Visit from Aunt Nicci

Abby picking up her puffs at our Crispy Waffle lunch!

Alex and Aunt Nicci coloring before lunch.

Abby showing Aunt Nicci how she holds her own bottle. This was the first time she did this so I think Nicci, you can say that you "taught" her this little trick!

Aunt Nicci stopped by Plainfield for a visit this weekend and we tried our best to show her a good time! Lunch at Crispy Waffle, lots of Mario Party, an outing to the outlet mall and Crate and Barrel outlet. She even offered to babysit Saturday night so Brad and I could go to dinner in the city for our anniversary, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Happy Anniversary!

Photo credit: Alex Ross

We have so much fun together, it is no surprise that 6 years have flown by! I cannot say "where has the time gone?" because I know exactly where it has gone. The past 6 years have been filled with family, friends, kiddos, smiles, moves, and fun travels. They have been filled with hard work, lots of playtime, increased responsibilities, and excitement. Each week brings something new and we love imagining what the future holds!

Going Cruisin'

Doesn't Abby look stylish in her new pink buggy? I just pushed her around the block in it and she held the steering wheel the whole time. I think she's going to have fun with this! Alex was most helpful this morning as he and I put this together.

"I think you've fallen off the silly boat, into a vat of ridiculousness"--Steve Songs

Abby, playing her piano, before she got stuck underneath it.

Abby sporting her new "Baby Legs". Leg warmers for babies. I love these but think they are probably more for wearing under a dress or skirt :)

Pacifier in her favorite spot.

Trying to walk with help from brother.

Thanks Brother!

Alex is such a good big brother! He loves all things Abby (except sharing his toys, which is going to be a lifelong struggle I'm afraid). I wish you could hear the giggles that went along with this photo! She definitely doesn't laugh like that when I push her in the swing!

Goggles!

Now that Alex is such a fish of a swimmer, he requested a pair of goggles. Here he is sporting his newest swimming accessory! I'll have to take him swimming indoors since the weather is, well, less than hot. Other than not being able to swim though, it is great weather for playing outside and sitting on the deck :)

Fun Fall Weekend!

The boys on the swings.

Shades on, he's ready to go!

What Alex wouldn't give to have one of these diggers in our yard!

Mommy and Abby at the picnic.

Abby, trying out the neighbor's buggy.

With temps in the 50s at night and low 70s during the day, we had a fun fall weekend! Brad's annual company picnic was Saturday at a local park, and we had a blast as usual. They always do such a great job and the kids absolutely love it. Yummy food, lots to do, and the waterpark was open--sadly, it was just too chilly to use the pool. Alex was bummed, but quickly came around when he saw the moonbounce. We must have stood around chatting with Brad's co-workers for at least an hour while he bounced away! Abby eventually gave in and fell asleep in my arms.

Sunday I tried Abby in the neighbor's push buggy and she seemed to enjoy this so we'll see what we can do about getting her a pink version of this. It is a fun alternative to the stroller and all the kids seem to really like this.

I think my lack of technological expertise is starting to show, that or blogspot.com has changed some things on their blogs. For some reason, photos look grainy when I upload them and I cannot move them around on the blog, hmmm. If anyone knows what I am doing wrong or how to correct this, kindly let me know :)

Babyproofing

It is time to baby proof. No more slacking around about it. It's time to gate the steps, pick up all the little pieces, block the outlets, lock the cabinets, stop leaving baby on the bed, etc., etc. The photo above is reason #101 to get to work. She's into EVERYTHING! Abby can go forward and backwards now in her walker and in one sweep of the kitchen can pull the towels down, pull everything off the fridge, open cabinets, and run over the cat. She has also developed the pincher grasp needed to pick up Cheerios off her highchair tray. This took LOTS of practice! Abby can crawl around but seems to prefer rolling more than anything else. I think it is faster. Also, last night around 2:30am, she was fussing and when I got in her room, she was sitting up in her crib! That is the first time I have seen her pull herself from completely flat to sitting up. Long gone are the days of the exersaucer and swing to entertain Abby! She just wants to get down on the floor and go, go, go!! Guess I'll need to pick up the pace on my vacuuming as well, hmmm...

Cincinnati in the Summertime

We spent this past weekend in Cincinnati, enjoying all sorts of summer fun! Friday we spent the day at Coney Island, home t0 one of the country's largest recirculating pools and several water slides. Alex swam for hours and loved jumping in the "deep" end. He watched Mom and Dad enjoy the water slides and Grandma Kathy held a very content Abby. Brad and I are both pretty sure we hadn't be there since our elementary or middle school years. It was lots of fun to go back and visit, and of course enjoy LaRosa's and Skyline for lunch!

Saturday Mom and I took Alex to a splash pad at Woodland Mound park, and I'm quite sure he would have spent all day there if we would have let him! It is such a great spot for tots and bigger kids to play in the fountains and overlook the river. We spent the afternoon swimming in Mom's pool and visiting with family in the evening. That may be the most outdoor swimming we've done all summer and it was so much fun!

A Tooth? Maybe?

I can still see a little white spot on her top gum and I really think she may sprout a tooth here any day now...

Fun with Sister

"Here Abby, you can wear my fireman's hat now!"

Abby is a good sport now, but I think once she can crawl away faster, Alex won't be as lucky! Today Abby really started moving. If she sees something she wants, she can make it over there. Back to baby proofing and gates on steps, good times!

Swimming in our Huge Pool

Brad, Alex, and Abby went swimming in our huge pool today :) Abby splashed around quite a bit and didn't mind getting her face wet this time. I think it helped that it was 90 degrees and the water was a bit warmer.

Dressing for the Show

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Alex has been getting dressed up to watch his movies lately. See Exhibit A and Exhibit B. In Exhibit A, he is sporting shades and a Wiggles guitar to watch his Alphabet DVD and his Steve Songs DVD. He likes to jam the way the people in the movie do. Steve Songs sings songs about a variety of topics, including being a cowboy, his friend the turtle, and elephants playing hide and seek. It is really a cute concert. For every song Alex has to have all of his props ready. The one thing he doesn't have and has been asking for...a cowboy hat! Next time Brad is in Houston, he knows what he needs to pick up! How can a native born Texan not have a cowboy hat??

In Exhibit B, Alex is dressed in his PJs (always) and truck hat, using a yard stick as an "auger driller" in his trucks movie. He stands there and spins the stick to imitate the drill. Not sure what we'll do when he wants to watch a movie and we don't have any suitable "props"! I love, love, love that he has an active imagination.

7 months old

Abby with her favorite birdbath toy. Can you see where she stores her pacifier for safe-keeping?

Abby rockin the old school walker. Still learning how to go forward however.

Abby turned 7 months old on Tuesday. She is really changing so much every week and we all love watching her grow! She loves playing in the walker that Sherri brought over for her to try. She only goes in reverse, but seems to enjoy that just as well. She's developing a little fear of strangers and has been bounced from the gym nursery already. I remember putting Alex in the church nursery at this age and they would bring him out to us, every Sunday, because he was crying too much. Hopefully she outgrows this quickly.

Abby loves playing with Alex, and watching him play. She enjoys reading books with him at bedtime and trying to eat all of the pages. Her favorite baby toys are the birdbath toy and a talking dog. She sleeps with a small, silky, lovey which has been comforting to her at night. She still takes a pacifier in the middle of the night if she wakes up. This helps us avoid that dreaded 4am feeding and has been working well.

Abby loves mealtimes and eats 3 meals a day with a few bottles thrown in for good measure. She has yet to meet a baby food she doesn't like! She is starting to pick up Cheerios on her own as well. We have a few nicknames for Abby including "Little Missy", "Sister Bear", "Abby Cadabby" and "Grumpy Stripes" (depending on her mood).

Aside from entertaining Abby and spending lots of time on our new deck, we haven't been up to much. It is finally getting warmer here and we are looking to see 90 degrees this weekend!! Can you say Slip N' Slide?????