Summer 2013

I blame my lack of updates on Abby. She isn't allowed to take naps anymore (it was taking way to long to get her to go to bed at night). So my only free time is after the kids are asleep at the end of the day - and blogging isn't very high on my list of things that I want to do by then. But recently I have received some subtle (and some not-so-subtle) hints about the need for an update, so here is a recap of our summer.

Abby finally has enough hair for cute pigtails.

I braved the mall with both kids one morning. We all survived.

 Spencer had a new hiding spot for a while. It reminded me of Randy from "A Christmas Story".

Spencer is talking non-stop now. I think he has caught up to where Abby used to be. He can carry on a conversation and he has an incredible memory. He's pretty fun. Sometimes when we are playing with Abby's toy food, he will bring some to me so that I can "eat" it. After I make my eating sounds he will take it to Abby and make the eating sounds for her.

Abby filled up her potty chart and got a special present.

This was at the end of July. Since then she has filled up more than 1/2 of her second  chart. Awesome! She tells us that she needs to go potty by sitting or standing by the bathroom door. She still goes in her diaper too, but she uses the toilet at least once each day. She is getting better at washing her hands too. She can turn on the faucet, and after I put soap in her hands she will rub them together a little bit by herself.

We took the kids to a children's museum downtown last month. There was a huge structure to climb on and tons of different activities. It was a pretty neat place.

We watched fireworks on the 4th of July. Anthony and I haven't gone to see fireworks since before we had kids. It was exciting, but it was really hot and really late. Abby fell asleep before it was over. My brother came to town that night, and it was fun to spend a little bit of time with him and his family.

Abby has been really interested in pushing her toy strollers around the house lately. She has been refusing to use a walker during therapy for quite a while. But when I saw her interest in pushing things at home, I suggested that they bring out the walker during therapy again to see if she would use it. And she did!

The Primary President at church captured a sweet moment a few weeks ago. While the kids were singing, Abby started to get a little restless and tried to wiggle out of her chair. The little boy next to her reached for her hand and just held it for a while. Abby immediately calmed down and was fine for the rest of the time. How sweet is that? And it is even more precious to know that no one told this boy to do it. He acted on his own. The song they were singing was "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." I'm just glad I was behind the piano and had no idea this happened. I would have been a crying mess if I had actually seen it - especially during that particular song. So sweet.

Abby's first day of school was last Thursday. This is her second year of preschool and she has the same teacher that she had last year. Miss Suzanne said that Abby seemed like she was happy to be back. I believe it! Abby loves school.

 I made some First Day of School treats for her teacher.

This year Abby is the highest-functioning child in her class. The other ambulatory kids like her graduated last year. So in order to give her some interaction with other peers, her teacher has been sending her into a mixed class for part of the day. This will be great for Abby. I met the teacher of that class and she is very nice. She definitely has Abby's best interests in mind.

We took a trip to San Diego for my 10-year high school reunion. I had a good time. It was so nice to see my good friends again! We're all married now and live all over the country, so it's been several years since we've seen each other. I'm glad we went. Those ten years sure went by fast! I was talking to one girl that I knew and I actually thought she might throw up when she learned that I had been married for over 8 years, and had not just one, but TWO children. So funny!

While we were in San Diego we took the kids to the Zoo for the first time. They loved it. My grandma came with us too. She was our tour guide.

The only thing Spencer will tell you about the Zoo is that we saw the elephants go poo-poo. I guess that was really impressive to him.

Riding the Skyfari.

 

We also spent some time at the Bay with my parents. We must be too accustomed to the hot desert - we were too cold to actually put on bathing suits! At least, I was, anyway. But the kids had fun walking in the water.

Before we headed home we had to stop by the San Diego temple. Spencer has become fascinated with temples recently (just like Abby was at his age), so we drove down and walked around outside for a while.

Now that Abby is back in school, maybe I can keep this blog up to date.
Maybe.