Sunday Snapshot, with stories

This weekend Lar, Abigail and I were visiting my brother Jim and his awesome wife Steph at their home in Virginia while we took care of some rather exciting business.


My parents were also there to babysit Abigail while Lar and I were getting some professional things done.  My dad loved "taking my wife and granddaughter out to breakfast" he boasted all day long.  His favorite part was when the waitress cleared my dad's finished plate, Abigail gave her the stink eye, wrapped her arms around her plate and pulled it away from the waitress's reach.  That is the orphan coming out in her I guess.

This is Abigail being dragged around the house on
a beanbag.  Steph was dragging her.

Abigail then spent most of the weekend getting loved on by her grandmother and her Aunt Steph.  (Lar and I were delighted to essentially have a weekend off, which is rare since we live 500 miles from loving relatives who could care of Abigail so we could have adult conversation and catch up on sleep.  It was quite a treat for us.  A vacation, really!)

I love her dimples when she is trying not to smile.
She is so gorgeous.  

Abigail weighs about as much as a typical American kid half of her age, but she is tall and lanky.  Since she is so light, we hadn't turned her car seat around yet, but she spent the 8 hour drive up to NoVA with her knees up to her chin and was clearly uncomfortable.  So for the drive home, we graduated her to a forward-facing car seat.  She LOVED it.  She spent the first hour just looking out the front window and pointing out stuff she saw.  

The big smile on the proud girl finally came out!

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans

I always thought of this quote in the context of someone who kept planning for a future that may never come instead of living their life in the present.  I usually feel balanced between being a planner and holding Abigail tight, reading an extra story, pushing her in the swing another 5 minutes.  But lately, Larry and I have been making plans.  Big plans.  What kind of plans, doesn't matter.  But this quote is in my head because, while I am living the little moments, I am not preserving them for later.


Probably 25 times every hour, Abigail does something new or says something new that leaves Larry and me in complete awe of her.  And I think, "I need to write that down".  Then, before I can process it or enjoy it or take it in for a whole second, she does something else new or says something absolutely hilarious.  At the end of the day, we put her to bed, collapse in a chair and either read for a few minutes, watch a 22 minute TV show, or talk and make plans over a glass of wine. 


The day happens so fast, every moment with Abigail is so fleeting, the mama is so tired at the end of the day, these moments are not getting recorded, preserved for her when she has her own 2 year old to marvel. 


Even right now, as I sit here with a few spare minutes, I can't think of a thing to tell you about how much she is learning and doing each day.  I can only say in general "she is amazing and she learns so fast", but the specifics escape me.


I need to be better about this.


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Okay, Larry just reminded me of one really cute exchange.


Setting:  Early morning, after less than 6 hours of sleep for everyone
Me:  Abigail, how are you not tired?  You need sleep to run all day.
Abigail:  No Mama.  I run on happy.


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At least I take a lot of pictures!