Our last Easter at LUMC

LUMC, my church since birth, closed their doors after our final Easter service.  They hired a professional photographer for this special service and captured some gorgeous pics of the family :)

 Getting ready for the Easter egg hunt!

 The 50 year anniversary celebration- we're pictured in the back with our grandparents 

(founding members of the church)

 The same odd structure I played on and under as a kid <3

Professional Photos of the Dugan Four

Leif and I decided to have professional photographs taken of the family this year to give as holiday gifts.  We were fortunate that a local photographer, Bird in Flight Photography, happened to be booking mini sessions at our favorite orchard in town, Hill Orchard.  You would never know by these photos but the weather was quite dreary that day- drizzly and overcast- and generally yucky.  Abby and I went shopping for outfits together- she chose her dress first and then we chose Joey's outfit to match hers.  :)  She chose everything- her hairdo, her necklace, the new boots, etc. Joey had no say but seemed fine with our choices.  :)  There are a couple cute details about the photo shoot- by the end Joey only had one shoe. He is an expert at losing his shoes (which is why he rarely wears them).  The photographer photoshopped a shoe on Joey in his photo with Leif.  Joey was photographed first and thoroughly enjoyed eating the grass at the orchard.  We finally were able to get his attention by having me standing practically on top of the photographer (who was lying flat in the wet grass) and yelling, "Joey!  Boo!"  Joey adores playing peek-a-boo.  Abby LOVED striking a pose.  We couldn't resist buying the files where she is giving a bit of attitude because this is so one side of Abby- fierce and brave and strong-willed.  We received a peck of apples with the photo shoot and enjoyed apple picking as our reward for making it through our photo session.  :)  Here are our photos we selected!  :)

Update on life

We are weathering some snowy snowy weather!  A blizzard named Juno dropped 36 inches of snow in our yard:

We didn't lose power or the thrill of a snowstorm so I'd say we weathered it well.  :)  Abby loves the tall snowbanks in the yard and is constantly making her slides out of them.

The tag on her coat is from skiing at Gunstock with her daddy recently.  She did great and Leif said she's definitely ready for real lessons (something that he hopes to do next weekend when we go away on a ski weekend with Grandma Carol!!)  :)

Here's the ski bunny (and her ski bunny daddy):

Despite all of the snow and cold temps, we've really been enjoying our yard and the town.  Abby recently asked for a winter beach day so we took her over to our favorite beach in town, Forge Pond.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a walk around the water and we even witnessed a dare devil riding his dirt bike over the ice (Abby and I both thought that was a little dangerous...)

Sending lots of warm wishes and love to everyone!!!!

The Year of the 3 Halloween Costumes

This year Abigail will be sporting 3 costumes to her Halloween festivities.  

The first costume: A Butterfly

She decided (rather last minute) that she wanted to be a butterfly for her Halloween dance at school this year.  Luckily we already had a set of pink butterfly wings in the house and I fashioned some antennae out of a headband, some pom poms, and a couple pipe cleaners.  She made an adorable butterfly and had such a fun time at the dance- so did Leif and I.  Abby was quite shy when we arrived at the dance- there were a couple kindergarten age girls (two of them dressed as Elsa and one dressed as The Little Mermaid) who were dancing.  Abby did not feel comfortable joining them.  A fellow parent noticed her hesitance and asked his daughter (dressed as The Little Mermaid) if she would dance with Abby.  She was absolutely wonderful and not only danced with Abby, but gave Abby a dance pep talk.  Abby's best friend Sarah Claire arrived later (dressed as Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony).  Sarah Claire just became a big sister- her little sister Laura was born a week and a half ago.  Abby followed Sarah Claire everywhere and really enjoyed herself.  They played a game similar to musical chairs that used ghosts on the dance floor.  The ghosts were removed as the kids danced, and then they scrambled to step on one as the music stopped- though DJ Nancy, who is also their kindergarten teacher- explained that they would play the "Nancy way"- if a child couldn't find a ghost, they didn't have to sit down or leave the game, they just shared a ghost with a friend.  The kids loved it.  Abby also did the limbo, and they had a dance off with the boys dancing to one song and the girls dancing to their a different song.  Ms Nancy had all sorts of wonderful games she suggested each time she noticed kids climbing chairs or crawling under tables.  ;)  At the very end of the night, Ms Nancy hosted a karaoke "Let it Go" and the girls belted out the song.  Abby watched from her seat- she was starving and eating a TON of chicken nuggets at the time.

The second costume: Elsa

Abby decided extremely last minute (are you noticing the trend?) that she wanted to be Elsa for the Halloween parade we attend each year in Woburn.  Luckily I had purchased a Frozen dress up set that was going to be a Christmas gift.  Abby made a wonderful Elsa and was very proud that her nails even matched her costume.  :)  The parade was so much fun.  My friend Danielle's mom lives right on the parade route and is always so nice to host us all.  Abby was quite proud of the amount of candy she acquired and was particularly impressed that the parade Elsa threw some candy to her.  She also high-fived Blue from Blues Clues; it was sort of a big deal.  :)  The weather was a bit nippy at first but warmed quickly.  Leif and I got to see UNH's marching band, and Abby danced to every piece of music she heard.

The third costume: Rainbow Dash

When Abby decided she wanted to be Rainbow Dash for Halloween, she didn't even know what that was.  Sarah Claire had told Abby her costume for the season, and Abby immediately wanted to be the same thing.  We learned quickly about the sensation that is My Little Pony and caught up on a couple episodes of the tv show to see what this Rainbow Dash character is all about.  Sarah Claire's mother made the most adorable costume- it is cute cute cute.  I, in turn, went to this wonderful website amazon.com and purchased a costume (I am no longer ashamed to say, I'm a Purchase-A-Costume kind of mom).  I will say, it is also quite cute- and in response to Sarah Claire's concern, we did purchase the correct pony costume.  ;)  Abby has told us that she wants to trick-or-treat in her Rainbow Dash costume- we reconfirmed yesterday so we will see what happens in the 11th hour.  I really do hope she wears the Rainbow Dash costume.  It is darling and warm and a mother's dream.  :)  

This year we'll have the whole family over for Halloween!  Grandma, Grammy, Papa, and Auntie Mandy will be joining us and we're really excited to share the holiday with them.

Here is a picture of the pumpkin Abby designed herself.  When we told her she had complete control of the pumpkin this year, she decided on a tree and fashioned a beautiful one on her pumpkin.  :)  She is so proud of it.

Happy Halloween everyone!  I'll be sure to post a picture of Abby in her Rainbow Dash costume (or other acceptable costume if it happens that way) as soon as possible.

Love to all!!! 

Our big girl

Miss Abigail is potty trained.  I can't believe I'm typing this but it's true.  Leif and I have had a difficult time with this, mostly in part to crazy commutes on top of long work hours that make it nearly impossible to dedicate enough time to potty training and keeping our lives in some sort of order.  This is ok; it's just the way things are right now, but we were getting pretty tired of diapers.  And then, we went to the Lake, and Abby slept in the bunk bed room in her own bed for the first time and she loved it- really, really loved it.

We quickly learned that the promise of her own big girl bed would outshine any promise of toys, candy, etc when it came to potty training.  We explained to Abby that once she could poop in the potty, for four consecutive days in a row, she would get her big girl bed.  And that's just what she did.  We explained to her that if she stopped using the potty, we'd have to switch back to the crib.  She hasn't had an accident since earning her big girl bed.  She wears "big girl underwear" every day.  She won a prize from the prize bucket at school yesterday for using the potty at school.  I never thought potty training could be as exciting as it is in my life right now.  We are so proud of our girl.  :)

Abby also earned her first pet yesterday- a white beta fish named "Mint the Fish".  She has been gentle with Orion lately and we wanted to encourage that behavior.  We went to the pet store last night and Abby picked out her own fish, gravel, and aquarium decor.  Mint the Fish's name was originally Pooda but Abby explained that Pooda is a girl's name and when we explained to her that Mint the Fish was definitely a male fish, she changed his name.  It stuck.  :)

Our girl is getting so big.  :)

 The bed that sealed the deal ;)

A recent pic of Abby and our new cherry tree :)

Some pictures

Finally downloaded some pictures from my camera this morning.  :)  Here are some from Abby's 3rd birthday- held happily at our house.  <3  The cuteness level of the attendees was quite astounding.  ;)

It's hard to imagine winter coats now with temperatures up in the 90's today.  We've been enjoying our free time together immensely- gardening, bike rides, walks, and small adventures.  Here are some pics :)

 Leif and dad smoking some meat for mother's day

 The lake for Memorial Day weekend

 a rainbow!

 Essex River Cruise

This weekend we're headed to Willard Brook State park to camp for the long holiday weekend with some friends.  It will be our first time staying in a yurt!!!!  The yurt evidently fits 16 people and comes equipped with beds (easy campsite set up!!)  

Happy summer, everyone!  Enjoy the warm breezes, sweet smells, lightning bugs, bright evenings, and campfire nights.  Here's where we'll be in our free time (our new gazebo!!):

Sending lots of love!!!!