Week #4

Week in review:

Abby brushes her teeth every morning at least two times (by her insistence)...once with Mommy and once with Daddy. She sits right up on the counter and keeps us company while we each get ready.


Abby and I spent lots of afternoons at the pool this week. The storms finally stayed away. We stayed in the water until our fingers were prune-y and then laid out on the chairs watching all the other little kids play. Abby has become a big fan of jumping off the edge into our arms and loves dipping her head back to get wet. It actually cracks her up!


At the beginning of the week, Abby got a package from her Grandma filled with all kinds of fun stickers and a little notebook to stick them in! Abby can peel, stick, repeel and restick for so long that I only give her one sheet at a time. Not only does she like to stick stickers in her book, but all over us too!

sticking stickers all over her face...

...and getting a kick out of it!

As always, Abby finds a way to help with the chores OR feel like a princess!

off to do the laundry

"Hey Mom, look at me!"

We just love our mornings and afternoons spent with good friends. We will definitely miss our daily play dates. Especially since we are all just a few doors down!

**Challenge: What is your best caption for the photo below? What do you think those girls are thinking/saying to each other? Let me know in the comment section!**

Emma, Abby, Katie and Grace (not pictured)

It wouldn't be a day in the temporary Cassel/Swanson home without Abby giving Emma as many hugs as she possibly can. She just can't get enough! I can't blame her. Who wouldn't want to wrap their arms around that sweet baby all day long? Abby must take after her momma. And though Emma loves Abby and likes to play with her, she makes it known that she is not the biggest fan of the headlock hug! Ohhh I can't wait to show this to them years from now.

Abby & Emma

Kids eat free at Beau Jo's on Thursday nights, so we couldn't miss the opportunity to go out with our friends and catch up over a yummy Colorado pizza dinner. Abby loves pizza and loved it even more sitting next to her buddy Grace. Not to mention, Super mom Susie brought play-doh for the kids to play with while we waited for our food (genius!). It was Abby's first time with play-doh and she was fascinated. I'm loving this new discovery! Then, the lady came around and made balloon animals for kiddos!

elephant for Josiah, penguin for Grace and...

...monkey for Abby!

Every morning we head out for our walks. Abby waves at everyone we pass and sadly every time we walk past Starbucks my daughter starts pointing and making it clear she would like to stop (though we only do so every now and then). Yikes! What have we started. You can tell how much she enjoys her surroundings: the cars, birds flying everywhere and any animals. Today she saw a squirrel scurrying through the grass and starting "Ooooo Ooooo Ahhh Ahhh Ah-ing". She thought the squirrel was a monkey! Hilarious. I never would have put the two together, but think about it. It totally makes sense. Monkeys don't look THAT different. It's amazing to see the ways the little wheels in her head process life.

Ready to go on our walk

Today, we were thankful for lots of quality time with Daddy. You can see Abby enjoying her time snuggled up with him reading books. Precious!

Then, Joe took his two girls out on a lunch date to our favorite Mongolian BBQ restaurant downtown. Yum! Abby told me everything she wanted put in her plate and we brought it to the grill to watch them cook it up. I couldn't get it to the table fast enough. She chowed down on a noodle and rice plate loaded with black beans, corn, peas and edamame (just to name a few)! She was such a big girl and ate so well. Abby also loves ice. When she is done eating in a restaurant, she picks all of the ice out of our water glasses and munches on each piece. At least it keeps her busy while we finish up our meals.

Of course, it wouldn't be a social outing without Abby trying to make friends with every table...including the cute little 4 year old boy a few tables down. I tried to catch it on video and got a little bit of it, but keep in mind she was doing it consistently for about five minutes before I even got the camera out. Our social butterfly and little joy!

lots of noodles and chocolate milk to wash it down

Week #3

Some highlights of our week:

Last weekend we went to the splash park with lots of friends.

Katie & Abby

Grace & Abby

Our little helper helping Mr. Jarrod push Grace around the splash park

Abby loves her baby doll, which is probably another reason she loves Emma....a moving baby doll! When Emma isn't around, Abby does everything with her baby (who we have so aptly named "Baby"). Abby feeds Baby, asks me to do her hair and carries Baby around patting her bottom saying "Shh Shh Shhh". Most recently, Abby put Baby down on the blanket in the spot Emma usually plays, gave her some toys and was trying to teach her how to play with them!

playing with her baby (notice how Abby sat her down and put toys in her lap!)

When Mommy says, "Say Cheese!"

When Mommy says, "Strike a pose!"

On the 4th, we invited lots of friends over for a BBQ. Good friends, good food and good times!

sweet.

just two girls cheesing it up

grill masters

love them

more friends.

Abby feeding Emma

We took Abby to the Denver Zoo on Saturday! Joe and I had a great time seeing the world through Abby's eyes. Her eyes lit up at the sight of every new animal. She either roared or barked at each one. And to Casey's dismay, she even barked at the elephants! She rode on her daddy's shoulders and got the best view of the sea lions. Abby made her own new words for Zebra (Bra-bra) and Peacock (a cluck-cluck with her tongue).

Am I not turtle-y enough for the Turtle Club? TURTLE! TURTLE!

"oooo-oooo-ahhhh ahhh ah"

almost as big as the giant penguin

penguins

big bear. little girl.

We also spent some time at the rec center pool. Did I say that Abby is a little fish? If there is water anywhere, Abby wants to be in it!

tuckered out at the end of a fun weekend

New words: No no no and Yes!



Abby likes the swings again!

Week # 2

Week in review:

Two mommas working on our core! Just one of the many perks of living with one of my friends for six weeks: a live in workout buddy. We encourage and challenge each other. Abs at night and some form of intentional exercise during the day. It's been really fun and helpful. Today, Kim and I took our first Zumba class. We might need to keep building up our core strength since having babies, but we can still shake our hips!

Oh and I should just mention how our husbands get a kick out of this! Which really...who wouldn't? We are just hanging out watching our shows and doing our planks and leg lifts.

Before Abby got sick this week, we were able to visit this splash park. OAC ladies-if there were one of these at home, we would be there all summer! Just check out the backdrop for this playground and splash park. Breathtaking!

Abby is just thrilled to play in the water and she got a kick out of the surprise spouts that would get her when she least expected it.


There were even spots for little Emma to enjoy!

Did I say I'm in awe of the beauty of this town?

Abby got sick at the beginning of the week and got a big bruise on her cheek in the church nursery. So...it was kind of a rough week with little sleep (but lots of snuggles). She is well on the road to recovery though and just about back to her self.

She still enjoyed playing on the patio.

AND she really enjoyed naps in Mommy and Daddy's bed, which only happens when she isn't feeling well.

(When did my baby girl get so long and grownup?)

Yesterday, we met a friend for frozen yogurt. Not just frozen yogurt, but frozen yogurt that you can top with almost anything you want. I definitely topped mine with Cap'n Crunch and Fruity Pebbles. I'm not ashamed! The little girl inside of me suddenly wanted a taste of all the sugary "not good for you" cereals of my youth. They make delish ice cream toppings. Abby became a fro-yo fan too!

just sitting and hanging with the girls

Abby's hair is finally long enough for her first pigtails! Yay! Abby did not think it was as exciting. Actually, she was SO mad that I tried to gather her hair and hold her still in the process, like "big tears and yelling" angry. I promise I wasn't pulling her hair either.

Oh, but the end result was worth it!

They didn't stay in for very long. One minute she was playing in our room with her little pigtails and the next I turn around to see she decided to take them out and put on my sports bra instead.

Joe taught Emma some new dance moves.



Here's a video of Abby just being Abby on the patio.



You might remember a while back how I shared that one of Abby's favorite books is Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton. Now, she pretty much reads it to us!



In other news...Abby might be addicted to raisins. Once she starts, she can't stop. When she's finished, she yells at me to get her more. When I refuse (after her third handful), she runs into the kitchen and intently points at the cabinet. The other day when I was eating a handful of trail mix, Abby ran over, pulled my hand down to her level, picked out all the raisins and popped them into her mouth one by one. I guess there are worse things she could be eating. At least she gets lots of iron AND they serve as pretty sneaky decoy for getting her to LOVE black beans too!