Micah & Abby

This is how I found Abby the other day... reading to herself. She was saying things like, "pretty," "book," "rella (Cinderella)."

Micah and Abby were so excited when they got to pick these pumpkins from our garden. We only got two, but as long as they each got one, they were happy. Micah took the big one and gave the smaller one to Abby. He said, "You can't hold this one, Abby. You don't have enough strong."

Every year, Gammy sends Micah and Abby a Halloween package. One of the items in this year's package was a foam "Haunted Tree" kit. Here are the kids with the finished product. They are so proud of it.

The other day, Micah and his friend, Micah (yep) were walking around with their arms around each other saying, "We're best friends." How fun is it to have your best friend live right across the street and have the same name as you?

Micah's Birthday

I was reading through some old posts and realized that somehow, I completely neglected to blog about Micah's birthday. :( How could I forget pics of my baby's 4th birthday? Well, I guess it's better late than never. ..

Micah turned 4 on April 15, 2009. He was so excited to turn 4 and to have a party. We just did a little family party, but it was all the same to him. As long as he got presents, he was happy.

It's funny to think that Micah is four. He has grown so much in four short years. He has gone from the baby who never napped, to the 4 year old who never stops. :) He is full of energy and excitement for life. Micah loves to play with Abby and his friends. It totally makes his day when someone calls and asks for him to go play at their house. He loves Star Wars, Super Heroes, cars, riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, and swimming. He loves to color and he adores books. His preschool teacher actually recommended that we buy him a set of encyclopedias. He is so smart and loves to learn about the weather, bugs, and animals. He also loves the computer and has completed a full year of the Waterford program.

Micah is such a good boy and we are so blessed to have him. He brings love and light into our home and we couldn't love him more.

And now, the pics....

Even though you can't tell, he was happy in this pic. I think it was about the 100th picture I had taken and he was just tired of it. In the corner of the pic, you can see his Star Wars play set. It had Anakin, a cool spaceship, and a bunch of other characters that only Micah knows their names.

Pinocchio dvd. Thanks Gammy!

Micah and Zoey opening yet another Star Wars toy. You can already see his purple light saber in the picture. You can also see the cool SpiderMan art set that uncle Beau got him.

A tie! Thanks uncle Beau!

Micah had been eyeing this shirt at Target for quite some time. I think he was in shock when he opened it and realized that he finally got it. Thanks Abby! You all have probably seen him wearing it, because even 6-months later, it's still his favorite.

Hullabaloo from Cory, Danae, Zoey & Colston. It is the funnest game for preschoolers.

Look at Micah's haul....

Micah's birthday was right before Easter, so we had a little Easter Egg hunt for the kids.

Abby enjoying some chocolate.

Sorting out all the treats from the Easter Egg Hunt.

"Storm Tuber" Mr. Potato Head. The perfect gift for a Star Wars maniac. Thanks Gammy!

I can't remember what this present was. That's what happens when you wait 6-months before posting something. :(

Micah's big ticket item- a cool "Big Boy" bike from Grandma & Grandpa!

We love you Micah and can't wait for many, many more birthdays!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

The other day, I was loading the kids into the car, so we could go to the park. Micah picked up this little Jack-o-Lantern, that Gammy gave him awhile ago, and put it in the car. I told him that he couldn't take it to the park because it could get lost or dirty. He looked at me and said, "But mom, pumpkins like parks too."

Today, when Micah got home from preschool, I noticed pink marks on his pants. I said, "Micah, did you get paint on your pants?"

He said, "No."

I said, "It looks like you colored on your pants."

With a totally serious look on his face, he said, "I think one of the crayons came alive and colored on my pants."

Abby is starting to talk quite a bit. She is putting a couple of words together now. Today, she was looking at herself in the mirror and kept saying, over and over, "So cute. So cute."

Gotta love 'em! And, I do. :)

Yeah for Daddy!

Rarely do a I blog about anything other than the kids and what fun things they are doing. Today, I want to give a great big shout out to the silent strength in our family- dad!

This summer has been a difficult one for our family, and especially for Heath. Not only was he laid off from his job in May, but he lost his grandmother in July, and his brother in August. During this time he was also called to be the Stake Young Men's President. Amidst all the pain, I watched him dedicate himself to looking for jobs, helping with funeral plans and expenses, and learn and carry out a very time consuming new calling. And, just like he always does, he did it with a quiet respect and courage. I think I took that strength for granted, and when Jared died, I saw Heath's vulnerability, maybe for the first time in my life. He let us be there for him. But, he plowed through the pain and frustration and kept being the great dad and husband that he has always been.

After a summer full of pain and disappointment, Heath was offered a job last week. It's a great job and I think he will really enjoy it. One of the best things about it is that it is just down the street, so Heath can come home for lunch. It's fun to be able to see dad in the middle of the day.

Anyway, here are a few pics of Heath and the many ways he makes our lives so good.

I think we need a new family picture. :)

Heath and Micah at Lower Mesa Falls in Idaho.

Here is Heath reffing a Stake YM flag football game. Most Thursday's, you can find him on the field, officiating some kind of tournament that he has put together for the boys in our stake.

We love you, dad!

Happy Birthday Abby!

Our little Abby turned 2-years-old on Thursday, October 1st. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. I can't help but remember how much she loved to snuggle when she was first born. She would constantly find her way into the crook of my neck and then just relax her whole body. I loved it. I remember her cute little cooing noises and the little sighs she would make while she was sleeping. Now, she's a little girl who loves to play with her babies. Every morning, she wraps them up in their blankets, puts them in her strollers, and pushes them around the house. Periodically, she puts them in her crib or in Micah's bed and then gives me the "shhhh" sign to let me know that they are sleeping. Abby also loves her big brother and follows him around like a little puppy dog. When Micah is home, no one else exists. She does whatever he does and looks at him as if he is the greatest thing in the world. Abby is our little angel who brings spunk and smiles to our life. She is constantly smiling and trying to make us laugh. She does the cutest "Igor" and doggie impersonations. If she thinks someone is upset with her, she quickly busts into one of the impersonations to make us forget all about it. She has blessed our lives so much and we couldn't love her more.

We had her birthday party on Thursday too. Here are some pics of her special day.

We gave her two presents first thing in the morning. Abby is quite the little fashionista and she absolutely loves the cute little crocheted beret. In this pic, she is bursting with excitement about opening this present.

Taking the bow off....

Getting a little help from grandpa...

Ah ha! It's a princess tent!

Can you tell that she LOVES it? She played peek-a-boo all day. She even put her babies to sleep in it.

This is Grandma and Grandpa at Abby's party. We had pizza and salad on Spongebob plates.

Here are uncle Cory (my brother), Colston (Cory's son), aunt Danae (Cory's wife), our good friend, Lauren, and uncle Beau (my brother).

Proud daddy!

Abby, Micah, and Zoey (Cory & Danae's daughter). Notice Abby's adorable tiara. It was totally blinged out and said, "Birthday Girl" on it.

Cory and his son, Colston

Grandpa wearing the "Birthday Girl" tiara. Doesn't he look happy? We were so glad that he was feeling well enough to party with us. The doctor's have been giving him a new drug and it has really helped with the nausea.

Abby was super sweet about letting Micah and Zoey help with the present opening. This present was from Cory, Danae, Zoey and Colston. It was the new Barbie Fairy-tastic Princess doll. It's super cute and Abby adores it. Notice how Aunt Danae decorated the wrapping paper so cute.

Abby's new Belle doll. Thanks Uncle Beau and Lauren! She's been sleeping with Belle every night since her birthday.

Playing with Barbie while watching Micah and Zoey open one of her gifts.

Abby loves this Princess keyboard. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Micah was so proud to give Abby his gift to her. It was a "My Little Pony" remote control scooter. He saw it weeks before her birthday and just knew that was what he wanted to give her.

Abby's gift from mom and dad- a pink shopping cart filled with play food. She pushes it everywhere. She piles it as high as she can without things spilling out. She even puts her babies in it.

This is a picture of everyone helping out and putting toys together. It seemed like every toy needed some kind of assembly or batteries. Everyone was great and took one toy, so we had it all done in no time.

The other gift from mom and dad- a Little People Princess castle. It came complete with Princess, Prince, white horse, castle furniture, and many more fun things. Abby put it right next to Micah's Batman bat cave. It's so cute seeing them play with their little playhouses together.

Spongebob cake. It turned out sooooo cute!

Abby blowing out her candle. She was so tired by the end of the night. I put her to bed really late. I just laid her down and she was asleep before I left her room. What a great ending to a great day.

We love you so much, Abigail Valerie Garner! Happy Birthday and here's to many, many more...

Abby's Rough Week

Abby has had a rough week. Last Tuesday, she fell off the bar stool and ended up in the ER with a concussion. I know, I know, why wasn't I watching her better? Trust me, I feel horrible about it and will never take a potty break ever again. :) She capped her rough week off this morning, with a trip to the Pediatrician for immunizations. She had three and was such a champ about it. She cried when she got the initial pinches, but as soon as those needles were out, she was up and giving me the best hugs ever. It's a good thing Abby's birthday is Thursday, because she deserves some spoiling.

Here are a few pics of Abby- always happy and always smiling.

Abby loves these goggles. They came with Micah's tool bench, but I think she wears them more than he does (even if they are upside down).

This is Abby playing with the door at Gammy and Popi's house. Who needs toys when you can have fun with an everyday, ordinary door. :)

And here is Abby doing what she loves most- playing with her big brother, Micah. Her smile says it all.

Everyday Life

Abby will be 2 on October 1st. She only sleeps through the night about 50% of the time. Needless to say, it gets quite tiring for me. Before any of you think, "She just needs to let her cry", let me just say that I have done that many, many times and the girl will seriously cry all night long. Sunday night for instance, she went to bed at 8:00 p.m., woke up and cried from 1-1:25 a.m., woke and cried again at 3-30 a.m., then again from 4:48-6:09 a.m. I know that one for sure because I finally went in her room, picked her up, brought her back to our room and put her in the swing. It's probably strange to put a 2-year-old in an infant swing, but when you're as tired as I am, you really don't care. :)

She does look peaceful though. :)

Micah loves to color. I bought him one of those velvet pictures that come with markers from the dollar bin at Target. He promptly came home and colored to his little hearts content. He was really proud of the finished product.

Abby eating a smore. Micah loves them, but she wasn't too sure how she felt about the gooey marshmallow.

Micah devouring his smore. He loves every single bite. You can see his cute friend, Noah, in the background a little. We discovered that he likes smores too.