Hiding

I have absolutely no idea why, but this child adores to hide. I mean anywhere. Behind pillows, under beds, behind your back in a booth while you are trying to eat spaghetti, and yes, in her stuffed animal tub like today. It was too cute a photo opportunity to pass up. The last 2 was her "talking" to her bear. She is too much....

New Haircut!

We went to get Abby Kate's first haircut today, after much persuading with Daddy. She literally cut maybe an inch off but it was as traumatic as a shot to AK. Not sure why...we have this great little children's salon here with a car to sit in and movies playing and suckers to keep them occupied. She was in a child's heaven but she clung to me like I was going to drop her off for good. So no pics of the actual act but here she is afterward carrying her sucker and playing in the great weather!

Just Words...

I know a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am sorry that none is available for this post.  I just had a ton of words I had to share that just make me giggle about this child of mine.  

The first thing I thought I needed to remember through this bloggy journal is how much my child resembles my baby brother in that she loves watching TV and then pretending to do as the characters are doing.  If it is super spies, she is hiding and sneaking.  If the characters are eating raisins, she wants her raisins.  If they are dancing, she begins to boogie, trying her best to imitate.  It is hilarous to watch but even sweeter for me to reminse Hal as a little boy, racing to dress up like Superman/the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, Ninjas or whatever character caught his fancy.  And he did not merely want a costume to resemble them, but it had to be an exact replicia...down to Superman's curl.  I know I need to start storing up dress up clothes right now!  I loved having a younger sibling...I was thrilled when I found out I was having a girl first because I know some of my Momma traits were formed through "caring" for my little brother.  Though I now know the amount of care I gave was laughable in relation to a Mother's true job, but the feeling of protection I desired to give Hal is a fraction of what I now feel for Abby Kate.  Today is his birthday by the way and it goes without saying how thankful I am God made him and gave him to me!

 The other thing is my child's adoration (love is too simple of a word) of music.  I mean truly.  She is in her crib right now for naptime singing at the top of her lungs while keeping beat by kicking the wall.  She just cracks me up.  She reminds me of my friend Laura, who has one of the most beautiful, pure voices I have ever heard, but would bust out in song...and not quietly mind you...in the middle of Wal-Mart as we shopped for groceries.  Or better yet, in a crowded line when all the other customers awakwardly looked away.  But I tell you, though I was embarassed often by this display, I admired her freedom, her talent and most importantly, her joy of life.  I now see these traits in my own child.  Isn't it neat that God knits us all together so perfectly?  That the things I adore in my friend's are being manifested through this child who takes my breath away?  

So back to Abby Kate, she is so much like Laura in this way...she ADORES to sing.  She busts out in Wal-Mart, or church, or the mall or in the bathtub or...in bed, her most favorite of all.  And though you cannot discern many of the words she is saying, she is surprisingly on tune.  Her favorite song to sing is from Veggie Tale's Madame Blueberry which goes, 

I thank God for this day,
For the sun in the sky,
For my mom and my dad,
For my piece of apple pie!
For our home on the ground
For His love that's all around
That's why I say thanks everyday!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have,
That's an easy way to start!
For the love that He shares,
'Cuz He listens to my prayers,
That's why I say thanks everyday!

And to hear her sing it is the cutest thing you have ever heard.  But the most special is that she gets it.  When she is being whiny or demanding, we start to sing it and I remind her that a thankful heart is a happy heart.  Isn't music grand?!

And finally, yesterday after she woke up from her nap, it was rainy and freezing outside so I decided to let her watch a movie...a treat she doesn't get often in the afternoon.  I gave her some raisins and her milk and turned on the fireplace and cuddled up next to her.  And then she looked at me...with her precious eyes and just smiled....leaned over and kissed my arm....said "love you" and went right back to watching her movie.  My eyes welled up at the spontaneous demonstration of love...and that my baby was clearly no longer a baby...and well, my heart was thankful and HAPPY!

Caught!

Abby Kate is not to climb into her tox boxes. She was silent for a suspiciously long today and I found her like this....it just tickled me for some reason so I ran to get my camera instead of being a good Mom be consistent on my discipline...oh well! And yes, she is still in her jammies at noon! It is freezing here so we are taking a lazy day tucked in the house....

Just pure joy...

I just clicked a few pics today...well just because. I go to Bible study on Thursday mornings and started leading a study this semester which started today. Abby Kate cried the entire time I was gone which broke my heart. On our way to Bible study, I stopped to get gas and AK exclaimed, "thats a 3 Momma!" and lo and behold, we had pulled up to pump 3! I was pretty impressed. Her Daddy has been working on her numbers with her in the bath tub at night. She has these cute little things that have 1-8 on them and she can identify all the numbers now! She also brought me a sticker today and said, "this stickr (her Rs are pronounced "or") says YES Momma!" and sure enough it did. I have NO CLUE how she knew that though...Daddy came home for a few minutes to grab lunch today and I couldn't resist snapping a few of them together seeing as they both were wearing red, and the fact that they light up when they are together!

Yummy, Spaghetti!

She is my child alright. She may not look a thing like me, but give the girl pasta and bread and she is happy as a clam...just like her Momma! This was hysterical. She ate a whole plate full and for days after, even for snacks, she asked for more "sugetti"!

Good Day, Sunshine!

Was yesterday not PERFECT?! Oh my goodness it made me so ready for Spring! We got home on Sunday and Daddy was cleaning out the garage so we played outside for hours sweeping, which seems to be Abby Kate's favorite thing. She woke up from her nap yesterday and the first thing out of her mouth was "SWEEP please Momma!" So after Sutton woke up, we swept to their heart's content. And again on Sutton's clothing, Laura dresses him, I promise, but it was too dang hot yesterday for pants!

The Kitty

When a black cat came rambling up to us today, I truly thought Abby Kate was going to have a heart attack. My Mom is deathly allergic to them and Abby Kate and I literally spent 30 minutes trying to coax this cat to us. Abby Kate kept putting her hand out and making kissing sounds saying "here kitty, come here kitty..." over and over....Then Sweetie came to the rescue and brought a bowl of milk out and the cat rushed right over. She loved Mom of course, who starting itching the moment she touched it but continued petting it until Abby Kate got her fill. Ahh....the things we do for love!

Finally...a new post!

Well, I am back. I lost my camera (in the depths of my purse...hmmm) and then had all the other medical issues so the posting has been delayed. I had a D&C on Thursday and everything went very well. I have felt great except for the large doese of hormones I am taking which are making me a little crazy. Hehe! Abby Kate and I headed to my parents for a baby shower of one of my oldest and dearest friends who is having twin boys. I was a hostess and was thrilled to be able to go. It was so great to see friends that are so invested in your life that have been praying as they have....
Abby Kate has wanted to play outside every second this weekend. My parents have 3 acres of beautifully wild land to explore. At this time, I would give my right arm for such playland for her to explore every day. She has been HOURS in the leaves and as my Dad kept her yesterday, he taught her all about tree bark and treetops and moss....when I got home she could not tell me fast enough and kept trying to climb the trees. We helped Poppy clean up the branches that fell victim to the high winds last week and threw them into a brush pile and AK was carrying branches bigger than she was! I kept being fearful she was going to uncover hibernating snakes! We have scrubbed her down each time she has come in because she is practically cuddling with poision ivy and poision oak but she has not shown any sign of allergy to it....she gets that from her Momma and Daddy :)
She also has a Dora tricycle Sweetie and Poppy keep here for her and she was having a ball on it today! Their driveway is inclined and she would have Poppy push her to the top and then put her feet out and go. It was so fun to watch.

Fun

We had a great weekend. We have a ton going on...I will blog about it later on my personal blog but it was a great weekend nonetheless...
We took Abby Kate to see the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (Veggie Tales) that came out this weekend at the movies....she lasted 15 minutes. It was a complete waste of $12. She is just still too young. I thought she could do it....considering she will sit stock still for hours in the car watching shows. I underestimated the games in the lobby. They grabbed her attention and she did not want to sit in a big dark room with those loud, bright games just outside the door :)
Pappy and Sweetie came up to take care of us. They were such a blessing. We went to eat at Pete's Place on Saturday night, as you have heard in previous posts, it is my all time favorite. We gorged ourselves on Italian food and even watched AK eat tons of spaghetti. It was a ball. Hope you all had great weekends.

Trey (or Greg) and Kiki

We got to spend SUCH a fun weekend with Trey, Christina and new Baby Jay!  They are the only friends I know that would drive 3.5 hours with a 4 week old!  It was so fun to watch them parent.  They are so precious to us.  Abby Kate LOVED having them.  All Christina's nieces and nephews call her Kiki so of course, so does Abby Kate.  She had a hard time remembering Trey's name and kept calling her Greg (Bobby's boss and our friend here).  So all weekend, Trey kept thinking of new names for Abby Kate, which was hysterical.  We ate SO WELL and just spent sweet time catching up!

R Christmas

These are some fun pics from Christmas with my side of the family. Uncle Hal and Aunt Ashley got Abby Kate this neat princess tent that she LOVED and wanted everyone to get in and play with her (she also got a neat tent from Neannie and Pop that she got to play in at their house!). She even coerced Dacey, Hal and Ashley's huge, shy black lab to get in with her. My Dad even took Mom, Bobby and I to Las Vegas after Christmas. We had SUCH a great time! The last picture is Reindeer made of pecans at the Bellagio! Amazing!

F Christmas

This is the first family picture we have taken with Abby Kate. It is my Mom's side of the family. As those who know me well know, I adore my extended family. We played so much growing up, you would have thought we all lived in the same town! My Nannie and Grumpies are so special to me! We had such a great time getting to see everyone. It is rare when you can get that many people in one place. Especially when everyone is scattered. Family is such a blessing!
*As a side note, I adore my Dad's side of the family too. This is the first time since my first married Christmas that I got to spend Christmas Eve with them. However, Hal and I were the only cousins present so we did not take a pic!

Q Christmas!

Here are some fun pictures from the Q side of the family! We had such a fun time. Abby Kate fell in love with Neannie's snow globe with Mickey inside. She pretty much played with it every few minutes (now how I missed a picture of it is a bit unclear to me). She also got a Chicken Dance Elmo and it cracked her up. She would try to flap her wings like him but would get tickled.
B got what even he said was the best present ever. His parents deeded him land in his hometown that has been in his family for generations. Heritage is a huge deal to him and this is such a neat part of his heritage. As they say, land is the one thing that we cannot reproduce. So we started dreaming on our way home of some day building a cabin (it is in the mountains) so our family can go a rest, ride 4-wheelers, etc....
We also loved getting to see Grandad or "dad-dad" as Abby Kate calls him. He was in the hospital a few weeks ago and we were sick we could not get down to see him so it was such a blessing to be with him whole and well this Christmas. We also got to watch a play at Neannie and Pop's church that Neannie WROTE. Kourtney and Krista had lead roles and Kourtney even sang a beautiful solo. It was so fun. Neannie plays the piano and leads worship and after every song, Abby Kate would yell "YEA!!!!" She already has the "PRAISE THE LORD!" blood in her! We truly had a ball. We are so blessed with such precious family!

The ultimate gift

Before you think we shamelessly spoil our child, this was her HUGE gift from both grandparents.  We were all going to go in and get her an outdoor playhouse but we saw this and knew instantly it would be a hit.  It is hard to pry her off of it.  We set it up upstairs seeing as it is the largest room in our house and so every morning, after naps, etc. she is asking to go upstairs.  It beauty of this gift is in the summer, it has a hose that hooks on and sprays water, turning the slide into a water slide.  It is a Leaps and Bounds product and I cannot recommend it highly enough.  It combines most toddlers favorites (slides, stairs and balls) in one safe gift!  FUN FUN!

Fun in the 60 Degree Sun!

What a sweet blessing after weeks of dreariness and ice, we have a few sweet days of sunshine!  Just days before Christmas no less!  Of course, we have spent some fun time today in the sun.  We went to a brunch with my Bible Study friends today and all of their kids and Abby Kate had a ball.  She played in the sand box almost the whole time.  Then we came home and she heard Daddy coming up the street and ran to meet him.  She ran along the sidewalk as he drove down the street yelling "STOP DADA, STOP!" until he pulled into the driveway.  She adores him.  Anyway, just thought we would share our sunny day with you!

Big Girl Pig Tails!

So, the phrase "big girl" is making waves in our house.  Last week, her "abby" (aka pacifier) was banished to the crib for naps and night night only.  She has super surprised me at the ease of the transition.  Though she still asks for it occasionally, I say, "no, abbys are for babies, you are Momma's big big girl!  You don't need an abby." And she repeats the phrase "big big girl" smiling!  So, I decide she needs a "big girl" hair do and up her hair goes into piggie tails!"  She loved them.  She kept giggling at herself in the mirror!  Doesn't she truly look like a big, big girl?  Breaks my heart...

The Wonderful World of 2!

I know you have already seen this picture on the slide show but it was my favorite taken on her birthday.  I meant to post on her actual birthday but, well you know, the happenings of life invaded.  We just got our electricity back on after a few days without.  Boy, makes you thankful for the conveniences of our world.  And for heat.  Anyway, the update.

FUN!  That is the best word I can use to sum up  life right now.  I so wish I could go back and talk to myself during her newborn stage.  I would whisper, "just wait.  She is SO fun...she will be a great sleeper...a talker....just be patient.  It will be so worth the wait."  Though we have certain moments of two-ness, she has mellowed into a tenderhearted, passionate/dramatic, vocal, playful, adventurous little girl.  Though there a still details that creep in that remind me of her babyhood, such as loving to be rocked and her addiction to her "abby" (pacifier), as well as a strong love of her crib...not much else remains.  She is a full toddler.  She loves to dance, jump and run.  She LOVES being chased, singing loudly, her books, her bunny (which is now a nubby brown bunny that was originally beautifully soft and white).  As I mentioned before, this is as much for our records as for friend's and family's reading so I am not trying to scream the accomplishments of my child but I want to remember what each child was doing at what age.  She is counting to twenty, partially saying her ABCs (skips several letters and saying L, M, N, O, P all rumpled together), saying sentences, and has great fine motor skills (loves picking her tiny rubber bands out of her bath water).  She makes funny faces, has a great imagination (like picking grapes off the page of her Elmo ABC book and pretending to eat them....as well as pretending to throw food at you screaming "catch it Momma!" and then wanting you both to devour it, ending with "MMMMMM....YUMMY!"). 

She is also all girl!  She loves taking care of her animals and babies, putting them in her toy high chair and feeding them and sharing EVERYTHING she gets with her bunny.  She HATES having anything on her hands and will cry until you wipe it off.  She loves to dance as I mentioned.  She stood in the entrance of Abercrombie for 30 minutes the other day dancing her heart out to their loudly playing music.  Never mind those frantic Christmas shoppers trying to get around her...and never mind my headache from the music and the cologne that seems to be drenching every particle of air.  She loves pretty things.  She loves calling things "cute."  She loves ALL things soft.  She loves picking any stuffed animal or baby off the shelf at any store we enter (I learned early after buying a $35 sock pig that she loses interest quickly so the impulse buying stopped FAST!).  

She is an ultra picky eater.  She is her Momma's girl to the core with her foods.  She loves bread, rice, pasta, yogurt, apples, cottage cheese, turkey, chicken, sweet potatoes, roast, "tot tots" (tater tots from Sonic), Buggies (graham crackers in shape of bugs) so essentially, carbs.  One unusual food she loves is pesto on her pasta.  So do I.  B hates it but Oh So Yummy!

 She loves other children.  She adores her family.  Her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousin Kourtney (who she seriously talks about non-stop and thinks all kids are her).  She is much loved and SO blessed.

Sweet girl, you have been the light of so many lives for 2 years already.  We cannot wait to see all God is going to do in and through your life!  His light is already shining through you!  We pray for so much for you.  For safety and health, for joy and hope, for innocence and trust, for precious friends and a Godly, loving husband.  We pray that God will show Himself strong through your life.  That you will be trustworthy, pure, noble, wise, insightful, playful, well spoken, sensitive, compassionate, loving and comfortable in your own skin.  That you will know God made you full well...that He delights in you.  We adore you sweet girl.  Praying for many more....

Happy Birthday Sweet One!

Empathic Abby Kate

I don't have any recent pictures. I am sorry. Abby Kate has been sick the past week and there just haven't been many shoot-able moments. I was inspired though by a seminar taught by a girl at our church about photography to quit trying to capture the "CHEESE!" moments and to snap the fun little day to day things. I am really going to work on that. I just wish so badly that I could capture who she is in pictures and put them on here so you all could know her. She really is a neat kid.
I really am so proud of who she is. She has recently changed saying "tank you, _____ (fill in the blank with name)" but now says, "tank you, ______, SOOOOOO MUCH!" I love that she already is saying please and thank you without being promted. We so want her to have a thankful spirit. But today, she blew me out of the water. We were at Little Gym, and there is a little girl in her class who is, well, just hard. She is aggressive and possessive and her Mom is, well, laid-back. Abby Kate has never been the center of this little girl's wrath (much to my moving her far from her) but today, she came at her and yanked her balloon away. Abby Kate just shrugged and picked up another. Then, during bubbles, the little girl pushed Abby Kate with ALL HER MIGHT, and Abby Kate spun around and caught herself before falling. She looked at the girl funny but never cried or pushed back. Then, the little girl got in a screaming match a few seconds later with another little boy and her Mom stepped in, took her away from the group and the little girl started sobbing, throwing herself on the mat. Abby Kate just watched and started walking slowly away from the bubbles and started talking really soft. She walked over to the little girl now being held by her Mom and started gently patting her back. She kept leaning in and talking to her softly. OH SWEET GOODNESS, I teared up so fast. Empathy is such a sweet emotion. I could not believe I was seeing my BABY feeling it in front of my eyes. For a bully no less. Praise God for child eyes. For the purest of hearts.....I was never prouder of her.