U-T-Sigh

Abby and I have cabin fever. Tuesday I could tell she wasn't herself, and by that night, she had developed a high fever. So, yesterday morning I took her to her pediatrician. Now, let me pause here to say that Abby hates going to the doctor (sorry Dr. G. if you're reading this!) He walks in the door to the room and she immediately stiffens up and starts to whimper. In the past, any examination of the ear, nose, and throat took place with her lying down, screaming, as I held down her arms and legs. Fun stuff. So, fast forward to yesterday. I knew we were making the trip to see the doctor, and I prepped her all the way there. Here's how our conversation went:

Now Abby, we're going to the doctor this morning.
No, no doctuh!!
Yes, we have to go. The doctor is your friend, right? And he's really nice and sweet, right?
Yes.
OK, and you're going to be a Big Girl, right?
Yeah, no fussin'.
[Laughing] Yes, that's right. No fussing 'cause you're a big girl. Now, he's going to look at your ears and your mouth, and you have to hold very still, and it won't hurt. I promise, OK? Now, what is he going to look at?
Ears. Mouf.
That's good. And you're going to be a Big what?
Girl.
With no what?
Fussin'.
Good, Abby.

And that conversation repeated all the way to the doctor's office. There was no listening to Mommy in the waiting room as Finding Nemo was on, and she was GLUED! "Memo! Big Shark! Memo touch da boat!!" she yelled over and over. Ah, how that girl loves "Memo!" :) So, we got called back, and during the waiting time, I repeated about how Dr. G. is our friend and how he's going to be very gentle, and she's going to be a Big Girl. I even had her practicing his name. He walked into the room and the test began. Would all of my prep work pay off? Or would she succumb to her usual fear of the doctor?! I am VERY proud to say that Abby was AWESOME! She sat there like such a big girl; she didn't move when he looked in her ears, and she said, "Ahhhh" when he looked in her mouth. Dr. G. was impressed as well! So, kudos to Abby! That's the good news.

Then came the bad news. Because of some of the symptoms I described along with her high fever, he ordered a urine test. Thank goodness she tinkles on the potty occasionally, so I was able to collect a urine sample in the bathroom, but OH MY GOSH am I glad there weren't cameras installed in there because it was quite a comical experience: between making sure she didn't pee on the floor, trying to get her diaper back on, all the while maneuvering her away from the lidless cup of pee so as not to knock the specimen all over the floor, her fussing because her hiney hurt....well, you get the idea. My oh my. What we moms will do to collect a little pee.

I knew when Dr. G. walked in with the results that something was amiss. He diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection. He also said that it's uncommon in children as young as Abby, so as a precaution to make sure there's nothing wrong with her kidneys, he ordered her to have two tests done: a renal sonogram and a VCUG, which is basically a procedure in which she'll be sedated as they run dye through her bladder and kidneys to be certain her urine is flowing properly. He said it's a possibility that the UTI could also be a fluke. And, he also said it could be because she takes bubble baths (which my mom has warned me about forever now!), and I'm hoping it's either a fluke or because of bubble baths/swimming. In the meantime, she's taking antibiotics. And the good news is that today she was finally fever free. Woo-hoo! The two procedures will be performed on August 12th, and I'll keep y'all posted about that.

In the meantime, we've been hanging out at home because she's felt so bad. Girlfriend has slept SO much lately, and this morning, after over 13 hours of sleep, I finally went in and woke her up at 10:15! Wow! She desperately needed the sleep! So, you ask, what do you do to entertain a two year old? Well, she's fallen in love with The Little Mermaid and watched her fair share of Dora.

What's more fun than watching Dora, you ask?

Well, watching Dora in your Dora jammies, wearing your Dora slippers, drinking out of your Dora cup! Yep, that's how Abby rolls.

Here's our fun-loving, entertaining, energetic little girl. Thank goodness you're on the mend, Roo!
And here's hoping y'all have a fun and relaxing weekend!! :)

Shake that Booty!!

Who said white girls can't dance?! MC Hammer ain't got nothin' on our daughter!

Here she is bustin' a move. Enjoy! :)

Happenings

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I find myself very busy these days! Abby is QUITE the chatterbug. I know all you parents out there know what I mean when I say I have no idea where her vocbulary comes from. Each day she says two or three new words and phrases that she's never said before, and I'm always blown away. In fact, the other day I heard her counting something, and then I heard her say, "Cinco." Gracias, Dora! Hopefully Abby will be fluent in Spanish, which will come in quite handy! :)

Oh, and here's a funny story: Abby didn't get her way the other day, and she said, "No Mommy! Time Out!" And I replied, "Who's in Time Out? Me, Mommy?" To which she responded sternly and quite seriously, "Yes. Time Out, Mommy!" Geez. A teacher in training already! :)

There's so much more I can write about, but I'll just leave you with some pictures. Enjoy!

Matt and Jason's longtime friend Ben O. got married this past weekend, and we had a wonderful time! It was a beautiful ceremony and tons of fun to catch up with old friends!

Here's the Tenner Clan sans kids.
Emily and me with our favorite (and best ever!) mother-in-law. Honestly people, she is the best MIL anyone could ask for! (And no, she didn't pay me to say that. Honest!)

Emily and me with the BEST Father-in-Law ever!! (Rick DID pay me to say that.) OK, just joking. He really didn't! :) But he is absolutely great at three things: keeping our bellies full, keeping us laughing, and keeping Abby and Clark clothed. He is notorious for sporadically taking a trip to "Abbyland" and "Clarkland" and buying his two grandchildren amazing gifts!

Rick and Evelyn.

One of the best things about this summer is that BFF Ellie's parents moved to a new house. While they now live a little father away, it's worth it because they have a POOL! Woo-hoo! So, we've enjoyed hanging out over there a few times! And you know what? We're not even using them for their pool. We actually like Jordan and Eric! Another plus! ;) Well, we like one of them better than the other, but I'll leave you guessing. HA! Just joking.

The girls laughing at Matt

It must've been really funny.

Daddy/Daughter swimming time

Too high!

Miss Hollywood.

After dinner, it was time for the girls to watch a little Dora. Can you tell they weren't enthused about having their Dora time interrupted for a picture?! :)

And here are just some shots of Abby from our yard:

I swear she could do this all day long.

Searching for planes.

Happy girl

Gotta love ponytails!

Just another sweet one

Miss Blue Eyes

Just wanted to post some pics from my front-yard photo session last night. Gosh, she's got her Daddy's eyes!

This was taken last weekend in the car. Too cute not to share. Cheeeeeeese!

The Three of Us on The Fourth

Forgive me for being tardy in updating my blog, but I have a VERY GOOD Excuse. Honest. And one word will explain it all: Twilight. I have become a woman obsessed. The series of books has seriously brought down my productivity with anything house related. Just ask my husband. He can attest to that. I think he wore one clean blue sock and one dirty blue sock to church yesterday. Oops. Laundry hasn't been on my list of priorities, thanks to these four can't-put-me-down books. Thank Goodness Abby naps two hours every day! And once she's nestled safe and sound in her crib each night, I hop in bed and get lost in the land of Edward and Bella all over again. Ah. Have I mentioned I love these books??

OK. Enough of that. But that's my excuse! It's a good one, don't you think? (By the way, in case you feel motivated to comment about the books, I BEG you not to give anything away. I am one of those readers who hates when anything is divulged prematurely!!)

Now for our Fourth of July pics. We traveled to LV to celebrate four birthdays: my dad's, Matt's, mine, and America's. And a great time was had by all. Here are the highlights:

Miss Independence sitting on her favorite swing in Nana and Papa's backyard.

Our USA Cutie at my parents'.

When we told her this was "Uncle Sam", I think she became confused. Can't really blame her. As far as she knows, she only has two uncles: Chris and Jason. :) And this Uncle is totally different from her other two: he's WAY shorter and doesn't make you laugh like the others. He IS, however, like her Uncle Chris in that they both need your money. Chris is notorious for "forgetting" his wallet when we go out to eat!!! ha! (Love you, Chris. I know you're reading this!) :)

The Three Tenners on The Fourth

Abby with her BeBe and Pops

Abby with her Baboo (aka Chris)

While in Longview, we also enjoyed our time at Nana and Papa's Mill Run pool. She loved playing in the water...
...and also pouring water on Nana and Papa's plants.

After good food, birthday celebrations, and entertaining us all for four days, Miss Abby was pooped. Hers is the face of Happiness though.

I hope y'all had a fun and fabulous Fourth too. Coming soon: pics from playing at Willowbend. You're on the edge of your seats now, right?? :)

Okay, I'm off to begin Book Four. Maybe the carpet will get vaccumed by the weekend....

The Many Faces Of Abbster

Abby is quite our little entertainer, as you know. So, last week at dinner and then at breakfast the next morning, I snapped away. Enjoy!

Here she is doing The Pouty Face.

...and here she is doing The Even Poutier Face. Gosh, she takes after her father! ha. :)

Ah, one of her favorites: The Scared Face. Classic Abby. She even shakes when she does it. Girl gets an "A" for Effort and Believability.

Well, soon after that, her daddy scared her. And then the bottom lip came out. She was not a happy camper.

....but as is the case with most kids, all was forgiven within a minute or two, and Abby then decided it was time to mimic her Papa. We taught her to shake her arm out in front of her and then...

...cup her hand to her ear. Just like her Papa. Rick, whadda ya think?! Impressive, huh??
Well, while she was hearing something, she apparently chose not to hear me say not to dip her hands in Ranch dressing and lick it off. Yuck.

This is the face of Pure Defiance. And with such Satisfaction on her face. Grrr.

Matt and I have concluded that Abby is probably going to be an actress when she grows up. Not to say she can't be a doctor or a lawyer, but girlfriend is quite the ham and full of expression. Maybe her soap opera paychecks can buy Matt and me a home in Malibu someday. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. :)

OK, it's now time for some sweet ones...

I love this new one. It's like the caption could read, "Dear God, are you listening? Because if I have to listen to Mommy and Daddy ask me one more time what sound a horse makes, I think I'm going to have to hurt someone. Amen."

Just another sweet one.

Possibly a new fav.

And that, my friends is what chow time is like with Abbster!

Coming very soon: Fourth of July pics. Happy Evening, everyone!