15 Months

I can't believe our baby is 15 MONTHS old! What?!?! When did that happen? I was just telling Drew last night that I'm starting to forget her as a baby. We have tons of pictures and some videos but I'm having a hard time remembering specific events if we don't have them on video. It's making me all sad! My baby is growing up! 

I'm loving where we are at though. Abbigail learns a new word or two every day! Seriously, I think she will be talking in full sentences by next week! ;) 

I decided to video her talking to me because well, like I said, without a video I forget things pretty easily and she sounds so darn cute when she talks! Enjoy! 

(Also, I recorded this on the iPad, so the quality isn't the greatest. I hope you'll forgive me.)

... and some more just because she is so dang cute! 

14 Months.

      Dear Abbigail Anne, 

I can't believe you are growing up so fast! Today you are officially 14 months old! It has been 2 whole months since you went and turned one on me. As much as I didn't want it to happen, I'm glad it did. Watching you grow up brings me so much joy and happiness! You have so much personality and it brightens my whole day, everyday!

+ You love to dance, "jump", play outside and climb on just about everything! (And by jump, I mean squat down, wait for us to count to 3, then stand up tall with your arms in the air! You never actually leave the ground, but you're pretty proud of yourself!) 

+ Your favorite foods are applesauce and hot dogs (nutrious right?) 

+ You're learning new words everyday! I love that you are able to tell us what you want (or don't want)

+ Currently, you have 8 teeth. I thought your fourth molar popped through.. But it was just teasing us. Hopefully soon! Teething stinks!  

+ In the mornings we watch Dora the Explorer and Bupple Guppies! Those are your favorites! 

+ Bathtime is still a favorite activity. Although now you think it's fun to stand up and dance or run in the bathtub. {It's caused a lot of unnecessary Owwies}

+ You sleep awesome during the night and your morning. But lately an afternoon nap is kind of hit and miss! I would like you to take two naps a day until your 5, but you've kinda decided one will do. (We're still "discussing" it)

+ You have the cutest voice and the cutest giggle! It's hard not to laugh when you are giggling. Thanks for that! 

+ You know where your nose is and where your belly button is and you are quickly learning all of your other body parts! You're a smarty! 

+Tantrums are becoming your specialty! It makes grocery shopping and church a lot more exciting! 

Thanks for being our sassy, silly princess! I can't imagine my days without you! You're my favorite little toddler {even if you did pee on my couch today!}

Love you Abbi Girl! 

XOXO,

               Mama

Bye Bye...

Bottles!

One week ago today, Abbi had a sip of her last bottle, then threw it across the room. (telling us, she didn't want it.) We have officially been bottle/formula free for a whole week! The process of weaning has always been a very intimidating thought for me. I've heard how hard it can be for babies to be done nursing or bottle feeding. Surprisingly, it was the opposite. 

Abbi pretty much weaned herself. Since about 9 or 10 months old, she really lost interest in her bottle. I would make her a full 6oz and she would eat 3oz maybe 4oz and refuse to drink anymore.  I was pretty concerned. I worried she wasn't getting enough food! {which I have worried about since she was born, nursing was SUPER stressful for me!} I talked to her doctor and he said just to keep offering her the bottle. So I did. 

About 2 weeks before her first birthday, we went from giving her 4 bottles a day to 2. One bottle right when she woke up in the morning and one bottle right before bed. She did awesome! My worry was she would start waking up in the night because she was hungry. But she didn't! (Seriously, we have an awesome baby!) At her 12 month check up, our pediatrician told us she didn't need the formula, but if we had some left we could use it up or give it away. We decided to use it up. We didn't give her consistent bottles. Usually one in the morning and maybe one at night, but we didn't stress about it. She was doing so good! 

On our long trip to Oregon, she was having a hard time falling asleep in her pack n play. She cried and cried and we finally decided to try giving her a bottle. She tasted it and then wanted nothing to do with it! So we gave her some water and she guzzled it down. After a full day of not having a bottle, she still didn't care for it! That was her last bottle. At the coast, our cute 6 month old niece had bottles around the house... Abbi wasn't even tempted! 

So that's that. Our sweet girl no longer needs bottles. She's grown up! She eats the same food we do! It still blows my mind. I don't have a baby anymore, I have a toddler. 

Next up... the pacifier!  

goodbye.

I hate goodbyes! 

Drew met Jordan on their mission and they instantly became good friends. Fast forward a few years, the boys came home, found smoking hot wives ;) and had some pretty cute babes too. Since we were all living in Rexburg going to school, we became pretty great friends. We sure love the McMurtrey family! Now that we have all grown up and graduated, we have to move on with life (tear). Drew and I moved down to Inkom and Kelsey and Jordan are moving to Kentucky. We are sure going to miss them and their cute boys! ( no but seriously, I love their boys like they were my own!) Thanks for all the good times guys! You'll do great in Kentucky!

* Prepare yourselves far a MAJOR picture overload! Kelsey, feel free to steal any of these! *

We love you guys! 

Graduation!

I can't believe the day finally came! I never thought I would actually finish. I had so many thoughts of "I can't do this", "do I really need a degree", "I just want to be a mom". Seriously, my college career felt like a lifetime! But the day finally came! Drew and I were able to graduate together! That was so fun! During the commencement, it was mentioned that there were 67 couples graduating together. It's fun to think that we were one of those couples! 

Our families came into town and it was such a fun time (we don't get to see them enough!) We had dinners at Garcia's in Idaho Falls (Sorry Nicole! Wish you guys could have been there). I was so happy to see all of my family! Mine and Drew's parents get along so well, it's always a party! 

It's weird to think I have no more school, no more homework, tests, study sessions etc...

 I'm looking for a new hobby. Any Suggestions??

6 Months.

First of all, I can't believe I am the mother of a 6 month old. That's half way to a year! I've said this before, but time really is passing too quickly. At 6 months:
-Abbi weighs 13lbs 6oz and is 24.75 inches long. She is pretty petite (8th percentile), but her head is in the 50th percentile. She's a smarty! -Abbi has started scooting, sitting up, and is really, really close to crawling. Seriously, it's freaking me out! Time to baby proof EVERYTHING! -Officially has one tooth that has popped through, but we are fairly certain a couple more are not far behind. Thank you Tylenol!   -She is eating solids morning and night with bottles throughout the rest of the day. I've bought some little snacks, but she isn't a huge fan. The only snack she will eat are the Gerber biscuit/cookie things. She loves those! Me, not so much. FYI, they are SUPER hard to clean up!  -She is loving bath time! When she was first born, there was nothing worse than bath time. Now, if she is fussy we throw her in the bath and all is good in the world.  -She has kind of made her own sleeping schedule. Her naps during the day are pretty regular. One nap from 9-11 and another one from 1-3. After that we try and keep her up until bed time. (that's usually between 7 and 8). Usually, she wakes up once during the night for a quick bottle, then she is back to sleep. But last night she went 11 hours straight!  -She knows who strangers are. If Mom or Dad is holding her, she is a very social girl, but if we hand her off to someone she doesn't know she starts crying. (makes me feel needed :)
We honestly feel so blessed to have Abbigail in our lives. She is a very happy and playful baby. It melts my heart to see her laughing and playing with dad. She is so full of personality already. I can't wait to see what her future holds. 

Because it's fun...

Because sometimes when it is freezing cold outside (i'm talking negative temperatures), snowing and and all of your other toys are suddenly boring to you, toes are the only thing that will keep you entertained. Because toes are fun. {period}

Everything.

Everything about this girl makes my heart melt. I can't believe how big she is getting. 

{Time please slow down!}