a BIG Sister is Born! Mar 24, 2009

Welcome Hope Marie Tuma...the little sister of Abigail May.
Born March 24 at 10:13 am.
6lbs 10 oz; 20 inches long.

the Science Museum: March 7

We spent the morning at the Science Museum in St. Paul.

Dinosaurs were the fan favorite for sure...

Abby with her friends Tyler & Hannah.

Abby & Tyler in a barrel the size of a dinosaur tummy.

Abby & Joe

Ice Princess - Feb 8, 2009

We took to the ice to see what luck would bring our way.

Abby helping Joe run the auger.

The fine art of bucket-sitting

A teeny little crappie came up to see us first.

Ice Princesses

"IT'S A MONSTER!" says Abby.

"Nope," says Joe, "It's a slimerocket!"

"Oh cool! Slimerocket!" says Abby.

Abby was SO pleased with her catch she hugged it and hugged it and hugged it.

She was covered in stinky northern slime, but she was also coated in glory!

Junior Assistant - Feb 1

Sunday morning I witnessed my darling daughter cleaning doggie nose-prints off of the deck door. She could be heard muttering..."Naughty Dog Millie. No kissing window."

Oh Help, Oh No, It's a Gruffalo! - Jan 31 2009

Abby's Grandma treated her (& me & cousin Kayla) to a performance of The Gruffalo at the Children's Theater. Fabulous fun!

She laughed.

She cried (when the gruffalo came running into the audience right by us).

She wanted to see it again.

Grandma, Abby & Kayla on their way into the theater.

Abby picked out her dress & fancy blck shoes for the performance.
Abby & Grandma right before the start of the show.

Should See the Other Guy ~ Jan 29 2009

Abby took a header on her way up the stairs the other night. Socks & carpet collided and her chin took the brunt of it. It is a red raspberry of a rug burn that is going to take a few weeks to heal.

My witty husband has coached Abby so that when asked, "Abby, what happened to your chin?"

She responds, "You should see other guy!"

priceless.

Wise Lady - Jan 27

On the way home from daycare the other night, Abby said to me,
"Mommy, teacher said to me today, 'Abby you all done talking. Now teacher talk.'"

I asked her, "Uh-oh. Did your teacher tell you you needed to listen?"

"Yes."

"That's hard sometimes, isn't it?"

"Yes, I like talk more."

"Well Abby, you know what you need to do?"

"What?"

"You need to listen really good to all the things your teacher is trying to teach you so that you get really really smart. And then someday, you can be the one to talk and everyone else will listen to you."

Later that night Abby told Joe & I that when she grows up she will be a teacher. She said, "And then Abby talk and talk and talk and everyone listen to Abby!"

'Nastics: Jan 14 & Jan 21

Jan 14th was Beach Week at gymnastics. The kids got to wear their swimsuits instead of leotards and all the circuits were "accessorized" with beach themed decor.

Ta-Da!
Abby was asked to demonstrate for the class on beams

And on the jumping circuit.

(you can almost see the "tada" coming out of her mouth.)

Then on Jan 21, it was Bring-a-Friend Week. Abby invited her friend Tyler.

Here they are warming up & stretching.

Abby was "showing off" a little for her friend.

Abby & Tyler.
They blew up the big bouncer.

And Abby bounced non-stop for about 10 minutes.
Abby & Tyler "shimmy-ing" on the bars.
Here Abby reached over and asked Tyler, "Are you having fun Ty-Ty?"

A Special Guest Star - Jan 19

On the drive to daycare, Abby announced that she was expecting a special visitor.

"Rock Obama is coming to Apple 'Cademy today," she said.

I asked her to repeat herself...and clear as day, she said, "Rock Obama is coming to Apple 'Cademy to play with Abby."

I tried explaining the flaws in this belief...first that he lived very far away in a town called Washington D.C, and second that he was going to be a VERY busy man the next few days. But Abby was really rather certain that she was going to be seeing Barack today.

(If she DOES get to play with "Rock Obama" mommy's going to be pretty jealous.)

Ice Skating - Jan 11

Not quite Olympic level...or even Ice Capades level...but we have a new skater in the family.

New Years Eve

Do we know how to have a good time or what?!
(no need to mention these photos were taken closer to 7pm than midnight!)

More Christmas Fun - Dec 27

A big hit this year was read-a-long story books. Grandma & Grandpa came to our house to celebrate Christmas. They brought Abby many gifts...including three princess books that you could read, and listen to at the same time. They are getting a lot of miles this past week. Abby likes to follow along with her finger as she "reads" them to mom, or dad, or Millie, or her dolls.