10 Months Old!

Abby turned 10 months old on the 13th! I can't believe she'll be 1 in two short months... it just doesn't seem possible for time to go this fast. Abby is a delight. She loves people and smiles a lot. Pretty much every adult we see asks me "is she always this happy?. Of course she's not always the happiest baby you've ever seen, but she is most of the time, so I think we are pretty lucky to have such a darling little sunshine to wake up with every morning!

She is crawling and exploring as fast as her little arms and legs will take her and lately she loves to crawl up the stairs. I crawl behind her and it's fun to listen to her excitement as she gets closer and closer to the top. She also loves to walk behind her little shopping cart. She did stand for a few seconds unsupported the other day, but I think we're a ways off from real standing or walking, since I can't get her to do it again.

She continues to think that Sammy is the best toy in the whole world and for now Sammy continues to indulge her. She is getting a little picky with her food... I'm distressed since I love to cook and try new foods and am already conjuring up visions of having to make noodles and butter every night or something similarly boring so Abby won't starve. She does have some favorites: mangoes, toast, and cheese. Pretty much everything else gets spit out. We're working on it...

Boy Crazy Stacy

Abby had her friend Otto over today. As I've said before, she's not shy and she's not shy around boys either.


Dressed up and ready for her playdate!


Let's play house!


Hmmm... how should we make Otto feel at home? How about a nice big kiss?

2 Hr and 45 Min Nap

I think that's a new record for Abby. I wish I could say that I was super productive during the nap, but I mostly wasted my time. I kept thinking she was going to wake up any minute and should only do short (and pretty insignificant) chores. Oh well, now I know that it's possible and will be more productive in the future.

After she finally got up she was a zombie for a while:


So groggy...

But then she finally realized that she had Mommy's full attention and Pink Fish in her hand and brightened up to her usual cheerful self.



We love you Pink Fish. Whatever you do, don't let Sammy chew you up.

Today's Highlights

1. Daffodils are open and look tastier than ever.




2. The new espresso machine that Charlie got for Christmas (and I use everyday... oops, next time my gift will 100% Charlie) makes my morning coffee practically free and even more fun. Today I topped it with left over shavings of the fancy Belgium chocolate that I bought for New Year's Eve. So good.



3. Abby discovered 3 new loves: Playing under the dining room table, the mail slot and the picture game that Kelsey made her.



4. We had a fun lunch with Pappy... sadly no pictures, but I am now accepting lunch dates at Vios in Ravenna. There's a little pen filled with toys and a bar around it so you can sit there and eat while watching your child. I wonder if they have happy hour?

5. Costco has my favorite brown rice bowls back! Done in 90 seconds!

Baby Party

The party goers.


The party was at a lull and Abby really only cared about her favorite toy Pink Fish.


Abby loves crawl up to other babies and to grab their faces. She is not shy and she cannot read social cues... yet.


So Abby, did you have fun?

Abby had her PEPs friends over for a party. She had a great time... this little baby girl is the life of the party. Although she wasn't too thrilled when all the kids wanted to play with her shopping cart. Something tells me we may have some problems learning to share... uh-oh.

My Little Daffodil

Mmmm... it looks so yummy!


I am a sucker for daffodils, they seem to be the first sign that Spring will be here eventually and today, there they were, at the store! So it may be a long ways off, but it's a sign, Spring will be here soon(ish). Anyway, because Abby was born in March and it seemed there were daffodils everywhere when she was born, I think of her as my little daffodil. I tried to get her to pose with one of the daffodils we bought, but she just wanted to eat it, so I had to give up and take it away. It was nap time, so maybe after her nap she'll be more cooperative? Not likely, but if she is, I'll post more (hopefully better pics then).




Looking cute and angelic while she eats her new favorite, mangoes and blueberries.

I feel like a new woman!

Maybe it's because we've been cooped up in the house with all this rain, maybe I'm taking this new homemaker role too seriously, I don't know, but I do know that I feel like a new woman now that my favorite sweater is pill free and all thanks to... are you ready? A SPONGE! Did everyone else already know about this? It was news to me, but somewhere (I think Real Simple) I read that a new sponge can remove the pills from a sweater. Today I found a new sponge in the cleaning closet and looked down at my favorite sweater (full of pills) and tried it. Lo and behold! It works! And I can't wait to try it on all my second favorite sweaters! Hallelujah!


Who knew? Just this plain old sponge could provide such magic?


Look at all those pills!