Christmas

This was our picture to send out with Christmas cards this year... Its not perfect but I LOVE it. I didn't realize till a couple months ago how impossible it is to get a good picture of such an active toddler! She was actually jumping up to go look at the screen when this was taken :) I'm so happy to have a nice family picture again!!

So - I decided to make Christmas stockings this year. I had made two for Kris and I a couple years ago, but Abi didn't have one. I made a forth in hopes that there will be a 4th Milo next year - we shall see... They were pretty easy to do. The hardest part was hand sewing the piping (see the second pic) - even that was easy but time consuming. Of course I had planned to start much sooner than I did... I actually started prep for Christmas before Thanksgiving this year - something I've never done before! I was so proud of myself, but then Abi got sick and I got sooooooo far behind. I started these stockings the Friday before Christmas - but had them finished by Monday.

Poor little babe has been sick again... Hopefully we've reached then end of it! She just had a cold, but it was a bad one! We finally took her to the Dr. on Christmas Eve because she had had such a cough and it wouldn't go away! They weren't sure what was wrong - maybe an ear infection or sinusitis - but said that since it had been more than 2 weeks they were going to treat it with abx. So now - 3 weeks later and a couple days on some amoxycillin - she FINALLY seems to be sleeping better and I've only heard her cough once in the last 24 hours!! Yay!

...OK... so I started this post over a week ago and then life got so busy again that I haven't had time to finish it!

This was definitely my favorite Christmas!! Having Abi old enough to somewhat understand and then to be able to express her appreciation was heart melting!! We got her a little set of table and 2 chairs that are just her size and SHE LOVES THEM!!! Kris and Ty got them ready Christmas Eve night after Abi went to bed and left them set up in the living room. Christmas morning Abi woke up crazy early and I had her play with Kris in our room for a little while so I could finish getting things ready... On her way out to the living room she decided to make a pit stop in the bathroom to get her "pieces" (her shampoo etc....) So I said, "Abi, come here - I want to show you something!" She started to come out of the bathroom throwing a fit cause she wanted to do her own thing, but stopped short in the doorway when she saw the table and chairs. She stood like a statue for about a second and then a huge smile slowly grew on her face. She ran to the table, climbed up in a chair, put her hands over the table and leaned over and gave it a hug. Then she jumped up and ran back to me and gave me a huge hug.... ran back to the table.... ran back to hug me.... ran back to the table.... My hear melted. If that was the only thing she was excited about it would have been worth it, but it wasn't. She loved every since toy and enjoyed unwrapping immensely! (Though I must say - what is with the pulling off a tiny piece and handing it to me "tay-tchoo!", pulling off another piece and handing it to me "tay-tchoo!" she may be a little OCD like me!)

I think we just had the best Christmas that I can ever remember! I can't believe how having a child who is so excited about everything can make it all so much more magical! :)

Christmas is coming!

So much to say... ...and so very little time! But here is a pic of our little babe with her very first Christmas present - a pillow pet sent by Uncle Aaron and Auntie Melissa!! She LOVES it - gosh that thing is soft! :)
-Abi has just been sick for almost 2 weeks - hopefully she is now on the mend...
-We had the chance to go to Atlanta to see Aaron, Melissa and Mercy for Thanksgiving -it was such a wonderful time! I'm so happy we finally got to see a bit of their lives. And Abi did well and stayed healthy this time!
-I finally got to go to M.O.M.S. group a couple weeks ago. I've been wanting to go for a year and it just didn't fit with Abi's schedule. It really was a blessing
-Ty and Beth are coming for Christmas!
-Mercy is coming for New Years!
-I'm making Christmas stockings. I wish I had more time, but I'm excited and they're coming out well!
-Time flies and I don't like it! I've been watching old videos of Abi and it makes me sad that she's growing up too fast!
-We've been trying to get pregnant ever since Abi turned one and are trying VERY hard not to get completely discouraged...
-We had the most lovely warm fall - making the coming of winter less hard.

...Thanks to Christa - I stole this from you :)

Before I was a Mom I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom,
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was Mom I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words of lullabies.

Before I was a Mom I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom I had never been puked on
Pooped on
Spit on
Chewed on
Peed on
Or pinched by tiny fingers

Before I was a Mom I had complete control of:
My thoughts
My body
And my mind.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child
So that doctors could do tests or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay
I had never known the warmth
The joy
The love
The heartache
The wonder
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Cuteness :)

Sorry - I can't blog without adding a picture of my little babe! :) And no, she's not eating an apple (though she LOVES them and can gobble them up.) Its a POTATO!!

Blogging? What's that???

Pretty sure that this officially marks the longest that I've ever gone without blogging since starting this blog over 3 1/2 years ago! Who knew that a 1 year old would take up all my "extra" time, whatever that is?!! :) The last couple months have been a whirl-wind... ...spinning by faster than the eye can see! Last moths - What am I saying? I still can't figure out what's happened to the whole last 2 years!!! Time has never gone so quickly and I fear it won't slow back down! :)

I think one of the things that made it all go by so quickly was that Abi was sick a lot in the last couple months. First a cold, then a virus, then a croupy cough... poor little babe! I HATE when she's sick! I feel so bad for and I can't fix it!

One of the more exciting things that happened is Sept was a fire on the hospital floor I was working on... All the staff worked well together - evacuated all the patients and kept everything running smoothly. It wasn't good excitement, but afterwards it was cool that I got to help with such a thing. Made me feel like a bit of a hero for a day or 2! :)

Abi has a couple new toys. She has a lovely swing hanging from the back deck which she could sit in for hours at a time. She loves it, and usually ends up screaming when we finally have to take her out! She also has a new wagon. Actually - I suppose that's more our toy to play with her. Its great for going on walks etc...

We discovered Liberty Ridge Farm this year, and have decided that it is "THE" fall place to go! They have a huge corn maze, a wood fort maze, a little pumpkin maze for little people, little animals, awesome food, games, giant human hamster wheels.... on and on! We've been a couple times now and had sooooo much fun! I love being able to go to places like that and have Abi enjoy it to!

Ty and Beth were just here for a bit and it was awesome! We were so blessed to have them here - they're so special to us. They left on Sunday and Abi is still running around the house saying, "guys??" "Guys!!?" She misses them badly :)

I'm amazed every day by how much Abi is growing, learning and changing. She surprises me every day with new words that I'm shocked she knows... How does she learn all this??? I know that most people wouldn't understand what she's saying yet, but that fact that she and Kris and I do is crazy! There have to be at least 50 words, but I've totally lost count and I'm quite sure there are more! She loves pushing her "baby" around in her stroller, playing with all the tupper-ware in the kitchen, getting into everything she isn't supposed to etc.... She watches me put my make-up on in the morning and comes running in saying, "cheeks! cheeks!!" so that I'll put her blush on. (Don't worry - I don't really put any on, but she likes the brush) :) Man - I'm so afraid that I won't be able to remember all these moments! I try to take soooo many pictures and videos, but I know there are things I'll forget and it makes me sad... Kris and I just love to watch her - its amazing what it does to your hear to watch your little babe. There simply are no words!!

There have been some things lately that we have struggled not to be discouraged about. It is sometimes so hard to trust in God's timing. Sometimes you get frustrated with people, sometimes you get frustrated with yourselves, and sometimes you get frustrated with circumstances. Its all been such a great reminder to me of the fact that I need to continuously seek after God and make Him the center of my life. And so... I seek... for His answers and His blessing. The latter of the two I've already received in so many ways.... One of the greatest being my husband! I love him so :)

Hmmm...

So I gave up on the just one nap-a-day thing... After 4 days she was so completely exhausted she couldn't stand it and we couldn't either!! I say I gave up, BUT she gave up on 2 naps - so no matter what I do she will NOT take a second nap. The biggest problem is that she will only take a 1 1/2 hour nap even though she's only taking one nap a day! Its like clock work - I could seriously use her as a timer!! Its just not enough sleep... Don't know how to get her to sleep longer. I did decide (after talking to every mother I could think of) to still put her in her crib for quiet time in the mornings... ...she doesn't sleep, but she's happy to be in there and it helps us to get through the long mornings. I hope that with time she'll start to take a longer nap since its really only once a day - she needs more sleep. As it is right now she reaches complete melt-down mode by 5pm... Ugh...

I've been LOVING having a pool this summer! I've gotten to use it more than the last 2 years combined. :) I'm determined to be in it for at least a little while every day I can - especially on the hot days we've had this past week. I love this weather and I'm so happy that we're finally having some summer weather! Kris isn't much for the pool, so I get it to myself. (Anyone want to come swim with me?) Abi loves the water, but she doesn't like to be held and after about 5 minutes wants "up!" She loves to run around on the deck while I stay in the pool on the edge watching. She runs around like a crazy girl picking up the leaves and throwing them on the ground saying, "yucky!" Then she'll run over and give me a kiss and go right back to playing.

Abi discovered spinning in circles today. She only makes it about 360 before falling on the ground - and then looks up at me as if to say, "what just happened?" She looks very perplexed at the idea of being dizzy and doesn't understand it at all. That doesn't stop her though!

I'm constantly baffled at all the things she understands already. For a couple weeks now I can ask her if she "needs her dippee-doo changed" and she'll run right down the hall to her bedroom and stand by the changing table waiting for me! :) I can ask her if she's hungry and sometimes she'll run right to her highchair and say, "up?" She's learning so much communication already! And if she doesn't know how to tell you what she wants she runs to wherever you are and grabs you finger and pulls you to wherever she needs to show you what she wants! While very cute it can also be frustrating because if we don't immediately go where she wants us to, she throws herself on the ground and throws a fit! :)

A short (and probably incomplete) list of her vocab: Daddy, Mama, yes, no, more, thank-you, cheese, hot, water, uh-oh, yucky, oh-gosh, up, eyes, ears, cheek, teeth, hat, hair, hi, pinch, hugs, kisses, dog, woof, kitty, woah, go, this, that, watch...

The other day Abi fell and gave herself a bloody lip. Poor little babe seems to be a little accident prone! She fell into the futon frame and tore the frenulum of her upper lip. Thankful after the screaming subsided she dealt with it very well! She wouldn't let us look in her mouth or get near it, but it didn't slow her down on her eating or drinking! Oh, and speaking of eating... I was starting to think that she's becoming an extremely fussy eater, but in reality I think its just that she doesn't want ME to feed her AT ALL! As long as its something she can feed herself, she'll eat. If its something that I have to feed her, she won't tough it! Silly girl!

Just one nap?

I decided on Saturday (after a week of nap torture with the little babe) that maybe it was time to try taking her down to just one nap a day... The plan was to start Monday (yesterday) and see how things would go. I planned on this week being a little rough, but last week I could hardly get her to nap at all without holding her eyes shut till she fell asleep. And I definitely couldn't get her to take 2 naps! So we started yesterday. The morning was a little rough and long. I actually gave up at one point and put her in her crib, but she didn't sleep - just played for 20 minutes and then I took her grocery shopping. By the time we got home and ate lunch she was completely exhausted and took a wonderful nap. She actually woke up after just an hour, but I went in and laid her back down and for the first time in her life she actually went back to sleep! Woohoo! Took a 2 1/2 nap in all... it was a very good first day! Today she slept till 8am - another first. She's always up at 7am, so that was really nice. But today's nap was only 1 1/4 hours making it a bit more of a long and wound up evening. :) We shall have to see what the rest of the week will bring!

Sad day...

Grandaddy passed away this morning....

...Mama called me Friday evening to tell me that he wasn't looking good at all and that If I wanted to see him alive again I should get there as quickly as possible. I was planning to go out Monday (tomorrow) since I had to work all weekend, but I didn't get there in time. I'm very grateful that I was able to see him 3 times in the last 3 weeks. I found out this morning at 10:02 via a text message from Mama.. "Grandaddy is gone." I was told I could leave work, but what would be the point in that? Grandmommy didn't want visitors or phone calls - she wanted to be left alone with him for a while. I pray that she will be OK - I don't know what she'll do now that he's gone. Her life for the last 2 years has been one thing - taking care of him! And I must say - she did a darn good job! I haven't been able to figure out what to think all day.... I'm sad - all I think about is the happy memories and how great he was, and then I'm sad that we weren't closer than we were, and then I'm sad that I don't know if he went to be with the Lord. Then I'm relieved for my grandmother that the hard time is over, then I'm upset that I didn't witness to him more while he was here. I'm frustrated... My heart hurts... My first grandparent is gone and I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. This sucks - period. (I'm sorry if you don't like the word - its the only one that fits.)

Grandaddy wanted his body to be donated to Albany Medical Center for research (awesome idea.... Kris and I are thinking we'll do the same) then he'll be cremated. There are no plans for a service yet... Waiting to hear what the plan is. Also waiting to hear from Daddy - he's going to talk to Grandmommy after work tomorrow and see how she is and if she's ready for calls yet. I want to talk to her...

I'm fine - I'm just emotional. I don't like being emotional.

I do have lots of happy things to remember :) I'll always remember.... ....that he had salt and pepper (his 5 o'clock shadow) on his chin when I was little.... that he was like my savior when I was paralyzed in fear at the very sight of those huge cows at the age of five and was afraid to even walk down the center isle of the barn lest they somehow kick me... that I never knew what he did at his job later in life because the only thing he would tell me was that got paid to "flirt with the girls..." that I got to go on a trip with him and Grandmommy to Indiana to a family reunion when I was 11... that I got to help him build his house when I was 12... that I got to spend the night at their house once when I was 13 and he grilled salmon steaks with fresh cut beans - it was the first time I'd had salmon...that he taught me how to drive a tractor for the first time when I was 14... There are more sweet memories, but the one thing I will remember most...? I will remember that he married my grandmother "because she had sexy legs!"

Still Alive!

We are all still very much alive! It's just been busy and I haven't found the time for blogging! I've been trying to keep up with the "Odd Days project" and even that is suffering. Abi is walking now and getting into everything... ...makes it a little hard to get to things... Since its been 2 months since I posted perhaps I'll just do some short recaps...

-Early June we went to Florida for 10 days with Ty, Beth, Mercy, Aaron, Melissa, and Mandy and her family. We rented an awesome condo in Daytona Beach and it would have been wonderful, but Abi was sick the ENTIRE time... :( A trip to Urgent Care and 2 trips to the ER and we still don't know if she just had an ear infection with an allergic reaction to the abx? Or if she had the Roseola virus with an ear infection on top of it?? In any case - it was SUCH a rough week and we still desperately need a vacation!

-We're hoping to try to do a little weekend camping trip later this year - we'll see how that goes. At least we will stay closer to home in case things go badly! :)

-I haven't actually had to work over at Sam again, yet... Since going on vacation I've been able to get plenty of hours at Memorial. I'm happy about that - cause that's where I'd rather be anyway.

-Abi started walking in the middle of July and hasn't stopped! She took her first 2 steps on a Sunday morning, and by Tuesday was walking all over the house! She just wouldn't stop till she had this new skill figured out! She's so completely fun to watch with all the new things she's learning and doing. She makes us laugh all the time! Sometimes I get frustrated by all the things she gets into and the fact that she doesn't listen to the word "no" (though she knows exactly what it means!) But in general we could just watch her and laugh all the time!

-I'm contemplating starting Abigail on just one nap a day on Monday and see how that goes. Nap #2 has been a huge fight all week so I'm wondering if it's time? We'll see... I'm not really sure she's ready yet, but its worth a try.

- This summer has been sooooooo cold and rainy. It was about 50 degrees out last night - IN AUGUST!! What is up with that? The pool is not really swimm-able - its just too cold! And it won't warm up because of all the rain... ugh!

- Grandaddy is not doing well at all and I'm sure will not be with us for long. Its so hard to watch and I'm worried about what Grandmommy will do after he's gone. He's on hospice now and quickly going down hill. Mama called last night to tell me that if I want to see him again I should get there quickly... I'm so sad... If I knew for sure where he was headed then I would be happy for him to go and be at peace, but I don't... It hurts to not know and to wonder... I wish there was more time and I had a chance to share with him, but his mind has been gone for a couple years already... Only God knows where his heart really is...

-On a lighter note... I HATE CHIPMUNKS!!! They won't leave my gardens alone and I don't for the life of me know what to do! I've gotten so desperate that I even put out rat traps, but they just take whatever I put on them and stare at me defiantly... Oh, what to do? Our yard is over run by rodents.... chipmunks, squirrels, moles, and rabbits - I'd love to be rid of all of them. I enjoy gardening and I can't grow anything without it being destroyed!! It makes me so upset! I think next year we may try to pay someone to get our yard looking better (if we're able to afford it.) We don't really have grass - just a bunch of weeds and dirt with millions of ant hills thrown in... Its a horrid yard for a little babe who wants to run around outside! We want it to be someplace that she can just play safely and its not right now. We did quite a bit to try to help it out to no avail this year so we're hoping to get help next year...

-Summer is going to quickly and we're trying to find fun things to do to enjoy what's left of it. Last night we took Abi and went to the park. Kris and Fred have discovered the wonderful world of disc golf and are loving it! Kris just got his own set of discs yesterday so he wanted to try them out. Abi LOVED it! She just kept running around trying to get the discs and taking them away. It was great to be able to set her down and just let her run all over that park! The picture up top is of her at the park after she discovered the ducks - she was running around trying to catch them. It was sooooo stinkin cute!!

Work

I'm a little nervous.... Today I'm going to work at Samaritan Hospital - or at least I'm going to go spend a day orienting there. I haven't been there since I was in school 4 years ago. I've been getting cancelled constantly at Memorial. For some reason the census is really low and they've had to close 2 floors. That's never happened in the 7 years that I've worked there! And since I'm per-diam I'm the first one to be cancelled. I've lost four days work in the last couple weeks and its not looking like its getting better! That's a half months pay! And all right at the time that I was trying to pick up extra hours to cover the time I'm taking off for vacation! Ugh - its been really stressful for me, but just a perfect reminder that God is in control - not me - and I need to trust Him fully. So anyway, Sam is a "sister" hospital and they usually need more help so I'm going over there to orient so that I can hopefully pick up more hours there when I get cancelled at Mem. I don't like change.... ....I'm nervous.