Oh my goodness, I must tell you about my amazing adventures since Christmas! First, Christmas is exhausting! It was so much fun to see all of my family, but a girl who likes to party (meaning, does not sleep when there are people to see and entertain) gets a bit worn out.You might already know about this, but Christmas is all about playing a complicated game of peek-a-boo with toys and clothes. It is interesting to me that people buy things, cover them with pretty colors or put them into sparkly bags, then put them under that tree (I still don't understand why it is inside the house), then give the hiding things to other people, who then uncover them. The people who uncover the things don't say "peek-a-boo" when they take them out either. Often times they cheer, like how Mommy and Daddy say "yeah Abigail" when I do something good. (Actually, I am often not sure why Mommy and Daddy cheer, but it must be good because they seem all excited about something.)

Anyway, back to Christmas. Mommy and Daddy had colds and seemed relatively miserable for a couple of days. It didn't seem that bad to me, it just meant they did not move around as much and spent more quiet time with me. Once all of the festivities were done and we were at home, I was pretty darn tired. This generally means that I don't sleep...especially at night. So, the 26th was a "recovery" day for us.

We spent the rest of that week, Mommy's last week off and Daddy's vacation, getting ready for the new year. We went to dinner at Mommy's friend Lisa's parents (Jane and Gordon's) house in Dayton with their family. Mommy said that we have visited them every year for quite some time, so I figure now I will get to see them each year too. Daddy did not go, he was still sick, but we had a good time anyway.

I also went with Mommy to the "girls" Christmas dinner. It was fun seeing all of Mommy's high school friends, they have such good stories.

On Friday the 28th, Mommy was gone for a very long time. Longer than she has ever been gone. She called it "work," something I still don't understand but she goes there everyday now and seems happy about it. Anyway, I stayed home with Daddy on that Friday. This was fun, except for the three times during that day that I was hungry. Daddy kept trying to convince me that the bottle was how I should eat. I started my politely saying "no thank you Daddy, I much prefer Mommy and I will wait for her." He could not be convinced, and to my dismay, kept trying to make me eat out of a bottle. Finally, he just started squirting the milk into my mouth. I was not happy about this either but he seemed somewhat satisfied. I don't know who was more tramatized by the experience, me or Daddy. Mommy came home from her day away and immediately fed me. I was happy and Daddy was exhausted.

So what did we do the next two days? Mommy only fed me in the morning and the night and Daddy continued this battle with me during the day. Needless to say, this was not the most fun three days in my life. Or Daddy's for that matter. But we made it through, and I heard Mommy and Daddy talking about how I would get used to it at school. I hoped they were not talking about the bottle.

For New Year's, Jana (Aunt JJ) and Dan came over. I stayed up late, but not late enough to see some ball drop from the sky. They kept talking about this ball and I am kinda glad I did not see it because it might be scary. On the other hand, I heard that it had lights and moved, so that might be something for me to look forward to. We all had a grand time, what a great way to ring in the "year of the rat."

On January 1st I got my first tooth! I did not feel very good about it because it hurt, but Mommy and Daddy cheered, so it must be good.

On January 2nd, my life changed. I went to this place that they call "school." It has a bridge with a pond and real fish! My room has lots of books and room to play. I have my very own bed (with my name on it) too. There is a "bye bye buggy" that they use to talk us all around the building to see the older kids. Mommy dropped me off to a very nice lady named Miss Nancy. Mommy showed me my new bed and brought in my special school bag (that I had not noticed included those suspicious bottles). I liked Miss Nancy and the room seemed interesting, but I was not sure why Mommy was not staying with me. My whole life she stayed with me. Luckily, I enjoyed most of my first day. To my dismay (again), Miss Nancy must have talked to Daddy about that bottle business. I tried and tried to tell her and Miss Tiesha (my other teacher who finishes the day with me) that I preferred to eat with my mom and I would just wait. They acted the same as Daddy and boy did I tell them about it. I also enjoyed my new school so much that I did not want to sleep (at all).

So...when Mommy came back for me, I looked like a "thriller dancer" and one who had not eaten in a very long time! Once we got home, I ate and went to sleep. I woke up briefly, then went to bed for the night. Mommy and Daddy did not say anything about doing this "school thing" again, but they got my special bag out so I couldn't help but wonder.

On the 3rd, I still did not eat but did sleep a little bit. I still went home to eat with Mommy, a nap, then to bed. I also had a mysterious "hoarse" voice by that night.

Friday the 4th was more of the same, except I did not feel good at all. That night I coughed like a seal and would only sleep if Daddy or Mommy was holding me upright. After a very long night of trading off between them, we went to the doctor on Saturday morning. With one look and listen he said that I had something called croup. I needed some medicine, needed to be in a very humid room, to sleep upright and to be monitored. The rest of the weekend, all 5 of us (remember my kitties Mr Fancy Pants and Bella) hung around home. I did not feel very good but I am a trooper so it was actually a pretty good time. By Monday I was back to health and ready for school again. Except for this "bottle" business, I enjoyed the place with my new friends, so it was ok with me to go back.

The next week at school I started eating cereal at school. Since they were able to mix the milk into the cereal, much of my diet was via a spoon. This was a much better idea for me, until I got constipated by the end of the week! So, Mommy and Daddy gave me prunes and it took care of the problem, that's for sure.

Grandma and Grandpa Connor came for a visit that weekend, and boy did we have fun! They picked me up from school early on Friday and I got to take my afternoon nap on Grandpa's chest. He was so cozy and warm, it made me very happy. Mommy and Daddy said that I looked better than I had all week (except for the lingering constipation). Grandma, Mommy and I bought some Valentine's Day decorations while Daddy and Grandpa replaced the last of the "Hollywood" lights in a bathroom. I am pretty sure we had the more fun project. I love talking and playing with Grandma and Grandpa, how blessed I am to have them! I can't wait for our next visit.

This past week has been interesting, as Mommy and Daddy were under the weather. They both came home sick from work and were a bit sick most of the week. We did lots of just sitting around, a weird situation in our household. But, we are all on the mend now and having a great weekend. Thursday, Mommy did take the morning off so she and I could go to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers, a program for moms at our church). I love my friends at MOPS and always talk during the presentations to tell everyone how much I like being there. Mommy said that even though work is really busy, it's important to her to spend time with me. I like it that she wants to spend time with me versus work, it seems like she sure does spend lots of time at work!

Last night we went to dinner with our friends the Griffiths. Paul and Gale are lots of fun and their kids, Lauren and Ryan are really neat too! They always make funny faces for me and I laugh and laugh. Lauren even holds me and helps me get to sleep. I hope I get to see her more often.

Today Daddy ran a 5k race. I think he is a bit crazy for doing this because it sure is cold outside (15 degrees). But, he can be a man on a mission so we all went to Dayton for the race. Then we got to visit with Nana, Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Robbie (and Lily, Gizmo and Sophie, the two dogs and kitty cat). Aunt Jeannie's birthday was yesterday and Mommy's is tomorrow so we celebrated in style, with a nice lunch and cookie cake! I even got to have some sweet potatoes, what fun!

Well, we need to get off to bed so we can be rested for Mommy's birthday tomorrow. I hear that we are going to have an extra day to be together too, with a holiday on Monday!

Merry Christmas everyone! I still am not sure what this “Christmas business” is all about, but everyone keeps talking about it and how it will be so much fun for me. Do they realize that I think fun is eating my hand? I can’t imagine what more fun I could have, but, I like to go with the flow and it sounds like a fun party. This Christmas thing has also brought new and interesting going-ons around our house. We have a tree inside our house! Actually, we have had two trees in our house. From conversations I heard Mommy and Daddy have, it seems that the first tree was “inadequate” so luckily Nana had an extra for us that was bigger and not see through. Bella (the cat, of course) did not help the first tree by climbing it and redecorating it by knocking off many of the ornaments. Mommy had the joy of decorating two trees this year. Daddy and I helped by talking to her about all of the ornaments we have bought on our many travels.
Mommy was telling me about me amazing travels while I was in her belly. I kinda didn’t understand what she was talking about, but I have a feeling I am going to hear these stories every year so I just listened and smiled. I could tell by her voice that it was fun. And I like to have fun.

Anyway, here is more about me. After my first visit with Santa and my first sledding adventure, the month has seemed to fly by! I still visit Erin two times a week to do this “torture” that she and Mommy call “physical therapy.” I am getting much better but will continue when I start school in January. I also don’t understand what this school is all about, but Mommy says that it will be fun and there will be lots of people to talk to all day long. I am a very social girl (like Mommy) so talking to people all day long sounds like a bunch of fun. I am still not sure if this means Mommy will be with me or not, but she is not talking too much about the details. Mommy is now talking about something called “Metamucil,” which is where she is going to work when I am at school. I don’t know what this “Metamucil’ is but I hear it’s good for you, with more benefits than people understand. It’s more than what you think! At least that is what Mommy is teaching me.

Guess what!? We bought a van. Yep, after our trip to Hilton Head in Nana’s van, Mommy was finally convinced that although mini-vans are not that “cool,” they are very convenient. Don’t ask Mommy or Daddy to tell you the story about how they bought it because although they are very proud and impressed with their negotiation skills and technique, it’s really not that interesting of a story. All they have to say is to check out www.carbuyingtips.com for the tips they used. We bought it last weekend, on the day of the ice storm. It’s a 2008 Honda Odyssey with a cool green exterior, an “olive” interior, leather seats, DVD player (for Barney, as Grandma says), a moonroof, camera to see what’s behind us when we are backing up, and 16 cup holders! We are not sure why we need 16 cups holders, but what we have found so far is that they all hold different types of cups so you kinda need them.

Mommy, Nana, Grandma and Aunt Jeannie all came over one day and we held the first annual “Cookie Caper” where we made cookies all day. Boy did we have fun. We learned a lot too, like make sure you remember the sugar in the molassis cookies and taste every batch in case you did forget a critical ingredient and need to change the recipe. Stick to “tried and true” recipes, this is not the day to experiment. All in all, we have a fun time and plan to do it every year.

Mommy and I have not been to the movies in awhile, they just have not been movies we wanted to see. We do hope that the movie is playing on New Year’s Day (because it is a Tuesday – our normal movie day) so Daddy can go with us.

Daddy and I continue to have a really good time together. He is a really fun guy who makes great faces that I love. He comes in the room in the morning when I wake up, I love it because he is so happy to see me and I love to see him too. After Mommy feeds me, we all hang out as Daddy eats his breakfast and gets ready for work. Some days (Mommy and Daddy call them “weekends”), Daddy does not have to leave so quickly and we all spend time together. We read books, have “tummy time,” (that I am not always so fond of but they say it’s good for me) and just walk around the house doing projects. Back to Daddy. He and I went shopping a couple of times, just the two of us. He put me in the Baby Bjorn (baby front pack) and walked me around in the stores. I giggled and laughed, because I love shopping, and I especially love being with Daddy. He is the most fun guy I know.