13 Months Old

I feel like in the past month Abigail has become a toddler. She just changes everyday it seems and it's so much fun seeing her explore the world around her, follow her siblings around, and begin to understand more and more!

At 13 months Abigail's stats are:

weight - 21 lbs 8 oz (50-75%)
height - 30 3/4 inches (75%)

And here are a few other tidbits...

She has gotten pickier with her eating
Still sleeps like a champ
Says a few words (daddy, uh-oh, please, mama/mo-meee)
Loves to play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo!
Walks about 90% of the time now:)
Gets 2 bottles a day and the rest of her liquid (whole milk and water) is in sippy cups!


We just love her to pieces!!!!!!!!

Roll Tide Roll!!!!!!!!!

We had a great time watching the Tide roll all over the Gators last night. My children ate chips and cookies for dinner and had a blast too:)

Ellie Kate got this new jacket yesterday and would not take it off the whole night!


Abigail and Jeff camped out in the corner.



32 - 13 baby!!!!! ROLL TIDE
SEC CHAMPIONS!!!


We (as in Alabama fans) are so excited to be headed to the National Championship!!!! Jeff and I are trying to figure out a way to go to Pasadena. We have frequent flier miles and a possible free place to stay. I'm trying not to get my hopes up though!

Ray Johnston Band

Our friend Ray (Jeff's roommate from college that I have posted about before on here who has been battling leukemia) was on Good Day Atlanta this morning!!! Be sure to check out both videos to see his interview and hear his band play. Both are SO good and totally worth watching!!!!

Here is the link:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/good_day_xtra/Ray_Johnston_Band_and_Leukemia_120409

Around Here

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! And feel like it too! BRRRRR....it's been cold today!

I've been so busy with Christmas stuff that I haven't been blogging much. I have a lot of things I want to share (Christmas decorations, Adoption Day celebrations, etc. etc)...but for now all I have time for is a few pics from when we decorated the tree last weekend. The kids had so much fun...I even let them actually hang the ornaments wherever they wanted. But only for about 10 minutes...then I took over! Ha!!

a look of pure delight when she came round the corner and saw the tree for the first time!

even more delightful is finding a spare ornament that fell on the floor:)


Samuel hanging the first ornament


Ellie Kate wore her china pearls (thanks Ash!) for the occasion





admiring her ornament


Samuel hanging the ornament he made us last year in Kindy



wow...I love these 2...they have been playing so well together lately. oh, it just makes my heart swell!




We decided to put the tree in the living room/office this year to keep it somewhat out of Abigail's way (I just didn't feel like taking the time and energy to train and discipline her to stay out of it). It looks really pretty coming in the front door and you can see it through the windows in the living room so that's fun.

So, here is she is in all her sparkling wonder...

We are gearing up for a BIG day tomorrow. I SO wish we could have gone to Atlanta to the SEC champship. 10 years ago when we were in school at Alabama a big group of us went and stayed at my parents house and had so much fun going to cheer on the Tide as we stomped all over the Gators. I was going to post some old pics from that day but my stupid scanner won't work. Grrr! Oh well.....

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 Years!!!!!

Today is the day we celebrate Samuel's homecoming.

4 years ago on December 1, 2005 Samuel Gibbs became a U.S. citizen and was welcomed into our home and family forever.

His official adoption day is November 14 (when the courts declared us his parents) and his Gotcha day (when we picked him up from the orphanage) is November 25. I am sorry to say that I will not win my mother of the year award this year (not that I ever thought I would, ha!) because both of those days passed me by. It actually makes me want to cry and I am truly ashamed to admit that I forgot such special occasions. For the past 3 years I worked so hard to set aside a special day for Samuel and can't believe that this year I just totally let it slide. With 2 birthdays in a row, then the swine flu and pneumonia, followed by all our travels and the craziness of the holidays I just plain forgot.

So, now that I got that admission out of the way...this year we are celebrating the day we brought him home to America forever. That's a special day too, right?!

It's so hard to believe that Samuel has now been with us longer that he was without us. The day we flew home was such a special day with so much significance. After more than a month overseas, it was so nice to set foot into our house and to finally be able to lay our son in his bed. God has been so faithful to us over the past 4 years as He has given us the strength, peace, patience, and courage to parent Samuel. There are many wonderful and joyful days with our little guy...but honestly there are many hard days as well. In this season where we are again struggling (with school and behavior), we recall the amazing miraculous ways that the Lord led us perfectly and sovereignly to our son...the child we had been praying for. We hope and pray that Samuel will always know the depth of our love and more importantly the depth of His Father in heaven!

cutest little thing!!! this was right before we came home!





Welcome home!!!





our first official family photo after coming home



The difference in 4 years is amazing!!!!

I Heart Faces - "Tooshies"

This week's theme is "Tooshies!"

As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to go find this photo I took of Abigail this past summer. I love her squeezable baby legs with all those rolls and I love her fancy monogrammed pants!!!

A Great Thanksgiving!

We wrapped up last week with a great Thanksgiving celebration! I think my mom spent the entire week we were there in the kitchen. Thanks, mom, for some great meals especially our Thanksgiving turkey. It was delicious!!!! My brother, Ryan, and his wife, Erin drove down from Durham, NC to celebrate. It was so fun to see them and the kids absolutely adore their aunt and uncle. They need to get some kind of award because each of them put Ellie Kate to bed one night. It was a nice break for us! Ha!!!

Abigail loved Ryan


Erin is an awesome cook!!! She made lots of yummy desserts for us and some artichoke dip as well as really good cornbread. The kids loved being right there with her as she cooked...





Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Dancing and twirling around as usual...


Daddy and his girls


Miss Abigail has started walking over the break. She still isn't 100% of the time but more and more she is trying to walk.


an attempt at a family shot (it really is impossible to get all 5 of us looking and smiling at the same time)


mmmmmmmm....


Jeff's parents came up and had Thanksgiving dinner with us which was so fun!


my parents with Samuel



The next day we went down to Jeff's grandparents who live in Atlanta. A lot of his family was there (sister, BIL, aunts and uncles, and cousins). It was a great time of more yummy food and fellowship!!!!


Rachel, Keli (cousin), Jennifer (sister) and Donna (Jeff's mom) enjoying some spiced tea that Jennifer made



Ellie Kate was lovin on some Beckham (Ryan and Keli's 2 year old little boy)


Ellie Kate and Aunt Jenny


The youngest cousins...(I can't believe we got such a great pic of them all looking and smiling)
Abigail thought she was big stuff being able to sit up on the hearth:)


So, then I tried to get a good one of my 3
so cute if I do say so myself!!!


It only took about 10 of these shots to get the one good one! Ha, Ha!!!



Abigail and Big Papa


Samuel and Grandaddy (I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of Nonnie)



It was SUCH a good holiday and wonderful time of family and even relaxing. Now we are back into the grind and the next month is going to be busy, busy, busy!!! I'm so excited about the Christmas season and am trying to finish decorating today before our first party tomorrow night!

EDITED TO ADD
I can't believe I forgot this, but the only bad thing about Thanksgiving was that Jeff sliced open the top of his "tall man" finger when we were at his grandparents. He was cutting the ham and turkey and just slipped up. He had to go to a med plus and get 6 stitches. Yuck!!!!!!