Abby Lee

A couple of months ago, Abby, Jason and I headed down to North Carolina to visit our friends and see how much things had changed in the last year or so. Somethings had changed a bunch and others were just that same as when we left them and we were able to slip right back into our old routines.

Our first stop upon entering North Carolina was a homemade southern meal made by Nanny (aka Hazel. Abby's care giver from age 1 until moving to Vermont). It was an amazing meal and was attended by Hazel's whole family. We arrived early and Abby was able to check out all of her old toys.



Dinner was spent hanging out with Moriah, Hazel's great-granddaughter. Abby and Moriah spent a bunch of time together when Hazel was watching Abby. It was a nice time and we were super full by the time we left their house.



We drove over to our friend's Kelly, Scott and Dakota. Dakota is about 8 months younger than Abby but they play relatively well together. Since Kelly and I still talk frequently Abby and Dakota are still pretty good friends. Abby consistently talks about Dakota and about how we are going to go visit them. "We'll go over to Dakota's house tomorrow, right mommy?" Is a question I frequently hear.



Abby and Dakota did a good job being nice to each other and did a good job being kind to William, a younger baby that came to hang out during girl's night. Girl's night gave me the opportunity to see a bunch of friends in one place and check in to how everyone was doing. It was great to see Sharon and Rhiannon and all the other girls that I hadn't seen in a long time. And of course anytime to hang out with Kelly is good.




Abby was in rare form showing of her amazing dancing skills which include attempting a cartwheel over and over and over again. We are thinking that Dance lessons are in her future. She loves watching Angelina Ballerina right now. We'll see what we can do.


The next night we went to hang out with the Bentsen boys, Carter and Lukas, and the Swann kiddos, Webb and Emerson. It was a nice dinner and a good time to check in with our growing families. Abby is the oldest kiddo but everyone else is pretty close behind. The only thing missing was Brad, Christa and their baby, Griffin. Unfortunately they moved to the other side of North Carolina and couldn't make it for dinner. Bummer.



By the end of the week, Abby was exhausted. She took long naps in the car with her newest friend, Mommy Pacca. Mommy Pacca joins baby pacca that Abby has loved since September. I am pretty excited that Abby enjoys and plays with stuffed Alpacas. They are still one of our favorite toys to play with, although last night Mommy Paca spent the night with Mommy and Daddy in their room. She was tucked under the blankets at my pillow. It was really sweet. Just what I needed, especially since I have been having trouble sleeping. I can't seem to get comfortable.



On Thursday morning, Abby, Jason and I headed to Raleigh to spend some time with my college roommate, Emily Sheridan. Jason was flying out the next morning so it was a perfect plan. Sheridan and I went to all of my favorite places--Champs for the California Chicken Wrap, Cook-Out for a Triple Berry milkshake, Edward McKay's for used books & movies, Target for a mini DVD player so that Abby would be entertained on the ride home. It was a good day. We also went out to breakfast and got Pancakes--Abby's absolute favorite breakfast food at this point in time.





Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from my ride home but it was eventful. I headed up to my brother Matt's house on Saturday stopping in DC to visit Patrick and Lisette and their two sons, Alex & Max. It was a nice time to check in. It had been a long time since I had seen the Burton family. They are doing awesome and the boys are so tall. I can't believe that Alex is the same kiddo that I was hanging out with when I tore my hamstring and was limping around on crutches at camp. After a break spent chatting about old times, I headed up to Annapolis where I met up with my Brother Matt. We spent some time at his house and then headed out for dinner. Our Cousin Sharon drove all the way over to have dinner with us. I didn't realize at this time that she drove 2 hours to come for dinner. It was a good time. She ended up spending the night in Maryland, where we hung out watching movies and waiting for Ruth to get home. We went out for breakfast that morning with my roommate from freshman year and her husband, which was really nice. It has been a long time since I had seen her either. After spending most of Sunday hanging out and watching movies, we stayed up really late with Ruth, Ruth's son Brad & his girlfriend, who Abby loved because she used to be Princess Jasmine in Disney Land; Sharon & Matt. The next morning Abby and I left and started home. Unfortunately we hit a huge snow storm that stuck with us the entire way from Maryland home to Vermont. I don't think I have ever seen a landscape so white before. The road was white, the sky was white, the tree was white, everywhere we looked, Abby and I saw white. We finally made it home and Jason helped me unpack. The next day I spent on the couch sleeping and enjoying being home.

A couple of weeks later, Mary & Paul, Mom & Dad, Jason & I headed up to Montreal to hangout and enjoy the city. Abby spent the weekend on a sleep over with three of her favorite people from church. It was a great weekend.

The next two pictures show two amazing things. Abby enjoying her last few days in my parents house...and then Abby enjoying our new house! We are still pretty excited about the new house and haven't finished unpacking but that is what I can do when I am on Summer break! Yippee it is coming soon. 2 more weeks.