Swingin' Monkey

I had a lovely date earlier this week with my favorite monkey while many of the other missionaries toured the Lincoln Museum.  After a long few days of missions conference, it was refreshing to let Kyle play hard at the park all afternoon.  He has been such a trooper through all the craziness.  

Love that sweet face!

Lotsa giggles from this little boy!

Going down....

....Made it....

....Trying to climb back up....

....Back down again!

~Abby

Champion Traveler

We have had a wonderful and encouraging first few days here at Missions Conference in Illinois.  Jonathan had the opportunity to share the ministry of AIM on Saturday and we've been able to hear of the work of many other missionaries from around the world.  It is always encouraging to hear the testimonies of seasoned missionaries and reconnect with our beloved Cornerstone family as well.  Kyle is taking all the craziness like a champ and I am so glad!  I won't have much time to update while we're here but, I thought I'd give some credit to our champion traveler.  Fifteen hours in the car and just a couple of frustrated crying spurts.  Not bad, I'd say, but of course I'm slightly biased.

Cruisin' in style with his velour neck pillow...

Wonderin' why Daddy put this crazy hat on his head and enjoying some A&W root beer...

Catchin' some zzz's after lunch...

I was getting a little nervous driving through this mess but, Kyle napped the whole time... Good boy.

He escaped his car seat momentarily and this was the result...

We stopped about an hour from our destination to get a caramel sundae for our car seat trooper.  I gave him tiny bites almost the whole rest of the way.  Poor thing, he was so sick of the car seat he wouldn't stop trying to unlatch the straps.  

He didn't sleep the whole ride though.  Not even close.  So, we read these books over and over and over again.

We learned to stack cups so quickly I couldn't even get a clear photo to show you.

We played with his African animals, Little People and..... 

We listened to Kyle's favorite song, Justin Beiber's Baby, on repeat.

<3 ~ Abby

Lucky Winner

I don't recall ever having won anything in my life until this past weekend.  My name was drawn as the lucky winner for this cheery table runner.  I am giddy with excitement!

It makes me happy sitting on my kitchen table.  Plus, it is travel size and can be easily packed into a suitcase for "trips across the pond."  Perfect; my kind of decoration.  I have just a few things I hope to get into our suitcases so that when we set up house in Africa, I can feel like it really is home.  This most certainly will be included in those few things.

Thanks Mrs. Jean!  You don't know how special this is to me.

~Abby

A New Car

..... Seat!

Kyle has almost completely outgrown his infant car seat.  His head comes past the top and his feet stretch far past the bottom.  I feel certain this cannot be very safe.  With our l-o-o-o-o-n-n-g trip to Illinois coming up this week, we wanted to be sure he had a new, safe seat to ride in.

"This Teddy cookie is so yummy!"

For a belated birthday gift (because we haven't had time since his birthday weekend), we went to shop around last weekend (I haven't had time to post about it until this weekend) for a big boy car seat.  He enjoyed trying out different ones and it appears he felt like a very big boy facing forward.

We were unable to purchase anything on the spot.  Wal-mart had nothing to my liking and Target was sold out of nearly every one in their display aisle.  Amazon saved the day again.  Twenty bucks cheaper and free shipping - score!  It arrived this week and Pops secured it tightly into the backseat of our car.

Get really comfortable there, Buddy, because you'll be in that seat for more hours than I care to count over the next few weeks.  

We begin our trek northward late this week and will be back after Easter.  We are excited to see everyone but not excited about the drive up there.  We're veering from our usual route in order to stay with friends in Tennessee on the way up.  On the way home we will be leaving from Michigan after visiting with my BFF and her family, which should make the scenery more interesting both ways.  Unfortunately, Kyle won't know the difference so I'll be taking lots of smocking, tons of lectures for my next classes and earplugs. 

~Abby

A Word From Kyle

Hello everyone!  Today is my birthday party!  I am so excited!  I slept in this morning.... It is Saturday and I know Mommy likes it when I sleep in on Saturdays.  When I woke up, I heard rain drops on the trees outside my window.  I played in my crib for a while with my animals before Dad came in to get me.  He took me in to Mommy where we had our usual snuggle time and I ate breakfast.  Then, Daddy took me downstairs to play.  

After my morning nap, I got dressed up for my big party!  See my new outfit?  Mommy made it for me.  She picked lots of colors for the balloons and I watched her smock them.  Then, she cut out the pattern and sewed it all together until the very end, with Lollee's supervision.  Sometimes I watched her sew, sometimes I napped while she sewed.  I like this outfit.  Mommy says it makes my eyes look bright blue.  Do you like it?

Getting ready is so much fun when Daddy dresses me!

Team effort.

Wow, shoes? This must really be important!

My guests started arriving around lunch time.  Lollee, Pops, my aunts Lacy, Holly and Maggie and my uncles Ryan and Caleb all came to help me celebrate my very first birthday!  I have a lot of other aunts and uncles and a Grammy and PaPa.  Mommy said they couldn't be here today but she took pictures so they could see, too.  For lunch Mommy chose things I could eat just like everyone else.  She made Yummy Goodness, a sweet and savory Temple favorite consisting of crescent roll dough, meat, cheese and a drizzle of syrup on top.  Delicious!  She also served a fruit salad and vegetable plate, chips and lemonade.  

I liked the Yummy Goodness! I ate it all up!

After lunch, I opened my presents!  That was a lot of fun!  I am so glad everyone gave me lots of paper to play with 'cause that's my favorite part!  Thanks to everyone who sent me gifts for my birthday!

Thank you, thank you everyone for coming to my birthday party!

Being one is fantastic!

Snuggling my Teddy Bear from Grammy and PaPa

Studying the outfit from Grammy and PaPa

My aunts and uncle were excited about watching me open their gifts!

Big, fun toy from Trent and Kaylee

Lots of stylin' jammies from Uncle Ric and Aunt Rachel

Stuffed monkey from Uncle Ryan.

I got a few other gifts like a water toy and a Mr. Potato Head but, Mommy's camera died and she couldn't photograph anymore right then.  Thanks everyone!

Cupcakes were saved for last.  Mommy made them all bright colors like the balloons on my outfit.  They tasted yummy and I demolished almost a whole one by myself.  

Chowing down on my cupcake like a pro!

Pretty soon I'll be taking another nap.  My party was so much fun it wore me out!  Thanks everyone for coming!  You made my day extra special!  And thanks for sending me lots of presents, cards and well wishes.  This has been the best year of my life!

~Kyle