Sneaky Abby

Abby has been potty trained for well over a year, yet is still in pull ups over night. Three to four nights out of the week she wakes up with a full pull up and just has trouble either waking up or getting to the potty on time.  We haven't been too hardcore on her yet as we know all kiddos do things in their own time.  It's annoying to buy the pull ups (thank God for Extra Care bucks and coupons), but it's even more heartbreaking to the landfills.  I did find, and LOVE, a cloth alternative, but it's not quite holding up to Abby's overnight pee. I'll have to get more absorbent inserts. 

 Here is our conversation from last night:

Abby:  I want to wear underoos tonight!
Me:  Great, Abby! You're such a big girl!  (she was successful last night, so why not?  Plus, she is excited about earning stickers.)

(I went to check on her prior to going to bed myself and what did I find?  She was in a pull up and her underoos on her bedspread.)

I shared her shenanigans to Tim, because I had a feeling she might try to pull a fast one on us.   In the morning, she woke up, came to say good morning, and.....

Tim:  Good morning, Abby! How did you sleep?  Are you dry??
Abby:  Yes!

Well, her UNDEROOS were dry, but the pull up she was wearing was full to the brim!

I spoke to her about lying and not telling the truth, but for real, what 3 1/2 year old would be smart enough to attempt, let alone pull off, this stunt.  Smarty pants. 

Wedding Season!

We are so incredibly lucky and fortunate to have a fabulous Mimi who loves her grandbabies and is close enough to us that she will watch the kids in a moment notice.  We're also lucky enough that she is willing to have sleep overs with them!  This past weekend we celebrated a friend's wedding up in Boothbay Harbor - without children.  As much as I LOVE my kiddos, it's always nice to sneak away every once in awhile.

Such a beautiful part of Maine and I hope we can sneak away again - this time WITH kids.  This region has so much to offer!

Sammy at Seventh months

We're closer to 1 than we are a newborn.  Slow.the.roll.  At seven months, Sam still has his two bottom teeth and no sight of any others.  He is moving from here to there - sometimes in a blink of an eye.  I'm pretty sure he rolls everywhere. Getting close to crawling, though!  He has shifted his wake up time to about 5:30 and we're hoping it's just because his routine been out of whack for a few days.  He loves his peaches, mango, carrots, and squash. Not a big fan of the peas.  He is constantly grabbing for whatever we are eating and tonight we let him slurp on homemade grape juice Popsicles.  Santa brought me a a Zoku maker for Christmas and we finally dug it out!  It's amazing!  A friend recommended this little treat and I'm psyched it's easy, peasy lemon-squeezy!

Sam is also talking up a storm and loves pulling Abby's hair. 

It seems unfair that the gals get ice cream and Sam gets,well, milk

I'm not sure for how long the kissy kiss will last. 

Lemonda Stand 2013

Me:  Abby, would you like to have a lemonade stand?
Abby:  ya, momma!!!
Me: What do you want to do with the money you earn?
Abby: Give it to someone (my heart swelled with pride!!)
Me:  That's great Abby! , Who would you like to give it to?
Abby:  Mimi!
Me:  Good idea, but I think she has plenty. Who else would you like to give it to? Who else do you love?
Abby:  How about Rocky!?  (My brother's dog)
Me:  That's a Great idea!  How about we give it to the Animal Shelter for other dogs like Rocky?
Abby:  YAY!!!!!

Abby has been talking about her Lemonade stand since our conversation on Wednesday.  She was so proud of her little stand we set up.  Selling lemonade for $.50 a cup, she earned $13.00!!  I checked the hours of the Animal Refuge League center and they're open today from 12-4.

Abby asked to add some money to her piggy bank as well and I certainly couldn't refuse.  We wrote a thank you note and went to visit the ARL.   Here she is dropping off her $6.50 - she was so excited!  She was even more excited to visit with the kittens, rabbits, gerbils, and dogs. I asked about volunteer opportunities for little ones and it looks like we'll be visiting regularly! 

SQUASH!

Yummy! We're making our own baby food because it's more nutritious, easy, and cost effective.  Sam loves it!  Next up is peas!

 

Backyard Camping

With summer days dwindling fast and the amounts of copious rain, you sort of have to take advantage of these rain-free, gorgeous nights. So, here's what we did!

We set up our Taj Mahal for a little backyard camping.  Abby was beyond excited to sleep outside and spent several hours in an out of the tent getting everything ready.  Lots of books, her teddy, air mattresses (of course!), and blankets.

Sam was put in his pack n play at his normal bed time while Abby got to stay up much later than her bed time.  We somehow made it all in our bed by 6:15.  I'll say it was a large success since I didn't have to get up more than once and I slept until 6 - my normal wake up time.  Tim shared that there were animals all around us, but I suppose that's to be expected.  As long as they don't find their way into the tent!

I think we're ready for the REAL thing!!!!!

Crooked House Paint Job

Abby and I were never a big fans of the yellow and green and when asked which color she wanted, she choose blue!  Pheewww!  Pink curtains of course, but that's just fine with me.  We hopped over to Sherwin Williams and picked out a gorgeous blue. White trim paint is a dime a dozen with a professional painter in the house.  We still need to reshingle the roof, but this is the new look. Love.

Before:

After:

The dormer will be put back on as soon as the shingles are done (you can see if off to the left!). 

Thank you so much to Uncle Rob of Dee Painting & More for the great work!!!  We love it!

Toes Do Not Have Nutritional Value

Sam's just getting ready for the real thing!

The Color Run

Abby and I went to cheer on our friends at The Color Run - the happiest 5k on the planet.  So amazing.  You should totally read about it and sign up the next run!  We are!  Rumor has it, it might come back to SP in October.  As I was reading the through the site I learned that it is untimed and that 60% of its participants are first time 5k runner.  Plain awesome.

Before the first color zone:

After the Yellow color zone:

Of our four day weekend that included fireworks on the fourth of July, Abby shared that her favorite part was when the baby got hit with the yellow color.  Now to be fair, the "baby" was at least a preschooler and he was being strolled.  He was not too impressed with being showered, but if that was Abby's favorite part, she can't wait to do it the next time it comes back to town.

Abby's Cramra

Yes, I spelled it right....This is one of Abby's mispronunciations that is just too cute not to correct.

She loves taking pictures with her "cramra'....

Pool Time!

After a long day at the beach on Friday, we opted to putz around the house and then find a pool to cool down.  We're so lucky to have several friends or family members who have pools to cool off in :-) Both Sam and Abby had a blast - even though Abby was chicken about the diving board.  We negotiated for the next time.

Tuckered out...

For real, it doesn't get much cuter than this.  Sunkissed, salty and sweet.....

First bite!

Well, spoonful that is.  After a stomach bug the last couple of weeks, we waited until Sam's belly felt a bit more stable before giving him his first bites of very liquidy brown rice cereal.  He loved it!

Sam is 6 months 2 weeks 4 days. 

Rhode Island Get Away

Despite Sam being a bit under the weather with a tummy bug, we had whirl wind weekend.  First up was the family shenanigans in Portland and second up was a fabulous trip to Rhode Island for the Proctor family summer get together.  We celebrated the July birthdays as there are a lot of us and spent time in Bristol.  The town was getting ready for their 4 hour Fourth of July parade and red, white, and blue was proudly displayed everywhere.  We arrived around noon on Sunday and spent the day at the Yacht Club and then attended a concert in the park.  Where Abby had her SECOND ice cream cone - I told you, she's not deprived.  The Jimmy Buffet cover band brought us to Margaritaville despite the weather. 

Our final stop in Rhode Island was to Aunt Jackie's house which was not to be confused with Aunt Jackie from Wisconsin. Jackie was finally able to meet Sam and we got to see her adorable little cottage by the sea.  She has a sweet spot in Swansea!  We hope to see all the Proctors again soon!



We capped off the long weekend with saying sayonara to the Wisconsin family at DQ - where Abby had her THIRD ice cream cone.  In three days.

Apparently our family goes big or goes home.. :-)

Trip to Peaks

Fourteen of us took the ferry over to Peaks Island for a bit of an adventure.

Brenda became Abby's BFF when she offered to buy Abby her FIRST ice cream cone. Yes, first.  I know, I know....3 1/2 and her first cone.  Trust me she's not deprived in any other way.

 

Lunch at the Island house was tasty, had a great view, and we even got a sliver of sun!