A Few of Your Favorite Things

Dear Abigail,

I got to thinking. Based on these posts, it seems like we are always going, going, going - which we are, don't get me wrong, BUT, we do spend some time at our lovely home! So I decided to follow you around with the camera and capture some of your favorite things at this point in your life. It's 2010, and this is what you enjoy doing on a daily basis!

Maybe I shouldn't start with this, but this is where we always look first for you...

You love, love, love climbing in the desk chair and banging the keyboard. You know you are not supposed to be up there, and especially not touching the keyboard and mouse, but you get so excited when we catch you that we are starting to think it's a game to you... hmmmm....

Here's another activity you enjoy, and Mommy and Daddy don't get mad at you for this...

It's your tent!!! You love running and hiding in the tent! You usually make us zip it shut so we can't see you OR you make us get in with you and then zip it up! Kind of makes Mommy a little claustrophobic, but I do it for you baby girl! You also love crawling through the tunnels to the other tents - and of course, begging me and Daddy to do the same. That just can't happen, physically! I think you are learning that the tunnels are just for you though - you love just laying in them, all covered with tent everywhere! Maybe you are going to be a little spelunker!

Of course, there is always a mountain climber...

But who knows... you also may drive a submarine one day the way you like to get in enclosed spaces...

I don't make this stuff up, I promise...

You also love this new lawn mower you got for Christmas. I don't think Santa had any idea you would enjoy it so much. The only thing is, you don't like pushing forward so much - you'd rather drag it behind you, but boy do you ever drag it! Everywhere!!

What's funny is you did all this, seriously, in about 10 minutes. What I am trying to say, is that you do not sit still!!! You move from one thing to the other to the other to the other! No wonder you sleep so well at night!!

Speaking of, you always like giving Kitty night-night kisses and believe it or not, she is starting to let you give them to her!

Of course, you still enjoy pulling at her tail, or leg, or anything she lets you grab...

And then there is budder-budder. You LOVE your budder-budder. I'm not sure who got you in the habit of eating it while sitting on the floor, but that's what you insist on doing, and, when Mommy isn't in too big a rush (or isn't concerned with keeping everything clean), I let you - and boy, do you love it...

I am sure it's not the most sanitary thing to do, and probably not in Miss Manners book either, but it's one of those things I love to let you do - and I give you an extra blueberry or 2 to keep the immune system up!!

You love your table, too, and especially like having tea parties with me and Daddy and Miss Lee.

And of course, standing on our coffee table always seems to please you!

You have several other favorites, too, that I couldn't get a picture of for one reason or the other. You love your giraffe bicycle. You just learned how to put your feets on the pedals and stand up! You are so advanced! But, you are set back for your next passion... you love your paci and lovey. You are beginning to need them together, meaning if you get your paci, you immediately need your lovey. I'm okay with it because it's mostly at bedtime and nap time, but your doctor seems to think we need to phase that out sooner than later. One day... You also love nannas! That's code for bananas. You just randomly start shouting 'nannas, nannas, nannas' at any given point in the day and run straight for the kitchen. I always wonder what triggers that... You love playing on the bed, Mommy's and Daddy's bed and you love to play 'getty up horsey' with Mommy. I love seeing your face and you are flying on your horse! And you love to chase Daddy. You think it's so funny how he runs from you -and you always catch him!! You of course, still love your books, and balls - how could i forget your balls! You love throwing the balls everywhere. Oh, and blocks - you love to knock down the stack of blocks that we build! Hmmm, I'm sure I'm leaving a million things out - you are such a happy baby and just love everything these days! If I think of anymore, I'll try to remember to jot them down for the next 'favorite things' update. Until then, you, baby girl, are my favorite thing! I love you!!!!

A New Year

Dear Abigail,

Yes, we had another Christmas get together! Mammaw and Pawpaw and Lynnie went to visit Sarah and Emery during Christmas, so, for the first time in geez, at least 50 some odd years, we did not go down to Mammaws for Christmas breakfast! It was sad, but we're glad Emery and Sarah got to experience Christmas with them for once. And, since they weren't there on Christmas, we decided to do Christmas on New Year's day! But I guess I should back up a little...

On New Years Eve, we drove to Memphis where Aunt Ash-ash and Clara Lee were patiently waiting for you. Mommy and Daddy went to a basketball game, a basketball game that we ALMOST took you to thanks to your BFF Sarah's suggestion. Thank goodness we decided not to - I think you need another year before you are ready, and you need to learn Rocky Top! Anyway, so Aunt Ash-ash and Clara Lee seized the opportunity to have you over to her house, after spending a little time with Mimi, of course. According to Ash-ash, you had a blast, especially finding new things to climb on! I think she finally is starting to believe me when I say you are little monkey! And Clara Lee had so much fun taking anything you had away from you. Mommy is going to teach you self defense before your next sleep over with oh CL! Unfortunately/Fortunately, you did not stay up until midnight, but I think you brought the new year in just fine! (pictures to come as soon as your Aunt Ash Ash gets that CD to me!!!)

So on New Year's Day, we headed over to Mammaws and the whole crew was there! Boy was it crowded, but you had fun playing with all the kids, chasing Em around, and, once again, finding new things to climb on/in!

After a lot of chili and other goodies, we started passing presents out, which was good because you (along with a couple other kiddos) were getting super sleepy. Unfortunately, and you will learn this eventually, there is always drama when this family gets together, and it was no different this time. Mammaw all of a sudden didn't feel very good and we had to call 911! Oh man did the chaos begin! Babies were crying, mommies were crying, daddies were confused trying to calm crying babies and mommies!! But, thankfully we all pulled together and got Mammaw to the hospital. All the grandkids and great-grandkids (that's you) and Mimi (cause she's still a little sick) stayed behind. Once we heard Mammaw was going to be okay, everyone insisted we open the presents, so, we did. Or well, Mommy and Daddy did - you took that much needed nap!! But, good news is, you got lots of awesome gifts, including a basketball goal and a swing!! Oh, and Mammaw got to come home that night and hopefully is going to be just fine! Man oh man, Abigail. Definitely a different Christmas at Mammaws, but it wouldn't be our Christmas if there wasn't some excitement! We decided to pick up pizza on the way back to Mimi's, and after you gobbled it up, we all headed straight to bed - well, Daddy may have watched a little football! Nonetheless, we headed to Nashville on Saturday, but first...

We made a pit stop in Clarksville. It was Grandaddy's 80th birthday, and Papa Rob and the gang were heading out to lunch to celebrate so we decided to join them. Let's see, Papa Rob and Gramma, Uncle Charlie and Gloria, Miss Ida and Mr. Ron and then, of course, Grandaddy were all there! Being the birthday boy he got to pick the place to eat, and decided upon the fine establishment of Ryan's! As much as I may make fun of Ryan's, you loved it - you gobbled everything from carrots to onions to chicken fingers to rolls! Quite the variety for ya!! (and I do love the rolls, myself!!) You were wanting out of your high chair, so Papa Rob said he would watch you - he did not know what he was in for! There were several times we had to scream "Papa Rob - get her!!" And one time you almost got food off someone else's plate. Papa Rob dismissed himself after that!!!

All in all, a busy busy busy weekend, but we're back home now and ready for this fun-filled January! They say it's going to snow tonight.... Love you baby girl!

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!!!

Dear Abigail,

Because Mommy was a slacker, she is now going to combine all the Christmas festivities into one giant post, so brace yourself.

Let's start with Santa...First off, Mommy and Daddy tried to take you to see Santa on a Sunday, so we both could go, BUT, we got there, stood in line for an hour, and realized it was going to be another hour at least before Santa was able to see you. This normally wouldn't be a big deal, BUT, we were trying to get together over at Miss Erin & Mr. Jay's to watch the very important Titans game, so we decided to take a rain check and head to the party instead. Which turned out very good because you finally got a chance to play with Ryan. I am so happy the 2 of you are starting to play together. By play, of course, I mean he runs his head into yours and you look up at me with the most helpless eyes. It was so cute - no pictures of course, but sooo cute. And you showed him how to climb all over his Aunt EP's furniture. Good times! So, you may ask, when did I see Santa. Well, while we were in Memphis, Mommy and Papa Rob took you to see him. We were really excited because you stood in line with Papa Rob and kept waving at Santa, and smiling real big, so we thought, shoot, this will be a breeze. Boy were we wrong...Papa Rob had the camera, so you can't exactly see what happened, but here's the low down... As we approached Santa, your grasp on me became as tight as a, well, it got super tight, and I had to force you off of me and into Santa's lap. I warned the lady to take the picture as soon as I sat you down, and she did, BUT, she cut your arm off. After picking you back up and trying to calm you down, the lady suggested I put you back in his lap so she could get a better picture! HA! I told her I suggested she just print the one-armed picture and tell Santa we'll see him next year! And so we did!

Papa Rob (i.e. Mr. I have no idea how to work electronics) took the picture, but you can plainly see you were not thrilled. I hope you will soon see that Santa is quite the pleasant man and just needs to know what you want for Christmas.

Uncle Jaybee and Aunt Steph hosted the annual Clark Grugett Christmas party. Mimi has been real sick lately, and you and me have been taking real good care of her in Munford, so we haven't been in town a whole lot. Well, we made a point to be back in town for this party, and both of us were looking so forward to it (and your Daddy, too, of course.) Well... Wednesday before the party on Saturday, you had your first bit of, well, let's just call it what it is - vomit. I know, it was terrible, and it scared Mommy, but Mimi and me both thought it was probably something you ate. Unfortunately, the next night we spent the night at Papa Rob's, and, well, in the middle of the night, it happened again. So now I'm getting a little worried, but it only happened at night. We headed back to Nashville, and, on Friday night, about an hour after putting you to bed, low and behold AGAIN. Poor Anne Marie at the doctor's office was so tired of me calling, but I just didn't understand why it kept happening and for so long. So Friday night, Daddy and I began to worry that we may not be able to go to the party - BOOOOO. You slept all night Friday (after the episode, that is), and then that next morning, Mommy put you in the bed with her because it was super early - and BAM, it happened again. I felt so sorry for you. You didn't know what to do. You handled it all very well, though, I must say. I typically like to just cry when that happens to me, so bravo to my brave little girl. But, that was it. We could not take you around Ellie or Ryan. Mommy was so sad because it had been so long since you got to play with the both of them. But, we decided to go over to their house right at your bedtime and just take you straight to your room and put you to bed - and it worked perfectly!! AND, you slept all night and didn't have any more episodes!!! I was super sorry that you missed out on all the festivities, but Mommy and Daddy had a grand ole time, and we needed it. And since you needed your rest, it was a win win for all of us - sort of... Anyway - so I don't have any pictures of you from that, because we rushed you right in to keep your germies away from everyone. I did get a picture of you the next morning trying on your new backpack that Ryan got you...

The next week was Christmas week, and oh what a fun filled week it was. We started off by heading to Uncle Jaybee and Aunt Steph's again for the Clark family Christmas. You were feeling much better and finally got to play with Ellie.

You love getting in Ellie's jumpy saucer thingamabob! Soon after we got there, the whole crowd arrived and what a treat! Everyone was so happy to be together and, of course, Alexis and Caroline just took such good care of you and Ellie. Here's a few pics of our fun evening!

And of course, our annual group shot!

After Uncle Jaybee read us the Night Before Christmas (in our jammies, by the fire, of course), we scooted off to home, so we could be snuggled in for Santa's arrival! And boy did he ever arrive!!!

And he even left you something outside...

Unfortunately, we had to dart off to Mimi's, but we took you outside for a second or two, and boy were you excited. Santa was so nice, even if you were a little upset at him!

And then there was Mimi's... boy oh boy, were you a good girl this year. How else do you explain all the wonderful presents you got?! There are sooo many pictures, and we had so much fun watching you play with Clara Lee, that I am just going to be able to post a few of my faves...

There's this one, with you sitting in John Michael's swing. You loved just sitting and relaxing in this chair - to the point I thought your Daddy was about to go out and buy you one...

And this was one of my faves! Clara Lee showed us she could walk!!!!

And she took it even further by showing us she could push you in the shopping cart!!

You crazy girls are going to be so much fun for me and Aunt Ash-ash!! The 2 of you did that all on your own, and there were plenty more moments like this!

And I loved this one because you were such a big girl. You helped Em pass out presents - and we didn't even have to tell you who anyone was. It even makes Mommy tear up as I write this. You are so stinkin' smart!!!

And of course you and CL loved your fancy smancy shopping cart. You are going to be a pro next time we got to Publix!!!

Once again - so much fun, and such a good time spent with family.

The next day, we headed over to Papa Rob's for another Christmas party! I'm telling you girl, you have it made!! Papa Rob was so proud of his present to you, Mommy had to tell him to just hang on and wait till everyone got there to open it! Finally everyone got there, and, WOW, you got a tent with tunnels and balls and everything. It was huge and Papa Rob had it already put together! You and Clara Lee and even Emily and Madison loved climbing all through it. Unfortunately, I was video taping while Aunt Ash-ash took the pictures, so as soon as she gets me those, I'll post one! Here are a few other photos that I did get from Papa Rob's...

You loved your tent, BUT, you also loved the wagon that Clara Lee got, so you climbed all in it when you weren't climbing in your tent!

Papa Rob even took you and CL on a ride in the wagon - with Em following on her fancy motorized scooter!!

And, of course, the crackers. You ate 1 million crackers, no joke. You learned quickly, though, to keep them up high (i.e. away from Daisy!!).

Baby girl, we are soooo blessed to have such an awesome family and friends and to be able to all get together like this. I hope we have 1 million more awesome Christmases together, and I hope you keep being so good so you keep getting so many awesome presents. I love you so much - this year has flown by so quickly, and here at the end, has really made me appreciate what you and family in general means to me. i love you - and hang on - we've got an awesome 2010 coming up!!!! I can feel it!

Franklin Christmas Parade

Dear Abigail,

You went to your first parade! Mimi came into town, so we went Christmas shopping on the square. You were so good going in and out of the shops before the parade even started, and even fell asleep. I don't know how you did it because it was another brutally cold day, but you slept away...

And Mimi patiently waited beside you! (doesn't she look pretty in her green!)

We thought for sure you'd be awake by the time Daddy and The Grugett's got there, but no, you just kept on sleeping, AND, Ryan was asleep!! It must be a baby thing!

We had a good spot, though, with the sun shining right on both of you. Otherwise, you would have had frost bite on your little toes! Finally you woke up, but your buddy kept on sleeping. But then the parade started and we knew oh Ryan would have to wake up - he couldn't sleep through his first parade! And what a parade it was. Daddy and Mr. Lee decided we were going to be in the parade next year, maybe even have a competition between the Grugett's and Clark's for the best float!

You and Mimi had such a good time waving at all the bands and the kids throwing candy!

Mimi even missed Santa because she was trying to scrounge up Tootsie Rolls for your Daddy!! After the parade, me, you and Mimi went straight home and got a good nights sleep! We were super tired from parading around all day!! Over all, A+ for your first parade!!!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Dear Abigail,

Mommy has been very busy lately, so I kind of slacked a little on the blog. Good news is I have an excellent memory, or rather, I took lots of photos, so I can catch us up rather quickly. I shall begin with Thanksgiving...

This year, we went to Aunt Amy & Uncle Martin's for Thanksgiving, and what a feast it was, well, aside from the awful brussel sprouts. Yes, the crazy Clark side of your family eats those at Thanksgiving. Don't worry, Mommy made green beans for you (and me!) You, however, didn't need the green beans because you filled up on apples! Aunt Amy had these miniature apples, maybe they are called crab apples, but they weren't supposed to be for eating, as they were a part of her centerpiece. But, you saw one and asked what it was and immediately started saying "apple" - perfectly! So we of course gave you one. Then another, then another! I think we were so happy you could say apple so perfectly. You loved it, too, as it was the perfect size for your tiny hands!

Poor Aunt Amy had to do without crab apples for the centerpiece. It still looked lovely though, and she didn't seem to care. She just loved tickling you to death...

The turkey was done and it was time to eat! You thought it was mighty yummy, for sure!

We, of course, spent the night, and even tried to do our annual hike. Unfortunately, we picked a lake to hike around and it was SUPER freezing. And, unfortunately, your mommy and daddy were bits of a wimp and decided half way through to turn around - okay, it was more like 1/14 of the way through! It was super cold!!

All in all, another great thanksgiving! And this, my love, is where it got SUPER busy...

Halloween 2009

Dear Abigail,

Well, I told you it would be a busy weekend, and I didn't let you down! And even though a couple of my hopes/predictions did not come true, it will still go down as a Halloween favorite. The Halloween weekend really started with Thursday at Kindermusik, where everyone dressed up in their costumes. You were precious, as always, but there were definitely some other cutie pies in your class. Of course it was harder than ever to get a picture of you with your friends, but I tried my best. Here's one of Jacob (the bear) and Noah (the lion), and of course, the litlte lady of the bunch - or well, lady bug.

And here's a ladybug playing the drum! Who would have ever thought they'd see that...

And then a lady bug playing the metal something or the other - or well, not even that, a lady bug eating the noise maker stick!

Here's the lady bug dancing, with a monkey (Eli) and Titans cheerleader (Carolina) behind her...

And here is your teacher handing out the scarves - Mommy cannot remember her name for the life of me right now... Hopefully she doesn't read this blog.

Although you are a bit shy in Kindermusik, I think you have fun in it. You are starting to be really good about putting the toys back where they go when we're through playing with them. That makes Mommy proud. But you still have a tendency to sit right on top of me or make me hold you the whole time. That's okay - a lot of what we do is dance with each other, so that's fun. You really like it when I make you spin!

Thursday afternoon was spent planning for the big weekend that did not go exactly as planned - the story of our lives...

The unplanningness started off that Friday morning. The plan was for you to get up at your normal time (7ish), we eat breakfast, then I run my chili up to work. Well, you slept till 8! I ended up just throwing you in the car with your sippy cup and off we went! That wasn't too big a deal, except that it kind of messed up the nap that I needed you to get because you were getting a flu shot at 10:50. Instead of the hour, hour and 1/2 nap I wanted you to take, you didn't take a nap at all! I even had to take a shower while you were in your play room - that was a first and it was the quickest shower ever. I did try to put you in bed, but you just played, and then it was time to leave, so we just went straight to the doc to get that shot. And, well, you did cry with the shots - BUT, only for like 5 seconds. It happened super fast, and Mommy comforted you very quickly, so it actually wasn't too, too bad. So I decided I would run by work to hear them announce that my chili won. Well, again, things didn't go as planned. I got to work and let my department 'coo' over you, and then the announcement came - and everyone who put chili in had to go stand up in front of everyone, so that meant you too! I felt a little silly with you, but you were so adorable I don't think it really mattered. AND, I didn't win - BOO. I shouldn't say I didn't win - your daddy didn't win. He was a little hurt by it. Oh well... Soon after the announcement that I didn't win, we left. I knew you didn't want chili, and you needed that nap, but I needed you to eat a good meal, so off we went.

You did eat a good lunch and you did take a good nap, but Mommy didn't get to take one. Once you woke up, we headed to Daddy's work, where they were having trick or treat around all the offices. Oh boy, was that fun for you! You were so excited, and not the least bit shy. I thought you might be scared of all the people, but it was like you didn't even notice them! You went to Daddy's floor first and Miss Pam, who just adores you, was so excited to see you and thought you were the cutest lady bug ever. You met lots of Daddy's friends and even the CEO! I'm pretty sure he thought you were the cutest too! Then we went to this one floor that was decorated kind of scary, and it worked - you didn't really like that area. It was a long 2 hours of you running up and down the halls, running into people's offices, getting candy from the baskets and putting it back or giving it to someone else. You were super busy, but super good! Mommy was very proud of how well you acted. Here's a few pics:

You trick or treating...

You look so sweet here - you are patiently waiting for the candy...

Here's you playing with another girl your age, it's Daddy's friend's daughter, Hollis. She was a cutie too, a little piggy:

And here you are with Daddy in his office - we had so much fun...

So clearly the shots didn't affect you for the office party, but would you do okay that night... We were concerned, and except for a minor 10 minutes of me having to rock you in the middle of the night, you did fine! I'll take that over the last go round of shots when you decided to party till 2 a.m.! You even slept late too - YAY! But would you do okay the rest of the day...

YES! So, we left the house at 1 to meet up with the gang at Mr. Lee & Miss Leigh's house - and this is with no nap, btw. I decided there was nothing we could do about it, so we'd just go with the flow - and it worked!! Woo-woo! So, we went to the pumpkinfest in downtown Franklin - fun times BUT, you needed to be about 6 months, maybe a year older to truly have the fun. Daddy said we were teasing you because you kept seeing all this fun stuff, and wanting to go to it, but you were too small. You really wanted to bounce in the jump house, but there were other kids, and frankly Mommy didn't want you to get hurt. Then there were ponies to ride, but Daddy thought they looked to sad and didn't want to contribute to their depression (the ponies, that is - yes, he loves his animals). So we walked around a lot, and Mommy found several cute things to purchase for you!! We even took a picture of you with this humongous pumpkin!

After the pumpkinfest, we headed back to the Grugett's house for a little Halloween party and some trick or treating! We tried our darndest to get you kiddos to all look up at the same time, but it was just too, too hard. I did discover what you are getting for Christmas though. You absolutely loved Ryan's magnets - we could not pry you two away from that refrigerator!!

After a little bit of playing together, we all went trick or treating! You did a pretty good job, I have to say. You knew to go get the candy and then put it in your little bag! All you kiddos looked so adorable - I am falling in love with Halloween!!

After we got all the candy we could take (3 houses), we went back to get our grub on and then our sleep 0n - well, you did! Mommy and Daddy put you down, and then got to stay and play with the gang! It was a very fun and memorable Halloween little lady bug! You did fantastic, shots and no naps and all! I love you little bug - keep being as precious as you are!!!