What Happens When Life Happens

Thirty-Four and Thankful

I turned 34 on Saturday. I had a great weekend and it was beautiful, sunny and warm. Can't beat that! Friday started out with treats from my co-workers and then sushi outside.

 Brian and English

 Hammy and Steiner

 Mama Lizzie and Me

 

Kirsty, Katie and Megan

Just a LITTLE bit of sushi... :o)

Saturday was the Liamer's first Holy Communion so after Mass, we spent the day in Newark outside in the sunshine. You won't believe what happened during Mass, though. I had to call 911 during the ceremony because some woman had a seizure!! I had to pull my sister-in-law, Alison, a nurse, out of mass to help. Crazy!

Ellie cruisin' in Pop's Beamer. She didn't want to get out! 

Ellie and Brutus, Liam's beagle puppy. He looks just like my sweet Bo and put up with a whole lot from Ellie. He was so good with her. She was so cute, chasing after him and giggling. Of course I love Beagles, so it got me thinking... sshhh, don't tell Rob... 

 

 My favorite girl and me.

A big birthday kiss from my sweet girl! She is big time into giving kisses lately. :o)

Sunday, it was off to Costco (yeah, an Abel family favorite activity!) and then my handsome hubby took me to a great dinner. I meant to get a picture of Rob and I on our date night, but forgot. Thanks to all for a great birthday. I have everything I could ever want!

Hello there.

Hello, friends. I was gently reminded that I hadn't posted in awhile (thanks, Jess!) so here goes.

A quick update to the post below. Ellie was actually sick for FIVE weeks straight. It went a little something like this:

• Week One: Stomach Bug
• Week Two: High Fever
• Week Three: Ear Infection
• Week Four: Ear Infection went away for 24 hours, then came back with a vengeance!

• Week Five: Another Stomach Bug

Poor thing's immune system took a serious beating. Any and every little thing that came her way stuck. Needless to say, it was a sleepless time for us all. We were regulars at the doctor's office. And I think I shed more tears than Ellie. My co-workers definitely witnessed a meltdown or two... and not by Ellie. Heehee. But truly, we came through it with a new appreciation for having a healthy baby. We know how lucky we are!!

Since then, everything's been looking up for our little family. A quick recap of what we've been up to:

Kelly and Jack flew out for a wonderful weekend. Kelly and I went to the NKOTB for the ultimate girls' night out. The concert was incredible, of course. I have officially seen the New Kids in concert 9 times. Honestly, it felt weird to have a beer while watching them. I got over that pretty quickly, though, and things definitely got out of hand. Kelly and I had a BLAST that night. We met my cute friend Chris out at Sugar afterwards for the after-party with Donnie. (Thanks, ANG! xoxo) It was so much fun!!

"Let my song getcha HIGHER!"

 

Yeah, nothing above me. Just rockin' out. LOL.

 

Dusted off our T-Shirts from the Today Show.

The next day, we took the kids to Slate Run Historical Farm for some fresh air, fun and a photo opp, of course. Rob posted the "good" pics here. And I couldn't help but get a little camera happy with the point-and-shoot in the car.

My sweet Jack Attack. Those cheeks sure are yummy!

Sleepy babies. They wore each other out!

My Nana came out a few days after Kelly left. It was so wonderful having her here. She spent a couple days with us, then we were off to Decatur for Easter.

Ah, to be home again. There truly is no place like it! It was so good to see my parents and my sister and fam. We missed my brother terribly, especially during the annual Bosak Family Egg-Conking Contest. As I have posted before, this competition is not for wimps. We're all in it to win it. No holds barred, even against the little ones. Here are some highlights:

Rob getting taken out by Matthew.

Me after a sound beating from Megs.

 

My dad trying to open up a can on Ryan.

 

The two-time champ. I'm on to you, Ryan. Next year you'll be crying for your MAMA.

That brings us to this weekend. Jess, Mary Ellen, Pam, Rachel and I hosted Liz's baby shower here at my house. I love my work girlies! Can't say it enough. We had a lot of fun both planning and at the big event. Can't wait for Sommer Lovin' (aka Emery Sommer) to arrive!

 

Now it's Sunday. I had a "me" morning - highlights & a cut, Starbucks, grocery shopping. Daddy and Ellie hit the park. Now the house is quiet. It just started raininng. Rob is editing. Ellie is napping. I should be finishing laundry. What helps me feel less guilty about this thought, though, is that no matter what, however long I live or hard I work, the laundry will never be done. So, it can wait. :o)

Off of You and Onto Me

My Ellie Bug. We've always been pretty blessed in the sick department. Sure, she's had her share of miserable colds, but she's always gotten over them in a matter of days. This time, though, Ellie has been under the weather for the last two weeks.

Last week, it was a stomach bug. Poor baby. No fever, but definitely an upset tummy and all-around les mis. Trip to the doctor. She didn't go to the sitter until Thursday and seemed to be much better by then.

After an exhausting week, we were excited to have a relaxing weekend out at my in-law's beautiful log cabin in the woods. I drove out after work on Friday, where Ellie already was, and had a great night just chilling out. The next day was beautiful. Rob, Ellie and I headed to Dawes Arboretum for some family fun outside and a mini-photo shoot for E. Boy, am I glad we had those few hours of fun. Because we were in for a rough ride ahead.

I should have known something was up when Ellie didn't sleep well in the afternoon. She always takes great naps at Nana and Pop's. That night, however, I couldn't get her to sleep. I'd get her down, and she'd be up. Finally around 9 p.m., she seemed to give up for the night. WRONG! Up again at 10. Again at midnight. We gave her some Tylenol, and she was out again until 3. That was when I decided to get in bed with her. Around 5, I woke up to her burning up next to me. I gave her more Tylenol and she fell asleep until 8. That's when all hell broke loose. She was hysterical. I couldn't get her calmed down and she really scared me. We immediately got her in the car and headed home. She screamed the entire way. I put her in the tub to cool her off and gave her some Motrin, while she screamed her head off. I was bawling my eyes out, so scared. I almost took her to Children's ED. But finally, she passed out for the next four hours.

When she woke up, she seemed fine. But that night she was feverish again. Monday was even worse. We took her to the doctor again and she had no strength, just lay like a baby in my arms.

That's pretty much been our week. Yesterday, she seemed so much better. We even went out to dinner. We were hopeful we could send her back to Jen's today. But Rob called to tell me Ellie's fever was back... and up high. I immediately burst into tears at work. I could hear her crying and instantly, my working mom guilt kicked in to high gear. My baby was sick and I wasn't there. (All about me, right?) I ran right home to her. Rob snapped this picture of us as soon as I got home.

She took a three hour nap and seemed better tonight. When she woke up I had one of her favorites, blueberry muffins, all ready for her. She ate half. And just in case, we ran out for more Motrin. That stuff is like gold. If they charged $100 bucks for it, I'd pay it.

I remember being sick as a child, and my mom saying she wished the germs would jump off me and onto her. I know now she wasn't just being silly. She meant it. Just like I wish the same thing now.

First Piggies

I have literally been aching to play hairdresser with Ellie. Finally, there is enough for piggies.

My pretty girl may look like Daddy, but she inherited my baby hair, or lack thereof. I didn't have hair until I was two, or so I'm told. Ellie's is starting to come in pretty thick and long in the back. We're still waiting for the top. :o) In the back, however, there is plenty for a pretty pair of pigtails. Behold, the first piggies.

 

OK, so the stylist (Mommy) leaves a lot to be desired. Well, you try putting pigtails on a squirmy little girl who's never had anyone messing with her head. But doesn't she look pretty?

So, what did Ellie think of the piggies?

Outside and Ellie-isms

It's been a long winter. We've had a few tastes of spring, and the Abels are ready for warmer winds! I can't wait to spend hours on end outside with Ellie. And let me tell you, so is she! Our girl absolutely LOVES being "Ah-SIDE!" (Outside.) In fact, we're to the point that no matter what the weather, we go for a walk every day. Boy, does she make us pay when it's time to come in. Ellie would walk until she fell over if we let her. On warmer days, we let her walk and we just follow right behind her to see where her curiosity takes her. She quickly caught on that she has to stay on the sidewalk and knows that she has to hold hands crossing the street. She walks around the block all by herself, stopping only to point out and wave to puppies ("hi, puppy! oof-oof"), kids ("hi, tids!"), birds ("teet teet"), trees (teeeez), and airplanes ("bye bye ah-pane!").

 

Some other Ellie-isms:

• "Bubbles, fishies?" Ellie's response to me asking her if she's ready for a bath.
• "Bye-Bye boo-boo! Bye Bye." Ellie to her skinned knee as I'm putting her jammies or pants on.
• "Up Sigh." Ellie's response to the question, "Where does an airplane go?"
• "No, no, noooooo!" Ellie's response to the question, "What does Daddy say?" Hahahaha.
• "Ilk? Wah-Woah? Ah-foool? Ah-nana?" First words out of Ellie's mouth almost every morning. Translation: Milk? Water? Waffle? Banana?

I can't believe our sweet girl is nearly 19 months old. Time is really flying. Sometimes I'll be rocking or reading to Ellie and I'll look at her sweet face and see the exact baby girl I first laid eyes on more than a year and a half ago. Then, I look down at her feet hanging way off my lap and ask where the time went?! She just giggles at me. Couldn't love her more, until tomorrow that is.

 

Sunday Snowy Sunday

.. 

 

 

 

 

"Bye Bye Fishie!"

She still hasn't stopped saying bye bye to this "fishie." Stinker.

A Very Abel Christmas and an Ellie New Year!

What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been! We had a wonderful Christmas and start to the new year.

Last year, we spent Ellie's first Christmas on the beach. She put her tooties in   salt water for the first time and went for a swim in Nana and Gampy's pool. We had a wonderful, WARM, white-sand Christmas. Fast forward to 2008... and wow, look how she's grown! How blessed are we? The best Christmas gift last year, this year and every year was and will be spending it with Ellie and Rob. 

This year, we spent a cozy Christmas in the woods. Log cabin. Roaring fire. Christmas Eve mass. Gifts galore. And two days full of tradition.

Like mine, Rob's family has Slovak roots. Rob's dad (we call him Pop) is Slovak. Years ago, Pop's mother taught my mother-in-law, Mary, how to prepare a traditional Slovak Christmas Eve dinner. One of these years, I'm going to have to learn the recipes so I can eventually pass on the tradition to Ellie. For now, I watch, enjoy... and EAT!

We start with sour mushroom soup. It's made with sauerkraut juice and mushrooms. The soup is sour to represent "the bitter destiny of Christ and his suffering for humanity." Next, cracker bread called oplatky is dipped in honey and passed around with a blessing asking God to "sweeten" our lives. Next comes a carb-lover's favorite part. The bobalky!! Bobalky are small bread dumplings cooked with onions, butter and sauerkraut. They're SO good, and only made on Christmas Eve. My sister-in-law, Hallie, and I usually stake out the spot where Mary is making the bobalky and steal some every chance we get before dinner. Traditionally, the head of the household takes the first spoonful of bobalky and throws it up on the ceiling. The more that sticks, the better the family's crop will be in the coming year. I think Mary would kill Pop if he threw bobalky up to the ceiling... so we just eat it!

Santa must know about all the good food being served at the Abels, because he ALWAYS lands his sleigh on the roof and stops by for a visit. The kids wait for him every year, and this year was Ellie's first time for a personal Christmas Eve encounter. Ellie wasn't too into it until she saw he had a present for her. We're so grateful to Santa for taking time out of his busy night to visit us. We just wish that Jake, Tim and Nancy's son, hadn't been in the bathroom and missed the excitement! There's always next year.

After Santa left, Ellie retired for the evening, worn out from the excitement, while the rest of the family exchanged presents. The next morning, she awoke to all of Santa's stash. She didn't quite know how to handle the excitement. There was a lot of running around and, "WHOAH! What's THAT??!?!" I loved watching her experience it. Truly magic.

After Ellie ripped through her presents, I made a huge breakfast of sausage and egg casserole and served our sitter's coffee cake with it. YUM! We spent the rest of the day in our pajamas, drinking coffee, watching movies and relaxing. That evening, we ate a huge turkey dinner before heading home.

I'm such a lucky girl to have such wonderful in-laws. I love their traditions and am thankful to be part of them. I'm glad Ellie will grow up knowing Christmases like these. I miss my mom, dad, sister, brother, nana, aunts, uncles, cousins, neice and nephew like crazy every day and especially on Christmas... but I'm lucky enough to have another family that loves me too. The feeling is mutual.

A few days later, I was so so happy to catch up with some of my very favorite girls. Aysu was home (ahem... WHERE SHE BELONGS!) so we went out for some much-needed girl talk and pomegranate cosmos all around. After our traditional chocolate and cheese dinner, we headed outside to take some goofy pics. I promised not to post them. Needless to say we had a good time snapping photos. Love you girls!

And then it was time to say goodbye to 2008. Rob, Ellie and I headed over to Tim and Nancy's for a new year's bash and Nancy's 50th birthday party. Lots of family and laughs, but Ellie needed to crash before midnight. She made it until 10:30. Rob made it until 11:30. I made it until 12:30. Rock stars, us Abels.

We had a wonderful year. It was our year to play catch up. 2007 was our year to be newlyweds and new parents. New, new, new and it was insane, insane, insane! But exciting and fun at the same time. We vowed to make "no life changing decisions" in '08 and use the time instead to breathe, enjoy and have some laughs. We did just that. As for 2009, who knows? We're just gonna sit back, relax... and see what happens.

 

Catching Up

Wow, I am a sucky, pathetic blogger. I am mad at myself, because Ellie has been growing so quickly and I haven't been documenting it very well. I am so glad I wrote about every breath she took in her first year. Her second one is going more quickly than the first and she does new things every day.

For instance, Rob has very quickly grown tired of Ellie pointing and screaming at an object she wants to have, such as her noonie (noo-no in Ellie-speak.) Rob has been working with Ellie on, "please." She finally caught on, but she has only replaced the screaming with the word, "PWEEEEEEEEEEZ!!!!" while still pointing frantically. Kind of defeats the purpose of saying please, no? We can't help but laugh. Miss Independent, for sure.

Ellie is also "counting" a lot. The other morning I was in and out of sleep, listening to Ellie talk to the babies I sneak in her crib after she goes to sleep sometimes as a surprise... and a shameless attempt to steal a few extra minutes of sleep for Rob and myself. :o) Overheard, "Uuun, tewwww, FEEEEE! YAY!!!!! Aaaay, non, TEHHH! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!" Too cute for words. I guess I need to work on the numbers in between!

Favorites at the moment include her books, particularly "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," a gift from Tammy. Spaghetti, grilled cheese, puppies, cookies, milk, cars, babies, and her toy lipstick also top the list. Ellie is also learning to eat with a spoon, which makes for a very messy baby girl! We're also starting to see more hair on our girl, and Ellie loves to "brush" her own hair after tubby time. It always looks so pretty.

On to Christmas. Ellie is enamored with the tree, the Santa Clauses everywhere, Elmo's Christmas Countdown, the extra cookies Mommy's letting   her have, her Christmas music box from Nana M, and the lights outside. Every time we get the car at night, we hear, "Whoahhhh... what's THAT?!?" At night, when we come home and turn the lights on the tree, she says, "Ho ho ho!" Next year should be even more fun.

Rob and I also just recently celebrated two years of marriage. In some ways, it feels like just yesterday. In others, it's like we've been together forever. I'm such a lucky girl to have him. He is a wonderful husband and friend to me, and an amazing daddy to Ellie. We both love him so much! To celebrate our anniversary, Rob and I took off for blue waters and white sands. We flew down to my parents' place in Florida and let Ellie hang out with Nana and Gamp for three nights while we cruised the Bahamas. It was such a nice getaway. We missed Ellie like CRAZY and were glad to get back to her... but sometimes, what I wouldn't give for one of those sunset pina coladas. Sigh...

We're spending Christmas with my wonderful inlaws, who do Christmas BIG. I am planning a Christmas Eve post. Rob's family is very traditional and we always look forward to Christmas, Mary Molly style! I can't wait for Ellie's first encounter with Santa, who always makes a visit to Rob's family's log cabin in the woods... aren't we lucky to get a personal visit every year?

Merry Christmas!!!

Just plain bananas.

My girl loves bananas. She even has a little banana dance, which of course she won't do if the camera comes on or anyone else is around. (Always making a liar out of me, this one!) Eagle Eyes Ellie can spot a banana a mile away. She picks them out in books, in her DVDs... and the produce department at the grocery store is always fun. Ellie often has to have a banana when I pick her up in the kitchen and she can see them on the counter. Because this has been known to occur frequently, I actually asked the doctor how many per day was too much. :o) Sometimes, if she spies something even remotely shaped like a banana, like my eyebrow, for instance, she goes beserk, screaming, "Ah-nana! Ah-nana!" Too precious for words.