Happy MLK Day

Martin Luther King Jr. was a definitely a great man of infinite historical importance. To be honest, though, this year I was just excited that it meant an extra day at home with Abbey. I guess it's a good thing I'm not teaching social studies... We hung out with Colleen and Brendan. Brendan is such a fun little boy! He is running (yes, I said running) all over the place and loves to be chased. I thought Abbey's crawling was getting fast, but she can't keep up with him.

Abbey decided to use Brendan's red toy as a step stool to climb on top of his new table. I guess she really wanted to play with those blocks.

She's making herself right at home.

She's going to be so disappointed when Brendan's train set takes its rightful place on the table.

Keeping Up with Current Events

Abbey wants to be like Daddy and read the newspaper. She knows it is important to stay on top of events in the news.
Unfortunately, like many Michiganians, Abbey isn't too pleased about the way things are going in our poor state. To be serious for a moment, the Michigan economy is pretty bleak right now, and it is affecting many of the people we know and love. It is truly frightening to think about the possibility that things might get worse here before they get better. Whether or not the auto industry is at fault for their current predicament, it seems unfair to place blame on the families that are seeing the worst of it, simply because they are working in largest industry in the state. Please keep Michigan in your thoughts and prayers right now. We can use all the help we can get!

An Older Man

Abbey and I spent some time with Stacy, Madison, and Connor last weekend. Unfortunately, my camera battery was pretty low, so I didn't get any new shots of Madison. She is growing so quickly, and is such a sweet little girl. I can't wait to get some new pictures to showcase her gorgeous, adorable dimples! Abbey was pretty interested in Madison. At one point, Madison was sitting in her swing, and Abbey was kind of talking to her. So cute! I can't wait until they are able to interact more.

Abbey is also pretty interested in Connor. Who wouldn't have a crush on such a smart and cute little guy? He was singing the ABCs and listening to my heart with his stethoscope. See, Abbey, this is a puzzle. I hear you have a puzzle, but it isn't as intricate as this one.

(Abbey's only has three pieces.)
You are supposed to put them back after you take them out!
Connor would neatly put the pieces away, and Abbey would take another one out of the puzzle.

As usual, her attention was momentarily distracted by some chewing relief. Hopefully, her little teeth will stop bothering her so much as she gets more of them.

Angel with a Blue Dress On

Abbey got a very fun learning table from Grandma Sue & Grandpa Ray for Christmas. It does about a million different things, and she really enjoys playing with it, especially listening to the music. And playing with the little phone...such a smart girl!
She's pretty excited to come see Mommy...

...oh, Mommy, wait one second...
I think I would rather climb the stairs.

Poor Grandma Sharon can attest to the fact that one of Abbey's favorite toys isn't really a toy at all. She loves crawling up the stairs. She goes up a little, looks out at the living room through the railing, goes up a little more, tries to grab the lamp through the rails, goes up to the landing and looks at Uncle Joe's painting, and on and on. She never gets tired of doing it, which means that anyone watching her gets to go up and down the stairs quite frequently. Her blue dress is from Great Grandma Hageman, and it's great to see her in blue.

Abbey's First Spartan Game

Every year, Ryan and I go to the Michigan State basketball game at the Palace with my parents, Donnie, and (sometimes) Jessica. Last year I had to wear one of Ryan's shirts over my pregnant belly, so I guess that was technically Abbey's first game, but this is the first one she was actually aware of. We thought she did a great job at her first game. We played a little bit of musical baby, passing her up and down between us so that she stayed busy looking at different things. For a little while she sat in a chair next to Grandpa by herself, and she really got a kick out of that. We hope the Spartans play their annual game at the Palace for many years to come. Our seats were pretty good this year, and we were there early enough to watch the players warm up before the game.

Abbey had a great time watching the people in the concourse.

A Holiday Play Date

A couple days after Christmas, Abbey and I went to have a play date at our friend Joann's house. It was wonderful to hang out with Joann, Molly, Lainey, Florence, and Elliot. Joann has a fantastic play area in the basement for the kids, and it was the perfect place to play while the moms got to chat and catch up. I have to say that I hope Lainey was able to babytalk to Abbey about the joys of long naps. She slept for most of the time we were there, which is a foreign concept to our little anti-napper! Flo and Elliot playing on the xylophone.Elliot moved on, but Abbey decided to try out her musical skills on Molly's new keyboard.
Just like her Mom, Abbey usually has something to say :)

Molly got Don't Break the Ice for Christmas. She is pretty good at it!

Other Christmas Pictures

Abbey loves tissue paper.
Abbey loves bows. She had so much fun playing with them that I actually kept a box of them under the tree after Christmas, and I am pretty sure she thought they were one of her new toys.

Ohh, pretty clothes!

Honey Bear checking out the scenery.

Well, you see Aunt Jessica...

Abbey looking at all of the presents.

Abbey loves other people's drinks.

Playing in the toys at Grandma's (notice the fabulous circus train!)

Opening presents Christmas Eve

The Amman Family

The Taber Family

Abbey and I had such a great time hanging out with Bridgett.

I don't know if the giraffe was really meant for such a fancy dress, but Abbey had fun! She was so cute with her little feet on the pegs.

Christmas Day

Abbey started to understand the concept of unwrapping, but she definitely didn't have the attention span necessary to tackle the mound of presents she received. What a lucky girl!

Abbey was loving Uncle Donnie that day. We had to coax her away from him to get her near her big pile of presents on the other side of the room.

Having a conversation with Aunt Jessica.

Abbey is started to show a lot of interest in her cousin, Honey Bear. Soon Honey Bear will be running from her!

One of Abbey's favorite gifts...a tugboat for the bathtub. Thank you Aunt Jessica & Uncle Donnie!

Christmas Day started with the three of us at home, and later everyone came to our house! Hopefully, everyone enjoyed themselves as much as we did. We are so fortunate and blessed to have such a wonderful family, and the holidays give us the opportunity to spend time with all of the people we love! We are looking forward to the surprises 2009 will bring, but 2008 was such a great year for us, it will be hard to top!

Christmas Eve

Mmmm, Christmas Eve dinner...the adults had Grandma Sharon's delicious lasagna, traditional roast beef on weck, and a ton of desserts. Abbey ate an entire banana and enjoyed every single bite.

Now that she is on the move, Abbey doesn't spend a lot of time just hanging out and being held. There's too much to see and do on the ground! However, she had an interesting "conversation" with Great Grandma Rose. Abbey spent quite a bit of time on Great Grandma's lap, talking to her and being super sweet.

Grandma Sharon brought out some of Mommy and Uncle Donnie's old toys. Everyone got a kick out of remembering the old toys. Aunt Jessica even had some of the same ones! Better yet, none of them needed batteries and still provided a rollicking good time.

Here is Abbey riding another one of Mommy's old toys. She was the cutest thing ever (ok, so I'm a bit biased, but still...) putting her feet on the little pegs and letting us push her around on the lead-paint-covered death trap...um, I mean...perfectly safe wooden giraffe. (Just kidding Mom, I know you won't let her chew on it!)

We always celebrate Christmas Eve and Grandma Sharon & Grandpa Don's house with the Taber side of the family. Grandma Sue & Grandpa Ray join us there, making it a wonderful family celebration. Abbey enjoyed her first Christmas very much. Early that afternoon, she met Mommy's wonderful friend Bridgett. We had a wonderful time with her, and Mommy and Bridgett are already talking about the fun we will have on a future girls' weekend in the city when Abbey is a little older!