more ramblidge

There are several topics floating around in my head today, so here we go.

1) Kyle and I found a townhouse/condo that we both really really loved.  The location had some great perks but the commute for Kyle would be a bit of a sacrifice on his part (more effort and planning required to get into the city)  So, we were thinking about it and trying to decide if the bus commute would be a deal breaker.  We decided to go for it and the next morning it was taken off the market.  We were bummed.  We don't know why it was taken off.  We don't know if it sold or what - usually the listing stays active, but says "pending" if a sale is in progress.  So, I find myself secretly hoping for it to magically reappear.  As I'm feeding Abby, I'm mentally decorating the condo and imagining us in it...and then I have to remember, it's gone.  So - I'm learning first hand what I already knew.  If you love it, take action, cause somebody else richer than you probably loves it too. 

2) I need to get the maintenance guy to come fix my sink, which is mostly clogged and draining super slow.  FYI - eggplant skins are not disposal friendly.   I also need to schedule an oil change.  I also need to clean everything. 

3) I packed up all my maternity clothes the other day.  I also packed up a bunch of clothes that I will never wear even though I want to wear them.  Some too big, most too small, some just not my style anymore.  It was nice.  Abby and I had a small memorial service for my jeans.  We folded them and placed them in the box, said a few words of remembrance, and then danced around my bedroom to some tunes in celebration.  I actually thought about tossing them out a window or something for a symbolic "good riddance" type ceremony - but figured it wasn't worth the fine.  It will be a long time before I miss them. 

4)  Abigail.  She is growing and learning so much.  I know its cliche - but people say it because its true, she grows up every day.  She's evolved from dragging herself across the floor to doing the inch worm motion.  She can get anywhere she wants and spends most of her morning exploring our little living room.  She mimics my motions now.  She's trying to learn to clap and we play a lot of patting and clapping and hitting the ground copying games.  She now turns the book pages for me when we read, and can sit on her own really well.  She's always happy. She's a lot of fun and I'm having fun with her.  

5) I lost another pound this week, which is good, it was my goal.  I'm surprised though because I have not exercised like I should the past several days.  My typical gym time has been spent looking at open houses and showings.  It's not really an excuse though, and I need to make time again. 

6) Oh, and I FINALLY got my MA license!  It took Forever.  I applied for it in early April of 2008!  Yes, 2008.  And basically because UCA and the MA DOE couldn't get along - I had to submit stuff over and over and, well, it just took FOREVER.  But, now its done and I can "officially" do what I've been doing for a couple of years now.  *rolling eyes*

7) I love making Abby's food.  I mostly make the meals on Sundays.  I just love it. Its easy and it gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel like I'm doing something good for her.  I'm excited to explore new food options, I think I'll give her some meat next week.  Eggplant was a big hit, much to my surprise, actually.  She's also really loving spinach.  For breakfast, we have oatmeal, fruit and yogurt.  Dinner is usually a veggie or two and more yogurt (or fruit) for dessert.  It's a lot of fun to be able to go out to eat and to get something for her to eat too.  Even if its only bananas or avocado or something.  It's still fun. 

This is getting longer than I intended.  So, I'm gonna go tend to the house so that it doesn't look like a big playpen when the guys come to fix the sink.  I'll have to dump out the rest of my thoughts another time. 

a trip to the park

This is one of those things that you imagine doing with your baby/child when you're 9 and a half months pregnant and too swollen to move.  Taking them to the park.  You dream about those nice sunny days when you and your baby are just enjoying playtime together.  Well, today, I got my day. 

Today was our first time to the park - which is a little bit sad I suppose. I'm gonna blame it on the weather and say that it just now became sunny (and dry) enough for us to consider park time.  But, better late than never, and we had a great time. 

I took a ton of pictures, of course.  I managed to select a mere dozen out of the several hundred I took.  Amazing, no?  

First things first - we had to check out the swings.  It took Abby a few mins of taking everything in before she warmed up to the idea, but as soon as I started pushing her - she had a blast.  (check out the hair fuzz on top! It looks red in the right light, but its really more of a blonde /translucent color) 

Next was the slide.  We went down a few times, but she was a little more interested in the sand that had piled up on the bottom.  

We played in the tunnel - and she seemed to really like that part.  I think because she was sitting up a little bit - she liked looking out the little windows too. 

After so much playing, we took a break.  This expression on her face makes me laugh.

We spread out a blanket and decided to have a picnic.  Mmmm.  Blueberries.  I also let Abby have her first saltine cracker.  Big Hit.  

So while Kyle and I were looking at a house yesterday, the agent comes by and says "My goodness, look at those blueberry eyes"  It was the first time somebody had called them blueberries...instead of, y'know, just blue.  But, in this picture, you can see- they really are the same color. 

After lunch (she ate that whole bowl, by the way) We played with D'Artagnan.  We also played peek a boo for a long time and then read some books together.  

I love this face.  All in all - it was a very nice trip to the park.  One we'll have to do more often now. 

Here is one a quick video of Abigail's first time in a swing.  You gotta love her kicking legs. :)

a home for us

I feel like I have lots of homes.  There is the home that we live in - our apartment.  There is Arkansas, as a state.  There are our respective parents houses (because, where your parents live is always home in a way)  There's Boston, as a whole.  They are all homes to me.  And they each bring their own pros and cons, histories and futures.  

Kyle and I have decided to look into buying a home.  Here is Boston.  

Here are some of our reasons.  We love where we live right now.  But, the rent is so expensive and we understand that we're really just throwing the money away in a sense.  The whole building is being bought by Boston College so everybody has to move by May 2010.  Kyle and I figure that if we have to move anyway - we might as well look into homes.  If we're going to look into homes, it would make sense to buy this year while we can still get the $8,000 first time homebuyers incentive.

Also, Kyle is committed to being in school for, probably, another 2 years - unless he continues towards a doctorate degree, and then it will be a few years after that.  If we buy a house, we are committing ourselves to stay in Boston for at least 3 more years...as part of the deal for that 8,000 dollar incentive.

I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing.  Here are the pros. I love the idea of us owning a property.  I have lived my whole life in parsonages, dorm rooms, or rented spaces and have never had the freedom to paint, or design, or change a space to make it truly my own.  I'm not complaining about where I've lived - they've all been great - but the idea of really owning a place appeals to me on that level.  Not to mention our money would be going towards something and building equity and all of that jazz.  Another positive is that if we find a place that we eventually do sell again so that we can move back to AR - then chances are we will be able to afford a slightly nicer place once we get back down south.  Also, we love Boston.  Kyle has the freedom of the public transit, there is so much to do, so many good schools, museums, parks, and culture.  Part of me would love for Abby to experience all of those things. 

Here are the cons.  I miss being closer to my family and my friends.  That's the main one.  I know that, on one hand, 3 years isn't *that* long - but on the other hand, it's a lot longer than 1 year.  When I think that Abby might be 4 or 5 years old before we move back to AR - it's just crazy.  Then again, maybe we'll be in Boston forever - I don't know.  I don't *think* we will - but I'm no prophet either.  Another con is the cost.  I made the mistake of looking at what kind of house we could afford in Conway vs. Boston.  Depressing.  Let's just say that we could basically have our pick of the litter in Arkansas.  A big house, with a big yard, in a nice place.  For the same price in Boston, we might be able to afford a 110 year old condo.  Maybe.  In all likelihood,  we will not be buying a house at all, but a condo or a townhouse.  It's just the way the city life goes. 

So, here we are.  We have our pre-approval, we have our agent and a broker.  We went to 8 open houses today and went to a few last week and will go to a few more this week I believe.  We're trying not to be picky - but, who am I kidding, Kyle and I have similar tastes and lets just say that our budget doesn't always match up.  We want to live somewhere nice, safe, with a yard or a park nearby - but of course it also has to be on the public transit lines with a reasonable commute for Kyle.  There is also the part of me that walks through the houses thinking "can I imagine Abby's first birthday party here?" or "where will she learn to ride her bike?" and those kinds of thoughts that completely revolve around our little one. 

Wish us luck while we search through the city for a place to call our own.  It's an exciting thing - but there are still too many steps between now and closing for me to feel the excitement part as much.  I'm just in search mode at the moment.  I can tell you one thing though - there is a lot to work through and I am so thankful that I have Kyle by my side - he's great.  

So, we'll keep ya posted on our housing adventure.  If all goes according to plan, we'll be in a place of our own sometime this fall. 

jeans, round II

Well, I'm not much of one to give up a good fight - so today I decided I was going to keep searching for a pair of jeans.  I was optimistic and excited.

Abs and I got ready and gave dad a ride to work before heading off to Target.  Now, I love target.  I could spend hours in target just looking at things and wanting things and planning how I'm going to decorate my future dining room etc.  But, clothes at Target - and specifically pants at Target tend to be made for people taller than myself.  They don't have short people jeans.  But -if I didn't look, I'd never know, so off we went.  

I decided to try to let Abigail sit in the cart.  We've not done this before.  But lately, she's been sitting really well and she was getting restless and hot in the carseat and I couldn't just carry her and try on jeans so I put her in the cart.  Of course she loved it.  Of course she chewed on the hand rail - I don't have one of those nifty baby pouches....yet.  It was fun having her upright.  And as you can see - she was dressed for the occasion.

Anyway.  Target had no jeans for me.  I was mildly bummed.  I bought Abby another book instead.  We did a little grocery shopping and headed to the car to go home...once again, mildly depressed at the pants situation.  

Then I decided that I would risk having Abby melt down (it was past nap time at this point) and head across the street to the mall one more time.  I stopped in Ann Taylor first - Ann Taylor? Isn't that where teachers and church committee members shop?  Well, maybe, but they did have a petites section.  Long story short - too expensive for my cheap-o wallet. Then I remembered that my friend Hannah had suggested checking out Express.  I had walked through the previous day, but hadn't tried anything on.  I figured it couldn't hurt to look - I mean, at this point, just finding jeans that fit would be great - even if I didn't buy them. 

Well, as soon as I walked in and this friendly girl asked me if she could help me - I just kinda blurted out "do you have short jeans? Cause I'm short and I need jeans"  She smiled and asked me what kind of style I liked.  I wanted to say "something that doesn't have an elastic band at the top" but I didn't want to look completely stupid - so I went with bootcut.  She helped me find a few to try on and I skeptically walked to the dressing room.  

Ok, don't judge me, but I actually teared up when they fit.  I know, I know - they're just pants - but you try wearing pants you hate for 7 months and then go find something shiny and new that works.  So, I did a little happy dance in the dressing room and made Abby laugh.  I tried on 3 more styles - but the first one was the winner.  

Remember how I said I might eat my words as far as the price of jeans go?  Well - nom nom nom.  I think I probably spent more on this one pair than all the other pairs I've ever bought.  That might actually be close to being true - and they weren't even crazy expensive, they were par for the course.  I passed up the second pair at half price deal using every. inch. of. willpower. I had.  

So, anyway - YAY!  These silly jeans make me happy.  

and miles to go before I sleep

A week ago I got re-motivated to amp up my exercising and diet.  I decided that my goal was to lose 1 lb in 1 week.  Do-able, right?

So today, one week later, I've shed 1.5 lbs.  So, I'm hoping by next tuesday - I will have lost 1 more pound.  Our challenge weigh in is Friday - so we'll see how things are going then.

Yesterday, I went shopping for jeans.  Don't clap - it's not a good thing.  I still can't wear any of my pre-pregnancy clothes, but I'm sick and tired of wearing maternity clothes.  Like seriously sick and tired.  I told myself I was not going to buy any new clothes while I was still trying to lose weight - but - I've only had one pair of jeans for over a year now - and well, I just need another pair.  An "inbetween" pair.  

It was awful.  After trying 5 different stores and 2.5 hours later - all I bought was a book.  A book always fits.  Apparently, I either need to be a foot taller so that the jeans that fit me will fit my length as well - or I just need to be cut in half so that the jeans that fit my short legs will also fit my waist.  De-pressing.  There are jeans that could fit both - but I can't afford them.  Seriously - I'm so cheap when it comes to clothes.  Like, spending $20 bucks for jeans is too much in my mind - so all these $80 -$150 dollar pairs - Ummm, not for me.  Of course, I say that now.  If I have to go through another day of trying on jeans that don't fit, I may be eating those words.  And, yes, I know I could get them altered - but, I won't.  It's one of those things that I say I'll do - and I never will.

Anyway.  Point is - I'm still motivated to do well.  I've been trying to run 5 days a week.  I'm getting at least 40 mins of cardio in 5 days a week and I've been eating well.  I've been able to increase my running distance with just about every run - even if it's only a tiny bit.  I usually get in 2.5 miles a day - and I'm hoping that in the next 2 weeks, I'll be able to bump that up to 3. 

So, keep me accountable.  I need another pound lost by next Tuesday.  That's the goal for now. 

almost mobile

Freedom Trail

For those of you who aren't familiar with Boston landmarks - the Freedom Trail is a red brick trail that leads you through downtown past a number of historical sites.  It's one of those "must-dos" when you're in town.  Because of that - Kyle and I have walked the trail at least a dozen times.

Today, Kyle's sister Brittany and her boyfriend came to visit us for the day.  They had never been to Boston - so, the Freedom Trail was on the top of our to do list.  After you've done the trail a few times, you get to know it pretty well.  I stopped taking pictures of the trail a long time ago.

So today I thought that I would keep the camera at the ready and I challenged myself to take pictures of the same monuments and sites but in a new way.  Or to find something new to capture on "film"  It was fun.

We all had a good time - and I got lots of walking in, which was great!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.

St. Francis of Assisi 

a dog tag memorial

mmm.  cannoli.  mmm

(hey, I did walk miles here)

holocaust memorial

Meet D'Artagnan.  Abby's BFF.

Dart's senior picture, perhaps?

nice birdy. hungry birdy.

the clock tower

old city hall

gravestone closeup

separation anxiety

At least that's what I'm guessing is going on.  I hear it starts to happen around this age.  

Basically, Abigail now misses us.  (Awww). Yeah, it's sweet - and frustrating.  

It's sweet when you put her down and she looks at you and holds her arms up and whimpers - because she just wants to be held.  It's sweet when I turn out of her line of sight and she starts to whimper again only to burst into a huge grin when I magically reappear.  

But it's not so sweet when she has to go to bed at night.  We read our book, she gets changed for bed, swaddled, fed and rocked.  She is so peaceful and happy and...almost...asleep.  And then I stand up to put her in the crib and her eyes lock on mine.  As I start to lower her - she starts to whimper.  As she touches the matress, she starts to cry.  And as I tuck her in and turn away, she screams.  Oh me, it's so sad. 

The last few nights, she has screamed - not cried - screamed for a while each night.  These are the kind of screams that give you goosebumps - the kind that sound like she's in pain and really upset.  For the first few nights this happened - we went back in and calmed her or fed her again after about 20 mins.  But - we soon realized that we weren't really helping her.  Last night she cried for about 40 mins.  

Tonight, however, she screamed and cried more intensely than before - but only for maybe 2 or 3 mins.  SO - I'm crossing my fingers that it will start to fade.  

I mean, I know she's fine.  And she's always happy as a clam the next morning.  It's still just sad.  She just wants to BE with us.  She gets SO excited when Kyle comes home or when I re-enter a room after being gone for a while.  She would rather be sitting by us than alone and is generally always happy as long as we're there.  

Anyway, I guess it's just a phase that all babies go though.  Or at least most babies....or, at least my baby.  

Hopefully she'll realize soon that we're not going anywhere. 

blackbeard

rededication

Vacation made staying on my exercise and diet routines a little difficult.  I did pretty well 3/4 of the time - but that last 1/4...I fell off the wagon. 

No, I jumped off the wagon, or maybe I drove the wagon off a cliff.  I dunno.  At any rate, I obviously didn't lose anything while I was there.  

So, now I'm home and I'm back in the game.  

One thing I've realized about myself is that I don't do well with long term goals - at least not in this arena.  More often, I need to take things one day at a time, or one meal at a time...  So, my new "long term" goal is only a month from now - and I'm hoping to drop 5 lbs in 4 weeks.  I'm optimistic.  This means that by next Tuesday, I hope to have lost 1 lbs (maybe 1.5 if I cross my fingers just right)

I'm still running (or should I say, I'm running again) and I think that will be really help me along.  I'm putting forth a renewed effort to plan my meals and to keep things healthy.  The past few days have gone well, so hopefully tomorrow will too. 

just a post for accountability's sake.  I'll keep ya posted. 

being home

One of the perks of working in a school district is having the summers off.  I've been looking forward to having this summer off since I found out I was pregnant.  I've been anxiously awaiting the days that I get to play "stay at home mom"  and pretend, for 2 months, that this is what I do. 

I've discovered, however, that I need practice.  It's really easy to stay at home all day and play with the baby and watch TV and clean...maybe.  It's a little harder to plan outings - especially when you're working around nap times and weather and lack of funds etc...  But, we can't just stay inside all summer - so I've been trying to do better at planning outings for us.

Yesterday, I found out that I needed to go to city hall for a form - I was at first annoyed that they were making me go in person, but once I had resigned myself to going - it was kinda fun.  While Abs finished up her nap, I packed my purse, pulled out the ergo ( didn't want to deal with a stroller on the T by myself).  I decided to try the hip hold.  

So there we are, waiting on the train - Abs in her pouch on my hip, just looking around at everything and me with my little bag and my baby strapped to me.  I felt proud of myself for getting out.  I felt very urban at that moment.   Abs got tons of attention on the train, of course.  She loved it.  We got downtown, got the paper we needed and headed home.  She got even more attention on the train coming home.  We actually ended up running into one of our pediatricians and had a nice chat. 

Today, we got out early for a Target run.  I had fun going with Abs - I actually found myself planning a girls day.  I thought to myself that we would stop and get lunch on the way home and then go to a park and play and so on.  Of course, I decided to honor nap time and head home.  

I'm thinking that tomorrow, I may try my hand at the park - maybe I'll introduce Abs to the joy of swinging.  :)  

I'm enjoying my time at home - I'm lucky to have the opportunity.  I think as the summer goes on, I'll probably learn to enjoy it more and more. 

2 years

Yesterday was our two year anniversary!

Sometimes, it seems like we were just married yesterday.  But I think most of the time, it seems like its been much longer.  Not in a bad way - in a very good way.  

We didn't do much yesterday.  We did go out for a special anniversary breakfast which was nice.  Then, Kyle had to go to work (for the first time in about 3 weeks!) and I stayed home with Abs and did a lot of nothing.  We had fajitas for dinner and watched a bunch of HGTV.  A very normal day for us.  We're planning to "celebrate" the occasion while we're in Australia - we're hoping to take some sort of dinner cruise or something of the sort.  So both of us were fine saving our funds for that occasion....which should be  lot of fun.

I thought I would share some of the things I like about being married to Kyle. 

1.  I love exploring new places and traveling.  I don't think I would ever have traveled as much as we have without him.  I love how he is so comfortable in a new city and his navigation skills are pretty good for a guy with not a lot of vision.  I love that no trip seems unattainable.

2.  I love our little traditions.  Everything from watching the big Apple presentations together, to putting a red sox cap on top of our christmas tree.  Even past traditions like sunday burritos and friday night brownies that no longer exist still carry happy memories.

3.  I love love love just being in the city with Kyle.  I love walking through downtown - now with him pushing the stroller - and window shopping or grabbing lunch or going to the farmers market.  I love walking with him.

4.  I love that he tucks me in every night.  Kyle's a night owl and I'm a morning bird - so I nearly always go to sleep hours before he does - but he always tucks me in. 

5.  Of course, I love watching him with Abigail.  He's so so so good with her and she just adores him.  What could make me happier?

6. I love that we do taekwondo together.  Albeit, not as often as we would like - but I love that we share that part of our lives. 

7.  I love that he is so smart...and responsible.  

8.  I love that I know he doesn't like to chop veggies and he knows I don't like to open cans of biscuits.  I know he doesn't like putting things in the oven and he knows I hate filling the ice trays.  Its the little things that make up our days - but little things count a lot.

9.  I love that he helps me be healthy and values a healthy lifestyle (with occasional ice cream trips)

10.  I love that when I imagine my future - I often wonder about kids and careers and location - but I never wonder about him.  He's always there and always will be.  

Being married to Kyle makes me feel very lucky to have the blessed life that we have.  I can't wait to see where life takes us!

Happy Anniversary babe, Love you.

7 months

Abigail,

Yesterday, you turned 7 months old.  

Up until now, every "birthday" has fit.  At 1 month old, you seemed one month old, 4 months seemed just about right, and even last month at 6 whole months - I had no problem believing that 6 months had flown by.  But, for some reason, 7 seems so much bigger.  Maybe it's because it's past 6 - over halfway to the big 1 year.  7 months seems very old to me and its a little

 strange to think that you're there already.

I think this is the beginning of every new month feeling this way though.  I think you're done being a little baby and are well on your way to being your own little person.

So let's talk milestones.  At 7 months, you are getting so good at sitting by yourself.  I rarely have to keep you from toppling over - but I don't ever leave you sitting by yourself yet either.  You love food - I think peaches and avocados are your favorite with blueberries close behind.  You don't like applesauce yet and bananas are hit or miss.  You are so so so expressive.  You constantly amaze and entertain us with your barrage of noises and faces.  Most of the time we understand exactly what you're trying to say.

I need to weigh you to see how much you've grown.  You seem to have gotten heavier lately.  You're still in size 1 diapers - which is a little insane - but, hey, you're on the small side - nothing wrong with that.  You've also recently decided that you no longer like your paci.  This is bittersweet to us as parents who had come to rely heavily on its soothing powers.  You seem to be done with sucking on things for now and are all about chewing.  You don't suck your thumb, but you constantly chew on your index finger.  No teeth yet, but I'm sure they'll be here before long.

Your newest accomplishment is waving.  You now wave at anybody who waves at you.  It's a very delicate wave - as if you were the Queen of England - but it's completely precious.  You still think your daddy is the best thing ever.  You get so excited when you see him and will jump up and down and squeal and wave your arms at him until he holds you.  And, just so you know, he's twice as crazy about you.  You also love to stand with our help and you go absolutely bonkers when you see the mirror - it never fails to excite you. 

I'm happy to announce that you finally have hair!  :)  It is very fine and very light - so from a distance most people probably wouldn't notice - but I notice - every little strand.  I brush it for you everyday. Part of your hair is much lighter than the rest and it creates a light ring around your head - it looks just like a halo.  Your daddy had the same thing - and still has parts of it, so you definitely get that from him.  

You get lots of attention when we go out places.  Most of the time, people comment on your big blue eyes (another gift from your daddy).  You smile at everybody.  When you meet somebody new or when you're really excited, you do this thing where you smile, and then you quickly bury your face in my shoulder.  Then you'll peek back out and hide your face again.  It's pretty cute.

You're making more baby sounds everyday.  You melted our hearts when you started saying Da-Da.  One day, you looked right at your daddy and said "Hi-Da-Da!" and I saw him melt into a puddle of love....then, you turned to your monkey toy, grabbed him by the face, looked him in the eyes and said "Hi-Da-Da" to him too.  Well, it was funny.  You're not to the point of association yet (at least we hope) but Da and Ba are your favorite new words.  I'm secretly working with you on those Ma sounds.  ;-)

I've done a lot of thinking about being a mom lately.  More specifically, being your mom.  I'm really really happy.  Even 7 months later - it still dawns on me like a new idea every so often that we made you and you're real and you're ours.  We try everyday to be the best parents we know how to be.  Part of me can't wait to watch you grow up and the other part of me tries to enjoy each moment and not get lost in looking ahead.  Basically, we just feel really lucky to have you.

So, little miss Abigail, happy 7 month birthday.  I'm so happy I get to be your mom.  I love you.  We love you.  Always.

back to life

Back to reality...

So, Florida was great.  

We had a really nice time just being able to relax and enjoy Kyle's family's company.  Abby got to see the ocean for the first time, taste sand, see crabs and swim.  She seems to really enjoy the water.  After a few days of taking everything in - she got to where she was able to happily play in the pool.  We had lots of good food and Abby got to try peaches and watermelon and blueberries for the first time as well as squash and applesauce.  The applesauce was not a hit - I'm sure it's too tart for her.  She got lots and lots of attention from everybody around her...which, of course, she loved.  Oh, and she got to meet her aunt Brittany for the first time too!  

The second week we were in FL, Kyle flew to Detroit to attend the National Federation of The Blind conference.  He was one of 30 scholarship winners selected from hundreds across the country and was treated to a week at the conference hobnobbing amongst the elite.  The last night was a dinner where they announce who wins what scholarship and out of 30 people, Kyle was in the top 7.  I'm super proud of him.  On top of the scholarship money he won, they also gave him several thousand dollars worth of gadgets and gifts.  I know he had a great time.

But, after all our travels, it's nice to be home again too.  Abby did great with the constant unfamiliarity of her surroundings and having to sleep in the pack n play.  But I think she's happy to be in her own room.  She also did great on the plane rides.  On the way home, we took off at 7pm - her bedtime - perfect, right?  Wrong.  The little bugger refused to let me hold her or put her to sleep.  She was wiiiiide awake (and thankfully very happy) the whole 2.5 hours of the trip.  As we were driving to the gate after landing, she fell asleep sitting on my lap.  Poor thing.  She's such a trooper.  I will admit though - that I'm a little more anxious about our trip to Oz in a month....oy vey.  

K, I can't think about that right now.  It'll all work out, right?  

So now it's Saturday and we're back into our routine, pretty much.  Grocery shopping is done, laundry still left to do etc etc.  For now, I'll leave you with a few more pictures from our vacation.  I mean, I only took about...a million pictures.  Enjoy.

we're back!

We're all back in Boston safe and sound and glad to be back together again.  I have lots to share, and lots of pictures - but I need to unpack and upload and all that jazz before I can give my self the time to just sit and type.  

So, this is just a quick hello from beantown (nobody actually calls it that here) to mark our return.

I'll update soon!

shopping

Today we spent the rainy day in Orlando going to some outlet stores that have become a regular item on our to-do list during these summer visits. We had fun. :)

I went in wanting to get running shoes because I figured the hand me downs I got from a friend 3 years ago *might* not be in the best condition anymore. I figured that new shoes might feel better - but my hopes weren't high. However, when I actually started trying things on - oh my goodness - I felt like somebody had opened my eyes. Comparatively, I now see that I've been basically running barefoot on concrete. The new shoes are so comfortable and well - just springy. They kinda make me want to skip around. So anyway, new shoes for Laura - check.

Kyle also scored some new shoes, and other clothes and of course we enjoyed shopping for Abs. I indulged in some starbucks for the first time since...I can't remember when and we just generally had a nice day of retail therapy (umm, discounted, on sale and with coupons retail therapy, but still)

Kyle and I are about to head out for dinner, so I'll leave you with these pictures till next time. Oh, and next time might be a while. Kyle leaves tomorrow to go to the NFB conference in Detroit, so I'll be here for another week, but without his computer.

Daddy - just look at that gleam in her eyes. Us girls are just born with it.

Abby in her pretty new red dress

red just makes those blue eyes bluer

gummy grin!

Love