A Happy New Year, Indeed!

Happy 2008! So much has happened since the last posting, it is hard to know where to start.
Our holidays were absolutely wonderful - had the chance to see lots of family and friends and the weather cooperated for all of our trips. Santa Claus found Abby and she also received lots of nice gifts from the grandparents, aunts, and uncles.
The weekend before Christmas was fun because we were able to attend the Phipps' Annual Christmas bash. Abby enjoyed showing off for all the friends there in her little red Christmas dress. Early the next morning we were off to Kansas City to celebrate Christmas with Michael's side of the family. This was about the earliest we have ever started on a KC trip and it worked out much better than the last trip because we made more stops and Abby was able to get out and stretch a few times, resulting in a happier Abby!
By early afternoon we were in Kansas City and we spent Sunday and Christmas Eve at Mike's dad's house. Here Abby got to see her cousin C.J. for the first time since August and everyone enjoyed watching the two little ones play together and open up presents. Christmas morning we went over to Mike's mom's house and spent the day there and the following day visiting her. Abby and C.J. had some more play time together - and a little time spent fighting over toys, but that was expected. Now we are just wishing we had more pictures of the two of them, as there are only a few times a year when they are together and they grow and change so fast!
The Thursday after Christmas was pretty foggy in Kansas City, but the roads were okay despite the snowfall the day before so we headed back home. Once again, we had a good trip with Abby across the state and then we had one day to be at home and celebrate our little family's Christmas before re-packing the car and heading the other direction to see my side of the family.
It was non-stop celebrating once we hit Grandma and Grandpa's. On Saturday morning Abby went with me to Maria Vogt's baby shower where she had fun playing with some other little girls. It was especially nice for me to have the chance to visit with friends and help Maria get prepped for that upcoming March baby. Afterwards, we headed home, baked some cookies and made puppy chow and then loaded the car up to go celebrate Christmas with all the relatives at Marge and Alan's house. Of course, there was a lot of delicious food (we would hate to know just how much weight we gained from start to finish during the holiday partying) and good company. And Abby opened presents for the fourth time, followed by the ten dollar gift swap where both Mike and I ended up with some good stuff.
Sunday morning rolled around and it was time to have our final Christmas celebration at Mom and Dad's since everyone was finally able to come together to eat and unwrap gifts. Both Russ and Eric had their girlfriends there for the first time this year so that made it extra special. Of course, Mom made a huge delicious meal and we also got to play a couple of games.
Sunday evening we headed home - after all the traveling it was good to be home and sleep in our own beds. Besides, the next day was New Years' Eve, and we had to gear up for some more partying. We had a lot of fun ringing in the New Year with some friends at the Graves' house and headed home very early in the morning.
Abby must have been good this past year because she received a lot of really nice gifts. She enjoyed everything so much it is hard to say what was really her favorite. Some of the "wow" presents seemed to be her tricycle (she calls it a "Biye", not a bike), her stroller and new baby doll (which she promptly named "Mimi"), and her Sesame Street couch.
Thanks and God bless to everyone who helped to make our Christmas and New Year so wonderful. We are truly blessed to have you all in our lives. We hope you all had as great a time as we did!
The attached picture is one of Abby at our little Christmas celebration at home opening up her Fridge Farm from Santa. Over the next few weeks I have resolved to be a better blogger and put up a few more of the many great holiday pictures.