The Sweet End to October

The end of October was just that....SWEET! It was filled with lots of sweet moments, special visitors and fun firsts. It was so full that it's actually hard to recount it in blog form, but I'll try my best!

Abby rode out the end of her sickness with some naps on Daddy. Seriously...I wish I could capture this moment and stay in it forever. My heart melts when I walk into the room to this:

Ashley (our good friend and "personal painter") came to visit for a couple of nights. Abby loves "Ayash". As with every guest that comes to visit, Abby sat with Ashley and read through her whole bookshelf. It's like she thinks everyone should enjoy the treasures she does daily and has no idea why anyone wouldn't want to read all day. God has blessed me so much with a little bookworm. She's just like her mommy!

Check out the stack next to them.

Our little duck loved getting dressed up in her costume.

I just couldn't get enough of that little tail wiggling back and forth as she ran around.


Grammy came to visit for a few days and we loved every minute of having her here. This picture was taken just moments after she walked in the door. Notice where she is. Abby took Grammy straight to her room to read books of course. I took another picture of Grammy and Abby reading, but I'm not allowed to post it! ;) Just wanted to note that because they read lots and lots of books together. We had a girlie shopping trip and enjoyed some great meals together. Please come back soon Grammy, but it would really be okay if you don't bring a storm system with you this time!


Abby feeds her babies daily! Such a good little mommy.

Real Life hosted the 2nd Annual Ladies Pumpkin Carving Night. It was lots of fun to host it at our house this year. Look closely, there is some serious talent going on here. I was totally impressed! I'm going to start planning my pumpkin in August next year and come prepared to carve a masterpiece.

The staff pumpkins! See mine right in the middle? Can you guess who it is? Ok, so I know it's a pretty lame excuse for Elmo, but all that matters is that when my daughter woke up the next morning and I asked her who it was she said, "Pump-pump, Mel-mo!" I have officially succeeded!

Mama came to visit for a week. On Halloween, my Dad and Cory brought Mama to Albany. We all enjoyed dinner together and seeing Abby run around as a little duck.

my precious girl.

This was Abby's first year trick-or-treating. We took her around to a few houses. We just love meeting and reconnecting with our neighbors and this was the perfect opportunity to introduce ourselves and remember some new names. We practiced with Abby beforehand and her sweet version of the phrase was "Tuck-o-tatt". She didn't want to walk, so we carried her, but when we went to the door she would say "Tuck-o-tatt" (louder and more boldly with each house), open her bag and then very thoughtfully pick her treat from the bowl or platter. When she got the hang of things, she kept saying "more, more" after each house. It was so much fun to watch her.

Since that night, she has been saying "Tuck-o-tatt" whenever she wants someone to give her something or when she knocks on someones door. Hilarious! The real fun is Abby didn't really know the treats she collected were delicious bits of candy. She didn't ask for the things in the bag at all after that. We gave her a few treats here and there, but I loved that she wasn't obsessed with the idea of loads of sugar. Making dentists everywhere proud.

bedtime stories on Mommy and Daddy's bed

hugging Mama during bedtime prayers

Mama's visit was a wonderful. Seriously....I cried when she left on Sunday and Mama was the first person Abby asked for when she woke up Monday morning. One week of my grandma living with us was honestly the best. In true honored guest fashion, Abby initiated her with loads and loads of books.

Mama sewed us curtains and pillows for the downstairs family room. A skill that I still wish I had learned from her when she tried to teach me years ago. They are lovely! Stay tuned for a post in the near future featuring our new additions.

We were pretty spoiled. Mama cooked our favorite Hungarian foods all week. She loves to do it and we LOVE to eat it. I did cook for her twice while she was here. There is nothing like Mama's cooking. The smells and the taste take me right back to my childhood in an instant. I sometimes joke that I would package my grandmother's scent and call it "Cucumber Salad". That is truly a compliment! Abby helped cook and also had second helpings almost every meal.

One of Abby's new favorite pastimes is wearing everyone's shoes around the house. My shoes are one thing, but you should see this girl maneuver around in her Daddy's huge shoes.


Abby loves to help her dad stretch after his runs. It's easy to push through the hard parts of running, when you know you are coming home to this sweet face and stretching partner.

Abby now refuses to wear bibs, but is still a pretty messy eater. So, Mama thought she could convince Abby to wear a bib by wearing one herself. Must have worked on me once, but it worked for all of 3 minutes before Abby ripped hers off. Good try, Mama!

Side note: Over a year ago, my mother-in-law bought us this beautiful first year frame for Abby. I love it! It took me a little while to get the pictures developed for it, but this week I did and it is now hanging beautifully in Abby's room. It was such a joy to put it together and remember her first year of life month by month.

All of that October snow melted, which meant it was time to rake some leaves.



Abby and Mama spent hours working on her new ABC puzzle.

Mama, we miss you already! The spring/summer can't come soon enough. Szeretlek! Abby sends kisses to Buff Buff!

A Little Secret

A Sick Week

Abby was sick all week. I think we're finally almost to the other side nine days later. Our poor girl was a mess, but as always she welcomed lots of snuggly rest time. And it's not always a bad thing when we have to wipe the schedule clear and rest A LOT!

We got a visit last weekend from our friends, Alana and Jamie. It was one of those sweet reunions where we didn't have nearly enough time to talk about everything we wanted to catch up on. It had been way too long, but it was great because we got to meet Alana's boyfriend Jamie for the first time. Abby was so sick that she slept almost the whole time in my arms. She just fell asleep randomly while we were talking and slept for 3 hours. Sick as she was, when she woke up, she still loved meeting new friends. She's been calling their names all week long!

playing games with Alana and Jamie

Abby jumped right up next to Jamie to watch some Barney.

A lot of our mornings and nights this week looked like this:

And at the end of it all...

"So, what's been going on in the world, Mommy? I've been a little out of it lately!"

Thankful to be on the mend!

Abby's Book Review

Abby and I share the same love for books. She could seriously sit on my lap for hours and read through her entire bookshelf. One morning, this week we read 18 books in one sitting. We would finish one and she would immediately run to bring me another.

Tuesday mornings, we go to the library for story hour and as soon as it is over Abby runs into the main library faster than I can stand up to collect her new bag full of books.

She has had certain favorites since she was a baby and of course there are the classics, but since we read so many, it's fun to see new ones she enjoys! What better way to keep track and help all my friends with kid book recommendations. A list of personal faves from a toddler herself.
These are some of Abby's most recent favorites:

1. Anything by Sandra Boynton is a favorite in our home. The books are really silly and have really fun rhythm. We can read the Belly Button Book with our eyes closed. Fun quoteable: "We hippos love our belly b's. They're round and cute and funny. And there's a place we take them to, when summer days are sunny."
2. One day, while picking our books at the library, Abby decided she wanted a book about fish. No really. She walked around the library yelling fish until we found one that worked. We have had this book ever since. I'm pretty sure it will be one to purchase once this one is returned.
Fun quotable: "

3. She loves loves loves this one! Another library book that will be adding to our home library. This counting book has lots of fun repetition and sounds. In my opinion, the more a book gets my little reader interacting, the better it is. This one does for sure! Fun quotable: (imagine Abby wagging her no-no finger) "No luck, still stuck!"

4. Spot books are pretty classic, but this one is special. Here's an interactive book again. At this age, Abby loves books with flaps and being that "No!" is her favorite word right now, she has lots of fun reading each page. Until the end of course, when we finally find Spot and then she proudly shouts, "Yes". We will often find her sitting in her room reading it out loud to herself. Fun quotable: "Is he in the _______? NO!"
5. Karen Katz books have also been a favorite since the very beginning. Now, Abby just loves to read along. This book is just like Where's Spot? for that reason. Check out the video of Daddy and Abby reading it together. Fun quotable: "No! No! No! Yessssss!"

21 months old

21 months old

This month:

• Abby's speech has become even more clear. She's starting to link words together and communicate exactly what she wants. Her level of understanding (and defiance when she understands and doesn't feel like listening) has reached a new level. There is no longer any confusion of whether or not she really understood what we asked her to do.
  

• We've realized that we can't tell stories about her in front of her anymore because she understands. Especially those stories when she thinks she is funny (and she is), but we have to keep a straight face with her because it shouldn't be funny. AND we have to watch what we say to each other. The other day, I told Joe he was acting like a pig (in reference to something he was eating...oohh marital love!). Abby overheard and started oinking at him. Whoops. Lesson learned.

• Abby has been sick for the last week, which has made sleeping through the night difficult since she could hardly breathe without coughing. One night, we comforted her and she was ready to go back to bed, but didn't want to be put in. Then, we had the simple joy of watching our opinionated baby on her video monitor. Not crying, but repeatedly shouting, "Mommy! Daddy! No! No! No! (insert finger wag and head shaking here.)"

• Prayer. We've started praying with Abby when she was just a little baby, especially before meals and bedtime. Recently, we've started helping her pray herself. At first, she would repeat some basic prayers to "Dee-sus", but one of the most fun things is to see her start to understand more and start to pray for different family members. If we skip over the part when we thank God for people, she interrupts and won't continue until we add it in. Every night, it seems to be someone different that she prays for, but the first person she always thanks Jesus for is Abby! :) Can't forget herself.
  

• Hungarian kisses. Abby represents her Magyar heritage with lots of European kisses on both cheeks. She can't wait to give her Nagymama Hungarian kisses in just one week!

• She also prefers showers to taking a bath. She could stand under that stream of water for what seems like forever. We can't complain. It makes hair washing a much better expereince. No more screaming fits while we dump cups of water on her head and rinse her hair. Now, she willingly rinses her hair out herself under the water.

Only 3 more months until our little girl is 2! Can you believe it?

Weekend at the Bluff

After a jam packed summer and moving into the new house, we didn't think we'd have the chance this year to spend time at one of our favorite summer spots. So, we were pretty excited when scheduling worked out and we were able to spend Columbus Day weekend at the Bluff! Beautiful weather + a peaceful lake + a cozy cottage + delicious steamed clams + awesome people = a wonderful fall weekend to close out the "summer" season!

Abby had a blast exploring and enjoying the Bluff for her second time. For her, it was more like a first because last time she was only 7 months old.

Lately, Abby enjoys taking showers and she took a Bluff shower like a champ. Showering at the cottage is a special experience. You have to have been there to understand!

There's something special about waking up on a chilly fall morning, sitting near the wood stove, watching the lake through the window and enjoying a lazy weekend breakfast with family.

Abby doesn't do "lazy" very well yet. After finding the toy cabinet filled with lots of Daddy's old toys, she grew tired of waiting around and let herself outside in her footie jammies to see her buddy, Greeley.

Abby and Grammy relaxed on the front porch swing and watched the lake.

Then, we went for a walk to the beach. Through the woods, into the field, under some branches and onto the fun rocky beach. Abby and Grammy stopped to pick some flowers along the way.



Keeping Abby out of the freezing water was the challenge of the morning. Grammy tried to show Abby how cold it was, but it didn't really phase her....which is why someone was holding the back of Abby's hood the whole time. If it were up to Abby, she would have jumped in a long time ago. After all, no one was stopping Greeley from having all that fun.



G-Diddy taught Abby how to skip rocks.


Abby finally met Lauren! Officially (and I always mix this up), I think they are third cousins. Sweet little cousins who will grow up together. It didn't take long for them to hit it off. After all, they have lots in common...like playing outside, eating grapes and watching Barney!




Grammy made Abby's day with a "Made with love" tutu! A little princess' dream come true. Now, Abby's had tutus, but never one like this. We didn't even have to tell her what to do. She slipped that skirt on and all of her ballerina instincts kicked in. She was twirling and displaying her beauty for all to see! Especially Grammy.




The weather was perfect for a boat ride. It was Abby's first. She wasn't sure at first. You could see the look on her face when she put the life jacket on and the boat started moving. She started fussing and for a millisecond I thought she might be afraid, until we realized she wasn't scared at all, she just wanted to be hanging over the front of the boat as far as she could, hair blowing in the wind, "I'm the king of the world" style! This girl loves a good adventure.

the cottage from the lake

Baby came on the boat too!

and just to add to the "Uncle Tommy sleeps anywhere" picture collection

love.

Another perk of our weekend was getting to spend some quality time with Uncle Tommy, who came up from New York City! We even got to spend a few hours with Tori on Sunday afternoon.

sharing some snacks after our boat ride

"good story, Uncle T. Tell me more!"

representing.

On Saturday night, we celebrated G-Diddy's 65th birthday with a big Bluff party, which always equals lots of fun hor d'oeuvres at happy hour. The little cottage filled up quickly with more than 20 people, but that didn't stop Abby from eating through platter after platter of crackers, veggies, chips and dip. She kept sneaking Laughing Cow cheese wedges, but instead of unwrapping them she would squeeze out all the cheese with her mouth. Funny quote of the night: "Abby, I don't think you're supposed to be eating cellophane!" Thanks for looking out Vicki!

After dinner, Lauren and Abby watched some Barney while the adults talked.

Happy Birthday G-Diddy!!

Sunday morning, we savored every Bluff minute we had left. This time, Abby & I enjoyed our time on the swing with some books.

Nana, Uncle John and Tori all came in on Sunday afternoon. Our time with them was too short, but we loved the time we did get. At lunch, Abby and Nana sat next to each other. I nearly forgot our little girl was there with us because she and Nana had such a great time together. They colored. Nana gave Abby all the ice from her cup (their special "thing" that started last spring) and they shared lots of french fries.




Until next year...