Girl's Weekend

Two weekends ago a few friends and I went down to Austin for a girls weekend. It was so nice to have a weekend just to ourselves without the worries of home. However, it was pretty hard for me not to worry cause it was my first time away from my baby, Abby had a stomach virus and Brian's flight got delayed overnight. But thanks to my wonderful mom who came up to stay for a couple of days, everything held together without me. Of course it did. But I guess when your a first time mom, you still worry that life will fall apart if you leave.

We stayed at the Driskill Hotel in Downtown right off of Sixth Street. We were right next to all the action. This is a pic of the foyer ceiling. The rest of the hotel was just as beautiful.

Cindy got a little friendly with Mr. Driskill.

And the birds got a little friendly with Carrie. The birds were INSANE in Austin. I guess it was that time of year when they hoard the trees and terrorize the people below with the constantly falling poop.

We went to this cute little bohemian spa downtown called Joie de Vie and got massages and pedicures. Mine are the pale feet with the super deep red. Man, I need a tan.

We also went to the San Marcos outlet malls and had a great time shopping, and also went to several different restaurants in Austin that were recommended. We had such a great time and hope to be able to do it again!

Decorating Help

Hey all you amazing home-decorators: There is one spot in our house we don't know what to do with. It's a 15 foot wall in our kitchen. Anyone have any good ideas?

Heaven Points

If there is such a thing as a point system to get into heaven, I think moms should get double points than everyone else, even Mother Theresa and the Pope. Abby had what we thought was a bad cold the last couple of nights and she felt so bad she was awake most of Saturday and Sunday night. Brian helped out the first night, but since he had to go to work today, I stayed up with her last night. I think I got 4 hours of sleep. We took her to the doc today and she has a sinus infection. Babies get sinus infections??? Mine does I guess. On top of that, since New Year's day, she's had TWO stomach viruses too. Will it ever end? No. Cause soon there will be two babies to care for, and someday more. And with all the sicknesses, broken bones, and broken hearts that we will have to mend, it seems the only reward we get is the satisfaction of raising wonderful children. That's why we deserve extra heaven points.

Our Finished Bedroom...maybe

So we've had color on the walls for months, but no pictures. We finally put some up today and it's so nice to have a finished room...for now. I'm always changing the decor of the rooms. Maybe cause it never seems perfect? Anyway, here are some pics of our master bedroom.

SNOW!

So it's snowed like three or four times this year and I haven't taken Abby out in it. I got repremanded by Grandma last night for not getting pictures of Abby in the snow, so when I saw that it was snowing today I grabbed Abby and we went outside. This isn't the pleasant stick-to-the-ground-and-play-in-it-snow, so I had to hold her in her bulky coat and take pictures at the same time. But I got snow pictures! Enjoy, Grandma.

Funny Pictures

Every Thursday we have two awesome girls, Morgan and Emma, watch Abby during Evening Song practice. They love taking crazy pictures of her and I thought I'd share a few.

The Face Wash Theory

I have never gone a night without washing my face. Never. Even when I've had dibilitating migrains, I've somehow managed to wash my face. I think I've even managed to do it when I've been camping. I don't know why I'm so fanatical about it. Maybe it's habit, or maybe it's the thought of my pores being left to suffocate under the layers of dirt, oil and grime that have accumulated from the day's activities. And it feels so good to know that I'm keeping my skin healthy, nourished and clean.

Sometimes I'm so tired and I think, what's so bad about skipping just one day? But the better part of me says, "No. You've worked too long and hard to keep your skin healthy. You can't afford to skip a day. And if you skip tonight, whose to say you won't justify skipping tomorrow? And then one day after a month of not washing your face, you'll wake up to a mound of pimples lines and blemishes envading every pore and surface of your skin." The thought makes me shudder.

But you know what? I haven't been reading my scriptures every night. There is always some excuse or reason to justify not reading. Ironically, never does my mind consider what happens to my testimony and my spirituality when I skip a day of reading. Throughout the day I am bombarded with the dirt, oil and grime of the world. What better way to wash it all off than by reading my scriptures and cleansing my "spiritual skin"? Yet I've gone days without studying the scriptures. I am suffocating my testimony by not nourishing it daily and I am not working hard enough to keep my spirit healthy. I can't afford to skip one day. I don't want to wake up one day to discover a mound of spiritual pimples, lines and blemishes invading and clogging every surface of my spirit. The thought makes me shudder even more.

So now I am committed to reading and studying my scriptures every day...right after I wash my face.

-Mandie

Abby's Likes/Dislikes

Abby loves...

paper (toilet paper, cardboard, tissue, typing paper, all kinds)
mac-n-cheese and corn dogs
playing with her books in her bedroom
re-arranging the kitchen by pushing around the trash can and chairs.
attention from strangers
Nilla wafers
my cell phone
other babies and their toys
peek-a-boo
baths and bubbles
shopping
attacking mommy and daddy's faces
making messes

Abby doesn't like...

the vacuum
falling down
skipping a nap
being couped up in the house all day (or maybe that's me...?)
I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of any!

Month Six and Seven

I think she was at her pudgiest during these months. Here she is in her seductive pose. Hey baby, how you doin'?

Isn't she such a sweet girl?

This is one of the many weird faces she makes. It makes me giggle every time I look at this picture.

She has also mastered the scowl.... I don't know WHERE she gets that from.

Month Five

I don't think we took a whole lot of pictures her fifth month. She wasn't doing much developmentally, and she made this blank wide-eyed stare every time we took pictures. Still cute though!

Doesn't she have the best smile???

I love this picture. Around this age I thought she looked a lot like a smurf.

This is just one of the many positions she slept in at that age. Now she sleeps like she's praying to Allah.

Month Four

I loved it when Abby would fall asleep anywhere.... aaah... those were the days.
Here's Abby trying to eat grandma Fowkes' arm.

This was the first picture where we noticed that Abby was growing up. She just looked like such a big girl. Bitter-sweet.
This picture was taken at our new house the week we closed. That was such a happy time for us; we had an adorable baby and a new home. Life can't get much better!

This was at our trip to the Dallas Arboretum. She loved "hanging around" on Daddy and of course, being the center of attention.

Month Three

One morning when we were living with Brian's parents while our house was being built, Abby took her morning nap in our bed. As she was stirring, I took pictures of her and then laid down beside her and took more pictures. Looking at these pictures makes me misty-eyed for some reason. She was just so sweet and wonderful and cute and I'll never forget that morning and the hundred more amazing times that I've gotten to share with her.

I know babies grow fast, but I can't get over how big Abby got in three months time. She was a runt at the beginning, but certainly caught up later!

Month Two

Abby started sleeping through the night when she was 5 weeks old. We feel very fortunate that she was such an easy baby. We just hope our second one is just as wonderful.

We don't know what prompted this face, but we love it!



One thing that we noticed right away about Abby was her crazy toes. Her big toes were always arched and her feet were always wiggling, and they're still like that now.

Twelve Months Of Abby

I've been looking back at the pictures we have of Abby and thought I'd share some of my favorites.

MONTH ONE


Abby is just two days old in this picture. You can see the lopsided cone where she was trying to go through the birth canal crooked. Isn't she precious?

She was so tiny nothing fit her the first couple of months, not even her headbands.
This is her first birthday cake ever, of course celebrating her first month. We said we'd celebrate every month with a mini-cake, but it didn't quite work out that way.

Okay, so she was only a month old, but we like to think of this as her first smile caught on camera. Look at that little spark in her eye!

It's A...

BOY! Yay!





Here he is sucking his thumb. Aww!

At the Door

Abby will usually bolt out the door the minute I open it, but this time the sun was streaming in and she decided instead to play in the light. I love moments like this!

My Sister Needs Help

My sister, Missy, is an extremely talented graphic designer who eventually wants to quit her job at D Magazine to stay at home with her baby. She's looking for someone who knows a little about creating websites to help her get her invitation business up and running. If anyone knows of someone, let her know. Here's the link to her blog. http://johnandmissy.blogspot.com/

By the way, if you need invitations, announcements, etc, she's the person to go to. Her designs are fabulous!

BOY or GIRL?

We find out this Friday whether its a boy or a girl. What's everyone's guess?

Abby's First Birthday

First Birthday

Abby turned one on the 26th so we had a little party to celebrate. I threw together a quick montage of her big day.