Home for the Holidays

We are leaving today for Utah and I am so excited! I am in need of a major mom break right now, so it's perfect timing. I told my mom I was taking full advantage of her babysitting abilities so that I can have some free time - YAY!! I am very exctied to be with all of our family for Christmas, I love going home for Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone!

Family Pictures and Photoshop Love

We recently had family pictures taken and I am really happy with the way they turned out. Abbey was the biggest stinker ever, she just cried and cried every time we tried to hold her for a group shot. Luckily our great photographer was able to get a few good family shots and some really good individual shots. Thanks Kim - you are great! I have been playing with them in photoshop the last week and I am totally in love with photoshop! What an amazing program! Here are some photos that I have spiced up a bit in photoshop!

I even made our Christmas cards - nice huh

Halloween was alot of fun this year! It was Abbey's first year trick-or-treating and she was so funny to watch. She wasn't quite sure what we were doing and why she was getting candy. She kinda had a terrified look on her face the whole night, but she was all smiles when we got home and dumped out the candy. Ela just stayed bundled up and asleep in her stroller. Thanks again mom for making Ela's costume...she's the cutest lamb ever! My little butterfly and lambie!
This is so Ela. She always has a wide-eyed stare. What a cutie!

Doesn't she look like she's having such a great time? I think she had fun, eventhough I didn't get one picture of her smiling.

Dad's Fashion

Yesterday was sort of a long day for me and I didn't really feel like doing much of anything. Eric got home around 5:30 and all three of us girls were still in our pajamas. Sad, I know! Abbey really wanted to play outside but she had on the pj's that have feet in them and her shoes won't fit over those. Eric took her upstairs to get some clothes on and this is what he came up with...Okay, I agree that purple and green are cute together, but this is just not working for me. (As you can see, it wasn't really working for Abbey either.) It's a good thing that Abbey is so cute, she can pull off anything, right?

Cincinnati

Eric and I took the girls to Cincinnati for a night and it was so much fun! We have been wanting to go to Jungle Jim's ever since we saw a VH-1 special on TV. Jungle Jim's is this enormous supermarket that has everything you could ever imagine, it was a little overwhelming. Abbey absolutely loved it because there are a ton of random displays on every aisle. She loved the very large swinging can of Campbell's Tomato Soup and she loved the large plastic display of the Trix rabbit, the Lucky Charm leprechan and the bee from Honey-Nut Cheerios. They were moving around and singing songs, so she was dancing along with them. I would have taken pictures of all of this but they don't allow photography in the store (weird huh?) We were able to get a few pictures outside of the store. There was a pond with some ducks and random plastic animals that Abbey found fascinating. Back at the hotel, Eric and Abbey went swimming while Ela and I watched from the side. It didn't last very long because the water was a little chilly. Saturday morning we got up and went to the Newport Aquarium. The area around the aquarium was alot of fun. It is right along the river and there are tons of stores and a mall. The aquarium was great but a little too pricey. Abbey did great, but she didn't really enjoy it all that much. It was hard for her to see the animals unless they were moving. Her favorite part was climbing on the frogs and pushing buttons to make them "ribbit." I thought for sure Abbey would sleep on the way home because she stayed up so late the night before, but she didn't fall asleep until the last 15 minutes (doesn't it always work this way?) She found one interesting way of entertaining herself ... sucking on her big toe! It was SO funny. She would suck on her toe for a minute then pull it out and laugh. I have no idea where she learned this neat trick, but it was sure cute.

My Little Girls

Accident Prone

I have a very accident prone child and I am hoping this is something she grows out of, or at least hoping that she learns how to put her hands down! Abbey thinks she is a big girl and that she can walk down stairs all by herself. She tried to do this on the steps going out our back door, and she didn't quite make it. Instead she went face first and skidded her nose along the dryer vent that was sticking out from the building. I am glad she hit the vent and not the cement step, but it still left a pretty good mark! Right after it happened.
The next day.
3 days after.
Okay, so she skinned her nose on Sunday and now it's Friday and her nose is almost completely healed. We were supposed to go get pictures at the mall with both the girls (while my parents are still in town to help me) but apparently Abbey didn't really want to go. She was sitting in our laundry basket playing with her dolls and leaned forward and face planted it into the ground. You would think she would be able to get her hands out in front of her, but she didn't. Her front teeth left a pretty good mark on the inside of her lip which immediately started to swell. She is really getting beat up this week, but at least she is still smiling!

Ela's Blessing

We were able to have Ela's Blessing while both my parents and Eric's parents were in town. Since Ela is only 2 weeks old we decided to have it at our house and invite some close friends over. Eric did such a great job, I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband! It was a great day! Ela was a little angel. One of my in-laws good friends made Ela's blessing dress and it looked so pretty on her.

Eric's parents.
My parents.
We couldn't really get Abbey to hold still long enough for a good picture, so she is MIA.

My Little Girls

Abbey got to hold Ela this morning and she loved it! She is so good with her, I love watching Abbey with her. When Eric tried to take Ela back, Abbey started crying and holding on to her, it was really cute. We had to bribe Abbey with milk to get her to let Ela go. I am so blessed to have two beautiful little girls in my life!!!

Our New Little Girl

She is finally here!! This is little Ela Kae weighing in at 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long. She is absolutely perfect! I was a little nervous for the labor and delivery because I was induced, but everything went great! I came in bright and early at 6 am and by noon I was ready to go, however, my doctor was stuck in surgery so I had to wait about 2 1/2 hours until she could come. By the time she got there, Ela was ready - I only had to push once! I couldn't have asked for a better delivery.

This is exactly how I feel!!!
This is my doctor - she delivered both Abbey and Ela. She is so great! She always takes time to involve Abbey when she sees her. Abbey is doing really well with Ela, we had taught her that my belly was Ela, and now she will point at Ela and say her name, so I think she might understand a little bit. I feel so blessed to have two beautiful little girls!

OK Baby

Abbey's new thing lately is to answer us by saying ok baby. It is so darn cute!!! The other night we were eating dinner and she came up to Eric trying to say something. He kinda gave me a puzzled look and I said I think she wants a bite of your sandwich. Eric said "Abbey, do you want a bite?" Abbey's reply, "OK baby." It took us by surprise and we both burst out laughing. Ever since then, that is her anwser for everything. The next morning when Abbey woke up she was calling for "mommy" and Eric went in and said, "Is it ok if daddy gets you?" Abbey, "OK baby."

Now she even answers her own questions with ok baby. She will come and ask me for something then say ok baby and take off into the kitchen, waiting for me to follow. I love it! It cracks me up everytime. She is growing up so fast and learning things so quickly it amazes me. I can't wait to see how great of a big sister she is going to be - only one more day!!!

Too far behind...

So I let myself get really far behind in blogging, and now I have completely run out of time. I know if I don't post anything today ... it won't get done!! Our new baby girl will be here tomorrow (YEAH!!) so I wanted to post a few things of Abbey. My sister and her two boys were able to come visit us in Ohio for a week, and we had an absolute blast!! They actually flew back with me from Utah, which was awesome because they helped me keep Abbey entertained. This is Abbey's cousins, Kaden and Dallin. She loved playing with them and they were so cute together. She really had a hard week once they left (so did I!)
We were able to go to the splash park one day with Dallin. Eric and Kaden ended up going to the big water park this day to ride all the big rides. Abbey loves this splash park and had alot of fun with Dallin there.
The boys were able to make it to the zoo for a half a day, and had so much fun. Abbey was napping, so we ended up meeting them there to go to Zoombezi Bay.
This is Abbey at Zoombezi Bay. She loves the water and for some reason loves the water even more with the life jacket on. It doesn't really keep her floating because she is still to little to really fit in it, but she would cry everytime I took it off of her. I think maybe it helped keep her warm. We were able to go to Zoombezi Bay several times with the boys, and we all had alot of fun!
Thanks so much for coming and seeing us in Ohio - we miss you!!!

Why I love visiting Utah...

I have been pretty lucky while we have lived in Ohio because I have had the chance to go home to Utah about 3 times a year. I love going home to visit, and it is always really hard to come back to Ohio. Here are just a few reasons why I love visiting...

1-THE FOOD!!! Every Sunday my parents have everyone over for dinner and it is one of my favorite times. My dad always goes way overborad on the food, you would think we were feeding the whole neighborhood! We all love it so that is why he does it. We always have a fresh green salad, TONS of fresh fruit (my favorite!), and then alot of random other things for dinner. This time dinner was: lettuce wraps, chicken enchiladas, chili rellenos, and corn on the cob. Then of course there is dessert which is usually cake/pie and ice cream. This time we had banana cream pie and a fresh stawberry pie - I of course had a piece of both! It's hard to fit it all in and we all usually end up sick at the end of the night. Thanks mom and dad for all the food!! I really appreciate all the hard work you put into Sunday dinners! 2 - My Friends! I love getting together with my friends when I come home. I am not very good at keeping in touch with everyone, so it's nice to get together every 6 months or so and catch up. I was able to see a few of my friends from my old job at the Ogden Clinic as well as a few of my best friends from growing up. The picture below is 3 of my closest friends: Lainie, Vanessa, and Candace. I love you girls!
3 - And of course...FAMILY! I am so blessed to have the great family that I have, both my family and my in-laws. Eric and I really appreciate everything that they do for us! It is so fun to bring Abbey home and let everyone just love her to pieces. She gets so much love and attention from everyone and she really enjoys it! Thanks for a great trip to Utah - we love you all!!!

UTAH

Our Utah trip this summer was alot of fun. I'm sure Abbey wouldn't completely agree with that statement, but Eric and I really enjoyed ourselves. The plane trip there was a little rocky because Abbey would not sleep (and it was way past her bedtime!) but we survived, and it was a relief to finally make it there. We spent the first week with Eric's parents and Abbey loved to play with their dog Josie. She picked up on her name really quick and would walk around the house calling for "Sosee." She must have thought the dog followed us because she would even walk around my parents house calling for her. Josie didn't really like Abbey and would snip at her, but Abbey stilled tried to give her loves.

Eric had to be back in Ohio the next week, so Abbey and I went to stay with my parents for a week. Abbey had a pretty rough week. She had a fever and just wasn't herself. I think she was a little overwhelmed with all the new things we were doing, and she missed her daddy (as did I!!!) We had a lot of sleepless nights and days in Utah, but it was well worth the fun!

We went to Classic waterslides with my sister and her two boys and my dad while we were in Utah. Eric and I really like this place, eventhough it is completely ghetto! I wasn't able to go on any of the waterslides because I am prego, but Eric took Abbey a few times and she loved it! The water was freezing cold, so we didn't end up staying very long.

Abbey loved playing with her cousins, Kaden and Dallin. They were really cute with her and kept me updated on everything she was doing. She loved taking their hats and putting them on, the boys thought this was pretty funny.

Grandpa bought a PS2 and Rockband while we were there, and it ended up being a big hit!! I was singing along to one of the songs and Abbey grabbed the microphone from me and started yelling into it. It was so funny! She had us all rolling on the ground laughing.

Popsicalicious!

I made Abbey-size popsicles with some leftover smoothie Eric and I had, and Abbey absolutely loves it!!! I don't even have to feel guilty about giving her more than one a day because it is just fruit, juice, and a little bit of milk. I love when I find new snacks she likes!

That bite might have been a little cold...
Look at that face - I love it!

GOING PRIVATE!!!

I am going private with my blog. I had some random older guy post a comment on a post about Abbey and I am not really into that - so I am going private very soon! If you would like an invite please send me an e-mail at leesagabe@hotmail.com. Thanks!!!

Hats...

Abbey loves to wear hats!!! Whenever she sees one of her many hats around she will pick it up and bring it to me and say "uh, uh, uh" until I put it on her head. My favorite one is the Ohio State surgery cap, she loves this one! I'm not sure why we even have it, or how it ended up with Abbey's things, but she sure looks cute in it!