Missing my girl…

Went away this weekend.  Just me.  No hubby – no abi = STRANGE.  Not going to lie here, there were some great aspects to this equation (not so many to the no hubby part, but the no baby part!).  Got to sleep in – well, kind of.  Girls who haven’t seen each other in a long while, austin, and needing to be at breakfast by 9:30 didn’t really translate to lots of sleep – but I did KIND OF get to sleep on “my own” schedule!  I got to have hours of girl talk.  Doesn’t happen much.  Got to think of just me.  Doesn’t happen much.  But, I wouldn’t choose it.  I’m my favorite “version” of me when I’m with my man and abi.  Goodness, I missed her!

• Missed her “mama’s”!
• Missed her sweet face
• Missed her cuddly warmth in the AM
• Missed her laugh
• And those eyes
• Missed her hugs & kisses
• Missed her weight situated comfortably and familiarly on my hip
• Missed my big bag which holds EVERYTHING!
• Missed our fun
• Just missed her

Glad to be home!

(Would you like one of our wallace-original play-dough bows?)

A day in the life of Abi

Capturing her snippets of preciousness!

Baby girl is getting so big!  Can we please have our baby back??!!  The past week or so she has been trying really, REALLY hard to get her socks on by herself.  (Oh, and side note, she is quite particular on what socks she would like to wear.  The girl can accessorize!)

(sorry for the blur, and for the snot that you will see – baby has a bit of a head cold.  Didn’t wipe it fast enough!)

almost there, abi!

Surely Oslo must be cold without any socks…

 

On with the dance…

As discovered in a pile of papers I’ve been needing to sort through…

“On with dance, let joy be unconfined, is my motto; whether there's any dance to dance or any joy to unconfined. “ –Mark Twain 

Make it good / Sanctification through motherhood part V

“Food is essential to life.  Therefore, make it good.”  -Truett Cathy (as seen on the walls at Chick-fil-a)

Reading this quote on Chick-fil-a’s walls always brings a smile to my face.  I mean, really?  Good quotes on fast food restaurant’s exterior?  But, we all know chick-fil-a isn’t an ordinary fast food place.  It’s magic.  And that smile from reading that quote was one of my 2 smiles shown during my lunch there with friends on tuesday.  The rest of my emotions, you ask?  Mostly an open-mouthed gape as my child screamed at everything.  With an occasional “air smack.”  (Note: air smacks are abi’s form of hitting when she is upset, doesn’t know how to express her frustration, but doesn’t want to get in trouble for hitting.)  Screamed when she couldn’t hold her milk on her own (since she was now covered in it, as was I).  Screams for having to leave the play time area because there were too many big kids.  Screams for having to eat her fruit and chicken (the fact that lunch didn’t just consist of chocolate milk was shocking to her!).  Oh, this child teaches me things.  How patience is necessary.  How I, like her precious heart, often fight and scream clinging to our own agenda, not realizing that what is being offered to us is both better for us and contributes to others’ happiness.  What a humbling privilege to be taught by your child.  Isn’t God clever?

Pics from a recent date with tomato basil soup:

 

Oh, and my other smile?  My friend had brought kitchen shears to cut up our girl’s food.  Not thinking, I walked right through the middle of the restaurant, on a mission to get more napkins, with them held up in my hand.  I walked right past a poor woman who I think had a mild panic attack, and a police officer who gave me a quick look-over and realized that I was probably harmless.

Yogurt on the Couch

Really, I want this blog to be a way for my sweet daughter (and her future brothers/sisters) to look back at life, to see what their day-to-day looked like, what made them laugh, what made them sad, what they taught me, how they loved life, how they loved others.  In that effort, my sweetest little love bug.  Enjoying yogurt.  On the couch (yikes, I must have had a momentary lapse or something – silly me!).  She was happy.  I thought she was quite photogenic.  Which she is, wouldn’t you agree?

 

 

 

Worthy of leaving the dinner table…

Abi-girl is in water-mode.  Favorite activity in the house right now?  The jury is still out on that one, but quite possibly the answer will be YES!  We love to color in the bath, read books in the bath, practice swimming in the bath, experiment with pouring water out of different objects, you name it.  Great innovation comes out of bath time!  As Abi and I were sitting down for dinner the other night, I thought she was pretty much done, as she was mostly just playing with her food (a habit that we are  trying to discourage!) – so I asked her, “Abi are you all done?”  “Noooo,” was the quick response from baby.  AHA!  I changed my question a bit, “Abi, do you know that when we’re all done with dinner, we’re going to go and take a baaaath?”  Hehe, I’m so sneaky.  So, after a moment of revelation flashed across her face… “all done!!!” with words and sign was abi’s change of heart!  Oh, how I love her.

Why we blog…

Or at least why I do.  Found this quote and totally identified with it.

“We write to taste life twice, once in the moment and in retrospection.”

-Anais Nin-

So, as we continue into documenting our baby’s  life in 2010, I know that I will think about this many-a-time.  It is a joy to taste life twice; thanks for taking a taste with us!

To end baby’s 2009

Here are some highlights.  Abi-girl, you’ve given us a joy-filled year.  Your sweet soul adds such glee to our lives.  We are ever grateful.  Our love  for you multiplies daily.  May you grow in grace and wisdom!

What I’ve been up to – Part II

To remember a beautiful few days in 2009.  As we celebrated our Savior and enjoyed one another!

Baking with momma:

Asking poppa to put in every bow!

Looking oh-so-pretty!

Having a tea party on Christmas morning – thanks Great Grandma!

And officially saying a semi-goodbye (we still use them if it’s just for an hour or so) to my cloth diapers!  We are sad for this event, but we were more sad at having to go through multiple outfits a day!  This girl can pee!

What I’ve been up to: Part I

This girl has been busy!  Her life in pictures these past three weeks:

Mimi & Grandpa Zo came.  This means lots of playing/reading/doing semi-whatever she wants!

Including bubbles:

Watching Sid the Science Kid with Grandpa Zo:

Going to the park!

Going out to eat and Chuy’s and burning herself on the fajita plate!  Poor baby!  Ohhh, it was just so awful.  We all thought that she couldn’t reach that darn-plate.  She proved us wrong.  We are so sad Abi!  (As an update, we are thankful for answered prayers in that the blisters never popped, and all appears to be healing well.)

Going to Central Market (lots of times – the holidays = lot of  yummy times!)

Thank you for your generosity and love as we celebrated baby Jesus!

 

Cousin Josh!  (and of course Aunt Jenny, Uncle Brian, Nanny and Grandpa!)

 

Yummy ice-cream!