Abby's New Car Seat

With how tall Abby's been getting, we knew we were a bit overdue with getting her a new car seat. I had put stuffing in her pink one for more cozy rides, and recently found that she had discovered it and was eating it. I'd try to stuff it out of her reach, but she'd dig till she'd find it, and I ended up having to take it out altogether. Unfortunately she kept digging till she started pinching apart the original stuffing for the seat and eating that too!! Needless to say, we hurried and got her this new seat, and now she loves feeling like such a 'big girl' :)

Her last ride in her pink car seat

Somber as can be and totally confused as to what Daddy was putting her in

It was so fun to watch her expressions on her first ride, like this :)

Within a couple car rides, she was a big fan (especially on her way to swim class)!

All smiles :)

Barksdale Airshow

On May 9th, we made it to an airshow at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City. Luckily it was mostly cloudy, but was still ultra humid. We're still trying to adjust to the climate here. It was a fun experience though and Abby loved watching all the people, and she occasionally watched a plane or two. The jets' booming flights scared her, though probaly not as much as our quick attempts to cover her ears. But for the most part, we all had a great time. Here are a few pics of that day.
BTW, Nate's brother, Brandon, also graduated that day with his MBA from Duke University, and we're sad we couldn't make it. Congrats, Bran, we're proud of you!!!
Abby amazed at some of the people we saw (we were too!!)

I love how convenient baby food is and am so glad she's still willing to eat it at times like these

The stunts were really impressive!!

The Blue Angel jets

We love moments like these when she'll sleep on us, since they're rare and few with her independent personality :)

Abby's Swim Class

We signed Abigail up for swim classes at 11 months, and I was sooo excited, since I LOVE to swim and was hoping she would too. Unfortunately the first class didn't go so well, she was overwhelmed with all the water (especially since we still have to bathe her in a baby tub) and was nervous, clingy, and kept waving to Nate, who was watching, to come get her.
The second class started out the same, and I began wondering if maybe it was too soon for her or she just wouldn't be much of a swimming fan, but at the very end of that class she seemed to suddenly think it was kinda fun. From the third class on (there were 8), she LOVED it, was kicking, splashing, and basically "crawling" as fast as she could in the water, trying to get where she wanted to go, with grunts and looks at me saying "let me go now, Mom, I got it!" It was so fun, and I was sad to see it end. Luckily Mom and Nate were able to be there for her last class. The pics below are from her first and last classes:
Abby's first time in a swimsuit, and showing off her long legs :)

Clinging on tight

Her last class, all smiles- she couldn't wait to get in the water

Exploring the gutters each and every time

All wrapped up with two of her biggest fans :)

School, school, and more school...

This is a surprise pic of (sleep-deprived) Nate doing what he likes least: studying.
What we thought was busy work when he first started the program has now become a fond memory, as his workload in earning his doctorate has now tripled. He's not only a full time student and part-time research assistant, but is now also counseling individual, group, and marriage therapy. To top it off, he'll also start teaching a psychology class next quarter. He says, "And I thought my undergrad kept me busy!!' Averaging 5 hours of homework and 6 hours of sleep when he's home, he still manages to somehow spend time with Abby and I and somehow we make it all work.
I just want to say how much I appreciate you, Nate, and all you are doing for us; you're Amazing and We LOVE You!!!

Easter 2009

Our Flood Day

It was a typical day, Nate at school, Abby napping, me cleaning the house; I started some laundry, went upstairs to check my email, then went downstairs to find this:

60% of our main level was covered with soapy water, apparently our washer was having issues. This is where we're so glad to have landlords!! They had people come out, clean it all up, set up fans and all, but when the appliance technician came out later to take a look at it, it flooded all over again, but this time more like 70%!! This time Nate broke out the shop vac (thanks again, M & D Sewell) to clean it up fast. It ended up being an issue with broken pipes or something. Unfortunately we had to shorten our date planned for that night, and had a fan-filled conference weekend, but things are all back to dry and in working order again :)

New Babies!!!

We want to brag about the 2 new beautiful additions to our families in March, coincidentally both born on the same day, and sweet as can be, we can't wait to meet them!!
Congrats Brandon & Julie and Mark & Angie!!! :)

Jan, Feb and March '09

Since I haven't been doing well at keeping caught up, here are a handful of pics over the last few months - I plan to do much better at staying current!!! Here's also a quick update for the events over that time period...
We absolutely love our ward out here, they're definitely like family and have made us feel right at home. Nate was recently called as second counselor in the Elders Quorum, which he enjoys, and I was called as a den master for the cub scouts, for the wolf and bear cubs - I only have 3 boys total, but I love it!! We were able to head south to Baton Rouge the end of Feb for our ward temple trip, which was a great experience and made us realize how much we took the temples being so close in Utah for granted. It was a great trip, and Abby traveled like a champ, she's always up for an adventure. :)
Nate's been getting more and more busy with school, and is still rocking with acing his assignments and tests. Despite pulling numerous all-nighters, he has somehow built up a killer immune system and never gets sick - knock on wood. He still manages to squeeze in play time for Abby and hang time with me, so luckily he doesn't seem too busy, which keeps us all sane :)
Abigail officially figured out how to crawl, and I have to admit that I kind of miss those scooting days when she wasn't sooo fast at getting into Everything. She's such a fun little character, loves to say Mohmmmm and Daddeh, LOVES dogs and her books, and to wave at everyone she sees. She's quite the social bug and thinks she's hilarious, and we love every minute of it ;)
Baton Rouge Temple

She apparently couldn't stay awake and fell asleep flopped over, and for a few weeks, this was a pretty constant trend. Unfortuanately we didn't get to see any of these events in action, which I'm sure would have been hilarious ;)

Playing in her room and being a goofball

St. Patricks Day

Our day trip to The Riverwalk

Abigail all glammed up

She Loves books

A typical morning ;)

Abby exploring our bed and having a blast