her dolls and will share her sippy with them. The problem with sharing a sippy is the doll also ends up getting a bath! One doll has a diaper you can take on and off. It ends up mostly off because the dolly has a "poo poo." She loves to clean. She will get a hand full of wipes and start wiping down everything. Her dolls, her slide, the coffee table, her shoes, the wall, whatever she feels like and whatever is close is cleaned. She also likes to "help" with the dishes. This mostly consists of her unloading them, or closing the dishwasher door because we are "done."
Abilynn loves fish. A visit to the aquarium is one of her favorite things to do. She points out fish in books, on blankets, anywhere she sees one she makes sure we know about it! She still likes her binky and I have now made it only available at nap time and bed time (ok, and when she is really ornery and mom has had enough whining). I take it out after I get her ready in the morning and throw it back into her crib. She knows that is where it goes and she will throw it in there herself sometimes. When she is tired she will wander the house and look for a "bink." If she knows there is one on the counter from earlier, she will try to reach it. If she can't reach it, she starts to whine or will find me and point to it. She likes to wave good by. If she is leaving a room, she will turn around and wave good by to me. She will also wave good by to the dogs when we leave the house. She will say "b-by" too.
Abilynn is still a very good eater and eats pretty much anything. I know it will not last so I am thankfull everyday it does! She enjoys going outside, and will throw a fit of you say outside and we don't go. She is obsessed with "shoos". She will point them out everywhere too. She will even bring them too you if she wants to go "otside". She talks quite a bit, some I understand and some I just nod and smile at. She is very good at pointing and grunting for something. The problem with this is when she points and there are about a dozen things in the general direction she is pointing. If the first two things are not what she wants, she starts getting upset. I explain to her if she used her words it would help. She just gives me a scrunch nose face and continues to point.
Abilynn can say shoes, dog, cat, mom, dad, fish, turtle, diaper, poo poo, cow, doll, baby, binky, blanky, outside, book, slide, whitney, tanner, grandma, grandpa, sister, brother, royal, molly, bailey and many more words I can't think of right now. At her 18 months visit she was 25 pounds and 34 inches long. She is full of energy and always on the go. She does well on long car trips and can now ride facing forward. She is still not so sure about this!
I LOVE this little girl so much and I will admit there are times I do get frustrated but she is just like her dad and you can't be mad at her for long. She will also give big hugs and kisses to make you feel better. I enjoy watching her grow and learn new things, even if the new things are not good things! I will also admit that yes I am VERY excited to have another baby but I am also a bit sad because that means Abilynn will really be a toddler and no longer baby. And yes because of my crazy hormones I have had 2 breakdowns over this, and yes I do laugh at myself because of it!
Baby girl Abilynn I do love you SO VERY much! Thank you for being so cute and putting up with your crazy mom!!

JP and I both were thinking girl. Abilynn kept saying sister. The heartbeat of baby was more girl according to my doctor. The ultrasound said..... BOY!! I could not be more excited! And JP is ecstatic!!!!!!! The ultrasound tech gave him his own picture for his wallet.
Abilynn is still saying sister but I think we may have confused her by telling her she is going to be a sister. It is most definitely a boy. JP has already told me we are going to have to get this little guy a suit and tie. He is going to be a very well dressed little boy, according to JP. (So a random comment here but as I write this Abilynn is eating some pears. I look over and she has two fingers up her nose and is smiling at me very proud of herself. Good news, no pears up the nose, just fingers. I don't think a boy will be much different then cute little Abilynn!)

I have a confession, I am having an affair. Don't worry, JP knows about it. In fact he doesn't complain, he benefits from it. See, when you make a box of macaroni and cheese it is enough to feed 2 people, a bowl for me and a bowl for him. The cheesy orange pasta is so good I have it sometimes twice a day! Sure, it is just a little unnerving that the cheese is a powder and a shade of orange that I am sure is not natural. And you add 4 tablespoons of butter for it to taste so good! But can it really be that bad!? Apparently yes!
At my last Ob appointment my doctor told me I had gained moderately normal weight. I just laughed and asked what that meant exactly. What I should have said was "wait, did you just call me fat?" and then started to cry. Instead of answering my question the doctor goes into a speech about weight being a sensitive subject, blah blah blah. Then he told me I had gained a pound a week, so I had gained a total of 14 pounds at the time. I just laughed again and said "so what does that mean." He told me I was on track to what my last pregnancy was. At this I told him last pregnancy I gained 32 pounds and although it is on the higher end of things if I didn't gain more then that this pregnancy I would be happy. He told me that was a good plan.
I have never been called fat by someone else before and although I say it doesn't bother me, it really does! And this is why macaroni and cheese and I have to break up! I am actually pretty sad about this. I thought about just cutting back on how many times we met a week, like from twice a day three days in a row, to once a day every other day. Because although I do LOVE that cheesy orange goodness, I am pretty sure that is the reason I have gained so much weight this early.
I am VERY sorry mac and cheese to blame this on you, but I know it is NOT my fault. And just because I can't see you doesn't mean I don't still like you! Abilynn LOVES you, if that makes you feel better. My husband, nieces and nephews also love you. So please don't cry orange tears of sadness! I will still visit you from time to time but probably only once every 2 weeks. (Maybe more often if my OB doesn't call me fat this next appointment!)

BRING IT ON, I am ready! I am prepared, I think!? Our house isn't small enough now, so let's make it smaller!

It is Monopoly time again at a certain fast food restaurant. My husband is OBSESSED with playing Monopoly. He knows exactly what to order to get the most playing pieces. Every night he gets online and enters his pieces. I will admit that I do like the ice cream cones and cheese burgers at you know where, so it isn"t hard to get me to go there for dinner. Today as I was on my way home from running errands, I found myself driving through that fast food restaurant. I ordered perfect to get the most playing pieces. I got home enjoyed my food and then pulled my pieces off. Out of six pieces, I won nothing. No free food today. The bag may say 1 in 4 wins but that is not true from my experience. It is a good thing that Monopoly only goes for one month because the food may be good but after so much of it, it is not so bueno!
Good luck to all you fellow Monopoly players!

Happy Birthday Utah! A little late I know but I am not known for my on timeness! (and yes I just made up a word all you English teachers out there!) Since the 24th was a Sunday, it meant we got an extra day to celebrate!
To start an early weekend Abilynn and I went to the float preview at the Southtown Expo Center on Thursday. If you have never been to this before, you are missing out! You can get up close to the floats and walk around them, take tons of pictures and enjoy the company of TONS of other people. (that last part was not so fun but we survived unharmed and didn't run anyone over with the stroller, although I was VERY tempted to!) You could also vote on your favorite float. My favorite float was the one with all the little houses on it. (picture to be added later)
Friday Abilynn and I rode TRAX downtown with Jamie and Tymon. We ate and shopped at Gateway and then let the kids play in the fountain. Abilynn slipped and split her bottom lip open. She is a crazy kid and sometimes I wonder if I am going to survive all of her injuries!
Friday night my brother and his friends came and slept over. Sometimes I wonder if JP slips something into my drink and that if why I agree to CRAZY things like letting four 16 year olds sleepover at my house! Or it could be that I am a very nice wife, or that I am building ammunition and will bring this up at a later time when I really want to do something and JP is hesitant to let me; like going snow skiing this year or when I buy too many new clothes for Abilynn or want a really nice dinner, minus Abilynn (who is incredibly beyond belief cute and I love so much but to eat one dinner without her would be nice one day)
Saturday the boys woke up and drove to Wyoming for fireworks. Again, why do I let my husband do these things!? That night they set some of the fireworks off and they had some really neat ones.
Sunday night we went over to my brother Jeremy's and he put on one of the best fireworks shows I saw this year. His kitchen table was full of fireworks and the show lasted for about a half hour.
Monday morning JP, Abilynn, and I went to the parade downtown with some of my family and JP's sister. We got lucky, and it was overcast for almost the whole parade. Which means you can still get sunburned, but you don't have to worry about sunglasses and having the sun beat down on you. We came home after the parade and JP enjoyed a nap while I ran around with Abilynn. I don't think it was fair for JP to get a nap because he willingly stayed up late playing video games but I let him anyways. That afternoon we went to Butlerville Days. They have a parade too but not until the afternoon. They also throw out lots of candy! After the parade we ate lunch at my parents and headed over to the fair. We enjoyed funnel cake, fry bread tacos and free watermelon. They had lots of blow up slides and bounce houses that Abilynn enjoyed. They also had a car show that JP enjoyed. It started raining on us and I was determined to see the fireworks, and also thought the rain would blow over quickly so we stayed. 45 minutes later, and wet, I decided I was done. We got lucky though because they let the fireworks off early so we didn't miss them. And it wasn't raining on us while we watched the fireworks! And I had put some of the blankets under the wagon so they were dry to sit on. Sometimes I am pretty smart!
It was a very fun and exhausting weekend!

A couple of weeks ago Abilynn and I went up to Kennecott Copper with Aunt Jamie and Cousin Tymon. I had wanted to go for awhile and Jamie had a free parking pass. So off we went. I haven't been out to Kennecott in probably 15 years and so we made a couple of wrong turns but we got there!(For those of you who are confused how you can make a wrong turn in the middle of no where, it is possible when there are new roads and cities that were not there last time!) Apparently is was free for everyone all week so we had to park in a dirt field and get bussed up to the top. Tymon and Abilynn liked the bonus bus ride!
It is amazing how BIG Kennecott is. Like I said earlier I hadn't been out there for probably over 15 years. The mine was almost double the size I remember it being. They have a great visitors center with lots of information about Kennecott and what they mine, how they mine it and what they do with it after. They also have a lot of replica trucks, which my nephew was crazy about!
Even if you don't have a free parking pass it is only $5 for a car load. While we where there they let off some dynamite. It was actually pretty cool to see. The dynamite was about 50 feet below the ground so you really just heard a rumble and then saw lots of dust. I learned that they put water down into the holes with the dynamite to prevent too much dust. I also learned that Kennecott can be seen from space. And the last thing I remember reading is the medals that were given out at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympics were made from minerals that were mined from Kennecott. How cool is that!

JP, Abilynn and I all headed down to Cedar City last weekend for the Shakespeare Festival. JP grew up in Cedar City and was very excited to go! My family was there too, which was very nice to have babysitters!
We left later Thursday night and arrived around 11:30. Everyone but my brother was at a play, so our room key was left with him. Well, he fell asleep and was out! So we went to the front desk and got a new key made. The next morning I took 4 keys to the front desk to get re-keyed. The receptionist commented that we had a lot of keys. Yes, I said, we did but we would have only had three if my brother hadn't fallen asleep on us.
The hotel we stayed at had a pretty nice continental breakfast with bananas, plums, nectarines, apples, eggs, 2 kinds of waffles, 6 kinds of cereal, bagels, muffins, yogurt. It was nice to have so many options and so many options that Abilynn could eat!
JP and I didn't have a matinee on Friday so we took Abilynn over to this fair after lunch. Abi LOVED the fair. They had games for the kids to play and games she could even play. They also let her in the bounce house and JP was able to go in too to "watch" her. They had camels you could ride, so Abilynn and JP rode the camel. Then JP tried shooting a bow and arrow. It was $1 for 6 arrows and they gave you instructions on how to shoot. JP hit the target with three of the arrows and almost got a bulls eye. That night I went and saw Music Man with my brother Joseph and his wife Jamie and JP saw Romeo and Juliet. Joseph would serenade his wife with the songs immediately after they were finished singing them, so I got to hear most the songs twice! The lady next to Joseph was not to impressed with that!
Saturday we ate breakfast and then headed over to the SUU campus to check out some of the exhibits. It is the Shakespeare Festival's 50th Anniversary so they had a lot of different things to see. They even had a first edition of one of Shakespeare's plays on display. After picking up some fudge and entertaining the kids with ring-a-round the rosies and duck-duck-goose, we headed to lunch before the play. We went to the Pastry Pub and it was VERY GOOD!!! After lunch JP and I went and saw Noises Off, while my sisters Whitney, Courtney and sister-in-law Jamie watched Abilynn. After the play we hung out at the hotel for awhile and finally decided on a place to eat. We ate at this ma and pa steak place and I really liked. If it is still there next time I go, I will visit again. That night we saw Midsummer's Night Dream.
Sunday we slept in, some more then others (JP more then me) and headed home. I was a VERY nice wife and let JP and my brother Tanner play video games in our room and I slept in my sister's room two nights. I did leave them with Abilynn though, I am not THAT nice!!
All in all it was a great trip! I am thinking JP and I may even visit later this summer/fall and just visit all his old stomping grounds.

To celebrate her one year birthday, Abilynn decided to break her arm! Actually she broke it a couple of days before but sported a splint the day of the party. We have no idea how she broke it. I know what most of you are thinking, you have no idea how she broke it!? But yes, we have no idea. If you spend 10 minutes with her though it won't surprise you it happened. This little girl is fearless and climbs on EVERYTHING.
JP noticed some bruising on her wrist and a little down her arm and told me he thought it was broken. This was the day before Abilynn's birthday and I was making 3 dozen cupcakes for the party. I had also spend the past couple of days home with her and although I was busy with the party planning and preparations, I hadn't noticed her acting any different. Abilynn still used both hands to eat and pick up toys and she didn't get upset when I got her dressed. JP was still worried and wanted to take her to Insta-Care. So I told him to go but said it wasn't broken. (I know I should be mother of the year!) A couple of hours later I have not heard from JP and start to worry. I had tried calling his cell phone but no answer. Finally JP called me and told me that Abilynn's arm was broken and the doctor said it broke 3-5 days ago. (I REALLY should get mother of the year!?) They put her in a splint and because we were going into the pediatrician the next week for Abi's one year, they told us to get a cast put on there.
The pediatrician ended up not putting a cast on and left her in the splint. Abilynn wore the splint for about three weeks. You would think that the splint would have slowed Abilynn down, but I think it had the opposite effect, I think she would go faster and be crazier with it! I tried to put the sling on for two days but Abi learned to pull her arm out of the sling, it would only slow her down. The nice thing about a splint verses a cast is we could take it off to bathe Abi. I would have preferred a cast due to the craziness of my child! I am sure Abilynn will have more broken bones, but lets just hope the next one is not for a VERY, VERY long time!!

This was JP's second father's day. I think last year will always be his favorite, being that it was his first and all. Last year Abilynn was a cute skinny little baby that could only kick her legs and move her arms. This year she is running and talking and telling you all about her adventures, and she has MANY!
Abilynn LOVES her daddy very much. When he gets home from work, Abi will smile and race to give daddy a hug. If Abilynn is in her highchair eating, she will turn her head around and strain her neck to try and see daddy. I love that Abilynn loves her daddy so much. JP is very pacient with Abi and they do many projects together. Abi helped him put the wagon together. She likes to play with his tools and hammer on EVERYTHING. I finally got her a toy hammer to save our floors, fingers and the puppies from getting hurt! Abilynn likes to cuddle with daddy and watch Stargate. Abilynn also likes daddy because he will give her candy and other treats that mommy won't!
I wanted to get JP a hiking backpack to put Baby Girl in for father's day. I had searched ksl and found many that I liked. I also researched how much new ones would be and what people liked about each one. I was about to buy one, when one of the girls I work with told me she was going to list hers to sale. Score! I got a great price and it can carry up to 50 lbs. It has a little bag that is behind the baby and one that is under baby. It stands up on it's own and the color isn't bad either. We tried it out for the first time at the Arts Festival. Abilynn loved it and she loved being eye level with everyone else, which of course meant many smiles and silly faces for everyone. She was also able to dance to the music in it. It is very comfortable to wear, but after two hours it does get heavy. When we ate dinner, we left her in it to eat and it was really nice. Hopefully we will put a lot of miles on this backpack!

I am so far behind on blogging we are going to start at the current and work my way back and hopefully, allowing I have "free" time this week, my blog will be caught up by the end of this week.
Yesterday JP, Abilynn, and I joined Aunt Heidi and Jennifer, Cousin Kingston and Lilly and Uncle Nathan at the Utah Arts Festival. We were only going to be there a couple of hours and four hours later left! We had lots of fun and thankfully it wasn't too hot. Next year JP would like to spend a whole day to check out all the performances.
We enjoyed walking around all the booths and seeing all the neat art stuff. We enjoyed Thai food and a Navajo Taco for dinner. Then for dessert we got a crepe filled with carmel, apples and cinnamon (imagine apple pie without the crust). YUM!
Abilynn enjoyed playing in the Toddler corner and came home with LOTS of green sand everywhere. When I changed her diaper, so much sand fell out I had to vacuum it all up. She went straight into the tub! Abilynn also enjoyed the music and danced a little. She LOVED being in her backpack. She was eye level with everyone and could see all the action.
I can't wait for all the other fun activities summer brings!!

I realized the other day that I never posted an update at 11 months, oops! So here is a VERY late update about what cute Little Miss Abilynn did last month.

JP and I celebrated our seventh anniversary on Friday. I was commenting about the weather and it rained the day we got married but was not too cold. Those people who got married this year on the eighth got snow, and it was cold. JP got me roses and an I Pad, and I got him... nothing. I know so romantic of me, but for his birthday I got him a I Pod touch and nothing could have topped that. (In fact JP loves his new toy SO much I have had to threaten to take it away!) We went to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory Friday night. Then on Saturday we headed up to Midway to my Grandma's cabin/house. We stayed up there for one night and came home Sunday. Happy Seventh Anniversary JP and here is to 70 more!!!!!

Baby girl has now been outside of me longer then she was inside of me. Crazy stuff. She will be one year in two months. Someone asked me the other day what I was going to do for her party and truthfully I have not even thought about it. I am still trying to get my head around the fact that YES I AM A MOM and YES I have been for almost a year. We, JP and me, are truly so blessed to have such a healthy, happy little girl. She has changed our lives so much and helped us learn so much. And no, JP, I am not crying right now. I get so much JOY from watching Abilynn explore and play. I also LOVE seeing her face light up when daddy comes home from work.
Abilynn is just full of energy and so curious about the world. She loves to watch dad or me and learn how to do things, like open drawers, brush teeth, do laundry, etc. Here is what she/we did this month..

Baby Girl is growing up and learning how to get into mischief! Daddy helps her get into some mischief! Here is what she did last month.

My goodness, who knew time could go so fast!!! Abilynn is eight months old and learning new things everyday. She is so much fun! Here is what she did this month...

*Abi has five teeth. Four on bottom and one on top, with another on top coming VERY soon.
*She eats fruits and veggies.
*She is also eating puffs, mum-mums, and tried the yogurt melts but is not so sure about them.
*Abilynn crawls up the stairs. I have not taught her to go down yet, but she is never at the top of the stairs. We spend most our time playing on moms and dads bed or in her room.
*She got sick for the first time this month. Mom got a little scared when her fever got up to 102.5, but a quick call to the pediatrician calmed Mom down.
*Her first official word is...... Dog. Yup, not mom or dad but dog. When I get her out of her crib in the morning she will smile and call the dogs. She LOVES her dogs very much!
*Abi can drink from a straw.
*She "helps" with laundry by taking everything out of the laundry basket. When I ask her what she is doing , she simply smiles at me and hurries faster!
*She likes to sit on her knees. She will then bounce, but has very good balance and doesn't fall over.
*She talks a lot. She will say mama, but has no idea what it means yet. I am working on dad, but it turns into dog.
*Abi loves to make sounds with her mouth. She will pop her lips together, stick her tongue in and out quickly, blow spit bubbles. She likes to do all of these things while eating, and it doesn't help that mom will do them to, so then it is a game and no one is eating.
*She will "swim" in the tub. She has learned to lay on her belly and she will kick her legs and splash with her hands.
*She went in a road trip in December to Las Vegas.
*Abilynn is wearing 12 month pajamas, 9-18 month pants, 6-12 month shirts and 9-18 month dresses.

My grandfather passed away on Friday and although we knew it was coming soon, it is still hard. He died peacefully and I am sure there was a grand reunion in heaven with his daughter, sister, parents, and other friends and family who have passed on before him. I believe that I will see him again and that comforts me a lot. I also know he is pain free now and his knees no longer bother him.
His funeral was today and it was fun to hear about things he had done in his life. We celebrated him and all that he did. He was a very kind man and did many services that no one will ever know about. He liked it better that way. He didn't want all the recognition, just the good feeling of serving others.
I LOVE you Pop and can't wait to one day be reunited and embrace in a hug!! Thanks for the legacy you left behind for me!