Bye Bye Crib

A few days before Christmas Abigail decided to surprise us and climb out of her crib one night. When I went in her room I practically tripped over her. She was sound asleep on the floor on a pile of blankets. I was in shock. I went and told Chris and we were both dumbfounded. We did not expect this and were not prepared. We didn't know what to do. I had a medical procedure that day and was under the weather and Christmas was in a couple of days so we decided to let her sleep with us for a few days until we figured out what to do. Chris' parents have a twin bed they are going to give us but its really high up and we didn't think she'd be quite ready for that. So we went and got her a toddler bed that fits her crib mattress. Perfect. I put it together all by myself and when we let her in to see it she absolutely loved her new bed and immediately climbed up in it, pulled the covers over her and said night-night. It was hilarious. At night I tell her to go get in her bed and she climbs right up in there and gets ready for bed. We put the crib in storage yesterday and I'm still kind of amazed. I really can't believe that my little girl is so big and independent. Here are some pics right after I put her bed together.

A Very Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. I'm sad to see it go but we made some great memories. This was Abby's second Christmas and it was fun to have her more involved with everything. During the week of Christmas her vocabulary increased dramatically and she was very entertaining. She could say just about anything you asked her to say and she repeated everything she heard. She's our little chatterbox. Christmas was spread out over 3 days for us which I love. On Christmas Eve day we celebrated with Chris' family at his parents house in Southlake. His aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandfather came in town from Louisiana and it's always so great to hang out with them. We only get to see them a few times a year. His cousin John Patrick is a marine and has been stationed in Iraq for some time now. He was home for a brief break and we were fortunate to see him. We haven't seen him in a couple of years now but we have been praying fervently for his safety. It was really interesting to hear his perspective from how things are going in Iraq. We are so grateful that people like him are passionate about our freedom and will do whatever it takes to preserve it. Christmas Eve day was very fun and Abby wore herself out. That night my parents watched Abby while Chris and I had a grownup dinner with his parents at the Mansion on Turtle Creek. I loved getting all dressed up and having a fancy dinner. It was a fantastic way to spend Christmas Eve. That night we continued our tradition of making a big pallet on the living room floor and Chris, Abby, and myself all slept together next to the Christmas tree. Then all of us slept in until 9:00 which was a great Christmas present. Here are pictures from our Christmas Eve at my in-laws:

Abby was so tired.



Her giant box of Elmo stuff.



Chris' side of the Family





Balancing Abby on the cow.



What a hansom group.



Our sweet little family.



Her first kiss from a Marine.



Abby loves her "Aunt" Tara.



We headed over to my parents on Christmas day and hung out over there all day. Some of my family wasn't able to come in town on Christmas Day so we celebrated my family's Christmas the day after Christmas. But on Christmas Day my brother and his wife and one of my sisters and her boyfriend all hung out with us at my parents house. It was so relaxing. We watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (a family tradition) and I spent a few hours playing the Wii. So the day after Christmas was my families celebration. We spent the whole day at my parents house and started opening presents that afternoon. Abby was completely thrown off her schedule this week and wasn't getting very good naps plus she had been staying up late. So she completely crashed on the couch right in the middle of everyone opening presents and somehow miraculously slept threw all the commotion. She did get to open a few before she conked out. One of my nephews got Wii Fit for Christmas so we hooked it up to my parents' Wii and played the rest of the day. I have to admit that game is awesome! There are so many cool things you can do and you really can get a great workout. For dinner we had fajitas and then we topped the evening off watching the Dark Knight on my Dad's new Blue Ray. It was a very late night and once again Abby's schedule was jostled around but she is such a trooper. We've spent the last couple of days getting back on our normal routine.

Multitasking at its finest. My Mom on her Blackberry.



For those of you who may not know, my brother played the character Michael on Barney & Friends for 7 years. He was one of the original cast members. They still play his episodes on PBS occasionally but none of his videos are on DVD yet. My Mom found a special reunion DVD that has some of my brothers shows on it so Abby can watch Uncle Brian sing and dance whenever she'd like.



We caught her trying to get into the wine fridge.



Kisses for Elmo. Her new Christmas present and new best friend.



Abby & Aunt Meagan. Their little girl is due in just a couple of weeks.



Uncle Brian trying to entice Abby to eat her vegetables.



She was saying "cheese".



Playing in her designated cabinet at Nana & Papa's house.



Abby and her cousins.



All the grandkids' stockings.



Such a Daddy's Girl.



My sister Kelly's precious family.



Not too tired to check out that stocking.



Sharing her sucker with Uncle Brad.



Playing with her new blocks.



Making a mess in Nana's pantry.



My sister Shelby rockin it on the Wii Fit.



Abby trying to take a turn playing Wii Fit.



Helping Papa grill fajitas.



Abby got a baby doll with a play stroller, bassinet, and car seat and she tried to fit herself into each piece.



My Mini-Me



Abby and her cousin Sarah.



Abby and her cousin James. He is so sweet with her.



Cuddling with Sarah.



The best part of Christmas was getting to spend time with the people we love most, our families. But the greatest blessing of all was spending another year celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Christmastime

Hello friends and family! It's the most wonderful time of the year and I hope you and yours are enjoying the season. Things have been very busy here in our home. I have had some health problems that have resulted in several medical procedures over the last couple of weeks and that has put me out of commission. But things are looking hopeful and I'm definitely getting relief.

Abby is such a busy little bee. I had the hardest time getting her Christmas card picture this year. I would absolutely love one day to have professional photos taken of her but right now we have our finances focused in other areas and that probably won't be a reality for a very long time. So in the mean time I do my best to be the photographer. She is constantly moving so that makes it really hard to get a good shot. She's kind of a diva and knows when I'm trying to get a good picture so she makes an extra effort to prevent that from happening. I tried on several different occasions to get a picture for our cards and here are some of the out-takes.

















My sweet friend Becky suggested that I post pics of our Christmas decorations and I think that's a great idea. I love seeing other people's decorations so I thought I'd share mine with you. Here is our beautiful tree. As you might notice there are only ornaments from about 3 feet and up. Abby is just too tempted.




And here is our mantle and fireplace. This nativity scene was given to me when I was a small child by my Godparents and each year they would give me a new piece to it.




Here is our kitchen table.



And finally, our house.



And the sweetest thing of all: