First Date

Abby and Nolan have become good friends over the last year or so, as you can see from the blog. But last week, their relationship went to a whole new level....they had their first date. It was lunch and a movie, chaperoned of course, by Sam and myself! On Tuesday afternoon, Nolan arrived right on time to pick up his lady friend and we all headed down to Destin. We had a nice lunch at Panera and then went over to the theater for our movie, The Care Bears. The first date did not go without a glitch though. The movie was supposed to start at noon and it still hadn't come on at 20 after. After chatting with the other moms in the theater we decided enough was enough and Sam went to lay the smack down. A few minutes after that, the theater manager came in and informed us that the movie needed to be reloaded and would take another 10 minutes or so and if we didn't want to wait she would give us free passes. We all kind of just stared at her and she reconsidered and decided she didn't want an angry mom mob on her hands and just started handing out the passes to everyone! About 3 minutes later the lights dimmed and the movie started. Abby and Nolan were very good during our long wait, I am sure the popcorn and movie candy played a part. But, their patience paid off and they were able to see a WONDERFUL cinematic production that I am sure will be up for numerous awards! Well, maybe not, but the kids certainly enjoyed it and now we have free passes for our next movie date!!

Sketti Face

I stole this picture from Sam's blog (thank Sam!) Its from the day we went to the beach. She really enjoyed her spaghetti that day!

Taking advantage of the weather

Andrew had Friday off from work and it was a gorgeous day so we decided to tag along with Sam and Brian to the beach. It was absolutely perfect! The kids played on the playground and in the sand for about an hour, then we went and grabbed a bite to eat. The kids didn't get their fill of the sand so after we ate, we went back down to play some more. This time we took some the beach toys down closer to the water and the kids dug in the sand, made sand castles, and splashed in the water. Abby and Nolan were both getting really brave with the water. It was such a turn around from last year, when Abby wanted nothing to do with the water or the sand!! By the time we finally dragged them away, they were both soaked and covered from head to toe in sand. They had a wonderful time though, and I am really looking forward to this summer and taking advantage of being so close to the ocean!!

Abigail's little footprints in the sand.

The sand was EVERYWHERE!!! The kids got a little excited at times and were splashing and tossing the sand and it ended up all over Abby's face. She was a trooper though, and hardly complained. If that had been me I think it would have been time to go home :)

Dare-devil Abby

It was beautiful last weekend and we decided to take advantage of the weather by going down to Ft. Walton Beach for a Mardi Gras parade. Well, as with most parades/carnivals in the area this one lacked in the entertainment department. We actually didn't even end up staying for the parade which was just some cars decorated in Mardi gras beads, but we did have a good time regardless. We rode the train and then headed over to Baskin Robbins for a little ice cream. Abby was more interested in playing on the train jungle gym than her ice cream! Even though the parade was a bit of a bust, we had a good time being out side and just being together as a family.

Here is a clip of Abby:

Potty Talk

With potty training a part of our daily lives these days, there has been a lot of "potty" talk. This may not be a suitable post for those opposed to bodily functions, bodily excretions and things of that nature. With the disclaimer out of the way, I have a couple of quick, cute (at least I think they are cute), funny stories about Abby and her potty time chatter.

The other day, Abby did a #2 in the big potty and as always she got off of the toilet to inspect her work. This particular day she was very proud, as she happily exclaimed, "Mommy, look at my man turd!" (It was indeed very large, for such a small girl).

On the flip side, if they are not quite as impressive in size she will say..."Oh Mommy, look at how cute they are!" I have never heard anyone else refer to their fecal matter in such an endearing way.

And, last but not least, the other day we were in public when nature called to Abby as it so often does. We found the bathroom and she did her duty. Of course, there were some other people in there and she must have been having a bit of a rough time because she was turning red and grunting very loudly. I made sure to say something so those around would realize it was just a little girl making those noises and hopefully they wouldn't be too grossed out! But, I could have kept my mouth shut, because as the poo hit the toilet she would ask me "Mommy, did you hear my poop plop?" This did cause some laughter from the surrounding stalls. When she was done and we went to find Andrew she told him very loudly that she did poopy in the potty! Again, the people around us found this to very humorous, only a toddler likes to announce this to the world.

I know that this is far from over and I am sure I will have more stories down the road, but I just thought I would share. Hope I didn't gross anyone out too badly!!!

Chuck E Cheese

Last week, Sam and Nolan were kind enough to follow Abby and I to Pensacola in the pouring rain. The warranty on my car is about to expire and I wanted it to have a once-over and of course the closest dealership is in Pensacola. The day was not all work though. While we were waiting for my car we took the kiddos to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and to get some energy out. We were there for over 3 hours and the kids LOVED every minute of it! They are at a great age for this because they enjoy the rides and some of the games, but they don't burn through their tokens too quickly. In fact, Sam and I were able to steal a couple for ourselves and play a few rounds of skee-ball! It was a wonderful afternoon, and thanks again to Sam for making the trek to Pensacola... you are awesome!!

Sea World

Before we headed home from Orlando, we made a stop at Sea World. We took advantage of the Heros program which provides free tickets to military members and their families. I haven't been to Sea World in a very long time and it has really grown from what I remember. When you first walk in you are bombarded by shops and it takes a while to get your bearings and head in the right direction to see some marine life. Our first stop was the penguin exhibit and it was awesome! There were tons of different species and they were all very active at the time, we even saw a Puffin who seemed to be putting on a show for us swimming wildly in the water and then jumping out and doing it all allover again! Abby was very entertained and thought it was hilarious! Next, we went to see the Sea Lions and Seals which were very entertaining as well. You were able to buy fish to feed to them, but we opted to watch others feed them instead. There were birds there that would come in and dive bomb you to get the fish before the sea lions, they would even snatch them out of mid air. It was really neat to see the sea lions almost begging for more food, they would come right up to the glass and "bark" till you gave them more fish. We also saw the Polar Bears, some gigantic walrus', whales, sharks, birds, and we got up close to some baby dolphins which were adorable. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to any of the shows since we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us. We will definitely be back sometime while we still live in Florida so we can see more of the attractions and hopefully attend the Shamu show as well as a few others!!

Orlando trip

Abby and I decided to go on a spur of the moment trip to Orlando with Andrew. He has been going TDY A LOT since he has been home from Honduras and it was starting to wear on us. We all decided that a little time together was just what we needed, even if it was in another city! Abby and I really enjoyed our time in Orlando and kept very busy while Andrew was at work during the day. The drive is about 5 1/2 hours normally, but it took us about 6 1/2 since we had to make so many potty breaks for the potty training princess. We got into town and checked into the hotel and then headed out to have some dinner, then we all crashed. The next day, Abby and I woke up and had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the mall. After a bit of shopping, we went to McDonald's for a little lunch. This was no ordinary McDonald's, it is the world's largest and we spent over 2 1/2 hours there! It was a mix of a McDonald's (with the standard play place) and a Chuck E Cheese (there were a ton of games that you could play for tickets and such). They also had other food than your standard Mickey D's grub, and it was served on real plates!!

A picture of my turkey wrap from McDonlad's...crazy!

Abby hanging out with Ronald

The next day, we woke up and after a quick pit stop at WalMart we headed to Downtown Disney. Its basically an area of Disney shops and restaurants. Since we weren't going to be doing Disney this trip, this was a way for us to get a little taste of what we could expect when we do go. Abby LOVED it! They had a princess store that she could have spent all day in if I let her. There was also a Lego's store where you could play with all the lego's and it had a playground for the kids to play around on. After we were all tuckered out, we headed back to the hotel and took a dip in the pool. Oh, the things you will do for your kids. It was warm out, but it wasn't hot and the pool wasn't very warm either. After I finally got used the temp. Abby and I had a blast in the pool and by the time we were done she was jumping in all by herself (with floaties on of course). After Andrew got done with work, we went back to Downtown Disney and met his friend Matt (you will remember him from the previous post from our trip to Biloxi). for dinner at Raglan's which is an Irish restaurant. The food was yummy, but Abby and I were exhausted so we headed back to the hotel while the boys hit up a cigar bar.

This is downtown Disney, it wasn't very crowded when we first got there, but near lunch time there was quite a crowd. When we went back that night for dinner, it was crazy. There were people everywhere. It was reminiscent of Bourbon street in New Orleans just on a lower scale.

Abby loved that the bathrooms at downtown Disney all had kid friendly sinks that she could use without any help from Mommy.

This dragon is actually in the water and its made entirely of Legos. They had a lot of Lego sculptures, they were all really neat and it was amazing to me that people are creative enough to come up with these ideas and then actually build them! It must take FOREVER!!!!

Abby's Lego sculptures were not quite as fancy, but she was having a good time!

On the playground

Abby and Sleeping Beauty (aka Princess Aurora)

Abby was in awe of the princesses

Abby was in heaven at the Princess store.

It was a magical day :)

There will be more to come of our Orlando trip to come! Our visit to Sea World will need its own post :)

Getting along just fine

Abby has been very attached to Bucky since he has been home. She always wants to know where he is and what he is doing. She is quick to tell him what to do, but even quicker with a hug. When we dropped him off at the kennel last week, Abby was heartbroken. She cried almost all the way home and kept telling me she missed Bucky! They are getting along great! Here is a picture of them enjoying some time outside together :)

Potty training in full swing

That's right, with a little push from Susan while we were away in Biloxi, the full-on potty training has begun. Abby has been ready for this step for a while now, and I have just been too lazy and I have kept putting it off. She has been doing #2 (for a lack of a better word, although she calls it poop-poop-achoo sometimes) in the potty for a few months now and would go pee when it happened to be convenient for both of us. Since putting on the big girl underwear, she has had a few accidents but overall she has been very good. She even went 3 times at school last week, and told the teacher herself when she needed to go to the bathroom.

Potty training at home is one thing, doing it out in public is a whole other story. The past couple of weeks I have seen the inside of some of the nastiest bathrooms I have ever laid eyes on. All I can do it grit my teeth, let Abby do her business, and wash (I mean scrub) our hands with tons of soap and the hottest water Abby can tolerate. I have also learned there are a few things that are not conducive to potty training and nap time is the biggest one. Abby doesn't seem to want to nap anymore anyhow, but now she has the power of pee-pee over me! She will stand up in her crib and yell down at me "Mommy I have to go pee-pee!" or "Mommy I don't want to do pee-pee in my trainer." So of course, up I go, and to her defense she does go potty every single time. But, naps are now a lost cause much to my dismay. Also, another thing that isn't conducive to potty training....road trips! This past week we went with Andrew to Orlando (more on that trip in posts to come). The drive is normally about 5 hours and 20 minutes but we had to stop 4 times to let Abby go to the bathroom. It added on an extra hour to our trip, but Abby did really well and kept her trainer dry for the most part. I say for the most part, because there was one time where she said she needed to go and we couldn't find an exit for a few miles and she just couldn't hold it, but it wasn't for lack of trying on her part.

Ok...enough rambling. All in all, I should have Abby potty trained by 2012 if all goes as planned. Actually, the whole process has been much less painful than I had anticipated, and next on our agenda is the move to the Big Girl Bed!

She grabbed the magazine by herself and started reading while doing her business.

When in Crestucky, do as Crestuckians...

And that is exactly what we did. Sam and Brian threw a 40 0z. Friday party to celebrate Brian's return home. It was a BLAST and everyone really got into the theme of things with the food, beverages, and even the attire. Of course, Andrew donned his jorts (what could be more redneck than that?) and several of the women displayed big preggo bellies, with a cocktail in hand. The beer was in paper bags and wine was consumed from plastic cups. We played some beer pong, chatted, and listened to some honkey tonk music. It was a really fun party! Thanks Sam and Brian for opening your home to us and letting us help celebrated Brians return, we couldn't be happier for you guys!!

Squeeze cheese....YUM!!!

The dessert platter: Complete with twinkies, hoho's, moon pies and zingers.

Kypp and Neda: Notice the pregnant belly, cigarette, and bottle of Wild Turkey. Too funny!

The preggo's partying it up. (And no.... none of us are really pregnant!)

Hands off ladies....he is mine!

The Hooters girls. Abby's shirt says "Future Hooters Girl". Don't worry, it was just a litte humor for the party!

The crew later in the night