What to do with a mullet?

So I have been perplexed for a while now with what to do with Abby Kate's hair. It is such a mullet that it is almost funny. So today, we tried big girl pigtails and I couldn't resist posting a pic. Gosh she looks like a little girl...I mean where is my baby?

A Hollywood Sunday

The first picture is earlier on our "warm" (50ish) day. As the evening rolled in, we added layers which, after all was said and done, left her looking like a crazy Hollywood starlet/bag lady. (Though what bag lady would have such cool shades?)

Hit the Road, Jack....

We took full advantage of the warmer weather today. I simply think we are a warm weather family. We all go into a bit of seasonal depression when the cold hits. We went on a picnic and little "hike" in the wooded area of a new subdivision (no houses yet so it was perfect). Abby Kate loved it so much. She sobbed when we put her back in the truck. Daddy rode 4-wheelers and after he returned home, he let AK ride a little, which she loved.
We went on a walk with our friend Rachel and Adi and then Miss AK refused to go in....we must have walked around outside our house for 2 hours. We finally came inside about 5:30, much to her protest. Bring on SUMMER!

Fun Weekend Pics

We had a fun weekend. Celebrated Uncle Hal and Sweetie's birthdays. We surprised Hunk in Stillwater with his best friends and their wives before the OSU/Texas Tech game on Saturday. Super fun! The second picture cracks me up. We were singing "This Little Light of Mine" and the finger held up was her "light." Though every time I would say, "where is your light?" she would look up at the lights in our kitchen. Quite literal.

Fun Pics!

We were just being super silly today and thought I would share the pics. The last one is of her reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear which has become a new favorite. She so loves it! Today I started quoting it and she walked over to her toy bin, took it out, and wanted me to read it. I love that she is understanding things now! She even says "Baaa" when we get to the black sheep. So fun!

Nursery

I had a friend recently ask me to add pictures of Abby Kate's room to her blog. It seems weird that so many of my friends and family have never seen her room. So here it is! If you are a blogging friend, add pictures of your own nursery. It is super fun to see each others homes!

Books

Okay, this might just be my favorite picture ever. It is my 2 favorite people, participating in my favorite earthly thing ever. I will tell you, watching your child's personality, likes and dislikes emerge is both fascinating and at times frightening. But I will tell you, this new "favorite" of my daughter has brought more delight to my heart than I can tell you. As silly as it sounds, the written word has taken me to places I will never go in the flesh. It has challenged and stretched my imagination to the limits. It has encouraged and inspired me more than anything else on the earth. It bonds me more quickly to other readers than anything amount of time or experiences. As I faced a cancer scare earlier in the year, it caused me to reflect and journal a lot....leading me to write Bobby a list of things a father might not think to do and things I wanted Abby Kate to learn if I was not around to teach her. One of the most important things to me is fostering a love for reading in our children. My Mom was great at that. I would go to her countless times in a day, asking for ideas to break through my boredom and she always challenged me to go curl up with a book. Thanks Momma.
So thus to the point....Abby Kate has loved reading, particularly a book called Miss Spider's Tea Party since she was terribly young....I think because the cadence of the language is so beautiful, the pictures colorful...but lately, she is loving ALL her books. She will sit for long periods of time (a feat in and of itself) thumbing through the pages. But my most favorite, the part that causes my spirit to scream with thankfulness is this... she comes toddling over, places a book in my hand, signs "more" and then climbs into my lap, leans back against my chest where I can smell her sweet hair and feel each sweet breath and I know... there is nothing the written word has never done more for me than this....

Pearls...

Her Daddy says it is because she was born on Pearl Harbor Day, but who knows...she enthusiastically signs "more" (still her sign when she wants something, I really need to get on teaching her new signs) when she is in our bathroom, wanting some time with my jewelry. She ALWAYS goes for these pearls, will promptly put them around her neck, and then spend the rest of the afternoon walking around with them on until I take them off, much to her protest, for bedtime...

Messy?

When left to her own devices, this is what we get....Oh my.

Laughter....

Dancing!

Sleepy Girl....

I know I have been doing a lot of video lately. I really just realized. I guess I figure 4D is better than 2D right? AK has had a hard past few days with naps. She woke up too early today too and is still wiped out. This was her watching Veggie Tales. Check out Snuggle Bunny as the pillow...that is no way to treat a friend :). Oh be still my heart!

The New Old Face....

This is the face you see any time you look at Abby Kate when she is happy. It is hard to keep a straight face. Any stranger (and there is no such word to her) gets this face in exchange of a tiny bit of attention (yes, even a glance). There is usually so much laughter from the stranger that it is hard to be worried about this child that would be perfect kidnap material (she knows no fear). You can reference this face from this past August here http://sweetabbykate.blogspot.com/2006/08/nose_22.html to see this face has been a favorite before....it has just resurfaced. We also had a ball on our vacation. You can see pics here http://breatheholyonthisrust.blogspot.com/2007/01/oh-sweet-vacation.html

These Boots Are Made for Walkin'....

Night Night!

Okay, you know a child is really sleep trained when she walks in her room, frantically signing "more" (which is her sign for anything she wants) and climbs up on her crib crying until I put her in where she promptly pops in her paci and tucks snuggle bunny under her arm, and lays her head down. Hmmmm.....don't you wish we adults could get nap time that easily!

Update

Thank you all so much for your phone calls, emails and prayers. Abby Kate is feeling SO much better as of this morning. She slept all night for the first time in 10 days last night so I think it made us all feel better :).
We also wanted to share a video of her feeding herself. She is very much into doing it herself. I am worried with her being this young and already wanting to do it herself what picking out clothes, doing her hair and deciding what to have for meals will be like in the future! Love you all dearly....
http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i311/snqualls/?action=view&current=DSCN1032.flv

Please pray....

This is just a quick post to ask for your prayers. We went back to the pedi today and Abby Kate has RSV (a respiratory virus). She also has a severe ear infection and a yeast infection from the antibiotics. She is a sick baby. She got a shot of antibiotics today, which he said should help her start feeling better almost instantly, and a medicine for her yeast infection. She is sleeping wonderfully right now, something she hasn't been getting much of....
As for the RSV, he said it usually goes away on its own or she will have to be hospitalized. This is not typical of children over 1 though. We are just believing she will be better soon. He said it could take up to another 7 days though. This is something else that is hard....Bobby and I leave Thursday morning for Lake Tahoe (my Christmas/birthday present) and will be gone 5 days. It is the first time I have been away from her for more than 1 night and far enough away I cannot get to her. I am not a crazy mother that thinks my child cannot live without me (she has shown her independent nature all along) but you know how it is when you are sick. She will be staying with my Mom and Dad who I trust implicitly but it would be hard to leave her if she was still sick. Thank you all so much for praying and checking on us up to this point. We continue to covet your prayers....

One, Two...

Here is a little video of Abby Kate's newest trick!
http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i311/snqualls/?action=view&current=DSCN1025.flv

Watching Veggie Tales

Check out the tiptoes....talk about loving a show. I have to constantly go and sit her back from the TV. Thought this was pretty smart...using the VCR tapes for leverage. At least they are still good for something right?

Our Icy Prision

Well, we are still sick. Still stuck inside. It started icing about 10am on Friday and did not stop until last night. I read somewhere today that we got 6-8 inches of ICE! You can see the picture of our backyard (check out the huge dog bowl in the yard almost covered...that can give you an idea). The crazy thing is it LOOKS like snow but is pure, solid ice. So needless to say, a sick baby+huge ice storm=a stir crazy Momma dying for a Sonic diet coke. Anyway, the last picture of her looks so sad I couldn't resist. Those flushed checks, covers, and runny nose. Bless her sweet heart!