Someone has a birthday on Friday! And she seems to get it this year. However, we will have to wait and see whether she will actually blow out her candles this year. When she turned two, she had talked a big game for months before her party, but then the sight of the candles on her cake and all of her favorite people waiting for her to blow them out sent her into a fit of tears... well, here is the lead-up to this year's celebration. Actually, tomorrow is the warm up at school, and Saturday will be the real deal.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tall Boot Tales
So we were at Lowe's yesterday, shopping for petunias and potting soil, when Abby asked if she could "look for something." Not really wanting to go home yet & not having anywhere else to be, I agreed to wander through the store with her. So, for once, Abby got to walk through a store without Mommy constantly urging her to hurry up as she stopped to inspect things. Here's a clip of her favorite stop.
No doubt this kid's got a personality as oversized as her boots. It's both inspiring... and exhausting!
I found myself wondering what Katie learns by watching, and whether she will have a taller than life personality someday too?
No doubt this kid's got a personality as oversized as her boots. It's both inspiring... and exhausting!
I found myself wondering what Katie learns by watching, and whether she will have a taller than life personality someday too?
Friday, April 9, 2010
Lessons for a Little Rancher
Jake's parents (aka Buzzy & Pops) recently moved to San Marcos & settled into a beautiful area. All of the grandkids were thrilled to learn that Pops brought his horse (Pinky) & that their new house came fully loaded with two goats & a donkey. Even more exciting, the mommy goat gave birth to a few babies in March. During our trip up there to visit during Spring Break, Abby loved every minute of her little ranching adventure. Here's a peek...
Katie got to meet Jake's Grandma (Grandma Hoffman) for the first time. Katie was still going through a pretty shy stage, so it was extra special that she made friends with Grandma Hoffman very quickly.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Springtime Smiles
Little girls & fields of Texas wildflowers create moments to treasure, especially on the rare occasion that the camera happens to catch the little girls smiling at the same time! Daddy was the most patient man on the planet this morning and an awesome photographer. Thank you, honey. These photos mean so much to me!
Jake & I are in trouble... Katie is showing a mischevious side already. Here she was having fun putting wood chips in her mouth after I would tell her "no" & then waiting with a mischevious grin for me to brush it out again.
Abby & her Mimi are going on an adventure just like Dora and Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire... Abby's current favorites...
Only at lunch did Katie's spunky, smily side show up!
And Piper got a chance to show off her teeth too!
Jake & I are in trouble... Katie is showing a mischevious side already. Here she was having fun putting wood chips in her mouth after I would tell her "no" & then waiting with a mischevious grin for me to brush it out again.
Katie seems to have a pretty respectable wave going now, and pretty good timing too.
Our precious, sweet little Abby seems to be back these days. Thank you, God!
Friday morning was our first photo shoot in the fields of flower. Cousin Piper made an apperance too! All three girls had matching Easter dresses, courtesy of Mimi.
Ahhh, sweet cousins. But, hold on, cuz the crying & pushing is just around the corner...
Katie wanted to show off her mouth full of teeth.
We discovered an hour before taking these photos that Katie had her first ear infection, so unfortunately her smiles were few and far between (which is sad because her hallmark is continuous smiles & giggles... her Daddy calls Katie "Smiles" and Abby is "Giggles". Abby, by the way, came up with her own nick-name for Katie -- "Bubba". It is so sweet to hear her say, "Are you ok, Bubba?").
Our pediatrician assured us that Katie's ear & sinus infection was not contagious, but unfortunately, we can't say the same for the crying! Boy, does Piper know how to make a sad face!
What is that?
And where did it go? (It was an airplane)
OK, the distraction is over. Where did we leave off? Oh yeah, it was my turn to cry. In fact, I think I am going to steal this show entirely... come on, get off the stage. This is my scene. Don't make me push you out now...
Meanwhile, in happier, greener pastures...
Abby & her Mimi are going on an adventure just like Dora and Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire... Abby's current favorites... Only at lunch did Katie's spunky, smily side show up! And Piper got a chance to show off her teeth too!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Crying, Screaming & Teething, Oh My!!!
You know the common wisdom that says you should never go to the grocery store when you are hungry. Well, you should also not make decisions about the size of your family when any of its youngest members are either teething or training for toddler tantrum star status. Every night this week, I have declared to Jake as he walked through the door that we are “Done, done, done! No more kids!” Katie, who for months was sleeping 13+ hours every night without waking, is now waking 5+ times with a cry that is impossible to ignore (no, make that scream, not cry!). Abby, who not too long ago had a week or two of nearly perfect behavior (so good that I was thinking what a delightful little companion she was to have around & I was rejoicing that she must be one of those kids for which Year 3 is not harder than Year 2), now suddenly is having tantrums that scare the socks right off the both of us. To top it off, for the last few months Katie has been too curious about the world around her to bother with nursing or drinking liquids out of a bottle or cup (and I have tried everything, from trying to minimize big sis distractions by setting Abby up in another room in front of Dora to nursing in a dark closet… to no avail). This child seems to have as strong of an opinion about things as her big sister. So, I am left pumping all day & mixing the milk into her cereal…. Ugh!
Well, here are a few of the funnies that still managed to creep in & make me laugh in the middle of this tough time:
1. I have been trying to encourage every little glimmer of good behavior coming out of Abby, so I find myself constantly saying, “Abby, thank you for asking politely instead of whining!” Last night at dinner, I had just asked Jake to please pass the parmesan cheese, when Abby burst out with, “good girl, Mommy, for asking nicely & not having a fit”
2. This morning, I set Abby up to play her kid-sized “Wii” while I pumped & Katie napped. Predictably, I hadn’t even gotten all set up for pumping before Abby was already ready to move on to a new activity…which just so happened to be hanging on me, playing with my earrings, trying to fix my hair, zipping my jacket, etc. (ugh!) Well, the voice of the lady narrator on her “Wii” kept asking her, “do you want to play again? Please press the blue star”… Abby started out by nicely responding with, “no thank you” until she got so agitated that the lady wouldn’t take no for an answer that she began hollering at her to stop and, finally, turned to me with tears asking me to turn it off!
3. At Costco this morning, when she would ask me to buy something, she would say, “it doesn’t have any sugars in it, Mommy”.
PS- poor little Katie has gotten 4 teeth in one week, with 3 more just under the surface working their way out... for a total of 6 with 3 to come! So, the good news is that she is knocking them out quickly!
Well, here are a few of the funnies that still managed to creep in & make me laugh in the middle of this tough time:
1. I have been trying to encourage every little glimmer of good behavior coming out of Abby, so I find myself constantly saying, “Abby, thank you for asking politely instead of whining!” Last night at dinner, I had just asked Jake to please pass the parmesan cheese, when Abby burst out with, “good girl, Mommy, for asking nicely & not having a fit”
2. This morning, I set Abby up to play her kid-sized “Wii” while I pumped & Katie napped. Predictably, I hadn’t even gotten all set up for pumping before Abby was already ready to move on to a new activity…which just so happened to be hanging on me, playing with my earrings, trying to fix my hair, zipping my jacket, etc. (ugh!) Well, the voice of the lady narrator on her “Wii” kept asking her, “do you want to play again? Please press the blue star”… Abby started out by nicely responding with, “no thank you” until she got so agitated that the lady wouldn’t take no for an answer that she began hollering at her to stop and, finally, turned to me with tears asking me to turn it off!
3. At Costco this morning, when she would ask me to buy something, she would say, “it doesn’t have any sugars in it, Mommy”.
PS- poor little Katie has gotten 4 teeth in one week, with 3 more just under the surface working their way out... for a total of 6 with 3 to come! So, the good news is that she is knocking them out quickly!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Abbyisms
Abbyisms overheard in the last week...
1. Abby goes into Katie's room first to greet her in the morning while I am making breakfast. Recently, when I joined her in Katie's room, she said, "Mommy, there was a bug on Katie's face". That gave me a little panic, because bugs crawling on my children at night is one of my pet concerns. So, I asked Abby what color the bug was. She said, "orange!" That set my concerns to rest & convinced me her comment was evidence of her growing sense of humor, not night-time crawlies.
2. After playing outside yesterday, Abby said urgently, "Mommy, there is a spider crawling up on you!" My gut reaction was to believe her & strip my shirt off...I never spotted a spider, and as of right now, I still do not know for sure whether I was duped by my 2-yr-old or not.
3. She is overheard frequently telling her Daddy not to use something or not to throw something away because "it is expensive"... hmmm... wonder where she learned that one? Since Jake's and my respective degrees of frugality (or not) is one of our "hot" issues, it is all the more humorous when Abby is the messenger.
4. She is completely potty trained & wears big girl panties, except during sleepy time. She told me the other day after pooping in her pull-up right after a nap that she did not want to poop in her potty because it would get her potty all dirty.
5. Likewise, after getting her haircut on Monday, she began to cry when Jake started to wash it that evening, because she said he was "messing up my haircut!"
6. Her new thing is to holler casually, "hey Mom!"... all day long!
7. After a grocery store employee helped take our groceries to the car on Sunday & Abby was all loaded in the car, Abby said, "Mom, where is the lady with a pink mouth?" The lady had very bright pink lipstick on.
8. Abby is into stickers. Unfortunately, she does not understand the difference between stickers and stamps... discovering stamps all over our house one morning gave me a good opportunity to explain the meaning of the word "expensive."
9. Katie gets decked out with Abby's stickers quite frequently. One Sunday Katie had a sticker on her sleeve all through church. When I went to change her for naptime, I took a closer look... it said "kwanza"... how appropriate for church! (Abby discovered it in her Highlights magazine book of holiday stickers)
1. Abby goes into Katie's room first to greet her in the morning while I am making breakfast. Recently, when I joined her in Katie's room, she said, "Mommy, there was a bug on Katie's face". That gave me a little panic, because bugs crawling on my children at night is one of my pet concerns. So, I asked Abby what color the bug was. She said, "orange!" That set my concerns to rest & convinced me her comment was evidence of her growing sense of humor, not night-time crawlies.
2. After playing outside yesterday, Abby said urgently, "Mommy, there is a spider crawling up on you!" My gut reaction was to believe her & strip my shirt off...I never spotted a spider, and as of right now, I still do not know for sure whether I was duped by my 2-yr-old or not.
3. She is overheard frequently telling her Daddy not to use something or not to throw something away because "it is expensive"... hmmm... wonder where she learned that one? Since Jake's and my respective degrees of frugality (or not) is one of our "hot" issues, it is all the more humorous when Abby is the messenger.
4. She is completely potty trained & wears big girl panties, except during sleepy time. She told me the other day after pooping in her pull-up right after a nap that she did not want to poop in her potty because it would get her potty all dirty.
5. Likewise, after getting her haircut on Monday, she began to cry when Jake started to wash it that evening, because she said he was "messing up my haircut!"
6. Her new thing is to holler casually, "hey Mom!"... all day long!
7. After a grocery store employee helped take our groceries to the car on Sunday & Abby was all loaded in the car, Abby said, "Mom, where is the lady with a pink mouth?" The lady had very bright pink lipstick on.
8. Abby is into stickers. Unfortunately, she does not understand the difference between stickers and stamps... discovering stamps all over our house one morning gave me a good opportunity to explain the meaning of the word "expensive."
9. Katie gets decked out with Abby's stickers quite frequently. One Sunday Katie had a sticker on her sleeve all through church. When I went to change her for naptime, I took a closer look... it said "kwanza"... how appropriate for church! (Abby discovered it in her Highlights magazine book of holiday stickers)
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