Pumpkins and Petting Zoos!

My sister Tabitha was thoughtful enough to invite us to join them this past Friday for a fun excursion at Randy's Pumpkin Patch. We had planned to go during the cool morning hours, but we were all running late and by the time we arrived at the pumpkin patch, the cool morning was melting into a hot afternoon, the cute fall outfit I'd dressed Abigail in was becoming a nuisance, and nap time was fast approaching. That said, it should come as no surprise why I couldn't coax a smile from Abigail for a single picture!

I'm glad I got this shot because once we got inside the petting area, Abigail showed no interest in touching the bunnies!

Here's Grandma showing Abigail how nice and soft the bunny is. You'll notice, however, that her gaze is not directed there but at the rabbits' drinking trough. Moments after I snapped this shot, she had her hands in the water....

Here we are again, still trying to convince Abigail that petting bunnies is fun. Mothers are great at projecting their feelings onto their children. (At least I am!)

My lovely sister-in-law Char with her sweet daughter Elizabeth, the only one of the cousins old enough to really appreciate this experience

Abigail did enjoy carrying a little pumpkin around with her the whole time we were there, so we brought one home with us.

Abby with her sweet Grandma Weiler

I can't help laughing at this picture. We all wanted to get a "cousin shot," but we waited too long and Abigail was really cranky. Here she is storming out of the picture! But as you can see, she wasn't the only one ready for lunch and a nap!

Despite the tantrum at the end, a fun afternoon! The best part for me was just spending time with my family. Thanks for including us, Tabitha!

Note: To see some really cute pictures from the pumpkin patch (of a baby who is actually smiling!), visit Tabitha's new blog! http://tommyandtabitha.blogspot.com

Fiesta de las Naciones

Our family is currently attending the Chamblee (Spanish-speaking) branch/congregation while our church building is being renovated. Erik served his mission in Colombia and likes to take advantage of any and all opportunities to improve his language skills and enlarge his vocabulary, so we volunteered to serve in the branch for the next year or so. Erik is teaching a prospective Elders class, for those who are preparing to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. He enjoys it, and it's neat for me to see him interact with everyone. He seems to be friends with everyone there (he has served in the branch before, so many of them already knew him). I am touched each week by the love and appreciation they show for him.

I am going off my meager high-school and college Spanish experience, so I have plenty of room for improvement, to say the least! Fortunately, my one skill happens to be in high demand there, and it doesn't require speaking! I play the piano for Relief Society and occasionally in Sacrament meeting and Primary. It's nice to have that niche that allows me to feel like I'm contributing, but also makes the transition a more gentle and comfortable one. The people are warm and very welcoming. Abigail attracts a great deal of attention, as she is the only blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby there by a long shot. We have recently started taking her to nursery, which has been an interesting experience. She gets along pretty well as long as people (read nursery leader) give her her space! One of the nice things about the nursery, though, is that it provides her additional exposure to Spanish.

A few weeks ago the Chamblee branch put on their annual Fiesta de las Naciones. The members really go all out to prepare for this event, and it is quite impressive. The food this year was incredible, and I only got around to two of the tables that lined the whole room representing different countries. The decorations were beautiful, and the entertainment was definitely worth waiting for (but we did have to wait....which meant we had to leave well before the program ended to get Abigail to bed). They had a great turnout; the room was absolutely PACKED to capacity. Erik had invited a friend from Public Health school who came with his wife and younger brother. Fransisco, his classmate, is from Ecuador, and he really enjoyed the program (and really really enjoyed the food!). I tried to take some pictures, but they didn't turn out too well. I'll post some anyway.

Chowing down on a scrumptious tomale--I was surprised by how much Abigail ate that night. We already knew she had a thing for beans and rice, but she willingly tried several other dishes and seemed to enjoy them.

Not only does Abigail have a taste for spicy food, but she also dances like she's got some Latin blood in her! Whenever she hears music, she starts wagging her head and twisting her shoulders. It's pretty cute.

Just as a side note, Abigail's shirt says "Sassy Senorita." It was a gift from Erik's Aunt Gayle at Abigail's baby shower. She's starting to outgrow it, but I thought it apropos for the festivity!

This one's for Clark!

I've been meaning to post some videos for Abigail's cousin, Clark Weiler. Abigail and Clark are addicted to each other's blogs! They especially enjoy watching the videos. Shannyn has requested that I post a 10-minute video on the blog for Clark to watch so she doesn't have to keep replaying the same one over and over for Clark's pleasure.....Well, for the sake of other viewers, I won't do any quite that long, but hopefully Clark will enjoy them!

Walking to the park

Playing Abigail's favorite game: Where's Abby?

Home Sweet Home

Well, in most ways it's wonderful to be home again in Atlanta. I miss the gorgeous mountains outside my window and I could do without this summer humidity, but Abigail and I are happy to be back with Erik and close to our extended families again. We've had fun reunions with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who hardly recognized our little girl.
Abigail was an angel on our flight home, despite the fact that we arrived in Atlanta at midnight. I was counting on her to fall asleep in her carseat; otherwise I never would have had the nerve to book a flight so long after bedtime. However, although she didn't sleep a wink, she was happy the entire journey and charmed all the neighboring passengers with her smiles and songs. She played peek-a-boo with anyone who would make eye contact with her, and the other lady in our row entertained her for at least half an hour with her fancy wristwatch that opened and closed.

Despite the lateness of the hour, when we got home from the airport, Abigail started running around the house laughing as she rediscovered everything. I don't think she really remembered it. When she found her room, she immediately ran over to the bookcase we'd put up just before we left and started pulling books off and bringing them over to Daddy to read to her. Needless to say, poor Erik was much more interested in bed than storytime at 1 o'clock in the morning, but he was a good sport and read her a few books before we had family prayer and called it a day.

The next day while I was unpacking a suitcase, I realized that Abigail was being uncharacteristically quiet. I started walking to the living room to check on her and as I turned the corner, I was surprised to find myself face to face with her......

The little monkey had climbed on top of the piano and was rummaging through the candy jar! She immediately held out a piece for me, obviously hoping that would get her out of trouble. Of course instead of getting her down like a good mommy and explaining that we don't climb on the furniture, I burst out laughing and ran for the camera.

The following are just some misc. photos we've taken recently.

For all those who wonder and are amazed by Abigail's growing and impressive vocabulary, I just wanted to give you a glimpse into what she does in her spare time. And what is she reading, you ask?

Abigail decided she wanted to wear her tights one day--on her head. Daddy helped her get them on and was very entertained watching her run around the house with bunny ears.

What a ham!

Bad Hair Day(s)

Ever since we got back home, people have been remarking on how much "calmer" Abby's hair is these days. I keep telling them they need to see her when she wakes up in the morning. I decided to post some pictorial evidence that her hair's still as wild as ever.

Good morning, Sunshine!

Trying out Daddy's shoes

What a cutie!

We could all learn to smile more on those bad hair days...

"Now a side view, Abby." (She's very cooperative when I want to take these kinds of pictures.)

What are you lookin' at?

"Abby, could you turn a little to your right so we can get a better view? That's it..."
"Now a little to the left..."
Another glamor shot

Abby and Friends

I've been meaning to post some pictures of Abigail's favorite friends from Provo. Of course, first on the list is her cousin, Clark Weiler. They really started behaving like siblings over the course of the summer. They had their moments of bickering and fighting over toys, but they usually got along pretty well and were always excited to see each other. Clark's favorite word became "Abby" (it became Abigail's favorite word too...), and Abigail eventually learned how to say "Clark" or at least something that sounds like it.

Can't remember if they're sharing or fighting in this one....

Here Abigail was in the middle of getting her pajamas on, and Clark decided he wanted his shirt off too!

It's been an adjustment for her to be back in Atlanta without her favorite playmate, but Clark and Abigail did talk on the phone (briefly) a few days after we got home. Their conversation went something like this:

Clark: Abby!
Abby: Abby!
Clark: Ha, ha! Abby!
Abby: Abby!
Shannyn's voice in the background: Say bye, bye!
Clark: (in a whisper) Bye.
Abby: (waving to the phone)
me: Say, "Bye, Clark!"
Abby: Abby!

As soon as we hung up the phone, she said, "Cauck!"

If you can ignore the adult conversation in the background, this first video is pretty funny. Clark's a big tease. In the second video, Clark and Abigail are learning to share. Clark made a lot of progress this summer. Abigail still has a ways to go, but she's learning!

Abigail's other favorite playmates were the girls who lived above us--three adorable girls named Allyson, Julia, and Emily. They knocked on the door every day (more than once usually) to ask if Abigail could play. They were the sweetest things, and they absolutely adored (and spoiled!) Abigail.

Allyson is the oldest of the girls. Julia is the sweet little blonde next to Abigail. These girls played with Abigail so often that several neighbors at different times over the summer asked if they were all mine!


From the first day we were in Provo, Abigail was drawn to the living room window where she could watch all the big kids play. She made friends quickly, though, so she didn't have to be a bystander for very long. However, she would still run to the window whenever she heard the kids outside, and they loved to make faces and "touch" hands with her. Then they'd all disappear for a few seconds, and then we'd hear a knock at the door. "Abby can play?"

Allyson was Abigail's favorite. She came over almost every day around the time I would be starting dinner, and she'd whisk Abigail away and play with her outside until it was time to eat. That was a great help to me, especially during the weeks without Erik.

Abigail would go crazy whenever we saw Allyson, including, unfortunately, at church. One Sunday I was carrying Abigail back into the chapel during the middle of the meeting, and she spotted Allyson and started shouting, "Ahson! Ahson! Ahson!" Of course the chapel was completely silent except for the speaker and my daughter. And when we finally got to our seats, Abby stood up on the pew, turned toward Allyson and started jumping up and down, pointing and shrieking her name with delight. It was a long Sacrament meeting.

Playing a duet with Julia

Here's a funny one of Clark and Abby I forgot to include earlier.

North to Alaska!

The day before Erik left Provo to head back to Atlanta, we got to spend some time with his cousins, the Bankheads, who were in town to see their daughter off to the Missionary Training Center (MTC). Melissa ("Mo") has been called to serve a mission in Anchorage, Alaska! We are all excited for her. Her older sister, Elizabeth (Abigail's birthday "twin"), also served a mission--in Korea.

They treated us to a nice lunch on Tuesday, and we met up again Wednesday morning at the MTC (which was across the street from where we were living in Provo) to say our goodbyes. The above picture was taken on the lawn out in front. The proud parents, Phil and Rhonda, are in the middle with Abigail; the blondie is the now-official Sister (Mo) Bankhead, and the lovely brunette next to her is Elizabeth. We were delighted to be included in this special family occasion, and we're all proud of Melissa!

Here is Abigail sitting on Uncle Phil's lap. Phil is Erik's mom's brother, and it's so funny to be around him because he reminds me so much of her. He was thrilled with an opportunity to make Abby's grandma jealous, so he called her cell phone right there at the restaurant to rub it in that he was having the greatest time with her granddaughter. (She was too busy packing for her trip to Europe, however, to answer any phone calls from her pesky little brother!) She needn't have been too envious anyway; Phil had to bride Abby with his sunglasses to get her to sit in his lap!

Abigail looked really charming for the pictures....While we were waiting to meet up with the Bankheads, we noticed she was drooling dirt all over her clean shirt. We hadn't noticed her stick a big, muddy rock in her mouth a few moments before. I still haven't figured out why they're so appealing....

The Bankhead girls also invited me to an annual Tea Party hosted by Rhonda's mother and sisters in Lehi. Although I had an enormous term project due the next morning, I decided to crash the party and am so glad I did! I had a blast! The rules were that you had to wear a dress and a hat. Elizabeth was kind enough to lend me the latter, since I hadn't thought to bring any of my fancy tea party hats with me to Provo....

The party was "simply lovely." We had it outside in the backyard where we could enjoy their beautiful garden. We had some delicious finger-foods and then took turns playing croquet and bocce. I had never played either before but did surprisingly well at the first. For those who've never played, I'll try to briefly explain the game. The goal is to hit your ball through a series of several tiny metal loops. On each turn, you're allowed one hit (one attempt to get to and/or through the loop). However, if you hit another player's ball, you're allowed an additional hit OR you can choose to be really nasty and hit that player's ball as hard as you can (away from the playing field). I was the first to make it through all the loops but decided to then continue with the "poison" variation of the game, where the first person through all the loops (as well as succeeding players who make it through) then goes back and tries to hit other players' balls to "poison" them and get them out of the game. The catch is that he/she cannot go under any of the loops or get "poisoned" by any other balls that have made it through all the loops.

My ball soon became the terror of the lawn until I'd killed everybody off except one other girl who had also made it through all the loops. In the end, I missed her ball by a hair and thus presented myself on a silver platter to her stick. Oh, well. I had a lot of fun!

"The Terror" up to bat--Just a little side note here: I thought it was funny that Phil seemed the most animated at this party (did I mention he was the only guy?). He was the one instructing everyone on how to play the game....more specifically, how to play the game ruthlessly. I was an attentive student....Here he is coaching from the sidelines: "Now whack that blue ball right next to you! Whack it as hard as you can!"

Looking very unladylike

With Melissa and Elizabeth -- Elizabeth outshined us all in her party getup. The picture doesn't do justice to the splendid dress she had on. (ah, the wonderful things you can get at DI)