Been a While.....

I havent blogged in a couple of weeks. We have been so busy with the "holidays". And now I am typing on a new-to-me laptop and I am not used to the new keyboard yet.

We are about to have our 3rd Christmas in a week and a half. I am so not ready to wrap anymore presents and play Santa. We drove to Lubbock on the 13th. It was almost a disaster...we could not find the portable DVD player that we use for the kids on long trips!!! We were frantic and we searched high and low until the second that we left. No luck! But the kids actually did quite well. Nearly 7 hours in the car and NO MELTDOWNS! I dont know how...God had his hand over us! We enjoyed Christmas with Stephan's family and headed back to Pflugerville on the 17th. Thursday, the 18th, we loaded up again....and headed to Houston to have Christmas with my family. No DVD player again, but hey, its only 3 hours. Those 3 hours seemed like a never ending nightmare. Meltdowns and whining left and right....the whole way! But we made it alive....and enjoyed Christmas and a trip to our favorite Chinese restaurant...Happy Lamp. We headed back to Pflugerville once more on the 22nd....just intime for me to be home for my birthday....the 23rd.

And guess what Stephan found today....the DVD player.

Four things....

Four jobs I've had:
1) Nanny
2) Teacher's Assistant/Aide
3) Graphic Designer for R.E. Agents
4) Mom

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1) Labrynth
2) The Goonies
3) Toy Story - not by choice
4) Cars - again, not by choice

Four places I've lived:
1) Houston, Texas
2) Lubbock, Texas
3) Seattle, Washington
4) Pflugerville, Texas

Four TV shows I watch:
1) Fringe
2) Law & Order
3) Masterpiece Theater
4) Antique's Roadshow

Four places I've been:
1) Tegucigalpa, Honduras
2) Chihuahua, Mexico
3) Orlando, Florida
4) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Four people who email me regularly:
1) Dad
2) Philip - dadinlaw
3) Kelli
4) Katy

Four of my favorite foods:
1) Fruit Rollups
2) Peppermint Ice Cream
3) Spaghetti
4) Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Four places I would like to visit:
1) Italy
2) France
3) Bethlehem
4) Hawaii

Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
1) Jude turning 4
2) Summyr turning 2
3) Tax Returns!!!
4) Watching our family grow together

I Changed my Blog Name...

I felt like the old name, Abuzeide Family Blog, just was not right. No flair, no originality, and just not the right subject. Yes, I blog about my family, but the name seemed to mean that it was the blog "of " the family, when in actuality, it is just me blogging about my days and my life. So I hope that the new name doesnt throw you off.

Yuck!

Everyone in our house is sick....except for me. I hope it stays that way!!!

Holiday Decorating 2008

Well I decided to take some pictures of our tree and mantle. We dont have very many decorations this year. I am trying to keep it clean and simple. The tree is white with really funky colors and ornaments. Some are birds, some stars, spiraly things, snowflakes, bells, and disco balls. Its really cute. This is our 3rd year with this tree and this year, we were able to go and buy a ton of new ornaments to add to the ones that we already had. Also, the tree is wrapped with magenta colored beads, two colors of metallic twine, and three colors of metallic string.

The mantle has various trees and a small garland with the funky colors to match the tree. Not much....especially since Summyr has busy hands. I am going to try to get the hooks for the stockings soon. I refuse to spend the outlandish amount for those really nice stocking hangers....you know the metal ones with a tree/star/train/etc. on the top. I am hoping that I can pick up some on clearance right before or right after Christmas. Hope you enjoy the pics...and by the way, the pics dont do the tree justice. You have to see it.

Here is a video of Summyr walking!

FINALLY!

So, our little baby, is finally WALKING!!!

Summyr has taken her sweet time mastering the art of walking. Over the past 7 months, we waited as patiently as we possibly could. But our aching backs could only take so much more.

Honestly, I decided to finally put my foot down. I realized that we (Stephan and I) were carrying her too much. From the moment she woke up, whether it be morning or after nap, we picked her up. Yes, this was necessary as a newborn, infant, and up into the late baby months, but once she turned one, we were still picking her up and carrying her to the living room. Then we would carry her to her highchair. Then we would pick her up from the chair and carry her to the toy room. Or as a young toddler, we would carry her to the walker, or entertainment center. Then she would get tired and we would carry her to her crib, then back out of the crib, then carry her out the door, into the car/stroller. Never did her feet touch the ground. The she learned to crawl. We let her crawl at home, but we still carried her everywhere else.

So back to the part about putting my foot down. I decided it was time to STOP carrying her. When she woke up in the morning, down she would go, and with help, we would have her "walk" to the living room. "Walk" to the toy room. "Walk" to the highchair. "Walk" from the car to the store/Bible classroom/etc. Guess what? Within 2 weeks of doing this, she was taking steps on her own. All this time we had been complaining that she wasn't walking yet.

But it was our fault.....

So the day before Thanksgiving, we went to Conn's (appliance store). Summyr decided that would be the place that she would make eternal memories. She started taking independent steps, a few at a time, and today....Dec. 2, 2008, she can take 20+ steps on her own. She can walk from one room to the other, turn corners, squat down and then stand up again and take steps, walk with a toy/cup in her hand, and sometimes hold hands and walk with Jude.

So now we cannot go back. Our baby is now a big girl. No longer will she need me to carry her. Now she says, "Walk", and has no fear. Soon, she will run and play without hesitation. I am so proud to see her walk, yet so sad to see her grow up so fast.