Happenings around the Hart House

Just a few random happenings in the Hart household this week:

Over the weekend, David put together a new cubicle bookshelf for Abigail's room. She was so fascinated in his work and wanted to be part of the action. Here's a peek at our little carpenter...
One of Abby's favorite things to do lately has been to stand on the chair on our porch and watch people and dogs walk by. It's pretty cute and I just love seeing her little legs on her tiptoes. We've also been known to blow quite a few bubbles on the porch too :)

David's dad got a new job last fall in Indiana, so right now, he's back there and David's mom is still in Corona wrapping things up before she heads back to join him. Last Saturday, the All-American digital family that we are, we talked to both of David's parents at the same time via Skype and Facetime. Here's a picture of Doug and Kelly "next to each other" while states apart.

We watched the Superbowl at my parents' house and Abby got a good taste of the intensity of football in the Engle house. At the end of the game, when my dad put his hands on his head while saying, "Oh my gosh! can you believe that?!" Abby copied him repeatedly... she had the whole room cracking up.
I gave Abby her first little ponytail this week... (her hair was wet at the time of the picture)

10 on Tuesday

1. We went to the beach on Sunday with a few other families. It was fun to enjoy the beautiful weather with friends. My friend Alison caught these cute shots of us.

2. Cooking update: So I definitely met my goal of spicing it up in the kitchen this week for Abby. I was pleased with the way it all turned out and Abby liked it too :) Here are a few snapshots of what I made...

Cheesy pasta risotto with zucchini, peas, and carrots

Beef Stew

Roasted butternut squash with cinnamon and brown sugar

I'm going to attempt a few more new recipes this week too... I'm definitely feeling more motivated!

3. Reading update: I read Heaven is For Real this week and loved it! It definitely encouraged my faith and gave me a renewed enthusiasm for prayer.

4. Abby loves music and has been enjoying this super cool dog-shaped guitar that she got for her birthday... She loves putting the strap over her head like a rock-star
5. On the music topic... we started a new tots music class tonight. It was a little chaotic with 17 kids, especially with Abby being on the smaller side of the group, but my little outgoing child loved all the new faces (and the music of course). She definitely takes after her mama in that she wanted to be at the front of the room and was fascinated with the teacher, Miss Wanda. (I was definitely a sit at the front and pay attention kind of kid who even liked homework... weird... I know!)
6. Last week, my mom was a guest speaker at my Mommy-and-me class. She spoke about the 5 love languages and relationships in prep for Valentine's Day. She did a great job and as I expected, Abby wanted to be with her, so my mom held her on and off the whole time she spoke.
7. One of Abby's favorite things to do lately has been to grab pillows (or anything that resembles a pillow) and lay them down on the ground and "snuggle." It's pretty cute.
8. On the sleep front, Abby's finally sleeping through the night pretty consistently. Yay! It's been a long road to get here but we've felt really good about our progress with her and are so glad we've finally arrived here!!!

9. As relationships seem to be falling apart all the time in the world around us, I'm especially thankful this week for my amazing husband. He has such a servant's heart and serves Abby and I, as well as his friends, students, and co-workers so selflessly and faithfully. I am so blessed to have him in my life!

10. A funny shot to leave you with... getting her game face on:

Monday Mentions...

1. My friend Alison has been getting really good with her camera and took a few shots of Abby during our playdate on Friday (she has a daughter a few weeks older than Abby). I'm impressed with her skills...




2. I've been in a cooking rut lately... this is especially true in the area of cooking for Abby. I picked out a few new baby friendly recipes last night and have grand plans of cooking up a storm this week... we'll see how that goes. Hopefully she'll appreciate my efforts :)

3. I made a New Year's resolution to read more and just finished one book, Bittersweet. On my list to read in the next few months are The Help and Heaven is For Real. Has anyone read a good book lately that I should add to my list? I welcome any recommendations!

Happy Birthday David!

We celebrated David's birthday on Monday. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the events of the day (big breakfast, lunch with my dad and brother, and big family dinner), but here are things he scored for his birthday...

The Office Trivia Game

And this gem of a shirt

So, who's up for an Office Trivia Game night????

Disneyland

On New Year's Day we got up early and ventured to Disneyland with Abigail for the first time. It has been a tradition for my family to go every year in December, but this year December was so crazy that we just couldn't fit it in until the 1st of January. We had a fun, albeit tiring (of course!) day, but it was a fun family experience with my parents, my brother Matthew and his wife Tara. Abby was a trooper despite only one 45-minute nap throughout the day. Perhaps her favorite part of the day was when my mom bought her a Minnie Mouse balloon that is still floating around our living room. Every time she sees it, her face lights up and she points at it. She officially learned the word "balloon" (understanding, that is... she just calls it "bah"). Here are some snapshots of the day...

On her first ride... the Carousal with Daddy!

Having fun waiting in line for the Storybook Ride

Exploring Tom Sawyer's Island

1st pair of mouse ears :)
(you can also see how badly I need a haircut in this pic!)

1st Character visit with Pluto

Enjoying Toon Town

Ahh, the wonder of Disneyland!

Christmas Travel

It has been a very busy two weeks for us in the Hart household. The week before Christmas, we traveled to my grandmother's house in Northern California, just east of San Francisco to spend time with her and some of my extended family. Abby enjoyed all the animals in the house (several dogs and a cat) as well as the attention from her doting great-grandmother and grandparents (my parents were also there for the week). We also made our annual trek into San Francisco for a day, bringing Abigail for the first time. She was a trooper and we enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather. Here are a few photos of our day-trip...

Overlooking Alcatraz at Pier 39

Looking at the Sea Lions

In the city, sporting her new hat

After San Francisco, we came home for a few days and spent Christmas with David's parents and Christmas dinner with both sets of parents.

Christmas evening at my parents' house

Then, on Tuesday we left for Arizona for my cousin Tim's wedding. It was a small, beautiful ceremony by a waterfall and lake. My dad did a great job officiating the wedding (his first) and my brother was a groomsman.

My uncle Ed is super cute with Abby (he can't wait for grandkids of his own) and enjoyed showing Abby off to all his family

We had a fantastic time with our family over the past few weeks. We must say, however that we're glad to be home with this little toddler of ours (more on that later)...

Abigail's 1st Birthday

It's been a crazy last week or so with 3 birthdays in the Hart family (Abby's on the 9th, mine on the 11th, and my mother-in-law's on the 13th)... poor David... all his girls' birthdays in 5 days time! Here are a few things we did over the big birthday weekend...

On Abigail's actual birthday, we took her to get ice-cream for the first time at Coldstone's. As many of you know, I'm an ice-cream lover, so this was a special treat for Abby. Here she is, checking out the options in wonder...
We settled on Strawberry for the first taste (although I got dark chocolate :) She liked it but didn't go crazy over it like my parents said that I did on my first taste... maybe Abby won't be as hooked as I am!
Later that evening, my parents came over and spoiled Abby with presents. I suppose that's only natural with a first grandbaby... she certainly wasn't complaining! Abigail actually really got into unwrapping her gifts. She really oohed and ahhed over everything, even the cards, which made the experience pretty precious and quite entertaining.

This soccer ball was probably her favorite of the night... she could barely wait while we got it out of the package! Notice how she's still fixated on it 2o minutes later during this picture:
Lastly, Uncle Matthew and Aunt Tara came over at bedtime to wish her a happy birthday and play with her a little bit before she went down for the night.
The next day, we hosted a small party for her at my parents' house with family and a few friends. Tara photographed the event and I'll post a few more pictures when I get them from her, but for now, here are a few from our camera.




We can't believe this girl is one! We love her to pieces and are so thankful that the Lord brought her into our lives last year. She's weighing in at just under 21 pounds and is 28 1/2 inches long. She's walking more and more (not too fast yet, which is fine with us) and "talking" all the time. She says Mama, Dada, hot, and uh-oh. I'm pretty sure she has a word for dog too "dah". She is starting to pretend (that everything is a phone) and beginning to climb (into the laundry basket and her carseat... uh-oh!) She brings us so much joy and are so thankful that the Lord entrusted her into our care. We love you Abigail! We're so proud of you, precious!