Happy Belated Birthday Abi

Why haven't I posted?

Mix together a Month and a Half of colds, stomach flu, shots, and teething mingled with NO NAPS and a filthy house because you've had a miserable baby pulling at your pant legs (and don't mention being sick yourself) and you wouldn't post either!

Bloomers & Odds n Ends

Abi loves to put bloomers on her head. Why? Probaby because Daddy often puts them on his head to make her laugh.

Abi went through a stage of climbing onto the hearth of our fireplace upstairs and standing on the one downstairs. She would play up there for 20 minutes at a time. Just the upstairs one is high up and so I was always so nervous. She's passed out of that stage for a while. I'm sure she'll play up there again soon.

Abi started to kiss the charcters in her books on each page. She's been patting us on the back when we hold her now too. So cute. She gives really slimy kisses and straddles me when i'm on the floor and jumps up and down on my belly. Too bad her legs are too short and she can't straddle Richards girth. Just wait Daddy, your turn is coming soon.

These next two pictures are Abi in her new clothes. She's growing so fast and we're out of hand-me-downs that fit for the season. It is kind of fun to be the one to pick out clothes for her. I just can't believe how expensive they are. I don't think this kid will ever get a sibling. We can't even afford her.

Sorry this picture is so blurry but I was laughing so hard at her because she was laughing so hard at me. We were playing with her blocks and for some reason it was super funny.

My Little Helper

So Abi loves to sweep, wash the floor and unload the dishwasher. She'll pull a rag out of the drawer and start wiping the floor (i don't use a mop--just a rag. i think it gets cleaner that way. i'm crazy i know.) She actually helps a lot when it comes to the dishwasher. She used to turn around and hand me something and i'd put it away. Now she just reaches her arm back without looking or she'll go put it in a cupboard herself.

She's also great at scrubbing things around the house with MY toothbrush and pulling tons of things out of cupboards and drawers. I think she is the type of personality that needs to have clutter around her and I'm the opposite and I'm burnt out trying to keep the house clutter free...

Snowday

So it snowed a few days ago and we just had to play. Can I just say "Randy"?
Abi loved the snow. We built a snowman in the backyard. She laughed at us while we rolled the balls.

Great Weekend

So, we had the best weekend. On Friday I rode the bike with Abi in the trailer to the Library and she had the best time. She made some friends and loved to hear her voice echo and I'm sure everyone else loved it too. I checked out some books on how to draw because honestly--i can't draw a thing unless i have a mouse in my hand. Anyone know and want to teach me? I'll give babysitting as a trade!

Friday night the three of us went to the Monte L. Bean Museum (the museum of stuffed animals of the dead type) at BYU--which is free and open till 11 p.m. (random time don't you think?). Abi LOVED it! She was all smiles when we first started and she stood below the bears and looked up at them and laughed. She also laughed at the turkeys downstairs--except i don't ever want to go down there again because tons of the animals just have cotton balls for eyes and that is freaky--other than that it was cool.

On Saturday we rode up to Bridal Veil Falls--yeah we finally made it all the way up there. Abi slept in the bike trailer the whole way and then we had a picnic at Nunns park and Abi rode down the slide in the playground. She likes it but is still a little unsure of the slides.

I officially finished weaning Abi on Friday. It is kind of bittersweet. I wish I could have nursed her longer but my body just can't handle it. I miscarried in August and my body and mind have been out of wack since. I wasn't going to tell anyone but I have found that the more people I tell, the better I have felt about the whole thing. I guess sometimes we have to share each others burdens and somehow by sharing, they really are less burdensome. Miscarriages are never fun, but I'm finally starting to feel better and get on with life and enjoying the wonderful little girl I have.

Anyway, I'm so glad we're over colds and teething (at least for the time being right?) and that Abi is so much happier because she feels good. It feels like the worst punishment and torture when she is sick or teething because she certainly isn't as happy and I don't blame her. The only compensation is that it is night and day difference when she is better and so happy again.

Oh, and a funny story from church today. A sister in our ward picked up Abi today and held her for a few minutes during class. Abi took the woman's bracelet off and then put it on her own wrist. She is already accessorizing. She had to have a teething ring around her arm this afternoon because she thought it was a bracelet and she got mad whenever it fell off. She is such a girl and I love her for it!

The pictures above are of Abi and her cousins Lizzie & Jane in their matching outfits from Grandma. It's amazing what a good camera can do.

Scrap Pages

So here are some more attempts at digital scrapbooking using my own papers and elements. I didn't make the design team that I applied for so I'm back to the drawing board--literally.

Abi has been walking a ton--well, except this week because she as well as the rest of us have been sick.

For Richard's birthday we went to the Children's Museum. Abi had quite a bit of fun and I think it will be even more fun in a few years.

Happy WAY LATE Birthday

Richard,

You are amazing! I am so lucky to have you as a husband. Abi couldn't ask for a better Daddy. You certainly are a hunk. We love you!

Will you look at my Mini Kit?

So I am applying to be on a design team for faithsisters.com. I had to submit a mini kit with specific colors and a birthday theme. I would appreciate if anyone would look at it and comment or even vote for me if they like it. Here's the link: http://www.faithsisters.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/19937

You can also download all of the jpeg's and png's for free from my mini kit.

Woah...long time no post (hence the horrendously long post)

So, life happens. We've been busy enjoying our summer and our super busy little one who has taken tons of "steps" today.
So several things have happened recently. I got my new wedding ring:

So a prong on my wedding ring broke almost 2 years ago and it broke in such a way that I would have to get the whole ring re-done which would have cost A LOT. Plus it isn't my original wedding ring (LONG STORY) so I was trying to decide what to do. Anyway, I decided to sell my diamond and get a new ring. I found this ring and loved it so I guess everything works out. Anyone know anyone who wants to buy a diamond at a great price?
Another great thing is my best friend from childhood/high school came and visited this past week. Richard was AMAZING and watched Abi a ton so Rebekah and I could go out and play. We went shopping and went out to eat and looked through old year books and had a great time catching up. I'm so grateful that you came and visited me Rebekah! I had so much fun and I'm so glad we got to hang out!
Abi loved playing with RebekahNow for the Abi Update:
Abi has now started to drink whole milk--well kind of. She finds it really weird. She looks at it every time she drinks it with the weirdest look on her face. She LOVES pasta and we eat it almost every day for lunch--which usually requires a bath. She rubs more pasta sauce on her face, eyes, hair, & ears than any other food. But she also eats it better than anything else. Who knows. She still loves peaches and she eats a whole packet of fruit & cream oatmeal for breakfast.
She loves to cuddle her stuffed animals and she seems to cuddle with us more often too. She knows what the word kisses means and if she is in the mood, she'll give you a few. I LOVE IT! So does Richard of course.
Her first 5 words are (in the order of usage): Da da, hi, bye, Abigail & uh-oh. Notice none of these are mommy or mama. Daddy was amongst those first words but I can't remember when it appeared. The last few days she's started to mumble some "ma's" while crying. I think it is just jibber-jabber. Speaking of Jibber-jabber, Abi can talk your ear off already. She has lots of things to say. She also likes to sing really, really loud in church.
She likes bubbles but she loves it when Daddy "prances" through them on the grass. She laughed hysterically the other night when Daddy did this. He's going to love that I told everyone about him prancing. :)
Abi has 7 teeth now and I'm sure she'll start teething again soon. It's about that time again I think.
She really likes to play soccer. I'll hold one of her hands and we'll go around kicking a ball. She LOVES it! She also loves it when we push the ball around while we're on our hands and knees and I chase after her.
She is great at going up and down stairs and she thinks that all stairs are toys specifically for her. She loves reading books and she really loves to turn the pages.
She smacks her lips when she eats (Grandma Tregaskis loves this about her). It is hilarious.
Her hair is long enough to put these little clippies in but not long enough to keep them in for any length of time. Soon enough... although there is plenty of hair in the back. Maybe mullets will come back in style again....please no.... She is our happy-go-lucky social bug and she is sooo much fun!

She got to eat chocolate cake a few weeks ago. I love the look on her face in the first picture. It's as if she's asking: "Can I really eat this?"

Chocolate cake was great fun...however, she tried to share with the curtains, which didn't go over so well. We ended up putting up new blinds because the curtains were ruined.

We went up the canyon several weeks ago with the Maxwells. Abi & Molly seemed to sense that something fun was going to happen.

Abi had tons of fun crawling in the dirt, eating it, and walking with daddy along the trails. Abi had her first marshmallow while sitting on Daddy's lap. Bad idea. Daddy couldn't handle the stickness that Abi so lovingly spread on his arms so he placed her on the ground. However, marshmallow hands on dirt & soot don't go over real well. At least this picture is good pay back.

I NEED YOU!

Ok, I need some help from some Digital Scrapbookers. I'm trying to make Digital Scrapbooking products and I need someone who actually does Digital Scrapbooking to look at my stuff and see if it is good enough. Whatever files I let you look at will be yours to keep for free. Once my stuff is adequate, I'll need some people to use my papers and elements to make some digi pages so I can show off on my website. Again, whoever does the pages will get free stuff. Let me know ASAP if you are interested by commenting on this post with your email.

Vacuum Cleaner

So this video is about a month old from when my parents were visiting. Abi just couldn't get enough of the Kix.

Busybody

Abi is so busy these days. I couldn't get a cute picture of her this morning in the tutu Jenna made for her (thanks by-the-way). I added this picture though to show how addicted Abi is to this little toy car she got from her Grandma Tregaskis. She loves it and only lets go of it if she falls asleep. She even pushes it around on the floor like big kids do with their cars. I think she learned it from Shane. Don't you wish you were this flexible? Abi finds it entertaining to kiss and lick the floor. Can i tell you how often i am cleaning the floor these days and how dirty she is making it when she throws her food off the tray only to come eat it up later. Our Cutie-Petutie.

Self-feeding

Ah...self-feeding. What a great concept right? It is wonderful and entertaining all at the same time. The following pictures show how good Abi is at feeding herself with the spoon. She actually does really well. I'm very impressed. She just happens to get quite messy during the process.

Skills of an Artist

...well not quite yet. Here are my first attempts at decorating cakes based on books i checked out of the library. The Orem library is fantastic! Except for everyone else knows that too and always has what I want checked out but besides that, its great. Thanks Jenna for inspiring me to learn how to decorate cakes!

She STOOD!

Yes, our little angel stood. Her first attempt was last night when she just let go of my hands and was up on her own for a second. She was playing with Molly and Molly came up and clapped her hands and looked pretty excited. She was probably saying "about time." She stood again last night for a whopping 2 seconds but of course she wouldn't show Daddy when he got home or do it again today. Soon enough...
Oh, and I know if I pass out or die, whoever finds me will probably find me bald. Instead of being sweet and giving me kisses or something, whenever I pretend to be asleep on the floor, Abi rushes over to see how many hairs off my head she can pull out before I move. She is so obsessed with my hair and that is another reason why it looks so bad. She is so funny. She is constantly cracking me up and she knows it.

It's been a while

So, it has been forever since I have blogged- especially blogged about Abi. Maybe that is why I haven't blogged lately. She started crawling like crazy at 7 months; said her first 2 words--Hi and Bye; had her first ear infection and was miserable for almost a week; played with Gram and Grandpa for a week; and is now climbing up everything and getting into everything. She is so amazing and fun. She has had so much fun playing with other kids lately--especially Molly & Shane. We've been trying to enjoy the summer by going on bike rides and going swimming. She is almost always super happy and even when she is miserable, she'll still smile at perfect strangers. Here are a few pictures. From the past 2 months or so.

Abigail really enjoyed playing with her Gram.

I think Gram enjoyed it too. This was Abi's first visit to Great Grandma & Grandpa Taylors. I just love my little girl!
Ahhhh!
She can get away with pretty much anything with this smile.
Abi really loved Grandpa and let him hold her quite a bit even though she was going through a "Mom Only" phase.

I loved this outfit on her! Oh, and if you are wondering like everyone else has been, the gloves are because my hands have excessive dermatitis (dry skin) and I'm trying to get it under control. Any suggestions? This is the only picture that was taken of the three of us. Mom--you're weird. :)
I had to be quick to take this picture. That headband was off immediately after the flash went off. I'm thinking of selling these headbands. Anyone want to buy one?
Abi loves playing under the piano and on the piano now that she can reach while standing and of course, she loves it when I hold her while I'm trying to play. She now will grab my hands until I stop so she can have full and uninterrupted access to the keys.
I just love those chunky thighs.

Here are a couple of fun facts or stories of Abi:

We were on a bike ride the other day with our friends the Maxwells and Abi and Molly (Molly is one month older than Abi) shared a bike trailer. Molly fell asleep and Abi started hitting her and yelling "Da da da da" until Molly woke up. Molly then pushed Abi's arms away until Abi stopped bothering her and then fell asleep again.

Abigail and I were playing with a ball the other day and it bounced out of the room. I asked her to go get it and she did and handed it to me. It was so weird. I couldn't believe that she actually understood me.

She loves to crawl out of the room and look back and make sure we're following her. When we start to chase her, she gets that huge smile on her face and zooms away. She is getting pretty fast.

She is not shy at all but she is bashful. It is so stinkin cute.

She slept for 3 hours yesterday afternoon. After an hour or so i checked on her almost every 15 minutes. I was so dumbfounded and it was so wonderful too.

Abigail loves the movie Tarzan because the first scene is when Tarzan is a baby and she laughs every time he laughs.

Her favorite toys right now are cars. Grandma gave her a white car from the Cheerio box and she has loved it. Molly grabbed it from her one day in church and Abi chased after her until she got it back. It was really funny. She just loves that thing. She also loves balls and my old Strawberry Shortcake figurines that I pulled out the other day.

If you are still reading this, you must be one of Abi's grandmas. :)