Happy Halloween!! :)

Well Hurricane Sandy has come and gone now- we were fortunate to have weathered the storm well- we didn't lose electricity, any of our trees, or our sanity.  ;)  Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone recovering from this tremendous storm- we feel so fortunate that our experience was mild in comparison.

Happy Halloween!  Abby is dressed as a lady bug for the day.  :)  She will go trick-or-treating with her daycare this afternoon and will also be heading to the Alzheimer's unit in the daycare's building to participate in some games and activities with the patients.  We hope to take her trick-or-treating around Lexington this evening after work as well.  Here is a pic of our lady bug baby bug (and I'm sure we'll have more this evening after the festivities)

On Sunday we took Abby to the annual halloween parade in Woburn.  The weather was a bit misty with Hurricane Sandy just around the corner, and it was downright raining by the very end, but we had such a wonderful time.  Last year Abby slept through the entire parade, but this year she was present and engaged!  :)  Her favorites were the multiple Elmo sightings (and the Elmo balloon that her daddy purchased for her), Sponge Bob (they're on a first name basis, evidently, as she calls him "Bob"), the fire trucks and ambulances (they recently had a visit from both at their daycare during a lesson about policemen and firemen) and the marching band who ventured far off the beaten path and played LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem (which reminds me, I don't think I ever mentioned this in the blog before but Abby is obsessed with that song- it is the one thing that made our drive down to Florida last March successful).   Here's a link to our newspaper with a couple of pictures from the parade this year:  Halloween Parade pics!

Abby is singing A LOT right now- she loves to sing her ABCs and also loves the Baby Bumble Bee song.  She performed her rendition of the Baby Bumblebee song at our local Chinese restaurant last night to the table next to us.  They totally ate it up.  :)  Here is a little video of her musical talents:

Abby Singing

Here is a video showcasing Abby's new toddler slide too.  It's a definite hit in the Dugan Household.

Abby's slide

There are a couple of cute videos that I still need to upload to Youtube (they're on Leif's phone right now) but I'll get them up shortly.  :)

We carved a toddler-themed pumpkin this year for sure- one of Abby's favorite characters, Elmo.  :)

Also, Abby's hair is finally long enough to put in pigtails.  It's not an easy task though- Abby requires complete distraction before she'll allow me to touch her hair.  ;)  Here is a pic from a recent dinner at a local Mexican restaurant (side note: Abby LOVES salsa- even when she was showing us that her mouth was getting too hot, she kept dipping her chips in it...)  ;)

Leif and I are finding that time is short, life is good, and Abby is larger than life.  She is so much fun, full of so much happiness, laughter, and entertainment, and we're just smitten.  :)

Sending love to all and happy halloween!! :)  xoxoxoxox

The stats on the bean

Sometimes I call Abby a bean, and sometimes it's a peanut, or a sweet pea...  hopefully she doesn't really think she's some sort of a food.  ;)  Any who, it has been a long time since I've posted- mostly due to the fact that my coworker has been out for 2 months now and I'm doing both of our jobs at once and it's left me with little play time to post cute pictures of my daughter.  Can you believe that?  The nerve...  ;)  Just a quick little entry to say that Abby had her 18 month check up yesterday and is still doing great.  She's 27 3/4 lbs, 34 1/2 inches- 90% in each group.  :)  She remembers Dr Andonian well and started hysterically crying and saying, "nooooo" when she saw him.  The poor guy has the odds stacked up against him since there are always shots involved in her visits right now. :)  He was able to get her to stop crying at one point by counting with her- something that Abby now loves to do.  She can make it all the way up to 6 on a good day. :)  She loves practicing her ABC's as well and can currently get through H though is working hard to get to J for her dear great aunties in MN.  :)  Dr Andonian was wildly impressed that we can get Abby to sleep without the aid of a bottle and said, "Now is the time to pack them up," and my kitchen cabinets will be pleased with this assessment.  :)  He said that Abby is doing really well, ok, actually, he said the one thing that parents want and need to hear so badly- that Abby's parents are doing a really good job.  ;)  Abby doesn't have to see Dr Andonian for another 6 months now- she'll be two when we reenter that office.  It's hard to believe.  As I made her next appointment, the receptionists gave Abby stickers to make her smile.  Abby is very much in to stickers these days so the gift was much appreciated.  She said, "thank you" and they just ate it up and asked Abby to say it again.  :)  Then they gave her more stickers.  Turns out manners can get you some pretty awesome glow-in-the-dark stickers. :)  One of the receptionists even took Abby to another doctor's office to see their fish.  This is reason 8,234 why I love our doctor's office.  They take the time to get to know their patients.  :)

We've been taking Abby on a bunch of camping trips this fall- we've made it up to our favorite campground in Maine (Lake Pemaquid) twice now, and we did a family camping trip with our friend Danielle and her son Micky to a state park in New Hampshire as well.  Abby loves being outside- we're thrilled.  She also still loves to draw and color.  We bought her a swing that might be her favorite toy in our place right now- she will often point to the door, say "outside" and then explain further "wee" to tell us that she'd like to go wee on the swing.  It is adorable- and we indulge, weather-permitting, each and every time. :)

Today was another first for me and Abby.  When I dropped her off at daycare, today was the first day that Abby did not cry hysterically.  I have been waiting for this day for a long time as drop-offs have been so heart-breaking (though she is fine 2 minutes after I leave).  Well, it was bittersweet this morning, of course, and I had to remind myself that she loves "school" and that is a great thing.  :)  I am trying to see everything in a more positive light these days so this was good practice.

Here are a couple pictures of Miss Abby from some of our adventures: camping, swinging at the playground, playing on the playground with daddy, and going to the Pumpkinfest and regatta in Maine this past weekend.  Sending love to all! :)