Family Fun

I fell seriously behind on postings during the month of September. I'm still trying to catch up on a topic by topic basis instead of chronologically. In my last post, I focused on the Abby's latest antics and accomplishments. Since we moved close to most of our family a couple of years ago, Abby gets to see grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins pretty frequently. This post will be dedicated to posting pictures of a few of those visits, i.e. the ones where I remembered to bring my camera. And I'm sure a few (okay, several) mentions of Abby's antics will slip in along the way.

We met Great-Grandpa Bill, Great-Grandma Barbara, and Claudia for Sunday lunch a few weeks back. Once I get a group shot set up, Abby turns solemn.

Nana Diana also joined us at the restaurant. She brought Abby a cuddly moose from a recent trip to Maine. The moose got her laughing.

Later that Sunday, we got a quick shot of Abby with Papa & Nene at Su-Su's house. By this point the lack of a morning nap (too much excitement in the church nursery!) had given us one grouchy girl. The lure of a sippy cup keeps her content long enough for one picture. Unfortunately, Abby was done with pictures before we could get one with Su-Su.

We met Uncle Adam and cousins A.J. and Makenna, at a traveling circus. It was cheesy (to put it mildly) but fun. A.J. was old enough to really enjoy it. Makenna was a little less interested. Abby was totally disinterested in the circus, but was quite taken with Makenna's blond hair and spent most of the time trying to pull it.

Here's the official group circus photo, taken in front of the pony rides. (We did not ride.) Makenna sports a cute little jumper and peeks at the camera from behind pretend glasses, I think. It's pretty tricky to get a good shot of these three.

Abby likes to look at her own picture or pictures of other children. Interestingly, she says "da-da" when she points at the picture.

Here's Abby pointing and smiling at her own picture, held by Nana Diana.

This year I've been helping out with hospitality for our Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. The year-long theme is "Adventures in Mothering." The idea is an amusement park of sensory experiences, highs, and lows as a metaphor for motherhood. Each month's topic is correlated to a particular ride. This month's topic was perspective, likened to the view from the top of a ferris wheel. So, I made this fun ferris wheel cake. It turned out great. Click here to see the directions. I made the two pieces at home and set it up at church. But in my haste to see how it would look, I set it up too early. Good thing I took this picture early, because the rice krispy treat was starting to break apart by the time dinner was served.

The cake was not technically hard to make, but it was tedious and time consuming. Abby and I tackled the project together. She picked my baking day to take the shortest afternoon nap ever. Our kitchen was quite hazardous after both of us "cooked" all day.

Abby's hair is growing thicker and longer. She woke up from her afternoon nap with the cutest little curl on the back of her head. It stayed there all afternoon. I tried several times to get a good picture of it and the one below was the best I could do. I have the straightest of straight hair, so I found the rouge curl especially cute. I really hope Abby gets those little baby curls at the back of her neck over the next year or so. I feel pretty certain they'll be the only natural curls she ever has.

Taking pictures has almost become a two-man job at our house, especially if you want a close-up of your subject. Most of my recent attempts alone have turned out something like this as Abby swats at my camera.

I had the bright idea to put Abby in the Bumbo seat to keep her still for the picture. Within a few seconds she flung herself out of the Bumbo, hit the floor rolling, and then popped up grinning. It kind of reminded me of an action movie where the hero jumps out of a moving car. Maybe Abby will inherit her dad's athleticism instead of my clumsiness!

They say that "necessity is the mother of invention." Well, the AAP may have recommended avoiding walkers, but a girl's got to get around somehow. Abby loves to "drive" a loaded laundry basket by walking behind and pushing. She turned up missing from the living room, along with my laundry. She was in the hall when I found her. I watched her navigate a left turn into our bedroom. Here the tables are turned as the driver recieves a ride in the empty basket.

We took in a parade on Saturday. Here's one of the cutest floats.

Here's an interesting parade entry called the "Hillybilly Carpool."

This was not Abby's first parade. We took her to the Memorial Day Parade a few months back, but she played with Jonathan's watch the whole time instead of watching. This time she did a lot of chewing on her stroller strap, so I wasn't sure whether she was really watching the parade. But when a float full of cheerleaders came by cheering, she copied and clapped her hands. When another float of cheerleaders came by, she picked up on the phrase "let's go" from their cheer. She said her newest word, "go-go-go", over and over after that.

The best part of the parade was the free balloon Abby brought home.

She loved bopping herself repeatedly on the head by moving her arm as fast as it would go. Here she is mid-flinch.

To follow the extensive gravity research Abby has conducted by dropping things from her high chair, she decided to explore the properties of helium. She had a great time letting the balloon go, watching it rise to the ceiling, and waiting impatiently for someone to retrieve it for her. (There is a giant cardboard box in our living room, but that is a topic for another post.)

We also visited Abby's great-grandparents, Paw-Paw and Nana. Paw-Paw is not big on baby holding but since Abby is way past the itty-bitty stage, these two had a great time. Paw-Paw showed Abby some of his deer mounts. She was quite intrigued and pointed but chose not to touch.

Abby shows off her belly in this picture with Nana. Abby also showed off her page-turning and coffee-table-cruising skills for Nana. She made repeated attempts to get into Nana's scrapbooks but mean old Mom foiled her every time.

Here's a cute picture of Abby sporting her first fall dress of the season, courtesy of Aunt Diane.

While I'm on the subject of family, I want to include a few other family pictures from the months before I started the blog.

A one-day-old Abby meets Su-Su for the first time.

Cousins Peyton, Abby, & Brooke all decked out in their Easter finest.

Abby kicks back with Uncle Tim & Aunt Amy at Grandpa Bill's house on Easter afternoon.

Abby enjoys the spring weather and a good chew on her hands with Pappy Darrell and Nana Linda.

Cousins Abby and Zachary play in the baby pool at Aunt Diane's.

Abby relaxes on the front porch with Pappy Steve and Nana Diana. (Notice Jonathan's smile-inducing jumping jacks reflected in the window.)

Abby gets her first feel of sand on her feet at the family reunion with Aunt Janet.

As I conclude another marathon post, I wonder if I'll ever get in the routine of short, frequent updates.