Bravest Girl

Abby has asked to jump on the special trampoline at the mall for a long time. We've watched other kids and always told her she could try it when she was 5. You only have to be 30 pounds, but we didn't her to jostle about or go too high.

She remembered when we were at the mall recently and we talked about doing it one night when both Marcus and I could be with her. So, today we met friends at the mall to ride the carousel and have lunch and the guy saw her looking and offered us a free ride since it was slow.

We called Marcus and her agreed provided I took a video of the whole thing. Abby was SO excited. She kept telling me she wanted to say hi to the people on the top floor of the mall. She took off her boots and they strapped her in!

And she laughed up and down the trampoline! The worker was having fun trying to fly her higher. She would laugh harder. And, people stopped and watched her JOY!

She even got high enough to talk to the people on the second floor!

I uploaded the full video here. I love her bravery and her sweet little laugh for a solid two minutes!

iPhone Randoms

As much as I love the camera on my iPhone, this may become a regular post!

We celebrated my birthday on Tuesday afternoon with our friends Natalie, little Michael and sweet baby Caroline at Gigi's cupcakes. It was yummy- I tried Pistachio this time.

Abby is obsessed with Caroline and sang to her when she started fussing. Sweet girls!

This morning we went to the park to play. We ran to Starbuck's for tea, packed our breakfast and were o n the swings before 8:30. I wanted to do it early before it got warm, but then I freaked myself out that someone could steal us easily, so we left by 9. I like a busy park over a dead one.

Girlfriend looks awful here- post bath and orange popsicle. The point is that she can curl her tongue just like her Daddy. That is genetics which makes IVF parents happily reassured!

Monday we got a haircut and had lunch at Chick-fil-A. After we ate, Abby got to play for a few minutes and she did the big girl slide for the first time with me. Apparently she has done it for months for Marcus. I don't have a clue what that is about!

Summer has begun- we had BBQ chicken and grilled corn on the cob for dinner this week. That is my favorite summer meal. Watermelon would have made it perfection!

 She might kill me for this- Abby took a magazine from the guest bedroom to the potty one day during nap time. She told me, "I like to read when I poop". Oh boy!

Sunday after church we treated ourselves to a nice lunch- Cheesecake Factory. We shared appetizers and then all shared Strawberry Shortcake, my favorite dessert there. Abby discovered the whipped cream before I had my fingers on my spoon!

Finally, Sunday Marcus and I served in the 2 year old room at church. We found the gymboree bubbles and the bubble wand. Life changing! So great. We bought one an hour later!

Hope you are having a good week too!

Brave

I am continually amazed at what Abby will try at gymnastics. I am so proud of her!

Playing Outside

We get lots of use from our backyard playground! After 9 months, Abby is finally interested in something other than the swings!

One night this week (in our jammies) when it had finally cooled down, we played in the fort and on the chalkboard.

We colored with our left hand until it get tired and then our right hand. Sometimes, we colored with both!

Here's hoping for a few more cool days of outside fun!

Our New Favorite Toy

Have you seen the Aquadoodle? It is our favorite new toy!

I found it at Target in Cedar Park; although, online it states it is out of stock.

It is a large vinyl like mat that you can write on with a "pen" filled with water. The water on the special paper makes it turn from white to blue and then dries and disappears in under 5 minutes.

Since it is just water, there is really no mess. And, the mat can be laid on the floor or sat on the table and travels well. Notice, at almost 25 months, Abby still uses both her left and right hand for writing. God is still leaving that one as a surprise!

Here is our first Aqua-masterpiece!

New Playdough

I asked my sister to buy Abby some playdough for her birthday. My friend Billye had recommended it for restaurants and Abby loves it. Tiffany went above and beyond and made her a whole playdough kit of goodies.

Since it was cold and rainy this weekend, we busted out the playdough. Here is a link for all kinds of simple homemade playdough- I'm not sure which one she made. Along with the playdough, Tiffany included cookie cutters. They are fun to help Abby learn shapes.

Thanks Tiff- it was a perfect rainy day activity.

Wordless Wednesday: Time Out

Wolverine and Beast

If you know Marcus, you know he is fond of comic books, cartoons, and X-Men. He shared a few of his X-Men with Abby recently. She calls them "mean men" and makes her meanest sounds when she sees them. I am certain eventually Marcus will teach her who are the nice guys, who are bad guys, and who fights with who. For now, they are all mean men and Marcus couldn't be happier.

I distinctly remember riding in our Ford Escape before Abby and Kyleigh having a bag full of X-Men to play with on our ride. She would ask Marcus about each person- are they a good guy or a bad guy? It is one of those moments that you share with another child and hope and pray that you'll share with your own. I am certain that was one of those moments for Marcus.

Look for more Wolverine and Beast play from Abby soon, if Marcus has anything to do with it.

Family Time

We decided to skip church this morning and spend time together. Abby has been extra clingy the past few days and the thought of dropping her off at church wasn't appealing. Knowing that both Marcus and I have business trips this week (separate days) we wanted to stabilize her little world this morning. We decided Zilker Park would be fun since the weather was cool.

We all slept late and grabbed breakfast tacos at a local Mexican food restaurant and arrived at Zilker at 11, just in time to swing before the next train ride. Abby went on a swing strike, but we are back to loving swinging!

The train always sounds like a fun idea and then we spend the full 25 minutes holding her down, making her sit on her bottom, and trying to entertain her.

But, it was a tradition and one day she'll enjoy it!

While waiting for the train, we did treat Abby to her first snow cone. She doesn't know it, but she enjoyed lots of these while I was pregnant. She spit out the first bite, I think because it was so cold. After that bite, she enjoyed it.

We made it home in time for lunch and hopefully a long nap. We've protested that the past couple of days also! I like my long quiet Sunday afternoons and the happy girl that wakes up afterward.

Abby's New Swingset

We have been researching playscapes for about a month now and recently made a purchase and scheduled our wonderful helpers! Saturday my Dad and Jacque came over and assisted Marcus in making a safe playscape out of these boxes of boards.

It looked like it was going to be a slow process and Abby was dying to be outside with her arms wrapped around her Daddy, so we left!

We went to Target to get a few last minute items for our vacation. I am sure I have grossly overestimated the amount of snacks one 20-month old child needs! We also picked up lunch for the group at Chick-fil-A and when we were given the to go bag, Abby immediately asked for a french fry. Nice!

Progress! After lunch, Abby went down for her nap and the worker bees alternated between working and watching a little college football.

After her nap, Abby had her snack on the back porch watching the swing set really come alive. I kept her entertained sorting the sockets.

Ta-Da! So exciting to have our own slide and swing. We bought this set at Lowe's. It is a whole mix and match system where we can remove the slide and add a rock wall or place a sandbox or picnic table under the chalet (their word, not mine!). The swings and also interchangeable. We opted to buy the infant swing.

We are so grateful Abby has such loving people to sweat all day putting together her swing set. She said "thank you" and "love you" a couple of times.

Before it was totally together we gave it a try. Can you tell she loved the slide? Wee!

After dinner we played outside for a few more slides. I doubt a day will go by that we don't go "o-side and play."

New IKEA purchases

We went to IKEA last weekend and purchased a couple of new things for Abby's room. We were lucky to sell a few things from her room on Craigslist to help make room and money for our new purchases! She got 2 new hot pink chairs for her little table. We previously had small backless stools and she couldn't sit on them well. She likes her new chairs.

Her table is great for drawing, reading books, and looking at pictures of her friends. We have a couple new pictures to add to her board. She is able to point out her friend Madeline and her school friends on her board.

This is Abby's new dresser that replaces her smaller chest of drawers and changing table. I should have gone this route in the first place- it takes up less space, provides more useable storage and Abby had just gotten too long for her changing table. Either her head was pressed against the top or her legs were hanging off. I have new crystal knobs coming to make this more vintage/shabby chic looking!

God bless IKEA for inexpensive options!

Zing Zang Zoom- Abby's First Circus

We were very blessed to receive free tickets in a private suite for the opening night of the circus! Walking up to the arena, Abby was excited by all the people and movement, but had no idea what fun was in store for her!
The suite we were in with about 20 people had comfortable seating, great circus decor for everyone to enjoy and a wonderful food buffet complete with special treats for the kids like chicken fingers, cheese quesadillas, milk cartons and cotton candy! Once the circus began, she watched closely. She spent a good deal of time either in my lap or standing in her chair.

While the horses (keyword here) were doing their performance, Abby kept loudly yelling "Moo". We'll obviously keep working on our animal sounds! ha!

Her favorite part of the circus was the music. This girl can dance! She stood in her chair or on Marcus' leg and dropped a funky fresh beat! It made us all laugh!

She loved playing with her hat, but would try to remove it when the camera came out. Isn't it cute!

The last act before intermission- two people were shot from these giant cannons across the arena and onto these blown up mats.

The sound of the cannons scared sweet Abby right out of her seat! Aww!

We left at intermission since it was 9 PM and we feared a post-bedtime meltdown coming on.

What a super fun night at the circus! I hope I don't sign 20 bite reports for a cranky sleepy girl today.

The "Thing" We Can't Lose

Most kids have the one toy, blanket or doll that is with them at all times. The item Moms contemplate buying in duplicate in case something goes wrong and it gets lost. I know for Allison it is her bunny, Landry had a little white animal forever and my buddy Gus carried around a piece of his baby bumper for years. I think we have our thing- her Foofa doll. She likes holding her in the car, when watching TV, in her bed, out of her bed in the morning. She'll try to carry ten things at once and Foofa is the last to let go. Foofa's right hand can be pressed and she'll say, "You're so beautiful" or "I like flowers".
One little problem, a talking Foofa on the monitor in the middle of the night when your sleeping child rolls over scares the CRAP out of Momma. I am going to have to find a way to remove her from Abby's bed once she has fallen asleep. I can't handle "my name is Foofa" at 2 AM!