Halloween

Abby had a great Halloween. This was the first year we took her out. We took her to a few houses by us, and of course, she was a hit. Here are a few pictures:

Here she is in her wagon as we were leaving the house. Of course, she had to bring her kitty with her. :)

It didn't take her long to get the hang of it. She wasn't scared at all to walk up to the door, once she realized she would get candy in her bag. :P

She is showing her Daddy where to draw the lines for her pumpkin.

What an adorable little smile! :)

She did such an awesome job scooping all of the goop out of her pumpkin.

October Fun

We have all been so busy this month! We have been to the pumpkin patch 4 times so far, and had a blast every time. Abby loved riding in the wagon, and also trying to pull it herself.

I am so happy to hear back from you all about her bunny picture. I am glad that you all enjoyed it. I will update the blog with some more pictures of her in her bunny costume after Halloween.

We took her to the pumpkin patch in Wright City called Pumpkins Galore. There was so much fun stuff for kids to do! Abby loved pulling the little wagon. Notice the mini pumpkin she picked out and put in it. :)

At Pumpkins Galore they had these huge galvanized pools filled with things like corn, wheat, and beans. They also had shovels, buckets, and other different tools in there for the kids to play with. Abby spent much of her time in there digging and scooping.

Here she is stopping for a little water break. I can't believe my little girl is so big that she can drink from a regular water bottle now. :(

Abby and her cousin Emma were so adorable riding together in the wagon. Emma was doing such a great job holding her in.

This pumpkin patch is called Thies Farms, and it is in Maryland Heights. It was another awesome place! It has a little zoo area where the kids could see different animals. Abby was partial to this little goat, named Cutie.

She was so excited to finally get a chance to ride on one of these little tractors. They were a pretty hot attraction for all of the kids. Her little legs were too short for the pedals, but her daddy and I pushed her while she turned the steering wheel.

Our family at Thies Farms. This was such a great day!

Here is Abby in the big straw pit. Her and Emma had such a great time in there! They were throwing it up in the air, building it up, and jumping in it.

What a silly little girl we have! :)

Here I am with my little angel after we had picked our pumpkins out of the field. You can tell that it was the end of the trip, she was so tired.

Parents as Teachers

We are involved in a wonderful program called Parents as Teachers. For everyone who doesn't know what that is, it is a service provided by the public school system for parents and children. They provide home visits to help parents with any issues they are having and they offer great advice and provide free assessments, they als0 do awesome events and playgroups. It is all local and free, which is so great. In the past few weeks we have attended 2 playgroups and an apple picking event. Abby had so much fun playing with the other children and met a new friend named Isabelle. Isabelle's mom tells me that she talks about Abby all of the time. They are very cute interacting with eachother. I see her little personality blooming more and more each day. What a big girl she is becoming!

She loved pushing around the little pink tea cart.

She really got into playing with the little toy cars and trucks. She kept moving them and saying "Vroom Vroom."

Here she is pushing around some toys in a shopping cart. She was having so much fun with this toy, and she turned her back to pick up another toy, and a little boy took it from her. The look on her face was so sad. Thankfully the little boy walked away from it a few minutes later, and we got it back. :)

We went apple picking at a place in Marthasville, MO called Apple Junction. It was a really neat place, with a tractor ride, a big slide, goats, and a big sandbox. Here is Abby on a mission to go see the goats.

I could tell that she wanted so bad to walk over to the fence, but she still had some doubts about it.

We took a tractor ride out to the orchard. She was unsure at first, but then really loved it.

Picking up the apples from the ground was so much fun! We got a lot of great ones to bring home. She did pull a few off of the tree, but unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of it. My camera battery died. We will definitely be doing this again next year. It was so much fun!

First Painting Experience

Abby had her first painting experience a few weeks ago. We let her paint with the paintbrush and then tried putting her hand in the paint. She loved painting with the brush but did not like her hands in it at all. It was such a fun time for her. Needless to say, she was pretty much covered in paint by the time she was done. Oh well! That is what being a kid is all about, huh?

Bath Time

Abby has recently discovered the wonderful world of coloring in the bathtub. She had gotten her first set of crayons from her great uncle Chris and great aunt Lisa. She quickly used those up so we bought her some more. She loves leaving her creations on the shower walls for her mommy to clean off. :)

Look! She can already write her name. :P

New Job

I just wanted to let everyone know that Sam got a new job! I am so incredibly proud of him. He will be working for Flight Safety International in St. Louis. He is so excited to be able to start his new job. His first day will be August 27th.

Also, I will be starting my nursing classes on Monday. This should be about a 3 year program. I am hoping to start my clinicals in August 2009. Wish us both luck!

Swimming Lessons

Abby has had swimming lessons for the past 2 weeks, and she absolutely LOVES it! We really think that she is part fish. :) They have just been working with her on getting comfortable with the water, like kicking her feet, blowing bubbles, and reaching for things in the water. Since Sam works from home on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he got to go with her a few times. Here is a few pictures of our little Miss!

She really likes to reach into the water and grab the rings. Of course, she also likes to try and chew on them.:)

She will lay on her stomach, and kick her feet. It is so cute seeing those little chubby thighs kicking in the water!

She didn't really like it when we tried to lay her on her back in the water. She would get really tense.

She was trying to blow bubbles in the water, but she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet. She just ends up drinking half the pool water.

Race for the Cure

As some of you know, my grandma passed away last month from her fight against breast cancer. She was 66 years old. For the past 2 years we have raised money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and participated in the Race for the Cure. Abby was really into it this year. She loved watching all of the people, listening to the live music, and going for a walk in her stroller. Here are a few pics from the race.

Abby and Daddy chilling out in the shade before the race.

The crowd was absolutely amazing! All we could see in front and behind us were pink and white shirts. It was a very emotional day.

Abby and Mommy right before we started our walk.

First Summer Vacation

Sam, Abby, and I just got back from our first trip to Branson as a family. We had such a great time! She did so well considering how worn out she was, and the length of time that we were in the car. We went to Lambert's Cafe, did some shopping, went to Silver Dollar City 2 days, and spent some time on my dad's pontoon boat.

This picture was taken as we were getting ready to take off to Branson.

Waiting for a table at Lambert's Cafe, right outside of Springfield, MO. She enjoyed chicken and dumplings, green beans, and throwed rolls. She really got a kick out of

Abby, Mommy, and Daddy on Grandpa Slusher's boat. She had a blast! However, as you can see, she had her snacks with her. That always makes her happy. :) I don't think she cared too much for the life jacket, but she dealt with it. She LOVED having the wind blowing her hair.

She even got to drive the boat with Grandpa! Good thing she didn't run it up onto a sandbar, like her Mommy did when she was a kid.

Her first trip to Build-A-Bear. She made an adorable teddy bear.

Abby and Mommy after Abby's first amusement park ride, the balloons. She just smiled the whole time, and then didn't want to get off.

ICE CREAM!!!!

Abby and Daddy on the big rocking chair at Grand Village.

This was by far her favorite area in Silver Dollar City. It is called Guyser Gulch. There is just a bunch of water stuff to do. This was a little padded walkway that shoots water out of little holes. She had so much fun crawling back and forth. It was honestly priceless!

First Trip to the Salon

We took Abby to Great Clips the other day to have her bangs trimmed. Now she can see without having to have her little pebbles sprout. She did awesome! She just sat there and let the lady cut it, and then she got to watch Mommy get her hair cut.

Before

After- Look at those beautiful eyes now!

Teeth

Abby is cutting her molars now, and the poor angel has been so miserable! Her other 6 teeth were no problem for her. I didn't even know she was getting any teeth until they were already in, but these ones are different. I am hoping they pop through soon, so she won't be as miserable.

Next week we are leaving for vacation!! It will be Abby's first week long vacation. Sam and I are so excited about it, but we are quite nervous about how she will do with the car ride there. It will be about 3.5 hours. I will definitely update the blog when we get back, and post pictures from the trip.

Here are a few recent pictures we have taken of her:

I put her in her swimming suit and put her outside with some shaving cream. She really didn't know what to think about it. She touched it a little bit and then tried eating it, so needless to say, that was the end of our shaving cream play. Next time I am planning on using chocolate pudding, so if she eats it, no big deal.

Here she is coloring a picture for her Grandma and Grandpa Slusher. She really enjoys scribbling, even though a lot of it ends up on the table.

Sleepy time!! Abby LOVES laying on the pillow that her Grandma Larko made her for her first birthday. It is so cute to watch her cuddle with it, and all of the moms from our playgroup are jealous! They all want one too!