Happy Fall!

Yes, the leaves fall a little bit even in Dallas. It's been really cool this week--it was literally summer here last week and suddenly it was "cold" fall (cold for Texas:)) A good time for being outside with the pumpkins. We've been inside a lot lately because poor Abigail had her very first ear infection, a double one to boot, and is still finishing her second round of antibiotics. So we are so glad she's feeling better now.

This is her very own little pumpkin that has a couple of bumps on it that she promptly called boo-boos. She doesn't miss a thing!

We've had a fun time before getting sick---my whole family came from Kansas City and stayed with us. We had fun as usual--the guys went to the TX vs. OU game while the girls did a little shopping and lots of talking! We also went to Belton, TX to see our good friend Libby cheer at the football game. Abigail got to go on the track with all of the girls and got a pom-pom which she loved. Her cousin Kole really wanted one too, and called it a "pom-flag", but his Daddy said no way!

Our little gymnast

Abigail went to her friend Gracie's 3 year old birthday party at ASI gymnastics and had a blast. She really is quite the little climber and flipper for being so little. Colby taught her how to do "flips" and she actually tucks her little head in with the proper form! Here she is "jumping" on the trampoline with all of the big kids watching. I was proud of her, but a little exhausted after chasing her around a huge gym, and all of its hazards for an hour.



I had to show her TWO ponytails to everyone. Her hair is still short on the top, but long and curly in the back---long enough for her first two ponytails.

First Day of "School"!

Abigail started Sunshine School at our church this week! She's in a little one year old class for two days a week. I have been looking forward to this for a long time. Without our families in town, I just don't get a lot of breaks during the day, so this worked out perfectly. It also allows me to do a little dental hygiene work. I wasn't sure what to expect, and wasn't sure if Abigail would like it, but I'm so glad we took her. I had no idea what a big operation Sunshine School is at our church. There were tons of kids there, so Abigail was just in awe. I thought it might be overstimulating to her since she doesn't have sibling/cousin's around a lot---Nope!! She didn't want to go home when I picked her up!! She loves it. When I dropped her off, the teacher had music on and was dancing with the babies---I just think it will be so good for her. So, I didn't plan much for the day because I was so focused on getting her bag/lunch/etc. together and just getting her started. I drove off and just took this huge breath, like "Aaahhh"---it was a wonderful and sort of strange feeling. I'm really looking forward to doing some things for myself while Abigail is in school---solo grocery trips, working out alone, meeting Colby for lunch alone, doctors appointments for ME actually, and just being able to dive into a project/cleaning at home without having to stop because nap time is over!!

We're so proud of our big girl with her school lunch bag. Wow, it's going by fast.

Okay, she's still a baby with strawberry sunglasses on!! We take long walks in our neighborhood all the time, and she likes to wear her sunglasses. She cracks us up. She's got quite a little personality already. If you ask her what her name is she will answer "Abby" very clearly. I love it!

August Update

What a month! August has been a little wild--we had our trip to Arkansas, Abigail was sick with a throat virus for about 2 weeks, I worked a little, my family came to visit, and at the peak of all of this, our air conditioning broke last week during the hottest week of the summer. My Mom was in town to watch Abigail so I could work last week and on their first afternoon together, the A/C broke. It took the entire week to get our new A/C--thankfully our warrenty payed for it---so we spent the week just trying to stay cool. I was getting ready for work one morning at 5:30 a.m. and it was still 90 degrees in our home--Yuck! So I am so thankful to be sitting in our cool house today. Here is just some fun new pics of our little squirt!

Abigail and her best friend Macie ( well, some day anyways!). They were dressed alike at church with their purple gingham. Yep, I still don't know how to rotate!

Playing in the water fountain when Aunt Jamie was in town to visit. Any place to eat with a fountain is a good place to be for us right now. She was all full of chips and guacamole, and Jamie fed her lots of queso too. She's a little Texas baby.

Playing with Aunt "Mamie". Jamie only gets 4 days off a month with her residency and she came to visit us while using them all. Had a blast as always. We had a successful trip to Sam Moon---Jennifer you should have been with us:) My parents came to visit also. Abigail calls my dad "Bop" and they are pretty big buds. My Dad is very high energy, so we think Abigail is just drawn to him since she is a fast paced mover girl. She likes to be with him, because he doesn't want to stay in one place either just like her:)

I never even think to put Abigail in this type of cart when we go to the store, but apparantly Colby's been doing it for a while when he goes with Abigail. And, she loves it! He started to put her in and I said " No, Colby--she's too little for that!" I was wrong! She keeps her hands on the wheel almost the entire time we're in the store.

Colby's Reunion

We went to Fayetteville a couple of weeks ago for Colby's 10 year HS reunion. We had fun romping around Fayetteville like high schoolers again. Thanks to Nana Barb and Aunt Hannah, who watched Abigail for us Friday and Saturday night.
We had a family picnic Saturday afternoon. Abigail fell and got her first busted lip:(

Colby, Abigail and I went to downtown Fayetteville before the picnic. It is one of my favorite little "downtowns". They have a farmers market every Sat and this fountain that all of the kids are aloud to play in. Abigail had so much fun--she's a little water baby. She says the word "water" as clear as day---no kidding. Our pediatrician was shocked!

Favorite Things

She may be little, but this girl knows what she wants. I seem to hear that a lot from friends with little girls lately. I've taught Abigail some sign language to ease some of the frustration of trying to tell me things that she REALLY wants! I've taught her "more", "down", "all done", and a couple of others. The three that I listed are the ones that she is most motivated to do. She signs "more" with so much feeling it cracks us up. She wants "more" of that really bad Mama! And the "more" sign means more food, more toys, more flags to look at on the side of the road; pretty much anything she's wanting at the time, but it's made things a lot easier at our house. So, here is one thing Abigail likes "more" of---her couch! We know it doesn't really go with the decor, but Abigail loves this couch. She climbs all over it, leans back when it's getting close to rest time, and stacks toys on the seat. Hours of fun right here!
Fresh, from the market, sweet corn on the cob. She actually gets some little kernals off of there. Loves it!

And most of all, making this face!! What to do??!! I haven't learned sign language for "please don't give Mama dirty looks Abigail!!" Hilarious

Day at the Farm

We had the best time at this children's farmstead park near Kansas City. The best part was that is was free! Abigail LOVES animals, so she was so happy there. They had lots of wild animals, and little petting zoo areas. They even had a little fishing hole, and pony rides. This picture of Abigail and Kole is dark, but they just look so cute together. Abigail literally is at his heels 24/7. She copies everything he does; and he's so gentle with her and just kind of stares at her like a true guy, as if to say " what is up with her?!" Kole keeps all of his toys in a little pile and carries them around, so Abigail won't take them. She knows exactly which ones are his too, the ones she cannot take, and goes straight for them. So, it was nice to catch a sitting still moment with them.
Abigail is not afraid of animals at all, which I get a kick out of. She just walks right up to dogs, goats, whatever, and would pet all over their face if I would let her. She loved these little goats--they were just her size.

Kole, Abigail and I enjoying the farm.

We were able to buy a bottle of goat milk to feed the little baby goats! This was our favorite.

And here is "fearless" Abigail feeding the goat herself! Although, she got a little confused and attempted to drink the bottle thinking it was her own bottle. That was a little difficult to explain, but ultimately, she shared with the goat!

What fun to watch our little girl enjoy things in the world and having little first experiences like this one!

To Grandmother's House We Go

Abigail and I just got back from a 10 day trip to Kansas City to spend time with my family. My whole family lives there, so we go stay for a while and pretend we actually live there! Abigail just jumps right in with this crew, and she just knows she's comfortable there. Abigail and I flew up and then Colby came and stayed a couple of days and flew back with us. We fly by ourselves usually, but it's a million times easier with some help. Somebody's drink always ends up in some lap, and unfortunately for the guy next to us, it was his lap! Whoops!!

One of the first things on our agenda (besides Kole's pirate 3rd birthday!), was meeting my Grandma Betty in her little town for lunch at her house. We played in the park before to play. She had little tables for the kids and made it so special for us. She's a mover and a shaker, and still plays with these babies. Special memories for us last week.
Grandma Betty, my mom, Jack, Abigail and Kole at the park. Kole had picked flowers for everyone.

A Night Out!

I sure do love spending my days with little Abigail, but I also sure do love getting away for a while. Colby arranged for a babysitter all by himself for last night so we could have a night out with a nice long dinner with no interruptions. It was wonderful. He took me to 3 Forks; it's a really nice restaurant here in Dallas. It was a real treat. We did it up right too! Colby has been there for work stuff, and his boss knows the proprietor, so he knew the inside secrets. We ordered appetizers and drinks that were not on the menu. We each had a wonderful seafood appetizer, and both ordered steak.
I've had quite a birthday week! This morning, Colby and Abigail hung out, and I went to brunch with my girlfriends Abbie and Nancy. After brunch, we relaxed in massaging chairs and had pedicures. 5 hours later, brunch was over! That's usually how it works when us girls get together!

Emily's Birthday!

I really did have on of the most fun birthdays yesterday!! Colby took a 1/2 day off from work, so we went to lunch and ate outside and just relaxed. We went to dinner later to eat at Taco Diner ( so yummy if you visit Dallas), and my friends were all there with there kids too. Colby had planned a little surprise party for me. It was just what I would have wanted.

Abigail is really into her shades as you can see. She keeps them on during car rides, and left them on in the restaurant on my birthday for a while. So funny.

Memorial Day

We had a fun Memorial Day. We had kind of an improptu party with our friends Abbie and Shane Melton and their new baby Macie, and my friend Lesley Busby. Lesley lives literally around the corner and walked over to our house! We cooked out and shared a huge watermelon. We were all planning on walking to this park where there was a free concert, but it was pouring rain here in Dallas. So we just hung out and talked babies. Abigail was intrigued by Lesley and hung pretty close to her all night!

Abigail and little Macie (just 3 weeks old)

Cheerio's where?

Our stroller was parked in our entryway from a walk we took earlier in the day. Abigail, who notices anything out of place, went straight to it. She kept trying to motion me over to her and it seemed like she wanted up in the stroller. She saw that her Cheerio's were in it---one of her favorite things! So here's Abigail in her stoller in our house eating Cheerio's. She stayed there forever, and when I would go to get her out she would push away so she stay in there. It just made me laugh! A little personality and very strong opinions already forming. Amazing!

Another Birthday!

We had a wonderful visit from Colby's family from Fayetteville, Arkansas last week. They came down to celebrate Abigail's first birthday, so she had another party. I don't think it helped her grasp the concept any more though! I cooked dinner Friday night for us--it was fun showing our house in it's more completed stage. The last time they were here, Abigail was 2 weeks old, and needless to say, thinks were a little different!

Colby's sister Hannah has two little ones. McKinley, 5, and Grant, 15 months, who is blissfully asleep on his Auntie Em! Babies sure are sweet like that!

We cooked out hot dogs and had another wonderful cake for Abigail. We get a lot of our cakes from this bakery in Dallas which are irresistable! This one had layers of cake with real strawberries stacked on the inside--yummy. I think the cake was more for Mama!

Abigail's new ladybug Bible. She loves it---every day I put it back in the box, and everyday she calls me over to help her take it out, and then drags it around by the red string. Several minutes of entertainment!

Everyone ready for bed. McKinley, Grant and Abigail. We didn't stage it quite right in front of the glass window--whoops:) Abigail had so much fun with her little cousins. She was so intrigued watching McKinley and Grant interact, and McKinley was so sweet to her. She taught Abigial how to "pat" her Bible.

Abigail is one!!

I cannot believe it has been a whole year. This has been the fastest year of my life I think. What a journey!
Abigail turned one while we were in Florida, so she had quite a bash with her relatives there. She had lots of balloons, which is probably her absolute most favorite thing. She can spot them a mile away. We were in a hotel, so we had to improvise a little. We managed to grill some hot dogs with all the fixins, and get a pretty cute little cake for her. She pretty much received a new wardrobe for the summer with matching hats and shoes too. So cute! Lots of bathing suits, and my sister Jamie and Uncle Jake made a DVD with pictures and videos from her first year of life set to music. It was so special, and I'm playing it for Abigail since we've been home, and she seriously watches it.

Little Jack, my sister Ana's newest baby --5 months old now. He and Abigail are the same size. So she'll have two big boys, Jack and his brother Kole, to protect her when they go to college together some day! Jack is such a trooper, he just goes with the flow.

Abgail scrunched up her nose to try to blow out the candles. She was so excited.

She really got into this cake thing. She just kind of picked at it at first, but she ended up picking up this entire piece at one point. She's got the Kulild dental sweet tooth I think!

What a happy little messy girl!

Nana made her Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes the morning of her birthday in the hotel. This little girl was feeling pretty special last week!

Thanks for all of your support and love this first year for our little family and for our sweet baby. She still seems like a baby to me!

Finally, a vacation!

Abigail is pretty attached to her Nana. She's not too interested in me when Nana's around, which of course is fine by me.

Here's Abigail and Aunt "Mamie" ( aka Jamie ) at our pool in Orlando. She kept her little shades on!

After two long years, we finally had a vacation! Our last trip was to California two years ago, then we bought our "fixer upper" house which compromised a lot of our time. Then suddenly, it was baby time! We met my immediate family in Orlando and had a blast. We all stayed in a 3 bedroom place, which actually worked out perfectly. It's a lot of fun getting to stay together, so that when we put the babies to bed we get to hang out. Little Abigail was just sacked out every night from all of the fun she was having.
We had absolutely perfect weather. We had a full week after going to Epcot, Sea World, some botanical gardens, pool time and outlet mall time.

Abigail was not at all afraid of these guys. I think she grabbed every single one of their noses. Chip and Dale held her in their laps, and she was just so intrigued.

My pictures are kind of out of order---I'm learning how to blog as I go along!

I've joined the masses too!!

Well, I used to make fun of these blog things, but I realized all of it's advantages, so I think this will be so much easier to give updates, send pictures, etc. Now, with little Abigail, we are taking a million pictures, and it's tough to keep up with developing and sending them out. Since we're far away from everyone, this helps me feel much more connected, plus, it's just fun. We miss all of you guys down here in Texas!