Welcome to the Terrible 2's

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

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!

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

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

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!".