Catching up...

Okay...I'm having a difficult time keeping up with the blog...I need to get back into a routine of things...
The girls are great. They have both been sick again, but are finally better. This weather has been crazy and I'm sure that is the problem...one day it is 80 and the next it is snowing!!
Abby is trying so hard to walk. She will take 3 steps and then she dives onto the floor. It is hilarious. It's as if she were jumping off stage into a mosh pit at a rock concert. She cracks herself up everytime she falls...
Natalie is busy busy...all over the place!!! Her memory is unbelievable..I think she will be one of those people that hears the lecture from the teacher and doesn't even have to study...Lucky her!!! I read the book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," the other day, and she read it back to me when I was finished. Truly...she read it from front to back reciting the words just like I did when I read it to her!!! She loves her big girl bed and sleeps great! Now we have to start thinking of potty training!
Matt is doing good. He is actually spending the night away tonight doing a sleep study at the hospital. He has to do it for insurance purposes because he will be getting his tonsils and adnoids and something else done...
This past Saturday was the 4 year anniversary of my Dad's death. It has been a tough week, and I'm still taking things just one day at a time. My Mom, brother, and I met at our usual restaurant that we do every year on the 8th. We took the girls this time which was fun. They always have a way of making you smile and laugh when things are tough.
Hopefully I will get back into the hang of things and posting on the blog!! :)

Been Way Too Long...

It has been way too long since I last blogged...Things have just been pretty busy and I can't seem to find the time to sit and take 15 minutes to write! Or I'm finding myself just too tired to do it. We all had a great Valentine's Day last week. M and I got to go out on a date the Wednesday before V-day which was very nice. It had been a long time since the 2 of us went anywhere together. On Valentine's Nat helped me make cupcakes for our family and the neighbors. I have a pic of Abby when she woke up from her nap and she got to lick the mix off the spoon. It was too funny!! The Friday after Valentine's we closed on our flip house. We are officially done and the buyers have moved into the house.

And Nat has some big news to share...She is no longer sleeping in her crib...as of this past weekend, she is sleeping in her big girl bed. M and I decided since we were home this past weekend that we would try it out and see what happened. She had a rough first night...just couldn't stay in bed...I'm assuming she was over excited about the whole event. But since then, she has done great! She takes her usual 2 hour nap and sleeps for 11 hours at night. She gets a sticker every time she sleeps in her bed and stays in her bed. When she gets 12 stickers (1 week's worth), Mommy will take her shopping for a book. Now all I have to do is relax and learn to sleep again...I have this fear of her wandering the house at night when we are sleeping...and it is causing me to not sleep at nights! I had no problem when I knew she was safe in her crib...but this is an adjustment!

Ab is still trying to walk. She can take a few steps, but then falls to the floor in excitement! She gets a kick out of falling down??? I can't wait till she starts chasing after Nat and can actually keep up with her. That should be interesting. I still can't believe how much hair she has...Nat was still almost bald when she turned 1, but Ab has a head full of hair...just look at that pic!

Not this weekend, but next weekend, M and I have a getaway for ONE NIGHT! I am soooo excited. Our sweet babysitter is staying overnight with the girls. We actually are leaving around noon on Saturday and will not be back until 3ish Sunday afternoon.
Well, my Nat is calling me...she is up from her nap! :)

Still partying, Grilled Cheese, & Suprises..

Yes, I'm still here. We still had some partying left to do after Ab's birthday. Next came Matt's birthday. We celebrated as a family last Friday night. Nat helped decorate a cake and I made Matt a special dinner. What's did I cook, you might ask?? Well, I do think of myself as a good cook. I enjoy cooking and I told Matt that I would make WHATEVER he wanted since it was his birthday. Do you know what he asked for?????????? Grilled Cheese and tomato soup!!!!! WHAT?????? He said that is what he was craving, but all I kept on thinking was him telling people that I made him grilled cheese for his birthday dinner???!!!! So that is what I made him and we all had grilled cheese and cake. And then of course I hear my husband on the phone saying, "Oh, we had a wonderful dinner...my wife slaved over the stove all night and cooked me a wonderful birthday dinner..she made me grilled cheese!!" Ughhh....he thinks he is so funny sometimes!!
The next night I had planned a surprise party for Matt. 5 other couples met us at a nice restaurant and we celebrated his birthday and then went out afterwards. He was completely surprised! I was thrilled that I pulled it off and no one said anything about the party.
And finally we ended our weekend on Sunday for the superbowl. We had friends come in from out of town to spend the night and we went to a superbowl party. It was tons of fun and I LOVED the game!!! Go Giants!

Party like Rock Stars!

Well, we are finally done with partying for Abby's first birthday! (Now we just have to get ready for Dad's birthday this Friday!) I think Abby thoroughly enjoyed her "birthday week!" We started celebrating on Tuesday for her actual birthday. The 4 of us and Granny and Pappa Edd all went to Chuck E Cheese. Abby enjoyed riding the rides and of course Nat had a blast earning tickets and eating pizza. We all shared a small birthday cake that was FREE for Abby's 1st Birthday from Brookshires Grocery Store! Abby really enjoyed eating the cake!!! We then came home and opened up presents from Grandma and Grandpa from Illinois! She loves her guitar! Thanks!

Two days later, Abby was lucky enough to have cake again! This time it was for breakfast!!! We had her 1 year birthday pics done and had her dressed in just bloomers and put a birthday cake in front of her. And then she was able to do whatever she wanted with the cake! The pics turned out so cute! Some of them were hilarious! The funny part was that the cake had sprinkles on it and everytime she went for some cake, the sprinkles would fall to the floor. Well, Abby couldn't stand that, so she kept on picking up all the sprinkles and eating them! Here is a little preview of the birthday cake pictures.



And finally, we had a small birthday party for Abby on Sunday. It was all of the family and our neighbors across the street. Abby was able to enjoy her 3rd birthday cake and play with all her cousins and friends. We opened up presents and then all the kids and the men went to the park down the street. Thanks for everyone who shared with Abby's 1st birthday!

Happy Birthday To You!

Today is Ab's first birthday! Happy Birthday Ab! We are having a little birthday party with family on Sunday to celebrate her big day, so tonight we will probably go out to eat at Chuck E Cheese's and then have a little cake with just the 4 of us. Nat is all excited about having "happy cake!" She wants to know where her happy cake is and when will mommy be picking it up?? I told her that her birthday is in May and that is when she will have her own happy cake. She said, "Oh, okay mommy...my cake is in May...I see mommy!" I will post more pics of the birthday girl opening her presents and eating cake. These are just a few from today while we were playing with blocks with sister.

Thank goodness for hand-me downs...and making history...

I never realized the pros of having 2 girls...one right after the other...but it is sooo nice to already have a wardrobe for Ab. I mean on one hand, everything she wears is used and she rarely gets anything new, but on the other...it is wonderful to get so much use out of Nat's old clothes and it is easy on the pocketbook!!! It was so nice on Friday when it decided to SNOW that I pulled out Nat's old coat and boots...and "voila" Ab was ready to get out in the snow! Here is a pic of Ab and her hand me downs and the other pic is of Nat and her cousins. They came by to visit today and had lunch with us. Nat was sooooo excited! As you can see she is still wearing her cowboy outfit with her favorite jacket and her hat that she won't take off!!! And lets not forget the pink crocks with socks!!! Is this a normal thing for a 2 1/2 year old to be so adimate about what she wears??? Poor thing doesn't realize that the Cowboys are out of the playoffs!!!

Oh, and something I am very proud to announce...my cousin Margaux made the band at her school and made history at the same time! She is the first girl to ever play percussion...Margaux beat out a bunch of boys and she will be playing drums for her school! Great Job Margaux!!

Next time, Knock on Wood...

Ok...can everyone read the last paragraph of the last post...the part where it says, everyone is doing great...no one has been sick...well, that didn't last too long, did it????!!!! I should have ended that post with, "Knock on wood!" Yup, the girls are sick, I feel yucky, and M is sick too. Of course, this all happened yesterday morning when he was leaving to go out of town for 3 days for work. There are no fevers as of today, but Nat keeps telling me her neck hurts. I'm assuming that means her throat because mine is HORRIBLE!!! I actually don't want to eat because it hurts to much to swallow...and for me not to eat..that should tell you something!!! So, it is just us girls again tonight and we are going to take it easy. Hopefully they will go to bed and sleep tonight. I desperately need sleep right now. Nat has been crying on and off for the past couple of nights. Poor thing, it must be tough when you are that little and don't feel good. Ab is sick too, but she just goes with the flow...she has snot coming out of her nose and she can't stop coughing..but she still manages to crawl non stop all over the house and smiles and laughs at everything.
Oh and I have some great news...We have a contract on our "Flip House!!!!" I just hope that everything goes smoothly and we can finally get rid of that house. We learned so many things for our first flip and we managed to surive. It has been on the market since August and now we finally have a buyer! Yippeee!!!