Abby Explores the Community

Abby has been learning a lot this year in Kindergarten. She surprises us all the time on the facts she has learn and her ability to figure things out.

One unit of study has been the Community and those that work in it.  The class had a visit from a Dental Hygentist, an EMT in an ambulance, and a day to share her Daddy and how he spends his day.  I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, Daddy or Abby.  The kids loved showing off their bumps and bruises, while Doug allowed them to check out his medical tools.

I think Abby truly enjoyed showing off her Daddy, the Doctor.

What a special memory for them both!

This week, Mommy joined Abby and her class on a field trip to the Post Office. Wow! How do they keep track of all those letters?!  Each child had a letter to place inside the mail slot. It was addressed to Mommy and Daddy. It was fun to see how long it took to reach our mailbox.

Abby and Audrey mailing their letters

We were given a behind the scenes tour of all the bins of letters and packages and how they are sorted into routes for the carriers.  I cannot image what it looks like before Christmas when there were things everywhere the week after. 

It was a fun trip to explore part of the community. And who doesn't love a sticker?!

It took 2 days for our letter to arrive.  It is definitely one for the memory box. Here's what was inside our envelope. I love these special little gifts.  Such great printing too!

Puppies Preview

I've been busy this week. I've been busy with a lot of different crafts and that makes me happy : )

I have worked on Abby's snuggle quilt top, Grandmom's pillow (to be posted later) and decorations for the 101st day of school party that I'm hosting at CCS.  Those who know me well, know that I LOVE to plan a party. It's fun to see how many things you can tie into one theme.  I think I found almost everything at Hobby Lobby that had paw prints. Here are a few sneak peaks of what I've done.

White dollar store cups with a stamped black paw print.

The beginning of an adorable banner

Dollar store dog bowls (for treats) to be decorated with paw print stickers

A New Promise

Ok...It's a new year and I'm making myself a new promise.  I'm not calling it a New Year's Resolution...that's too much pressure. I've been wanting to start up my blog again and stick to it. I LOVE reading back on my previous posts to see what we have done and how much my kids have grown.

I'm really getting into this quilting thing and I'd love to 'record' my progress and projects, especially if I start parting with some and give them as gifts.

One benefit of having a birthday just several days after the New Year begins is a few extra days to get those "I'm going to make this the best year ever" items in order. Today, January 5th it really begins.

This is mostly a quilting update. So, here we go!

I've got one large quilt top pieced and ready to be sandwiched, quilted and binded.  I just received the backing in the mail so I'm hoping to jump into that next week while the kids are in school (in between a Gala meeting, field trip and CCS Open House).
Mom and Kate helped me pick out the binding at the cutest little quilt shop (that I've been to so far) near the mall.  I would LOVE to own a place like that!

The top is a zig zag pattern and was done as a quilt along with Ashley from mommybydaycrafterbynight.com It was fun and I'd love to do another, but I'm not that quick : )

The quilt has a lot of bright colors and I chose to go a little bold with the binding to pick up and accent those colors.

For the backing...I had to go with some chevron. Love, Love, Love! in blue from Riley Blake, which Kate thought was a nice comfy color with the yellow sashing. Good choice! (sorry for the wrinkles...another promise to be better with my picture taking)

I can't wait to finish up this quilt and get snuggled underneath it!  I've set a goal to finish it before my first quilting class on Monday, January 14th. It's a stretch as I'm not sure how long the quilting will take, but I'm going to try.

Last night I started piecing together another top. Why? Because I can never just complete something from start to finish...there is always another one started. This is the Perfect Prism pattern I purchased from Amy Gibson at www.stitcherydickorydock.com. It's made from charm packs and I chose to dig into my stash of Apple of My Eye which I purchased here.

I'm loving the red/pink, yellow and aqua tones in this quilt.  I'm sure it will be passed on to Abby as I think the colors are very girly and happy. I chose to make my triangle squares with white to really brighten it up.

I have a few more 5" squares to make into triangles, but I couldn't resist laying it out and seeing some progress. I love it! But, I'm wondering if I should throw in some green?

My Oh My!

My Oh My! I just remembered that I have a blog and that it's been way too long since I've left anything. Bella is practically full grown by now : )

So much has happened through the summer and now that Fall has begun. I don't even know where to begin. It's probably best to just start fresh yet once again. I really need to get the hang of doing this more often. I LOVE going back and looking at my own blogs. My kids have really grown this summer!

It's hard to believe that it's already the end of September. The kids are both in preschool three days a week and activities have begun as well. I am certainly living up to my mini van driving mom role.  Funny how the only sticker I have for Abby is a soccer girl and that's the one activity we dropped.

Our weeks include preschool, gymnastics, speech, and dance. It certainly keeps us busy, but the kids are happy! Yay!

Here's a picture of my little man on his first day of Summer Camp at the Preschool in July. Yup, sporting the popular Dino Dudes Preschool Messenger Bag. We later needed to enlarge this bag to fit more than just summer clothes, a diaper and wipes case.

But here's the big day. Both kids, both excited.

So, this just goes to show. Taking pictures of the two of them together is nearly impossible. Yes, I've got them in the same frame, but barely. And let's be honest...its not the most pleasing picture. What is Abby doing?

But, perhaps one of my favorite and such a precious memory...Daddy and Ben walking up the walk to School.  No worries, Ben, Mommy's not going to miss your big day. I'm right behind you! Wait! Where's that picture. I'll find it and put it in...

Let's take a few minutes to just share photos.  Here's some other memories.

Abby rock climbing at the National Whitewater Center in Charlotte.

Kannapolis Intimidators Game.

Two Little Monkeys Halloween skirt sets modeled by Abby and Madison

Team Trisomy 18 at the VIA Walk in Sept at Steel Stacks in Bethlehem. Our team has really grown and even added a Monkey?

Half Marathon #2 : Derek, Kate and Karen run from Bethlehem to Easton in the VIA Half on
September 11, 2011

Puppies and Fairies

WOW! What a week. One of the longest for sure.  Anytime one of the kids is sick that just causes for extra patience right off the bat, but we also had 2 birthday parties, a dance dress rehearsal and a dance recital. Not to mention, a new addition to our family.

Last minute Doug and I decided to stay with our plans to attend the NorthEast Foundation's annual cruise (benefit dinner and auction).  I had bought the dress, the babysitter was scheduled...so we did it. It was so exciting to dress up and attend an adult function. (Took me back a little to prom, but only at first) Wine, good food and socializing.  Oh, and an adorable puppy up for bid. Take some wine, hand me a live auction paddle and through in a little of my competitiveness and it makes for one interesting evening...and interesting household.

We narrowed down our choices for a name and let Abby pick from there. She's a huge fan of Lady and the Tramp, so of course, Lady was one choice. Bella is another name Abby also likes. Not sure where she first heard it but it seemed like anything she named was "Bella".  Funny that the puppies' mother's name was Miller's Midnight Bella.  Lastly, I'm a little obsessed with English Royalty. Being an English Black Lab I liked calling her Lady. Soooo.... her official name at this point is 'Lady Bella' . She's working on being a Lady (still nipping at our feet) but I think she's a smart pup and will come along quickly. Hopefully the trainer will help us this week.

She's made herself right at home. Getting friendly with Gordy and Sergie. Both don't seemed to bothered by her too much. I'm thankful that they've reacted so well. Even the kids have given up their favorite spots for her.

On top of trying to train a puppy to use the outdoors and keep her from chewing my shoes and kids, I squeezed in making a cute crayon apron for one of the birthday parties Abby was invited to. It was quick and came out really cute. I'm hoping to make more of these to add to my Etsy Shop.  I still have a few orders to fill and trying to make some things for the kids to wear at their birthday party on June 4th.

To end the week we attended Abby's First Dance Rehearsal and Recital. I can't say enough how proud I am of Abby. She started dance this year not too sure if she wanted to be there. There were a lot of tears and few classes of just sitting near the door watching everyone else dance. By the end of the year, she was following directions, learned her dance routine and performed like a beautiful little fairy princess. SHE LOVED IT!! I actually wish that we didn't have to take the summer off and she could continue all year round.  I really thing dancing on the 'big stage' was a big deal for her. It was like she already realized what all that work was for and it was really rewarding for her. Wow! How awesome to see your little girl do something you once did as a kid!

And nothing is better than some flowers from Daddy! She held them all the way home and shopping through Lowe's.

Strawberries!

What a wonderful day! Mommy and Abby spent the day at the Farm. I  realized today that we don't take the opportunity to spend time alone together often...doing something fun. Sure, we run errands a lot, but that's not good, quality time together.  What a sweetheart Abby is!
We arrived a few minutes before the puppet show, so we took a peek at the animals and took a few photos. Here's a favorite!  Who would have thought it...we had the perfect shirt to go with our day "Pick me!"

Abby was so excited to be at the Farm. It's one of her favorite places. She absolutely loves anything to do with farm animals. The playground and ice cream were just bonuses.

With so few people at the Farm today, we were able to see everything and even get a special up close look at the tractor. Abby was a little nervous up there, but a good sport.

She would much rather ride in the wagon or on one more her size!

She's such a great driver and I'm happy to say she stayed under the speed limit!

The Farm had rows and rows of strawberries to pick, but we only needed a little section. We filled our basket quickly...and even snuck a few : )

It was one of the best days I've spent with my little girl in a long time. And it was extra special to spend it a few days before Mother's Day. I can't wait to spend a day like this with Ben. (who wasn't feeling well and was home with Daddy).

Painting and Planting

Wow! Two posts in one week. I'm on a roll!
Trying to do this one while making lunch and keeping on eye on my curious little monkey You know him. (not George, Ben!).

I love mornings in North Carolina. It's spring but we already try to plan our day around the weather. Mornings are perfect. Afternoons heat up and evenings bring on that strange southern 20 minute thunderstorm.

This morning was a day of planting and painting. The crazy shopper I am, I purchased this huge blow up easel years ago. I think Abby was a few months old.  I finally took it out of the attic today and got my workout blowing it up. That little pump is great for legs and arms!
Abby enjoyed painting the most but Ben soon joined in on the mess....I mean fun.

The best way to paint is in your bathing suit. No stress for Mom. That doesn't keep the hands from getting dirty though. Abby soon gave up the paintbrush (maybe when Ben took it) and found the fun in fingerpainting.  Perfect opportunity to sing one of our favorite songs right now. "Oh, Oh, look at my hands, look at my hands, they're dirty". (Signing Time). Abby LOVES sign language and especially "saying" that her hands are dirty.

Not only did Ben help with the painting, but he also enjoyed playing in the house and helping Mommy water the small deck garden.  But probably his favorite, was finally discovering the strawberry plant. Boy, is it fun to smash strawberries!

Hope you enjoyed sharing our morning with us. Lunch is almost finished! (I burnt Ben's burger a little..oops).