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in the moment...

i haven't been on here in awhile... busy with an almost 2 year old...

but i read this today and wanted to document it somewhere... i want to be the best mom i can be for my sweet little girl...

i hope these things help me..

There are many ways that you can just be with your children that are not hard work, that are not challenging or tiresome. By just being there, you may discover that your child will reach out to you simply because you are suddenly available. The magic in this list is that it’s just simply being together for a solid half hour or so but it offers up the most beneficial memories we can offer to children. Here are some of our family’s favorites:

1. Turn off the TV/computer/phones for one hour. (In our house, we limit daily screen time to a total of one hour except on movie nights).
2. Have a work hour — they do homework and you work on a hobby like art or reading while sitting at the same table.
3. Just listen to music. At our house, we call this a dance party.
4. Light a candle for your children — one each.
5. Surprise them with a celebration for trying hard on a test or homework and eat store bought cookies and milk.
6. Sit on the couch while they play and read magazines. They will sit next to you eventually and ask, ”Whatcha reading?”
7. Grab two balls and challenge everyone to find something fun to do with them outside.
8. Snuggle under a blanket or put a puzzle together.
9. Whip up a nice bowl of ice cream and laugh while you eat it.
10. Watch TV with them if they insist on watching.
11. Ask them open-ended questions about their day.
12. Tell them something surprising about your day.
13. Draw together, taking turns adding new lines on the same paper.
14. Take a drive, taking turns picking the direction and sitting in silence as the unfamiliar landscape passes you by.
15. Look at their baby photos.
16. Tell them a funny story from their younger days.
17. Tell them a funny story from your own childhood.
18. In fact, tell them any story you can think of telling.
19. Ask them to teach you how to do something. This is big. Very big.
20. Ask them questions about their favorite things.
21. Help them clean their room or the basement or the garage. Whatever. Lend a hand.
22. Ask them for help with a problem.
23. Hold a family meeting to just catch up.
24. Announce that there will be no cleaning for just one day.
25. Give them a coupon for a hug to use anytime they need it.

What kinds of things do you like to do with our family to just relax and be together with little expectations?

here is to being a better mommy... :) 

happy january!

this little girl makes everything better! 

one of my new years resolutions is to be the best mom that i can for her!

17 months already!!

this little one is so full of fun and life!!

she is doing amazing things!  i just wanted to share some of her happenings...

she can say lots of words!  some on her own and some coaxed:
momma
dada
nana (nanny)
papa
saow  (sam)
ann
hello (with a tad of english accent...hellow)
all done
no no
ow  (owie)
snow
caw caw  (car car)
ya!  (yes)
santa
eh-an  (Ellen- as in DeGeneres  :)  )

she loves loves loves to read!  will usually sit for at least 5-10 mins and just look at books several times a day!

she is a sweetie!  gives loves and kisses to her toys, animals, cups, remotes... and us too!

takes 2 pretty good naps most days

loves to "scrapbook"!  will climb up on my chair at my scrapbook table and take all of my pens and pencils out of the tool organizer and then put them back in.  loves to color too!

climbs onto anything she can!  chairs, couch, hope chest or the recliner in her room.

loves to help momma cook.  stirring is her favorite!  but she loves to carry stuff from the fridge to the counter too. 

such a happy little girl!  laughs at things and herself!  she is a tease too!  :)

really enjoys being outside and going for walks.  now that we have snow we don't get out as often, but she will head right for the snow as soon as she sees it!  we have to watch her close or she will take off down the sidewalk at any given moment!  crazy kid!!

loves to play with other kids!  learning to share has been pretty good...

uses her binky at sleep times only.  or at least that is the plan... until she sneaks it out of her crib!!

folds her arms for prayers and then says "amen" .  so cute!!

she can be picky when it comes to eating, but her very favorites are:  noodles (preferably mac/cheese), popcorn, sweet pickles, french fries, yogurt, oatmeal, green beans, pancakes, goldfish crackers, bread, cheese, carrots and ketchup!  :)  she loves to drink her milk and water!  and an occasional cranberry slush! she is not a huge fan of any meat... yet...

she has 12 teeth!  and loves to crunch down on her snacks!!

we sure love this little girl!  the light of our lives for sure!

Elf Yourself with my family...

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/4RGEA0nD2CbYX1P0?cmpid=ey_url

this is so funny!! 

my dad, my older brother, younger brother, abbi and i!! 

love it!

pumpkin walk!!

busy girl...

whew... today was a busy day for abbi...

 she started out with a yummy breakfast...

then she decided to steal momma's bag of trick or treat candy.... really fast kid here!!

then it was time for a walk in daddy's sandals...  they look like ski's on her!

 after her nap she decided she didn't want the bumper pads in her bed anymore...

and last... she decided to take a try and photography!! 

this is her very first picture!!

awwww... i love it!

i have always wanted a close up shot of the hope chest!

life is always an adventure with this little sweetie...

and i love a good adventure...

it's my mom's birthday!

and abbi helped us celebrate!!  so cute!!

me...

i just saw a quote and made a few adjustments and it is speaking to me...

i am far from who i once was or from what i thought i was going to be.  but i am not quite yet who i am going to be.

amen. 

ollie...

i love this picture!!

this is ollie...

when i was a little girl i had an ollie too...

mine has wheels, and this one rocks...

but the love is the same...

love you abbi...

3 binky baby...

ya... abbi can't just have one binky...

she needs to have 3!!!

one in her mouth...

and one in each hand!!

silly girl!!

love her!!

pinterest!!

this is...

 my new hobby

my new obsession

my new past time

my new downtime

my new love!!

vote for abbi!!

vote for sweet little abbi!!

you can vote once a day for the rest of the month!!

the link can be slow... but keep trying!!

thanks!! :)

benefit dinner

yup... we have a walker...

this is the second time she walked this route in the bedroom!!

sooooo big!!

we are in sooooo much trouble!!

:) sure love her!!

amen...

1. If walking/cycling is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.
2. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water and is fat.
3. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.
4. A tortoise doesn't run, does nothing ..yet lives for 450 years.

AND YOU TELL ME TO EXERCISE!

walking!!

that is right...

my little girl has taken her first steps!!

yikes!!

father's day...

yesterday was kevin's first father's day!!

abbi and decorated a little bit to help him celebrate!!

abbi is one lucky girl!!!

she has the best daddy in the world!!

400 posts!!

boo!! she loves to jump out and surprise me!!

well learning that this is my 400th post sure surprised me too!!

happy 400th post!!

crazy!!

let's see what the next 400 posts hold!! :)

11 months old...

 11 months.... really? 

where has the time gone!! 

here are some of abbi's best moments in her 10th to 11th month!!

*  abbi loves loves loves her daddy!!  and his hats!!

*  abbi is soooo close to waving bye bye...

*  she got kinda sick - her temp was sitting at 101-103 for a day of so.  i took her to the dr and it was down to 99.  they did test for a UTI and it was negative.  whew!!

*  i am wondering if abbi is gonna be a thrill seeker... she loves to hang off the edge of the bed!!  silly kid!!

*  she is quite the chatter box!  we are hearing lots more sounds!  NNANANANA - we think is nanny.  LALALALALALA.  giah gloo giah.

*   if you put your hands out and ask for something, she is starting to hand it to you!! 

*  we flew to oregon for the soucy family reunion.  abbi was soooooo good!!  seriously.  the best little girl!!
 she did very well on both flights too! 
she was voted "miss congeniality". 
she was scared of rick (my oldest brother) .  i think it was because of his facial hair... we will work on that so she isn't as scared next time we see him.
 she loved uncle don and marcus ( my youngest brother) !  they made her laugh! 
abbi warmed right up to papa!  even let him feed her a few times!!
but the hit of the reunion, was aunt michele!  she went right to her and snuggled.  she never does that!!  very cool. 
she played with lori (rick's wife) and loved the kitty she bought her.
 she even played with seth (my cousin mikes son) and his dog!
 this trip included lots of firsts for her: 
5 winery's !  HA!! 
playing golf- or riding in the cart!
 bowling- which she didn't really like.  she was tired and it was loud.
 she rode on a speed boat!!  which she loved!  just was upset when momma covered her up cuz it was cold!! 
and she got to go to a toy store and got spoiled by papa!! and michele! 
fun fun fun!!

*  abbi is such happy little girl!! lots of giggles and smiles!

*  she loves to watch the remote control car with daddy!!  she is still scared of the remote control big truck he has though. 

*  what a beautiful smile!!  she is such a tease too!  :)

*  abbi still loves momma and daddy's toes!! 

*  she has started "dancing" to music!!  love it!!  she started with the book that plays music.  she makes a "one" with her finger, pushes the button and then sways back and forth in a rocking motion while sitting down.  :)  :)  :)  so dang cute!!

*  such a big helper!  :)  wants to get into everything!!

*  abbi will peek a boo around corners or out from behind anything!!  it is so cute!!

*  she enjoys growling as well... i think it is her version of a yell.  :)

*  abbi sure loves her books!!  she will go into her room several times in a day and just sit and read books!!  i love it!! 

*  the dropping stage has arrived!!  abbi will drop things as a game-  off of the changing table, couch, high chair... fun. 

*  have a mentioned she is a big helper?  she loves to help unload the dish washer!!  i have her help with the silverware (minus the knives)  . she hands them to me one at a time, as i say thank you with each one.  she smiles and hands me the next one. 

*  she loves to play with momma's phone!  she dials papa (speed dial) all of the time!  she has changed contact information, set alarms and even did a 3 way call!!  -which i don't even know how to do!!  ha!! 

*  the remotes are off limits for her because she does all kinds of crazy things with those too!!  turns tv or dvr on and off.  sets things to record.  etc...

* one of abbi's favorite toys is the easter basket that annie gave her and the princess eggs i got on clearance. she will play with them forever!!

*  busy busy girl!!  into everything!

*  abbi loves grandma maryann!! 

* abbi loves to help daddy unload his cooler of soda when he gets home from work! she even puts most of them in the fridge!! :) 

*  she can be a wild sleeper sometimes!!  ha!!  she loves to move her bumper pads all over the place!

*  finally she is sleeping all through the night!!  8pm ish to 7am!!  wahoo!

*  even though she is sleeping through the night, her going to sleep for naps and nighttime is not too consistent.  sometimes she will go right to sleep, other times it takes alot of work! 

*  she is a tummy sleeper like momma and daddy.  it is cute with her little bummy is stuck up in the air.

*  we moved her to size 4 diapers for nighttime since she was waking up wet in the mornings.  that seems to be helping. 

*  abbi loves to climb and test her limits.  by doing so she has lots of bumps and bruises!  bonks her head on everything!!. 

*  she makes a cute little fish lip smooching noise.  very cute!

*  abbi is eating lots of big people food now too!!  cheese, loves veggies! if i put down peas, carrots and corn- she will eat all of the peas first!  they are her favorite!  which is funny, because she didn't like the jarred peas for awhile.  i dont blame her... they aren't nearly as good as fresh or frozen!   

*  abbi really enjoys being in her walker. she will play "crash up derby" (as kevin calls it)  by running into anything she can! 

*  we were getting ready to go get our bountiful basket one saturday morning and she wanted to get in!!  i think my basket was very bountiful that week! 

*  i think she is teething again... 

 *  abbi is such a lovey girl!!  she gives loves to her dolls, bear, toys and diaper boxes!!  hee hee!!  the dolls can be upside down or sideways.  it doesn't matter...   she will sometimes give them a little pat on their bum too.  she usually will then toss the doll behind her!  love them and leave them!  ha!

*  we are lucky to be able to get some loves from her too.  she gives us a little pat when she gives loves or hugs to us too!! 

we love you abbi girl!!  you are truly the greatest thing in our lives!!

momma and daddy... 

my little girl...

wow!! i sure love her!!

we spent the entire day together and i loved it!!

we played

we laughed

we cried

we ate together

we slept

we cleaned

we had fun!!!

love you abbi! thanks for spending such a fun day with you momma!

a whole new family...

what a life changing experience for me...

it all started with these 6 siblings...

my dad is the oldest of 6 kids and i met them all for the first time this weekend!!

what an amazing experience!!

left to right: front row: evelyn, michele and sue. back row: roland, don and my dad, rick.

i just have to say that i was extremely nervous going into this weekend... but each one of my aunts and uncles made me feel so welcome and loved. they were incredibly kind to abbi and i! they were each amazing!!

this was everyone!! in our cool reunion shirts!!

lori was amazing to help with abbi so much!!

we loved riding on the hellgate speed boat excursion! even though the first half of the trip was raining and cold...

aunt michele with all of her nieces and nephews that were at the reunion... loved her!!

proud papa with abbi!

we went golfing!! i even golfed one hole!! :)

the whole group at the hellgate brunch!!

it begins and ends with family! i am so honored to call these 3 men family!

my youngest brother, marcus. my dad, rick. me and my older brother, rick jr. and little miss abbs.... voted miss congeniality of the whole weekend!! :)

my older brother...

this is rick jr... my older brother!!

i met him for the first time last weekend! what a wonderful experience!! he is an incredible man and i am so excited to met him face to face!!

this is his beautiful wife lori! she is awesome!! so kind and sweet!

and this... is my dad and my 2 brothers...

first time we have all been together!!

this was a life changing weekend!!

loved loved loved it!!