2 years old

On March 8, Abbigail turned 2! I know I've been depriving you all of pictures and updates on the cutest member of our family, but who knew that working full-time, being a mom of a toddler and a wife of a Youth Director, attempting to have a social life, throwing in a few minutes of me-time here and there, all while trying to maintaing my sanity, would be difficult. So, here are some pictures of my toddler. She is running, talking in sentences, throwing HUGE tantrums, (almost) fully potty trained (only wearing diapers to sleep), and making us crack-up every other minute at her silly jokes. She is amazing and more. Two is so much fun, but, boy is it a lot of work.

Fall again

Okay, so the problem with having a blog is that you have to update it and apparently I am really bad at this. And now, so much time has gone by that I couldn't possibly fill you in on all the things you have missed. So, lets just suffice it to say...It's fall again in Spokane I am now working full-time (HUGE adjustment) Abbigail is 18 months old and goes to "school" two days a week Dan is as always doing an amazing job at the church and we all get to wear sweaters again...because its fall. I love you fall.

Here is a small collection of pictures of Abbigail from July to now, including some from our trip to Alaska and a recent trip to Seattle.

SUMMER TIME!

So here it is July and I feel like the summer is flying by. Since my last post we've had two birthdays (mine and Dan's), one Father's Day, lots of trips to the park, swimming in the backyard, strawberry picking, strawberry jam-making, many trips to Didiers, lots of popsicle eating, one visit from one grandparent and a trip to Belize (Dan is actually there currently). Whew...have we been busy. This week Abbigail will be 16 months and what a delight she is. She is learning how to eat with a fork and somehow she discovered that she can wink. Of course when she does it makes me laugh hysterically, which makes her laugh hysterically and before I know it we are both laughing so hard that we're crying.

Let me just say that we love Spokane and are really enjoying this summer where it is possible to step out your front door without dying from a heat stroke. And fresh strawberries....does it get any better than that?

Our little flower girl

We went to a wedding this past weekend in Tucson (Congrats Michael and Kristy)! We were honored to have Abbigail as a flower girl as well as Dan officiating part of the wedding! Two new experiences for us and though a bit stressful, still really fun. Abbigail, of course, stole the show.

East Coast Family

We just returned from a fantastic 10-day trip to the East Coast. We got to spend some wonderful quality time with the Robinsons (WE LOVE YOU!), sweat our brains out in the 90+ degree heat for a few days, and hang out with Dan's Dad and Stepmom and our East Coast extended family. It was such a fun trip, allergy-invoking spring pollen aside.
Some of the highlights include:
-Emily and I took Abbigail to the Philadelphia Zoo! Abbigail especially loved the monkeys. Note to self: pack lunch when going to the zoo so you don't have to spend $7.00 on a hot dog.
-Hanging out at Princeton...what a great community and a beautiful campus.
-Shadfest!
-Staying at a cool old Inn in Connecticut.
-Taking a cab in NYC and traveling through Grand Central Station.
-Traveling with a one year old...always an adventure!
-Spending time with family we don't see very often.
-Seeing where Washington crossed the Delaware.

emo hair

Oh my dear abbigail...why is your hair so crazy? This is what it looks like when you wake up in the morning and no matter what I do throughout the day, it is impossible to get it to lay down.
You must have gotten this from your father, because my hair is perfect. ;)

You are trying to be so independent these days, walking everywhere, attempting to run, pretending to read your books (you love the one about the Hippos), kicking around your balls and eating EVERYTHING. I am grateful that you are not a climber and though you are brave, you are also very cautious. I am so sorry I smashed your fingers in the door yesterday...I can't turn around without you being right at my legs trying to follow me everywhere I go. You love all animals and all kids. Nothing makes you smile more than seeing a dog outside or another baby in the store. Now that you have mastered walking, you have started waving again and you wave at everyone you see, except for men with beards...because they are obviously so scary. You love all music and stop whatever you are doing to do the "booty dance" whenever you hear any bit of a tune, commercial, song or even the guitar. You love bananas, cheerios, grapes, cheese and drinking out of a straw....although you will pretty much eat anything I put in front of you. Thank you for this.

You are such a delight and we love watching you grow! I can't wait to do so many fun things with you this summer and watch you explore this beautiful world!

One year old

We have a one year old. On March 8, Abbigail officially became a toddler. Did I mention that she's walking now? Yep...she is now a walker. No more of that stupid crawling stuff...just walking, all over the place. It's kind of fun and nice that she can be so independent. And she is pretty darn cute strutting around like a little penguin. I guess this means I should get the kid some shoes.

Of course I can't celebrate this day without thinking of the craziness of it a year ago and be so thankful that we are both here and healthy. The few days leading up to the this day I was having some pretty bad phantom abdominal pains and was wondering if it is possible to have memory pain??? After the craziness and earliness surrounding abbigail's birth a year ago, I remember one of my friends saying that she believes that babies who come into the world under special circumstances, have special purposes in life. I choose to believe this with all my heart for my little girl. So, here we are, one year later, alive and healthy minus one appendix.

We had a little birthday party for Abbigail, equipped with balloons, cake, the birthday girl party hat, presents and a group of her friends (our friends). It was a blast and I'm pretty sure she had fun. I made her a mini birthday cake and after blowing out the candle, I proceeded to pour hot wax (unknowingly of course) onto my newly one year old daughter's hand (see picture series below). Awesome. So, after screaming her brains out and me mistakenly thinking she was just scared of her birthday cake and then finally figuring out why she was crying, I demonstrated to her just how delicious birthday cake is and of course she loved it. However, no one tells you that after eating lots of chocolate cake and strawberry frosting that your one year old may develop the worst diaper rash you've ever seen in your life. Poor kid.



In the end she looked like this....

And after getting cleaned up she got to play with her favorite new toy!

Thanks to all of you who gave well-wishes and happy birthdays and who were here to celebrate with us! Also, thank you to all of you who provided prayers and support and food and comfort a year ago when our baby girl was born 7 weeks early, a mere 4 lbs 12 oz and I spent weeks recovering from my c-section/appendectomy, while she fought to come home to us from the hospital.