bzzzzzzzz

What a big way to end the month....halloween! Abigail reallllly did not want to put on her costume - here she is cooling off from a five alarm temper tantrum with a juice box and some cranberries. From here on out things got much better for our busy little bumblebee.

We went to the neighborhood Halloween gathering / costume contest / parade . . . where we met up with Abigail's good friend Akaash!

Abby is so happy to see her "fwiend"

Akaash sure makes for a cute little mouse....he was so patient with Abigail wanting to check out his costume up close.

We also saw Sachin (lion) and Sahana (pumpkin) and their papa!

Busy bee!!!

When these mailboxes were discovered things really got exciting.

Action shot.

Tight squeeze...

Cute grins.

And when we got home, we got to see Scotty all dressed up in his UPS uniform! His little brother was a cute little package!

Happy Halloween!

PS - doesn't seem like long ago at all that Abigail was a cute little pumpkin for her 1st Halloween.....time flies!

mn part 2

We had a wonderful time in Minnesota celebrating Dee Dee and Pop Pop's (aka Jane & Don) 65th wedding anniversary! (And Dee Dee's birthday too!) Aunt Jennifer took some lovely pictures....

We had a special dinner out at Heidi's . . . delicious food and great company.

Uncle Dan & Aunt Anna . . . (along with Abigail's cousin-to-be, due to arrive in January!)

Grandma and Grandad

Abigail sat at the head of the table, of course.

Abby did such a great job that evening - keeping us all entertained, eating lots of good things, and just being her silly, super self. When we put her in her jammies in the bathroom at the end of the evening before heading home in the car, Abigail kept saying "back out, back out" - she just wanted to get back out to the party and keep going!

Great Aunt Jennifer and Mama give A a squeeze and a snuggle.

Abby helps Grandad harvest some carrots and parsnips from the garden.

Abigail loved hanging out with Grandma (or Damma as A called her) . . . Grandma got Abby a new baby doll that can come in the bathtub with her - perfect timing since Abby was on a sudden independence-induced bath strike. Baby doll has gotten Abby back in the tub and clean again!

mn part 1

So we had a great time in Minnesota last weekend . . . Abigail got all bundled up to enjoy the chilly weather.

It was snowing when we arrived! Papa and Grandad went outside on a mission . . .

. . . to pick some lettuce from the garden for our dinner!

That's some good looking lettuce. Tasted good too.

Bundled up in Mama's old colorful velour jumper, Abigail got down to business with Pooh bear.

She was so busy rocking him in the chair....

. . . but then suddenly it was time for Pooh to move over.

Abby's turn!

We went to the playground everyday. . . here Mama tries to lure Abby into the dome.

Here comes trouble!

More pictures coming soon . . . (we're still unpacking)!

eager reader

Before our full MN-weekend away photo download, a quick peek at what Abigail was up to today . . . eating a messy dinner while proudly showing everyone her sticker that she got at the library today ("Eager Reader" seems to sum up Abigail quite nicely).

Abigail is often overwhelmed by library story time and would rather just be alone with the books without all of these other kids and adults around. But today, the report is that she was a superstar at the Wonderful Ones story hour and participated in all of the songs, listened to all of the stories, and was in general a Very Good Girl. Hence the sticker. Madeleine said that she had to move A's sticker from her sweatshirt to her shirt for naptime since Abby didn't want to be without-sticker for a second.

red sweater

Another day, much of it spent inside! Luckily today we enjoyed brunch at our house with some friends, and after a 2 hour nap, an apple tasting event at Alex's. As Abigail would say, "fun!" And as usual, many good times were had in A's booster seat - those buckles are so interesting.

I'm about to snap the buckle closed! Again!!

Abigail notices that mama (or rather mommeeee as A is saying lately) is still snapping pictures.

This is what A thinks about all of these photos.

And a chatty moment from today. Even native speakers of Abigail (i.e. her parents) do not understand everything that she's saying here, but gosh darn it if it isn't being said so earnestly that it's hard not to agree and go along with her.

rain rain rain

Rain rain rain. So much rain. We opted to stay inside and hibernate, stay dry, fight colds, read books, and play in Abby's special stool.

Peek a boo!

Fueled by a big oatmeal breakfast, Abigail is ready for some action.

A rare 5 minutes of A with her hair down.

When you don't have bows in your hair it makes it even more fun to spin your head around and make your hair fly.

The blurry view kind of nicely captures what it's like to be house-bound with an active toddler on an unseasonably chilly rainy October day.

PS - Happy Birthday Dee Dee!
PPS - Blogger tells us this is our 200th post. Wowee!

weekend wrap-up

It was a beautiful day for a zoo visit. The pandas were snoozing most of the time, but one of them woke up and took a stroll. The other one stayed fast asleep, head resting on and arms slumped over a big log.

We stopped at the playground on the way home.

Abby loves tunnels these days, in slide form, or even better . . . the larger variety for cars and trains to go through. "Tunnel tunnel!"

And after last weekend's record-short nap, Abigail opted for a record-long one today. Here's the post nap milk sippy and graham crackers. But lest you think its all sweetness and snuggles here, Abby's drama queen diagnosis is definitely ringing true these days. Our sweet little muffin can turn on a purple-faced tantrum at the drop of a hat, or for instance, when one of her parents tells her that it's time to eat dinner. Or that her hands are clean and it's time to turn off the water and dry off. Or if one were to try to put on A's pink sweatshirt instead of the purple one. You get the picture. Toddler behavior books are making their way to the top of mama and papa's bedside reading piles!

a day in the country

Here's Abigail, ready to report on her Saturday adventures . . .

We hopped in the car for a drive to a winery . . . Abigail did a good job reading books to herself in the car. ("Self, self, self" is a common phrase heard from Miz A these days...)

Taking a closer look.

What a beautiful day, and a beautiful place. Here are fellow picnic-ers and wine-tasters. Abigail made the rounds and visited each table at least once.

Taking a stroll after Mama did not take up Abigail's suggestion to "swim swim swim" in the lake. Always worth asking . . . you never know when she'll say yes.

Then Abigail found a footrest for a chair that was a great makeshift slide. Fun times!

Up she goes.

Made it to the top.

Slide on down.

Land, and repeat.

Then we were off for a walk.

Unfortunately we could not convince any of the friendly cows to come any closer, no matter how much we said "moooooo".

Abby heads off for one last jog in the grass before we packed up the car and headed home.