Senstivie Skin! Help!

Look at this- we thought Abby was getting a rash from food and were trying to decide if the peanut butter or recently, grapes, were effecting her.

Then, we did a little experiment. This rash is only on her face and comes from us wiping her face afterward! This was from a warm papertowel on her face. She also gets it using the sensitve skin Huggie wipes and from Boogie wipes which are meant for faces. Anyone have any suggestions? What else can I use? Girl can not be snotty and crusty all the live long day!

Two Kids Isn't that Hard

Saturday night Marcus and I watched our friend Mackenzie while her parents enjoyed a night out. It was a good test of how a second child would work. Mack is 4 1/2 and did WONDERFUL! Her and Abby cooked an extravagent meal of cheese and ice cream in the kitchen before Abby retired to bed. Then, she wanted to play the "game with the people". She wanted Wii bowling. :) Marcus is so patient and wonderful with this age. He showed her how to hold her controller, when to push the button and when to let go, and how to keep her hand straight.
He did such a good job, the student beat the teacher. He claims to have "thrown" the game, but she had 2 strikes so I don't think he was bad as much as she was really good.

After Wii bowling, I baked cookies with Mack. It was always my favorite activity with Kyleigh and I just know Abby and I will enjoy it in a few years. We started with big sprinkles and then added smaller pourable colored sugar and then sprakle icing came after baking.

This is a sample of our cookies. Mack isn't a super girly girl and she still loved pink sparkles all over the place. I think every girl that age goes to the extremes with sugar cookies. I love it!

We ended the night watching Wonder Pets. Wow, that song'll get in your head!

French Toast and Three Abigail/yles

My IRL friend Erica at Haphazard Happenstances recommended I try giving Abby french toast since it sneaks a protein-filled egg in. We tried it this morning and she loved it!

Thank you Erica! We have french toast in the freezer ready for the week!

This afternoon we attended our friend Abbie's birthday. There were 3 girls named Abbie/Abby at the party! Fun! It was a painting party at Abrakadoodle Studios inside Chaparral Ice. Abby was too young to paint, but she loved holding crayons!

The big kids went into the splat room and threw paint on their portraits with brushes, rollers, fly swatters and even rubber fish. Not kidding about the rubber fish!
That is the birthday girl in pink blowing out her candles. Her clever Momma stuck paintbrushes in the cake. Isn't that a cute and easy idea? So smart!
I let Abby try ice cream instead of cake. She ate the entire party-sized container and didn't look back. She was sitting in a big girl chair and didn't ever try to get out. I could tell when the sugar hit because she was full of energy!

Happy Birthday Abbie! Thanks for having us at your party!

Teeth

This is what we get when we ask Abby to show us her teeth!

It is fun watching her learn- you see her process the word she is hearing and then respond.

I Heart My Blocks

A few months back I made Abby Lu a set of alphabet blocks. Lately, they are her "go to" toy and I couldn't be happier! Along with watching Daddy juggle them, Abby likes to stack them and knock them over. She can get them about 7 tall before they fall over.
Next up, we'll use them to teach her letters and words!

Abby and Ellie

Little Miss Ellie got permission from the doctors to come to church on Sunday and we were so excited for Abby to see her, but not touch her! Ellie is almost 3 months old, but her adjusted age is about 2 weeks old. She sat quietly through our entire class. Experiencing infertility and knowing Jessica's pain, I always quietly would say a little prayer when another baby was in our class and would cry or coo. On Sunday, sweet Sarah who is 2 months old made a noise and I realized, Jessica was hearing that and not longing like she had for so long. It made me smile.

Ellie is doing great. She has lots of regular appointments to confirm she is developing as she should, but she continues to impress at those appointments. Praise the Lord!

Last Minute Date Night

Monday night, Marcus and I took a last minute opportunity from my Mom to go out to dinner. She is staying with us a couple of nights per week to lessen her commute and we decided to go out after putting Abby to bed. We left the house having no idea where we were going to go... We ended up at Cotton Patch which was wonderful! Abby had no idea we ever left the house which makes us all happy. Sweet girl is very clingy right now.

Abby's First Snowday

Both Marcus and I worked all day and Abby spent the day at school. We both rushed to get her and get home so we could experience this? ha! Isn't that the way it is sometimes? She just didn't know what to think... she tried holding it, eating it, wiping it off her hand, watching it break apart on her coat and shoes! I think had we owned a big winter bundle for her or gloves, she might have been happier. Her sweet hat from December didn't fit her- it was a 3T. Goodness gracious girl!

I think she most enjoyed the snow from her warm highchair. She smushed it, poked a spoon in it and dumped it out of her little bowl.

Although we didn't get the sweet perfect snow angel pictures I imagined, I am so happy she got to touch some snow!

Birthday Present: Maracas

These maracas were a sweet birthday present from Abby's friends David, Blythe, and Michael. They got buried in her toy chest and when I pulled them out recently, she had so much fun. The girl loves music! They light up, play music and sounds, teach colors in English and Spanish and make my baby girl laugh! What a great gift for kids to learn and have fun with!
Thank you!

PB&J

We decided to try peanut butter and jelly for dinner. I'm trying to get some protein in since Abby is protesting most meats. Don't worry, her pediatrician approves of nuts since neither of us have any nut-related allergies. She took one bite and then no more. I think she really just wanted the bread and was trying to get the peanut butter and jelly off her beloved bread. We'll try again next month and hope for better luck.

Eating Challenges

We are having a rough week with food. I am sure this is a phase we are going through and I hope it passes quickly. One week Abby loves something and the next, she won't eat a bite of it and she throws it off the highchair. I think she is teething and her teachers think her drainage is filling her belly.
We tried pancakes this morning for breakfast and she had one bite. I swear she is living off the nutrients from milk right now. She has no problems drinking, thank goodness. I'll be sure to share when this phase ends!

Look Alike Day

Think peacock blue is a popular color this season?

This is my team at work and we all wore the same color today without any preplanning!

What a Ham!

Abby's school took this picture when we were at her party on Friday afternoon. Thank you sweet girl for being shy, reserved, polite, and graceful at ALL times.

Weekend Fun

We had so much fun this weekend! Saturday Abby's Granpa and Jaja came to visit and then Miss Madeline came over to play. They shared Goldfish and Craisins and enjoyed a wagon ride. Look at Madeline's blue eyes- no editing! They are big and beautiful! Sunday after lunch we went to the mall trying to do the impossible- get Marcus to buy some new dress shoes. He hates shopping and spending money on that stuff and I am always encouraging him to buy nice shoes since I know it'll be another 5 years before he buys another pair. We got lucky and bought 2 pair at Macy's for $55. Full price would have been $180! We also let Abby spend a few minutes in the playscape. She has fun crawling all around and going head first down the slide.
This evening, we gave her the Valentine's Day presents from Nana and us. Here she is watching her new sign language video and looking at the book Nana gave her.

This is one of those pictures that scare me- I can picture her as a little girl. She doesn't look like a baby!

The book came with a small CD player that plays classic nursery rhymes featured in the story book. Once we discovered the CD player, Abby was carrying it around the living room playing and dancing to her songs. Here it became her in-care CD player :)

Thanks Nana for my CD player! I love it!

After Abby went to bed, Marcus and I enjoyed a nice homemade dinner of brisket, roasted potatoes, apple pie and ice cream. It is a nice quiet evening at home!

Will You BEE Mine?

Love is in the Air

Marcus and I took off early Friday afternoon to attend Abby's class' Valentine party. I am so glad we went, most parents were there and those without kept saying Momma and Daddy. They were all so confused!

This is Abby looking at her boyfriend Evan from the corner of her eye. They have played with each other since they were newborns. He is about 2 months older than her. Can you tell how much they like each other!
Speaking of like, my girl likes her cupcakes. No real hesitation. No real preference to vanilla or red velvet. She'll take one in each hand.

Is it my birthday?

After Abby's party, we left Abby with my Mom and we enjoyed a lovely Valentine dinner at Roaring Fork with our friend Will and Johnna. The food and the friends were wonderful!

Genius

Abby's teachers at school and Marcus and I have really loved teaching Abby sign language. Marcus' sister is a huge proponent of ASL and bought Abby a book and recommend a great video to us. She is learning words left and right now- I honestly can't keep up! At school yesterday, they showed a prospective parents Abby's skills to demonstrate the use of sign.

Here is a video of many of her words. She learned "please" yesterday. We are working on banana and book right now.

In the order she learned them, she can currently sign:

• All Done
• More
• Eat
• Drink
• Touchdown
• Ball
• No
• Yes
• Milk
• Thank You
• Please

Yes, She Most Certainly Is...

loved!

Sneaky

For the most part, Abby will eat veggies. However, I feel like we feed her the same couple of vegetables every night. So, I have been on the look out for new ways to introduce veggies and found 2 winners!

This is Abby eating yogurt with vegetables inside! We have to hide the container so that she will eat her meal before we give it to her! It is Horizon's Little Blends that I found at Target. They have Strawberry and Carrot or Banana with Sweet Potato. Abby loves them both! The green stuff in Abby's hand is okra chips! She loves to crunch it and eats 4 or 5 as a snack. I love fried okra- these are good! I found them at HEB Plus. They also sell mixed veggie chips and sweet potato chips. I like the okra spears- easier for Abby to hold.
Have you snuck some veggies into your kid's diet today? Please share your ideas!

Yo Abby Abby!

Marcus and Abby ride to school each morning listening to tunes Marcus downloaded on his iPOD. Here are two of their favorites. This girl loves her Yo Gabba Gabba. She smiles and dances immediately!





How do you think Marcus will look as DJ Lance Rock for Halloween? Anything for his baby girl, right?

Two Girls and a Boy

Saturday morning I joined my friend Jenny, Natalie, and Melissa to pray over our sweet friend Jessica and her 2 month old preemie Gabrielle who finally came home! Months ago, we prayed over Gabrielle while Jessica was still pregnant and asked the Lord to keep her healthy so that she would come home to her loving parents one day. This week that day came and we gathered to thank God for loving us and trusting Mo and Jessica with one of His daughters. Not a dry eye in the house!Afterward, Abby and I met my sister and the kids at Barton Creek Mall for Valentines pictures, lunch and shopping. Pictures are hard with kids that age. Cohen was very unhappy to be in pink. He was certain everyone thought he was a girl. Abby wanted to be held the whole time. Needless to say, we didn't get very many pictures. I bought one of Abby sticking her tongue out. It is cute, but not what I was envisioning for her pictures.

Last night we went out to dinner. Abby had taken a late nap, so we thought we had enough time to eat out. She did great and ate so many different things- peas, carrots, broccoli, cheese quesadilla, guacamole, oranges and she tried chocolate! We had brought her milk and she drank it all, so we gave her chocolate milk to try. She didn't seem to notice a difference.

Marcus and I ordered a chocolate brownie dessert shot. It was about 4 bites which is perfect. I gave Abby a bite of the chocolate sauce. She never took her eyes off that spoon! In all, I gave her 5 or 6 bites of sauce and she loved it. We laughed when we got her home- she was like a drunk friend from college. She laughed at everything, was hyper, pooped on herself!, couldn't stop moving and passed out easier than normal. We were laughing! During the meal, we did have a hard time keeping Abby focused on her food. Look at her- she is staring down a little boy in the booth over! She blew kisses at the waitstaff all night long!

Christmas Present: Yoddling Sheep

It is always the least expected toys that get the biggest reaction, isn't it? If you wany Abby to show you her teeth and laugh, just "get her" with her yoddling sheep from Nana. She loves him!

There is a Lesson to be Learned Here

After bath time the other night, Abby sat in her basket (I put away her laundry during bath time) and was playing with her blocks. Marcus sees 3 similiar shaped objects and he immediately begins to juggle. Abby could watch him juggle forever. She just stares and smiles. Marcus doesn't juggle at church for children Abby's age because they don't have the interest of attention span. But, because it is her Daddy, this sweet girl watches with joy! Okay, maybe it wasn't joy. Maybe she was watching closely to learn how to do it herself because then she proceeded to throw blocks in the air! How will I ever teach her not to throw things in the house with a juggling Daddy around?

Pink Bath Water!!!!!

Isn't this fun? I read about crayola's colored bath tablets (from Target) on another blog and thought Abby would enjoy it. She loves seeing the water pour from the pitcher in the bath, so colored water had to be even better! In the end, I'm not really sure she noticed!

Christmas Present: Playskool Vacuum

Abby got a vacuum cleaner for Christmas and she loves it! It makes noises and spins yarn to mimic the fan picking up dirt. I'm certain once she starts walking she is going to walking around the whole house with Mr. Vacuum.

Laundry To Do!

Where is Abby? I don't see her?

Oh there she is, in the laundry basket! Marcus put her toys inside her "West Texas playpen" and she played well until she wanted out and topped it over!
Then he gave her rides around the living room.