Fickle

Nicholas is FICKLE. Are all kids fickle? 

I distinctly remember when I was a kid and I loved something, I loved it forever: pigs, My Little Ponies, American Indians (I thought I was one named Naduah), horses, Mike Borrelli, reading, and Britney Spears.

{Not to mention my current love of my life, Dan and my babies! xoxo}

Every week Nicholas is into something new. Just when we bought him the binoculars he BEGGED for Christmas he has moved on to a Guitar. Daddy, on a whim, got him a Guitar which he pays no attention too,  and he is obsessed with Monster Trucks.

Now that we have downloaded every episode of Dino Dan, we have to record every single episode of Curious George on TV and the iPad. Not to mention his latest and newest obsession with Latex gloves.

Yes. Gloves. 

He wears them to school, in bed, in the bath, and in the front yard. He sleeps with them, smells them, holds them, cuddles them, and demands them in every color. We have asked for a pair at every restaurant in Steiner, gas station, and convenience store when he decides he needs them NOW.

I wonder how long this will last...and if this has anything to do with being fickle actually. ha.

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You're perfect to me!

Have you heard Pink's new song "F**kin' Perfect"? It's awesome. It tugs at your heart. It's her message to her own unborn baby. It's celebrates the beauty of being different and being  not-so-perfect, and when I heard it, I looked at my own boys, and my unborn boy and thought of them. You three will always be perfectly perfect in every way!

"Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less than perfect
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing
You're perfect to me! "

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The 2010 Book is on it's way

Just SUPER excited to get my blog book today! 

It's on its way for delivery!!

Can't wait to see it.

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Brandon's 1st Haircut

Last Friday, we went to Pigtails & Crewcuts and Brandon got his first haircut. He doesn't have much hair, but he has these random long strands all over the place, and a pretty awesome comb-over. At first he did not want to sit in the airplane seat, but nothing a little lollipop wouldn't help! Boy was he happy after that and it was a great experience for all of us. He has a cute little cut, and is such a big boy now. This experience was MUCH different than Nicky's  that took place on the floor of the salon.

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Nickle Pickle is 32 months!

Dear Nicky, 

In the past 32 months, I have watched you grow from a tiny little bundle in my arms

 to the big boy you are today

I love so many things about you...

 your big golden eyes (just like momma)

your Abeling tail (just like daddy)

your perfect full lips

your long legs...

and your tiny little calf muscles

I love your laugh and your giggle

I love how you blow a kiss

how you say you are sorry

how you cry with 3 fingers in your mouth

how you love suckers

I love your passion for dinosaurs and tractors

how you love all things orange

I love that you know how to use an iPad

and you play games on it

and watch Curious George

I love that Wipeout makes you laugh hysterically

I love your tantrums

Your stubborn personality

I love your smile

and your sharp fang teeth

I love your imagination and your stories

I love how you dance and swing your arms

I love how high you can jump

how fast you can run

how you love to play baseball

I love when you sing Bingo

and ask me to sing you the mirror song (Hush Little Baby)

I love your lawnmowers and your spay bottles and your latex gloves

my heart swells when you hold my hand

or kiss me for no reason

when you say "I love you, Mommy" and give me a hug

when you say "No thank You, Brandon" when he does something you don't like

I love when you share, but that's not too frequent

you love Chocolate milk

I love your toes

your long fingers and long eyelashes

And above all, I love how these past 32 months have been the most incredible experience, and the moments above, are the moments that matter - and I could not be more proud to be your Mommy

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Happy 18 months, Banjo!

Banjo, Banjo, Banjo...how did we get SO LUCKY to have the easiest, sweetest, happiest, cutest boy ever?? Don't get me wrong, your brother gives you a run for your money, however we never described him as "EASY" or "Happiest." He was (and still is) strong willed, challenging, way too smart, and endearing. BUT YOU - you are perfectly perfect in so many ways. {Don't you worry Nicky - your 32 month letter is next} Since your last check up, so much has changed! You've had a little verbal word explosion and we are so thrilled with your recent developments. You can say over 20 words now, but can repeat much more when asked. We got rid of the baba and your are so much more vocal. You've put together your first sentences:

• Here you go!
• I see you!

You have really started to get into books, and every night we sit down with you and go through all your favorite ones. You're walking so much better and our concerns about any excessive drooling have stopped.

At every wellness check we get your vitals and you are finally TALLER then your head is BIGGER! You are 32 inches - 75% and 26 pounds - 50%. You've thinned out and your baby beer belly is almost gone. You are in a size 6 shoe now and 18 - 24 month clothes.

Remember last month? when you decided not too sleep? Well, thank god you've put an end to that craziness. Once again - you are the best sleeper - we put you down with minimal crying or fussing and you pretty much sleep through the night again. If in fact, we do have to go up and check on you, you make us take you downstairs to watch Wonder Pets or Oobi. We watch for a while, and then you get to say "buh-bye" and go back upstairs. You sleep until about 730 every morning and sometimes I have to wake you so we aren't late for school.

You love to play with anything that Nicky has, and you love pushing tea carts and lawnmowers all over the house. You love balls, bubbles, and the doggies. You love to point out buses and you yell "beep beep" when you see a big truck go by. You also have a sweet tooth.

And we can hardly believe in 6 months you will be 2! never forget, you are our little ray of sunshine and you have made such a huge and positive impact in our lives. We adore everything about you.

And as always, I went back to check and compare Nicky's 18 month update.

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the 2010 BOOK!

The book is complete!! It turned out to be 342 pages, and cost me only $89.00! Not tooo shabby. I used Blurb.com this year and it was a pretty easy tool. The bad part is their editing tools are not very good, so I had to go page by page and re-format every picture and text box. That took me about 4 hours and a couple massive headaches. Here are some screen-shots of the format and lay out. It is scheduled to arrive around the 19th. Why I do this can be found here, Yay!

You can preview my book here

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Hold Tight

...on the baby name. I just found out my cousin Steven's boy is LUCAS ANTHONY. So, you may be wondering why I didn't know that, and I wonder too, however that's family stuff and I know now, so I am re-thinking. We may still keep it, but I can't believe I picked the *almost* same name. We'll see. Maybe I will get Anthony as a first name after all?!

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Baby Names

There are 96 MILLION websites dedicated to Baby Names

Over 27 THOUSAND names to chose from

I've had TWO boys

and spent countless months agonizing over boys names

To go through it again, seemed daunting and miserable

especially when I had my girl name *almost* picked out

you would THINK, Dan and I could agree on a name for number 

THREE

However after much debate and hemming and hawing, it looks like we have narrowed it down to 

L U K E

Luke Anthony Abeling*

It's a good name. A strong name

It means Wolf or Bright

Knowing us he will be called Lulu

Or Lukey

but not Lukey Pukey

Or Nicky will still call him Brooklyn 

For the rest of his life, he will be teased

"Luke, I am your faaaather"

I guess it could be worse

Whatever we name him, he will be loved and cherished

Tomorrow I have my 20/21 week sonogram and I can't wait to see him again

listen to his heartbeat

see him wiggle

see the very thing that means it wasn't a girl 

so we are absolutely, positively, 100% sure its a 3rd boy ;)

More pregnancy updates tomorrow...and maybe even a picture of the baby belly.

{*Subject to change at ANY time!}

{P.S. Nicky was Luke Skywalker 2 years ago..I wonder if that was foreshadowing??!}

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Grandma Booba and Papa Bob have arrived in Texas!!

So its Official

I never thought I would see the day

Almost four years to the day that I moved to Austin

My parents moved out here!

Grandma Booba and Papa Bob's house is about 2 and a half minutes away, or 2 miles.

The bought the most gorgeous little house in Steiner Ranch 

We are so excited for a new chapter to begin!

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Nini's and Baba's

Na, na, na ,na

Na, na. na. na.

nanananaannnhhhhh

Good-Bye!

2011 marked a big event in Abelingland.

NO MORE Nini's and Baba's

{except at bedtime, for now}

It's been about 8 days...good work boys!

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Farewell 2010!

Farewell 2010 from Abelingland! 

2010 started as Nicky celebrated his 20 month birthday and Brandon turned 6 months, was crawling, and sprouted 4 teeth. January and February were cold months in Austin, and we even go some snow. Nicholas learned to count to 10 and say his full ABCs, and Brandon started crawling and eating solids.
In February, we got Brandon his nifty helmet that he wore for 10 weeks and Nicholas learned to go potty, throw full blown tantrums,  and tied us around his pinkie. We watched the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with heavy spirits; wishing Val was healthy enough to participate, but so proud of Auntie Shauna.
In March, the seasons started to change, the boys turned 8 months and 22 months respectively. Brandon started taking his first steps, his head started making great progress, and Nicky practiced his big boy words.
In April, Brandon's helmet came off, we hosted Easter weekend and Auntie Val, Shauna, Grandma Booba and Papa Bob came for a visit. We also took pictures in the Texas bluebonnets - a new Abeling tradition; an old Texas tradition.April was also the beginning of our summer at the pool.
May was a big month for me - Nicky turned 2! We celebrated with a huge circus themed party at the house and Nicky invited all his friends. Brandon slept through his whole party, despite a face painter, a roller coaster, and lots of treats and cakes. 4 days later, Nicky's best friend, Kylee Jo turned 2. May was the month I also created my Adventures in Abelingland Fan Page on facebook :)
In June, we got the fantastic news that there will be a new Abeling cousin: Frank and Amy were expecting a baby boy in November. Dan and I also celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary, and I took "special" pictures for him. ;) Grandma Larissa and Auntie Alex stayed with the boys for a weekend, so Dan and I could have a 'stay-cation" in downtown Austin. We had a very nice time celebrating at the Four Seasons and celebrating our marriage. We also took the boys to So Cal for a wedding and had a Cal Poly Romper Room Reunion - 13 kids in all. While we were there, Auntie val surprised us and made a stop at the beach to see Auntie Amy, Auntie Alex, and Uncle Frank. Grandma Booba went with us for a final stop at Disneyland. The boys did not want to wait in line, but churros helped. We also got a notice that Brandon was graduating from the nursery to the Young Toddlers class at Primrose! That also coincided when he started walking
. We also formed the "Sunday Morning Church Crew" for weekends at the pool.
In July, I had pictures with Tara at Life is Sweet of Brandon and his cake smash for his 1st birthday. We celebrated Brandon's 1st birthday back home in Foster City with an orange and blue giraffe themed party. We were able to see family and friends and catch up with everyone's kiddos. he also slept through most of his party.  By now, Brandon was walking and starting to form some words. This also marked the time we started to have concerns about his development. We took our annual pictures with Pinkletoes and had my family album made. You can see it here
In August, the husband I thought I knew went green and organic. We suddenly had 10,000 worms for a composting bin, a brand new composter, 2 100 gallon rain barrels, carnivorous plants, and a bat house. There is not much to do when it is 105 out, so we spent most of the time in the sprinklers and pool. Roxy celebrated her 3rd birthday, and my BLOG HAD ITS 1ST BIRTHDAY!
On to September...Oh September you. So Dan and I left the boys at home with Grandma and Grandpa Bob and flew to Santa Barbara for a friends wedding. We stayed at the Biltmore...and little did we know...we'd have news to share in a couple weeks. We took a trip to San Antonio with our friends the Moler's and spent the weekend at the JW Marriot. The boys had a blast with Davis, and Anna Caroline and loved the water slides. On the way back, Dan and I thought how perfect 2 kids are.I have to also mention that in September we also started a pretty stick sleep training program with Nicholas. We have spent the last year trying to get him to have good sleep habits, and we finally got fed up. You can read about it here and here. We also celebrated 2 Abelingland Birthdays: Dan turned 32 and Zeus turned 2!
In October, we got 2 big announcements: 1. I was pregnant with my 3rd baby, and Grandma Booba and Papa Bob bought a house in Texas and would be moving to Austin! The San Francisco Giant's won the Wold Series!!
In November, my mom put our childhood house on the market, I had my 12 week sonogram and got a 75% chance it was a girl. Amy and Frank welcomed, baby Jack Francis! We had a quiet, but nice Thanksgiving at home with Papa Ray, and spent the last weekend of of November getting our Christmas tree.
Finally we make it to December. December has another great month for us; we found out both boys are moving to new classrooms, we took pictures with Santa, sent out Christmas cards, and I found out at my 17 week appointmentsold their house. We flew back to San Francisco for our last Christmas back in the bay area (for a while). Dan and I rang in the New Year with both boys asleep before 7! Happy New year to us!

and Happy New Year to all of you!

Abelingland will change over the next year...as I mentioned before we grow from a family of 4 to a family of 5. To keep up with us, subscribe to get my posts in your email and friend Adventures in Abelingland on facebook!

Above was a 2010 review of my boys in pictures - some of my favorite, and obviously not all of them. All of my sets can be found here. All our videos can be found here

I stole this from my friend Melissa, but I thought it would be fun to look back one day and see what was popular in 2010.

iTunes Most Popular Songs:
1. Hey Soul Sister -- Train
2. California Gurls -- Katy Perry
3. Love the Way You Lie -- Eminem
4. Airplanes -- B.o.B.
5. Dynamite -- Taio Cruz (My #2!)
6. OMG -- Usher
7. Break Your Heart -- Taio Cruz
8. Tik Tok -- Ke$ha
9. Need You Now -- Lady Antebellum
10. Not Afraid -- Eminem


Top Box Office Champs:
1. Toy Story 3
2. Alice in Wonderland
3. Inception
4. Shrek Forever After
5. The Twilight Sage: Eclipse
6. Iron Man 2
7. Despicable Me
8. How to Train Your Dragon
9. Clash of the Titans
19. The Karate Kid


Most followed on Twitter
1. Lady Gaga
2. Britney Spears
3. Justin Bieber
4. Ashton Kutcher
5. Barack Obama

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Flickr *Finally* Refreshed

So Last night, while Dan spent 3 hours getting Nicky in bed, I organized the last 3 months of pictures in Flickr. So before I wrap up 2010 with my blog book, here is my last Flicker update for the year. I added 24 new sets. Happy browsing here

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Happy New Year's 2011

{Not that I was up to ring in the New Year, but}

H A P P Y  

N E W  

Y E A R  

2 0 1 1!!

2011 will bring many new adventures for Abelingland

mainly we go from a family of 4 to a family of 5 in May

May your 2011 be happy, healthy, and prosperous

....and adventerous!

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