Goodness, I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged! Things have been so busy but great!!
Darby got back from South America and we enjoyed a few short weeks before she jetted back off to Texas for 7 weeks! She's a counselor for a summer kids camp and is working her tail off! Part of their protocol is to have their counselors only have access to their phones and computers for one 24hr period a week! It's been harder than when she was on another continent! agh! She'll be home August 16th, so not too much longer...but then she'll be home one week and then will head off to Tuscaloosa for fall semester!! Roll Tide!
Shane has been busy with football practice for several months! He enjoyed all the spring events of his junior year! Prom was great! Such a handsome fellow! Can't wait to get geared up for football games this fall!! It's really hard to believe he's going to be a senior! Where did the time go? Still seems like I should be able to grab him up and hug him so tight just like when he was 4. I guess I had better pass though as he's 6'+ and well over 200 lbs! When I sit down and play with Cade it brings back such wonderful memories of times with Shane when he was small! I guess I'll have to hold on tight as I know this next year will fly by!
Little Annabelle has been talking up a storm! We have funny new sayings come out of her mouth, like, "no problem", and "unacceptable' like her daddy says! She and Cade both love to watch the birds in the front yard and say, "mockinbirds" go "tweet tweet"! She is singing her alphabet and counting to ten! Such a little smart one! She has also learned to match pairs from her Disney deck of cards! She's still just as crazy about her daddy! Every day she asks him to stay home with us! I have to tell her no, it's only "Monday, or Tuesday, etc! But when we get to Thursday, she seems to get that it's just a couple of days until he gets to be home for the weekend! So sweet! We still say goodbye and blow kisses from the front porch when he leaves for work! She has spent a lot of time in her garden this spring! She loves to go check for ripe tomatoes and banana peppers in the mornings! Cade pulled a green one the other day and she told him, "it's not ready" and sat it back down in the garden! They are so funny together. Cade then toddled off like any little man would after being corrected by a female! He happily picked up a stick and seemed to send the message, "oh well, guess you don't need my help, pick your own tomatoes!"
Cade does just crack me up! He's so stinkin' cute that it's hard to stay frustrated with anything he gets into! I love his new little funny ways of playing! He runs down the slope of the backyard while singing so that his little voice shakes as his feet bounce onto the ground with every step! He stops and giggles at himself! I love it!!! He also lines up his trucks on the window sill in the den by his toy cubbies! It's so cute how he does it over and over and says "Voom" when he pushes them! I took a little semi truck of his and showed him where the driver sits, then pointed to the cab where he can sleep when he gets tired, followed by the gas tanks where he fills up to make the truck go. He listened intently. Then for several days after he would bring me that little truck and repeat in his version, the information I had told him. Oh, he makes me so happy! They have enjoyed having a little pool in the back yard this summer. It's quite difficult to keep it clean with all the rain! agh! They've also really enjoyed some play dates with their buddy Chase (Jared's nephew) at what Annabelle calls the "big pool"!ha ha! So many new experiences. At the end of April we took the to Zoo Atlanta and loved how much they enjoyed seeing all the animals! Fun times!
Little Abigail has been as busy as a bee! She learned to crawl in June and is so proud of herself! She can get into anything she wants to! The twins have been squealing as she plants herself in the middle of whatever they have going on! They've adapted pretty well to moving their precious items up on the couch away from her! However, Mrs. Melissa (her physical therapist) has been teaching Abigail how to climb up on the furniture and stairs, so their victory will be short lived at best! Miss Abigail has also been cutting teeth like crazy! She got her first one on the bottom (in the middle) at the end of her 9th mth, the second on the bottom in her 10th mth. Then after her birthday, I started thinking that it had been a while and I hadn't seen any new teeth! She was a bit fussy for a spell so I assumed she was teething again and put baby oragel on the top middle of her gums where the next ones typically would be coming in. I had dismissed the comment her pediatrician had made about babies with Down Syndrome can cut teeth in different order than what we are typically used to. Around the 4th of July, I did decide finally to tilt her head back for a good look and was quite surprised to find a top right molar in and a left top molar coming in. Wow! No wonder she was chewing food so well! Now, she's still cutting the molar and her top two middle front ones are about to pop through! Poor thing! She'll have 6 total when they all break in! She does eat almost everything the twins do! She is still just the most amazing blessing! It was such a joy to celebrate her first birthday in May! We had a party on the 14th at the house. So many friends came! Abigail really enjoyed her cake. She made quite a mess and wound up with it in her hair and all over her! Her little DS twin, Alyssa made it (Alyssa turned 1 on May 22). They are just beyond precious together! It was so neat to have such support for her from our family and friends! Our world will never be the same since she arrived, and I'm so glad!
Well, there is just so much I have left out and really want to get to, but it is late and my poor husband is trying to sleep while I lay in bed typing, so I better had give it a rest! I'll have to get back in the swing of making time to capture these wonderful memories again!
