Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night!

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http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1590951891

Here comes Santa Claus...

We had our ward Christmas Party a couple of days ago, and it was really fun. There was food, entertainment, friends, and Santa Claus....what more could you ask for. (The funny thing was the people in charge had asked Mark to be Santa...needless to say he denied the opportunity). It was exciting to get a picture of Abby with Santa Claus (her first little picture with the Claus..sigh....) Uncle Jace and Aunt Jessica had bought Abby the adorable little santa dress, and I couldn't resist putting her in it. Everyone commented on how she looked like Santa's granddaughter. They both look adorable don't they. Truth be known... he made a much better Santa then Mark would have (but don't tell Mark I said that :) )

The picture taking was so much fun that we decided to join in... :)

Getting ready for Christmas

Well its that time of year (...the most wonderful time of the year). Don't you just love everything about the Christmas Season!?! We do ....except for the 1st Sunday Presidency message I had to give, and the quarterly Enrichment Meeting I was in charge of :), but those are both over now, and I can relax and enjoy the Spirit of Christmas. It has been fun getting ready for Christmas this year because of Abby (although she has no idea what is going on.) Shopping for her presents has been a blast, and decorating (my favorite part) has been great. Even Abby likes it too, she especially like the lights on the Christmas tree. (Her favorite thing is to sit in front of the Christmas tree and just stare, either in her swing, carseat, or with dad!)

We hope that getting ready for Christmas has been fun for everyone else as well. Hope you all Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, keep us posted! :)

Abby's "looks"

Abby is growing up so fast! She is already grown out of some of her clothes! (SAD) But this growing up thing is sort of a bitter/sweet experience. Although we enjoyed the little tiny thing she was, who slept all of the time, we enjoy the more alert and awake side of Abby just as much. Yep! Abby is starting to stay awake more. (As long as she keeps sleeping through the night I am okay with that). She is also starting to interact with people (especially those she recognizes) It is always fun when you can coax a smile out of her! (It's actually pretty easy, if she is in the mood!)

But... if she is not in the mood, all you will get is "the look"... you know the look that says "just try and get me to smile". Here is a couple of pictures where Abby has "the look"!

Here is another picture of one of Abby's looks! (As much as I hate pictures of myself, I thought Abby's little smirk was too cute not to share.) It was funny getting this picture. Dad thought it would be cute to get a picture of Abby and I, but it took about 8 different times to get us both looking at the camera. Abby would be looking at dad (sometimes even with a smile) but then would turn and look away when Dad got ready to take the picture. (She is too smart for her own good :) ) Finally, we decided to give it one more try and the last picture taken was this one. Abby's "I got you!" look is very apparent in this one don't you think!?!

Sleeping Beauty

(These aren't the most flattering pictures of Abby but I couldn't resist putting them on here.) This happened one night when I was feeding Abby. She seemed to be taking alot longer than normal so I decided to investigate. I had a hunch that she may have fallen asleep, but I didn't realize she had fallen dead asleep. Through no amount of coaxing, tickling, or teasing would she would wake up for anything. So we just layed her down to sleep and needless to say she slept pretty good that night!

Daddy's Little Girl

Abby loves her dad (and he loves her)! I guess you could say she is daddy's little girl. Both Abby and I anxiously await dad's arrival home from school, and enjoy the time he has to spend with us. It is fun to she Abby's reaction to dad's voice. Once he starts talking to her she instantly turns her head towards him and greets him with a big smile. 

Here are a few pictures of Abby hangin' with her daddy.

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween, and for being Abby's first, I think she had a great time as well (even though she slept through most of it). We decided to dress Abby as a banana. (It was between that and a little duck).

Needless to say she was the cutest little banana around, and it worked out great because we ended up having access to a gorilla costume for Mark. So the two of them made a great team. (They were also the hit of our ward's Trunk-or-Treat!)

After attending the Trunk-or-Treat, we went and visited all the grandma's and grandpa's. Their reactions were all the same, but it was still fun to show her off. While we were at Great-Grandma and Grandpa Thompson's house, Abby's cousin Ally came too! (she is just a couple months older than Abby). It was fun because Ally was an ear of corn. (We did not plan this!) Here is a picture of Abby (a fruit) and her cousin Ally (a vegetable).

Aren't they adorable?

Abigail's Blessing Day

We blessed little Abigail last Sunday (October 14th 2007). Mark's parents and sister were in town so we decided to do it then. We had a quiet little blessing at my parents home. Only close friends and family attended. (I would have liked to have it at the church just so I could show her off, but it ended up really nice!) Dad gave a wonderful blessing and Abby did so well throughout the whole day...she completely slept through the whole blessing and dinner... thank goodness! Here are a couple pictures of her in her blessing dress. (I'd like to thank Great-Grandma Blanchard for sewing the beautiful blessing dress. Grandma Bates for the cute socks. Sister Arnold for making the amazing blanket. And Rick and Linda Merrill for the adorable little gold ring!). It was a wonderful day.

Doesn't she model that ring off so perfectly!?!

Isn't she so sweet!?!

Rexburg's First Snowfall

It snowed here for the first time the other day. (What a surprise!) Actually it was the beginning of October, but I am a little bit behind, sorry. It was a major blizzard. You know one of those that lasts only a little while but dumps major snow. (I love those kind!) The storm ended up only dropping a couple of inches of snow, but it was HEAVY snow. In fact driving around later that day, there were many trees that lost branches from the weight of the snow. Of course the snow didn't stick to the ground longer than a day (Thank goodness! I am not yet ready for winter) but it was exciting while it lasted.

So with this first snowfall of the year (Abby's first as well) we couldn't resist putting Abby in her snowsuit and take her and show her off to Grandma and Grandpa Thompson. The snowsuit was definitely too big for her but she looked so dang cute! (Am I right or am I right?)

Abigail's First Bath

We gave little Abby her first bath the other day. Grandma Thompson came over to "teach" us the right way to bath a newborn. (Altough I think she was just as nervous to do this as we were). We prepared ourselves for the worst, but surprisingly she seemed to enjoy the warm water. (Although from these pictures you would have never would assume it!) She was really quite content until it came time to wash her hair, and that is when dad finally came with the camera.

After we finished washing her hair (oh the drama), got out of the tub and into her warm bathrobe... (we were so excited to finally use this!) Abby calmed rightdown, forgot about the trauma and fell right to sleep .... well almost! I would have to say this first attempt was a success. We are excited to attempt the bath again soon (this time without any help from grandma!) Will it be as successful? We shall see! Wish us luck! :)

Enjoy the many yawns of Abigail!

Abigail Rose Bates

Here she is!!! Our very own Abigail Rose Bates.

Abigail was born Thursday September 27, 2007 (right on her due date). And after a long day of labor she finally arrived at 9:33 pm (we were shooting for 9:27 but just missed it.... darn!) She weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs, and was a healthy 21 inches long. Unfortunately through the traumatic labor process Abby aspirated some macomium which made it difficult for her to breathe. Because of this Abby spent her first two nights in the Special Care Nursery, where she was taking good care of by the wonderful nursing staff. (She was also pretty spoiled seeing how she was the only baby in there the whole time).

After many tests the nurses and the doctors assured us that she was going to be okay, but that she would have to stay a couple extra days in the nursery until all was well. Mark and I didn't like the thoughts about her being at the hospital while we were home. So with the help of Brett Sampson (Mark's Elders Quorum President) they gave her a priesthood blessing Friday night. (We were going to have the grandpas help, but we got too distracted with her every time we went to visit and forgot about the blessing..... shame on us!) Saturday morning arrived and Mark went to check on Abigail's progress. With much delight they announced she had been off the oxygen for a couple of hours and she would be able to come into the room with us and may even be able to come home with us that night. (Priesthood blessings really work!) That was the best news we had had the whole time!

Well all in all, she is now home with us! And we are enjoying her sweet spirit. We cannot stop looking at her or kissing her chubby little cheeks. And we love and appreciate all of the support and prayers for us and little Abigail.