Ohio

Last week we took off on our 1st long road trip!  Nana, Papa, Mommy, Little Miss "C" and Ben braved the open road for 7 days to visit family in Louisville, KY and friends in Mansfield, OH. 

We ate frozen custard on the way....OH YUM!

We sat on an awesome back porch swing...

and looked out at the pond of a 5 acre farm every day.

We drifted on a Tom Sawyer raft...

and got up close with Alpacas down the street.

We rode a gorgeous carousel...

and ate the most delicious (and nutritious) food thanks to our gracious hostess and host!

Let me just tell you that low temperatures and humidity made it THAT much better!!!

For You, Gran!

We are pleased to send this fine Happy Birthday with to our Gran today.  Much love to you!

Also thought you might like to see these photos from our visit "down South" a few weeks ago:

Ben's Haircut

Little Miss "C" and her Birthday Hat

Ben wearing his Birthday cupcake

Watching cartoons in bed so we don't wake Pop & Gran

Is she cool?

Riding in his big truck and loving it!

Hey Pop - Happy Birthday!

In true Abney fashion, we are continuing our Summer Birthday series. This one goes out to Pop Abney in south Georgia. We're glad we got to celebrate with you a few weeks ago and wish you a wonderful day!!!

Mom's Turn

So I've snapped a few photos lately that every Mom can relate to. It's all about trying to keep your house in order - only to be quietly thwarted by little ones who mean absolutely no harm.

First, while I was cleaning and cleaning the kitchen & house getting ready for Ben's birthday party Little Miss "C" wanted to make a birthday "place" for everyone to eat their cake. So one by one my cloth napkins were laid down the hall, each accompanied by a plate and a spoon!


Later, I was trying to unload the dishwasher....and so was Ben.


Then the other day Little Miss "C" thought the pantry was the wrong place to keep milk boxes, so she conveniently placed them on the playroom shelves.


Oh the joys.....yet the two photos below are truly joys! A beautiful daughter and her proud face riding her "big girl bike" on the street.


More to come soon....still have to post photos from Gran & Pop's house!

Happy Birthday to My Daddy

(If anyone out there can enlighten me on how to get the video upright, I welcome the comment!)

Happy First Birthday!

One year ago today Ben was welcomed into our family and we're thankful to the Lord for him!

He had two tries at birthday cake this week. First with Pop & Gran in Brooklet, GA:

Then at our family party here over the weekend:

You might say that the 2nd time was not as much fun - he was over it.

He's scooting around like crazy, doing a few crawls here and there, finally pulling up on things, trying to climb the stairs, saying "no" and "wow", and putting Mommy to the test with some temper tantrums. He loves playing with anything on wheels! His gag reflex is still strong but he has managed to eat a few solids like noodles, peas, carrots and sweet potato pieces - and Cheerios have become a staple! Unfortunately he also caught a cold, so we've been wiping runny noses for a week now. No new teeth that Mommy can see. We go for a 1 year checkup tomorrow!
We've had a busy few weeks and there are many fun photos to post, but with Daddy's birthday only a few days away Mommy has been busy....so stay tuned for more next week!

The Heat of Summer

We've been plugging right along, trying to find fun ways to fill our summer days without being out in the heat too much. Here's a few of the latest happenings:

Ben pretty much fills his time scooting around the house and, lately, pushing trains or cars as he goes.

Reading with Papa (we've been lucky to have Nana & Papa visit us twice in past few weeks!)

Painting wood with Daddy. Our screen porch is finished now, and we can swing and play in the sand without being eaten alive by mosquitos!!

Eating ice cream cones with our cousins.

Building tall lego towers on the playroom bench! (P.S. Mommy got the playroom windows washed the other morning. Little Miss "C" had gotten a wet washcloth and a dry fabric napkin and was giving all the little square windows a good cleaning! She fell off the bench about 6 squares into her work and that was the end of the fun!)