Christmas Is Almost Here!

So little time to blog, so much to do, but so MUCH to blog about! Yikes! I have sooooo many cool pictures to post but only a few minutes, so I'm going to try and post the video that I took last week at Abby's school Christmas program. It was one of those "mom moments" where you feel so incredibly blessed to have this little person in your life! Blair and I were laughing almost the whole time because seeing all the kindergarten singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with actions is quite hilarious in person. We hope you enjoy the video, even though it's kind of dark. Abby is on the last row in the middle, wearing a turquoise sweater.

More to come....after all the festivities are over. Just a quick "gratitude", though...we are blessed and lucky beyond all that we deserve and even with all the running-around we will do today and tomorrow, it just means that we have lots of people that we love and that love us. We are truly rich in all the ways that matter - friends, family and LOTS of love! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Gingerbread House

Blair brought home a gingerbread house kit last week and Abby has been anxious to try it ever since. Sunday night was the perfect time. Don't they look cute building and decorating the house together? (Yes, Blair looks more like himself as the facial hair is back!

I'm pretty sure Abby just wanted to eat all the candy!

Looks good for their first try!

Abby & I are pretty blessed & lucky to have such a great guy like Blair in our lives! We love him!

Abby and Her Cousins with the Grinch

While we were at Christmas Village on Saturday night, we ran into the Grinch who was in front of the Ogden Standard Examiner's cottage. Cael & Emelia ran right up to him, followed by the rest of the kids. A photographer from the Standard was also there, capturing everyone talking to the Grinch. When he was done, he handed us a card with the following website address: www.standard.net/spotted

So, this afternoon I checked it out and found the following picture:

This is my sister, Kati and all her cute kids, plus my own in front. How cute is that? There are also other pictures (#157, #158, #160, #162, #163 and #164). I think I'm in one of them, trying to take a picture of the kids with the Grinch from another angle. Is anyone surprised by this? Anyway, I thought I'd share. Pretty fun times!

Busy Christmas Saturday!

This year for Christmas in my family, we decided not to give gifts. We decided to use the money we made at the Farmer's Market (plus whatever we'd spend on each other) and do some humanitarian projects. We met at Kati & Jeff's for lunch, then put together newborn & school kits, and my mom finished some baby blankets she made. All the kids helped and learned that Christmas is more than just getting everything on your list! I am glad Abby is learning that she can GIVE as well as RECEIVE! Here she is, putting pencils in some school kits:

One of the best parts for me was cuddling with Cole and taking lots of pictures of him! See for yourself:

This was the only picture I got of him kind of smiling, isn't he cute?

Thought I'd try a black and white one...

And, here he is, relaxing on his blanket!

I will admit that I am his biggest fan! It was fun to spend time with ALL the kids as well as the rest of my family and help with such a fun project!

When we were finished, my mom and dad treated as all to to dinner at the Pizza Factory (thanks, Mom & Dad!) and then took all the kids to see Christmas Village in Ogden. Christmas Village in downtown Ogden has been going on for YEARS (at least as long as I've been around - yes, that is a REALLY long time!) and recently, they've added new things to see and it was pretty spectacular! Even though it was kind of cold, I think all the kids (and adults) had a great time!

Checking out some of the cool sites...

Here are some of the awesome lights!

It was so fun hanging out all day, but now I am tired! Abby is already asleep (as is Yogi on my bed) so I guess I'd better go as well. Good night, all! :)

Our Smart Little Abby

While cleaning out Abby's backpack tonight, I found this in her folder:

I check her folder each night for homework and completed assignments, which this is. I noticed several important things right away -- first of all, there were TWO red "pluses" at the top. Whenever the kindergarteners do a good job, they get a "plus." Her teacher keeps a little tally of all of them and when they get a certain number, they get a prize from the treasure box. This was unusually good, so it got two "pluses." Then I noticed that she had written each word by herself on the page, going the right direction and everything was spelled correctly! I tried to scan in the entire page, but it was just too big. The picture above the words is the cat! How dang cute is that??? Yes, I am unbelieveably proud of her! It kinda scares me, too -- she is learning things so quickly - pretty soon she will be able to read everything!

She also drew me this picture the other day (she knows how to spell both my name as well as Blair's, so they show up quite frequently).

She also knows how much I love tulips, so she draws them a lot. Isn't she a great kid? I'm not quite sure how we got so lucky to be her parents, but I am happy and grateful every day that we are!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

In contrast to the last several years, we actually have been getting ready for Christmas lately! Last year I don't think we put up the tree until just a week or two before Christmas and our tree has been up and decorated for at least a week! Not that the shopping is done yet, heaven forbid! I have been using Amazon quite frequently, so Blair has been threatened with his life if he opens anything delivered by UPS! This past weekend, Abby actually got to talk to Santa (even though I'm not quite sure if she told him EVERYTHING she wants!) so I thought I'd share....

She was quite pleased to receive a candy cane as well!

When we got home, she wanted me to take a picture of the snowflake she created at school, so then she could eat it! Here it is...

So, of course once I started taking pictures, I had to get one of the tree...

Not bad for such a little space, eh? Then tonight, we just caught the end of "Mary Poppins", one of my all-time favorite movies, so Abby and I snuggled up to watch it. She decided to needed to lay down on the couch, so I put her down and went into the kitchen to start the dishwasher before bed....and came back to find this:

Do you think they're dreaming of the same things? That is Yogi's favorite spot to sleep, by the way.

Abby is truly making Christmas fun. She just assumes that everything she wants for Christmas is going to appear under the tree on Christmas morning! It's been interesting to talk to her about "needs" and "wants." I'm not quite sure she understands that yet. I'm not quite sure that I understand that yet! At any rate, it's been pretty fun getting ready for Christmas around here!

Abby Vs. The Lego Table

So, I was busy at work this afternoon, working on about four things at once when I got a call from Kindercare, where Abby spends her afternoons. It was Jenny, one of our friends who works there. She called to let me know that Abby had fallen off her chair into the Lego table, where she was playing and bumped her head. She assured me that Abby was fine, just had a bloody nose and a bump on her forehead. Needless to say, I was concerned but she assured me Abby was fine and I could pick her up at the usual time. I was interested to see if Abby or the Lego table were worse for the wear....and I think this round was won by the Lego table...what do you think?

Obviously she wasn't affected much by the fight with the Lego table (with the exception of the lovely red bump on the forehead and scrape under her nose!) and will hopefully be more careful in the future!

Billy Joel ROCKS!!! (But bronchitis doesn't)

I can't believe I haven't reported on our latest concert adventure! Last Thursday night, Blair & I had an actual DATE to attend the Billy Joel concert downtown. I bought tickets several months ago, thinking it would be fun since I'd never seen him in concert before. (Of course, Blair had - he is the concert KING!) The day of the concert came and I just wasn't that excited...I thought it would be fun to spend an entire evening with Blair, but I just wasn't in the concert-going mood, I guess. Derk & Christine agreed to watch Abby (thank you again!), so we met them for dinner at Saltimbocca (an Italian restaurant in Sugarhouse that I HIGHLY recommend) and no pun intended...Billy Joel....Italian Restaurant....get it?!?!?!?! Anyway, we arrived at the concert a little early, had some time to wander around and talk and the show got started around 8:10pm.....and let me tell you, IT ROCKED!!!!!! Billy Joel puts on quite a show! I always admire ANYONE who can play the piano that well and he was awesome! I have to admit, though...my favorite part of the show was when he picked up a guitar, called "Chainsaw", one of his roadies out on stage, and announced that Chainsaw was going to sing us a "sacred" song that he thought most of us would be singing the lyrics to on the way home. Chainsaw then proceeded to sing a rousing rendition of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell"!!!!!!! It was AWESOME! As AC/DC is one of my top five concerts (Billy Joel is in there, too) it was great. Needless to say, my non-concert mood was quickly replaced by absolute enthusiasm and we had a great time.



Here is a recent picture of Billy....

He actually looks like this now...he introduced himself to the crowd as "Billy's Dad"!!!



Ah, but my concert enthusiasm was not to last...Saturday night my week-long sore throat got WORSE (as if that was possible) and today my doctor said I have bronchitis! Wahoo - doesn't that sound fun? It's not like I'm BUSY right now or anything...are you kidding? I don't have MOST of the shopping done, Blair would like to the Christmas cards in the mail TOMORROW (I'm working on it....) and I still haven't finished the wedding video for Brad's wedding (Blair's brother) next Friday. Plus, it's almost the end of the clerkship, so work is pretty crazy as well. GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!! Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon and all will be well.

And, of course I have to include some "Abby Art" and hopefully this will be included in the Christmas cards to come!



Isn't it cute? It's supposed to be a Christmas tree (not sure if those are apples on the tree) but she was very excited to possibly have it on our cards somewhere! We'll see if I can cut it down enough to include in on the labels. Just more Christmas fun!

And, in honor of our fun concert last week, here is my list of "Top Five Concerts I've Ever Attended":

1. AC/DC (2001) Blair & I had just gotten engaged and I wasn't so sure I wanted to see AC/DC but it was AMAZING! Interesting people in the audience as well. :)
2. Styx (summer of 1983) I got the tickets for my 17th birthday and Tommy Shaw ran down the aisle right past me!
3. U2, both times (2002) & (2005). There is NOTHING like hearing "Pride" live and in person. I think I embarrassed Blair both times I heard it, as I had to dance and sing along. :)
4. Def Leppard & Journey (2006) This concert was last summer and Blair bought me tickets for my birthday. It was like spending the whole night in 1984 again...and it was AWESOME!
5. Billy Joel (see above description). I'm SOOOOOOOO glad I bought those tickets! It truly was a great concert!

Apples for Sale

So, Abby is at it again - being the smart, creative five-year-old she is! Last week we had a HUGE bowl of apples in the fridge and she decided we needed to sell them! So, she asked us how to spell apples and made the following sign:




Needless to say, we ate most of the apples and the world at large never knew about her "apple sale." Cute, though - don't you think?



I also took a cute picture of Yogi last Friday as I was furiously cleaning our bedroom. She LOVES laying on the rug in the sun!







And, then today it snowed about 6 inches! Isn't it beautiful when it snows?





This is the view from our back porch

And, this is the beautiful tree by our back porch


Blair spent most of the morning shoveling the sidewalks and now Abby and I need to clean her room. Doesn't THAT sound fun?

Happy Snow Day!

Thanksgiving, Cole & The Nutcracker

Wow - I'm so sad that the long weekend is winding down so fast! Thought I'd post a few pictures before the week starts again. It has been a great weekend so far! Thursday was spent at both Randall's & Koldewyn's (yes, that would be TWO dinners - yum!) and we had a LOT of great food and time with family. At Koldewyn's, all anyone could do was fight over who got to hold Cole next. But can you blame us? Look how cute he is!

Here is Abby, holding him (well, trying not to drop him!)

Friday, Abby and I spent the WHOLE day doing a clear-out and throwing bag after bag of garbage in the bin (don't worry, we took a TON of old magazines and newspapers to the recycling bin as well!) plus a ton of stuff to the DI. I still have more stuff to take, so we're not quite done. It feels AMAZING though and now I can properly concentrate on the holidays ahead! Here is a picture of Yogi, hanging out in Abby's new "art space" (really the shelves under the bar in the kitchen!)

My very generous mom treats all the Koldewyn girls to the Nutcracker every year (complete with lunch) and today was the day! Abby got a new dress, shoes, coat and jewelry for the occasion. Doesn't she look fancy?

Here is a picture of all the little girls, before the ballet started...

A fantastic time was had by all (even if a certain five-year-old got a little cranky toward the end!) It was Christine's first year and it was SO great to have her along for the fun. All in all, it's been a pretty great weekend. It will feel a little strange to be at work again on Monday...good thing I still have one more day before I go back! Good night, all!

More of Abby's Artwork...

I found this when I was cleaning off the counter in the kitchen and thought I'd share. Our kitchen counter seems to be the receptacle for all sorts of lovely things and most of Abby's drawings. When I find cute ones like this I am trying to be proactive, scanning and saving them for posterity (and to share with y'all!) Isn't it cute????

She said there were butterflies on my hands and I was sharing them with Blair. I love how there is a beard on Blair and it looks quite full! Blair's real facial hair is still off for now, but he says it's coming back after Thanksgiving. Either way, he's a cute guy. I'll try to scan more of Abby's drawings and possibly include them in a slide show...who knows how creative I can get!

Happy Veteran's Day!

As yesterday was Veteran's Day (and it was celebrated today) I thought I'd just say a few things about the veterans that I know. My Grandpa Welling was in the Navy, as is my younger brother Jon and my Uncle Mike retired as a full colonel in the Air Force. I am proud to just be related to them! Saying "thank you" to all veterans is a HUGE understatement these days, but I still think it's important to say. I am especially impressed with those men and women who leave their lives and families behind to serve. I can't imagine the sacrifice that it would take to do that. So, in honor of Veteran's Day, a picture I took just Saturday....

Even though this country isn't what it could be at the moment, I think it's still important to remember the men and women who sacrificed everything so we could be here now. And, lest I launch into a huge political rant...

A new topic - Blair's hairless face! Every now and again, Blair decides that his facial hair has to go. Everytime this happens, I think he looks about 10-15 years younger. What do you think?

Here are Blair and Abby, watching a movie last night....

It's almost like living with an entirely different person!

And, last topic - I went to Abby's first Parent/Teacher Conference tonight and I AM SO PROUD OF HER!!!!!! She can already count to 100, read a few words, knows all her shapes, knows all her "kindergarten" colors, can write her name the "school way" (Capital A and the rest lower case letters) and her teacher calls her a "delight." I must say that I agree! After dinner most nights, we do "homework" (yes, there is homework in kindergarten!) and I am grateful that she is learning good habits that will hopefully see her through to graduate school. One of her goals is to read with a parent 15 minutes a night, so I guess it's time to go read and go to bed! Here is a recent picture she drew of Blair & Yogi (yes, she is artistically talented as well!)

I hope it's dark enough to see....I love how Blair actually has a beard! And, yes - she spelled both names by herself! OK, enough gushing...time to put her to bed. Good night, all!

A Beautiful Fall Day

There is nothing better than a beautiful, sunny fall Saturday! After lunch with Blair (who had to go to work) Abby and I went to feed the ducks at Liberty Park. I love when it's warm and sunny so late in the season. Abby had a marvelous time, as illustrated below!

Abby and dozens of her new friends....

Abby, running up the giant hill...

And, running back down (her favorite part!)

Some of the gorgeous leaves...

And, when you live in the city and don't have leaves of your own to jump in...just go to the park!

What a beautiful fall day...we are so blessed and lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

Anthony Cole Smith 11.4.07

My newest little nephew, Anthony Cole Smith was born on Sunday and I am WAY excited to be an aunt again! He weighted 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19 inches long. Mandy had to have an emergency C-section (always scary) but everything turned out fine as you can see by the pictures below:

A close-up...don't you just love his cheeks?!?!


Me, totally loving him...


Being held by Aunt Kati...



Being held by Uncle Derk...

He is absolutely darling and I am excited for Mandy & Tony to have this opportunity. Having kids does something to your life that absolutely nothing else can. I always tell new moms that it is the most fun they will ever have. Everyone else will tell them it's so hard, you never get any sleep and a baby can wear you out faster than anything else. All this is true. However, no one tells you how absolutely fun it is. I remember being exhausted feeding Abby at 2:00am but then having her smile at me or doing something totally cute or just looking at her as I was feeding her and feeling SO blessed and lucky. I always liked little kids (mostly...I did make my living babysitting from age 12 to about 16) but I absolutely, totally fell in love with my first niece, Ellie. I had no idea you could actually love a kid that much! It happened again with her twin sisters, Hannah & Rachel, her sister Sarah, her sister Emelia and her brother Cael. Obviously it totally happened with Abby, and now it's happened with Cole. There is something about a brand-new baby that just takes your whole heart. I can't wait to introduce Abby to him and have her feel the same way. She was excited for me to bring home the pictures I took of him to see for herself. She is WAY excited to tell her kindergarten class all about him tomorrow. Congratulations, Mandy & Tony and SLEEP WELL tonight, little Cole!

Abby, Laughing

I've decided that probably the best thing on the planet is listening to Abby laugh. When something strikes her funny (especially at bedtime) we can easily spend the next fifteen minutes laughing hysterically and not be able to stop. Tonight we were reading the story, "Baby Farm Animals" and I would stop on each page and ask Abby what the "baby" for each animal was, pig - piglet, duck - duckling, etc. She is a smart kid and was getting most of them right...until the goats. I asked what a baby goat was and she said, "I don't know, a goatie?" I couldn't help it - I burst out laughing, which made her laugh, which made me laugh harder. Finally, ten minutes later we were calm enough for prayers and our nightly ritual of calling Blair to say goodnight. So, when I told her to tell her dad what baby goats were...it all started again. Blair was laughing as well and I believe that is the perfect way to end the day! I didn't take a picture of her laughing, but this one is pretty close....

This is Abby on the teacups at Disneyland, and again...laughing hysterically! She is great for entertainment as well as eight million other things that I totally love about her. We are blessed and lucky to have her!

Halloween 2007

Well, another Halloween has come and gone and yes, I am feeling the FULL effects of it tonight! It's not good when Halloween falls right in the middle of the last week of the clerkship! Yikes! So, after non-stop Halloween fun yesterday, it was one of two final exams before the clerkship is over. Tomorrow morning is the last one and then a short break until Monday morning when 15 more students start the rotation. Again, yikes! But I digress....the real story was how fun Halloween was! I sincerely tried to convince Abby to be something "easier" but no, my independent little girl would not be dissuaded...she wanted to be an astronaut! And, as I tell her all the time that girls can be WHATEVER they want, how could I say no? Doesn't she make a GREAT astronaut?





After her fun Halloween party at kindergarten, Blair brought her to work where we had a quick lunch and then she got to trick-or-treat to all my friends in the Dean's Office. We then set off for an entire evening Halloween tour of our friends and family. I think she got more than enough candy for a five-year-old! All in all, it was pretty spectacular and now she is sleeping soundly, probably dreaming of all the candy we've safely stashed in a giant bowl in the kitchen. I can only imagine what she will want to dress up like next year!

Fourteen Hour Escape

As many of you know, Blair works nights and I rarely see him except late at night and on Sundays. We were lucky enough to have a chance to escape to Park City last night and even though our little escape only lasted 14 hours, it was great! My parents were kind enough to tend Abby, even though she has an icky cough.

This is how Deer Valley looks at 7:30am, as we left this morning.

My parents were even nice enough to meet us at 10:00am and bring Abby to her soccer game. This was the last game until spring, so it was not to be missed, even with an icky cough! And, of course it turned out to be quite monumental as Abby scored her first goal! Wahoo!

Here she is, looking very pleased with herself after scoring the goal!

Abby and I celebrated her first goal by going to "Boo at the Zoo" (wait, did someone say she has an icky cough?!?!) with 40,000 other people from Salt Lake. Yes, literally 40,000 people! Check out the crowd behind Abby - that's how it looked throughout the ENTIRE zoo!

Here is Abby, just happy to be out in the somewhat hazy sunshine

And, to round out her busy day she left Blair a few messages on the sidewalk, so he would know how much she loves him.

So, despite a 5-year-old with an icky cough (who is now sleeping soundly, having had some cough syrup before bed), we managed to have quite the exciting few days! I guess life isn't made up of just a few spectacular experiences, but taking advantage of the small, yet very nice experiences that manage to come your way. At least that's what we're learning! Good night, all!

Cancer Survivor!

As I was driving home today, it occured to me that it's almost the end of October...yeah, I know - I'm not too bright and life seems to be moving WAY too fast to have any kind of proper reflection on anything. The end of October should mean Halloween, fall leaves, putting away summer clothes, etc. etc. And, it does -- as well as something else for me. It was exactly this time nine years ago that I was diagnosed with cancer. Yes, I have been a cancer survivor for NINE years! Pretty cool! I had my yearly checkup with my oncologist a few weeks ago and it felt AMAZING to just sit in the office and chat with her. I am grateful beyond belief to have been given the past nine years. Cancer taught me a lot of things - like life is too short and you should definitely spend more time DOING stuff and not CLEANING stuff (yeah, I'm trying to balance that out now, as having a clean house is a good thing!) I've learned compassion for all types of people in all types of situations. I learned my body could heal and do amazing things, like run the half-marathon just a year after treatment. I've learned to appreciate little and big things. Cancer heightened my curiousity about anything medical and that helps me SO much now at work! Blair might tell you that it's a tad annoying because I love to try and diagnosis stuff! The fact is, just working in the hospital is fun for me and surprisingly doesn't scare me because I know that the people there are just dealing with whatever situation has presented itself in their lives and trying to do the best they can. And, the sweetest part of the past nine years was the chance I didn't think I'd get...the chance to be a wife and mom. After cancer, I was just grateful to be here and then I received the greatest gift ever...Blair. And then a year later, Abby. Could one person be so blessed?

So, anyway...that is my rambling gratitude-ness tonight. I've included a picture taken during treatment with NO HAIR! I'm with my friends, Laurel & Melanie out for a fun dinner - and would you believe that I actually went on a blind date like that? Yep - no hair and all! I'm not sure what that says about me, but at least cancer didn't take away my sense of humor...might have even sharpened it over the years! Good night, all!

The Tree

So, I had a great idea a few weeks ago. Because my Grandma is selling her house and surrounding property, I thought it would be cool to have an entire family picture in front of her tree. She has a HUGE walnut tree in her front yard that we've all spent time climbing, "riding" the low lying branches like horses and just generally enjoying how beautiful it is. So, Sunday was it - we were all there (with the exception of Cole, who will be born to Mandy & Tony in a few weeks!) and here are some pictures to illustrate...

Some of the branches...

A few "shadows" waiting to get their picture taken...

A view of my Dad's garden....

And, I guess a post wouldn't be complete if I didn't include something cute from Abby, so this is the scarecrow that she made at daycare...isn't it cute?