Day 180 - Ruck Sack Abby

Steve was packing his ruck sack for a land navigation course he has this evening when he took a break and placed Abby in the straps. She even makes ruckin it look cute! What a trooper!

Day 179 - I Got Your Nose

Abby has recently found that she enjoys playing with your nose. Her and Daddy were playing together for a little while, and she started slapping at his face and grabbing his nose.

Day 178 - Apple Massacre

If you give Abby an unpeeled apple, she will proceed to give the perception of eating it. In reality, though she is taking bites out of the apple, she is not swallowing the pieces. If you wait long enough, you will see her push all the peices out of her mouth onto the floor. Daddy asked her, "Do you actually eat apples, or do you just hurt them?"

Day 177 - Daddy and Daughter

It takes no time at all for Abby know she is with her Daddy again. She really enjoys having him around. This morning when we awoke, we went outside to enjoy a walk before it got too hot outside.

Day 176 - Hey!!

I love Steve's goofy faces. He is so expressive when he talks to Abby. Airplane days are always long one's. Abby is getting more and more restless and is a challenge to wrangle during the flights. All that aside, I'm excited to be in North Carolina again.

Day 175 - Packin Up

We are heading out to visit Steve again tomorrow afternoon! The shelves have become a safe place to pile things away from the Abbigator. I know I'm looking forward to another great visit.

Day 174 - With Cherry Sauce on Top

Tonight I had my neighbors Ed and Marcie over for dinner. I made a recipe in the family cookbook I put together. The recipe is Cherry Sauced Pork Loin and is donated by my Great Aunt Carol. It was delicious! The cherry sauce is a mix of cherry preserves, corn syrup, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I used the crystal I got from my Mimi for the extra sauce.

Day 173 - The Flavor of Dirt is Dirty

My workshop got canceled last minute and we decided to go hang out with a few friends at the Reno Sports Complex and watch some Baseball. Little did I know, about half of our ward was there, so there was more chatting than watching amongst the women. Abby got to experience playing in the sand for the first time. She enjoyed the dirt so much, she didn't want me to hold her.

Day 172 - Workshop Prep

This is what it looks like when I'm getting things organized for a workshop. I decided that it would be a good idea to get it all together for tomorrow night while Abby is sleeping. This way I can spend more time with her tomorrow.

Day 171 - Abby Walk

Today, Abby has been a walking fool and is already doing it like a pro. While Abby was walking around, Bailey would say, "Abby walk". While we were outside at the Anderson's today for the Father's Day BBQ, Bailey took Abby by the hand and excitedly walked Abby around.

Day 170 - She's Walking

Abby is walking on her own.... mostly. I've been working with her every day to help her gain confidence in her ability to walk. Today she realized that she can stay standing and can go long distances. She still doesn't try to walk from one thing to another without me assisting, but it won't be long.

Day 169 - Roses in Bloom

I have two rose bushes outside my living room window; a white one and a red one. Every year, the white rose bush blooms sooner than the red. The roses are always beautiful.

Day 168 - Friends

Tonight I hosted a Jewelry party and invited some friends over. Kari came and hung out with me for a while afterwards. We had a good time trying on jewelry, eating homemade hummus and lemon trifle, and just chatting.

Day 167 - Primer

The first night I started painting, it took me 5 1/2 hours to edge and paint the entire bookcase. I had no idea it would take me that long and I was up till 130am, which is never a good idea when you have a little one who wakes up around 7 every morning. This picture shows the second coat of primer.

Day 166 - Chalk Message

Today we spent a little time outside in the yard. I drew a picture for Steve with some sidewalk chalk.

Day 165 - Finger Painting

I was inspired by Kari yesterday, who has a cool finger painted canvas from her son hanging up in her house. So I got out my acrylics and the canvas, changed Abby into a scruffy onesie and put some paint on her hand and the canvas. It didn't really go well. She just wanted to put the paint in her mouth and I kept trying to keep it out of her mouth which really upset her. This is the result. I did manage to spread her hand over the canvas, so we got a little piece of art out of the experience.

Day 164 - Stary Night Light

Abby got a really cool night light from her Uncle Paul for her birthday. It's a large Lady Bug with holes in the shape of stars and a moon in her shell. It is probably the best night light I've ever seen. Abby likes to look up at the stars on the ceiling and reach out and touch the ones on the wall.

Day 163 - Farmers Market

Today, Abby and I hung out with my friend Kari and her son Simon. We walked from Kari's house down to the farmers market on California Ave. We shared a great egg salad sandwhich for lunch and had some strawberry ice cream as well as purchasing a few fruits and vegetables.

Day 162 - New Shelves

As you can see, the shelves have been put in. The contractors are all done, and the rest will be up to me. I will be painting the shelves this week. I'm extremely pleased with this decision. I had been a little concern that it might make the living room feel smaller, but the shelves feel like a natural part of the room.

Day 161 - Home Project

Our staircase has been a hazardous concern since we moved it. It's completely open with no railing on the side, which actually looks really cool, but it's extremely unsafe for Abby. I've hired some contractors to build some bookshelves and place a wall up behind the shelves so that the stairs will be completely enclosed. When done, we will have some cool built in shelves and entertainment center.

Day 160 - Abby's 1 year Check Up

This was definitely not the greatest appointment for Abby. She was pretty fussy the whole time because there was not much to do. Abby is now 18.3 lbs and 30 1/2 in long. She did not like the nurse or the doctor poking around and taking measurements. We also discovered that she has an ear infection in her right ear.

Day 159 - Abby's First Pool Experience

Nanny n Pepaw are staying at the Atlantis, so we decided that today would be a good day to go to the pool there. We invited Bailey and Jenn Sadler to hang out with us. Abby was not a fan of the pool. She cried almost the entire time. She even clung to Nanny and would not come to Momma, which has never ever happened. She was pretty mad.

Day 158 - Happy Birthday Joshua

Today was our son Joshua's 4th birthday. My Dad and I went up to the cemetery to clean up Joshie's marker. After we were done, we took some pictures and sang Happy Birthday.

Day 157 - Wonderful Gift

This is a painting that our friend Missy Ames did of Abby for her birthday. I would have to say that this is one of the coolest gifts ever! I was so shocked when we opened it Missy is very talented.

Day 156 - Happy First Birthday Abby

Today was my little girls first Birthday! I can hardly believe she is one already and on top of that, how much she has grown and learned in that short year. Today we had a Birthday BBQ and invited our friends and family over to Huffaker Park to celebrate. We had a great time!

Day 155 - Chuck E. Cheese

Nanny wanted to take Abby to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday, so that's what we did tonight! We invited Abby's favorite playmate Bailey so the girls could have fun together... and they did! They both really enjoyed the car rides.

Day 154 - Nanny n Pepaw

Nanny and Pepaw flew in from Indianapolis to come celebrate Abby's first Birthday! Abby got to hang out for the evening while I went to Carson City for a Workshop.

Day 153 - Maiden Voyage

Well, we made it out of North Carolina today. Jenn, my cousin John's wife, was generous enough to take Abby and I to the airport since Steve could not. We had a lay over in Phoenix for over 5 hours, part of that was because the plane and pilot were delayed. Something that was cool though, the plane from Phoenix to Reno was a brand new one just delivered from Washington. We were the first passengers!

Day 152 - Toadally Cool

Abby and I were supposed to be heading back home today, but the flights were delayed so we reschedule for tomorrow. I was hanging out on the apartment stairs talking to my friend Rachel when I noticed a large toad... well, not that large. He could fit into the palm of my hand with plenty of room. He didn't seem real nervous of me being around and was generous in letting me snap a couple of shots of his good side.

Day 151 - Memorial Day Walk

Today we decided to go and walk some more of the Dogwood Trail through the neighborhoods of Fayetteville. We saw some more beautiful houses and afterwards we drove downtown to find a place to eat. Since it was Memorial Day, there was bike race going on, so we thought we would check it out and walk down the street looking at some of the stores. I shot a picture of this building... I'd have to say it's one of the coolest pictures I've ever taken.

Day 150 - How to Study Mandarin

Every week, Steve puts together flash cards with the Madarin characters and words that he is supposed to learn. He uses them to help him with his vocabulary tests every week and the cumulative tests he has every few weeks. Besides being in class 5 hours Mon-Fri, he spends anywhere between 1-3 hours studying almost every day.

Day 149 - Out for a Drive

Today we decided to go out for a drive. We drove out towards Raeford and on to Hamlet. The countryside is beautiful and we saw a lot of cool things. We saw neat looking old bridge over a creek and decided to stop. This photo is looking up creek. We also stopped at a farmers market and in Hamlet there was an old train Caboose by a lake that was really neat.

Day 148 - Big Stepper

Abby took her first steps this past Sunday during FHE. So now, Steve and I have been playing with Abby by helping her to walk between the two of us. She thinks it's a great game and will go several trips between the two of us before she tires out. She is only taking 3-5 steps before she starts to fall to the side.

Day 147 - Pre Birthday Pics

Today we took some pics of Abby in the 1 year onsie that her Grandpa Mont gave her for her birthday. My plan is to make some posters to play Pin the Hat on the Abby for her birthday party.

Day 146 - Prayer

Whenever we ask a blessing on the food for our meals, I've made a point of folding Abby's arms. Lately she has begun to leave them folded while we say our prayers. I think it's adorable to see her sitting so reverently.

Day 145 - Steve's Teacher

Steve's Mandarin teacher has been really excited to meet Abby. So, today when we went to go pick him up after his class, she was outside waiting with him.

Day 143 - Biggest Little city

Sometimes on Sunday nights after FHE, I'll drive Abby up Alexander Lake Road till she falls asleep. Sometimes it's nice to have a break from the routine and take her straight to bed. This was a great evening for a panoramic view. Sometimes I forget how much country is around this beautiful city.

Day 142 - Cat Eyes

Today was another one of those days that I was about to crawl into bed and remembered I still need to snap a shot. Often, that last minute shot turns out to be of my Allie Cat. Using the flash made her eyes reflect, which I think is the coolest thing about this photo.

Day 141 - Anything for You Paci

Abby's paci often bounces underneath her crib when she drops it while sleeping through the night. The past few nights I've been trying to convince her that she can scoot underneath the bars to get it... tonight she actually did.