Tag: Family

Mothers Day

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SO… I celebrated my first official Mother’s Day this year! It was a very nice, low key day. Shaun made me breakfast in bed and I woke up to find a beautiful bouquet of roses sitting on my dresser. We basically hung around the house all day and didn’t bother with unpacking or cleaning (which was very nice). Then Zoe came over for a nice dinner that Shaun prepared. The menu included a lovely creamy tomato soup with pesto to start, bacon wrapped Fillet Mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus as the main course and mini pound cakes with strawberries, vanilla ice cream, whip cream and homemade strawberry syrup for dessert. I must say… I was very pampered!

The beautiful roses that I found on my dresser when I woke up… aren’t they beautiful?!

Breakfast in bed included pancakes, strawberries, bacon eggs and a cold glass of milk. I just had to take a picture because it looked so yummy! I soon found out that it was!

It is hard to believe that I have already celebrated my first Mother’s Day. Time flies so fast. I have to say though, being a mom is the best thing I could possibly think of doing. I look at Abigail every day and think to myself, “I cant believe that I was part of creating this beautiful little person”. I know, mushy… but its true. She is one of the many wonders that I cherish in this world!

Abigail wearing her pretty blue and white dress. It looks just like a Tiffany’s box! At this point she was ready to go to bed.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, grandmas, great-grandmas, aunts, sisters and everyone in between. I hope it was a wonderful day!

Growing Older, Wonderful Memories and New Beginnings!

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Ok so I am back! There has been so much going on that it was nearly impossible to keep up with it all. But I will catch up with everything as best I can!

Abby at 5 months… look at those big baby blues!

On April 2nd, 2009 Abby went in for her 6 month check up. We are always blessed to hear the words… “she looks perfect” and that was exactly what Dr. Calig said again! Abby was 26 inches long and weighed 18 pounds 15 ounces at the time. I am sure she has grown more since. Abby is changing so fast and is doing a lot in regards to development. She has just finished eating her first round of veggies and is now on to fruits. Luckily, she is not a picky eater and peas were her only issue. While she makes faces of distaste for them, she still eats them. Abby is rolling all over the place and I am sure will be crawling soon. If she had it her way, she would be walking instead of crawling but Shaun and I dont want her to miss that important step in development. We shall see what happens in the next little bit!

Abby at 6 months… Smiling away like the little cutie she is!


Since my last post and I happy to say that we have found a house! Yes, we finally found a home that we absolutely love! We put an offer in and now we have a wonderful home in the San Fernando Valley. We closed escrow close to the end of March and moved in not too long after. We have done some work on the house which has slowed our ability to unpack boxes, but we are finally settled and hope to stop living out of boxes soon! Once the work is finished I will post some before and after pictures for everyone to look at. It is a beautiful home and I am so happy to live here!

One drawback to the house was that the kitchen hadnt been touched since the house was built back in the 40’s. So Shaun decided that it was the first thing that needed to be fixed and right away. Work began completely gutting the kitchen before we moved in. I think we hoped that a bulk of the work would be done before time came to move, but alas it wasnt meant to be. The kitchen renovation has taken care longer then expected and still has not been completed. Shaun knew it was driving me batty as it meant that we couldnt really even unpack everything from the move, so I spent spring break with my parents and sister up in Montana. Abby came with me, but unfortunatly Shaun had to stay and work. I already had the time off. I had a wonderul trip and it was great to get away. Even though my parents still had to work because of the late notice, I still had lots of time to visit and relax. Abby and I had the chance to see where Aunt Jillian works ( both Bath and Body works and Tanya’s Dance Company), meet one of my dad’s coworkers, meet my moms coworkers and we had the chance to visit Yellowstone National Park. It was Abby’s first trip! We also had the chance to see Jillian dance at the Montana State Games in Billings. All in all it was a wonderful trip and as a plus I came home to a kitchen that was almost done, minus a few important details.

Its early in the morning but Abby smiles for mommy just before hitting the road for Montana.

Abby and Auntie Jillian had the chance to hang out quite a bit and Abby took everything Jillian had to say very serious…. I love this picture!

Abby seems to think she is Grace Kelly! She is sporting her glasses on her first morning out to Yellowstone…

Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park. This area of the park is home to several of Yellowstones largest wolf packs, the Druid Pack and the Slough Creek Pack.

Mommy and Abby in Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. Can you see Abby’s adorable bunny slippers? They were a gift from Great Grandma Prueter, Aunt Diane and Uncle Barry and they looked absolutly adorable on her tiny little feet!

Other then that, we have been settling in and trying to get everything unpacked. Abby’s room is still the area were we have our boxes stored, but Shaun emptied a lot while we were away! Hopefully we will have it cleared and can set up Abby’s own room soon. It will be nice once Abby can have an official nursery of her her own!

Grandma Prueter

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For all of you that know my Grandma Prueter, please wish her a fast and speedy recovery! Last Wednesday she fell at home and broke her hip. She had to have a partial hip replacement, but from what I have been told is healing well. They had her up an moving the day after surgery and she should be home from the hospital now. What a bummer, but she did great and I am sure will be back to her normal self in no time. I will keep you posted on her recovery!

Catching Up After the New Year!

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Greetings and Happy New Year!

Well I said I would get everyone caught up on what has happened since I last posted and that is what I plan to do. I think I have basically left everything out from Thanksgiving until now. So here I go!
Thanksgiving in the Wharton house was quiet, fairly uneventful and wasnt even spent at home! I think after moving, adding Abigail to the family and not being completely settled yet made us want some quiet time away from it all. So there wasn’t too much to report there. It was nice to have some quiet time with Abigail and Shaun and just forget the stress we have been under.

Abigail seemed to enjoy her time, although she slept a lot. We helped her celebrate her First Thanksgiving by dressing her in her cute little turkey “onsie”. Hehe… our little butterball!


Before we knew it Thanksgiving quickly slipped by and all of a sudden Christmas was upon us. This year Christmas felt a little detached for me, as we were still in housing limbo, my parents were far away and it was the first without my Grandpa Prueter. It hit me hard and for the first time in my life, I actually had the blues at Christmas. I was determined, however, to keep the blues from getting the best of me. I continuously reminded myself that this was Abigails’s First Christmas and it would be a joyous occasion. Which it was.

Christmas Eve was spent at Mary and Tom’s (Shaun’s Aunt and Uncle, mine too now!). It was wonderful to visit with family and see all of the Oliver’s and Wharton’s together. After the party we came home and I stayed up way too late packing and getting ready for our getaway(more about that later!). It was our plan to leave early in the morning the day after Christmas and I knew Christmas day would be a busy one. I also had to throw in some holiday baking and try out the recipe that Patrick gave me for Molasses Cookies. They came out great and made some wonderful snacks on the road. Thank you Patrick and thank you Grandma Pat.

Abigail, dressed completely in red and looking a lot like Santa’s little helper in her red Santa boots, gets ready to leave her first of many Christmas Eve parties at Mary and Toms. By the time we got home she was passed out and ready for Santa to come!

Christmas day started off at a decent hour. Give it a few more years and I am sure that wont be the case! We opened presents at home and enjoyed our version of a Christmas tree. We opened gifts from my side of the family and all I have to say is that Abigail beat both Shaun and I in regards to the gifts under the tree, not that there was a competition! Daddy also gave her a very special gift from Tiffany’s. The first piece of jewelry a little girl receives should always come from her daddy. Now she has something very special to wear when she gets older. It was so wonderful to spend this time with Abigail and I know we will cherish her first Christmas always! Jack even enjoyed the day too and got a stocking full of toys from Grandma Taylor as well.

Its hard to see it among the presents but there is a little tiny tree in there somewhere.

Even though Abigail is far too young to remember or understand Christmas, it certainly looks as though she had a lot of fun! It was all of the bright colored wrapping paper.


After opening presents at home, we headed over to Patrick and Fiona’s house to celebrate. We had a wonderful breakfast complete with sausage, bacon, danishes, and Fiona’s famous egg souffle. Abigail received several books and outfits from the family and an absolutely adorable dress from her Aunt Brittany. James and his girlfriend Samantha were there as well and spent plenty of time holding and playing with Abigail. Although it seems that James always makes her cry!! (Just Kidding..its a bit of an inside joke.) I think Abigail is loved by all and I know as she grows older and understands it more, she will appreciate it and love every moment of it.

Uncle James certainly loves his niece! Its show in the amount of time he likes to spend with her and hold her. He also seems to like to share things with her like Grandpa’s new hat! She’s too cute!

The Wharton’s together at Christmas! Unfortunately Brittany was unable to be in the picture, that’s OK though, well get one of all of us soon!

After we had brunch with everyone, we made our way to the final house of the day. Around 4pm we arrived at Zoe’s house ready to make a tasty and simple Christmas dinner. Shaun and I worked in the kitchen making the stuffing and mashed potatoes while Grandma Zoe had the chance to spend some time with Abigail. We ate a lovely dinner and then opened gifts afterward. Abigail received a handsome amount of clothing, books and toys from Grandma Zoe. She’s set for quite some time! More importantly though is the amount of love that she is given. That is truly what makes Christmas special. That night we spent time together until about 9 or 10pm and then had to head home. Shaun had planned a getaway to Park City Utah for us and we needed to finish packing.

Not sure what this was all about… but I think it has something to do with the shirt…


Grandma Zoe and Abigail… look they match!

The next morning, Shaun and I jumped into the car with Abigail in tow and headed toward Park City. It was a bittersweet trip as I was excited to go but I also knew that even though we wouldn’t be far from Montana, we wouldn’t have the chance to visit with my parents due to their schedules and the fact that this trip was planned at the last minute. The drive through California and Nevada was nice, just a little bit of snow on the ground. Just outside of Las Vegas we stopped for a break and it started to hail and snow for a little while.

Across the California desert… the moutains appear to be getting a bit of snow!

Crossing over into Nevada… this is the first time that Abigail has been out of state! Only 3 months old and a national traveler!

Just outside of Mesquite Nevada, Shaun let me open a pressent he had placed under the tree with a note attached, banning me from opening it until we arrived in Park City. It was a little purple box, beautifully wrapped I might add. When I opened it I found a little scroll inside and the message the scroll contained blew me away. Shaun had written a note, letting me know that we werent going to Park City at all. We were actually on our way to Montana to see my parents!! He got me good!! Apparently everyone else knew about this, except for me! Unfortunatly we were driving when it happened so he was unable to take pictures or video of my reaction, but lets just say that I was at a loss for words, aside from saying “really??”, over and over again. Yes I cried… but most of you already knew that. It was the best Christmas gift ever! That night we stayed in Salt Lake City and the next day Shaun planned to drive from Salt Lake City to Bozeman.

The trip to see my parents was incredible! The weather going up was a bit crazy at times, but we survived. We arrived in Bozeman late Saturday night and the next morning we were over at their house with bells on. Even though it was a few days late, we had the traditional Christmas breakfast of German Pancakes and enjoyed each others company. Mom, Dad, and Jillian had the entire day to cuddle, hold and play with Abigail. They even had the chance to babysit Abby while Shaun and I took a drive. We ended up in Trident, which is the headwaters of the Missouri River. The Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison Rivers come together to form the beautiful Missouri river. This time we had the chance to see it completely frozen over! Seeing them spend the holidays with Abby, especially her first, made my heart soar. Shaun is the best husband in the world for giving such a gift.

Interstate 15, North of Tremonton… trust me it was worse then this, but I wasnt thinking about my camera or pictures at that point!

Stopping to get a bite to eat in Pocatello… in the Jack in the Box parking lot. Hey when you need to eat, you need to eat!
All bundled up and warm.. which is good considering its only abut 10 degrees out! Her cozy sleeper was a Christmas present from daddy! He did a great job picking something out for her! She’s adorable!

The Headwaters of the Missouri River… completely frozen over.

Me…

Shaun…

The next day, Grandma Prueter, Aunt Diane, Uncle Barry and Mike (who was visiting for the holidays as well) came over from Anaconda to visit and have lunch. We went over to the Baxter Hotel in downtown Bozeman to Ted’s (Ted Turner’s restaurant). We had a lovely lunch and enjoyed each others company. Abigail did a wonderful job and was a little lady when it came to sitting in the restaurant. Grandma Prueter was very proud and extremely happy to get the chance to see Abigail again.

Great Grandma Prueter getting the chance to spend some time with Abigail… such a special moment!

Aunt Diane (Great Aunt Diane to Abigail if you want to get technical) spends a little quality time with Abigail.

Shaun and Abigail laughing it up. What a cute smile! She is growing so fast, its hard to believe it!

Mike, Jillian and Shaun at Ted’s in the old Baxter Hotel.

The rest of the trip was spent hanging out and enjoying family. We didnt really do too much, but that was all I could ask for. We had talked about driving out to the road through Yellowstone that goes out to Cook City, but the weather stopped usfrom doing so. One night Shaun and I ran to Target while the Taylor’s spent more time with the little one. We went into the store with chilly but nice weather. When we left, you could barely see out through the front doors. Within a half an hour a major storm blew through causing a blizzard. It was a fun ride back to my parents house!

My parents street after only about 45 minutes of the blizzard… it was lots of fun!

Abigail sitting with her Grandpa Taylor, doing one of two things… 1. attempting to eat the cupcake on her shirt or 2. staring at her little toes and trying to figure out how to reach them. She’s only 3 months old, what do you think she is actually doing?

On New Years Eve, we jumped into the car (me with tears in my eyes) and headed home. Our intent was to stay in Jackson Hole that night, but unfortunately the weather prevented that as well. Pesky snow! Instead we stayed in Pocatello, Idaho. This did work out though, as it allowed us to stop in and visit with Grandma Pat, who was absolutely thrilled to visit with us and meet her great granddaughter for the first time. That night we stayed in Las Vegas and ended up there for two nights due to holiday traffic.

Abigail and Great Grandma Pat meet for the first time. Grandma Pat looked so happy to have us there. Put a smile on my face!


Coming home was bittersweet but I felt blessed that I have a husband who was so thoughtful. It truly made my 2008 end with a bang and start off my 2009 with nothing but love and a smile on my face. Happy NewYear!!

Introducing….

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Well the day finally came! Shaun and I are proud to announce the birth of our little girl! Abigail Denise Wharton was born on October 1, 2008 at 7:25pm. She was 7 pounds 7 ounces and 19 inches long. Abigail was born happy, healthy and absolutely perfect!

I know it has been a while since we posted last, but life has been super busy. In the end Shaun and I had less time then we expected to prepare for Abby’s arrival. On September 24th, I went in for my weekly check up. At this point I was 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant. Everything was on track and it looked like Abby would be born close to the original due date of October 13th. When Dr. Freedman went to measure my belly like normal, I had grown exponentially since my appointment the week before and you could literally see an outline of her. Let me tell you, I had noticed it but thought it was normal. Dr.Freedman seemed concerned that she was running out of room and that by the time I found myself at the end of my pregnancy, Abby would be too big to deliver the traditional way. What all of this meant was that he wanted to induce labor and deliver her early to save me from any problems.

I went into the office again on Monday September 29th, 2008 and after an exam and a look at the most recent ultrasound Dr. Freedman felt I needed to either induce or schedule a C-Section. I wanted to stay away from surgery if possible, but wanted to make sure I was doing what was best for Abby. I went home and took the evening to decide what I wanted to do. The next day, September 30th, I called the office and the next thing I knew I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 8pm that evening to start a two step induction. What a whirlwind!!

After we dropped Jack off at Zoe’s house, we headed to the hospital ready to have a baby! I was nervous, but excited and I was hoping that everything went well. As we pulled up to the hospital, “Crush” by Dave Matthews Band popped on to the radio. From that point on, I knew the evening was going to be a good one, no matter what happened. You have to know me well to understand why. 🙂

After we checked in, hospital bands were on, trapped in those fantastic hospital gowns, and the induction had started it was now time to wait! As it turns out, when we began the first step of the induction I was already 2 centimeters dilated. Things were looking great! Over time, there was some progress but it was slow. Once I reached about 3-4 centimeters, the pitocin was introduced and we hoped that things would progress quickly. Around 2am, the contractions became more then I could handle and it was definitely time for the epidural. From that point on, things moved very slow and by 6pm the next day, October 1st, Dr. Freedman felt that things would not happen the way we hoped and that a C-Section was the best option. So at 6:50pm I was rolled from my room in Labor and Delivery to the Operative Delivery Room. At 7:00pm, after the epidural was intensified and I was hooked up to every piece of machinery known to man, surgery began. At exactly 7:25pm our little girl was born. I waited, holding my breath until I heard her cry for the first time and when I did, the tears started. Dont worry, they were tears of happiness and joy and the overwhelming realization that I was now a mother and Shaun was now a father.

Shaun stayed with Abby after she was born, cutting her umbilical cord and following her to the nursery as they put me back together again. Once I was in recovery, he came back to me and stayed by my side the entire time I was at the hospital. The 4 days I spent in the hospital were restful and honestly wonderful. My parents made it into town by 1:30am, driving in from Bozeman Montana. I had the chance to visit with them as well as my in-laws and friends and family. The nurses were wonderful and I have to say I love my doctor and his colleague who took wonderful care of me before, during and after Abby’s birth.

On Sunday October 5th, Shaun and I loaded up the car and headed home with our new little girl. I am still at home recovering and honestly I am starting to go stir crazy. The only trips I have made were to the hospital to make sure that Abby’s slight case of jaundice was under control and to Dr. Freedman’s to make sure I was healing ok and to remove my staples. I cant wait to be back on my feet and to the point where we can go out with Abby. Until then, Shaun and I are at home dealing with sleep deprivation and enjoying the new little miracle in our life!

Despite the lack of sleep, life doesnt get better then this!