Welcome Back Sunshine

Spring made a brief appearance recently and we had a few lovely days. Unfortunately, it's back to being cold and rainy. I think March forgot that it is supposed to come IN like a lion and OUT like a lamb.

On one of the sunny days, Abby and I threw on shorts, sandals and hats and met some friends outside. She looked adorable, but she had never worn her sandals before so she biffed it and received her first scuffed knees. Sad.

Abby was most interested in eating the candy from the bowl I have been bringing everywhere with me in a desperate attempt to make somebody else eat my candy. But, the New Moon candy hearts aren't any more appealing to others than they are to me.

Big Girl Chair

Abby finally reached the 20 pound mark so we ordered her a new, front-facing carseat. She sat in it, had her babies sit in it, climbed on it and had an all-out good time. It was a big hit...while it was in the house. It didn't have quite the same awesome-factor in the car. During her first ride, she was fussing. I turned and asked her if she was in her big girl chair. She said "yeah" and stop whining for a minute. She wanted her chair to be special, but her dislike for being in the car won out in the end and the fussing continued. Dang!

Self Portrait

Abby turned on the camera and took ten pictures...of the ground.





Aren't those the cutest feet you've ever seen?

I think she has a futute as a photographer.

More visitors...

We have been totally blessed with visitors since we have moved to Philly. I just hope this streak keeps up during our next three years here.

We got home from Michigan at around 1:00 a.m. and my parents arrived that evening around 5:00. How lucky are we!?! We had a lot of fun spending a few days with them.

We ate Ritas, Pats, Genos, Five Guys and some yummy BBQ, not to mention the delicious meals I prepared at home. (Gotta pat your own back once in a while.)
We went to the King of Prussia Mall. My mom and I can never resist a chance to shop together!
Abby got spoiled with gifts and attention.
I got spoiled with gifts and attention.

Abby loved bringing grandpa books to read. Oftentimes, he read about one word before she got up, picked another book and plopped down on his lap again.


Grandma got lots of snuggles. Abby warmed up to my parents immediately. She is really making leaps and bounds in the shyness department.


Grandma bought Abby a new bathing suit for the summer and she HAD to try it on. Isn't it stinkin' cute?


We all agreed that Pat's is the best. (Sorry Geno's!)


It was a wonderful visit! Who's next?

Our Trip to Michigan...

We have had a wonderful (nearly) two weeks of time with family. Abby and I are going through attention withdrawl. Luckily, it's less than two months until we get our next fix.

For Sam's spring break, we decided to drive to Michigan to see his brother Mike and family. We hadn't seen them for close to three years so the visit was WAY overdue.

The nine hour drive went smoothly, due mostly to the fact that Abby was sleeping most of the way. She didn't, however, sleep so well once we finally got to their house at 3:30 a.m. So, needless to say, we were exhausted.

We spent most of our week relaxing, playing games and being crafy. Sarah was my lifesaver on some of the projects I am working on.

The best part about the week was watching Abby come out of her shell. She loved playing with her Aunt and Uncle and (some of) her cousins. :) And, she really loved chasing their cat. She would slowly walk up to her, touch her and then walk away giggling and covering her mouth (and repeat.) The girl LOVES animals.

Abby was Aunt Sarah's little buddy. Sarah would play with her for a bit and Abby would follow her around until she came to play again. So cute!


Some serious Nerf action took place among the boys. I came down once but Abby was too nervous, so I didn't stay long.


Aunt Sarah gave Abby this Little People house. As you can tell, she loves it!


Sarah had a scrap of fabric left over from a project that Abby decided was really awesome. She hugged it, wrapped it around her head and pulled it between her legs.


Anders and Abby having a hug. These two were frenemies throughout the week. Anders was a bit worried about Abby cramping his style, but they shared a few tender moments.


This picture cracks me up! Sam and Anders are cheesing it up and Abby has an entire marshmallow in her mouth. Can you say chubby bunny?


Hayden- the magic scientist. He was Abby's best buddy during the week. He would read her stories and share his toys with her. I wish I had some pictures of their cute moments together but I was too busy AAAAWWWWing to get the camera.


Sam playing Just Dance with some of the boys. If you have a Wii, you should get this game. It is a blast! I seriously considered getting a Wii just to play it whenever I want.


There is a cool, little nature center by their house. Abby loved the animal skins.


Daddy showing Abby some cool stuff at the nature center.


Outside of the nature center there is a park with a playground. We had a lot of fun playing in the beautiful weather.

My two favorite people.


Abby and I looking down at some ducks.


There was only one swing, so we had the kids share it. They thought it was great! Abby has never liked the swing so much!





We had such a wonderful time! What a great way to spend spring break!

Sharing is Caring

Bears share their toys.
Bears share their honey.
Bears share a joke they think is funny.
Whatever they do,
Whatever they wear,
They share it with another bear.

Abby has a book called The Please and Thank You Book. It is filled with cute little poems about having good manners, the one above, for example.

As Abby has been surrounded by five cousins (four of which are boys) this week, I have realized she is really good at sharing. If somebody takes something from her, she doesn't care. She just goes and finds something new to play with. If somebody wants to trade a toy, she does so gladly. She's also really good at sharing food from my plate. :)

Always Accesorizing

Abby loves to put on socks, shoes, coats, hats, bows, purses, etc. She takes out these items all throughout the day, attempts to put them on herself and then lets me help her put them on. Sometimes, a tantrum ensues when one of these items needs to be removed for a nap or a meal.

Here she is rocking some legwarmers over her pajamas.



Grandma Peterson sent her a new dress and she insisted on wearing it immediately.



This is Abby wearing daddy's beanie (weird word to type).


It is so fun to watch her in these beginning stages of dress-up.

Nights with the Girls

Last week, I went with a lovely group of ladies to a karaoke bar in Chinatown. It was an absolute blast. We started out the night in the main bar section. Several of the girls ordered sushi (I don't eat that stuff, but I'm told it was delicious) and we started to warm up the pipes a bit. Then, we went into a private room where things really started to get crazy! My personal favorite songs to sing were "Wannabe" and "The Longest Time." We were all sad when our time was up. Thanks MaryAnn and Natalie for planning such a fun night. We must do it again soon!

These are the only pictures I will post. We have decided that next time we go, no cameras are allowed because all of the pictures turned out horribly unflattering.


This week, we had a hairclip making night. Everyone brought fabric, ribbon, buttons, etc. to share and then some of my wonderfully talented friends showed everyone how to make the adorable clips. I loved it! I just wanted to make clips all night (but decided to cut it off at midnight.)




I have been doing all kinds of crafty things lately. I'll have to tell you all about card club and quiet books later!

Books, books books...

Several times each day, when we have some down time, I say to Abby, "Do you want to read a book?" She usually responds with a nod of her head at which point I tell her to go pick one out. It is always interesting to see which book she will bring first. She tends to go through phases of favorites. For the past several days, she has chosen P.D. Eastman's Are You My Mother?



We proceed to read the chosen book or look at the pictures, whichever her patience level allows. When finished, she walks over to her shelf, selects another book and comes back and plops herself down onto my lap. This process repeats for several books until one of us is distracted by some other venture.

Other times during the day, she will run off to her room. While we hear her rustling around, Sam and I will guess what treasure she will return with. It is usually one of her babies or stuffed animals but more and more often, she brings out a book.

She has learned a lot from her books. She knows who Jesus (always whispered) is. She can point to pictures of things I ask her about. She can make some awesome animal sounds. And, reading time is always a good time to steal some snuggles.

I'm grateful that Abby is developing a love for books. Thanks to the dollar store, a new book is always in the budget.