My baby. Talking about our baby.

As Matt put Abby to bed last night (an event in itself), he had an interesting interaction with her. The encounter was so unbelievably Abby that Matt decided to write out the story for me to put on the blog.

Now yes, Matt did actually write with pen and paper, but his intention was for it to be seen here. That’s like mental blogging!

Here’s what happened, in Matt’s words:

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I told Abby she could only come out of her room if she needed to go potty. She said, “Okay Daddy.”

Two minutes later, her door opens and she comes walking into the bathroom.

Abby sat on the potty while I told her that if she didn’t really need to go, she was going to be in trouble for getting out of bed.

She looked up, higher than my head, and said, “I need more tinkle. Much more.”

I questioned her, “What?”

And she said, “No, not you. Lord. I’m talking to the Lord.”

**********

So there you have it.

Matt’s contribution to the blogosphere.

And more proof that our kid is crazy.

And I wouldn’t trade either of them for the world.

M is for Magnificent

Max is 6 months old and unbelievably adorable. He has a killer combination of big blue eyes, super soft hair and pouty lips. A future heartbreaker, no doubt.

Kyle- thanks for meeting me up here and Joey- thanks for singing “Single Ladies” repeatedly!

Here’s a little Blue Steel coming your way!

Lost Cause

Today Abby learned an important lesson.

She discovered that no matter how much time is spent

pulling,

tugging,

stretching,

screaming,

and pleading,

you can’t squeeze into every outfit you love.

Hopefully she’ll also learn to blame Matt for the size of her head.

Nonsense

Most conversations with Abby result in a confused and frustrated adult.

Here’s this morning’s example:

Me: “A- what do you want to be when you grow up?”

A: “Ummmmm…. a POLICEMAN!”

Me: “Do you know what policemen do?”

A: “Uh, nope.”

Me: “They help people and tell people the rules and stop bad guys. Is that what you want to do?”

A: “Yep. When I grow up and I am a bad guy, those policemen will stop me.”

Me: “Wait- I thought you wanted to be the policeman.”

A: “I do.”

I ended it there. She just defies all the rules of logic.

And comments like yesterday’s, “When I was a bird, I played in a puddle” make me think she could be a major player in the reincarnation circles.

Irresistible

Abby and I spent the morning (and most of the afternoon if I’m being honest) as lazy bums. But the late afternoon sunshine couldn’t be ignored. And simply because I’ve been taking pictures of everything other than Abby lately, here are a few new ones. Messy lazy hair and all.

The Graduate

I went to Oregon for a very specific reason- to watch my brother graduate from law school.

It’s no secret that I look up to Dean. I’m an almost 30 year old wife and mother and I’m still in awe of my big brother. When I was little I thought he could do anything… and 36 years later he still hasn’t proven me wrong.

He and Amanda are one of the most perfectly matched couples I’ve met. I love watching them together.

Other than seeing Dean walk the stage, I spent a lot of my time snuggling with the little ones that I hadn’t seen in a year. I can not wait to see Abby play with these three- they all have such unique, fun personalities. And I’m pretty certain we only have about 6 years before Georgia, Abby, and Autumn join together and give us all a run for our money!

Ashe ran a jog-a-thon while I was there. Basically, he ran 4.25 miles in 1 hour. That’s pretty dang far for an almost 3rd grader!

This is his “I’m a serious runner” face:

And this is his “Why am I the only one still running?” look:

And this is his “I’m just as serious when on a scooter” face:

Georgia, being a 5 year old girl, is much less serious.

Gum seems to be an easy way to make her happy.

And Baby Autumn is not much of a baby these days.

Her curls are completely natural and I’m jealous.

I love watching my brother and his girls. Especially when they all manage to look so serious. (And that’s the rear end of Autumn’s toy rat on Dean’s shoulder.)

Home, Sweet Home

If this little girl had been in Oregon, I could have stayed forever.

Green

I took a trip to Oregon last week. For all those who believe it rains all the time up there, you should know that the weather was perfect- 70’s and sunny. I don’t know that I’ve seen such beautiful shades of green anywhere else.

I swear the alleys up there put our botanical gardens to shame. Apparently beautiful flowers grow when there’s consistent rain and no scorching sun.

It’ll take me a while to go through the photos and get back in the swing of things around here, but for now I just wanted to say I’m home. And I miss Oregon already.

American Idol- The Final Two

Hooray! We made it to the finals!!! I mean, Kris and Adam made it 🙂

I don’t know what has happened to Paula’s hair, but I really like that color of green on her… even with the spray tan.

They’re already planning on running long tonight. It’s nice that they finally admit there is no way they’ll finish within 60 minutes… and it doesn’t bother me a bit because I’m recording the new show (Glee) afterwards!

Adam Lambert- “Mad World”- ahh, the song that was cut off the last time Idol ran long. Nice of him to do it again live for those of us who had to watch it on youtube. Hmm… there’s a lot of smoke machine action happening. And with the long black jacket he reminds me a little bit of the ghost of Christmas Future. The song sounds good. It’s soft and nice, but it wasn’t my favorite performance ever. I’m betting he gets a little louder, a little crazier, and a little better with each of the 3 songs tonight.

Kris Allen- “Ain’t No Sunshine”- I love this song. I love when Kris plays piano. I really hope he does 1 song with piano, 1 with guitar, and 1 just singing tonight… that would show his versatility. I truly believe his instrumental ability is his upper hand over Adam. I like the t-shirt/vest combo, he looks natural up there. The song sounds good, the tempo is right, it’s just nice. Sweet and simple.

*** I think it’s interesting that these boys are the top 2 this year. Two completely different guys with unbelievably different personalities and performance styles. Adam is artistic and over the top and dramatic and Kris is calm and gentle and musical.

Round 1- repeat performance- winner: Kris Allen.

Adam Lambert- “Change Is Gonna Come”- ooh, great song choice for him. I love the way he delivered the first line. I love the suit. Truthfully, I adore the suit. I don’t think there could be a better suit/hair combo for Adam. It’s the cutest I’ve seen him look. Did I say cutest? I meant most beautiful. Sexiest. Attractive. Hott. (Yes, I intended two “t’s” to be on Hot.) Wow. This song is perfect for him. It has soul. It has range. It has a soft melody. And he rocked every single, stinking second of it. I have completely forgotten his first performance. Brilliant. Bloody BRILLIANT.

Kris Allen- “What’s Going On”- I love acoustic sets and I love when there are a few musicians on stage with the singer. I look at Kris and I think, “Man. That guys is so relaxed.” That’s it- he just doesn’t look nervous at all to me. Having unbelievable stage fright myself, I don’t know how you get to that point. This was a good song- especially with the social commentary lyrics- but I don’t think it was his best. I thing he sang well but it wasn’t powerful enough. Not his fault though, it was just a low key song.

Round 2- producer’s pick- winner: Adam Lambert.

*** Looking at those 8 finalists huddled around Ryan makes me incredibly happy that none of them are still in it!

Adam Lambert- “No Boundaries”- this song and the music is not his style. I mean, he’s making it as rock and roll as he can, but it’s so cheesy. I can not articulate how tired I am of songs with the whole “the lesson is in the journey” lyric themes. Ugh. Anyway, Adam performed well. Considering what he had to work with. He is not meant to be a Disney role model. And he obviously knows that. I wish he could have ended after round 2.

Kris Allen- “No Boundaries”- dude, I totally called it on the piano/guitar/solo thing. This song fits Kris so much better than Adam. He seems way more of an “inspirational” artist. There are some pitchy parts though. I can’t help but wonder if two different singers trying out the same song and encountering the same vocal issues proves that the song sucks? Okay. It was okay. It wasn’t amazing but it was okay.

Round 3- original song- winner: the person who got paid for writing a stupid song.

It’s a tight race people. A very close call, indeed. The only other season that seemed this close was the 2 Davids and I hated the younger David. This time I’m torn. I’ll tell you, regardless of who wins, I’ll be buying both albums.

American Idol- Top 3

Top 3. All boys.

I feel like having no girls may make for a less cheesy original song for the winner. At least, I’m hoping for that.

Danny Gokey- “Dance Little Sister”- so he’s got the raspy thing going, which I think is his best vocal attribute, and he has some scruffiness happening, but I’m just not digging the song. It makes me feel like I’m trapped in an elevator with a soundtrack that keeps skipping. And I’m not going to lie, the dancing and the singoff with the saxophone didn’t improve my mood. I’ve loved him from the beginning but I felt bored.

Kris Allen- “Apologize”- I’m a sucker for a man who can play piano. or guitar. or drums. basically, a musician. His voice is perfect for this song. He sounds good, he looks good, in my opinion he rocked it. I think this is the first time where he looks like he really belongs on that stage. With a huge crowd of screaming fans. Everything just seemed to fit for him tonight.

Adam Lambert- “One”- more specifically, I’m a sucker for musicians who belong to a band that goes by the name of U2. Have I mentioned that I’ll be hanging with Bono in October?! I like that Adam has a more clean look this week. He looks younger. You’d think I’d be used to hearing him hit those high notes, but I’m not. I’m not over Adam. And I’ll never be over Bono. Ffor two minutes tonight, the two were joined together and I can’t stop smiling.

Danny Gokey- “You Are So Beautiful”- after the other song, I’m glad he’s doing a slow, calm song. I’m going to be honest, it started out pretty, but it felt like there was no power behind the clean notes. But then he hit the middle, which is always where he picks up his stride, and it got good. When he stood up off that stool at the end, it got great.

Kris Allen- “Heartless”- are you serious?! He’s pulling out Kanye? Wow. I was nervous, but I love it. I couldn’t even type while he was singing. I love everything about Kris tonight- the piano, the guitar, the style, the vocals, the different song choices. I finally put my finger on it- he seems confident. And he hasn’t seemed that way before. I don’t know why it kicked in but I’m glad it did. I love him. I don’t want him to go anywhere. Any chance we could all work together to cause 70 million votes to result in a tie?!

Adam Lambert- “Cryin'”- could there be two better singers for him to pay tribute to tonight? Seriously- Bono AND Steven Tyler?! He has the perfect amount of rocker vibe going without seeming like he belongs in a cover band. I (for obvious reasons) love “One” more, but he did nothing other than rock this song tonight. Tyler should adopt him.

Bottom- Danny. That’s all I can say.