Why hello, 2015

Happy New Year! Here's what Abby's up to while I blog this afternoon:

I love looking at her while she's sleeping so peacefully like this. Two things to note: Minnie (on the right) was a gift from Grandmama Z when we took Abby to Disney back in November and Minnie has completely trumped Teddy as Abby's new favorite stuffed animal. Also, see Abby clutching onto those pacifiers for dear life? We are really trying to get rid of them. The original plan was to be paci-free when she turned two; however, she seems to be growing even more attached to them as time goes by. She can only have them at naptime and bedtime but we still think she is too old to have pacifiers. The strange thing is, she seems to find the most comfort from holding them and spinning them around in her fingers. We've watched her lay on her back at night, twisting and flipping them from hand to hand. So wish us luck. We keep telling her it's time to give the pacifiers to a baby but the mere mention of that has her insisting, "no, no, no! Abby baby."

Do you have any New Years Resolutions this year? I always do. A few of them are health related so of course it made sense to start out the year making these:

Oops. Ah well, everything in moderation, right? My friend Marci gave me donut pans for Christmas and the first recipe I tried was one she posted to her blog for Baked Funfetti Donuts from Sally's Baking Addiction. Abby is a huge fan of sprinkles, so it was a logical choice.

Happy girl!

I picked up this mug from the airport in Kansas City when I was home last month and it brings happiness to my mornings. It's the little things.

My parents left for my sister's house the day after Christmas and then Robert returned to work the following Monday. The first week after the holidays always feels like such a let down. Abby and I were home alone so we spent Monday in our pajamas, just playing. Note to self: two year olds love stickers. Frozen stickers for Abby this time -- but of course.

Then I was feeling adventurous (and/or stir crazy?) so we dragged out Abby's finger paints for the first time. My neat little girl had to be encouraged to make a mess. She kept holding up her hands and asking me to clean them off! But once she got passed the trepidation it was great fun.

I made some stamps using foam shapes glued to plastic lids. 

This takes serious concentration.

Oh boy.

Our completed masterpiece.

I asked you about your New Years Resolutions so I suppose I could share mine. I think I'll use this blog to help keep me more accountable this year. 

1. Run more. I miss running. I signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon next month (!!) with friends Josie and Tati and I have failed miserably at training. I've run the race before and it's so crowded you are often forced to walk. It also has many stops for photo ops, so this is not the race to really run. I supposed I point this out to make myself feel a little better about my unpreparedness. That being said, I would like to properly train for a few races this year and improve my time. I'm pretty out of shape and much slower than I was pre-Abby, so my modest goal is to run at 5k in under 30 minutes and a 10k in under an hour before the year ends. No excuses! I'm hoping to run 3 or 4 times a week and then attend 1 spin class at the YMCA each week. 

2. These first two goals are very cliche: exercise more and eat better. I want to be "dedicated to dinner" this year. It's been hard having dinner ready and on the table at 6:00 before Abby's 7:00 bedtime. Often we would make her a quick dinner, get her to bed, and then make our own food that we'd eat in front of the TV. Dinnertime is too important to fall into those bad habits, so I'm resolving to do a better job of planning meals, getting healthy food in the fridge, and having dinner on the table at 6:00. As Abby gets older I know dinnertime will be the time when we reconnect as a family and have a chance to talk. I want to get us started down the right path. I also resolve to use our Vitamix more. Abby is being a little booger and refusing all veggies lately so I'm going to be "that mom" (forgive me) and have her drink her veggies in green smoothies, which she loves. 

3. Spend time daily in prayer and reading my Bible. I've really been convicted of the importance of this discipline through Bible Study Fellowship. I was stuck in a rather negative, defeated, and anxious rut and just these past 4 months, in leading my group of ladies at BSF, I've experienced how rich, full, and at peace my life becomes when I spend this time with God. The key word is daily, as I tend to cram my studies into 2 or 3 days during the week. I'd like to get into the habit of waking up 30 minutes to an hour before Abby wakes so that I can make this the first priority of my day.

4. Have a monthly date night with Robert. We'll celebrate our 12th anniversary (!!) this August and I think we've become a little lazy. I want to leave him little notes like I used to. Put more effort into birthday and Christmas gifts. Acknowledge Valentine's Day. These things are important!

5. Get outdoors and explore more. We live in Florida and there's so much to see and do. I've already bookmarked several state parks with hiking trails and educational centers and I even bought a butterfly net, bug identification book, and Melissa and Doug "bug house" for Abby. Why not spend a 3 day weekend at the beach? Why not do a little gardening this Spring? It's time outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine and time together as a family. Win-win.

Whew! This post got long. Here's to 2015!