Conversations with Abby

Dear Abigail,

I try to jot down in my little handy dandy notebook different conversations we have with each other. Most of the time they are pretty funny, and a lot of the time pretty impressive. It just shows me that A) you are so smart and B) man alive, are you growing up! Anyway, here are a few of my faves over the last couple months...

At 5 a.m. one morning (yes, FIVE A. M.), you had crawled into our bed and after me begging you relentlessly to go back to sleep, you popped up and said "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we watch THE MONSTERS. Hey Mom, do you like Monsters? I like Monsters. Do you Mom. That's a great idea?". Keep in mind, all this was said in about 2.3 seconds in a super high sweet voice. Mommy and Daddy couldn't do anything but laugh. And then we turned the 'monsters' on. PS - the 'monsters' apparently is Sesame Street.

We were looking at our new house and upon leaving, you did NOT want to get buckled up in your car seat. So, I said, kind of in passing but also a little bit of meaning it, "I need to find a policeman to tell you that you always must be buckled up." To which you responded with in a super sad, sad voice "I don't think that's a great idea" . Of course, Mommy and Daddy laughed, to which you responded in a more angry voice "I don't think that is very funny". We couldn't help it - we laughed. A lot. And you cried because we were laughing at you. To say the least, all I have to do is mention that police officer and you get in your car seat!

AC: We don't say stupid.

Mommy: Then don't say it.

AC: Okay. But we don't say stupid.

Mommy: Then quit saying it.

This conversation happens A LOT. Like for reals, a LOT. Your clever like that though, because you know you are not supposed to say it, but you've figured out a way to say it without really 'saying' it - if you know what I mean. And, to further the enjoyment of saying the word "stupid" (to which I'll never understand why...) your latest and greatest trick is to bury your face in your hands, lower your head and whisper "stupid". And this is out of no where. And so when I say "what did you say", you respond with "Nuphin". So now I'm dealing with a foul mouth AND a lying mouth. Not sure how to respond to that. I've caught you lying a couple times and each time I try to explain what lying is but it never comes out right. I may have to seek a book on that one...

You: I really, really, really, (insert just about anything here).

You have decided to add 'really, really, really' to pretty much everything. You really, really, really need to watch a little tv. You really, really, really like apple juice and water. You really, really, really think your tummy will hurt in your bed. Which leads us to the next conversation...

As we're walking up the stairs to go to bed you tell me that "My belly will hurt if I go in my room". Seriously??? Like for real? What am I going to do. And you don't just say it either - you play it out. You hold your belly and start whining as we're walking in your room. If we walk out, you literally say "see, it doesn't hurt now". O. M. G.

Also, and this one cracked me up, you told me just the other night when trying to get you to go to sleep "Baby Kate's belly says she need to watch a little t.v.". PS - Baby kate is NOT your sister Kate. Baby Kate is your baby you sleep with, the one that does NOT make a noise, especially her stomach. But somehow you heard it say "I need a little t.v." You even had me listen...

What am I going to do with you missy!!!! Your Daddy is hopeless, too. He tells me on a daily basis that he's going to have trouble disciplining you because you are so darn cute. We love you all the same :)

Weekend Fun

Dear Abigail,

I'm trying to catch up a little, but didn't want to leave out a fun weekend we had. Mimi came up (surprise, surprise) and brought Em with her. We went to Mexican on Friday night but didn't do much beyond that. Saturday morning, you had a birthday party to go to at none other than Monkey Joe's. Maybe you recall the last birthday party you went to at Monkey Joe's? No? Well, to sum it up, the second oh Monkey Joe came out, you hid, in Daddy's arms, and wouldn't be seen again until you were forced in your car seat to go home! BUT, that was a couple months ago, and I was prepared this time, as were the parents. Immediately upon walking in, I asked Connor D's parents (it was his bday party) to please inform me when Mr. MJ was going to make his appearance. What's funny is I didn't have to tell them, as they remembered your fear from the last party!!!! As did the other parents, who were gracious enough to be on the look out! But, with all that said, you, being the smart one and all, knew where you were, and knew what was coming. It was tough at first. You did NOT want me to put you down, even though there were 200 bouncy houses calling your name. You'd get in one and then just start looking around for that monkey. Finally, and I'm not sure what clicked, but you saw Connor playing, so you just jumped in and off you went, having a blast!

It was a little difficult taking pictures, as you were running from one place to the other - no car in the world, especially not a care out there fore MJ. But then... it was time to eat birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday... Again, you knew what was about to happen. It was like a lightbulb went off. You had no doubt that sooner rather than later, Monkey Joe was going to make his appearance. So, up into Mommy's arms you went, and there you stayed. Even through singing Happy Birthday to Conner, through eating your pizza, through it all. Finally, the inevitable happened. I'm pretty sure 10 parents came up to me to warn me of his appearance, so we went outside the birthday room and just watched all the other kiddos give him hugs and high fives. Well, I watched. You steadily had your face buried in my chest only to sneak a peak out of the corner of your eye. Finally he left, but you weren't convinced. You insisted that you "need to go home" and, even after trying to bribe you with a cupcake AND ice cream, we decided to leave. I was ever so happy to see that car seat. Carrying a 2 1/2 year old AND a baby in my belly wasn't the most relaxing event... And sure enough, the second we were in the car, you were happy. You have NO fear whatsoever of climbing or jumping our anything else, but a crazy blue 7 foot tall monkey puts the ever living fear in you??? Okay, fine, that does make sense. To say the least, we will NOT attend any more birthday parties at Monkey Joe's until this fear of costumed creatures subsides.

Of course, Mommy can never let things rest, and decided to torture you just a little bit more. Elmo just happened to be at our local toy store that day and I wanted to see if just maybe, JUST MAYBE, things would be different if you actually new the character and loved the character (i.e. Elmo). So we met up with Em and Mimi for some lunch and headed that way. You kept telling us over and over again that you were going to give Elmo a hug and you couldn't wait to see him. So I was getting pretty excited. All excitement cleared the second we walked in the store and you saw the actual 7 foot tall Elmo himself (or well, what is supposed to be Elmo...)

For the record, Mimi forced you to take a picture. I was done torturing you for the day, but she insisted that she hold you and try to get you to loosen up around him. Didn't happen. And to this day (2 weeks later) you tell us pretty much every day that "I don't like the big Elmo. I only like the little Elmo." The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, napping, and trying to forget about the eventful day... Mommy and Daddy went to a birthday party that night so you, Mimi and Em at pizza and I'm pretty sure stayed up late.

Sunday brought on a whole new day that did NOT include any costumes, but did include the pool! Aunt Steph, Ellie and her Aunt Meg all joined us at the pool where we had a good time swimming without swimmies! And Ellie loves the pool now, too!!!! Apparently her Nona taught her to love it like Mimi taught you to swim! Grandmothers are cool like that, no doubt. You also enjoyed a little air time, that is, you enjoyed being tossed back and forth (and back and forth and back and forth) from one person to the other!

After a good lunch at the pool, we headed back to the house for naps (or so we thought. You and those naps - nows not the time or place but man alive!!!!! anyway...) - so we headed back home and Mimi and Em gathered their stuff and headed back to their home. A fun weekend over all little water monkey!!

Love you!

Independence Day

Dear Abigail,

To wrap up your week at Mimi's, Mommy and Daddy drove in to pick you up and stayed a couple days. A lot of that had to do with the fact that it was Fourth of July weekend - okay, all of it did. We came in on Sunday and man alive were you super excited to see me, I mean, us. Before we were even parked in the driveway, you were running out that front door! Mommy was super excited to see you, too, and almost forgot to put the car in park!

That afternoon, we all went to Pic-pic's aunt's house (or some relative...) and had a little celebration, being the fourth and all. Mimi of course made us have a little photo session prior to getting in the car...

Of course, Emily couldn't resist a photo opportunity and insisted she take a few model shots, just to have around, cause you never know who's looking, of course...

At Pic-pic's family party, you and Em did some swimmin' while the rest of the crew did some eatin'!

And you got a bite or 2 in your self, but Emily gave me a small heart attack when I noticed she had a bowl full of fruit DIP but no fruit and was just eating it by the spoonful. I'm pretty sure I didn't make her too happy when I told on her but man alive, that was a LOT of sugar!!!!

On Monday, the 4th itself, we gathered our gear up pretty early and headed down to Mammaws for a day at the pool. Aunt G and Uncle Bub and the gang joined us along with your BFF and Daddy grilled some delicious hamburgers out.

We did a whole lot of swimming down at Mammaws, but later that day, we gathered up all our stuff yet again and headed back to Mimis for the big fireworks celebration. Now, I may have mentioned this before, but just in case, I'll explain again. Mimi has her own personal firework show, right in her driveway. Okay, fine, that's not entirely true, but we all like to think that, and well, we practically can, but a lot of it IS true. See, the city of Munford has a pretty nice firework show and it literally takes place in the park right behind Mimi's house. So as long as you are anywhere near Mimi's house, you can see the fireworks perfectly!!! Every year tons and tons of people come over to watch them (not to mention the million that gather at the church right beside her house - fine, not millions, but I bet thousands for sure :) And this year was no different. Everyone brought drinks and chairs and we had some yummy food to share. Now, I have mentioned a time or 2 about your sensitive ears, right? How the least little bit of a loud noise makes you bring your hands to cover your ear, right? It's not normal, I have no doubt, but we deal with it. And so I was prepared to deal with the loud LOUD noises of aforementioned fireworks. I had already talked to Pic-pic about getting his fancy headphones he uses for race car driving (or maybe it was shooting a gun - either way, they were good headphones/noise coveruppers). What I hadn't prepared for was an early 'testing' of the fireworks. We were all gathered outside, people still pulling up, sun still shining, everyone having a good ole time socializing, when all of a sudden BOOOOOM. Yeah, I firework went off. We still have no idea why they needed to 'test' one, or even if that's what they were truly doing, but nonetheless, it sent you into a frantic...

Here's pre "testing of firework":

And here's after....

We knew it wasn't any where close to the time when the fireworks should start, as it was clearly still daylight outside, but try explaining that to a noise sensitive 2 year old. You refused to remove your hands from your ears and just whined the whole time. Pic-pic was immediately sent looking for those headphones and returned soon enough, to which you became a much happier camper, and therefore, we all became happier campers (for the time being, at least...).

You and your BFF were even having some fun, despite the massive headphones that were NOT allowed to leave your head!

This just makes me want to sing "God Bless America"!!!!!

Eventually, you noticed that indeed the fireworks were not going off for awhile, but you were still hesitant about removing those headphones. And, it didn't help that Jack was begging me that it was his turn to wear them. So I convinced you to take them off, only by saying it was someone else's turn and that they would be returned to you shortly. You were then forced to have fun with the 200 kiddos running around, although I'm pretty sure you didn't - strictly based on the pictures and the pictures alone :)

Everyone else was having a grand ole time...

But not you darlin'. You just couldn't get your mind off that loud noise that happened an hour ago...

Finally, you were given the headphones back because I was certain you'd never forgive me if that loud noise occurred again without them, but I still don't think you enjoyed yourself. You were steadily watching, waiting, anticipating that dreadful noise....

Even Mimi couldn't get your mind off it, and man alive did she try...

Soon enough, the fireworks started, and, as expected you FREAKED! You just could not get over the noise to even look up at the sky. You insisted that you go inside (even though it wasn't much quieter there) and while we took turns with you inside, eventually you requested to watch a movie in Mimi's bed - DONE. Anything to get you calmed down (not to mention it was WAY past your bedtime!). Here's our last shot of you, before you entered the house, that is... See, so not happy!

Everyone else enjoyed the show from the outside, including John Michael, who didn't flinch! I also love it how Em and her friend are watching from the Jeep!

The fireworks ended and we immediately put you to bed and it wasn't too much longer afterwards that we drifted that way too. You still talk about those fireworks and how "there are no more fireworks at Mimi's house". Your teachers even sent the following message on your daily report: "Abigail continues to talk about fireworks, but only with fear in her eyes." They have NO clue about what went on, but clearly caught on to it! Maybe a year will change your mind - maybe not. Either way, we'll continue to have fun Fourth of Julys!!!!

Love you and glad your back home with us!!

A Week at Mimi's

Dear Abigail,

While I don't know exactly what went down hour by hour while you were at Mimi's for a whole week, I do know some highlights. I'm hoping your favorite Aunt Ash-ash will fill you in on a few things, especially when you stayed at her house, but for now, I'll make a little list of the activities I know you did, and maybe post a few pics that Mimi gave me!

You did a lot of swimming! As a matter of fact, you officially learned to swim without floaties and Emily was able to catch it on video. Now if only Mommy could figure out how to make that video get on this blog...

http://youtu.be/0dnFEdU-nCM

I think I may have done it. Or maybe I just posted a link that I will hope will work 10 years from now... Anyway, Mimi totally taught you to swim, and you loved it. Mommy and Daddy both were so proud of you, but Daddy got a little upset because he thinks you are growing up to fast. I don't blame him, but I still get so proud watching that video!

Let's see... I know you got some good playin' time with Clara Lee and Emily. Apparently both of them came over and you guys drove/rode the jeep all around Mimi's house. You, for some reason, refuse to actually drive the jeep, but rather prefer to just be driven...

and that includes the four wheeler...
And apparently Mimi just let's ya'll break all the rules. I'm pretty sure there is an age limit to the jeep (Emily), and I'm really sure there's a weight limit, but I'm positive you're not supposed to be chillin' on the roof of the car!!!!!!!!

And yes, that's Em on the phone and CL munchin' away on snacks. At least the snacks were pretzels...

It seems like you and CL had fun just about doing anything!

Apparently you and Pic-pic had some fun, too!

And you do a mighty fine impression of Pic-pic sleeping (specifically his snoring!!). Mimi said you did good with sleeping, too, in your own bed. She did say, though, that each night you'd sneak into the man cave and 'steal' a pool table ball and sleep with it. We don't question you and your tactics.

Oh, one day you and Mimi met Em and Ash-ash and CL at the water park. Mimi said the whole learning to swim thing came to bite her in the hiney because you had NO fear and did NOT want to wear your swimmies either. She really had to keep her eye on you, but she said you sure did have fun!

I cannot even imagine what this conversation is about...

Mommy was super happy to see this picture. It gave me a little confidence you were eating a little healthy and not just all Fruit Loops!

Speaking of eating - one morning, Friday, I think, Mimi decided to take you to the park super early, as it would get SO hot so fast. First though, she thought it'd be a great idea to go by McDonald's for breakfast. She sent me a picture via text with you about to dig into your Mickey D's breakfast plate, and about 1 minute later sent another text saying "Change of plans." I called to see what this change of plan was and, well, apparently out of no where, you got sick - like throw up sick, all over the table and booth and food and everything. Mimi, to say the least, was a little freaked out, and of course took you straight home and cleaned you up. The drama continued with 102+ fevers, lots of sleeping on your part, and lots of begging from Mimi for you to take your much hated medicines. We were all a little worried because the fever just didn't seem to want to move, but by that evening, you were perking back up and by Saturday it was as if it never occurred! We still are not sure what went down there, but some of us have a few theories. Daddy's includes something about germs from goats and Mommy thinks you are still allergic to eggs! We'll never know, and at the end of the day, Mimi took good care of you!!! So good, that she had you out watering her plants...

You even got to water a few of your own, too...

And apparently she had you watering Mammaws while you guys went swimming!

I bet there were a lot more adventures you and Mimi went on, and I pretty much guarantee you had a blast with each and every one of them! Mommy missed you that week, but I think we could make it an annual event, maybe bi-annual???? We'll see!!! Love you little mermaid!