Abby's First Photo

Abby discovered happily that she could take pictures with my phone. The first photo is my demonstration of how to take a picture of her foot. The second is her photo - a good shot of her pretty pants! She was very proud of herself.

Fun at the Playground

I love this picture - Jake took it!

He took this one, too. Also good!

My happy boy!
We took about 10 shots trying to show his hair standing up from the slide static...

And before we left - a fabulous sunset!

Wall-E

this time, made in cereal. Jake really loves him!

The Xmas Ball Dance

Wondering what you can do with those pesky extra Christmas ornaments, especially the ones made of plastic instead of glass? Well, Abby has the answer for you:

It's Jib Jab Time!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Finally, a Santa Visit

It's taken only 5 years, but this year, Jake was finally ready to venture onto Santa's lap. He asked to go today and was so thrilled with the resulting picture - he insisted we buy a frame for it right afterward (and he was beside himself when I said Daddy could scan it so he could have it on his computer as well!). He told Santa about one item he wanted, and then informed him that he'd send him a list for the rest. This is an organized boy.

I also love his confident smile here and his thoughtful questions to us after. Mike had told him that it was likely not the real Santa, but one of his "helpers." Jake asked me if I thought it was the real one or a helper and I said I didn't know. "I think he was the real one, Mommy," he replied quite seriously. Later he told Mike he thought he might get another video email from Santa (like last year) and if he did, he'd compare their faces to see if they were the same. I fear Santa's pristine reputation might not last through another year of this kind of scrutiny!

One for the record books! Abby was not with us today but the last time we saw Santa she shook her head vigorously at the idea of going to say hi to him. Most of the kids we saw, were, in fact, crying. Tough job. Santa even remarked how nice it was to have a happy and willing kid on his knee!

Abby is 22 Months Old!

I think I missed Abby's 22 month post. All this galavanting around out of town and all.

The big news - her longtime babysitter is now en route to CA, somewhere on Route 66 by now, probably. The new team starts in about 10 days. Keep fingers crossed!

Abby is oblivious. Jake's ok too. I was the blubbery mess on the last night. Oh well.

In the meantime, here's Miss Abby in one of her favorite spots. She is in love with her new pull-ups. Diego is the favorite, followed closely by Dora. She asks and goes to the potty pretty nonchalantly once or twice a day. I kind of wish the pull-ups weren't quite so cute, but there you go. She does love taking them off and throwing them in the trash before bath every night. A nice dose of independence for my 1 going on 2, but honestly looks like she's already 3, little girl!

Ok, DC is Cool!

Has it really been 10 years since I've been here? Hard to imagine. And nearly 20 since I lived here after college, unbelievable!

Anyway, It is an absolutely glorious night so after arriving at my hotel I set off on a stroll to see some lit up monuments. And then found my hotel serving delicious french dishes that remind me of Alsace on a lovely outdoor patio overlooking a park this evening. It's 9:20 on a Sunday night and I am in heaven. Bon appetit!