Monday, January 18, 2010

Neglect

I feel like I've been neglecting this poor blog. Now that I have my CM365 blog, I'm posting every day, which I am really enjoying. But I feel like there is so much more to the stories that I post and that I should be finishing them out over here.

Back in November, Steve and I finally painted Abby's room; Hidden Sea Glass (a very light shade of green). On the 7th, I went to IKEA with my friend Elizabeth Giles to pick out Abby's crib. Thanks to Great Grandma Sally, we didn't have to pay for much of it, and I was able to get a chest of drawers, as well as a small matching table I found in scratch n dent. I've been working on her room since then, and it's coming along nicely. I was finally able to sort through all of her clothes; box up the ones she doesn't fit in, hang up the ones she does fit in, and wash the new ones she got for Christmas. I've managed to find a few cheap things at GoodWill that I wanted; a crib border and some pink curtains.


(Abby sitting in the bunk bed demonstration at IKEA)


Abby and I have been hanging out with some of our friends lately. Especially Jenn and Bailey Sadler. It's fun to watch Abby and Bailey interact. Bailey loves babies, and especially Baby Abby! She goes around saying Abby, Abby, Abby... a lot. She likes to feed Abby her bottle, and help her with her pacifier. She's so helpful that even when Abby cries, she tries to scramble around to figure out what she needs. It's completely and utterly adorable!


Abby cut her first two teeth a week ago... the first (bottom left) on Thursday, Jan 7th, and the 2nd (bottom right) on Sunday, Jan 10th. I have no pictures yet, she will hardly let me look at them.

Abby did pretty well the first few nights in her crib, but the past 5 or so days have been a bit tougher. I've only taken her back into bed with me once, and it was because she seemed to be in some pain and wouldn't relax enough to sleep. That doesn't count yesterday though, when I was trying to catch a nap at the same time and she woke up earlier than I liked, so I brought her in with me and we slept another hour. I've been enjoying her bedtime routine. I read to her, give her a massage, play a little with some toys, give her a bottle, and then sing her to sleep while rocking her in the rocking chair that Steve's Mom gave us with a special little plate on the headboard in remembrance of Abby's big brother Joshua.


On the 1st, I started Weight Watchers... it's been tough, but I've been doing really well. I've already lost 8 pounds. It's interesting how it helps you understand what portion control really is.

I've started focusing on my Heritage Makers Business again. I've got two Workshops scheduled this month and a Digi-Crop this Saturday. I've been working a lot on getting my business blog really functional. My goal is to hire someone to design my blog to make it look professional when I make it in the Presidents Club... I'll let you know when it happens!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Project CM365

Last year I learned about the photo a day for a year idea from Alicia Corbridge. I thought that it was way cool and really enjoyed following along with her photo blog, so as one of my resolutions I decided that I wanted to start my own. I waited until the first of the year to start mine so that it would be consistent with the days, but it can start on any day. I've been doing it for 10 days now (obviously), and I've been very consistent! (I'm hoping to discover a new found sense of consistency as another one of my resolutions for the year). The blog is separate from this account and is actually linked with my Be A Storyteller business blog account. Go check it out... I will have a link posted on this blog for easy access. It's also accessible from my facebook page if you are one of my friends.

Abby Canvas

I designed a 20x20 canvas using Heritage Makers the other day. I had put together 3 different designs and had friends and family on facebook vote for their favorite... this is the one that won.
If you would like to make this project or something similar (you could do this as a 12x12 scrap page for $5 instead of a canvas for $100 or if you're really dedicated, you can host a workshop and get your canvas for free!), then visit www.beastoryteller.com and sign up for an account. I will transfer the project to your account!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Abby Is 7 Months Old!

Things Abby did this past month:

Sitting on her own
Escapes from the Bumbo

Eats Peaches, Pears, Apples, Chicken, Peas, Carrots, Squash, Sweet Potatos
Gets angry if I take something away from her

Can pull herself into a sitting position
Can pull herself into a standing position

Absolutely loves her little rubber duckies
Will play for short periods of time on her own

Began to enjoy bouncing
Can feed herself with her bottle (knows to tilt it back)
Sips water from a cup

Can push herself out of her bumbo
Is ticklish in the same spots as her Momma

Loves to play with paper and anything else that makes crinkly noises
Can push herself across the floor and spin around on her belly

Can get up on her hands and knees

Will turn the pages of a book when you tell her to
Loves to play peek-a-boo with the blanket

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Christmas 2009

This was probably one of the nicest Christmas' we have ever had. Steve got home about 5 days before and his brother Paul flew in on Wednesday night and stayed with us till Saturday. Steve's Mom came on Christmas day. On Christmas Eve morning, we took Abby down to the mall to get her first picture with Santa taken. She didn't smile, but at least she didn't cry!

Later that day, after picking up Steve and Paul from the movie theater, we drove over to Pottery Barn to pick out our new Christmas ornament. A tradition Steve and I started when we first got married.This was our second year for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner (steak!) It turned out pretty good. I found a pretty good recipe for Honey Glazed Carrots last year that I really enjoy. I also started another new tradition; Christmas pajamas.

We got up around 8am Christmas morning (that's about the time Abby wakes up in the morning). We did stockings first and I helped Abby open a few gifts. After two or three presents, she started to cry... she was a little overwhelmed.

Thanks to Paul we had more Christmas photo's than we normally get!!

Abby looked really cute in her Christmas pajamas :D


Steve and Paul went to pick up thier Mom from the airport around 11 and when they all got back we had my Chicken Soup for lunch (along with some pretty good bread Tanya Turner made).

Around 2 we went over to the Kintners (Steve's Grandparents), for Christmas Dinner. We had an enjoyable time sitting around and spending the early evening together.


This was a great Christmas!