December 2012: Happy Holidays!

December was another wonderful month! It started with a late babysitting job, and when I came home, this is what I found! So sweet!

Then we had Norah's baptism! Chris is her godfather, so he got to play a big role and be front and center with the girl of the hour herself!

At the luncheon we got a lot of very cute shots of the girls with Grandma and Grandpa, and then of the two of them together. They loooooove each other :)

 This one is my favorite. Love it so much!

 And of course, we each got to hold the lovely lady, too. She's getting so big so fast! Such a cutie!

 As she did last year, Abby once again found my boots and loves to clomp around the house in them! She is so silly! And she somehow manages to walk around quite well in them!

We had a 60 degree day in there! So we took full advantage and went to the zoo!! Ava and Finn even met us there! It was perfect, but pretty crazy to be walking around outside in not much more than a t-shirt in December! 

 Abby got to hang out with the Schiller gang! And they spelled out her name in blocks. So sweet.

More fun Abby-Daddy time! Don't mind the half naked baby, this is standard Abby attire these days as it helps with the potty training!

This is Abby's new grocery-cart riding style. She actually sat very nicely like this for most of the trip. Goofball.

 Sassy lady!

 Sleepy girl!

Abby played a fun game with Daddy with a singing reindeer. It was eerily similar to fetch... Haha

Unfortunately, we did not get a picture with Santa this year because Abby was NOT interested in sitting on his lap. She went and got her own personal meet and greet, and even got to talk to him for 5 minutes! We went in the middle of the day, so there was no line and Santa was wonderful to devote so much time and attention to her. She was quite drawn to him, and every time she saw a Santa figure or picture throughout the season she would point and say "Ho ho ho!" So sweet. But yea, not about to sit on his lap haha. She got all dressed up for Christmas pictures with the Johnson clan, and then for Christmas Eve festivities!

 Mid yawn haha

Once again, Santa came and was very modest in how many gifts he brought our baby girl, yet somehow, by the end of the day, she accumulated a TON of wonderful new toys, books, and clothes! She made out like a bandit and have a wonderful day spending time with her family :)

 There was a big snowfall between Christmas and New Years, and we took full advantage and took Abby sledding!

 She first went with Anshu and Arnav, but that didn't go very well. I wasn't quite dressed for the occasion, so I didn't take her down the hill, and when Arnav took her down the sled tipped at the bottom of the hill and Abby pretty much went face first into the snow. So that was pretty much it for that day haha.

 Perched on the couch with the puppies. Our three babies haha

 All of that sledding made for a worn out little girl haha

 We went to buy a sled so that we could take Abigail out sledding again, and she slept like this in the shopping cart the whole time we were at the store.

 Jamie and Tessa came in for the weekend before New Years! We had a great time hanging out, and even took Abby sledding again. It didn't go that much better than the first time, due to the fact that Abby was pretty tired by the time we even got to the hill. She was all excited to go and was refusing to sleep, so we just went with it, but after one or two trips down the hill, she was ready to go. We saw our neighbors at the sledding hill, and Isabel tried to get Abby to go down the hill with her, but she was not having it. Maybe next time. We will try again soon!

 She was not very happy about her coat being zipped up all the way haha.

 We had the annual Mielcarek holiday party! Jamie and Tessa were in for it last year, too, so it was great that they got to come again! And we got to see Norah again, which is always fun! It took Abby a while to warm up to everyone, but by the end of the night she was dancing up a storm and having a ball!

We had a very low key New Years, which was wonderful. Erin and Joe came over and made a delicious dinner! And Papa came over, too! We just hung out, snacked, and watched a movie. Then Uncle Dan, Ryan and Anna were all there to help ring in the New Year with us!

It was a wonderful month, and an even better year! It's crazy to think how much Abby has changed in one calendar year. It just blows my mind to think of how different she was last December, and that it wasn't even that long ago that we were celebrating her first birthday, and we already have to think about her turning two! Even in the last month, we have seen so many fun developments! Abby is talking up a storm now! And she loves narrating who she is with and what she sees around. She'll say things like "Up please Mama," and "Help please Mama." It's just the sweetest! She also really loves to dance, and will call you out by name to get you to dance with her. It's great to watch her vocabulary grow and watch her learn. Can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us!!