Park Pics

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

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 :)

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Our Weekend

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.