The Fair

Seriously?!?

Seriously....Can we say lazy?!?

Kindergarten!

Abby had her first day of kindergarten on Monday!! I kept waiting for her to get nervous, but she was nothing but excited! I think it helped that Ryan goes to school everyday, and we go and visit him there alot. She picked out a new outfit for the first day, and of course a new backpack and lunch bag! I have been much more emotional about her leaving than she is (which is a good thing)! Claire surprised me when she started crying when we walked Abby in. I think this is going to be as big of an adjusment for Claire as it is for Abby.

While Abby was in school, Claire and I went to the zoo for the morning. I spent the entire day looking at the clock, thinking about what she was doing right then.

Here is Abby after school. We went to Steak n Shake to get milkshakes in celebration of the first day. She said she had a good day and her favorite part of the day was library (imagine that). It is going to take some time getting used to a day with just Claire. I am loving the fact that I get a 2 hour break while Claire takes a nap (we'll see how long that lasts!)

End of Summer!

We have had a crazy last month of summer vacation. We went down to Atlanta to visit Ryan's sister and her family. It is a 8+ hour car ride and we were very nervous about the girls...but they did much better than expected. We had a great trip and the girls had a blast playing with their cousins. The best part of the trip was going to six flags! We got flash passes and got to skip the 2 hour line and hop right on the ride. "It was the best amusement park day ever in my life!!" according to Ryan.



When we got back we celebrated my 30th birthday with a surprise trip to Chicago. I am in love with Chicago and could not think of a better way to celebrate my birthday! We saw Blue Man Group-they were awesome! Of course, when we got back we all ended up with the flu, which took us about a week to recover from :(. I was bummed I was sick and had to cancel the fun day my 3 oldest (time wise, not age) BFF's had planned for me. We will make it up soon though.

Ryan is back to work now, which always comes with mixed emotions for me. I am always ready for the house to get back into its normal routine. It always takes me a couple of weeks to get used to having the girls all by myself again. Although this school year will be so different because Abby is now a big kindergartner :(.

New Bathroom

I decided that the girls were too old for yellow ducks, so we redid their bathroom. The nice thing about having two girls is that you can go 100% girly! Since my Dad is in Mongolia and my mom was in Ohio, I did the painting myself (It was the first thing I had painted myself and probably the last) I had a hard time finding pictures to match, so I had them each paint their own onto canvas (total price $15 for paint and everything). They had fun doing them and are very proud that their artwork is hanging in their bathroom. Next project....the kitchen!

Abby's birthday and the 4th

Abby decided that instead of a big party this year, she wanted to have her cousin come over and spend the night. We went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Then we went to Great Times and had fettuccine for lunch. That evening we had family over for pizza and cake. Olivia spent the night that night and the next day Abby wanted to go to the pool. Here is Abby with her Barbie cake (cuz every girls needs a Barbie cake). Ryan baked the cake (he is a self proclaimed master baker) and I constructed and decorated it.

We went up to my sister's house for the 4th. We set off some fireworks of our own then we were able to see the Geist fireworks from their front porch. It was the perfect place to watch them since it was pouring!

Abby's 5th Birthday!

My Abigail turns 5 years old today! We are so proud of her and love her so much! She is such a lovable, easy going child. Here are some things about her...
~Her favorite colors are purple and orange(she despises any "boring"color) ~She has always been obsessed with shoes and clothes ~She loves board games ~She is shy ~She acts so much like Ryan that it is scary! ~She is a rule follower, and gets mad when someone else does not follow "the rules" ~She loves to cook with me and helps me everyday ~She loves to play dress up ~Her favorite movie right now is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ~She has not slept through the night in 5 years ~She loves anything to do with technology ~She has an unbelievable memory ~Her favorite book is pinkalicious ~Her favorite thing to do with Claire is play "house" ~She is a daddy's girl to the core ~ She loves vegetables ~Her favorite food is fettachini alfredo~ Her little sister can make her laugh like noone else can ~She is SO sensitive. But the thing that I love most about Abby is that she has the biggest heart of anyone I know!!

1st Birthday
2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday