tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87603760121759206252024-03-05T14:32:19.437-05:00compuglobalhyperBABYnetTesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.comBlogger647125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-54292784573124647812014-10-21T09:24:00.000-04:002014-10-21T09:24:01.560-04:00HugsThis is how many of the photos of our kids turn out. I ask Abbi to get slightly closer to Cole so I can take a picture, and things like this inevitably happen. You can see that even though he's being pummeled by Abbi's hug, he's still smiling. And what I like is that you can see a snapshot of what the kids are actually like together.
<p align=center><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/15382254779" title="Untitled by Drew, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3941/15382254779_3fe17136f7_z.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-60910162374288652742013-09-20T17:09:00.000-04:002013-11-27T17:09:49.516-05:00Abbi Year 4.2Now that a new "school year" has started up, Abbi has gotten back into the swing of things that is the fall. Abbi started this fall in a new dance class that is an hour long. Its 30 minutes of ballet, and then 30 minutes of tap. She really seems to like both, she hasn't really indicated if she likes one over the other yet.
<p>One nice aspect of the class, is that its teaching Abbi some independence. Because the class teaches two different skills over the course of the hour, the girls need to switch out their footwear independently. So its definitely taught Abbi to be much more confident on her own, and helps with learning left and right shoes.
<p>At home she is way into crafts and coloring. There have been many times where she will sit at the dining room table and color or paint for over an hour. And honestly, sometimes she makes some really cool things. She's past the point of just randomly adding color to a page. She's actually creating something artistic and I'm really proud of her. Also, with Jenn being home with her, they have been working together to create various crafts that they think about putting together.
<p>As her dad, something I thought a lot about this month was the fact that less than a year from now, my little girl is going to start school. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by, and with something like the start of a new school year, its easy to measure just how much time has gone by. The time really does go incredibly fast.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9694579535/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7448/9694579535_94433c7d7d.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-54885232623076456012013-08-31T18:19:00.000-04:002013-09-30T18:20:12.620-04:00Abbi Year 4.1I definitely find it harder to write about Abbi on a month by month basis as she has gotten older. With Cole there are still so many little things that you see changing every day, but with Abbi the changes are so much more gradual and happen over longer periods of time than just a single month. That said, for this next year I still plan to write about Abbi each month.
<p>This past month had us out on another family beach vacation, and I think Abbi did pretty well this year with vacation. I remember writing back after our Disney World trip that she was very bossy and showed a lot of behavior problems we hadn't been seeing at home. That wasn't the case on our OC trip. She was her normal self, and that might have been because of our friends presence (her best friend Audrey) and her familiarity with the trailer. We spent the bulk of the week vacationing with great friends of ours, and it really seemed like Abbi enjoyed all the time that she got to spend with Audrey, in what has clearly become family tradition.
<P>In association with her birthday, or thereabouts Abbi got a new playhouse and swingset. She absolutely loves it. LOVES IT. There isn't a time that I go outside, that she doesn't ask me if I'll push her on the swing. She likes playing with her friends up in the playhouse as well, but for now, the swing portion seems to be the biggest hit.
<P>Developmentally something we've noticed about Abbi is that she is very aware of numbers. Numbers in real life and doing simple math. She sees things and can add them up, basic math like 2+2 type things, and she seems to see the number patterns in things. Like a beach umbrella, divided into 6 color sections. She saw that recently and commented that there 6 triangles, 3 red, 3 white, and that together it made 6. We've commented often that she seems to have a "math type" of brain, which isn't to surprising given both my background and Jenns.
<p>And finally, a good portion of the last month has also been spent learning to ride her new birthday bike. She goes through hot and cold spells with it, but overall seems to truly enjoy riding her bike. I hope its something she'll really get into over the next year.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9439458306/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/9439458306_9feda0ab5a.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-70345620757480050082013-08-30T18:00:00.000-04:002013-09-30T18:07:27.822-04:00Cole Year 1.6My little man is a year and half old, and just like every other post, its unbelievable. What makes this milestone a little harder to swallow is that it comes with a doctor visit. Cole's checkup went very well regarding all of his health milestones. He's still a little guy, but he's growing, and working his way up into the higher percentages. No more 10th percentile for Cole!
<p>Also at his checkup, his speech was a topic of long discussion, and as such Cole is scheduled to meet with the people from the Anne Arundel County infants and toddlers program. This program will evaluate Cole's speech, and determine where he is on the spectrum of children his age, and help determine what the best course of action is, to try and get him on track and where he is supposed to be with his speech, given his age. In short - he doesn't say enough words, and we knew this going in the appointment. What he does say is mama, hot, cup, and everything else is da. Sometimes I get a dada, but mostly just a da.
<p>I mentioned last month that Cole was pushing out more teeth, and at this point I can now say that he's rocking a full set of baby teeth. He's been a teethy monster his whole life, he's now got a full set to show off. Which of course helps him tear through some food like a little monster.
<p>Finally, Cole had an awesome vacation. Last year vacation for Cole was spent sleeping in various places. This year he got to experience the beach, and he seemed to love it. Anyone that knows Cole, knows he loves his sandbox, so with that in mind, you can imagine how much he loved being at the beach. I think he ate about 2lbs of sand while we were there too.
<p>I think he enjoyed the time to be independent, but also being able to play with the girls, and adults. He seemed to have a good time digging holes with Jake and I, so I have a happy feeling that I'm helping to raise another life long beach hole digger, and I'm happy to welcome him to the team. Just like with Abbi, watching Cole grow up is an amazing thing, something I try really hard each day to keep in perspective and cherish as much as possible.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9439434864/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/9439434864_352d458599.jpg" width="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-49073887207484558502013-08-15T18:33:00.000-04:002013-09-11T18:35:11.307-04:00Cole Year 1.5Cole doesn't really seem to get any "bigger" with each passing month, he just seems to get a little bit older. He's still out little guy, and I think its going to be that way for a while. Now that summer is here he's finally steady into shorts and t-shirts, but he's still rocking some 12 months clothes.
<p>Cole's speech hasn't changed to much, he's still sticking to the same basic words, most of which sound like "da". It really seems like 90% of what he says is some form of "da". At Cole's 18 month check up they will evaluate his speech progress and determine if we need to do anything about it for him.
<p>Cole has been busy loving summer, still completely obsessed with being outside, and playing out there. He loves the hose, and any random toy that might be outside for him to discover.
<p>And in a development that seems almost completely implausible, Cole appears to be growing even more teeth, working out his final front four teeth, his canines.
<P>Cole is such a sweet little kid and seems to have such a sweet and calm persona. Now calm is relative of course, relative to him not being pissed off and upset about things only baby's find upsetting, but - he's still a pretty calm kid that we love a ton.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9430679889/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7420/9430679889_776c9a9575.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-76684306378649778652013-08-13T18:25:00.000-04:002013-09-11T18:27:10.040-04:00Abbi 4 YearsI can't believe Abbi is 4 years old. It truly seems like she just turned 3, and 2. It seems like just the other day she was starting to talk in multiple word groups, and now she just talks, incredibly well I will say too.
<p>I suppose I'll stick with Abbi's speech as the first mark of the past year. She is incredibly articulate, and has a fantastic vocabulary. Jenn and I often look at each other when Abbi uses new words and I'm always amazed at how well she's able to incorporate them into her daily life. She truly is a sponge for words, and is just soaking it all up.
<p>Jenn says that Abbi seems to have a head for numbers. She doesn't care to much about learning to recognize the alphabet, but numbers is a different thing. She gravitates towards them. She finds patterns and math in everyday life, and we of course infer she's got a "mind for math". Which I suppose is only fitting for our kid given our backgrounds.
<p>The past year brought quite a few new social aspects to Abbi's life with her beginning a kids program at church and joining dance. She's done fantastic in both. Of course Jenn makes sure she has perfect attendance for these things, but once she's there, she does great. Abbi is a fantastic listener, and rule follower. She's not quite a taddle tale, but she'll come home and tell us about people who broke the rules, and you can clearly see that its pissed her off. Which I like. She likes people to follow the rules, and thats a good thing.
<p>Much like last year, there has been a lot of adjustment for Abbi with Cole. Cole keeps getting bigger and bigger, and with that comes more strength. Which means he is slowly learning to fight back against Abbi. To which Jenn and I have had to become much more vigilant in watching them to make sure they don't explode at each other. But for the most part, Abbi is a very caring, loving big sister to Cole. She wants to play with him and include him in a lot of things, and I can truly see that she loves him deeply.
<p>As for me, as her father, its been hard sometimes. As she's continued to grow, the past year has been tough with the addition of Cole. They both want Jenn. Abbi rarely accepts me as the consolation prize to wanting Jenn, which often results in tears. Abbi and I though have a very special relationship, one that I truly treasure. There are a few things that are special to us, and I love that about her and I. I think I've finally ingrained in her the idea of "bone crusher" and "butt crusher" hugs, in such a way that one day I hope they are passed on to her children.
<p>Abbi is extremely special and smart in ways Jenn and I could have never imagined. She has such a playful personality that is extremely infections and great to have around. Just like I could imagine life with kids four years ago, I can't imagine my life without Abbi at this point either. She's just that special.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9271949063/" title="DSC_1704 by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5477/9271949063_970c6006c1.jpg" width="331" height="500" alt="DSC_1704"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-41570056517126950862013-07-27T13:12:00.000-04:002013-07-27T13:12:00.784-04:00WaterparkJenn's had the opportunity recently to take the kids to Six Flags America, which is close enough to call it nearby. I wasn't to sure how Cole would like it, but he's loved it both times. I'm excited to take him to the water-park in Ocean City we've decided to go to this year.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9309865213/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/9309865213_7d68eb218b.jpg" width="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-44430729146527152102013-07-26T13:12:00.000-04:002013-07-26T13:12:00.398-04:00Mad DashAt Abbi's party she wanted a pinata. I'm not sure why. But we had one. Grandad helped me hoist it up under one of the pop-up tents, and the kids went at it. It didn't really bust open until the last kid, Abbi's much older cousin Damien got a few good hits on it. But as soon as the smallest little item came out, the kids made a dash for whatever they could get. It was funny to watch. Abbi really seemed to like having the pinata, so I'd say it was worth having.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9338891172/" title="DSC_1802 by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5497/9338891172_eb0e1a3078.jpg" width="450" alt="DSC_1802"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-47064865875262810642013-07-25T17:44:00.001-04:002013-07-25T17:44:58.034-04:00Watermelon KidsAt Abbi's recent birthday party we got a watermelon out for all the kids that were there. As kids tend to do, they of course loved it and devoured it. Four of the girls were all sitting around the firepit enjoying theirs so it made a great opportunity to photograph them. Abbi had a great time at her party, and I'll be sharing a few pics over the next few days.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9338888030/" title="DSC_1819 by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2832/9338888030_d19f76ecd8.jpg" width="450" alt="DSC_1819"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-7668347951033167522013-07-17T13:13:00.000-04:002013-07-17T13:13:00.487-04:00Late NightI work 3 nights a week for a side-business, and so many of the those nights Jenn lets Abbi stay up late with her and watch TV before bed. Every once and a while Cole will get to stay up extra late as well. And in this instance they both got to share some popcorn in the process. What I love here though is how intently they are both watching TV.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9249715177/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7332/9249715177_f78a3f9037.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-75201276492915485192013-07-16T18:11:00.002-04:002013-07-16T18:11:35.383-04:00PlayingThe other day in the car, Cole and Abbi were playing together in the car. He would look at her and then she was making funny sounds and he would crack up laughing. This shows the progression of laughter he had.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9252526530/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7333/9252526530_5b77197365.jpg" width="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-16607409390397322002013-07-12T13:13:00.000-04:002013-07-12T13:13:00.163-04:00#abbisaysOver the past year I've been documenting on Twitter some of the random things that Abbi says. I've used the hashtag #abbisays to keep track of them, and thought it would nice to put them all up as a post today, the day before her fourth birthday.
<ul>
<li>Cole is telling himself a bedtime story (while crying in his crib). </li>
<li>I get to get my face painted AND popcorn. WOW! </li>
<li>You can't be mad at ME and Cole. We're just kids. </li>
<li>Fart your engines! </li>
<li>I'm a jacket. You wanna wear me? </li>
<li>Mama. Would you turn the light on for a second? I can't see these spoons!
<li>Ewwww - you have finger tips on your fingers. </li>
<li>This trick or treat is fun. </li>
<li>If I ever do anything, like break this window, I won't be I'm trouble. </li>
<li>I'm talking to the window. </li>
<li>I love going to Hershey Park! </li>
<li>I love Ocean City! </li>
<li>Hey mom and dad look at me! Keep your eyes on me!
<li>I can say a lot of things (after saying refrigerator) </li>
<li>But I want to watch it. I like it. Its my favorite movie. What is this? </li>
<li>Mommy I wanna get outta here. Let me outta here! </li>
<li>I wanna go to toreo us (Toys R Us). </li>
<li>Now everyone has toothes. Mommy and daddy and Abbi and Coley! </li>
<li>I'll be old and big like mommy. Then I'll wear these clothes </li>
<li>Poop your farts in your pants. </li>
<li>"They are rainbow cheerios" - regarding her goldfish </li>
<li>"All of it was the happy part" - regarding her 3 year birthday party. </li>
<li>Me: do you want to be Cole?<br>Abbi: No. Because I like being a girl. </li>
<li>I want some of that pink ice cream, like at grandpa's house. </li>
<li>Where's the other lady (referring to Christine upon the arrival of nana and Cara) </li>
<li>I like this watermelon (said while licking a lemon) </li>
<li>I take my vitamins and I grow bigger and bigger and bigger and then I'll meet the Incredibles </li>
<li>Me: "sit on the couch Abbi"<br>Abbi: "but I need to drink this milk". </li>
<li>Just let me finish this part and then you can have it [the iPad] </li>
<li>She keeps calling the beach trailer the "hotel" </li>
</ul>
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/8974223773/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8132/8974223773_23cd403d26.jpg" width="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-74888308248373837802013-07-11T13:13:00.000-04:002013-07-11T13:13:01.362-04:00Golfer I wonder if Cole will like playing golf when he gets older? I have no idea? But I know he loves playing with golf clubs currently, as you can see in this picture. He started by playing with his toy club, and has worked his way up to an adult sized club.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9233009398/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7320/9233009398_0d901a64f8.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-29075262763794020582013-07-10T13:13:00.000-04:002013-07-10T13:25:00.144-04:00TogetherJenn and I were talking last night about the fact that the kids are starting to "play together". Not necessarily always well, or nicely, but they are playing together. Often times when I try to take pictures of the two of them, Abbi is all about it, and Cole wants nothing to do with it. So then Abbi tries to get Cole interested, and in turns seems to irritate him, and then it just gets worse and worse. This picture kinda shows that. She's got a nice big smile and Cole is pushing her with an irritated look on his face. Priceless of course.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9230293419/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7291/9230293419_f42f9b7da8.jpg" width="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-81190927675366743972013-07-09T17:40:00.001-04:002013-07-09T17:40:20.500-04:00Cole Year 1.4Big news for Cole in the last few weeks. Cole has had numerous visits to the Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) doctor over the past few months, all in an effort to the volume of fluid in his ears. Finally, a few weeks back, Cole had a scheduled appointment to get anesthesia so the doctor could get a good look at his ears. Once they were able to get a good look inside they determined that he was not in need of tubes in his ears to control the volume of fluid. Which was of course great news for Cole and us.
<p>Cole has been saying a lot of new words and sounds over the past weeks as well. He's finally starting to say "Ma-Ma" with much more frequency. He still doesn't really call Jenn mama to get her attention, but he'll at least repeat it with more frequency. We're working with him constantly saying words to him, encouraging him to repeat after us before we give him the object of his desire, such as cup, fork, up, down and so on.
<p>He's still just a "little" guy. He fits good into his 12-18 month shirts, but shorts - not so much. His short little legs make 12-18 month shorts look like "short pants". Basically, ridiculous looking. I'm personally waiting on some kind of growth spurt from him to help him fit into some of his summer clothes before it starts getting cold again.
<p>Now that Jenn is off for the summer, Cole and the kids come in with her to wake me up each morning. Its really fun because Cole likes to roll up onto me, an grab my face and start talking to me. While I'm still half asleep sometimes, its still really cute, and its time that I enjoy with the kids each morning. Its definitely something I'll miss once Jenn goes back to work.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9233017294/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3814/9233017294_464dbfbd99.jpg" width="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-11843131384050357902013-07-02T17:52:00.001-04:002013-07-02T17:52:42.227-04:00Abbi 3.11 YearsI want to write about Abbi sooner than later, on the past few weeks because I want to try and get back on track with the writing about the kids as Abbi gets ready to turn 4 in a few weeks.
<p>The biggest thing to happen in the last "month" - Abbi had her first recital. I wrote about it, and my thoughts on it already, but I'm still in awe of her and her ability to get up in front of such a large audience and perform so well. I'm really proud of her, and what she's been able to do. Especially her desire to stick with the activity, and her genuine interest in it.
<p>And speaking of activities, just this morning Abbi started another one. Jenn is taking her to a local gym for swim lessons. She started out the morning not to interested in going, and by the time she was done she loved it, and I get the feeling she can't wait to go back for more. Again - I'm really proud of my little girl for doing so many things, and being open to doing new ones.
<p>Those are probably the two largest things for Abbi over the last few weeks. She's still a great big sister, but I'm noticing more and more, the jealousy between her and Cole as they fight for our attention. Something that I'm sure isn't going to be resolved anytime soon. From my perspective its hard. Its hard to juggle both kids, especially when they both want your attention. I even struggle to give Abbi attention when she's requesting it over her mom. Its a constant struggle, and even more so to try and teach her the right way to interject, and join the conversation.
<p>I'm really excited to see my little girl turn 4 in a few weeks, but at the same time, its so hard to imagine how quickly the time has passed. Thankfully I've got almost 4 years worth of writing about her to sit back and reflect on and remember how we got here.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9060937941/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3679/9060937941_18468a362c.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-15100447895411701552013-06-26T12:30:00.000-04:002013-06-26T12:30:00.627-04:00Hat GirlThis is another picture from the O's game last weekend. Abbi wanted to take the sun hat she got last year on Mothers Day to the game. I think part of her reasoning was in hopes that it would help her get on the jumbotron. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get her on the big screen. It did however make for this cute picture!
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9063174278/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3740/9063174278_3421cc3f20.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-10505689127556027922013-06-25T17:56:00.001-04:002013-06-25T17:56:04.331-04:00O's GameFor Fathers Day Jenn took us all to the O's game. We all had a good time, and it was good to spend some time with Cole. He is however, quite a task to keep contained in such a small area, for such a long time period. I intentionally picked seats in the front row so that he wouldn't be able to harass anyone else in front of us. In this picture you can see him laughing, which he does more, after of course I had tickled him to get the smile.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9063177872/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2859/9063177872_f0cf8b9178.jpg" width="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-83429844386500870642013-06-18T17:38:00.000-04:002013-06-18T17:38:59.779-04:00RecitalThis past Saturday Abbi had her first official dance recital. For the last year she's been going to Dancers Dreams, a local dance studio. She's been participating in a program called "Movement" which i suppose equates to super-basic ballet. They danced to a song called "Desperate for a Dog", and Abbi did fantastically. I'm biased of course as her dad, but in my opinion she was great. It was awesome to see our little girl up there on stage in front of a few hundred people performing. Jenn and I are definitely very proud of her!
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/9061865267/" title="DSC_1574 by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2856/9061865267_a018525f3f.jpg" height="450" alt="DSC_1574"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-78847613411373376372013-06-10T18:00:00.001-04:002013-06-10T18:00:33.553-04:00Abbi 3.10 YearsOver the past month we've seen quite a transition for Abbi. Over the past few weeks Jenn and I have taken note of the fact that Abbi has really started to grasp the manners that Jenn and I have been working to instill in her. She's still an almost 4 year old of course, so she's pushy and upset when she doesn't get her way, but she's extremely well behaved these days, and definitely listens and follows directions well.
<p>As we gear up for her fourth birthday, which by the way I can't believe is almost upon us, Jenn and I have started working with her on her alphabet. I'm sure if I've documented it before or not, but Abbi can write "Abbi Harrah" on her own. The Harrah part is a bit rough at times, but you can get the idea. Jenn has been working with her on the rest of the alphabet, and we're coming along.
<p>As for counting, another thing we work on together, she's got 1-13, then jumps to 19, 20. For not conceivable reason. I'd think that 14-18 would be easy since they are just a variation on 4-8, but then again, i'm not her age, so that might have a little bit to do with it too.
<p>On the fatherhood front of things, Abbi recently wanted to get married to me. So Jenn helped put on one of her dress ups and we "got married". Jenn watched. The ceremony was pretty much Abbi walking up to me, giving me a kiss, and then we danced. It was a special moment as a dad, especially since we've got one boy and one girl. I experienced that moment, but at the same time flashed forward to a moment 2 decades from now I hope to experience. Jenn videoed us, and afterward commented that she knows I'll be glad to have that video years from now. I know shes right, and I'm glad to have it now.
<p>Abbi is a special little girl. I'm sure every father feels that way about his daughter, and honestly - I'm not different. I love my little girl. A tremendous amount.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/8974266243/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3677/8974266243_7f1826f638.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-87108733771527743082013-06-07T17:14:00.000-04:002013-06-07T17:14:47.968-04:00Cole Year 1.3There haven't been any major developmental changes in the past few weeks with Cole. He's getting better and better at walking, and I think he's spending the majority of his energy doing so. He's able to walk around really well now, and able to get up and down if he falls, or wants to sit down. We've been working with him on going up and down stairs, mostly the down part. Because he loves being outside so much, its important that he learn how to go down the deck steps.
<p>He's been busy growing a few new teeth as well. He's now up to 14 teeth, two opposing "I" teeth have come in. He seemed to handle those teeth coming in, a lot better than he did ALL of his other teeth.
<p>If Cole's desire to go outside is any indication of him as an adult, he's going to be some kind of outdoorsman. He absolutely LOVES to be outside. He can't get enough of it. Sometimes its cute, and other times it drives us crazy. He will go over the sliding glass door and stand and say something that sounds like "side". He'll also bang his hands against the door to indicate he wants out. And if we don't let him, he gets super pissed and cries. A lot.
<p>Even with that, he's my little man. I love the guy a tremendous amount, and just like every other month, it awesome to see him growing up.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/8718017613/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7343/8718017613_b714778540.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-2043620366161364122013-05-23T17:55:00.000-04:002013-05-23T17:55:25.905-04:00Little HelperWhile I've been putting the playset together in the backyard, Cole has been very interested in everything going on. He's particularly interested in the tools being used. The other night while I was using the drill I had set it down for a few minutes and Cole picked it up and started to try and use it. Its of course to heavy for him to really lift it up, but the was this picture looks, it looks like he's actually doing something. I like that he was interested in what was going on. I look forward to the days ahead where we get to build things together (just hopefully not this involved).
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/8765023591/" title="2013.140 by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8418/8765023591_6ac3944805.jpg" width="450" alt="2013.140"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-63724132295914036172013-05-22T14:41:00.000-04:002013-05-22T14:41:41.339-04:00CarnivalLast week we went the annual local carnival. Each year that goes by Abbi seems to get more and more excited about going. This year she was super excited, and our good friends were able to come with us and Abbi and Audrey were able to ride all the rides together. I took this picture of Abbi on one of the rides, and clearly you can see she was having a great time.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/8762435904/" title="DSC_1362 by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7295/8762435904_342c30ec58.jpg" width="450" alt="DSC_1362"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-50166300361084563502013-05-14T16:23:00.001-04:002013-05-14T16:23:53.355-04:00Imagination Here's an image that I think gives some insight into the Abbi's imagination. A few weeks back we bought a new patio set and had all the chairs in the garage to get things setup. Abbi arranged them all into this fort setup, and then staged herself in the middle of it all. At one point I know she was using it as a storefront asking Jenn and I what we'd like to eat. And then writing the orders down in her notebook.
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/8718015187/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7449/8718015187_788be2fca8.jpg" width="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760376012175920625.post-27507153167319972052013-05-10T17:53:00.001-04:002013-05-10T17:53:53.498-04:00Cheese MouthLast week we went out for lunch and we brought some food for the kids. One item was a cheese stick for each kid, which at about the halfway point, Cole decided to shove the rest of into his mouth. I wanted to see if he'd show me his food, classic "boy" style, and he did me proud. As you can see!
<p align=center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jharrah87/8718017105/" title="Untitled by jharrah87, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7303/8718017105_062cf5a898.jpg" height="450" alt="Untitled"></a>Testhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12280970363862235290noreply@blogger.com0