Valentine's Day 2012

Dear Abigail,

Happy Valentine's Day!!!! You are and always will be my sweet, sweet Valentine! This year you really had a grasp on the holiday and told everyone Happy Valentine's Day! You also learned that giving hugs and kisses to all the people you love was what you did on the V day, so, of course, Kate got lots and lots of kisses today!!!

We had a fun filled day including opening presents this morning (you got a cupcake maker and 2 pretty pink books!!), then we went to your school Valentine's Day party where you had lots and lots of sweets and other goodies...

(You, Adelynn and Miss Whitney!)
(Miss Whitney getting her kisses!!)

Then, you and Kate had a nice nap in the car (Mommy's special treat!!) and then we met Daddy at the Indian restaurant for a romantic, okay, well, a yummy dinner! You even tried Mommy's dinner, but it was a bit too spicy for you so you stuck with the mac and cheese I brought!!

BUT, the funniest thing we did today was the "Things I Love" list! So Mommy tried this back when it was your 3rd birthday, but all you'd say was "nuffin", which was very aggravating for me SO I put it on the back burner and decided till your next birthday. BUT, then I thought, let's make a Valentine's thing! I mean, it is a list of questions about all the things you love, right?!!! Oh, did I mention that part yet? So, yeah, I asked you a bunch of questions about the things you love, and you told me your answers. You were super excited about it too, and I think the answers are a little funny, but here goes...

1. What is your favorite color? PINK! (of course it is!!!)

2. What is your favorite toy? Woody

3. What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple (didn't think this was it, but hey, that's what you said!)

4. What is your favorite TV show? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (no question about this!)

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut Butter and Jelly (another obvious response!)

6. What is your favorite outfit? Arial (i have no clue what this means, maybe your arial shirt... Daddy would be thrilled as he bought it for you, against Mommy's wishes!)

7. What is your favorite game? Angry Birds (yeah, did NOT see that one coming. First off, I wasn't thinking you'd think of a game on the IPad and second, I don't think you play this game!! Again, though, your response!)

8. What is your favorite snack? Goldfish!

9. What is your favorite animal? An Elephant. (yeah, Daddy would not be happy about that, but Aunt G and Uncle Bubba would! I think it was because Kate had an outfit with an elephant on, but again, your answers!)

10. What is your favorite song? Shooting Stars (Now, this made me laugh. This is the song titled "Airplanes " by B.O.B. Yes, that's right. And man alive do you love this song!)

11. What is your favorite book? The Cow Loves Cookies

12. Who is your best friend? Mommy! (swear to goodness you said that! I was really thinking Ellie or Clara Lee or even Chloe would make the list, or maybe even your real BFF Sarah, so when you said Mommy I immediately wrote it down and moved on, with a smile!)

13. What is your favorite cereal? Mommy's cereal and Abby's cereal. (I'm guessing we'll still be calling this in 10 years, but just in case, Mommy's cereal is granola and Abby's is the baby Oatmeal, yep, the kind you eat when you are 5 months old. Yep, you still eat it. Every morning. With Mommy's cereal. We don't ask...)

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on the park

15. What is your favorite drink? milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? No response. You didn't know what I was talking about, even though it WAS Valentine's Day!

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Simba!

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? I already told you Mommy!!! (see question #13!)

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pancakes!

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Abigail Faye Clark!

That last answer was the absolute best! I just hugged you and said yes, you be Abigail Faye Clark, because she is going to be awesome!!! So see, how fun was that right. Well, you insisted I do the questions, too, so I thought, why not! So here are my answers...

1. What is your favorite color? Green

2. What is your favorite toy? My Kindle

3. What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple (same as you!)

4. What is your favorite TV show? Modern Family

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? J Alexander's Chicken Salad :)

6. What is your favorite outfit? Jeggins, blue shirt, brown boots and a scarf!

7. What is your favorite game? A football game!

8. What is your favorite snack? chips and salsa, for sure

9. What is your favorite animal? A monkey - I've got one of my own!

10. What is your favorite song? Without You by Usher (you like it okay)

11. What is your favorite book? The Hunger Games

12. Who is your best friend? Abby and Kate, and then I guess Sarah

13. What is your favorite cereal? Granola with blueberries

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? watch Abby ride her bike

15. What is your favorite drink? hmmmm... I'll go with Diet Dr. Pepper

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? 2 monitors, because that means both my babies are in their beds asleep!

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Waffles

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Italian food

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? If I could be anything, hmmm, maybe a gymnast!

I can't wait to see what we love next year!!! Happy Valentine's Day sweet baby girl!!! I love every day and always!!!

Miss Lee and Monkey Joe's

Dear Abigail,

On Thursday, you had such a special day. Miss Lee, your former nanny, came to our new house to meet your new sister and to get a much needed hug from her Abigail! It had been way to long since you had seen Miss Lee, maybe even your 2nd birthday. She still keeps up with you through the blog and facebook, but unfortunately you had a hard time remembering her. I talked a lot about her and showed you a few pictures and I think eventually you might have recalled a little bit. You would ask me "Would Miss Lee rock me if I was crying?" or "Did Miss Lee change my diaper when I was a baby?". And, to no one's surprise, you had no issues warming up to her the second she got here. You were very eager to show her the media room and of course, your room, and eventually you found the present she brought you!!! It was Hello Kitty memory game, which the two of you played while I made us lunch. We had a nice lunch with Miss Lee and caught up on everything that's been going on with all of us. And of course Miss Lee had to get her hands on Kate. It was kind of sad and kind of a happy thought, we realized that Miss Lee started watching you at the exact age Kate is now. Miss Lee was such a special part of your life!!! I wish she could come over more often and be extra special for Kate, too!!

The fun continued even after Miss Lee left. It was Ellie's actual birthday and Aunt Steph and Uncle Jaybee were taking her to Monkey Joe's and wanted you to come along. Of course, I IMMEDIATELY said no way, absolutely not, ain't gonna happen. Then I thought, hmmm, let's see if Monkey Joe is going to be there first. Aunt Steph called and they said that Monkey Joe would be at school! So, when I picked you up from school the day before I asked you if you wanted to go and said that he'd be at school. You said yes, but man alive did you ask 200 questions about Monkey Joe and his school and his home and asked at least 200 million times "If Monkey Joe is there I will be sad and you will come get me right Mom?" I was counting down the minutes until Aunt Steph got to our house because I could not handle anymore questions about Monkey Joe!!! And right when they walked in the door, the first thing you said was "Is Monkey Joe at school today?". Oh I prayed that he was indeed at school and not going to make an appearance. Aunt Steph said the second you got there the lady said that Monkey Joe was at school and that's all you needed to hear! They said the 2 of you played and played and played like crazy!! You particularly liked the hurricane simulation thing!!! And, to make it an even awesomer birthday, Ellie got to have you over to spend the night!!! Whoo-hoo for us all!!! Y'all had hamburgers and french fries (Ellie's birthday request) and a bath and then got to try (yet again) to sleep in the same bed. Of course it didn't happen, you two wanted to talk the whole time!! What a fun fun birthday day with your Ellie Bean!!!

Love you!!! And Miss Lee and Ellie, too!!!

Parties, Parties, Parties

Dear Abigail,

Boy did we party it up this past weekend! Our first stop was at Princess Ella Bella's castle. Ella is in your class and I could tell by the cute invitation that this was not a party we'd, I mean you'd want to miss. The invite was a scroll that read "Hear ye, hear ye" and so on about a party at her castle. Super cute. And we were not disappointed. When we walked into Ella's castle, you immediately got to pick out a princess dress to put on, including a tiara and rings and even a princess wand, because we all know princesses are magical! All the pretty princesses walked around showing off their pretty dresses...

(here's you and London and her sister...)

And here's the only picture I could get of you and Ella! You guys were too happy to sit still!

Then it was time to sit down at the princess table - a very cute table, might I add. Food was passed out, however, you told Ella's mom that you didn't want any, you just wanted a cupcake, but you had to wait. Soon enough cupcakes were passed out and they were delicious. Because cupcakes just won't do it, you also had a cake pop. Of course, I didn't realize this until it was completely in your mouth!! That's okay, though because before we knew it Princess Tiana shower up at the party!!!!! And she brought Tinkerbelle with her! That's right, they came to see Ella and all her friends. At first you were VERY reluctant to even glance their way, but soon enough they had music playing, and well, you can't refuse a good dance song! Up and at 'em you went and next thing I know you are hugging the princesses!!! Of course I tried to get a picture and you all of a sudden decided that you didn't want to be near them, but I caught a few of you doing some of your infamous dance moves!!!

After dancing, you all sat back down to finish the cupcakes or whatever else was left and the princesses sat and talked with you about your favorite princesses. When Tinkerbelle asked you who your fave was you said Snow White. Hmmmm, okay. Whatever you say...
Eventually the princesses had to leave, and so did we. You were happy though because you got to keep the princess dress you had on the whole party!!! That, and we were headed to another party!!!

That's right, our Ellie Bean had her 3rd birthday party and guess what? It was another princess party, but this time specifically Beauty and the Beast! Ellie LOVES her some Beauty and the Beast and has been talking about this birthday party since your birthday!!!! And what a party it was! Lots of kiddos and lots of jumping in the bouncy house and running in circles, or at least that what it seemed like to us!! You guys made your own crown and yes, you had yet again another cupcake. I'm not sure I've ever had that much sweets in one day, much less you at the age of 3. But, what's a birthday party without a cupcake, huh?!

Mommy was having a bit of fun socializing so I didn't get a ton of pictures. Maybe I can borrow some from Aunt Steph. The decorations were so pretty with everything in yellow, including yellow chocolate covered oreos. YUM to say the least!!!

We of course stayed for dinner and a bit beyond that, but when it felt like 12:30 am (I think it was like 8!) we headed home to rest up and sleep off some of that sugar!!

AND... when we woke up on Sunday, we started preparing for yet another party!!! That's right, it was SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! And... wait for it... we were having the party at our house!

And, what a party it was. We had our gang over, then we had Chloe and her fam. I say Chloe and her fam because ALL you cared about was Chloe. I am still hearing "Chloe this" and Chloe that" a week later! We also had a friend of Daddy's from his work and his wife and 2 year old and then Nona and Papa and Aunt Meg came too! What a party, huh! You kiddos were C-R-A-Z-Y. We (the adults) let y'all loose upstairs in the play room while we tried to watch the first half downstairs. I use the word 'tried' very loosely. There was always something we had to 'check on'. Of course there was a bath tub incident, actually 2. At one point someone had babies in the tub pouring shampoo on them and another time you turned the water on in my bathroom - your friends wanted a bath, or so you told me. Poor Ryan had his first taste of jealousy. Usually it's him and his girls (you and Ellie), but once Chloe made an appearance, there was no love going towards Ryan. Poor guy had some adjusting to do, but he did and before you know it, he was running around in circles with all of you. We even caught him in a princess dress!!!! By the second half, we decided to turn a movie on. It was pretty sweet with all 5 of you in my bed with the covers up to your chin, even if it was only 15 minutes. Soon enough, you were jumping from the bed, running around in the theatre room, running into walls in the theatre room and grabbing every little snack you could get your hands on in the process of it all!!!

At the end of the day, or I should say night, I can honestly say we had SOOOO much fun! The whole weekend was full of partying it up, my favorite kind of weekend!!! But, now that it's over, man alive do we all need some rest!!!!

Love you little partier!

Monkeying Around

Dear Abigail,

I am getting your blood tested ASAP, as I am determined you are half monkey. Today we went to the park at our old house and you surprised us all by doing this...

At first, I just blew it off, because I didn't think you could do the monkey bars. Then I looked up and there you were, just swinging from one to the next. I have NO clue where you learned to do that because I'm pretty sure you don't have those at school. Not to mention I can't believe you physically CAN do that! That is a very big girl thing to do - even the 5 year old at the park couldn't do it without her Mommy holding her feet. All I know is you put on quite the show. And you kept doing it, over and over again. A couple times you were just hanging by one arm, like the monkey's do at the zoo. I'm telling you, you are 1/2 monkey. No question.... Love you all the same! And man alive I'm so proud of you! You are going to be such the athlete!

Clara Lee's 3rd Birthday

Dear Abigail,

Last weekend we headed into Munford to celebrate Clara Lee's 3rd birthday. This year she had a barnyard bash that included everything from a hayride to feeding a goat to meeting her new pet donkey! Yep, that's right, she got a donkey!!!

We got in on Friday and went straight to Mexican with Mimi and Pic-pic. Unfortunately, we had to wait, but fortunately for you, your BFF arrived and had a table already saving her a seat. She, of course, let you sit with her and eat all their chips and salsa. But that's what BFF's do. Eventually, we got a table, and eventually you made it back to your BFF's table and ate more chips and salsa. We headed home but you of course didn't get to sleep until late - Em was there... And, your poor sister was up all night and woke you up super early. It was an EARLY morning for us all, and we tried and tried to get you to nap but finally we put you in the car where you fell fast asleep! Then off to the hoedown we went!

You did some dancing, and of course tried to eat all the cookies (or, I mean, cow patties) sitting on the table, and then it was time for the hayride. You were SUPER eager to ride and were determined to sit right beside Clara Lee.

Clara Lee's Grandpa drove the tractor and you went all around 'Burlison', having a blast. After the hayride, you tried feeding the donkey, but didn't really care for that, but for some reason loved feeding the goats! And then it was time to open presents... But, you apparently did not care for it and tried your best to persuade Clara Lee not to care either. You kept whispering "Come on Clara Lee, let's go play" and Aunt Ash-ash was getting so mad at you because OF COURSE Clara Lee was doing whatever you said!!! I had to take you aside and tell you that you did not have to help open the presents but you were not allowed to peer pressure Clara Lee!!! It was a fun, fun party, but it only just began because soon enough guess who arrived? Uncle Fish!!! Man alive you were so excited. You'd have thought it was Santa Claus - well, maybe not because you don't really care for him. You'd have thought it was a giant piece of chocolate, how's that! You were pumped, to say the least. And you and Clara Lee would run up the stairs of the barn and I'd holler "Come down" and you'd say "We want Uncle Fish to come get us!!!". So I'd have to go find U.F. and sure enough, he'd go get you two, carrying you buy your feet if necessary. I asked U.F. if he was for hire! Lots of music and dancing was done, and at one point you and CL were hiding under the table, only sneaking up to stick your finger in the cake. You and your 'chocolate'. Anyway, after a LONG fun day, we headed home and went straight to bed! Happy Birthday to your Clara Lee!

Thursday

Dear Abigail,

This past Thursday was quite the roller coaster of a day. It started out by being quite the rushed morning to get out of the house and be at gymnastics by 9:30. I don't know exactly what threw us off track, but we were in turbo mode. Let me rephrase that, I was in turbo mode, you don't know any other mode other than Abby mode, but nonetheless, we were rushing around, to the point where I forgot a blanket for Kate, a burp cloth for Kate, AND it was pouring down raining and I thought the 3 big umbrellas that you step on in the car every single day were still in the car. Of course, they weren't... So, we make it just a minute or 2 late and guess who is joining you in your gymnastics class??? Ellie!!! That's right, Ellie did a trial class and so you got to show her all the ropes (and trampolines and bars and, well, you get it!). A little side note, just for documentation purposes. So, the night before I told you that Ellie was going to be at gymnastics. You were super excited, too excited. So excited that you wanted to go Ellie's house right then, which I said no to, which you didn't appreciate, or like, so you took it upon yourself to lock yourself in MY bedroom until we went to Ellie's house. I knocked on the door and said "Abby, unlock the door or go to timeout. It's your choice. You decide." Your response - "How are you going to come get me?". DARN YOU! Smart children are so overrated. So yeah, I just let you stay in there and cry. Eventually you came out. And we did not go to Ellies...

Anyway, back to Thursday. So, we're at gymnastics and you are showing Ellie all the tricks!

After gymnastics, we headed over to Ellie's house (yes, after all that we DID end up at her house!) to have lunch and let you two play. Well, as usual, you two were awful quiet, but to our surprise, nothing too crazy was happening (yet), although we did find some water and both of you decided to change clothes. You decided to put Ellie's clothes on. Please keep in mind you are a size bigger than Ellie, specifically taller, so it was quite the sight to see. We figured out later you both changed because your clothes were wet. Hmmmmm.... Anyway, so after lunch, Aunt Steph and I decided we'd do a little art project for Valentine's day. It involved painting your hands and feet, but we were right there to help you, and to help you rinse it off. AFter the project, both Aunt Steph and I had to feed the babies, so we set up a little 'painting area' where we could sort of keep an eye on y'all, or at least make sure you stayed on the mat. Well, you both were awfully quiet and finally I was able to get up and see exactly why...

That's right, both of you painting your feet and hands. Lovely. While Aunt Steph finished feeding Christopher, I started cleaning up the little footprint and hand prints that got on the floor (i.e. off the mat!) and in order to keep from cleaning up more, I let the two of you continue to paint yourselves. I mean, heck, you had to have a bath anyway right. Well, by the time we were ready to put you in the bath, you pretty much covered all areas...
I won't publicize this one picture, but I will hold it for hostage later in life. Let's just say the paint brush made it's way down your pants and a certain booty had paint all in it's crack!!!!! Girl you went CRAZY with the paint. But after a little scrubbing, and a little relaxing, you were squeaky clean again...

After middle of the day baths (and no naps) I decided we needed to head on home before you two could find some other mischief to get into. We got home and played a little bit but before long you were twirling around the living room and BAM, you fell, and fell hard, and your poor lip hit the end table. It was awful, I have to say. I was holding Kate and immediately put her down and ugh, was it bad. Blood was everywhere, including my white shirt I was wearing and your pink dress you were wearing. I couldn't figure out what was bleeding for the longest time because it was just so much blood, but finally after rinsing your mouth out I could tell it was your lip. I was able to convince you to keep the rag on your lip, but you looked soooo sad...

And yes, that is a white rag/towel. I grabbed the first thing, not even thinking about the stains! I have to say, you were rather brave considering what went down. I think the blood scared you to the point of not moving because you were really good about just sitting still and letting Mommy look at it. It was a long night, but you were okay by the morning and were happy to show Daddy your boo boo. I was still a little nervous about it and about the pain it may cause, but you seemed to push through it all because I didn't hear you complain the whole weekend. Of course, we were having a blast at Mimi's and Clara Lee's birthday party, but nonetheless, no complaints!

It was a CRAZY Thursday baby girl! From start to finish!!!! But you know what, that's what makes our life so fun!!!! Love you, boo boo and all!