November 2009

This month was a bit busy. I was able to get us almost fully moved in, Nate replaced our incredibly nasty kitchen sink, we painted Abigail's room a soft yellow, and she started going to nursery!! We had a Fabulous Thanksgiving with Nate's brother Brandon, his wife Julie, and their cute girls, London and Hadley. We had a great dinner (though no pics to prove it), a fun visit, hit Lincoln Parish Park, and went to Natchitoches for the big Christmas festival.

It was quite the nasty job, but soooo worth it! Thanks sweetheart!!

Abby's room color before...

... and after, though this pic seems to brighten it up a bit :)

Abby's new table, a steal I found on Craigslist!!

Setting up the tree, and a perfect capture of Abby's silly and naughty personality beginning to emerge :)
Great times at Lincoln Parish Park

Our Thanksgiving breakfast at IHOP :)

London was such a fun little entertainer

In Natchitoches (somehow pronounced "Nak-a-tesh")

Our group out in search of the "Steel Magnolias" home

It's such a fun Christmas Festival, and we're definitely planning to keep it a yearly tradition while we live in Louisiana.

October 2009

This month we had a chance to go to Dallas for a second training seminar for ASCH's Hypnotherapy Course for Nate, and while he was away learning great techniques to someday use, Abby and I played tourists. We hit the park, Fort Worth's Water Gardens, and as we were heading out, we wrapped up the trip with a visit to the Dallas Zoo, it was a fun family adventure :)

Abby LOVED our hotel's fish containing coffee table :)

... almost as much as she loved chasing the ducks at a great nearby park we found

Dallas Zoo

Abby was a great traveler with her cute nose-rubbing, self-soothing techniques

All decked out in her Halloween gear from Grandma Sewell :)

This year for Halloween, Abigail was once again a cute little fairy, (this time with more hair) and she LOVED getting dressed up for it.

We started the holiday with Nate's amazing Pumpkin Spice waffles with freshly carved Jack-O-Lanterns as decor ;)

Then made a quick trip to Abby's favorite pet shop...

...headed to our ward's fun Halloween Party - we're nerds, I know

...and wrapped up the day with a bath and a favorite pic of mine :)

We live on such a busy road, it was no surprise that we didn't get trick-or-treaters, but we proudly displayed our Jack-o-lanterns anyhow :)

September 2009

We got home on the 1st, and headed out a few days later to spend Labor Day weekend with Nate's brother Brandon and his family in Round Rock, TX. We met their new sweet baby, hit the pool, and spent fun quality time. It was a great trip, Abby loved getting to play with her cousins, and in the meantime they got us addicted to Rudy's Bar-B-Q :)
We quickly got back into the routine of things, which meant Nate was back to school full time, this time including beginning teaching his own Introductory Psychology class. This program really keeps him hopping.
As for me, I had a whole house to unpack and organize. Luckily, we plan to stay here for the next 2 years, so that made unpacking a lot easier, so now things have more permanent placements.
On the 30th was our 4 year anniversary, and we celebrated as a family at Olive Garden in Monroe, one of our favorite restaurants. Happy Anniversary, Nate!! :)

Glamour Girl :)

Brandon, Julie, and Hadley

We had a great time swimming with the Texas Sewells :)

A great restaurant they took us to in Austin :)