Remembering Makwa

Our beloved Makwa passed away last week. He was a special dog and we have many wonderful memories of him.  We will miss him very much.

Birthday Celebrations



Daniel took the day off work for Abby's birthday.  We had a wonderful day together!  We took Abby into Boston to the New England Aquarium.  She loved looking at all the fish, penguins, and other sea creatures.  She also enjoyed riding the subway and visiting Daniel's office.  After lunch we headed home for a short nap before going for swimming lessons.  Abby loved showing off her swimming skills for Daddy!   

We ordered Chinese take-out for birthday dinner and celebrated Abby's birthday with a little chocolate cake.  To end the fun filled day we walked the gardens at the Long Hill Reserve here in Beverly.  It was a great day celebrating the life of our sweet Abby!

My sister, Tara, flew out from Minnesota for a few days to celebrate Abby's birthday.  Abby and I had a lot fun showing her the sights.  We visited our favorite park, explored historic Rockport, and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on the beach at Plum Island.  Abby had a great time playing with Auntie Tara in the sand!

 

Daniel and I planned a birthday party for Abby with some of our close friends on Saturday.  It was a fun afternoon of food, cake, opening gifts and visiting with good friends. 

Happy Birthday, Abby!

Happy 2nd birthday, Abby!  You are such a sweet, silly and smart little girl and Mommy and Daddy are so thankful for you.  You bring so much joy to our lives, from your contagious giggles, hugs and kisses, and kind and loving spirit.  You are a blessing to our lives and we thank God everyday for giving you to us. We love you very much and look forward to this next year with you.

Fun Activities

We have had a busy few months!  In January Daniel's brother and family came to visit us.  It was great to have them here. Abby loved spending time with her uncle, auntie and cousins.

I joined the Beverly Athletic Club in February.  They have a great children's center and Abby loves playing there several days per week while I work out.  We also signed Abby up for an eight week swimming class!  The Waterbabies class is for parent and child and we sing songs and play games.  Abby loves it and is doing great.

We celebrating Easter with friends from our church this year.  We gathered for a meal and the kids had an Easter egg hunt.  Abby joined in on her first egg hunt and had a lot of fun!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Daniel, Abigail and I really enjoyed the Christmas season this year.  Abigail is at a really fun age now to start enjoying the festivities.  She loved having the Christmas tree and lights up.  Every morning she insisted that we turn on the tree and the lights on the mantle.  And throughout the day I would find her looking intently at the tree, touching each light on the string and the ornaments she could reach.  Abigail also got to meet Santa for the first time!

We attended the Christmas Eve service at church and all the kids were given little battery operated candles.  Abigail was enthralled with hers!  It kept her busy most of the service, holding it up in the air or putting it close to something to light up.  On our way home we drove around our neighborhood, oohing and ahhing at all the beautifully lit up houses.

Daniel made pancakes for Christmas morning breakfast and then we opened gifts.  Abigail quickly got the hang of tearing open the wrapping paper and even helped mommy and daddy with unwrapping our gifts.  Later we went to the park.  It was a beautiful warm day in the mid 60's.

December 29th brought our first snowfall of the season.  We only got about 2 inches of snow during the night and then turned to a rain/snow mix.  Abigail and I put on our snow gear and headed out to play in the snow first thing in the morning.  Abigail wasn't too happy to be outside and just stood there saying, no, no, no."  She liked looking at the snow from inside the warm house, though!

Vote for Abigail!

We have entered Abigail into the 2015 Gerber Baby photo search contest!  We need your help to vote for Abigail's photo.  The child from each age category with the most votes will win.   Please go to https://gerber.promo.eprize.com/photosearch2015/ and click on "Vote Now".  Abigail's entry ID is 156458.  You may visit the site and vote for Abigail once per day through November 24th.  We've also post the voting information on our Facebook pages.  Please vote for Abigail!  And tell your friends, too!

18 Months Old

Abigail is a year and a half!  It has been a lot of fun to watch her grow and change this past month.  She is turning into quite a little girl.  She is continually adding new words to her growing vocabulary.  Her most recent new words are moon and Makwa.  Abigail also loves to play peek-a-boo and dance to music.

This has also been a month full of fun activities.  Daniel's parents spent a week with us and Abigail soaked up the extra attention.  She loved reading and playing with Babu and Bibi.  While they were here we visited the Topsfield Fair and picked apples at a local orchard. 

Saying "buh-buh" to Babu and Bibi

 Peek-a-boo!  I see you!

 Ridin' along in my automobile!

 Smelling a flower