Kirsten and Kendyl

Kirsten and Kendyl had Sarah take pictures of them for my mom for her birthday. I remember changing their diapers and babysitting them. Wow! They have changed so much. Now I have a little girl that is my own! It's so much fun getting pictures of your family as the years go by. Of all the things that are worldly that I hold on to, I don't think pictures are such a bad thing!

Here are some pictures of Abby's room. Zac recently moved all of her billions and billions of toys into her room so that we could reclaim our living room. The little chair was from her Uncle Eli and she LOVES it!! She has that chair and a little basketball chair that she loves to sit in. The swing/slide 'castle' was her big gift from Santa Claus. She can climb into the swing by herself and loves to go down the slide. I can't believe how big she's getting!!

Elliott tradition

After Zac posted the washer picture, I got some questions about it. When Rick, my father-in-law, was a baby, his parents took a picture of him in the washer with a box of detergent. My in-laws carried on the tradition with Zac and, of course, we did the same with Abby. Here are all three pictures...a strange tradition, I suppose, but everybody has their quirks, right? :o)

Parenting Pet Peeve

I had to miss work yesterday and today because Abby had a stomach bug and couldn't go to the little daycare she attends a few days a week. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem because my Mom can keep her, but Mom had a doctors appointment yesterday and today she had to go out of town. So I stayed home with my girl. Which is NOT a problem, I would much rather be with her than at work. BUT it reeeeaaaalllly bugs me that I'm a responsible parent who keeps my sick child home while other ninnies send their sick kids to daycare/school and that's why I have to use sick leave. Grrrrr. If people would be a little considerate, things in this world would run so much better...

Elf Yourself!

I don't know if you guys have seen the Office Max website that lets you "Elf Yourself," but it's pretty cute...check our our link and make your own elf!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1319232508

Home again!!

We're finally home! Abby has been in the hospital since Tuesday. We took her to the doctor Monday because of fever and strange breathing; Dr. Miers could tell that she was sick, but there weren't any solid symptoms. She thought about putting us in the hospital for observation - she thought Abby was developing pneumonia - but told us to watch her at home that night and come back the next day. So we went back on Tuesday. I was there for a little bit, then my Mom stayed with her so I could go back to work. Mom called me about 4:30 and said "The updrafts aren't working, we're going to the hospital." I called Zac and met Mom at Baptist Springhill to admit Abby.

When we got to the room the nurses did all the standard stuff, including an RSV test, which came back positive. What a horrible sickness for a little one! Abby was on oxygen through her nose and had a pulse-ox monitor on her toe. She was so miserable! She had fever until Friday. She was getting gunk in her lungs and coughing, but couldn't breathe really well. That was what originally worried us so much, she was breathing in really, really fast, short breaths.

And so we spent the next 4 1/2 days there. Zac and I would relieve each other and my wonderful parents relieved us. I started to break down Saturday afternoon after my sister left, so Mom & Dad came back up. Dad and I went to the store, just to get me out, and they left just before Zac got off work. I came home around 11:30 and slept here. Then this morning I went back up and, to my surprise, the room was packed and they were just waiting on me. Abby looked so happy to be detached from her machines. When we pulled up in the driveway and I got her out of the car, her little eyes had sparkles in them!!

This isn't our first hospitalization with Abby and I'm sure it won't be the last. But it really makes me grateful for our mostly healthy daughter. So many parents spend a lot more time in hospitals than we do and experiences like this make me sooooo grateful for all of our many blessings!!

The Classic Shot

Here it is! The classic shot of Abby in the washing machine just like her daddy and Pawpaw. As you can tell she thought it was funny! She'll probably look back and wonder what the heck were they thinkin'?! Abby just thought it was something new, nothing unusual.

Zac's 30th Birthday

Well, today I am 30. Hmmm..... feelin' thirty? Yep you bet. Two cars, a wife, kid and a shirt and tie job, yeah, I feel older. Tommorrow is my party at Funtastic! I love that place. Lots of pizza, hot wings and games! Last time I had a birthday party there, it was a surprise. Sarah blindfolded me and took me all the way to Cabot. Although I knew where I was at before taking the blindfold off, I didn't know there was so many people there. This time I know ahead of time, but it should still be a blast! Nothing like going to a place where you can play skee-ball for tickets to keep you young!

Just getting started

I thought it would be fun to make a blog so that we can keep everybody updated with our family. (Mainly Abby, since she's the one everbody is interested in!!) Hopefully I can learn a little bit about websites on here and keep pictures and stuff updated!!!