Abby's 2 year pictures

Yesterday I took Abby in to get her 2 year old pictures. It was supposed to be a family day, with Hannah getting 4 1/2 year old pictures too, but as is our luck lately, Hannah woke up with a fever, tired and an irritated stomach. So, instead of putting off Abby's pictures (which we did once courtesy of the swine flu), we decided to take her before they become Abby's 12 year old pictures.

Abby was a doll all afternoon (which, considering the 3+ hours spent in the car is saying something) and the only hiccup to our day was when Abby decided that she just wanted Mommy to hold her for the pictures. Luckily, a bit of rarely used parent cookie bribery got her smiling and cooperating like a champ. The ladies taking the pictures remarked at the end that for a child who was being difficult, she sure took some sweet pictures.

I'm sad that Kevin and Hannah couldn't join us (and trying to figure out when we can do Hannah's pics), but glad Abby and I, along with a new friend from church who came along for the ride, went. Plus, I got Starbucks. (And will get it again on Tuesday when I go to a conference and again on Friday when I pick my mom up from the airport and again on Saturday when Kevin and I leave my mom with the girls and go on a full day date and again the following Wednesday when I take my mom back to the airport.... sad how I map my life around my next fix. I'm pretty sure that qualifies me as an addict...)

I just scanned in Hannah's 2 year old pictures.... funny how I choose red for both of them without knowing it. My conclusion is, after looking at these 2 pictures, that they have different coloring which makes me think they are very different, but that their face (smile, nose and chin) is very similiar, despite different head shape.

Too different

At this point, I know my girls are unique individuals. Yes, I've always studied Abby closely, looking for Hannah resemblances, comparing her to Hannah. I can't help it, I'm a mom and things like that are curious to me. (By the way, I have two older siblings and I think it is very safe to say that we are VERY different, with maybe the exception of some genetically inherited square chin and anal-ness.) The fact that they are both girls most likely makes this worse, although if one was a boy, I might be looking for differences to that I would then (falsely, I think) attribute to gender.

Nothing highlights my girls differences better (well, maybe their hair color) than bedtime. I got the joy of putting both girls to bed tonight (Kevin was off to a meeting-lucky!) and was struck anew by how complete opposite they are. Here is a breakdown of their bedtime routines.

Abby: First we turn on her music and noise machine. Next, we rock, she chooses two stories (at barely 2 years old, she names from memory the books she wants-and it is always changing!) for me to read her, we read and she drinks a little milk. I turn off the light and rock her for another few minutes (if it stretches out past a minute or two, she'll just go to sleep in my arms). I then lay her down in her crib, put her blanket on her, say "I love you" and leave. Most often, not another peep is heard till 7ish. If I check on her at midnight, she is in the exact same spot. Easy as pie. And her bed has NOTHING in it except her blanket (she recently evicted her lovey pig in an attempt to de-clutter her life, I guess).

Hannah: We sit on her bed (she won't let me rock her anymore :( ), normally (if she hasn't lost the privilege in the course of getting ready for bed) I read 2 chapters/books and she reads 1 of her level books. Then we pray (heaven forbid this goes in the wrong order!!) and sing a song. Finally, she climbs under the covers, I do the kiss routine (1 on chin, 1 on nose) which she then mimics back and we hug. I then turn on her noise machine and music and turn off the lights. The next part always leaves me hoping it goes faster. I go to the door, say "good night, I love you" and wait. This is when it starts. The "I love you too!" and "in the morning...." commands/requests. Then she normally remembers that her entourage/dolls are not arranged just so and spends the next few minutes making sure that they are put in just the right spot on her bed (3 on the left, 3 on the right, covers not over their heads). Then she repeats the commands. Next up is the blowing kisses -- 2 for me to put on immediately (sometimes with designated spots), 2 each for me to hold on to for daddy and Abby. Now, if all goes well, I can then make my escape, if not... well, we go back to the commands and requests, "good night, I love ya, see you in the morning" stuff. Of course, when things don't go well, I make my escape, only to have her follow me. Leaves me feeling a little worn out.

My girls have other differences (Abby doesn't frequently fall down and doesn't seem to be related to the Energizer Bunny), but bedtime seems to highlight them.

Pictures of Hannah at about the same age

My apologies to Hannah, I just had to post that picture.... :)

Hannah on her 2nd Birthday

Abby on her 2nd birthday

Sad how hard it is to find a picture of just Abby....

So, I want to hear what you think -- are my girls twins with different hair styles or barely related? (Funny sidenote: my sister was a blonde growing up, although her hair is now light brown... It amuses me that my girls seem to be repeating that pattern.)

Happy Halloween!

Some belated Halloween pictures. Must say, sad that we didn't use our camera more that night....

Hannah and Kevin's masterpieces

Princess Hannah

The Pumpkin Fairy and Princess Hannah (don't call Abby a pumpkin, she will correct you and Hannah is not a specific princess-ie Disney-just a princess... something she clarified frequently).

Some of the gang on Halloween night (some were hidden away or not yet arrived). We went to a friend's house for Halloween (they live in a population dense neighborhood, perfect for greedy children). A blast was had by all, including the 10+ children present.

See Kevin and Abby behind the Princess. Kevin was "Dam" employee (in our town, half the town works at the Dam).

Sadly, there are no pictures of me as Junie B. Jones. What a shame. (Can you hear the sarcasm dripping from my voice?)

Pictures from Abby's birthday

First of all, I'm very impressed -- I got 7 comments in less than 24 hours, which is more than my last few blogs put together. Nice to know that you are reading. :)

Second, still not caught up to the present day... But here are a few pictures from Abby's birthday weekend. Just so that you know, the party was the same day as the pumpkin patch, hence the striped dress. Honest, the kid has more than one outfit.

Abby's birthday party was very low key. Like I believe I have mentioned before, we figured this was our last chance to do so (next year she will be much wiser). So, we invited a family over, made homemade pizza (ohhh so good-we made a Whole Foods knockoff that Kevin and I have missed for 1 1/2 years-sausage, Gorgonzola and mushroom, yum!) and ate cake. The kids had fun with the pizzas, even if they didn't eat very much of their creations, we had fun hanging out with their parents. The cake was my first attempt at white cake (secret is almond extract-who knew?). Abby enjoyed it all thoroughly. The kid definitely understands birthdays.

The next day, a Sunday, I thought the girls were too cute to go to church without a photo op. :) I am enjoying the new clothes that come with the new season. Even Abby's hand-me-downs are fun after being put away for several years. Might I just add that hand-me-downs are the bonus of have the same gender 2nd child? Save a bundle on shopping, but when I do buy Abby something, I don't worry about price so much (after all, if she is only getting two new dresses for the whole season, who needs to hold back? of course, this probably loses some of my savings...).

My girls are also in a phase of obsessed with each other. I'd like to credit it to my superb parenting, although it is most likely just a stage in development. Abby wakes up asking for Hannah, Hannah can't go to bed without giving Abby a kiss goodnight. Today Hannah threw a fit at Sunday School because she wanted Abby to come with her (luckily, the person in charge of watching Abby just took Abs to SS and helped her do the project). Hannah is also planning the time when Abby can come to preschool with her and "see how it works" before Abby goes in the fall. Hannah has it all planned out how her and Kara (preschool BFF) will take care of Abby and help her out, but not the other kids, because they might not show her the right things. Pretty hilarious how mapped out Hannah has it.

The picture above is misleading. It is several weeks old and we are past the days of long sleeve shirt, no jacket. Yesterday I reminded Kevin how it was new tire time because the first snow fall could happen any day (in fact, it did on the Coulee walls-the mountain type terrain surrounding our community). We are having a longer fall than normal, but winter is really just around the corner. Not sure if I am ready for it yet...

Retrospective

Just a year ago....

(After I did my last post, I started wandering through last October's file and decided to post those pictures. Both girls seem so much older -- I swear Hannah has turned into a big girl in this last year.)

Girl's Trip to the Pumpkin Patch (awhile ago...)

I posted pictures of Hannah's preschool's trip to the pumpkin patch, here are pictures from our families trip to the pumpkin patch. I could post comments alongside the pictures, but I think my girls' cuteness speaks for itself. :)

I will admit right now that I am loving that brown striped dress of Abby's, which is why it has popped up in 2 out of the 3 recent posts...

Hint hint -- if I get comments, I might post my next backlog of pictures faster....