Here Are the Christmas Cards!!!

We have sent out the first set of Christmas cards, so one of these four fine photos should be making it's way into your mailbox really soon. And if it doesn't, that means we didn't have your address! If you do want to print yourself some extras all the photos are at http://photos.walmart.com/groups/abbyschristmasalbum, all you need to do is enter the code "holiday" and you can print photos of Abby to your hearts content. If this works well we may put other pictures of Abby up to share. So while you are waiting to see which of the four fabulous photos is in your card, try to take some time to relax and enjoy a wonderful time of the year!

Clean Teeth, Tired Mommy, and Jumping Beans

Abby had to brush her teeth after all the candy canes she tasted. Good thing she likes to brush her two little teeth. She even got to use a Crest SpinBrush to get them super clean. We had to document the teeth cleaning since we documented the candy eating. That way no one gets the wrong idea about what the dentist around here does to ensure Abby's teeth stay beautiful!

Abby is wired today for some reason - she has had no candy, no sugar, and only the normal baby food (plus she tried baby food chicken). Her poor jumper is going to be worn out by the time she is done with it. And the unfortunate thing is that I would really like her to have a nice nap this afternoon instead, since she woke me up at 4:30 this morning. Maybe all this playing will make her sleep really well tonight! On top of the lack of sleep, my coffee maker has decided to be worthless and somehow, no matter how careful I am, half the coffee grounds end up in the pot. There is nothing worse than crunchy coffee. That may be on my Christmas list, or maybe I will just give up drinking coffee all together. After all, I did make it 2 whole years before having a cup a few weeks ago. But a hot drink on a cold day is a good thing... what a dilemma!

That being said, I think my jumper is almost jumped out, so it is probably back to changing diapers for me. Have a wonderful Monday - we are going to enjoy watching the snow fall (again) tonight.

More Birthday Fun

Here are a few more pictures of Abby and her Daddy having a great time on his birthday! And we now have a beautiful, soft Douglas Fir Christmas Tree in our dining room. Abby really loves checking out the ornaments that we put on the lower branches. We made sure they were all Abby safe since they have already been chewed, grabbed, and thrown.

Abby also got her first lick of candy cane, but her dad quickly told her she couldn't have any more. She liked what she tasted though and tried to steal mine later on. Apparently starburst strawberry candy canes are on Abby's wishlist for Christmas :-)

Happy Birthday Mohawks

Abby tried to talk her dad into getting a birthday mohawk when he went to get his haircut, but he went for the traditional style instead. That didn't stop Abby from sporting her own mohawk. We tried to get the picture, but her hair is a little too fine for it to capture well on the camera.

Here's another picture that didn't make the Christmas card cut. We are still waiting on the ones that made the cut to come back from being printed, so we aren't going to get the Christmas cards out for at least a few days. By tomorrow I'm sure we will have a few lovely photos by the Christmas tree, which Steve is picking out while I type.

And speaking of Steve, he loved the birthday presents Abby and I picked out for him. He's got two great warm sets of pajamas, a new sweater, and a new video game. Plus there is college football and he didn't have to work. I think that adds up to a great birthday in his book!

Big Helpers

Abby and her friend A.J. were big helpers today while she accompanied me and some other ladies from our small group to Christian Freedom International's store to help make some holiday gift baskets with items from around the world. They had so much cool stuff - we probably came home with more of it than we needed. We especially loved the handmade baby sling, which was apparently really comfortable since Abby fell asleep in it while I was making bows and wrapping filled gift baskets. We both had a lot of fun.

And now for the planning of Steve's birthday festivities. Since he had to get up at 5:30 this morning to shovel our driveway and scrape off both cars, I'm sure part of his big birthday plans includes sleeping in as late as possible. I'm sure Abby and I will be happy to oblige him and probably make him some breakfast in bed :-)

Happy Weekends!!!

Side Note...

We are glad that Abby loves her new straw sippy cup, but it has had an unanticipated effect on our daily routine. More liquid intake equals more output... I'm sure you know what I mean.

Twinkle Toes

Here is a small corner of Abby's final version of the Christmas picture. Now, just to avoid confusion, there will be 4 separate versions of the Christmas picture that are going to be mailed out (so that each afghan maker has a special photo with their afghan in it). That being said, I will make sure that you all get to see each of the final 4 and we will even make the album we uploaded available on walmart.com for others to order from. But not just yet... you'll have to wait until after we send out the cards.

Tonight I have a baby shower to go to, so it will be the 2nd attempt at Daddy/Daughter night. We are keeping our fingers crossed that today's attempt goes better than last time, which was a sob fest followed by a car ride. Abby has a bath on the agenda so that should help. Plus at lunch time Abby didn't want her daddy to hand her to me (she actually did the whole stick tight trick). Steve said it was the best birthday present ever. I think I'd agree... maybe I'll take back the rest of his gifts. Just kidding, maybe...

I Want Candy!

Abby has discovered candy canes and would really like to figure out how to get the wrapper off them. Today we babysat Bailey and Katelyn again and Abby was really enthralled with them. She loves watching bigger kids.

We decided to wait until Saturday to go and get a tree the old fashioned way - cutting it down at the tree farm. Now we just have to hope that the 12 to 24 inches of snow that are forecasted for tonight and tomorrow doesn't bury all the trees!

Some That Didn't Make The Cut

We are taking multiple versions of Abby's first Christmas picture so that each of her handmade afghans appears in a picture. Here are a few of the different versions that weren't quite adorable enough to beat the finalists (which will not be revealed until you open your Christmas card). Thanks to Great Grandma Jennie for the white afghan (in the first two shots), to Sharon VanKoevering for the perfectly pink afghan (in the second two shots), and Arlene Shock for the pink and white afghan (in the last shot)!

Tonight we are planning to put up our Christmas tree and take a family photo to finish our Christmas cards. We just have to keep our fingers crossed that the snow will not get to heavy after Steve gets out of work. We love snow, but we really want our Christmas tree!

The Thanksgiving Rundown

Okay, so here's the rundown of our Thanksgiving in Hastings. Abby had lots of fun and learned how to do new things and tried new foods too. She had a little taste of pumpkin pie, apple pie, cheesecake, squash, real sweet potatoes, stuffing, cookies, Krispie Kreme doughnut, and tortilla chips. And best of all she learned to use a straw and loves it. She is so into straws that we bought her a sippy cup with a straw and she drained the water lickety split. She sure loves doing big girl things.

Abby also had lots of fun visiting her family and meeting some new family members. She isn't as friendly as we'd like, but she's not a total hermit either, so I guess we can't complain. She is very good at making eyes and smiling at people as long as Steve or I (mostly me) are holding her. And there were sure a lot of people to meet and meet again. She was a really good little girl all things considered.

But one thing she loved most for sure was getting home. She was the happiest, smiliest girl when she saw all her toys and her new room. It was really funny to watch her get so excited. Now the countdown is on until our trip down for Christmas. Just a little Christmas shopping to do and we will be all set.