Going to the Park

Randy likes to take Abby on a walk when he's home with her, and often they stop at the park so Abby can play. He has taken a bunch of pictures from their time at the park, but I had to delete most of them due to poor picture quality (sorry Honey!). I thought this one was worthy of keeping, tho. Cute little girl all bundled up, swinging in the sunshine, with rosy cheeks...

Springtime is here...I think

I went out and pruned our two apple trees last Monday. It was a lovely, sunny, spring-like day. Abby wanted to sit in the tree, and she spent a lot of time "hanging out" like this, peeling loose bark and moss off the tree.




Today we've got a surprise (for me) snowstorm! I seldom listen to the news or read the weather report online, so I had no idea this was in the plan for today! We've got around 2" on the ground so far, and it's still coming down. Crazy! Our friends in Maine reported they got over 2 FEET of snow earlier this week, so I guess I won't complain about this dusting.

Emily and Abby

Look Emily! An airplane!

I promise, these are their "happy faces"!

Snickers was laying on the couch snoozing, and Emily brought this book over to him and started reading/showing it to him. So cute!

Take it from me, potty training an almost 2 year old and a 2-1/2 year old is NOT a good idea! They look happy here, but that didn't last long at all. Emily is actually making progress in her training; Abby is not. We let her sit on her potty for the fun of it, but I think we're going to have to wait on the "training" part. She just doesn't get it yet.

Almost 2

Abby dug these headphones out of Randy's desk drawer yesterday and put them on. She had them around her neck like this for at least an hour. In this picture, she's standing on a chair listening to a kids CD we bought her for Christmas. I know, I know...She looks good with her hair fixed. I should do that more often! :) It's not easy to do because it's so thin, and the clips don't stay in for long.



Abby's shoe fetish continues...


She loves to feed Snickers, and he tolerates it very nicely.



I'm the cutest fish you'll ever see!

Okay, admit it. You cut your nails when you're on the potty too!

Budding artist/writer:

Such a pretty girl, especialy in her new shoes!

How to put your pants on

A couple weeks ago neice Emily was here, and the girls were playing while I was on the phone talking with my mom. Abby got her jeans and worked really hard at putting them on by herself. She actually succeeded!...altho I didn't get a picture of it. I love this onesie on her. She looks so much like a gymnast in it. I tried to get a picture of her standing up, but she wouldn't cooperate. She has such strong legs and the perfect gymnast composition.

See Emily watching the show from her perch by the fireplace? She gets such a kick out of watching Abby, and Abby loves putting on a show for her.

Mom, here's a picture of Abby "talking" to you. :)

Children's Museum

Randy and I took Abby to the Children's Museum in Burlington last week while Randy was off for our anniversary. We wanted to do something fun together as a family, and so chose this place. I had gone here several months ago with Abby and her cousins, and knew Randy would love to explore it with Abby. There are so many fun things to see and do here!

There is a semi truck cab for driving practice...

A water gun shooting area where you can spray water at objects on the wall. If you hit the objects right, they'll spin, fill with water and lift up an octopus, lift a fish on a line, and other creative stuff. There are two water guns, and some of the activities require teamwork to make them do their thing. I thought it was so cute the way Randy held Abby on his lap so she could shoot the gun. :)

There is a stage complete with curtain, and a dress-up area behind it with all sorts of fun costumes. Randy found this most adorable racoon costume and dressed Abby in it. She looked so cute running around the museum in her costume!

There is a river and pond with fish and fishing poles. The fish have magnets in them, and you "catch" them with the magnetic ends on the poles. There are also blocks that you can rearrange in the river to cause a dam, and then you let the water go and watch it rush into the pond.

And a working crane to haul a sack of oats. The crane arm moves side to side, and the cable goes up and down. There is also a working microphone that the kids love to talk into. Behind the crane is a rope ladder. If you climb the ladder, you can ring a bell!

Abby cozying with the big stuffed bears on the stage.

You can climb a couple vertical boat ladders and get into a boat, put on a captain's hat, and "drive" the boat, or put on a life jacket and sit on the deck. Underneath the boat is a sandbox. Someone told me the sand is made out of recycled plastic. It's a fun place for little kids.

And then there's a toddler area, too. It has books, puzzles, a riding dog and horse, a play house, and a jungle gym. Abby tried it all! I climbed in the play house with her, and Randy snapped this picture of us.

I haven't even mentioned the music room, the photo wall, the craft area, the reading area, the shopping market, the fish, turtles, .... There is so much to enjoy and discover at this place! Sensory overload (and the need for a nap) took effect after a couple hours, so we coaxed Abby away and left for the day. I'm sure we'll be back again!

Happy 9th Anniversary!

Today is our 9th Anniversary. There are 9 roses in the front yard indicating the 9 years of our marriage. They are a reminder to us of our love to each other and of God's great love to us.

To the LOVE of my life: Thank you for 9 wonderful years of marriage. Thank you for being a godly wife and a wonderful mom to Abby. You are a hard worker who cares for your family. God has given me a great helpmeet! You are so lovely! I LOVE YOU!

Big Bed -- *Update*

At 1:30 this morning, I heard some rustling around in the kitchen, and then I heard a little someone climbing up onto a kitchen chair. I went out to investigate and found Abby sitting on a kitchen chair working her 5-piece wooden puzzle. :) She was just as happy as could be. I put her back into the big bed along with the puzzle, but she didn't settle down so I put her in her crib at 1:45.

Mommy's Bragging

I have to brag on our daughter a little tonite. She has done some amazing things lately, and I just had to share them!

Friday when Randy was home watching Abby, he put her on the potty seat to begin showing her how to "go" on the big potty. He said she was scared and didn't stay on there long the first time he put her on the potty. The second time, she settled in and read a magazine (like we always do) and enjoyed her sit. The third time, she came to him and grabbed his hand and took him into the bathroom, where she sat on the potty and he thinks she did a little tinkle.

Tonight, Abby wanted to sit on the potty seat again, and so Randy told her to take it to Mommy and I would help her. We went into the spare bathroom and I got her settled, gave her a magazine (which she didn't read long), and then sat on the floor and played silly games with her while she sat on the throne. After approx 20 minutes, she indicated she was all done and I got her off. I never heard or noticed any action, so I was shocked when I looked in the bowl and there was a poopy!!! Ooooh, Mommy was proud! She got a couple peanut M&Ms for that! :)

Later, I cut Randy's hair while Abby sat on the toilet lid and watched. We always take the garbage can out of the cupboard and drop the hair from Randy's head directly into the garbage. When I was done cutting Randy's hair, Abby helped brush him off. After a bit, I watched while she pushed the folding chair out of the way to give her access to the cupboard, opened the cupboard, picked up the garbage can, and put it INTO THE CUPBOARD where it belongs! I hadn't said a WORD to her! She just noticed it was out, knew where it belonged, and put it away all by herself! Mommy was proud again!

Here's a little history on the 3rd story: Our friends John and Kimberly gave us the soft mesh bed rails they used when their daughter was little. Randy put them on the queen size guest bed in Abby's room a couple weeks ago, in preparation for Abby sleeping in there. Tonight we did our normal bedtime routine--brush our teeth, put her in her crib, pray (she prays GREAT!) and then typically we tell her to lay down and go to sleep. After we prayed, she wanted to get into the big bed. I obliged, and tucked her in there with her favorite blanket. I haven't heard from her since, and it's been over an hour since I put her in bed. We'll see if she lasts thru the night, but so far so good.

Raising a 23-month-old is trying at times, but tonight it has been FUN!!!

Abby's First Laugh

I am going into the archives and trying to post a video. It is of Abby's first laugh. Hope you like it.

Get Out The Vote!

Abby's 2nd Birthday is coming up! Please vote in the poll on the right side so we can see how many people truly know her birthdate! If you don't know, then give your best guess! Here is a picture from her first birthday.

Dady's Big Helper

Today Abby helped daddy do work around the house. We also worked on potty training, and she was rewarded with an M & M cookie. Here are a few pictures from today.

Snow Pictures

These are a couple of pictures of our picnic table taken at the beginning of 2007 and then a more recent one that was taken on Christmas Day 2008. I thought it was cool (pardon the pun) to compare the two snowstorms. Nothing tops the more recent storm: at least 20 inches of snow although with the wind blowing some of it away, it may have been a few more than that. That is a lot for this moderate climate.