Where are you from?

Some of you may have noticed that I recently added a counter to my blog. I was previously quite sure that I was doing this solely for grandparents and a couple of friends, not to mention that it looks more and more by each passing day that this will be Abby's only form of a scrapbook. You have surprised me though; the blog gets about 15-20 hits each day. So now my curiousity continues...

If you read this post, I would love for you to leave a comment...just saying you are reading. I promise not to stalk you; I'm just curious as to who these 15-20 hits are. IP addresses only get me as far as that...an IP address. There is probably some way out there to track people down by their IP address but I'm not that computer savvy and honestly have no desire to be that computer savvy. I would rather play with Abby Grace!

Thanks in advance for humoring me!!

Blizzard (not from Dairy Queen)

What kind of a mother sends her daughter out to play in a blizzard? Not me, I would never do such a thing. No way!

I have taken 72 pictures in about 36 hours and just could not pick the best ones for this post, so you are getting to view half of them in a slideshow this time. I believe I mentioned in my last post that we were supposed to have snow on Friday; we did...at least 10 inches of the white, fluffy stuff with one particular drift across the street measuring at least 5 1/2 feet. (No, I have never seen such a snow drift in Texas before!) The picture with the yardstick was actually taken just outside our front door very early this morning.

We spent most of yesterday inside due to the blizzard like conditions. We did venture out for a couple of pictures and long enough to gather snow for snow icecream late last night. This morning, though, we started early. I cannot think of any snow activities that we have not covered...built a snowman, made snow angels, had a snowball fight, dove into snow drifts, went sledding, drank hot chocolate, etc. You are all pretty familiar with typical snow activities so I will just share a couple of my favorite stories from the last couple of days.

When I put Abby's snowsuit on her, she proudly reported that she was dressed like Pop (in her pink overalls). I don't have a picture of just the snowsuit, but you all know what they look like.

Time to build a snowman: Abby Grace and I were talking about what our snowman would look like. She left...and came back with these for his eyes. :)

Abby lost her balance at one point and fell onto a snow drift, high centered. Even though she didn't find being stuck like a bug on its back very amusing, Jeremy and I thought it was pretty funny. She kept saying, "I'm stuck, help!" And although my telling of it doesn't sound that way, we did save her very quickly!

What a fun day we have had!!!

A Touch of Spring

Isn't spring the most wonderful season? For me, it is the season of new life and hope. The dead of winter is finally gone allowing for the trees to blossom, the sweet songbirds to return, and the flowers to bloom. This afternoon, Abby Grace and I spent some time in the front yard admiring the tulips we planted last fall. I have never planted tulips before, and if you could see them in person, it would be apparent that I either did something terribly wrong or that they just don't like the soil in my front yard. They are stunted in height to say the least, merely as tall as pansies. Nevertheless, they are beautiful and quite stunning in what appears is going to be a single red tulip within a mass of yellow ones. Please take some time to enjoy spring wherever you may live. Insert a caveat: Amarillo is supposed to have 6-14 inches of snow with blizzard conditions on Friday...

Now on to a couple of randoms:

Since Abby Grace was born, her favorite position in which to sleep has been with her arms above her head, especially if she is really tired. It is neat how some things never change.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to learn some of Abby's favorite things. We played a game on our way to Jeremy's baseball game in which the car asked her questions and she answered. (I am fully aware that cars do not talk, but EVERYTHING talks in Abby Land right now.)

Favorite color: blue (it was purple last week)

Favorite shoes: Crocs

Favorite book: Brown Bear Brown Bear

Favorite food: cheese

Favorite clothes: cotton (Yaya, you will be proud!!)

Favorite car: Mama's because it is not dirty (I think Daddy needs to clean his car!!)

Favorite game: Hide 'n Seek

Favorite toy: Little People

Favorite thing to do: play

Best part about school: outside

These are just a few of the things she answered. We played the game for the better part of 20 minutes, completely exhausting "the car's" ability to come up with questions.

Finally, please continue to pray for Stellan.

Baby Stellan

This is typically not my style of blogging but I think this is important tonight. Please be in prayer for this sweet baby boy. I have been following MckMama's blog for some time now. I'll allow you to click onto her blog for all the details, but to sum it up, Stellan's heart is in SVT and is not wanting to slow down.

Mt. Everest

I compared the first part of Spring Break to Cancun so it is only fitting that I compare the second part to climbing Mt. Everest. Last Wednesday, DMama and Uh brought Abby's cousins, Kelsey and Braleigh to visit for a couple of days. One of the highlights of their visit was a trip to Jump'n Jive. While there, Abby did the almost 3 years old equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest. She climbed (with quite a bit of help) and slid down an almost vertical slide time and time again. The crazy part about it is that she LOVED it...leaving me to realize, once again, that Abby is much braver than myself...and also to start mentally preparing myself for the call someday that she has decided to climb Mt. Everest.

One night that Abby's cousins were here, they (not Abby of course) stayed in a hotel which allowed for more swimming, bed jumping, and dinner from McDonald's, not to mention staying up too late, playing, and giggling! Overall, I think it was a perfect week for a little girl (and hopefully her cousins)...who is now sleeping soundly in her bed.

On a slight side note, some of you may be wondering how baseball is going. I am happy to report that the Borger Bulldogs won their first district game against Levelland this weekend. In Abby Grace's words, "Hip hip hooray!"

Spring Break 2009 (Part 1)

Abby's and Jeremy's Spring Break has arrived and, unfortunately, is almost halfway over so I thought I should post an update. Afterall, we want Abby to remember Spring Break 2009!! Hardly a trip to Cancun in our eyes, but probably just about equivalent in the eyes of an almost-3-year-old.

The weekend started with a fun visit from Gran and Pop....well, fun for most. I was actually quite sick the majority of the time they were here, so didn't get to participate in the activities, but was ever so grateful for the TLC from my mom and daddy and for the extra help with Abby when I couldn't get off the couch. On Saturday, they went shopping, which needs some clarification. Yes, they shopped but Abby's definition of shopping is somewhat different than some. A good shopping trip for her must include going "up, up, up" on the escalator (at least twice) and eating lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Mission accomplished!

Then, after Gran and Pop left on Sunday, Abby Grace went on an outing with her daddy. They first went to the park, then to eat at Mr. Gatti's, and finally checked in at a hotel here in Amarillo for swimming and to spend the night. Yes, I know, that is awfully expensive just to go swimming, but it is also cheaper than driving somewhere else for Spring Break (which probably would have been all of our preference!). Gatti's was a hit; she got to play 5 games and came home with a lovely plastic orange ring. But the hotel and swimming was the best part!! I bet she "swam" at least 30 laps. Then came the "jumping ride" (jumping on the bed). I promise you that I am NOT mellowing; I just read in a parenting magazine that kids need the freedom of jumping on a bed (I mean...it's fun, right?) and the suggestion was to allow it ONLY in hotels. The giggles that sounded from that child as she jumped were totally worth the breaking of the bed jumping rule! And for those like me who are quite sure that she will now think it is okay to jump on any bed, I have been pleasantly surprised. Before her jumping ride, she was ALWAYS trying to jump on my bed and she hasn't tried once since she got home (a whole 36 hours). Oh, did I mention that I joined them for the motel stay? I could only stay away for so long!!

Monday, Abby and Jeremy cooked hotdogs outside and we had a picnic in the yard for lunch. We were supposed to go to the zoo after her nap, but the zoo is closed on Mondays. Honestly, this was probably a good thing because Abby was utterly exhausted and had already told me she was too tired to walk in the zoo...that she definitely needed her stroller. Therefore, we ended up back at the park for a little while. I think we may try the zoo again Wednesday morning before Jeremy has to start baseball stuff again and before the weather takes a turn for chillier temperatures.

Today is Tuesday. It hasn't been quite as busy but still a nice day. We went out for breakfast at her favorite burrito place, came home and played for a while, took a nap, and then she went with Jeremy to watch a baseball game while I went to class this afternoon.

Tomorrow brings more fun...the other set of grandparents come to town with cousins in tow!

I'm really doing it...

I'm really going to do it...post another sweet/funny thing that Abby Grace said.

"Miss Mama?" (yes, she is still saying it)
"Yes Baby."
"I miss Daddy this (stretches arms out and touches them in back) big."

I think we may have our phrases a little confused, but isn't it sweet?