the 3 heberts

disneyland part 2

2009-12-07T14:12:00.001-08:00

The castle looked beautiful when it was lit up at night.

Abby with her new Minnie Mouse ears she picked out herself!

Helping us figure out where to go in California Adventure.

Mickey's Ferris Wheel

Dad + Abby

Abby + Dad on King Triton's Carousel.

All 3 of us on the Carousel.

Abby on her seahorse.

Josh excited about the Chew-Chew train.

Abby didn't like it when the caterpillar burped :)

Here's Abby on her favorite ride - the Ladybugs. You could ask her right now what her favorite part of Disneyland was and she will answer THE LADYBUGS! The ride is a lot like the teacups - they spin around fast and a lot! I went on it with her and I couldn't believe how fast it was. She had to sit on my lap because it was tossing her around. I had my arms around her and I could feel her laughing in her belly - it was so fun. She had a great ride!

Our precious Abby sitting inside the A.

All 3 of us!

Abby and her new friend - Minnie.

Enjoying a video on Mom's ipod on the way home on the plane.

disneyland!

2009-12-07T14:00:00.001-08:00

We spent 1 day at Disneyland/California Adventure. It was a BUSY day but we got to do a lot!

Here we are when we first arrived.

The castle was decorated for Christmas - and everything else was, too. So pretty.

Josh waiting for me and Abby as we waited to get on Abby's first Disneyland ride ever -- DUMBO!

Her sweet little face -- she was so excited to ride Dumbo.

The 3 of us on the Canal Boat ride through Storybook Land.

Enjoying a snack while waiting for the Finding Nemo submarine ride.

Abby with Belle.

Small World all lit up!

Me and Abby at Chip and Dale's House in Toontown

california!

2009-12-07T13:52:00.001-08:00

The 3 of us took a mini-vacation to California. We had an AWESOME time. We surprised Josh's sister and girls the night we arrived. So fun! The next day we headed to Huntington Beach. We love it there. Abby got to play in the sand and in the ocean with Josh. That night, we met Chris, Lorella, Lesleigh and Carter for dinner. It was so good to see them!

christmas is coming

2009-12-07T13:48:00.001-08:00

Abby helped me get the Christmas decorations up last week. She loves to look at and play with all of the ornaments.

starbucks

2009-12-07T13:45:00.001-08:00

Yup - Abby loves Starbucks. Here she is enjoying some water and a croissant. I think she ate most of it herself. :)

macy's parade

2009-12-07T13:44:00.001-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving the 3 of us headed to downtown Seattle for the Macy's Parade. We all enjoyed it!

our little pumpkin

2009-11-03T20:03:00.001-08:00

For the first time in her life, Abby got to go trick-or-treating this year. She was so excited. The local businesses put on a little Halloween event the day before Halloween where kids could go from store to store getting treats. It was the perfect first-time for Abby.

Here she is getting ready to go. She was so excited and LOVED her costume.

Smiles!

Me and my little pumpkin.

Little pumpkin in her carseat.

Mommy + little pumpkin walking around.

Abby enjoying her treat from Starbucks -- free chocolate milk! Her favorite.

Cutie.

I think I should sell this picture to Starbucks. She is just so cute.

I really like this one -- Daddy + little pumpkin.

Ok - this is not a posed shot. We were walking around, and we came up on a bike rack. Abby says -- "OOHH! I need to stretch!" So she stopped and stretched her legs and arms. We were laughing! It was so fun. We had a great time as a family!

pumpkin night

2009-11-03T19:51:00.001-08:00

One night last week the 3 of us took some time to decorate pumpkins. OK - Josh and Abby did. I could not get inspired for mine this year. Abby used glitter glue on hers. She also got to wear the hat from her pumpkin costume while she was working on it. She had a lot of fun and did a great job with her pumpkin. Josh's was amazing of course.

lunch + story time

2009-10-17T15:45:00.001-07:00

Today we went to Half Price Books. Man, I love that place. I can get books for Abby for amazing prices. When we got home it was lunch time. We decided to do it picnic style and have Josh read her a couple of the new stories. It was super fun.

**Note - Abby is wearing her rain coat. She insisted on wearing it, zipped up all the way, while she ate lunch and listened. Ah, the demands of a 3 year old. :)

another trip to the outlet mall

2009-10-17T15:42:00.001-07:00

Abby on the carousel at the outlet mall. As long as she gets to ride the rides, it is a pleasant shopping experience. :)

i did it

2009-10-17T15:41:00.001-07:00

I tried sushi. No kidding. I tried what's called a Spider Roll. Ew. It was crab and fish eggs and some other unidentifiable creepiness. This isn't the best picture of me, but Josh had to capture the moment. After I tried the roll, I went ahead and chowed down on my new york steak in teriyaki glaze, with bacon and pineapple fried rice and veggies. I will continue to stay away from sea creatures wrapped in seaweed, thank you.

fun at the park

2009-10-17T15:38:00.001-07:00

We love where we live. One of the things that is so great about this area is that there are a TON of parks within walking distance of our house. This particular day Abby and I were at a park near our house that we call "sand park" (because it has a sandbox). Abby had so much fun going down the slides, climbing, and swinging. That smile on her face is so amazing.

fun with bubbles in the backyard

2009-10-17T15:36:00.001-07:00

When we went to the fair with gramma + papa, they bought Abby this amazing bubble-gun-shooter-thing. It lights up and shoots out bubbles. Abby loves it. Hey- I love it.

One afternoon Abby and Josh were out in the backyard having fun. Some of these pics are amazing. Abby is such a sweet, fun, beautiful little girl!

I love this face.

What an angel.

Her little smile...oh man. It makes my heart happy.

daddy + abby

2009-10-17T15:31:00.001-07:00

so nice

2009-10-17T15:30:00.001-07:00

We got home from running errands one day and Abby wanted to hold the door open for me. Here she is doing her thing - blue tinted sunglasses and all. :)

puyallup fair with gramma + papa

2009-10-17T15:29:00.001-07:00

We went to the fair for a second time with gramma and papa. Abby loved having them there! Gramma went on the big slide with Abby - so fun. Abby had a Dizzy Pass this time, so she could go on any ride she wanted, as many times as she wanted.

Putting her hands up for the first time on the dragon wagon!

Yup - another ride on the airplanes. She really likes this ride.

Abby on her pink sparkly 4-wheeler. :)

Driving her dump truck.

On a motorcycle. I am about 99% sure I rode this exact same ride when I was a kid.

BBQ for dinner with gramma and papa.

Abby got to have her picture with Dora and Boots! A BIG thanks to papa and Josh for waiting in line for us.

Another crazy, classic Abby face. She is such a goofy kid!

Getting ready to ride the helicopters. I am pretty sure Josh and I were the most nervous parents at this ride. It went pretty fast and around and around. She was totally safe - but it was for sure a bigger-kid ride. She really liked it.

abby's ice cream

2009-10-17T15:19:00.001-07:00

Josh was gone one night - at a meeting or something - and Abby and I had a movie + ice cream night. We watched Milo and Otis and she had her own little bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce on it. She was SO excited to have her own bowl.

puyallup fair

2009-10-17T15:17:00.001-07:00

We headed to the fair back in September - Abby loved it. The rides were a HUGE hit. She rode the airplane ride 4 times, went on the giant slide with me, drove a dump truck, rode the dragon wagon roller coaster. It was a great time!

Not sure what she's doing here.

She really liked riding in the canoe.

Another crazy, classic Abby face.

I love this picture -- Abby + Daddy.

way too long

2009-10-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

It has been WAY too long since my last post! I am so far behind - I will hopefully get more up here this weekend. :)

big girl bed

2009-09-02T11:34:00.002-07:00

Yes - she's in a big girl bed now. We can't believe it either. She is doing really good with it. Naps are still a work in progress but night time is working like a charm. My baby girl is growing up.

pool

2009-09-02T11:34:00.001-07:00

Abby likes to help fill up the pool.

fun at the mall

2009-09-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

jewelry with dad

2009-09-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

Daddy + Abby dressing up with jewelry. He is the BEST Daddy around.

dress up

2009-09-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here's Abby walking with me around the neighborhood, wearing one of her Dora princess dress up shirts. Man, she loves to dress up!

zoo with mom

2009-08-15T15:12:00.001-07:00

Yes, so Abby got to go to the zoo twice this week. We LOVE the zoo - and thanks to Gramma + Papa we have a zoo pass so we can go whenever we want!

We went to a couple of areas I hadn't been to with Abby before this trip. We went to Zoomazium. That is actually a really cool place!

Abby playing a drum @ Zoomazium.

Building with blocks @ Zoomazium

We went to the Family Farm area. This is a worm crawl and it's located in a little garden there in the Farm.

What kid doesn't love sitting on a tractor?

Climbing/hanging around in the African Savannah area. Abby has just recently learned to love hanging on things. Yes - she is wearing a hat - it was COLD. Can't believe it's August!

Having fun in the hut.

More fun.

On our way back to the car after a super fun morning!

zoo with dad

2009-08-15T15:07:00.001-07:00

Abby and Josh headed to the zoo this week.

Here's Abby looking at the map deciding where they should go.

I'm on a boat!

Yes, that is a jaguar walking behind Abby!

my little helper

2009-08-15T15:05:00.001-07:00

Abby is really loving to help with whatever she can around the house right now. She helps with dishes, laundry, and now, helps me with the floors! Here she is swiffering away!

abby's creations

2009-08-15T15:04:00.001-07:00

Abby's self portrait. The two big things on the sides of her head aren't her ponytails - they are her ears. :)

She told me this is a picture of a video of me bouncing on a pogo stick.

And this is a picture of a video of her and me both bouncing on pogo sticks. Love her imagination!

new wii game

2009-08-15T15:02:00.001-07:00

We haven't bought a new Wii game in a long time - last one was Guitar Hero over a year and a half ago. Wii Sports Resort just came out - so we picked it up. I really like the new games. My favorites so far are wakeboarding, basketball, frisbee and the new improved bowling.

Abby helping Josh with his game.

wallace falls hike

2009-08-15T15:00:00.001-07:00

Last weekend the 3 of us hiked up to Wallace Falls. I think it might be my new favorite hike in the area. There are 3 sets of falls - lower, middle, and upper - all along the way. The trail is really nice, too. Josh was prepping for climbing Mt. Rainier, so not only did he have Abby in his pack (all 27 lbs of her), he also had three 1/2 gallon bottles full of water, plus all of our drinking water, snacks, and a jacket. He did awesome!

I love this sign.

The upper falls.

star nails

2009-08-15T14:50:00.001-07:00

We went to lunch with some friends - while we were there Abby decided to "do her nails" with star stickers. Had to capture the moment. :)

crescent bar 09 - part 5

2009-08-15T14:27:00.001-07:00

Daddy + Abby on the boat

Daddy + Abby getting ready to go for a walk on our last morning at CB

The 3 Heberts!

Abby with her super stylin' sunglasses on

crescent bar 09 - part 4

2009-08-15T14:24:00.001-07:00

Here is Josh on the air chair.

Josh jumping the air chair. Abby said it looked like Josh was riding a pogo stick in the water. CUTE!

Abby lounging in the boat, enjoying some fishie crackers.

Posing in the kiddie pool.

More posing. :) I didn't even tell her to do that!

Daddy + Abby having tons of fun!

crescent bar 09 - part 3

2009-08-10T14:31:00.001-07:00

Josh getting ready to wakesurf. He is totally in his element in the water. He's super fun to watch, too!

Getting up

Surfing the wake like a pro!

Abby with Daddy - cooling off on the swim step

She didn't want anything but her toes in the water. She would say "not my whole self". It was in the 100's so we had to be sure to keep her cool.

This ended up being her favorite place on the boat. When we would stop between people skiing/surfing/whatever, she would just start climbing to the back of the boat to stand on the swim step. She's a little fishie just like her Dad!

crescent bar 09 - part 2

2009-08-10T14:27:00.001-07:00

Abby playing with her awesome Dora Mega Blox she got from Uncle Brent for her bday.

Cap-fingers!

Abby's pic of Daddy + Uncle Brent chillin in the condo

Abby LOVED being in the boat. We are still in the marina in this picture. She loved every moment.

Out on the BEAUTIFUL Columbia River.

crescent bar 09 - part 1

2009-08-10T14:23:00.001-07:00

Her life jacket from 2 summers ago still fits! YES. It's infant size. Up to 30 lbs. That's our teeny little girl!

Coloring at the table on her actual birthday.

Opening a present from us.

Dora Star-Glasses! (they turned her cheeks yellow...oops)

Enjoying yet another cupcake.

Kooky face.

beginning of vacation photos...

2009-08-10T14:17:00.003-07:00

We enjoyed our 10th year of vacationing at Crescent Bar this year. Here are just a few quick pics. I will get more up soon.

Abby with Boots at Red Robin in Wenatchee.

Abby coloring while we wait for our food at Sonic in Wenatchee.

Abby, Boots and Dad @ Red Robin.

Abby letting Hula monkey read her book

Dad and Abby playing with Swiper and Tico.

dora cupcakes

2009-08-10T14:17:00.001-07:00

Abby is really enjoying helping in the kitchen more and more these days. She helped me make her cupcakes (Dora of course) for her birthday party. She's a good little helper!

abby's 3rd birthday

2009-08-10T14:15:00.001-07:00

It's true. Our little peanut is 3. She is growing up fast! She had her 3 year old check-up last week and she weighs 27 lbs and is 37 inches tall. She's up to the 50th percentile for height! Alright!

Here we are celebrating Abby's bday. We celebrated a couple of days early with Gramma and Papa since we were on vacation for Abby's actual birthday. These are some good ones from that day.

Enjoying her ice cream @ Red Robin.

Love this face.

Dressing up in her new Dora dress up clothes.

Showing us she's 3!

Loving her cupcake.

a trip to the outlet mall

2009-08-10T14:09:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while I need to head out to the outlet mall to pick up some things, and it's always super fun. Abby actually loves it there. They have done a great job of making it a kid-friendly experience. There are rides spread out all over the place - plus, some stores have toys kids can play with.

This is one of Abby's favorite spots - the Carters store. They have a little table with blocks.

Riding the carousel.

Riding in style with Garfield.

smiles

2009-07-24T20:30:00.001-07:00

I have called Abby "Smiles" since she was teeny. She just has such a joyful spirit. I love that about her.

a rare moment

2009-07-24T20:27:00.001-07:00

One night when it was REALLY hot in our house, we decided to go out for dinner. Abby was fighting a fever that lasted for almost 3 days and was not herself. We were done with dinner when Abby looked at me and said - Mommy, can you hold me? I couldn't turn it down. She RARELY slows down long enough for me to even give her a quick hug. I'm glad Josh snapped a picture of it. I want to remember moments like this.

scissors

2009-07-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

I got Abby her first pair of safety scissors! They are great. Not only are they super safe - they won't cut hair, skin, etc. - they are sparkly blue. Love them. This is Abby's first time ever cutting with them!

More cutting.

The scissors came in a two-pack - this pair is red sparkly and cuts zig-zags. I love that her tongue is out on this one - she's really trying hard.

Checking them out.

Her first cut piece of paper! Yeah Abby!

arts and crafts time

2009-07-24T20:19:00.001-07:00

Making a collage - with paper she cut out and a TON of Hello Kitty stickers!

The finished product.

Then it was on to drawing. She told me this is a parachute with stripes. So creative!

Here's me -- I sorta look like a monster, but I love it. She wrote MOM at the top, too!

This is my favorite. It's Abby's self portrait. The line coming out of her head is her ponytail. And she wrote her name at the top. Sure, it's backwards, but she did it! And she's not even 3 yet!

octopus

2009-07-24T20:14:00.001-07:00

Another drawing by our little artist - an octopus!

at the park

2009-07-24T20:12:00.001-07:00

One morning after my run, Abby and I headed to a park close to our house. She enjoys climbing around, swinging, playing in the sand. She likes to climb up to the top of the slide, but she won't go down. Not sure why. On this particular day she brought Hula Monkey with her. She wanted Hula to go down the slide. Well, Hula went down LOTS of times, over and over again. Abby would sit at the top and let go, and I would catch Hula and hand her back up to Abby again. She giggled like crazy every time she let go of Hula. It was super fun.

Hula at the bottom of the slide.

Abby and Hula on the see saw.

candyland

2009-07-22T15:37:00.001-07:00

Josh and Abby played Candyland for the first time while I was at work yesterday. Josh said Abby caught on and did really well. So last night before bed, the 3 of us played again. Abby totally gets it and seems to really enjoy the game. For some reason I had a TON of fun playing. I guess the thought of the 3 of us playing together as a family just means a lot. I love my little family. I can't believe my baby girl will be 3 in 6 days! WOW!

had to do it

2009-07-22T15:34:00.001-07:00

This was so cute I had to take a picture.

Here is Abby, sitting on the toilet after her bath the other night. She loves to sit and look at books while she is...working things out. :)

saturday morning family time

2009-07-22T15:33:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday the 3 of us spent the morning in Kirkland along the lake. We walked from downtown to Carillon Point, stopped at Starbucks, then worked our way back to downtown Kirkland. Had lunch at Taco Del Mar, too. It was a really great time!

Posing on the dock.

Carillon Point

The 3 Heberts!

Me + my baby girl

Daddy + his little critter

Cool spot!

little butterfly

2009-07-22T15:27:00.001-07:00

I took these pictures the other night while we were in the backyard. These all capture Abby's little (or rather, BIG) personality. She is such a sweet, fun, amazing little girl.

more of abby's photography

2009-07-22T15:23:00.001-07:00

close up of her beautiful little face

close up of the upholstery on our couch (her hand included)

little penguin

the view from her carseat in the CRV - ha ha

the candles on the coffee table @ our friends' house

our friend Marcelo

Abby's first attempt at a pic of Elise

Second attempt

mastering the art of the self portrait

2009-07-22T15:19:00.001-07:00

Abby still loves taking pictures whenever she can. Here I think she is trying to get a good pic of herself. :)

learning

2009-07-22T15:17:00.001-07:00

Abby is really getting interested in drawing pictures, as well as writing letters and numbers. These pictures are from a few weeks ago.

I think this is supposed to be her.

The finished product. You can see there is one line going up from the person's head - that is Abby's ponytail.

Abby's first butterfly. I promise - she drew this herself.

She's getting better and better at writing her own name. Josh works so well with her on this.

A picture of me - and she even wrote Mom!

Family trip to CDA

2009-07-20T19:28:00.003-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, the 3 of us headed to Coeur D'Alene back in June. Here are some highlights.

On our first night of the trip, we stayed in Spokane. We headed down to Riverfront Park that night for some fun. Abby really liked the HUGE red wagon.

Abby and Daddy running.

Showing us her muscles.

Daddy + Abby at the river

Me + my girl

More trip pics

2009-07-20T19:28:00.001-07:00

Abby's first time ever in bed other than her crib or pack'n'play!

checking out the carshow in Coeur D'Alene

Our cute little house in Coeur D'Alene - 1 block from the lake, 1 block from the park!

dinner on our porch

walking around the city

Abby in the big red swing!

mom + abby's zoo day

2009-07-20T19:27:00.001-07:00

Abby and I headed to the zoo and had a ton of fun. She got a new little stuffed animal -- a baby penguin -- and it was her new best friend! Being Abby's mom is so fun!

One of the gorillas (or ba-grillas as Abby calls them) sitting on top of a tree. We watched him climb up it!

The gorilla behind Abby seemed to like her - he kept watching her.

Watching the penguins swim by

Abby with her new little buddy

More penguin shots

Heading out with Abby + baby penguin

vacation

2009-06-18T11:09:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, the 3 of us headed to Coeur D'Alene, ID for a little vacation (it was our anniversary also!)

Here are a few quick shots I took with my phone. I will add more soon.

Abby coloring in Starbucks one night.

Abby playing with a puzzle at Java Coffee in Coeur D'Alene.

Abby + Daddy playing in City Park in Coeur D'Alene. The house we stayed in was 1 block away from the park and the lake. Amazing location!

Abby reading her books on the long ride home.

our little artist

2009-06-18T11:04:00.001-07:00

Abby is drawing more and more these days. It's fun to see her creativity come out.

This picture started as a mountain - and ended up as "a mountain with pigtails."

"Trees"

swing

2009-06-09T20:38:00.001-07:00

Since the first time I put Abby in a swing, she has really loved it. We went to the park tonight, and here are a few pics.

She has started sitting on the big-girl swing. Oh man. Josh's hands get tingley every time.

I love pushing her. She has started asking to go higher and higher when I push her.

trike ride

2009-06-09T20:31:00.001-07:00

Here's me and Abby on our way back from the park tonight. We are walking with our neighbor Andrew and his son Sebastian.

Abby is doing really well on her trike these days. She can pedal well and is starting to understand what steering is. She's growing up!

chalk board

2009-06-08T20:33:00.001-07:00

For her birthday last year Uncle Brent gave Abby an easel. On one side is a whiteboard, on the other is a chalkboard. For some reason we haven't ever used the chalkboard side. Today I pulled out some chalk and let her go to town. As I have said man times before, Abby loves craft time, and this is no exception. In the second picture, you will see 3 little people -- that is the 3 of us. :) In the bottom picture she is erasing getting ready to draw again,

silly girl

2009-06-08T20:30:00.001-07:00

I just found this picture in my email. Josh takes pictures of Abby while we/they are out and about and he sends them to me. I can't remember what we were doing here, but she is a crack up! She's so silly.

starbucks downtown

2009-06-08T20:28:00.001-07:00

Here's one more picture from Brent's birthday. Josh and I went into the new Starbucks just across the street from Pike Place Market -- so nice! I wish all of them were like that.

This is Brent + Josh outside of it.

brent's bday

2009-06-07T22:35:00.001-07:00

For Brent's birthday we went to Ipanema Grill - a Brazilian restaurant. It was awesome. It's all you can eat and the food is fantastic. I highly recommend it.

Brent ready to dig in.

At Pike Place Market - Brent's photo op with a street band.

Abby riding through Pike Place with mommy.

Abby riding through Pike Place with daddy.

The whole family! Happy Birthday Brent!

shake

2009-06-07T22:25:00.001-07:00

Here's Abby enjoying some of my strawberry shake. :)

family day part 2

2009-06-07T22:23:00.001-07:00

At the bottom of the falls.

Snack break - fruit leather, oh yeah!

Sweet little face

family day

2009-06-07T22:20:00.001-07:00

We headed to Snoqualmie Falls the other day. It was so nice. It's really pretty there and the short hike down to the bottom is cool.

Abby checking everything out.

Abby on my shoulders so she can see the Falls.

Abby is holding a rock - she wanted it to be in the picture.

rainbow

2009-06-07T22:16:00.001-07:00

As I have mentioned before, Abby loves craft time. This particular day she wanted to draw. Here she is with the rainbow she drew. It's so great. I have it on the fridge right now!

kiddie pool

2009-06-07T22:14:00.001-07:00

With all of the hot weather we've had we picked up a kiddie pool for Abby. She seriously loves it. Here are a few shots.

Enjoying the sun in her pool with her sun hat on.

This is one of my favorite things she does in the pool. She lays down on her tummy, and crawls around pretending she's a boat. She stops over at the side, waits for the kids to pay a quarter, then they get on her and go for rides. Her imagination is awesome. She even stops to get gas when she needs it.

Just cute.

Getting ready to spray mommy!

abby's foot

2009-06-07T22:09:00.001-07:00

I will probably start posting more and more of the pictures that Abby takes. She's starting to get really good! One thing she has started doing is taking pictures of her feet. Here's her cute little foot in our kitchen one day. Dora band-aid and all!

uncle brent

2009-06-07T22:08:00.001-07:00

Abby absolutely loves Uncle Brent. He is the best uncle. Josh and I tell him quite often how awesome we think he is. It is so obvious how much he loves Abby and enjoys being around her.

memorial day hike part 3

2009-06-07T22:06:00.001-07:00

Rattlesnake Ledge is located right next to Rattlesnake Lake, so after our hike we walked along the lake shore together. Josh and Abby threw rocks and we all enjoyed the sun.

memorial day hike part 2

2009-06-07T22:02:00.001-07:00

Stopping for a drink.

Daddy + Abby

I love these 2 like CRAZY!

memorial day hike part 1

2009-06-07T21:58:00.001-07:00

The 3 of us headed to Rattlesnake Ledge for a hike on Memorial Day this year. We hiked it last Memorial Day, too, and have decided to make it our annual tradition. Since I have been running, the hike was so much easier this year! Abby loves hikes. She gets to ride in the backpack, eat snacks, and say hi to everyone while we hike. She loves to sing and tell stories, too. It's so fun to go out and do stuff like this as a family.

In the parking lot getting ready to hike.

At the top - 2,040 feet.

It's quite a view up there. I love it.

The backpack Abby rides in has a little kid-size backpack that zips off - so when we got back to the bottom, she put it on and walked back to the car with us.

Checking the time on Daddy's watch.

eating at gramma's

2009-06-07T21:50:00.001-07:00

On Mother's Day we headed to my parents' house to celebrate. Abby loves to go to Gramma + Papa's house. Here she is enjoying strawberries and in the bottom photo, some brownies.

mother's day

2009-06-07T21:46:00.001-07:00

I really like Mother's Day. Josh and Abby make me feel really special. I love my little girl. She is so precious and being her mom is awesome.

Look at that little angel face!

i am a promise

2009-06-07T21:42:00.001-07:00

At our LATR Sunday Gathering on Mother's Day the preschool class came out and sang a song for the moms called I Am a Promise. They did a great job. Abby totally would not sing. During their practice time she did great - did the motions they had practiced and all. But as soon as there were people in the room she just stood there. It was still really cute to see her up there. In the last picture here, it looks like she was trying to crawl off the stage -- she was. She was mouthing to me "I want you" and was trying to head down to see me. She's so funny. It was a special morning - I loved seeing her up there.

timer

2009-06-07T21:37:00.001-07:00

Josh taught Abby how to use the timer on our camera. So here are a few of her pictures!

more works of art

2009-05-13T21:04:00.001-07:00

Abby's drawings of Mom, Dad and Abby. Dad is red, Mom is brown, Abby is purple.

Honestly, I really love to watch her color or draw or any other craft. You can really see her little wheels turning and her creativity coming out.

self portrait

2009-05-13T21:01:00.001-07:00

Abby really enjoys what we call "craft time." It could be anything from putting stickers on paper, to coloring, to finger painting, or gluing. Tonight, she said she wanted to draw, so I got out her pad of paper and markers. She was drawing away, and she said - Mommy - it's me! I went over and looked and sure enough, she had drawn a great little picture of herself! Check it out!

Look at how cute this is!

Putting the finishing touches on her portrait. She was adding "cheeks" to her face.

Abby with her portrait!

our little helper

2009-05-13T20:56:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago we got Abby her own little broom. She likes to help us keep the entry way and kitchen clean. Tonight she said - Oh - it's dirty over here! So she got out her broom and went to work. She said - Mommy - you get the dustpan! She loves to help.

lunch with mom

2009-05-13T20:53:00.001-07:00

After Abby's haircut, we went and saw Josh in Bellevue. Since we were there, I decided Abby and I would go to the mall and have lunch together. We got one of our favorite things -- the cheese and crackers (with grapes and strawberries) plate at the Nordstrom E-bar, a croissant from Starbucks, and some water to share. We sat at a little table in the mall and enjoyed it together. Abby actually said today - I like the mall! :)

Enjoying a strawberry. She likes them now! Thanks Gramma!

Eating a grape.

So cute!

first haircut at a salon

2009-05-13T20:48:00.001-07:00

I decided it was time for Abby to get a hair cut, other than the basic bang-trim that I usually give her. I have only trimmed the back of her hair once since she was born - so this was a big deal. We went to a kid's salon here in Redmond. A lady named Kathy who has been cutting kid's hair for 25 years cut Abby's hair today. We picked out a Curious George video for Abby to watch and Kathy went to work. Abby was amazing. She didn't complain once - even when Kathy blew her hair dry at the end. It was a great experience. Abby's hair is at least 3 inches shorter in the back - it was a little sad to see her curls on the floor - but she looks adorable.

Big smile for mom as Kathy gets started.

Hair clipped up during the cutting process.

Abby got to sit on a cow chair. She loved that!

Eyes glued on the TV - Curious George is one of her favorites!

All done! Purple barrette (she got to pick it out) and sparkly spray in her hair.

Picking a treat out of the bucket -- she chose a green ring with googly eyes on it.

stroller skating

2009-04-29T14:42:00.001-07:00

No - I am not making this up. My good friend Vanessa told me about a skating rink in Everett that has something called Stroller Skating. We decided it would be fun to try out. Abby and I met Vanessa and her daughter Sabria there today. It was awesome! Seriously, I loved it. There were probably about 10 moms and quite a few kids. Only a few other strollers - but mostly young kids skating in a safer, slower environment. Abby loved going fast and her favorite part was all of the lights! They even had the lasers going and she enjoyed watching the shapes the laser was making. Vanessa and I agreed roller skating uses muscles that aren't used every day...I'm sure I will be sore tomorrow! It was great to spend some time chatting with Vanessa and getting a little exercise, too!

My skates laced up and ready to go...

Getting ready to head out!

Abby and Sabria

Me and Abby on the skate deck :)

Vanessa and Sabria

happy morning

2009-04-29T14:36:00.001-07:00

I got Abby up this morning and she was so happy! I went to my room to do something, came back out, and found this: Abby sitting on the top stair, feet crossed, reading Elmo a book. It's so fun to start my mornings out with a happy little one!

hanging out at the mall

2009-04-29T14:35:00.001-07:00

Here's me and Abby enjoying a break at Bellevue Square last night. She is such a good girl and loves the mall.

lollipop

2009-04-29T14:33:00.001-07:00

At Mercury's Coffee (my favorite place now to get my iced decaf mocha), occasionally they offer Abby a lollipop. Yesterday, it was grape flavor and she really liked it! Here she is enjoying a lick. She only had about 5 or 6 licks and was done with it.

big girl puzzle

2009-04-23T21:46:00.001-07:00

Tonight Abby and I worked on a puzzle together. It is a 24 piece Dora the Explorer puzzle and it's so cute. Abby really focused on it and did an amazing job putting it together with me. She was so excited when we finished it. We put it together 3 times!

zoo

2009-04-23T21:41:00.001-07:00

Abby and I headed to the zoo this week. We decided to eat lunch pretty quickly after we got there. We sat on a bench right across from the flamingos and started chowing down.

Handing me my part of the lunch in her Dora lunchbox.

Fruit leather - one of Abby's favorite things to eat.

Not sure...

Abby loves the gorillas

Checking the map.

Roaming peacock

Abby trying to climb the lion

Mommy + Abby

trying to find the hippos

Abby's sweet little face

so sweet

2009-04-23T21:35:00.001-07:00

bread smile

2009-04-23T21:34:00.001-07:00

Abby ate ALL of her dinner this particular night and she wanted a piece of bread -

she took a bite out of the bread and it made a smile shape - so she held it up to her face.

the look

2009-04-23T21:32:00.001-07:00

Well, the look has arrived. I have never seen Abby do this before. She was sitting reading her books and I told her it was time to come and do something -- and she wouldn't even respond to me. Finally, after a couple of times of me asking, she lifted her head up and gave me the look. Oh man - I am sure I will see this look many more times.

chalk

2009-04-23T21:29:00.001-07:00

Another thing in her Easter basket was some sidewalk chalk - shaped like eggs! We took them out to our patio and Abby went to town. She even drew her own rainbow.

fingerpainting

2009-04-23T21:28:00.001-07:00

I did it. I finally got the guts to take out the fingerpaint. I don't like messes - and fingerpaint in my mind would be nothing but a giant mess. I was wrong! Abby did so great. She had so much fun.

She loved feeling and seeing the paint on her hands.

Squishing the paint in her fingers.

circles are her specialty :)

look at these precious little blue hands - I totally love this picture

jumping

2009-04-23T21:22:00.001-07:00

Abby has really taken a liking to jumping these days. She lined up all of her Elmo cards on the floor one morning and started jumping over them and inside them. She's my little bunny. :)

bubbles

2009-04-23T21:20:00.001-07:00

Abby got some bubbles for Easter and she loves them.

We gave her a Dora bubble whistle -- it didn't really work. It just spilled the bubbles out the hole when she blew into the whistle.

A little messy and hard to use. Bummer.

But Gramma and Papa got her the good stuff! An awesome bucket we filled with bubble solution.

I love that little face.

Watching mommy get ready to blow some bubbles.

Having fun!

close-up

2009-04-23T21:16:00.001-07:00

abby took this picture - she's learning from daddy!

balloon hat

2009-04-23T21:15:00.001-07:00

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but Abby has her Happy Easter balloon she got from Gramma and Papa clipped to her crown that she's wearing on her head. She is a crack up. She totally made this up herself. She wore it around for a while that day.

time to play

2009-04-23T21:12:00.001-07:00

look at my angel - she's so sweet - tutu, hat, and all!

she's growing up so fast

here abby is singing wheels on the bus with Edison - her alphabet pal - she's doing the part where the doors go open and shut

easter

2009-04-23T21:10:00.001-07:00

abby with her easter basket - check out her big flower!

So cute in her dress - look - she's wearing jellies! I love them.