THE WERTZ FAMILY

Fall Photo Session! Pictures only!

2009-09-20T13:34:00.016-05:00

Dance Week Three

2009-09-15T20:32:00.007-05:00

Finishing her flip

Starting her flip

Uneven bars

Waiting her turn

Trampoline time!

Balance Beam

Pom Pom time

Being a ballerina

Baton along with tap
Headstand

Tap / Baton video and Pom Pom video. Enjoy! I know I did.

2009-09-12T15:52:00.004-05:00

Ok, so long time no post. Not much has been going on except for a vacation to North Carolina, but if you have access to facebook you have already seen those pictures so I will just post the Abby post. She started dance two weeks ago and so far seems to be having fun. She was in the Sherwood pageant today and won the best personality award! She was so cute on the stage. She seemed to have a blast. She has gotten real shy lately so I was kind of worried about how she would be on stage, but she turned on the charm! I guess I shouldn't worry about the dance recital in May. She is growing up so fast, there are times I miss my little cuddle bug but I love her personality and the little lady she is turning into!

My favorite picture of us girls!

We are truely enjoying watching this little girl grow up! I can't imagine what she will be / do when she is grown up but I have a feeling she will be the leader of the pack and I know that she will be able to do whatever she puts her mind to. She is very determined and very independent and I love that about her!

2009-09-12T15:29:00.002-05:00

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-03T23:17:00.002-05:00

I took Abby to the big fireworks show here in Jacksonville tonight and she had a blast. The chior's were amazing. the military show was wonderful and she had a blast. Here are some pics of the princess and the show.

This is a memorial for all the fallen Arkansas soldiers in the war. There were 99 flags, one for each soldier and their picture was on each stand in front of the flags. How moving are these images.

Taking it all in.

HE DID IT

2009-06-18T09:12:00.001-05:00

Just a quick post to announce that Barry made Tech Sgt!!!!!!! Congratulations honey, we knew you could do it and we are all so very proud of you!

HOT summer weekend

2009-05-31T20:12:00.004-05:00

Well, another weekend another day at the ballpark. On Saturday Tyson had a regular season game in Sherwood and he pitched the entire game. They ended up loosing 10-9, but man Tyson looked so good. While we were at the park a little boy kept following Abby around. Not sure if he wanted to play with her or eat her popcorn but it was cute none the less. I think they were even talking to one another, but I could not make out what they were saying. Can you see the boy sitting down behind her, that is the culprit! It was so hilarious. Now, I kept sunblock on her the entire time, but I probably should have put a little on myself as well.

Here is Tyson up to bat. I can't believe this is the same little boy I used to take to t-ball practive five years ago.

Following Tyson's game we went to Barry's softball tournament on base and Abby discovered what fun it is to play in the dirt. Her white shirt was brown by the time we left there. Then we went home and she finally got a nap and while this was going on Tyson was in Lonoke playing a double header for his All Star tournament. That is right once again he is an all star player! I am so proud of my little man.

At Barry's evening game I wasn't sure if Abby would want to eat chicken nuggets or a cheeseburger so I got her a little of everything and she ate half of all of it.

Tyson eating a watermelon after splashing in the pool with Abby in our front yard this afternoon.

Abby and her watermellon

Being cheesey before bed time.

And, after a long weekend of playing around outside and forgetting how her feet work, this is what my precious princesses legs look like. Poor child she looks like she is abused. I hate that, but let me tell you I am putting balm on those poor knees all the time to try to keep them protected. Can't do much about the bruising however.

Hope you all had a great weekend. I am sitting outside drinking my coke zero and getting eaten alive, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Just a little Kris Allen for your pleasure!

2009-05-09T16:54:00.003-05:00

When he got to town on Friday some girls from work and I went to his concert in Little Rock at the Rivermarket Ampitheater. It was so cool. He is such a nice guy. And so humble and faithful. Not to mention a great representation of the state of Arkansas. Vote for him next week and lets put him on into the top two on American Idol!

2009-05-09T16:30:00.002-05:00

So, last weekend Abigayle and myself went to Texarkana for a wedding shower down in Marshall. We had a great time and actually got back from Marshall about ten minutes before a storm hit that knocked out power and blew down trees! Here are some pictures of the area around my parents house. If you can tell in the picture there is a tree down across the road, have no fear, my dad took care of that as soon as the storm was over! Have to love people in the Country, they can do it for themselves. You can see how much rain they got as their pool is up at the top.

My mom, Sami (the bride!), myself and Abby

Here is Abby at chic fil a, I swear they have the best playgrounds around!! It has rained in Arkansas for eight straight days now (See Lauren, you left just in time) and it is currently raining again. Hard to believe right! I don't know how any of the creeks are going to hold it all. the river is up higher than I have ever seen it before.

I am not sure what my dad told her here, but whatever it was she did not like it.

We stopped by my mom's office when we first got into town and she had a good time playing office worker!

Hello, mimi's office. Can I help you?

Bows and big girls

2009-04-26T10:52:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to say that I have been making bows for Abby and here is a picture of the ones that I made for her this weekend. I also learned something very important this weekend...Abby can get out of her crib. Now, I am not talking falling out, I am talking the past two mornings I won't hear a sound on the monitor but then I will hear her door open to her bedroom and the pitter patter of little feet as she runs down the hallway. When she gets to my room she runs around to my side of the bed and says "mornin mamma!" I LOVE IT. I don't however love the fact that apparently my little baby is growing up. I don't love the fact that I am going to have to get her a big girl bed, and I don't love that fact that I know don't know that she is safe all night and protected in her little area! I guess that is part of them growing up...but I think I need another house, a larger house, I need another baby! Wait, maybe not....but maybe. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Oh my Oh my Oh my

2009-04-26T10:44:00.002-05:00

Tyson had a game yesterday and when he was in the dugout between innings Abby was handing him popcorn one kernal at a time. They won their game 9-7 and Tyson was 2 for 2 and had 4 outs credited to him. He had a great game and my mom and dad came up to watch him play. After the game Mimi and Pops took us to lunch at Chilis and we had a great visit! Too bad Barry is in Dallas this weekend playing in a softball tournament for the base team, he sure missed some good food and family time!Tyson at Chilis, such a cute smile!

Abby and her sweet tea, she is truely southern to her core!

I had the sunblock with me, but I failed to use it as the wind had a chill to it and the sun kept going behind the clouds...nonetheless I should have, but all in all I truely have a redneck daughter at the moment~She will survive!

2009-04-22T21:12:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from tonight at the park when I got off work! We had so much fun. After dinner Abby got her bath and then when wrapped in her towel we went outside to watch Barry and Tyson playing baseball. She wanted to be sat down and as soon as she was out of my grasp she stripped off the towel and ran naked toward her daddy! It was hilarious. The neighbors were laughing hysterically and I was just like, only in the south! So precious. I am not posting the pictures that I took, however they will be saved and used as blackmail when she is older!

Play time!

2009-04-17T19:21:00.007-05:00

The weather was so nice today so Barry and the kids went for a long walk today and when I got home we all played outside, Abby played with her soccer ball and Barry and Tyson played basketball. Abby really enjoyed watching them play ball. She is still running the house like a woman on a mission (that mission being to avoid bed at all costs)! They have started to help at daycare and she is now "old enough" to be potty trained. Now, she has been doing it at home off and on for several months now but at the daycare they are working with her now and have been for about two weeks now. They said that she is doing well and goes once a day but the rest of the time she wants to just go in there and "fush the t-o-i-l-e-t". That is how she says it. You have to stress the word toilet. She is getting so big! Anyway, enjoy the pictures and the video below. We are supposed to get some rain tomorrow so it might be a rainy day spent at the Jacksonville library. Hope you all have a great weekend! Oh, I could make some cupcakes....haven't done that in a while. Soccer ball time. On the front porch where it is safe with boards and the ball won't go anywhere.

I am always behind the camera so we managed to snag one of the ladies of the house.

Tyson making a basketball shot

Easter morning

2009-04-13T21:10:00.002-05:00

Abby in her sailor dress and new white shoes for Easter servies! The rest of the pictures are just of the kids with their Easter baskets. I almost want to give them to the kids on the night before as to not take away from the reason why we celebrate Easter. Hell hath been defeated...the grave could not hold the KING!

Look mimi!

Barry, Tyson and Abby

Find those eggs

2009-04-13T21:02:00.003-05:00

On Saturday morning we went to Cornerstone Baptist for an egg hunt, lunch and the story of Easter. Lunch after working so hard to get the eggs

Look!

On the go

Cheese Tyson

Steve was reading the story of Easter and Jesus' Resurection to the children prior to the egg hunt!

Mom (mimi), Dad (pops) and Abby looking cheesy!

Jay, Heather, Barry, me, Abby, Chance and Trinity! Heather and I have been friends for over 29 years and it is so great that we can now watch our kids play together and do things. I love it!

Abby's birthday party in Texarkana

2009-04-13T20:57:00.003-05:00

Well, Abby turned two on March 30th so we did her birthday party this Easter weekend in Texarkana. She had lots of presants (can't wait to get that Texas Longhorns rocking chair set up in her room mom!) and clothes galore! She had so much fun! The date on the pictures is wrong as you can tell! But more importantly...look at that hair!

Happy birthday my singing princess! your father and I love you very much and are blessed every day to have you in our lives! You are a wonderful little girl and we only grow to love you more each passing day.

Spring photo session

2009-04-04T22:53:00.004-05:00

So, Spring is in the air and Easter is just a week away so me and the kids and Barry headed to the lake on the base to see if we could get some good pics of the kids. Not much else to post, it has been a nice quiet week. Tyson finally finished up is tournament today and after two games they took fourth place. He is getting a lot more confident at the plate. It will take some adjusting I am sure as this is his first year with live arm pitching, but he is doing so well and playing first base! Today is my grandmothers birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA. We will be with my family next weekend for Easter and I am so happy. I feel like it has been forever since I have seen them. Have a great week.

My favorite one of the day!

Happy Birthday Abby!

2009-03-30T20:09:00.003-05:00

Well, today our little baby girl turned two years old. I still can't believe that two years have gone by since that wonderful day when we had her. She is now talking non stop and is doing really well at the potty training all of a sudden. It is like a light went off. She will randomally stop, take her diaper off (or pull up) and then say potty and take off. You have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she isn't taking her pants off in the middle of the living room because you could potentially end up with a puddle. We had a great evening. She had cake and we sang to her and she got lots of tinker bell gifts and some new books. She loves books! I am just amazed everyday by her intelligence and thank God everyday for the precious gift that he sent to us. Thank you for reading and enjoy the pictures of the beautiful little two year old that is now sleeping soundly in her bed. Canb you tell that she really loves her tinkerbell?

She was opeining her gift here.

Here is her new monkey book.

She got a new etch a sketch that has tinkerbell on the edges and a book to teach you how to draw

I can do it

Her Aunt Michelle got her a tinkerbell also!

Little fingers in the icing.....lol

Here we were getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to her and she can sing it as well but she always sings Happy Birthday to Daddy when she does it because Barry's birthday was last week so she heard us sing it that way and now that is how she thinks that it goes.

Our trip in a nutshell....

2009-03-29T16:22:00.002-05:00

We had a great time at Aunt Vicki's and Uncle Buds house in Virginia. Abby and Tyson got to play the piano with Aunt Vicki and we had some wonderful food! Thank you guys for being such gracious hosts! We were tired by the time we got there because Abby was in our room sleeping with us the entire trip so we weren't getting much sleep as we could hear her every move and she could see us so every time she would wake up she ended up sleeping with us. She was not sleeping very well either. Last night we were home finally and she slept wonderfully in her own room again! That means that barry and I got some much needed rest as well. In DC we walked the mall and the weather was so wonderful. The sun was shining and it was around 65 degrees! Perfect. The cherry blossoms were out and we had a great time. I think that one of my favorit places was the FDR memorial (see pics below) and the worst was the WWI memorial. I am calling it the forgotten memorial. We have had some great times with family over the past week and I am glad to be back home and getting settled back into our routine. I think we made the right call to come home on Saturday and not Sunday as we had all day today to just relax (and do load after load of laundry). Tyson had his first baseball game of the season today in a pre season tournament and they won 19-2. He also got conned by Abby to help her paint her toenails. Hope you all had a fun week like we did but is back to daily life for us and I can't wait to get back to work tomorrow! Have a good week everyone and pray for me because Abby turns 2 tomorrow! Where does the time go?

WWI

2009-03-29T16:17:00.004-05:00

See the WWI Memorial, this is off the path and completely forgotten! I couldn't believe that after seeing all of the other sites that this one was allowed to get this way! I am thinking about sending these pictures to my elected Senators from Arkansas and trying to get something started. I am not sure if this is the one that Tom Hanks is working to get redone as well or not but something needs to be done. This was a historic war for America and I can not believe that this is what the memorial has been reduced to. You can see where mildew is on the marble because they have not cleaned it. There are not any stone paths to the memorial, they are dirt tracks and the surroundings are completely overgrown. I was not amused by this one at all. I was not moved, I was saddened and not in the way that you should be saddened but saddened in a peeved way at the condition of this memorial.

Franklin Roosevelt's Memorial

2009-03-29T16:09:00.003-05:00

Arlington

2009-03-29T15:43:00.005-05:00

The soldiers are still standing at attention ready for service. If you notice if you ever have the honor of going to Arlingtion National Cemetary the rows of soldiers are line in perfect rows from any direction that you look at them because they are made to look as if they are always to be ready for service. There were several times walking around the cemetary that I was near tears if I was not crying at the moment because it is just so powerful to look at the sheer scope of the lives of those who have died so that we may be free. Let us always remeber the importance of our men and women in uniform and honor them and thank them. The ampitheatre attached to the tomb of the unknown soldier.

We were lucky enough to bear witness to the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. That was a moving ceremony to watch.

Robert Kennedy's grave just below that of his brother, President John F. Kennedy

The wall surrounding JFK's grave

Kennedy actually picked out this spot in a way when he went to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier and as he was walking around the cemetary he came upon this location and upon standing there turned and noticed you could see the Washington Monument and all of DC and it was peaceful and quiet and beautiful. He sated that he could spend eternity in that one spot so when he was laid to rest that is just what his wife did, she laid him where he could always watch out over the city that he so dearly loved.

Trolly Tour

2009-03-29T15:36:00.003-05:00

Union Station Capitol

Grammy (Barry's mom) and Abby with Grammy's sunglasses on

White House

The Original Smithsonian

The trolly tour took us all around. We walked the mall but took it to go to Arlington and the White House. We had so much fun. You could not have asked for a better day.

Washington Monument

2009-03-29T15:32:00.001-05:00

World War II Memorial

2009-03-29T12:16:00.004-05:00

The Vietnam Wall

2009-03-29T12:10:00.003-05:00

The Lincoln Memorial

2009-03-29T12:01:00.003-05:00

Here is the Lincoln Memorial. It was so amazing! I was just in awe over the entire trip. Tyson and Abby had a blast.

The Korean Memorial

2009-03-29T11:46:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of the Korean War Memorial. This one was very moving. We had such a good time. There are 19 Statutes and with their reflection in the granite it makes for the image of 38 soldiers representing those that came home and the shadows of the ones that are not home. There was a refecting pool and the wall of images.

If you Build it

2009-03-26T21:21:00.008-05:00

Here is a shot of Uncle Bud, he hates to have his picture taken, but Tyson managed to snap one of him anyway! He works on Harley's for the Washington DC Police Department. Love him. Here is another picture courtesy of Tyson of his Pap in the recliner fixing the slinky that they kids stretched out so far and then got it all tangled up.

Here is a picture of Abby with Casey and Casey is sitting down a little bit so you can't really see that she is as tall as Abby is!

We told Abby that we were going to go shopping and she got her purse. If you ask any good stylish almost two year old what they need in their purse it is a pair of sunglasses and a binky and that is exactly what she has in her purse! So cute.

Another Tyson picture he cut of Barry's head, but that is ok. We don't mind at all.

We went to the mall here in Virginia where we are staying with Aunt Vickie and Uncle Bud and we took Abby to the Build a Bear workshop for her birthday bear and she immediatley picked out a monkey...shocker! It is pink with hearts and a white belly. She named her Maggi the Monkey and it even has velcro paws! I love it. She did adopt it and the stats are that it was born today and it is 19 inches long and weighs 6.7 ounces and has pink hair and black eyes. They guy running the cash register even put in hairbows for her (they didn't last long). She toted the monkey around and we didn't think that she was going to let the lady stuff her because she would have to relinquish the monkey, but she did!

Here is a shot of Abby and Barry pressing the peddle to start filling up Maggi. After the fill up she got to kiss the heart and put the heart in Maggi. It was so cute! This is her first build a bear and I have a feeing that we will be going back several times this year to do a few more, we all had so much fun.

Here is Abby with a finished Maggi! She is telling the lady thank you in case you are wondering what she is doing!

Here is a shot of Tyson with his new Penn State hat purchased by his Grammy and Pap for his birthday he also got some new clothes and so did Abby for their birthdays. We had a good trip to the mall and a great trip to the museums today and can't wait until tomorrow to do the tour and get to see all the sites! Enjoy your Friday everyone. I will leave you with Tyson's smiling face!

Smithsonians

2009-03-26T15:35:00.005-05:00

So, we went into the city today and first we went to the Museum of American History and then we walked all around downtown and then we went to the Museum of Natural History. Below are some shots of the museums. We had a great time and I have all the pics on my myspace page if anyone wants to see all of them. We are now back at Aunt Vicki's and are going to go to the city again tomorrow and do a tour of all of the major sites. It is cherry blossom festival time and the trees are so pretty. We are having a blast and I am sad to have to come home on Saturday but I know that I need to get back to work and Abby needs to get back into a routine. Abby is doing really well and Aunt Vicki has a greyhound named Tina and a huge Labordoodle named Casey. I will try to get a good picture of Abby with the dogs so that you can see just how big they are they are so cute! Abby loves them. Also they have a slinky, remember those? Well, they have a regular one and a small one and Abby and Tyson have been playing with them and having fun with those. I am going to be sad to see this trip end, but grateful to be back in my bed! Enjoy the pictures.

After the diamond, someone sacked out.

The Hope Diamond, who wants to buy this for me?

Watch out Tyson

Barry, Tyson and Abby in the Museum of Natural History Just nice, couldn't tell you what building that is but I loved the shot so here it is. I am going to turn abunch of these into black and whites and then put them in a phot book.

Museum of Natural History, we were also at the one on American History

The old Post Office, beautiful isnt' it

Post Office

The dress that Laura Bush wore at the Inagural Ball in 2001

Sweet ride, maybe Abby's first car, I know that this one would be safe for her...or is it that it would be safe for all the other drivers?

A picture of me in the Smithsonian on the Natural History

Here is a picture of Barry, Tyson and Abby in front of the Washington Monument.

And finally, a shot of the Treasury Department, think anyone is working in there or are they all just taking a nap?

Running Wild in Pennsylvania

2009-03-24T22:20:00.011-05:00

She shoots she scores! A friendly game of air hockey with her dad! IT was so cute, the little diva kept getting closer and closer to her dad and his goal! We have had such a good time and are sad that we can't see everyone more often, maybe we can get them to Arkansas more often as well! Tomorrow night we will be headed to Virginia to stay with Uncle Bud and Aunt Vicki and then Thursday and Friday it is tours of Washington DC, and the cherry blossom festival is in full effect so we should have a good time amongst all of the other tourist that will the coving the city! This is what it looks like when someone gets into your make up bag and finds the darker shades of eye shadow. The bump on her nose if from a slip and fall on the stairs. it really looks worse than it is. When I took her upstaris to the bathroom to wash her face she looked in the mirror and started to cry and was going "what happened?" I told her that I didn't do it and that she was the one that put on the make up and she said fix it and then she called me a bad mommy for her face! How funny! She is just full of spunk and always surprising me with all that she can say and everything that she knows.

Abby has her Pap Pap wrapped around her little fingers! She hasn't seen him since last year when we were up here for his wife, our Grammy's funeral but she remembered her Pap Pap and had him playing with elephants with her and his was laughing at her resolve and determination not to go to sleep.

After our visit with Pap Pap we stopped by the Spring Dam there in Roaring Spring and the kids fed the fishes and the ducks. We even saw three ducks gang up on another one and keep pushing his head under water and biting him! I soon found myself joing in with the kids shouting out "stop it ducky, mean ducky and bad ducky" Abby and I couldnt understand why the ducks were ganging up on the little guy, but we sure didn't like it and we wanted it to stop! I had to just laugh at myself when the little guy got away because I sounded like a little kid! But, I hated to see that and didn't want anything to happen to the little one because he was cute and the pond was plenty big enough for them all!

After feeding the ducks and the fish we walked around the park and we found a tree with a bunch of carvings and found where Barry's grandfather had carved his initials in the tree HRSlim in 1943! Amazing! You have to love that you can randomally look at a tree and find the carvings of your grandfather! After our visit with Pap Pap and our trip to the park to feed the animals we made a stop by the cemetary to visit the grave of Grammy. It has almost been a year since she has passed and I am glad that we were able to visit with family this trip under better circumstances.

Missy and Bill cooked dinner for the family tonight so we were down there for supper. Their daughter Brooke is only 9 months old and went to bed early. When she was down Abby decided that she needed to play on the jumparoo that was Brooke's. There is video that I will post. It was hilarious as she is way too big to be in this thing, but she was having such a good time. Check out the video posted below and how do you love this hair! Hilarious right! Thanks MiMi for that one.

Abby really loves her Uncle Alan and didn't want him to be out of her sight when ever he was around. Tonight was the last night we would get to see him. Good luck on your exam on Friday Alan!

And after all today's excitement I am pround to report that she is finally asleep for the evening. It is yet to be determined if she will end up in bed with Barry and I again, I can't wait to have a full evening with the bed to myself again (well and with Barry I guess!) but at the same time I really don't mind having her little sassy self cuddled up with me at night. I feel like I am protecting her all night long when she is with me in bed. I love it. It is also making me think, maybe she is ready for a big girl bed even if I am not ready for her to have one yet!

2009-03-22T20:57:00.007-05:00

Part one of our trip was our flights. The first flight was from Little Rock to Memphis and then from Memphis to Pittsburgh. On the first flight (it was 45 minutes late!) Abby did real well, we thought that she would sleep seeing as how it was scheduled to leave at 6:45 a.m. so we were up and out of the house at 5, but no sleeping for the interested Abby! She has always enjoyed flying so I was not all that shocked, but still thought that she would go to sleep, but she was having none of that. On the second flight she was getting a little tired, but she still would not fall asleep. We left her in her pajamas for the first flight but for the second we finally got her dressed once we realized that she was not going to be going to sleep. The flights were nice and smooth and no complications! I would have liked to have taken a nap, but that wasn't going to happen. This will be out last trip where she gets to fly free so I enjoyed having her in my lap when she was sitting with me! When we got to Pittsburgh we passed Heinz Field and I got a shot as we drove by. We decided that since we were in Pittsburgh we would give the kids a chance to stretch their legs and we went to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. It was nice, but oh so cold!

Oh, and don't tell Abby, but her mommy lost her dear puppy in the airport bathroom in Memphis, lost, left whatever...but we had several back ups and so far she hasn't asked for it, but we did buy her a new penguin at the aquarium so maybe that will make up for some of my idiocies.

Barry got this shot of the jellyfish, looks really neat.

Tyson in front of the shark tank, there was such a glare from the windo that you really can't see what all was in the tank but all the pics are posted on my myspace page.

Looks like the shark has something in its sights.....

Check out those teeth! Does anyone else seem to hear the theme song from Jaws right about now?

Once we left the aquarium and zoo we headed to Barry's parents house, we thought that Abby would sleep in the car, but not so fast...she still wasn't going down. By this time is is 4 Eastern time and 3 Central time and still not going down. Here is a picture of Abby, her cousin Brooke (9 mos old) and her cousin Westin (18 mos old). They are so cute watching them together.

Abby and Westin she hasn't seen him since December and she was so glad to get to see him again. It was all love and hugs....yea rightHere is Abby with her Pap Pap, we haven't seen him since last April when we were in PA for Grammy's funeral. He seems to be doing really well, but you can tell he misses her so much, it is almost one year since she has passed. Abby was playing catch with him and he was getting the best giggles out of her and I think that made her day.

Brad and Amber brought up Easter baskets for the kids and we hid Easter eggs outside. The sun was shining (but it was so cold!) This is on Saturday and the kids went out and found Easter eggs. Abby had a much better understanding of it this year than she did last year and we had so much fun. After the Easter egg hunt we did hamburgers and hot dogs and the rest of the family came in so that we could see everyone. then we did a birthday cake for Abby, Tyson and Barry. that is right a three for one special. They are all March babies so we killed three birds with one stone! Amber got Abby the cutest little Tinkerbell poncho and hat and pajamas! LOVE THEM!

She was more interested in the paper than seeing if there was somethig else in the bag or not.

the aforementioned love I was talking about with Abby and Weston, did not include when they wanted the same rocking chair or the same toy. Not sure who was the overall weekend winner but there was plenty of wrestling to go around, and plenty of kisses and sorrys!

Here is a great picture of the Wertz men, from L to R are Barry, his grandfather John Riley, his dad Barry Wertz, Brad and Weston Wertz and Alan and Tyson Wertz and Bill Hershel (Missy's husband).

On Sunday Abby, Grammy and I went shopping and she got new clothes from Children's Place for her Birthday! They make the cutest stuff. Amber and Brad took Tyson shopping and he wanted to go to the sports store and he got a bunch of underarmor stuff. When he puts it on he looks so skinny! It is so funny. Not sure what the plans are for the rest of the week but I do know that tomorrow we are going to go to visit Pappy at his house and on Tuesday evening we are going to go visit Alan at college and take him to dinner. Wednesday evening we will be driving to Aunt Vicki and Uncle Bud's house on the outskirts of DC and touring the city on Thursday and Friday and then Saturday afternoon we will be flying home from Baltimore! I can't wait to be back hom in my bed and having Abby in her bed because she has not been sleeping well, she has slept with Barry and I the past two nights and we are not exhausted, that girl moves all over the place in her sleep and it is amazing that she gets any rest because of all the moving, but I have never been to DC so that is something that I am really wanting to do! Tyson is learning all about social studies in school this year so he is really anxious to get to DC to see the White House. I will post more later! I am going to go and rest and enjoy the rest of my vacation this week! WOW! A full six days away from work. Hope you all have a wonderful Spring Break, we will, just in cooler temperatures!

Random photo session

2009-03-15T21:11:00.006-05:00

So tonight after the kids had their baths I decided to do a random photo shoot in the living room. Enjoy, I am no photographer, but I had so much fun. I can't believe it but Abby actually did everything I told her to do! How fabulous is that. I am sure that will be a one time thing.

Books Books Books

2009-03-15T20:51:00.005-05:00

On Saturday I decided to take the kids to the new library in Jacksonville and it is so nice. I even got Abby and Tyson their own library cards so they got to check out some books. We were having a nice time until Abby discovered a huge stuffed Clifford dog and then decided that it was hers to take with her. She was draging it all over the place. It was so cute. We had a blast. And, Abby loves to read to so she was super thrilled at all of the buckets on the floor in the childrens section just full of books waiting on her to be able to take them out and read them. Here are some pictures of the library. Abby is growing up so fast. She was sitting in my lap today and she was moving her arms around and she hit me in my nose. then she looked at me and said oh, sorry mommy. then she reached up and kissed me on my nose. How cute is that little girl!

Then on Sunday we had a good time and I got a cute picture of her new toenail polish , she wanted blue. She also played football with her daddy and had a dance session. You can check out all that below. That girl will drop everything to do a little dance! I can't wait until this fall to enroll her in a dance class. That will be so cute.

Also, for several MONTHS now I have been asking Barry to fix out toilet. Nothing major, but you can hear it still trying to run once in a while and finally today he decided to finally fix the toilet and I am so excited about it, I know it is nothing major but I am thrilled. I can keep my bathroom door open if I need to and not worry about the door staying shut so that I dont hear anything anymore.

More Cuteness

2009-03-10T19:25:00.006-05:00

Here is the latest picture from her at daycare. Look at those red lips! It almost looks like she has on make-up but she doesn't. She has a great smile and looks so grown up. Last year at this time when they did their spring pictures we had to stick the bows in her hair because there wasn't any hair to hold them in with and now look at those pig tales!

Here are two more pictures from this weekend. The weather was nice so we were outside the entire weekend and Abby took advantage of that and did alot of swinging. I am going to have to get one of these for our house and and put it in a tree in our yard for her. I can't wait for them to take the cover off of the pool and see how she does this summer. She is just growing so fast...and in two more days Tyson will be 9 years old. So hard to believe.

Here is one of Tyson with my dad practicing with his new riffle. He did so well. Dad is so proud of him and Tyson keeps saying that he is ready to go hunting with his Pops. I can't wait until he can go with him, we just have to get him to sit still long enough so the he wouldn't scare anythig away. Maybe this November he will be able to go...we will see. I will keep you posted on how his hunting skills are coming along!

Here is a picture of Abigayle on the potty tonight...and yes she did go potty. She was cold and wanted her towel to be wrapped around her so we did as we were told. Below is a video of her yelling at her daddy while she was on the potty. It was so cute!

Birthday weekend

2009-03-07T22:10:00.011-06:00

So, we packed up the car and headed to Texarkana this weekend to do a little birthday fun for Tyson I can't believe he is going to be 9! OMG, where does the time go. Oh wait, I am 30 now so I guess some time has gone by. It didn't take Abby long once we got there to get into the swing of things again with her Popa. Man she loves him. We had a great drive down and the weather the entire weekend was great. Well, I shouldn't say the entire weekend as tomorrow it is supposed to rain on our way home, but I have faith that we will have a good trip. Here is a picture of Abby doing what she does best which is sitting with her Popa.

Abby loves to have the windows down so here is a picture of her with the wind blowing in her hair.The next day we went bowling with friends and family. Here is a picture of Uncle Art and Abby at the bowling alley. Here is Abigayle on the floor with a bowling ball and her Mimi helping her. She really wanted to be able to hold it herself and throw it down there but she needed a little help, nonetheless she had a blast. Ready to go

Such a handsome smile. He had so much fun.

Check out his form.

Here is a picture of me and my girl Heather. We have been friends for 30 years now. I love that I have the same friends that I have always had and I just add new ones each year.

Anyway, we had a blast at the bowling alley and needless to say my score was horrible because Abby was "bowling" for me, but we did our time and it was great. Then we went shopping for Tyson to get his new stuff for baseball season this year and man is stuff expensive! Seriously. But, he only gets the best from the family so that was the case as usual. After the shopping trip we came home and played outside with Abby and her new T-ball set. She was loving that and we were loving the fact that we found one with a pink baseball bat! Lauren, you will have to get one of these for Riley! And of course her big brother was very eager to help her out. She is growing up so fast. After some outside baseball playing she was running around outside with her dad and everytime she would see a bird he said that she would let go of his hand and go "here bird...tweet tweet" and try to get it. How cute is that! We saw the most beautiful red birds out in the yard this weekend and it makes me miss my countryness...I know that is not a word, but it should be!

After dinner it was time for cake, or for those that know me well, cupcakes. Then gifts. Tyson really racked in the cash and we promptly took half of it for his money market account. I have faith that the economy will turn so all I can do is continue to keep teaching saving. Then he also got all of his baseball stuff, and this time with the cupcakes I did a chocolate icing and Abby looked like she had been eating a mud pie! That is another southern word for you guys...and then Tyson got the best gift of all from my father (love you dad) my dad made him (and yes I said made him) his very own 22 riffle! Look how beautiful it is.

And here are two of my favorite ones from the weekend because only the few are lucky enough to have a great grandparent around still so here is Tyson and Abigayle with their Nana.

Babysitting

2009-02-21T20:38:00.002-06:00

So, Barry was at a softball tournament on Saturday and I agreed to babysit my neighbour's son Garrett. He is four months old and a doll! Here are some pictures of the eventful evening. When he sat in Abby's bumbo seat she got hysterical and threw a fit! That was her chair and she was going to let everyone know it. She was in no mood to see him in her chair!

Picture of said fit!
Beautiful blue eyes~

She wanted to have her picture taken because I kept taking pictures of Garrett.

She had a bad dream on Thursday night and once we got her calmed down she was sacked out on the couch in the living room and I snapped this picture before we took her back to her bed.

Here is a video of Garrett in his bouncy seat and Abigayle and Tyson with him at the start of the evening.

Smart Baby

2009-02-19T06:26:00.003-06:00

Here is the video or Abby with her flash cards.

Warm spring day in February

2009-02-18T18:53:00.041-06:00

She wanted a picture with her caterpillar.

Her and her brother in the tunnel at the playground today. Their daddy took them to the park because the temps were in the 70's here today! Loved it.
Abby was driving her brother around.

How do you like that static in the hair?

Abby talking to her Aunt Amber, Uncle Brad and cousin Weston! Can't wait to see you guys. Not much longer now.

The other video is of Abby going over her shape flash cards, she is so smart!

Goofing off............

2009-02-17T06:49:00.002-06:00

Potty Time...

2009-02-15T18:45:00.003-06:00

Abby and I decided to go for a walk on Sunday afternoon. She did need her hat, but not her gloves so it took some coaxing to get her to leave them at home.

The best face ever!
So, we have been working on potty training and here is what I came into the bathroom to find. She was on the big potty just sitting there.

Here is a picture of her potty. I only add this because if you can see the three star stickers on the back of the potty those are her rewards for successful pottying. There are smiley face stickers on the bottom of the potty for every time that she tries to go for a reward for her efforts.

This is how you do Valentines Day!

2009-02-15T09:56:00.005-06:00

You prepare the spread and wait for them to show up. We had bacon, eggs, sausage and pancakes and yes, if you can see the pancakes they are in the shape of a heart because I rock like that!

Slaving away on the bacon...Tyson took this picture.
Tearing into the gifts. They did really well. Abby got two new purses, some new panties, a skirt and shirt, a valentines day outfit, a new dress, two pairs of sunglasses, houseshoes a balloon and two pairs of flip flops and Tyson got a new hat, two pairs of flip flops, two pairs of sunglasses, money, balloon, two new shirts and four dvd's. WOW.

Here is apicture from before thery opened their gifts, I love the look on their faces.

Close up of the haul, I forgot that Abby also got a new monkey and a new bear.

Tyson showing off his new aviator shades.

His new hat and the other glasses. He really looks like his Uncle Alan in this picture to me.

Here is Abby in the aforementioned Valentines Day outfit. She even got heart socks. I love the Childrens Place.

After all that you need a good nap

This is how a big girl eats dinner. That is right, at the dinner table with everyone else. She has her bumbo seat in the chair and eats with us. Those things have so many uses and now that she is bigger she is using it as a booster seat. Don't try to take her corn away from her.

And for dinner some yummy yogurt! And FYI....Saturday night she went pee pee in the potty and again on Sunday morning she went pee pee and then poo poo! ALRIGHT!

Happy Birthday Popa!

2009-02-13T23:08:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to tell my dad Happy Birthday today! He is a Valentines baby and that just means more love. We love you!

Oklahoma....

2009-02-08T20:00:00.008-06:00

So, on Saturday me and the kids along with my mother and father loaded up and headed to Oklahoma for my great Aunt's surprise 80th birthday! Now, you must read on a road trip and Abigayle cought up with her gossip by reading the latest issue of People magazine.

Once we got into Oklahoma we made a pit stop to stretch our legs and the rest area had tables that looked like teepes! How cute.

Here is a picture of Abby, Mimi, Tyson and Popa

Me and Abigayle inside the rest stop area.

The light fixtures were made out of antlers and I thought that they looked really beautiful.

Once in Muskogee we were at the hotel getting ready and Abby needed a little help with her shoes so Popa was happy to ablige her.

She really wanted to get at that cake before it was time. Isn't that a great looking cake? It was so good and home made!

Here is Popa and Tyson being cheesy waiting on our dinner.

Sorry, I forgot to get the red eye out.

Here is me and my great aunt. Doesn't she look wonderful for someone turning 80!

Back at home on Sunday Abby and I made another batch of mother daughter

cupcakes and here she is enjoying herself. I was glad because she was not feeling

well all weekend and luckily on Sunday her fever broke and she was back to her

old self again and a happy little girl! Not sure what was wrong with her, but it is all

over now and I am so grateful for that!

Here is a picture of the aforementioned cupcakes. Look good huh?!?!

Here is a picture of Abby ready for bed and holding onto her puppy and her teddy bear. Notice how tired I look, it is called two straight nights and days of a sick child. I am exhausted.

Here is a short video of Abigayle feeling much better!

Super...bowl weekend

2009-02-01T20:47:00.003-06:00

Ok, so on Friday we tried for the earings again. This time went much better because I had Barry with me and together we got it done! Abby cried when they got her but as soon as the lady finished with her earings she looked at herself in the mirror and said thank you. How adorable is that. The lady then told Barry and I that she had never been thanked by a toddler following an ordeal. That is our little girl, so well mannered. I know that she doesn't get that from me! Here is the picture with her and her earings later that evening.

On Saturday Barry had a softball tournament (shocker) and when I got Abby up from her nap all she had on was her pull ups and her shirt and then I turned around and she had run into her brothers room with her boots and put them on. She got them on the right feet and looked so country that I had to take a picture so here you go.

Here is my sassy little girl talking to my mother on the phone and holding her purse. Love it. She will be so girly. And, her toenails are still painted pink, every night she checks them to tell me that they are "still pretty mommy".

Also on Saturday, I asked her to smile for me so that I could get a picture of her and this is the face that I got. But, you can see that the hair is getting longer everyday!

On Sunday afternoon the Bee Movie was on HBO so we were watching it and she loved the Bee. We had to keep telling her ot move back.

Then we went over to my friend "I"s (that is Robin with an I and I was Robyn with a Y from our college days...so long ago) for a superbowl party and Abby was in the guest room at the kids table watching television and coloring with markers. I think that I will be trying to get marker out of her hands for a few days to come.

Here is a great picture of "I" with Abigayle. Love you Robin and it was so great seeing you! Thanks again for having us over...and I know it will happen for you!

Here is a picture of me, Robin and Abby when we were getting ready to leave at halftime...little ones have to go to bed you know!

And Finally, here is one of Barry and I in our steelers gear together and all I have to say is....WAY TO GO PITTSBURGH...good job and a great game and way to earn that 6th victory in a superbowl. You officially have a six pack now! First team to do it! Hope you all had a great weekend. I am headed to Muskogee, Oklahoma next weekend with the kids so wish me luck. We are going with my parents to my aunts surprise 80th birthday party! Woo Hoo. Again, good game Pittsburgh, or as Abigayle calls them "pitbug".

Superbaby part 2

2009-01-28T19:46:00.003-06:00

So, Tyson is seven years older than Abby and my brother is six years older than I am. Now, when I was about two years old my parents came into the living room to find me with a blanket around my neck any my brother filming me as "superbaby". Now, you ask what this has to do with Tyson and Abby? Well, I will tell you. When I got home tonight I was tired after a long day and I walked in to find Abby with a blanket around her neck running around saying ssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh and what I saw was "Superbaby" the sequel! Funny how things are in fact cyclical in history.

Another day.....

2009-01-27T20:16:00.003-06:00

We had tacos for dinner tonight and Abby did a good job of eating her tacos! Her pigtails were not so cute so anymore after a day of playing at daycare...but she is still cute.

Abby let me paint her toenails this weekend look how pretty they are! They still look pretty now and she likes to look at them. I like to look at them too because she looks so girly and so sweet and that is just so adorable!
Here is Abby sitting in the chair getting ready to get her ears pierced, but alas she went home with no earings. She so didn't like the lady that was going to do it and kept giving her dirty looks and when the lady went to put the dots on her ears she gave her a stern look and clearly said "No earings" so, for now it has not happened. Maybe one day soon, but not yet.

Here is Abby tonight at dinner saying that she was eating applesauce and trying to say Arkansas. And yes, she is using a big spoon, if you give her a baby spoon she gets mad and won't eat until you give her a big spoon because she doesn't think she needs a baby spoon anymore. When did she get so big?

Just because!

2009-01-22T21:37:00.003-06:00

Just because I thought that this was hilarious. Check out that hair! Love it.

Another weekend another Steelers game.

2009-01-18T20:04:00.003-06:00

So the weekend got off to a good start as Barry got home on Friday and the kids were excited to see him. I didn't have much planned...which is how I like it. I made us reservations at the ever so popular Chilis (the only real restaurant in Jacksonville) for 5:45 thinking that would give me plenty of time to get home and for us to head out to eat. Well, it didn't work out like that. I didn't end up getting out of work until 5:40 so I met them there late, but my food was ordered and that was nice. Getting to the restaurant and withing ten minutes getting to eat! Love it. Barry picked up Abby's pictures from the daycare on Friday as well and this is what they looked like. How cute is that? The one eye looks cloudy because the scanned image didn't do so hot. Sorry about that, but you get the idea.

Not that I am partial, but doesn't this just look like she was posing for a picture in a magazine?So, Saturday we spend doing pretty much nothing but going to the grocery store which seems like a neverending thing. List or no list I always seem to forget something or run out of something within a few days of going to the store. Not that I mind shopping of course.
Sunday was nice so we went for a walk, and wouldn't you know she is in her Steelers gear again since they are playing in the AFC Championship game even as I type this. LETS GO STEELERS. If you hear a shout anywhere in the central Arkansas area later this evening I am guessing the Steelers advanced to the Super Bowl.

Here is our little diva on the stroll, I forgot to bring her sunglassed but she was quick to ask me to give her mine. Love it! She is so sassy. I was thinking about her getting older today and I sat in her room and cried as I took the changing pad and everything like that off of her dresser since she is to big for that now. I just can't believe that my baby, my 5 pound 13 ounce baby is almost two years old! Where does the time go? I find myself looking back through albums quite frequently trying to remember it all. It just goes by so fast.

It is like that song "Don't Blink" I swear that is the God's honest way it feels. Again, so big that she got her own play / eat table this weekend. She is tired of the high chair and she is getting to big for it so she got a Tinkerbell table. Here is a picture of her at her table with her colors (in the cup) and talking to Elmo. She has to have him sitting at the table with her and it is so cute. Well, I am nto watching the game and I am getting the evil glare that I need to be watching and lending my support so I better go. Princess Abby is in bed and I am going to be right behind her here in a little bit.

Lets Go Steelers

2009-01-11T13:06:00.002-06:00

Well, this morning Barry left to go to Mississippi for a week for some sort of training classes. And boy do I miss him already. He left and not ten minutes later (at 6 a.m.) Abby got up crying an running a slight fever so she snuggled into bed with her mommy and we laid there talking and watching television until she was ready to get out of bed which was around 7:45. An early start indeed. Now, we painted Abby's nails today as well, and here she is showing them off. She was even helping me blow on her nails to get them to dry faster! And when I showed her the picture that I took of her with her nails she promplty stated "Abby pretty"! Love it!

Can you see the pink nails?
Abby and Tyson showing off their Pittsburgh Steelers gear. Go Steelers!

Saturday night WWE wrestling on daddy. He is so the goofy one!

Abby played her first game of Hungry Hippos this weekend and now will walk around going hippos if she wants to play. She does however take the marbles out of everyone elses tray and puts them back in the middle so that her hippo can continue to eat. So cute.

Tyson and Abby in the kitchen getting ready to help me with the cupcakes. I made chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. They turned out wonderully!

Here is the proof that the icing was just as good!

Here is Abby and myself and she kept wanting to wear the oven mit. Hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend! We sure did.

Night Night

2009-01-08T19:40:00.007-06:00

This post will show that our little girl is finally getting some hair! Our nightly ritual is to get a bath and then get all lotioned up and dressed get a book read and go to bed. Tonight I got some really cute pictures to share of her in the bath (and you can see that she is getting some hair) and of her with her brother loving on him getting ready to go to bed. She loves her big brother so much!

Loving on her brother before bed
Can you say cheese? She is finally learning to smile when you hold up the camera instead of smiling too late. That is one happy baby.

She has her book picked out and is ready to have her story read to her.

Can you say Happy? Look at her hair! It is about time. Curly like her Mimi's.

Blogging world here I come.

2009-01-07T11:07:00.000-06:00

Happy New Years! It was way past my bedtime.
Tyson at Mimi and Pops

She loves to ride on the tractor!

Barry, Tyson and Abby going to see Santa
At Mimi's in Texarkana delivering gifts to everyone

In Jacksonville at our house getting on her new pony!

Mimi and Pops tree

Tyson in his stocking

Well, I am jumping on the bandwagon and creating a blog. One thing is for sure, my parents will be able to check this as they don't have an understanding of facebook or myspace! I will go ahead and post a few pictures of our Christmas festivities and New Years. I hope everyone had a great holiday break. I am sludging through the week trying to figure out how I am going to make it working a full five days.....