Christmas at Gingerbread

At preschool, Abby participated in a lot of fun activities. They got to ride their scooters or sit in a wagon in the Downtown Holiday Parade, they decorated gingerbread houses during class, and they got to meet Santa at a Cookie Exchange party. It was so fun to see her at school and interact with the other kids. We love Gingerbread and all the fun activities they have! It was a great way to celebrate the holidays!

Abby decorating her little gingerbread house. I had gone in a few days before to help assemble the houses so they were all ready to decorate on their Family Fun day. The icing was made with meringue powder, powder sugar and water and was the strongest icing I'd ever seen. It worked great.

Cookie Social with Santa.

Abby told Santa she wanted a bike for Christmas, but he thought she said a book. He was so excited and told her to keep reading. She told me later she didn't correct him because she didn't want to make him mad. Funny girl.

Abby rode her scooter in the Downtown Holiday parade. I remember watching this parade as a little girl, so it was fun to be a part of it. Abby got pretty tired of riding her scooter--next time we'll have to bring a wagon and just pull her in it. We met for the parade at 4:00PM and didn't get done until 7 PM. It was a LONG night and we were all pooped. We met up with Mike and Emma and they joined us. We decorated Abby's scooter with Christmas lights, which she loved!

Emma's First Week

Bringing Emma home from the hospital was almost a relief. We only stayed over one night because I was done with all the nurses and interruptions. I knew once I got home I'd have more time to just sleep without having people in all hours of the night checking up on me. Emma has been a dream baby. She has slept great since the first night and has only continued to sleep better each day. I attribute that to my mother--who is a great sleep trainer. When my mom came to stay with us, she so willingly takes the night shift with the new babies. She is a GREAT sleep-trainer, holding the babies off with a pacifier until they are inconsolable. It's usually only a 3-5 hour stretch, but it's amazing how good that feels as a new mom to be able to sleep more than 2 hours at a time. I believe that because of those stretches, my babies learn to sleep long periods of time.... And I have my mother to thank!

When we left the hospital they were worried about her weight gain. Emma had lost almost a whole pound so they made sure I went to see her doctor later that week. I wasn't too worried. Emma slept almost 8 hours after she was born, so I knew that was a big part of why her weight had taken such a drop, but I still went to the doctor. They recommended giving her formula in addition to my nursing her. I gave her a bottle once, but then decided she was nursing better and more often, so I didn't give her one again. Her next appointment she had gained a whole pound! And that was in only a few days. The doctor was happy, and so were we. We have another healthy, chunky baby on our hands.

Emma found her fingers....

Abby loves to lay next to her sister...

My mom, the sleep trainer.

Emma's first sponge bath. Mike is the official bath-giver in our home.

My dad came soon after Emma was born. He was a great help, especially with Abby. She loves her Grandad.

Abby is really good at holding Emma, which I was surprised at. Usually, it's only a 2 minute hold before her arms are "tired."

Play time with Grandma Sue.

My mom braided our hair....I miss having her around to do this.

Coming home. I never really look at myself in the mirror while at the hospital, but boy, do I still look pregnant or what? Ha! :)

October Festivities

Despite my due date being on Halloween, Abby was still able to participate in some fun Halloween activities. We explored a local pumpkin patch with a friend--even in 80+ weather, which is not so fun being 9 months pregnant. Abby was invited to a Harvest Festival by a friend. Each child was to bring 30 items to "trade" with each other. It was really fun to see what everyone brought. And Abby had fun "shopping" and trading with the other kids. Two days before Emma was born, we went to a friend's house to carve pumpkins. Mike did all the carving while Abby smiled cutely with the pumpkin.

Abby decided she wanted to be Rapunzel this year for Halloween, along with every other girl, right? She was so excited to wear her costume to her school party. She even wore the uncomfortable shoes the whole time. When it came to Halloween night and the trunk-or-treat, she did not want to wear her costume. At least we got a cute picture of her at school....

Our little Rapunzel...

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Selling "Ghost Poop" at the Harvest Festival

We went to a surprise party for my friend Shannon and the girls got their hair sprayed. Abby loved having "purple" hair.

Roar!

Wandering around the pumpkin patch....

42 inches

Feeding the goats...

Carving pumpkins...

The whole gang after carving pumpkins.

Prego Friends

I am lucky enough to live close to 2 of my good friends from high school. We don't get together a lot, but it's always fun when we do. This year we were all pregnant together. Shannon and I were due on the same day with girls, Melinda 2 weeks before us with a boy. It was Melinda's third baby and Shannon and mine's second. It was fun to share prego stories--and after the babies were born, we got together for a little photo shoot.

Shannon, Melinda, and I

Emma, Scott, and Morgan

Shannon bought them all the cute matching outfits--Emma was bursting out of hers, but we still managed to squeeze her in it. They were hilarious to take pictures of--one baby was always crying or fussy it seemed like. Scott was asleep through half of it-even with the crying. But at least we got some good ones!

Abby's 4th Birthday

Because I was due so close to Abby's birthday, I knew I didn't want to have a big birthday bash that involved a lot of planning and work on my part. So we decided long before that we would take Abby to Disneyland for her birthday. We invited my sister and her daughter, Taylor, to join us and they said YES! They made the long trek to So Cal from Utah, my sister being sick and pregnant, but she convinced my mom to join her on the trip down. My dad joined us a couple days into the trip, but didn't get to come to Disneyland with us.

We decided to do a character lunch with the Disney Princesses at Ariel's Grotto with just the girls. I have to say--we planned a 10:00 brunch, but because we showed up late (after I ran from the parking lot, to the tram, to the ticket booth, to California Adventure, to Ariel's Grotto--all that being 8 months pregnant), they booked us for the lunch sitting. I was grateful because after all that running, I needed to sit and breathe. The girls loved eating their lunch and getting to meet each princess as they ate. I had made both the girls an autograph book and princess shirts and a little bag to carry their books in. It was so cute to see them wearing their little back-packs and carry their books around to get autographs.

After a day at Disneyland, we were exhausted, so we just chilled out at the hotel the next day. The weather was unfortunately, cold, so we didn't make it to the beach like we had planned. But Mike took the girls swimming, which they LOVED. I waddled around most of the weekend, trying to recover from my long run through Disneyland. Abby had a great time opening presents from her grandparents and from Taylor and Robin. And LOVED that she got to go to Disneyland for her special day. She keeps asking me if we can do it again for her birthday this year. Maybe we will make it a tradition.....

Abby has grown up so much in the past year--I'm amazed at what a little grown-up she is. From starting preschool to becoming a big sister--she's really matured. I feel like I can have real conversations with her and am always amazed at what she remembers and learns from me. :) She is still very tall for her age. At her 4 year check-up, she measured in at a 5 1/2 year old size! That's my girl. She is a GREAT big sister and always willing to help me with Emma. She asks me hundreds of times a day, "Can I see Emma? Can I give her a hug and kiss?" She loves to make her smile and will help me in the car by putting her pacifier in when she's fussy. It has been pretty easy adjusting to 2 kids--but I think that's mainly because Abby is such a great big sister!

Swimming at Newport Beach

Abby with her Fancy Nancy doll from Grandma and Grandad

Abby's birthday brownies...

We were sitting in Downtown Disneyland when Minnie and Mickey Mouse came out to sign autographs. They went on a walk around town, and Abby and Taylor chased after them. Minnie and Mickey waited for them and took them by the hand and walked with them to their designated autograph spot. It was so cute. I was chasing them to get this picture....

This was Abby's highlight of the day. I waited in line for 30 minutes to meet Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder. Abby loved meeting them and talking with them. Rapunzel asked her what her favorite part of the movie was and Abby said, "When you sing your song together." And then she started to sing part of it. It was so cute.

Riding Soarin' Over California. We had to convince Abby to ride this--she was so afraid. She cried quietly while we waited in line and was still apprehensive about it when we sat down. But she loved it--and wanted to go again after it was all over.

Riding Toy Story Mania....

Lunch with the Princesses....

Cinderella

Snow White
Sleeping Beauty

Riding the tram into the park...

The loot--I made these party favors for the girls to remember the special day...

After our trip, we went to dinner on Abby's actual birthday. She requested one thing from Mike--flowers for her birthday. It was pretty cute.

After opening presents...Can you tell I'm ready to pop?

We invited a few of Abby's friends over for a small swim party to celebrate her day.

Abby got to celebrate her special day at school. They sung "Happy Birthday" to her and "Skimmarink", too. She also got to put the candles on her birthday cake...

Abby with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa on her out-to-dinner birthday party.

Some random tidbits about Abby:

1. She still LOVES to read. When I'm nursing Emma, she will bring book after book out for me to read to her. I am usually more than happy to oblige.

2. She knows all her letters and can write all of them, too. I was surprised when she came home from school one day with her name Abigail spelled out on her paper. I never taught her how to write it, but she just asked her teachers which letters came next and she wrote it all by herself.

3. She knows what sound each letter makes, and is working on sounding out words.

4. She loves playing with her little Disney character figurines. She has about 100 of them and can play for hours with them.

5. She loves to "work" in my craft room with me. She usually gets a blank piece of paper and colors a picture. She has gotten really good at drawing people. Her artwork from preschool each day is a picture of our family. I have a stack of about 100 different pictures (no lie) of the drawings she did the first few weeks of Emma's life. Because I slept so much, Abby kept busy by drawing picture after picture. I'm in the process of putting them into a book.

6. Abby gave her first talk in Primary this year (2011) and did awesome! I can't believe my little girl is in primary.

7. She is genuinely concerned about other people, especially her friends. If a kid is all by herself at school, she will go over and play with her. She is a great friend to all.

8. She loves Jesus and talks about Him often. She asks when she can see Him, and I always tell her, we can't see Him, but we can feel him. And she says, "We can feel him in our hearts, right?" It's pretty dang cute.

9. She loves to tell stories at night. Part of her bedtime routine is for us to tell her a story and she returns the favor. Her stories are hilarious--usually something to do with the story we just told her, but with her own spin on it. I love hearing her imagination go wild. I've just recently started recording her because I love the detail she goes into. She also makes up songs for me and sings them to me before she falls asleep.

10. She is a great helper around the house--she clear her plate after she's done eating, she's always willing to get a diaper for Emma, she entertains Emma when she's fussy, she cleans up her room when asked. She has also become more independent with herself--brushing her own hair, dressing herself, picking her own clothes, and putting her clothes away.

We love our Abby and can't believe she is 4 years old! She is our little, redheaded spitfire and we wouldn't trade her for anything. Love you, Abby!

BYU Education Week

Back in August, we made a trip to Utah for Education Week at BYU. I had never been before and wanted to go before baby Emma joined our family. I invited Mike along, too, so he could play babysitter while I went to class. While we were there, we got to see lots of family. My two sisters joined the rest of the fam when they and their families moved recently back to Utah this summer. It was a crazy 10 days filled with lots of fun classes, activities, and family visits, but we had a great time! I didn't get any pictures of Education Week itself--I was too busy taking notes to take pictures. I convinced my sisters to join me in some of the parenting/marriage classes where we were rejuvinated and encouraged to be better moms and wives. I can't wait to go back!

Abby and her cousin Taylor

Abby and her twin cousins, Kayley and Kelsey

After staying at 3 different homes, we decided to get a hotel and re-coop. Abby needed a break and a swimming pool! :)

We drove down to see Mike's Grandma in Payson. We hadn't seen her in a long time so it was great to visit with her for a little bit. Abby refused to take a picture, so this is the best we could get.

We stayed at Liz's house and I caught the girls watching a TV show in the morning.

Abby actually took a nap--in the car. Ha! Too much partying!

Before the craziness of Provo, we spent some time in Logan with my parents. Their garden was in full bloom--and Abby took full advantage of their hard work. I admit, I did, too. Those tomatoes were DELISH!!

And of course we had to roast some marshmallows in the fire pit....

We met the whole fam at Bear Lake one day. I guess it's becoming an annual trip for the Utah people, so we were happy to be a part of it. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. We rented jetskis and had a blast playing int he water.

The two pregos....our babies were due a month apart--and they are exactly that--a month apart!