Life According to Abby Jean

We're Back!

2011-09-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

After a 4 year hiatus, we are making another attempt at updating Abby's blog. This past week was her final week of summer vacation. She will be starting 1st grade on Sept. 6th. We met her teacher, saw her classroom and ran into a few of her friends during the open house at her elementary school. Abby is so excited to start school and trust me, I am SO excited for her to go back to school too. It has been a long summer but I would not give up my time with her for anything.

Abby is a very creative girl and loves to sing, dance and do arts & crafts. She finds great joy in making gifts for people. She has become an emergent reader and is doing a really good job. I am so proud of her reading ability and we continue to encourage her to read as much as possible. Over the summer, I have been reading chapter books to her at bedtime. I still add in a Dr. Seuss book whenever possible just to keep things fun.

Abby is a very physical kid and loves to play. Her favorite thing to do is have tickle fights. Hal makes sure to have one with her everyday before he leaves for work. This makes her very happy and let's her know that there is always time for fun.

Abby loves going to church both on Sunday & Wednesdays. She especially likes Sundays because she gets to help out by being an usher when the offering is being collected.

Abby & I got the chance to take a road trip to North Dakota this summer to see Great Grandma Sack. This was Abby's first long car ride and she did great ( thanks to the Victorious DVD that was playing all the way there and back ). Abby got to see grandma's house and also the University of North Dakota. She asked me if she could go to school there when she got older and of course, I said YES!

Well, I am going to stop here for now. Hopefully, we will be able to keep this blog updated a little better.

Tara

California Trip July 2007

2007-08-17T04:31:00.000-07:00

We traveled to California for our niece Sharon's wedding. It was a long trip but well worth it. We had an opportunity to see Aunt Susie, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dean, Nana & Papa Creten, Nana & Papa Shelley and a lot of Abby's cousins. This trip was a treat for us and we will cherish the memories. We got to spend some quality time with the majority of Hal's family which we know is a blessing. Abby got to spend time with her aunts and grandparents which is a great thing since we live so far away from all of them.

I want to thank Susie and Dean for their hospitality and also for sending us home with a bunch of great memories.

Tara

Hal, Tara and Abby at the wedding reception 7/21/07

Abby & Aunt Susie in the pool

Abby with Aunt Lisa and Aunt Susie playing jacks

Abby with Nana & Papa Creten

Abby with her cousin Melisa after the girls got Abby all dolled up. Check out the hair.

Zoo Trip with Nana & Papa Siemers 6/20/07

2007-08-17T04:09:00.000-07:00

I guess I should get a few pictures from our summer posted on here for all to see. I am going to
focus this blog on our trip to Como Zoo with Nana & Papa Siemers on June 20, 2007. We went early in the day, arriving just shortly after the zoo opened. We had a very nice time and Abby really liked all of the different animals. She got to see giraffes, lions, tigers, zebras, gorillas but her favorite animals were the polar bears. There were a couple of them playing in the water and her turned to us and said that the polar bears were "big Sammys" (our large white dog).

Abby & Mommy at Como Zoo 6/20/07

Abby with Nana & Papa Siemers at Como Zoo 6/20/07

Thanks to Nana & Papa for coming down to share this great day with us. We all enjoyed it tons and bunches.

2 June 2007 Fish Lake Outing

2007-06-02T12:37:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone:

Today we took a trip to Fish Lake (located a couple blocks from home) to have fun on the sandy beach and play in the lake. I took Abby there yesterday for her first excursion of that sort but I didn't go in the water then. Our family trip today was a huge success and we all had a great time. Abby is so happy when she's outdoors and I hope we get the chance in the future to go camping and other fun activities like that. We don't add to this blog as often as we should but with the small amount of time we have to ourselves we have to pick and choose what things to get done on any given day.

Here are some of the pics we took today. Take care and thanks for stopping by.
Hal

Abby enjoys the simple things in life

Tara & Abby try to walk on water.

Abby & Daddy

Abby & Mommy strike a pose.

Hal & Tara practice saying cheeeeeeese.

Fun in the Minnesota Sun

2007-05-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

Tara on Mother's Day 13 May 2007

Abby tries to get a drink but it takes

lots of practice to perfect this technique.

Papa Siemers and Abby go for a post-mowing cruise

Springtime is just so Awesome!!!

Dad does the ole self portrait trick...Hold your camera at arms length and

try to look right center into the lens and carefully push the shutter.

Who needs a popsicle? This is cool!

...Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...

Hello and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. We've been as busy as ever lately and this evening after dinner we went out front to water the flowers. Abby wanted to do it herself, of course, saying "Abby do Abby do". Once she figured out how the hose sprayer worked, she loved it and proceeded to aim the spray at mommy. Before it was over about a half hour later, dad got drenched when Abby took her accurate aim. It was a lot of fun and the flowers were happy too.

Also you will see a picture of her first ride on the lawn tractor with Grandpa Siemers. She loved it and just calls it the chine (machine).

Have a great week. Love, Hal

We sure have been busy!

2007-04-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of some of the adventures from the past month. Abby is still attending her Early Childhood class every Tuesday and seems to like it very much. She has also been spending a lot of time playing at the park. She is learning to share and take turns at playing but of course, that is a hard lesson to learn. She loves to help out around the house in her own special way. She is also in the phase of wanting to do things all by herself. I just can't believe how fast she is growing up!

I hope that you are all well and enjoy these most recent pictures of our little princess.

Love,
Tara

Abby & Mommy checking out the big climber.

Abby meeting her cousin Quinn for the first time. She really thought he was great. In this picture, she is giving him a little kiss while Grandma feeds him a bottle.

Another little kiss from Abby to baby Quinn.

Peek-A-Boo!

All tired out after a long day of playing.

Welcome to the Terrible 2's

2007-03-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Miss Abby has been a very busy girl over the past few days. She attends her Early Childhood class on Tuesdays with Hal and ever since she came home from her session this past Tuesday, she has been an absolute pill. Everyone tells us that this is typical for a 2 year old but let me tell you, she has sure learned how to push her mom and dad's buttons lately. She has her moments of being totally sweet and then, watch out, because this little angel can sure change her tune in a matter of a couple of seconds.

But having said that, I should also mention what a sweetie she can be. Today, Hal called me when they were on their way home from playing at the park and Abby actually had a conversation with me on the phone. That just absolutely made my day! Her vocabulary has grown a lot over the past couple of months and she is learning new things everyday.

Here are a couple new pictures.
Love,
Tara

Abby Update

2007-03-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hello all: Abby hardly slows down for a moment before she's on to the next activity. She really likes Tuesdays and Fridays when I take her to the local school districts' Early Childhood Family Education classes. She gets to play with about 10-15 other kids her age and learn social skills right next to her peers.

This moring and afternoon we played on the deck with the "boys" (dogs) because with the temps in the 60's all the snow is melting and revealing lots of mud, dog poop, and generally soggy grass. No sane person would dare step foot upon that inhospitable ground. We also observed a fairly large Box Elder Bug in the kitchen and released it to the outside world to spend the rest of its life sunning itself on the west side of any dwelling. Apparently, these creatures seek shelter in the winter and get into the house and get lost. When the west side of the house begins to get some strong sunshine, they find their way out of the cracks and crevices to sun themselves. Abby thought the bug was really cool and I like the fact that they move very slowly and don't scurry. Below I will attach a fuzzy picture of our encounter but it'll get the point across. Also, we'll include a picture of Abby and Tara, who both had their hair done this week.

More another time. Hal

What a way to start the day!

2007-02-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

I had the joy of experiencing a truly great way to start my day and it involved Abby. I was sitting in the living room watching a show when Abby came to her bedroom door and asked for me. I opened the baby gate to her room and she ran out of the room (after gathering her bunny and blanket) and said "Good Morning Mama". I was pleasantly surprised to hear such a statement coming from this 2-year-old princess. She finds these little ways to impress me almost daily but this moment melted my heart.

We are experiencing our first "real" snow storm of the winter so we were all cooped up inside for the day. We managed to have a good day despite being indoors. Abby loves to come downstairs to help with Sammy and Leo whenever we make a trip down. It's not uncommon to hear, "help E boys", which means that she wants to help with the boys. This ususally entails at least 30 minutes of her playing with all sorts of kid and dog toys, eating dog biscuits (this she got from her daddy), trying to press all of the buttons on the computer (especially the off button) and then this trip downstairs turns into a struggle to get her back upstairs (especially if a diaper change is needed). What usually ends up working is some form of compromise along the lines of a sucker or M & M's.

Abby's day was rounded out with a great bath in which she got to go fishing for the first time. She had a great time and caught more than her limit which made her not want to get out of her bath.

Our adventure for tomorrow (being that we will more than likely still be on a weather mandated house arrest) is to have a picnic in the living room. We will try and post a picture of our family fun tomorrow. Please pray that our carpet survives and that at least some food ends up in Abby's tummy.

Today's picture is called, "Look at how many fish I caught!"

Tara (with help from Hal)

A Phrase is worth a thousand laughs

2007-02-19T22:44:00.000-08:00

Lately, Abby has really been picking up on phrases she hears people say. Over the past weekend, it was not uncommmon to hear, "Check it out" or "Oh my gosh". On paper it doesn't look like much, but when you're a witness to it and hear how she anunciates it you can't help but laugh.

While sitting in her booster seat at the kitchen table, she'll sometimes turn around and look at the mirror behind her and tell herself off, pointing, frowning, and uttering some sort of chipmunk language we have yet to master.

I've also noticed her interest in operating the dvd player, patching the a/v cable in the front tv input, and assembling and disassembling a napkin holder made with four dowels and some wood planks. She often prefers to do things for herself and gets upset if you don't allow her to be independent.

She is such a character. More to come. Hal

The Beginning

2007-02-18T16:05:00.000-08:00

I decided to start a blog about the ongoings of our princess Abby for all of our family and friends that live away from us. Actually, I got the idea from my little brother, Erik, who has a blog out there about my nephew Quinn. His blog has allowed all of us to watch that little guy grow and has helped us see his good and not so good times.

I will do my best to post as often as I can but as most of you know, our free time is very limited.

Here is the picture of the day. I call it "I'm a big girl now!".