Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Best Time of the Year!

We are leaving for Pocatello tomorrow to spend over a week with my family for Christmas and I am so excited! We havent all been together since my sister's wedding over a year ago. I guess that is what happens when your siblings live in Chicago, Washington D.C., and Singapore but thank goodness for the holidays! Before we leave I wanted to share some pics of the fun things we have been doing this Christmas season. It is so fun to have Abigale who is starting to get really excited about Christmas and loves the tree and the lights and to also have our sweet little Lydia to cuddle with and to hold. I just love this time of year and hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!
Doesnt she look so old?!

My sister gave Abigale the Fisher Price Nativity Set last year for Christmas but we didnt open it until this year and she loves it! She loves carrying "Baby Jesus" around the house and treating him like her baby.
Decorating the Tree: Abigale could actually put the ornaments on herself this year which was a lot of fun to watch.
Gingerbread House!
We went with my parents to the Botanical Gardens where they decorate with a ton of beautiful lights and have bon fires, hot chocolate and cookies, and Christmas singers. Nothing can compare to Temple Square but this was a lot of fun!
Sorry these pictures are not very good and you cannot really see the lights. It was pretty cold so we just took quick pictures.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sesame Street Live!

My mom was nice enough to take Abigale, Lydia, and I to Sesame Street Live here in Nampa. Abigale loves Sesame Street and especially Elmo. She also is obsessed with music so we thought that it would be perfect for her, and we were right. She loved it! She still talks about the Elmo Party Nana took her too and Big Bird dancing and singing. I was a little nervous because it started at 7:00 which is close to her bedtime, but she did great. Thanks again Mom!
I think she liked it!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was very relaxing for us this year. We were supposed to be with Jonathan's family but we didn't feel good about driving to St. George with a two year old and a three week old so we stayed at home with my parents. We made enough food for ten people but it was just the four of us plus two kids. At least we had a lot of yummy leftovers!
Our cute girls are ready for the big meal:

The dinner:
The Pies:
Relaxing after a fun day:

Special Visitors

After Lydia was born Jonathan's parents came to visit for a weekend and provided some much needed help. They helped entertain Abigale while I took care of Lydia and then took care of Lydia so that I could play with Abigale. It was so fun to spend time with them. We are sad that we dont live close anymore but hopefully they come and visit us again soon. A few weeks later, Jonathan's wonderful sisters came to visit and stay with us for a few days. Abigale and Lydia were both sick so we spent a lot of time at the house but it was so fun and relaxing to hang out and catch up. Abigale did not want them to leave. She had so much fun playing with her aunts and I didnt want them to leave because it was much needed girl time for me. Thanks again for coming! We miss you so much!

We went to Boondocks one night where Abigale loved pushing all buttons at the Arcade and "playing" skee-ball.
We went to the zoo and had a lot of fun despite the crowds and cold. Abigale can never get enough of the animals
Hanging out at home with her two aunts. She was loving all the attention and kept jumping on Lindsey and Laurie giving them kisses. It was so fun to watch.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

No More Diapers!

That's right! Abigale is potty-trained!! Hurray! The last three days she hasn't had any accidents and even when we put a diaper on her for naps or at night she wakes up dry and asking to sit on the potty. We tested her last night and took her on some errands and to dinner for a few hours and she did fantastic- no accidents. Today she was playing in the leaves with her Grandpa and she stopped and ran inside and told me she had to go. I am sure that there will be accidents in the future but for now I would say she is officially potty trained. Hurray! She is so funny because once she picks up on something, she picks up on it fast. That is how she was with signing, crawling, walking, and now this. We are so proud of her and it couldn't have come at a better time. We love you Abigale and thank you for making it easy on us!

Here are some random pictures of our two cute girls:

Look at Lydia's blonde hair! This picture more accurately shows her hair color. I love it!


Thursday, November 13, 2008

Happy Birthday Sister!

Today is my sister Caitlin's birthday and since I have been a little busy lately, I didnt have time to get anything in the mail (so sorry) but I do want to let her know how much I love, miss, and appreciate her. She is an amazing person and sister and I listed a few things that make her so great:


1. She is one of my best friends

2. She is the most social person I have ever met. No matter where she goes she can find a party, if she is not the one throwing it

3.She is one of the most spiritual people I know

4. She ran a marathon (enough said)

5. She is an amazing athlete, especially at soccer.

6. No matter where she goes, she runs into someone that she knows even if it is someone that she met once a few years ago and makes them feel like they are one of her best friends

7. She was an amazing missionary and I know this for a fact because I am married to her zone leader

8. She introduced me to my amazing husband

9. She introduced me to the field of social work

10. A few years ago I flew out and stayed with her for a weekend when she lived in NYC and it was one of the best weekends ever.

There are many, many more but I dont want to embarrass her. I love you Caitlin and hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Abigale: The Big Sister

This is what a great big sister Lydia has...

We are home and out of the woods

It has been a very eventful 48hrs. Just when you think all is well, unexpected change occurs. Carley and Lydia were doing fine when I left the hospital at 8:00pm, I was asleep with Abigale at Mama and Papa Winmill's house when Judy came in and told me the hospital has been trying to get a hold of me. All the hospital could tell me is there has been complications with Carley and Lydia.


They told me Carley had started to bleed very badly and has had some concerning blood clots. Lydia was not keeping food down and has been moved to NICU to be put on an IV and was in need of x-rays.


I quickly put on my clothes and headed back to the hospital. I was driving back to the hospital thinking what I was going to do if these two very important woman ever left me, but I was quickly calmed by the spirit and told all was going to be fine. I arrived at the hospital to find Carley with puffy eyes and a bit scared. The doctors had to remove the clots with a painful procedure that Carley described as being more painful then the birth.


The x-rays came back on Lydia and showed that her small and large intestines were full of air bubbles, the doctors didn't ever find out what was the underlining cause, but assumed they were caused by an obstruction in her intestines.


Well the night became a waiting game. Carley was monitored every 15min, and steadily improved over the night. Lydia also was treated with some abrasive routines but come morning, she was doing a bit better. The following day and night were report after report of improvement on Carley and Lydia's health.


The next day they were both given the go ahead to leave. Our first night at home was a new adjustment with me on the couch with Lydia and Carley coming in every four hours to feed. Abigale is still enjoying her baby sister and our daughter just sleeps and eats.


We are thankful for all the prayers in our behalf, we are a blessed family and will continue to keep you updated. Here are a bunch of photos.









Thursday, November 6, 2008

She Is Here!

Well, the baby has come! 7lbs 14oz, 11:58am, 21 inches.


This was an interesting birth to witness, Carley started to have contractions as soon as she arrived at the hospital. The contractions came quick and powerful. Carley requested an epidural and was given one soon after. She laid down to rest for a bit when she started to feel pressure and very sharp pains. The doctor came in and the labor was on. Carley gave birth to our new beautiful daughter before the epidural had time to work and has experienced unexpected natural child birth. We named our new daughter Lydia June Tanner. We chose the name from my family history. Lydia was the wife of the first Tanner to join the church. We immediately felt the spirit testify of the great meaning behind our choice.









Abigale was ecstatic when she saw Mom and Lydia. She immediately wanted to touch her and hold her. Carley, with all her wisdom, bought Abigale a new doll that distracted Abigale from all the attention on Lydia. Abigale then watched Carley's every move and did the same with her baby.






We are now a family of four, what a wonderful day!!!