With only a couple of weeks until we welcome our newest little lady into the world, we have been spending lots of quality family time together. Our summer schedule and responsibilities have been great as we prepare for this next season. As always, God knew exactly what our little family needed and I'm so thankful.
We've been soaking up life and spending lots of time enjoying all of the little moments: playing outside & eating lots of ice cream, taking spontaneous little trips around town, spending time & sharing meals with family and friends, afternoon naps, reading books in the hammock under the big shady tree in our backyard & playing in the water all day when it's unbearably hot outside. Abby has discovered that pink lemonade is quite the treat on a perfect summer day and I have been nesting in full force, organizing anything that could possible be organized. Next up: the office and linen closet... or at least that's the plan! ;)
Joe and I aren't the only ones preparing for our new arrival. Abby is equally excited about meeting her baby sister. When Joe and Abby were returning from a walk the other day Joe asked: Abby, are you excited to go inside and see Mommy? Her response: Yes. Mommy and my baby sister. When Abby is sitting on the couch watching one of her shows and I sit down next to her, she will lift my shirt, turn me so that my belly is facing the T.V. and say, "Baby Sister, let's watch a show together!" Abby's latest excitement is realizing that because she is having a little sister just like her friend Makena, she will now have someone to call "Sissy". First thing in the morning, Abby crawls into bed with us, stops to listen for her sister's heartbeat and says, "Sissy...are you ready to come out today?" So soon little one. So soon!
As excited as I am to have our next baby, I can't help but feel
realistic and sentimental about how fast my first baby girl has grown
up. I never want to forget these moments...ever! It seems like our days are filled more than ever with laugh out loud moments and sweet memories that I want to record, so in the past few days in moments of anxiousness I've jotted down things as they've happened, so I could post them right here.
Just a glimpse of life these days with our almost two and a half year old:
Nursery Rhyming
Abby loves nursery rhymes and would read them all day long if she could. Not only has it been fun to see the ways she has memorized the words, but how she has interpreted some of the stories. Thanks to Hickory Dickory Dock and Little Miss Muffet, Abby is pretty hesitant about grandfather clocks and spider webs. She thinks all clocks have mice living in them, so the thought of the clock striking one unnerves her a bit. Grammy and G-Diddy have two grandfather clocks in their house, so you can imagine Abby's amusement during our last visit when they bought a friendly stuffed little girl mouse and hid her in the clock. Abby and Mouse quickly became friends. They hugged goodnight before bed. When Abby was fast asleep, G-Diddy would reposition Mouse so she was waiting for Abby on top of the clock in the morning. Abby is still talking about the way Mouse snores at night. :)
Then there was the time I was putting Abby to bed and a piece of fuzz flew out of the air and landed on her face. I have never seen the girl flail like that. Like Grandma when she sees a bee, she was shouting and shrieking. It turns out Abby was afraid because she was convinced that a spider had come along and sat down beside her...or right on her face. When I finally calmed her down (after laughing hysterically myself), she told me that she "frightened" like Little Miss Muffet! Precious little imaginative mind.
Dr. Abby
While I was getting ready the other day, Abby was playing nicely by herself in her room. After a while, I heard her chatting away, so I peeked in without her noticing me. She stood in the corner with her clipboard (a.k.a. mini magna doodle) in hand talking to her "patients". She had her animals lined up in the corner and right as I walked over to her door I heard her say, "Hi! I'm Dr. Abby. Nice to meetcha!"
Favorite Phrases (
some anyway..):
- referring to everything in the past as "last night" and everything in the future as "next day"
- I love you both ways.
- "Nice to meetcha" and "Nice to see ya."
- Don't worry. It be ok.
- Daddy, pick me up...I need love.
- Hey guys! It's time for me to have a tea party with my family.
- Come 'ere! (finger gesture included)
- Have a nice day.
- Cheers!
- I love that she calls Twizzlers..."Tweezers" and Capri Suns.."Papa Juice"
One of the best things is seeing her start to understand how to have conversations with people. The other day, when Abby got home from her date with Daddy, I asked her to tell me all about it. After she excitedly shared and shared lots of details, she looked at me and asked, "How was your day, Mommy? Goooood?"
T.V. Time
Abby's favorite shows to watch right now are probably Dora, Yo Gabba Gabba, Curious George, Barney and Leap Frog. The funny thing is if she is having T.V. time while I'm getting ready in the morning and I start blow drying my hair in the bathroom. Abby runs down the hallway with lightning speed and shuts the door for me because she can't hear her show. Ok mini adolescent!
T.M.I....maybe?
Sorry in advance if this is too much information for you, but this definitely makes it into our family memory box. You might remember that at about a year old, Abby discovered tampons in the bathroom, started hoarding the colorful little sticks without my knowledge and then one day put them all in the dishwasher silverware holder. Logically. Well, in recent news... Abby has now discovered the drawer in the bathroom with pantyliners, as well as their wonderful ability to stick to things. So, when she started sticking them, I thought it would be a good time to explain (in very simple terms of course) that those are not stickers, but are meant for underwear. Fast forward to the next morning...I walked into my room to find my underwear sprawled around the room with pantyliners stuck all over them. This girl is a smarty! Needless to say, the feminine products have been relocated.
Dreams
Abby has recently started saying, "I want to do that someday!" There is nothing like listening to such a little person state their big dreams. In just the last week, Abby has told me that someday she wants to sing in a band while playing the piano (and drums) and become a ballerina.
Sleep...
or sleepless? Two and a half has marked our most challenging bout with sleep since the early days. Abby has been getting up 1-2 times a night with bad dreams. Sometimes it is as easy and walking in to comfort her and lay her back down while she is still half asleep and sometimes it is a process that takes closer to an hour. Poor girl and sleepy parents. After one of those nights recently, Abby came in at 6am and thinking that was the start of our day (since it's in the range of her normal wake time), I pulled her into bed with us while I slowly woke up. I fell back to sleep and woke up an hour later to this sight:
Loving God
One of Abby's favorite things to play is church. She will hop up on the nearest elevated surface, find a microphone shaped object and start start singing a "Jesus song" or Twinkle Twinkle. When no one else is watching or we are in the other room and she doesn't think we can hear her, she will finish the song, pray and then run out asking where her toddler room is. When we tell her where to go, she says, "Bye guys. See you after church." Then, calls from down the hall when she wants to be picked up.
The other night as Abby was rustling around trying to fall asleep, Joe checked the monitor just in time to see her getting out of bed, quickly grabbing a book and hopping back in. He went in to ask her what she was doing and tell her it was bedtime. Her response: Daddy, I'm having a Bible study.
On a more serious note, It's been sweet reading Bible stories with Abby and watching her start to grasp even a small part of the concepts. Since reading and talking about the story of Jesus falling asleep on the boat during a storm, Abby has started to respond, "I don't need to be afraid because Jesus is with me!"
WARNING: Normally I would never post a picture of myself that looks like this, but my little counterpart is too cute to not post it and the sweet moment is too precious to pass up. I think this was a "sick" afternoon when a nap alone in her bed was just too hard. Who cares about how I look in the pic. I'm pregnant and tired and for some reason my shirt is riding up my belly, but these moments with my little girl are priceless.
(
For my favorite mother-in-law: proof that I've put up way worse pictures of myself on the internet than anyone else. Love you!)
Grammy, G-Diddy & Greeley came to visit last week and we worked/played so hard that I didn't take my camera out once! Time flew and so many fun projects were accomplished. Shelves, blinds, curtain rods and new light fixtures hung. Air conditioners installed. Gardening in the front yard. Thank you guys for coming to spend time with us and for all of your help. Stay tuned for before and after shots of the front yard!
With just a couple more things to hang on the wall, Baby Sister's room is now complete! Here's a sneak peak:
Grandma and Uncle Cory came up this week to spend the day with us. Uncle Cory did some heavy lifting and digging for us and Abby played with both of them all day. It was a much needed day of rest for me!
Also, in case you haven't noticed, this is my first post under the renamed blog: Life With Our Little Ladies.
I wouldn't want Baby Girl #2 coming into the world thinking it's all about Abby! :) We are keeping the address the same though, so there won't be any confusion. Enjoy!
