The date stamp on this entry might say February 22, but I haven't gone to bed yet after work, so it still feels like the 21st to me. And in that case, it's still Abby's 10 month birthday! This is the best picture I could take of her in the usual picture spot. She would NOT sit still, she has discovered the joy of moving and will not be kept in one place!

True story. Chris called me at work tonight and said something along the lines of "I don't know what's wrong with Abby" which immediately sent me into a panic. But when I asked for clarification, he said "She's just into EVERYTHING. NOTHING is safe anymore, she's finding things I didn't even notice and she gets really mad when you take things away from her!" He ended up having to bring up all of our baby gates and barricade things like the TV and the stairs, in addition to the fireplace, which we've had blocked for 2 weeks now. This is a girl on the move....don't get in her way!

Abby is also trying new foods. She isn't quite sure what to think of slippery foods, like bananas or mandarin oranges. She seems frustrated that they are harder to pick up than cheerios. She DID enjoy her first taste of ice cream (at Great Grandma Edna's house) and macaroni and cheese was tolerated today.

Her favorite trick is still clapping, but at just the right moment, you might be able to convince her to show you "SO BIG" or "OH NO!" and her most recent video can be seen here. It's a few weeks old though, she's much more adept at the "Asian Carp-like" butt scoot now. (yes, we call her Asian Carp because of her jumping/scooting, watch this video at about the 30 second point, to get an idea.)

I know it's been 3 weeks since I posted. Dad gave me a little grief about that the other day. It's not for lack of material. Let's work our way back in time.

Thursday this week was unseasonably pleasant. The air temperature was only 38 degrees, but the sun made it feel almost like spring. Maggie and Katherine enjoyed an hour outside after school. It was strange to see them playing with chalk while wearing winter coats/hats/boots, with the piles of snow in the background, but they loved it!

Oops, here's another Abby shot - Yes, she pulls herself to her knees to reach things on the couch she hasn't pulled to her feet yet, but it's only a matter of time!
Katherine has been finding her inner Diva lately. She bumped her arm at gymnastics class, and I believe that it legitimately hurt for the first day. (And yes, it is possible that I was close to bringing her to the ER because I was sure it was broken. Perhaps) But she ended up being FINE. She could use it when she wanted (to eat cookies) and would complain about it hurting when she didn't (getting dressed, into her car seat, etc.) A little attention seeking behavior never hurt anyone...except maybe the parents! Sheesh!

We went to visit Great Grandpa Art and Great Grandma Edna on the 11th. They offered to get a pizza, thinking lunch might be easier in their house than going out to a restaurant. I forgot to specify though, Katherine generally only eats Cheese pizza. The pizza they bought was delicious, but it had many toppings. Grandma Boom Boom did her best to take everything off, but as Katherine ate, she held up her fork of pizza and called out "Brush Off" anytime she found a speck of something she didn't like. I used the distraction technique and she ate 2 full pieces, specks and all.

Last Monday, we celebrated President's Day by meeting Aunt Nora at the Kenosha outlets. Katherine had very little patience for any shopping that didn't directly involve her. She wanted things for herself and wasn't shy in telling us that. Sigh.

If you missed it, here is Katherine singing a Valentine's song.
Why was there snow in the background in the chalk picture? Well, we had a winter storm back on the 9th. It was enough that Maggie's school was let out early. Lesson learned by Mom - next time they let school out early, it might be better to go pick her up rather than wait for the bus. Her bus was delayed on an earlier route, so she had to wait for an extra 45 minutes to come home. In the end, she arrived home about 30 minutes before usual. She was slightly bothered, because she needed a bathroom and wasn't able to go while she waited, but overall she handled it well. Proof that she's grown up since September which was the only other time she's had a significant bus delay. All the snow allowed for some snow-castle building and creative sledding techniques.

My finniest Maggie story lately happened one night at bedtime. Chris and I were working together to get everyone bathed, dressed, settled, and as he straightened Maggie's bed he remarked about all of the STUFF in it. (Both girls have more stuffed animals and books in their beds than they need) Maggie was in the hall, but heard us talking and shouted "I like my stuff and it's NOT CRAP!" Hmmm, note to self: Time to take "crap" out of the vocabulary! (This one is my fault, not Chris', he truly did use the word "stuff")

This next picture was taken on Maggie's 100th day of school. It was the most exciting event all year - with 2 weeks of pre-planning and then a full week of celebration. Who knew counting to 100 could be so fun?
So I think we're all caught up now. Apologies to Dad and anyone else who missed us for the last few weeks. Also, apologies for the rambling update here tonight. It's 0130 and I'm running out of steam. But, I'm happy to share our stories with you, I appreciate you stopping by!