I think she'll be a good big sister...

Abby loves her new doll (complete with a binkie and bottle) that grandma and grandpa gave her.

Merry Christmas!

At this time of Christmas, this season when gifts are given, let us not forget that God gave His Son, and His Son gave His life, that each of us might have the gift of eternal life. --President Gordon B. Hinckley

Christmas Festivities - Part 2

Coming back into town last night we stopped at my parents for dinner. It was great to visit with everyone, do a little nativity with the grandkids and open the traditional pajamas.This morning we woke up and opened family gifts. Abby loved the train set from Santa and the books and toy from mom and dad. (She caught on to the whole opening presents idea very quickly.)After opening gifts, we went to Grandma Nielsen's house for breakfast. It was fabulous to see so many of my cousins (especially knowing that it might be a while before I see them again). Next we went to visit Grandpa Tom in the care center and then to my parents house to exchange gifts with them. It has been a busy day and we are now about to head to a movie...

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Festivities - Part 1

Last Sunday we journeyed to visit with Mike's parents and sister and brother-in-law. We had a great time and enjoyed celebrating Christmas with them. We returned to Salt Lake on Christmas Eve. Somehow we lucked out completely by not hitting any snowstorms. (We made both trips in under 4 hours and 30 minutes!)

We swam at the nice rec center. Abby loved the big fast water slide.

She was enamored with her gorgeous new princess crown and earrings.
We did a mini hike to an overlook of the city and it was hard to pull Abby away from all the rocks!

Santa's Super Hero Elf

A couple weeks ago we went to Abby's cousin's Spiderman birthday party. She made a fierce super hero and went through at least 3 swords. Fortunately, Abby's uncle is a master balloon twister.

Meeting the webbed hero himself was a bit tramatic.

Funny thing--Spiderman showed up at the family Christmas party as well. He must really like our family:)

Last night Mike and Abby tried out the Spiderman tattoos he handed out. She was scared of the water (?) at first but then thought it was pretty cool that dad got one too!

Just for fun, here is Abby with our Christmas lights. She loves them. (Remember that I am decorating very simply this year.)

Where in the world...

Way back when when we decided to move, I started thinking about all the issues of going private, not revealing too much on the blog, etc. so I am going to do a little experiment. We have (finally) accepted a job offer and know where and when we'll be moving. It is a good feeling! Here's the experiment: I am not going to say where. Most of you already know. If you don't, feel free to email me because I'd love to tell you (really). I'm going to try for a while to be a bit less transparent on my blog (at least as far as locations). I think I'll hate it and just end up going private, but that doesn't sound super fun either. So, we'll wait and see.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Mike!

Happy birthday to our favorite daddy. Here he is reading with Abby and her cousin.

Today is Mike's 30th birthday. I did a little hubby questionnaire all about him. I love you, Mike!

1. Where did you meet your husband?
At a Stake FHE when we were both attending University Student Wards

2. How long did you date?
7 1/2 months

3. How long have you been married?
It will be 5 years in March

4. What does he do that surprises you?
Lots of things - he is really good to do dishes or laundry without being "hinted" at. Once he made plans to go snowboarding with some friends and when he got halfway to the ski resort he turned around and came back so that he could spend the day with me! That surprised me, but it is definitely true to his character!

5. What is your favorite feature of his?
I love his smile and dark hair.

6. What is his best quality?
He is very patient and extremely rarely gets upset.

7. Does he have a nick name for you?
Not really, but does call me "honey" a lot.

8. What is his favorite food?
He is very un-picky and will eat just about anything.

9. What is his favorite sport?
His knees don't let him participate in a lot of sports, but he does love snowboarding and enjoys watching U. football and Jazz games.

10. When and where was your first kiss?
Our first kiss was in a little canyon close to my family's cabin over Labor Day weekend.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We love to take vacations and road trips.

12. Do you have children?
2 girls and a boy on the way

13. Does he have hidden talents?
Mike is very compassionate. He reaches out to everyone and always strives to make others feel included.

14. How old is he?
30 years old today!

15. Who said I love you first?
He did! We took a drive up in Lamb's Canyon and stopped to sit by a pretty stream...

16. His favorite music?
Right now--Christmas music. Other than that, he's pretty eclectic.

17. What to you admire most about him?
As I already mentioned, I love how he reaches out to so many people. I also admire his ability to keep his cool, be patient and not get upset.

18. What is his favorite color?
Blue

19. Who eats more?
I actually think that I do (especially when I am pregnant). He is a healthier eater!

20. Who sings better?
I think that I probably do, but it is something that he really works at!

21. Who is smarter?
Mike. (I take pride though in knowing that we got the same ACT score in high school.)

22. Who does the laundry?
We both do (especially with Mike home so much now). I am really good at starting it and he is better at finishing it up!

23. Who does the dishes?
We both do.

24. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Mike

25. Who pays the bills?
That is a complicated question. Mike pays the bills that are not on auto pay. I maintain the day-to-day budget.

26. Who mows the lawn?
Mike does. He tells me he likes to.

27. Who cooks dinner?
I do nearly always. He does on occasion. He's a good cook.

28. Who drives when you are together?
Most of the time Mike does.

29. Who is more stubborn?
Me

30. Who asked who out first?
Mike did. He got my phone number at the FHE activity and called me a couple days later.

31. Who is more sensitive?
I think that we are both pretty sensitive in different ways.

32. Who has more siblings?
I have 4. He has 3.

33. Will he read this?
Eventually yes:)

A few numbers...

$1.37

This is how much I paid per gallon of gas last night. Delicious!

91

This is how old my grandma is. We went together to the Jazz game with my aunt and uncle Wednesday night. It was a lot of fun! I love being with her. We parked a block and a half away and I genuinely had a hard time keeping up with her as we walked to the arena. (Yes, she really is 91.) (Unfortunately, the Jazz did not score more than 91, but the Miami Heat did--i.e. they lost.)

3 lbs. 2 oz.

This is how big baby brother is. (No, we don't have a name for him. The list keeps getting longer rather than shorter. Someday he will have a name. I am sure of it.) We got to "see" him on Wednesday. He is very cute. Speaking of baby brother, here is a cute anecdote about "big sister". When we ask Abby where her baby brother is, she taps her tummy and says, "My tummy!" We try to tell her, "No, he's in mommy's tummy." She will have none of that!

Job and Moving update:
Ask me on Monday. I think we'll commit then. We have a couple job offers and if you have heard us talk about where we have been leaning the last few weeks, you're probably gonna be right. The house is under contract. We have been very blessed.

What to do with a Little People's Nativity set:

1. Let Mary read touchy-feely books. I couldn't turn the pages until Mary had her turn to touch. So cute.

2. Lay all the toys out on a blanket so I can cover them up for their naps.

3. Feed the donkeys their hay.

Christmas Trees:
"Hmmm...where to put this one..." These are our vacation trees. We like to get little souvenir ornaments on trips... This is the very proud girl next to the oh-so-simply-decorated-with-lots-of-love tree. (There really are more ornaments on the tree than meets the eye. It turned out to be a very cute tree!)

Stay tuned for some very cute pictures of baby brother just taken today thanks to my cousin, Marilee, the sonographer...