I haven't updated in a few days so I thought I would just ramble a little about what we've been up to. It feels as though we've never been home this week. We had vacation Bible school each day and our church runs it at night from 6-8:30. I volunteered to work registration so of course I had to be there early. Abby loved it and came home excited each night. I, on the other hand, found that 8:30 is just too late for a little girl. It took FOREVER to get her to settle down and sleep. It was often 10 or 10:30 before sleep could be found. When the last night rolled around I was happy to be done. Abby's still singing the songs and playing with her crafts so I am glad that we went.
Another highlight of our week was the carnival. The condos where my grandparents live was going to have a carnival run by the residents for the grandchildren and great grandchildren. We had a blast!! There was cotton candy, ice cream, popcorn, hot dogs, balloon clowns, horse rides and of course the regular carnival games. It was so fun! The old people were having such a great time watching the young ones and of course the young ones were having fun winning all the prizes. It was a win-win for all!
In between the birthday, the carnival and vacation Bible school, there were also chiropractor visits. Last week I did something to my back and my sciatic nerve is acting up. I'm not in pain, but my butt, hips, right leg and the bottom of my right leg are all numb. It feels as though the bottom half of my body has fallen asleep. So needless to say I've been to the chiropractor three times this week and I've already scheduled more for next week. Most people I talk to mention that the sciatic nerve is usually attached to pregnancy. Do I need to remind everyone that I am pregnant?? Internationally pregnant!
Ok, onto better news. Last night I went out with some girl friends to see a movie. It was fun to be out with adults. We went to the movies and then out for dessert. It did feel a little weird not to have little hands handing mine or to have to run to the potty every few minutes. My awesome parents watched Abby for me so that I could go and play. It was great!
Today started with an eye doctor appointment to make sure my contact lens prescription is still correct and to check on my retinas. I am in the severe risk area for retina tearing or stretching so it's just something to keep an eye on. It all looked normal so I was happy. Later in the afternoon we headed out to the beach to watch the boats, play in the sand, swing on the swingset and cheer on the surfers.
From 2 birthdays parties, vacation Bible school, numerous chiropractor appointments, eye doctor visits and a carnival, we've been busy!! But it's also been a great week. I hope you had a great week too!
My mom, grandma and grandpa at the carnival. They all had a great time watching Abby play the games.
Abby was really good at the carnival games. There were many games that she got right on the first try!
This is one of my favorite pictures! Abby and her beloved Nana!
Ooooo! Cotton candy! And it's PINK!
Do you remember this game? You get to pick up the duck and look on the bottom for a number. That number lets you choose a prize from the bucket. This was her favorite game. It seemed so simple to me, but she loved it.
There was even face painting. When we walked up to this table I recognized the girl right away. I had had her in my class as a student! Too funny.
The
miniature ponies were a huge hit. Abby rode once and my 92 year old grandpa even took a ride. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you'll see that the
pony is actually wearing shoes. It was so cute!
Here's Abby showing off her new prizes. She got
soooo many!
Abby got a few more presents from friends last night. She was excited to open them this morning.
Micah chose a pirate theme and it's so perfect for him! Doesn't he just look like a pirate?
There were pirate masks and blowing horns for everyone. Micah even had a sword.
Happy 5th Birthday MICAH!
Abby barely made it through dinner...she just wanted the cake and ice cream! Get a load of her full cheeks, she looks like a chipmunk. :)
Abby and Seth laying on the floor after the present opening blowing and blowing their horns.
I know...I know...I haven't blogged in a looong time. It's definitely not because I didn't want to, and it's not because I didn't have the time. It's because I have been disconnected from the internet! UGH! I'm in the middle of a switch between companies and there was a "small" lull before my internet could be up and running. It came up today and I'm so glad to be back on line! It's amazing how much I have become addicted to my computer. It's become a way to de-stress and to stay connected. Needless to say, it's good to be back!
Our downtown has a great fountain and while we were downtown checking out the street performers Abby headed right over and absolutely loved it! I don't think I've seen her giggle so much for a long time. I'm glad we went to the fountains at the end of the night because Abby got completely soaked. Utterly soaked. Soaked to the bones!! We headed to the car and stripped her clothes right off! I buckled her in the seat buck-naked and prayed the whole way home that we wouldn't get into an accident. She thought it was hilarious! She's been asking to go back to the fountains and we will...but this time we're going in bathing suits and bringing towels along. :)
Here she is in the booster seat...isn't that smile precious!
We also had a SCAM (Single Christian Adoptive Mothers) get together. I just love this group! It's nice to be with other single moms who are in the same situation. Abby loved hanging around with Levi.
Here's the little teacher in the making. She loves coming to school with me and actually entertains herself pretty well. She loves writing on the white board, organizing my magnets, watching movies on the big screen, playing in the library, and using the pencil sharpener. She can't wait to come to school with me next year for kindergarten. But this year she's headed to preschool!! We had her four year well child checkup and she's ready for school. She's 31 pounds and 39 inches tall. She's perfect!
The flamingos were her favorite. I should have known that...they were pink!
There's a small waterfall that you can walk under and get sprayed (only a VERY little bit), but she was terrified. This pose is showing her feelings perfectly. 
We bought a feed stick and went into the crazy cage full of birds so she could feed them. She stood so still, I've never seen her to still. The birds flocked to her and she loved it.
She has grown a lot this summer, but I guess she has quite a ways to go before she catches up with the grizzly bear. The bears were the scariest part of the zoo. She asked a least a half dozen times if I knew for sure that they would be in a cage. Even while tucking her in bed tonight she told me that the zoo was so fun, but that the bears were in a cage, right? I reassured her again that the bears were behind the ropes and would stay there. :)
I know this picture is funny, but we ate our lunch at the top pavilion by the monkeys. I couldn't get her to sit down and eat because the monkeys were too entertaining. She stood at the railing for 40 minutes. She thought they were so funny. We did manage to get half a sandwich down and of course the fruit snacks went down with no problem.
Here we are eating by the monkeys and laughing together. We tried to take our own picture. It didn't turn out great, but the smiles are genuine.
The pygmy goats were just her size.
Banging on the African drums was the biggest hit. Even after we had seen every part of the zoo we had to head back to the drums before we could leave.
The chimpanzees were the most frisky today. They were very playful and would run right into the glass wall. Abby loved standing on the railings. It's a good thing this one has a glass wall.
Right outside the zoo is a beautiful park and we headed over there before going to the car. I needed to sit down and she still had energy left. Here she is climbing the rock wall without ANY help! She'll tackle anything.
What show offs in the pool! They splashed and splashed and I had to keep reminding them that the dog didn't want to get wet. They thought every person, animal and creature would want to get wet just like them. 
The biggest hit of the afternoon was putting sidewalk chalk all over the body and then running into the pool to wash off. Don't you just love Abby's blue nose?
Abby's always been in love with the idea of school. We play school constantly and she loves coming to school to help me. When she turned four I told her that four year olds go to school! Preschool! You can imagine her excitement. She asks at least once a day when it's time to go to school. 
Here's the back of the new backpack. Doesn't it look huge on her? 
Tonight after dinner we headed over to Captain Sundae for dessert. I had a leftover gift certificate and it was time to use it. Yumm!
My mom, grandma and grandpa at the carnival. They all had a great time watching Abby play the games. 
Abby was really good at the carnival games. There were many games that she got right on the first try!
This is one of my favorite pictures! Abby and her beloved Nana!
Ooooo! Cotton candy! And it's PINK!
Do you remember this game? You get to pick up the duck and look on the bottom for a number. That number lets you choose a prize from the bucket. This was her favorite game. It seemed so simple to me, but she loved it.
There was even face painting. When we walked up to this table I recognized the girl right away. I had had her in my class as a student! Too funny.
The miniature ponies were a huge hit. Abby rode once and my 92 year old grandpa even took a ride. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you'll see that the pony is actually wearing shoes. It was so cute!
Here's Abby showing off her new prizes. She got soooo many!
Abby got a few more presents from friends last night. She was excited to open them this morning. 
