Happy Days

Abby has picked up on the fact that when people are happy, they smile and laugh. If you laugh, she'll bust out into the loudest, deepest belly laughs. I love seeing this girl bring such joy to our family and those around us.

That blue tongue is courtesy of jello at Lubys!

One of our neighbors came over one night when we were in the yard to say hello. She is the neighbor that knows everyone and tells it like it is. She paid us a huge compliment- she said she is around lots of other kids and Abby is a good one. I guarantee you, she'd tell us if Abby was a terror! Thank you Jesus- we work hard on her behavior and it makes you feel good to know it is paying off. Some days you just don't know :)

Birthday Celebrations

We went to County Line on the Lake for dinner Sunday night to celebrate my 35th birthday! I am always 28 in my mind :) Abby was not happy to have someone else in the picture with her. Guess we need to start working on sharing the spotlight!

She sure doesn't mind it when she is flying!

This girl loves her "animals". These finger puppets go anywhere we will let her take them and she'll sit with her hands like this forever!

Dinner was good- I had brisket tacos- yummy! Afterward, we went down on the water for Abby to see the turtles. That green murky water scared me to death! We were holding onto Abby so tight!

Overall, we had a wonderful dinner and I'm just so very happy and grateful to be healthy, have a loving family, and the ability to enjoy time with each other!

On Tuesday, my actual birthday, Marcus let me sleep in and he had Abby wake me up with presents (a new Brighton charm of a birthday cake!) He even bought her a little something! We had lunch together and he showed up with these beautiful tulips. I really should keep fresh flowers on my desk all the time- they just make me happy! We celebrated with dinner at home and ice cream cake!

Our upcoming trip to Savannah is my real birthday present! I can't wait! We have some fun stuff planned- spa appointments, dolphin tour, church service in a historic church, Sunday lunch with Paula Deen, a private carriage ride through the historic district, and more!

Its a birthday in the Jenks house!

Today is Anna's birthday!

We started the day off by trying to explain to Abby that this is Mommy's birthday. The closest we got is that she understands now that today is Mommy and Abby's birthday. Close enough. Maybe I didn't help things out by getting presents for Abby to open too...

Today is a nice moderate celebration.....birthday lunch, evening at home, dinner, and....thanks to my little spy, mommy knows there is a cake treat tonight. (mental note, go pick up cake on the way home tonight).

I have a truly awesome wife that is just the complete package.....she can be a mommy, business woman, football fan, craft aficionado, decorator, Church kids care coordinator, and more!

She gets better, smarter, cooler as we have the years go by. This year should be awesome!

I'm so lucky that we have this time together, and that she and I get begin to get ready to enter our 30s together in the next few years.

Love you!

Marcus

Granpa, and JaJa and Midge

It is that time of year again- time for my Dad and Jacque to load up the RV and head north. It always happens in late March, so we celebrate my birthday and their big goodbye. Thursday, we had them over for dinner and to celebrate.

We met them at our house about 5 (leaving work a little early) to maximize our time before Abby's 7:30 bedtime. We tried to get a picture with Granpa a little late and the meltdown had begun!

Abby wanted Jacque near her most of the night- you can make friends with her real quickly if you'll push her on the backyard swing :)

Jacque's Mom, Midge, joined us. She came in a seperate car and arrived last- Abby immediately asked "Where's Midge?" when Dad and Jacque arrived. ha! Midge brought Abby a sweet teddy bear that she loved on all night.

After dinner and presents, we watched a little basketball and a little Gabba. Abby sat in her favorite TV watching chair :)

Funny story... see the band-aid on her elbow. She scraped it on the back patio at school while riding a tricycle. She loves band-aids. The other night after her bath, we put Neosporin on her elbow and then a band-aid. She was crushed when we covered her band-aid with her pajamas. Marcus ended up putting a second band-aid on her elbow outside her pajamas. She woke up at 4 AM crying which is very unlike her.... Marcus went it to check on her. She was crying because her band-aid on the outside of her jammies had fallen off.

Thanks for visiting us Grandpa, Ja-Ja and Midge! Have a great summer trip! When we see you next, we'll know all our ABCs, be potty trained, and be enrolled in dance class! Exciting changes!

Water Table Wonder

We bought Abby this water table last year and after Marcus scrubbed it from it's winter storage, we brought it out today for the first time. It seems like this is going to be a long summer! We stocked up on her sunscreen this weekend.

She does a much better job pouring this year in comparison. One of the things Marcus and I were amazed at- she can pour equally well with her right and left hand. She still doesn't have a dominate hand- she colors, throws, eats and pours with both. Amazing!

Open letter to Abby from Daddy, please read in 2024.....

Abby Lu,

I am getting ready to run a race this weekend. Its a race I've run several times, and a distance I am familiar with. This race is called the Cap 10K, and is held every year here in Austin. This is the 34^th annual running of the Cap 10. There is about 20K people that will run it. This year I hope to run this race in 55 mins. Last year, I ran it in 55 mins, and carried you crying and screaming across the finish line. Bad…bad idea…..

I’m not going to win any award with this time, and its surely an average, or even below average pace for the average runner. It is however, better than the time I ran when I was 27, and 29, and all through my 30s to now.

You see, the point to this race use to be to prove to myself that I could do it. Now, it’s an investment to be able to keep doing it. I made a pact with God and myself that I would be strong for you, and there for you through your years growing up. I am investing in that now. Doing the same time as last year means I’m not losing ground. It means I’m not getting slow, or old, or on the decline.

When I am 50, and you are 16, I want to be able to still run this race with you. Even though we had you later in life, I want to show that I can be as healthy and as strong as the fathers that are 10 years my junior. I don’t want to be your ‘old man’, and I don’t want to be sitting out of any sports with you when you’re in middle school or even high school. I want to commit to able to make 50, the new 30.

So I invest today, for us tomorrow. I know there are important things to being a parent, and maybe being able to play and be active is a lesser one of these things, but right now, it is something…and its one of the most tangible things I can grasp. We can invest financially for your future, we can invest time in your education, but I want to also invest in my ability to hold you, carry you, and even push you.

So with that said, be ready kiddo. Because the 47^th annual Cap 10 should be coming up soon. You’ll be 16, I’ll be 50….and everything I’ve done for the past 16 years is for this moment, when we can have a race together, and frankly, you better be ready…because I’m hoping to still be chiseling away on my time, down from that 55 mins..

So I’m going off this weekend to create another mile stone in my investment..Running this 34^th annual Cap 10K. I’m going to have some fun with some friends while doing it, and I enjoy it, but when I hit mile 5, and I’m starting to want to ease up, I won’t be kicking in the afterburners just because I want to for me, but because I want to for us.

Now, get your shoes, it’s time to go run.

Daddy

Nose Spray

Every new Mom is recommended or purchased at showers "Little Noses". It is saline spray and recommended by pediatricians when you child is congested. You put the small bottle just inside the nostril and squeeze. It then sprays saline up their nasal cavity which helps to open up their nose. You can imagine, most kids hate nose spray. You have to hold them down.

Abby on the other hand (due to some comedy from her father) loves nose spray and asks to be all done with bath to get her nose spray. I caught the hilarity on video the other night. I plan to watch this video anytime I am having a bad day- it just makes me smile!

Our New Flowers

This is Abby's cute watering can. Marcus and I had lunch one day and ran into Carter's to pick up some tees for Abby for Spring. We had discussed her needing a watering can- Marcus saw this one, thought it was cute, and added it to our pile. When we got out to the car, we saw it was $18! For a plastic watering can! Goodness- she needs to use it and love it!

On Sunday afternoon, we took Abby to Lowe's to pick out flowers to put that gold watering can to good use. She told us she wanted white, yellow, pink and purple flowers. She had to sit in the basket among the flowers. Then, they cramped her style and got a little itchy!

While I planted her new flowers (since she suddenly wanted nothing to do with them!), she helped Marcus make piles of leaves and pick them up.

She loved making piles of leaves and weeds for Marcus to pick up. I don't see how this was more appealing than planting her beloved flowers!

Here they are- our little pretties.

Everything really is more fun with a child- I love being outside with her!

Push Ups

The weather has been so great the past few weeks that we rush home to swing in the backyard. While one of us pushes Abby and plays, the other makes dinner with the back door open. Then, we eat dinner on our tiny back patio. I have eaten dinner outside more this Spring than I have in all my life.

Since we are doing so much outdoor dining, we let Abby have a pre-bath post-dinner outdoor Popsicle for the first time. She ate her orange push up in her swing. Life can't get much better in the mind of a 2 year old! Honestly, it can't get much better for her parents either.

Grumpy Girl

Why or why when she looks this cute does she refuse to smile for the camera?

I seriously love this Target dress and leggings and the color combination on her.

I even promised her a marshmallow and she wouldn't smile!

No fear- Spring has just started and we will capture her smiling in this dress!

Weekend with Mimi

Abby's Mimi (Marcus' Mom) came to visit this weekend. After Abby's nap on Saturday, we went to Chick-fil-A to play and have ice cream.

Abby is really starting to master eating with a spoon. She did so much better with the dip, scoop and balance this time around. A small cup of ice cream at CFA, is a small drinking cup filled with ice cream. It is a LOT!

We spent a good 30 minutes inside the playground and had the place to ourselves. It is a Chick-fil-A miracle. We were there about 4 PM on a Saturday and we'll be back! Since no one was around, we took a couple of balls from Abby's bag and would roll them up the slide and watch them roll back down. Very entertaining!

Thanks for visiting us Mimi! See you later!

I See the Moon...

and the moon sees me!

Thanks to Facebook, I heard the moon would be extra big and bright on Saturday night. Right before going to bed, Marcus and I snuck outside to take a peek. With a little editing from Picnik, I captured it beautifully!

New Kind of Happy Hour

We went to "happy hour" on Thursday night with some friends at our favorite neighborhood restaurant/bar. We sat outside on the newly renovated patio and Abby loved visiting with new friends and running around outside. It was St. Patrick's Day and March Madness so there was a fun mix of people, families, and green beer. We stayed longer than we normally do at a restaurant with a 2 year old, so we captured Abby as the sun was setting.

We met our friend Katy and her fiancée Ike. We hadn't met Ike before, but loved him and look forward to seeing them both at their wedding this Fall. Both of them were so wonderful with Abby. She went inside the restaurant with Katy without hesitation, even waving goodbye to us. We'll work on stranger danger real soon!

Oddly enough, two of Marcus' co-workers were also in attendance, so we had a party of 4 people with kids, one with grown kids, and our family with Abby. So grateful to have an easy kid who entertained everyone and behaved!

We keep telling her good girls have all the fun!

Getting Green

Like most people in Texas, we are in the season of trying to get your grass green before your neighbors! We live in a neighborhood with numerous retired people around us and they all have the most beautiful yards year round.

Marcus spent most of last Saturday in our yard trying to undo winter and wake it up! Abby got a new watering can, so she is helping patch by patch!

I am off this afternoon and her and I are going to Lowe's to buy some pretty flowers she can drown, ahem, water each night.

Did You Remember?

We did- we are all decked out in green today!

Here is our baby girl celebrating her first St. Paddy's and last year as a Sham Rocker!

To Grandmother's House We Go

Sorry I have been MIA- I have a lot going on personally and professionally! Plus, with my favorite subject out of town, I didn't have much to say!

I had a conference this past week and was out of town. My Mom came to help Marcus and then Abby and Nana went out of town for a family member's baby shower and to spend some time at my sister's house.

It just cracks me up how a baby girl can become a mini diva right under your nose!

Sad Face

This is Abby's sad or concerned face. I love seeing a compassionate side to her- she makes this face whenever we hear a baby cry in a restaurant, Marcus or I drop something, or something bad happens on TV, like Muno biting Foofa.

The furrow in her brow comes from her Daddy :)

New Favorite Restaurant

Last weekend, when my Mom was visiting, we snuck out on Sunday night to have dinner. I ate at Takoba on East 7th with friends and it was so good and unique that I really wanted to take Marcus.

The food is wonderful- pork tacos marinated in pineapples. It is sweet and nutty. I love them! We ate outside on the patio and both had an adult beverage. I might drink once a year- it just doesn't appeal to me. However, Sangria with a cinnamon stick sounded like something I would like. It was good!

We also splurged and had dessert. On the left is my Coconut Souffle with fresh pineapples. The right is Marcus' super rich chocolate cake.

I highly recommend visiting Takoba!

Flying with Daddy

Abby loves anything that lets her jump and fly in the air. Marcus found a new position to hold her in that allows him to really lift her high!

Her holds her like the cowboys do the small calves at the rodeo :)

She would just laugh the entire time she was flying.

Then, they would land in the big yellow chair and Abby would say, "one more time!"

Who needs a gym!

Dinner with Granpa and JaJa

After Billa's party on Saturday afternoon, we went to see Granpa and JaJa for dinner. We were on their side of town, so it made sense. We lucked out and they made us a nice dinner!

Abby had fun riding in the golf cart, playing peek-a-boo, seeing all the toys, and showing off.

We kept her out past her bedtime and luckily, she was a good girl for our visit and stayed awake all the way home and then went right to bed. We are so blessed!

Billa's Birthday Party

Our little friend Billa turned three recently and we celebrated her birthday on Saturday afternoon. Don't you just love her cheeks?

She had a Scooby Doo party and we spent most of the time playing outside with all the little people. It was such a pretty day to be outdoors! Abby got to practice being in the big girl swing. Daddy got to practice showing restraint!

While Billa was opening presents Abby started rolling a ball with one of the adults at the party. She has never met a stranger!

I think Abby has figured out that parties means yummy treats- she was so excited about having a cupcake and only ate the icing!

The oreo cake ball is another story. She ate that with the speed of a hot dog eating champion. Why is it when I introduce a new meat or vegetable to her for the first time she has such apprehension, but an oreo ball doesn't get a second glance?

Happy Birthday Billa! Thanks for having us over to celebrate with you.

16 Years Later

Marcus and I starting dating and shared our first kiss 16 years ago this past Saturday. We joked that Marcus still has a couple of shirts from before we met. I'm not even kidding. I don't know that I own any clothes from before 2005. We met September 25, 1994 and began dating February 26, 1995. I am so grateful for both of those days and the man behind them.

Mom was visiting so we celebrated with a nice dinner in the Domain and then a performance at our church by comedian/singer/songwriter Tim Hawkins. He was hilarious- we both really liked him. He is all over You Tube if you want to see some of his bits. He is most famous for the Chick-fil-A song.

I joked with Marcus on Facebook the day before that gifts were expected. He did a good job. When we were in college, on Friday nights, we would pick a random cheap item and go on a mission to find it. That was practically free fun for college students. So, we went on a mission and bought me all kinds of random things, silly things I like or even a few things we needed. We had just recently broken our small whisk for example!

I love you Mr. Jenk- thank you for filling my life with love, happiness, sillyness, and someone to share cake with.

Wacky Day for Dr. Seuss

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and Abby's school is celebrating with wacky clothes, bring in a fun hat and your favorite book.

We own a Dr. Seuss related shirt, but it was dirty, so we want wacky with over the top zebra and a tutu and lopsided piggies. Sure, that was intentional :)

She also packed her DJ Lance Rock orange hat and her favorite Yo Gabba Gabba book- Party in My Tummy. I hope she has a fun day with her friends and the "Doctor".