Watch Abigail Hope Grow

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone is well and enjoying the lovely spring weather! We had a fun Spring Break and Easter. We took a trip to Columbus and checked out the zoo and other local attractions.

Abby loves to get her picture taken sitting on these statues of animals all around the park.

Abby liked seeing the manatees and giraffes the best.

And no zoo visit is complete without a couple of rides on the carousel! She is so brave and now rides without me touching her.

Abby was very excited to swim in the hotel pool!

We also took her to Disney on Ice for the first time. It was Shawn’s first time too and they both loved it! Her favorite movie right now is Frozen and she got Elsa to wave to her which was the highlight of the night!

The Easter Bunny came on Easter Morning and left her a ton of new toys and candy!

We made resurrection rolls for breakfast. You put the cinnamon sugar covered marshmallows in a crescent roll and after they bake the marshmallow is gone symbolizing Jesus’s empty tomb.

We went to church and Abby and her Dolly wore their new matching dresses. Of course Elsa had to come along too!

After church on Palm Sunday we had some friends over for lunch and an Easter egg hunt.

And they all wore matching outfits while they looked for eggs! It was so cute!

Abby has started playing soccer and Shawn and I are her coach and assistant coach.

We have also taken her to a women’s soccer game where she had cotton candy for the first time. Of course she loved it (the cotton candy . . . I’m not sure she realized we were watching a game.

Abby is also playing T-ball. Her favorite part is running the bases!

Her best friend Ivy also plays on her T-ball team. She tripped at the zoo and fell flat on her face so that is why her nose is beat up 🤕 The picture in her uniform was too cute not to share.

She is growing and is so active and happy! She is also so creative she loves making things out of old boxes and doing crafts. She continues to be an absolute joy! We can never express how grateful we are to get to be her parents!!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Also, the last of our senior dogs died and Abby has been asking for a cat for several months. Meet Pippa, she is 5 months old and very sweet.

Abby loves her!

National Popcorn day was in January so we took Abby to see her first Movie, Puss and Boots!

Here is a sweet picture of Abby and her best friend, Ivy!

And they really love to match!

She got her first big girl bike yesterday. It has a seat for a doll or her bunny. She can almost pedal it all by herself.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

We had a fun Christmas season and we home you all did too! Thank you to everyone who sent Abby gifts.

We started with a Santa visit. She was so excited to see him but got shy once she saw him up close.

Santa was at bass pro shop so at least she got to visit the fish!

We went to have Christmas with Jennifer’s side of the family and Abby really enjoyed being with her cousins!

The oldest three really love each other and played until they dropped.

A park near her Nana’s (Jennifer’s Mom) house had a huge light village that we walked through. Abby loves Christmas lights!

And snowmen ornaments using her handprint.

We had a white Christmas! Abby loved playing in the snow.

She made snow angels and said, “They are saying happy birthday to God.” 🥰

We just sat all her presents out the night before Christmas.

Her number one thing that she wanted from Santa was a “Frozen Scooter.”

And she has been riding it all over the house. The Peppa pig scooter that the White family sent was passed on to her best friend, Ivy. The too of them have loved riding them together.

We had Christmas dinner with Shawn’s Family where she got even more presents.

Abby’s Christmas dress came with a matching dress for her doll who she has named Dolly.

She got a basket ball hoop for Christmas and she is getting pretty good. He was her fist basket!

Her shirt says “wake me when it’s 2023” but I couldn’t get her to stay still long enough to get a good picture. She is always on the move!

Abby has become a very good artist! This is her self portrait!

She also really loves her Dolly, especially when their clothes match!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We take her picture next to this pillow every year.

This is the first year we have had a kids table. We have family friends who join us for thanksgiving every year and this year Julian (2 years old) was big enough to sit at a table with Abby.

Abby’s favorite part of Thanksgiving is the pumpkin pie!

After dinner we all watch a movie together. It was Abby’s first time seeing The Little Mermaid and she loved it!

This is from her three year old pictures.

Abby was not happy about taking pictures but we managed to get a couple good ones.

The day after Thanksgiving we go and get our tree.

Abby is Three & Happy Halloween

We have had a very busy October!

Abby and Ivy (her best friend) at her party.

Party food! We had all her favorites: fruit, chicken fingers, peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, MAC & cheese, and chips.

At the party, we had a water rescue game where the kids could fish and maybe catch a member of the paw patrol.

We also had a toddler obstacle course which was a big hit!

We had a great visit with Abby’s birth parents.

Thank you to Lisa and David for this awesome playhouse!

We went to the pumpkin patch with some friends. Abby liked getting the pumpkin but had no interest in painting or carving it. Oh well. Maybe next year. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Abby rode in a barrel tracker at the pumpkin patch. This was her first time ridding all by herself!

Here is a bigger picture of the ride. Abby is in the second to last car.

Abby was chase from Paw Patrol for Halloween!

Shawn was Marshall and Jennifer was Sky.

She really understood how to trick or treat this year. Look at the cute little tail!

Busy Summer

We have had such a fun and busy summer!

Here is Abby at a local splash pad on Fourth of July weekend!

We went to a fireworks show on the Fourth of July and she really liked the fireworks!

We had some friends over on the forth for a little party.

Abby (and her best friend Ivy) are now completely potty trained!!!!

Nana (Jennifer’s Mom) came for a visit and brought Abby’s cousin, Aria, for a visit.

Her cousin Aria is 5 years old but her and Abby wear the same size clothes. Here they are in their matching robes with their bunnies.

They got to play with some real bunnies that we are raising on our farm.

We took Aria and Nana with us to the zoo. Abby loves the hippo!

Abby now dresses herself and usually looks so cool!

Sometimes her choices are a little creative.

At the beginning of August, our whole family had COVID at the same time but we all have recovered now.

After we got better we went on a family vacation to the beach.

It was Abby’s first time on a plane and she did great!

We played in the sand and built a sandcastle.

Abby was afraid of the ocean so we only went in once.

We also went to a wildlife center while there and saw some local animals.

And swam in our hotel’s pool. she liked the pool a lot more than the ocean.

Abby’s favorite part was the water fountain and elevator in our hotel.

Just this week, Abby climbed out her crib so she graduated to a toddler bed. She was scared at first but after the first night she stayed and slept in her new big girl bed.

Happy Mother’s/Father’s Day!

I didn’t realize how long it has been since the last update! May is a really busy month for our family.

Abby has help celebrate several birthdays for both friends and family. Here she is at her friend, Tenley’s fairy party.

Here she is with her best friend, Ivy, at the party.

Abby came to graduation at the university where Jennifer teaches. Everyone thought she was so cute. Of course, Jennifer manages to work Abby into almost every lecture that she gives so the students were excited to finally meet her!

We went to the zoo with some friends. This is Abby with her friend Sloane.

It was a birthday party for her cousin, Kennen.

Here she is with her other cousin, Aria.

We went on a trip to Nashville to celebrate Mother’s Day.

And just had a lazy day at home for Father’s Day!

We also celebrated Shawn’s birthday last week.

Happy Easter!

We have had a busy and fun Spring so far!

We went to a friend’s birthday party and got to paint with water colors.

We hosted an Easter egg hunt at our house.

After the egg hunt we decorated cookies with our friends and had hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner.

Abby enjoyed opening her Easter basket in her bunny PJs on Easter Morning.

On Easter Morning we went to church. Abby loves Sunday school and can’t wait to go each Sunday.

Abby also had fun coloring Easter eggs for the first time this year.

We hope everyone had a Happy Easter! Thank you to David and Lisa for Abby’s Easter box.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

This was taken at her grandparents’ (Shawn’s Parents) house. She loves to walk on the stones that surround their garden!

We have had some crazy weather here. One day is is sunny and she is pushing her bubble lawnmower.

Abby got a sandbox and plays in it everyday no matter the weather!

Abby is getting so big and is now tall enough to turn on and off the lights without a step stool!

She has also started singing songs. A favorite is “Row, Row, Row your boat” which she sings this way: Row, Row, Row Boat. Mary Mary Mary Cheese. 😂

She still loves books and has memorized several of them so it seems like she is reading (but she just knows what to say for each page—she doesn’t know all of her letters yet).

Another Abby-ism is that she calls her elbow, her elbone. She keeps mommy and daddy smiling all day with her sweet personality!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day was on a Monday so Abby went to play with her friend, Ivy, while Mommy and Daddy went to work. Ivy’s Mom made them heart shaped sandwiches for lunch.

On Sunday, Abby and Mommy made Valentines to give to some of our elderly neighbors. We delivered them with some cookies.

On Tuesday, we went to story time at the library as a family and then had Chinese food for lunch.

Abby’s new favorite activities is “washing dishes.”

We hope everyone had a fun Valentine’s Day! Thank you to Lisa and David for sending her a Valentine’s Day box. She especially liked the potty time paw patrol book. We will be really focusing on potty training in March (during Mommy’s Spring break) so that book will be very helpful!