Lil' Aggie

For those of you that track Abby's blog on a regular basis, you know that we have a friendly (sort of) household rivalry between A&M and Tech. And you may also note there have been numerous occasions that Abby has been dressed in Tech clothes. So last Saturday in honor of the A&M vs Tech game (too bad it didn't work), I made a special point to dress Abby Grace in her A&M T-shirt and take her picture. If you look carefully, you can also see that she is doing "Gig 'em," but I must admit that I had to work hard to get her to adjust her fingers from her standard "Guns Up" pose. Oh, and for the Tech fans that read this, you will also be happy to know that she somehow thinks that every football game we attend, consisting solely of high school football, is a "Go Red Raiders" game. What is an Aggie to do? I guess just smile and know that her true colors will eventually prevail...and start singing, "Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck..." at least three times a day!!!

Pumpkin Patch in a Parking Lot

Okay, so you would think that because we live so close (relatively speaking) to Floydada or that because there is a real pumpkin patch not too far from our house, that we would go there for pictures...but that would be too easy, right? Instead, we visited the parking lot pumpkin patch. Abby Grace LOVES pumpkins, and it makes me proud that she loves them all the same...big ones, little ones, fat ones, skinny ones, smooth ones, bumpy ones, pretty ones, ugly ones. And of course, that is solely because Jeremy and I are such good parents; it has nothing to do with the fact that she just happens to think they are neat. So which one did Abby pick out? She currently has 4 tiny pumpkins, 2 small pumpkins, and one Jack-o-Lantern size pumpkin, all orange and smooth. But I imagine we'll slam on our brakes, leaving the surrounding cars to wonder what is so exciting about that parking lot pumpkin patch, at least one more time before Halloween. Little do they know, I have a 2 year old in the backseat, yelling, "Pumpkins, Mama, Pumpkins!!!"

Camping in a Tent

4-Wheelin' (staged picture!!)
Daddies and Kids
Thanks Jackson for taking me for a spin!

So for Jeremy's birthday, he wanted to go camping (in a tent). Abby Grace was naturally excited beyond belief about the prospect. And I, well I seriously considered staying home. But as it turns out, Abby wanted me to go too, so off we went. And other than the fact that my car dangerously overheated on the way and that we didn't get there with the air mattress pump and that I drowned Jeremy's cell phone, we had a great time! We camped near Lake Meredith beside the Canadian River's dried up bed. A few of the other coaches and their sons also joined us (wives were out of town or conveniently busy) but Abby and I did just fine being the only girls. In fact, she had a blast hanging out with the boys...I know, scary thought. They even dug a huge and deep trench which they covered with dead grass to "protect Abby from intruders." It was quite the booby trap and I was extremely careful not to go behind our tent after it was dark for fear that I would fall in. And sleeping on the ground wasn't such a bad experience either, however I was very pleased to return to my comfy bed the following night. So the question is, "Will Laura Kate go camping (in a tent) again?" "Probably...just not tomorrow."

Funny Pictures

So Abby Grace is pretty entertaining these days. This first picture is her trying to be like her Daddy by wearing a hat (he NEVER wears his backwards though) and sunglasses. The second happened the other morning after I had put on knee high hose to wear to my rotation. She was so proud to also be dressed in knee highs!

In other Abby news, school is going much better. She no longer cries and actually seems to be enjoying her class. For the last two weeks, there have been baby chicks beside her classroom that she visits each morning. And other than the fact that they get a little stinky at times, they really are pretty cute.

A couple of days ago, she reported through demonstrating that she has mastered the art of walking backwards and sideways. When I asked her where she learned it, she told me, "at school." Abby is also starting to grasp her colors and parts of the alphabet. For instance, if she is eating M&M's and I tell her to show me an orange one, she can do it. Oh, and have I mentioned that she knows her left from right? I will take personal credit for that accomplishment because when we walk Sassy, Sassy likes for the leash to be held in the right hand. I should also mention that Abby does not miss anything. This week, after the whole car overheating incident last weekend, she has pretended the whole scenario over and over again...complete with her car getting hot and not working, calling her daddy on her cell phone, writing instructions down on paper (not on how to fix the car but how to get to the campsite once we switched cars), etc. It is such fun to watch her! Finally, I'd like to report that Abby is continuing to make progress verbally. One of her favorite things to say is, "My no like that," and that refers to just about anything on any given day. One day she refuses to even look at a carrot and the next day she will eat 5.

Sorry for the lengthy update, but a mom has to share!!