A Natural

I think

she is

a natural

ballerina!

If you can't figure it out from the pictures, Abby Grace had her first day of ballet today. Much to our disappointment, though, we showed up at her class only to learn that not enough children had signed up and that the class didn't make. Abby was sad, but I almost cried. I even had to come home and drink a Coke!

Abby is lucky though; she has a mama that won't accept no for an answer and with the help of another mama in her potential class, is working on a plan.

Cautiously Fearless

Since I'm in denial of summer being over (and technically it isn't since we haven't had Labor Day yet), I thought you might enjoy a quick update of Abby's swimming progress this summer. In a nutshell, the child is cautiously fearless when it comes to water. She can jump in holding no hands, go under, pick up rings off the bottom of the pool (sometimes with her feet), kick, and sort of doggy paddle as long as we pull her back up to the surface every couple of strokes. Interpretation: she knows just enough to drown. Plan: watch her like a hawk when near water and enroll her in swimming lessons next summer.

Still Loves It

Other than the fact that I think this picture is sweet beyond words, I have no other reason for posting except that...

Abby Grace still loves her new class and teachers and is doing so well in her new environment. Not that she wasn't previously doing well, but class changes can be stressful for her.

Yesterday, when I picked Abby up, Mrs. Askins was waiting for me in the office (uh oh), but as soon as I saw her face I knew she was bursting at the seams to tell me something. She and Ms. Lee had apparently been working with Abby to say "I like," or "I want," as opposed to "Me like" or "Me want." And it worked! When Abby was finished with her lunch yesterday, she got Mrs. Askins's attention and told her, "I ate." YAY! Abby's speech teacher was equally thrilled in that she can continue to work on pronunciation and leave the syntax part to somebody else. :)

They also reported that Abby and her "best friend" Hadley could be found together a big portion of the day. They were even holding hands on the playground. How sweet is that?

Finally, today, Abby even had to go find Mrs. Askins to say good-bye and told her, "I love you."

Isn't it wonderful when things are going well in your child's life?!?!

Fantastic First Day

I would like to say that Abby was really as enthusiastic about her first day back at school as this picture portrays, but it would be false information. She was, though, happy to go back this morning and from all reports, had a fantastic day.


A few highlights of the day according to Abby:
1. Abby's friends, Hadley and Nix, are in her class again. (Abby's favorite part)
2. Line time is in a circle, not in rows.
3. The water is up high.
4. She got to drink milk at breakfast AND at lunch!


A few highlights from her sweet teachers:
1. Abby surprised them by standing in front of the class, singing a song, and dancing.
2. When asked if she preferred Abby or Abby Grace, she adamantly exclaimed, "A-bee." I had to explain that she has recently learned to say her name correctly and that she was probably just making sure they knew that it has a B sound at the end. If you can't tell from the blog, we call her both so either is actually fine with me.
3. Abby loved being a helper today.


I hope your children (if you have them) also had good first days back at school and that days 2, 3, 4, and 5 are equally as smooth.

Sayonara Summer

Tomorrow is the day where children across Texas say sayonara to summer. Around 7:30 in the morning, that big yellow school bus will arrive and children will excitedly load for another year full of adventures and learning. Tomorrow is no different around our house...well, except that sweet Abby had to go to school all summer this year (except for the last 2 weeks) and that, thank goodness, she is not riding a school bus yet. Actually, I seriously doubt Abby will ever ride a bus to school...but...I digress. I have Abby's first day of school outfit perfectly layed out on her dresser, her lunch is essentially packed, and her backpack and napmat are beside the door. More importantly, I think she is excited. We went on Friday to meet her new teachers, Ms. Askins and Ms. Lee. They have their room decorated in frogs and have a lot of new toys on the shelves just waiting to be played with. Abby remained pretty shy and clingy through most of the visit but warmed up some when they showed her how she'll get to bathe a baby. So...we'll see.

Oh, and if you have two seconds, please say a quick prayer for all of the kiddos, parents, and teachers starting school tomorrow. It is a big day for everybody in so many ways!

Gone Fishin'

Last week, Gran and Pop took Abby Grace fishing...but I should probably define fishing. Abby's fishing attention span consists of about 10 minutes, and she doesn't like for the plastic purple fish that came on her Dora pole to be removed; she just wants to catch it over and over again. So upon my suggestion, they did not venture very far for the fishing excursion this year. They just drove across town to a park that just so happens to have a tank that is maybe or maybe not stocked. I just knew we had previously seen sporadic fishermen (or not) fishing (or not) there before.

Sunscreen, check. Naked Baby, check. Fishing hat, check. Let's go!

Race you to the fishin' hole...

Okay, so the story gets better. Apparently, none of the Wal-Marts in Amarillo sell fishing worms, and really, why should they? The nearest lake is 40 miles away. Considering this small glitch and the questionable existence of fish to begin with, they were left to fish with cheddar cheese as bait.
I told you Abby's fishing attention span is short these days. Who am I kidding? Her attention span is short in all areas these days. You will notice that she has on jeans in the beginning pictures (she is apparently trying to kill herself this summer by wearing jeans when it is 95 degrees outside) and shorts in the latter pictures. Within minutes of arriving at the "lake" Abby bogged down and fell in the mud, leaving her jeans near unsalvagable.


All of this being told, guess who actually caught a fish? No, not Abby Grace. Remember, she only wants to catch her pretend fish. Yes, Pop caught a catfish...but there was only time (or maybe only enough fish) for one; Abby got hungry and needed to go across the street to eat lunch at Chick-Fil-A.

Bouncing and Pouncing

We spent the afternoon

bouncing

and pouncing,

chasing

and

lazing.

No Boys Allowed

Remember the days of putting "No Boys Allowed" signs on your bedroom door or clubhouse? This afternoon, Abby and Sassy were apparently having an argument because Abby didn't have enough space to dance if Sassy was also in her bedroom. So, this is the sign Abby hung on her door, "No Dogs Allowed!"

4 Days in the Life of Abby Grace

It is always such fun for Jeremy and I to read what Abby has been up to at "school" each day, so I am going to share some of the daily notes that she has received over the last couple of months. Don't worry, I'll spare you her potty activities. :)

5/26/09: Abby Grace had a good day. She worked with new dress up clothes, art table, insect box, new puzzles. Special activity of the day: the color white / book. Snacks: pretzels and chips. Ate most of her lunch. Napped from 11:55-1:40.

7/8/09: Abby Grace had a good day. Asked alot of questions and was very talkative today. Special activity of the day: matching, wet & dry. Snacks: Chex Mix and yogurt. Ate most of her lunch. Napped from 12:00-1:43.

7/10/09: Abby Grace had a good morning. She is such a good helper. Special activity of the day: beach. Snacks: oatmeal cookies and goldfish. Ate most of her lunch. Napped from 12:00-??.

7/16/09: Abby Grace had a good day. She worked with play dough, art table, bead sorting, coins/purse, and new books. Special activity of the day: necklace. Snacks: Cheez Its and cereal. Ate all of her lunch. Napped from 12:25-1:55.

And there you have it.

Scrumptious Snout

One of my favorite times of the day right now is that early morning snuggle time with my sweet little girl. It actually comes after I am already dressed, have lunches packed, and everything beside the door and ready to go for the day. But 7:00 is when I wake Abby Grace up each morning and we have gotten into the cherished habit of rocking for "5 minutes" before she has to get dressed so we'll still have "5 minutes of play" before we leave for school. Hey, I can't help it; I thrive on routine.

To the point, remember Abby Grace asking who made her a couple of days ago? Well, she asked again yesterday morning during our snuggle time. There was nothing particularly different about the conversation except that I threw in that God took care of the tiny details, like her cute little nose.

Abby Grace has to have the most scrumptious little snout that ever existed. Something about it makes me want to kiss it to pieces. So while you will look at this picture and think it looks just like any other kid's nose, I must beg to differ. It is just the perfect size and shape for her face; I adore the way she crinkles it when she is thinking, and it has the most peculiar near-white line across the top of it (don't ask--we don't know). Did I mention I just want to eat it up?

Thank you God for giving our little girl such a scrumptious snout.

Who Made Me?

While riding in the car today (because all good conversations arise while in the car), Abby and I had the following conversation.

"Mama, who made me?"

Really, I know she is inquisitive but are 3 year olds supposed to ask such complex questions?

"Well, you are a perfect combination between your daddy and me. It is kind of like you are half Mama and half Daddy. But God is who really decided exactly who you would be."

Complex questions deserve complex answers.

"Okay, God made me. Who made you? Who made Daddy? Who made Sassy? Who made that hop over there (random jack rabbit)? Who made that house?"

All of which I answered about the same way until we got to the house question. Then I had to throw genetics, biology, and God out the window.