Jason tilled the garden and his “helpers” were glad to lend a hand! I’m concerned about when we actually plant the garden because the girls love to play in the dirt. They dig and make piles and play forever. Kate tells me she is tilling then rakes it smooth :)
More fun in the yard…
Nothing wrong with eating from a plate on the ground…
Working hard while I’m swinging in the background
Pretty Blue Eyes
Happy 1st Birthday to my Irish baby girl! What a fast and wonderful year. She has become such a little person and has so much personality! We laugh all the time at her little quirks and mainly at her dancing. She LOVES music and if you even hum she will stop and start dancing. It is hilarious. She is such a cuddly baby and will lay her head on you and just cuddle away. She loves to hug baby dolls and stuffed dogs and pat their backs. She is also pretty independent in that she likes toys and will play by herself for a little. Kate and Abby have recently started playing together a lot; I love hearing the two of them laughing together. She is very head strong and has no trouble taking care of herself (especially against an older 3 year old 
Abby started taking steps before her first birthday and is now walking everywhere, definitely over crawling! She says Mama, Dada, Ball, Balloons, BaBa (supposed to be WaWa for water), Ank U (thank you – rare but crazy when she says it!) and few other “words.”
Jason has taught her to click at us (he taught Kate to fake whistle at us so I shouldn’t be surprised). She loves to be outside and if it’s been cold or rainy she will crawl to our back door, look out the window and cry and/or yell! She still loves to swing. She tries to be like Kate and wants to sit in a big chair, and put on her own shoes and socks… She drinks out of a sippy cup and can even drink out of a real cup with no top. She’s a climber!
Bottom line, she’s amazing and we love her so much!
Abby loves balls and I really wanted her to have a ball cake. I couldn’t find what I was looking for so I made and it and, for the first time ever, decorated a cake! It was a lot of work but fun and she said ball right when she saw the cake!
Abby’s more interested in looking for her cake than posing!
Attack! She loved being able to eat cake
Our Lovely Family
2010 was an amazing year not because we went on any big trips or made a big purchase, but because our family of 3 grew to 4 with Abby being born! Watching her and Kate grow was the highlight of my year.
Here’s to a year that’s hopefully as wonderful as 2010 was!
Hat Competition!
Kate had what appears to be a night fright. They run in Jason’s family so he was able to recognize it as more than a bad dream. It. Was. Horrible. She was crying this sad sad cry and when I went in her room she wouldn’t snap out of it and there was nothing I could do. We got her out of bed and when we thought we had woken her, put her back in bed, but she started crying again. I cannot even explain how awful it was. Jason wasn’t as concerned since he had them as a child and knew she wouldn’t remember any of it. I, however, was a little traumatized. No child should EVER be that sad or scared and I think what really bothered me was that I couldn’t comfort her. Whenever she’s hurt or upset I can always hug her or make her feel better. To not be able to give that comfort as a Mom is just unthinkable. I laid with her in bed and she seemed to be getting over it because she stopped fully crying. She would still whimper occasionally, but I would put my arm around her and that seemed to calm her. I slept with her most of the night and she was fine after the “incident.”
The next morning when I went to get her I asked if she had a good night (all upbeat, praying Jason was right about the whole no recollection part). She quickly replied “Yep, where’s Abby?” And that was that. As awful as it was for me I’m kind of glad she had a night fright and not a nightmare since she honestly did not remember it at all!
They say if you’re prone to night frights (runs in Jason’s family so I guess our kids are) they can be brought on by being overtired and some other causes. Kate was definitely overtired that night. They also say getting them to concentrate on something helps to snap them out of it or you can just try to comfort them while it’s going on if they don’t wake up. Hopefully, since that was her first one and it’s been a couple of nights they won’t happen regularly.
Again, I’m so glad she didn’t remember the longest night ever. Jason reminds me that it only lasted about a half an hour but wow it seemed long!
Kate loves to hide and play hide-n-seek. Her favorite part is when we chase her. I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard a child laugh as much as her
Katherine is 3! I can not imagine our family without her and yet the past 3 years have gone by so fast. She is simply amazing! Her compassion and intuition is well beyond her age. She shocks us every day by how smart she is and how much she remembers and how much she understands. You definitely have to watch what you say because she remembers and gets it! She knows her ABCs, counts objects, recognizes her name, knows a lot of letters, knows every shape, sings songs, has an incredible memory and sense of direction, has the reasoning of a much older child, reminds us to pray and to drive with two hands, stops Abby from getting in dangerous situations, very imaginative, is incredibly sweet and willful… :) She is already her own little person!
~Funny story that happened a little while ago:
One evening Jason told Kate when she was older he would take her camping (this was when he was leaving for a boy scout campout). Kate goes “Oh, I get ring, get married, and have babies then go camping.” Because that’s what she understands will happen when she’s “older.” Jas told her he meant more like when she was 4
~When Jason and I go out we tell her we’re going on a date. Lots of times she says she wants to go on date too. So, one Saturday we had a Kate date with Mommy, Daddy, and just Kate. We went to the part then to the movies to see Tangled. She actually watched the entire movie! A couple of the scary scenes she ended up on one of our laps but she really had fun. I can’t wait for our future dates!
Atlanta was literally snowed in last month! We’ve had snow and ice before but I don’t ever remember anything to this extent plus our city doesn’t have many snow plows so you were pretty much stuck at home. The first morning we went out and played with our neighbors.
Brought out the boogie board
While the roads were still ice free we drove to our friends. Not the smartest idea, but luckily we have a good little car that had no problems; unlike the other cars we saw on the side of the roads. The weather quickly turned to ice which meant that we were snowed in. What were we to do? Have a slumber party of course! Our friends so graciously took us in, entertained us, and fed us. Kate and I slept on a bed while Jason slept on a couch in the bedroom and Abby slept in their closet.
Abby ate
Kids Played
Some pics from Mark’s iphone
Not too bad being stuck at home after all
