long time, no see!

Hey ya'll! whew, it's been almost a whole year since I've been on the blog! Even just looking at my last publish of my sweet girl at TEN MONTHS makes me so teary! Brings a whole new meaning to the saying, "time flies, when you're having fun!" So, hopefully I'll try to get back into full swing with blogging!
Here's the scoop these days--we have certainly had one heck of a year, that's for sure! Lots of ups and downs, but mostly just loving our girl and trying to make the most out of each day we are given! Everyone already knows, but we are also expecting again! God knew our family only has room for one Princess at the moment so he has blessed us with a little man! We are grateful for our children and can't wait for Braxton to come into this crazy, beautiful world! He is due June 30th and it just can't come soon enough for this Mama! We haven't officially given him a middle name yet, but he will most likely be named after his Daddy which will be Braxton Matthew. Everything is going great so far and he sure is growing like a weed!

Miss Abby Kate is still our dainty little girl but getting bigger by the minute! She is so smart, and very outgoing! There is never a dull moment with her! She keeps us on our toes! She's learning so many new things! She can count to 5 (with help) but hey, it's a start! She skips 1 when we say it and moves on to 2 but that's okay with us! She loves kitties, puppies, moo cows, Elmo, reading, and she has to feed herself! Sometimes I think she's a little too big for her britches!

Justin and I are heading to Cookeville, TN for the night while Abby is spending the night with MiMi and PawPaw! Justin has an important meeting tomorrow with the guy over the wildlife/fisheries department at Tennessee Tech University, which will determine what our future holds (at least for the next few years) We are also going to spend the rest of the day exploring the town! I honestly hope we either love it or hate it so there is no in-between factors on deciding if he will be applying! If so, we are looking to move there this summer (after Braxton arrives) so he can start in the fall! Possible big changes to come! Fingers crossed and prayers needed and appreciated!

Stay tuned, it's Easter weekend so there will be tons of Abby cuteness to share! This post doesn't even put a dent in all the things that have happened within the last year but I'm thinking instead of back tracking, I'll just move forward and start fresh! Feels good to be back!

10 months

I feel like I am always saying this BUT--- where does the time go? Seriously. Am I really saying my sweet, Honey Girl is 10 months old today! Am I really saying that in 2, very short, months, my sweet, Honey Girl will be one, I mean, 12 months old!! ((I honestly haven't accepted the fact that she is getting older and getting very close to hitting that number we aren't speaking of right now!!))

In the past month you have::

• started walking with your push around toys! This was a huge step and this Mama sure is proud! Girlfriend, you pretty much run holding on for dear life!
• learned to "Patty Cake" and clap your hands like its going out of style! All you need to hear is the first two words and you are clapping away, rolling it up and throwing it in a pan!! ;) ...cutest thing ever.
• started napping in your crib. We normally let you nap in the swing downstairs but since you are just fine napping wherever, we go ahead and put you in your crib! Your naps are still short but you take at least 2 a day. (early morning and afternoon)

Dada & Mama are so blessed to call you ours. We can't even imagine life without you. You're  beautiful, every little piece love. (-taylor swift)

*see my two little teefies?!

Sunshine

it's Springtime, baby.

8 months

my goodness.

today, you are 8 months old and I can't even begin to tell you how much we have enjoyed every second! In the past month:

• we have started eating a lot more and so many new foods. Your favorite fruit is still bananas but you love pears, apples, and peaches too. You eat carrots and sweet potatoes like they are goin' out of style. Green beans and peas are on the low end but you do eat them at least! 
• you love to try to feed yourself. It's so cute. You'll be sucking on your spoon one second then all of a sudden, the next thing we know, its in the floor! 
• you still could care less about sitting up on your own. You do sit up, but not for long. You seem to find it so much easier to roll around to get where you wanna go. Quite amusing. 
• girlfriend, you are soooo close to crawling though! You still have that "scoot" goin' on but that's good enough for us! You'll figure it out!
• Although, you aren't pulling yourself up yet, you do love the help from Dada & Mama to pull you up (you try so hard) so you can stand. It's too funny to see you standing like a big girl.
• Mama is sad that you still haven't said "Mama" yet. It will come soon though. I believe in you honey girl. 
• you are so smiley these days! we can just glance over at you and you'll let out a little chuckle and flash the biggest grin at us. We love it. Melts your Dada and Mama's hearts. 
• speaking of chuckling. you, my girl, do a bit of mimicking. Which is precious as all get out. You babble, and cluck your tongue right back at us when we cluck at you!! You think it's hilarious! You laugh is so sweet.
• when do you plan on saying Mama? No rush, I'm just wondering...
• you live up to your last name. Sleeping is just part of you. You don't miss out on it. As long as you have Violet sleeping with you, it's sweet dreams all night long. A normal night is going down before 9pm and waking up between 7-8am.

You are growing up so fast and changing a little bit everyday. You are pure perfection. We are so proud of the little sassy britches you are!!

meet Violet, friends. Heaven sent.

Happy 8 months, sweet girl.

Sweetheart

our Sweetheart's very 1st Valentine's Day. Isn't she beautiful?


she is the light to our day. Mama & Dada's sweet, sweet Valentine.

and every ounce of her is nothing but pure perfection. Thank you God.

she thinks so too---she is so proud of herself for standing so big! We love you Abby Kate! Thank you for being our Sweetheart!!!

Happy Valentine's Day 2011

this is Abby's "day before Valetinte's Day outfit" since she has more than one!


I love this outfit on her & she's wearing a matching bow that I made her! So adorable!


the cutest VDay craft ever! We painted the frame white and used finger paint to do Abby's hand-prints! (one is red & one is pink) To: Dada....made with love from: Abigail & Mama


and he insisted that it be put right beside his chair on the coffee table so he could always look at it! :)

Our big girl...bittersweet

lalalala Elmo's Song

I know you're smiling

look at me!

we're working on it. good night friends.

7 months

OH! I know! We are as shocked as you are! Girlfriend, you are just too big for your britches! (literally, just this week alone, we've had to put away 2 pairs of your blue jeans!)

Here's what you've been up to this past month::

• you officially said your first word-- DADA! and your Dada sure was on cloud 9 that day! He was definitely proud of you baby girl! (no pressure, Honey, but when are you gonna say MAMA?!!!!
• you have improved a lot more in sitting up. Although, you still have not yet reached full control over it, you are coming around.
• you are on the verge of crawling! You mainly low crawl and roll around right now but we think it's only a matter of time and you'll be all over the place!
• you have gotten so much better at eating! we still offer you sweet potatoes, peas, bananas and pears and you go in head first! You still like to grab the spoon and 'attempt' to feed yourself! (we are learning) You also like the Gerber strawberry apple puffs!
• You are still sleeping with Mama by the end of the night but you do great at naptime and falling asleep in your crib at night time! You typically go about 5 hours in your crib alone before you realize we aren't there and then you wanna come snuggle with Mama!
• you are officially in all 6 months clothing! You could only wear certain brands that ran small in 6 months last month but I guess over the holidays, you ate too much too ;) last check up, (12.20.2010) you weighed 13lbs 4oz and 23 1/2 inches long!
• you can also stand for about .5 seconds while you play with your musical table! ha. seeeee...

Happy 7 months sweet girl! You are right on track with everything and we are so proud of you and your beautiful little personality!

Easy Peasy

I recently read and learned about how to use freezer paper as a stencil for painting fabric. Very cool and easy technique!

After reading and being very interested in the post, I remembered the 5 pack of Gerber onesies I have stashed in Abby's closet just waiting to be worn! So, I darted upstairs, grabbed the onesies and sent Justin to Kmart for some freezer paper and fabric paint! (little did I know, Kmart doesn't have fabric paint) Long story short, I had to wait till the next day to run to Michael's to pick some up! Then I was able to start on my crafty project!



here are the items you need:: stencils, freezer paper, exacto knife, tape, fabric paint, paint brushes, and an iron. You may print your stencil's or do as I did and trace them (on the DULL side)



Using my exacto knife, I cut out my letters. Remember you are creating a stencil so don't forget to leave paper around the edges. Then, I ironed my stencil onto my onesie. (shiny side down)



I then painted over my stencil, being sure to cover it well. (you may need more than one coat) I would also recommend buying the 'matte' finish. I accidently grabbed 'pearl' orange and it ended up having glitter in it. (oh well, looks great anyway)



Try to go back to elementary school and remember how you learned to 'color inside the lines' of your stencil. I read this in the tutorial and I STILL ended up getting carried away and painted on the outside fabric. (only a little but I can tell, so it annoys me, ha.)



I'm a little dare devil and went with some polka dots on my stencils too! ;)



I let it dry overnight (although it really only takes a few hours, depending on how many coats you used) but since I started this pretty late, I decided I'd finish in the morning.



Carefully peel off the freezer paper and be proud of yourself (cause I sure was!) I am already trying to think of another stencil to make that can be more challenging next time!



Put a cloth over your onesie and iron over the finish to 'seal' it. Viola! How cute is this onesie!





Then, I threw the girl in some super cute hot pink legwarmers and her hot pink kufi knit hat with a green bow! Although my sweet 7 month old was feeling under the weather today, she modeled this onesie like she was a VS model on the runway!

Half Way Point

Abby Kate, today is your half year mark!
First, let Mama start by saying, "WOW! I seriously can't believe it has been 6 whole months since your sweet baby body came into this world."

You are growing so quickly. I would be sad, but no matter how big you grow, you will always be our little girl.

In six months, I have learned so much about motherhood, and I still have so much more to learn. My heart has filled with more love than I ever imagined possible and is continuing with overflow by each and every second! Abigail, you keep your Daddy and I going. We have so much to live for, because of you. You give us light in each day and the strength to withstand anything that comes our way.  

In the past month you have::

• shown us how driven you are and can pretty much sit up on your own. (you still need us there for you incase you topple over but you are doing so well)
• started eating solids! Peas aren't at the top of your faves list and sweet potatoes aren't far behind the peas BUT you are okay with bananas and you love pears! (incase anyone is wondering, I have decided for a healthy, happy start, and I am making Abby's baby food myself. So easy and so much easier on your wallet! I would recommend this for any parent!) Here is the cookbook I have been using. Cooking for Baby The foods are grouped by age and goes up to 18 months!
• been "babbling" a lot more! It's mostly a lot of screaming and laughs because you love to hear your own voice! (almost as much as we love hearing it , too) Daddy will tell you all day long he thinks you have said Dada already, but Mama isn't believing him till she hears it herself! ;) ha.
• improved your gross motor skills! You go to town in your jumper! It's the funniest thing! You love it! You are also scooting around a little at a time! Before we know it, you will be crawling sweet girl! 
• shown us how on track you are with your fine motor skills! You can grab anything in sight and you know exactly the distance it is between that object and your mouth! Everything still goes to your mouth first thing and you have made it clear to us that, that isn't stopping anytime soon! You can hold your own spoon and even put it up to your mouth! (you may get more on your face and hands than into your mouth but hey! it's improving and we are proud!
• started to recognize when your Mama and Dada are in the room and when we leave. (what can we say? you love us!) you get really sad and cry when we leave the room. You watch us the entire time and as soon as we disappear, you stick that juicy little bottom lip out!
• (this one is just for kicks) but... you have traded in your diamonds for pearls! We lost one of your diamond earrings a few days ago and with hopes of finding it, we decided to go with pearls this time! They are so adorable and Mommy has a matching pair! :)

 As fast as these first six months have gone, we are enjoying every minute of it. We are blessed to have you as our little girl miss Abby Kate. You are beautiful inside and out.

May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Secret Santa Party

at the Minkler Twins house! Look at all the babiessssss :)

Abby Kate & Cora Beth sitting up like BIG GIRLS, playing together! The sweetest thing ever.

my girl 'Just Chillin' and her many faces! gotta love it!

To Miss Abby...Love Miss Ava (opening her secret santa gift) Thank you! We love the cute little outfit! & as you can see, Abby also really loved the wrapping paper! 

Abby & JR love each other! They kept us laughing for sure!

See? ...ABBY! Get off JR!! You two are way to young for that!!

Best Friends

Forever

here's one last picture for the road...I just think it's so precious of the twins! Maddie and JR :)

We had a wonderful time at the Secret Santa Party and as always, we love hanging out with our friends! 

Santa, Reindeer & a Candy Cane

Today Mama & Dada took Abby the little Elf...

...to see Santa for the first time! She did so good sitting in his lap while he read her good girl wish list...

...and enjoyed pulling at that long white stuff! ;)

She even rode a reindeer or two while we were in Winter Wonderland! (doesn't she look so adorable in those cute little legwarmers that her Mama made for her!?)

Then came home to enjoy her very first taste of Candy Cane that Santa gave her! And, oh did she love it! Very much so!

and here's two last photos I took off my cell phone so excuse the quality! Abby & her Dada...AKA...Mama's entire world. I love them both so much!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! I hope everyone else is enjoying this season as much as we are!