First Golf Lessons

Yesterday we drove out to Robby's dad's house (Abby's Poppy) to play a round of golf.  Well, Robby and Poppy were going to play, but they invited Abigail and I to join.  Because they knew that it is hot and they invited a pregnant lady and a toddler, they just played 9 holes on a Par 3 course.  We went in the evening, and it only took about an hour or so to play.  That's my kind of golf! 

Robby and his dad rode in one golf cart, and the plan was Abigail and I would ride in the other, but Abigail insisted on sitting with her Daddy and her Poppy.  There were a few holes where she did ride with me, and as soon as they'd take off (we followed), she'd scream, "POPPPPPY!"  She did NOT like them leaving her. 

For the most part, I'd sit with Abigail while they teed off and then we'd drive to their balls (usually on or near the green) and she would get out to "help."  She wasn't really interested in hitting the balls with the clubs, but she did like picking them up and throwing them.  She had her own balls for this purpose.  Poppy gave her a few lessons, like what Daddy was doing with the ball - watch him hit it! - see where it goes?  in that hole - oh, we need to move the flag - can you hold it?  okay, now put it back.  Very, very cute and very, very fun.  The funniest part was when Abigail was on the green and Robby was trying to long putt in the hole; he missed by just a few inches, so Abigail picked up the ball and put it in the hole for him!  Hahaha - too funny!  Daddy's little helper!

After they played, we ate at the club house (delicious!) and played on their playground.  Abigail loved the swings and the big kid slides!

Somewhere in there, is a little red-headed, pig tailed toddler.

Getting some balls

Getting a lesson

Poppy's shadow

Flag girl

Satisfied with a job well done

Loving the swings!  Another mother on the playground said, "I've never heard anyone laugh like that on the swings!  I mean, my kids liked them, but they never laughed like that!"

She loves to swing!  Happy girl! 

(A little chocolate on the chin never hurt anyone!)

Status Updates

Abigail has done some mighty cute things this past week, but since I've been splitting my time between here and the hospital where my dad just had his last round of surgery (went home on Wednesday!  Praise God for all His blessings!), I have only been able to post them as status updates on Facebook.  But, since they are so darn cute, I want to make sure that I include them in the blog, too.

Update #1:  Tonight was the first night that, as I sang Abigail her lullabies and tucked her in, she sang with me! I didn't think my heart could grow any more - guess I was wrong! My daughter amazes me every day!

As I lay her down to sleep, I sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and she sang along with me as she drifted off to dreamland!  It was the cutest thing ever.  She has been doing this a lot lately - singing songs she hears often.  She will sing along (although not clearly - more in toddlereese than in English) to the ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, the Backpack song on Dora the Explorer and the Wonder Pets theme song. 

Update #2:  You know you're raising a girly-girl when your one year old tries to put jewelry on the dog.
 
Abigail loves jewelry, make-up (she has her own brush set), and all things "pretty."  She calls them all "Pretty!" when she wants one of them.  I guess that's what we get for always telling her she looks pretty when she puts on jewelry, carries a purse, wants to be like Mommy and wear make-up, puts bows in her hair, etc.  She'll do just about anything if you call it "pretty."

The story about this update though, can best be explained by a follow up comment I made on this status after a few replies.
Someone asked "Clip ons or studs?" and I replied:  Haha, actually, a (plastic) pearl necklace, and when he kept shaking it off, she was trying to put a big ol' ring on his paw! She kept trying to separate his toes saying, "Pretty!". She was completely unsuccessful, but I guess it was good practice for dressing up her soon to be little sister! Baby #2 is in for it!  It was very cute seeing her try to separate his toes to put a ring on, I must say!

Update #3:  When I turned on the radio in the living room, Abby came running in from the other room, screaming with her hands waving, and started DANCING! She's too funny!

She looked like a true party girl in this situation - literally running in from the kitchen, her hands in the air, squealing with delight at the music on the radio.  She walked up to the speaker, then started dancing to the beat.  Actually, every time she dances (which is frequent), I think she gets better and better.  Now, she can follow a sort of choreography - raise hands when I do, spin around, get low to the ground, clap, etc.  I'm getting very excited at the thought of 3 year old dance class!!

With all that dancing and laughing going on, Robby came in to see what was going on and I grabbed him and we took a few twirls around the living room.  Not to be outdone, Abigail grabbed herself a partner - her bunny Bunnie.  She mimicked us and twirled her partner 'round and 'round.  It was adorable!

First Kicks

Robby felt baby girl #2 move for the first time last night!  I was very excited that he could actually feel her.  Up until now, every time I'd say, "She's moving!" and he'd rush over, it was too late; she stopped moving or her kicks where gentle again where only I could feel them.  What I really liked, is that when he actually confirmed that he could feel her, his eyes sort of lit up!  I don't remember his expression that clearly the first time he felt Abigail move, but this time, he got that little twinkle and his eyes crinkled up (my favorite look!) and I swear his expression changed from excitement to...well, love.  Xoxo - he is the BEST! 

Thanks to little baby girl for kicking up a storm and not letting Daddy just feel one movement, but several all in a row, and all over my belly.  It started on the right side, then flipped to the left, and Robby just thought that was craaaazy.

On another note, Robby and I are pretty sure that no matter what, her initials will be HKR.  Either Hannah or Hailey (although he likes the spelling Haley), middle name Kate or Kay.  We have an ARR and the RR is for Robby, so we thought we could have a _KR after me!  Picking a name is tough business!

22 Weeks

From the information I gather from various websites and books, the baby is now about (or a little less than) ONE POUND!  Wow, she's getting big!  She kicks and squirms and likes to tap dance on my bladder - oh, the joy!

We still don't have a name for her, although we have contenders:  Hannah, Hailey, and Robby just yesterday told me he likes the names Brooklyn & McKenna.  I like Brooklyn, but I think it is too trendy.  I like the name Brooke and I like Lynn, but I think Brooklyn is just a fad.  McKenna is cute, though.  I also like Kinley.

Agh, there is still so much to do to get ready for her, and I only have a few weeks until school starts again.  I thought I was going to go with Coco Dots for her nursery, but Robby says it's not girly enough (there we go again!) and pretty much vetoed it.  I guess, since I expect him to help with the care of the baby, that I can allow him to get involved in the preparation of the baby, too.  Ha, what a thought!  He is a very involved daddy, and I just love that about him!  Now it looks like I may go with the Sophie nursery bedding from Pottery Barn Kids.

We have made a little progress in getting her room ready to paint:  we took out the full bed and moved it to Abby's room, and we moved the glider, changing table, and crib (in pieces) into the new baby room.  I still need to get the closet cleared out before we can really begin!

There's a lot to be done, but it's all very exciting!

21 Weeks

Whew, more than halfway there!  I feel like my belly has grown tremendously in the last two weeks! 

Not much has changed since last week, other than the fact that I can now feel baby kicks on the outside of my stomach, as well as the inside!  The first time the baby kicked strong enough to feel on my stomach was Saturday, July 17.  Unfortunately, Robby has been umpiring a lot lately, so he hasn't felt her kick yet.  Last night we lay in bed with his hands on my belly for nearly 20 minutes while he waited very patiently for the baby to wake up, but no luck!  I even told her these next few months is her only chance to hit/punch/kick Daddy to her heart's desire.  I'm encouraging her to get out her teenage angst a little early, but my peaceful little baby didn't want to partake in all the violence.  Haha.  Oh well.  It won't be long until she gives him a few love taps!

I'm pretty sure that I want to do her nursery in Coco Dots by Pottery Barn Kids, but I haven't ordered it yet.  I don't know what my hold up is, but I don't feel ready to commit just yet.

Lately I've been feeling more nauseous again.  I'm hoping, hoping, hoping that it won't come back in full force.  Robby said that he doesn't think my "morning" sickness ever really went away - just went into hiding.  I've still been sick about once a week, but it's gotten worse this past week.  I'm back to where I was two months ago in some respects.  I've started gagging every time I open the refrigerator.  Gagging I can handle - feeling sick all the time, I can't.  I hope it goes away for good sometime soon!

Grocery Store = Food

Last night, Abigail was holding the phone to her head saying, "'Ello?  ELLO?" and when I asked her who she was calling she said, "Mammy."  (That's how she says Nani.)  I called my mom on speakerphone and when she answered, Abigail struck up a conversation.  I couldn't understand much of her conversation, but she was talking up a storm.  (I secretly think that my mom loves getting calls from Abby more than she likes them from me.  Abby called her *by herself and unbeknownst to me* three times in one day last week.  I guess she knows her speed dial button.  She's also text messaged my mom a non-decipherable message!  She is too funny.) 

My mom asked, "What did you do today?" and I yelled out, "Went to the grocery store!"  My mom then asked Abigail, "Did you go to the grocery store?" and Abigail said, "Uh-HUH!"  So my mom asked, "What did you get there?"  Abby said, "To eat." 

Oh my goodness!  I was completely floored that Abigail knew you get food to eat at the grocery store!  It seems like common sense, but she followed the conversation and gave a real, rational answer.  I was so impressed with my little 20 month old!

Playtime

Lately, Abigail has fascinated me during playtime!

Pat-a-cake
Abby was sitting in the floor playing with her baby doll when I heard her sing the pat-a-cake song.  When I leaned over to check on her, she had her baby's hands and was making them clap while she (sort of) sang the song!  It was so cute!  A few times, she has grabbed my hands and made me do pat-a-cake!

Quite the cook
Abigail has turned into chef extraordinaire!  She loves ransacking my kitchen to find plastic containers and will stir up invisible food in no time!  She also likes to bring a spoon and then "feed" Daddy or me her creation.  It's the best tasting invisible food ever!  If Daddy and I are busy, she'll feed the food to her baby dolls.  (I wrote a little letter to Santa Clause telling him about this, and he said he might, just maybe, bring her a kitchen for Christmas.  If she's a good girl, that is!)

Little People
Abby's Little People doll house has never been so fun!  She likes to sit and play with her Little People dolls and will actually move them about the house and talk for them/to them (in toddlereese, so I have no idea what she's saying).  She gets intensely focused and will play for up to 20 minutes by herself!  Hallelujah! 

A few days ago, she wanted Robby to play with her, and he got down there and played doll house.  He's such a good daddy to her!  I taught him how to talk "for" the dolls (he was just moving them with no sound!), and he and Abby's doll had quite the conversation.  It's funny to me how Abby already knew to talk for the dolls, but Robby didn't.  I guess girls really are girls, and boys really are boys.  (Well isn't that insightful? Ha.)

Good Night
Last night, Robby was exhausted after umpiring in the hot July heat.  He took a shower, then crashed on the couch for a little snooze.  I brought him a pillow and a blanket, then Abby walked over and said, "Nigh-nigh" and gave him kisses (every night she gives Daddy night-night kisses before bed), then she ran to get her baby doll and tucked her doll in with him.  She also kissed her doll night-night.  So sweet to tuck Daddy in with her baby! 

She also likes to tuck in Chance if he is asleep.  She'll cover him with her blanket or, like yesterday, bring him a pillow!  He gets the royal treatment!  The funny thing is, with Chance, she'll say "Shhh!" but when Daddy is sleeping, she keeps going over there to check on him.  She'll get right next to his face and then yell:  "DA-DA!" and he'll grumble, "Mmm?" and she'll say, "Nigh-nigh."  I guess she just likes to see if he's still sleeping.  Hahaha.  It never fails to make me laugh!

Calling Papa

Abby plays with my cell phone all the time.  Today, I called Papa on speakerphone.  He answered, and Abigail said, "Hi, Papa!" in her sing-song voice.  Then she blew him a kiss "Mmmmm-wuah!" and said, "Bye-bye."  I said, "Well, I guess that's all she wanted."  So we said goodbye and hung up. 

As short as the conversation was, I know it made his day!

Little Miss Sass

Today I was gathering clothes from Abigail's hamper when she walked in her room and started to shut the door.  I said, as I caught the door and held it open, "No, don't shut the door.  Mama wants to do laundry."  She retorted, "NO!  I want to play!"  As cute as it was that she was asserting her independence and vocalizing her wants, laundry beat playing. 

Ready for the Pool!

It's no secret that I love the pool.  It's only natural that I would help my daughter love it, too!  We've gone swimming several times this summer, but I never take any pictures because I'm always swimming, too!  Here's a picture of Abigail on Day 3 of swimming this past week.  Well, actually, it was taken before we got in the pool.  She's saying "Swim?" in this picture and about to run off towards the pool.  It was really hot that day and really bright - hence the squinty face!  Even though she is going to kill me for taking this photo in about 12 years, I thought it was too adorable!

It was the third day we swam this week, AND the third day she wore her swim hat!  Prior to this week, I couldn't keep it on her for more than a few minutes!  Because of her willingness to cooperate, we were able to swim longer and have more fun.  She actually let me flip her over to her back and let her float!  That was a big accomplishment for her!  Another cute thing she did was put her face in the water to blow bubbles.  Robby and I know that bubble blowing is the first step to swimming, so we try every time we go.  She still hasn't gotten the hang of blowing yet, but it is so cute to see her try! 

Every time we go swimming, she gets braver and better at swimming.  Now, instead of just kicking her feet, she'll also doggy paddle her arms when we tell her to "swim" while we're in the pool.  Of course, she can't kick and move arms at the same time, but, hey, she's only one! 

Lions and Tigers and Goats?

The Dallas Zoo was having Dollar Day at the zoo yesterday, so naturally, we took adavantage of it.  Normal admission price for adults is $12.50, but on this day, everyone got in for one dollar each!  Not only that, but they had food for $1, drinks for $1, and snocones for $1!

Traffic was a nightmare getting there, but somehow we lucked out and got to park in the closest parking lot - UNDER THE SHADE of a giant tree!  It was the best parking spot ever!  Not only did we not have to walk far, but the shade tree was so big, that I knew our car would still be shaded by the time we got done exploring the zoo.

This was Abigail's & my first time at the Dallas Zoo - and I was so excited!  I mean it, very excited!  I was clapping in the car with Abby and cheering when we got there!  I was like a little kid and Robby made the remark that this trip was really for me and not Abigail, wasn't it?  (Hmm.  Interesting thought.)  Ever since I've moved up here (2005!  5 years ago!), I have wanted to go to this zoo, and now with a toddler and DOLLAR DAY, how could he say no? 

Of course, with it being July and all, the heat was scorching (we were all in SPF 50!).  It was radiating off the pavement, so the very first thing we did when we walked in the entrance was to buy a drink.  We could either get a small bottle of water (20 oz) for $1, or buy a souvenier cup for $7 with FREE refills all day!  The souvenier cup was about 32 oz.  Since I have turned into a camel with an empty hump lately, we knew it was in our best interest to buy the big cup with free refills.  Our first beverage was lemonade and it was perfectly mixed.  I have never had lemonade so good!

With beverage in tow, we were off!  First stop:  Children's Zoo.  I had no idea they had a Children's Zoo!  It even had a playground and a little splash area for the kids - that was packed!  We were able to see pigs, and ponies and bunnies - all of which we could have petted, but there were so many people, we decided to look and make animal noises and move on.  When we got to the fish tank, Robby took Abigail out of the stroller to look at the fish.  There were so many people there that they were already out of fish food at 9:45 am!  I guess those fish love dollar day, too!  She loves fish, so she loved the tank.

Next we saw the petting zoo full of goats!  They had sheep too, but they were being lazy, so no one played with those.  I stood in line with Abigail to pet the goats and she kept saying "Baaaa!  Baaaaa!"  and I finally got her to say "Goat."  Once we were in, she liked them.  Robby was surprised that she actually pet them (he stayed outside the pens with our stroller), but being the animal lover that she is, I knew she'd like it.  She particularly liked a black and white goat, but it evaded her until the very last second and finally let her touch him.  She was thrilled!

The rest of the zoo excursion consisted of maneuvering through crowds, another application of sunblock, 5 more (free!) drink refills - woah, that's 192 oz! - looking for animals who were all hiding in shade, but NOT taking pictures.  There were too many people to get a good shot of animals, and we didn't really pause long enough to get any of ourselves.  We spent a total of 4 hours there, and in the heat, that was plenty.  The hottest area was the least shaded, but I guess that's understandable considering the animals who resided there.  It was their Giants of the Savannah exhibit, with the African animals.  Abby said "Giraffe" for the first time! 

We didn't really get to see all the animals the way that we wanted to, but it was still fun, and if we would have stayed at the exhibits any longer, then we would have been out in the heat longer.  It was a perfect zoo trip.  Abby wasn't cranky AND she stayed in her stroller, no one got a sunburn, we got to pet a few animals, there was enough shade and we were able to stay hydrated for a relatively small fee (much better than what it would have cost us on a normal day!).

When we left, Robby said it was better than he remembered and that he wants to go back!  Yay!

Excited about going to the zoo!

She loves birds, so of course we had to visit Bird Valley!

Pigs

Daddy & Abby checking out the fish tank.

"Fish!"

My two loves!

In line for the goats!  Baaaa!

She finally got him!

Donkeys

Moving right along!

She loved the lemonade much better than her sippy cup of water.  Every time we got a refill in our cup, we'd give her fresh ice water.  Once when she ran out of water, we let her have some of our lemonade, and that was it!  She was hooked.  I wasn't too bothered by that - just more concerned with her having enough fluids to stay cool.  Eventually, though, and much to Robby's chagrin, I switched us from lemonade to water, too. 

Giant tortoises! 

The giraffes came up close and personal.  We could pay to feed them, but it was $5 for one leaf and they weren't allowing us to pet them because of the large crowd volume.  They didn't want the giraffes becoming skiddish.  If it was $5 for feeding AND petting, you bet I would have done it!  I've never petted a giraffe before!  Even so, it was neat to see them this close!

Abby was all tuckered out the moment we put her in her carseat.  We had to take off her shirt because it was wet with sweat and we thought it would be more comfortable to just have it off. 

It was a fun, fun day!  I love spending time with my family!

Back Blogging Part Three

Well, I'm slowly catching up.  Here are the latest additions:

The Baby Bump

Abbey's Playtown

Mason's 2nd Birthday Party

First Dog Ears

Yesterday we spent the day with Robby's family, we went to eat at Cliff's in Grapevine, the headed over to Mimi's to hang out.  While there, Mimi started playing with Abby's hair and was determined to get it into pigtails.  After much fuss from Abigail, Mimi succeeded with little snap-clips holding up Abby's do.  I must say it is the cutest thing ever to see my daughter with little piggies!!  I spent a lot of my childhood in pigtails, and I have tried to do Abby's (I never thought about using clippies instead of rubberbands!  Abby's hair is so fine and sparse, it's hard to find anything to hold it up!).  I can't wait to show Papa!  He's been waiting for dog ears since she was born!

I changed the color adjustment on the picture to try and highlight the pigtails a little better.  They were really blending in with the background!

She loves 4 week old cousin Landon!

Back Blogging Part Two

I didn't have as much time today as I did yesterday to update posts, but here are two more!

Home at Last!

Father's Day Weekend

Back Blogging

I just posted a few back-dated entries since I am so far behind.  For a few weeks when my morning sickness and tiredness was the worst, I just refused to spend any extra energy on blogging.  Since I plan to keep these entries, I didn't want to miss out on anything so I spent some time just now updating part of May + June.  I'm in no way done, but I need to take a break!

Happy Birthday to...Me!

Memorial Day Splash!

The Best Part of Summer

A Family Tradition

The Newest Addition

First Museum Visit

Yesterday we spent some family time at the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science.  Robby and I were just looking for something fun to do that was a) indoors and b) toddler appropriate but still interested us.  The reasons we chose to go here were because 1) it has a Children's Museum specifically for kids 6 months - 6 years only;  2) I was considering it as a place for Abigail's second birthday party and wanted to check it out; 3) Robby secretly LOVES museums (and I secretly love that about him!)!

The first exhibits we saw were Water and Dino Dig.

When we first got there, Abigail IMMEDIATELY wanted out of her stroller to explore.

Robby had fun playing with the exhibits.  It was cute because while I was chasing around Abigail, he was actually reading and learning about all of the stuff!

Abigail and I were playing a game about Polar Bears.  You had to match up the blocks to tell a story, then it would play a short movie.

3-D glasses for a 3-D exhibit

Abigail in the dino dig.  This was her first time to have sand on her toes and she HATED it!  She would not move from this spot at all, even with Robby trying to coax her.  When she was done "digging," she stood on her tippy toes to get out!

Digging for bones!

Not thrilled about the sand on her toes.

T-Rex

We spent a total of 3.5 hours at the museum, about 2 of which were in the children's museum. We let Abigail run and explore and go back and forth to the different sections as she pleased. Basically, we were trying to wear her out so we could see the rest of the museum with her in the stroller! As you can see from the pictures, there was plenty for her to do (and some sections we didn't photograph because they weren't all that interesting to her yet), and she revisted some favorites multiple times (fire truck, water table).

In the children's museum.  This part was called the "backyard" part, and as soon as she saw furniture her size, she squealed "Chair!  Chair!  Chair!" and climbed into it!

Of course she found the (anatomically correct) babies in the "home" section.  One boy and one girl.  She loves babies!

Exploring

Playing in the "Pond" section

Sliding down the back of the fire truck

Riding a horsey in the farm section

An ariel view of about 1/3 of the farm section.  Inside the barn there was a mechanical cow that you could "milk."  I tried it; it was weird.

Playing in the soft blocks section for babies 0-2 only.

Robby set up an obstacle course for her.  She did well!

Playing in the pit!  See that little lady bug on the back wall?  It had mirrors all over it.  When Abigail looked into it, she said, "Pretty!"  My daughter has no self esteem issues!

We had to get one of us!  xoxo

Back on the fire truck.  This time, with a hat!  Surprisingly, she loved wearing the hats!  I guess we're almost in that dress up stage.

Playing with tools.

Every construction worker needs a hat!  She was putting it on all by herself!

Back to the pond.  We revisited the water table 3 times I think!

The ducks were her favorite part.

A better picture of "the pond."  She could only reach the lowest level.

One last trip to the fire truck.

Checking out bugs with Daddy.  I think this was actually the turtle cage, though.  It was cute because when Robby bent down to look in there and talk about the turtles, Abigail had to squat, too!

Crawling through the ant hill.  It was a long tunnel!

Cooking up a storm!

"Mama!  Sit!"  she said.  So I sat and we played.

Whew!  Finally done with the children's museum and back to the regular exhibits.  We went through a body exhibit next, but it was really gross.  Mucus and phlegm and vomit exhibits that were animated!  Gross out.  We went through this part pretty quickly and on to the regular, random exhibits.

 

  Here's Robby making an earthquake.  I made a flood and did you know that flash floods are the number one cause of water related deaths?  I guess people are stupid when it comes to floods!

The next part of the museum was the Nature part.  There were lots of animal exhibits here, and it was actually fun because Abigail was making all the noises.  She'd say "meow" for bobcats and "woof" for coyotes, and we taught her a few new ones.  This was the first time that I've actually heard her ROAR and she was very good at it!  She also loved looking at all different types of birds.  She loves birds!

Abby called him "Pooh."  She thinks all bears are Pooh! 

Here's Robby trying out more exhibits!

And again!

I'd hate to get trapped in those jaws!  It opened almost 5 feet!  I forgot it's technical name, but the sign said "A big croc with a bigger attitude!"

A GIANT sea turtle!  It was huge!  It's really hard to believe that these types (and sizes) of creatures really swim around in the ocean.

An old sea creature. Looks vicious!

Abby playing peek-a-boo!

Where'd she go?

There she is!

Family photo (all 3 1/2 of us!)

Although we all had a good time, Robby and I agreed that the children's museum isn't the best place for a 2 year old's birthday party.  There was a lot of stuff there that was for older kids (3-6) that she didn't enjoy.  Also, although we would have a birthday room, the play areas took up the whole bottom floor of the museum and it was just too spread out for my liking for a 2nd birthday party.  I know I'll be 8.5 or 9 months pregnant come birthday party time, and I don't think I'll want to walk the whole floor to follow Abigail around and watch her enjoy her party!  Looks like Abbey's Playtown in Grand Prairie is still our front-runner!