My Handsome Little Devil

The Dreaded Day.

When this time of year rolls around, I start to feel dread - dread because I know what is ahead of me and it starts from the moment I hang up the phone after making the appointment. As the day gets closer, I formulate a plan - what will I say to her? when will I say it? what will her reaction be? When the day finally approaches, it never goes as smoothly as I hope.

It is the dreaded flu shot day. The day of the year that Abi fears the most.

Trying to follow the doctor advice, I told her about the shot before we got to the doctor's office (although I'm not sure her doctor fully grasps what this means!) By the time we walked through the doctor's office doors, her face was blotchy and her eyes were bloodshot from crying and I think I heard "I don't want a flu shot" about 500 times! Keep in mind that I only told her about the appointment 30 minutes beforehand. To make a long story short, the appointment ended with Abi screaming at the top of her lungs, 2 nurses physically holding her down, a doctor giving her the shot and an emotionally-drained Mommy in tears.

The anticipation of the shot is much, much worse than the shot itself. In fact, I'm pretty sure she didn't even know that she got the shot until the nurse gave her 2 Princess stickers and suddenly she was all smiles again. The only positive I could take away from the experience was that it was done and I don't have to think about it for another year....although at this rate, I'm not sure what is worse - taking our chances on getting the flu or dealing with the dramatics on flu shot day!

Conversations with a 2 Year Old

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Brady (without hesitation): A hippo.

And a few minutes later....

Me: Who is your best friend?
Brady: Cookie Monster

First Day of Kindergarten!

Although I was a bit worried that we might have a repeat of Abi's first day of preschool, she did great and her first day of Kindergarten was a success! It is so hard for me to grasp the idea that my little girl is already old enough to go to Kindergarten (and ride the bus home all by herself). As her Mom, I couldn't be prouder of my smart, sweet and thoughtful daughter!

Walking to school

Waiting for the school bell to ring

Time for school

The Bus

Although the idea of allowing Abi to get on the bus and ride it home all by herself made me a bit nervous, I knew I needed to get over my fear since this was the one thing she was most excited about. Despite my worrying, she did wonderful and told me it was one of the best parts of her day!

Isn't the dead rabbit in the middle of the street such a nice addition to the picture?  We had quite the in-depth conversation about it when she saw it on our walk to school in the morning.

Headed home!

Take a Chance on Monkey Pants

To end the 3 day weekend, Josh and Abi made homemade ice cream. Not just any homemade ice cream...Abi's very own creation...a new ice cream flavor called 'Take a Chance on Monkey Pants'. A name cleverly created by Josh which incorporates one of our many nicknames for Abi.

All of this came about when Josh made strawberry ice cream a few months back. After tasting it, Abi said, "Dad, this is good but I think you should make chocolate ice cream and add chocolate chips, marshmallows, pretzels and cherries". So, there it was - our next flavor was determined. On our way home from Lake Chelan, we stopped at a fruit stand and picked up some fresh cherries, borrowed Ferryboat Grandma's old-school ice cream maker and we were in business. Josh and Abi worked late into the night and it was well worth it. After a night in the freezer, we got our first taste when we all had ice cream for breakfast. It was delicious! Now we're just waiting for Ben & Jerry to call...

Evergreen State Fair

On Labor Day, we headed to the Evergreen State Fair with Arizona Grandma for some good ol' fashion fair fun!

Of course you have to get a ridiculously huge turkey leg when at the fair!

B spent most of his day in, around or watching anything that had wheels and a steering wheel!

And before the day ended, Abi got to go on a few rides...

Abi on the Super Slide

Kindergarten Meet and Greet

The day after we returned from our trip to Lake Chelan, all of the excitement surrounding preschool began. We headed to Abi's school for a look at her classroom, explore the school and have a meet and greet with her Kindergarten teacher.

Working on a art project at her desk

Hard at work on a school scavenger hunt

Abi and her teacher, Mrs. Sattler