Checking In

Let me start with a pic of Abbster I snapped earlier tonight on her rocking horse. Words cannot express how appreciative we are of Cheryl for making this for Abby with her own two hands!

How did this weekend go by so quickly?? And how is it already mid-November?? And why is it that Sam's is already playing its Christmas music over the speakers (and has been for about two weeks now?) My goodness. People are already out and about shopping for Christmas--and can somebody please explain to me why they would make the aisles so dadgum narrow in Allen's new Toys R Us? Anyone?! OK, enough ranting. I just can't believe it's already time for the holidays!

So, not too much has been going on around here. Uncle Chris came in town for a visit this weekend, and he and Abby had the BEST time playing together! Abby has been blessed with the best aunt and uncles!

Here they are doing what they do best: goofing around!

And yes, I DO exist! A rare picture of me and Abby. :)

So, for those of you who know Abby, you know she is quite the entertainer. This girl is go-go-go all day, and she absolutely loves an audience! Lately, I've noticed she has turned to some interesting forms of entertainment. Here are just a few:

1. Stacking on her sippy.
Her Happy Meal toy was this talking giraffe (which she absolutely LOVES), but better yet, she loved stacking it on her sippy. When she was successful, she would squeal with delight and clap her hands, as she is doing in this picture. Note the McNugget on the sippy too. Two items. Very impressive. :)
2. Inserting straw in juice.
Side note: She says juice like this: "jhoooooooooooooosh." It takes a full 5 seconds for the entire word to come out. It's hilarious.
Here's the play-by-play:

Eye on the straw. She's about to pull it out. The straw is out. Now, she's got to put it back in. This takes lots and lots of concentration, folks.
Will she do it??



Can she get the straw back in??



I know you're on pins and needles....



Yippeeee!! Success! The straw is back in its juicebox! She is SO proud of herself. Can you tell?! Sweet girl

3. Anything and everything is a shoe.
How is it that things like old wipes cases are one of her favorite items? Roo is absolutely obsessed with putting things on her feet (mainly our shoes), but here she is with the wipes case as footwear.

It's as though she's thinking, "Dada, get this thing off me NOW!" She'd better get used to that pain. As a woman, don't most cute shoes feel like that?!

Abby will be 18 months on Tuesday. Where has the time gone?! Here is Abby one year ago this week.And here she is now, ALL GIRL. Where has my baby gone?! Miss Abbster loves to "text" on her "cell phone" that her Papa gave her. (Don't worry--it's fake. Although around here, I'm pretty sure some kids her age probably have their own Blackberrys!) I've heard that they grow up way too fast, but boy, I never really got it until Abby was born.

I'll write more about her life as an 18-month-old in a couple of days. In the meantime, I hope life treats all of y'all well! :)