Easy or hard?

Ever since we moved in, we have known that we needed to build retaining walls on both sides of our drive way. I say "we"... I provide support, snacks, and drinks... and the occasional help with the shovel when the work requires someone with some REAL muscle (yeah right..). Well, it has been a daunting task for almost a year now. Charles and his dad and brothers knocked out one side of it last summer/fall. They dug out the dirt with shovels and wheel barrows. Charles probably spent a month and a half worth of Saturdays to get it up, with several hours of help from the boys.


"We" started on the other side last weekend. Only this time "we" did it a little differently. Here is our neighbor with his excavator, clearing the way for us to lay the bricks. It took him less than two hours to do what would have taken 'us' about a month.


This time, Charles and Abigail joined me in moral support for Stan the Man.


Now I know what Papa meant when he saw Charles digging out there and told him he was doing it "the hard way."

Now Charles wants to buy and excavator. Let's start with buying a second car maybe... then we can move on to construction equipment.

What is she up to?

She likes to feed herself.

Nap time can be a bit of a battle.

She loves to "read." She will get into a book and just
flip through the pages keeping herself entertained.

She sneaks out of her room.

She gets into everything. Sample... the diaper genie refill she got
stuck around her ankle, but it didn't slow her down.

She's keeping me on my toes.

Big Week for a Little Girl

Abigail turned NINE months old this week. I can't believe how fast it has gone! She had a lot of firsts this week:
She had her first doctor's appointment without having to get any shots.
She got her first (and second) bruise.
She pulled herself to a stand all by herself.
She got herself up to a sitting position.
She started waving. (video to follow, its really cute)
She ate her first meal without anything from Gerber... all the same as us.
She says mamama and dadada and we are pretty sure she knows what she is talking about :)
She makes a "woof, woof" sound when she sees a dog.
She almost took her first plunge down the stairs... I also almost had my first heart attack.
She had her first stogie... ok, not really- but I had to throw this picture in. She loves my lipgloss.
But the most exciting thing that happened to Abigail this week....

Her first YOUNGER cousin was born.

Congrats Brad and Becca. We can't wait to meet the little guy :)

We love Doc

Abigail loves Grandma Himmer's dog, Doc. She gets really excited to see him, but when he heads in her direction, she gets really nervous about it. He has been known to sneak in a nice little lick to the face when we aren't watching. Whenever he heads in her direction, she braces herself for it, but never moves. The pictures don't do it justice, her reaction is just too funny.



We have to play defense when we are over there to keep him from getting his kisses in :)

Camera time

Abigail does one of two things when I get out my camera. Either she poses and gives me a big smile, OR she does whatever she can to get to the camera. As you can see... she's getting creative.

2 Halves Make a Whole, RIGHT?

Yesterday we ran the Wenatchee Half-Marathon. Some of you may have known it was coming up. We ran with Charles' brother and Dad, and with one of my friends we like to call Queen M. It was a little rough, but we all finished in our own personal best times. Charles and Andrew wowed us coming in 1st and 2nd in the 20-25 age group for men. They even have champion cups (dated from last year's race) to prove it. How special is that :)

I felt pretty good during most of the run. The last mile was rough, but I was expecting that. What I was NOT expecting was the way I felt last night, and the way I feel today. OUCH. That's all I can say. I'm glad I did it, but I will feel a lot better about it after the aches and pains go away... IF the aches and pains ever go away.



I think my finisher's medal will go nicely with my dress today at church... what do you think?

TV Star

It is true... our little Abigail had her moment in the spotlight today.

Maybe you remember a recent post about a certain idiot mother who bought dog clothes for her baby girl.

I decided... why be ashamed, lets let everyone get a kick out of it. So, I decided to blog about it, then I took it one step further.

I saw that Ellen was asking for people to submit cute/funny Easter pictures of their kids. In a moment of impulse, I sent it in, and then thought nothing of it...

Until I got a call from a friend from high school today: "Heather, have you watched Ellen today?"

The funny thing is, we don't even have a TV, and the only time I have seen the show is at other people's houses and normally only in small pieces. Sure enough- Abigail's shiny little hiney made it's mark today.

Abigail's TV Debut from Charles Himmer on Vimeo.

She's makin her mama proud :)

A Cold day at the park

We braved the chilly weather and took Abigail to the park. She enjoyed the swings a lot... wasn't too sure about the slide. I can't wait until it warms up and we can do this more often. We have an elementary school within walking distance so we can use that playground :)

Me and my girl

I have very few pictures of me and Abigail- here are a few from a couple of weeks ago. Nothing special, just us girls.

Whatever Mimi Wants... Mimi gets

All smiles.

My Mom (aka Mimi) has requested more pictures. And.... after all, it is the least I can do after giving birth to her cutest granddaughter born in 2008. So, at her request, you can expect more pictures of sweet little Abigail.

Here is another favorite of mine.
It looks like the bear is coming after her.

Happy Easter

Yesterday, we made a believer out of Abigail. She was a little skeptical at first.

But after some persuasion...

She warmed up nicely.

Hope you all had time to reflect on why we celebrate this Easter holiday. Happy Easter :)

Geetar baby

Abigail loves music and is very responsive to it. Even from when she was in the womb. I still swear that the reason she suddenly went breach, was because Charles and his brothers were 'jamming out' too loudly for her liking.

Anyway- she loves when we play guitar for her, and loves to try it herself.

Please excuse my attire. It was one of those days. You know... the kind where only sweatpants and a t-shirt will do.

The many faces of Charles

I think he might be a little bored with my constant picture taking.

Thank you continuous shooting.

Ham it up

If you are a stranger in the grocery store who decides to say Hello to the happy baby in the shopping cart, this is what you will likely see in return.


If you are sitting behind us in Sacrament meeting, this is what you will be distracted by throughout the whole meeting, accompanied with lots of fast breathing from the nose.


If you are a mean mom or dad trying to get her to take a nap... this is her retort.

And really... who can argue with that?

Peek a boo

Abigail has always loved the surprise factor of playing peek-a-boo. She loves it when we pop out and scare her. One day a couple of weeks ago, while I was changing her diaper, she started playing with me, pulling her pants up over her face.

It was the cutest thing ever. (Come on, you know when your kids started doing it, you thought it was cute too)

Now she does it all the time. It is so funny, she shoves her face into anything she is close to. My leg, my chest, the ottoman, the floor, or she pulls anything she can find up over her face. It is funny to me, how long she will "hide" before she pops up too.

All you have to say is... "Where's Abigail??" and she will hide in the closest thing she can find. My favorite is when she actually puts her hands over her eyes.


I am loving this age.