Nutcracker Limerick (sort of)

There once was a little girl named Abby,

whose first Nutcracker performance was far from shabby.

All of her family came to watch her debut,
and of course, Liz was in attendance too.

The curls, oh the curls...
just a dream for many little girls.


Mama only fumed
when Abby kissed her costume.

And all that can be said about this pose,

Well...I think she will continue dancing on her toes.

May Farm

One balmy day earlier this fall, Abby went on her first field trip...to May Farm. She and her friends got to feed the animals, which led to the above picture. Abby and this goat had quite the conversation about how much he should really have to eat; he was a tad pushy.

Riding the horse was also fun.

The best part, though, was holding the farm animals...bunnies, chicks, guinea pigs, and chickens.

Sugar Plum Fairy Tea

What an exciting afternoon! Gran, DMama, and I were honored to attend the Sugar Plum Fairy Tea with Abby. The Sugar Plum Fairy Tea is a special event held the Sunday prior to Nutcracker as a fundraiser for Abilene Ballet Theatre.

All of the little girls in attendance donned their finest Christmas attire in anticipation of meeting Clara, The Sugar Plum Fairy, and The Snow Queen.

Entertainment for the afternoon consisted of a silent auction including items such as Cupcakes with Clara, a fashion show of Abilene Ballet Theatre fairy tale costumes, an excerpt from the Nutcracker performance, and a sampling of delectable treats and sweets.

The girls were also given the opportunity to meet and greet some of the dancers. While Abby enjoyed meeting Clara and the others, her favorite (and best picture obtained all day) was her cousin, Mary Elizabeth Walker. Mary Elizabeth was modeling a costume from Sleeping Beauty and will be dancing the role of the peacock in the Nutcracker next weekend.

This evening, Abby was still modeling her tiarra and showing off the autographs she received. It was almost as good as Disney World...

District 7-1A Champs

Abby definitely had something to be excited about on Friday night because

our Hamlin Pied Pipers sealed the title of District Champs!!

Way to go Pipers! We are proud of you and can't wait to continue the football fun.

The Perfect Project

My dad farms my grandma's land. A few weeks ago, he was here to sew wheat and gave Abby a bunch of wheat seed. Of course, she wanted to plant it like Pop. Since we lack the appropriate acreage and farm equipment for such, we had to settle for a flower pot on the front porch.

Within a couple of days, it had sprouted. Within two weeks, it looked like this. Currently, it looks like the pot needs a haircut. It has been the perfect project for a preschooler because the results (to this point) have been so fast. Now, if we can just keep it watered and in the sun enough to see the final product in a few months.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and More Pumpkins

My house overfloweth with pumpkins. Not really, but it is really cute, thanks in part to our recent trip to the pumpkin patch.

"Mama, this one is just perfect!"

Abby just had to have her picture taken in front of the tractor.The best part about pumpkin patches is the variety to choose from.

Abby has had a wonderful time practicing her interior decorating skills as she has moved pumpkins from room to room and place to place over the past couple of weeks. Let's see, we have tried a pumpkin in every room, a pumpkin on every table, lines of pumpkins, groups of pumpkins, pumpkins arranged from biggest to smallest, and pumpkins stacked on top of each other. You name it...she has tried it.

School Highlights

Here is just a small sampling of the work Abby completed at school the first six weeks. A few other school highlights:

• Received first report card. All S's except for one N. The N was for printing her name. Abby writes her "y" backwards, but her teacher is honestly just pleased she can write her name. (Thank you, Ms. Askins and Ms. Lee!!)
• Favorite part of the day: playing!
• Constantly comes home singing a cute song. Whether it is a color song, days of the week song, or a Halloween song, Abby is always singing.
• Eats lunch in the cafeteria twice a week but would prefer to eat cafeteria food more often.
• Loves riding the bus to the high school on Wednesdays (my long work day).
• Likes her teachers a lot and frequently compares Ms. Crowley to Ms. Rogers from Montessori because they both like art. Obviously, so does Abby.
• Has her first field trip next Monday.