Just Jammies

I swear, there is nothing cuter than red-striped PJs!!

Just An Update

I am back in the land of the living! Woo-hoo! If you read my previous post, you know that Abby got hit with the dreaded stomach virus on Thursday night. Silly me thought it was just something she ate, at least that's what my "Mom-instinct" told me. Boy, was I wrong. I picked it up Saturday. (Always fun to get sick at your sister-in-law's baby shower, right??) And then Matt got it on Sunday night. Boy, it is awful, and I PRAY you don't get it! We are FINALLY back to feeling better. Abby has been pretty lethargic and sleeping extra long hours (We ALL slept until 10:45 Monday morning. I haven't done that since college!) and her appetite is slowly coming back.

Anyhoo, that's my update. I don't really have any pics to post because I haven't taken any in the past week! But here's one from several days ago:

Little Ballerina

And here's Roo one year ago today. One of my favorite pics. Stay warm, people. Hopefully you survived Arctic Blast Round I (the TV people around here LIVE for days like today, putting fear in the hearts of the Metroplex citizens!)

Oh, What a night!

Last night was one of those nights you dread as a parent. You know, the My-Child-Is-Sick-In-The-Middle-Of-The-Night-And-All-I-Want-Is-For-Her-To-Feel-Better-So-We-Can-All-Get-Our-Sleep Nights. Have you had one of those? I don't wish them on anybody!!

Here was my running tally from last night (2:30am-4:30 am). I kid you not, this is what all we went through:
3 baths
5 pairs of PJs (sorry Dora--Abby obviously didn't intentionally mean to vomit all over you!)
2 crib sheets
11 blankets
5 loads of laundry
10 sprays of Febreeze
2 washcloths
2 tired parents
1 sick girl!

I actually ran out of blankets for her to sleep with, so by 4:30, she was sleeping with towels. Seriously! Ah, the joys of parenthood! Let's hope tonight goes a little more smoothly! I'm off to bed.

20 Reasons I Love my 20-month-old

1. You have started to "pee-pee" in your little potty. While potty training won't officially happen for a bit, you are off to a good start!
2. You love to color; sometimes you prefer to color on the table instead of the book!
3. You LOVE your Magna-Doodle from Uncle Chris. If our house were on fire, and you could only save one thing, I'm pretty sure that's what you'd save.
4. Your vocabulary is expanding every day. For the past few weeks, I've been talking to you about how Tee-Tee (Aunt Emily) is having a baby named Clarky. Well, Friday, you looked at me and said, "Tee-Tee....baby...Clarky." I was floored! You are my little sponge.
5. You have an unhealthy obsession with Dora and Boots!
6. You love Chapstick and lotion. You are always "putting on" my lipsticks and lotions. What a girly girl you are!
7. You also have an unhealthy obsession with crackers and Ranch. You and your daddy LOVE to eat Club crackers dipped in Ranch. Yuck.
8. You LOVE brushing your teeth. Thank you, inventor of the vibrating Dora The Explorer toothbrush!
9. You REALLY like the word "no," and you're not afraid to use it!
10. You LOVE to listen to music and dance. In the car, you'd much prefer a loud rock/hip-hop song. You shake your head and kick your feet.
11. You still ask me where Santa Claus went. You say, "Ho-Ho-Ho...where'd he go?" And you throw up your hands, palms up, in complete perplexity.
12. You love to have Mommy chase you up the stairs of your "fort" and down the slide. You could do this for hours. Mommy couldn't. :)
13. You LOVE playing in the box your kitchen came in. And you especially love for your Daddy to play hide-and-seek with you.
14. You "moo" everytime we pass the black cow on our way to Mother's Day Out.
15. You talk about your grandparents all the time. All day I hear, "Nana, Papa, BeBe, and Pops".
16. At the end of each meal, you just HAVE to feed "Mil" (Millie and Winnie). Your concern for your doggies is honestly one of the cutest things I've ever seen. You love them to pieces.
17. You are extremely observant. Either that, or completely OCD! If a door is not completely closed, a dog hair is on your clothes, a leaf has been tracked in...whatever the case, you call immediate attention to it so it's either closed, brushed off, or thrown away. You may also be the only 1-year-old I know who likes to clean up her messes while she eats. :)
18. You have learned (just this week) to open up all of our doors. Doorknob locks, here we come!
19. You love running around at the park.
20. You are a sweet, good-natured, loving little girl. I know this for numerous reasons, but I have two examples: When we walk past somebody, you always say, "HI!" And you say it really big with a huge smile on your face. It's infectious. Also, if your daddy or I act sad (we put that bottom lip WAY out there), you run up to us and give us a BIG hug and a kiss. You are just the sweetest thing, Roo.

We love you, our 20-month-old! Gosh, that sounds so old!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

And I had to include this: Doesn't Matt look thrilled to have Dora on?? Notice Abby's normal protocol for Dora watching: On Dora couch, and Dora book MUST be opened at all times while watching Dora. She never actually looks at the book while watching Dora; it just has to be open!

Emotions

We've been working with Abby on emotions and the different faces that go with them. So far, she's pretty good at Happy, Mad, Sad, and Excited. While I didn't capture Excited, I did get some good examples of Happy, Mad, and Sad (and I saved the best for last!)


Happy

Mad. Look at those furrowed brows! What a scowl!

Kinda Sad.

A little bid Sadder.

And my personal favorite, As Sad as Humanly Possible!

Just a pic I took of her that I really liked.

Oh NO-ah

After Matt and I discovered we were having a girl, and we were sitting outside of the sonographer's office, waiting to talk to the doctor, we realized that when it came to having a daughter, we have VERY DIFFERENT views of the future.

I started reeling off how excited I was to have a little girl to play dress up with, to have tea parties with, to go shopping with, to paint my toenails with...etc...

And then Matt started reeling off a different sort of list: a wedding, low-cut jeans, psychotic mood swings during menstrual cycles (while he didn't ever say this, I would bet money that he was thinking it), and then his number one worry of them all: BOYS.

Well, Matt, I hate to break it to you, but I think you're worries are already beginning, about 15 years too soon:

And to think, babe, it's only going to get worse from here on out!

a- DORA- ble

When the weather outside looks like this...

...and does this...

...and you feel like this...

...and you ponder what you should do, like this...

...then just do this.

Problem solved. Nothing says "happiness" on a cold day like watching Dora on your Dora couch, in your Dora slippers, while wearing your birthday hat, right?!

Rotten Cotton Bowl

Abby's Daddy has her trained well. As we prepared for some Cotton Bowl watching, Abby had her Guns Up.

Sadly, Maroon was not a part of her post-season bowl wardrobe. :( So, red had to suffice. Here is Abby, pleased with Tech's first two touchdowns. We had HIGH hopes for a Tech win at this point. Sadly, if you watched the game, you know that Tech looked AWFUL!

...and here she is after the loss. I think her Daddy took it about as badly!

Of the 5 bowl games Matt has attended (including this year's Cotton Bowl), Tech has won NONE of them! It must be the Matt Tenner Curse. So, Matt has vowed not to attend any more of their bowl games. We'll see how long he sticks to that!

But Abby was all smiles a couple of days later when these stickers arrived from Miss Happy Face herself, her BeBe! She now points at her sticker and says, "Happy." (I'm still amazed at how quickly she picks up on words these days!) That's all I got. Stay warm, everyone!