An Instant Fav

I'm guessing that Abby is feeling much better these days since her appetite is back. And I think it is safe to say that tonight's dinner was a success:








She devoured three bowls of spaghetti and 1 1/2 pieces of bread and butter before calling it quits! Good work Abby!!

Always a Good Time

Abby always has a good time while at Gramps and Grandma D's but this might be the best so far:









But I'm not sure she was the only one having fun...







Thanks for keeping her entertained while we were gone!!!

A Little Time for Us

I love my life. I have the perfect husband and daughter, a wonderful family, we are all in good health, I have a decent job and MJ starts a long term sub job on Monday, the list goes on and on. But, Mommy and Daddy needed a little get away...

Friday:
So I'm writing this with a margarita by my side, a little Kenny jamming on the iPod, basking in the warm sun of Mexico with this for a view:




I must say that I'm really loving life right now!! The only thing that is missing is Abby, but I know that she is in great hands and is having a blast at Gramps and Grandma D's :)


We stayed there most of the afternoon sipping on drinks,

(this one was for Marisa)


laughing at our own jokes, taking in all the "sights"








and squeezed in a little oceanside walk too. We had a very close call with a very large gator...





Saturday
Happy to report that Saturday was much of the same :) We woke at about seven, called Abby to say hello and that we love her, ate a yummy breakfast and then headed to the beach! Since arriving at the beach I have managed to read 100 pages, apply some more SPF55 (hey, I burn easily) and just relax.

Here is the view for today:



We decided to change it up a bit and went parasailing! I laughed as we were shuttled to the boat via jetski--it was a bumpy and fast ride. We climbed aboard the boat and watched a mom and son take their turn. They seemed a little nervous as the ascended but I didn't know why--that is until it was our turn!! It was a lot of fun (and a little scary too) to float above the blue waters hanging by a nylon dome and braided strings...

We didn't take our phones for fear of getting them wet (which turned out to be a good thing since we were soaked by the end of the our shuttle to the boat) but here are pics of someone else:


Away they go!!



Next we went searching for our old friend Rosie but were unable to find her :( We did have a drink in honor of our last trip here for Nick and Shayla's wedding...







Next was lunch and swimming in the pool (after a quick call to the Abster)! We had to take full advantage of all the amenities, including the swim up bar :)

After turning to little prunes and resting a bit pool side we hit the beach for another walk








Michael found me a castle to live in, though I thought it could use a little work:



We were amused by all the "ohhh, take a picture of me like this" people and Michael gave me a few poses of his own:









This one was my fav:



It's amazing just how funny you become when you don't have any other distractions (or friends to talk to)...

Before heading in for a snack I braved a dip in the ocean, by myself:







Ahhhhh, nice and refreshing!! It was much warmer than I thought it would be but I guess that is because I waited until later in the day when the air was cool. Good thinking Keliann, good thinking!

After our snack it was time for another dip in the pool before getting ready for our Brazilian dinner.

We ended our day stuffed, burnt and happy!

Sunday
The end of our trip came too soon but I was determined to squeeze the day for all it was worth! Let's start by saying that the alarm went off at six this morning :)

We packed up most our stuff then headed to the beach for a "City of Angels" moment and a little walk. I wish we would have done this every morning but then we would have missed sleeping in. Hummmmm, we made the right decision!






Then we took one last dip in the pool:







Finished pack, ate a yummy breakfast, got some pics of the local wildlife:






(i didn't get a pic of the roadrunner (it was too fast) or the racoon-cat-squrril like thing. Abby would have like that one too. Next time!)

did some shopping for Abby





and jumped on the bus to the airport.

We are sad to see the fun end but sure are ready to see our Abby!

Update: we are chilling in Charlotte NC as our plane has been delayed. We had dinner and desert then rocked our cares away as we listened to a nice gentleman play the piano! What a nice way to pass the time :)

We just got to our gate and they are asking for volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for free flights. So tempting....

Breathe

Just a litter reminder to myself (and those of you who need it too) that it is ok to take an occasional break to BREATHE...

April Already...

Where is the time going??? I always have the best of intentions to post on a more regular basis, then life happens! Super quick update as I am getting to the end of my night and still need to pay some bills, feed the cats, put a load of clothes into the dryer but I can hear Abby starting to cough.... And that leads me to my update: Abby has yet another ear infection!!! UGGGGHHH! I am always amazed at how wonderful she is, happy, playful, loving, until that 102.5 fever hits (and as always it is in the middle of the night--go figure)! Then it is all down hill from there! Bless her little heart! It was Thursday night when the latest fever hit and I knew right away that it was an ear infection (she had asked me to itch her ear earlier that day but I didn't think anything of it until then). So off to the Dr. we went. I can't say that I was happy to hear that she would need to go on an antibiotic (yeah, he said it was pretty bad) other than the last time the other Dr. over wrote her Rx (2 bottles instead of 1) and I still had a full round left. Other than having what I needed on hand, this is poopy! Little Peanut has been a bit clingy on both Friday and today, though Saturday was great--go figure! I just hope this works itself out soon because Mommy and Daddy are going for a little get-away soon....

Treats and Such

After dinner Abby and I were building trees with her blocks but she thought I said "treats" and that was the end of that! So into the freezer I went and out came a fudgesicle:

She quickly lost interest in the good part:

In other news, Abby's vocabulary is growing leaps and bounds...so much so that I'm finding it hard to keep up! She was in the tub the other day when I mentioned calling Grandmama and she repeated "grandma" clear ad day! I had no ideas she could say that. I assume the talk about Grandma and Grandpa at school on a regular basis.

Some of her other words in include: nature, mittens, jacket, Uncle Mark, and all her school friend's names (she is really food at "Sue" and "Ozzy"). I wish I had do e better at keeping a list of her words as she learned them... Sorry Abby!

Top of the Mornin'

Happy St. Patty's day from us to you!

Abby is in her St. Patty's shirt

I'm wearing fun St. Patty's socks

And MJ has on a green tie...how are you celebrating today?

Art, Family and Yummy!

Here is a weekend update, short and sweet:

I think that I forgot to post about Abby getting her top left front tooth a week or so ago...ooops!!

Abby brought home her first work of art from school on Friday (which is proudly hanging on the fridge)...



Just incase you can't tell it is a footprint snowman. LOVE it!!!

I found out the hard was that Bra World by Oakland Mall no longer exists...Ugggghh!

I decide that i can't take much more of the winter-blahs without saying/doing something that I'll regret. So to the tanning bed I went :) Boy how I have missed you tanning bed! Keep you lectures to yourselves please--I know the risks and have decided that this is the only way to make it (and I am lecturing myself as I drive to and from said appointments).

We had a great visit with Uncle Tom and Aunt Amanda yesterday. Lots of playing, dancing and laughing.

Pics to come...

And we finished our weekend with a busy Sunday full of conducting singers at church, dinner with Nana and Papa, and Abby's first trip to Coldstone...







She refused to eat it until I gave her her own spoon and then she was unstoppable!! She was double-fisting with a Timbit, so cute!!

And that was it (well now I'm off to do some grocery shopping...)! Hope you had a great weekend!

Good and Stubborn

Abby had another great day at daycare, which I love!! I was able to sneak in and watch her play for a few minutes which was a pleasure. I always wonder what she does while there so it was nice to see her in action. She was over by the jumpers playing with the toys attached, pushing, turning and clicking away. Then she saw me and started to cry. What is that about?? I told her that she was fine and that seemed to fix it. Then she came running to me with a huge smile on her face. That warmed my heart and was just what I needed after a frustrating day at work. I swooped her up and then she started tickling me. Abby LOVES to tickle...yesterday the ladies at daycare told me how she spent the afternoon tickling baby Abby who thought it was the funniest thing in the world and let them know by belly laughing the whole time!

And now here we are, minute 42 of Abby crying "Momma, momma, momma" from her crib. This little girl is persistent and stubborn just like her Mommy! I don't know that I'd call it crying so much as whining. All she wants is for me to come and rock her (or to sleep in my bed...), which part of me would love to do for her but the realistic part of me keeps telling me that this has to stop (and sometime soon). I know that she will only be tiny for a short time and little ones need lots of extra love, but since she has been sick lately we have gotten into the bad habit of rocking her when she wakes. Oh how I long for the day of sleeping through the night again! Maybe in ten years that will happen on a regular basis.......

Spring Please Hurry

Hello! I know that I have been neglecting the blog since returning to work...I'm still trying to find a groove/motivation to get it all done without much success. I will get there, I will get there. Here are a few updates:

Well, we are all still sick! It seems like every time we think we are getting over this chest cold, two days later we wind up with a cough again! Both MJ and Abby have been on antibiotics with no luck so it seems that we just have to wait for May and the warm weather to get here.

Abby has had a better two day at daycare after a rough two weeks. A double ear infection, cold, crazy hives and teething will do that to a one year old! When I picked her up today the new girl raved about how great she was today. I pursued to tell her that this is more our "normal" Abby over the supercranky Abby that has been around for a few weeks. I'm not too sure she believed me...

We had Abby's 18 month check up last week and her stats read like this: 10% for weight (17 lbs 11 oz), 25% for height (29") and 50% for head (18.4"). She truly is a Peanut--but has come a long way from the little 7 lbs, 20 inch newborn that came into this world a year and a half ago! I think she might be hitting a growth spurt, that or she is making up for the lack of appetite these last few weeks. When I put her on the scale this evening and she is up to 19 lbs 2 oz! On the right track...

In more Abby news, she is cutting her 5th tooth! This time it is the top-front-left tooth. I'm so nervous about this one because I know that these will change her looks forever and I'm just so used to my little Abby just the way she is.

MJ is enjoying his student teaching. I can't believe that he has less than five weeks to go and then he will certified!!! Wow, the last two years have gone by so fast and have been filled with change. All of it great though, just perfect!

As for me, work is...um...well....hummm. I guess the jury is still out. On one hand it is nice to get out of the house but on the other I'm struggling with the everyday tasks (cooking, cleaning, working out (oh wait, I've always struggled with that one) feeling like I get enough time in with Abby (and MJ), I'm sure you know the rest of the list). I just keep telling myself that I will adjust to my new normal in time.