New Hobby

So the little hooligan has a new hobby. She loves to throw everything down the stairs. Here she is in action. We are hoping that she moves on to something new soon. It is quite embarrassing when somebody stops by and there are toys everywhere. Also, we have to make sure that we don't slip and fall if we step on one.

Other things Abby does lately:

makes monkey noises "oo oo aa aa" so cute!

she loves to hide things, we are constantly finding stuff in random places like toys in kitchen drawers and cupboards and shoes shoved in the door below the sink

she is a fabulous block stacker

she can put the rings on a ring tower

she loves to sing and dance!

Now, here are just a few of the fabulous pictures Allison took!

Abby the ham!

So if you are wondering why I don't have TONS of new pictures on my blog all the time, it's because most of the pictures I take look like the one below. Abby knows what the camera is and I think her idea of a great picture is one where her face takes up the entire frame. Actually, she will be doing something really cute and I will get out my camera to take the picture but she comes over to me instead because she wants to hold it.
Here she is with her favorite person, her Daddy checking out her reflection in the window

We had so much fun while Allison and Thomas were out here visiting last weekend, especially Abby. There were so many people to play with and Uncle Thomas is every niece and nephew's favorite Uncle, even Abby's now. He played blocks with her and taught her how to give a high five! I realized I didn't take too many great pictures while they were here so hopefully I will be able to get some from Alli and then share them!

And here is Abby with the Eyeore Jason got her for Valentines! Abby did have a special valentine's outfit but unfortunately it got dirty before I could take a picture. Hmmm, I seem to remember that happening last year too.

We miss Alli and Thomas already and wish that we did live closer! Hopefully someday...

In other news.. there isn't too much going on here. Abby has her 1 year checkup tomorrow with the Geneticist. Also, Abby is learning tons of new stuff all the time. As I mentioned before, Thomas taught her how to give a high five. She has also started stacking blocks and her favorite thing is to "talk" on the "phone" (there isn't really anyone on the other end and she will use almost anything like a phone, usually the remote control). She also likes to dance and the other day she was singing along with the Elmo song. This kid loves music and I won't be surprised if someday she wants to dance, sing or play an instrument.

That is about it for now, hopefully soon I will be able to get some really good pictures for the Grandma's. We love you all!

Abby had a birthday, Shout Hooray!

Over the years, I have been to a few different birthday parties for one year old's of different cultures. If you have ever been to one of these parties, you may know what I am talking about. The parties are HUGE! There are TONS of people there, family comes from other countries and there is a GIANT feast. All of this is to celebrate the fact that the child made it to their first birthday! Well, in comparison, Abby's party was tiny. Just Jason, Abby and I but the celebration and emotion was probably just as big if not even larger! It was a year ago today that Abby was put in the NICU because her blood sugar dropped to 23. When she was released 3 days later, there was no explanation as to why this happened. Then, 2 days after that was when our lives forever changed. That was the first time that we had ever heard of MCAD. All I have to say is that a lot has changed since then. For the first few days, Jason and I took turns sleeping so that one of us could keep an eye on her and make sure she was okay. That is what happens when you are told that your child has a disorder that is life threatening. It took me many months to really feel confident that Yes, this is something that is treatable, and Yes, she is going to live a normal life. Here it is a year later. She is walking (sometimes on the verge of running) laughing, smiling and "talking" away. Best of all, we made it through the first year with zero hospital trips. She is the picture of health. She IS going to live a normal life, just with some special care and precautions, and that is something we are very VERY THANKFUL for! Not a day goes by that I don't thank Heavenly Father for this wonderful child and the blessing we have to be her parents.

On a lighter side, here are the pictures (as you can see from the picture above, my cake decorating skills need some work!)

Abby wasn't loving the birthday dinner. I got this recipe from Giada De Laurentis when she did her child's one year birthday party. Giada, your kid may love it but mine just likes to moosh it around on the high chair. Also, when we were in California, We learned that Abby loves pineapple. Unfortunately, the pineapple I bought wasn't that sweet.

Abby really wanted to touch the flame on the candle.

She didn't really want to eat the cake either but she did a pretty good job rubbing it in her hair!

Present time, she was more interested in the camera so this was the only decent picture we got. She got stack able rings, the movie The Rescuers and the cutest outfit that I can't wait for her to wear! Also, her Auntie McKenzie, Uncle Carl and cousin Clover got her the coolest blocks that have pockets for pictures. Right now we have pictures of the Joseph side but I need the Albert side to send on some Family Pics so I can put them in the blocks too. That way, she can get to know all of you as she plays. Thank you so much for all the cards and Happy Birthday wishes that came her way!

My little munchkin!

As Abby gets closer to her one year birthday on Wednesday, you can definately see her personality come out more and more each day! It is also amazing to see the new things she can do each day. It seems like each day she does something different! Here she is in the cute outfit her Great Grandparents got her for Christmas and one of the headbands my mom got for her. She knew that we were about to go out on errands and as you can see, she wasn't too happy about it!
She is sneaky and loves to get into places she knows she shouldn't, like this corner!

This is her kitchen drawer. I knew I couldn't fight the fact that she would open a drawer and pull everything out so after some reorganization in the kitchen, she has her own drawer of things that aren't too dangerous and I don't use too often.

And this is her first walking related injury! She is walking all over the place now and unfortunately, she fell on the kitchen tile!

She has also learned to climb up stairs but going back down is another story! She has also seemed to say a few real words but they don't happen that often (mama, dada and uh oh)! Anyone who has met her though knows that she loves to talk and make noises!

Right now we are just counting down the days until her birthday and we will post all about that then!!

Dentist and Chocolate Cake.

Abby had her first dentist appointment yesterday. I was planning on taking a picture but, of course, I forgot. Overall, it was a pretty good experience. She cried a little when the dentist was looking in her mouth and applying the fluoride but overall she did great. When I told the dentist that she still has to eat during the night, he was surprised. He said he never would have known because her teeth look so great. He did give me some tips on how to keep her teeth clean during the night since she won't let me brush them at 2:00 am. From what I hear, FODers can have a lot of trouble with their teeth since they have to eat so frequently. Hopefully, we will be able to prevent those problems before they happen! Also I wanted to share this link with everyone. If you are interested in making a low fat chocolate cake, go here http://www.hungry-girl.com/askhg/askhgdetails.php?isid=1915 I made this cake last night and it tastes pretty good! It will take a little bit of practice to perfect the presentation because the batter is a little thicker than normal batter and it is hard to smooth it out but it will be worth it! I am so glad to know that my little girl will be able to have chocolate cake! Now, just to figure out how to make a low fat frosting.....

Early Birthday Party

Last weekend we took Abby on her first road trip. I was pretty stressed out but all worked out OK. My biggest fear is that she would get sick while we were there, we wouldn't know it and then she would start going into a crisis in the middle of Nevada without a hospital close by. She made it fine though. It was really good to see family while we were out there, we only wish that it could have been under better circumstances. While we were there, my mother in law decided to throw a birthday party for Abby and her cousin Caleb who is only a few weeks older than her. It was GREAT because this way we could have family there versus only Jason and I.Here is Abby before the cake with her cousins Phaedra and Brody
Here is the birthday boy Caleb!

I don't know if Abby really liked to eat the cupcake but she sure did like to poke it!

Abby finally mastered the art of unwrapping presents.

Abby got her first dolly from Grandma Kathy.

Thank you so much Kathy for throwing this birthday party for her!

A New Year, A New Me!

So first I have to apologize to anyone who has been dying to see Christmas pictures of Abby, we took some pretty good ones before I realized we didn't have an SD card in the camera so now I have to find the cord that hooks the camera directly up to the computer so I can download them. I have been trying to work on goals already for the past couple of months but what the heck, there is still much I need to improve so here are my goals.

1. To become the kind of mom who is pretty good at cleaning her home but also doesn't put that in front of spending quality time with her family. We are at that stage right now where Abby is getting pretty close to walking and needs constant supervision because she wants to get into everything so my house isn't as clean as I would like it to be but then I have days where I have been doing chores non stop and realize that I haven't played with Abby or sat down to just spend time with Jason.

2. Start having regular Family Home Evening. (Yes, I am admitting that we aren't that good at it but that is going to change NOW!)

3. Start working out (again). December was a hard month to stick to my workout schedule and I am ashamed to say that weeks went by without me doing so much as a sit up (Strange though, I have lost 3 pounds since Thanksgiving, one thing about breastfeeding, I definitely have random weight loss)

4. Make time for me! We don't really have anyone to watch Abby so I don't do much that is just for me besides my once a month bunco group. My goal is to set aside some time every Saturday that I do not work and work on my scrap booking and my sewing (Jason bought me a sewing machine our first Christmas we were married. I really wanted it and had so many plans of things I wanted to make but I have not even put thread in the thing yet. I have, however, read the instruction manual!) It is only 2 days a month but it is a start!

5. To put more effort into gathering and preparing the type of meals that Abby is going to have to eat. I only have one more year before Abby has to officially go on a heart healthy, 30% fat diet! (They want us to decrease fat a little between 1 and 2 but not too much so she gets enough for brain development)

That is about it for now. I will still need to probably make small, monthly goals but these are the big, important one's where I really need to change! I hope that all of you have a fantastic New Year!! We love you all and we can't wait to see the Albert side of the family next week!