Memorial Day: Part 2

These pictures are actually from Monday, but since I have millions from the shower I went to on Sunday, it is easier to post these first.

We started the day looking at more houses (we are def. buying very soon, just harder than we thought to find a house).

Then Abby and I headed out to Amber and Caden's house.

Sweet baby passed out 10 minutes into the 45 minute drive. With her purse in her hands above her head.

As soon as we got there though, she jumped right in!

My poor little OCD gal loves washing her hands in pools. It cracks me up every time.



Caden joined in after his nap. Abby proceeded to do her nervous pick of the nose.

Then she just stared out him very nervously.

And made faces.

Finally, got the shot of both of them looking at the camera. Not smiling, but at least looking.

I am so glad that I found this picture. It is last June. Isn't it just crazy how much they have grown? I will have to take a picture of the two of them every year now!

After swimming, we changed and played inside.

Abby was over the moon about the broom and I'm pretty sure swept a large portion of the house!

********************

Happy Memorial Day to everyone that:

• Serves our country



• Died for our country



• Served our country in the past



• Was/is lucky enough to have a family member that did any of the above.

Bless you all today!

Memorial Day: Part One

Today was such a fun day of girl's fun. We went shopping and swimming and just had so much fun. No pictures of the swimming, but trust me that she is still a water baby!

Cutting coupons with Mommy. She loves it and told me the color of every coupon.

I dressed her in a red, white and blue outfit. We intended to go to the flag memorial at the Avenues, but it was way too hot.


But she was still oh so cute! I love putting her in dresses.

We found a great deal on sunglasses at The Children's Place, so we got two sets. $2.50 each with 15% off.

I literally busted out laughing when I turned around in the car and saw both of them on her. I couldn't get a good shot of them, but this is close.

**************

A small confession: Sometimes my heart hurts from loving this gal so much. As I was rocking her tonight with Bunny, Puppy, and Kitty (the three stuffed animals that are necessary for her to sleep), all I could think was that there is no other place on this planet that I would rather be.

On a Saturday night.

Sometimes it actually scares me to think of having another child. I know that 99% of my friends are now preggars with their second child. But I truly can't imagine having so much love for another person.

Maybe one day.....lol.

The Good, The Sad, and The Audrey

The Good:

Although I traveled all weekend, my sweet baby was well taken care of by both sets of grandparents and her Daddy of course.

She was a little upset about the paint on her arms though!

But got REALLY excited about a puppy sticker.

I missed her terribly, but I am pretty sure that she survived without me.

*****************

The Sad:

I was honored to attend the memorial of my dear friend, Mike McQueeney.

It was a wonderful memorial of his life and his love for his beautiful wife and daughter. He is missed by so many.

**********

The Audrey:

Although it was a sad weekend, Audrey was the bright spot in it all. She is absolutely adorable and a total ham.

Case in point - Sunglasses!

Beautiful Julie and Audrey!

Audrey Bound

Although, I am sad to have to head back under certain circumstances - I am overly joyed to see sweet Ms. Audrey tomorrow.

But I do get to remember this awesome Daddy and the first time Audrey swam in the lake!

This is how big this little sweetie was last time we met. Now she is 1!

I can't wait to get my hands on her!

Girls Night

I really miss Stu at night as he is night school, but it is also a great time to bond with Abby.

A few fun things that we did:

Manis and Pedis - We sat on the floor in our bathroom and cut finger and toe nails and then removed previous nail polish (this is actually the first time she has let me remove her nail polish). Then I repainted them - pink on the fingers and purple on the toes.

Drying the nails - She was just so sweet and patient. My favorite part is when we "blow" on them. She seems to think that involves blowing on the palm of her hands. It is too funny.

Watching DWTS - I love Monday and Tuesday nights. I am not even remotely a fan of DWTS, but Abby loves it. She dances like a madwoman.

Watching DWTS in Momma's bed - About 7:30, we sit in Momma's bed and watch DWTS. When the songs are playing, she runs around on the bed or jumps in the air and lands on her bottom.

Reading Books - She reads her books to me. I really need to get a video of it. She screams random syllables and words at the top of her lungs. I laugh every night about it. I called Stu today and heard her "reading" in the background. He said that she was reading a story to Ali. I swear she will be a teacher.

Baby Jesus - Every night we pray to Baby Jesus. She comes up with the most random stuff. Tonight we named every person (all guys) in her MDO class. And their parents. And the teachers. I'm really sad that she only has two more classes left.

More Rocking - She is such a procrastinator about sleeping. It is "More Milk" or "More Rock" or "More Baby Jesus". Anything to not go to sleep.

**We are 100% Paci free. They are thrown away. Tonight, while walking, she looked at me super serious, "Momma, Paci All Gone. Abby Big Girl". Now, we just have to work on the potty training ;)**

***********

It is chilly here, so we needed a jacket for our walk tonight. Since Ali was doing flips in the air, after hearing "walk", I had to hurry. I grabbed the first thing I saw in the closet (which seriously needs to be cleaned out).

Turned out to be a 12 month jacket. Just a tad too small. She complained the entire walk about it not staying on her head.

And of course will only pose when Ali "crazy eyes" is in the shot.

*********

Thanks to everyone that left comments on Julie's post. Information about the memorial is here.

Heartbroken

Tonight, I am heartbroken. One of my dear friends, Mike, lost his battle with cancer. You can read the whole story here.

My heart hurts for Julie as I cannot even begin to imagine what she is going through right now.

Please pray for Julie and her sweet baby Audrey during this ordeal.

Sorry, I can't write more about it. I have cried on and off all day.

Julie is such an amazing person with a heart of gold. I know she will be strong through this horrible situation, but it still really sucks.

Some Sayings

I have heard some really funny things lately (on Movies and IRL) and just had to share:

• 
  
  Stu and I watched "No Strings Attached" the other night. The girls in the movie were on their monthly cycles and one cried, "It is like a crime scene in my panties". I know that is gruesome, but I actually laughed out loud at just typing this. That is funny writing. I cannot stop laughing about it.


• 
  
  Today we were driving around looking at houses (hopefully, VERY good news on that to come). I don't remember what I bossed Stu into doing, like make a certain turn or something, but he turns to me and says, "Just hold the head, I'm f***ing this goat". Again, a small smile on my face as I type this.

Ok, On to more PG things. Sorry for the R-rated comments.

• 
  
  Asking Abby if she wants to go into Time Out: "Yes, please momma"


• 
  
  I saw Abby this morning after not seeing her since Wednesday. She squeals and we hug. Then she looks at me dead serious and says, "Wheel of Fortune".


• 
  
  My favorite time, although probably won't win me Mother of the Year, is her getting in my face and saying "No, Momma" with the most serious face ever. For pretty much anything that I ask her to do.


• 
  
  Driving around this afternoon, Abby kept saying, "Abby need nap". Finally, I turned around to her and said, "Abby, just close your eyes if you need a nap". And she did.


• 
  
  Randomly, in the middle of praying to Baby Jesus, she says, "Julie and Audrey, please".


• 
  
  "I MUST watch Yo, Gabba, Gabba".


• 
  
  "I need MILK". Driving down the interstate, with no milk in the car.

Hope that makes you all laugh, as it did me.

I am just looking forward to more random sayings as she gets older!

Original Use of Yogurt

Abby insisted on having yogurt after dinner tonight.

I gave her some peach yogurt and just let her go while I did dishes.

Apparently, the spoon was too civilized for her to use.

She ate it straight out of the carton. Getting it all over her face in the process.

And MAD since Momma wanted to take a picture!

***********

I really hate bugs.

And I have a random fear of killing them on carpet. I have seen too many instances where it doesn't kill them and they just keep going.

I saw a giant spider tonight and started screaming and scaring Abby in the process. She jumped on the couch and refused to walk on the carpet. Not really something that I wanted to pass on, but oh well.

This is what Stu came home to:

If you look to the far right under the tupperware, you can see that sucker. I trapped him and stacked books on top of it. Yes, that is my high school yearbook.

And I totally used the zoom on my camera to catch this. I was not getting close, just in case.

Paci Update and Meatloaf

We are on night 5 of No Paci.

I know that many of you are like, "Please Ann, it is not that hard". But I think that it is harder for me than it is for Abby.

To me, it just signifies that she is getting older. Maybe the Paci made me feel like she is still my little baby. Hearing her say (in her super serious voice), "Paci All Gone, Abby Big Girl" breaks my heart into a million pieces.

But as each night goes on, it gets easier - for both of us.

*************

Meatloaf - what the F* is this?

Stu told me a few days ago that he was making meatloaf.

I have no idea what Meatloaf is. I actually called my mom and asked her why I didn't know what Meatloaf is. She said my dad refuses to eat it, so she never made it.

I tried to keep an open mind. On my walk with Amanda tonight, I asked her about this mystery meat. She said it is DELICIOUS and I was so lucky to have that for dinner.

I get home and open it up.

I immediately started physically gagging. Physically gagging.

Abby was super pumped about it, so I managed to heat some up for her. It took every ounce of my body to hand her that congealed meat. She ate it up like it was the best thing ever.

I realize that it is just hamburger meat and some other random stuff (in Stu's case, zucchini, which I love), but it is something about the idea of a loaf of meat that just makes me want to barf.

Stu told me I was insane not to try it. If that random meat does not leave my fridge before I get home tomorrow, I might just lose my mind.

Mother's Day Weekend

After two days off work, I was ready to get out of the house!

On Saturday, Amanda and I hosted a bridal shower for Michelle. We had a great time and it was great catching up with everyone. Courtney, Tracy, Me, Michelle, Amber, Amanda and Kelly.

After that, Amanda, Abby and I drove to Green Hills to exchange my bridesmaid dress for a (gasp!) smaller size.

Then Abby and I went home and played.

I bought these felt shamrocks months ago on clearance at Michaels.

Abby loves to glue them to paper.

She also loves to peel the address stickers that we get from St Judes and put them on paper.

***********

Mother's Day was great. We had brunch with my family at O'Charley's and then dinner with Olive Garden with Stu's family.

Afterwards we went shopping and Abby got her first glove!

She was not very happy about having her picture taken though.

Really unhappy!

Devastated!

Until she started playing with it.

Her and Daddy practiced throwing the ball back and forth.

*********

Stu and I are not big gift givers. I told him that the main thing I wanted was to get my wedding bands re sized as I haven't worn them in quite some time (like a year!). So I took them to Kay's on Saturday and they should be back in a week or so.

So I told him that the only thing I wanted from him was one measly Mother's Day card.

Sunday morning came and.....no card. I had to send him to Target to get some tissue paper. Hint, hint, come back with a card.

This is what I got. I laughed so hard. It says, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy. Love, Abby".

Apparently, he wrote it with his left hand. I will forever treasure this.

*********

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies and soon-to-be mommies!

Quick (Late Night) Post

No paci since Wednesday!!!

It has been rough. But with the grandparents help (of wearing her out) and the weekend, we are 4 days with no Paci!

The past two nights, she has cried for it. "Mommy, please paci". But I have kept firm with "Paci, All gone".

Tomorrow night is trash night, so I am thinking to just toss it. Am I that brave??

Random Pictures (i.e. Bored to Tears)

Yesterday, after a continuous aching throat, I went to the Walgreens clinic. I was told I had strep throat and not to be in contact with anyone for 48 hours. Vacation! HaHa...more like a nightmare. I haven't left the apartment in 24 hours and I am stir......crazy!

I would give anything to see my baby girl. I miss her so much and I just think it makes it worse knowing that she is 20 minutes away!

I will have to comfort myself in these pictures.

My Mother's Day present from Abby. She made it at MDO. Too cute!

Another Mother's Day present. I am not too sure if I believe the lips are really hers!

I am very close to giving these pictures to the grandparents (Di...you will get it tomorrow!), but this is Abby's Spring Picture.

I can't look at this without smiling. The crossed ankles, the hands in the lap, the bad haircut, the look on the face of....I am going to jump up from this in approx. 2 1/2 seconds and destroy the entire room.

*********

Some random Cell Pictures:

Buffet at Snappy Tomato.

Girl slammed down 5 pieces! I tried to give her a salad, nope only wanted pizza.

She earned that free dinner!

(Gammy pics)

Abby and her cousin Chris at the ball park tonight.

How cute and coy is she in the UT sweatshirt. Too bad they are cousins!

Hanging out on the trampoline.

I love this picture.

It actually reminded me of this picture (from the hospital).

Look at that hair.

Don't worry, I am not cutting it again. I will hire a professional, I swear.

Jessica's British Tea

This past Saturday, Jessica, my mom and I drove to Chattanooga to The English Rose for a bridal tea. Here are all the ladies and Jessica in front of The English Rose. Jessica looking all bridal-like!

The best part is that while I took the day off to watch the Royal Wedding, Jessica had no interest in it at all. Well, going to a British Tea Room the day after a royal wedding....they had brought in a TV and replayed the wedding over and over the two hours we were there. I was in heaven.

The ladies taking pictures of Jessica. They tried to get her to sit in the giant chair on the stairs to open presents. Lucky for her, it didn't happen.

*********

That was the only pictures that I got!! But we really enjoyed it. It was the first of MANY showers that she has lined up until the wedding!

Weekend Wrap Up

We had such a fun weekend!!

Of course, it all started with the Royal Party.

Then, I went with my mom and Jessica to a Tea Room in Chattanooga. I will post on that later.

Saturday afternoon, mom and I took Abby to a local park.

Abby loved being on the swings. This is probably the first time she was on a "big girl" swing.

She was loving it.



Getting ready to go down the slide.






How fun!!!







***************


Sunday, we went to church and then the Discovery Center.



I love, love, love the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. It is so perfect for Abby's age.



Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car.





But I did get a picture of this little gem. Abby loves to put her diaper on herself.





I know. I know. Any child that can work at putting their own diaper on should be potty trained.









I did give Stu a list of things to start working on this week. It is obviously not only his responsibility, but with him watching her so much, he has the opportunity to work on it more.

Abby got this tutu for her first birthday. She has REFUSED to put it on since then.

So when she finally did, I had to snap tons of pictures.

How sweet does she look???

Extreme close up of those gorgeous brown eyes.

Hard to see, but her purple high heels completed the look.