Hot!

I wanted to take Abigail to the playground this week, sort of to make up for not getting to go to gymnastics with her (yes, I'm still a little sad about this), and the week sort of snuck up on me what with all the traveling, and before I knew it, it was Thursday.

By 9 AM it was already 85 degrees out... eep! Chris had told me that a playground down the street had been renovated, so we went to check it out. I hadn't been there since my own playground days, and I was so impressed with the new look! Abigail played pretty well... she went down two different slides holding my hand, climbed through one tunnel all by herself and another with me, climbed up and down stairs, etc. There was definitely some reluctance at first but it wore off pretty quickly!

She did get really hot really quickly, though, so after an hour we left, much to her chagrin (I think she could have played another hour if I'd let her!). I was concerned that she was so red, even though I'd slathered her in sunscreen, but once she cooled off she wasn't even tanned. :)

My only disappointment is that I forgot to bring my camera, since I left it on the computer desk after I uploaded photos from my trip to Alabama. :( This one I snapped on my phone. Oh, well, I guess that just means we'll have to go back! :)

Girl's Day Out!

Today Abigail and I were going to hang out with my sister, Maggie, and do a little shopping, since I am badly in need of warm-weather clothes. Chris tells me that Abigail doesn't like to shop, but I beg to differ. :) I often take Abigail with me to do errands or go shopping, and she loves it! On the other hand, we know how to make a shopping trip fun - she gets to sit up front with me (my truck has a "child mode" which turns off the passenger airbag), and we play all our sing-along CD's and sing along loudly, and talk about all the flags, schoolbuses, big trucks, motorcycles, etc that we see. When we're at the store, I ask her opinion about whatever we're buying, and she gets to put everything in the cart. :) We can usually find a new toy or trinket to add to our "toy bag" (a bag I made and filled with books and toys for Abigail to play with while we're driving... she rarely uses it anymore except for rare occasions) and that makes it fun, too.

Anyway...

We went to pick up Maggie, and Anna (17) asked if she could come, and of course I said yes. She's looking for an African-inspired outfit to wear to a missions dinner next month. Elizabeth (14) helped me switch everything from my truck to Maggie's car, and I asked her if she wanted to go, and she did! So we all piled into the car and went for a girl's day out!

We stopped in at Starbucks so the girls could get dairy free Frappuchinos. Abigail loved Starbucks - she wiggled into a table (I think she thought we were at a restaurant and were going to eat - go figure) and watched everyone intently. She made it especially clear that she liked a motorcyclist who pulled up and came inside. She has good taste. :) She liked the strawberries and creme Frappuchino, and we let her have a little since it was caffeine and dairy free and therefore didn't contain any chemicals.

Frappuchinos in hand, we went to Fashion Bug, where Anna and I scored one piece of clothing apiece - kind of a letdown, since they had racks and rack of $5.35 clearance racks. :(

We went to Panera Bread next... Abigail was an angel through lunch. :) She was excited about getting her own milk, since Panera sells Horizons organic milk, and ate up all her food, plus a bite of my bread and one of cousin Maggie's chips. :)

We ducked into Ross, too, where Anna found the outfit she was looking for and I found a few nice things, too. Abigail was starting to look tired, but enjoyed looking at all the pretty materials!

We took the girls home and then went home for a nap. :) All in all, a fun day.

A Convo With the Abster

I called home today from Alabama, to talk to Abigail, who was being watched by my sister, Anna. I asked her to hold the phone up to her ear so I could say hi - I didn't expect her to say anything, but I thought I might catch a giggle or a 'hm?', her all-purpose phrase.
I asked her, ''What have you and Anna been doing?'' and she IMMEDIATELY said "Curious George!''
''Have you been reading your Curious George book?'' I asked, and she said ''Yeah!''
I kinda wanted to say, ''Stop talking! Talk tomorrow, when I get home!''
:)

And Now, For My Next Trick...

I will turn my pants into a hat! :>

Chickies!

We were over at my house yesterday when the phone call came from the post office that our shipment of chicks had arrived. I was pretty excited, not for the sake of having chickens again (I prefer it when they're old enough to live OUTSIDE!), but because I knew Abby would love them. I explained to her that we were going to see baby chickens, and told her that we could hold them, and that they'd say "Peep! Peep!" A minute later I asked her, "What will the chickies say?" and she promptly responded "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Well, at least she got the whole "chicken" concept down!

When they arrived they were making a RACKET (27 chicks, each peeping as loudly as they can, make a lot of noise) and I think she was a little put off by it, so she wanted to be held as she got her first look.

At first, she just wanted to peek into the box.

We asked her if she wanted to hold one, and she was uncertain - didn't say yes, but she didn't shake her head no, either.

We didn't push the issue, but we were all handling the chickies, so I think she realized pretty quickly that the chickies were "safe".

She did give the chickie a "hug". :)

A closer examination proved to her that the chickie was indeed cute and fluffy...

Time to try petting one!


Finally, Abigail decided she did want to hold one!

She held one really nicely for a few minutes, until the chickie nibbled at her hand. It didn't hurt her, since their beaks are really soft at this stage, but I think it startled her and she decided she wanted to go back to patting them. I was impressed that she relayed this very calmly instead of just dropping the chickie on it's head!


All in all, she liked the chickies, but thought they weren't quite as fun as Cocoa Puff the kitty or the bunny rabbits. I can't wait to see what she thinks of them as they grow!

Our last gymnastics session :(

On Friday, we had our last gymnastics session together. I am despondent about this... we had so much fun and it really was almost the highlight of our week! Now that I am done teaching on Tuesdays, I'll have Fridays off, so Mommy or Daddy will be taking Abby. I'm sure they'll have fun, but I'll miss it sooo badly.

The first day of gymnastics, Abigail (and some of the other little ones, lol!) wasn't so thrilled. She was pretty clingy in the waiting room, wanted to make sure I wasn't going to put her down, and insisted on being carried into the gym. She pretty much just stood and stared at everybody during warm-up, and refused to "sing" even though she knew the song ("If You're Happy And You Know It"). We played with balls the first day, and Abby was too scared to go get a ball from Ms. Christina (the instructor) so her cousin, Lily, brought her one. :) During free play, she explored, but she wouldn't go near the other kids - she pretty much just wanted to watch. Mommy came to see us that first week, and she was pretty happy about that! :) However, during Circle Time, neither Mommy nor I could get her to stay in the circle, and when it came time to leave we had a little meltdown. We'd been trying to push her naptime later, since she was normally sleeping by 10:30 or 11, so she was pretty sleepy and overheated (it was the first really warm day of spring).

Now, after eight weeks of gymnastics, I'm so amazed at how much she's changed! She knows what gymnastics means, and will sometimes come to me during the week and "ask" me if we're going to gymnastics by making a stamping motion on her hand (she gets a stamp at the end of class). When we come into the gym, she runs in without me needing to carry her or hold her hand and knows exactly where to go. She still won't "sing" but I think she's still a little shy at the beginning. :) She knows what "free play" means and runs to her favorite activity when she hears it. Circle Time may be her favorite part of the session - she LOVES doing "Ring Around The Rosie"! Though she won't participate in "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" in class for some reason, she knows all the moves and does them perfectly at home with me. She also knows when it's time to get a stamp, and usually doesn't fuss when it's time to go home (if I linger too long talking to a mommy or Ms. Christina, she does remind me that she'd like to keep playing, lol). At home, she does a tuck and roll with a little assistance, and loves it. She jumps up saying "Again, again!" and grabs her little knees!

Something I've also noticed in the last few weeks is that her general overall bravery has increased. :) She used to take weeks to be willing to even try a new activity, but this week she ran straight to the edge of the pit (a big hole filled with foam cubes) and was very emphatic that she wanted to go in. We only saw the pit last week for the first time, and I'd thought privately to myself that she'd NEVER get in there without kicking and screaming! But Abster definitely surprised me! :)

She also seems okay with the other kids and parents, too. At the beginning, she would veer away if anyone came near her; now she jumps on the trampoline, runs on the track, etc with everyone and it doesn't seem to bother her. I'm not sure we've reached the point of playing WITH others, lol, but it's definitely a good start. :)

I told Chris I may need to crash a session or two if I get too lonely on Fridays. :)