Family Pictures

After months of failed attempts to coordinate our busy schedules, my friend referred us to Portrait Innovations for our family pictures. We were very impressed by the results and happy about the price. We weren't sure how Abigail would respond, but the pictures below prove she did awesome. Plus, the skills and friendliness of our photographer was a huge help!

We thought this picture was awesome at representing Abigail at age two -- in love with Mickey and Minnie and wearing cute pig tails.

Here is Abigail in her Easter dress from Grandma Merrill.

Due to the cuteness of both dresses, Grandma Merrill let us get two Easter dresses. Here is the second dress.

Since Abigail was still happy, I even got some pictures in her Christmas dress from Grandma Amy.

April in a Flash

As with March, April slipped right by.... Funny story - as I finished up posting about March last night and talked about how Abigail doesn't want to potty train right now, she randomly started stripping down and insisted she had to go potty. John and I were pleasantly surprised. Maybe she is interested again.

Unfortunately, we are finishing up April with a sick Abigail and Daddy. What started out as red and goopy eyes has turned into two trips to urgent care and double ear infections. Plus, it appears that Abigail got some bug bites in some uncomfortable spots. Sadly, she even asked to go to the doctor for it -- at which we got advice for those and antibiotics for her snotty nose and ear infections. So...she was awake this morning, but fell asleep on the couch watching Mickey Mouse. poor girl!! She is sleeping better now, though. Last night I went to leave her in bed and she took my hand inhers. I couldn't leave then - so I stayed by her until she fell asleep a few minutes later - a precious moment I couldn't pass up.

For Family Night early in the month we planted a garden. Grandma Merrill gave us some pots she wasn't using anymore. We have had fun watching their progress.

Abigail was eager to help.

Here's is what they were looking like a few days ago. The poor watermelon is still struggling, but he's still alive.

We have been talking to Abigail about the "baby strawberries" and how we will get to eat them when they are bigger. She was very excited when we found two that were ripe enough to eat.

Plus, our tree is finally growing. We think it has grown more in this past year than it did the first three years we lived here.

Abigail enjoys wearing our shoes and carrying around purses and bags.

We spent the Saturday afternoon with John's extended family at the park. We enjoyed dinner, playing with cousins, and an Easter egg hunt.

It didn't take Abigail long to remember what we do with a basket. However, she also remembered that the eggs have candy in them. She was disappointed at first when these eggs didn't. To keep the candy distribution even, you turn in your eggs at the end of the hunt for a cup full of candy.

Can you tell from any of these pictures that Abigail adores her cousins? - and I'm pretty sure the feelings are mutual.

It's fun that these three cousins are all just months apart. They are always so excited to see each other.

We hope you all had a wonderful April. We did.

Abigail is now talking in simple sentences. "I don't want it" and "Don't touch me!" are not our favorites. She is using her words more and more to tell us what she wants, but if she can't, she just takes your hand and leads you to it. She likes to read the "giptures" with us. One night she very forcibly told Daddy to get his out so we could read. She is saying new things all of the time and she gives great bigs hugs and kisses.

March Recap

My congratulations to the working moms who can keep up - because I sure am not....

Here is a recap of our March:

Abigail was doing so well with potty training, but after her turn with a stomach bug, she has decided that she is no longer interested and refuses-- as in she tried to put a diaper on herself so that she could go to the bathroom. We are thinking we will try again after my sister's wedding.

Abigail has a Mickey towel and was having fun wearing it and putting her little dance backpack on.

This scence melted our hearts one day. We hope she keeps on loving books and reading.

We most definitely tried to enjoy the beautiful weather that March brought.

Daddy turned 30 at the end of February. We celebrated with cake a few days later. He also got more Legos.

Grandma Amy treated us to a fun day with the cousins. She took us to the Amococo exhibit at the Mesa Arts Center. It was hard for the kids not to just think it was a giant bounce house. The lighting inside was pretty neat.

Abigail was intrigued by this person walking around the exhibit area.

It was a fun day! Thanks Grandma Amy!

I spent some of my best $2 ever. I found this bed set at a garage sale. I'm not usually one for buying cloth related items, but I couldn't pass this up. I was in the process of leaving and feeling guilty I hadn't bought anything. I had stopped because I thought I saw something Legos related. Then something caught my eye in a box on the ground. Then, as I continued to investigate I learned the bedding was crib/toddler size. I asked how much they wanted for them - bracing for possible disappointment. Then the ladies told me only a couple dollars. I tried to give them $3, but they gave me a $1 back. I was SUPER excited - as was Abigail. We quickly washed them because she wanted them. I had been looking for Mickey bedding for awhile with no success-couldn't justify $129.99 on Amazon. YEAH!! She gladly sleeps in the comfort of Mickey now.

Abigail took her unfortunate turn with the traveling stomach bug. Mommy got a small turn, but near as much as poor Abigail. We were reading books on her bed when the fun started. Woohoo for us. It was helpful, but cute and very sad that she knew what to do with the bowl we kept nearby. Also, with her increasing vocabulary it broke our hearts when she came to us and told us her tummy hurt-which usually led to fun for us all.

Daddy has been busy helping remodel/add-on to his sister's house. We go check on his progress and sometimes we even help a little. We are very excited to see it when it is finished.

Our family kept with the trend of Spring Break being a popular time to get married - with a cousin getting married. We had fun visiting with family at the luncheon.

Aunt Marilee's wedding dress arrived - so the nieces took turns trying it on.

March was a fast, but good month. It is crazy how fast summer is coming, but we have been loving Spring. Abigail continues to surprise us with her ever increasing vocabulary. It also includes some sassy talk and talking back at times - so we are working on that. She loves to sing and gets attention from others about her cuteness and singing when she does her singing at random times in public. She's a handful, but we LOVE it and wouldn't trade it. Hopefully, I will better document Abigail's growth and development when I blog about April.