Abbi is 1!

Abbi is one today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBI!

 

I can't believe it's been a year ready. It seems like she's always been here but at the same time it feels like she was just born yesterday. I never thought I'd get so emotional at my kids birthdays but I totally do.

 

 

Here are some fun facts that I would like to remember about Abbi at one year old...

She walks all over the place.

She is very sweet and loving.

She loves to cuddle.

Has started pulling her own hair.

Has only two teeth.

Climbs on everything.

Says Mama, Dada, num nums, and I am pretty sure she is saying "stop" when she yells at the big kids.

Loves to pinch people.

Always yells for her daddy.

Kind of signs "more" and says num num when she wants more snacks.

Loves to pull hair.

Loves to give her babies hugs.

Gives great slobbery kisses.

Pats your back when she gives you hugs.

Love to eat.

Has a totally contagious smile.

Likes to try to shove her Passi in my mouth.

Okay in this one I am totally proud of. We're still nursing, we made it to one year! That feels like a huge accomplishment for me. I am so grateful that we were able to go this long. For about the last three months she is been getting one or two bottles of formula day but other than that she's been getting it all for me. So right now we are working on weaning but that's not going so hot considering she likes to nurse to go to sleep. I guess she will get it sooner or later because I most certainly am not going to be nursing a five-year-old!

We love you Abbers and are so grateful you are part of our family!

Early birthday presents: Abbi

A couple of weeks ago my mom called and said that she wanted to get the girls their birthday presents a little bit early so that they could still play with them outside of the weather was nice.

I had been looking for a used cozy coupe car for Abbi. I wanted to paint it up all cute like some that I have seen on different blogs and on pinterest, but I couldn't find one anywhere. So my mom decided that she was going to get her one. Abbi totally loves it! The one we have also has a little trailer with it that Abbi loves to sit in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Girlies Room

Today I totally neglected my housework and just worked on my girlies bedroom. You see up until today everything that was hanging on the wall was all Madie's stuff and considering my Abbi is going to be 1on Thursday I thought that it is probably about time I got to it. I have actually been gathering things for a couple months now but have just been to lazy to put it all together. Madie was also really excited about her room spruce up too. The entire day she kept saying "Oh thank you Mommy for making my bedroom bootiful again."

 

I got about halfway done and then realized I probably should have taken some before pics. Whoops!

 

Anyway I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

Abbi's bed. I made the quilt hanging over the rail. I always make my kids bedding. I love the feeling of knowing that my hands made the blanket that will keep them warm at night.

 

These squares have each of the girls names on them.

 

Each of the girls birth announcements.

 

 

The bookcase behind the bedroom door. My Step dad made our bookcase. I love it!

 

Madie's Bed. I need to make her a quilt for her bed yet. Notice how the one on her bed is still crib sized? I am going to take that one apart and make it into a twin sized. I had hoped to have  it ready for her birthday but seeing as her birthday is next Wednesday and I haven't even started it yet I think that I might aim for Christmas.

 

Above Madie's bed. Those photo strips are of each of the girls at just a couple weeks old. They have a picture of them holding my finger, me holding their feet, and then me and them up close. These are some of my favorite pictures of them. So sweet and tiny. 

 

This is the view from that hallway. I keep walking by and stopping to admire it. I totally love how it turned out.

Not ready for this

This morning while we were getting ready for church Madie lined up all of her stuffed animals on my bed and stood on the stool, she said that she was having church and that everyone had to sing. (She totally reminded me of the story that Ben's family always tells about one of his sisters playing primary at home). She insisted that we sang songs about horses and Jesus. Some of them included "I'm trying to be like Jesus and ride horseys" and "When Jesus was a little child he rode a horsey." I am not sure that she is doing a very good job learning in primary.

 

While Madie was having church Abbi found a step in our bathroom that goes up to our bathtub, she climbed right up and set up camp there for the rest of the morning.

 

 

 

When it was time to go to primary today Madie refused to sit, she kept running away from her class. I finally ended up having her teacher told her on her lap. I went to my own class and about five minutes into it her teacher came to get me and said that she refused to sit and she just wanted to run around and thought it was a huge fun game. Apparently when she told Madie that she was going to  get her mom if she didn't start behaving Madie said "okay let's go" took her hand and started for the door. Clearly my kids could care less if Mom is upset with them. I hate doing this because I know it totally undermines everything that I do but I told her that we could call daddy and tell him about how she was acting. She shaped right up and went to primary and was good the rest of the time.

 

After I got Madie settled back in with her primary class someone in the hallway asked if I could go help in the nursery. So Abbi and I went and helped out in the nursery. Abbi did awesome. I was shocked to see how well she was adjusted to it and didn't even care that I was playing with other kids. She even sat on a chair and ate her snack and didn't get off her chair. She was such a good little listener. As much as she might think that she's ready for nursery I sure am glad that I still have six months before she has to go to nursery.

My pleasure

This kid seriously cracks me up.

 

 

Today and Madie and I were at the table eating lunch.

She spilled a little bit on the table, she jumped up and got a towel and ran back cleaned up her mess.

I thanked her for cleaning up her mess and she said

 

"It's my pleasure Mommy."

 

Where do they come up with this stuff?

I sure love her!

 

Now if only they would take that attitude with everything that I asked them to do.

 

 

Waiting for the bus

Since Slade won't let me walk him down to the bus stop anymore I stand at the end of our driveway and watch him until he gets on the bus.

See the little black speck of all the way down at the end of the road that Slade, zoomed in. It seems so far away for my little six-year-old to walk all by himself. But really it's only four houses down.

 

While I wait for Slade to get picked up Abbi stands in our screen door banging on the door and yelling "MAMA" at me.

Totally love this little face.

 

Madie on the other hand doesn't even get out of bed. She lays on my bed watching cartoons, drinking chocolate milk. She is such a diva!

One year

Ben left for work on Friday.

Gone again for 2 weeks.

This trip marks one whole year of doing this job. When we started this job I never thought that I would survive the first two week interval much less a year.

 

I am sure that I am the only one that so vividly remembers that his first two week trip happened came along when I was 37 weeks pregnant and Slade had just started kindergarten. Between Ben, my Mom, Ben's Mom, Laura, Beth and Valerie I think my phone was constantly busy with people checking in on me, making sure that I wasn't having contractions, seeing if I needed anything from the store or if there was anything they could help with. I remember the first couple days Ben was gone walking Slade down to the bus stop. It took about two trips to the bus stop having to stop every little while to deal with the contraction (and having the farmer across the street stare at me like he had never seen a huge pregnant woman before) for me to decide that I better just drive Slade the 4 houses down to the bus stop. The second week I spent pretty much sitting on the couch on self induced bed rest doing only essential movements in an effort to keep her in. I was so scared that our sweet Abbi was going to come before Daddy got home. I am so happy he made it home in time to see her born!

 

So here I am now, a year later. With my great big first grader that won't let me walk him to the bus stop anymore. My forever growing almost 4 year old that seems more like a teenager everyday and my sweet baby who is walking around getting ready to turn 1 next week.

 

I feel like we/I have come so far in the past year.

 

This is the post I wrote the morning after my first night without him a year ago. I went back and read that tonight and I couldn't help but think about how far we have come since then.

 

So here are a few things that I have conquered or improved on in the past year...

(some are by shear determination and some are because I had no other choice)

• I can now sleep with windows open. (okay I still have to have a stick in them but this is progress people.)
• I can do some handy-woman projects around the house.
• I can now do one big grocery shopping trip, with all three kids - ALL BY MYSELF. I might be seriously contemplating taking up drinking by the time I am done and I might be sweating like a wild pig and I might have threatened to leave my kids at the store a couple times but i can do it and every moth gets a little easier.
• I can go to church with all three kids ALL BY MYSELF. Okay that sweating like a wild pig part may apply here too, so if you have had to sit by me at church I apologize.
• I CAN KILL MICE. Totally by necessity. No, not with my bare hands. Yes, I buy the spendy mousetraps that totally encloses the dead mouse. Yes, I still put a plastic bag over my hand to pick up an "occupied" mousetrap. Yes, Slade laughs at me and tells me that I am a sissy and I tell him the next one is his and he retracts his comments. --- Also our newly added feline friend that has taken up residence on our back deck is most certainly earning her keep. I don't know if she is killing mice but she is surely deterring them - I have not seen or caught one since she has been here.
• I can work with Slade's mom on scheduling things and can actually talk to her about events/issues/whatever that I need to for Slade (this includes attending parent/teacher conference - just her and I). See we can totally be grownups!
• I have learned to ask for help! This was a HUGE one for me. I AM TERRIBLE AT THIS! We have had a couple times when I really needed help and had to ask. One of these times happened just this week... Sunday morning I woke up with a horrible toothache, I figured I had slept with my teeth clenched or something and it was just sore. Monday when I woke up it was worse, I could barely eat and my whole right side of my face was throbbing. I called and was able to get into the dentist today. I had to ask for help with my kids. I made some calls and my sweet friend Annalee gladly took my girls so I could go to the dentist (she seriously was my angel today - I am so grateful for her). I got to the dentist and they told me that I needed a root canal and that the tooth was infected. I was able to get my tooth fixed all while knowing that my girls (Slade was at school) were happy and safe playing at a friends house.
• I have learned that I have some really amazing friends. So I pretty much already knew this but it has really manifested itself to me over this past year. My bestie Beth is always willing to go to lunch with me when I am at my breaking point and just need some grownup time, she is also always up for helping keep me busy on the day that Ben leaves (which is especially hard) and when all else fails she is always willing to say something completely inappropriate just to make me laugh. I have another amazing friend that is always looking out for my well being. When her kiddos were younger her husband also worked a job that took him out of town a lot. She has been awesome at knowing when I need a pick me up or just to talk, and she even brought me a blizzard tonight because she knew I had a rough day - LOVE HER! I have so many other people around me that are always willing to lend an ear or tell me I can do this.
• I seriously have some incredible in-laws! I knew this one before too but man are they great. They have gone out o their way to include me even though Ben is gone. They have helped me with the kids so that we could go on big family camp outs and float trips. They have come to my rescue to put my swamp cooler in when it is ridiculously hot in my house and Ben is gone. They have been ready and waiting for it to snow so they could come dig me out. THEY ARE AWESOME! I sure lucked out with them!
• I have gained a better relationship with my Father in Heaven. This job is hard. Don't get me wrong I am so grateful Ben has a job but this one is hard! If I had to do this without My Father in Heaven I never would have survived this last year

That is just a glimpse of what I have worked with in the past year. It is amazing to me what a person can do when they are determined to succeed.



 



Part of the club

On Sunday we realized that Slade had a tooth growing up behind his other teeth on the bottom. So first thing Monday morning I called and made him an appointment at the dentist.

I took him in this morning and the dentist said the baby tooth had to come out. Slade has been complaining that he was one of the only kids in first grade that hadn't lost a tooth yet so when the dentist told him that it had to come out he totally did a fist pump and said yes.

They numbed him up and pulled his tooth. I was a bigger baby about it then he was, I couldn't watch, but he was totally tough.

 

So now he has a missing tooth on the bottom and is super excited that the tooth fairy will be visiting our house tonight.

 

Not only is he super tough he is super kind also. Instead of getting two prizes for himself he got one for himself and one for Madie.

What a guy!

 

Welcome to the missing tooth club buddy.

12 Steps!

This little crazy is getting big WAY to fast!

 

ABBI TOOK 12 STEPS TODAY!

Without falling down, holding on to anything, or even that much wobbling.

We all clapped when she did it and she just looked at us like we had lost our minds or something.

 

 

She is also fascinated with trying to get things on her head.

Sunglasses, headbands, hats...

Here she is modeling Madie's bike helmet.

 

And here she is working on trying to get earmuffs from one of Madie's stuffed bears on. She is too stinking smart.

 

I can't believe she is going to be ONE in less than three weeks.

This past year has gone so fast.

Love you Abbers!

1st Grade

Someone started FIRST GRADE this week.

 

Before we went to the meet and greet on Tuesday he was so excited. After he met his teacher and put all of his supplies away he got pretty nervous. So nervous in fact that he barely touched his pancakes and sausages Wednesday morning (and if you know Slade you know he is serious abut his sausage).

He got his beginning of the school year blessing from Dad and that really calmed his nerves.

 

Slade's mom and little brother (the little guy in the mickey jammies) came to see him get on the bus with us. By the time he got on the bus he was back to being excited and was barely willing to take the time to give us hugs before he ran to the bus.

 

I had every intention to go meet him at the bus stop at the end of the day however he got home 15 minutes earlier than he did last year so just as I was packing Madie and Abbi up to walk down to the bus stop he was walking in the door.

 

He said that he had a great day and that his teacher was so nice. He was also very proud of himself for not getting in trouble.

 

Good luck this year Buddy!