100!

She did it!

Abigail counted to 100, with only some minor prompting on what "set" of numbers came next - for instance, sixties, seventies, etc.

When she reached 99 she looked at me and said, "What comes next?" When I told her "100," she exclaimed "100!", flopped on the bed, and sighed, "Counting that big takes a lo-o-ong time." Lol.

We also started "Wind In The Willows" this week; I'm not usually a fan of abridged books (I feel like they strip all the good parts out, and really, most kids can appreciate good literature much earlier than we think they can) but I bought this copy for $1 and I have to say, it's one of the best versions I've read. It manages to keep the wonder and childishness and tongue-in-cheek irony of the original. :) Abigail loves all the different animals, and the fact that there's an illustration on every page.

AnnMarie Gardens Artsfest 2012

This weekend Mommy, Daddy, Abby, Maggie, and I all went to ArtsFest!

 

 

Abby got a sweet treat...

 

 

...which made her extremely hyper and hard to photograph. :)

 

 

We discovered that she loves sculptures (yay! Me too!).

 

 

She wanted her picture taken with all of them. :)

 

 

Especially the horse.

 

 

She loved playing on the suspended walkway!

 

 

And sweeping out the playhouse.

 

 

And the beautiful brightly-colored playhouse with the amazing, cool recycled soda bottle flowers. :)

 

All in all, a good day!

It's A Date

I'm gonna confess something I would never tell Abby.

 

I hate school.

 

It means I have to turn her over two days a week, when I'd much, much rather have her all to myself. :)

 

Last week, feeling the impending separation that school inevitably brings, we went out on a snack break, just the two of us.

 

Abby wanted to wear her "cool" rhinestoned sunglasses. :)

 

 

We had a snack, listened to the music, and talked, just the two of us.

 

Love you, crazy little girl!

Say Cheese!

Abby's been wanting a camera for awhile now, so Mommy found the most amazing child's camera that "really takes pictures." :)

 

Ever since she got it, she's been photographing everything. People, places, things, Sydney, Chocolate Puff, trees on the side of the road, cars, etc.

 

And she's picky, too. I can't tell you how many times she's taken a picture, looked at it, said "That's not quite right," and taken another. :)

Say cheese!

Playdate!

Recently Abby and I had one of her big-girl cousins come spend the day with us. :) We had a great time going to the Jump Yard, the park, hanging out at home, and playing with homemade modeling clay courtesy of Pinterest. :)

For future reference, here's the recipe with our own modifications:

Homemade Bakeable Clay

1 cup salt
2 cups flour
1 cup lukewarm water
Food coloring in whatever color you desire - we used 4-6 drops and got a very light tint. Use more for a more vibrant color
One of the following: a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract, a few drops of essential oil in whatever scent you desire, or (my favorite) a tablespoon or so of cinnamon :). You can also add up to 1/2 a cup of glitter!

Mix salt and flour (and glitter or cinnamon, if using) together well; add food coloring (and vanilla or essential oils, if using) to water and slowly add water to flour until you get dough-like consistency. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead a few times, adding more flour or water as neccessary.

Shape, mold, etc, and bake on an ungreased sheet at around 250 for at least an hour, or until pieces are hard to the touch, flipping halfway through.

Leftover clay can be stored, sealed, in the fridge, for a week or so. :)