Birthday pictures

Dan went to the grocery store for balloons and came back with a party!



Seriously, this girl got SO MANY PRESENTS this week. What a score!



What's really funny is that almost all her birthday presents were games. This one was from Greena and Par--The Ladybug Game! We played it that evening and it was really fun. (Though Mommy won, so it wasn't *quite* as fun as Abby hoped. Next time!)



Shocker--a picture where she's a) facing the camera, b) not trying to hide her face, and c) actually sort of smiling. (Unlike ALL the pictures I took while she opened her presents.) She definitely looks like a big kid!




That night we had some ice cream for dessert and put Abby's "4" candle in it. I love this shot of Penny Jane:



Abby admiring her candle:




Abby being sung to. Note to self: NEVER let waiters serenade her for her birthday--she'd probably hide under the table...



Blow out the candle!



Earlier in the day when we went to Baskin-Robbins we let PJ have a little sample-spoon sized bite of Abby's rainbow sherbet. It was a hit! I wasn't sure what she'd think of the cold, but apparently she wasn't phased. So when she saw the ice cream being dished out, she wanted some, too. It's funny how many "bad" foods I've let PJ have in the name of just trying to get her to eat *anything*--I don't think Abby had ice cream until this past January!



Fun day for sure!

Happy Birthday to Abby!

Abby is 4. How on earth did that happen!? I have pictures, really I do, but they're on the internal memory of the camera and I can't figure out how to get them off. once I track down a cord with what is apparently the world's smallest USB I'll post them.

Dan brought her down this morning when she woke up around 7. She was excited by our kick-butt decorating in the kitchen (where are those photos when you need them?!) We opened presents and then had cinnamon rolls. It was a very gamey birthday--she got four of them! We played all of them at one time or another over the course of the day. I am especially fond of The Ladybug Game--thank you Green and Par! Hullabaloo is fun, too--gets you up and moving, and she can play it on her own, which is a good thing. At least, she can when PJ doesn't run off with the little pads you hop to and from. You can imagine how much PJ enjoys it when we all go chasing after her to get them back.

We went to lunch with my parents, and then to Toys R Us, where they let her pick something out. Or rather, two somethings: a teddy bear dressed like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and a My Little Pony doll house. The bear came into Baskin-Robbins with us for dessert and the ponies got a lot of play time when we got home.

I was nervous about how this birthday would go. I kept waiting for the birthday party question--as in, when is it and who is coming? I got it yesterday. "So what friends are coming to my party tomorrow, Mommy?" *insert breaking of my heart here* This is the only thing that I truly struggle with here in Colorado--the fact that AJ still has barely any friends. Well, only one friend, really, and unfortunately she was unable to get together last week like we'd hoped, though we'll see her and her mom and brother once they're back from their Christmas vacation. I explained what we'd do on her birthday, and that we'd get together with Chloe when she was back in town, and apparently that was all okay with Abby because she didn't say anything else. I just pray we know a few other girls well by next December so we can have a proper party, with hats and everything. (That was the one thing we didn't get, and the one thing she asked about this morning. "Where are the party hats??" Doh.)

All in all I think she had a really good day. Me, I'm just wandering in a daze wondering where my little baby went.

May the true meaning of Christmas be in your hearts and minds today and all year long. Merry Christmas from the Morrows.

A performer to the core

We've been saying for a while now that PJ is the performer. I think this illustrates it perfectly:

PJ was nursing and Abby was dancing. She struck her final pose and said, "I'm done!" (That's how I know I'm supposed to clap. It's not always obvious.) So I clapped and said, "Bravo! Encore!" Then suddenly Penny sits up, bows, and says, "Dank you! Dank you!"