Park Pics

Abby and BFF Ellie played at the park last evening, and we parents looked like the paparazzi. I wouldn't be surprised if our children go blind within a few years. They'll most likely name the condition after us: Tenner-Photo Blindness Syndrome. Let's just hope that doesn't happen!!

Here are some shots from last night.

Abby and Ellie actually sat down next to one another, looked at the same spot, and smiled! Success!!! It's only taken 14 months of friendship and pictures to do this!! :)

She loves swinging!
Matt loves having Abby on his shoulders! Abby's REALLY high up there!
Woo-hoo!
BFFs running around
The sun was hitting at the perfect spots last night at 6:00.
Abby and Dada
Mama and Abby swinging
As close to a good family photo as we were going to get! :)

My cousin Holly and her family live in Spring, and they've been without power for two weeks now. Ugh. Luckily she and her twin girls, Sarah and Rachel, are staying in Tyler with my aunt and uncle. When we were in LV a couple of weeks ago, they came over, so the girls got to play together. Here's Sarah, Abby, and Rachel.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention Abby's new obsession at the moment: SHOES! Boots, heels, flip flops, Stride Rite, Target brand, it doesn't matter. If it goes on a foot (no matter how big!), she MUST put it on! It's too funny.

Pigtails, Pooh, and Dada

Realization

As a teacher, I had my fair share of bad days: students sleeping, students backtalking, students not turning in homework, students coming to class late, students just overall not caring. There were numerous days that I would leave the school parking lot questioning why I put myself through the torture of teenagers, putting in late hours, and not getting paid enough. Wednesdays were always the worst. I was no closer to Friday than I was Monday, and, frankly, that stunk. However, no matter how bad of a day I had, the next one would always, miraculously, be better. I can’t explain it. It’s like God knew I couldn’t handle 48 hours of misery. And sure enough, I felt rejuvenated, reminded why I went into the teaching field in the first place.

I really enjoyed teaching, and I know I’ll go back to it some day. Perhaps I can talk Matt into it being when Abby’s off to college. Think he’d go for that? Nah, I didn’t think so either. The truth is, I’m enjoying not working right now. I’ll come out and say it. I was ready for a break from a schedule, dress slacks, and supervisors. I much prefer wind pants and t-shirts. However, there was one aspect of my life as a teacher that I never even considered, one that I wish I had valued more.

As I picked Abby up from Mother’s Day Out this morning—it was an early release day—and I saw her playing outside on the playground, I had a realization. I had had it for a while, but it manifested itself in front of me at 11:30. I watched Abby run around the play area, picking up the handle of a little car that was already occupied by a classmate of hers, and I watched Abby push the little girl in the car. It cracked me up. She then got bored of that and ran toward her teacher, palms up, eyebrows furrowed, questioning something. (If you’ve ever been around Abby, you know that she does this quite a bit when she’s looking for something or someone.) I watched Abby for a couple of minutes, with her completely oblivious to my presence. That anonymity was so very precious to me. So rare, actually. I almost felt out of place.

I realized right then and there that there is a side to Abby that I will never see. Let me repeat that: There is a part of Abby that others will get to view that I will never really know. Sure, I can sneak a peek of her for a minute or two when I pick her up for the day. Yeah, I can quickly grab that Progress Report out of her blue folder and see when she had a dirty diaper, what activities she participated in, and how much of her lunch she ate, but what I really want to see, I can’t. I want to see “Abby Without Mommy Around.” But that just can’t happen With Mommy Around! There is a small part of me that wishes I could be a fly on the wall to see how she behaves when mama’s gone. Sure, teachers and grandparents can tell me about it, but, let’s face it, all of you moms out there: our kids act differently when we’re not around. And it saddens me to know that I will never, ever get to witness it. After we got home from MDO, I noticed Abby had a skinned knee and a very minute scratch on her nose. I would give anything to have seen what happened, to be there to kiss it and make it better, but heck, I don’t know if she even cried. Perhaps she only sheds tears when I’m around! Who knows!

And you know what the funny thing is? I was in my own classroom for five years, and I got to see a side of my students that their parents never got to see. I guess I took that for granted; I never realized what a truly special gift it was to witness 50 minutes in these teenagers’ lives. Were they always pleasant? Of course not. Were there days I prayed that they wouldn’t show up so I wouldn’t have to deal with some of them? Yeah. So sue me. Do their parents wish that they could have had a glimpse into their lives like I had? You bet. Were their parents ever envious of me? I’m sure, considering I saw some of their children more than they saw their own flesh and blood. I never realized that until recently. You know, I guess I’ve taken for granted the fact that I have been with Abby every day (except for one week in Mexico and a weekend trip to Lubbock) since she was born. Folks, that’s a long time! And boy have we bonded in that time. And boy was it hard for me—at first—to give her up five hours a week for Mother’s Day Out! And while I absolutely love running errands without having to unload and load a toddler time and time again (it gets tiring!), I do stop and pause whatever I’m doing on those Wednesdays and wonder what Abby is up to at that moment. And you know what? I have a feeling I’ll be doing this a lot over the next 18 years. Let’s just pray that she’s not the one sleeping, backtalking, not doing her work, or coming to class late!

I can’t always physically be with my daughter, but I can always be there for her mentally. I hope that as she gets older, she thinks about dear ol’ mom just as much as I think about her.

Bubbles and Birthdays!

Abby had her first bubble bath tonight. She was a bit unsure of the bubbles at first (she even tasted them!) but she ended up liking them!
Papa Rick came to visit last week while he was in town on business. Luckily he found time to take Abby on a ride around the block in her wagon!


We went to Longview this weekend to celebrate my brother Chris and my father-in-law Rick's birthdays. We had a wonderful time and filled our bellies (as usual!) on the wonderful feast last night and lunch today! How is it that each time I go to LV, I end up with tight pants and circles under my eyes?? I'm pretty tired at the moment, so I'll keep this short and simple, posting some pics from the weekend.

We spent some time Saturday morning at the park by Chris's new house. Abby enjoyed swinging on the swings, sliding down the slide, and running around.

I love this picture of her, as she's about to go down the slide.

Little girl, big tree Abby and her uncle Chris
Abby and Pops
Move over Nastia Liukin. We have a future Gold Medal Olympian in Gymnastics on our hands!!

Happy birthday, Papa Rick!!
She loves that piano!
She also loves splashing in the sink!

See, I told you I was going to keep that short and simple! I'm pooped!!

Seven Things I'm Happy About

1. The BEAUTIFUL weather today! It put me in the BEST mood this morning. It's amazing how something as simple as a temperature drop can make you have a good outlook on things.


2. The fact that Matt, for the next month, is working from 8:00 to 4:30 instead of 5:00. And because he is carpooling, he gets to ride in the HOV lane, which makes him arrive home even sooner! Hip Hip Hooray!! Does anyone else find the 4:00-6:00 time slot the longest of the day??


3. My new Yankee Candle, Fall Festival. When I was at Willowbend I stopped by the Yankee Candle store, and one of its employees was the most knowledgable candle scent guy I had ever come across. He could spit out ingredients like there was no tomorrow. It was rather unbelievable. So, here's to you, Yankee Candle Guy, for your input in making my house smell deliciously Fall-like! :)


4. Wednesday nights, simply because of Project Runway. I heart that show.


5. The fact that The Office and Survivor start up soon! Too bad we have to wait a little while longer for Lost and 24 though!


6. For my friend Tracy and her hand-me-downs for Abby. I kid you not, at least one third of Abby's wardrobe comes from Tracy and what her girls have outgrown. Thank you, Tracy!!


7. The fact that Abby has been sleeping for two and a half hours. Oh, and also because her ridiculously high fever from last night has subsided as of mid-morning. Thank you, Motrin!!

Enjoying the "FINALLY FALL IS HERE" weather this morning.
Too cute Wind Pants from Tracy
And I couldn't resist this comparison picture taken back in December. No kidding: I thought Abby looked SO grown up in this picture when it was taken! Funny how perspectives change, huh?

Nothing Much

I'll take the opportunity to update while Matt's mowing the yard and Abby's napping. She has some fever this morning. I swear I've thought she was about to get some molars for months now, but, alas, none have appeared. Let's hope this fever goes away soon!

So, this is what's been going on around here the past few days:

Abby showed support for Tech last night by wearing her almost-too-small Tech cheerleading outfit. As much as I hate to see her in it, I still think she looks super cute!

Abby's second week of Mother's Day Out didn't go exactly as I had hoped. Remember when I told you that on the first week, I dropped her off and cried, and she was A-OK? Well, last week the roles seemed to have reversed! She began crying as soon as she went in the room, arms stretched out to me, and I was surprisingly A-OK. Go figure! I was looking forward to a few hours to get some things done. Luckily when I picked her up, they said she had been great! And on her progress report, two new adjectives had been checked: Excited and Chatty. Go figure on that last one! :) Here she is with her super cute new lunch bag. Oh, and by the way, I felt SO much better about her new nap mat this past week! In fact, she slept for an hour and a half after lunch!! (I give credit to the overpriced nap mat!)

My oldest BFF Kathy came through Dallas on Friday, and we all got to meet up for lunch. Kathy hadn't seen Abby since November, and Cary hadn't seen Abby since she was one month old! Luckily they get my daily picture updates, so they haven't missed a step of Abby's growth!! :)

Cary's smiling so big it looks like he swallowed a coat hanger!

Allen didn't get too much bad weather from Ike. It was a tad windy and it did rain (luckily the satellite didn't go out so we could watch the Tech game!), but poor Longview got hammered with winds. My parents' power went out yesterday (Saturday) at noon, and it still hadn't returned today. My mom said my grandmother was entertaining herself by making hand puppet shadows with the flashlight! Ha! Anyway, here's a picture of a tree that fell from my parents' neighbors' backyard. Luckily it only damaged their next door neighbors' fence. My parents' house is the one on the left. Apparently trees and power lines are down all around the area. Please make sure you pray for all of those affected by Ike. What a terrible mess.

And lastly, here are just some pictures from the past few days:

Pigtails!!

Hugs for Dada
Bathtime is the BEST time!
Too funny

Happy week, everyone!

A Video and Pics.

Thanks to those of you who commented about my Nap Mat situation. Turns out I'm not the only one who has dealt with this before! Strength in numbers!

Here's a video I took at lunch to show off Abby's tricks (Grandparents, I know you are wanting to see this!) I would have asked Abby about body parts, but she recently discovered her nostril, and, frankly, if I asked her where her nose, ear, or mouth was, she would probably put her finger up her nose. Figured you didn't want to see that!!



I'll take the opportunity to post some pictures while Roo is napping.

Abbster and me
She had to support the Aggies on Saturday, much to her father's chagrin!
Typical of our family: Abby wears her Aggie shirt as she sits in her Tech chair. Go figure!
Pretty in Pink for church
Future majorette.

OK, I love this picture. We went to Pump It Up last week, and Abby can climb up to the top of the slide via the rungs and slide down all by herself. She only will go down on her tummy, backwards though. Here she is mid-slide. Hilarious!
We pay 6 bucks at Pump It Up, and instead of playing on the bouncies, all she wants to play with are the balls and cars. Sigh. However, we don't have this super cool car at home (Matt and Jason had it when they were little though!)
She loves the bark around the tree
Cutie patootie
Taking a ride in the Doll Stroller