Shameless Plug

Good morning all! Since my zoo pictures do not capture the cuteness overload that is Abbey and Brendan together, I would love to direct you all to Brendan's blog (link at the right) to see them having a blast together at the zoo. There's even a video of their first hand-holding experience. Brendan is such a gentleman!

Sterlingfest

Sterlingfest is a festival near my mom & dad's house, and Abbey and I went this year with my mom. Colleen and Brendan met us up there for a little while, too, and much fun was had by all. Abbey loved listening to the jazz music and watching the people. She also got to see an owl up close and personal, as well as a snake.

She doesn't look so tough here, but she liked the snake a lot. She touched it and let it smell her, which snakes do by licking. What a brave girl!
She was originally irritated by the restrictions we put on her artistic expression (she did not want to paint on the paper or wear a smock), but Abbey ended up with a beautiful piece of artwork that is now hanging at eye level (well hers at least) in our living room. She will point out her "pretty painting" at least once a day, and I love it.

Her first merry-go-round ride! At first she wasn't sure what to make of the horses moving up and down, but then she loved it. When the ride stopped and I lifted her up to get off, she pointed to the horse she wanted to ride on next. She was not happy to hear that we had to get more tickets before riding again.
The "choo choo" was a favorite of both Brendan & Abbey's. I am worried though that we might have a little adrenaline junkie on our hands. She literally cried when I picked her up and told her, "Abbey can't ride that" as she ran towards the roller coaster.

A Future Career?

Is it possible that Ryan and I have a future archaeologist on our hands? Abbey loves digging in the sandboxes at the parks we frequent, so much so that we have started bringing our own "tools" since she would sometimes use sticks (and then put them in her mouth.) I will support any career aspirations she has, but really, we all know Mommy doesn't like to get dirty. If she does end up somewhere in Egypt unearthing a tomb, I guess I will visit and try to remember the exfoliating properties of sand... Where to begin?
Hmmm, this looks like a good spot.

It's time to get down to business.

I think this deserves a closer look.

So much sand and so little time.

Pigtails!

I'll be honest. These are just some gratuitous pictures, because I think they're cute. I know I'm a little biased, but who can resist pigtails and a bubble suit?

Hands On Museum

Luckily, I am not one of those Michigan State people that hate all things in Ann Arbor, or else I would be missing out on the Hands On Museum, which was one of the most interesting things we did this summer. We met Stacy, Madison, and Connor at the museum and spent the majority of our time in the preschool room, since it is sized just right for our little ones. It was a great time and might even be worth the membership cost for the winter (if I am not too scared to drag two kids anywhere!)They have a giant petoskey stone (Michigan's state stone for all of the non-Michiganders) that the kids can "wash". The water really emphasizes the pattern and the color gradations on the stone.
I don't know if Abbey has a greater appreciation for the petoskey stone or for the water bottle. She is quite enthralled with hand washing lately, so the water bottle probably had a slight edge.

Abbey and Madison hung out for a while in the back of the fire engine. Connor was quite the handsome fireman in his jacket and hat, for a few minutes at least.

Here are the girls in the special 18 months and younger section (Abbey just barely made it!) Of course she felt it was necessary to try to climb out of the area instead of just walking over to the door. Hopefully she is not giving Madison any big ideas!

Sorry for Slacking

We have been having so much fun this summer that I've been pretty lax about posting. Since I am going back to work soon (eek!) I thought I should try to get back on track with this, too!