Icicle

Wow, isn't this icicle crazy?  The kids had noticed some huge icicles hanging outside of our bedroom window and were busy looking at them from inside when Dad came over, opened the window and brought one into the house.  They thought it was so neat!

Snow Day!

We've had A LOT of snow this winter in PA, at least it seems that way.  This past week we were hit with part of the noreaster that moved up the east coast and had about 15-18 inches overnight.  Even Andrew was impressed, in all of his Buffalo upbringing!   It was incredibly windy and we even had snowthunder, which was a first for me.  I had never heard it before and it was really neat.

Our kids have never liked playing in the snow too much, especially Ben, but this year they have decided to brave it and we all headed outside.  The boys got snowballers and snow castle block makers for Christmas so they have really enjoyed using them, as well as the kiddie sized shovels that I found for them at the supermarket.  So out we go....

30 minutes getting everyone all bundled up.  This is going to be fun!  A blast!...

Nate loves it...Abby, uh, not so much.   

Ben helps shovel and loves it! 

Abby, uh not so much.  10 minutes later, here's her preferred seat to the snowtube.  Happy and munching on some Goldfish, watching her dad and brothers play outside! "Hi!"

Abigail's 15 Month Pediatrician Appointment

After a good trip to the pediatrician, who informed us that Abby was getting all four 1-year molars at once, and then having her get the two immunizations she was due to get, we had a few cranky days at home with our curly girly.  So, I didn't get a chance to update our blog with her statistics.  Thankfully, the teeth have come through and the after effects of the shots have died down, so we're back to normal around here.  "Normal" nowadys is a smiley, happy, easygoing girl who gets into everything and is finally walking.  She laughs all the time, is fresh much of the time, and is a sweetheart always!

Abby shakes and nods her head at everything, obeys 2 step commands and eats with a spoon and fork more neatly than Ben does!  She is not talking much yet, but clearly understands us and uses gestures in place of words at this point.  She says "Mama," "Dada," "Beh" (Ben), "Nene" (Nate), hi and that's about it and even those are not used all the time.  The doctor didn't seem concerned.  She seemed to think that maybe Abby had two spokesmen representing her at all times through the day, so she didn't have the need to talk much :)...if you get my drift.  We've done the drill with the late talker before with Ben, so we know to keep an eye on this.  The doctor said we'll see how she is doing at 18 months but it didn't seem like a concern.

Here are her statistics.  She is still on the smaller side for weight, but her hearty eating habits have caused this to not be as slight as in other months.  This girl can EAT!! 

Height: 30-1/2 inches (50th)
Weight: 20lbs. 8oz. (20th)
Head circumference: 18 inches (50th)

Flower Headband

Abby's new flower headband from her cousins Maddie and Sophia for Christmas definitely warranted a photoshoot.  I can't believe that she will actually keep it on her head (for the most part) and will hand it back to me and pretend to put it back on when it does fall off.  Definitely a girly girl!  Thanks, Maddie and Sophia, I love my headband :).



Snow Day

Earlier this week we had a snow day when Ben's school was cancelled due to inclement weather.  So, we spent the morning in our play room while the snow came down and had a great time using our imaginations.

Here's Ben, getting some tasks done around the house to help Daddy.  He determined that our door sticks so he would fix it.

Abby loves this rocking zebra!  She is the first of our kids to really play with it a lot and will just climb up onto it by herself and start rocking.

Group pictures! (too bad I was interrupting their play or else maybe I would have gotten a few smiles out of the boys).

Blowing Kisses

Abby is such an affectionate, loving little girl.  She gives kisses galore and even kisses her dolls whenever she plays with them.  Lately, she just loves to blow kisses...

Walking!

FINALLY!  At 14-1/2 months old, Abby is clearly on her way to walking on her own.  We were hoping we wouldn't have another Nate on our hands, who preferred to remain my "joey" until almost 18 months old. We should have known this would happen when we used Joseph as this joey's middle name :).  In actuality though, Abby has almost matched Ben's walking pattern to a tee, later than some kids but not noticeably so.  Like Ben, she has basically been walking since about 13 months old, as she would walk all over our house with ease pushing her push toys and her doll stroller with hardly any reliance on these objects for actual support.  The only reliance she did have on them was mentally knowing they were there since she (and Ben before her) would get nervous and fall to the ground once they realized they were "walking." 

So, we did a lot of this around here for the past two months...

...and just over the past few days, we have seen a lot more of this....

Clearly, Abby is on her way to becoming more comfortable with walking, even venturing out to walk almost as often as she crawls at this point.  Yay, I am so excited for this since it is much easier to put girls in skirts and dresses when they do not have to crawl with them.  Soon our little lady will be keeping up with those two silly brothers of hers!!

Martin Mission #3: Toy Story 3 on Ice

We haven't had opportunity to have one of our Martin Missions since September so when we got an email a few weeks ago with a special to buy Toy Story 3 on Ice tickets for only a few dollars each, we decided to take the plunge and purchase them for something to do the week after Christmas while Andrew was taking a few days off.  Well, of course it never crossed our minds that 3 of us would have colds, one would be just over the flu and another one of us would now have the flu.  What are the chances?!?!

I was the only one who really debated not going on the trip since I was the sickest.  But after sleeping for close to 17 hours one day and then 13 hours the night before, I woke up with no fever and I felt well enough to get out of bed and go sit at the show.  What a blessing, I was so sad when I thought about having to miss this!! So, even though that night I again felt pretty overrun and flu-ridden, for 6 hours I felt ok and had no fever at all so I was able to enjoy the show.

As our other Martin Missions, we kept this as a surprise until we were all in the kitchen that morning eating breakfast.  We told the kids about it and they started smiling, asking if we were going to the movie theater to see "Buzz 3" again!  Uh, no, it's much better than that, just wait!!

When we did get to the show, the boys and even Abby were entranced by the ice and the performers.  The characters were all there and all of the familiar songs were sung.  I even bawled my eyes out in the beginning and the end, just like in the movie theater!!

It was a fun family day and something we and the kids will never forget.  Here's everyone (except me) getting ready for the show to start.  Each of the boys got to pick a snack for us: Nate picked popcorn and Ben picked cotton candy.

The army men!! 

 Aliens!!!

 Nate was so serious watching it and would just nod if I asked him if he was having a good time, no words at all!

Abby steals a sip...or ten...of Daddy's Gatorade.  Given the Christmas photos you may have already seen, it's no wonder that they both have exactly the same cold!!!

I'm Nate Lightyear.  I come in peace. 

Boy oh boy, Ben loves cotton candy and knows just how to make the biggest mess EVER with it.  Thank God he has it once or twice a year at most!!

The boys helping Abby walk around after the show....

Christmas 2010

Is Christmas really just over a week ago at this point?  It seems like weeks have passed since all of these festivities, even though our tree is still illuminated downstairs as I'm typing this and we are never ones to let it stay up more than a few days into January.  Well, it's been a bad week and a half at our house with Nate catching the flu just before Christmas, myself catching it by Christmas evening and the others in the house getting colds.  Hello, year-end flexible spending account!

The last time I had the flu I was pregnant with Nate and remember it being very difficult to care for Ben, who was then less than 2.  This time, it was near impossible to care for three young children when I couldn't even get out of bed myself, so luckily we were at my parents' house for part of the time, Andrew was off for part of the time and Ben can now help out with a fair share of chores around the house when needed.  So, it was rough but I survived and am still recovering.

However, as I looked through my Christmas 2010 photos, I was at first saddened by the limited quantity of them this year.   I know there were so many other moments that could have been captured, if sickness and therefore parenting duties hadn't been on the forefront.  Poor little Nate is hardly in any photos at all, since he was napping/resting for a good portion of the day on the 23rd when G and CC visited, and then also on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day when we were in NJ at Pop and Nana's house, due to being so sick.  We didn't get a family photograph this year, also because of Nate being sick and me not even thinking about taking photos as I was caring for him.

This reminds me so much of a Christmas in 1982 (?) when I was about four.  My mom, brother and I all had a horrific case of the flu and there is one photograph I still remember of us all looking haggard, pale and ill in our robes on Christmas morning.  However, my brother and myself were still smiling because he had just found a gigantic Pepsi truck underneath the tree with his name on it and I was just happy that it was finally the much-awaited Christmas morning, illness or not.  So, my regret at not having captured more or better photographs this Christmas weekend with my own family is softened when I ask the now-healthy Nate if he had a good Christmas this year.  Like the younger, smiley me in that photo, he says to me, "Of course, I did, Mommy!  It was FUN!"  No laments over fevers, headaches, chills, upset tummys.  Only rose-colored glasses allowing him to see  the true splendour of the day.  Oh what we see through the eyes of a babe!

Below are our Christmas photographs.  Despite all of the illness, we had a lovely Christmas season being together, seeing both sides of our family, several of them up from Florida to visit, and rejoicing in the news of our new cousin and niece or nephew, who will be with us in July and make my brother Mike and his wife Chang parents.  What better way to spend Christmas!

I pray that you and your family had a joyous Christmas season that beheld that same wonder of the first Christmas so many years ago.  I just pray that your plans involved a little less Theraflu and Kleenex than ours did :)

December 23: G and CC Visit:
G and CC were spending Christmas in New York and Pennsylvania this year so they came for a daytrip to celebrate Christmas with us on the 23rd.  We had a great time visiting and the kids had so much fun seeing them. 

Poor sick Nate didn't even want to open presents at fist but after some rest, he got a little energy to open some and take a photo.

Abby started taking her first unassisted steps this weekend but is still sort of unsure about it.  She was doing about 4-7 steps alone by Saturday but does still prefer holding on to someone's hand for dear life! :)

December 24: Christmas Eve in NJ 
We were in NJ at Pop and Nana's house for Christmas this year and spent Christmas Eve with Aunt Catherine, who visited from Florida as well, and Mike and Chang.

Abby in her Christmas Eve outift pretending to be an elf. 

Auntie Chang just loves playing with Abby (and shopping for her - hee hee!)

Aunt Catherine came to visit us from Port Orange, FL and here poses with Ben, one of her favorite young men :)

Pop with Ben and Abby in their festive outfits.  Again, poor Natey is feverish and asleep :(. 

The Nana Pose - lol!

Step 1: Abby sits on Daddy's lap.

Step 2: Abby warms up and sneaks a piece off of his appetizer plate when his head is turned.  "No, I didn't take anything!"  Good thing for loose-fit dresses, this girl can EAT! :)

Step 3: Daddy gives in and shares his other food.  Yum, mozzarella!

Nate finally awkens and feels a lot better after his fever has broken.   In fact, I am kicking myself I didn't snap just one photo of him that morning in his Christmas sweater before he took his nap. I didn't, thinking he'd maybe feel better when he woke up instead, and he did, thankfully. However, he also sweated through his Christmas outfit during this whole fever breaking process and was just drenched when he finally did awaken. We were going to dry his outfit but instead opted to just let him wear sweats and a casual shirt and be comfortable. Poor little man :(.   Here he is with his Uncle Mike, working on some Toy Story Legos together.

December 25: Christmas Day. Again, we were in NJ and today we saw my mom's family and also Aunt Catherine, who was staying with us at the house.

Abby with her new American Girl Bitty Baby!!  We were so surprised that Pop, Nana and Aunt Catherine went into New York City to the American Girl Place to buy her for Abby, along with a few different outfits for the doll.  Good thing the matching outfits don't start until a 2 or 3T or else Abby would have had several of those, too, I'm sure.  Ha ha!  We love her and Abby kisses her constantly and plays with her all day long.  I cannot believe that we are American Girl owners!  I can't wait to introduce her to the historical girls in a few years but for now the Bitty Baby is perfect.

Walking her around in her new doll umbrella stroller, which also came with a portable crib and a high chair.  Super cute!  Even at 14 months old and not walking on her own quite yet, Abby would push her and then peek her head around to make sure the baby was ok, sometimes patting her head.  How cute!

Nate didn't get a chance to shave while he was sick in bed.  :)

All dressed up and still pushing her doll.... 

...well, that is until she discovered that she could also fit in the stroller and wait for someone to push her!!

Merry Christmas everyone and a happy and healthy 2011!