Well thanks to a wonderful aunt (thanks Jen!) Abbie got an adorable cooking set for Christmas. She has loved getting it out and playing with the pans and spoons but this picture is the first time she decided to actually "cook". Thanks to a very leaky sippy cup we have, she had water - all the ingredients she needed - to begin. She measured the water into the spoon and then poured it into the pan (and on the table and floor). At first I wanted to get her to clean up right away so the table wouldn't get ruined. But she was having so much fun and was so dang cute we waited then put a towel under the cooking area so she could continue.

Okay so I just read a fantastic book that I would highly recommend to, well just about anyone. It is called, "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How my Mom Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less." by Terry Ryan. It is a memoir (don't let that turn you off if you prefer fiction, it reads like fiction.)

It is told from the author's eyes during the 1950s where she is the sixth of the ten children. Their father is an alcoholic who drinks away most of his paycheck. To help pay for food, clothes, and household items and repairs, their mother enters jingle contests. She is spunky optimistic and talented and starts to win - alot. She provides for most of the families needs for over ten years through her tireless efforts at writing jingles while she does the ironing.

I was SO impressed by the class of this women and how she dealt with such a difficult situation. She couldn't leave (not in the 1950s with ten kids and no drivers license), and doesn't complain she just makes an enjoyable challenge out of a very hard life. The book is far from cheesey or glossy over the challenges but very uplifting and hopeful.

If anyone has read it or reads it later, let me know what you think!

As a part of the Salt Lake City Gallery Stroll. Russ will be showing some of his paintings of his most recent travels. As you can imagine we are VERY excited for Russ and this chance to display some of his work. If you are going to be in the Salt Lake City area on Friday January 18th we would love you to stop in to view his work on display. We are hoping to get a lot of support from friends and family and would love to see you there.

Russ's work will be on display,

Friday, January 18th
at the Modern8 Gallery
561 West 200 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101
7:00 - 9:00

We would love to see you there!!

So with number two coming along I'm looking at getting a double stroller of some kind and realized right off I don't know what to look for. So, since most of you are moms with several children I thought I would mooch off of your years of wisdom. What double strollers do you have? Wish you had? What things have you loved or hated? Did you even use a double stroller? Anything that you wish you had known when you were in my position now would be very helpful. I want the best stroller possible that will last awhile with out blowing the budget.

I have looked around and found two that I like. The first is the Baby Trend Sit and Stand Plus Double stroller. It costs about $150 and is a double stroller that converts to a single plus sit and stand for older toddlers. The reviews look pretty good and I like the idea of a sit and stand in about a year....

The second is the Jeep Wrangler All Weather Twin Sport Umbrella Stroller. For me the biggest selling points of this stroller are the small size and affordable cost ($80). I alsi like the idea of the kids next to each other (so they can hit more? I don't know)...

Any suggestions you have would be awesome!

Well...as most of you know we have some news...We are pregnant!!! We are due July 16th and are very excited. We've been pretty quiet until now, mostly only family has known, but we are past 12 weeks so we felt like it was okay to tell.

Overall I've felt...crappy. But thanks to over-priced pharmaceutical aids I am able to function pretty well most days. I even made it a whole day yesterday with out the medicine and without throwing- up. Today I wasn't so lucky, but you can't win them all!!

We don't know the gender yet, but will be finding out in about two months so keep checking in with us!

So I along with the rest of the planet think that Abbie and Russ look a lot a like. Not that there are any doubters out there but I thought I would post this adorable picture of Russ when he was little (I don't know how old he is exactly) and of Abbie. I know it is a Halloween picture but it is the only one where she is pulling close to the same expression.....like father like daughter!

So we were humbugs for the new year - and we loved it. We went to bed early and spent New Year's Day cleaning. Let me explain. We have spent the last week, well really the last month, playing and visiting with family and friends and having a wonderful time. We thoroughly enjoyed having the Portland Eberts down for the week and only wished we could have spent more time with them.

That said during the month our home became, well somewhat disheveled, and by New Years Day I had had enough. Russ's job was to reorganize our office with the amazing new desk we inherited from his dad. This included a massive dejunking and cleaning effort as well. My job was to take down Christmas and do the regular cleaning ( I got the easy job.) Abbie's job was to "help" wherever she went!

She loved to climb into the now emptied plastic drawers and fill them with toys, and discovered the near universal joy of spinning in an office chair. So while boring to some we had a wonderful new years!! Hopefully this will set a good precedent for the year of a clean and well organized home......hopefully lol.