The long awaited new camera is here!

I think I told you all that Bobby had gotten me an amazing new camera for my 30th birthday.  They were not released until April and I got it this weekend.  Thus tons of new pictures are shared :)  Mom came up Thursday due to my winning a HAIR MAKEOVER at our church.  It was seriously one of the most fun days of my life.  I will have to share before and after pics on my blog.  Anyway, Dad came up Friday after work and they went to dinner with one of my Dad's drug reps.  B went to Dallas to spend time with 2 of his best friends which I am sure has been GREAT for him.  AK and I went to eat at Panera on Friday night and my heart just had such sweet bubbles the whole time.  She was so content and we just ate watched people.  It was a sweet night!  But here are a few pics from the weekend.  

Ahhhh Rain....

Rain, Rain, Stay and Play....

As you saw earlier, our child adores the rain.  As do we...anyway, her fun Daddy took her out to play in it before bath time.  And just a little FYI, the color was not my camera, it really was that yellow green caused by the massive storm clouds.  For a while, we thought we might get a tornado but the wall cloud passed over us.  Then the beautiful rain began!  

Shapes

Bring on the Rain....

We got truly hostile, beautiful, angry storms today....which we love, as long as we miss the tornados.  Abby Kate and I were at the grocery store when Bobby called to tell me a severe thunderstorm warning was in place and for me to hurry if I could and get home.  Well, I was half way through my list, and toting my toddler so hurrying is next to impossible.  I kept anxiously peering outside and seeing the black/greenish clouds roll in.  We got to the car during the sprinkling and then the storm began as we pulled out of the parking lot.  I decided to brave it and stopped by Braums to get our milk.  After we got home, AK wanted to stay in the garage and watch it rain.  I unloaded the groceries, put away dog food, stocked an ice chest for friends and then made her come inside.  She was heartbroken!  So we improvised and I let her watch from her chair out the front door.  She sat there for over an hour, eating Vanilla Wafers and watching it rain.  Agh, a child after my own heart.  

Activities...

Our parents as teacher's consultant came last week and always gives us great ideas to work on....
this month it was sorting and puzzles. We talked about expanding beyond colors but add shapes, other objects, and the object's purpose....like vaccums and brooms sweep; forks, knives and spoons are utencils we eat with; etc....
This was one of our sorting days. We just used colored t-shirts and her blocks and she LOVED it. I will upload the video of us working on shapes. I am super proud of her!

Straight Lines...

Abby Kate has a thing with putting items in a straight line. I was cooking the other day and looked over to see a perfectly straight line of water bottles she had taken out of the pantry. She goes on tangents with what she loves playing with....the other night, she found her huge tube of stuffed animals and baby dolls. She talked to them and played with them for hours. So this is her straight line of babies. She has named them all, from L to R they are, Bess, Pig, Bear and Baby. Bess is about her only original idea but she named her months ago and we still get a kick out of it. She had not seen her in months and when she found her Saturday, she exclaimed, "BESS! There you are! Where did you go?!!"

More Fun!

Dancing...Sorry its sideways!

Big Thanks....

Because I couldn't post with the slideshow, this is a huge thank you to Sweetie and Poppy for buying us tickets for Sesame Street Live.  It truly was the most excited I have ever seen my child to date.  She kept exclaiming "Hold you Elmo, Grover, Big Bird, Abby!"  She LOVED it.  My parents and Bobby were supposed to get to go but our Aunt Kate died and my parent's went to her memorial today and B had to work on the Habitat house they are building.  We got to take Laura, Max and Sutton and we had a ball together.  We missed you Sweetie, Poppy and Daddy though!  So again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  I actually had tears pouring down my face and seeing such sheer joy on my daughter's face.  I know everyone around me must have thought I really loved my Sesame Street!  

Just a little blog note, if you want to watch the videos without the music I uploaded to the page, scroll down to the bottom and hit pause and then you can watch the videos in peace.  I love you each!

Sesame Street Live!!!!

Momma's Funny Face...

Swimming!

AK still loves bath time.  We call it swimming.  She adores splashing and spinning round and round wildly.  I made up a round and round song that we sing at the top of our lungs.  She also loves to "swim" which is leaning back and putting everything under the water except her face.  She loves it!  We are going to start swimming lessons this summer to prepare for a fun trip to Costa Rica we are taking with my family in November.  The house we rented has its own pool so we are going to be extra cautious!  FUN FUN!

Fun with the Kid Magnet...

When and if Bobby ever stops by to eat quickly during the day, Abby Kate gets so excited.  My sweet husband is truly the most gifted person you have ever witnessed with children.  I have never seen a child that was not immediately drawn to him.  Perhaps it is his fun nature, his childlike heart, or his tenderness with them.  The thing that amazes ME the most is that he is tireless.  He can play CONSTANTLY for long periods of time.  And he thinks of fun games all the time.  He simply was flipping the kids over his head and they wanted to do it forever.  He then tossed them on the couch where they tried to climb over to get back to him (last pic).  He is the best.  Truly....

Our beautiful girl...

We had so much fun with Neannie, Krista and Kourtney this weekend. They left after AK went down yesterday. She had been fussy that morning but she was sleepy. But she woke up from her nap hysterical and was running 102 temp. She fell back asleep in my arms which is SO rare. She always just wants to be put in her bed and left alone when she is really sleepy. She woke up not so hot so we thought we would run to eat with my parents who we were supposed to join at Nannie and Grumpies this afternoon to celebrate Easter with the whole family. However, she laid on my chest the entire meal. Would not eat or drink. It absolutely broke my heart. She got her home and her temp was way back up. Dad looked at everything and she looked fine except for a red throat. I got up to check on her at 4:30 am and she was burning up. She had 103.5 temp and did not even cry or talk. I gave her tylenol and laid on her floor until she fell back to sleep. She woke up this morning fine. She has been warm most the day but acted so much better. I have been sick not to be with my family today. My Nannie and Grumpies are so precious to me and I miss them terribly. We live so close which makes not seeing them for a while so much worse.
And we missed church. On the ultimate Sunday when we celebrate our Lord's victory over death. When we get the chance to worship the One who endured death in my place so we may live. B and I agreed it was the first Easter either of us had not worshiped in a church.
But it has been a good day. We have been together. Our child is mending. I have had worship songs going over and over in my head. And I am so deeply thankful. My heart just rejoices and breaks at what this weekend means to my faith. So Happy Resurrection Sunday to each of you...I pray your day was blessed.

Mud Baths!

So I was folding laundry on Wednesday and Max was still asleep so I let Sutton and Abby Kate play in the backyard while I left my screen door open. I went to check on Max and came back and they were gone. I wondered around the corner and there they were, happily covered head to toe in mud. Jumping in it, throwing it, sitting in it...I about died and then I laughed. I let them play for about 20 minutes and then stripped them down and carried them into the bathroom. I prayed the whole time no diseases were lurking in that mud. HEHE! It was so fun and they were adorable to boot!

Our Annual Spring Break Trip to the Zoo!

We went to the zoo again this year with Kourtney
and this time, with Neannie and Krista.
It was BY FAR the coolest visit to the zoo
I have had. EVERY animal was out enjoying
the perfect day. A sunny but breezy
72 degrees, family, snacks,
tons of people to watch, not to
mention the animals. How does it get better?
We even got to hear the tiger roar.
It was such a fun weekend!

Fun Spring Break

It has been a fun week here....surviving the torrential downpours and not floating away or hydroplaning. We have gotten to have both Max and Sutton play this week (the second pic is one of them having a carpet picnic). The first was of AK standing through the sunroof in my car. Neannie, Krista and Kourtney are coming tomorrow and we are giddy excited. I have a whole list of things to choose from for us to do! I haven't told AK yet due to her being in the stage that she simply cannot STAND to wait. She would be standing on the front porch watching every car pass saying, "Where are they Momma?"
We are going through a weird stage with sleep. She is sleeping way past her usual 7am rising and taking up to 2 hours to fall asleep for her nap (or never falling asleep at all, gasp!). I am not sure if it is the time change or what. Sutton is now sleeping in the room right next to hers so I hold my breath hoping one does not wake the other. They are both talking right now, but neither finished with their nap so my quiet time for today is looking pretty shot. We are having dinner with ADULTS tonight and were supposed to take her so I am praying she eventually tires so we can have a fun evening. Is it wrong to fervently pray for your child to fall asleep to suit your will? Hehe...

These 2 have been peas in a pod lately. Abby Kate yells "SUT-TON!" and immediately runs screaming because she wants him to chase her (which he does)....she went to the pantry and got her snacks (one of best bets to find her these days) and got out one container for herself and one for Sutton. They got quiet and I found them in this chair happily munching (they ate the whole thing by the way...both of them!)....and ate a full lunch 40 minutes later :)

Envelope

You know when you teach your child a word or hear a child say a word that sounds so funny that you make them say it over and over? Well, that happened tonight. We were playing in the office and she went over to the trash can and got an envelope. I told her what it was and she kept saying it over and over. I just got tickled every time so I HAD to catch it on film!

Backpacks

Please don't look at me in this picture. Monday is my cleaning day and I HAD a shower but was junked out. Abby Kate wanted us to wear our backpacks...not sure for what but we walked around the house with them. Laura brought Sutton over and saw us and took a picture....Silly little girl, but great imagination!

Ducks in a Row.

I just thought this was funny.  Abby Kate loves these ducks.  I am not sure why.  She gets on a kick where they are the first thing she asks for after a nap and she will carry them everywhere.  I cracked up when I looked over at her yesterday morning and she had lined them up...and even funnier, had pointed them out so they could see outside.  Considerate huh?

Fun with Daddy

I declare, these 2 could come up with a game with a paper plate and a rooster. They laugh so much together. I love watching them. B is tireless with her. She has been a bit of a Daddy's girl lately...and it is no wonder. At 2, she got roses from him on Valentine's Day, gets to ride around on his back for hours, watches him jump to touch the smoke alarms 200 million times, just because she asks him to (and most of the time he is holding her as he jumps), running from her bedroom and our bedroom yelling for hours on end....none of which Mommy will do. The party pooper. Anyway, what a blessed little girl to have such a smitten Daddy!

New Eyes...

It always helps to have a new pair of eyes look at anything. This includes the wardrobe of your 2 year old. In these 2 years, I have longingly looked at Abby Kate's clothing selection with envy. Now that she is not growing as fast, I am a bit tired of her winter clothes. Her Daddy got her dressed today and the first thing he said was, "I want her to wear this pink coat today." Well I had forgotten she had this adorable pink coat and I rummaged around in a drawer and found the cute matching hat so I had to snap a few pics. It was FREEZING today but she didn't seem to mind. She protested more when I put her in the car. Must have been the toasty warm coat :)
*Sorry the last one is blurry. But the smile was cute :)

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....