Spring Has Sprung

wSpring in Texas is a good thing. The oppressive Texas heat hasn't taken its toll on everyone yet, so we try and spend as much time outdoors as possible before we start melting in a few months. Ever since Abby turned 2.5, she has changed dramatically. Not so much in size (still just pint size), but her confidence and personality are really taking shape. She is like a little butterfly coming out of her cocoon. Abby is generally cautious and shy around those she doesn't know, and while that is still evident, she is more and more willing to engage strangers in small talk. I love seeing her more at ease with others. We went to the doctor a few days ago, and for over 2 years, she has cried at every appointment at some point during the visit. This time, she "jumped" onto the scale and willingly followed all of the doctor's direction. At the end of the visit, she said "bye bye doctor, see ya later!". That salutation always means Abby had a good time somewhere. She has surely come a long way.

Abby and Kona

Abby and Her True Love - Choo Choo Trains

After over a year in music classes, Abby has become one of the more active participants in the class. For almost a year, Abby wouldn't sing much in class and wanted absolutely nothing to do with her teacher (the nicest, most dedicated teacher on the planet). But now, Abby makes eye contact with her and sings along to every song even louder than everyone else sometimes! And, after 6 months in her littly gym class, she will say her name loudly and proudly when the teacher goes around the circle asking what kids are in class today. More importantly, for the first time, Abby will do activities by herself (without mommy) with the gym teachers even if the gym teacher is new to the class. She loves the parallel bars especially! I love seeing her confidence and social skills grow. She really loves both her gym and music class now, and I am glad we are continuing to take these classes. Somehow, we have to find room for swimming classes this summer. I promised myself that I would not be one of those moms that jammed in a million activities, but..... I do want to expose her to a lot of things. And, as long as she enjoys it, that is all that matters. The music teacher has asked me to write an article about how much Abby has changed and the importance of not giving up too early on music even when your child shows little interest. If she only realized, how little time I can find for my blog....

I think I will start writing more often. If I can write just a little a time, maybe I can get in a good groove again. Sure, Lisa. Rationalize it, however you want. But, it is worth a try cause writing once every few months is not good enough.

Abby went to Maddox's Super Hero inspired birthday party in March at Jump Town. She had a fantastic time even though most of the kids were older than Abby. She loves pepperoni pizza and the IDEA of cake. Abby always says she wants candy or cake, but then rarely eats anything sweet. Other than ice cream, she has absolutely no sweet tooth. I think she thinks she is supposed to like cake and candy, so it sounds exciting to her. But, she mostly just plays around with it, and leaves it uneaten. This is a GREAT thing. She is, however, a chip and condiment hound. I don't think she has met a condiment she doesn't like. Who knew peaches and ranch dressing went together like peanut butter and jelly?

Maddox Bday Party @ Jump Town

Last fall, we met some really nice folks at a Pumpkin Patch for a get together for families with Guatemalan born children. Fortunately, we met some families with daughters Abby's age that are interested in getting together once in awhile for outings and playdates. We met up with two of these families to spend the day with Thomas the Train at the old Grapevine Railroad. It was fantastic. We had picture perfect weather, and Abby had been looking forward to it for a month. She talks about trains all the time. She will even line up books and pillows in the house to turn them into trains. She sings about trains even before her eyes are open in the morning. It is just plain crazy. So, this was the ideal outing. We met up with M. and E. and their moms, and we all had a great time. It was a carnival/fair type atmosphere with lots of activities for the kiddos like bounce houses and a 30 minute train ride. Abby was pretty shy among her new friends, but she has talked about them since, so I know she liked them! They are all just adorable little girls.

A Day With Thomas and Friends @ Grapevine Railroad

Abby and Mom on the Train (scratch on Abby's face is from a classmate who accidentally nicked her)

Abby and Her New Friends, M. and E.

A few weeks after the Thomas the Train event, we planned to meet up with M. and E. again at the Dallas Arboreteum during the annual Dallas Blooms events which is just spectacularly pretty. We planned for the last weekend of the event, so the place was packed. Parking was offsite, so everyone was running late. We never met up with our friends because of my terrible planning. I got a new cell phone number and forgot to give it to the other ladies we were meeting. And, I didn't have their numbers in my new phone either. We waited for a long time and never found them when we were walking around because there were just too many people. It turns out we just missed them, and I was bummed because I wanted some good adult conversation. Abby still had a good time exploring, but I was exhausted after an hour and half trying to keep up with her. Abby is a little roadrunner - super speedy and has no fear of running off without me. She did NOT want to be in her stroller. People were watching her run around like she was caught on fire just laughing their heads off. Laughing at me trying to keep up with her and probably glad their kids were grown :) She found every maintenance shed and riding lawnmower on the property (at least 7 by my last count). Trying to get her to pose for pictures was a futile effort. She had more important things to do! Days like these make me realize why people have kids in their 20's and 30's as opposed to their 40's :)

Dallas Blooms

Bus Ride From Parking Lot - Abby's Favorite Ride of the Day