A-B-B-Y

Abby is very fond of the letters A, B, and Y. She calls them "my letters." Pointing them out on billboards, books, and shopping bags, she says things like, "Look Mommy, there are three of my letters!" Tonight she wanted to type a letter to her friend. She sat down and typed her name! Will and I were so surprised and so proud!!! And luckily Will was quick with the camera and caught her in the middle of typing her name for a third time!

The Next Chapter Book

Tonight we finished A Bear Called Paddington and started reading The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill, the author of The Fire Cat (featuring Pickles)!

Abby Makes a Kaleidoscope

Uncle Alex and Aunt Stephani gave Abby a kaleidoscope kit for Christmas. Last night Abby made the kaleidoscope and today she took it to school for show and tell!

1/2 Birthday

January 20th is Abby's 1/2 birthday. Fortunately, Abby's 1/2 birthday falls two days after Grandma's birthday, so Abby was able to celebrate with real birthday cake!

Abby's Next Chapter Book

Tonight we started reading A Bear Called Paddington. Abby didn't know what marmalade was, but once I explained it to her she thought Paddington was a very silly bear for having marmalade on his ear!

Abby's New Laptop

Our friend Lorraine and her daughter Damali sent Abby her very own laptop. Abby loves it and is currently using it to learn her letters. She gets so excited when she gets a letter right! One day Abby said, "Lorraine must really love me. She gives me nice things!"

Cornell

Abby has a make believe horse named Cornell. She is a beautiful white Appaloosa and is quite large. Cornell is an active presence in Abby's life! I thought I'd share a few of our favorite Cornell stories:

1. Cornell often gets pink eye.
2. Cornell once saved our cat Mira from a springer spaniel. Mira followed us to the park one day and a springer spaniel off its lead saw her and chased her. Mira was on our back porch when we got home. I said, "Abby, I wonder how Mira got away from the springer spaniel?" Abby replied, "Oh, Cornell saved her. She bit the springer spaniel so Mira could get away!"
3. Cornell helps pull our car when the snow is deep. We were on our way to Abby's tennis lesson the other night when Abby announced that "Cornell is outside in the snow pulling our car." The streets had yet to be plowed and the going was slow.
4. Cornell also plays tennis. After Abby's tennis lesson, Will played a match against a friend. Abby wanted to watch the game for awhile, so she and I stayed. Abby said, "Cornell's playing tennis with Daddy and Tim."
5. Cornell has died a couple times, but according to Abby, "God raised her from the dying!"

So, I say, if you are going to have an imaginary friend, why not have a beautiful, resilient, loyal, car pulling, sports playing, resurrected horse!

Snowy Night in Minnesota

Last night was a snowy night in Minnesota. But being the hearty midwesterner that he is, Will took Abby out for a tennis lesson -- well, an inside tennis lesson! Earlier in the day we went to buy Abby new tennis shoes. We found a pair of Nikes, but Abby wanted the "pretty, pretty princess" pair. We finally compromised and Abby got the Hello Kitty tennis shoes that light up as you walk, jump or run!



Will's a tough coach and made Abby run laps as a warm up!

Warmed up and ready to go, coach and student set out.

Abby thought it was time to hit some balls, but quickly discovered...

...it was time to run the lines!

Running lines is hard work and Abby needed a water break. The water break proved to be one of the highlights of her tennis lesson.

Coach Stott finally let Abby hit some balls! She actually hit the ball over the net on her first solo attempt! Will and I cheered!!!

After a tough lesson, the coach and student debrief.

But there is more work to be done. The balls must be picked up.

And finally, the proud daddy tells his daughter what a great job she did!

Rough Skin

It's amazing how rough one's skin can get -- even at the young age of three! But Abby takes matters into her own hands and does a little foot filing!

A Footstool Desk

Vernetta Cline gave me this footstool many years ago. We've gotten a lot of use out of it and now Abby has claimed it as her own "desk."

The Rescuers

Abby and I spent two hours at the library this afternoon. We read some great books about polar bears and penguins! And we selected our next chapter book -- The Rescuers by Margery Sharp.
We read a chapter at the library and another at home. Will started to read the third chapter just before dinner, but Abby fell asleep! She also fell asleep the night before last as he read an article in the New Yorker to her!

Learning Her Letters

Abby is beginning to show some interest in writing. The other night she wanted to "practice her letters."

First Snow of the Year (Second Snow of the Season)

Abby got out of bed first this morning. I listened as her little feet went down the stairs and then I heard, "Oh, my goodness! Where did all that snow come from? It looks just like ice cream!"

Happy New Year!!!

From our home to yours, we hope that your 2007 is peaceful, snuggly and filled with sweet dreams!