We bought stamps at the post office the other day.
They have a new sheet of stamps featuring DC with the cherry blossoms in full bloom.
I love cool stamps.
I definitely had to buy a sheet of DC stamps for myself.
{posted by Abbie}
May 30, 2012
May 29, 2012
baby yoda
He's about to outgrow the Baby Yoda costume. (The inner shirt and the hat are getting snug.)
I put it on one last time and snapped a few more pictures of our mini Jedi master.
{posted by Abbie}
May 28, 2012
army crawl
Hunter and I went on a date on Saturday night.
Hooray for fun date nights. So nice.
* * * * *
In other news, our little man is starting to crawl!
May 26, 2012
brothers
Manny was a fun element of Superboy's birthday party. The 4th grade boys loved getting him to clap and perform his various "baby tricks."
{posted by Abbie}
May 25, 2012
three months. photo + sentence. ready set go.
Hello blogosphere!
I've missed blogging in recent months.
Busy, busy, busy life lately.
My cuppeth overfloweth.
I'm very thankful.
Trying to strike that balance between these two things:
(1) Having important activites/commitments/obligations in my life
(2) Having the right amount of "margin" in my day-to-day life. For me, margin = time to reflect and regroup. Time to take a walk. Time to snuggle with one of my kiddos on the couch and read a book.
Throughout this spring, I don't think I was hitting a good balance.
Now it's summer.
And I am very excited about re-assessing.
Re-grouping.
Reflecting.
Processing these thoughts along with my husband.
I'm looking forward to the coming months SO MUCH.
* * * * *
In my attempt to jump start my blogging routine, I've come up with a challenge for myself.
Starting today (5/25), I am planning to post one photo + one sentence each day.
Six days per week.
For the next three months.
One photo + one sentence.
How hard can that be?
My three month commitment will also serve as a nice little record of our summer.
We have a fun summer ahead of us, and I want to be sure to document it one way or another.
If there comes a day when I feel like writing more than a sentence, then so be it.
However, I want to make this into something that's very quick and easy.
So decided to set the bar really low for myself.
One sentence.
(That should be do-able, right?....right??)
* * * * *
Today was the big kids' last day of school.
August 25th is three months from today.
On that date, they will have already experienced the first two weeks of the NEW school year.
(3rd and 5th--I can hardly believe it!)
* * * * *
So here's my post for today.
Water break.
We had Superboy's 10th b-day celebration tonight.
(Double digits!)
We had a party with his 4th grade classmates.
Obstacle course (sort of) at the park.
Hot dogs, chips, and watermelon for dinner.
Birthday cake & ice cream.
Then, popcorn & movie.
We watched Cool Runnings.
The boys laughed and laughed.
Then they played freeze tag in the front yard.
It was a lovely evening & I enjoyed seeing our birthday boy have such a great time.
* * * * *
{posted by Abbie}
April 13, 2012
7.5 months
1. Manny (aka Manzo) is my little helper. He sits beside me and chats with me while I do various housework tasks, like folding the laundry (see photo above.)
2. I know these days of him sitting happily alongside are limited. Before we know it, he will be Mr. On The Go, crawling all over the house. (Lock up the Legos!)
3. Having gone through the "busy/curious crawler" stage, I distinctly remember how hands-on it is! Housework will become trickier to accomplish. Yep, these days are numbered--the days when he'll sit and play with his Little People Noah's Ark in the SAME PLACE for 30 minutes while I fold the clean clothes.
4. He's sitting well lately. I still surround him will pillows, but the tree toppling moments are becoming less and less frequent.
5. He can do "SO BIG" now. "So big" is a baby game that my grandmother and grandfather used to love to teach us grandbabies. (Maybe every family in the world does this, too--I really have no idea.) The adults/big kids say "How big is ___" (insert baby's name), and the baby responds by putting both arms up in the air (like a referee calling a touchdown.) When the baby puts his hands up, the adults/big kids say "SO BIG." Manny really likes this game, particularly at dinner time.
6. Here's a comment I made to my sister earlier this week. I think it is a good way to describe Manny's cuteness: "He really reminds me of a cross between a Valentine's Day Cherub and a NFL Linebacker."
7. Manny is sleeping well. Two daytime naps. Solid nighttime sleep. (approx 8pm to 7:30am) Sometimes he has a 3rd daytime nap (short) late in the afternoon if he needs it.
8. He has four bottles per day. He has one meal of solid food per day--either lunch or dinner. Sometimes he seems really interested in the solids. Sometimes he doesn't.
9. He seems REALLY eager in starting finger foods. I think he's very close to being ready to try Cheerios. For some reason I'm really nervous about him choking. More so than I was with Superboy & Pumpkin. (?? what's up with that? Shouldn't I be more chilled out? I am with lots of other stuff.)
10. We have an overseas trip coming up this summer. Little Manny Cherub Linebacker has his very own passport now! Have you ever tried to have government-approved passport photos made of a 6 month old? Not easy. However, thanks to the nice lady at Fed Ex Kinkos and her special digital passport photo camera, we got it done. With her machine, we could just keep trying over and over until we got it right--and then she could print it out immediately with the correct margins, etc. The only thing is: she ended up taking the photo really close to his face, so his face is BIG on his passport. Good for identification purposes, I guess.
{posted by Abbie}
April 10, 2012
the melodies in my bone marrow
Before I tell you more about our trip, I want to tell you about singing next to my Dad on Easter Sunday.
We went to Robert & Allison's church. It was a lovely morning.
We got there on time. (yay!)
All the children went happily to their classes/nurseries. (yay!)
We were all able to sing praises and be blessed by the Word preached. (yay!)
What a joy it is, each year, to worship my Savior and celebrate His triumph over the death, despair, and brokenness.
Light and Life to all He brings; Risen with Healing on His Wings
(Oops, that's actually a Christmas hymn---but honestly those were the first words that popped into my head just now when I was thinking about Easter. Ha!)
+ + + + +
One little treasured aspect of my Easter morning was getting to sing next to my dad.
I love my dad's voice. I love my mom's voice.
Because they each sang to me & rocked me throughout my childhood, I really think there is a deep connection between their voices and me.
Music is powerful. I believe it is one of the vehicles which passes love & security from one generation to the next.
Let's consider my dad's voice.
When I stand next to him in church and sing with him (which is only a couple of times a year b/c we live in different cities), it makes me happy. First of all, I can predict with nearly perfect accuracy when he is going to shift from the melody to the harmony. (He's a tenor.)
Also, when I sing hymns alongside my dad, I have a flood of memories wash over me. My love for my parents is intermingled with precious childhood memories, and most importantly with the deep gratitude I have for the Lord's faithfulness throughout all of my 35 years. In that moment, when my earthly father's voice is hitting my ear drums, and my own voice is lifting up praise to my Heavenly Father, I am so aware of the solid rock I am standing on, and the undeserved grace which I have recieved.
All those years of rocking and singing--it's as if somehow my dad's voice is hidden deep in my bone marrow. And my mom's voice, too. (Mom, yours is singing, "Morning Has Broken.")
I'm so grateful.
Thank you, Lord.
Here's a picture of me & my dad. This was taken last Saturday when all of us went out to a delicious lunch together. (Crab soup, crab dip, crab cakes, and Steamed Crab--yum.)
{posted by Abbie}
spring break twenty twelve
Last week was the kids' spring break.
FUN!
We took a trip to visit my brother and his family. Had a blast with them.
We also spent two days hitting the highlights in DC. I've got lots of photos to share.
Here we are in front of the Capitol, aka one of "the most architecturally impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world." (www.aoc.gov)
I confess that I'm a monument nerd...I really like reading about all the symbolism incorporated into each specific structure.
I like pondering the quotes which are etched into the granite.
I like admiring the symmetry of the various designs.
Also, I really like seeing a perfect row of enormous, strong, supportive columns. There's just something about gigantic columns that I love. Me, the ancient Greeks, the ancient Romans, and about a ba-jillion other people, too, right? To me, there's something about a row of columns that produces the perfect blend of mathematics and art.
So: for someone who loves monuments and historical buildings, DC is definitely a wonderful place to visit.
Especially when you have gorgeous weather like we experienced.
And especially when the cherry trees were in bloom, as they were last week.
(Perfect!!)
More trip photos to come.
+ + + + +
From the bright eyes + blue eyes archives. More spring break posts:
Spring Break 2011
Spring Break 2010
{This post was written and published by Abbie. I have temporarily lost my little photo/banner/thing that serves as the footer to my posts. I think I might've moved it to my external hard drive a few weeks ago when I was moving some photos over. Oops.}
March 01, 2012
after dinner
who: Baby Boy. 6 months old.
what: Just finished dinner. Rice cereal mixed with avacado puree. Yummers.
when: Earlier this evening.
where: Dining room.
{noteworthy: He is hooked to his high chair via a 5 point harness. The straps are underneath the bib, so you can't see them. Just want you people to know that our cute little kicker is securely fastened to the chair.}
In other news, I purchased a tiny little swimsuit & tiny little rashguard earlier today.
Apparently not tiny enough, though.
I think I'll keep the rashguard. It's a little big, but that's okay.
I think I'll exchange the swimsuit for a smaller size.
Can you tell how proud he is of his ability to stand? (assisted)
He loves to stand up!
{photo = Superboy's iPad}
{posted by Abbie}
February 29, 2012
gigglin' bee ball
Dear Gingi & GPoppa,
Your Christmas present to little Manzo has been a huge hit. He loves to play with his Gigglin' Bee Ball. Without fail, when he catches a glimpse of it, he starts kicking. We know he's excited when he starts pumping his cute little legs up and down. He loves how the Bee ball has a variety of textures. It's fun to watch him "read" the different components of this toy with his fingers. It reminds me of someone reading Braille. His little fingers are taking it all in.
Just wanted you to know how much fun the Bee Ball has been. Thank you!
xoxoxo
Abbie
p.s. Here's a video clip. This clip is from about a month ago, when Manzo was 5 months old.
{posted by Abbie}
