Back to Blogging -- November recap

Ok, so I shamefully have not blogged, for real in almost 3 months!!!  This is no doubt a reflection of holiday craziness, as the same exact phenomenon occured last year, but this year was exaverbated by extreme work load that I let get the best of me for awhile -- but I am determined to get it back under control now.

Moving on.

Abby has changed soooo much in the last few months! Starting where I left off back in October, November brought about so much excitement. 

1) ALPHABET!!!  My amazing child loves to learn (her mama said proudly), and by November learned every letter.  And by that, I don't mean that she learned to sing her ABCs.  Rather, she could recognize each letter of the alphabet.  I first discovered this while watching Super Why with her -- one day she proudly starting shouting out the letters as the popped up on screen.  I couldn't believe it!  To this day, doing her letters is her favorite pasttime (especially when she needs to be entertained at restaurants).  I'm sure a portion of my amazement stems from the fact that I'm a proud mother, but goodness!  Knowing her letters at 20 months!  (P.S. December Sneak Peek: she learned almost all her lower case letters at 21 months!) 

2) November also brought about dress up and SHOES -- glorious SHOES!!! :)  When Mommy decided to treat herself to a fabulous new pair of shoes in November, she quickly learned her closet was no longer hers.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

(Sneak peak on February: Jim had a study group at the house the other day and Abby disappeared into my room only to emerge with these shoes on and her sparkly pink purse in hand. She proudly displayed her accessories by strutting directly into the all-male study group. She dressed herself up just for them!!! Double ahhhhhhhhhhhh!)


2B) I'm going to have to also include the best tutu of all time in the dress up photos section :)  These pictures were taken on Thanksgiving as she was playing in G&G's (Grandma/Grandpa's) backyard, and I just loooooooooove that tutu! 

3) PUMPKIN PIE.

When I say that my child loves pumpkin pie, it is an extreme understatement!!!! Jim bought a Costco pumpkin pie early in November this year, at which time, Abby discovered the joy that is that delicious dessert.  She lovingly would murmur "pie" as she shared a piece with Daddy.  Well, you can imagine her excitement at my birthday dinner this year when she heard pie was being served.  She shrieked out, "PIE!!!!!" and ran after Grandma into the kitchen, bouncing up and down, eagerly awaiting a bite. Still without a taste, she then followed the first plate of pie directly to me and climbed onto my lap before I even had a chance to pick up the fork. When the highly anticipated piece of deliciousness did finally make it's way into her mouth, the utter disappointment on her face was heartbreaking as she moaned, "Piiiie" in the most pathetic voice you have ever heard.  It was lemon merengue pie, after all.  (My favorite, obviously not Abby's.)  So hilarious (I mean, sad!)  As you can imagine, in the face of such anguish, she DESPISED the lemon merengue.  Poor child! But she certainly made up for it all through November and December -- and particularly on Thanksgiving.

She devoured the whole piece -- the ENTIRE piece!!!!

Stay tuned for December!!!

Teaser

I'll be back soon, I promise!

Pumpkin Patch

Pebbles!!!  Is this not the most perfect costume on the cutest girl EVER!

I really do love Autumn -- the rich colors, the crisp air, beautiful skies . . . but why the heck is it so flippin HOT in the end of October???? I know we live in Paradise, but REALLY. 90 degrees???  Still?!?!?!  So, you'll forgive the Fall colors and pumpkins galore amid short dresses and sweaty faces. Ugh.

As odd as insanely hot weather is for the season, it did not thwart our attempts to have some harvest fun. We headed up to Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center . . . it was a new adventure for us, since I had never been there. It was absolutely HUGE compared to the itty bitty pumpkin patch in Lakeside! As you can see above, Abby sprinted across the field to the pumpkins as fast as her little legs could carry her . . . or should I say, Pebbles sprinted across the field. :) She was the talk of the pumpkin patch, by the way :)

We had fun watching her bounce from pumpkin to pumpkin, and laughed as she once again was like Daddy and attempted to dead lift heavy objects (a huge pumpkin in this case). We let her pick out a few little pumpkins to take home -- her favorite are the tiny orange ones and she is playing with them to this very day. They are funky, cool stacking toys -- and cheap too. Sweet!

The place was amazing! Not only were there pumpkins and gourds galore, but scare crows, hay rides, balloons, farm animals (geese, donkeys, llamas, chickens, roosters, horses, etc), and petting zoos. (She is still a bit young for face painting, but I can't wait for her first one!) There was even a play area where we got to build bridges and castles with handmade wooden blocks. These block sets were for sale, but $200 was a little rich for my blood -- even if I do love to support the mom and pop businesses!

All in all, Abby loved our day trip and we loved getting to see her run, play, and experience life as a 19-month old (and as Pebbles!). Yay for the start of the holidays!

Happy Halloween!!! And . . . . Yabba Dabba Doo!

Legoland (3 of 3): Play Time!

 Can I just say that Legoland is a toddler parent's dream!  First there was the Aquarium (perfect for letting your 19 month old run wild), then sweet age-appropriate rides, and finally AWESOME play areas.  Abby was loving the giant lego playground -- with everything from slides to ladders to trucks/cars.  Sweet!  She is fast becoming a slide pro, but one particular slide was a bit big . . .as you can see from the picture above, she almost did a complete 180 on the way down!  Funny!  But so glad that Daddy was there to lend a hand.  :)  He's good at that.

Abby also had a little playground run-in.  Apparently, another girl wanted Abby to move from a favored spot, so she forcibly yanked Abby's arm from the door near where she was standing . . . to which Abby responded with a very emphatic shove.  Yikes!  Life lessons learned on the playground.

Soon after the play time, Abby wound WAY down and climbed back into her stroller.  She was absolutely beat!  We walked around to look at a few more attractions, stopped by the Halloweed part (incredibly crowded!), let people admire our Pebbles (stay tuned for Halloween/Pumpkin Patch pics of the cutest costume ever!), and finally headed home.  It was a GOOD day!!!

Legoland (2 of 3): First Amusement Park Ride

Yay for amusement park rides!!!  Especially when they're designed for toddlers :)  This was Abby's very first amusement park ride EVER.  So very, very, fun!  I don't remember what it was called, but it was the Fairy Tale boat ride -- not unlike "It's A Small World," but without the song . . . thank goodness.

She was in awe (again!) of the whole experience. 

Legoland (1 of 3): Sea Life Aquarium

And once again I am painfully aware of how much I want a new, better camera :(  Sigh. ANYWAY.

We took Abby to Legoland/Sea Life Aquarium last weekend -- and oh my goodness!  We had sooooo much fun!  There was a bit of crazy weather to deal with, though.  It was no less than 90 degrees at our house when we left . . . by the time we got to Carlsbad it was rainy and 60 degrees.  What the heck?!  Good thing I randomly packed a sweater for the Little! 

Our first stop was the Sea Life Aquarium.  Starting with the first room full of "fishies!" and a tree slide, she was absolutely hooked.  It actually took about 10 minutes of coaxing (and maybe physically removing her) before we could move on to enjoy the rest of the aquarium.  We looooove slides!

She absolutely sprinted through the building, darting from one place to the other (much like a fish) in sheer glee, wonder, and excitement.. . . I think that's the best part of having a toddler . . . getting excited all over again at the simple, "has-been" aspects of life.  I had forgotten fish could be so amazing! 

The coolest part of the aquarium was the unerwater tunnel.  We walked in to that area to see sharks and stingrays encircling us.  Abby was immediately in awe.  There were even little pint-sized portals for her to climb into for more up-close sea life viewing.  So cool!  The best part was that it was a long and narrow passage, so we could just let her run free and unencumbered.  She thought she was in heaven!

The World is Her Rainbow

Abby is fussy, bored, and irritable.  What do we do???? COLOR!  And on this day, since it was ridiculously hot for mid-October, we colored on the patio and Abby absolutely insited on being clothing-free. :)  And if you look carefully, you'll notice that she is very much a lefty.  Like her Daddy, And her brother,  And her Uncle Jimmy.  And her Uncle Brian.  And her cousin Dianna (I think).  Every once in awhile, she tries out her right hand, but all her fine motor skills coloring is done with her right hand.  It's quite amazing to watch her develop.

Abby has also been talking up a storm.  When she wants to color, she runs out to the patio (where the crayons and paper are kept) and says over and over, "Color, color, color" in her 19 month old, sing songy voice.  It's too cute.  On that note, and for the sake of posterity, let me see if I can recount all the words and phrases she has mastered lately (simply repeating a word we tell her doesn't count for this list):

1. Mommy (or Mamamamamama)\

2. Daddy

3. Milk/MooMoo (cuz there's a cow on the carton of milk)

4. Hungry Mommy!  Thirsty Mommy!

5. This book (her response to, "Pick out a book, Abby!")

6. Jimmy

7. Pa and Ma (Grandpa and Grandma)

8. 1, 2, 3 (and sometimes 4 and 5) -- she uses these words appropriately!

9. "I" -- as in the letter I, she recognized it on her alphabet blocks this evening, and ran out to show us, repeatedly saying "I" -- Amazing!  Reading Dr. Suess' A, B, C book is paying off, I guess!

10. Bath!

11. Pooh-pooh

12. Stinky!  (with a big grin on her face, and holding her nose)

13. Nose, Eye, Ear, Mouth, Teeth, Hair

14. Please

16, Cheese

17. Strawberries (it's little hard to discern, but it's definitely strawberries!)

18. Color and Draw

19. Gone

20. Kitty (and meow)

21, Doggy (and arf, arf!)

22. Cow (moo moo)

23. Most farm animal sounds, but not the actual names yet

24. Water

25. Juice (although she doesn't get juice, so I'm not sure why she says it . . . .)

26.  Fries (unfortunately, she does get fries once in awhile)

27. Pretty

28. Tickle, tickle, tickle!

and of course

29. No

30. Mine

We are so proud of our Little!  It really is amazing to watch her grow, learn, and change.

Like Father, Like Daughter

They really are two peas in a pod!!!

Botanical Gardens -- Toddler Style :)

We made the BEST discovery not long ago -- the San Diego Botanic Gardens! I had read about the Gardens several months ago in a SoCal magazine that was showcasing it's awesome (and I do mean AWESOME) tree house and children's area. We finally got around to making the trek to Encinitas, and despite the heat, Abby thoroughly enjoyed every crazy, fun-filled, energetic, and exploratory minute!

This tree house absolutely MAKES the place. It's big enough for Mom and Dad to tag along, but fun enough for the little one to forget you're there :)

Ok, and despite the fact that the tree is fake, they added a million plants all throughout -- so at least it still "feels" real. Straining the whole way, Abby was so proud at making the climb up these oh-so-steep stairs to the top of the treehouse. Daddy was of course there to make it safe :)

And maybe the rope bridge was a bit much at 18 months old . . .

But the bowling set on the wooden bridge was great fun!
Giant Adirondack chairs were even fun for the adults (ok, maybe just for me -- cuz I'm a dork). Jim wouldn't sit in them, but I thought they were hilarious! At least the make a cool pic.

And then, we found the best thing EVER! A giant flower chalk board, complete with giant sidewalk chalk courtesy of the Gardens. (I'm telling you, this place ROCKS!)

Drawing/coloring is a family activity for us -- I seriously love coloring as much as Abby does (except I am neurotic about coloring in the lines :) ). Daddy joined in the fun, too because even though the heat made it a bit uncomfortable, at least the chalkboard provided good shade. Did I mention what a fabulous daddy Abigail has???

Lastly, this picture is a tribute to Jim, the former power lifter and member of the 1000 lb club. Abby was desperately trying to play tic-tac-toe with the big girls who were around, and decided to prove her mettle by lifting as many blocks as possible. Those were heavy little suckers! It appears she is just as strong and determined as her daddy. She makes him super proud! How awesome is that?!?!?!?! :)

So, for all of you with kiddos in San Diego, take a day trip to the San Diego Botanic Gardens. It's $12 well spent! And we didn't even scratch the surface . . . we'll be heading back soon for sure!