Here's Abby!

Moving

2008-07-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

Today it has been three years since I began Abigail's blog. I enjoy looking back and seeing all the fun (and the not so fun) events in her/our life. However, it's been difficult to keep up three blogs, so I have decided to merge them. I have been contemplating this for about a year, and I have finally decided to give it a try. I will continue to post the events of her life, but I'm going to move it to my main blog, Consider it all Joy. I will keep this one up and may occasionally post something, but for the most part, it will just be an archive of the past three years. For those who are only interested in Abby and not the other goings-on in our family, I will tag all posts specifically about her with an Abby label so they can easily be found on that blog. I will also have specific labels for posts dealing with fetal alcohol effects because I know some people are interested in that aspect of her blog. All your comments and visits have been greatly appreciated!

A Real Bed

2008-07-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

When we visited our friends on the 4th of July, they told us they were getting rid of their daughter's queen size bed for a smaller one and wanted to know if we wanted it. Abby has been sleeping on a full-size futon that we used to use as a couch when we lived in Memphis. It's about 12 years old and has seen better days! It's also the bed our guests sleep on when they come, so we have been wanting to get a new bed for her. Though we were wanting a full-size bed, we decided to go ahead and take it since the queen is only a couple of inches wider and it was free!

Ward giving horse rides.
Ward and Cindy hadn't been to our new house yet, so Monday they drove out with the bed and spent the day with us. It was a nice time of fellowship, and Abby was very excited to get a her new bed. It's much higher off the ground than the futon, and she loves it! We're very grateful for the gift, which even came with a set of sheets. I'm sure Gramie and any other guests will be grateful too!

County Fair

2008-07-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

We have never been to our local county fair. There are several reasons: It's always on my birthday weekend, it's usually scorching hot, it costs way too much money, and overall lack of interest, I guess. However, this year some friends of ours had some animals (remember the cute bunnies?) entered in the fair as well as doing some horse riding. We found out that the day before the fair officially opens, all the animals are there and you can get in for free to see them.

So last Tuesday I took the kids over to see what our little fair had to offer. Abby was very excited (Ryan was underwhelmed) when I told her we were going to see the animals. She wanted to see them all, and we did. We saw the horses, pet the sheep and pigs and cows, saw the bunnies and chickens and geese, and last of all, we saw the goats.

That's the same bunnies, and they have grown!
Even Ryan enjoyed the animals once we got to the bunnies and goats. Abby kept wanting to see the dogs, but I finally convinced her they don't have dogs at the fair (at least not our fair).

I know next to nothing about equestrian events, but they were doing some contests while we were there. We sat and watched a couple of competitions, and both kids really enjoyed that. Abby is dying to get back on Jesse, our friends' horse, so hopefully now that the fair is over, she will be able to get a quick ride in soon.

Abigail and Jesse.

Our Philosopher

2008-07-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Abigail and Daddy were sitting by the campfire one night this past weekend while I was cleaning up after dinner. As they sat together, Abby asked Daddy, "What if it's all just a dream?" Daddy was a little taken aback and asked her, "What if what's all a dream?" She responded, "Everything. All this," indicating around her.

I surely never expected to hear that rattling around in her little mind!

Camping at the Beach

2008-07-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Abby loves adventure! Needless to say, she was pumped for our camping trip at the beach. Once we arrived and she saw all the "beautiful trees" to climb in, she was overjoyed. While Daddy and I set up camp, she and Ryan (and some boys from a nearby campsite) climbed trees and ran around having a fantastic time. After the camp was set up and a fire going, we walked to the beach for a quick look at the ocean and then back to the site for some hot chocolate...oh, wait, Abby didn't get any. Before we left home, she got into the food box, took my bag of hot chocolate, hid under her bed, opened several packets and ate them (of course, making a huge mess in the process).

Abby had been wearing sandals when we arrived, and in just a little over two hours her feet looked like she had been walking through the ashes of the campfire! It wasn't long after cleaning up her feet and donning shoes and socks that we made the final trip to the bathroom, which wasn't exactly close to our site. It was after 10:00pm when we finally crawled into our sleeping bags for the night. It took quite a while and a story from Daddy before the kids calmed down and went to sleep.

It was just a little after 5:00am when the kids woke up, and I knew there was no getting them back to sleep. In order to let Daddy sleep longer, I got up with them, took them to the bathroom and then we tried unsuccessfully to light a fire. It was pretty chilly, so I made some hot chocolate for the kids...after her great disappointment the night before of not getting any, I allowed her to have some this time. After about two hours, we started cooking breakfast and woke up Daddy to see if he wanted a hot breakfast of French Toast with us (he did).

Then next thing we did was go to the beach. Like I said, it was chilly, but the walk warmed us up somewhat. We checked out the interesting forts people had built out of driftwood, did some geocaching, admired the scenery, and just generally enjoyed walking along the beach. Even a wind-hating sand-hating noise-hating girl like me loves a walk on the beach!

Inside the pirate fort that was built right near our campground.

There was no need to buy firewood at this campground! All you had to do was gather up an armload of driftwood and carry it back to camp. Abby is always finding great sticks when we go for hikes, and she was in her glory with thousands to choose from.

One of dozens of sand angels Abby made during our trip.

Each time we were at the beach, Abigail would fill her pocket with "pretty things" she'd find: shells, rocks, sticks, etc. We took to calling her Jingle Shells because when she walked the shells would all clang together and make a jingling noise. Daddy and I were cracking up every time she'd run because she would leave a trail of her treasures behind her as they would fall out of her pockets. We tried several times to get it on video because it was so funny (to us, anyway) but weren't able to really get a good clip. In the picture above, she's re-gathering all her "pretty things" she lost during a sprint, much to Ryan's impatience.

After walking a mile up the coast and then back, we went back to our campsite and had some lunch. Then we drove Daddy to the jetty so he could do some fishing. For some reason (probably because we told them it wasn't safe for them to stay and fish) Abby was terrified of the jetty. She's normally so bold and throws caution to the wind, but she gripped my hand tightly as we walked a short distance out on the jetty and said goodbye to Daddy for a few hours.

The kids and I then went back to the beach, armed with buckets, shovels, bulldozers, etc. They spent the next few hours digging and rolling and playing in the sand. The wind was blowing something fierce, and my legs were freezing making me wish I had worn long pants. But the Abby and Ryan seemed oblivious to the blowing sand and cold air and had a blast playing together and separately until we saw Daddy walking down the shore to us.

He had caught a fish and needed to go clean it, so I stayed a bit longer on the beach with the kids before going back to camp for some dinner...which would now include Vermillion Rock Fish! After dinner we enjoyed the campfire and even made some S'mores. Abby is the only one who actually likes them in our house. Mommy just ate the chocolate, Daddy toasted marshmallows and then had some chocolate, and Ryan had a chocolate graham cracker sandwich.

The next day we celebrated "Ryan's Day." We all slept much later the next day, but Daddy woke with a bad migraine and had to give himself a shot. So after a quick breakfast, Abby, Ryan and I, got on our bikes and rode to a large sand dune near the campground so Daddy could have some quiet and hopefully sleep off the meds and the migraine. I helped Abby climb three-quarters of the way up this big sand dune when she turned and ran back down. Then she sat at the bottom and cried because I wouldn't come back down and help her up again! Eventually, she decided it wasn't nearly so difficult as she was making it and scrambled up to the top to join me. We marveled at the view we could see from up there: Tillamook Bay, the ocean, rocky outcroppings from the sea, the jetties, and gorgeous blue skies. Too bad I didn't bring my camera, huh?

Daddy surprised us by finding us as we were riding back to camp. He said his head still hurt so I suggested we drive into Tillamook and do a geocache and have some ice cream while we were there. He was up for that, and so was everyone else. We stopped first at the Blue Heron, yet another place in Tillamook where they make cheese.

The fun part for Abby was feeding the alpacas and farm animals. She has always loved animals, and getting to feed and pet them is one of her favorite things to do.

Everyone was hungry so we let Ryan choose where we would eat since it was his special day. We ended up at McDonald's (big surprise), and the kids played there for a while before we took them to the "real" cheese factory and (more importantly) creamery! We ate the delicious ice cream (it is SO much better there than the store), looked at the boat they have out front and then drove back to our campground.

When we arrived we immediately packed up buckets, spades and toys and walked to the beach for an afternoon of sun (and freezing wind and blowing sand) and fun. Both kids were dying to get into the water! I admonished them that they were going to be very cold if they did, but they were not to be detered by a little bit of cold wind.

Abby had a fabulous time for all of about 10 minutes. She slipped and fell at one point which got her wetter than she had wanted, and after that she was so cold she just wanted to go back to our campsite. I got her dressed in dry clothes and wrapped her up in a blanket hoping she'd change her mind, but once I saw her lying curled up on the sand with her back to the wind, I took pity on her and took her back and built a warm fire! Truthfully, I wasn't sad to leave. I wore pants so I wouldn't be too cold, but the wind and blowing sand was really irritating me.

The next morning we took Daddy to the sand dune since he had missed our first venture there. He brought the camera this time also, but, sadly, there was a cloud bank covering the coast so we didn't get the view we had the previous time. Once we left the sand dune, we rode our bikes to the jetty and found a geocache before riding home to pack up.

Our camping trip was over, but we had had a good time. On our way back through Tillamook, we decided to have one last ice cream cone. Abby chose strawberry and enjoyed every bite! We did a couple more geocaches before making the final leg of our trip home, of which Abby slept about 80 percent of the way.

Fishing With Daddy

2008-07-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

Daddy recently "acquired" a canoe. It's actually not ours, but the owner said we could just keep it until he is ready to use it, which will probably not be for a while. Daddy is thrilled! He's taken Ryan out in it a couple of times, and then weekend before last he took Abby to a local lake for some fishing. Abby caught three fish: a trout, a perch, and a blue gill! She loves the canoe as much as Daddy, I think.

Fun Craft

2008-07-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

The kids' Sunday school class is taking a break for the summer. Ryan will be promoting to another class, and I wanted to thank their teacher for her ministry to the kids. The kids made a simple bookmark out of beads and string for her, and they also made this cute vase. It was so easy and turned out really great, though I forgot to take a final picture. It's just Mod Podge and tissue paper and ends up looking like a piece of stained glass!

Princess Bruiser

2008-07-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

Daddy has been calling Abigail Princess Bruiser lately. She just can't get through a week without some injury, and last week's was a doozy. She was climbing the play structure by using a stretchy jump rope that was tied to the top. It came undone, and the wooden handle smacked her in the face. Though you can't see it very well in the picture, it was very swollen and turned a very pretty shade of purple as well as giving her two black eyes before finally healing up this week.

We had an appointment with the pediatrician the next day, and when he asked her how it happened Abby said very seriously, "Let me tell you the whole story!" She then proceeded to start her story a year ago when Granpa and Daddy built the play structure! Thankfully, there were no broken facial bones, just a bruises and sore spots.

Tea Party

2008-06-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Just enjoying a tea party on a lovely summer day!

Everyone is praying except the hostess who is eyeing the treats!

How Cute Are They?

2008-06-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Abby and Ryan were invited to a friend's birthday party last week, and they had lots of fun. The highlight of the party for Abby (and for me too) was their three-week-old bunnies!

These have to be one of the most adorable things I've ever seen or held. Abby was in awe of their tiny ears and feet and really wanted to take one home!

Abby also had fun petting and chasing their dog, chickens, and holding one of their full-grown rabbits. She wanted to ride the horse too, but we had to save that for another day when there weren't so many people around who would also want a ride.

Summer Freebies

2008-06-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

The kids' swim lessons ended about ten days ago, and we haven't decided if we can afford another round next month or not. So in the meantime, we are taking advantage of the free lessons offered this week at the pool. Because it's on a first-come-first-served basis, we got there a bit early to sign up, and then we walked next door to the elementary school to have some fun on their playground while we awaited our turn in the pool. Abby loved that there were so many swings!

Though it was much more chaotic than our usual lessons (we're usually the only ones in the shallow pool), Abby and Ryan did fine. They had some openings in the class after ours and they allowed us to sign up again, which the kids thought was fantastic... a whole hour in the pool!

After swimming we went to the middle school for the free lunch program that is offered in the summer. Since we homeschool, the kids get a kick out of eating at the school and seeing the classrooms and everything. I figure it's one of the few benefits we'll ever receive from all the taxes we pay, so I may as well take advantage of it.

Astronaut Sighting

2008-06-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

Abby used to say she wanted to go to the moon someday. Though she hasn't said that in a while, she is always up for an adventure. While the van was being serviced last week, we took the light rail downtown to go have lunch with Daddy. As we were walking through Pioneer Courthouse Square, we saw a bunch of people in space gear. They were promoting our new space museum and giving out "astronaut food." The kids got a kick out of seeing the space suits, and it was fun to try the freeze dried ice cream sandwiches, though Abby was the only one who really liked it. She ate three of the four bars we were given!

Eye Doctor

2008-06-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

Abby had her checkup with the eye doctor today, and I'm happy to report that she has perfect vision. Well, she's a little farsighted, but apparently that's normal for children (Ryan is too).

The ophthalmologist also looked at her red bump under her eye and agreed with Ryan's doctor that it is a chalazion. She told me I can finally stop the hot compresses as they don't do much good at this stage (I kind of figured that out by now), and she gave me some ointment to put on twice a day. It will still take a while to completely resolve, but hopefully in a couple months it will be gone.

But just when I thought it was all good news, she had me look through the microscope at Abby's other eyelid. She has another plugged gland! Though it's not swollen or red yet, we now have to put hot compresses on that eye in hopes that it will prevent a full blown chalazion like we had last time.

Granpa Visits

2008-05-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Abby was so excited about Granpa coming she kept asking me about it for days and days and days. Finally the day arrived and we picked him up at the airport.

Poor Granpa was to get no rest though. The next day we put him to work installing our fence! It was, of course, raining half the time he was here. After getting rained out of work on Sunday, we took the kids to Out of This World to run some energy off.

Granpa went above the call of duty and climbed up into the play structure and slid down the slides with Abby for about 30 minutes! (Having been inside myself, I know it's not the easiest place to maneuver through!)

Abby was delighted to have him playing with her. She loves her Granpa.

2008-05-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Abigail seems to really benefit from swimming, so we put the kids back in another session this month. Any activity where she has to use both sides of her body at the same time and makes her brain "cross" over both sides is really good for her. Plus, she absolutely LOVES it, particularly being underwater.

We will take a couple weeks off and then sign them up for the summer session of lessons. Hopefully she will do well among lots of other kids. We have been spoiled with our small classes of two or three!

Chalazion

2008-05-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

While we were at Ryan's eye surgeon, I took the chance to ask her about Abby's stye that still hasn't gone away. Dr. Goodman said that it is more likely what's called a chalazion, and not a stye, though they are similar. Whereas a stye is red, sore lump near the edge of the eyelid caused by an infected eyelash follicle, a chalazion tends to develop farther from the edge of the eyelid and is not caused by infection from bacteria but from a gland becoming blogged with oil secretions.

The treatment? Same thing we've been doing for months: warm compresses four to five times a day. It really hasn't seemed to be helping, so I've gone in spurts where I do it for a week and then give up. However, Abby has an eye exam next month with her opthalmologist, so I will keep doing it until the visit and see what the doctor says then. Ryan's surgeon said there is an ointment that can be prescribed for stubborn chalazia, so perhaps we will get some of that next month.

Knows Her Alphabet

2008-05-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

About halfway through our Letter-of-the-Week study of the alphabet, Abby began to struggle a bit. I decided to buy the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD because I had heard some good things about it. I didn't have very high expectations since my experience in the "educational" toy market has taught me that there is usually very little in the way of education and much more in the realm of entertainment.

However, I was pleasantly surprised! After watching it just a few times, I saw dramatic improvement in her ability to retain the names of the letters she had already "learned," and she quickly picked up several new ones we hadn't gone over yet. In addition, she was learning the sounds they make and retaining the information really well. Retention is difficult for Abby, indeed for most kids with FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), so this was very encouraging for me.

She now knows her entire alphabet and is very proud. I purchased the Leap Frog - Talking Words Factory and told her she could watch it as soon as she learned all her letters, so she's excited that she can now watch this one as well!

It's Gone

2008-04-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

I was pretty sure Abigail was going to lose her fingernail when she injured it last week, and sure enough, we had to clip it off because it was only hanging on by a small piece. Isn't it lovely?

Writing

2008-04-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

In the past I have written Abby's thank you notes and she has drawn a picture on it, but she's doing well enough in her writing that I decided to let her write her own today. Granted, they are short and to the point (Thank You. Abby), but she was pretty proud of herself!

Also, she almost has her alphabet down. After much work, she now knows all but two of her letters! She also knows most of the sounds too.

Girl Time

2008-04-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

Ryan went to work with Daddy on Saturday, so Abby and I had a girls' day together. She made her own breakfast and did her own hair!

Oops!

2008-04-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

We had an "interruption" last night of the gruesome kind, a trip to urgent care. Ryan and Abby were helping me get dinner ready and after Abby helped mix the rub for the pork tenderloin she wanted to help Ryan peel potatoes.

After she was about halfway done with the potato, she sliced into her finger and through her fingernail. I rinsed it and put pressure on it but it took a good 20 to 25 minutes to stop the bleeding, and then it would start again every time she bent her finger. By that time Daddy had arrived home, so we turned off the oven and drove to urgent care.

As we suspected they really didn't recommend doing much but to just "let nature take its course." They glued a bandage on to keep it from opening up every time she used her finger and put a small guard on to protect it.

As usual she was a wonderful patient, which I am so thankful for. When she got her new bike for her birthday, I had wondered if we'd end making a trip to urgent care from a bad fall, but I didn't think we'd end up there from a willingness to help make dinner!

Happy Birthday, Abby!

2008-04-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

For her birthday we had originally planned to take Abigail to Out of This World, but since we ended up having an absolutely gorgeous day, we changed our plans and headed to the coast.

We first stopped at Camp 18, an old logging camp that has been turned into a museum and restaurant. The food is pretty good (not to mention abundant), and it's just a fun place to go.

Washington State now has the tallest Sitka in the U.S.
The next stop we made was what used to be the tallest Sitka Spruce in the United States, but after our storms at the end of last year it's now half its original size, which was over 200 feet tall. We had been meaning to stop in the past, but, alas, we waited too long.

There was a negative tide on Saturday, so we went to Haystack Rock near Cannon Beach and explored the tidepools there. It was probably the nicest day weatherwise we have ever had at an Oregon beach! It was absolutely the perfect temperature (as long as you weren't getting into the ocean), the sun was glorious but not beating down, and it wasn't even as packed as I thought it might be.

We saw hermit crabs, anenomes, chiton, starfish, and other neat creatures. Abby manage to scrape her leg up pretty good on a barnacled rock, but per her usual toughness didn't let it keep her from having fun.

After a couple of hours the tide began coming in again so we left the beach and headed home, but not before doing a few geocaches along the way.

When I asked Abby what she wanted to eat for her birthday she said, "Cake and meat!" That's my girl! So while the coals for the steaks were heating, Abby opened her birthday presents. It was such a beautiful day that we took the gifts outside and enjoyed the sunshine.

After she opened her gifts, she and Ryan began playing catch with her new purple baseball glove, thinking she was done getting gifts. When she saw Daddy wheel her bike around the corner, she dropped her glove and came running to get on her new bike. She got right on and began riding like a pro, as long as she doesn't have to turn!

Finally it was getting dark, so we reluctantly came inside to eat our meat and cake. Abby had requested an ice cream cake, but when I ordered it from Dairy Queen I didn't realize there isn't any cake in it! This is the first year I haven't made the birthday cake, so it was kind of different for us. We sang Happy Birthdya, she blew out her candles, ate a piece of "cake," and went to bed shortly thereafter. It was a full and fun day!

By the way, Abby's birthday wish was that she could be with her family for the rest of her life...ahhh, isn't that sweet?!

Dinner and LaCrosse

2008-04-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

Friday evening was a last-minute excursion downtown to go out to dinner and to a free Lumberjax LaCrosse game, compliments of Daddy who won tickets.

We ate at Red Robin and Abby was eager to have the servers sing Happy Birthday to her, but when it came down to it she was overcome with shyness! She shared her sundae, and then we headed to the game.

I think Abby just like the excitement of rooting for a team and eating cotton candy, but she was pretty impressed by seeing Miss Oregon in her sparkly crown, especially when the Queen waved at her!

Mommy and Abby having a goofy moment!

Great Educational Toy

2008-04-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Ryan received this Phonics Library by LeapFrog for a gift when he was a year old, I think. There are so many so-called educational products out there, and I haven't found many that were both truly educational and held the child's interest for more than a few minutes, but this one has passed the test. Ryan used and used it, and now it has been passed down to Abby. She also uses is alot, and it has been a great homeschool help lately. She will sit and play with it for 20 minutes at a time, which is a lot for her! They have had many different models over the years, but if you're looking for a great gift for a young child, I highly recommend this one!

Fun Day

2008-04-05T19:01:00.001-07:00

I guess I was feeling a little escapist yesterday when I decided on a whim to go play with my kiddies. Abigail has said numerous times that she is "missing Daddy already," and Ryan keeps asking when he's coming home. So instead of school, chores, and the normal routine, we went out to play! After a trip to the bank and breakfast at a local restaurant, we headed to a new play center that's not too terribly far from us called Out of This World.

Abby usually went down this slide on her belly
doing what she calls her penguin slide.

We really like this new place. It's a family owned establishment, and they really put some thought into it. It's the first place of this kind that we've been to where I wasn't completely stressed trying to keep track of my kids. It's in a huge warehouse and is very easy to see from one end to the other. They have a nice area for babies and toddlers with comfy sofas for the moms. And though I haven't tried the food yet (pizza, salads and ice cream), it looked better than anything I've seen elsewhere. I did buy a bottomless drink for the kids and bottomless coffee for me, complete with flavored syrups and creamers! We plan to take Abby there for her birthday next weekend, and we will try the other food then.

Abby enjoyed the inflatable structure a lot, never going
down the slide the "normal" way. I saw more than one crew
member cringe as they watched her clambor through it.

Neither of the kids spent much time on the "rock crawl,"
but I suspect if it had been a full-blown rock wall I
couldn't have kept Abby off of it!

Cruising along.

Playing store clerk.

Yum!

2008-04-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

It's time for Fresh Strawberry Shakes at our local Burgerville, and this afternoon when Daddy came home early to finish packing for his trip to Florida, he brought one home for the kids to share as a special treat. (I got flowers, by the way!)

Sunshine!

2008-04-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

We finally had some dry and warm weather here this week. It only lasted a couple of days, but it was wonderful to get outside. We played at the park for a couple of hours and then came home and planted some shrubs. The temperature was 60 degrees, and it was hard to remember that it actually snowed last week!

Gramie bought us this pretty azalea tree, and I think
I am going back to buy another one. It's so pretty!

Fun with Gramie

2008-03-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

We didn't get to do a whole lot of activities while Gramie was here, partially due to the wet weather. However, since we have an indoor pool in our community, we swimming one day so the kids could show her their swimming skills. It's been a while since they have been, and it was obvious that I need to get them back into lesson because they have lost some skills. But Abby was still able to do her forward and backward somersaults as well as her underwater swimming that she loves so much!

Gramie bought them each a coonskin hat one day when we went to the Sportsmans Warehouse with Daddy. Abigail dearly loves this hat and has been wearing a lot, even with her princess dresses (I HAVE to get a photo of that)!

Easter with Gramie

2008-03-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Easter really crept up on me quickly this year, and I felt rushed to squeeze in some of our usual activities. However, we did make and decorate cookies, color eggs, make Resurrection Buns, have baskets with goodies, have an egg hunt, and most importantly attend church to worship the Risen Christ!

It was a special treat to have my mom with us to celebrate and even help color eggs.

The last couple of years we haven't had a church home and haven't attended church on Easter Sunday, but we do finally have one and brought Gramie along with us for service. It was overcrowded, no children's church, and the kids ended up sitting on our laps the whole time which made for a long service! Still, it was nice to worship with other believers and not be a visitor.

Abby looking cute in her Easter bonnet!

The kids got two Easter baskets this year, one from us and one from Gramie.

Photo Update

2008-03-14T11:11:00.003-07:00

Things have been a little too "exciting" around here the last month, so I haven't had time or motivation to do blog post. Here's a photo update of some of what Abby's been doing.

More swimming lessons.

Touring the fire station with our homeschool group.
(Daddy actually took them, which was a treat for the kids!)

Looking at the emergency supplies in the
ambulance during the fire station tour.

Learning more letters.

Enjoying our Valentine's Tea Party.

"Avast, me hearties!"

We let the kids be parents for a day because they thought
it would be so much fun (it lasted less than two hours!),
and Abby made her own breakfast of waffles.

Making progress with her writing skills.

One of Abby's lovely watercolors.

One of Abigail's favorite activities, digging in the mud.

Fishing at Vernonia but having no luck.

K is a difficult letter for her for some reason.

L is easy for her to write, but she still pronounces
it with a "y" sound, as in "I yuv you!".

Playing with modeling clay during a playdate
with some new friends from church.

Malee, Abby's new friend from church who is
quite the talented little sculptor.

Abby has begun learning quite a few phonics sounds,
and M is one of her favorites! She has learned many of
them from the Leap Frog DVDs, which have been
such an incredible tool for her this year. The letters
and sounds are set to music, and this makes it very
easy for her to remember things.

Celebrating

2008-02-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a LONG road to potty training success for Abigail. We first began thinking of potty training back in July of 2005 when she was a little over two years old. Then last January she was doing great with it, but then she had her regression or whatever it was that caused such stress and turmoil in our home for the better part of the year. Since then potty training has been an exercise in futility and frustration for everyone in our household...until last month.

Something clicked for Abby last month and she began having dry days and going to the bathroom all on her own at times. Today I am VERY proud (not to mention relieved) to report that Abigail has not had a single accident for seven whole days!!!! She at long last earned her Princess Phone that Gramie gave her as an incentive almost a year ago. She is so excited, and I think she's feeling much better about herself. I am hoping this is "it" for her and we are past this milestone. If she can continue without any accidents for another couple of weeks she will get her final reward that she has been wanting for two years. Stay tuned for further updates!

Using Her Gift

2008-02-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

Since we've been having lots of rain lately, Abby has been getting lots of use out of her Mega Fort. I've built most of the configurations that they have instructions for, and Ryan has built some of his own creations as well. This was a really great gift from her birthfather!

Encouraging

2008-02-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

In this job of parenting it often seems like nothing is sinking in. I often feel like I say the same things over and over and over only to have it go in one ear and out the other. But every once in a while the Lord is merciful to me and gives me a glimmer of hope that the things I'm trying to teach my children will eventually be manifest in their actions.

The last several months I've been trying to focus my kids' attention (and mine too!) on serving others and not just thinking of themselves. There are so many ways this can be lived out, but one way I have been trying to teach them is simply by serving their family, by doing helpful things, by making their family member's lives a little nicer or easier. I know kids have whims and phases, and this may just be one of those, but the last couple weeks Abby (and Ryan too) has shown much more interest and enthusiasm for helping me around the house.

Helping clean the bathroom a few days earlier.
Tonight after dinner she just pulled a chair over and began rinsing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher, then proceeded to wash the couple that don't go in the dishwasher...all without even being asked! She is often cheerful when asked to help with a chore, but it was a blessing to see her serving her Mommy by doing the dishes without being asked.

The Suffering is Over

2008-02-01T22:22:00.000-08:00

Abby had a rough month. We turned off the television (including videos and DVDs) for the whole month of January, and Abby has not enjoyed it! At first she asked EVERY day if she could watch something, then it was just a couple times a week, and finally she gave up asking altogether. But at last the month ended and I told them they could watch something again. Then I was surprised when they didn't actually ask until 4:00 in the afternoon! They picked out a movie they received for Christmas, I popped some popcorn, and they didn't move from their spot on the couch for the whole feature length movie.

Worse Before Better

2008-01-31T22:19:00.000-08:00

Abby's stye got absolutely huge and ugly before it finally drained and began healing. We are still treating it with hot compresses and some prescription drops, and it looks much better than it did in this picture. Hopefully I can post a picture soon of it completely well!

Never Enough Snow

2008-01-28T21:41:00.000-08:00

Abby dearly loves the snow. We have been really enjoying our weekly snowfall this year. Since Christmas, including Christmas Day, we have had many days where we have watched the snow fall outside. It hasn't accumulated much, but watching it fall while the fire is burning warm inside is just glorious! Today we woke up to about 1 1/2 inches of snow on the ground, and both kids had fun in it despite the sparcity of it. Mostly Abby just walks around eating handfuls of it, but she did make a few snow angels and throw a few snowballs as well.

Sleepy Mommy

2008-01-19T21:30:00.000-08:00

Every day my children either have a nap or what we call "quiet time." For the most part, they have both outgrown the naps, but we have an hour each day where they look at books or play quietly on their beds. (Ryan does this very well, but Abby is still learning how to stay quiet and on her bed for a whole hour.)

Well, when I ceased hearing any noise coming from Abby's room I went in to check on her. Overly quiet kids strike terror in my heart! I had to laugh when I saw her and then crept out to go get the camera before she woke up. She had been playing Mommy to her babydoll, and she had fallen asleep while caring for the baby in the crib. I remember back as a new mom when Ryan was 14 months old and Abby a newborn when I felt just like Abby looked here...totally exhausted from the demands of my babies!

Eye Problems

2008-01-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

When I told her I wanted to take a picture of her eye,
this is the look she gave me. Silly kid!
Abby told me last week that her eye was hurting, but when I looked at it I didn't see anything significant. It looked like she had maybe scratched the inside of the lower lid. This weekend, however, it became apparent she had something going on because there was a lump under the lower lid. So I took her to the pediatrician on Tuesday to make sure it wasn't anything serious, and it's not, just a stye. We're putting warm compresses on it, rinsing with boric acid and waiting for it to go away. She really hasn't complained about it since the first day, but it's starting to look pretty terrible.

Writing

2008-01-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

After reviewing for a couple of weeks after the Christmas break, Abby is back to learning her letters. This week's letter is H, and she's doing a great job of writing it.

She has recently discovered a love of writing, especially on things she shouldn't. She wrote her name on the top of this plastic lid so "everyone will know it is mine." After reminding her that she has lots of other things she can write on (paper, chalkboard, Magnadoodle, whiteboard, notepads, to name just a few) I did tell her she did a fantastic job of writing her name. In fact, when I first saw it I went and asked Ryan if he wrote it because it was done better than I've ever seen her do it!

Little Dancer

2008-01-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Abby loves to play dress-up, and when I found this little ballerina outfit on the clearance rack at Wal-mart, I quickly decided to get it for her. Of course she LOVES it, and I have been having a hard time keeping her out of it. Last night when Daddy told her to go get her jammies on, she came out wearing her footed jammies with the ballerina outfit over the top of her jammies! Silly girl.

Getting Outside

2008-01-14T21:49:00.000-08:00

After church on Sunday we decided to make a trip to the zoo. It was the first dry and sunny day we have had in quite a while, so we thought we'd get outside and enjoy it. It was still pretty chilly and the sun was intermittent, but at least it was dry!

We had an especially good visit with the Lorakeets this time. The last couple of times we've tried to see them we have either just missed them after they closed or they had just been fed and didn't want the nectar you can buy to feed them. Today though they were eager for the nectar and we had no trouble coaxing down a few of the birds to drink from our cups. Abby really wanted a bird to sit on her hand, but I think they must sense her slight nervousness because they just would NOT get on her hand. I had a couple on my hand and tried to shift them to hers, but they just wouldn't do it. At least she got to see them up close. They are so beautiful!

We also got to the rhino up close this time. He's usually way off in the back of his habitat with his back to us lying down, but he was up close and walking around today. He must have been enjoying the sunshine too!

Spoiled

2007-12-31T20:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we got together with Abby's birthfather and his mom so they could see her and give her some Christmas presents. He said that the presents were too big to ship so I was curious what they could have given her. They usually give her several nice gifts, but this year they really spoiled her! She got jammies, slippers, boots, pants and jacket, a lighted play aquarium, a bean bag chair, and a Cranium Mega Fort with a 15-month extended warranty! (As a side note, Ryan managed to have a good attitude watching her unwrap all those gifts, which I know was hard for him.)

This afternoon I set up one of the fort configurations for the kids, a ship! It is a pretty neat set, goes together easily, and has a carrying case to store it in. It will be nice to have it in the rainy days ahead.

In her new girlie beanbag wearing her new jammies.

More Snow

2007-12-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

We got a bit more snow yesterday. It snowed teeny flakes all day long, but the accumulation wasn't much. Finally when it looked like it was beginning to turn to rain, we bundled the kids up in their new scarves and sent them out to play a bit.

It was pretty cold with some really wet snow, so they didn't last very long. I stayed inside and made some white hot chocolate which they drank by the fire when they came inside.

Christmas Day

2007-12-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

We had a very low-key Christmas this year, which was great! Abigail never even got out of her pajamas all day long! We had breakfast and cleaned the kitchen, then we got down the stockings.

Then we opened presents from grandparents and cousins. Abby loves these boots from Granpa, but she probably won't get to wear them till next Christmas as they are a quite a bit too big.

Next we opened presents from each other, and then we played with all the goodies. Several people used the kids' wish lists this year, which was great! It's so nice to get things we will really use and want. Abby got several things that will be so helpful in our homeschool, and I'm so appreciative of everyone's generosity to us.

We finally got around to having Christmas dinner. I usually make a rib roast, and this year was no exception. The exception was store-bought bread and salad from a bag, but we all survived the lack of homemade things and it sure was easy! Boy, Abby can put away the prime rib!

Change in Plans

2007-12-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

We had a change in our plans for the weekend before Christmas. Instead of making our gingerbread house and baking goodies for Christmas Day, we ended up helping Daddy by driving him back and forth to work because he was too tired to drive (we live about 45 minutes from his work), in addition to other unplanned things we had to do. I woke the kids up at 5:00am Sunday morning so we could go get Daddy. We brought him home, and I tried to keep them quiet so he could get some sleep. That meant we watched movies or played quiet games all morning until he woke up at about 12:30. Then we all got cleaned up, went out to a late lunch, and then we all went back to his work for the rest of the evening. We left his office at 11:30 for our 45-minute drive home.

Because we knew we would be at Daddy's work for a long time, we let the kids each open one of their gifts. I picked out two that I thought would keep them busy for a while and also not need a lot of input from me since I was hoping to be helping Daddy. Abby opened a tub of safari animals, and she and Ryan both had fun playing with them on the conference room floor. I also brought a new Color Wonder pack for each child that I had been holding on to for just such an occasion. Lastly, Daddy had one of his employees hook up the projector, and the kids got to watch movies on a big screen! I popped some microwave popcorn, and they lay on the floor of the conference room enjoying the novelty. Even though there were new toys and movies, Abby was so exhausted and overstimulated that she had a hard time staying put and letting me help with data entry and other minor tasks. She ended up accompanying me while I went from computer to computer so I could keep an eye on her.

Thankfully, Daddy was able to stay home Christmas Eve and Day. We made a list of the things we needed to get done, divided the tasks up, and got to work. I did some laundry, made pies, and made frosting for the cookies the kids and I had made days earlier. Daddy wrapped presents that he hadn't been able to, put together a basketball hoop from Granpa and Grandma Garner, and helped clean the house. We then ran some errands together and eventually came home to relax a bit.

The kids and I had made cookies on Thursday that they were looking forward to decorating. So Monday evening we frosted them as a family! It was a fun evening, and even Daddy enjoyed it, I think.

Christmas Ham

2007-12-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

Our church held their children's program Sunday evening. Ryan and Abby had missed a couple of Sundays where they were practicing and didn't know the whole program, but when about eight kids turned up sick that day, they ended up being given parts in the program. It took some convincing to get Ryan to participate, but Abigail was excited about it.

I was impressed at how much of the songs Abby knew considering she only had two practices! The last song they did that night really got Abby going. Some young girls who kind of dote on Abby were laughing and that just egged her on. We didn't bring our video camera but took some movies with our digital camera (hence the poor quality), and unfortunately our memory card filled up right before Abby had the entire audience in laughing fits. Mommy was a bit embarassed, but more than one person told me that "she stole the show!" I really didn't know she was such a ham!

Christmas Cheer

2007-12-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

We have been attending a playgroup for a couple months now, and for a service project we chose to make Christmas cards and deliver them to a local assisted living facility. We spent our last meeting making the cards with glitter, fancy scissors, and stickers. Then today we wrote Christmas messages, signed them, and delivered them. I didn't take any pictures of us delivering them because it just feels so awkward to do that, but Abby had such a great time! She just loves people and interacting with them.

Sadly, the first place we called to get permission to visit had been closed because of the flooding, and they were desperately trying to relocate their residents. However, we did get permission from another place, and the residents were so friendly and happy to see us. One sweet lady told us we made her day!

The playgroup is breaking for the next few weeks, and I don't think we're going to continue to attend. There are no girls (six boys!), and we want to try to find an older boy for Ryan to play with instead of all the little boys he currently plays with.

Abby's Turn

2007-12-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

We had our Christmas tree for several days before we were able to bring it in and decorate it. It was soaking wet and once it dried in the garage we had to wait for our heavy rain to stop so we could bring it around the back and into the house. Abby has been so excited about decorating the tree this year. She remembers how pretty it looks and how fun it is. Since we got a shorter tree this year, it was easier for the kids to decorate, and they pretty much did the whole thing themselves.

This year it was Abby's turn to put the topper on the tree, and she was proud get to do it!

Gingerbread Man

2007-12-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

When had some Christmas fun at a local museum this weekend. Here Abby is decorating her own gingerbread man.

My Little Helper

2007-12-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

Abby has always liked to help me do things around the house, but she still surprised me yesterday with her helpfulness. Daddy was going to be home late, so kids had an early dinner. After dinner I went into my room to do something, and when I came out Abby was loading the dishwasher for me! She's helped before, but this is the first time she's initiated it on her own. She was struggling to reach the faucet, so I brought her a chair and she did all the dishes herself. I was very blessed by her helpfulness!

Water Bug

2007-12-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

The kids are taking swimming lessons again with our homeschool group. It's nice because there are just three children in the class, so they each get lots of individual attention! Abigail is such a little water bug. She loves the feel of the water and now that she's actually learning to use her arms, it's so very good for her! Cross-over activities (using both sides of the body at the same time, hence both sides of the brain) are really good for kids with sensory issues, FAE, and other neurodevelopmental problems.

Remember the Rainbow

2007-12-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

(Picture taken July 2006)

Poor Abby! Yesterday I ran some errands in the morning not realizing how bad the weather really was. Roads were flooded and were being closed, every little creek had become a rushing river, and there were waterfalls bursting out of the hillsides every few feet. As we passed one particularly large flooded area Abby said in a small voice, "I think God's going to flood the earth again." I quickly reminded her that God promised never to flood the whole earth again and that He gave us the rainbow to remind us of that promise. She seemed reassured, but several times that morning I would look at her and say, "Remember the rainbow!"

Snowy Christmas Tree

2007-12-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

Abby had a blast with just the tiny bit of snow we got today, so when we took her up the mountain a bit and there was an inch or so on the ground, she was thrilled! We thought it would be fun to cut our Christmas tree in the snow, and it was!

The kids had a snowball fight, and Abby sampled snow off of a dozen trees. We chose a smaller tree than last year and one close to the van (Daddy's neck and back are still hurting!), but it was neat to see our Christmas tree covered in snow.

After choosing and cutting our tree, we went inside for hot cider and cookies. Each child also got to pick a toy, and Abby chose a seashell necklace. It was pretty cold, so we didn't play anymore after warming up inside. We just took our tree home and stayed inside with the fire going!

It's Snowing

2007-12-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

It wasn't much and it didn't stick, but the snow sure was pretty while it lasted! Abigail was so excited to see it snowing off and on all day yesterday. She was disappointed that it wasn't enough to taste, but she had fun running around in it for a little bit yesterday. "We've waited a whole year for this!" she said as she was getting her coat and boots on.

Thanksgiving with Gramie

2007-11-24T19:03:00.000-08:00

I neglected to get many Thanksgiving pictures, but we did have a good time with Gramie who flew in from California for a week. She spent tons of time with the kids, and they loved every minute, especially the tea parties they had with her!

Pretty Princess

2007-11-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

Abigail loves to dress up, so when I saw this frilly hoop-skirted dress on the clearance rack after Halloween, I had to get it for her. I waited for a rainy day, which means I didn't have to wait long, and brought it out to keep her busy. She adores this dress, as well as the gloves, slippers, hat, and wand I also bought!

Fs

2007-11-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

Out of Commission

2007-11-08T19:13:00.001-08:00

Edited to add: Hubby reminded me that we hadn't wiped my old laptop yet, so I dug it out and am back in business...sort of! At least I can check my email regularly and maybe even add a blog post or two.

My wireless adapter "disappeared without being properly prepared for removal" two days ago. We were told it's a known problem with the driver software, but my wireless card may be fried too.

At any rate, in the process of trying to get it going again, my system has had to be wiped and completely rebuilt, so I am out of commission for a while. I will try to check email once a day or so on our PC, but I probably won't be doing any blog posts until I get the issue fixed. Our PC is REALLY slow and cumbersome to use, as well as not having everything I need on it.

I'm sure it will do me good to be without a computer for a while, but it is more painful than I care to admit!

First "Real" Haircut

2007-11-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

We took Ryan to get an inexpensive haircut last Saturday, and Abby asked if she could get her hair cut too. Thus far I have done all her cuts, but since they were running a great deal at $4.99, I decided to go ahead.

She sat perfectly still and seemed to love the attention and care she was given! They just trimmed it up a bit and didn't style it at all, so the "after" picture isn't very impressive. I also think the spray in conditioner they put on her hair just left it limp and lifeless, but it actually turned out better than it looks.

Ever Feel Like You're Going in Circles?

2007-11-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

(Footage taken October 20th)

Autumn Craft

2007-11-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

I've been out of creativity lately, so I purchased a couple of craft kits from Oriental Trading Company to do with my kids and also with our playgroup. This one was a cute little magnet we made with beads and pipe cleaner. It's a very easy and cute autumn craft!

Practicing Letters

2007-11-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Abby's Day - Part 2

2007-11-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

After our fun time at the Pumpkin Patch, we headed to the zoo for the rest of the day. Abigail absolutely loves the zoo! No matter how many times we go, she is always interested in the animals and never ready to leave.

We only had a few hours since the zoo closes fairly early this time of year, but somehow we still managed to see most of it (it's a fairly wimpy zoo). We even got a close-up look at the male polar bear. He was playing right next to the viewing window, and it was impressive to see how truly huge he is.

It was such a gloriously beautiful fall day, and we almost felt like we had the whole place to ourselves since there were so few people there. We even let the kids play in the small statuary park that is usually swarming with kids but today only had two other small children.

After playing a while, we took a break from roaming the zoo to share a yummy Elephant Ear, one of Abby's favorite treats!

Today was unusual in another way also: we got to see the hippos out of water for the first time ever! Every time we've been before (and we've been a lot!) they have both been in the same spot in the water at a location difficult to see anything but a small portion of their backs. Today they were up and walking around, probably enjoying the lack of people as much as we were.

We were told they had already moved the wolves and grizzlies to another zoo (they are putting in some other exhibit), so we were surprised to see this guy still there in habitat. We've never gotten such a good look at him before, and it's too bad he'll be leaving soon. It was kind of odd and gave me the creeps because he just keep staring at the kids. I was wondering if he was trying to figure them out or if he was just plain hungry!

There's usually no one in the Otter Den, but today was a day for seeing things we hadn't seen before. There were two otters snuggling together in their den. We also saw the beaver in his den and two meerkats in their den today.

We had a very full day, so we finally dragged Abby away from the zoo and headed home after a bite to eat.

Abby's Day - Part 1

2007-11-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

We always seem to celebrate Abby's Day late, and this year was no exception. We weren't together as a family on September 18th, the "official" day she legally became ours, so we didn't celebrate it until last Monday. We asked her if she wanted to go play in the snow or go to the pumpkin patch and the zoo, and we were pretty surprised she didn't choose the snow.

Daddy had a few days off, so Monday morning we went out to breakfast and then headed to Sauvie Island Farms to get a pumpkin. It was a gorgeous day and the first time we've ever been to a pumpkin patch here in Oregon when we didn't leave covered in mud! Since it was a school day, we pretty much had the whole farm to ourselves, which was really fun.

We went to the animal barn to see the goats, lambs, calf, turkeys, chicks, rabbits, cow, and other animals. We entered the contest to name the calf: Abby picked the name Bitsy and Ryan picked Cowlick.

There was a HUGE hay pyramid to climb on,

a hay maze,

a short corn maze for kids (as well as a large one that we skipped this year) where you had to follow the path and find the lost animals,

a pumpkin slingshot,

a hay ride which had all to ourselves,

and of course the pumpkin fields (and gourds too!).

We probably spent two hours at the farm and only $9.50, which included three pumpkins, two gourds, the kiddie mazes, and a bottle of water. What a bargain!

Camo Kids

2007-10-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

Ryan really loves camouflage clothing, and he has jeans, hat, shirts, shorts, and shoes that are camo. When Abby saw these girlie camo sweats at Wal-Mart, she fell in love with them. This particular morning, I was feeling rather left out of the loop as I am the only one who doesn't own any camouflage attire. Guess I'll have to keep my eyes open for some Mommy camo!

Fall Color

2007-10-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

We stopped to collect some of these brilliantly colored leaves when we were out running errands yesterday. Abby just oohhed and aahhed over the gorgeous trees...and so did Mommy!

Beatnik Abby

2007-10-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

Abby loves this outfit that was handed down to us by a friend!

Girlie Day

2007-10-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Ryan went to work with Daddy, so Abby and I had a a girls day. We had a lazy day mostly, but we did a craft, watched the new Little House on the Prairie, ran some errands and had a snack and drink at our new Starbucks! It was a fun day as I always enjoy spending one-on-one time with either of my kiddies!

Daddy think Starbucks makes terrible hot chocolate, but Abby loves it!

Another Week of Preschool

2007-10-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

My least favorite part of the week, but a highlight for the kids...Play-Doh.

She's struggling a bit with her Cs. I'm not sure why. You'd think they would be easier than As and Bs. It's also interesting to note that she wrote some of these with her left and some with her right. She most often uses her right, but when it gets tired, she just switches to her left hand! Wednesday she was coloring at a friend's house with colored pencils...one color in each hand, both going at the same time. Maybe she'll choose a handedness soon or maybe she'll be ambidextrous!

She spelled her name all on her own...sort of! I knew she could recognize her name, but I didn't know she could pick out the letters herself. Great job, Abby! She does almost everything backwards at first (notice one of the Cs above), and I'm not sure if it's just immaturity or something else. I know lots of kids frequently write letters backward, so it may just come with time.

Snuggling with Minnie Mouse

2007-10-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Though Abby is thrilled to have Rosie back, tonight she choose to sleep with Minnie. Minnie has been hiding out in my mending pile for about six months (I'm ashamed to admit this, but it's true), and I finally repaired her tear and gave her back to Abby. We found her hugging her buddy when we went to tuck her in last night.

Naptime

2007-10-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Though neither of my kids still nap, we have an hour of quiet time each afternoon. The kids pick books or toys to play with quietly on their beds for an hour. It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes Abby will fall asleep during that time. Today when I told her quiet time was over, she got up, went to the couch and promptly fell asleep!

Dry Weekend

2007-10-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

There is a joke in our area that goes, "What follows two days of rain? Monday!" The rain does frequently seem to come on the weekends for some reason, but this last weekend was dry and gorgeous. We went to a football game, did some geocaching, and let the kids wear themselves out at the park (they never really get worn out, but we try!).

Kid Pile on Moriah

2007-10-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

We got to see some friends this weekend that we haven't seen for well over a year. Their son had football game locally, and we went to watch. Their daughter Moriah loves kids, and immediately ran to us and started engaging them both. Though the kids didn't remember her at first, they quickly warmed up to her (she's so sweet, so who could resist?) and about wore her out!

Moriah's mom, Tanya, is an important part of Ryan's adoption story as she was responsible for connecting us with Ryan's birthmother, and this family will always have a special place in our hearts!

Bs

2007-10-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

She's 4 1/2!

2007-10-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

A few years ago we got the kids each personalized Veggie Tales CDs which have kid songs with a Veggie Tale character talking to them using their name and singing songs with their names. Both kids get a kick out of hearing Bob or Larry talk to them. Also, if you give them your email address, each year they send the child a birthday email as well as a half-birthday email. Abby got hers this week. I can't believe she's 4.5!

Abby Loves Carrots

2007-10-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

While eating dinner a few nights ago, Daddy told the kids, "Carrots are good for your eyes." Abby looked at the carrots she had in each hand and said, "How do you put them in your eyes?"

Doing Preschool

2007-10-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

Abby really struggles with her manual dexterity. In fact, I don't think she's really decided which handedness she prefers. She has never enjoyed coloring or writing (unless it's on the wall or in her applesauce, etc.!), but I have been giving her something to color or draw every day since we began school this year, and I think it's already improving her skill. She still isn't loving it, but I can tell she's feeling more confident at least.

Downtown Outing

2007-10-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

Daddy needed to do a few things at work on Saturday and then we had a surprise birthday party to attend, so we all accompanied him downtown. Abby stayed with Daddy for a little while so Ryan and I could go to the big downtown library to look for books on storms and to find a geocache there. After that, we picked up Abby and headed out to the Park blocks for a little walk. It was a beautiful fall day, and both kids enjoyed watching the people and the leaves falling, as well as looking at the big statuary located on each block.

It was getting a bit chilly with the wind blowing, so we head to Qdoba and had a snack while we waited for Daddy to finish up his work. You never know what you're going to see when you're downtown, but it turned out to be a very nice outing this time!

I must have had my camera on the wrong setting because all my shots on this day came out blurry.

FOUND!

2007-10-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to do a post about Abby's lost bear Rosie, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Abby brought her favorite buddy with her to California, a pink bear she's had since birth that she named Rosie. I typically only let them sleep with one buddy, and Rosie is usually the one Abby picks. So when she came up missing before we left Gramie's, we went on a full scale search for her...but to no avail. I asked my brother and sister-in-law if perchance they had seen it, but again, no success. When we left California without Rosie, I told Abby that she just wanted to stay and visit Gramie a while longer and that seemed to placate her for a while. But lately she's been saying that Rosie has visited long enough and it was time for her to come home, so I was facing the fact that I was going to have to break her heart and let her know Rosie was gone for good.

But the doorbell rang today and there on the front step was a box from Gramie, and inside, of course, was ROSIE! Abby is thrilled, and I even thought she was going to cry!

Super Why!

2007-10-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

PBSKids has a new show for preschoolers called Super Why!, and Abigail really loves it! It's geared to teach kids how to read, and except for the fact they don't introduce phonics, it's a pretty neat show. There are four "super readers" who are super heroes who use books and reading to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Though we don't watch it every morning, it is a good complement to what Abby is learning in preschool, and it's fun to watch her actually answering questions outloud and getting involved in what they are trying to teach her each episode.

Preschool Work

2007-10-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

We began our homeschool year a couple weeks late this year due to being in California for several weeks, but this is the first year I'm doing more organized school with Abigail. She has been complaining that she is the only one in our house who can't read, so I told her the first step is her being potty trained! But while we're intensely working on potty training this month, we are working on letter recognition too. Of course we are also doing coloring, shapes, Play-Doh, paints, and all the fun stuff that comes with being a preschooler.

Yesterday was her first day of preschool, and she really enjoyed it. She struggles to draw and manipulate a crayon or pencil correctly, but she did a great job on making these As!

Difficult Decision

2007-09-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

We have been a little puzzled by some changes in Abby recently. Ever since the beginning of August our lives have been pretty busy with camping, a trip to Seattle, and a long trip to California, and we have not done any of her therapy program (with the exception of stopping the self-stimming behavior). Yet in that time she has progressed back to the point or even better than she was a year ago when all this regression started (with the exception of not being potty trained still). She still has a lot of "issues," but we just aren't seeing the same disturbing behavior that we were back at the beginning of the year.

So we're wondering if the therapy has been helping all these months and she's now rapidly reaping the benefit of that, or did it just go away, or is she just maturing and growing up and out of some of this stuff? During the time we were doing therapy we didn't see this much progress, so now that we've stopped and are seeing a return to her "normal" self, we are questioning whether we need to continue the therapy.

After some prayer and discussion with hubby, we have made the hard decision to cancel her next appointment with the neurodevelopmental specialist. I hope we don't undo all we've done, but at this point we don't see the need to put Abby--and me--through the program. She had really begun to hate doing her program every day, and when she found out we weren't doing it anymore, she was so excited!

Another factor in our decision is that we have two appointments with a specialist recommended by our pediatrician back in June. We couldn't get in for five months, but we will see him this month. I am a bit skeptical about these visits, but I'm willing to listen and hear what they have to offer. Afterall, we did ask our ped for advice, and it would probably be a good idea to follow through with his advice instead of just dismissing it without checking it out, huh?

All this to say, please pray for wisdom and guidance for us. I am truly shocked and dismayed that there really are no specialists in the area of FASD, and no one really seems to know what to do. Most treatment is parent driven and I sometimes feel like an explorer lost in a world completely unfamiliar to me yet refusing to believe that medication and/or doing nothing are my only options. If that turns out to be the case after all my searching, so be it. But for now, I am not going to be content with that. Abigail is an incredibly bright (and beautiful, I might add) child who just needs help in reaching her potential!

Lord, help me help her, please.

Doughnuts

2007-09-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

About once a month I take the kids out for a breakfast of donuts. It's usually when we go do our monthly shopping in Washington, and that's what it was today. We haven't had them for quite some time, and since we had virtually nothing in the fridge for breakfast since we were gone for 17 days, I decided it would be a good time to do it.

Abby never really eats her donuts, she just licks the frosting off and picks the donut to pieces. Ryan eats every scrap of his though! I don't usually eat one, but I splurged today and had a blueberry fritter, which was way too sweet, but yummy nonetheless.

Going Home

2007-09-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say that our trip home was uneventful, but instead we had a some bumps. Most notably, just after coming over the grapevine, Abby decided to throw up! She has never thrown up before...ever. I gave her an empty cup and pulled over quickly, but to no avail. Needless to say, she was scared and upset and, boy, did she do a bang-up job of making a mess. She had been coloring and putting stickers on a sheet on her lap desk when she got sick, so we had vomit on everything. I was so glad my mom was with us on this leg of the trip because it would have taken me hours to clean it up by myself. As it was, we probably spent 45 minutes wiping and cleaning and changing clothes, etc. I felt so bad for Abigail, but she recovered quickly. We think maybe she just got carsick on all the curves in that stretch of the highway.

When I asked her why she had pen all over her face,
she said she wanted to trace her face. Silly kid.
We got to our hotel and went for a swim in the pool. Or I should say Abby went for a swim in the pool, but it was so freezing cold that the rest of us went into the hot tub for a while instead. Abby eventually joined us in the warm water too. The next day was a long one, but we made some stops for food and geocaches so we could stretch our legs a bit. Finally, Sunday evening we drove into the garage and began unloading the van. It's good to be home!

This and That

2007-09-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

I was surprised Abby wouldn't go for a ride on Granpa's motorcycle

considering she's usually up for any adventure. When I asked her

later why she didn't want to she was quiet for a moment and then

she said, "Well, you know, if there aren't any seatbelts, do you think

it's very safe?" Smart girlie!

I couldn't keep Abigail out of this tree in Gramie's front yard. She just loved climbing in it, which would have been fine except for the sap she kept getting on herself.

Playing "golf" with Ryan and Gramie at the shop.

So this is what a van full of kids would look like!

Feeding the ducks at Fairmont Park.

A pile of cousins!

Riding Hannah's scooter, and doing a great job at it too, I might add.

The Jungle Book

2007-09-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Aunt Darcy.
Gramie treated us very well while we were her guests, and Saturday involved a trip to Hollywood to see The Jungle Book at El Capitan Theatre. She also took her friend Vivian and her daughter Paige, as well as my brother and his family. Having their cousins along made this so special! Even though we didn't get to ride together, the kids were thrilled to get to see Hannah and Rachel again.

Popcorn and a drink were included with the tickets my mom got, and we had second row balcony seating, which was very good! Before the movie there was a man playing a giant organ (though my brother and I suspected him of cheating...we saw an iPod Nano there among the keyboard!), and then the Host and Baloo came out and entertained us with a sing-a-long.

After the movie, we all went out to dinner at TGIFridays, and then we each made the long drive home to our respective houses.

New Places and New People

2007-09-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

While Ryan went with Granpa on the route, Gramie, Abby and I had a girls day out. We ate breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants (Shelly's Place) for breakfast, then we took Gramie to find her first couple of geocaches. It was a nice relaxing day with just us girls.

Abby was too little to remember the first time she met her great-grandma, but she enjoyed her visit this year. My Grama tickled and kissed on them and fed them Goldfish and M&M's. Abby played in Grama's hat for a while, looking very cute in it!

After visiting her great-grandma, we went to spend the afternoon with my brother and his family. Abby was so excited to be going to her cousins' house, and she had a great time playing with them and their toys!

The kids played outside for a while on the swing set and playing hide and seek before eating dinner and playing inside for the remainder of the evening. She did not want to leave, but since Hannah had school the next day, we went home so everyone could get some rest.

Fun With Gramie and Cousins

2007-09-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

Abby has been dying to get to play with the "two Hannahs" ever since I told her we would be going to California. I kept reminding her that her younger cousin is named Rachel and not Hannah, but she just couldn't seem to remember. I'm hoping now that she's played with them both, she will finally get it!

Our first morning at Gramie's we were kind of moving slowly, but we eventually got everyone dressed. The kids played together a bit, including playing some duets on the piano. Gramie read some stories, and then we finally went to IHOP for breakfast. We had a van full of kiddies, and it got a bit loud, but it was so fun to see them all enjoying each others' company.

Abby was very upset that she didn't get to sit beside Hannah during breakfast, but sitting beside Gramie quickly made up for it. Both kids ordered a chocolate happy face pancake that had whipped cream and chocolate chips on it...wow, what a way to start off the day! After breakfast we headed off for more fun.

What a pout!

Another Day of Driving

2007-09-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was getting ready to go to sleep, I tucked the kids into bed and found Abby asleep hugging her brother...what a precious sight!

That morning, we had a little bit of breakfast and then went to find a few geocaches in the small town where we spent the night. One was at a local park with some cute things to play on. Abby especially liked this lion drinking fountain.

Our second day of driving went almost as well as our first, only every time we got back in the van after making a stop, Abby would ask, "Are we going to Gramie's now?" She couldn't quite understand that we had been heading to Gramie's for the last two days!

At last we arrived at last at Gramie's house at about 6:30, and Abby was thrilled to find her cousins Hannah and Rachel eagerly waiting for us! They all got aquainted (however, I neglected to get pictures), and then we headed to a local park to watch a movie on a blow-up screen. It was a long day, but a good one, thankfully.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2007-09-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

To say that the kids were excited this morning would definitely be an understatement. Abby has been asking every day for almost two weeks about when we would be going to California, so it was a relief to finally say, "Today!" We dropped Daddy off at the airport, and then we headed south. It was a long day of driving, but both kids did so well! When we got to the California border, we stopped, took a couple of pictures and found a geocache hidden there. The kids got a big kick out of that!

Then we drove several more hours, arriving at our hotel an hour earlier than expected. We ate a little dinner and played in the pool for a while. Then I put the kids to bed. They were still pretty wound up, so I laid with each of them for about ten minutes, and that did the trick...they're both sleeping peacefully. I hope the novelty hasn't worn off tomorrow and they do as well as they did today.

New Shoes Will Soon Be Dirty Shoes

2007-09-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

I bought Abby a new pair of cute canvas shoes last night at Wal-Mart. When I got home and gave them to her, she was so excited and said, "Thank you, Mommy! They're so beautiful! I can't wait to get them dirty!"

(Sigh.)

Fishing With Daddy

2007-09-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Examining a Blue Gill.

Biggest Perch Daddy has ever seen and Abby caught it!
Abby has been asking Daddy to take her fishing, so Daddy scheduled a time for them to go last Friday, just the two of them. He took her to a nearby pond that we often visit, and they had quite a day.

Unknown species...maybe a cutthroat trout,
something that's not supposed to be in this pond at any rate.

Big, fat Pumpkin Seed.
Daddy said he lost count, but they probably caught more than 30 fish between the two of them over the course of several hours! Ryan and I joined them for a picnic lunch, and then we all did some hiking and geocaching afterwards.

Wonder what kind of butterfly this will become?

Morning at the Beach

2007-08-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, we live within walking distance of a fairly nice beach. It's not an ocean beach, but a sandy beach along the Columbia River. We have seen people parked at the railroad trestle that is the entrance to the trail leading to the beach but never walked down there to see what the big attraction was. When Grampa came in April, he took the kids for a walk and ended up down at the beach! Of course the kids have been wanting to go back, and this week I finally decided to take them. We packed up our gear and headed out.

It's about a quarter mile walk from the trestle, so I'm glad I drove that far (the trestle is about a quarter mile from our house) since we were lugging a Tonka bulldozer, a bucket of sand toys, and a huge tote filled with water, snacks, towels, camera, book for Mommy, and other beach essentials. We had the whole place to ourselves for the first two hours, and then slowly others began arriving. The kids played in the sand and water while I took pictures, read a book, and relaxed on a blanket. We stayed for several hours and then headed home for lunch. We will have to go back more often now that I know what's over there!

I don't know if you can see it or not,
but she's totally covered in sand from rolling in it.

Curly Girl

2007-08-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Daddy took Ryan to work, and then afterwards they did a little geocaching and went out to dinner. So Abby and I had a girls day together. We mostly did chores and things around the house, but we watched a movie together and Abby got her hair put up in rollers for the first time! She thought it was great. Unfortunately, I used too small of rollers for her curly hair, and the front was one big fuzzball when I took them out. Maybe next time...

Bareback

2007-08-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

We have made some friends this year who live on a farm (at least for another couple weeks, and then they will be moving), and they invited us over for a spur-of-the-moment playdate recently. The kids played on the trampoline and ran all over the grass and played in the hammock.

Abby got a special treat though, she got to ride their horse...and she did it bareback! First Jackie (the oldest daughter who rides the horse in shows) let her ride with her. They trotted and cantered, and Abby loved it! Then Jackie got off, and Abby rode by herself with my friend Barbara leading her. Abby had been riding for a while and her bottom was a bit sore, so she was ready to get off.

Once our friends get moved, they invited us over to do more riding and to even teach Abigail how to ride. They have a small saddle and she'll wear her bike helmet! Abby loves animals, and Barbara was impressed with how easily she took to the trotting. She wasn't afraid or uptight, she just went with the flow (that's our girl!) and enjoyed the whole experience. (Ryan was invited to ride as well, but he only last about 30 seconds...just long enough for me to snap one picture.)

After that we went to see the two-day-old bunnies, the chicks that are a couple of weeks old, and to watch Barbara collect the eggs. It was a really fun morning, and the kids have been talking about it for days.

Can You Guess What's In Her Hair?

2007-08-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

I thought we were going to have to cut her some very short bangs, but thankfully I was able to get this out without doing that.

Last Day in Bellevue

2007-08-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Bellevue was mostly spent packing up and then killing time around town while Daddy finished up his training. After checking out of the hotel, we went and had lunch. Then we drove to the Bellevue Botanical Garden and explored the grounds of that for a while.

While there wasn't a lot in bloom, there were some interesting sculputures, water fountains, and the whole area was very beautiful. Abby loves flowers (and sticks, rocks, feathers, etc.), so I kept a keen eye on her to make sure she didn't pick any of the flowers that were in bloom!

After we finished walking through the garden, we drove to neat local park (They have tons of cool parks here!), and the kids had a blast playing and climbing and swinging.

Finally Daddy called and said he would be ready to leave soon, so we drove back to downtown and picked Daddy up. We grabbed some dinner and then headed home. Our Seattle/Bellevue adventure was over, but the kids had a great time while it lasted!

More Water Play Today

2007-08-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Abby's favorite kind of day, lots of time spent in the water. We went to a local beach park located on the banks of Lake Washington. It was the neatest park with a beach and swimming area (complete with lifeguards), a play structure, grass to play on and picnic areas to eat at. It was also landscaped beautifully and had some interesting local artwork.

Abby built a dribble sand castle and practiced her swimming in the lake. She also found shells and rocks and rolled in the sand to her heart's content.

We had lunch and went back to our room for naps. Abby fell asleep in record time (once again burying herself in pillows). I finally woke her up after 90 minutes (I usually don't let her sleep longer than 45 minutes) or who knows how long she would have slept! We got the kids back into swimsuits and went down to play in the pool for a while until Daddy finished his training for the day. Abby practiced doing somersaults in the water and "diving," which is basically her pushing off with her feet and floating across the top of the water.

Once Daddy got home we went to dinner and a walk around downtown. Abby was fascinated by some of the pieces of art we saw. We were going to find some geocaches, but our GPS wasn't cooperating. We took a drive to a couple of local parks, the kids played a bit, and then we went back to our room. We watched Into Alaska with Jeff Corwin, which for some reason both kids really liked. Then it was bedtime once again.

Another Day of Adventure

2007-08-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

Abby and Ryan were having a good time playing in the hotel room yesterday morning, so we took it easy most the morning and afternoon. We ate at the hotel's continental breakfast, then came back to the room and cleaned up a bit. A little before noon we decided to go for a walk and explore the area a bit. We walked the grounds of the hotel, located the pool, enjoyed their waterfalls/fountains, and then walked a litte bit around downtown Bellevue.

We ended up eating lunch at Wendy's and browsing through one of my favorite places, Storables. Then it was back to the hotel for naps and quiet time. Abby covered herself with about five pillows and went to sleep fairly quickly, while Ryan read his school book and rested. I enjoyed the quiet while catching up on my blogs.

After Abby woke up from her nap, the kids got their swimsuits on and we headed down to the pool. They had the whole pool to themselves the majority of the time we were there, and they had a blast splashing and playing in the water. After over an hour of swimming, we went back to the room and watched some PBSKids and eating popcorn.

When Daddy arrived, we drove to Seattle for a Mariners baseball game. Safeco Field is huge, but it has a pretty good view from just about anywhere, even the cheap seats (which is where we were). We have taken her to a couple minor league games before, but this was her first major league game and stadium. She couldn't believe how high up we were (yep, cheap seats!). Abby got a big kick out of the whole adventure, and she especially liked cheering and clapping when there was a hit or some other exciting play. She seemed to enjoy the game more than Ryan did, though I don't think she really watched much of it or knew what was going on most of the time.

Since she had taken a nap, she stayed awake the whole way home, which took about an hour. It was after 11:00 when we got back to our room and into bed. Thankfully, she went to sleep almost immediately, and slept the whole night through.

Woodland Park Zoo

2007-08-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

Daddy is doing a three-day training in Bellevue, Washington (Seattle), this week, so since the hotel and gas was already paid for, the kids and I tagged along. We left early Sunday and drove to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. Our Oregon Zoo membership gives us free entry into Seattle's zoo as well, which is great because it's much better than our zoo (as well as more expensive)!

For the entire two-and-a-half-hour drive, Abby couldn't keep quiet about seeing the Komodo Dragon. We checked out a Popular Mechanics for Kids DVD from the library about Gators & Dragons and Other Wild Beasts, and both Ryan and Abby have been watching it over and over.

So when we found out the Woodland Park Zoo has a Komodo Dragon exhibit, they were thrilled. Of course, that was the first exhibit we went to see, and it was pretty cool. Both kids were surprised at how big the dragon really is.

After getting the dragon exhibit behind us, we tried to see all the animals that we don't have at our zoo, so we saw the lions and wolves, we saw the wild dogs and jaguars, we saw the emus and kangaroos, as well as lots of other reptiles and primates that we don't have. These lemurs were really putting on a show, chasing each other and making sounds that I couldn't even begin to describe!

We rode the carousel, and had fun in the parakeet and cockatiel exhibit. You could buy sticks with some food on the end to feed the birds with, but it must have been a busy day because the birds didn't seem very interested in the food. We did manage to coax two birds onto our stick for Ryan and Abby to hold and watch eat. We have lorakeets at the Oregon Zoo which are much more eager to sip the nectar than these were to eat the millet, but it was still a neat exhibit.

After we saw what we wanted at the zoo, we headed to the waterfront for some dinner and the Seattle Center, mostly so the kids could see the Space Needle up close. Then we drove to our hotel, checked in, and tried to settle the kids down for some sleep.