Mama's Little Helper

Abby loves to help me with everything! She especially likes to cook. She insists upon wearing her apron with nothing else on (so she doesn't get her clothes dirty) and always brings me my apron. It is so fun! We make "ninner" and desert all the time. When the food is ready, Abby yells to John "Daddy, Ninner!" Then we pray with Abby telling us what to say. I just love this little girl!

Whenever I'm cleaning, Abby has to clean too. Sometimes she will even color on the tile just to clean it up with a wipe. It drives me crazy but while I'm wiping the counters or spot cleaning the floor, she feels the need to clean too! She also helps put laundry in the washer, dryer and laundry baskets. Then hands me the clothes while I fold them. Abby is using sooooo many words. One day while I was on the phone with a friend, John called grandma so she could talk too. I walked around the kitchen talking for 15 minutes with Abby trailing me talking the whole time as well. What a chatter-box! She's constantly saying new words that I don't remember teaching her. She is so smart!

I took Abby with me to my last doctor's appointment and she wanted to be involved with everything! While waiting for the doctor, Abby put on gloves, had to sit on the examination bed and have me snuggle next to her. My doctor came in and started laughing because Abby was such a sight! Luckily the doctor let Abby help her measure my belly and hold the instruments to hear baby sister's heartbeat. Abby thought it was so neat! She just has to be involved in everything!

South Padre Island, TX

Our family took a trip to South Padre Island, TX for our last little vacation before the new baby comes. We had everything packed in the car and pulled out of the driveway at 10:30am. We have a portable DVD player so Abby watched movies the entire 7 hours down (well she napped for 2 of those hours). 60 minutes into our drive, I turned around and realized Abby wasn't buckled in! She had climbed into her carseat before we got in the car because she was so excited and we forgot to buckle her in when we came out. I was amazed she stayed seated for that long! Well, 30 minutes later Abby starts yelling, "Out, Mommy, Daddy, Out!" We thought she was just done being in the car but instead she was carsick! Abby threw up and started crying so we pulled over and cleaned the backseat as best we could. The entire time Abby is standing there crying "Dirty!! Dirty!!" Luckily we had lots of towels so I covered her carseat in one (after wiping it down), stopped for gas and food, then continued on our way. We checked into our Timeshare on Saturday, April 30th and Abby was so excited! We went and got a yummy dinner and of course had to stop and get some Gelato. The next morning we woke up to the sun rising over the Gulf. It's so different from what I'm used to!

The view from our balcony.

We got out and walked along the beach that morning. But Abby wouldn't touch the sand! The minute was stepped off the deck onto the sand, Abby FREAKED out! She ran back to the deck and started crying. The entire time (with one exception) we had to carry her across the sand, put her on a towel or a chair and carry her to the water. After touching the water, Abby would walk on the hard, wet sand but not until then. Every morning we took long walks on the beach then jumped around in the waves. Here are some pictures of Abby and John having fun!

Abby hated all the sand toys but one. The watering pot. She would fill it up with water, then make me carry her up and dump it out. Then I would carry her back to the water and we would repeat the process. Finally I told her she could walk herself and the game ceased to be any fun. That was the last of that! John played with the toys while Abby watched from a chair.

On Monday it rained in the afternoon so we went to Abby's first movie! Here they are waiting for me to get popcorn and for the movie to start!

I got the popcorn, soda and candy out and Abby chowed down! Rio came on and Abby was entertained for about 30 minutes. Then she decided that was all the movie she could take. Needless to say, we will wait another 6 months before trying to take Abby to a movie again. Luckily we were offered a refund!

On Tuesday morning, we went to the Sea Turtle Rescue building. There we learned all about turtles, got to see them in tanks and touch and feel things in this box.

One turtle surfaced right as Abby and I were on the edge of the pool and it scared Abby to pieces. After that she said scary anytime she saw a turtle. Let's just say we didn't last too much longer.

Abby being "The Little Mermaid"!

Dinner at Pier 19. Abby insisted I wear the hat.

Abby's food came in a pirate ship so it was fun to play with her dinner! They even gave us a fresh ship to take home!

Abby and I getting nice and cozy with a pirate!

On our last night we went to Padreritaville. We loved that restaurant! They had such good food and the staff were so nice and understanding with Abby. The first night there, there was an engagement party for a local and we ended up sitting by them. Abby became quick friends and offered them all hand sanitizer about 10 times. Then she convinced a woman to stand up and dance to the band with her. At least she gave hugs and blew kisses as we left. The second time we came it was relatively empty so Abby got to run around without disturbing anyone. Dessert was the best! Homemade chocolate cake which Abby and I devoured! I highly recommend it.

We had such a fun trip! It was extra windy part of the time and not many families but Abby managed to make friends whether we were at the pool, the beach or at dinner. We left Friday night so Abby would sleep while we drove. It was nice to be home but sad that vacation was over!

Easter Video

Here is a quick video of Abby showing daddy all her goodies from Easter!

Easter

The day before Easter, we went to our friends neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. The children Abby's age collected eggs on the tennis court. Abby was so excited to carry her Princess Bucket around and wasn't sure what to do at first but when we told her to pick up an egg and put it in her bucket, she quickly caught on. She had so much fun! We had to tell Abby to stop because she was getting too many eggs.

We counted our eggs and Abby had to open them to see what was inside. That was a mistake! Once we opened one, all of them had to be opened!



Abby saying "Cheese!" proudly holding her bucket!

We tried to make it to our neighborhoods Easter Egg Hunt after that but we were minutes too late. They did have booths with crafts and food for people to mill around in but we got down to the real business with the jumpies!! Abby loves them!

Her favorite jumpie was the one with the slide. She would have stayed and played all day but we carried her home kicking and screaming for more.

That evening, the Van Sickles invited us over for a BBQ. Abby had so much fun playing with the girls, jumping on the trampoline and dying Easter Eggs! Of course when she tried to drink the dye I had to intervene.

Abby woke the next morning to find the Easter Bunny's "Poop Trail" leading her to her princess bucket. She was so excited that she wouldn't stop for pictures.

After checking out all her loot, Abby helped me clean up the bunnies poop! She wanted to eat most of it but I convinced her that we could eat more later.

Abby received candy, princess lipgloss, a chocolate bunny, and a bubble gun from the Easter Bunny!

For dinner, the Gonzales' came over for our feast! It was so yummy and we love having friends over. We are so thankful for all our friends here in Austin. They make it feel like home and we are so blessed to have each and every one of them.

We tried to teach Abby about the Savior and the sacrifice he made for us. We taught her that Jesus was Resurrected and that we can live with him again. I am so thankful for Savior and for the fact that I can live with my wonderful family forever.

Easter and Pool

Abby LOVES the pool. She could swim every day for hours! We pack food and drinks in a cooler and have fun Saturdays as a whole family. If only every day could be a Saturday.

For Easter, we had our friends Jordan and Lindsey Scott over for dinner and dessert. We made rice krispie eggs, dipped them in peanut butter chips and topped them with sprinkles. Here is a picture of our yummy eggs.

The girls loved them! Lindsey and I did too!

My Little Jumping Bean

These videos crack me up. Abby is officially a Kangaroo jumping everywhere. She now jumps off the end table, onto the couch and then on to the floor. She is everywhere at all times!!!

Abby is starting to play on her own too. She loves to bring her toys into our bathroom and into our bed. Last night, John had to clear off all her princess dolls sleeping on our pillows. Then after climbing in, he discovered a slinky too. After doing the dishes today, I realized it was much too quiet. I found her in our bathroom putting eye shadow on her princess dolls. When she was finished she put my eye shadow back into the makeup bag. She is getting so old! We have so much fun with her.

Colds, Backaches, and Springtime!

Last month we had so many issues. Abby got her first earache and first real cold. She was up every 30 - 60 minutes crying and grabbing her ear. Poor girl slept on me all night. Luckily she was better after a trip to the doctors and starting some yummy Amoxicillin. A week after starting the Amoxicillin she got a full body rash. Turns out that she's allergic to Penicillin. She loved the Amoxicillin so much that she cried when she couldn't have it anymore. Then, I get a cold and Abby gets another cold! This time it settles into her chest and she gets a nice cough to go with her runny nose. Luckily she has been better for the last week but she still has a bit of a cough that comes out every now and then. I get another cold as well and I'm still dealing with it. Unfortunately my ears don't want to unplug and my nose likes to have some congestion. John came down with a sore throat over a week ago and got my cold as well. Poor boy is in agony. You'd think he's never had a cold before. But here is the story to top it all:

Two weeks ago, John was carrying Abby out to the car for me one morning. She is putting up a fight and John is wrestling with her in his arms. He made a sudden movement and hurt his back. John drops Abby, she lands on her feet because she is a cat and he can't move. I take Abby over to Tina's house then come home to check on John. He has crawled back into the house and is on all fours. John can't move and is in HORRIBLE pain. So I call our friend Jeremy, who is a chiropractor, and tell him what happened. We are both laughing hysterically because I think John is a drama queen and is over reacting. 30 minutes later, we are at Jeremy's house where John finds out he popped a rib out of place in his back! His back muscles and abs have been cramping which was causing a lot of the pain. Once Jeremy popped the rib back in place, the pain subsided a bit. Unfortunately his body wanted to seize up at any sudden movements, so John had to move around like a 90 year old man all day to keep from cramping up. I played nursemaid to two babies that day since Abby was still sick. It took about 4 or 5 days for John to be able to move around like normal. Let's just say we hope that NEVER happens again!

It's been in the 70's here and we are loving it! Abby thinks it's time to go to the pool and be outside. Here she is with her swimsuit on reading a book in the laundry basket. Abby loves to read! I think she might take over her Mama. I used to lounge around in the summer reading books and laying out by the pool. I think I have my little California girl!

Abby has been loving the weeds. She has been picking flowers all over the yard. While I'm weeding, she runs around and picks the flowers off the weeds. Oh, and she is always in a skirt or dress. She is just too cute to not put lots of pictures on here!

We heard an airplane and Abby loves to look for them.

Now we are in the backyard another day but Abby wants to pick all the flowers again! Abby doesn't like to have bows in her hair. She would rather have nothing or just plain bobby pins. You can see the bobby pin in the pictures above.

Abby has become quite the musician. I can't play the piano without her taking over. I love this video of her playing and singing. I keep trying to get her to say "Bye" but she keeps saying "One More!"