Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day here at home.  Our good friends, Amy, Todd, and Anna Caine came over for the day to play, eat, and hang out.  The girls had fun playing together.  Anna is about 4 months older than Abby.  It was a very enjoyable day.

This weekend we (and in I, Diana) got the house decorated for Christmas - put up the tree (Brian helped put up ornaments), decorations, and even some pretty lights around the front door, a bush, and front window.  It's fun.  I'm thinking about buying an extension ladder and LED outdoor lights to run some more along the front of the house.  I'm not planning on going "McFarlane crazy" on lights, but I've always loved the look of Christmas lights.

So far, we've done all of our shopping online for Christmas gifts.  I'm probably going to do all of it online this year.  It is so convenient.  I've never been a fan of fighting the crowds for retail.

Tis the Season!!!

Rainy days, walking, and talking

Winter is hear with lots of rainy days and early dark evenings.  It feels like it's time to go to bed when you get home from work.  The dogs aren't getting as many walks which makes me feel really guilty. 

I just had to share with you all that Abby just took 5 steps from the sofa to me in the middle of the room.  Can you believe this is really happening?  She also is saying a lot of "dadadada" and knows when Daddy is around, that she can call him by name.  I just asked her, "where is Daddy?", and she looked around the room for Brian.  She also says "bao" for book and "da" for dogs!  So fun.

Lost Wallet Blues - Found it

I just have to post that I'm freaking out b/c I lost my wallet.  Please sent a prayer out for me that it turns up or that some good samaritan turns it in.  Just after shopping yesterday, I had it in my purse, went to Tatum's party, then home.  I looked for it this morning, and it's not in my purse, Jill can't find it at their house, and it's no where to be found in the car, under couches, my jacket, etc.  Luckily there are no fraudulent uses yet, and I canceled the cards today.  Bad news is that my VERY expensive bus pass is in there, one that I will have to pay full price for if I don't find it.  My drivers license is in there too.  Agghhhh.....

This is a sickening feeling.

Just returned from the grocery store where I had to beg the cashier to let me use a check without my ID because I still hadn't found my wallet.  I still had this nagging sick feeling about it.  Finally, I realized as I was hugging and laughing with Abby that I was so lucky to have this beam of joy in my life, that I am so fortunate that a lost wallet would be so upsetting to me in comparison to other possible problems that I don't have.  Well, giving up the dread of losing my wallet must have done the trick!  Because, sure enough, when I got back in my car, I thought, "You know, I already looked in the crack between the seat and the console, but it could have slipped down there..."  and there it was, way down at the bottom.  I don't know how I missed it before!  Yeah!!!!

Now I just have to call and UN-cancel all my credit cards :)

Shopping day

Abby and I went shopping today.  Since Brian is out of town, we decided to hit U Village for some girl time.  Abby got a cute brown bomber jacket with a fur hood - she couldn't resist.   For me, I finally bought a new black belt that I've been needing for ages and a cute new outfit for work.

After a quick snack of crackers and cheese, we played with the water fountain, which Abby promptly tried to drink from!  I am trying to take her picture while also pulling her back from the water.

She's down for her afternoon nap (1 1/2 hours so far).  We'll leave for Tatum's birthday party after she wakes up.

What's new?

Lots around here!  Abby is as busy as ever.  You should see me trying to put on socks, pull that long hair into a ribbon,- or wrangle her to the floor for a diaper change.  This girl is strong, and she has an opinion that she is very clear about - don't slow me down!  I often hear Brian happily wrestling her into a new diaper, "Abby, stay still for Daddy for just a minute".  

Abby's new developments include taking her first steps!!!  So exciting.  She is a super fast crawler.  She makes elephant noises, babbles while fanning her own lips, makes lots of consonant sounds - baba, dada, mama, yaya.  She's into books, baths, the dogs, and leaves.... interested in nature for sure.  She loves to dance.  She bounces up and down very slowly when music comes on.  She likes to "hug" and "kiss" everything to - which involves resting her head on your shoulder or on a blanket, dog, or stuffed animal and giving mouth wide open kisses on your nose!

Abby was a little piglet on Halloween, so cute!  She went trick-or-treating with Mommy, Daddy, and the Nyquists (our friends up the road with two boys).    We went to a Halloween party the weekend before along with our moms group.

2 weeks ago we went on a big hike to Mt Rainier.  We took Abby in the hiking backpack along with our snowshoes, hiking poles, warm clothes, food etc.  About two hours into it, we stopped for lunch.  Abby got to crawl around in the snow and loved it!  She liked to try to eat the snow.  We had so much fun.  Several hikers stopped to visit with us so they could see our cute baby.

Today was Tatum's first birthday, and our nanny and the girls went along to the Children's Museum downtown for some fun along with Tatum's mom, Jill.  They had a great time.  Abby loved the acquarium.  Jerri said she had so much fun and just was so worn out by the end of their day.

Last night we went to an election party and watched as the news came in about the presidential winner came in.  We listened to John McCain's humble and respectful speech, followed by President-elect Obama's heart warming and encouraging speech.  Wow, it was quite an experience.  Abby slept through the whole thing like a champ.

Well, off to start dinner.  We've been doing a great job of having family dinners pretty frequently around here.  Abby's starting to eat table foods with us.  Overall, I guess the update for you all is that we are a busy, happy family lately, enjoying each other, the outdoors, and our dogs.  Oh ya, I guess we are working too, but only when we have to!  Miss you all soooo much!

Love,

Diana

A positive change for America and the world

We are so happy that Barack Obama won!  Even Abby did a little victory dance - OK, so technically she was sleeping when the results came in, but I swear I saw her smile!