11 months.

I seriously cannot believe Gage is 11 months old.  I just sent out his first birthday invitations, AH!  I am not sad, sorta in shock that a year has already gone by, but Erik and I have loved every minute of it.  I find myself saying, "this is my favorite age" about every month :)  He is so much fun and he are some of the things he is doing right now/likes:

• Eating solid foods 
• Teething- has 2 on top, 3 on bottom
• Crawling EVERYWHERE!
• Loves to get in Daisy's dog food
• Giving 'open mouth' kisses
• Waving and saying "bye-bye"
• Starting to drink almond milk mixed in with formula (yah!)
• Clapping
• Loves Doc McStuffins, Jake and Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• LOVES him some water! (he has never had anything else)
• We have come to find out he will probably be bossy (wonder where he got that from?!) and maybe a little 'bullyish'- haha.  When we get together with his little friends, he likes to take toys from them...little turd.
• Loves bathtime- Erik and I bought him some little foam toys and Erik loves to stick them all over Gage...he loves bathtime with his daddy!

We love you sweet baby and are so thankful that you continue to grow up healthy and strong :)

Mm. Mm. Mm. I could eat him up.

Daddy bought him a ball and bat.....hope he likes baseball :)

OMG...look at that sweet hinny (I couldn't resist)

Bath time with my favorite toys :)

Handsome little fella!

Loves his Meemaw!

With my buddies at Azteca!

His first snow.

Well...Charlotte finally got some snow on February 16th!  This obviously was Gage's first time witnessing snow and he LOVED it.  We didn't keep him out long but it was definitely a photo op :)

Love.

Happy Valentine's Day!  Although I feel like this holiday isn't all that big of a deal, especially after being married and having a baby......I still enjoy it :)  Here are a few pictures of Gage's first Valentine and some gifts from my handsome husband and awesome students!

Now thats what LOVE is all about :)  We love you Gage Timothy!

"The Ladies Love Me"

Ain't it cute?!  I made that :)

Sweet note from a 1st grader :)  And I complain about teaching.....doesn't get better than that!

Another sweet note from a kindergartener :)  This makes my heart happy.

Spoiled....one of many bags of treats from my kids, love them!

I cannot wait for a Valentine's Date night with my husband on Saturday!  My mother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew are coming to watch Gage while we go out.  Erik has planned dinner somewhere but he won't tell me where.  He had to work until about 8:30 tonight so we didn't really get to celebrate.  He brought home chic-fil-a for dinner and that was our night :)  This time last year, we bought our first car together.....time flies!

To my Valentine- I love you more than you will EVER know.  You are way more than I deserve and I thank God he sent you my way.  Happy Valentine's.  I love, love, love, love you so much.

To my other little Valentine- you have no idea how much joy you bring to our lives :)  You are the happiest little boy we have ever met and we could just "squeeze you to death".  We couldn't imagine our little family any other way.  We love you!

They need our help.

Facebook has really changed the way we communicate, mostly in a good way.   You can reconnect with friends, keep up with family/friends who are long distance, I've even heard relationships being made through FB, and in this case, a community of friends, family, and strangers joining in prayer.


For the past few months, I have been following the Powell family.  


In a nutshell, an AMAZINGLY strong mom and dad delivered two twin girls in October of 2012.  One of the twins, Izzy was born with (from the FB page) "a condition called HLH ( Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis).  It is a disease that affects one in 100,000 babies. It is where your immune system attacks your bone marrow and in Izzy's case also her liver. The only cure is a successful bone marrow transplant. We are trying to get Izzy big enough to get the transplant while also keeping her stable enough to grow. She is currently getting chemotherapy to try to get the disease in remission so that she can have the transplant. This is caused by a genetic deficiency, but in some cases can be environmental".  

Everyday I wake up or get on FB, I check on Izzy's status.  Her and her family have really made their way into my heart and I constantly prayed that God would perform a miracle.  Izzy's mom and dad stayed countless nights at the hospital and experienced ups and downs but never gave up on their little girl.  

I cannot imagine what they went through and continue to go through.  


Reading their FB page puts me in tears everytime.  Through all the complications and suffering, Izzy's parents trusted God, remained faithful, and continued to fight for their little girl.  Unfortunately at the end of January Izzy passed.  She fought until her body couldn't take it anymore.  I encourage to go look on the FB page 'Prayers for Izzy' and look at what her mom and dad posted that day (and everyday before that)....they are such an inspiration and I know God will take care of them.


The reason for posting this is ONE- please pray for this dear family and TWO- if you feel lead to help this family, like I have, they could definitely use it!   Their friends and family have put together a cookbook in Izzy's honor.  The family is SWAMPED with medical bills and they need our help (although they have not asked for it once).  Can you imagine one, loosing your little girl and two, having to continue to pay the medical bills?  I couldn't.




If you need more information about the cookbook, please let me know.  You can always find a ton of information on their FB page.  I believe they are $20 a piece (including shipping).


Please help me in showing support for the Powell Family.  May God bless them and comfort them through this time.

He has hit the big 3-0.

Erik has officially left his twenties!  Today is his 30th birthday and I am so excited I get to be lucky enough to be the woman spending it with him.  He told me today he felt old and I laughed!  30 is NOT old.  His life has JUST begun.

Here are 30 things that describe my sweet, lovable, awesome daddy of a husband that I have :)
1. A devoted, loving, understanding husband who knows how to put up with me!
2.  A daddy who will drop everything to play with his son...quite the entertainer if I do say so myself
3. LAID-BACK, omg....completely opposite of me.
4.  #1 Tarheel Fan
5.  Family man
6.  Lover of Mountain Dew
7.  Simple
8.  Quiet (at times)
9.  Lover of Firebirds (the resturaunt)
10.  Controller of the remote
11.  Dipper (Grizzly Straight is his preference)
12.  Calm
13.  A Saver...again, opposite of me.
14.  Organized with finances
15.  Blue-eyed
16.  Enjoys wearing the same outfits everywhere we go (sorry babe..its true but thats why I love you    because you don't care what other people think!)
17.  PawPaw Driver
18.  Polo man
19.  Owner of a new LAZ-BOY (Happy Birthday from Gage and I!)
20.  Fortunate to have a great job
21. Watcher of ESPN 24-7 (or as much as possible)
22.  Fantasy footballer...wait who am I kidding?  Fantasy footballer, basketballer, baseballer...am I missing any?
23.  Friendly when you get him talking :)
24.  A man who I do not have to beg to go to church, he enjoys it and that is one of my favorite things about him
25.  Trustworthy
26.  Someone I can have fun with no matter what we are doing
27.  Patient
28.  Genuine
29.  Positive
30.  A Provider

*Those are in no particular order :)

I love you Erik Sven! You make me happier than you'll ever know.  Happy 30th Birthday from us.  We  love you and cannot wait to celebrate 30 more birthdays with you (and more).

Love always,

Abbie and Gage

We love you daddy!

                                           
                                                             Poor Gage was sick :(

Update: 8 Day Challenge

Well...I made it!  I have completed my 8 day challenge :)  I do have to say, I have never, EVER tried to diet or watch what I eat BUT it is really not that bad.  It's not too hard to eat healthy, you just have to do it!  It can be expensive but isn't it worth being healthy and feeling great?!

So I lost 4 pounds, 2 inches from my waist, 1 inch for my chest (that's probably not a great thing considering, ok...nevermind), and 1 inch from my thighs (LORD, I could loose a lot more).  I'll be honest, I thought I would loose more BUT I feel great and do not regret anything.  I am still continuing to do one protein shake a day (mainly for breakfast because I am horrible about eating breakfast) and definitely taking the vitamins.  I took the energy vitamin before Zumba yesterday, OMG....I was gettin it!  I was so sweaty when I was done but it felt so good!

Here are some things I realized that I CAN live without after doing the 8 day challenge:
1. SWEETS
2.  French fries (my weakness.....Erik definitely just went to Cook Out and I only got a hamburger AND I took the top bun off before eating it)
3.  Coke and Sweet Tea
4.  Chips (I love salty sweets)
5.  Carbs (OMG, I didn't realize how many carbs I was eating on a daily basis)

This is what I learned from the 8 day challenge:
1.  You can be healthy if you deem it important AND let me tell you, it's important
2.  It feels great to have energy, I didn't realize how 'unenergized' I was until doing this
3.  Drink lots of WATER (I could go from 8 am to 4 pm without peeing and that is not a good thing.  I was definitely not drinking enough water)
4.  Choose snacks high in protein (not salt or sugar- oops!)
5.  Protein shakes are DA BOMB and great if you are bad about eating breakfast or just too busy to eat a meal- yep, it happens
6.  Eat carbs in moderation, it won't kill you...I promise
7.  With support....you can do anything

So with a few extra pounds and inches gone, a more energized mind and body, and an increased desire to be healthy and make healthier choices....I would say the 8 day challenge was a success!  However, although I am done with the 8 day challenge (I will probably do another one soon), I am not done seeing results!  Who says a momma can't look like she once did?! I did at first, but I don't believe it now :)

3 Teefies.

Mr. Gage has 3 teeth, 2 on top (I know, not normal) and one on bottom.  We haven't been bitten yet -but he likes to chew on any and everything.  He does this cheesy smile thing where he scrunches his whole face and you can get a glimpse of those teeth :)