Today

Staying home with the kids is something that I've wanted to do for a long time.  I didn't think it would be a reality, and after we had Abbey, my heart ached so much when I had to return to work.  When we figured out that I could stay home after having Dylan, I felt so incredibly blessed and thankful.  It's definitely not all sunshine and roses; I am functioning on very little sleep and pray to God each night to bring me more patience when reacting to the countless toddler moments that occur daily.  However, there are some days that just seem, well, sunshiney.

We started the day at the zoo.  Actually, we started the day after a decent night's sleep from both kids, although I am sure it wouldn't seem so decent to people whose children sleep more than an hour or two at a time!  We met Colleen & Brendan, and two other friends (and sorority sisters) from college Kim & Kim, with their kids.  One of the Kims has two little girls (one of whom has the exact same birthday as Abbey), and the other Kim has three little boys, although the older two were in school and didn't join us today.  Seeing our favorite zoo buddies was fun, but seeing some old friends made the day extra special!

Checking out the giraffes

Brooklyn is on the left and Abbey on the right.  They were almost little twins with their blonde hair & blue eyes, especially since they were both decked out in pink and are basically the same size.  Brooklyn is kind of shy, just like Abbey, so it was especially sweet to see them holding hands!

Dylan is aghast that Abbey thought she could make him hold her empty snack bowl!

After the zoo, we went home, where I thought I would be treated to a nice nap.  However, despite walking through most of the zoo, Abbey slept for about fifteen minutes and was ready to rock for the rest of the afternoon.  Her first order of business was a cold cup of milk, and then she was on to trying on some of my shoes.

By the way, these are the shoes she thought I should wear to the zoo today.  My feet are thanking me for saying no to that request!

Dylan was watching her and blowing raspberries, a new favorite pasttime.

More raspberries

Next on the agenda was moving the Jumpe-roo upstairs, but that deserves its own post.  Dylan owned that toy today, and Abbey got a giant kick out of it!

After teaching Dylan how to jump, Abbey was showing him how to dance around the room, inspired by Mommy's favorite summertime show, So You Think You Can Dance.

We played outside for a while, but I left the camera inside.  I am too lazy to bring both kids inside just to retrieve the camera, so please trust that they had fun out there.  Dylan likes to watch bubbles, Abbey likes to lick the bubble wand, and I love how much entertainment can be had from some soap.  It's ok to say "ew" about Abbey licking the bubble wand.  Obviously we aren't going to be able to threaten her with that old stand-by "I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap if you say THAT again!"

Lastly, we made breakfast-for-dinner.  It's an easy dinner that Abbey can help with, and turkey sausage is one of the only meat products she'll eat. 

Stirring the waffles

Still stirring (and spilling) the batter

Gratuitous cute baby photo

And one of his trusty right foot.  I swear, it's his security foot; he is constantly playing with that foot and even fell asleep holding it the other day.

What a day.  I'm not going to lie; it was long, and I do wish that Abbey would realize a nap would be helpful to all of us.  There were a couple of breakdowns, like when she had to come inside to make dinner.  However, she was placated when I offered to cut her fingernails (isn't she goofy?).  Crisis averted.  Here's hoping for another good decent night's sleep.  I'm off to the gym.