Abbey's Bouncy Birthday Bash

One of the drawbacks to our home is that it is not the best place to have parties. Just the way it is set up. I told Todd we could have a very small get together at our house for Abbey's second birthday or find an alternative. He suggested we go back to the Bounce 'N around. After all, he said, no one liked it more than her at Adam's party. I hesitated, because I wanted Abbey to have her "own" party then realized Todd was absolutely right! Erin and her four kids arrived early to help me and the kids set up. Her oldest, Nathan, took charge to keep an eye on Abbey...who went right for the slides, of course!
There's her Abby and Daniel and the blur is Adam, who was also VERY excited to be there! Erin, Grandma Kathy (who brought all her grandsons: Alex, Patrick, Riley and Thomas and Uncle Bobby, who brought his new girlfriend Amanda and her son Landon, 5, who Adam got along with well.

Landon.
Abbey loving the slide...that's Kathy's grandkids with her.
Mommy talked into a slide! :)
Abbey in the bouncy house.
Love how much fun Adam is having!!
Daddy and Adam hit the slide more than once!
haha Love this...looks like Jackie is forcing Quentin to have fun :)
A side group shot of the table. You can kind of see Bethany with her husband David on the end.
Abbey finds any slide and has a blast :)
Birthday cake! Abbey's first favorite movie was Monsters, Inc and she will still stop what she's doing to watch it. She also LOVES Tangled...so that's how I decided the cake.
I lost the candle and there was a mad dash to find it in which Adam started getting interested in sticking his finger in the cake. When we finally got it, Abbey was NOT happy about having to stop her playing to sit and look at her cake. I thought when we started singing, she'd stop yelling, but she didn't really calm down until the end of the song. If she wasn't yelling, this would be a GREAT picture! It still is :)
Why is Daddy glaring at the camera??? Eating cake!
Ethan Potter with his Grandma...the whole Potter clan showed up. Love the look on his face!
Adam dug in :)
Once Abbey started eating, she was fine with sitting still. Aunt Missie in the background.
I was very surprised to find that Abbey was willing to sit and open gifts. She got through probably 70 percent of them there. She was excited when she saw more "bling" from Aunt Holly and really looked at things.
She started to tire out, but she had such a good time. It was a full house, with probably 35 people there with children and adults. Here's her bike basket from Bethany's family since Bethany noted that Abbey loved her tricyle when she babysat :)
Uncle Bobby brought her these beautiful flowers and a little stuffed lamb. It's his tradition, flowers for her birthday. They were so Abbey...girly and vibrant bright and fun. It makes the loss of her beloved grandfathers a little bit easier knowing that Uncle Bobby just adores his Princess Abigail. Sometimes, when I think about it, it's sadness for her because she was such a light for both of them. They were both so sick in her short life, but when she came in the room, they perked up. She misses out on all that spoiling :) But she has her Uncle. (who can't tell her no...she doesn't need THAT!)
It was a great party! Everyone seemed to have fun and Abbey had a blast. It was a good day. And it was so nice to see all the people who care about our kids...those who came and those who made sure to do something for her later. It makes my heart warm to think she matters to so many people.

Twilight

I mean the movies. Yep, I had slowly watched the first three movies on my own over the last few years, egged on by Holly and Tammy's interest and my interest in pop culture.

The first one I thought was pretty bad. Slow. Crummy acting. But I was hooked enough to borrow New Moon from Holly on DVD. Then I was interested enough to watch Eclipse on HBO. And Tammy was writing about these movies, having been dragged in by her friend JoDee. So when the latest one came out last year on my birthday, I kind of was looking forward to seeing it. When it was released on DVD in February, I kind of said to Todd I wanted to watch it on Pay Per View or get the DVD. In an effort to save a few dollars, he suggested we borrow the whole set from Holly and he'd watch them with me.

This past Friday, we slid in the first one. It was slower than I remember. All the Bella and Edward falling in love scenes are kind of boring. I kind of fell asleep a couple of times. When it was over. Todd told me That was awful, but I want to see what happens next. Exactly!

We watched New Moon Saturday and Eclipse on Sunday night. By then I really was amped to to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 and the gory delivery I'd heard about. We watched Monday night. This is boring, Todd said, unless you're a girl, as the wedding unfolded.

Then she got pregnant and started to look really, really ill. I mean, I was impressed because usually on these movies when the stars are sick they still look glamorous, but Kristen Stewart looked like hell.

So after watching all four movies, we both agree....they are long and drawn out but we want to see what happens next. And officially, Todd decided he was Team Jacob by the second movie, though he felt he was a jerk in the last movie.

Hooked on more crap.

Abbey Vs. Carousel Mall

The kids have super wide feet. Whenever I try to buy them shoes at Walmart or Target, they end up too long and too small all at once, so we have to suck it up and buy the shoes at Stride Rite. They are very well made, I'll give them that, but they should be for the price. Anyhow, it's been so sunny, the boots have practically been unused and Abbey is growing out of her sneakers. Yesterday, I figured I'd make my seasonal trip to the Carousel mall with the kids. I needed to get a gift for Ethan's (Terry's grandson...Todd's best friend who passed in November) birthday party anyhow and so I figured I'd go to the Disney Store, too which I thought the kids would enjoy. And a quick stop at the Children's Place to get Adam a couple of pairs of shorts and done...a nice little trip to the mall.

Yeah, right.

I brought the double stroller since I still need to be able to keep track of them both even though Adam is getting better about behaving in stores. I anticipated some issues with him staying in it. I was wrong. Adam was so well-behaved. He stayed in the stroller, didn't grab stuff and put back stuff I let him hold when I told him, too.

I parked under the two-tier parking and strolled into Macy's. I had to get some foundation and the stuff I use, MAC, is only sold at the Carousel Macy's. They did so well as I talked to the salesperson. So pleasant and behaved. I strolled into the mall. All good. Thought I'd peek into Lane Bryant. Then it began. Abbey started screaming and crying. No working up to it. Just full force. I spent about 2 minutes in the store and left. I thought maybe she was just mad because she wanted to keep strolling. And there was nothing I needed there, anyhow. We passed Gymboree and I just turned towards it. Abbey started. OK, we don't need anything there anyhow. Then the Disney Store. I thought she'd be OK, since there is so much to look at. No. She started right away. I ignored her, looking for Ethan's gift.

Adam was in love in the store, of course, wanting to hold slinky dog, the aliens and some other things from Toy Story. He did so good when I told him he couldn't keep them. Abbey finally calmed down after I started giving her stuff to look at. I ended upgetting Ethan a little Toy Story figurine set and a beach towel. Adam got the same set. Yeah, I know he doesn't need it. Yeah, he's spoiled. Abbey picked out a necklace. And through a fit when I went to pay for it. Of course.

OK, time for lunch. I thought maybe she was just grumpy and hungry. Got them Wendy's kids meals and they behaved while I stood in line at Taco Bell. Adam even behaved when I let him out of the stroller to sit at the table and eat. They were entranced with the carousel and I was amazed they didn't get upset when I didn't take them on it.

Time for shoes. They wanted out as soon as I got to the store. I let them out and Abbey was good for 60 seconds. Then she run for the door and out into the mall as fast as she could. Good thing I was paying attention. I brought her in, put her down and...she ran again. So I held her while i looked at shoes and she screamed and cried. Finally, I strapped her back in and she was quiet long enough to try on a pair of shoes. Adam was so good. Stayed nearby, played next to me and let the woman put shoes on him.

It didn't help the whole mall was HOT. And Stride Rite was the HOTTEST.

We left, though I didn't get everything I needed at Stride Rite. I had to use the bathroom and had to go through Macy's to get out. She started screaming the minute I got into the store. She actually stopped while I was in the stall in the bathroom and started the minute I got her in the elevator. Outside, she stopped. She practically jumped out of the stroller into the car. Then, her necklace broke and beads went everywhere. Her whole face crumpled. It was her breaking point. The poor kid was trying to put the beads back together. I felt so bad for her at that point. She was just so sad.

She calmed down after a few minutes and was so happy when we pulled out. She took a catnap on the way home.

The thing is, Abbey loves to go outside, can't wait to get in the car and loves new things. But this did not suit her. I called Todd and told him Abbey felt about the Carousel Mall like she felt about the Cleveland Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Maybe it's because both places were hot or because there were no windows. Who knows.

What I do know is that there is no mistaking when Miss Abigail is unhappy.

The Carlo's Feast

So of course on the way home, we broke into our goodies. We tried a lobster claw and a canoli, neither of which the kids were interested in and broke into the giant platter of Italian cookies. Most of them weren't Todd's taste, but you really have to grow up with Italian cookies to really like them, I think. I only really like a few. Abbey ate several but Adam, as it turns out, was jamming them under his leg and smeared the jelly one on the window. Hello, Uncle Bobby??

Here's the lobster claw box. They were pretty good. At first, I said the ones in Syracuse were better, but as I ate them ALL week and ended up kind of being in love. And the canolis? They were the BEST I ever had. Bobby felt the same way. And they won Todd over...he wants to hunt the Syracuse bakeries to see if we can find some that good closer to home :) The Italian cookies... I ended up giving some to our neighbor Alma and to Erin and froze some for my Mom, who LOVES them. It was A LOT of cookies... So we knew we had to get an overpriced fondant cake because that's what they always show on "Cake Boss". After the kids were in bed that Sunday night, we decided it was time to try it. There's Todd getting ready :) Double layer with a pudding filling. This cake was actually....pretty good! We both kind of thought the fondant frosting would be gross, but it was actually OK. I didn't like it enough to eat a lot of it, but it wasn't disgusting. But the cake and filling were very good.
Piece of the crumb cake, house specialty. It wasn't bad. Todd didn't care for it and I wasn't in love, but the kids and I each ate a piece for breakfast on Monday. Adam ate the topping. We got two individual tiramisu, one for me and one for Tammy. This is her picture. It was pretty good, but it was a few days old before I had room to try it so it wasn't the freshest lol. Inside picture she took. Tammy enjoyed hers...even though I felt bad sabotaging her diet! We decided Buddy can keep his title...his cake is pretty good!

And did I gain weight? No, because I was on the exercise bike everyday. Well, maybe a pound. Yikes. I got it back off.

Tammy Babysits

So a couple of weeks ago, Tammy babysat for me while I went to a doctor's appointment. She hadn't done it in a long time, but they had seen her enough to be comfortable with her. Tammy reported that after a minute or so of whining, both kids were just fine. Here's some photos she took and narrative she wrote on her blog.
"Babysitting the Butlers...Chrissa needed a babysitter for a couple of hours Wednesday, so I was up early and on my way to the Butlers in the morning. I had spent just enough time there recently that the kids weren't super freaked out when she left. I anticipated they would be and Adam whined for literally 5 seconds, until I picked him up and took him into his room to play on the floor.
He was excited to have me get down on the floor, so all was instantly fine, while he insisted I drink from Abbey's tea set, which I was warned they'd been fighting over that morning. He calls it coffee.
She didn't care at all, suddenly totally distracted by....me. As I snapped a picture, she decided it was a game as I tried to get her to smile for the camera and this series of pictures is her trying to attack me and the camera...which explains why most are blurry.
We made our way to the living room eventually so I could check out the news at Noon. It is pretty childproofed. The bike took over for a bit.
Then, Adam brought the tea set back in, while Abbey ran laps in a circle and flipped herself in somersaults off of her baby chair. Every once in awhile she'd climb behind the couch and look out the window. Adam just wanted to hang with me while his sister was distracted. If she came over and got in the way, he would fake cough to get my attention. He wanted me to ask if he was okay. I obliged each time.
Chrissa thankfully simplified meal time for me with a frozen nuggets plan. Threw them on a plate, cut them up, and served them. None for me...I had a Fajita Grill salad when she got home. The nuggets were easy and quick and didn't leave much time for them to get into something without me noticing. Then, we put every piece of jewelry we could find on Abbey, as mommy came back....just in time to change Abbey's diaper."

Thanks Tammy!!!!!

Sunday/The Way Home Via Carlo's Bakery

We got up Sunday morning and headed back to the Theatre Diner for breakfast. The food was decent and fast and the kids could be contained. But Abbey was pretty wild. Actually, they both were. Not enough sleep and all the excitement. But we seperated them by putting her in a high chair. She instantly calmed down. It was kind of crazy!

Back to the hotel and pack up so that we can stop in Hoboken on the way home. While we were busy getting ready, Adam was busy trying to escape. He stole the wipe cards from Todd's pocket and kept trying to get out. Love how Abbey is his little accomplice. Abbey loved talking to herself in the closet door. After Adam kept getting in trouble for opening the door, he started swiping the Do Not Disturb sign into the closet door to open it. :) So we expected a traffic jam to get out of NYC, at least a little one. And we did have to take a couple extra turns to et to the Lincoln Tunnel as their was some type of market set up on the street that Garmin told us to use. But getting through the Lincoln Tunnel was quick....there's no toll OUT! We got to Hoboken pretty quickly and found Carlo's Bakery. Todd dropped Bobby and I off across the street with our pre-paid receipt in hand. If you order ahead, you don't have to wait in line. Admittedly, we went a bit nuts with our order. The famous shop...the line out front wasn't that big, actually. I guess it was Sunday morning. We showed someone our receipt and went inside. We were told to wait to the side for our order, so I grabbed a few pictures. The store looks like it does in the show. They brought us our order, but when I counted the boxes, one was missing. The girl was concerned and took it back to look through everything. Uncle Bobby in the front corner. More good looking treats. Uncle Bobby holding up our cookie tray while we waited for the rest. She figured out what was missing AND added an extra order of canolis for our trouble. Sadly, none of the Vlastro family was there, but I didn't expect they would be, especially on a Sunday. Take my picture quick Bobby before Todd sees I put the food on the ground :)

Saturday Afternoon in the City

The title of this post promises something exciting. But it's not what you think. There was a rare sighting. It was this: Adam sleeping on the bed. With all of us up around him. Abbey trying to wake him. Don't get me wrong. Getting him to this state wasn't easy. This kid never naps at home anymore. We have to threaten him just to keep him in his bed for rest time. Even though he's tired. Here's Abbey trying to tempt him with her pad and paper, which she took command of the minute we stepped into the room, looking like a little waitress all weekend. Nope, this wasn't easy. After we got back from the zoo, Todd turned on Kung Fu Panda 2 and Bobby and I went down to the deli in the lobby to get the kids something to eat. And us, to be honest. Brought them back grilled cheese they barely touched. We laid them in their play pens and Adam played. We tried to keep him quiet so Abbey would fall asleep. These kids were exhausted and needed it. The more we told him to quiet down, the louder he got, of course. No rest for Mommy and Daddy. Finally, we put him in bed with us. Which has never worked with him. Ever. But Todd basically forced him to lay down and I got up and went to the other bed. Just like that, he was asleep. Hard. Head back, mouth open. For almost two hours. We didn't want to leave until he was roused as we felt that he'd get upset if he was half-asleep. But it was a first. When my boys were sleeping together, they never looked more alike...little snore here and there :)