Isla at 8 months

So this month's accomplishment was getting Isla to sleep through the night. I got tough and we moved Isla's crib into Niamh's room. Then I did the CIO (cry it out) method with her, which was really only 1 naptime in which she only cried 20 minutes and since then, she takes 2 naps a day and sleeps about 7-8 hours a night. You would think by now, Isla being my 4th baby that I would have gotten her on this night time routine a lot sooner, for both our sakes, but I guess I wanted to keep her with me a little longer. Selfish, I know, but I can't deny I am enjoying having my side of the bed back and getting a pretty good nights rest. Isla is growing so much, probably more now that she is sleeping tons. She has 6 teeth now, 3 on top and 3 on bottom. She is almost crawling, she gets on all 4's and almost moves forward then goes down on her belly. She likes to roll to where she needs to go and it works for her. She is so happy most of the time, we have taken her to countless movies and two UNLV sporting events and she's loved it. She has really taken an interest in everything we eat and yells if we don't share with her. Her little feisty personality is definitely becoming more apparent. She has the smoothest skin, I could just kiss her all day long.

Lucas turns 30

I threw a surprise party for Lucas' 30th birthday. I had started inviting everyone about a month before. I sent texts, evites and facebooked all his friends from his past and present. I invited about 60 people in all. It was the longest month of my life...ha ha. It was so hard to watch myself instead I slipped up and said something to Lucas. I had texted all his work friends from his phone and I was so scared they would text him back on his phone about the party. I actually did intercept a few and was able to delete them before he saw anything. His birthday was on January 28 which was a Saturday. My mam came down and helped me by watching the kids. I arranged for the party to be at Lucas' mom's house. On his birthday he opened his presents, then he went and played at a soccer tournament in our ward in the morning. After he got back, he and I headed out for what he thought was a birthday date. We went to our favorite sushi place "Ta Ta's" for lunch and then we went to the movies and saw "Underworld Awakening." Meanwhile, my mam and sister and bro-in-law Sam were over at Diana's house decorating and getting all the food laid out. I couldn't have pulled it off without all of them. The party was set for 6pm. After the movie, we went to the Nike store where Lucas bought some shoes and clothes. When we came out of the store, I told Lucas I would have to blindfold him. He was a little freaked out, but played along. I drove to his mom's house and sent a text that we had arrived. Then I lead him in the front door. All the lights were out and when we entered, everyone shouted "Happy Birthday Lucas." He still had a scarf on his eyes, and had no idea where he was. Then someone turned on the lights. He was so surprised. He really had no idea. It was so fun to see him catching up with his friends from high school, his mission and his co-workers. I had asked his brother Jon to put together a slideshow dvd with pictures from Lucas' life. He did an amazing job. He even had video of Lucas when he was a kid and in band. Everyone had a great laugh at the whole thing. It was awesome. He had a great time and I was so relieved that the secret was finally out and I didn't have to hide anything from him anymore. Welcome to the 30's Lucas, I love you!

Blowing out the candles

High school friends, Eric & Brian

Niamh's room makeover

FINALLY..........is what I said to myself when we finished painting Niamh's room for the third time. When we first moved in, this room was white. Then I picked out what I thought was a nice pink paint color, but after we put it on the wall, I realized it should have been called "blueberry yogurt." I hated it. Then, we primed it and went with an antique white. I had visions of a shabby chic little girls room. Once again, it just wasn't looking how I envisioned it. So, back to the drawing board. Lucas did not want to paint this room again, so we compromised and did some pink horizontal stripes. We were very apprehensive about the stripes, having never done them before. We followed several tutorials online and after an hour of taping 12 inch lines, painting the base color and two coats of pink the room was finally done. I was looking out for a cute headboard for Niamh and then I had a great idea, to paint a set of brown bunkbeds we had. They were a honey brown and I painted them a satin white. There was also an ugly, old dresser that Niamh had been using. I decided to prime and paint it. I was so pleased with the result of both the beds and the dresser. My mam came over one day and helped me do the finishing touches to the room. She had bought the drapes for me at IKEA a few months ago. They were both white. My amazing mam, dyed the outer drapes yellow and helped me mount the rods and put the drapes up. I am so happy with this room now. It is definitely a little girls room. I have a few finishing touches, but I wanted to show off all my hard work.......
Before

After

Isla at 7 months

Isla's first word was "Mama." She loves to growl and make lots of noises. Whenever she hears upbeat music, she starts kicking her legs. An Irish dancer in training. Isla is not yet sleeping through the night, its my fault, I have been lazy about getting her on a sleeping schedule. Its never too late to begin. She took an hour nap in her crib for the first time today, so we're making progress. Isla is still a sweet baby, but her feisty side is definitely showing. She loves to grab her daddy's ear and chew on it. She loves to look at her brothers and sister playing. I know she can't wait to run around with them.She loves her bath and when I lay her back she goes crazy splashing her arms and kicking her feet. She is still a great eater. She sits up now and still rolls all over. She is starting to push herself backwards while on her belly so I know she will be crawling soon enough. We love our little princess.

Stephens Day

Every December 26th, we all travel to my mams house is Alamo for our Irish tradition of St. Stephen's Day. The kids exchange gifts with each other, we eat a full Christmas Dinner (Turkey, Ham, Roast potatoes, stuffing, etc) and we watch a slideshow of pictures of the whole family from the past year. We always have a great laugh being together and just being family. I love this tradition and I remember always going to my Nana's house when I was a child for Stephens Day. I'm glad I get to continue the tradition with my children.

Nollaig Shona Duit

The Night Before Christmas

Our Christmas Eve tradition starts at Grandma & Grandpa Abbotts home. We go for a wonderful potluck dinner of Ham, Shrimp, Potatoes, Cheeseball, Cranberry Salad, Fudge, Cashew & Peanut clusters and lots of other yummy food. We watch a slideshow made by Lucas, of everyone's photos from the whole year. Everyone looks forward to this, we laugh and this year we shed tears. We are missing the Patriarch of the family, Garth. But, he was with us in spirit and a little elf even dropped some gifts on the doorstep for Diana from him :) The kids all get in their new Christmas jammies and we take a stairs picture of them. We read the Christmas story from Luke 2and sing Christmas songs together. Then we all head home to our homes. This year was special because Grandma Abbott stayed the night at our house. She opened presents with us on Christmas morning. It was so fun to have her with us and to continue this tradition that we shared since 2 years ago. Before bed, Lucas always reads "The Night Before Christmas" to them. The kids could hardly sleep with excitement but I have to say they went to sleep faster than I have ever seen them, even Isla.