Rice Krispies

On Sunday I was making rice krispy treats and Abby wanted to help. She got my extra apron out of the drawer and tried to put it on all by herself. She needed a little help but it looks super cute on her with a few adjustments! I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Licking the empty bowl of melted chocolate chips that we stirred into the rice krispies.

Showing off "her" apron

Helping mom stir a batch of pudding. (And yes, I am pregnant in this picture :)

Getting dressed....

Abby has been a bit of a challenge the last few days and been SUPER clingy, whiny, etc...so when she disappeared into her room and I heard her opening her drawers I let her play in peace, I was just happy to have two seconds all to myself. Who knows, I might even be able to eat something without having to share it! When I went to check on her this is what I discovered! Someone was trying to get dressed all by themselves.

Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Small moments

 Some of you may know that we have started unofficially potty training. Right now it's mostly just getting Abby used to the idea and then next week Abby and I will be housebound for several days while we try to do the real potty training. Somethings seem to be sinking in as Abby came to me yesterday to tell me that "baby" had a poopy diaper, She pulled off baby's diaper and took me into the bathroom and placed baby on the potty! She then pointed at baby and said, "baby treat!". After several unsuccessful attempts to feed baby the skittle that is Abby's reward for sitting on the potty(clothes or unclothed), Abby ate it herself and looked very proud of herself!

 This morning we walked to the library and read books together. Not too long after getting home I discovered this miracle in the living room. If you know Abby you know how active she is and how hard it can be to get her to sleep! This is the second time in her life that she has fallen asleep anywhere besides her bed, the carseat or someone's arms.

Abby is now tall enough and adept enough to open doors by herself! We discovered this a few days ago but she hadn't done much to alarm us until yesterday. Yesterday morning I ran out to drop a few things in the garbage can by the road before the garbage man came by and by the time I got inside again Abby had disappeared. I looked and looked and then I heard this little voice calling, "mommy, mommy?" She had opened the door that separates the stairs to the basement from the first floor and was sitting on the landing at the top calling my name because she thought I had disappeared into the basement. I was grateful she didn't attempt to go down the stairs because our basement stairs reflect the age in which our house was build and can be a bit treacherous. Thankfully we already had the plastic safety handles for the door handles and that was the first door to be "fixed". Hopefully we can keep her from wandering too far!

Her newest word is sorry. Every few sentences you hear, "sahwe, sahwe". She says it when she bumps into you, or the chair or anything else. When her food falls off her fork and onto her booster seat she leans down, looks under the table and says, "sahwe" to the food. Sometimes I think she says it just because it's a new word and must feel good to say as much of the time it isn't in context at all!

Latest happenings

A few weeks ago Abby and I went to the park with some friends and had a blast. I didn't get a picture of the two girls together but here are some fun ones of Abby. She was so much braver and tried more new things with a friend there to show her how!

                                            Trying the bigger slide and loving it!

Abby has discovered her ability to "wear" our shoes and thinks it is the funnest thing ever!

My mother makes the best rolls and cinnamon rolls you will ever eat. She is pretty famous for them and gets asked to bring them to activities or teach people how to make them quite often. I have been trying for the last few years to make them like she does and I just keep thinking that if I practice they will eventually be more than just edible and actually be enjoyable. So, last week I tried again to make cinnamon rolls and Abby wanted to help so I got her a mixing bowl of her very own and dumped  in some flour, cornmeal, popcorn kernals etc and gave her a measuring spoon. She was in seventh heaven mixing away to her hearts content!

Falling back on the past

I grew up listening to a lot of classical music, broadway show tunes and oldies. Even on road trips  my dad would listen to a set of cd's called power classics or something along those lines. They were more upbeat classical music, but classical music nonetheless. Not all of the music was boring, I remember being fascinated by The Grand Canyon Suite and by the composer's ability to tell a story and replicate the sound of hoofbeats in music. We would listen to stories on the record player and Peter and The Wolf was my favorite! (This was before I broke my dad's record player).
Despite there being interesting music mixed in there I always envied my friends whose parents were more contemporary and "with the times" and looked forward to the time when I could listen to whatever I wanted ( I remember being scolded in Junior High when I left my clock radio on when I for school and my mom discovered I had been listening to soft rock).
When I did get old enough to make my own music decisions I almost totally abandoned my upbringing of classical music in favor of more popular styles. In the last few years, and especially in the last few months as I have had more struggles in my life and needed more peaceful moments to rejuvenate my spirit I have fallen back on my childhood and back in love with more classic sounds that can soothe me.
This definitely doesn't mean I have distanced myself from popular music entirely but I am definitely becoming more balanced. I definitely appreciate that more popular artists seem to be adding classical instruments such as the cello and violin to their music.
It is easy to look back on our past and focus on the negatives but there are always good things to be found if we look. My parents tried to instill in us a love for music and poetry. Those things may have gone a little dormant for a while but they are resurfacing and bringing back wonderful memories. I am so grateful that my parents put in the effort to give me a gift that I can fall back on over and over in my life.

Abby's First Camping Trip

Abby's first camping trip! We went with some good friends who have a daughter about Abby's age. They ran around in the dark chasing each other. Abby had a running flashlight around her neck and Claire had a cute little animal flashlight and it was fun to see their lights bobbing around in the twilight. Abby loved getting dirty with a friend who loved dirt just as much!

Both girls had cute monkey pajamas that didn't stay clean for long! The rain jacket came in handy as it began to sprinkle not long after we arrived. It ended up pouring rain  most of the night. Despite this and the fact that Abby didn't sleep much which meant we didn't either, we still had a fantastic time and are looking forward to another camping trip!

Abby loves the outdoors and loves her friend Claire. It was so fun to hear them say each others names as they ran around following each other. 

What a cute pair!

Great grandparents

Two weekends in a row we went with my parents to visit my grandparents at their farm in Idaho. Abby had a blast! Playing on the farm equipment and "driving" the tractors made for a happy toddler!

My cousin has a little boy the same age as Abby and they had the best time playing together! After getting seriously dirty, a bath was the only solution for Abby and Jaydyn. 

Painting birdhouses with her cousins. Ignore my lack of makeup and general sweatiness and look at my adorable and happy daughter!

Playing with Jaydyn.

Look at that little pink rabbit getting ready for the swimming pool.

The second weekend we went was the same weekend as my great aunt's funeral. I've been to a handful of funerals in my life but never a day like this. 

The viewing at the family home started at 9:30 am and the funeral started at 11:00. After the funeral (about an hour and a half), they went to the cemetery, then everyone came back to the church for a luncheon and then everyone went to one of the relatives house for ice cream and to sit and chat. 

When one has a toddler you have to be able to fit in a nap somewhere in there. We stayed home from the cemetery and she actually fell asleep in my arms sitting in the rocking chair in the mothers lounge, which, if you know Abby, you know is a huge miracle!

Abby looking at the funeral flowers with my mother.

Abby and her cousin loving jumping on little trampolines at the ice cream get together. 

I took off Abby's dress because I knew the ice cream would be messy and this family member has a huge pond with slides and zip lines, etc... and I knew she would want to get wet. 

It took her all weekend to warm up to my dad  but once he let her "drive" she was a happy camper!