Photo Tales - Week 1

Alternate Title: New Meme to Join in On!

My friend Beth over at Laugh until you Cry is starting up a fun Meme that I have been thinking about for some time now. In my head I've wanted a weekly "Picture and a Thousand Words" type of thing, but as soon as I was ready to get it out the gate I started working a job with less flexibility on time - mostly the issue that I don't get home with enough "fun" time after work. Easier, now, to grab on to Beth's fun game!

The Picture:

The Story:
I took this picture at the end of a very wonderful afternoon of just Abby and I hanging out. I set off with the goal of taking the "perfect" Easter picture of Abby. This was before the official Easter Dress arrived in the mail, but just barely. Anny was off with friends for the afternoon touring a local attraction, so I got Abby to buy in to the picture-taking fun!

We had lunch at home and then posed for some just-for-Easter types of shots with some silly eggs we got the day before. They were filled with candy, and just perfect for that day. We took some pictures in the courtyard that were really fun, and then headed to the park. Abby insisted on playing a game of chase more than playing by herself, which turned out to be uber fun for me, too!

The day turned out to be hotter than I had expected, and by the time we walked home Abby was done, or so I thought. She discovered that the brick walls were cool to the touch, even on a hot day. I had put the camera away already, but pulled it back out. With a little coaxing, she let me have another three minutes of pictures - which was just right to get this shot. I really love the contrast of her bright dress with the dark wall, but I mostly love that it was the end of a perfect daddy-daughter time!

Apartment Living

I've told you that we live in an apartment, right? We are up on the third floor of a corner unit and it makes for good stuff most of the time:

We save on energy costs because of the shared space
We do not have to shovel when it snows, or deal with water issues when it rains
Do you know how much cheaper it is to have Renters Insurance instead of Homeowners?

We lucked into a great place with lots of space, and a friend from church that helped us find the place too. Since I've blogged about how much we love this place before, I wanted to point out that not everything about living in an apartment is great for us.

1 - There are smokers that live below us, and that sucks. Now that winter is over, we are starting to notice the smoke more again, since windows are open. The worst part is that when we had windows open for a week it seems that the smoke built up in the duct work, so when we turned the air back on it took two days to get rid of that stench. Ugh.

2 - The third floor is fun for lots of stuff, but some times it would be SO much nicer to just walk right in from the sidewalk to the front door. Add a preschooler who is sometimes deathly afraid of stairs you can see through and sometimes it's downright miserable. I am just really hopeful that none of us ever sprains or break anything while we live here, or it with be unbearable!

3 - While it is nice to not have to be responsible for issues around here like when the sink stops up, we also have to know that sometimes we won't get the immediate reaction of calling a plumber ourselves. Two weeks ago we had a bad clog and had to wait for Monday to roll around because I forgot to call on Friday! We did just enough dishes to get by in the bathroom sink. Also makes you think about how many pans and such you use when you have to be mindful about how much washing needs done.

4 - (mostly from Anny, who opts to do 100% of the laundry) We do not have laundry facilities in our place, and we live on the third floor. I finally convinced Anny that we could leave the laundry soap and such in the car to ease some of the weight up and down. It was a really big issue when Abby got stomach-sick a couple of months back, but we're managing. Once we have fun-money again I think we might look into laundry service, but that's several years off.

We love living in the apartment, and now that spring is here we can see our neighbors again and have fun in the big yard! Good times.

Two Videos to Share

Alternate Title: Who Actually Wants to Watch These?

I know, I know. Anny has asked me in the past not to post video's because nobody wants to watch them. I beg to differ, or choose to ignore. Oh well. Both of these are from Saturday, a day which will warrant it's own blog post. 

Ice Skating

Abby had a different teacher and she really connected by offering a different approach to how to get moving. (That and Abby threw away her fears again!) Here she is at the end of the lesson, skating from about halfway across the ice to the doors!

Abby is SKATING! from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.

Flute Dancing

We also went to a Native American Pow Wow. Very cool in many ways, but Abby's favorite find was this green whistle - which she immediately began to entertain others with! 

Flute Playing from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.

With that I apologize for posting two videos - I'm sure Anny will be annoyed, but that's why I am posting before I tell her. 

Friday Photoblogging

Alternate Title: Wow what a week!

Saturday:
Went, on a whim, to Wetlands Day for Kids at the August A Busch Memorial Conservation Area. We got a hike in, but first Abby got to "fish" on a blue tarp, and we got to see some cool owls:

 Sunday:
A different picture from the hike at Powder Valley Nature Park, which brought about the previous post about Throwing Away Abby's Fears.

Tuesday:
Abby was going to The Butterfly House with her friends, so she got her butterfly shirt and butterfly shoes on, and of course she had to wear a silly face!

Wednesday:
Teddy Bear Pajama Party at The Magic House. By the time story time rolled around Abby was actually ready for bed, but it made for a wonderful picture:

Kind of made Thursday seem boring, so I didn't take any pics. :)

Throwing Away Her Fears

Alternate Title: Our Daycare Provider is a Genius!

Abby has had issues with playground equipment since she was run down by too-big kids on some equipment when she was 18 months old. Yes, she still holds onto this two years later. She was on the playground equipment at Greenbelt Lake, one of the kinds with the metal structure that has holes all through it - you know the kind:

We have tried repeatedly since then to assure her that she is safe. We have walked up with her, held her hand from the ground, given encouragement and gotten other kids to take her to reassure. Each of these things has worked, for an immediate fix.

This year Abby is in an in-home daycare with preschool curriculum. It gives her a continued educating experience, but more freedom to do things like daily trips to the park, library or museums. We have talked about putting Abby back into a classroom next fall, but we decided that she can do that the rest of her life, we want her to keep on having the freedom she has now.

One day last week Abby was able to vocalize for Karen that she was scared, so together they decided they would throw away her fear. Karen picked up some bark from the ground, handed it to Abby and told her to throw it. When Abby threw it she was also throwing away her fears.

And. It. Worked.

She spent another hour on the equipment. And on Sunday when we went to the park she did not even hesitate running all over the place.

When we went for a hike on Sunday evening Abby went out of her way to walk over a big bridge. We had only planned to do the short loop, but she could see it through the trees. We went over that way and she picked up a small stick. She was going out of her way to conquer a fear - she wants to be braver. She threw the stick over the edge about halfway across the bridge. On the way back she didn't need us near her and did not need to throw anything to not be afraid.

Ms Karen is freaking brilliant with our Abby. We are SO glad to have her as a partner in our parenting journey.