Bossy Pants

The two faces of Abby...

Bossy Princess...(with hands on hips)


and Wistful Princess...



We got this princess towel for her birthday and, wow, does it make Abbs feel like a princess. Attitude and everything.

274. three of my fav grocery stores within 5 minutes of the new house
275. an enclosed, safe courtyard for bike riding
276. knowing there are many other women around the world up at 2am like I am

Party Park Day

After being inside for way too many days in a row, along with June gloom hovering above us... when the sun broke through, Abby and I decided it was time for a picnic. I felt rather adventurous trying to take both kids...but we did it! Actually Ford slept the e n t i r e t i me ... so Abby and I got some really good alone time together. We ate cherries, delish sandwiches, and danced under the jacaranda trees. We watched the other kids on the playground and she didn't even want to go swing (I assume because she has a swing at home now) so she stole my hat and danced like she was on broadway.





270. grandparents just a phone call away
271. abby's growing vocabulary
272. countless hand me downs
273. hot, hot showers (almost as good as a hot bath!)

Bangs

Do you think his masculinity is threatened being surrounded by so much pink?



Daddy cut Abby's bangs the other day. I pleaded for him to keep that "baby" look her hair has. So she went from looking like this...


To looking like this! And isn't this the most adorable pillowcase dress?



How we are feeling about each other right about now...


268. Seeing friend's adoption dreams come true
269. An amazing community of people right under our noses
270. How much they love our kids

Whipped Cream!

A big hit recently has been whipped cream at our house. What started out as a little 'yeah! you went on the potty!' treat has turned into a nightly event after her birthday (when I forgot to bust it out and now we have two huge things of it). Daddy started the madness and the night after her birthday we each got a mouthful...







264. family fun
265. friends who bring food
266. those tinkling evening lights
267. package deliveries. always fun!

The Bad Guy

Why do the good girls always seem intrigued by the "bad boys?"

Abby got her hands on our Bible Picture Storybook Bible recently and has since fallen in love with Pharoah. "I like'em!" She says. "I love 'em! I wanna kiss 'em!"

Here she is reading about Adam and EVe...(who she likes because they like to be naked, just like her!)



And Abby replicating Pharoah's fingers in his ears as he "isn't listening to God."



She's able to recite the entire story of Moses and Pharoah after just a few readings. Little sponges, indeed. Maybe I should leave a few theology books laying around. Or astrophysics. I'm sure she could teach me a few things.

259. seeing her little mind truly understand things
260. her love of books
261. birds chirping 24 hours a day at this house
262. deer sighting in our front yard
263. ford's mad eating skills

Self!

I've often wondered when the "mine!" stage would start. In it's place we've got "self!" Abby wants to do everything herself. Including, sometimes, deciding which hat goes with which outfit. Sometimes I'll say, "are you sure you want to wear that?" and she'll say "i'm fine." Okee doke. :) I actually think this is one of her better choices...



And today was a fabulous day at the Cardiologist. It's been 6 months since we've been there. Up until a few weeks ago when we gave Abby her doctor's kit to play with, she wasn't too fond of doctors. We blame it on a Christmas video she watched where a doctor spoke to Santa in a derogatory tone. Darn Christmas videos. But after she got her little hands on her own stethoscope, things got better. In fact, she loved her next visit to her doctor for her two year check up. Today I prepped her a bit and showed her some pictures of her with her cardiologist from way back when...and told her about some "stickers" (EKG) they might put on her as well as the movie she'd get to watch when they look inside at her heart (EchoCardiogram). She got really still when he listened to her heart (she said "boom boom" to me...which is what we say when she listens to our hearts) and she loved the "stickers" for the EKG. Especially taking them off when it was over! And, the big topper? They were showing Nemo in the ECHO room. He could've held a hot poker to her chest and she wouldn't have cared. Whew. Thank God for Nemo and Dorie.

256. her amazing memory
257. fun driving in the car with just "my girl"
258. hearing the cardiologist say she is "just as she should be"

A Cuppa Tea?

Abby got a princess tea set for her birthday and now everyone who comes to our house is the lucky winner of a cup of tea! She gets to decide who gets the Jasmine cup, however. Just in case you forget who thinks she's in charge. Here is Red (who's looking very enthused, isn't he?), Monkey and Abby having tea on the "sea-ment!" on a blanket just outside the back door.



Ford is just about to outgrow those newborn outfits. What? He just got here! This is what everyone warned me about with Abby -- don't waste your time on too many tiny outfits. They are only in them for a few weeks. Of course, Abby was in her tiny clothes for months. And months.

As I was attempting to hit the store this week with both kids (i did it!) I found myself wondering for the zillionth time, why things were so hard with Abby. Ford seems so easy --sleeps so much, eats well...and then I remember. Oh, right. The heart problem. The eating every 2 hours. The screaming during feedings. And on and on. It's amazing to me that I actually forget the reason things were so tough with her. Praise God that that those memories are fading. Hopefully the lessons I learned in the midst of it all remain -- that God is God, I am not...and He is to be praised in our toughest hour.

253. probiotics
254. a side to side swing
255. the perfect rug