A Special Christmas Gift

Abby was brimming with "Christmas morning" type excitement all day today. She woke up this morning to find out that today her Christmas gift from Grammy and G-Diddy was arriving. "The man" (as Abby so lovingly referred to him all day) came to install Abby's new playset in the backyard.

When "the man" arrived at 8 am, Abby started sneaking out onto the deck in her jammies to watch him work. I'm not even sure she really knew what the final product was going to be, but she kept checking in on his progress throughout the day. 

After her nap (and despite all lingering sickness from the week), Abby and I spent the afternoon playing at the patio table, so she could watch the finishing touches happen. We counted down the final screws and around 3:00, Abby was let loose! Let the fun begin!

the look of pure joy says it all!

showing Daddy around her tower complete with steering wheel and telescope

excited about the little picnic table attached to the side

testing out her courage on the swing

Our neighbors and Abby's friend Isaiah over to play!

Abby and Isaiah enjoyed a snack on the little table

And to add to the already sweet day, the ice cream man came around right before dinner! So, we put all reason aside and flip-flopped our dinner and dessert to enjoy some choco-tacos with friends in our backyard before we called it a night.

Grammy and G-Diddy, thank you for such a special gift! Abby has been talking about you all day and can't wait to show you in person.

First Big Girl Haircut

When Joe and I took Abby for her very first haircut, we tried a specialty kids hair salon with lots of fun perks. Abby loved having her haircut, but we were pretty sure it wasn't because they put in a dvd of dancing scissors and gave her a little sticker at the end. I think she just liked the experience of going to get her hair done.

This time around we went for the real deal. Last week, I decided her wild hair was in need of a trim, so I made an appointment with my hairdresser. Abby couldn't stop talking about going to Mommy's hairdresser and having Miss Jackie cut her hair. We had an appointment close to dinnertime, so we made a family night out of it and went out for pizza afterward.

before

When Jackie was ready, she came over and asked Abby if she was ready to have her haircut. With no hesitation, Abby responded, "PLEEEASSSE"!

getting ready

after. 

It's hard to see in her "after" shot, but Jackie evened out her hair making it a sweet little bob with bangs!

the latest

A few recent favorites:

• Every chance she gets, Abby sneaks up behind me while I'm looking in the fridge and climbs right in saying, "Bye bye Mommy! I'll miss you." Then, she time travels to another location. Clearly, there is no more obvious use for the fridge that a traveling machine. :) I love her imagination. 

• Abby is very excited to meet her baby sister. I couldn't keep her away from the room when her Daddy was painting, so for the very last wall she sat and kept him company. Now, every time she goes in there, she touches the walls and says, "So nice! Baby Sister's room is so nice!" She will have lots of fun helping me put the finishing touches in there over the next couple of months.

• Running is not just one of Joe's hobbies, but Abby's too. She sees her Daddy go for runs, so when Joe comes home from work, Abby often asks him if they can go running together. They walk down to the end of the driveway holding hands, get set and "GO!" jogging to the stop sign and back.

• After hearing my stomach growl loudly before lunch...
  Abby: Mommy! I hear my baby sister. She's ready to come out!
   
• Abby and I were laying together in bed one morning when she jumped up and yelled, "Mommy, my baby sister is pushing me!"       

Easter 2012

The day before Easter, Abby dyed her very first batch of eggs. She was amazed each time she put an egg in the cup and it came out another color. Magical. :)

Abby lost interest after about eight eggs and left Joe and I to finish up while she went to her room to play.

A few minutes later, we heard excited squealing and little feet running back down the hallway. Abby ran into the kitchen holding her Easter basket saying, "Mommy, I love this!".  Turns out I forgot to close the door and she decided to sneak into her sister's closet when no one was watching. Jackpot!! The look of pure joy and excitement on her face was better than any gift giving I could have orchestrated the next morning.

It was a special Easter Sunday! We spent the morning at church worshiping our risen Savior. What a beautiful celebration of the hope and new life we have in Jesus. He is risen, indeed!

Afterward, we had a laid back afternoon with family enjoying a delicious lunch and an egg hunt outside. 

all dressed up and hanging out with Ashley before church

While I was getting ready for church, I realized Abby was being really quiet and I had that sneaking mommy suspicion that she might be up to something. Sure enough, when I went into the living room Abby was digging into her colored chapsticks and rubbing the colors across her face. When I asked her what she was doing, she confidently responded, "Do pretty makeup like Mommy". What could I say? I melted and then quickly  swept her off to the bathroom to wash off  rub in her pretty makeup before it got all over her white sweater.

So proud of her beautiful makeup. precious.

Here's the bunny butt cake that everyone thought was a pig! All I know is it was cute (definately looked like a bunny) and tasted good. A big hit with our pink loving little girl.

loving her little sister

opening her new bubble machine from Papa

our Easter table. I love spring colors.

"The bubbles are shooting into my eyes. I need my glasses!"

my family. <3

with Ashley!

Papa and Nina

posing for Grandma

after waiting patiently to open her Easter goody bag...

my little love.

Watching Abby run through the yard and collect 30 eggs was so much fun. Since I knew Abby would be eating so many sweets all weekend anyway, I filled her eggs with different letters of the alphabet. She loved opening each egg and identifying each letter. It was quite the treasure hunt for her. Of course, in true grandparent fashion, Papa brought a handful of big eggs filled with chocolate to add to the mix. When she found her first egg filled with chocolate, it changed the game a bit. Abby would find a letter and then stuff another piece of chocolate into her mouth! Hello afternoon sugar rush. We had lots of fun!

"look look, more egg"