Happy Birthday Daddy in the Dells!

Ryan's birthday was last weekend (I totally slacked on posting on his birthday). We met my cousin and her family (she also has a one year old) at The Wilderness Resort in the Dells. Ryan and I have heard more about the Dells from our students over the years and it was about time we went! We thought Abel might like the water because he LOVES baths. It took a little bit of warming up for him and then he LOVED it. He went down lots of slides with Daddy and even had a HUGE bucket of water dumped on his head (see the picture - Ryan's holding him under the big splash). The first time the water splashed on him, he was a little unsure. The second time he turned around, looked at me, smiled, and starting signing and saying "More! More!" Ryan had a ball too. The "grown-up" slides are pretty intense...I was bummed I couldn't partake due to baby baking, but next time for sure! It was a really fun day! So Happy Belated Birthday Daddy!

Legos!

Legos are a HUGE hit at our house....not just for Abel, but pretty much for anyone who comes and visits (Wrigley seems to love them too!). Everyone tries to make something interesting out of them and Abel just sits in the middle of it all either adding a piece here and there or trying to take apart what you are working on. Anyway, here are some photos that we've snapped this month.

2008: New year, new job, new baby, new house, new president....

Wow! It's going to be a great year!!!! Ryan has accepted a job as Assistant Professor in Math Education in Indianapolis at Indiana University's School of Education at IUPUI, we're expecting a new baby in June, and we're FINALLY going to elect a new president into the White House. :) The next 6 months are going to prove to be the busiest months probably ever in our lives, but by the time summer ends, we'll be a family of 4 in a new location! So Happy New Year to you all, and cheers to a fantastic 2008!

Our trip to Arizona

Ryan's parents treated the whole family to a trip to Phoenix. Ryan's grandparents have a condo out there and it was very nice to have the whole family together. I think Abel's favorite part was playing with his cousins. He really loves other kids and especially loves to play with his cousins! The trip was great. The following posts are a few of our favorite photos from the trip! The first one is of him on the airplane. He LOVED looking out the window! The second is of him in the desert. I realize it looks like a cactus is sticking out of his head, but the picture is still awfully cute!

Hiking with Mom and Dad

Abel loved taking everything in while we were out and about. We went to Lake Pleasant, AZ, Sedona, AZ, and to a local regional park. He liked to move around and see everything, but he mostly loved to sit and play in the dirt! Here are a couple of shots with Mama and Daddy!

On A Hike

While in Arizona, we went on a couple of shorter hikes. Abel was carried the whole time...until he decided he MUST be on his own. He's very independent. Usually, that's awesome, but when there are rocky, dirty paths involved, his independence is a little scary. However, he loved to play in the dirt, climb, and just move around!

The Crew

Here are a couple of pictures of the whole crew, cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, and brothers on a hike in Lake Pleasant, Arizona. It's quite the group!

He has found the money jar....

My parents have this huge 10,000 mL jar full of loose change. Every child in the family has found the jar at some point. I really wish I had the photos of our niece and nephew, Henry and Hannah with their hands in the jar digitally, but I just don't. Anyway, over Christmas, Abel loved to climb the steps and get his hands in the jar!

I can get into this present thing....

Here is a shot of Abel opening up his presents. He has really gotten into ripping pieces of paper into tiny pieces of paper and wrapping paper is the PERFECT toy. He got some really great toys. I don't know how he feels, but I am personally looking forward to new toys at our house!

Christmas in Chicago

We met members of my family in Chicago to celebrate Christmas with my immediate family since we were going to kind of be all over the place on the actual holiday. Out of the 12 of us several of us ended up feeling a bit under the weather, so it was just a few of us. It was still lots of fun. We shopped up and down Michigan Ave., played in the hotel, had brunch at the Drake, and just enjoyed the season. Abel also picked up one of his latest words...BUS. Every large car is now a bus!