Christmas at Grandpa's

Last night we did the Paradise family Christmas. After getting to open presents in the morning, the girls have now gotten the hang of this whole present thing, especially Abby.


Abby opening the BIG present - a drawing table/bench combo. Perfect! She eyed this box all night!

Abby helping Anny open her Potato Head - Anni LOVES Mr. Potato Head! And Dana and I discovered neither one of us had these when we were little, so we're having fun with them too!

Abigail discovered bubble wrap last night. It was a BIG hit!

Anni trying on the Christmas wrappings

Abby helping Anni unwrap her new books. The ball one was an extra big hit!

Anni's new books

Abby's pretty new Christmas dress

Anni checking out Abby's present before opening her own

Abby opening another present - she got some really nice new clothes this year. The kid won't stop growing!

Christmas Exchange

Sunday morning, the girls, Dana and I went over to our friends Riley and William's house to have a little Christmas present action. Lisa was nice enough to host the event and even had an activity planned for the bigger kids. Here are some photos, although horribly out of order:

The goodbye hug
Going in for the goodbye hug

Princess Abigail (on Queen Riley's throne)

Queen Riley after some quality time with the frosting

The finished throne

Anni's Christmas cookie

Riley's Christmas cookie

Abby's Christmas cookie

Riley checking out her decorating options

Abby perusing a table full of frosting...ohh, the possibilities!

Dana and Mike attacking their morning project...Riley's Christmas present from the girls

Riley waiting patiently while Abby and Anni open their presents

Sir William in his 9-month glory

Anni opening her present

Two presents sitting in front of them and they'd rather play with the Foxes toys

Vindication!

A few weeks ago, I posted about some incidents between Abigail and myself; the incidents revolved around my vacuum cleaner and Abby working with me in the laundry room. To be perfectly honest, neither incident was particularly pleasing to me, but it's what's actually happening in our house right now, so what can you do, right?

Well, yesterday before we left the house, Dana was outside shoveling. Abby asked where Dana was and I told her he was shoveling the sidewalk. Abby said, "Like Mommy!"

YES!!!

Dancing to Christmas Carols

SIT DOWN!

Anni has a new favorite game. She climbs up on her chair, or someone else's chair, or a turned-over basket, or pretty much anything she isn't supposed to stand on and stands on it. Once up, she shouts "Sit Down!" and looks at me, or Dana, until one of us tells her to sit down. Then, she laughs and sits down.

Goofball kid.

Potty Time

So, we're in the midst of potty training. Here is this morning's episode:

Mom: Ok, Abby time to sit on the potty.

Abby: Why?

Mom: Because it's potty time.

Abby: I don't want to.

Mom: Abigail, it's time to sit on the potty.

So, we truck off to the bathroom. Abby discards her underwear and parks it on the potty.

Abby: Mama, I want story.

Mom reads Lucky Puppy to Abby. A few minutes into the story, a certain smell emanates from the potty. Mom looks over, sees Abby is a little red in the face. Mom keeps reading. Upon finishing the story, we all check out the potty.

Mom: Abby! Great job! You pooped in the potty!

Abby: I did a BIG one!

Dad: I'm outta here.

Dirt in my Nose

On our way home from the farm on Sunday, the girls were chatting away in the car. Both girls have been dealing with runny noses for the past couple weeks. Abby hasn't had too much of a problem, but on the way home, she discovered something new. Here's essentially how the conversation went:

Abby: My nose (points to nose)

Mom: Your nose? What about your nose?

Abby: I got...my nose (now pushing on the outside of her nose)

Mom: You have a runny nose? You need a Kleenex?

Abby: No, no runny nose. I got dirt in my nose! (now pushing quite a bit on her nose)

Mom: You've got dirt in your nose?

Abby: Yeah!

Dad: That's not dirt. That's a booger!

Mom: Not a booger! Dirt is just fine, thank you very much.

Silence.

More silence.

Abby: I got dirt in my tummy!

Ba Pa!

Anni officially has 4 favorite men in her life; number one is her daddy, of course. She shrieks like a maniac every time he comes in the door. The other three favorites, in no particular order, are her grandpas. Anni calls them Ba Pa.

On Thanksgiving, Anni got to see all three Ba Pas. We started off with Dana's dad. Anni went right to him when we arrived at the Dahlquist Thanksgiving dinner. Then, we made a quick stop to see Grandpa Dan. Anni saw him through the car window and started shouting, "Ba Pa!" Next, we had a visit with Papa at my mom's house. While Abby stood outside the front door and yelled, "Nana!", Anni pushed everyone aside, shouting, "Ba Pa!"

Over the weekend, Anni got some extra special quality time with Ba Pa Schmidt. We went out to the farm this past weekend and Anni woke up every morning shouting, "Ba Pa!" It took both Dana and I to pin her down for the morning diaper change, she was that excited to get downstairs and see her Ba Pa.

Clip Clip Clip

Today was Abby's school day. One of the activities was play dough. The teacher put out a bunch of play dough and some other implements for the kids to use. Abby's favorite was the scissors. Now, for those of you who haven't seen a toddler use scissors recently, it's probably the funniest freakin' thing you've seen in a long time. Abby was uber amusing today; both for me and for the other parents. She was concentrating very hard on the cutting. We say, "Open. Close. Open. Close." That way she knows what to do with her fingers. Well, in addition to the opening and closing of the scissors, Miss Abigail had her mouth wide open on the "open" and closed it on the "close". And this went on for quite some time. She was definitely the amusement factor of class today.

Anni was in the playroom today and there were 3 teachers in the room today, as most of the kids in the playroom on Wednesdays are kids Anni's age and younger. Well, all three teachers went out of their way to tell me what a sweet baby Anni was, what a good temperament she has, and generally what a delight she is. And I didn't hear them saying anything like that to the other parents. That's right...my kid's a joy and yours...isn't. :)

Tiny Tot Monday

Today was Anni's school day and Abby got to go to the playroom. Both girls love going to school and don't seem to mind one way or the other if they're in the playroom or the classroom. They have tons of fun in both places.

Anni made a turkey today. Well, she stuck some double-sided tape on a turkey cutout, attempted to stick some feathers to said tape and did some really good marker scribbling on the turkey. And not too much scribbling on the table. It's a darn good turkey if I do say so myself!

This weekend, the four of us made the sojourn out to Marietta, MN; the Schmidt family farm. The girls got some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa and didn't get too bent out of shape when Daddy left to do some hunting. They got to visit the elk a little bit, sat on Grandpa's lap every time he sat down, played with Grandma's friend Cathy's grand kids and just generally enjoyed the change of scenery. They'll get a long weekend out there in another two weeks when we head out for Thanksgiving weekend. That weekend they'll get to go to a party too! Grandma's friend Cathy is having a birthday party and we're all invited!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

The girls know Dana goes to work every morning. Sometimes Abby gets a chance to go with Dana, if he's doing measures or something along those lines. After she went along a couple times, however, she started to think she got to go to work with daddy all the time. So, we had to tell her that sometimes she has to stay home and work with mom.

This morning she told me, "I work mom today. In laundry room."

Gulp!

Happy Halloween!

The girls had a great Halloween. Here are a few choice pics of the kitty cat and little bear:

Milestone Moments

We've recently had 2 milestone moments in the Schmidt household.

1. Anni got her first pair of real shoes. They are super tiny, ridiculously cute and velcro. :)

2. I bought the girls some art supplies earlier last week. Included in the shopping trip were markers, paint, dixie cups and construction paper. While I was busy putting some clothes away the other afternoon, I noticed the girls were being very quiet. And it was a quiet I'd never really heard before. When I listed to the quiet, I heard something suspicious. So, I called down to Abby and asked her what she was doing. She proudly came to the bottom of the stair and hollered up that she was coloring Anni. When I went downstairs, here's what I found:

Ain't no Mountain High

Last night we celebrated Grandpa's birthday (Dana's dad) with dinner at our house. Dana cooked the meat and I took care of the side dishes. It was quite a team event and I'm pleased to say everything turned out well. The girls, of course, were thrilled to get some undivided attention from Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Gigi and Jeff.

Dana and I may have cooked, but the girls provided the entertainment portion of the evening. Abby made Grandpa a necklace, after informing him he needed to sit down on the floor with her, in order to do it the "right" way. Both girls wowed the crowd with their spinning capabilities. The showstopper was the end of the night dancing, however. Deb got Daryl a card that sings "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" when you open it. The girls thought this was the best thing ever and spent at least 15 minutes dancing around, opening the card, closing the card, incorporating the ever important spins. They had a great time and all the adults got a good laugh.

Somehow, the card got left at our house. I forgot about it, of course, but the girls are already all over it this morning. Dance party USA here we come!

Discovery Days

Today we worked on letters in school. Abby was none too interested in stamping the letters or making the letter tree. She was, however, interested in the giant letter puzzle on the floor and the blocks with letters on them. Class today seemed to go very quickly. Before we knew it, it was time for snack, separate time and the goodbye song. Afterwards, we had an extra special treat and rode the horses - there's a little carousel in the mall lobby. Abby got to ride the black horse and Anni stood in the middle. She's still too little to actually sit on the horses. And when we were done, they were very cooperative and got right off, so we could go see Daddy! Those 2 LOVE to see their Daddy!

"Temper" Tantrums?

Abigail is testing her limits. She's started throwing what can technically be described as tantrums, but hers are a special brand. Mostly, she just looks me dead in the eye and says, "I don't want to." Even if she does want to. Even if she's in the process of doing whatever it is. And last night, she apparently decided to have a tantrum in her sleep...I could hear her saying over and over, "I don't want to." It was pretty funny.

She even attempted to throw a fit at Walgreens the other day. We were leaving an aisle and I said, "Abby, come on. Time to go." She said, "I don't want to," and then very deliberately and very slowly sat down on the floor. She started to slide her hands back, so she would be lying on the floor, but apparently didn't really like the idea of lying on the floor. So, she got back up and trotted after me.

I'm really hoping these "tantrums" are as bad as they get, but I'm not holding my breath...

School Days

The girls woke up (finally) without fevers today, so we got to go to school today! Today was Abby's 2s and 3s class. Anni got to play in the playroom. After we dropped Anni at her favorite activity table (and she didn't even whimper when we left), Abby and I headed down the hallway to her classroom. We had a different teacher today, since Miss Jean wasn't feeling well. After the hello song where we hugged the raccoon, we got straight to the activities. Today we painted on chalkboards with water (not overly exciting), made spider web rubbings (a little more interesting), played with the magnet board (made snowmen with all sorts of funny hats) and then, the piece de resistance...the toddler tubes! Abby had a blast crawling through the collapsible tubes again...and again...and again. Then we played with the parachute, had a snack, did some free time and before we knew it, it was time to go home! Minor tantrum on the way to pick up Anni, but nothing major. We're attempting nap time at the moment, but there's more giggles than snores at the moment...

Photo Ops

Swimming lessons

Anni feeding Abby

More swimming

Anni at school

Anni being silly
Anni, show me your mouth
Is that a great smile or what?

Apologies

I've been a bit lax in the blogging updates the past week or two. My apologies. I promise to try and stay more on top of the updates. If nothing else, I know blogs are a good way to take a mini break during the work day.

Last week was quiet around the house. I attempted the marathon on Sunday and made it halfway. I was quite pleased with making it as far as I did. The girls and I spent the remainder of last week attempting to recuperate from the fateful day. My foot's still a bit sore, but the girls tried to cooperate and not make me run after them too much.

This week, we tried to go to school on Monday, but the teacher wasn't there that day. Abby was particularly upset by the change in plans, so we were forced to go and eat donuts in order to make ourselves feel a little better. Tuesday evening we went to visit with Dana's cousins who were in from out of town. They had their kids with them on the trip, so the girls got in some good playtime. Wednesday was another no school day. We did make it to the gym, which Abby loves and Anni tolerates. Abby had herself a nice little fit when we had to leave and I had the lovely time of dragging her through the Y and the parking lot. Good times.

Today we ran errands all morning and the girls were very helpful until the end. Then it was REALLY time to get out of the car. Anni was especially adamant about that. At the moment, they're attempting (not very hard) to take naps. Then we're off to the grocery store. I tell you...the excitement never ends.

I'll try and post some recent pictures of the girls later this evening. Hopefully that will appease some of the readers. :)

Have a great day!

Potty Time!

We've had a momentous occasion in the Schmidt household this evening...for the very first time, Abigail went potty in her potty!

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

Weekend Review

Saturday: Dana had to work on Saturday, so the girls and I spent the day together. We went to the gym in the morning and then came home for lunch, baths and naps. After naps, it was PARTY TIME! We went over to Jake's house to help him celebrate his 3rd birthday. Mr. Larson was a very popular fellow on Saturday! There were tons of people there to wish him well, lots of fun presents, excellent chow and balloons galore. The kids all had fun riding on the riding toys and playing with the outside toys. The Schmidt girls were pretty beat by the time we got back in the car to go home, but they were very accommodating and didn't fall asleep until we actually made it into the cribs for the night.

Sunday: Dana was home Sunday, so the girls got some quality Daddy time. We had a pretty lazy day, in fact, and it was utterly lovely. The girls actually slept in pretty late, after all the party festivities, so we had a late breakfast and then playtime commenced. The Vikings played (poorly) yesterday, so the Dora tent went up in the living room and the girls "watched" football with dad while they ran in and out of the tent...for hours. Nap time was longer than usual, which is always a nice treat, and then we had more playing until bedtime. Abby and I read lots of stories while Anni helped Dana cook dinner. A lovely, lazy Sunday if I do say so myself.

If only every day could be a lovely, lazy Sunday...

The Week in Review

We've had another busy week in the Schmidt household. Here's the recap:

Monday: Tiny Tot day for Anni, while Abby got to play in the sibling care room. This week, we did lots of playing with different vehicles. Anni also got to play with the sticky paper, mirrors and dropping blocks into buckets. The hour goes awfully fast and Anni hardly sits still. She seems to be enjoying herself though!

Tuesday: Abby's school day. On Tuesday, Abby worked on sifting colored corn kernels through some funnels, did some coloring and got to play the parachute game again. The kid LOVES the parachute game. She gets right in there, hiding with the other kids. We had swimming Tuesday evening. Abby doesn't seem all that crazy about the lessons, but I think I've figured out that it takes her about the entire class time to get warmed up to the different ideas. At the end of class, she decided she was going to blow bubbles and do more kicking and splashing and she was all for me swinging her around on her back. Of course by this point, class was actually over...

Anni had to go in for a blood test on Tuesday morning, which was NOT the highlight of our day. The whole experience made her a little fussy and gave her a bad tummy. She came home from school and took an extra long nap though, and after she was just fine. She got to go shopping for a trailer with Daddy while Abby had swimming lessons.

Wednesday: Discovery Days for Abby. This class did a lot of work with apples this week. She made an apple tree with construction paper, glue stick and stickers. She also made some owl eyes that she likes to walk around the house "wearing". Wednesday night Dana lucked into tickets for the White Sox/Twins game, so the girls and I went over and tried to go for a run with Lisa and Riley. I can't say the running portion was successful, but it was nice to get some visiting in before bedtime...

Thursday: Anni's swimming lesson. Her teacher was sick, but we had a substitute. None of the other kids showed up for the lesson either, so it was pretty much a private lesson. Anni didn't seem to mind a bit. She practiced jumping into the pool and did quite a good job. She started off sitting on the edge and kind of falling in, but by the end of the 30 minutes, she was standing and jumping off the edge. Little daredevil!

Friday: Today, we're taking it easy after a busy week. We're watching a little Dora at the moment and we might go to the gym to play in a while. Tonight, I get to go out for dinner with Lisa and Uncle Rickie's going to come down and play with the girls until Dana gets home. They're going to be manly and BBQ after the girls go to bed.

Saturday: Jakie's birthday party! We picked up a super cool present for Jake's 3rd birthday and on Saturday we get to have some quality time with the Larson clan. Abby's been practicing saying "Happy Birthday Jakie!"

Stayed tuned for more happenings next week...

Hugs and Kisses

Both girls are getting very good at hugs and kisses, which is wonderful...mostly for me. And I'm sure the gramas and grampas won't be complaining either. Abby is now at the point where she actually grabs on to you and squeezes when you ask her for a hug, rather that just throwing herself into your arms and you having to do all the work. Anni, when you ask her for kisses, shuts her mouth tight, makes a "mmmm" sound and now puts her face right up against you to give kisses.

If these are the only jobs the girls ever have, I think I'll be ok with it...

Lesson Learned?

Abigail was rather distraught when she got up from her nap today. When the girls wake up, they tend to be a little on the cranky side (what?!), so I let them stay in their cribs, wake up at their own pace, and then go get them when they're ready to rejoin the rest of the world. Usually, this takes anywhere from 5-20 minutes, depending on the day. Well, today, they started waking up and talking to each other, same as every other day. At some point they usually start playing peekaboo or some other game only the two of them understand. Apparently, the game today consisted of Abby sticking her finger in Anni's mouth...and getting bit...hard. She started crying, I ran upstairs, Anni's standing there with her own finger in her mouth and Abby had some very distinct and deep teeth marks in her pointer finger. We decided the finger in mouth game is best to be avoided in the future, particularly when Anni is teething (which seems to be pretty much every day these days), but we'll see what happens...

Anni Update

Anni had Tiny Tots again this morning. I don't think the child sat still for more than 30 seconds of the entire hour. She's a mover that one! Today, we had some mirrors to play with and some hide-and-seek style corners. We also played with the parachute, which was pretty much the only time Anni was entranced enough to stop moving.

Here are some other Nanni updates:

1. She can now moo like a cow. And in class today, she learned to baa like a sheep.

2. Anni's new favorite trick is to show us her mouth. I ask, "Anni, where's your mouth?" She opens her mouth as wide as she can and lets her tongue hang all the way out.

3. Current favorite game: So Big! She literally throws her arms up in the air as fast and as hard as she can. Sometimes, she just about knocks herself down.

4. Current words: Mama, Dada, kitty cat, juice, shoes, sit, stand (other people probably can't decipher these words quite yet, but we know what she's saying)

The Child is a Fish

On Thursday evening, the girls and I headed to the Y for Anni's first swimming lesson. We dropped Abby off in the kids center and then Anni and I hit the pool. The child is, literally, a fish. I let her walk into the pool and she just kept walking...and walking...and walking. If I would've let her, she would've walked herself right to the other side of the pool, underwater all the way. After we got back to the shallow end, she proceeded to throw herself all over the place, crowing with laughter, splashing like a maniac. And this was all before the lesson actually started!

In our actual lesson, Anni had to climb onto the side of the pool, which she could do by herself. She had to jump into the pool on the count of 3...that one took a little work, since she wanted to jump the second she sat down. She had to throw a little fish and then "swim" to it. She did really well at that - she pulled her arms through the water and tried to kick. Anni wasn't too crazy about the back floating, but I don't think any kids really are at first. She didn't cry or yell though, so I think we're off to a great start!

Discovery Days

Abby started a new class on Wednesday. This one is called Discovery Days. The class is aimed at 2-4 year olds and Abby's the youngest in her class. Some of the things are a little over her head still, but I think she'll catch on pretty quickly. The class will focus on reading and math skills, as well as different learning styles. This class is smaller than the Tuesday class, but Abby seemed to enjoy it just as much. This week was pretty informal, just letting the kids get accustomed to the room. Abby did get to paint for the first time though, and we now have a very pretty, sparkly silver star on our fridge.

2s & 3s & Swimming Lessons

Tuesday morning the girls and I walked up to school again. Tuesday was Abby's day for school - 2s & 3s. Since she'd already been there once, she was rarin' to go! She was very excited to sit on her carpet square, play the parachute game and try out some new toys. Abby was also in charge of treat day this week, so she very carefully handed over her box of crackers to the teacher when we arrived in the morning.

Tuesday evening, Abigail started her swimming lessons. Anni stayed home with daddy while Abby and I went off to the Y. Abby did pretty well for her first time out. She got right in the water, let me float her on her tummy, kicked like a banshee and participated in all the games. She wasn't thrilled about floating on her back, but I think she'll work her way up to it. Every time we go to the gym, she wants to get back in the pool, so I think we're good to go.

Tiny Tots

On Monday, Anni had her first venture into the classroom. In an attempt to add a little schedule to our daily lives, I signed the girls up for some classes this fall. Anni has Tiny Tots on Mondays from 9-10 and swimming lessons on Thursday evenings. Tiny Tots is for children aged 9-18 months and I think Anni is close to the youngest in this class.

The first class wasn't overly organized. There were different "stations" for the kids to play - a plastic swimming pool filled with squares of mesh materials; a little tumbling station in the corner with mirrors; a little set of playground equipment with steps, a tube and a slide; and various other toys throughout the room. Anni's favorite, by far, was this little walker toy that she got to walk all around the room. It's just like a toy our friend Riley has, so Anni knew just what to do with it.

During Anni's class, Abby stayed in the sibling care room. Both girls seem perfectly content to let the other have some alone time with mom and some new kids. And both girls really seem to enjoy their classes. We're already looking forward to next week!

Ah-ee, go see Mommy!

This evening, Abby was busy sitting on her potty. She got a new Dora potty a week or two ago. She's trying to go potty on the potty, but no luck quite yet. She checks it out every once and a while and when I ask her if there's any potty, she says, "Not yet."

So, anywho, tonight Abby's sitting on the potty, naked as a jaybird, playing with her blocks. Anni, of course, sees the blocks and comes cruising right over to big sis. Abby sees her coming and instead of making this horrendous noise she's been making lately when Anni does something Abby doesn't want her to do (like come by her toys), she says, "Ah-ee, go see Mommy!"

When I'm doing something I don't want the girls to "help" with and when Dana's home to run interference, I have a tendency to say, "Go see Daddy!"

Seriously, the kid's a genius!

12 Month Check

Anni had her 12 month well check the other day. She's doing very well and getting bigger and definitely stronger. She's 19 pounds now, which is the 12th percentile. This is also a jump up from her 9 month appointment when she was down to the 6th percentile. Anni is 28 1/2 inches, which is about the 40th percentile and her head is in the 66th percentile. She's got a noggin on her! She had to get some shots, which was NO fun, and she got a little bruised from them, but the littlest monkey is doing just great and is much happier now.

Play Date Central

This weekend the girls and I had 2 very fun play dates. On Saturday, we went over to Auntie Sara's house to play with Jakie and Elena. Abby gets especially excited for the play dates because the other kids have such great toys (as compared to the billion toys that circulate through all the rooms of our house)! At Jakie's house, the girls really enjoy the plastic slide in the basement and the magnet board. They also had quite a fun time playing with all the great puzzles. After some chalk playing outside, the girls had some lunch and a little more playing before the long ride home.

On Sunday, we loaded up and headed to Eagan to play with Riley and William. Anni's favorite game at Lisa's house was to crawl over to William, pretend to kiss him and then to stick her finger by his mouth so he could lick it. A very strange game but both the little kids seemed to really enjoy it! All 4 kids had an adventure to the neighborhood playground where we played on the swing and the slides and tried to convince Anni not to eat the rocks. We took a little walk around the pond too. On our way toward home, it started to rain. Abby and Anni were quite content with some fast walking with mom pulling the wagon (Abigail was perched on top of Riley's potty), but Riley wasn't interested in the wagon ride. When I offered to carry her home, she readily took me up on the offer. William was in the baby carrier, snug as a bug, so Lisa pulled the wagon and I carried Riley. We made it back to the house without getting too wet. Then we had some super yummy meatballs for lunch (Abby's latest food obsession- and she prefers them in a bowl) and did a little more playing before we left our friends for the day.

It was a busy weekend of playing and the girls really seemed to enjoy themselves! We're so lucky to have such great friends to visit...and who cook lunch for us!

Fall Down!

Yesterday, the girls and I went to the MN Zoo for an adventure. The weather was perfect and it was a great place to be outside and doing something at the same time. The girls had a great time looking at the animals, Abby got to run around like a maniac, I got to mentally make fun of some of the stereotypically suburban mommy groups (no, I'd never actually do such a thing), and it was just a very nice morning.

On the way home, we decided a treat was in order, so we stopped at McDonalds. We brought our salty, delicious lunch home and ate at the dining room table. The girls, of course, were much more interested in the french fries than the cheeseburgers. So, I got them set up with some fries and went to let the dogs outside. While I did that, Abigail decided to help herself to the remainder of the french fries (the entire rest of the box). When I came back into the room, oh about 45 seconds later, she had a HUGE pile of fries on her plate and was busily working her way through them. I said, "Abigail, how did you get so many fries on your plate?" She looked at me, shrugged and said, "Fall down!" Apparently those little buggers just fell right out of the bag and onto her plate!

Big Girl Glass

Abigail is making strides into Big Girl World. We went to Target the other day and perused through the dollar bins and came across some very cute, smaller tumblers. Now, Abigail loves her sippy cups, but I thought it was probably time to start on regular cups. So, we started giving the new big girl cups a try and she's doing really well with them. She insisted that daddy help her at first, but now she says, "I do self." And she does. We've had a couple little spills, but she's catching right on to the process! Yay Abigail!

Cat! Cat! Cat! Cat!

Anni has a new word!

Can you guess what it is?

She loves to chase the kitties!

More Tiny Tastebuds

Abigail, like her mother, tends to have some odd tendencies when it comes to food. Last night, for instance, she decided her corn on the cob would taste extra good if it was smothered in ketchup. I, myself, don't put ketchup on my corn, but I do still like it on my scrambled eggs, and when I was little, I insisted on it for my chicken. Must run in the genes...

Here's the ketchup queen
And here's her very amused little sister

2s & 3s

Today was a very exciting day in the Schmidt household! Today, Abigail started school! She's taking 2 classes this fall - 2s & 3s and Discovery Days. Today was the first day of 2s & 3s and Abby did really well! She was, in fact, the first child to answer a question and, of course, she got the question right. She was very interested in all the different play stations and in the other little boys and girls. Anni got to play in a separate room while Abby and I were in class. She seemed to have a really good time too! Anni starts school next week. Watch out Tiny Tots!

Here is Abby having a snack at one of the tables

Abby's first official art project! Entitled "Stuff Glued on Paper"

Fair Day Part Deux

Above: Anni deciding where to take her next bite
Below: The girls and Dana...ever important corn dogs in hand

Anni taking a corn dog break in the wagon
Abby's first request of the day...MEATBALLS!!! Anni thought it was a good choice too!

Cutest baby taking a refreshment break
Abby and Dana on the BIG BIG slide...and some random guy's head
Anni doing some corn dog damage
Is is a corn dog? Is it a flute?
Not interested in sharing

Ketchup face
I think I've got a little ketchup on my lip...
And here we have the coup de grace. As you can tell from the following sequence of pictures, little Miss Abigail was NOT interested in sharing "her" corn dog.

So, there you have it, folks. State Fair 2008.