Happy 2nd Birthday, Abby!

Another year has come and gone, and I still just can't believe how much I love this sweet girl. She is a total crazy mess sometimes, and I even love that about her. :) She is two years old today, and I cannot believe how much she has learned in that short amount of time. Recent conversations have included her identifying trapezoids and describing the color chartreuse. (Links are included for those of you who aren't sure what those are... :))

Her little independent attitude is also beginning to show itself. Example: As Abby was jamming out (read: head banging) to Veggie Tales music the other day, I noticed her hair had become quite a mess. Here is the conversation that followed...

Me: "Abby, you're hair looks crazy!"

Abby: (as serious as she could be) "Stop it, Mom. Weave me awone. It's MY hair."

**pause of total disbelief and hilarity**

When did she become a teenager?! I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried....

She is Mommy's little helper around the house, and she loves to do laundry and help sweep the floors. I can't wait to see her in action as a big sister in a few months!

Happy birthday, sweet girl. Mommy loves you!!!

Exhausted

I don't know how you people with multiple children keep up with your blogs--I'm just trying to raise one while growing another, and I'm totally worn out! Add in the excessive morning (noon and night) sickness, and you have this rarely updated blog. Sorry for any and all who might still check in once in a while. Here's a quick update on our little family:

• Casey is finally finished with Uplift (he was videographer for the 5th year), and we are very happy to have him back home. It's pretty much a 24/7 job so Abby missed her Daddy very much! He has 2 weeks before he starts his new job at the new pediatric office here in town, so he'll get back to delivering for Mazzio's until that starts. He is very ready to start this steady, full-time job!
• Due to my insane morning sickness and the minor complications we had early on with the pregnancy, I worked my last day at the gym nursery this week. I kept having to find people to sub for me at the last minute and send in doctor's notes, so we decided it was best if I just stay home and rest for a while. Everything is fine and baby is doing well, but we had several scares the first few weeks! I am 9 weeks along now, and hoping this nausea will pass after the first trimester!
• Abby has hit the terrible twos (one month until her birthday!), and we are all trying to survive it. A couple of her current favorite phrases include "Nope" and "Maybe wayter (later)." She is obsessed with trying on shoes (regardless of their size or owner), and she's trying to improve her dressing and undressing skills. She is definitely turning into Miss Independent, and I'm trying very hard to give her opportunities to express that--it's hard! Potty training is an ongoing process, but I'm still not pushing too hard. She'll have several days where she goes in the potty all day, but then she'll have a few days when she forgets the potty even exists. I guess it'll click eventually. She has also moved up to a big girl bed, and she loves it! She has only fallen out once (oops), and she thinks she is big stuff because she can get out of bed all by herself. No late night wanderings so far, so we'll see how long that holds up.... Here's our big girl in her new bed:

I don't have many pictures from the wedding yet, but I think I'll be getting more very soon. In the meantime, here's a cute one of Aunt Tara and Abby dancing before the ceremony in the dressing room:

I'd like to say I'll update again soon, but I don't dare to make any promises. I'll do my best. :) Happy 4th of July to all!

Guess what...

I'm going to be a big sister!!!

[Yes, there are two tests... just to make sure. :)]

Baby #2 is due to arrive on February 3, 2011!!!

Precious moments

I have the sweetest daughter. Ever. Ok, if you would've asked me if this was true when she was throwing a crazy fit earlier today (yes, we have entered the terrible twos) I would've laughed in your face. But tonight before I get in bed, I want to record this moment so I can look back and say, "Oh, yeah. She can be a really sweet girl, too!" :)

In my routine of checking on Abby right before getting in bed, I accidentally woke her up tonight. She had already been asleep for several hours, so she was pretty out of it. As I walked up to the crib, I heard her whispering, "What is it? Who is it?" I didn't want her to get scared, so I told her it was just Mommy and she was ok and she just needed to close her eyes and go back to sleep. She smiled, sat up, and said, "Hold you, Mommy? Pwease, Mommy?" I picked her up and handed her the pacifier from her crib, to which she said, "Thank you so much, Mommy," and smiled as she put it in. I rocked her for a minute before putting her back in crib. As I covered her up with a blanket, I got another, "Thank you, Mommy." I leaned over and said, "Night night, baby. Mommy loves you." She smiled really big behind her pacifier, blew me a few kisses, and rolled over to snuggle with her blanket.

Sweetest. Baby. Ever.

Giddy

Ok, so I'm a little bit excited about THIS (<--click the link, please)!!! Even if no one orders anything, I feel extremely cool right now. :)

*tap tap* Is this thing on??

This post will be a random assortment of things that I want to remember, things that have been happening, and recent pictures that should be seen by everyone. :) I know I’m a bit behind on blogging, so here is an attempt to catch up. (And a cute picture to illustrate the point) :)

Abby has really gotten in a good routine for bedtime lately. Every night, we tell Daddy “night night” and “yuv you” with hugs and kisses before reading 2 or 3 books. Current favorites are Hush-a-Byes, The Night Before Christmas (yes, I know it is May), and The Going to Bed Book. Once in a while we will substitute with Kitten’s First Full Moon or something by Dr. Seuss. What are your kids’ favorite bedtime books?

Last Wednesday started a rough week in our house. Abby started running fever, and we found out she had strep (which I had the week before). I was still finishing my antibiotics when we got her started on hers. Her fever stayed between 101 and 103, but it climbed to 105 on Friday night—scary!! It was a long night, but we made it through, and her fever finally broke on Sunday. Happy Mother’s Day! :) I took this picture when her fever was around 103, but you can’t really tell!

One of Abby’s favorite movies right now is Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure (see above picture). Remember that one?? Yeah, it was made in 1987. Classic. I got the DVD on Amazon.com, and it came with a CD of the music from the movie—yay! Now we can sing along with the chipmunks in the car, too! Haha Speaking of…

Abby has figured out that she can sing along with any and every song she hears now…. and it is SO funny! One of the previously mentioned Chipmunks songs is “The Girls of Rock & Roll,” although when they sing it, it sounds like “rock and roll-ah” because of the pop-star emphasis. So when Abby sings it, it comes out as “rock an’ roll-YAH” or “roll-DA.” Hilarious! She will also bust out randomly with “Twinkle, Twinkle” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep.” I am looking for kids’ Christian music (other than Veggie Tales—we have a ton!) that we can listen to more since she is really starting to sing along. Any suggestions?

On the job front, Casey is scheduled to do some freelance video stuff for Harding in the next few weeks and will do video for Uplift again this summer. He’s still applying for other jobs, but no hits yet. I am supposed to be starting a new (VERY part-time) job soon, but it hasn’t been finalized yet. More details on that when it’s set in stone…

In closing, here is little miss priss trying to wear Mommy and Daddy’s shoes—what a mess! :)

On Hold

There are a lot of things I have been wanting to do lately, but with our job situation being what it is, I have been afraid to commit to anything. Here are a few of my favorite excuses:

• "We're applying for jobs everywhere, so we might not even live here in a few months."
• "If Casey gets back in the army, we'd just have to leave when he's done with training."
• "I'm not sure how many hours/what days/which shifts I'll have to work next month."
• "I don't want to tell them I have to quit if things change and I can't keep doing [fill in the blank]."

Pretty good, huh? I have become the queen of evading commitment and responsibility. In lieu of this epiphany, I am slowly making plans for this fall. Here is what I am considering so far:

• Enroll Abby in Carpenter's Kids
• Join local MOPS steering team
• Complete student teaching internship for Master's degree
• Continue working at the gym as needed

I have already completed the first item, and the 2nd and 3rd are in the works. My main concern with all of it right now is scheduling, but if there is one thing I am good at, it's organizing the calendar. :) I spent this whole year saying, "I want to be more involved, but..." Nothing is certain for us right now. There is no telling when or where steady employment will come our way, and I don't want to keep putting things off that I know I should be doing.

I hope this wasn't overly boring for everyone. I guess I'm kind of taking a stand for myself... against... myself? Ha! Sometimes it helps to see it in writing--thanks for indulging my rant. To reward those who suffered through it, here is a video of Abby I took yesterday. She is currently in love with Blue's Clues and can sing along with the songs. I don't know what her obsession is with having her fingers in her mouth right now, and YES, we are going through the terrible/defiant twos (as you might notice at the end). Enjoy! :)