My Nesting Projects

I've been trying to keep busy getting ready for Christmas and Baby Boy (probably to be named Wesley) Wilson hoping that time will fly (it hasn't). I don't consider myself a crafty person by any means. I do like to try to make things and I feel a sense of accomplishment for my creations. It just seems like I'm ultimately a little disappointed because I can't make anything perfect. At that point I just tell myself to move on and accept something homemade for what it is. All the imperfections add character.

Here is a small sample of what I've been doing to keep busy:

Christmas tins for Justin's family that live in the area.

A quiet book for Izzy. These are my favorite pages. Much thanks to Devrie and Megan for all their help!

This is Izzy's favorite page

Quilt/bumper pads/burp clothes for Baby Boy Wilson.

I also made a hooded towel for the newly born Garrett Carter and fleece blankets that fold into pillows for my nephews in Utah. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't.

It's been lots of fun to create. Our next big project is painting the baby's room and getting it all ready!

Our Merry Christmas

Justin has had a pretty rough schedule this past month. I'm really feeling his long hours and Izzy misses him a lot. Luckily today is his last shift and then he has a few weeks off to get ready for this baby.

Anyway, Justin had a 24 hour shift on Christmas, so we celebrated the day before. Despite us all having colds, we had a great time. Izzy really stole the show. I know this video clip is pretty long. Mostly it's for grandparents and family who don't get to see her very often. But I haven't put a video of her on our blog for a long time, so the rest of you might enjoy hearing her talk too. I promise I won't be offended if you don't watch the whole thing. I, however, make a lovely Christmas morning appearance about half way through in a big fat sweater and glasses. Justin also shows his great talent of playing Cinderella with Izzy. You won't want to miss it!

Welcome Baby Carter!

Congratulations to my sister, Amy and her husband Bryce!

They welcomed a new baby Garrett Mont Carter into their family on Thursday, December 18th. Both mother and baby are doing well.

Only about three more weeks until my turn. Hurray!

"There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays"

It's probably because I'm big and prego and I can't go anywhere right now, but I'm really homesick to be at my parents home or in Idaho, or somewhere with snow for the Holidays. I almost cry every time I hear Christmas songs about being home and with family. I'm sure that part of it is the hormones, but I really miss the traditions that became a part of my life growing up.

It does help that Izzy is super excited for Christmas. She never tires of pointing out the Christmas lights, Christmast trees, and big blow up Santa Clauses around town. She was so excited when we decorated our tree. I think she wakes up in the middle of the night and tries to turn it on herself. I really can't wait until she sees what Santa brings her. That will honestly be the best gift I get this Christmas.

Putting the angel high on top of the tree.

Izzy had a special spot for all the Christmas balls.

Isabella was looking out the window tonight and said, "Mommy, the sky is pink." Sure enough it was pink. She also told me it was yellow and orange. It's been a while since I enjoyed a sunset, so I took a picture.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope all of you had a great turkey day. My day turned out really nice despite the fact that the turkey took a little longer to cook (about an hour, yeah I was nervous). We did Thanksgiving at our house. We were hoping that the Bryce and Amy could come, but Amy understandably didn't feel up to the drive (she is eight months pregnant). We planned on dinner with the Hansens (family of four) and Justin's grandparents at first. Then our friends the Kerns (another family of four) ended up coming to town last second and came over to eat. Our friend, Scott, joined us because his family was out of town and he had to stay and work. All in all we had nine adults and five kids. Not too shabby. We had a ton of food, so everything worked out well.

Case, the baby of the group at 16 months. Poor guy, we only have girly bibs at our house currently.

Let the feast begin!
Justin and Ethan are good buddies.

Becca H. and I trying to time everything just right. Do you love my 33 weeks prego belly?

When the magic button wasn't popping out of the turkey, we inserted my fancy meat thermometer. It made us so happy every time we saw the temperature go up a degree.

These are some really cute picts of Izzy that Becca K. took today when she came to visit me for awhile. I'm hoping she will convince her husband that she needs to move back so we can hang out all the time. Anyway, I thought the pictures were super cute. Plus it showcases what I do all day with Isabella. Yeah, she loves her Ponies and her Rocket. Mostly it's all about playing Ponies.

Two Months!?!?!

I am now to two week appointments. Sometimes I can't believe how fast time flies and I still have so much to do, but then other times I think ugh, I still have two more months of being pregnant? I don't understand how my mom did this six times.

Luckily I'm feeling a little bit more prepared. I made a quilt and bumper pads this week (pictures to come). Some of my sweet friends gave me a baby shower, so now at least this little boy won't have to be naked after he's born and he will have some diapers.

My biggest worries about Baby Boy Wilson is that he doesn't have a name yet and we aren't positive about how to paint his room. I guess that is not that bad.

This is kind of a lame post. Sorry.

Happy Halloween

Izzy dressing up early in Daddy's hat.

We really had a great time enjoying this spooky day. Isabella has been sure to point out all the pumpkins and ghosts to me every time we drive down the road.

Our celebrating started last weekend with our ward "Trunk or Treat" most of which Izzy slept through. She was really excited when she woke up and then we started to get candy in her pumpkin.

Our next activity was decorating haunted gingerbread houses. Izzy was a little grumpy at first, but really started to get into the decorating. I didn't take any pictures that night, but this is how our house turned out.

Next, CARVING PUMPKINS! This is one of my favorite things about Halloween. Justin really loves it too. Izzy loves to help (sometimes a little too much) and enjoyed scooping the seeds out of her little pumpkin.

Finally, the BIG night itself. I admit that because Izzy tends to be a little leery of strangers, I thought she would be nervous to go door to door. Turns out that candy is HUGE motivator. She said "Trick or Treat", "Thank You", and "Happy Halloween" at every house. We walked around our block and she raked in the candy. Who could resist giving this princess a handful of candy?

Funny Name Tag

I saw this on a few blogs (Danielle and Natalie) and it really cracked me up. I had to try it out. I hope you do too.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Penny Subaru

2. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR'S NAME: ("The" + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) The Scrapbooking Rainy Tour

3. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip

4. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) A-Wil

5. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Green Turtle

6. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Dawn Provo

7. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Wilab

8. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The" + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Purple Water

9. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) George Mont

10. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) Heavenly M&M

11. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Jean Randall

12. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Whitaker Wilmington

13. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Autumn Lily

14. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Raspberry Sweaterie

15. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Oatmeal Apple

Big Balloons

The other morning we were upstairs watching Mickey Mouse Club House and Isabella started shouting, "Balloon, Balloon!" I didn't think much of it, but then I glanced out our window. Two hot air balloons were coming up out of the trees and heading straight for our house. We ran and put our shoes on and ran outside. Izzy kept yelling, "Hi balloon!," up towards the sky. They floated right over us and you could hear the people inside saying hi back. We watched them until they were out of sight.


I am so grateful to have the spontaneous delight of a child in my home. It is so fun to discover the amazing world through her eyes. I love the she gets excited to see a bus or a pumpkin and that she tells me every single time. I am thankful for the opportunity to share her world every day!

Hold on Tight, Cause Here We Gooooo...

We celebrated Isabella's 2nd birthday this weekend. Her actual birthday is Wednesday, but was easier to do the whole celebration on Saturday.

Izzy really loves Little Einstiens. We are sure to watch it every day. I was determined to make her a "Rocket" Cake for her b-day. I did a search on the internet and discovered it was doable, even with my non-cake decorating skills. It turned out really cute and Izzy knew who it was right away. Yeah, I'm really, really proud of it.

Summer's Over??

Our weather has been so nice this week! It's much drier and the high today is suppose to be 72 degrees or something like that. I love the fall! I love waking up to a house that's 68 degrees and the fact that my air conditioner doesn't turn on. Don't worry, it's suppose get back into the 80's again this weekend. Yeah, I'm a little disappointed.

Anyway, here are a few picts left over from Izzy this summer. They are a little old (pre-potty training), but very cute. On a side note, Izzy is doing great with her potty training. We did have one accident last night, but that was the first one all week. We went shopping today and she went potty in the restroom twice! I'm so proud of her. She is still in diapers for sleeping. I'm just not ready to deal with that yet, but other than that she is doing great.

Watering the plants and daddy's tree. She loves pointing up to the sky.

Playing with sidewalk chalk has become one of our favorite out door activities. She like to keep all the colors for herself

Excuse My Potty Mouth

So I have been really bad at reading others blogs and updating my own this month. Really I have only one explanation: POTTY TRAINING!

Every book and article I read said to wait to potty train until your child is older and exhibits so many "signs" that she is ready. Well, Izzy is almost two and showed some of the signs. But I just really, really wanted to get a jump on potty training so I wouldn't have to worry about it when I'm super pregnant or when our baby comes. My sister, Amy, is the one who inspired me to go ahead. So on September 1st we put Izzy in panties. I was pretty patient the first few days. I got especially excited, when after three days, she seemed to get it and she was telling me when she had to go potty.

I feel like now she has reverted from that. The only time she tells me she needs to go potty is when she needs to poop. As a result, I spend the day trying to anticipate when she needs to pee and cleaning up pee-pee messes when I'm too late. I'm mostly okay with this, but it's starting to get very frustrating. I've tried various forms of positive and negative reinforcement, but it just doesn't seem to work. Please, please let me know if you have any ideas!! I'm so willing to try anything at this point. I definitely don't want to quit because she has come so far, but I can't live around her pee schedule forever. Thanks in advance to those of you who comment with your great mothering tips!

One plus of potty training is watching Izzy run around in panties all day. Her bum is so stinking cute, I can't even stand it. Am I exploiting my daughter if I put this picture on my blog?

Tag, You're IT

So I'm pretty sure I've read this tag on nearly ever one's blog, but I've never actually done it. At least I don't think I have...I was tagged two times, so I figured, why not!


These are the rules: list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts and then tag 5 other people. Leave a comment for the people you tag so they know they have been tagged.


Joys....

1. Going to bed early with Justin home.
2. Hearing the sound of Izzy going pee pee in the potty and seeing the big grin on her face cause she is so proud. (Yeah, we are starting to potty train.)
3. Hearing Isabella say I love you and blow me kisses when she goes to bed.


Fears....

1. Anyone who knows me and has lived with me knows that I can't handle spiders in my house.
2. Justin actually having to use one of his several guns because someone has broken into our house in the middle of the night.
3. I'll never be able to eat cold cereal again. I can never eat it the first trimester, but it still makes me nauseated.


Obsessions/Collections....

1. I love to scrapbook cute pictures and if I collect anything it is my scrapbooks. I'm very proud of being scrap booked to date. (my website in case you care--there are really cute new products: www.mycmsite.com/sites/abbywilson)
2. Right now I'm obsessed with thinking of and looking at toys for Izzy for her upcoming birthday and Christmas. I'm so excited to celebrate holidays with her this year.
3. I play this stupid game called Peggle and Spider Solitaire on the computer every day. Yeah, I need to quit.

Surprising facts.....

1. I never thought I would be like this, but I talk on the phone A LOT!! I feel like I can't clean my house without calling a sister or my mom. Thank goodness for unlimited long distance!
2. I can be pretty dang moody when I'm pregnant. Fortunately I having a very loving husband.
3. I don't believe in going outside when it's hot and humid unless it's absolutely necessary. Justin even has to get the mail because I won't go out to get it.

I tag my sister, Amy, my sister-in-law, Amanda, and anyone else who has never completed this tag but has a great desire to.

A Family Vacation...Finally!

We haven't been anywhere as a family for a really long time. We would always talk about going somewhere on one of Justin's weeks off, but it just never worked out. Well, Justin had this past week off and I really wanted to go somewhere. He picked up an extra moonlighting shift so a vacation would be feasible.

We went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga and we had a great time! Izzy loved the touching pools, the butterflies, all the fish and the sharks. She was really good the whole time. The aquarium was super impressive. It was especially nice that it was not crowed at all because school started.

Isabella playing in the touching pool.

This is where you dry your hands off when you're done.

Looking at butterflies.

That's me, trapped in a shark cage.

Daddy and Daughter in front of the HUGE aquarium.

They had a couple displays where you could crawl under and climb up into the aquarium. Izzy thought that was pretty fun. Especially when we saw the Nemo fishies.

After the aquarium we drove down to my sister's in Athens, GA. We stayed for three days and nights. I loved seeing the Carter's. It's nice that they are a little closer than they used to be. The Carter's we so hospitable and very fun to hang out with. Amy and I are both pregnant with boys about three weeks apart (her actual due date is December 25!), so one afternoon we went shopping for maternity clothes. It was nice to leave the kids and it was seriously the most fun I've had shopping in a long time. The boys went and shot guns afterward. We really appreciated the time together.

I'm really grateful to have such a great sister whose kids I love to death. Isabella had so much fun with her cousins. I know that she can't wait to see them again.

We're Having A...

...Baby and its a BOY!!

I've been meaning to post the fact that we are having a baby for awhile because it's really not a secret at all, but I wanted to get a picture of my belly and then I knew we were having an ultra sound today, so I figured that I might as well do it all at once. Our due date is January 15, so that puts me at 19 weeks. Almost half way there!

Me with a little bump. I'm definitely bigger now than I was with Izzy.

Baby boy was very cooperative at the appointment today and was not shy at showing his stuff off. When it came to taking a picture of his face, he kept burrowing into the side and turning away. We finally got a few good shots. Justin and I were both very impressed with the 3-D picts. We didn't have those with Izzy.

I'm really excited to know that we are having a boy. I admit I was kind of hoping for a girl because we are so girly at our house, but I really love little boys. I think they are hilarious and so much fun. Justin is excited to have a son to mess around with. Izzy is lots of fun, but sometimes she's a wimp and kind of moody.

On the drive home I couldn't stop thinking about boy names, boy toys, boy decorations, boy, boy boy...I think I will have to switch my brain. Overall, I'm just grateful to be blessed with a healthy baby.

He has a cute little profile.

3-D images.

All curled up. I'm hoping he will be a cuddler.