January Cuteness

Abby loves to climb in Bruiser's bed and cuddle with him. He takes it so well! I love that she enjoys him so much. She chases him around, wrestles with him, orders him around- "Boo-suh SIT!" and he just takes it all and is so gentle with her. They are best friends!



She has lived in this tent since we set it up after Christmas. It's her little hiding spot, book-reading area, and a place to take her dollies and have tea parties with them. Every kid needs a cool fort!!




The other day the three of us visited the children's museum in Portsmouth. Abby had a BLAST, so we paid the balance to upgrade to a year membership. It will be a great place to bring Abby during the week while its still cold out, especially once the baby gets here and I am going stir crazy!!








THis last one is one of my favorites right now. This is how Abby smiles for the camera :) I love it!!

Abby reads

Abby LOVES to read, which makes me so very happy! She will seriously spend 45 minutes just sitting and looking through her books, several times a day. She loves for us to read to her before naptime and bedtime, but most of the time when I offer to read to her she says, "no mommy, Abby reads!" And then she does- in her own language, of course! She says the words she knows and then fills in the rest of the story in her own little language. I love it!

Here is a video of her reading her new princess book she got for Christmas.

Adventures in Bread Making

My friend and bread making QUEEN Sheena would be so proud... I have been baking bread!! Lots and lots of it!


My mom gave me the Joy of Cooking cookbook for Christmas this year. My mom has had her copy for years and some of her best recipes come from it, and I had been asking for it for a while. My brother also gave me the movie "Julie and Julia," (and funny thing, Julia Child sort of disses "Joy of Cooking" in it!!), so I have been really inspired lately to branch out a little in my cooking and try some new things. One thing I have always wanted to get into but never had the guts is bread making. It just seems to hard- everything has to be just right, and there is nothing worse than bad bread!! So, I turned to the bread section of this cookbook and it explains the ins and outs of different kinds of breads so well, I thought that maybe I could give it a whirl.
So far I have made french bread, milk bread (which is absolutely amazing), and cinnamon-raisin bread (a few times).

We have been eating the Cinnamon Raisin bread for breakfast in the mornings


And the milk bread is so yummy with some jam or apple butter.


Can you tell Abby loves it?



Look at that sweet jelly face!!

Our Little Musician

Abby has enjoyed music since she was just little bitty and would kick her legs when I would play the piano for her. Now it is so fun to watch her "play" and sing along. Enjoy the video!

New shoes

I just bought these for Abby with some of her birthday money. Are they not the coolest/cutest/sweetest little toddler shoes you have ever seen? I know she's going to love them- she goes crazy over new shoes!



I normally would not have gotten such nice shoes for her, since she grows out of them so fast, but it was her birthday money and isn't that what birthday money is for? To get those things you would love but wouldn't normally buy for yourself? And plus, she got at lot of fun toys for her birthday and is about to get even more for Christmas, and she just grew out of the amazing Robeez sneakers she got from Bruce and Trisha a while ago. So, new shoes it is!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Wise!!

Two!

Abby turned two a week ago! I know everyone says this will happen, but the last two years have really flown by. It really is true that they grow up so fast. I almost can't remember what it was like before she could walk (or RUN!!), talk, play by herself, brush her teeth, or any of the typical two-year-old things she is doing right now.

I'll post a more in-depth update later, but for now, here are some pictures of her birthday:


My mom came down for a few days to visit with us before Abby's birthday. We had a great time going Christmas shopping, playing, and watching movies. Abby loved curling up next to my mom on her blow-up bed to watch movies.



That is, until the Nor-Easter hit!! We lost power on Thursday morning and didn't get it back until Saturday. Thankfully, Andy's parents live nearby and we spent the rest of the week and weekend with them. We did spend a little time in our house playing by candlelight before packing up and heading out. It was quite an adventure!!



On Saturday we had a party with Andy's family to celebrate Abby turning TWO!!


Abby insisted on wearing her wings from her Halloween costume. She loves all things butterfly, fairy, or princess...


Playing with cousin Anna


She LOVES playing with her second cousins Spencer, Brady and Anna. We are so blessed to be close by to them and to be able to see them so often. It is really fun to watch them play and interact with each other.


I made her a butterfly cake, since butterflies (or, as Abby says, "fuh-byes" are one of her favorite things right now.






We are in for it this Christmas- Abby LOVED opening presents. She would open one, get really excited, and then say "more pees!" She was especially excited because ALL of her presents had to do with princesses. Princess books, princess clothes, princess blocks, princess balloon... we are in for it!


She insisted on putting on her new princess pj's right away, and reading through the princess books she got from grandma and grandpa. Oh goodness!

28 Reasons

28 Reasons Why I Love My Husband On His 28th Birthday:

1. The first time I met him, he showed me a hat he got from Russia and told me all about the amazing Russian Banya's. I have heard him talk about said hat and the banya's about 1,056 times since then.
2. His laugh
3. His servant's heart
4. His heart for "outsiders" and people on the fringe- in college, when we would go to various IV events, he was never concerned with just catching up with his friends, or with being seen by others. His first steps were towards those who looked "out of place," or lonely, or new. This humbles me.
5. How he loves my family.
6. The look on his face and the tears in his eyes when he saw Abby for the first time. I will never, ever forget it.
7. How 4 1/2 years later and 10 pounds heavier, I still believe without a shadow of a doubt that he thinks I am the most beautiful and desirable woman on the planet.
8. He is slow to speak- he listens well, and shares what he thinks only if it is beneficial and not just to hear himself speak or to air his opinions.
9. He thinks I'm funny
10. He cares deeply about his friends.
11. He went to Young Life camp to meet girls, and met the Lord there instead.
12. He understands his brokenness and His need for Christ daily, hourly.
13. He provides for us well
14. He is a hard worker, and loves to be challenged
15. He loves to work with his hands and create- he has built a beautiful bookshelf, a bench, and an entertainment center for our home. I am so proud of him!
16. He is an amazing father
17. He doesn't get upset or stressed out if the house isn't perfectly picked up for him and dinner on the table just right when he gets home from work. I want to keep a clean home and provide yummy, nutritious meals for him and be a good help to him not because he demands it but because he is so gracious with me and appreciative of the things I do for him.
18. He is so quick to forgive, and doesn't hold a grudge.
19. He doesn't complain when I ask him to change poopy diapers or wash the dishes for me.
20. He reads wayyyyyyy more books to Abby at night than I ever do, prays with her, and sings her to sleep. I listen to it all on the monitor and it melts my heart every time.
21. After months of pestering from me, he finally read the Harry Potter series. I have never seen him read a book so fast. EVER.
22. He makes me think about things in new ways
23. He goes to work at 6:30am every morning so that he can get home earlier, and spend more time with his girls.
24. He will always be a beach boy at heart, and now he also shares my love for the mountains
25. He loves to be outdoors- throwing a frisbee, hiking and camping, surfing, snowboarding...
26. He loves the Lord more than he loves me, and this is why I can trust him and follow him.
27. He puts my needs before his own, and loves me so well
28. He is my best friend

Every year there are more and more reasons why I love you, Andy. I am thankful for your life, and for the man that you are and the man God is molding you into. I am humbled by you, delighted in you, and blessed to have been chosen by God to be your wife.

Happy 28th Birthday!