Pictures

Hammie is by far more dexterous with his feet than his hands. He can grab that handle and pull it to make the noise.

Hammer's first backpack experience up to Bridal Veil Falls. Perdy...




A little photo shoot brought out Abe's love for hand-sucking, a pucker and a rare angry face.

Craig's list high chair. He hasn't used it for a meal yet, but will some day.

Studying. You can see how excited Dad and Ham are to be doing that.

A sweet viser-smile from the Abester.

Sleeping in the new crib, graciously donated by Aunt Martha, and industriously assembled by Ariel and Mom Galli (Nonna)

Somehow Abraham can lift his heavy head and look around while on his tummy.
Life's good.

A Day in the Life of Abraham Marshall

Things to watch for in the latest Hammie Highlight Reel

-In the first clip you'll hear him say, "Mom!" He yells this all the time, and we happened to catch it on tape.
-In the second clip you'll see that Abe has a defense mechanism for anyone who tries to get him during a sneeze.
-In the third clip you'll discover why Ariel rushes to Abe's side the moment he needs anything. His pout is irresistible, as is his resistance to crying.
-The last clip is self-explanatory.

We miss you, old friend

It's hard to lose something, or worse, have something stolen, that you love. Some inanimate objects take on characteristics and personality to which you grow attached. I've loved shoes and bouncy balls and blankets and stuffed animals in my life like real friends that I looked forward to seeing. Probably my best inanimate friend was our scooter, the Muskooteer, or Pookie the Scoots. He was stolen this weekend, at BYU Housing of all places. The BYU police are combing the area looking for him, but there is no word yet.

We whizzed around Salt Lake for the last year and a half almost every day. Zipping up and down hills on him always brightened my days. I looked forward to pushing off in the morning and singing my way to work or school on the little guy. I miss him.

We can't understand how someone could steal like that. They know we used it, and owned it, and yet still they took it. I sure feel sorry for them, and hope that they are caught, in part, because we'd love our scooter back, and in part because perhaps it would prompt them to turn over a new leaf, and not steal from others who could suffer more injury than we did. It really isn't worth a ton, but it sure was a trusty, 80-miles-to-the-gallon companion.

At the same time, it has caused us to realize how blessed and protected we are. Losing something you love makes you realize how much you love your family. Life goes on without scooters, or shoes, or bouncy balls . . . but life would not go on without Ariel and Abraham. I'm so glad that in an unsafe, insecure world, they're safe.

So that's that. Everything else is great. The MPA program here at BYU is stretching and demanding in ways I hadn't anticipated, but it's also invigorating to work this hard and think this much. My professors are genuine intellectuals, yet approachable and good-natured. As you can see, Abraham has picked up an intellectual look of his own.


And Ariel is beautiful, wonderful, and hard-working. She has a great gift for multi-tasking and organizing. Our home really feels like home, and there is no where else I ever want to be. She and Baby Ham are the best of friends.

Onward.

No Toys 'R' Us Kids Here!

We put Abe in big boy clothes and he rose to the occasion. The shoes don't fit yet.