Moments I Never Want to Forget

this face says it all

• When I'm in another room and calling "Joe!" (loud enough so he can hear me), Abby imitates me by raising her voice and shouting "DA!"
• This morning I was ironing a pair of pants and Abby crawled out of the room. I thought she was going into her bedroom like she often does, but then I heard the creak of a door opening. I followed after her to find her little butt wiggling into the bathroom where her Daddy was taking a shower. She crawled in saying Da Da Da Da! She was going to find him!
  
• When Joe and I kiss, Abby squeals and/or crawls to us as fast as she can to be picked up and right in the middle of it.
  
• blowing raspberries. It might just be her favorite game right now. If I have short sleeves on she goes for my arm. If the small of my back is showing when I bend down, she crawls around to go for my back. Then, she has the biggest smile on her face and expects us to do it back to her. Ohhh it's the little things! My heart is so full.
• When I tell her to talk on the phone (either the real phone or her fake cell phones), she puts them up to her mouth and then puts it to her ear while tilting her head.
  
• Her bracelet. On her birthday, she got a Fisher Price purse and it was filled with all kinds of girlie things like pretend lipstick, a dollar, car keys, a mirror AND a bracelet. Today, Abby handed it to me and stuck her wrist out for me to put it on. Then, she admired it for a few seconds and took it off...only to do it again herself. {melting}
• the way the inside of her palm is ticklish and when she wants to laugh she puts it up to my mouth for kisses.
  

Guest Post: Daddy-Daughter Date

Today, I (Joe) have the privilege of writing on this blog. I wanted to share a couple of stories from yesterday that touched this dad's heart and are memories I never want to forget.

Abby and I had time together, while Jen went out to the store. We were sitting on the living room floor and Abby was sharing her puff snacks with me. She would eat one, then give one to me. This continued until they were all gone. She ate the last one, then put her hand in the container to get one out for me. She realized they were all gone and got upset that I didn't get another one. So, she took that last one out of her mouth and gave it to me. Such a sweet giver!

Later on in the day, the three of us went to the mall. Jen had to run a few errands (preparing for my birthday in a few days). So, Abby and I took a stroll to Auntie Anne's (our favorite pretzel place). Along the way, she was talking to everyone we passed (quite an extrovert). We stood in line and ordered pretzel sticks for her, a pretzel for me and a lemonade. Then, we parked it on a bench for some quality Daddy-Abby time. We ate our pretzels as we had conversations about the ceiling (she has a real fascination with it!) and the activities of the day. She showed interest in having some lemonade, so I thought I'd give her a treat and we shared the rest of the drink. She would drink through the straw. As soon as the lemonade hit her mouth, she would react to the sour taste and spit it out. Then, she would ask for more. We had a great time! Jen joined us after she finished her errands and took some pictures...




I love my little girl and love spending time with her!

Almost walking

My little bookworm

When I turned around Abby wasn't playing on the floor behind me anymore, so I went to find her. She went to her room to read her books. Melt my heart! She just sits there alone, examines the pictures and enjoys every page. She didn't even notice me in the doorway trying to catch some of it on video. This girl loves her books...just like her mommy!

smile

Disclamer: Abby got lots of hugs and kisses after her little tumble! It wasn't as bad as it looks.

Play us a song!

Birthday Celebrations

The day before Abby's birthday, we celebrated with a family party! We had lots of fun. It sounds kind of funny, I have dreamed of the day I could throw my child a birthday party for a LONG time. I love birthdays and I love making birthdays special (not to mention making fun cakes and decorating!). I thought a lot about a party theme and kept coming back to Abby's favorite: Elmo! He was a big part of her first year. I even figured out how to make an Elmo birthday party girlie, which might not sound like a big deal to you, but it bothered me that all things Elmo are red and blue. If I couldn't incorporate girlie colors into my little girl's first birthday, it was going to be a pink cupcake party instead. So, I set to work...

the cupcakes! These were lots of fun to make. My friend Kelly and I had fun creating mini-Elmos the night before the party. I'm so thankful I had her help (and company) to get it all done after a week of being sick.

the centerpiece.
pink, red, orange and yellow! It worked.

happy birthday banner

don't miss the life size Elmo balloon in the corner. He is still alive in our dining room and Abby loves seeing him everyday!

The celebrations begin and our family starts to arrive:

Papa and Uncle Cory "hugging"

just waking up from her nap and trying to get into party mode

"Hey guys, check out my tutu! Isn't it pretty?"

"Are you here to celebrate me?"

crawling everywhere

hanging out with Aunt Kelly

Hi Grammy!

Uncle Cory trying to teach Abby how to ride a quad

"Are all these for me?"

Uncle Cory loaded up the ribbons

playing with Cory's blackberry

Nana sent Abby a baby doll. After Abby examined the baby's face and we took the baby out of the package, Abby hugged her just like a little mommy.

checking out her first purse from Uncle Tommy and Tori

"Look at my baby!"

blow out the candles

Make a wish baby girl!

"Yum! CAKE! Who's been holding out on me?"

mommy and daddy with their birthday girl

Grammy modeling Abby's birthday hat

It was hard to follow up the great party with birthday celebrations on Abby's actual birthday the next day, but we did! Grammy stayed for a couple days, so she was here with us. We started the morning with a birthday breakfast of blueberry pancakes and a couple more gifts.



Then, after Abby had lots of quality time with her Grammy, we went out for a birthday lunch (for Abby and Grammy whose birthday was three days earlier) at Peaches Cafe. Abby even got to ride in her new big girl car seat and face forward for the first time.


Looking forward to many more years of birthday parties and celebrations!