Family Sunday

Today was a great and much needed family day. We were missing Joe after his busy week of classes and homework. This morning, we visited a wonderful local church and left basking in the truth of God's grace. It was refreshing and so full of worship. Thank you Jesus!

When we were getting ready to leave this morning, we put Abby's shoes on and then proceeded to gather everything before walking out the door. When I turned around, she was standing at the front door and reaching for the doorknob, but the kicker was HER SUNGLASSES POSITIONED ON TOP OF HER HEAD! Seriously? It was beyond adorable. She propped them up there just like we would before we walk out into the sun. Precious! (and they were upside down!)

After church, we relaxed at home while Abby napped...and Joe took some time to play with sweet Emma!


Our trip downtown started with the perfect combination: enjoying Ben & Jerry's on a shaded bench outside of the ice cream shop while live music was playing.

Then, we went over to the water sprinklers and let Abby go to town! She really LOVES water. She had a blast and got completely soaked. Carefree and loving life!

Abby & Livy: From the Beginning

Week # 1

Week in review:

Daddy's new ride to class everyday.

Abby and I take a morning walk everyday and even get the treat of walking with friends some mornings.

When Abby wakes up in the morning, the first person she looks for is Emma. She runs around the house calling for her and "Gigi". AND as soon as Abby can get near Emma that's exactly what she does....as close as she can. We have had to stop Abby from sitting on her lap. But, most of the time she is just snuggling up close and giving hugs.

Yay for swimming in the afternoon! My little fish loves the water and so does her Momma. So, after her nap on the afternoons we are free we enjoy the pool with friends.

New pastime: climbing in the laundry basket and hanging out with Baby.

Bubbles!

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Another perk: visiting with great friends throughout the week. The last time we saw Brandon and Megan was two years ago. Abby was the size of a strawberry in my belly. It was a special moment when they met. Abby warmed up to them within minutes and after the babies were in bed the six of us hung out and talked for hours!

Daddies and their daughters

Last night, we spent time with friends again. Fun times and delicious dinner. Our girls are only two months apart, so it was really the first time we watched Abby play with someone almost exactly her age. Abby and Livy had lots of fun together. They chased each other around the apartment, shared toys, emptied the kitchen cabinets and hid in the bedrooms.

At one point, we realized the girls had disappeared into the bedroom. When we went in, they were both on the air mattress playing and chatting away.

Dinner time!

Yum! Ms. Emily's sauce was delicious.

Climbing away

Keeping us busy in our temporary summer apartment! Go girl go.


(normally we have a gate there!)

Words

Just a glimpse into life with my talkative smart girl...

Thank you!

Dear Aunt Chrissy,

Thank you for my belated birthday gift. I love it!

Love,
Abby Em (a.k.a. PC)



Abby signs "thank you" in the video!

Family Dinner Date

Tonight, we went downtown for a family dinner date. It was nice to be together, take a little walk and enjoy some serious Colorado pizza.

Abby got her first balloon animal at the restaurant: a ladybug! She loved it...until she bit it and part of it popped in her face. She won't be sinking her little teething teeth into a balloon again anytime soon. :)

Thankful for my family and the time I had with them!

Jesus

One of our favorite things is when Abby says Jesus! It is one of her newer favorite words. When we pray, when we sing, when we read a book with the name of Jesus in it...she repeats it right back to us! What a blessing it is every time I hear her sweet little voice proclaiming His name! This video isn't the best because she has food in her mouth, but it's the only time I've caught it on my camera and had to share.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful dad and the best husband there is! We woke up early Sunday morning (not really by choice, but more because Abby's body still thinks 5 am is really 7 am) ready to celebrate Father's Day in Colorado. Abby and I went downstairs to get everything ready. The plan was to give Daddy his gifts and then Kim, Abby, Emma and I were going to make breakfast for the dads.

Joe made it downstairs and opened his cards and gift. He played with Abby for a bit and then before we knew it was back upstairs in bed for the rest of the day with a 24 hour stomach bug. So sad. No breakfast for Daddy, but we did make lots of space and quiet for him to rest as much as possible!

We might not have been able to celebrate the way we had hoped, but the goal was for Joe to know how much he is loved and appreciated and that he did! Happy Father's Day, DA-DEEE! We love you!

love.

Purple Mountain Majesty

We made it! Our trip out west was a success. For the most part, Abby enjoyed her ride on the airplane. It was her first flight since she was two months old. I packed her a little backpack full of travel goodies including a little airplane, her favorite snacks, a mini magna doodle, a new coloring book, keys, flashcards and the biggest success of all: stickers! She loved peeling off each and every sticker and sticking them in her coloring book. If you are traveling with a child who is Abby's age, I would definitely recommend it. It held her attention the longest.

Our social butterfly wanted to play with everyone around us. She spent a lot of the first flight trying to crawl over me to get to the people in the row behind us. You know she can't resist the opportunity to make new friends. In the airport, she especially loved the moving sidewalks.

On the second flight, Abby starting melting down! It was way past her nap time, so she was exhausted and overwhelmed by everything. I honestly didn't know how we would make it through the last two hours. Abby was crying and trying to get off of my lap. With no other tricks up my sleeve and some prayer, I pulled out my ipod, put on Abby's favorite song and put a bud in her ear. Then, 3....2....1...goodnight. She literally heard the first few lines of the song and was out like a light for atleast an hour. So, as I said...pretty smooth sailing. Thank you Lord! :)

playing with her stickers

Yay! We're here...so glad to be off the airplane.

Now, we are settling in and adjusting to the time change and altitude, while enjoying spending time with friends before our new schedule begins. Abby is loving sharing an apartment with our dear friends and their little girl. Abby runs around the house calling for "Ba-bee" (baby) all day, wants to hold her hand all the time and is slowly learning that it is not okay to take away her toys, pull the bow out of her hair or pinch her toes. Today, we walked around the corner to see Abby reaching up and trying to put her bib on Emma in her high chair. Precious! They are going to be best buddies in no time.

17 months old

17 months old and loving it
lots of new words
lots of laughter
lots of running and climbing
lots of hugs and kisses
lots of learning
loving her babies
curious as ever
a joy to everyone she meets

our Abby Emmy crawling into the cradle with her baby and knowing exactly how cute and funny she is

From Grammy's camera...

These are some great ones from Grammy's camera:

Singing in the Rain

This morning, Joe and I were getting ready and like usual Abby was running in and out of our room playing all around the apartment. Then, I had that mommy realization that it had been quiet for a little too long, so I went to find out where our little girl had disappeared to. I checked her room. No Abby. The kitchen? Nope. The living room? Still no Abby! That's when I saw her.

My smart little daughter had opened the sliding door and let herself out onto the porch. The glass was only open about 4 inches, which means she used her stealth maneuvers to QUIETLY open the screen, slide through the small opening and being the seemingly high closure, Type A girl that she is even closed the screen behind her to complete the job. Here's the kicker: It was pouring outside! She has been itching to get out in the rain ever since her Daddy showered her in the hose last week and on another day sat at this very window and watched a thunderstorm with her. So, there she is in her icecream jammies dancing around in the rain and loving every minute of it!

Needless to say, Joe and I could barely stop laughing long enough to eventually get her inside. These are the precious moments that remind me how to enjoy the simple things in life. Next time it rains, I'm enjoying every carefree minute of it...bare feet and all! When was the last time you played in the rain?

Our trip to NJ, VA and DC

We started June with a trip to Virginia for a dear friend's wedding. On the way, we stopped at Grammy and G-diddy's in NJ for a visit and picked up Grammy to take her to VA with us.

Abby's favorite memories from this visit include (but are definitely not limited to):

playing in the Grammy's yard (especially with Greeley!)

exploring the fish pond

She couldn't understand why no one would let her get in with the fishies

playing in the hose with Daddy

drying off with Grammy

on the move. This girl's got places to go.

more exploring...

peek-a-boo with Uncle Bradley

having fun with Uncle Brad and Alex

After a night in NJ, we headed to VA to celebrate with my good friend Lauren as she got married to Daniel! Grammy and Abby spent the afternoon together while Joe and I went to the wedding. It was a beautiful day filled with lots of rejoicing! God is so good. The wedding was a beautiful reminder to me of God's faithfulness and amazing redemptive plan. And the details of the wedding were so creative and fun! I just had to take lots of pictures to share.

here she comes..

the place cards

dance floor and haystack seating

Which way to the reception?

the AMAZINGLY FUN photo booth with props (I'm totally stealing this idea for a future party!)

centerpiece

me and my date

the lovely bride and groom

love this girl.

Mr. and Mrs. Belen

check out her sandals under that gorgeous dress!

enjoying our Arnold Palmer's in mason jars

While at the wedding, Abby and Grammy had a blast together taking walks, reading books and playing in the sink.

favorite new hotel pastime

Before heading back to NJ for a night, we decided to drive 30 minutes to make a quick stop in D.C., so Abby could see a few sights for the first time. HA. Who are we kidding? We knew she wouldn't remember it, but it was a fun excuse to get a few pictures of her in front of some cool places and to spend time together in the nation's capital before hitting the road.

my little family

so thankful we got to spend some great quality time with Grammy

wondering if Sasha and Malia wanted to come out and play...maybe they can bring their puppy?


Some of Abby's other favorites not pictured include: playing chess with G-diddy, feeding Greeley all of her food, teasing Greeley with his toy chicken so he would chase her around the house, climbing the stairs at record speed, playing with all 10 remote controls, jumping on Grammy and G-diddy's bed, playing with Grammy's old dolls, playing the irish drum...no wonder this girl was exhausted on the way home!


What a great trip! Thanks Grammy for coming with us!