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!