Happy Birthday Abigail!

Since we will be in Colorado for Abby's actual birthday, we decided to have a small celebration before we left. Abby absolutely LOVED her cake. On Ellie's first birthday, she wasn't too interested in her cake and she didn't really want to get dirty. Ashlyn kept her hands in her lap for awhile and just leaned over and ate. Abby just dug right in and ate a ton!


Abby is such a joy to have in our family. She loves to smile and laugh. She says, hi, bye-bye, Bella (my parents dog), and on occasion all done. Her favorite toy right now is her Elmo table (thank you, Caroline). She laughs and wiggles her hips to the music on it. Abby is a great eater. It doesn't seem like she has a favorite food but I can tell that vegetables aren't high on her list. Abby loves her big sisters and often gets excited when she sees them. She bounces up and down and you can tell she is eager to play with them. Abby enjoys being read to. Her favorite books are those that she can touch and feel and often giggles at the pages! She isn't walking, but she does pull herself up and cruises along furniture.


As for me, I am having a difficult time with the reality that my baby is turning one. It seems like yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. Now the baby phase is ending and we are getting rid of numerous items that we no longer need. My friends tell me to focus on the positives of having older kids but for me it's still really sad.

Chips for Breakfast?

I know so many of my friends give their kids cereal for breakfast but for some reason I never do. I have been thinking lately that cereal might be a good breakfast. It's quick, easy, and something that Ellie could learn to do by herself. I bought some Honey Bunches of Oats and gave it a try this morning. Ellie sat down, looked at it, and asked "Mom, why are we having chips for breakfast?" Unfortunately, as you can see by the look on Ellie's face, they didn't like it too much.

Hard Working Girls

Recently I decided to make the girls responsible for a few new chores. This week I taught Ellie how to vacuum her own room. It is a win-win situation. She thinks she is pretty special to do it herself and I am getting help. Both girls are also now responsible for wiping down the table after meals. I never knew I would get so lucky on this one... they don't only wipe off the table, but all the chairs too! Gotta love it! Here are a few pictures of them hard at work.

So long bottles....

It's a big day in our house. We are officially done with bottles and formula. Next week we will be heading to Colorado and I thought it would be easier if we didn't have to deal with either of them. I decided to wean Abby a little early and we did it! She is drinking whole milk out of sippy cups. It is a little bitter-sweet... the thought of never feeding another one of my babies a bottle makes me a little sad, but the thought of not having to buy formula makes me really happy! The bottles are packed up and ready to give away! Here is the big girl with her sippy cup.

Chef Abigail

The cooking set in Ashlyn's room has become Abby's favorite toy. Whenever she dissappears for a few moments, we always find her cooking up a storm.

Ballerina Ashlyn

Ashlyn had her first ballet recital on Saturday. After watching Ellie's recital a year ago, Ashlyn has been eager to get on stage. She was so excited and did a great job! Thank you for the classes, Grandma!

After the recital, Grandpa took us out for ice cream. Ashlyn loved it... can you tell?

It's Christmas All Year at the Unruh House

Ever since this past Christmas Ashlyn loves to sing Christmas songs. Lately she has been singing "Oh Christmas Tree" and "Deck the Halls" pretty much everywhere we go. If you have spent any time with us lately, I'm sure this is a familiar sound. Here are a couple clips.

Abby

Spaghetti for dinner.... need I say more?

Princesses Go Camping

The guys built this fort. The girls called it their "Princess Castle" and were entertained for hours.

This weekend Eric took Ellie and Ashlyn camping. They went with two other dads and their girls. Five girls under five... wow, those are some amazing dads! They had a great time as usual. Yes, that is Ashlyn in shorts... we can manage to get her out of a dress for camping :o).

Sweet Ellie

Ellie is such a kind and compassionate little girl. She does and says so many things that melt my heart. Each day Ellie has "quiet time" for an hour in her room. She can do whatever she would like, she just needs to play quietly. Lately she has enjoyed drawing during this time. One day, a couple of weeks ago, she drew a picture and wrote "I love My Family" on it. Today she made me a get well card. I have been fighting a cold so she drew me a picture and wrote, "I hope your cough feels better. Love, Ellie" (she did need some help with spelling on this one). It is so encouraging to see such wonderful character qualities displayed in Ellie. I am amazed at her love and concern for those around her. I love you Ellie!

Joyful Ashlyn

Ashlyn is always full of joy. Recently she has been going through a new phase of separation anxiety (crazy, huh?). My mom and I were going shopping at Jo Anne's and Eric was going to take all the girls for a walk and then give them a "special treat". Ashlyn wanted to stay with me and begged until I said "yes". I thought once she came to the store, realized it was boring, and then missed out on the special treat she wouldn't want to come with me anymore. This wasn't the case. She had a great time at the store and started a conversation up with everyone she saw. I realized that night that Ashlyn can have fun in any situation she is in. She always brings laughter and joy wherever she is. What a great quality to have and a joy to have in our family. I love you Ashlyn!

Pudding Painting

I read about the idea of having your kids finger paint with pudding. This morning we decided to give it a try. The girls helped make the chocolate pudding and then I gave each of them a couple globs to make thier creations. I was pretty impressed with what they came up with. Ellie painted flowers, suns, butterflies, faces, and handprints and Ashlyn painted an octopus, spider, rainbow, and more. Above are a couple pictures of their creations.

Of course, they had to snack on the pudding too!

California Vacation

Soccer Star!

Ellie played on a soccer league this spring. She had lots of fun learning the sport and was surprisingly pretty aggressive. I'm not sure if it's her thing or not. One day I asked her what she liked more; kicking the ball or talking with her friend, Lydia. She said, without hesitation, "talking with Lydia".

California Vacation!

Getting in their "sleeping bags"
Daddy and his girls
We took a semi- family vacation this week to California. I say semi because we left Abigail at home with Grandpa and Grandma. It was sad to leave her, but we agreed it would be best. We spent some time at the beach and then went to Disneyland for two days. We all had a great time and Ashlyn continues to ask when are we going to go again.

Highlight of Disneyland: Lunch with the Princesses. Most people know that Ellie and Ashlyn LOVE, or should I say are obsessed with, the Disney Princesses. It was a very special treat for them to have lunch and meet Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine, and Ariel. Each one of them signed their autograph book and then took their picture with them.

Ashlyn's Favorite Ride: Matterhorn... she loved the abominable snowman. She also really liked Space Mountain... I can't even handle that one. She's our adventurous kid ;)

Ellie's Favorite Ride: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

From the way things look now, I think in the future Ellie and I will be hanging out together while Ashlyn and Daddy go on the crazy rides together.... I just wonder where Abby will fit in?