The Doggie Window...

Well, Daddy installed a super fantastic doggie window for Oree to go to her bidness outside at her convenience! Abigail of course helped! It really is a nice set up and we put some steps on the inside and outside so Oree could climb up to the window! Pardon the blurry pics...mommy's camera batteries died so these were taken by the Blackberry!

Now, the reason she's 'dressed' the way she is is another story altogether! With potty training, she's been just loving those Dora the Explorer panties. So much so that she wears them over her clothes sometimes. We have to really work it to get her to take them off when we leave the house! New fashion trend ya think?




Abigail trying to convince Oree to come in through the doggie door! Oree wasn't a fan and was a bit spooked by the door. She got the hang of the steps (a little), but not so much the door.

The Crafts!

Here are a few of Abigail's Easter crafts from the weekend. And her little Hello Kitty Easter basket! So fun!


This one was my favorite craft. She enjoyed gluing the pieces of tissue paper on the container and putting the soil in there and the green bean seeds! Then she made the little sign (with momma's help!). So fun!!

The Church Easter Egg Hunt and Fun!

After Palm Sunday service at church and lunch and a nap, we headed over to the Easter Egg hunt and fun at church. Wow, they really had an AWESOME event! We visited the petting zoo - Abigail fell in love with the llama and the goat, and the bunny, and the chicks, and the pony and well, pretty much every animal there! We were allowed to get in the gated area, but mommy opted not to go in since there were about 500 other kids inside - can't tell by this picture though!



We made our way over to the cookie decorating area for the preschoolers and she decorated a cookie and well pretty much ate it along the way too!


And during the Egg Hunt, she decided to take a break and play in the playground. And this is why kiddies get sick...the spread of coodies comes quick by way of chomping on the rails! :)

Eggcelent Adventure!

Our first Easter Egg Hunt of the Season was on 3/27 and Allen put on a great event! We got lots of eggs, played games, and did some crafts! We met one of our BFFs, Ava, there and so we had a blast! Abigail was not at all fond of the dressed up cow and dog on site (luckily we didn't see the Easter bunny). People in fuzzy costumes don't connect well with Abigail!

Anyway, it was lots of fun and here are some pics of our best craft... the bunny visors!!

Ava getting hers on by her mommy.


Daddy putting Abigail's visor on.

Aw, what a cute photo!!

PROGRESS!!

So last weekend, we did away with the pull-ups and just used the Dora the Explorer panties and we made some great progress with potty training! She did fantastic! As the day progressed, each time was better than the last. During the school week, it wasn't as good as home, but this weekend (03/27/10) went great yet again and she would tell us that she needed to go to the potty and then wah-lah, there it was! :) Excitement!! Yay Abigail!!

Here is Daddy auditing the potty progress chart making sure Abigail was putting her stickers on the correct columns.


Here she is looking at all the stickers she was getting! She really liked all the stickers and the homemade progress chart.


Adding up all the stickers from last weekend!

THE TERRIFIC TWOS!!

Why I Love TWO
by Mommy

We are two weeks into two years old and it's just fantastic! Every morning new words come flying out of her mouth...every night her imagination soars and after we read her bedtime stories, she makes up stories on her own and tells them to us! And it's during the day that "two" comes to life. She explores and discovers and questions and reacts and on and on. As a first time mom, this is new territory for me and so from pacifiers and mumbles to sass and words here we go! It really is loads of fun and I laugh so much just in the first 5 minutes of the day! Oh life is good! I'm sure though I'll have another post in the future that's titled, "The Terrible Twos - Why the Twos Drive Me Nuts!" but for now I will enjoy every second!

Photo taken 03.09.10 after school enjoying the GREAT weather on her slide!!


Telling mommy that we need to water our veggies and herbs!



Heading down the slide!



Having fun with her new bunny Uncle Dave & Aunt Diana gave her!



Private time with her bday cake!!




Some of the two-ish group enjoying the cake!

The Playdoh station during the party!!

Homemade decorations for the party: Made with Love by Mom & Dad!

The Sesame Street Gang Joining Abby Cadabby! I found all of the puppets on Ebay and decorated with them. I had meant to have some adults put them on when we sang Happy Birthday, but I got too caught up in the fun and forgot! Oh well, they were super cute on the mantel!

Mom & Dad at the party: Never imagined dressing in an Elmo and Cookie Monster shirts at 9:30 in the morning with 13 two year olds running around the living room with Playdoh!

*******Conversation Videos:*********

Who's Who? 03.09.10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMHTBQ1GpQs

Banana/Obama 03.04.10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfzaNNbXjWA

The Sweetness of Play 03.09.10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcJdNcv_K7U

Our New Screen Porch

Well our house faces north and in a new development with young trees - that equals no shade. We found some refuge in a nice screen porch! While Abigail's slide still gets hit with the west setting sun, we repurposed our patio swing umbrella to cover up the slide so it stays cool on those hot summer days! We are looking forward to some great family time out on the porch!! Matt is already sketching out some built-in storage benches which will provide extra seating and more storage! Woo-hoo! I'm excited too that our little herb and veggie garden just might do better this year in this nice shady area! I already planted broccoli, spinach, lavendar and oregano and Abigail loves to water them!

Here's a pic of our first dinner in the porch!


Abigail showing that even Oree can eat out on the porch!


Here's the view from the playset with the patio umbrella ready to cover the slide!



Abigail learned how to open and close the door so she's happy about that! :)
We left some space for the BBQ and fire pits!