The Three Tenners

A New Blog

2011-03-28T23:24:00.000-05:00

Here is my new blog:

thetennerfamily.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Playing Catch Up

2010-11-11T11:02:00.009-06:00

OK, Sarah, friend-on-bedrest-bored-and-needing-things-to-read, this if for you. And the other dozen or so of you who actually read this silly blog of mine. :) Yes, it's been forever since I last posted. Having two kids seriously increases my time away from the computer! :) So, to catch you up on what we've been doing for the past four months, I thought I'd give you a list. I am such a list-er. I don't want to weigh you down with paragraphs, so hopefully this will be quick and easy. I'm not promising to be better about updating this blog, because I'm afraid I won't be able to keep that promise! Ha!

Things/observations/goings on from the past four months:

1. Having a second child is like looking at your first one all over again. It's uncanny. Macy looks SO much like Abby did. Granted, that doesn't always show up in photographs, but in person, it's like I get to see Abby all over again at age three months. I love it!

2. Abby LOVES being a Big Sister. And she particularly loves playing with Macy's little baby ears. Oh, they are a joy to be around. I can already picture the "shows" they're going to put on in a couple of years.

3. Macy started sleeping through the night at 13 weeks, and she has yet to wake up in the middle of the night since then. HALLELUJIAH!!!!! It's AMAZING what uninterrupted sleep will do for a body!

4. I've started working out. Yes, me, Mrs. Doesn't-Break-A-Sweat Cathy. I started to jog, but I admit, I HATE jogging. So, now I'm doing the bike, and I LOVE it! (Clarification: I love the feeling afterward--NOT the actual biking. Pain sucks, plain and simple.) I'm already back into pre-pregnancy jeans, so I feel like it's paying off. Yay for sweat!

5. I love how Abby uses her imagination all of the time. If this girl could play with her little princess dolls all day, she would. Every day, I hear her giving the dolls voices. And she still loves villians. During the week, I am told to be numerous characters: Cruela DeVil, Maleficent, the mean stepsisters, Scar, Gaston...the list goes on and on. And don't even get me started on how many poisoned apples I've pretended to eat! I think I lost count at 100...

6. She is also obsessed with letters. On TV, on a billboard, at the grocery store, it doesn't matter, the girl is reeling off letters that she sees. "T-A-R-G-E-T" is a favorite of hers! :) She has her alphabet down, and she LOVES to write too. I'm SOOOOOO thrilled that she loves to write. Let's hope she keeps it up! :) Although, I have a feeling with her long line of journalist blood, I shouldn't be too worried about it!

7. SOOO many people I know are pregnant. There must have been something in the water over the past few months! Or perhaps it's because it was so darn hot this summer and people wanted to stay inside and not venture out in the heat. :)

8. Macy's smile makes my heart melt. And I Love how she "talks" back to us. Oh, she's going to be a talker alright. Sorry, Matt! Poor guy. You really do need a man cave.

9. Abby loves school! Her teachers are absolutely fabulous this year, and she loves going there three times a week. She thrives there, and I couldn't be happier with how much she is learning! Although, Mrs. Tara, a New York native, did bribe all of the kids with lollipops to say, "Go Yankees!" during the championship series. I talked with the director about giving her the ol' pink slip, but that never happened. Ha! :) We quickly taught Abby, "Go Rangers!" Too bad they lost!

10. Abby got "married" to her friend Jackson, but she also claims she is going to marry her classmate Charlie. Uh-oh. I hope they don't all end up on a future episode of Maury Povich.

11. Macy turns four months this Saturday. Where has the time gone?! And where has her hair gone? It started falling out at month 3, but I think some of it is making its return. Thank goodness. I was about to start looking for some Baby Rogaine.

12. She is a chunk. I mean it. My friends who haven't seen her in a few days will see her and say, "Holy cow! When did she get so big?!" :)

13. The second child gets toted around town WAY more than the first child! I remember with Abby we wouldn't leave the house more than once a day, or every two days. Poor Mace is getting hauled to church, grocery store, etc. all the time! She's probably memorized every square inch of the back seat of the Tahoe.

14. My dad just published his fourth book. Yay Dad!!! It's a pictoral history of Longview, told through postcards. He is an avid postcard collector, and he's been working on this book for a long time. So, if you're looking for a Christmas present for someone (hint, hint), I highly recommend it! Heck, I could even have it autographed for you. :)

15. I love Abby and her daddy's relationship. They have more fun together. They love to wrestle, play chase, and have dance parties. Oh, and every Saturday morning, they make their infamous Donut Run. Abby goes with her daddy to get donuts, still in her PJs. I love that!

16. Abby eats a pancake and orange juice for breakfast pretty much every morning. (Exept Saturday, of course.) She does love waffles, cereal, cereal bars, etc. too, but most mornings she requests pancakes. Thank goodness for the frozen kind!!! :)

17. I think Macy is going to look like me! Finally! Matt says that Abby looks like him but acts like me. We think Macy is going to be the opposite.

18. I miss my best friend Kathy. She is way out in ol' flat, brown Lubbock, and I wish she and Cary lived closer. Oh well! We did go visit them this past weekend, and we had a blast! I love having a best friend who I can be 100% myself around. With them, we always have a good time. Guys, there are lots of homes for sale in Allen. I will gladly contact a realtor for you. And Cary, surely there's some products to be ginned around here!

19. Kids don't understand what Daylight Savings is. We are all up in the 6:00 hour now, and--to be honest--I actually don't mind it. We are able to take our time in the mornings, and Matt is finally able to see all of us before he goes into work.

20. Morning reactions are different for Abby and Macy. Macy is ALL smiles first thing in the morning, oohing and aahing, making the cutest baby faces. Abby, on the other hand, is like her mama. She is NOT a morning person. Whoo! Just give the girl a few minutes and then she's good to go! :)

21. My biggest challenge with two children is actually devoting enough time to either of them. Sure, we do things together, but it's difficult because it's IMPOSSIBLE to give 100% attention to either child. I've come to the realization that that's just how it is. Now I understand why I don't have nearly as many photo albums of me as a baby than my brother does. As a mom of two, I just have to let things go. And you know what gets "let go" too often?! Putting up the darn laundry. If I could hire someone to fold and put up clothes for me, I WOULD! Sorry, Matt. I am a horrible clothes-putter-upper. All too often he hears, "Yeah, it's clean. Look on top of the dryer." Oy! The only remedy (besides making the time for it...winning the lottery!)

22. I am so, so blessed. I love my life. I never thought I could be this happy. Stacked up laundry and all. :)

By the way, I could write for hours, but diaper changing is calling!! :)

Miss Macy is Here!

2010-07-22T13:38:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the delay, but we've been quite busy around here! We are pleased to announce that Miss Macy Anne Tenner was born on July 13, at 9:33 a.m., weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces, and she is perfectly healthy and beautiful. We could not be more blessed to have two little girls! Abby is the best Big Sister around--she has absolutely fallen in love with her new role, and she LOVES to help out with "Baby Macy!"

Miss Macy came two weeks early, just like Abby, but this time I was much, much more prepared. I was already 5 centimeters dilated when I went to the OB the morning before she was born, but there was no apparent sign she was coming soon. So, I did what I've heard to do: We went to eat at On The Border, and I ordered the habanero sauce with my fajitas and ate lots and lots of salsa. I even joked with our waitress that my plan was to go into labor later that night, so the hotter the salsa, the better. Who knew that less than 7 hours later, my wish would actually come true!

I woke up at 1:37 with a contraction. I waited. Thought it might pass. At 1:48, I felt another one, and that's when I decided to wake up Matt. And then the contractions got stronger and closer together, and I was DONE at that point! Why don't they invent an at-home epidural?? Genius, in my opinion! I showered, called the doctor, all while trying not to pass out from the excruciating pain, and then Matt and I grabbed our bags, grabbed Abby to take to the neighbors' house (HUGE shout out to our good friends Jonathan, Mica, and Ava!!!) and we headed to the hospital. We arrived at 4:00, and I finally got my epidural right at 6:00. How anyone has a baby without medicine is beyond me. A Giant Kudos to you moms out there!! Four-and-a-half hours of intense contractions was enough for me! :) I was much more relaxed at that point (whew!), and a little after 9:00, it was time to push. Three contractions and a few pushes later, Little Miss Macy was here! And I was so, so happy. I just smiled from ear to ear, SO, SO relieved to finally have her here, safe and sound, and feeling such overwhelming joy and peace at her birth. She is such an enhancement to our little family!

We are adjusting to life as a family of four, but having an active three year old certainly helps! Abby keeps us entertained throughout the day, and she can entertain herself, which is great!! With the second child (and I imagine 3rd and 4th...), life still goes on. Matt and I are not nearly as stressed or as nervous as we were the first time around. Things come back so naturally! Although, the feedings in the middle of the night take some getting used to again!

Fun facts/observations over the past 9 days:

-Macy is SUCH a good baby! While she definitely can use her lungs, she really only cries when she's hungry, getting a diaper change, or is wanting to be held. (She's like her sister in that she wants to be where the action is!)

-When Abby first saw her sister's picture on her daddy's cell phone, she took his phone and hugged it oh-so-tightly, smile across her face. When I heard that, I think my heart melted.

-And then, after she met her little sister for the first time, her Nana and Papa asked Abby what she thought about Macy. Abby replied, "That was perfect!" I cry when I think about how blessed we are with such a sweet Big Sister for Macy.

-Speaking of her sister, I keep calling Macy "Abby." Oy.

-Macy looks just like Abby when she was born, hence my calling her by her sister's name!

-Macy gets hiccups more than any child I know. She did daily in utero, and that continues today. In fact, she has them as I type this! :)

-Abby has to say Goodnight to "Baby Macy" every night. And she loves to "pet" her head, hold her bottle, cover up her feet, kiss her little toes, and be around her. Luckily, we haven't seen too, too much jealously on her part. She has been known to say, "Mommy, can you put Baby Macy down so I can sit in your lap and read a book?" She's been Great through this whole adjustment!

-The first time I cried in the hospital was when I heard that after Abby found out her sister had been born, she did a "happy dance." Made my day. :)

-I forgot how much going outside calms a baby. Even in this Texas heat!

-Diapers and formula are dadgum expensive! I've forgotten this in three years!

-I have no idea how I'm going to balance having two children, but I know that it will just happen. I hope I can be as good of a mom to Macy as I feel I have been to Abby for the past three years. Although I haven't even finished Abby's baby book; how will I ever get Macy's done? Yikes! I guess that's just what happens with second siblings, right?!

-We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who have come to the hospital, called or emailed, church friends who are brining food for a month, friends who kept Abby while we were in the hospital, the absolute best Prayer Group a girl could ask for, for your continued prayers over the past nine months, and thoughts, prayers, and well wishes from so many of you out there!

-I have the best husband in the world who is also the absolute best father to our two little girls. I think Matt was meant to be a daddy to two sweet little girls. I can't imagine it any other way! I love you, babe!

I think that's it. I think Miss Macy needs a diaper change! I will post pics soon. (It's so much easier to do just a separate photo post!)

Love, Cathy :)

Abby's Program

2010-05-04T11:03:00.003-05:00

Abby's Spring Program for school was last night at our church. Her class sang two songs: Jesus Loves Me and He's Got The Whole World In His Hands. Abby has been singing the songs at home quite a bit. Luckily last night she didn't sing "He's Got The Whole World In His Booty" like she does at home. Ah, almost-three-year-olds. Gotta love 'em, right?! :)

Abby barely sang, but she did do some of the hand gestures as you'll see in the video. She was a bit distracted when one of her classmates decided he didn't want to sing anymore, and I think she was people-watching the entire time! Ha!

Enjoy! :)

Saying Goodbye to Grandma

2010-04-20T23:16:00.002-05:00

Thank you for all of the prayers and sweet words you have sent our way. This weekend was a wonderful celebration of Grandma's life! She was one of the most spirited, funniest, wittiest, fun-loving people I have ever known. She was certainly not your "typical" grandmother. Our bond exceeded that beyond grandmother and granddaughter. As my dad put it, she was the Matriarch of our family, and boy did that mean we had some good times with Grandma around!

My dad and brother both spoke at her memorial. They both did an amazing job. Grandma would have been so, so proud! While we miss Grandma so very much, we know she is in a much better place. Heaven is a much happier place with Grandma there now. :)

Chris's memorium:
For those of you that knew Dorothy, you know that she wouldn’t want today to be a sad occasion. Dorothy was always Grandma to myself and my sister, Cathy, and she always will be.

She was truly a person that always made the best of every situation--typically with laughter. She could make people laugh…sometimes even when she wasn’t trying to be funny.

Those who met her have described her as: contagiously funny, full of spirit, a positive person and a real hoot to be around. That’s how me and my family will always remember her. But I’d say she loved three things most: God, her family and making people laugh.

GROWING UP
Growing up, my sister and I always looked forward to the weekends when we could to to Grandma‘s and Grandan‘s house, and even spend the night on numerous occasions.. They were special occasions--filled with lots of opportunities to get away with things that we couldn’t always get away with at home.

Grandma would always feed us good food. And when I say good food, I don’t mean good-for-you food. At Grandma’s, we’d eat our weight in popsicles, ice cream, shoestring potatoes and Frito Pies. I can’t even remember how many HyTop Pizzas she cooked for us, but it was a ridiculous amount. But she was happy when she knew we were happy.

That’s just the type of person she was. She wasn’t happy until she could make other people happy.

She brought happiness to others through laughter. I really think it was her best quality.

She would always introduce myself and my sister as, “this is my favorite granddaughter” or “this is my favorite grandson.”

Our response would always be, “Grandma, I’m your only granddaughter,” or “Grandma, I’m your only grandson.” She’d always reply, “That’s why you’re my favorite.”

After Cathy married Matt, she always loved to pick on Matt, who was the new guy in the family. Every time Matt would get a phone call while he was over, she would always say to my sister, “Yep, there’s that little blonde calling again that he’s seeing.”

You just couldn’t help but laugh.

STUBBORN
For those of you who knew her well, you probably knew that she was stubborn. No, she wasn’t stubborn in a mean way--she just had her own idea about things.

She loved game shows. Especially Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud. One day, while watching Family Feud, she insisted that it wasn’t fair that the person on the right had an advantage because his buzzer was closer than the one on the left. We tried to convince her that they were equal distance, but with no accord.

When you tried to argue with her about “her opinion” about something, and she still didn’t agree, she would always say, “Well, I guess…” We would drive ourselves crazy trying to explain some things to her, but once she had her mind set about something, there was just no changing.

She also had her own opinions about the local and national news. Grandma was so intrigued by breaking news and she loved to discuss it.

I’ll never forget a phone call I got in 1994. I answered, and Grandma said, “Are you watching this?” I said, “Watching what, Grandma?”

She said, “O.J. Simpson’s on the run and it’s on TV. Hurry, turn your TV on!” I turned the TV on and we stayed on the phone with each other for about an hour commenting on every turn the infamous white Bronco made. I think she stayed up later that night than I ever remember her staying up…which was probably about 10:30.

Also, if you ever rode in the car with her driving, it was well advised to buckle your seat belt tight. You see, she drove with two feet--one on the gas and one on the pedal. At red lights, you could hear the engine roaring, and you had better be holding on to something when the light turned green. I would ask her why her engine was making such a weird noise, and she’d just say, “What noise?”

That brings us to the other characteristic about Grandma. She was hard of hearing, but I think she made her mind up in 1980 that she would never get a hearing aide, and she never did.

In recent years, it had gotten much worse. When we’d mention a hearing aid, she’d always say, “Oh, it’s just people’s tone.” They can’t fix that. Or, “Oh, they’re just mumbling. They need to speak clearly.”

On a trip to the doctor in the last few years that Mom took Grandma to, the doctor told Grandma that she was a hoot.

Grandma’s response was, “I need to eat more fruit?”

SHE LOVED TIGER
Grandma also had another love. Tiger the Chihuahua. My sister and I were dying for a dog when we were little. Our parents surprised us with a little three-pound spotted Chihuahua we named Tiger.

Grandma loved this dog so much, and Tiger felt the same. We’d always take Tiger over to Grandma’s. As soon as we got two-to-three blocks away, Tiger would start panting and barking with excitement. He knew he was headed to Grandma’s and couldn’t wait to get there.

Arriving at the house, Tiger would jump out of the car, rush to the screen door and begin scratching to alarm Grandma that he was there. She usually couldn’t hear him scratching since the TV was turned up so loud, so we’d poke our heads in and say, “Grandma, we’re here!”

Tiger would immediately rush to Grandma, who would pick him up. They were both content.

If Tiger spent the night with Grandma while we were on a trip, she would always insist that Tiger said “Goodnight” before they went to sleep. Grandma said she would say, “Goodnight Tiger,” and his response was a “chirp, chirp” signifying “goodnight.”

We had a hard time believing this, but it was too funny to picture.

Grandma always said, “If everybody loved me as much as Tiger, I’d have it made.”

LUCKY
Truth is, we were all lucky to have known Dorothy, or Grandma as I know her. She was one special person. As she got older, and couldn’t take care of herself as well, she moved in with my parents. She wasn’t able to get out as much as she wanted to.

On Sundays, when we’d get home from church, she’d be watching TV, and I’d ask her what she was watching. She’d say, “Oh, I was Baptist today” or “Oh I was Methodist today” referring to the church service she saw on TV that morning.

She always had such a wonderful peace about her and trusted in God through all of what she loved to call “life’s little trivials.”

I probably heard her say that a million times.

When trouble would arise in her life, she’d always say, “You know…I’m an old Presbyterian… what’s meant to be, will be.”

That’s pretty much how she lived life. She rolled through the tough times with laughter and the good times with pure joy.

The first time I remember seeing Grandma sad was when my grandfather, that we called Grandan, passed away in 1988. I was 12 years old. In typical Grandma fashion, though, she wiped away her tears, hugged us and assured us that everything would be OK.

She loved Grandan, my mom and dad, and me and my sister and her husband, and especially her great grandchild, Abby, who affectionately called her MoMo with all of her heart. Her love for family was evident every time we were around her.

Even when she couldn’t walk anymore and was bedridden, she was still positive for the most part, accepting what God had planned for her life.

On the last day she ever spoke, she told me in a broken, weak voice, “When something happens to me, y’all don’t fall apart. We had some great times. I love you.”

We did have some great times, Grandma, but I know that now your great times are greatness that we can‘t even imagine on earth…

…you know a peace that we humans cannot comprehend… and I also know that the other angels are laughing in Heaven like they never knew they could.

Prayers Needed

2010-03-30T13:21:00.002-05:00

Please pray for my grandmother as she is nearing the end of her life. Grandma has put up a tough fight with her cancer, but it has finally caught up with her. Luckily she is resting comfortably, which is good. The nurses put her on oxygen this morning to help make her more comfortable. Matt and I were able to see her for a few minutes this weekend, and even though the moments of lucidity were short, I was able to tell her how much I loved her, and she reciprocated again and again. Oh how that made my heart swell with joy.

Please pray she continues to be comfortable and that my family can get through these difficult next few days/weeks.

Recent Happenings

2010-03-26T14:26:00.005-05:00

It's time for an update! Here is what has been going on with us:

I feel GREAT! Nausea has ended completely, and I finally feel good and energized! Woo-hoo!
Our little peanut moves around A LOT. I forgot how wonderful it was to feel that little human being inside of me. Matt felt her for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I love being able to share that feeling with someone else too.
Our little girl has a name: Macy. We love it. I hope you do too.
Potty training has been hard core around here, and I am pleased to say that it's going exceptionally well. Abby stayed dry for 12 hours yesterday (even during school, which I was so proud of!) and she has been initiating more potty time, so that's great. It doesn't hurt that she has a Pretty Pink Princess Potty that plays a royal tune every time she goes. :)

Here is our little girl, all smiles.
We have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and hit up the park. Here is Abby cheesing it up before going down the slide. And here she is with her pal Ava, swinging. Oh to be two again!

One of Abby's favorite things to do: blow bubbles!

Our little Sweet Pea!Abby and I ventured to Longview for five days during Spring Break, and we had a WONDERFUL TIME! We got to spend real quality time with all of our family, which was the best. On Monday of Spring Break, we traveled to Mrs. Lee's Daffodil Garden in Gladewater for some picture opportunities. Here we are. With the famAbby and Nana

Abby's obsession with all things Princess continues, and she is fascinated with marriage and weddings. I promised her that while at BeBe and Pops' house, she could try on my veil. Here's our pretty little future bride (hopefully not TOO soon though!) :)
Abby with her new Stick Horse, Major. Thanks, Nana and Papa and Cracker Barrel! :)

OK, I'm off to get this little rugrat in bed. Wish me luck! :) Enjoy this beautiful weather! :)

It's a Girl!

2010-03-02T16:26:00.006-06:00

We had our big sonogram this morning, and our Little Peanut was revealed to be a girl! Funny thing is that with Abby, it took her a while to cooperate, but this morning, we discovered her gender in the first 60 seconds. And more importantly, she is a healthy, active (go figure!), wiggly, perfectly beautiful little bundle of girl joy.

Poor Matt has always been surrounded by girls. Me, Abby, our dogs Millie and Winnie... and now our Little Peanut. I think he's already thinking about taking out a loan just to afford two daughters! :) When it hit him that he'd have to pay for two weddings, my dad gave him a piece of advice: "One word: Elopement." All joking aside, we are thrilled to add a healthy baby girl to our family. We are planning on telling Abby tonight. I can't wait to reveal the exciting news to her too. And I think she is going to be the greatest big sister!! Abby is so loving, sweet, compassionate, and as many of know, quite a rascal and independent at times, all qualities a Big Sister should possess. And while I am super thrilled that we'll be adding some more estrogen to this house, Matt is already talking about his need for a Man Cave. Hey babe, I think it's going to be the garage. Nothing better than drinking a Budweiser, playing darts, right?

She weighs about 10 ounces and is 7.6 inches long. Here are some pics from this morning. Seeing our little girl on that screen was such a reminder of how miraculous all of this really is. Do you ever feel blessed beyond belief?

Belly Shot!

2010-02-20T15:50:00.005-06:00

Here is proof that I'm actually pregnant. My Baby Bump seemed to get progressively bigger over the past week, and for the first time, I feel like I actually look pregnant.

Here's me at 5 weeks:
And here's me today, at 17 weeks. Am I starting to look pregnant? I must admit, though, that my belly has been known in the past to swell to this size after a particularly good meal at On The Border. :) Only this time, it's full of amniotic fluid and not chips and salsa.

Thank goodness for finally feeling good and actually starting to look pregnant. When I was pregnant with Abby, it amazed me at how nice strangers were to me. Doors were held open, people smiled, etc. I, however, also walked into a lot of doors and seemed to get more forgetful as the weeks continued on. Hmmm. The highs and lows of expecting! :)

One thing that I absolutely love is that Abby is obsessed with my growing belly. She'll look at it and proclaim excitedly, "Your tummy!!!!! It's getting bigger!!!!" And she likes to lift up my shirt and "pet" the baby or kiss my belly. My heart swells with joy. Except when she tries to lift up my shirt in front of people. Not so cool. We're still working on concepts like "appropriate" and "privacy" at our house. :)

Only 10 more days until we find out the sex! We can't wait!!! I'm off to snack. :)

A night with Kids

2010-02-16T10:39:00.005-06:00

A Typical Night BEFORE KIDS:

11:00pm-Go to bed. Head hits pillow. I'm out.
7:00- Alarm goes off. Slept like a baby all night.

Our Night Last Night:

11:00pm-Go to bed. Head hits pillow. I'm out. Looking forward to getting a solid eight hours of sleep.
3:00am- Wake up to Abby yelling, "Daddyyyyyy! Daddyyyyyy!" quite nonchalantly, I might add. I get up. Discover she has wet all over the bed. Awesome!
3:05- Diaper, PJ, and blanket change.
3:07- Abby informs me that she's "done going night night." I beg to differ, and the battle begins.
3:09-Abby requests a reading of The Three Little Pigs, to which I respond a resounding NO! The tears flow.
3:10- We rock. And rock and rock and rock. Girlfriend seems to be wide awake. My eyelids are getting heavier and heavier.
3:20- Success! She's almost asleep, but she re-requests The Three Little Pigs. We compromise: she can sleep with it in her bed. Matter resolved. Whew.
3:21- She's back in bed. A hug and a kiss later, I'm out the door. But not for long...
3:21:30- I'm not two steps out her door before she starts crying that she wants her Mickey Mouse doll in bed with her. Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!
3:22-4:05-I am now in bed, awake, and can't go back to sleep. Good times.
4:16- Abby sneezes. Loudly.
4:16:30- "Mommmmmmmy!" I go in her room. "I need to wipe my nose!"
4:17-I wipe her nose. A hug and a kiss later, I am out the door.
4:18-Back in bed, I finally fall back asleep. Woo-hoo! However, I will soon discover it is short-lived.
5:00- "Mommmmy! Mommmmmy!" This time, Matt gets up. Poor guy only has 60 minutes left before his alarm goes off!
5:02- Matt returns. Apparently Abby had lost her Bobby blanket. Crisis averted, thanks to good ol' Dad!
5:03- We're all back to sleep. Thank goodness. I still have two hours of good sleep ahead of me before my alarm goes off.
6:00- Fussing again. You've got to be kidding me! Matt jumps up, to which I say, "Be nice! Be nice!" (Not that he wouldn't be, but at 6:00 and being awakened three times already, it's always nice to have a friendly reminder, right?!) :)
6:03- Matt returns. "What did she want now?" I asked. Matt responds, "SHE WANTED A FREAKIN' CHEESEBURGER!" Seriously, folks. Matt doesn't bother getting back into bed. His day has begun. Poor guy. No rest for the weary. The shower turns on. I finally fall back asleep.
7:00- My alarm goes off. My head hurts and my eyes are heavy. No Slept-Like-A-Baby Sleep for us. Nosiree. Instead, we got the Slept-Like-A-Two-Year-Old Sleep!!

Just another unexpected night with a two year old! Oh, how boring was life before kids, right?? :)

We Heart Snow!

2010-02-12T13:00:00.004-06:00

What a wonderful day yesterday was. Snow had been in the forecast, but no one, not even the meteorologists, could have predicted record snowfall like we had. How absolutely gorgeous it was! But first, Abby had her Valentine's party at school, and oh, how much fun it was! Here is me with my Little Valentine Roo.
Pretty in Pink

Here's our house yesterday morning when it had been snowing for a few hours. It snowed for the rest of the day and through last night too. Unbelievable!

After the fun Valentine's party, we ventured down the street so Abby could play with her good pal Ava. Abby loved stomping around the snow, throwing snowballs at Ava. Ava, not so much! I don't blame her. I'm not a fan of getting too wet myself! :) Here are the happy girls.

Roo looking like she's up to no good!

Getting her aim ready to hit Miss Mica.

A fun time was had by all yesterday! With no nap and a super busy day, we were all exhausted last night! But first, after Matt got home, he and Abbster went for a trek around the neighborhood. She had a blast...well, until she fell down in the snow!

We were back up and at 'em this morning because I told Abby we could build a big snowman. Here's the little Snow Bunny.

Diggin' the snow

Cheeeeeese!

And here is the saddest, most pathetic snowman that ever was built. Oh well. Had Matt not had to go to work, I'm sure it would have been much more fantastic. Maybe next year! Ha! :) I really wanted to take a picture of Abby with this pathetic snowman, but she refused to do so. Can't say I blame her really!! It is a little scary looking, I must admit.

I hope you all have enjoyed the snow as much as we have! Happy Friday everyone! :)

What we're up to today...

2010-02-10T13:06:00.003-06:00

Abby still has a little bit of a cough, so we’re staying in all day in hopes of it being gone by tomorrow’s Valentine’s Party at school. And what better way to pass the time than play Princess? Gosh, I am loving this fun stage of Imaginative Play. It’s never-ending around here!!

Goings On

2010-02-09T14:19:00.003-06:00

Sorry for not updating recently. Not too much has been going on here, but I'll give you the highlights:

1. I went to my OB last week, and we heard Little Peanut's heartbeat immediately this time, which was wonderful! The heartrate was good, and we're scheduled to find out the sex on March 2. We can't wait!! Luckily I had only gained one pound in the past four weeks. Now, some of you may be thinking that's not very much, but considering I gained TEN pounds from weeks 7-11, I'd say that one pound was sufficient.

2. I am...knock on wood...finally feeling much, much better. I don't want to use the term "back to normal" because, as many of you know, when you're pregnant, there is no such thing as "normal"! But the nausea is less prevalent, so that's great news!

3. Abby is SO excited about this baby. She gets giddy when she sees my baby bump and says, "Mommy's tummy's gettin' bigger!" So cute! However, she is DEAD SET on having a girl. If you ask her, she demands that it be a girl. Last week she even told me in a very stern voice, "I don't want a boy like baby Clarky (her cousin); I want a girl like Molly (her Nana and Papa's dog)"! Oy. We told her that God might have put a baby boy in Mommy's tummy, but that just made her mad. We've decided not to press it much further until we find out what we're having. If it's a boy, God help us all when it comes to The Wrath of Abby! :)

4. Abby is OBSESSED with princesses at the moment. She HAS to wear her Cinderella dress and glass slippers every day. In fact, she wears her glass slippers all day around the house. And because of her obsession with all things Cinderella, she only wears one glass slipper. Sometimes she makes me be the Prince and yell after her about her lost glass slipper. Many times a week you can find her with a shirt, diaper and glass slippers. (She likes to take off her pants a lot. When we ask her why, she simply replies, "I'm too hot in my pants.") We pick our battles. :)

5. Speaking of Cinderella dress, hers was thrown away this weekend in Longview. Of course, it had to make the trip with us to see the grandparents, but Abby started getting sick when we rolled into town, and on Saturday night, while wearing her favorite dress, she threw up all over it. It was not salvagable. Trust me. So now she tells me, "My other dress yucky. We need to buy a new one." And oh, how we have perused online at "beautiful" Cinderella dresses.

6. Abby's new favorite word is "Beautiful." I love this.

7. Abby has been So, So, So unbelievably good lately. I don't want to jinx myself, but she has been such a joy to be around. I hear that 3 is worse than 2, but I'm hoping that doesn't ring true.

8. The second I start thinking about potty training, I have a panic attack. I'm thinking Spring Break would be a good time to do this while we're at home. Also, we plan on moving Abby to a Big Girl bed soon. I feel like she is growing up SO fast; while I know these transitions need to come, it all seemed to have come in a flash.

9. I feel like the next couple of months are the calm before the storm. I feel pretty good right now, but oh a' change is comin'! I'm trying to soak up all the time I have with Roo right now before Little Peanut comes and our lives and schedules are changed.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's much more, but my brain is fried. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Try to stay warm! :)

What Else? More pics, of course!

2010-01-30T14:02:00.009-06:00

Here's our beautiful little girl modeling a possible Easter dress. She just had to show it off for her Nana and Papa who were in town! Although most days, around the house, she can be found looking like this. The crown and earrings are a must. Of course, so is only ONE glass slipper. She's got to be just like Cinderella after all!
Here's Abby with her good pal Ava!
She LOVES bathtime!

Love this picture of her with her cousin Clark. Notice how she's opening her mouth too? Too funny! I think she could have fed him all night long if we would have let her. And I'm also certain Clark would have eaten all night too. He was one hungry little boy!

Miss Hollywood herself.

We both got our H1N1 shots last week, and Abby was not a happy camper. Here she is emulating how she felt when she got the shot.

Luckily the nurse gave Abby three stickers, and she requested a red lollipop, so that most certainly helped things! Here's our little Roo back to her happy, normal self. :)

I didn't mention to her that she has to go back for another round in three weeks. That will just be our little secret, ok? :)

I go back to my OB on Tuesday to hear Little Peanut's heartbeat. Hopefully she will have an easier time finding it than she did last time! And then, the first week of March, we will have our big sonogram to find out if Abby will have a little brother or a little sister. If you ask her what she wants, her answer changes daily. Hopefully she will be happy with whatever comes her way! :)

Stay warm, everyone! :)

I Promise She Has Real Friends!

2010-01-21T11:03:00.002-06:00

Abby has found some new BFFs: the mannequins at Old Navy!

Miss Abby in January

2010-01-20T15:41:00.000-06:00

Gosh, I love this girl.

Random Pics from December

2010-01-06T13:50:00.004-06:00

I'm going back to last year for these pics, but I've been meaning to post some of Abby's goings on in December. Here's a taste of how she spent her days before ringing in the New Year:

She loves to color...but after about 10 minutes, she gets bored. Can you tell that she likes coloring faces and shoes best??

Dora looks a little Satanistic here, don't you agree?

Before Christmas, she helped me "bake" and decorate cookies. (My idea of baking is slice-and-bake cookies. :) ) Here is our finished product. Abby was in charge of decorating with sprinkles. :)

The Sprinkle Queen

I asked Abby to get me "a little bit of toilet" paper. This is what she interpreted as "a little bit."

Also in December, Abby got to see Santa's distant cousin. With an orange beard, I decided he looked more like a relative than the real thing.

She also got to see Santa's reindeer which she imformed us were very stinky!

Then she got to ride a duck. It's not every day that this can occur.

She also got to wear her shirt she made at school. The antlers are her handprints, the face her footprint, and all the lights are the other kids' fingerprints. What a cute idea, I thought. Here she is practining her future as a T-shirt model.

In December, Abby enjoyed spending time with her two favorite girls, Millie and Winnie. Here she is with her "pillow."

And lastly, Abby garnered a true obsession with our Nativity scene over the holidays. Baby Jesus went on car trips with us to the mall, joined her at the table while she ate breakfast one morning, and other unusual goings on. In fact, I uttered the following sentence (honestly):

"Abby, do not put Baby Jesus in the syrup!"

While she preffered to play with Jesus, his parents were not left out. Apparently Joseph was fond of flying, as one morning I found him like this:

Ah Roo, you give me so much to blog about! Thank you for always keeping us entertained!! :)

Christmas Pictures

2010-01-02T13:43:00.007-06:00

Sorry for the delay in blogging. I wish I had some grand excuse, like I'm jet-lagged from traveling the world....or because the President needed my help with some concerns of national importance. Alas, that is not the case. My lame excuse has been nausea. Enough said.

Christmas this year was the most fun, and we spent an entire week in Longview. How magical it was to view Christmas through the eyes of a 2 1/2 year old too!! There's nothing quite like it. Instead of writing a lot about our holiday, I thought I'd just give you a photo essay. I hope you and yours had a wonderful time this Christmas as well!

Abby with The Big Guy!
Our little Christmas angel

Roo and me on Christmas Eve. We had two days of present opening!

She loved her Talking Elmo from BeBe and Pops. Luckily it comes with an On/Off switch! :)

LOOOOOOOve her expression when she opened her gifts. She made this face every time. It was like every present was her favorite. Too cute!

A Cinderella Barbie! Yay!

Showing off her Dress-Up clothes. Cinderella holding Cinderella. There's no such thing as overload when you're two, right??

The Princess and me

Is it obvious she thinks she's a real princess?! Abby with her Baboo!!

Abby and her Nana. They have too much fun together! (Side note: We are SO blessed to have such wonderful families who love one another....so much, in fact, that we celebrate holidays all together, as one big happy family!)

There's that crazy Elmo again!

Here's Abby with her BeBe and Pops before Christmas. Abby playing Barbies with her Papa. Papa Rick, what are you doing to that Barbie doll?! :)

Here's her Cousin Clark checking out Abby's Barbie Cinderella. Too funny of a picture not to share! :)

How cute is this little guy?!

And the best present of all? Snow when we came back home! Here's little Roo experiencing her first snowfall of the year!

And here's one last picture taken today when Clark came over. I know I'm biased, but I think they're super cute cousins!!! :)

There's so much to write about how great our Christmas was, but Abby needs a nap (and perhaps her Mama too!), so that will have to wait for another time. Matt and I were blessed with a wonderful 2009, and we're excited about what 2010 has to offer. It's hard to imagine that next Christmas, we'll have another peanut around! Wow! Here's to a very happy and blessed 2010! :)

Some Big News To Share

2009-12-14T14:23:00.006-06:00

In case you haven't heard...
Yes, that's right. We're expecting Baby Tenner Number two in July! We apparently like to make things as busy as possible as both Matt's and my birthdays are in July, my dad's birthday, as well as our anniversary. Perhaps we should start stockpiling money now. :)

While Matt and I were both shocked and excited about our discovery, Abby had a bit of a different reaction. It looked a little something like this...
Oops! I never mentioned the pregnancy to her again until just recently, and she has--luckily--warmed up to the idea. Thank goodness!

We had our first sonogram last week, and Little Peanut looks great. I did ask the sonographer if she could see a penis, but sadly, it was too early to tell. Ha! :) The other good news is that there is just one baby. Whew! (Don't get me wrong, I'm sure twins are fabulous, but I don't think I have the temperment to handle two children of the same age at the same time. Just thinking about that makes me hyperventilate. And just mention of the word OctoMom makes me go into fits.) Unfortunately, I have been super sick. The nausea and vomiting hit me right at week six, but thanks to my two new friends Zofran and Phenargen, I am feeling somewhat human again. Woo-hoo!

So, that's our news. The past month has been one big ball of excitement and nervousness as we venture into "Family-of-Fourdom".

Here is how life has changed since becoming pregnant:

1. Due to my being sick all day long, Abby has never watched more television than she did for about 10 days. I felt horribly guilty about it, but I don't think she seemed to mind one bit! :)

2. I have saved money on make-up. I have had a "I could care less how I look" attitude lately, which might be a bad thing. Everyone in Allen has seen me sans makeup. Hopefully I didn't scare you too much!

3. Dr Pepper is my saving grace. And for some strange reason, I have to drink it in a glass with ice and not from a can. Crazy pregnant lady syndrome, apparently.

4. My baby is probably already addicted to chocolate donuts, pepperoni pizza and chocolate milkshakes from McDonald's. Don't worry, people: I take my vitamins daily! :)

5. I have been behind on blogging and emails. But my excuse is this: I nap when Abby naps. No exceptions!

6. My husband is a ROCK STAR! He has been on Double Parent Duty lately, and for that, I am forever grateful. By 6:30, I am getting nauseous again, ready to take medicine, and am pretty much out for the count. Thank you Matt for picking up my slack!! 7. I have stopped biting my nails. Woo-hoo!

8. My bathroom is dirty. I guess I keep thinking that it will magically get done, but I have NO energy to do it anytime soon. Have you heard that pregnancy zaps you?!

9. I cry for absolutely no reason at all: I was watching a story on the news about a single mom whose house was broken into, and her Christmas tree and all the presents under it were stolen. I started crying uncontrollably. Oy.

10. I have learned to appreciate Abby more and more as the time we have with just us is limited. I must brag on her though: she has been sooooooo wonderful lately. I hope her brother or sister is just as sweet, fun-loving, and personable as she is!

OK, that's it. Now I'm tired. I think I'll go lie down. I promise to keep y'all updated. Maybe once the first trimester is over, I'll have a sudden surge of energy! Let's all keep our fingers crossed! :)

Abby's Christmas Program

2009-12-08T21:02:00.002-06:00

Here is a video of Abby's Christmas Program at our church last night. They have been practicing "Jingle Bells" for a couple of weeks at school, and Abby has been practicing at home quite a bit too. All for her 60 seconds of fame!! Her favorite part is when the kids get to say, "Hey!" Makes me laugh every time. Matt and I were proud parents last night. Enjoy! :)

2 1/2

2009-11-19T10:34:00.011-06:00

Abby turned two-and-a-half yesterday. While it's not nearly the milestone as 18 months, I still thought it was an important day nonetheless. She has survived six more months of being a Tenner. Whoo! :) We marked the occasion by literally marking her height on her height chart in her room. I started this at two and will mark her height every six months until she yells at me to get out of her room or thinks I'm officially the uncoolest person on the face of the planet...whichever comes first. :)

So, to celebrate you turning 2 1/2, Roo, I'll list my top 20 reasons why I love you.

1. You have the most infectious laugh. You laugh a lot. Especially at inappropriate times, like when Mommy accidenally bumps her elbow. You laugh hysterically. We need to work on that!

2. Speaking of needing to work on...I love you because you're just so inquisitive. Yesterday at breakfast, you asked to see my boobs. I quickly explained a lesson on modesty, informing you that we don't need to show our boobs to anyone, to which you lifted up your pajama shirt all the way, grinned from ear to ear and yelled loudly, "LOOK! I GOT BOOBS!!!!!!" Oy.

3. As I mentioned, you are inquisitive. The only time you get in trouble at school is during lunch. You can't seem to sit still some days. Apparently you get up and sometimes even crawl under the table. Oh Abby. Your teachers say that you're just naturally curious and you like to know what's going on with everyone else. Well, you come by that naturally, Roo. Your mama was born Curious Cathy, and you and I are two peas in a pod. So, to all of Abby's future teachers out there, let me apologize ahead of time: she WILL get in trouble for talking too much and asking "What?" a lot! Sorry! :)

4. You love, love, love animals! Cats and dogs are your favorite, and you get so excited when we see Bob The Cat (the neighbor's cat) outside. You get this high-pitched voice and say, "Oh, Bob is soooooo sweeeeeeeet!" I love that you love animals for two reasons: 1. I'm glad that you didn't get my fear of dogs: I was so scared of dogs when I was little, thanks to my big brother leaving me alone in my grandmother's backyard with a huge, stray dog (thanks, Chris) and 2. because maybe you'll become a veterinarian one day and support your old parents. A house on the beach sounds lovely, Doctor Abby. :)

5. You love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Obsessively. You could watch it 24/7 I think. And you think Goofy is the funniest thing ever! You try to sing along with the theme song, and during the "hot dog dance," you yell, "Dancing Time" really loudly and we have to dance with you!

6. You love orange juice and bread. I think you could eat that 24/7....while watching Mickey.

7. You like to pretend you're the Big Bad Wolf and you say to people, "I'm gonna puff and puff and blow {fill-in-the-blank} down!" You especially like to call your grandparents and say, "I'm gonna puff and puff and blow Nana and Papa/BeBe and Pops down!" And your crazy grandparens sure play the part well. They actually pretend to get blown away. Oh, the things our parents do when they become grandparents. They turn into people we don't even recognize!!!

8. You LOVE music. Rock, hip-hop, you love it all! And the louder the better. You make us turn up music as loudly as possible. Sometimes when your daddy and I are in the car, we'll turn it down to talk, but you yell at us, "Turn it up, please!" and so your majesty's wish is granted. Oh, and you and I have THE best time singing into our microphones (our fists) when we're in the car. Your daddy told me not to teach you how to lip synch because you look like a dork. But you know what?! I ignored him. :)

9. You have the best memory. Sometimes in the middle of an activity, you'll blurt out some random event from months ago. A couple of weeks ago, you suddenly said, "I go poo-poo at McDonald's with Truitt. Meredith sat in your lap." I was a bit confused until it hit me: back in July, we had gone to the zoo with your friends Meredith and Truitt, and you had, in fact pooped while at McDonald's afterwards. Where do these random memories come from??

10. You LOVE your cousin Clark. Oh my gosh, do you adore him! In fact, all of your baby dolls have been named "Baby Clarky." Doesn't matter if it's wearing pink, purple, or blue, its name is "Baby Clarky."

11. You are beginning to get more interested in the potty. Thank goodness! You used the potty at school on Tuesday and have used it a few times since then at home. Woo-hoo, Roo! You love to tell everyone that you pee-peed in the potty too. (It's the little things, isn't it moms?)

12. You love to sing. At school you are learning "Jingle Bells" for your Christmas Program (which I cannot wait for, by the way!) and you sing it VERY LOUDLY. Some of your other favorites are "Jesus Loves Me," "Twinkle, Twinkle," "Out of the Sea" from The Little Mermaid, "Kiss The Girl" from The Little Mermaid, and the Alphabet Song.

13. You are learning more about Santa Claus and Christmas, and I love that you are understanding it more. In fact, we were listening to a radio station yesterday that was playing all Christmas music, and a song was on about Santa Claus. While we were driving, you stated from your car seat, "Santa Claus is my friend." So cute!

14. You love babies so much. And you love petting them on the head. A lot. In fact, you love petting not just babies but kids on the head. The other day at the playground, you petted a little boy who was older than you on the head. He didn't like it so much. Can't say I blame him either.

15. You do the robot like nobody's business!

16. You insist on helping me push the cart at Kroger or Target. Once we're checked out, you know the routine: I unbuckle you, you stand where you can push the cart, and you go, go, go! You LOVE pushing the cart through the parking lot. And while you insist on doing it all by yourself, I have saved many a stranger's side door and bumper from being demolished.

17. You love your tricycle and insist on going down "the big hill" every time you ride it. Roo, you are fearless. You will be a lover of roller coasters like your mama.

18.You love, love, love your dogs, Millie and Winnie. You love to pet them, feed them (too many) table scraps, let them out in the mornings, and you certainly love to tell them what to do. If they bark too much, you announce, "Hush, girls!!!" and when you see Millie biting Winnie's ears, you proclaim, "Millie, stop biting Winnie's ears!! Big trouble!!!" And you discovered that when you rub Winnie's belly, she puts her front paws together. When you saw her do this for the first time, you got so excited and said, "Mommy, look! Winnie praying. God is good, God is good!!!!" SO cute!

19. You absolutely hands down love school! You cheer when we pull into the parking lot. (The other day you actually started clapping!) and your teachers absolutely adore you.

20. You love to do certain things with your daddy: you love to "drive" with Daddy. Just last night, as we pulled into the driveway after a Target run, you said, "I drive Daddy's car, Daddy?" And away the two of you went around the block, you sitting in his lap. You love that time with your daddy! You also love for your daddy to swing you really high! Sometimes you even "fly" up the stairs with him. Oh, and how you LOVE to hide in the closet behind his clothes and scare him. Too fun!

And one more... You love me. And there's nothing more I could ask for in this world.

Oh, and Roo, you are quite the artiste! I LOVE how you've been coloring lately. Can you tell she enjoys coloring certain things??
She usually colors the shoes first...

I don't think she could have colored the lost slipper any harder, do you??

Too fun!

Grandma Update and Arboretum Pics

2009-11-10T12:36:00.004-06:00

I realized I needed to post a "Grandma Update" as so many of you have been wonderful to ask how she is doing. She completed her radition a couple of weeks ago, and she has been relatively pain-free because of that! Yay for radiation! However, her lack of appetite has been a major concern. Last Monday (8 days ago), she was rushed to the hospital from the nursing home for dangerously low nutritional levels. She received a blood transfusion as well as fluids, and she was on the mend. But what was supposed to be a 2-day hospital stay has turned into 8 days.

First came back pain and stomach pain, which was remedied by medicine and a pain-patch. Then came pure exhaustion. And then yesterday she developed a blood clot in her leg as well as a bacterial infection. Poor Grandma just can't seem to catch a break. Luckily she is on medication to help with all of this, which is wonderful. So, that's how she's doing physically.

Emotionally-speaking, she has good days, and then she has bad days. I can't imagine the range of emotions that she's going through, but all I know is that she is allowed to feel however she wants to feel, and my prayer is for comfort and strength to get through all of this. Easier said than done, I know, but Grandma is strong, and I hope she has more positive days in the near future. She should be released from the hospital on Thursday. When I know more, I will post. We are going to visit her this weekend, and I cannot wait to give her a big hug!!!

Now...let's get to some pictures, shall we? We went to the Arboretum with our friends Mica and Ava last week, and here are some pics from our visit:

Sweet girl

Abby and Ava

By the Gingerbread House

SweetCheesin' it up for me!

This past weekend, we also celebrated our sister-in-law's 30th birthday (Happy Birthday, Emily!), and I hope to post pics soon! :)

Trick-or-Treat!

2009-11-01T16:12:00.005-06:00

Saturday was a super busy day for us, but what fun we had! We spent the day with our friends, Mica, Jonathan, and Ava, and our day began with a trip to Celina's Big Pumpkin Patch. Aside from the mud, it was a fun experience with animals to feed, a hayride, a "choo-choo" train to ride and photo opps galore!

Here's our Pumpkin Patch Family Photo
Our little pumpkin
Abby's reaction upon seeing the longhorn. Love this!

Abby's telling us how BIIIIIIG he is.

Jonathan told Abby to give him a "Hook 'em" so she did.

Hi goats!

Abby and her daddy feeding the little guys.

Abby insisted on riding the "choo-choo" train (a.k.a. barrels hitched to a John Deere tractor driven by a Celina High School student) :)

On the hayride.

A good time was had by all!

Saturday night we went trick-or-treating with our friends again, and I think Abby was mesmerized by the idea of Halloween: putting on a costume, walking around the neighborhood after dark with other boys and girls, asking people for candy, etc. She trick-or-treated last year, but she didn't really get it. This year she got it, but I still think she was overwhelmed by the whole thing!

Our little Cinderella:

and Ava the kitty-cat. Too cute not to share!

Trick-or-treating

She enjoyed checking out the skeleton. Luckily she's not scared of too many things!

Here are the girls after trick-or-treating, back to get candy from Jonathan.

What a wonderful Halloween day we had. I hope you enjoyed your weekend as well. Can you believe it's already November?! Where has this year gone?!

Gig 'Em!

2009-10-26T20:59:00.008-05:00

Matt and I ventured to West Texas this past weekend to watch A&M get stomped by Tech. Or so we thought. I admit it, I had little faith in my Aggies, but boy did they prove me (and most college football fans) wrong!

Here's some of the sights on our five hour trek to Slaton/Lubbock: plateaus.
Matt getting his Guns Up.
Photographer me.
We finally made it to Slaton, and I got to see my BFF Kathy! (Who just turned 30 by the way!)

Here's Matt and his "Red Raider buddy" Kathy. While she graduated from A&M, she did go to the "dark side" and graduate from medical school at Tech. Luckily, she bleeds maroon. Kathy wore her red and black just to annoy Cary. And it worked. :)

Cary, Kathy, me and Matt tailgating before the game.

And what a game it was. I couldn't believe it. Neither could anyone else in the stadium. We were SHOCKED. I have never seen A&M win in Lubbock, and that was my fourth or fifth time to go to the Tech/A&M game out there. Way to go, Aggies! If I hadn't seen the victory with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it! Here's the proof:

Happy campers.

Three happy people and one unhappy one with a fake smile.

Matt lost a bet with Cary and had to don an Aggie shirt. I think Matt would have rather eaten manure.

What a good sport Matt is!

The weekend went by way too fast, like it always does! We had a blast, Kathy and Cary, and can't wait to do it again SOON!!! :) Whoop! :)

Fall Festival

2009-10-19T15:41:00.004-05:00

Our church's Fall Festival was this past weekend, and we took Abby. She really enjoyed it!

Here she is after the festival:
And here's how she got to that point:

Doing a little bouncing. Boy, Cinderella sure can bounce! Too bad she had to remove her "glass slippers" first. :)
Then it was time for a little slidin'!
We ran into Mrs. Cinda, one of Abby's teachers, and Abby couldn't have been more excited! We love Mrs. Cinda!! :)
Then it was face panting time.

A heart perhaps? Smiley face? Flower? Nope! Nothing says "Cinderella" like a kitty cat, right?!

Abby really wanted to see what she looked like, so I gave her my lipstick holder. She put her face SO close to the mirror. It was hysterical!

In addition to the above pics, other highlights were riding on the hayride and getting a balloon animal that was a black “weiner dog.” She was thrilled that it resembled Millie and Winnie, and she held it the whole time there and on the way home. Too fun!

And here's our little "kitty cat" at home!

She Likes Trikes

2009-10-15T17:01:00.003-05:00

This morning, at our church, Abby's school held its annual fundraiser, a Bike-A-Thon. Oh, what fun it was to see all the little kiddos ride their trikes and bikes! While the older kids rode laps around the parking lot, because Abby’s class is so young, they were cordoned off just to ride as much as they wanted in a smaller, CONTAINED area. There were no laps done with the Orange Room! No-sir-ree! Instead, they just pedaled their little hearts out, bumping into one another and having a grand ol’ time. :) Here are some pics from this morning.

Later, dudes!
Abby with her awesome teacher!

LOVE this pic. SO Abby! Notice where Abby is, and then notice where Abby's SUPPOSED to be!
Abby and Noble

Some more of her classmates about to go down the "ramp." Once Abby noticed the incline/decline, she pedaled there the rest of the time!

Cruisin' gal. Abby didn't have a helmet, but considering what I witnessed, I think our little fearless girl will need one soon! :)

At home with her trike. And she can actually pedal half of the time! :)

And in other news: the sun is FINALLY out! Hallelujah! :)

Trip to the LV

2009-10-13T11:14:00.010-05:00

Abby and I traveled to Longview Thursday afternoon and were able to stay until yesterday. What a wonderful few days it was! I got to take in a Longview football game with my family while Abby got to spend some time with her Nana and Papa (and eat and play at Chick-fil-a nonetheless, so she was a happy camper!), go shopping with my mom, get to spend time with my absolutely wonderful in-laws, and hang out with my brother!

And not only was Abby able to spend lots of quality time with her BeBe, Pops, Nana, Papa, and Baboo (Uncle Chris) but she was able to visit with her Momo (Grandma) a lot! Oh, how our visit perked Grandma up too! Luckily when I visited, she seemed in good spirits. Of course, she has rough days, but having Abby around surely helped her spirits! Yay!

Here's Grandma and me
Abby with her Momo
This totally cracked me up. Abby found Grandma's controls for the bed. Good thing she didn't make Grandma's feet touch her head! Yikes!
Oh how they love to play with one another!
Abby just gave Grandma "five".
Abby entertained herself in Grandma's room by playing with the wheelchair. Once she discovered it the first day, there was no turning back. Here she is pushing her Pops around the room!

Back at my parents' house, Abby discovered Grandma's magnifying glass. Too funny.

Here are a couple more of Abby and her Pops from the weekend. How I managed to only get pictures of my dad and none of the other grandparents is beyond me. Sorry everybody!!

Rockin'

It was so great to be able to spend so much time in Longview. I'm thankful to say that we left Grandma in good spirits, and I hope it continues! She is on day 7 of 13 days of radiation treatments, and while she's physically feeling better, she is absolutely exhausted. Please keep her in your prayers over the next few days and weeks please! :)

Lastly, I'll leave you with a cute pic of Abby. Thanks to her BeBe for this super cute shirt and socks. In her Orange Room at school today, all the kiddos were to wear orange, as that is their color of the month. Too cute to not share!

Abby's Cinderella princess costume arrived over the weekend, and it is ADORABLE!!!! I cannot wait to take pics and show them to you. Our church's Fall Festival is Saturday, so hopefully I will get some good ones then. Happy Tuesday everyone! :)

Donuts with Dad and Other Goings On :)

2009-10-05T14:39:00.006-05:00

Last Thursday at Abby's school, her Orange Room held its annual "Donuts with Dad." Here are my two favorite people before we headed up to the church.
Can you tell which one doesn't really belong? :)
Then it was time for the dads and kids to circle up and do a little Ring-Around-The-Rosy. Oh how fun this was to watch!
After that, the kids sat down and performed their welcome song. Each verse is devoted to each child, and it went a little something like this, "Abby, Abby, jump up and down...turn all around...and sit back down!" The kids hit the floor and sing while each kid gets up and performs when it's her turn.
Here was Abby's turn
After Circle Time, it was time to head to Chapel Time. It warmed my heart to see Abby sitting with her Daddy up there.
A great morning was had by all!:)

Also last week, we went to the park with our friends Mica and Ava. After feeding the ducks, Abby decided to climb the rock she has always avoided.

Climbing... ...climbing...
...and she made it! :)
My little climber. :)

Pure joy.

And lastly, I have to show off Abby's new PJs. She has a new obsession with Cinderella. So much so that shoes are no longer called “shoes” around here. They’re now “slippers.” Abby will purposely take off one of her “shoes” and say, “Oh no! My glass slipper fell off!” Seriously! Oh, and how she loves to walk around in my heels and pretend they’re her “glass slippers.” Too cute!

Here's her best "Asleep" impression.
And here are just two cute pics from last week too. I call this one "I Really Want That Chip!"

Happy Roo

I hope y'all have had a wonderful weekend. :) I am headed to Longview this weekend to visit with family, and I am so excited to see my grandmother! She has been discharged from the hospital and is now at a rehab facility. Her first radiation treatment was today, and I am anxious to hear how she feels. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Newest Grandma Update

2009-09-29T17:08:00.003-05:00

Grandma's biopsy results came back this morning, and they revealed what we already expected: that she has Stage IV lung cancer that has spread to her bones. She has decided to go ahead with radiation, so that is wonderful news, and treatment begins tomorrow afternoon. I will tell you that GM has been discouraged lately; who can blame her? But luckily this morning she seemed to be in better spirits. As my mom told me, I can't think too much about this diagnosis. It really does make my stomach churn and I choose not to go there. Pastor Tom's sermon Sunday could not have come at a better time, nor could it have been about a better topic: fear. As I sat there in that pew, he reminded us that worrying solves nothing; in fact, it can be downright debilitating, and that only about two percent of what we actually worry about comes to happen.

So instead of focusing on the "what if", I'll remember these Bible verses. Gosh, they certainly help.

Philippians 4:6-7
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:30
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

1 Peter 5:7
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

And for my personal favorite...

Matthew 6:27
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

Ah, I feel better. Honest. God, I know Grandma is in your hands. And at 29 years of age, the reality of all of this is sinking in. I don't like this diagnosis, but I, Cathy, have no control over what happens, and that's why I have faith in You.

Thanks again for all of you prayers and support. Keep 'em coming.

Grandma Update

2009-09-24T10:04:00.005-05:00

My grandmother was diagnosed with bone cancer on Monday, and needless to say, this has been a very difficult week for her and my family. Grandma is one of my absolute favorite people in this world. With this soon-to-be-89-year-old, you will find a charismatic, imaginative, opinionated, and laugh-out-loud hilarious woman. If you're in a room with her, and she's talking, you're guaranteed an entertaining story, and more than likely, she'll have you laughing so hard you're crying.

Because I've grown up in the same town as Grandma, she's always been around. Friday nights when Chris and I were younger, you could find us at Grandma and Grandan's house. And it was almost guaranteed that Chris and I would be loaded up with popsicles, Tang, shoesting potatoes, frozen Hy-Top pizza, and eating Cool Whip out of the container. Heck, we might have just renamed Grandma's house "The Sugar Shack!!" I thank Grandma for my love of all things television. At Grandma's house, we were going to watch something good. Talk shows, Mama's Family, Wheel of Fortune, cartoons, game shows, we watched them all! And every Sunday after church, our family headed to Grandma's house to eat lunch and visit. Every Sunday. I loved going over there and watching football, reading the newspaper, and chatting with Grandma. I will always cherish our weekends we spent together.

I think that's what makes a diagnosis like this so difficult. Grandma has ALWAYS been a part of my life. She's ALWAYS been there. I've grown up with her, and she's become the fifth member of our family. Especially once she moved in with my parents almost five years ago.

One thing I know about Grandma though is that she is one tough cookie. She has been living in pain for quite some time, and while we are thankful to finally have a diagnosis, we certainly wish it wasn't the one given to us. But you know what? Things happen for a reason. God has a plan for all of us, and while that's hard to understand in the present, we have to keep faith that things will turn out as they're supposed to. Has this week been difficult? You bet. Have I bawled my eyes out on more than one occasion? Of course. Am I sad that my grandmother's bones have succumbed to this horrible, horrible disease? More than you can imagine. But I am also SO very grateful for prayers that have been sent her way and the outpouring of love and encouragement we have received. I have asked some of you to pray for her continued sense of humor and for her spirit to not be diminished, and I am happy to report that those prayers have been answered.

She is having surgery tomorrow (Friday) at noon to have a rod implanted in her left leg because the cancer in her femur has made her bone so brittle that it will soon break without reenforcement. The doctor will also perform a biopsy at the same time, and we'll have more information after those results come back.

As I mentioned, yesterday she was in much better spirits, and for that, I am so unbelievably grateful. I know that God answered yours and my prayers, and here is proof that her sense of humor has not diminished: As of yesterday morning, she was still contemplating whether to have the rod surgery or not. Here’s Grandma's conversation with the oncologist yesterday in her hospital room:

Grandma: Doc, I have a question for you. If it were YOUR mother in my shoes, would you still recommend to her that she have the surgery to implant the rod?

Doctor: (thinks for a second) If it were my mother, I would tell her the same thing, that she needs the surgery.

Grandma: Well then doc, since you said that, I have another important question I need to ask you: How do you feel about your mother?!

Isn’t that hilarious? Ah, good ol’ GM! Gotta love her!!!! :) I'll wrap this up by asking you to pray for strength for her and my family, wisdom on the part of her doctors, and courage for her as she faces this. Thank you so, so very much for all your support and prayer. Please know that it means the world to us.

The Many Faces of Abby

2009-09-24T09:57:00.002-05:00

Here is our "little ham" in action!

HappyExcited

Scared

Sweet Sad
Contemplating

Silly!

And here's just a sweet one of our little girl!

Oh, and I can't forget two of my favorite guys: Matt and our nephew Clark. What a doll! :)

Oh what two years olds will say!

2009-09-10T10:36:00.004-05:00

Conversations with Abby from the past couple of days:

As I'm changing her diaper this morning:
Abby: God held me.
Me: (thinking that this is coming out of left field) God held you? Like a baby?
Abby: Yes.
Me: (confused) Where did he hold you?
Abby: Right there (points up toward the ceiling)
Me: Um, OK. What did God say to you?
Abby: (says something indecipherable)
Me: What? What did God tell you? (I am anxiously awaiting what her imagination can come up with!)
Abby: (smiles mischievously) Pop!
Me: (grinning): Popsicle? He said the word Popsicle to you?!
Abby: YES!
Me: (doubting) God told you that you could have a popsicle?!
Abby: YESSSSSSS!
Me: Wow, Roo. You will do anything to get a popsicle, huh?

Kudos to her for name dropping God though. I'm just hoping when she turns 16 that she doesn't say that God told her she needs a new car and that she can start sleeping over at her boyfriends. Sigh.

Abby's little friend Ava started school Tuesday and so on our way to school, I thought it would nice if we said a little prayer for Ava on her first day of school:
Me: Abby, let's say a prayer that Ava has a good day. So, repeat after me. Dear God..
Abby: Dear God...
Me: Please..
Abby: Please...
Me: Watch... (preparing to say "watch over Ava")
Abby: (eyes light up): Watch DORA!!!!
Me (chuckling): No, no Dora! Okay, now repeat after me: Please watch...
Abby: Watch Elmo!
Oy. So much for our prayer. Sorry Ava! :) And not to worry Ellie, we said a prayer for you too yesterday! :)

We've been talking a lot about eye color lately, and Abby knows that she has blue eyes like her daddy, and that Mommy doesn't have blue eyes like them, but brown eyes.
So, last night while Matt and I were bathing her, I noticed that her left eye was a little pink.
Me (to Matt): Hey, do you see that? Her eye is pink.
Abby (stops what she's doing and looks at me like I've angered her): No, Mommy! It's BLUE!!

Speaking of Abby telling me like it is, this morning she was looking at her Cinderella book. She is very much into "pretty" things, princesses, etc. The other day she insisted on playing "dress up." What a hoot! Anyhoo, as she was looking at her Cinderella book, we were talking about the pictures. She became VERY concerned that Cinderella had lost her shoe. Abby LOVES shoes, and she always seems to notice when something is out of place, so the loss of Cinderella's glass slipper was disconcerting to her. Well, we began to talk about that and other aspects of the book, when she looked up at me, put her finger to her mouth and said, "Shhhhhh! No, Mommy. Be quiet. I read the book." Oh. Okay. Being put in your place by a 2-year-old is a very humbling feeling. :)

After I picked up Abby from school Thursday, I asked about her day. I also asked if she pooped while at school. Now, you moms out there understand this question. We are always on "poop patrol", right? Plus, the teachers had forgotten to put her sheet in her folder about what all she did that say, so I was clueless as to her bodily functions. :) Anyway, I asked her,
Me: Abby, did you poo-poo at school today?
Abby: No.
Me: You didn't poop? That's OK.
Abby: No poo-poo. I toot.
Me (laughing): You tooted at school today?!
Abby (now grinning too): YES!
Me: Oh Abby. That doesn't count.

Gotta love two year olds, right?

Abby also informed me that a crocodile was on her bookshelf this morning. Not to worry, though. According to her, it was a "little-bitty crocodile."

Ah, the imaginations. Gotta love them! :)

Park Pics

2009-09-09T14:27:00.006-05:00

Here are some pics from the park the other night. We decided to enjoy the cooler weather (which has since been long gone, replaced by much muggier nights!) and feed the ducks. Enjoy!

Abby and her Daddy
Watching the ducks
Throwing bread Beautiful

Our little Roo

Little Ballerina

Gigglin' Gals

The two of us

My new favorite pic. My two favorite people in the world. :)

First Day of School

2009-09-01T19:22:00.001-05:00

Today was Abby's first day of school at our church, and I am very happy to report that she did Awesome!! She walked in the room without even a thought about her mama! No goodbye hug. No kisses. Such a Big Girl. But, I'll be honest: a little "I'll miss you, Mommy" would have been nice! Oh well. I'll take what I can get, right?

When I went to pick up Abby from school, I was one of the last ones in line to pick up our little tykes. Of course I brought my camera, so I stayed until everyone left to snap some pics and chat with Abby's teachers about how she did. I am also very proud to say that the teachers said she was Fantastic! They also called her Caring, Helpful, and they expect her to be A Friend To All The Kids In The Class. That made my heart smile. They also reported that she was concerned about the four or five kids who cried during the day (I think those teachers should be given a medal--and perhaps some Advil--for taking care of crying two year olds for five hours!!). Abby does tend to get upset when other kids are upset, but luckily she didn't cry; they said she just seemed concerned--at a distance.

On the way home from the church, I called Matt, and as I was telling him about what all her teachers said, I started to cry thinking about how much those compliments meant to me. What they said made me feel proud to be Abby's parent, and I am so blessed to have such a sweet, sensitive, and social little girl. Roo, I wouldn't trade you for the world!

After we got home, I told Abby how proud I was of her for being such a Big Girl today, and as I was talking to her, Emotional Me started to tear up again. Abby looked up at me, saw me tearing up, put her hand on my knee and gently patted it, and said very softly and sweetly, "There, there. No cry, Mommy." How sweet is that?!

OK, before I begin crying again, here are some pics!!

Our big girl...

...who, if she had her way, would have worn this to school. (This was her outfit she had on at breakfast this morning!)This puts things into perspective:
First day of school this year... and the first day of school last year. Wow!

Here are some pictures from Abby's room after I picked her up:

Her assigned seatAbby walked over to this "Feelings" poster, saw the Sad Face, pointed to it and said, "Oh no." So, Mrs. Cinda asked Abby to point to the face that showed how Abby felt today. Abby then pointed to the Silly Face, as you can see here! Ha. Pointing to a book Now, while most kids would rather run home immediately after school, Abby wanted to run through the halls of the church instead! Her first artwork of the year.

Overall, a very successful day! I got some of the house cleaned, enjoyed a lunch with other childless moms (which meant I had "real" conversations and didn't have to deal with cutting up food), and got a big hug from my little girl after a few hours apart. I would call that a good day. Now, if we could only work on getting her to nap at school. These "no-nap" evenings are not the easiest in the world!!!

I hope y'all had a great Tuesday as well! :)

Roo At The Zoo-- Take Two :)

2009-08-31T20:53:00.005-05:00

Abby and I met our friend Lisa and her two kiddos Truitt and Meredith at the Dallas Zoo a couple of weeks ago. We hadn't been there before, and I thought it was a great trip! Abby was super excited to see the giraffes, but ever since her zoo trip, she's talked about the gorillas. A lot! That one gorilla (which you'll see in a minute) left a long-lasting impression!

Here's Abby before going into the zoo. She loves elephants!
The gorilla came over to the glass once he spotted spectators. It was amazing to see this creature so closely! He definitely loved putting on a show!
Love this one. Abby kept saying "hi" to him. Now, had the glass not been there, I think it would've been a whole different story!
Meredith giving the gorilla a High Five!
Mr. Gorilla
Abby watching a very large tortise walk toward her. (Side note: she insisted on bringing along her $1 Target Bin hat for some reason! However, it was quite useful once the sun started beating down on us!)
Friends.
The giraffes! Finally! Abby was excited!
This cracked me up. Who cares about looking at snakes and spiders when you can watch a zoo keeper clean out a pond?! :)

Abby's new friend, Mr. Elephant.
All the kids.

Me and Roo at the Zoo! :)
And a great time was had by all! :)

What Abby's Been Up To These Days

2009-08-20T12:38:00.013-05:00

The other day, I wrote down on a piece of paper funny conversations/things Abby's done here lately so I wouldn't forget. With her being two, the list grows daily. But I thought I'd share some of what's on the list with you. Enjoy! :)

A conversation that took place two weeks ago:
Me: Abby, is Daddy a girl or a boy?
Abby: A girl.
Me: No, silly. He's not a girl. If he's not a girl, then what is he?
Abby (thinks about it for a second): A babe!

If Abby's unhappy with me, she says, "Time Out, Mommmmmmy! Big trouble, man!" Oy. She really is a schoolteacher at heart!

The other morning I had come down dressed for church. Abby was sitting at the kitchen table with Matt, and she stopped what she was doing, looked up and me, and said, "Aww, Mommy! Pretty!!" That was the first time she'd ever said that. I'll admit I teared up a bit.

She loves to watch herself do things in the mirror. The other morning during breakfast, she held my compact and watched herself eat Cheerios. Uh-oh. Vanity's starting early.

Abby can count to twenty. Well, sort of. This is how she says it, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 20." Those others aren't that important, right??

Another conversation from the park a couple of weeks ago, as we were talking about God giving us rain, as the ground was SO very dry that day:
Me: Abby, where is God?
Abby: In the book.
Me (laughing): Yes, Abby, that's right. He is in your books we read, but can you show me where he is right now? (Hoping she'll point to the sky as she knows to do.)
Abby (thinking long and hard): Over there! And she proceeds to point to the man mowing his yard across the street.

After Abby completes a task she's put effort into, she ALWAYS yells, "TADA!" when she's done. I love that.

She is very quick to apologize.

Abby's new obsession is with direction. "Over there, Mommy?" she asks when we're driving, curious which way we're going to go. "Oh, not there. Right over there, Mommy?" she'll ask. She's trying to learn left and right, but here's the problem with that:

Abby (pointing out the window to the left): Left, Mommy?

Me: Yes, Abby! That's right! Left! You're right!

And then I realize just how unbelievably confusing my statement is. No wonder Abby can't get them straight!! Note to self: begin using the word "correct" instead of "right"!

She MUST open and close/turn on and off everything! I don't know the last time I shut a door or turned on a light!!

Another conversation as she's about to walk up the stairs:

Me: Abby, do you need help?

Abby: No, Mommy. I a Big Girl.

She told me!

At the end of Dora or Mickey (her current favorites), when the theme music comes on, she stands up and yells, "Dancing Time!!!!!" loudly and we have to grab hands and dance. If you're in the room, dancing with her is a must!

She is on a major carb and fruit diet lately. Girlfriend would eat bread 24 hours a day if she could!

If I ask her what being a Big Girl means, she'll reply, "No Fussin'!"

Abby can work my iPhone. She knows how to unlock it, scroll to my DoodleBuddy application, draw a picture, change the background of the picture, take a picture to color, and then clear it all to start over again. All at two years old! And I thought playing Oregon Trail in elementary school was impressive!

She randomly spits out words/events from a long time ago. Yesterday after she woke up from her nap, the first thing she said was, "Dora and Boots on monkey bars on TV." Oh, OK. And she still talks about the 4th of July fireworks at least three times a week.

She is a Sponge! But of course all kids this age are. It is so scary how much they pick up! Just today while I was in line at the bank, Abby said, "Oh my gawwwwwsh!" just like I do. I didn't even realize I had said it while I was driving. Like I said, scary, people!

Abby's new game while driving is looking for American flags. Her BeBe and Pops have taught her about where she lives (in Texas) and instructed her that when you see an American flag to put your hand over your heart. So now, in the car, when she spots one she yells, " 'Merican flagggggggg!" and then she says, "Look, Mommy!" And sure enough, she has her hand over her heart. So cute. Today, I put my hand over my heart too, and she didn't like that. Her response, "No, Mommy! You drive car." Oh. Got it. Did I mention she likes telling people what to do? Ha! :)

And last, but not least, she LOVES hip-hop music! Her current favorite? Lady Gaga. Seriously. As soon as one of her songs comes on, she yells, "Lady Gagaaaaaa!" and dances with the music. It's hilarious. And when the song ends, she cries!

That, my friends, is what Abby's been up to these days. Ah, I feel better having written all of that down. There's nothing better than the written word.

Stay tuned for zoo pictures soon! I'm off to paint her bathroom!

This Morning's Procedure

2009-08-12T16:34:00.005-05:00

Abby had her tests run this morning on her kidneys. If you recall, the doctor diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection two weeks ago, and because of her being so young he wanted to be certain there was nothing going on with her kidneys. So, he scheduled her for both a renal sonogram and a VCUG. Well, there is good news and bad news. First the good news:

Abby did AWESOME! The nurse told us that she has never seen a two year old handle her procedure as well as Abby. That made my heart smile. :) The past few days, we role played having a sonogram, and she knew that it would be painless. In fact, yesterday morning when she first woke up, I went in her room, and she was in her crib, her Ariel doll in hand. Abby had lifted her shirt to expose her tummy, and she had Ariel's hand on her tummy, simulating a sonogram. Abby said, "Look Mommy. Doctor!" It cracks me up that she turned her favorite little mermaid into "Dr. Ariel"!! Too funny. So, when it came time for a real sonogram with a real nurse, Abby did wonderfully! It did help that Mickey Mouse was on TV too. :)

Then came the VCUG. First they sweetened her up by letting her pick a Beanie Baby toy. She chose Bucky the Beaver. It was that or a "Class of 2008" Owl. Seriously. Ha! Abby had to wear a little toddler-sized gown and they had to sedate her. While watching my child slowly drift off into oblivion is not my favorite thing to watch, I must brag on her because she, again, did GREAT! The anesthesiologist had her blow into her mask ten times, and by blow seven, she was just about out. I was so impressed she didn't fight it. The procedure took about 15-20 minutes, and she recovered very quickly.

The bad news was the diagnosis: she does, in fact, have reflux (or VUR, Vesicoureteral Reflux, in case you look it up on WebMD which I've already done today!!). This means that when she urinates, instead of all of her urine leaving her bladder, some of it flows backwards into the kidneys. This obviously isn't good because it allows bacteria to reach the kidneys, leading to mores severe issues. Reflux is graded on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most severe case, and Abby's is a Grade 3 on both sides. The doctor at the Pediatric Imaging Center said that many kids outgrow the reflux, which hopefully will be the case for Abby.

I did speak with our pediatrician when I dropped off a urine sample after her procedures, and he said he will likely put her on antibiotics to eliminate (hopefully) any future infections, and he will also refer us to a urologist; but he wanted to look over the results first. Well, about 10 minutes ago, my phone buzzed that I had a voicemail. Guess who? The doctor's office with Abby's results and information. My phone never rang. Don't you just love when that happens? So now I'm waiting for the nurse to call me back with more information.

So, that's what I know. I'm so proud of Abby and how mature she was this morning. And she seems to have no effects whatsoever. Luckily, a trip to Target to pick out a toy, a milkshake from McDonald's and a fifth watching of The Little Mermaid didn't hurt! :)

When I know more, I'll post something. I hope y'all have a wonderful Wednesday!

OK, the nurse just called me before I posted this, and Dr. G. is putting Abby on a low-dose antibiotic, and she gave me the names of two urologists in the area to set up an appointment with. So now you're up to speed!

Pretty In Purple

2009-08-11T14:34:00.003-05:00

From a photo shoot we had in the master bathroom. :)

And here's one of my new favorites!

I must mention Abby's newfound love: herself. :) She LOVES to watch herself doing things in the mirror. She especially loves to cry, very dramatically, in the mirror and watch herself. It's really comical. Here she is at breakfast yesterday watching herself drink milk. What a hoot!
I've been working on a list of things Abby is doing these days, but I'll probably type and post that later. Right now, she is upstairs in her crib chat-chatting away. Hopefully she'll talk herself to sleep soon! :)

Abby's kidney tests are tomorrow, and I'll update you after we're through.

Clark and a Mermaid

2009-08-07T14:36:00.004-05:00

Abby got to play with her cousin Clark the other night, and boy does she love that little guy!! How could she not? He is the cutest little thing, so well-mannered, and has eyelashes any woman would pay good money for.

Cheese!

After a few minutes, Abby grew tired of having her picture taken. Can you tell?! But Clark was still smiling up a storm!

Some of you may have heard that Abby has a new pal: The Little Mermaid. She loves that movie, and at Target the other day, I spotted an Ariel Barbie, and now Abby is in heaven.

Here's the new object of her affection. Please excuse poor Ariel's head position. Abby had just been playing with her. :)

Abby LOVES to sing "Ariel's song," you know the tune she sings as the "mean witch" is taking her voice. Anyway, Abby trots around the house singing it. A lot. Here she is belting it out.

Side note: Please excuse Abby's Dora PJs. She outgrew them a few months ago, and she refuses to let them go! She made it perfectly clear to me that she did NOT want to wear her Turtle PJs, thank-you-very-much, but would rather wear her too-small-for-me Dora PJs. Hey, I pick my battles. Hence, the teeny-tiny PJs. She reminds me of a college football player back in the early 90s! Kind of cute though when you're two. Twenty-two, not so much. :)

Love.

Pure joy.
Look, Mom, she does tricks!

Ariel ate lunch with us yesterday, and, due to my lacking common sense, we ate fishsticks. Oops. Luckily Abby didn't put two and two together. Here she is feeding fishsticks to Ariel and Flounder. I was cracking up!

Cheese!
Mom, stop taking pictures already!

Too much fun! :)

Brainwashed.

2009-08-04T09:16:00.002-05:00

Here is how my husband has brainwashed our daughter. This is just sad, folks.

Our Weekend

2009-08-03T14:52:00.013-05:00

Kathy and Cary came into town this past weekend, and boy did we have fun! While I wish they didn't live so far away in Lubbock, it's great when we're able to visit a few times during the year, and this weekend was no exception. This was also the first time they were able to spend lots of quality time with Abby. Of course they've seen her over the past two years, but when we go to Tech/A&M football games together, Abby isn't with us, and sometimes they only get to see her when we eat lunch together when they're passing through Dallas.

It was great for Kathy and Cary to spend so much time with Abby, and Abby was excited to get to play with "KathyCary" too!! (Couples are one person to Abby. There is no "and". Go figure.) Abby couldn't stop talking about KathyCary the days before their arrival. Here they are cheesing together:

And here they are back in June of 2007, when Abby was a month old. Just a bit different, I would say. :)

I think I've been replaced in the BFF category. Dangit. An Abby Sandwich.Saturday night we surprised Cary by going to the Ranger game. A huge shout-out to Jordan for volunteering to watch Abby, by the way!! So, while Abby and BFF Ellie hung out, the four of us watched the Rangers...lose. Oh well. We still had a Great time!

We had a great time, guys! Sure wish y'all could have stayed longer!! But football season is just around the corner! Can't wait to go out to Lubbock and see A&M DEMOLISH Tech! (Hey, a girl can dream right??)

In other news, Abby tried to take her shirt off by herself the other day. Here's the result of that: Good times.

U-T-Sigh

2009-07-30T20:26:00.006-05:00

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!!

2009-07-25T21:03:00.002-05:00

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

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

Happenings

2009-07-23T19:29:00.008-05:00

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

2009-07-16T20:53:00.003-05:00

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

2009-07-13T17:13:00.006-05:00

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

2009-07-07T20:08:00.005-05:00

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!

The Soccer Tot in Action!

2009-06-26T15:09:00.004-05:00

I finally got around to filming Abby at SoccerTots yesterday. It's pretty funny. While she loves to kick the soccer ball, you'll notice that she tends to cheat (just a bit, at least when she was told to kick the balloon in the goal.) Her two favorite parts of SoccerTots? Chasing the hula hoops and getting the stamps at the very end of class. Yesterday they all got stamps on their bellies too. Abby was so proud! After watching the video, you can decide if she has athletic talent like her daddy or is completely uncoordinated like her mama. :) Enjoy.

Roo at the Zoo

2009-06-23T13:33:00.006-05:00

We took Abby to the zoo for the first time yesterday, and a great time was had by all! Abby had been in Longview since Thursday, so Matt and I were childless for three days, and it was glorious! Don't get me wrong, we missed Abby, but how nice it was just to get up and go! We went out to dinner (and even sat in a booth! Wow. Definitely a highlight of the weekend. Ha!), caught a movie (The Hangover is hilarious, by the way!), ran errands, went to the pool, all without a schedule. And while my goal was to sleep in, I was wide awake by 8:00. Oh well. Sure wish I could sleep later like I used to back in high school. Sadly, those days are long gone!

Anyway, we went to Longview Sunday after church for Father's Day. And then on Monday morning, we all drove to Tyler to visit The Caldwell Zoo. It was relatively empty, which was nice. And Abby had a great time seeing real animals right before her eyes. Her favorites? According to her: Lion (and she'll roar for you when she says this), elephant, and Swiper. (As in the fox character from Dora). We saw a fox right before we left, and I told her that itwas Swiper. She seemed impressed at the thought of meeting such a TV superstar as himself. :)

Here are the highlights:

Family pic Heading into the zoo
She's spotted a giraffe!
It's a shame her grandfathers don't love her more. Ha! She's got those two wrapped around her little finger!!
Watching the lions sleep. In fact, many of the animals slept while we were there. After all, it was sweltering, and they were exhausted! Don't really blame them.
Halfway done, and she's already felt the need to text BFF Ellie and tell her what an exciting time she's having at the zoo. Geez. :)
Feeding the ducks and turtles with Daddy. While she thoroughly enjoyed this feeding....
...not so much with the birds. If you look at the picture, you'll notice that a bird latched onto her feed stick and wouldn't get off. This freaked Abby out to no end. Love the "Holy Cow, There's A Freakin' Bird On My Feed Stick" expression on her face. Priceless!

Ah, the Snake House. I liked this. Well, I liked it because it was air conditioned. Despite the look of happiness on her face, Abby didn't care too much for the snakes. I don't think she understood the concept of the glass acting as a barrier between them. I don't really blame her. Dora The Explorer paints snakes in a bad light, and frankly, she'll believe anything Dora tells her. :)

Oh, to be a kid again! Side note: When Matt and I take Abby out for walks around the neighborhood, we always comment on how kids have it so well--being pushed around in a stoller, supplied food and drinks. Matt jokingly commented about how it would be nice if we took the old recliner in our garage, added wheels to the bottom, put Matt in it, and let me push him around the neighborhood, cold Budweiser in hand. You know, he might be onto something...

The whole Tenner/Craddock clan.

A good time was certainly had by all!

VBS

2009-06-17T14:21:00.004-05:00

I'm helping at our church's VBS this week, and I'll be honest, I'm having a blast! My Crew consists of nine 6-year-olds, and they are just adorable! (I originally started out with eight kids, but one little boy attached himself to me the very first day, so I let him into my crew. Apparently he took a liking to me because yesterday he asked me to be his girlfriend. How cute is that?! However, he wouldn't take no for an answer, so I politely informed him that I could be his mother. Gotta love first graders! ha!)

It's hard to imagine that in four short years, Abby will be where they are. Unbelievable! Because I'm volunteering up there all week, preschool-aged children of helpers get to attend as well. So, Abby is in the Tumbleweed Toddler class. Now, they don't really have curriculum, and I'm fairly certain she spends her hours playing with baby dolls, putting on and taking off her shoes, and snacking like crazy, but she's having a blast, which is what's important. The toddlers get to wear VBS T-shirts just like the big kids, and I thought it's too cute not to post.
Monday's artworkI'm so thankful I'm helping with VBS this year; it's really been a wonderful experience. But, boy am I tired by the end of the day! All you working moms out there, I have a newfound respect for you. I don't know how you do it!

Catchin' Up. And how is it June 12 already?!

2009-06-12T16:49:00.007-05:00

Gosh, there's so much I need to catch up on, but oh-so-little time. Having a two-year-old is demanding. Did y'all know that? And not in a "newborn demanding" kind of way but in a "We're-Always-On-The-Go-Kind-of-Demanding," which I oh-so-love, actually. The pool has been calling our name lately, and I plan on going there as much as possible this summer. Gotta love pools! Abby and I have been having a great June so far. Our little two-year-old will repeat anything we say (and I mean Anything!) and is picking up new words and phrases left and right.

Here are some highlights:

1. Abby's new favorite (and almost overused phrase) is "Kick the ball in goal." This she picked up from Soccer Tots, which she LOVES and is pretty darn good at, if I must say so myself. She proceeds to kick her foot and show us how she kicks the ball, then she throws her head back, pumps her fists in the air and yells, "Goooooooal" really loudly. It's the funniest thing!

2. Abby and I rocked out to some T.I. and Rhianna yesterday on our way Soccer Tots. While she loves Disney's Choo Choo Soul CD, this girl is a hip-hop fan at heart. Her mama is from Longview after all. :)

3. Her favorite song in the entire world is The Killers' "Human." Seriously. As soon as we're all buckled in Matt's Tahoe, she yells, "Music, Daddy, MUSIC!!!!!" This is our cue to turn to Track 2. As soon as the music starts, she gets so excited. Come refrain time, she's even got a whole choreographed dance she does along with the music. It's hysterical. Matt and I absolutely love the song too, but we're afraid it's losing its luster as we've listened to it dozens and dozens of times!

4. Abby loves talking about past events. "Ant bit toe." "Boo-boo knee." "Daddy's mower. Ouch. Sizzle." "Boo-boo. Ellie's. Wawa (water). Fall down." I realize as I type this that all of my example phrases have to do with injuries. Oy. Two year olds sure do keep Band-Aid in business, don't they??

5. Abby loves to count. But she forgets 6, 7, and 8. Oh well. Surely she'll get that all figured out by Kindergarten. At least that's my hope.

6. There's a lot more, but Dora's just made it to the Red Path in the Cornfield, so I need to wrap things up. I think they're almost to Mama Bird, so I fear the end is near. Sigh.

Here are some pics from the past few days:

Love pigtails!

Dancing with "Baby Clarky"

Just a hat

Abby's BFF Ellie in the same hat. What a doll.

Baboo (my brother Chris) is in town for some Ranger games (we went to last night's), so this morning, we took Abby to Willowbend to play. While she does enjoy running around and playing in the play area, she'd much rather use up all of my quarters on the "choo-choos."

She loves climbing in that darn cup of coffee!

Just some cute pics:
In the wagon, ready to head to the pool

Just Abby

Happy weekend, all! :)

Thoughts and Tots (Soccer, Not Tater)

2009-05-29T14:11:00.010-05:00

1. Abby had a meltdown of all meltdowns at Babies R Us today. So, if you were in a 5-mile radius of the Allen Babies R Us at around 11:15, yes, that was Abby you heard. :)

2. I'm an idiot. Abby had some birthday money, so I strolled over to Toys R Us to get something for Abby. I bought a cute little Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner, and she was stoked. She loves to push the real vacuum at home, so I thought this was a win-win situation for me. Instead of her wanting to push our vacuum (slooooooooowly, I might add) at home, this way she could "vacuum" next to me. Kill two birds with one stone, right? I get to vacuum, and she gets to pretend vacuum. Everyone's happy, right? Wrong. That thing is the noisiest, most annoying toy known to man. This is the thanks I get for trying to be kind. Ugh.

3. In the parking lot of Babies/Toys R Us, I saw a woman unload her bags from her cart and leave her cart right there in the parking lot, taking up a parking space. She got in her car and drove off, just leaving it sitting there TEN FEET FROM THE RETURN AREA. Are you kidding me, lady?! How lazy have we become?? Well, Dramatic Me marched over to the cart just as she was pulling off, and pushed it into its proper area. I put on a nice, over-the-top, Oscar-worthy show, if I must say so myself. She could see me in her rearview mirror as I drove away. Hopefully, Lady in the Nissan Sentra, you'll be kind enough to return your cart next time so good, rule-abiding citizens like myself don't have a good parking space blockaded thanks to your inconsiderate, selfish self. Ah, I feel better. :)

4. I had a gift card to spend at a certain children's boutique in Longview this past weekend. I won't say the name of the store, but it starts with "Lollipops" and ends with "Lace." :) Anyhoo, when I walk in there, I always feel really poor. Like the people behind the counter are thinking, "Oh, what's that poor vagabond doing in here? She obviously isn't rich enough to be shopping here! Perhaps she came in here to seek shelter from the blistering sun. Surely she doesn't have the money to purchase items in here. Poor soul must have a gift card." Dangit. They figured me out. It's one of those places that if I touch a shirt, I hope I don't get dirt on it because then I'll be forced to buy it, and in order to pay for it, I'd have to sell some of my plasma. You know what I mean?

Anyway, I carefully looked around for something to spend my $50 gift card on. I know what you're thinking: $50? Wow, that's a lot! And if it were Wal-Mart, you'd be right. But at this place, it maybe would buy me a pair of lacy bloomers. That, or a pair of socks. I kid, I kid. Seriously though, they had an entire section devoted to the most adorable smocked dresses. I gasped at the price tag. $72. For a dress. For a two-year-old. A growing two-year-old. Call me old school, but I can't see paying that much money for a dress for my child. Don't get me wrong: if you have the money, go for it. But for me, $72 is a lot of money.

My philosophy is: pay more money for something that's going to last you a long time; pay less for short-term items. And to me, clothing for Abby is a short-term item. Like I said, that's just me though. So, my goal was to spend my gift card on something Long Term. I perused and perused and perused some more. Gosh, a girl can get lost dreaming in that place for an afternoon. Oh, what adorable items they had for sale. I ended up purchasing the cutest little baby doll high chair. It was the perfect gift. You know why? Because it will last for years. That's better than a little smocked dress anyway, right?

Lastly, I'll leave you with a play-by-play of yesterday's Soccer Tots. Abby did well for the most part but wanted nothing to do with one drill: kicking the ball while Mommy's foot was on top of it. She didn't like that. You all will be pleased to know, though, that she was the leader for the obstacle course as well as the final line to kick the ball into the goal. When Coach Kendrah asked for the kids to line up behind the dot, Abby was the first one there both times. Actually, I think it has less to do with leadership skills and more to do with the fact that Abby's the oldest in the class (well, second oldest by one day) and understands what Coach is asking. But I'll just pretend that she's a born leader! :)

Warming up. By the way, Papa Rick, everyone LOVED Abby's shoes. One Mom commented how "happy" they were! Abby loves them too. In the car, she said, "Papa...Abby's shoes." So, she knows they came from you with love. They were perfect!
She's got her sights set on that goal!

She scores!

Then it was time to line up for the obstacle course. First, they went down the slide. Then it was time for the balance beam...

Then they "hopped" over noodles (Abby didn't quite have that down! Perhaps by August!!), ran over hula hoops, and then walked on these...

Then it was through the tunnel...

...and once they emerged from the tunnel, they kicked the ball into the goal. Scoooooooooore!

Balloon time!

Chasing the balloon

Notice who's at the other side of the field area? Notice how there are no other kids over there? Hmmm... she isn't always the best listener! Oops! :) Either that or she's practicing to be a Number One Goalie like her Uncle Jason was???!! Sadly, I think it's the former!

Luckily she came running back to where she was supposed to be!
At the end of the drills, Coach has all the kids circle around and put their hand on a box. On the count of three, they yell, "Go Soccer Tots!" And by "they" I mean Coach. No kid yells that. They just stare at her with a really confused look on their faces. It's pretty funny actually. But, after "their" chant, Coach stamps their hands. This is their favorite thing! Here is Abby showing off her ball and star stamps.

Actually the stamps are her 2nd favorite thing. I guess that bumps the actual class down to 3rd! Ha! The racing car game in the corner has become her favorite thing to do. She likes to sit in it and drive. Forget Soccer Tots. Hello race car driving!!

Our little Soccer Tot star. Too fun.

Happy Friday, everyone! :)

Lots o' Pics. That's It.

2009-05-27T13:22:00.006-05:00

Happy Almost June, everyone. Not too much to report on our end. Abby did have her two-year checkup on Friday, and there is good news and bad news. The good news is she's perfectly healthy and is developmentally on track. Hooray! The bad news is she's projected to be 5'10" or 5'11" when she grows up. Tall and thin. Yikes. Matt, you may need to start cleaning your shotgun. Here were her stats:

Head: 18.9 inches, (90-95th percentile)
Weight: 26 lbs, 15 oz, so basically 27 lbs (50-75th percentile)
Height: 35.3 inches, (90-95th percentile)

We are currently hoping for a volleyball scholarship. A FULL scholarship, that is. :) I also hope she does not get her mother's athletic ability. I attempted T-ball when I was young and then softball in 6th grade. I rode the bench. A lot. Sigh.

Onto the pics. A huge Thank You to Cheryl for this absolutely adorable Ballerina Dress she gave Abby for her birthday. New, cute dress=photo session in the front yard with Mommy.

BFF Ellie and her parents came over to celebrate Memorial Day. Sure wish I had felt better (I had the crud--anyone else been sick too??) We took the girls down to the neighborhood pool, but it was freezing! They didn't want to get in too much. Can't say I blame them. So, we filled up the baby pool in our backyard for them to play in. Instead of splishing and splashing, all they wanted to do was pour water on the grass and each other. Sigh.

Bathing Suit Beauty

Love this pic

Is this not the cutest??

Oh to be a kid again...

Just a cute pic of Abby

And one of Roo and me

Abby started Soccer Tots last week, and she really enjoyed it. She followed directions well for the most part and had a grand ol' time. I'll try to take some pics tomorrow from her session and post them soon. Until then, enjoy the gorgeous weather, everyone! :)

Happy Birthday to You Two

2009-05-18T13:51:00.009-05:00

A Huge Happy Birthday to two of my favorite females today: Abby turns two, and my mom turns 60!! Wow. Time has flown by. (I'm sure my mom would agree to this much more than I would, as 30 still sounds kind of old to me. Just keeping it real, folks.) This time two years ago, I was holding my new baby girl in my arms. And now, as I sit here and type this, I hear Abby chat-chat-chatting away in her crib. She's supposed to be asleep. (Keyword=supposed) I guess all the sugar she's consumed here lately has kept her wired. :) Ah, how drastically things change in two short years!

Abby had a birthday party on Saturday. Rainy, rainy, rainy Saturday. The party was supposed to be at the park. So, because Mother Nature didn't cooperate, everything got moved to our house. Luckily Abby's new bounce house arrived on Thursday, so in the garage it went. Bouncing, cake, opening presents and visiting with family and friends consumed the evening, and a great time was had by all. I don't have many pictures of the event but I'll definitely post more later when I get them off my family's cameras. In the meantime, this is what I've got:

The invite

The cake

The favor bags

The birthday girl

Jumping in the bounce house

Taken this morning. Officially a two year old!

Our beautiful girl

Cheeeeeeeese!

And to put it in perspective, here she is the morning of her first birthday.
Happy 2nd birthday, Roo!! (Check back for more party pics sometime next week)

By the way, I mentioned a couple of posts ago that a surprise reception was held in honor of my mom over Mother's Day weekend. Well, in Kilgore, TX, today is, officially, "Bettye Craddock Day." There's a nice write-up in the Kilgore News-Herald about her, and if you want to read it, click here.

A Pic and A Clip

2009-05-14T14:45:00.006-05:00

I've been meaning to update, but things have been busy here lately. Mother's Day weekend was great. VERY SOON I will post about the events of last weekend. (My mom was honored with a surprise reception for her 25 years of teaching at Kilgore College, so I plan to do an entire post on that. Hopefully when things slow down!!)

In the meantime, all I have time for is a picture from the other evening of our almost 2-year-old. I can't believe she'll be two on Monday! And here are some short clips of what Abby's been up to lately. Enjoy! :)

Moo and A Choo-Choo

2009-05-06T14:15:00.006-05:00

Abby started to have fever on Sunday, and she has been fairly crabby the past two days. (Of course, she still has daily doses of "The Terrible Twos," but she had been fussier than normal.) Also, her sleeping has been awful, waking up screaming every three hours or so. Tuesday's nap was cut short after one hour as I suddenly heard uncontrollable screaming coming from her room. Upstairs I ran to find her sobbing in her crib. I tried rocking her. Still screaming. I tried to sing her a song. Still screaming. I tried to read her a book. Sip of water. Rocking her some more. Still screaming. Nothing worked. This went on for 30 minutes! Finally, I turned on Dora, put her in the big, cozy chair, gave her a bowl full of Goldfish, and finally, she calmed down. Holy cow. Talk about an exhausting 30 minutes!

So, by yesterday when she still was crabby, felt warm, and had a rash on her hiney that had been perplexing me for three days, a phone call to the doctor was made. We got in at 4:00, saw the nurse practitioner (our pediatrician wasn't in the office yesterday afternoon), and she looked Abby over. Ears were clear but her throat was really red. Luckily no strep. Ulcers in mouth. A few red spots on her feet and hands. And red spots all over her hiney, which I knew wasn't a diaper rash because even with cream it hadn't cleared up. She then diagnosed her with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Now don't confuse this with Hoof and Mouth Disease, better known as Mad Cow Disease. At first, I had visions of crazy sick collapsing cows in my head. Luckily this is not the same thing. Just a common viral infection. Whoo. I mean, I knew Abby loved milk and all, so I was relieved when Nurse Debbie said they weren't related. :) And that was that.

I kept her from MDO today, because it's super contagious, although the nurse said because it's harmless and Abby didn't have fever that it was OK, I sided with caution and we went to Party City shopping for her birthday party decorations instead. (Don't worry: I wiped down the cart she rode in!)

So, that's what's been going on with us. Never a dull moment with kiddos, is there?? I'll leave you with some pics of the past few days:

Abby Loves her some choo-choo trains, so as we were playing with her Huggies box the other afternoon, and she said, "Choo-choo," I had an idea. Some cutting, taping, and wrapping later, voila! Abby's Apple Express was created. Fun, fun! She loves to walk around the house in it yelling "Choo-choo...Choo-choo!!!!"
Here she is watching her daddy mow. This is one of her favorite things to do. And no, do not adjust your monitors. That is NOT, in fact, an 18th hole on a golf course. (That was for you, Matt! :) ) Laughing at her daddy
Happy Wednesday, folks! :)

A Bridge, A Ballerina, and A Bounce House :)

2009-04-29T11:04:00.006-05:00

I've declared 2009 "The Year of the Back." Why, you ask? Because Abby always seems to be running away from me, instead of toward me; therefore, her back seems to be her most photographed body part! Oh well. At least it makes for some good photographs.

My friend Mica triggered an idea yesterday morning. She suggested I take pictures on the bridge in our neighborhood. She also mentioned that their neighbor photographed Ava in her tutu this weekend. So, I put the two together, and voila! Bridge Ballerina pictures!

In other news, not only did Abby's BFF Ellie come over on Sunday night, but Ellie's future birthday present tagged along as well: a new bounce house!! Like the good parents they are, Ellie's Mom and Dad wanted to make sure the bounce house would work as it should for Ellie's 2nd Bounce House Fun Birthday Party that's quickly approaching. So, the girls became guinea pigs, and they couldn't have had a better time on that thing. Matt and I decided that Abby now needs one. Are we suckers or what??

Bouncing gals

This is too fun!

Ellie cracks me up. I gave her this sticker, and she immediately stuck it on her nose. According to her mom, this is where she always puts stickers given to her! ha!

The almost-birthday-girl

Just a sweet pic of Roo

Bluebonnets and Other Stuff

2009-04-22T22:37:00.005-05:00

Abby and I, and our good friends Mica and Ava, made a quick trip to Lucas yesterday to the beautiful blooming bluebonnet patch. How gorgeous it was!

Surrounded by bluebonnets

Adorable Miss Ava. What a doll.

Miss Abby Mae attempting to push her daddy's lawnmower. To no avail.

Cheese!

I love this pic. SO Abby.

That's all folks! Enjoy this summer-like weather!

Park and Clark

2009-04-17T17:17:00.004-05:00

I headed East yesterday, searching for bluebonnets, but alas, I found none. I just put miles on my car and enjoyed some good ol' country scenery. So, we ended up at the park down the street. Here are my favs.

Tee-Tee (Aunt Emily) and Clark came over this morning, and Abby had the best time kissing and loving on her cousin. Here are the cousins:

Easter

2009-04-13T14:08:00.002-05:00

What a wonderful holiday Easter was. I have to admit that Miss Abby looked super cute in her Easter dress:

BeBe and Pops moved the Easter Egg hunt inside, considering the bad weather. She had the best time searching for the eggs. Here is her "I FOUND AN EGG" face! :)

I'll post more pics when I have them. Hope you had a great holiday as well!

Nothing Too Exciting

2009-04-06T21:49:00.009-05:00

Sorry it's been a while since I posted last, but the truth is, not much exciting has been happening. No being locked out of houses in a while. No exciting news. Nothing too post-worthy. Well, I take that back.

I have come to realize that being the mom of a 22-month-old is the absolute best role on the face of the earth. I mean that. I told Matt just the other day that the past two weeks have been the most enjoyable of my stay-at-home mom career. Why, you ask? I think it's because Abby is finally a little person who doesn't rely on me 100% anymore. Do you know what I mean? I now have actual conversations with her. What do you want to drink? Juice. Who do you love? Elmo! What's wrong with your hand? A boo-boo. It's amazing!!

Most of February and March were getting a bit difficult with Abby. She had hit "the terrible twos" too early, and I felt like all day long all I did was say, "No Abby...No Abby....NO ABBY!!" Don't get me wrong. Abby has always been the sweetest, most loving child on the planet (perhaps I'm a bit biased though!), and that never stopped. It's just that for about a 6-week period, she was testing the waters. And we're not talking pond-sized, folks. I'm talking ocean-sized. She threw fits. I lost my patience. I was contemplating getting a job at the local 7-11 just to get out of the house for a couple of hours each day. Ha. Just joking. :) What she was doing was, from all I've heard, absolutely normal, but boy it's no fun when you're actually living that phase!

But everything changed when we went our separate ways for a few days. Abby went to Longview for 6 days to stay with the grandparents while Matt and I spent some time at home (alone!) and then out to Lubbock. And you know what? When we reunited that Sunday, it was like a light bulb came on. Something clicked. The fits stopped. My frustration went out the window. We have had more laughs and more fun in the past two weeks than I can remember (and we've always had lots of laughs, so that's really saying something!). We are the best of buds. PB and J. Peas and carrots. Jenny and Forrest. Little Roo and me. :)

Lesson learned: when you're getting to a breaking point, take a vacation! Or if you can't do that, at least get a babysitter and get out of the house. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder, doesn't it??

I still can't believe she'll be 2 next month. Where has the time gone? I find myself looking at Abby and the things she's doing, and I find myself getting choked up at what a truly beautiful little girl Matt and I created. What I love most about our little Roo right now:

She has so much empathy.

She is also the absolute funniest person I know. She cracks herself up, and each night at dinner, she has Matt and me in stitches.

She HAS to read her Ernie book, her Grover book, and either her "Ho-ho-ho" book or Pooh book at least twice a day. (She is a creature of habit like her mother!)

She says hi to every person she passes at Target or Kroger.

She gives the best hugs, and I love when calls out for me first thing in the morning. There's nothing like it.

She hates for her daddy to try to put her hair in a ponytail because she honestly thinks that he's made her hair disappear because she can't see it in the mirror. So, she starts to whine, "No Daddy!!" It's really quite humorous.

She can spot the letter A like it's nobody's business. She also knows the letters O, E, B, T, and I. The funniest thing is when she spots an "A" on the Fox News ticker at the bottom of the screen, and she tries to follow it, but it disappears off screen, and she gets really confused as to where it went!

When she sees the letter "T" she immediately yells for her Daddy and puts her "Guns Up" in the air. Matt is so proud.

She can spell her name. Well, I take that back. She spells it "A-B-Y". Close enough, right??

So much more, but I'll stop at that and leave you with pictures from the past few days. Enjoy!

New Easter Dress
She loves wearing her Daddy's boots!

Aren't BFFs the best??

Abby's "boyfriend" Noah (or "Cassa-noah" as the grandparents like to refer to him) came over the other morning. They had the best time! Here they are playing with Abby's baby stroller...

...and here they are looking for dust bunnies behind the chair. ha!

Just a smiley Abby
Gotta love bubble baths!Future boot model??

Looking out the window just minutes before the cold front blew in. Typical Texas: short sleeves one minute, parka the next!

Happy girl

This picture captures Abby's personality to a T. Love it.

Oh, and I can't forget about the newest member of the Tenner clan. My nephew Clark. Isn't he the most handsome 6-week-old you've ever laid eyes on?! My dining room table + Boppy and towels + Clark's mommy in charge of holding the lamp = beautiful baby shots. Take THAT, Sears Portrait Studio!!

I love this little guy!

New Pics

2009-03-25T11:18:00.005-05:00

While she's not locking Mommy out of the house, Abby can be downright adorable. :) Here are some photos I took of my little girl yesterday.

Black and whites

Colors

A school bus drove by!

Where'd it go??

Sweetie

Here's to a great week, everyone!! :)

Yes, Honey, that is a real fire truck in front of our house, just like the one in your books!

2009-03-23T13:34:00.008-05:00

Note to self: Hide a house key somewhere in our yard. Why, you ask? Because Abby did something this morning that I didn't know she knew how to do: lock me out of the house. Yep, my 22-month-old daughter locked me out. Locked me out without a cell phone, without shoes, and worse: without make-up. Darn Clean-Up-House Mondays where I don't get too dressed up. But I diverse.

I was in the garage putting back in her car seat (that Matt had forgotten to put in last night, so technically I could blame this entire brouhaha on him... :) ) while Miss Abby Mae sat peacefully on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. After a couple of minutes, I gave up my attempts at clipping the latch on the metal hook, so I went to open the door to the garage so I could get back inside. I went to turn the doorknob, but it wouldn't turn. No biggie. Must be jammed, I thought. I turned again. Nothing. Oh boy. Panic didn't set in. Yet. I tried again. I turned and turned and turned that darn knob, but it was futile. Crap. I felt my body temperature beginning to rise suddenly. The realization that I had absolutely no way of getting into our house suddenly hit me. No hidden key. No open window. No daughter who would politely unlock the lock for me. Believe me, I tried that. Abby, unlock the door for Mommy didn't exactly compute with my 22-month-old. Nope. Mickey Mouse was on. And how could I compete with him? He's way cooler than Panicking-Ever-So-More-As-Each-Moment-Passes Mommy.

I spotted a nail on the shelf next to the door. I tried to jiggle it around the keyhole. Did you know that if you try to open a locked door with a nail that the success rate is ZERO? Yep, I figured you knew that. Same goes for a bobby pin. Yep, I tried that too. OK, you can stop laughing now. Anyhoo, thank goodness for the neighbors behind us. Their back door was open, so I ran to the alley and called out to Pam who was nice enough to let me borrow her iPhone. After a two-minute lesson on how to dial on the darn thing (seriously, could it be any more complicated to dial a freakin' number?!), I called Matt. He, in turn, called a locksmith who said it would be 45 minutes to get to our house. For those of you who have kids, envision how much damage he/she could do in that long time span. Holy cow. 45 minutes? No thank you. So, they recommended calling 911. Duh. Guess I should've thought of that sooner.

The entire time I ran from Pam's house to our front yard, I pictured what all Abby could be up to inside our house. Had she climbed onto our dining chairs, onto the table and was swinging on the chandelier? Had she gotten bored with Mickey Mouse, picked up our family Bible and started ripping pages out? Had she turned to HBO and was watching something she shouldn't watch until she's 25? Yikes! All of these visions floated through my head as I ran to peek in the front window by the door. I anxiously peered into the window. What did I see? Something awful? Something dreaful? Nope. There was sweet, innocent little Abby, sitting on the couch watching Mickey. She turned toward me, standing outside like a fool, with a dumbfounded look on her face, as though to say: Mom, what are you doing out there all by yourself? Come in here and watch TV with me. Goofy's dancing, and you're totally missing it!

About that time as I'm talking to Matt on the phone, I hear sirens. Loud sirens. Fire truck sirens. You've got to be kidding me, I thought. When I told Matt what I heard in the distance, he couldn't stop laughing. Why was I so naive to think that Officer Joe would show up, have a magical key, open the door, and all would be well? Oy.

Sure enough, a giant fire truck turned the corner and parked in front of our house, complete with four firemen. By this point, I am so embarrassed I have turned about the same color as the fire truck. Abby has come to the front window to see what all the commotion is about. And I'm praying that no neighbors come out to see what's going on. Fire? Pipe Bomb?? Cougar trapped in your bathroom?!?! Nope, sorry, just a dumb ol' mom locked out of her house. How disappointing!

At that point, Abby had run to the window and had started to get upset. She knew that something wasn't right and didn't understand why Mommy wasn't coming inside, and I tried to reassure her through the glass. Luckily, the fire truck was pretty cool, so she stared and pointed at it for a bit. After several LONG minutes, I saw the back door open, and the firemen were inside. Hip Hip Hooray!! One fireman disputed my self-proclaimed title of Unfit Mother Of The Year. This happens all the time, he assured me. Oh, Thank God. Another fireman suggested I hide a key in our yard. We'd been thinking about that for months now, I told him. I think I'll be doing that this afternoon.

The firemen said their goodbyes, drove away, and I was suddenly exhausted. I think my adrenaline had been running for quite some time. Before naptime, Abby told me she wanted to watch "Boo Doo-uh" (Boots and Dora), and I quickly obliged. Heck, after all that happened, I figured she deserved it (even though she was the one who started this whole thing, she was trapped inside for a long time.) Luckily I don't think it was too traumatizing for her. The instant Dora came on the TV, she was fine. I tell ya, that Dora can fix any problem she might have! :)

Five lessons I learned from this ordeal:
1. Never underestimate your child's abilities. Oh man. At the rate she's going, I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow she took the keys to my car and went on a little joyride around the block.
2. Hide a house key in case of emergencies such as this one. Duh. Wish I would've done this a tad sooner.
3. Know your neighbors. Thank you Keith and Pam for helping a sister out!
4. If you have stairs, ALWAYS keep the gate at the bottom of the stairs closed. Thank goodness I had the gate up. If I hadn't, I would have been petrified! Also, I am so grateful I had put up the scissors I had on the table during our "Art Time" this morning. All joking aside, it could have been a lot worse.
5. On another serious note, stash some eyeliner and lip gloss somewhere in your yard in case you ever get locked out. You never know when firemen will show up and you need to look somewhat decent. :)

I can't wait to read The Allen American later this week to see if we made The Police Report. How exciting. If we do, and you want an autographed copy, let me know and I'll send you one. :)

Ah, the joys of parenthood. Kids sure do keep us on our toes (or on the front porch, as the case may be!) don't they??

4 Reasons Life Is Good

2009-03-18T22:30:00.010-05:00

1. Es el momento de celebrar! Good news: Our Dora is not leaving us. Can you hear me breathing a sigh of relief? Ah! Turns out Nickelodeon got a lot of flak from its release of The New Dora's silhouette, and got an earful from mothers just like yours truly. So, a couple of days ago, they released the actual picture of The New Dora. And, most importantly, they stated that the current, good ol' Dora isn't going anywhere. Turns out this New Dora is aimed for girls ages 5-8, and will be some sort of doll girls can interact with online. Whew. I was worried there for a bit. This New Dora is actually kind of cute. Not nearly as sexy as that silhouette made her out to be, right? I mean, after all, what did Nick expect? Anyhoo, I thought this worthy of an update blog.

2. I am childless for the next four days! Do not get me wrong. I love my daughter. I would take a bullet for that girl. Honest. But how glorious it has been for Matt and me to have alone time. We actually went to On The Border last night and sat at the bar and had a merry ol' time. Just the two of us. No sippy cups. No picking up crayons that fall to the floor. Just barstools, adult beverages, and no responsibility! Hallelujah!! I slept until 8:30 this morning, watched TV in bed until 10:30, and I barely knew what to do with myself! I actually left the house at 2:30. Unheard of for a stay-at-home mom of a toddler. We are ALWAYS at home between 1:00 and 4:00 for nap time. Not today!! Instead, she is being royally spoiled in Longview with her four grandparents, her great-grandma (MoMo as Abby calls her) and her Baboo (Uncle Chris).

3. The reason I am childless is because we are going out to Lubbock to see our BFFs Kathy and Cary. Stinky, brown Lubbock, here we come!!

4. I got to see my Sister Tenner (Emily) and my favorite nephew Clark this afternoon. It was a fix I desperately needed!! Clark must love me because he majorly spit up on me. Ah, the joys of being an aunt! :) Clark, you owe me $20 in case that stain doesn't come out of my shirt, by the way.

And here are some pics from the last week I'll leave you with:

Adorable hat I picked up from the dollar bin at Target. I heart Target.
Front yard fun
She was very concerned with the poop on the sidewalk!
Is this an I'm-Up-To-Something look or what??
Abby's friend Ava from down the street came over the other morning to play. She showed up in a Texas cheerleading outfit. Oh, the horrors! So, I quickly put on Abby's Tech one. (Nope, she doesn't own an A&M one. I think I would have to somehow sneak it into the house past Tech-Is-Better-Than-Everything Matt). Ah, a Red Raider helping a Longhorn. Would never happen in real life.
Here's a super cute shot I took of Miss Ava. What a doll!!
Also last week, I ventured out to meet the newest member of the Stone family, Miss Emma. And what a cutie she is!
And here's her adorable big sis Harper. Is this girl not model material?
She insisted of being photographed with her baby doll. I love this pic.

OK, I'm out! Enjoy this gorgeous Spring weather, people!! :)

No Longer A-Dora-Ble

2009-03-15T13:52:00.008-05:00

I'm all in a tizzy. Or as Dora would put it, estoy en un frenesí!! And I feel like I have a good reason why. Last week, I saw on the news where Dora The Explorer was getting a makeover. No big deal, I thought. She could use a longer shirt. Lord knows I don't always enjoy seeing her little belly day after day, and, let's be honest, those two stray hairs on top of her head need to be plucked. No big deal. Boy, was I wrong. Here is current Dora, the Dora Abby and I, and millions of other kids have grown to love...
...and here's the new, updated version Nickelodeon revealed last week. They will only give the public this silhouette, but as you can see, she's thinner, has longer hair, had lost the shorts and taken up a super-short mini skirt, and, well, has grown up. And I'm not happy about it. Not one bit. Especially when I asked Abby who that was in the picture below. She looked at it, waited three seconds, and then replied, "Mommy!" Argh. Albeit flattering, it was not exactly the answer I was hoping for.
I have grown to love chunky, non-matching, kind-of-dorky-but-hip-in-a-strange-way Dora. She's the kind of girl I could be friends with. I could sit by her on the bus, call her to double check Spanish homework, ride bikes with. Heck, she's the All-American-Mexican girl next door. :) This new Dora seems like the kind of girl straight out of the movie Mean Girls. You know, the girl who sits at that lunch table, surrounded by cheerleaders and football players, thinking of ways to humiliate girls like the old Dora. Know what I mean? Oh, woe is me!

Sure, last year parents were up in arms because Strawberry Shortcake got a hip, new makeover. Well, I don't give a hoot about Strawberry Shortcake. I give a hoot about Dora. And she seems to be growing up waaaaaaay too fast for me.

I can just see the changes now:

Dora drops uncool "Backpack" for super cool "Satchel".
Instead of Children's Place, next season's shows will be sponsored by Gadzooks.
There will be 3-5 episodes a month that won't feature Backpack because, as we all know, we should never go through a girls' purse at that age.
The "Come on, vamanos" song will now go a little something like this: Come on, vamanos. Everybody, let's go. Come on, let's get to it. I know that we can do it! Where are we going? To get my nails done! Where are we doing? To try on bikinis! Where are we going? To the tanning salon!! Oy.
Titles for the new episodes include "Dora's First Kiss...with Boots!" "Dora and Isa Get Their Navels Pierced" and my personal favorite "Dora's Feeling Bloated."

And here's how I imagine Backpack's new segment will go:

Hola! I'm Backpack. Dora needs you to help find her lip gloss. Is this her lip gloss? No! That's her High School Musical 3 DVD. Is this her lip gloss? No! That's her Midol. Is this her lip gloss? No! That's the Grey Goose she stole from her mami and papi's liquor cabinet. Is this her lip gloss? No! That's her thong. Is this her lip gloss? No! That's her brochure for Planned Parenthood.

Yeesh. Are we ready for this new Dora?? All kidding aside, I'll give it a chance. But if my soon-to-be-two-year-old starts asking to grow her hair out long and drink a Slim Fast or two to slim down a bit, I think I'm going to go loco.

Good Times

2009-03-09T22:35:00.006-05:00

Some of you know that Matt had minor surgery on Friday to remove a cyst that has been causing him pain on his lower back for months. I accompanied him to surgery bright and early Friday morning (6:30, to be exact), and man, I never realized how H-O-T he looks in a surgical gown and cap! Watch out ladies! (I love you, babe, if you're reading this!) :) Anyway, he was quite the trooper. Once I was able to see him after surgery, he was totally out of it. Here's how our conversation went after he was in recovery and was finally coming out of the anesthesia:

Me: small talk, how do you feel, etc.

Matt: blurry eyed

Me: more small talk

Matt: really uncomfortable

Me: So, are any of your other girlfriends coming to visit you after your surgery (my attempt at comic relief)

Matt: Oh yeah, several of them are. (said sarcastically)

Me: Oh, is that right? (laughing) Which one's coming to see you first? What's her name? (expecting Matt to stumble and search for something to say)

Matt: (not missing a single beat) Brenda.

Me: Brenda?!

Matt still swears up and down he never said that. I'm thinking I should check the "B's" in his BlackBerry's address book. Ha! :) If you happen to see Matt accompanied by any mysterious woman around town, you people let me know, ok? :)

Also, here's another funny conversation Matt and I had while watching American Idol last week:
Me: Oh, that contestant's such a Cutie McCuterson (my term of endearment)
Matt: (annoyed) Cathy, how is it that all of the guys on TV, like rock stars and quarterbacks, that you find so hot look NOTHING LIKE ME??
Me: (light bulb going off) Matt, do you think girls with big boobs are attractive??
Matt: Point proven. (He then shuts up.) :)

Now to the pictures from the last several days:

My newest favorite picture of Abby

Oh my gosh! Stop the presses! A picture of me and Abby!

A true Southern gal: Playing in the backyard with no pants on. That's how we roll with Texas weather.

Abby with her BeBe and Pops

Here she is at breakfast this morning. I have no words.
Another one of my new favorite pictures. I don't really know why though. As I was sitting in the backyard, I noticed that she and the ball and frisbee were completely color coordinated. Too good of a pic to pass up.
Lastly, I'll leave you with my Sunday School lesson I taught yesterday. (Side note: I really enjoyed teaching yesterday. I felt like "Mrs. Tenner" again. It was kind of exciting.) Also, if any of you Sunday School members happen to be reading this: thanks for not making fun of me for making handouts. At least I didn't give a pop quiz, right?! Anyhoo, I taught a lesson on worrying, and I thought I'd share two of my main points:

1. Worry replaced by Prayer = Trust. Read that a couple of times and let it sink in. Hard to do sometimes, honestly. But that's why it's called FAITH, right?

2. Scripture to remember: Matthew 6:27: Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? In other words, worrying is going to do you absolutely no good. (Unless, of course, you suspect your husband is having an affair with a stranger named Brenda...) Just kidding. :)

Here's to a great week, everyone!

Observations from the past week

2009-03-03T13:35:00.004-06:00

1. What end up being some of my favorite pictures of Abby are those that come completely by surprise. Take yesterday afternoon for example. I had my camera in the front yard to snap pics of Miss Abby as she pushed Pooh around in her stroller. I snapped, snapped away. They were OK pics, fairly generic. Nothing that screamed "Frame me and hang me on the wall!" But sometimes I surprise myself with what I happen to click. Here are two of my new favorite pics below:

I love this pic. I happened to catch Abby looking across the street (I think at our neighbor's black cat), and somehow got a perfect profile shot. Funny thing is, I didn't even have my camera up to my eye. I just held out the camera, clicked the button, and this is what I ended up with (thanks to a little editing, of course.)

Abby then insisted on going to our neighbors' house to say hi to them. Is it as obvious to you as it is to me that they're not at home?! I think she would have sat there all day if I would have let her.

2. I'm hoping our second child is as relaxed and content as our new nephew Clark. He still has yet to cry! Amazing! I've always heard that the second child is completely different from the first, so Jason and Emily may end up with a little hellion next time around!! So, enjoy little Clark now, guys! :)

Kissing cousins

3. I caught Abby getting into this whole Mardi Gras thing a bit too much.... It's cute when they're 21 months, but no so much when they're 21 years old, right? 4. I'm thinking about hiring out Abby as a maid. She does a spectacular job with the floors. I figure the extra income can't hurt, right? At least until we figure out where to buy those trees that money grows on...
5. Speaking of extra money, have you seen how much children's shoes cost?? We went to Stride Rite this morning (the Outlet, mind you), and the sandals I wanted for Abby were over $20. Call me crazy, but that's expensive. Or do I just need a reality check? I could get two pairs for the same price at good ol' Target. Gosh, I'm cheap. Ugh.

6. The Terrible Twos are beginning to grace our house. Have they visited yours yet? Abby's newest (and quite overused phrase, frankly) is "No, Mommy!" Sigh. Here's how a conversation might go at our house:

Abby, do you love me? No, Mommy. Abby, do you love Daddy? No, Mommy. Abby, is your name Abby? No, Mommy. Abby, does a cow say moo? No, Mommy. Abby, if you could eat ice cream all day, would you? No, Mommy. Abby, do I look fat in these jeans? No, Mommy. (Well, I guess it can't always be a bad thing to say, right??)

She soooo loves testing the waters. But the funny thing is, after she says "no, no, no" she can flip a switch and say, "I love you, Mommy" and proceed to give me a big hug and a kiss. It melts my heart. Here's hoping that the Terrible Twos go away before she actually turns two!! :)

Here she is with her Baboo (Uncle Chris). They have so much fun together!
7. I'm officially addicted to Girl Scout cookies. I ordered the Tagalongs, you know, the chocolate and peanut butter kind. It's like Heaven in a red box. And I think the box will be empty by sundown. :(

More Pics!

2009-02-26T14:10:00.009-06:00

I have a new favorite person in my life: my little nephew Clark. The instant I saw him in his mommy's arms last night, I loved him. It was as simple as that. I saw that little bundle of joy, that miracle created by God, and I was overcome with emotion. It's amazing how a teeny-tiny 7 pound, 6 ounce baby can make you cry like, well, a 7 pound, 6 ounce baby. :) Actually, Clark doesn't really cry. He's one of those babies. You know the kind: totally chilled, relaxed, patient. Just like his parents. And just the opposite of us. :) Flashes of the future rushed through my head as I looked at my nephew for the first time: soccer games, he and Abby running around in the backyard playing, birthdays, Math-Science meets (he is Jason's son, after all :) ), family trips to Longview, picnics, Clark and Abby stealing the keys to the car and going joyriding... oh the trouble the two of them will get into! I am overwhelmed with happiness when I think of what the next several years will bring to our families.

Aside from little Clark, my 2nd favorite person at the moment is Emily. If an award were given for Most Outstanding, Put-Together, Fearless Mama-To-Be, it would be Emily. Hands down. She was in the hospital 25 hours before he was born. Yes, people. That is not a typo. I don't know how she did it. She's just awesome. And I couldn't be happier for her and her newest member of the family. My "Sister Tenner" as I call her is now "Mother Tenner." To be able to experience the last nine months with Jason and Emily, and then to be there at the hospital when he was born was indescribable.

Truth is, I feel like I could write so much more--a novel's worth, but I'll spare you. :) So, I'll get to what you came to this blog to see anyway: pictures! Congratulations, Jason and Emily, on the most perfect little boy. I could not be any happier!

Here are some more pics from our visit today:

Absolutely precious Clark with his Nana EvelynThat is one happy Nana! Me with Little Clark! Me with "Just Call Me SuperMom" Emily :) This is one of my favorite pictures from last night, when Jason rushed into the waiting room, right before Emily was wheeled into surgery. Here is Jason pretending to be a surgeon--Dr. Jason!! (By the way, THANK YOU Jason for making us laugh all day yesterday. Clark is lucky to have such a humorous, compassionate, truly loving man as his father.) It's evident on Jason's face how head-over-heels in love he already is with his son. I saw it the minute Matt and I went into the recovery room. :)

Meeting him for the first time. I couldn't stop crying!
I would be remiss if I didn't include any pictures of my favorite little girl in the whole wide world, Miss Abby. This morning, she made the trek to the hospital to see Clark, but she didn't get too close. We didn't think it wise to have "I've-just-gotten-over-the-flu Roo" to kiss all over him. Just our luck, she would sneeze on him. Not pretty. So, she kept her distance. They will get a proper introduction in the next few days though.

Holding Nana and Papa's hands before heading to the hospital this morning

Abby with her favorite Papa!

This is, undoubtedly, my favorite picture of the two of them yet. Can you tell they love each other??

Jason took the most phenomenal photos yesterday, and I can't wait for y'all to see them. Mine totally pale in comparison to his.

By the way, do you ever feel blessed beyond belief?

Clark William

2009-02-25T23:46:00.004-06:00

Little Clark William made his entrance into the world earlier tonight, at 8:30 pm. He weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces, was 20.5 inches long, and is the most beautiful nephew God has ever created (yes, I am slightly biased!). We are so blessed that he arrived happy and healthy, and Jason, Emily, and their new son are doing fabulous! I will write more later, but for now, here are some quick pics.

Love,

Aunt Cathy :)

Woo-Hoo!!!

2009-02-24T17:59:00.002-06:00

I'm going to be an aunt tomorrow!!! Little Clark will make his entrance some time tomorrow. Emily's already checked into the hospital, and I cannot wait to meet my little nephew! Please keep Jason, Emily, and Clark in your prayers!

Six Reasons Today Is A Good Day

2009-02-24T13:45:00.007-06:00

Six Reasons today is a good day:

1. Abby is over the flu! Yea! Thanks to those of you who sent well wishes. They were much appreciated. I have discovered something over the past week: staying inside with a 21-month-old for five and a half days straight will lead you to drink. I'm just saying. The term "stay-at-home mom" is usually used loosely to describe my job. No, we don't "stay home" all day, every day. If we did, instead of going to church Bible Studies and Bunko get-togethers, stay-at-home moms would be going to AA meetings. :)
But staying inside for that long period of time creates the worst Cabin Fever. I think we have watched every Dora episode known to man at this point. Also, Abby has come to love Tico The Squirrel. She runs around the house yelling, "Tee-Cohhh" or "Tee-Tohhhh." I dont really mind that she's watched several episodes over the past week, but do you think it's bad that when I asked her what she wanted for breakfast the other day, she responded, "Me encantaría una torta, por favor"???? Just joshing. Thank goodness for good weather Sunday afternoon because we hit the park! We are officially back to the land of the living!

2. I rescued two lost dogs today. They ran up to me after I pulled into the garage earlier. Turns out they belong to the neighbors who live several houses down behind us. Millie and Winnie were not thrilled about having strange dogs in our backyard, and they let the dogs know it. I feel good about my rescue. I would hope someone would do the same for our dogs. Reminds me of the time my mom and I spotted a lost dog in our neighborhood, so we put it in our car, took it home, and called the number on its tag. Hours later, we reunited pup and owner. It was a glorious occasion. We were so proud of ourselves. Until we asked them where they lived (we were curious how far the dog had traveled.) They responded, "Oh, in that house down there." They pointed. It was the same house whose yard we had gotten the dog out of! Oops! We didn't let on to that point. No need confessing to a dognapping, right??

3. Abby has been in such a good mood today. Girlfriend was fussy yesterday. It was the kind of day where you just want to turn to your friend Jack. Jack Daniels, that is. I ate away my frustration with grilled burgers, greasy fries, greasy cheese sticks and more Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream than you can imagine! Yum!!

4. I bought Abby a new dress, shirt, me a pair of pants and a top for a grand total of $2.58. How so cheap, you ask? Gift cards! I love me some gift cards. I will admit that buying something new to wear makes me feel good, but having someone else pay for them makes me feel even better!

5. I am one day closer to the birth of my nephew, Clark. I call Emily every day (she can attest to that!) to get my update. His official due date is next Wednesday, the 4th, but I don't think he's got any more room to grow! She's been eating hot wings, walking, heck, she's probably doing jumping jacks as we speak, just to get this labor rolling. I am waiting for the phone call, and I am eagerly awaiting the birth of little Clark. I will keep y'all posted as soon as I know something, too.

6. I am also one day closer to LOST. Are any of you LOST fans? Holy cow. If you're not, go rent the DVDs, and start at season 1. It's an amazingly complex, thought-provoking show. Just like VH1's Rock Of Love Bus with Bret Michaels. Ha. Obviously joking. I can't wait to see what's in store tomorrow night. (**Spoiler warning in case you didn't watch last week--stop reading now!**) Do you think Ben indeed killed Penny and Desmond? Or do you think Desmond saved Penny from Ben?? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

7. I'm sure there are more, but I'm mentally empty at the moment. So, I'll leave you with some pics.

These are oldies, but I manipulated them in PhotoShop. I'm totally digging this effect.
Me and Soon-to-be Mama Tenner

Me with BFF Kathy

Hollywood Chic

Abby's BFF Ellie. The two will probably move to LA as soon as they turn 18!

Now some recent pics...

Abby with her favorite people, her grandparents.

Enjoy the beautiful weather, everyone! :)

You suck, Flu.

2009-02-18T13:13:00.006-06:00

Abby's got the flu. A cough started Sunday night, and in the middle of the night Monday night, she was burning up. I took her temp. 103. Not good. So, some Tylenol and lots and lots of rocking later, she was back to sleep. Yesterday, I couldn't keep her fever down. And after she woke up from her 3-hour nap, she was hotter than ever. So, I took her temp again. 105. No joke. I immediately called the nurses, and they told me to get in my car and drive. Could I make it to the Frisco office by 5 pm? I looked at my clock. 4:35. Um, I'll sure try! I think I hit every red light. Isn't that always the case though??

Poor Abby was so red and super lethargic on the car ride there and at the office. Luckily her fever had come down to 103.9 at the doctor's office, but still, that's pretty darn high! So, a horrific swab test and 10 minutes later, we had our results: The flu. More bad news. She's got Strain A which is completely resistant to all antibiotics. Super. And what really surprised me was that Abby got her flu shot back in November. But that only protected her against Strain B. Boy. I asked the doctor if I could have a refund for her flu shot. He chuckled. :)

So, she's supposed to be sick for the next four days or so, with a high fever. It's been around 102 today, but you know what the weird thing is? Quite a bit of the time, she acts like she's not even sick. The girl was dancing last night after we got home and cracking us up at dinner. Of course, some Motrin and food in the system always helps! But still. I had the flu as a sophomore in high school, and I remember missing four days of school. I was miserable. Fast forward to now. If I had a fever of 104, it would be Pity Party for One, please. I mean, seriously, I don't think I'd be dancing around, all happy. But that's what is great about kids: they are so resilient.

She helped me clean this morning (I got this crazy hankerin' (love that word, by the way) to clean our entire house.) I normally do this on Wednesdays because she's in Mother's Day Out, so I guess today was no exception. But I vacuumed and dusted every room in the house, and scrubbed down all of her toys this morning. Wow! Is that impressive or what? Abby enjoyed helping me vacuum and carry around cleaning supplies. She is the best helper. She also watched an episode of Dora, so she was in hog heaven!

But she's tired. And I'm tired too. Oh well. Life goes on. The worst part about all of this is the isolation and not knowing if Matt and I will get it. I got my flu shot, but I don't think it's going to help me in this case. We'll see. It's SOOOO hard staying inside for days on end. Target is missing me. But my wallet is thanking me. :) That's one aspect of being a parent that I've had a hard time acclimating to: when your child is sick, you are quarantined as well. On the bright side, I am in my pajama pants with no make-up on, so I guess that's a consolation, right?

That's what's going on on our end. Here's hoping Roo is fever free SOON so we can get to playing again!

On a side note--for all of you Idol fans out there--I was disappointed in American Idol last night. Were any of y'all? Every season, the contestant pick songs that "[they] just love....it's one of [their] favorite songs." Blah, blah, blah. Don't they know that picking songs they're in love with is the worst thing they can possibly do? Did you see the girl who sang the song by "The Police"? Dear God. Thank goodness for TiVo! Fast Forward! And is Tatiana on something? Here's my theory: In Hollywood, she played to the cameras. She thought being the drama queen would work for her. But she got flack for it, and now she's trying to act all cool, calm and collected. Bye-bye, Tatiana. Enjoy your plane ride back to Puerto Rico.

Later, folks.

This Blog is brought to you by the number 2...

2009-02-12T19:14:00.011-06:00

Here are a few things Abby does/says that totally crack me up these days:

1. Earlier tonight, she picked up one of Matt's Budweisers from the big recycling bin, handed it to me, and said, "Daddy's Juice." Never heard it put that way... Ha!

2. In typical Abby fashion, she was saying "hi" to people yesterday after we had her picture taken. Well, as we passed the big windows at Victoria's Secret, Abby said "hi" to all of the scantily-clad mannequins. A look of disappointment swept over her face after we passed the twelfth one, sad that none of them had said "hi" back to her.

3. I've been working with Abby on the colors yellow and blue. While I thought she got it there for a while, she seems to have regressed. According to her, all things are yellow. Abby, what color is the school bus? Yellow. Great! Abby, what color is the sun? Yellow. Genius! Abby, what color are your eyes? Yellow. Oh boy. Note to self: Skip one episode of Dora a day to work on colors...

4. She calls Millie "Mil" and Winnie "Dog." If I tell Abby to say hi to Millie, she responds, "Hi Mil." If I tell Abby to say hi to Winnie, she says, "Hi Dog." Poor Winnie. It's no fun being nameless. After all, I think my feelings would get hurt if the person I lived with always called to me, "Hey human, get me something to eat!" See my point?

5. Bob The Cat lives across the street from us, and whenever Abby sees him, she yells, "Hi Meow!" Too funny. And every Wednesday on the way to Mother's Day Out, we pass a black cow (yes, I live in Texas!), and she always says, "Hi Moo!.....Bye-Bye Moo!"

6. Just as she thinks all things are yellow, she also has become obsessed with the number 2. We saw two buses the other day, and I pointed out that there were two of them. "Two bus" she replied. Good! Except she kept saying "Two bus!" over and over and over again. We passed another bus--just one, mind you. "Two bus!" she exclaimed. As hard as I try to reason with her, she swears there are two of everything. How many airplanes? Two! How many cups? Two. Blankets? Two. How many twins? Ha. Just joking. I threw that in there to see if you were really paying attention. :) (Side note: I just realized that in order to impress our friends who come over, I'll have out two yellow blocks and I'll ask her how many there are and what color they are. They'll be floored! Genius! Oh, but that will just be our little secret, ok?) :)

There's more, but I'm tired. Happy Almost Friday, everyone!!

Wal-Mart Greatness

2009-02-11T10:45:00.004-06:00

I re-discovered Wal-Mart this morning. I say "re-discovered" because we used to shop there regularly when we lived close to it in Plano. Since we moved to Allen, I lost touch with my old pal and fell in love with Target. Don't get me wrong, I loooooooove me some Target. My debit card can atest to that. But I went in to Wal-Mart this morning after dropping off Abby at MDO, prepared to just look for a rug (Matt didn't care too much for my other one. Oh well.), and it was like walking into heaven. Well, "heaven" may be too strong of a word. The floors could use some polishing, and the lights could be dimmed a bit. Oh, and there was a bird flying around the store. But forget all those things; Wal-Mart rocks!

How fabulous is it that you can buy a gallon of paint, a tire for your car, a swimsuit, meat for Hamburger Helper, and a shirt for your child--all in one stop?? How American is that? Greatness. I only spent an hour in there, but I could have stayed until noon! Fabric, shampoo, Hannah Montana backpacks, deli meat, wine, lingerie, canned fruit...it's a wonderland of items.

And Wal-Mart attracts all kinds of people from all walks of life: I saw little old ladies sitting on the benches by the front door, a painter, a guy who could have passed for Jay-Z, firemen, moms, dads, a husband buying his wife a giant teddy bear (I swear I almost told him that grown women don't really want that for Valentine's, but I thought better of it), grandparents, kids, and I even had a conversation with a nice lady on the detergent aisle. We discussed forgetting our grocery lists at home. We bonded over visually remembering what we wrote down. And you know what else? I only heard two crying babies the entire time I was in there. And only one mom yelled at her kid. Based on my previous trips to Wal-Mart, I would say that's a new record.

I bought a Diaper Genie refill for 5 bucks. That's cheap. Chips for less than 2 bucks. Amazing. I bought a picture frame for 3 dollars. Holy cow! And I bought Abby a shirt for $3.50. The clothes were super cute and super cheap. Hello, my name is Cathy, and I am frugal. :)

Don't worry, Target: I am not leaving you. You either, Kroger. But every once in a while, I may have to make a trip down to Plano to good ol' Wal-Mart. I think my wallet will thank me for it. :)

Random Thoughts

2009-02-09T13:23:00.006-06:00

1. Abby has fallen in love with Cheerios. Morning, noon, and night she can be caught by the pantry door, pointing, saying, "Mommy, O's!! Mommy, Ooooooooo's!!!" For those of you who know me well, you know that I despise Cheerios. I always have. They make me sick to my stomach. I was hoping that Abby would just be UNlike every other toddler I know and hate Cheerios as well. Not gonna happen. Oh well. I'll just grin and bear it. I think I feel my stomach churning already...

2. I'm so thrilled about my nephew's upcoming arrival. Clark's not expected until March 4, but we're thinking he'll come before then. Emily and Jason deserve an award. Married in October, pregnant in June, and then they just bought their first house two weeks ago and are already pretty much compltely moved in. Wow! They've tackled a lot lately!

3. My mom has bronchitis. That is no fun. Get better soon, BeBe!

4. I bought a rug for our entryway, and it makes me oh-so-happy. Is that bad that a rug should make me feel so good?

5. Abby woke up at 6:30 both Saturday and Sunday mornings. Ugh. I wish kids understood the concept of a "weekend," right?

6. Abby and her BFF Ellie had the best time playing together last night. I took a video of them chasing one another, but I'm having technical difficulties, so hopefully I can post that soon.

7. I think Abby is part monkey. She has begun to climb on furniture. But she doesn't like bananas, so that may throw out my theory...

8. Like Cheerios, I despide folding laundry. There are two loads of laundry that need folding and putting up, and I am procrastinating. If I could hire a lady to come and fold my laundry, I would. Wow. I realize I sound really lazy.

9. Abby has started to string words together pretty nicely. She also loves to shout, "Go, Dog. Go!" It's one of my personal favorite children's books. The Dog Party at the very end is totally awesome.

10. Abby has an unnatural love for all things starch. She gets that from me. Guilty. If I would let her, she would eat bread (she calls it "B") chips, crackers ("CaCas"), and Cheerios all day long.

11. I have nothing more. Oh, I have some pics to post. Here you go:

Sunglass diva We played outside yesterday with the sidewalk chalk.
Too cute

Watching an airplaneThis is one of my favorite pictures ever. A group of kids had just walked past us on the sidewalk, and I caught the moment she was saying, "Bye-Bye!" to them, waving her hand and all. This picture, to me, is totally Abby. Riding in the shopping cart. What else would you do with it?!A black and white I love.
Hugging Pooh
Sad Face!
Excited face!

So Much Alike

2009-02-04T12:29:00.006-06:00

This week I came to the realization that my daughter is exactly like me. Subtract about 32 inches, lighten the hair, change the name, and you’ve got a little Cathy. Jason, my brother-in-law said to me this past week, “You know, Abby looks just like Matt but she acts just like Cathy.” I smiled. She is charming. She does have a smile that lights up a room. She does have the most infectious laugh. But she also is very demanding. She is quite bossy and likes things done HER way, thank-you-very-much. And not to mention that she can pitch the most Oscar-worthy fit if something doesn’t go quite like she wants it to. Hmmm. What did Jason mean exactly?

I know my brother would certainly agree with his assessment. Growing up, I was annoying. I admit it. Sure, Chris and I honestly were best buds during childhood—and still are, I’m proud to say—but I was the stereotypical “little sister.” I’d run off, screaming to Mom and Dad the instant Chris did something to me, even though it was 100% provoked. Sorry Chris. :) I know I was—and still am—a challenging person to live with. I certainly have my flaws. I like things done a certain way. I’ll admit it. The bed pillows go in a certain order. Toilet paper rolls are placed so the toilet paper goes over and not under. The flower on the guest bathroom towel should be placed out, not in. Yada yada yada. You get the picture. I don’t think I’m OCD, but as I type this, I feel like maybe I should look in the Yellow Pages for a therapist. Yikes.

The scary thing is, I’ve started to notice Abby is just like me in this regards. When she sits on her little potty, Mommy MUST sit next to her on the knee rest for the bath tub. “Mommy, Mommy,” she says to me, as she points to my assigned seat. Doors and drawers must be closed, the stair gate clicked into place, and all “yuckies” thrown away before she is content. “Mommy, Mommy,” she says, pointing to the pantry door that’s ajar. I close it. And she continues to play. She likes things tidy like her mama. Every time we pass the construction near our exit on 75, she points at the piles of dirt and bulldozers and says, “Eeeew, Mommy. Eeeew!” from the back seat. That’s right, honey. Something is out of place. You get that neurotic gene from your mother. So sorry dear.

She is also very emotional like her mother. I come by it naturally. I am overly emotional like my mom, yet I am super sarcastic and witty like my father. That can sometimes be a deadly combination. As I continue to type, I realize that Matt should win some award for having put up with me for the past 10 ½ years. Maybe I’ll wear some of that sexy lingerie I got for my bachelorette party years ago. Eh, who am I kidding? I’ll just stick to my gray pajamas. But a huge kudos to you, babe, if you’re reading this! Ha! :)

Yesterday, when I wouldn’t let Abby ride her Pooh Tricycle because she refused to buckle the safety harness, she pitched the fit of all fits. I’m talking ear-shattering, people. I think all of Brookside subdivision heard her. For a minute, I was afraid that the Air Duct Cleaning man two houses down was going to call the police in fear a little one-year-old was being abducted by a stark-raving lunatic woman. I felt for her. I really did. She loves Pooh. And she loves that tricycle. But she had to be safe. And that’s what my job as her mother is, right? To protect her, no matter how much she might dislike me for it? So, the tears flowed—forever, it seemed. She did not like her Mommy. It reminded me so much of a night with my mom about 12 years ago.

My friends and I were planning on going to the lake “just to hang out,” I told my mom from the parking lot of a gas station, as we fueled up before we hit the road. Right. Like anyone goes to the lake to hang out. Of course parents were going to be there, Mom. Lie number 2. My mom tells me I can’t go. She doesn’t think it’s “safe,” not a good idea. I hung up. I was mad. Fuming mad. Your mom won’t let you go? my friends asked. Oh, she’s so lame, I thought. A few minutes later, her car rolled into the lot. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment. Funny, looking back, I’m fairly certain none of my friends would have any recollection of the event, of my mom “ruining my life.”

When I got into the car , I slammed the door and began laying into her. On that car ride home, I’ll never forget what I said to her: I hate you. Yeah, I said that. And it pains me still to this day to even type that. I said that to my own mother. My mom. Bettye. For those of you who know her, you know that it’s humanly impossible to hate her. Even Satan would have something nice to say about my mom. As soon as I said those words, I regretted them. Mainly because I knew that I had lied for a third time. I didn’t hate my mom. I hated the fact that she was right. Ooooh, and no 16-year-old kid likes that. Tears streamed down her face the car ride home. I spouted off how my social life was over and how I never get to do anything fun. Yada, yada, yada. She just sat there in silence. When we got home, I ran to my room and slammed my door shut. I still remember that. I was fuming. I wanted to be with my friends. Not in my house, under my parents’ “stupid” rules.

But you know what? My mom did exactly what every mom should have done. Protect me. She knew it wasn’t smart for her 16-year-old daughter to go to the lake and party with her friends. Bad decisions would be made, and she knew it. She also knew that I wouldn't like her decision. And that's what I find incredible about my mom. She so easily could have complied like so many other parents, knowing in her head that she shouldn't let me go. But she didn't. The thing I respect about my mom—and I can say this now, now that I’m older and wiser—is that she didn’t turn a blind eye. She was cautious. In our family, we call her Cautious Bettye. Matt would certainly call me Cautious Cathy. I realize that having “Cautious Bettye” as a parent when you’re a teenager is not necessarily the best thing. But as a 28-year-old mom myself, I am so grateful to her for being the parent that she was. She really molded me into the woman—and mother—I am today. I mean, how could she not? Only a strong, devoted, loving mom can bear the brunt of her daughter's harsh, painful, stinging words and then turn around the next day and give her a hug and tell her she still loves her.

Work with me here, folks, but Abby not wanting to buckle her safety harness yesterday was a lot like me not wanting to heed my common sense. (Although do 16-year-olds have common sense anyway??) As much as it hurt Abby not to ride that trike, I wasn’t going to let her get hurt. Sure, many tears were shed. Snot bubbles were blown. Air was gasped. It was all overly dramatic. But the same can be said with that naïve, immature 16-year-old driving with her mom away from that gas station. I got over it. My mom and I talked, I apologized, and we forgave and forgot. And Abby got over it. We're back to being buds again. But as we all know, it doesn’t stop there. Oh boy, does it not stop there...

This morning, I turned away for 30 seconds to put on my tennis shoes, and when I turned around, Abby was standing—yes, standing—on our glass coffee table. Oh my goodness. Abby insists on hand-feeding Millie and Winnie, and she takes their bowl and drops pieces of Kibbles N Bits all over the house. Sometimes she even likes to sample their food for them. Oh my. Yesterday, she decided to see what a dime tasted like. Good grief. After her nap a couple of days ago, she emptied my entire box of tampons in the bathtub, climbed into the bathtub and proceeded to turn on the water, drenching herself. Did I mention that she somehow managed to take a picture on my cell phone yesterday? Oy.

But you know what else she did? She gave me the biggest hug this morning, put her head on my shoulder, and gave me love pats on my back as we walked down the stairs. She and I held hands and danced like fools to music in the living room. She says, “Hi Mommy” in the cutest way that it makes my heart melt. She giggles uncontrollably when I tickle her thighs. She has pretend phone conversations with her BFF Ellie and she makes these adorable faces as though she thinks she is actually talking to her. She talks non-stop about her grandparents. She is absolutely obsessed with the four of them. She truly has a heart of gold.

Will there be bumps and bruises? Oh yeah. Will she pitch more fits and make scenes worthy of Oscar gold? You betcha. Will she ever do something to disappoint me? Obviously. Will I turn a blind eye to her bad decisions? Absolutely not. And that’s what separates a parent from a good parent. Will I be there for her to help mold her in the best decision-making possible? Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Will I drive across town to pick her up at a gas station if I think she should come home? You got it. Although I might have to fight Matt for the car keys!

Jason was right. Abby sure does look like Matt when he was little. Sometimes it’s uncanny to me how similar they look. But when she smiles, her eyes look just like mine. And eyes can be telling. I see so much of me in those eyes, and for that, I am forever grateful. :)

Impromptu Photo Shoot

2009-02-03T14:18:00.006-06:00

I had an impromptu photo shoot in our bathroom yesterday afternoon. Abby's too-cute tu-tu. Good lighting. Sheet thrown over shower as backdrop. Child on stool. Voila!! Impromptu photo shoot. Enjoy.

After a few minutes, Abby was getting tired of sitting for pictures. So, I zoomed out and snapped this.
I guess this photographer's giving away her secrets! But, it was just too cute not to send out! :)