Rockin' Estate Sale

Side note : This must be said so that when this changes (probably tomorrow!) I'll be able to look back and know I didn't dream it. This is worth savoring. This sleeping in till 8:30 business. The girl has been consistently sleeping for 12 full hours for the past 5 days. It means no nap mid-day for me. It means a happier mom. It means.... so many good things. Too many to name. Thank God for sleep!

Okay...back to business.

Everybody wins when Grant goes to an Estate Sale. I win because Grant and Abby go together giving me some needed alone time to shop a sale for the soon-to-be-here boy (plus he came home with a mix-matched box of silver plated flatware for me!). Grant wins because he got some paintings that he's in love with and Abby wins because she got this awesome new chair for super cheap. Even her babies enjoyed it...







And for all of you who wonder about Grant's germ thing...yes - it goes through a rigorous cleaning once it comes home. And now, she rocks with abandon while she melts her brain watching Sesame Street!

127. Grant watching Abby all day so I could go be inspired at a conference
128. being inspired to action
129. no fussing, not a peep at bed time
130. a quiet place for Grant to work that fell out of the sky

Big Girl Playdate

Abby and her friend Pema (who insisted on being called Pempo the day we were there - hysterical) had a very big girl play date recently. They played in Pema's awesome house, clapped, kissed and held hands (although Abby did swat at Pema once when she didn't get what she wanted). Plus we ate outside at a table the perfect size for the girls and drank from big girl cups. This is where the sippy strike came from.







124. little girl friendships
125. straw cleaners for her "special drink" (pediasure) thermos
126. dark chocolate chips at 9pm

Cup Graduation

Ever since last week, Abby has been insisting that she drink out of a cup. Since I can't let her roam the house with a sippy cup anymore (she knows how to spray the entire contents on to the floor or furniture or wall or....whatever is in her way) now she simply takes a sip of what she wants out of a cup and then gives it back (or turns it upside down so Red can lick it up). Either way... she's getting the hang of it!

120. afternoon tea

121. bsf starting up again

122. good, long naps -- finally!

123. checking things off my list

Trish Stop-Over

Our friend Trish Reda stopped over today for a "quick" meeting. It turned into a lovely hang out time (it always does) and a few shots of Abby. These were taken with her iphone. Just try and tell her she's a genius and she'll say something ridiculous like "it's all about the app and the butterfly" (what she calls Abby) but you can't believe it. It's like she has a gene for this photography thing. And we are so blessed to be on this end of it.

116. a meeting of the minds

117. a first watching of nemo

118. this roof over our heads

119. knowing that the "i need mommy" phase isn't going to last forever - and cherishing it

Potty Mouth

Amazon Prime. Have I raved about this yet? Ahhhh. It's heaven for those of us who can't get our mind around a trip to Target, Trader Joe's and Office Depot in the same day (and in my town, these stores are all very close together). I'd been needing (okay, wanting) mechanical pencils for months now. Months. Jump on amazon and within 2 minutes I have some in my cart and they are on their way to me. With free shipping. And seeing that I can't remember what I need to buy for more than 10 minutes, it's perfect! And the subscribe and save discount of 15% extra for things like diapers? Don't get he started... I love it.

All that to say, after I got a rec (thanks, JJ) for a good potty, I ordered it on amazon and it was here two days later. Finally, something that is marketed toward "small" children! Abby has started telling me about her "business" -- so I figured having a potty around might not be a bad idea. (Plus she has her friend Pema to compete with who's been potty trained since she was 2 months old). So far, she's either terrified of it (maybe it's cold whens he sits down?) or when I ask her if she wants to try it she just simply says no in the cutest most final way possible. As if to say, "No way, mom. That thing is weird." As a result, we've been talking about "business" way too much in our household recently. Way. Too. Much.

So, instead of using the potty, Abby was running around today with her bathing suit on her head. A fine way to spend a winter day, no?

112. a sense of humor emerging

113. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon

114. wise friends

115. surprise Le Creuset delivery

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Abby is a tiny bit closer to getting that birthday song down. She can now say "birthday" - just in time for daddy's big day. It seems that suddenly in the past 2 weeks she can almost say anything that we ask her to.

The celebration also included her Christmas gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Nieporte -- two huge hits. A mini boom box where she can control the songs...

and some wheels...

She just had to sit on it before it was out of the box.

109. Birthdays!

110. Dinner out without one "down!" comment

111. order and tidiness (not my strong suits!)

Knuffle Bunny!

Abby is officially into her first big girl book. The pages are thin (read: easily ripped) but the book is so fabulous that she wants it "again" and "again!" If you haven't heard of it, buy it for a little one that you know. I promise. They'll love it. And since the main character is a girl, Trixie, but looks almost like a boy, it can go for both genders. Win-win!

And, I've committed (yikes to saying this outloud) to memorizing 24 verses of scripture this year. The first is this :

"You crown the year with your goodness and your paths drip with abundance." Ps 65:11

Nothing more encouraging than that, is there? Hope you are all having a great start to 2011!

106. Abby's early love for reading

107. being able to take the time to climb up on a bed and read with her at 4:30 in the afternoon for no reason at all

108. new beginnings