Abby Fashion Show

We went in search of a Christmas dress for Abby today because we're going to Sears to have a family picture taken next weekend. I'll be wearing a black top with a green and black skirt, so I was really hoping to find a green dress for Abby. Unfortunately, there were so few to choose from. We went ahead and bought these to see what they would look like on. We hit the mall first, then I went to Target later after seeing these two dresses. That's what I'm looking for, but in green. The Target closest to me only had those dresses in the bigger girl sizes, but I did find this first one that she's wearing. The only problem is that it's purple. I'll probably try the other Targets close by to see if I can find either of those other red dresses later this week.
















She was so great while I took pictures of her in the first dress because there was a tag on the sleeve of the shrug that she was fascinated with. She did not want to cooperate at all with the second dress.





I got smart with the third dress and bribed her with a package of unopened Halloween candy. This was our least favorite dress of the three.








Of course, instead of those socks she'll be wearing tights and these adorable black Mary Janes we found at Payless. So, which is your favorite dress?

Mama

Abby said "mama" for the first time yesterday. She doesn't know what it means, but after weeks of constant "dada" it's awesome to hear.

Our Monkey

We keep the coffee table pushed up against the couch and a cushion in front of it so Abby wouldn't crawl under it. Last week, she figured out how to climb up onto the coffee table, and then the couch, using the cushion as a step. So much for that idea.






















Also, I was finally to take a picture of her standing on her own. She hasn't made any more progress on walking yet. When she tries to take a couple of steps, she ends up hurling herself forward with her upper body which throws her off balance.

Manito in the Spring

While organizing my pictures, I found a bunch from a previous trip to Manito Park that I never posted. This was back in May. We didn't stay very long because the sky was threatening to rain any minute, and I'd forgotten to bring a hat for Abby. This was also one of the small handful of times we actually used the Baby Bjorn because Abby hated it until about this time.

This is the same street as before. You can see the huge grassy median to the left. It divides the two lanes for a good couple of miles.


In front of the perrenial gardens.


Pretty purple tulips.


Pink hydrangea. It looked like a hydrangea christmas tree.


I have no idea what these are, but I thought they were pretty.


Lilies I think?


Inside Gaiser Conservatory. You can see the hydrangea tree on the left.


This one's for John. We found his white station wagon in the parking lot!

Fall at Manito Park

We're having gorgeous weather here, so Abby and I decided to take advantage of it and drive over to Manito Park. Abby especially loved looking at the ducks and geese in the pond. She even sat on the grass without getting upset, as long as she didn't actually touch the grass. I snapped as many pictures of her under the tree with the leaves as I could before she broke down.

This is my favorite street in Spokane. You can't tell from the picture, but in the middle of the road there is a huge grassy median full of trees. It's so pretty this time of year.


This is one of the many trails throughout the park.














Abby wasn't too happy about having to sit on the grass, so I couldn't get her to smile at all.

Coeur D'Alene

Damon got home early yesterday since he's taking off for his annual meeting today, so we went to Coeur D'Alene for the afternoon. It was such a perfect day to be out there too. We had a great time walking along the boardwalk, and exploring the various shops downtown.



















The next few pictures are no longer Coeur D'Alene, but they were still pretty, so I thought I'd share. This was a view of the fog from our backyard this morning.

"Walking"

Abby loves to play with her little walker thingy. She has much more control over it than she did in the beginning, but she still hasn't figured out how to back up and turn when she crashes into something. Instead, she'll get frustrated and cry for a minute or two, then squat down and play with it for awhile. After turning it over a few times, she eventually gets it upright again in the opposite direction of whatever she's crashed into and she's ready to go again.














She thought it was hilarious that she could see me through the opening.