Celebrating 38!

We have had a fun family day to celebrate Marcus' birthday! Late last night, Abby and I made Marcus his favorite cake, German Chocolate Pound cake. This girl loves to cook. She was asking me "what do we need? Do we need salt? Do we need baking powder?" She is going to be a good little baker real soon!

This morning Marcus opened his presents by 7:15 when Abby woke up. We then made pancakes before going to church. This was our last Sunday to serve as coordinators in the babies hall. We have been doing it for 15 months and it was time. I wanted to leave before we were burned out and be able to devote time to other things we have going on. After church, we had lunch and came home for naps. Marcus and Abby rested while I got some work done.

They ran out afterward to pick up sushi take out. HEB has good sushi and it is the perfect price! I ate potstickers and rice instead. No raw fish for me! Abby had never seen chopsticks before and called them toothpicks!

After dinner we put on our suits and visited our friends Ed and Valerie for an impromptu pool party. They had family in town, so we brought over birthday cake and Marcus and Abby swam in the pool. She also loved chasing the dogs in the backyard. We almost got a puppy for Marcus' birthday :)

Along the pet lines, we had to buy a new fish this week. Dorothy lasted 10 months which I am told is a good long fish life. Marcus didn't want to tell Abby what happened to her and I did. He felt strongly about it, so I let him make the call. He didn't get a replacement in time and Abby noticed when Marcus was at work. Uh, I don't know how to lie about this.... so I called Marcus and he told me to handle it however I wanted. I told Abby Dorothy got sick and went to heaven. She was totally cool about it once I told her we could get another fish. So, we know have a red Dorothy.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Marcus' 38th birthday! Only two more years until the big 4-0 which Marcus is certain should be rung in in Cabo with a frozen drink in his hand! For 38, we are not doing much, baking his favorite cake and having sushi take out at home for dinner!

We have been teasing Marcus for a few weeks that he wants a puppy for his birthday, which Abby and I have named Clementine. I think Marcus is relieved and Abby is sad a puppy didn't appear on our doorstep today. Marcus opened his Fuel Band weeks ago for his birthday, so we are surprising him with these pictures. Abby's shirt says, "My Dad is the Coolest". I couldn't agree more!

Right before my Eyes...

Look at this transformation- in one school year! Amazing what a little girl she has become. I am so happy with the sweet little school Abby attended this year. It was just perfect for her and she did well. Her teachers said such wonderful things about her all year long and it makes me proud to see her do well in school.

In their end of year program today, they sand two songs and each child received an award fitting to their personality. Abby received the "teacher in training" award. I had been told before that she likes to make sure everyone is doing what they should, she enforces justice in the room, shows concern when others are not following the rules, and generally takes a leadership role. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

Although it is officially summer, this working from home Mom can't do without solid uninterrupted work time. So, Abby will be attending a new summer MDO and then another preschool in the fall. There are only 2 summer programs near our home and neither was a good long term fit. So, she'll do 3 months at a nearby Baptist church and then this fall attend a more structured program. It is larger, so she will be in the older 3s class this coming school year and then the older 4s the following year. They also offer 5 days a week which we are looking at for the last year before kindergarten. Her current school would have required a repeat of this year or next year and neither seemed right.

So, we are off for a week and then back to school for the summer! Don't tell Abby most kids are off :)

Sea World's Bay of Play

A huge part of our San Antonio trip was to buy season tickets to Sea World. We did Fiesta Texas in 2010 and had heard Sea World was so much better for this age. We found it to be true- the shows were more universal, the rides and water areas more appealing, and the layout and overall park were just better!

We will no doubt be visiting more until our passes expire in January! We spent 5 hours there on Friday and 4 on Saturday before driving home. The kid area is called Sesame Street Bay of Play and we spent 90% of our time there! With the exception of Elmo, we had our picture taken with all of our favorite people.

I think she was most excited to see Abby Cadabby. 

She was not afraid of anyone! She would walk right up, talk to them, high five, give hugs, all of it!

Telly was the first picture we took, obviously a little more hesitant. We bought a small Rosita doll as her souvenir and she was super excited to show Rosita the doll. I am betting Rosita isn't a big purchase... we heard numerous people trying to figure out who she was!

I had to Facebook this picture... these nets are at least 3 stories high and Abby did them without hesitation. She actually did them twice because when she got up high, she had to potty! Marcus crawled up with her and conquered his own fears! When they started Marcus told her not to be scared and to have confidence. That lead to her singing "I've got confidence in my Lord, my Lord, my Lord" all the way up. At the top, she said "LOUDER" and kept singing!

On Saturday, we came back dressed in suits so that Abby could play in the splash pad area. It was a little too crowded, so she moved onto rides and we went to visit the fish and dolphins.

We rode the coaster, spinning fish, and the ferris wheel 2 times each. It was nice that we each got to ride with her. The ferris wheel was the slowest and thus we could capture pictures!

Fish and dolphin pics to come- hooray for the iPhone taking great pictures in the dark!

San Antonio Getaway

Marcus took off Thursday afternoon and Friday and we enjoyed a little getaway to our favorite San Antonio hotel, Westin La Cantera. We told Abby we were taking her on a vacation and asked her what did she think we do on vacation? Her answer was priceless: "take lots of pictures!"

We decided to go earlier in the summer to avoid the crowds and we lucked out! The hotel was pretty dead! We spent much of our days at Sea World (pictures to come), but enjoyed afternoons at the pool. On Friday afternoon, we paid to have Abby in child care for 2 hours and enjoyed the adult only pool and a nap in the shade!

We had stopped by the kids area on Thursday evening and Abby didn't want to leave. They had videos, computer games, art stations, toys and a big dollhouse. Her time spend in kids care while we were poolside- at the dollhouse! This girl loves playing family. Funny story, the Mom was missing from their toys and the worker tried to make it not a big deal by saying she wasn't home. Abby and I decided she was at Target ;)

Abby has been to this hotel a handful of times, but this was the first time I think she could really enjoy it. She loves making smores each night at the fire pit (like they do on Bubble Guppies) and learned how to do the big kid slide into the pool. I am so proud of her for doing it (it is a little scary, about 20 feet long, 10 feet high and there are turns) and even more proud of her Daddy for letting her. We joked one of his propellers (he has earned the helicopter parent label) was broken. 

She also thoroughly impressed us by remembering to whisper in the halls, being tall enough to push the buttons in the elevator, and sleeping without any problems in a new environment. We are lucky parents!

We are going back in a couple of weeks with Nana and Cohen! Abby can't wait to go back... to the dollhouse!

Splash Pad Season

I have been looking forward to this summer for more than a year. I became a real life SAHM at the end of August and enjoyed the pools in our area for about 2 weeks before they closed for the season. I have wanted to go back since! 

On Wednesday, we joined our friends Kiersten and Kaylinn at the Williamson County regional splash pad. We were there at 10:30 and it was pretty quiet. So nice to run around without so many kids! We must revisit a few times the next few weeks before school is out!

Abby loved the sand more than the water. She tried to avoid getting her head wet most of the time. It is tough when water splashes up from the ground without warning!

I am looking forward to lots of water park play dates over the next few months! Hooray for summer!

Local friends.... if I set up a standing Wednesday morning playdate and we moved around between local splash pads and parks, could you join us? Is another day better... we could do Wednesday or Fridays this summer.

Exhausted?

This is one of many reasons we don't share a bed with Abby!

My Mother's Day

We had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend celebration! Since my Mom was in town, we went on a date Saturday night to Takoba. Seriously, their coconut souffle is the best dessert in town! We sat outside on the patio since it was gorgeous out. 

I opened my gift- don't you love it! That is sweet Abby's profile with an A and her birthstone. I love unique pieces of jewelry and anything that features my baby girl!

Sunday morning, we lounged around the house and then met Marcus' Mom for an early lunch at Cheddars. Abby gave me my present first thing Sunday morning. She had been hinting about my gift all week and wouldn't give me a single clue, except when she whispered that I couldn't open my bag until Sunday. Love her!

It was nice having both Moms for lunch and Abby was a mess with show-off-ness :) They got to spoil her and play and I took a nap! I donated my time at an event Thursday - Saturday and I was exhausted and grumpy. Thank God for some rest!

I hope you all had a great day, too! I prayed for the many friends I have still awaiting their special day. I pray your day comes real soon!

The Ongoing Hair Grow Out

I hit a major milestone with my hair this week- it is finally long enough to cut it like my beloved stacked bob. So excited to have it longer in the front and shorter in the back! Hooray!

PS- I didn't color it. The treatment on the photo really amped up my red. Although, I do like it!

Wordless Wednesday: My Teenager!

Cinco de Mayo!

Look at my little senorita! She was saying "aye aye aye aye" when I snapped the picture! We bought her sweet little dress in Cabo on our vacation last fall. So glad she was able to wear it to a birthday party!

Look at this sweet girl and her cake! Abby loves her friend Lauramae and we had fun at her Snow White party. Lauramae's Mom is super creative and had so many sweet little touches throughout the party. The gift bag had an apple in it. Smart!

Abby, the birthday girl and Megan. These girls are all in Sunday school together and talk about each other all week. We have gotten to know the parents of these girls through the little friendship and love them all!

We had a fun party and ate yummy Mexican food!

Funny story- Lauramae asked for a bow dress like Abby for her birthday and her Mom and I tried to figure out what Abby had worn to church that could be a bow dress. I told Marcus the story and he said it is probably the dress form on Abby's dresser that houses her hundred bows.

Well, Lauramae grandmother bought her a dress form and put a couple of little bows on it. When she opened it up, Lauramae got the biggest smile on her face and looked right at Abby. Bingo- that was it!

New Friends

Abby loves her school friend Makayla. Abby also loves Makayla's Mom who happens to be Abby's MDO teacher. We prayed about what school was best for Abby and have loved her MDO, due in huge part to her teacher. When in daycare, Abby's teachers made it clear that she wasn't easy for them. She would get stressed out and bite herself weekly. At MDO, her teachers praises Abby- she is funny, compassionate, and so smart. She also has to tell me when Abby isn't a good friend or a disruption during naptime, but somehow   because she is saying it with love, I can accept it so much better!

Our mother-daughter friendship with them grew when we joined The Little Gym in March and they were in the same class. Last week after class we had a picnic lunch and let the girls play on the playground. It was fun for us both! We exchanged cell phone numbers and hope to have more playdates when the school year and Little Gym session has ended.

I love making the leap to "real" friends!

Happy Birthday PBS!

 Our local PBS station celebrated a big birthday this weekend with a big party downtown! It was fun, but exhausting and really crowded. I think they had a bigger turnout that expected!

We changed clothes in the parking lot after church, ate lunch on the way, and got there just in time to see Super Why reading a story on stage. Abby had a great view from Daddy's shoulders. Funny story... Marcus ran a 5K before church downtown and had just run on the streets 6 hours earlier!

This is Super Why, the namesake of the PBD show that we think had taught Abby all of her letters. It is all about letters, numbers, reading fairy tales, etc. Really cool show!

Clifford was also there. We don't watch him, but Abby knows him from story time on Saturday morning at our local library. She calls him the big red dog.

We were not scared of anyone, but Maya and Miguel. We have seen a few minutes of that show (if the DVR Runs long) and Abby says they are mean. She was scared to take her picture with them, but did do a high five at the end.

I used my iphone and these pictures are blurry- ugh! I think I over compressed them in email- sorry about that! Here is Princess Presto, also from Super Why. Abby most wanted to see her, so we hung around until she had a scheduled walk around at 2:30. Two minutes before she came out, Abby had to potty. Good timing kiddo!

But, we stalked her and finally found her. Abby was pretty excited!

I'm so glad we found out they were in town! It was fun to be downtown with Abby and do something in the community.