Christmas Photo Shoot

We all know I love to take pictures...I had an interest in high school, but Pam will tell you her camera was the never same after the summer of 1996. We were in New Hampshire living large...summer between our sophomore and junior years of college and she had a pretty nice camera that I kind of stole in retrospect. I loved especially capturing people when they aren't posing and using natural light. Since I've had kids, I just love it even more. This is the third year Adam and Bailey have posed for this shoot...Bailey was the easiest of the three! I dressed them up and spent an hour and a half one morning...and because I didn't have a good photo of Adam smiling, Todd goaded me into spending another hour and a half the next morning. I was exhausted...having to chase him all around! But I love doing it and making our cards...a tradition :) Here's the best :)

My Birthday

I turned 34 on November 18. Birthdays have a different meaning then they used to. When I got fired two days before my 31st birthday, I was done with holidays after that year sucked so hard, beginning around my 30th birthday. But over the last few years, building a new life with my husband and children, there is a more pleasant feeling associated to spending my birthday and other occasions with those who matter the most to me. I have no interest in overblown partying or get-togethers for my birthday...though I love it when my friends do something special for me! And Todd does a great job with birthdays. I should say he and the kids do. In the morning, the kids sent me flowers, balloons and chocolates. It was a nice surprise. It actually made me feel pretty special. Adam loved the balloons. And Abbey the chocolate! Todd came home from work early and went to my favorite...Delmonico's. It was one of those nights where the kids were just being so cute and everyone in our little corner kept saying so. When we came home, we put the kids to bed and when I went to pick up the toys, there was something else on the floor...my new ColorNook! I LOVE this thing...it's like having a library at home. I though I'd miss having a real book to hold, but being old and all, this is really cool because it's easier to read with the back light. :)

Making Whoopee

Last year, Todd started a tradition. He decided he would make Whoopee...that is Whoopee Pies with his kids each year for Christmas. These were his grandmother's specialty. Last year, he made a triple batch that got out of control, but they were pretty good. (I only tasted one as I was on diabetes watch while pregnant). He decided to do a test batch a couple of weeks before Christmas this year. Adam was happy to help when the mixer was out! OK, so Todd loves me enough to put these matching aprons on! He also used my Gingerbread man pot holder to take them out...a pot holder that Adam practically stole from Macy's because it looks like Gingy on Shrek and has become our tree topper...but that's another story. Adam did not want to eat his Whoopee Pie, I guess not surprising from a kid who did not eat his own birthday cake. I helped him and so did Abbey...! We gave some of that batch to his brother Dale and the neighbors and the Wednesday night before Christmas, Todd made a double batch. I skipped dinner and ate THREE...couldn't quite finish the last one as I was getting sick to my stomach but they were GOOD> Deciding it wasn't enough for both our families, he made another double batch Thursday night (which required me getting more ingredients that day. And when he went to use the cocoa....it was already open and I had to run to Price Chopper before my dinner with Tammy to get more! There was even enough for the office...and it turns out my brother-in-law Eric has a huge fetish for the things! Ah, a tradition is cemented.

Day with the Duttingers...*sigh* Adam beats on 8 Year Olds!!

Just spent a chunk of the day with my sisters and their families before they leave tonight. Carolyn, Eric, Alex & Logan are headed to MA to see Eric's parents and Sarah, Jeff & Jamison back home. A huge snowstorm in PA and VA stopped Sarah from leaving early this morning. Mom was exhausted enough from having visitors that she was falling asleep when we were sitting on the floor with Adam putting together his big boy puzzle my Mom got him. She has loved having them up but all the activity was a lot for her.

Adam was wrestling and goofing off with the boys in Bobby's room, but the poor kid doesn't know how strong he is and is just learning his limits. He got warned for hitting and then Alex came running out crying and holding his head because Adam smacked him. Adam got a time out and kind of did his first apology...I carried him in and told him to say he was sorry a couple of times. he said OK. Logan started thinking it was funny to tattle on him for everything...Carolyn put a stop to that!! All in all, boys will be boys!

Eric and Jeff were blaring Star Wars and my mom doing what she always does...turn it down she mutters and sometimes even just does it herself or on occasion, just turns it off. She didn't go that far today! Leftovers and a couple of forgotten gifts from our family exchange on Christmas Eve and it was a laid back day. Abbey even finally relaxed with Carolyn, hanging out with her quite a bit. Bobby and Sarah were gone a few hours, having gone to Wal-mart right before I got there, detouring at Mimi's before they came home.

Nice to see the boys especially...they are starting to have a relationship with me again...and Jamison's lips curl up like Elvis when he grins!

Thinking of Dad

Abbey has weaned herself. Getting her to nap now requires a little more work....rocking her in her room has done the best. She was up Thursday night coughing and catching her breath and when I took her to the doctor the next day, she said she had croupe. She got a shot of steriods that made her cry...it has reminded me of my Dad the last couple of days as she gets better. An odd connection maybe but....After she had her three month appointment, I took her to see my Dad, newly diagnosed and preparing to die. She cried a lot that day on and off. We were sitting outside in the sun at my parent's outdoor table. She was fussing a lot and Dad said that maybe she wasn't in the mood to visit. I told him she had just had her shots and she just wasn't happy when she was in pain. And he told her so sweetly "It's OK Princess I don't like to be in pain, either". He hugged her and she relaxed a little, a big deal for a little girl at the time who seemed to have colic and had a hard time being comforted at all. She laid in my arms, falling asleep, something she struggled with.

He's been on my mind a lot...every time I go to shop for Christmas, it's there...that he's gone. Today, as I was rocking her, it was like I was back in that moment just 6 months ago. The sun, the blue sky, little Abbey and her pouty face and my Dad's gentle, loving voice and me, really seeing how much she was the apple of her Grandpa's eye. Right now, I am being taken back to that 5 weeks in a way I have been avoiding. I have to stop now or it will be too much. I just wish he could hold her now.

Thanksgiving...Abbey's First!

Todd went to work Thanksgiving morning and I, Chrissa, decided to tackle the turkey on my own. I opened that sucker and pulled the innards out...and even remembered after a few minutes where to find the giblet bag. Oh, yeah...I did this on my own! Buttered that sucker up, added some spices and a half lemon to the inside and in it went. I am officially a grown-up now?

Mom decided not to eat dinner with us, choosing to head to her mother's nursing home to eat there. She came to visit us first and I went over to Pontiac to see Grandma with mom before they ate. We had no idea they would be set-up in such a crowded room, but she held Abbey for the first time (2nd time seeing her) and Abbey actually hugged back...a rarity! Adam was cautious of course, but did give Grandma Mary a bye...! Made Mom pose in the parking lot...she looks good here but poor Abbey's eyes I think are bothered by the wind! Me trying to get a picture of both kids with Mom. Todd got home before 2pm and we decided to get everything together to eat before nap time. Todd made mashed potatoes and I did the Stove Top (yeah we're cheesy) and pulled together a few other things (we're the simple types). Now here Todd gives me 20 seconds for my mandatory family holiday dinner picture. At first, Abbey did not like her food! In the end, it turns out she is a stuffing ADDICT! Adam didn't eat much, but he tried things, which he doesn't always do! Poor kid was so tired by 3pm, he asked to go sit in the living room to watch a movie and he went straight to bed soon after! Bobby had to work that day, but he called me in the evening. I wish I had gotten a chance to see him and would've liked my Mom and Bobby to join us for dinner, the one holiday meal we've kind of made our tradition so far. I know we both had thoughts for those who were missing, but I think we did a great job enjoying the day with our own little family.

Snow Bunny

A couple of weeks ago, Todd and I realized that a coat and blankets wasn't going to cut it for Abbey because she will NOT keep her shoes and socks on and it is so cold already. I went to JCPenney looking for snow pants, but they didn't have any and so I got a little snow bunny snowsuit. I thought she'd hate it honestly because my kids don't keep socks or gloves on and HATE it if you try and tuck their legs in under a blanket. But when I tried it on her, she seemed to think it was funny. A couple of days later, I bundled her in it to go to Erin's across the street. This is her when we came back......trying to eat the snow... ...and practically standing up!! Come on, isn't she adorable???

Abbey

Abbey loves to eat. She is not picky like Adam was (and is) from the start....but she does NOT like to be fed anymore. In this photo, she is trying raspberries for the first time....Adam has tried them a few times, but just isn't interested. Abbey LOVES them!!

She will be ten months old on Christmas Eve, but she already has SO much personality. Her Daddy makes her laugh just by pointing at her and this week, she started pointing back. Abbey started by trying and kind of just waving her fist...but the other day....she did it right! Words can't describe how adorable she is with her big grin, wild hair and pointing at her Daddy (she did once to Adam for some reason, too :)

Last night when Todd got home from work she crawled up to him then furiously tried to crawl away, looking over her shoulder to see if her Daddy was going to "get" her. And even though she was tired and clingy today after I ran some errands and Uncle Bobby watched her for the first time, she still laughed when he started messing with her. She is such an imp!

Adam Finds His Christmas Wish

Last week, I had the Toys 'r Us flyer out...I gave it to Adam to look at and he flipped through it with due diligence. He got really into it, sitting in his seat and getting excited about a couple of things, including a dinosaur he pointed to. Then he zeroed in on a train set. There were a handful in there, but he loved this one on sale for $99 (of course, not a cheap one). Every meal, he would leaf through it while snacking, always going back to that page. Once he said "mama Look!". It was so cute. It finally died this weekend when Abbey got her hands on it. I took the new flyer out of Sunday's paper and gave it to him yesterday morning, but he knew better. He looked through the whole thing then said MA! like he does when he's impatient with me. His train wasn't in it and there was no fooling him.

Happy Abbey

Abbey is a very happy and funny kid. She loves to rip off her socks and twirl them around in victory. She will crack up when you blow on her belly. She uses Adam's Lightning McQueen chair as her gym...even flipping over the back and pushing Adam out until he just moves. She loves to smack the gate open and closed to the kitchen all the time, yelling victory when she gets through it and shaking the bars when she gets locked in or out. She loves finding towels and washcloths and scurrying off with them as fast as she can. Today she stole my phone and was frantically crawling away with her spoils when it rang and vibrated, stopping her dead in her tracks, not knowing what to do with it. And when I stuck her in her laundry basket a few weeks ago for fun, she thought it was too funny...though she was NOT giving up her bottle. Because Abbey Cadabbey LOVES her bottle now!!

Adam's Frantic Pants Episode

I put Adam down for his nap, not expecting him to have any issues. He's been kind of sick and also, he played hard at the neighbors'. I laid him in his crib, got his "babies" (a stuffed monkey, Rodney the Reindeer and Donkey from Shrek). I covered him with his monkey blanket like we always do and closed the door. Two minutes later, he is crying his eyes out. Now, he doesn't usually do that. If he doesn't want to nap, he'll start to play and talk and pound on the wall, with the occasional Maaaaa! So I went in immediately. He's standing up clutching his blankey and his babies crying his eyes out. I took him out and sat on the floor with him, hugging him like I do if he gets upset. I asked him what was wrong, asked him if something hurt. Finally, he pointed to his tummy and said owwww. So I rubbed it and hugged him but he kept pointing. And so I buttoned the snaps that were undone on the side of his overalls. And then he stopped crying. He was BESIDE himself over this. I don't know if they were rubbing him funny or if he just is so "Monk"-like, it was too much! We fixed his pants and he immediately laid back down. I put his babies next to him and he looked up at me so tired and looked a little sick. I kissed my hand and rubbed his face with kisses and he just looked so drained. I left and I think he just fell asleep right away. It's an interesting time because he can communicate kind of, but I'm still left wondering sometimes WHY he thinks the way he does. I'm sure in another year, there will be no lack of knowing what he's thinking!!

Anniversary Gift

About a week before an anniversary, Todd asked me if it would be OK if he got a gift that were more of a family gift. I said sure, as long as it's something I wanted. Like, he can't buy a garbage truck and say it's for the whole family :) Later that day, he told me that he had been thinking about replacing the 89's projection TV with a flat screen, something we've talked about for a while. I told him that would be cool...Lord knows a lot of my social life is bad reality shows and watching movies with my son and husband. We went to Wal-mart October 3 to see what they had...and we found one that was a floor model for like 40% off. It was big...but we didn't realize how big until we got it home..anyhow, they couldn't find the remote so they took another ten percent off...and I called the next day to talk to the manager to see if he could find it as one of the associates told me to do and he ended up finding it! Side note...when I went in, they told me they couldn't find it and I basically refused to leave until they did. Anyhow, we gave the old TV to Todd's brother Dale...him and a buddy came right down for it. Adam is very interested in watching them... I kept not doing this post because I haven't taken a picture of the new TV..so I'll keep you in suspense and add one later.

Today

Abbey's nine month appointment today....27 1/2 inches and 18.6 pounds. She's 50% now. She hasn't stood again...but I think walking isn't far off!!!

Adam was fine with Uncle Bobby babysitting...didn't even get bothered when I left. Abbey was in a mood from the moment she woke up from her nap. She cried whenever my brother went near her. And at the doctor, she cried whenever I put her down. The doctor said that when she cried, she had the perfect model baby face. it's true. She got a flu shot and I did, too. Even though I hate 'extra' things in my body, after hesitating, I looked at little Abbey and thought...she's too tiny to be so sick...if I can possibly prevent her going through that, than I'll do it. They gave her hers while I held her and then Dr. Liepke held her while I got me. Her whole face wrinkled up...I just wanted to hug her. But...she got over it. And when I got home, Adam couldn't be torn from Mater's Tall Tales to come greet me *sigh* glad he's being independent but it would be nice if I didn't have to pin him down for a squeeze!!

PS And I just blew a bunch of raspberries on her stomach and she cracked up...loved it so much that when I stopped she bent her back back so I'd do it again!!!