Happy December!

It's Christmastime! We love this time of year! It's a great time of year to be with family and friends. We love the excitement of children, the music, lights and most of all, the celebration of our Savior's birth.

This week has been a busy one! Brett has been studying non-stop and Abby and I have been running errands all over. In attempts to have a quiet house and let Brett study in peace at home, Abby and I went out to see some free sights. :) We went with my friend Jessica and her baby Matthew to see the Botanic Gardens in DC. The gardens were really pretty and decorated for Christmas. We liked visiting the gardens so much that we returned later to take our family Christmas pictures, which are the ones we posted today.


The National Capital behind us is made out of parts of plants...pretty impressive! Abby loved being in the gardens!













Abby posing in the flowers and I love this picture of Matthew in his stroller, he's such a cute little guy.










Matthew and Abby strollin' around town. We also visited the tree at the Capital and here is Matthew in front...Abby fell asleep for this part. :) They are building a huge stage for the inauguration in front of the Capital right now so there was quite a bit of construction.










Abby found a new toy this week...mommy's necklace. Brett decided it would be a great idea to hook it to the front of her carseat so she could play with it...I wasn't so sure about it. Abby had a great time and now my necklace is coated in drool...Thanks daddy! :)










Abby found another favorite thing to do...play in the mirror while I do my make-up. My mirror is now covered with cute baby hand prints and of course, drool...we're big into drool right now. She'll just talk to herself in the mirror and smile, she's loves it!

Another fun event of the week was the Air Force Christmas Concert at Constitution Hall. We got some free tickets and enjoyed beautiful music...it was quite the show!
I think Brett enjoyed taking a little break and enjoyed the concert. It really reminded us of how blessed we are to live in this country. We are very grateful for all those who are serving our country! Thanks to all those who serve this nation!

To close this weeks post, I am attaching a video of Abby with her binky. She currently likes to play with her binkie more than suck on it....here is a demo:

A Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! We have so much to be thankful for this year. We count Abby as one of our greatest blessings! She has brought so much joy to our little family. We are also grateful for our extended family and friends. We are blessed!

Brett had to study for finals during the holiday break this year so we stayed close to home for 'Turkey Day.' We spent Thanksgiving with good friends and had a great time! The day started out with a Turkey Bowl and ended with yummy pies. The next day we hit the roads in search for some good deals on Black Friday. We found a few bargains, but didn't get much. We also put up the Christmas tree and decorated. We love this time of year and we're excited to be able to spend it with family in December.
Abby helping Brett study law for his finals. Poor Brett had to study all week and is still studying.










A Thanksgiving feast and our first attempt at making pies...

'Any good sales?' Abby is checking to see if there are any good deals.

I was getting out the Christmas decorations from our closet and I let Abby hold the wrapping paper...I never knew she would have so much fun. I think she'll be more excited about the wrapping paper than the presents at Christmas. She's easy to please.

Beautiful Fall!

The leaves are changing and it feels like Fall has officially arrived here in Virginia. It's fun to watch the leaves fall from our window. Because there are so many leaves here, everyone rakes them to the side of the street and a big truck comes through to take care of the rest. Our complex raked the leaves the other day, and there was a HUGE pile in front of our apartment. Piles of leaves bring back fun childhood memories for me. When we lived in my grandparents house my dad would rake the leaves and then we would hide in the pile. He would go and get my mom and we would pop out and scare her, we thought we were so sneaky. :)
Here's the pile of leaves in front of our apartment with Abby in the middle. The sun was pretty bright. :)













Abby playing in our bed.




We went over to visit Erin and Abby loved playing with Sadie and Joe. Thanks for letting Abby play in your bouncer Joe Joe. :)















Abby's favorite pumpkin, she loves to hold it.













Ready for a jog with daddy.


Here are some video clips of Abby that I took this morning:

Election 2008

Things were wild and crazy here in Virginia on November 4th! It seems like signs cluttered every inch of land with different political views and every commercial on the radio was for the elections. Brett left early in the morning to vote and got there right when the school opened. He still had to wait in line for 90 minutes. Abby and I went in the middle of the day and didn't have to wait long at all. Abby even got an 'I voted' sticker. Washington DC was nuts in the evening when the votes were being counted. We wanted to go and be part of the action, but when we found out how crazy it was we decided that wasn't safe for Abby. :) We went and walked around DC for our date on Friday night instead.
It was a cool experience to be able to vote! We are very blessed to live in a country where we can exercise our rights, voice our opinion, and enjoy our freedom. It reminded me of teaching my 4th graders about George Washington and how he could have easily become king after the Revolutionary War, but he gave the power to the people and worked with good leaders to build a strong government system that wasn't completely controlled by one person.
We are grateful to live in this nation!
Here's Abby after we voted. She's enjoying kickin' around in her Bumbo Seat.

Laundromat Adventure

Our washing machine broke last week and it is suppose to get fixed soon, but the clothes piled too high so I had to head to the laundromat. Abby was 'bjorn'n it' while we hauled 7 garbage bags full of laundry down our 3 flights of stairs to the car and back. Abby was an angel baby through the whole event, which was very helpful. I now have a whole new appreciation for having a washing machine in my house, especially with a baby. I have no idea how women survived without modern appliances in the past. I'm spoiled!
The stairs...a great muscle building workout. :)

Baby Break Dance

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Happy Halloween!

BumbleBee BABE!

Our church had its annual TRUNK-or-TREAT last Friday! This year we decided to decorate our trunk and Brett had the idea of a 'Drive-In Movie'. He hooked up the projector and showed a movie through a sheet. Lots of little kids gathered around to watch, it was cute. Brett even won a prize at the end for being 'The Most Inovative.' :) Our good friend, Steph, made an adorable trunk of 'Sesame Street' and the kids loved it! The Trunk-or-Treat was a lot of fun and we learned to never leave the candy unattended. :)
The best part of the night was dressing Abby in her Bumblebee costume. She could have cared less what she was wearing, but we had a lot of fun with it. She looked adorable, but we're a little biased.
We love our little Bumblebee Babe!
Here is the 'Drive-In' trunk and the creator himself.









Here are some kids enjoying the show.









Bishop Stewart's trunk was the 'hit of the night' for all the kids.



I had to post this picture of Mo. Jill made this gingerbread costume...impressive!





















Steph's trunk....sooo cute!
Lil' Bug!

Bath Time!

One of Abby's favorite things is...BATH TIME! Every time I put her in the bath, she smiles. The tub seems to be a time for Abby to relax. In fact, there have been moments when she has been fussy and I put her in the tub and it calmed her right down. Well, Abby has learned a 'relaxation technique' that she has now made a habit. When she's in the bath, she dips her little toes in the warm running water and loves it. She is ALL girl! (Don't worry, we have covered her up for privacy. :) I had to take this video on my phone. )

Happy Birthday Brett and CoNgRaTs!

Brett turned 27 on Sunday...he's getting old! :) We had a our friends over for ice cream and cake and it was a great day!
This past weekend Brett and his friend Paul had a big competition for Moot Court. They just found out that, as a team, they made the next round...WAY TO GO GUYS! Wahoo! Good luck with the next round on Saturday!
I love you Brett!

Road Trip to Upstate New York

We spent the past weekend with our good friends Cory and Sarah and had a wonderful time! They live in Upstate New York in a beautiful town called Seneca Falls. Several church sites are close to their home, so we made a trip to both Palmyra and Fayette while we were there. We also spent a day at Niagara Falls, which was fun to see as well. Abby was really good for the trip and did just fine on a 7 hour car ride...I was nervous about that. :) It was hard to leave after such a great weekend!

Friday was spent at Niagara Falls and it was beautiful! I have never seen anything like it.
Brett took this picture of the falls and I thought it was pretty good.









We rode the Maid of the Mist to see the falls and we got wet...except Abby.





A gorgeous view of the falls. Don't worry, Abby was safe.












We made a journey through the 'Cave of the Winds' and got up close to the falls.
There was a beautiful rainbow over the falls! We took this picture just before we headed up the stairs.












"Baby Bjorn" in all her glory! :) Abby all geared up for the journey. The roar of the falls put Abby to sleep and she slept through the whole thing. She also remained dry through the event, but Brett was not so lucky. On the right is Sarah ready to hike the stairs. :)








Brett and Abby enjoying the view. Abby getting a close up shot at the falls.





Near the start of the falls. Abby is sporting her sock mittens. :)

Saturday morning we headed for Palmyra and did a sealing session in the temple. Sarah was kind and watched Abby while we went to the temple. The Palmyra Temple is beautiful and overlooks the Sacred Grove. We loved our time in the temple.










Here is the Gradin Store where the Book of Mormon was first published! It was amazing to see how much time and work went into publishing books back in the 1800's. It was neat to see one of the first Books of Mormon.















The Visitor's Center at the Sacred Grove and Smith Home.
In the Smith Home where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith.
Outside the Smith Home. I can't believe so many people lived under one roof!
Sarah, me and Abby entering the Sacred Grove. There was an incredible Spirit in the grove. It was very peaceful and you could tell that something very significant had happened there. I have always wanted to visit the Sacred Grove because of what happened in the Spring of 1820. It was amazing to walk in the actual place where Joseph saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, which led to the restoration of the gospel. I didn't want to leave because it felt so peaceful. It was a beautiful time of year to visit the grove with the trees all changing color.
Abby playing in the leaves while we were walking through the grove. She clutched a leaf in her hand and wouldn't let go...she wanted to eat it. :)
Walking in the grove.








Here is the Hill Cumorah on a Fall Day. There was a beautiful view from this hill. This is where Joseph went to get the plates. I loved the monument of the Angel Moroni on top of the hill.
Saturday ended with a fun Pumpkin Walk in a NY town near Palmyra. They had donuts and apple cider at the end...yum. It was fun to enjoy a small town community event. :) Abby slept through the entire walk.
The Peter Whitmer Farm where the church was first organized in 1830.












Sarah and Abby at the Peter Whitmer Farm. Abby is wrapped in the blanket that Sarah made for her.
Abby collapsed in Brett's arms at the close of the very fun trip.
Thanks Cory and Sarah for a great time!

Here are a few videos from the trip...(Ignore the fact that I say 'Here we are at Niagara Falls' five billions times. I need to get more creative on what I say when I'm recording. Oh well...




Abby voicing her thoughts about the trip...



Sites of the falls...





Four AM in the morning and Abby is wide awake...two tired parents and one hyper active, and talkative baby.