Happy 5th Birthday Abbey

I wish I had some cute birthday photos to post, but our sweet Abbey was sick as a dog on her 5th birthday. She started running a fever the day before her birthday and spent her actual birthday with a 103-degree fever and vomiting. But she really didn't complain! And the bonus is that when you are sick AND it's your birthday, then you REALLY get spoiled. :)

I cannot believe my girl is FIVE! At five years old, my girl is
--As feisty and independent as ever. If it's not her idea, it ain't happening.
--Can swing, swim like a fish and ride a bike.
--Can write and type her name, as well as a few other sight words. She can pick out the word "Disney" or "Princess" anywhere!
--Wants to be a Musketeer when she grows up, just like Barbie (apparently that is one of Barbie's 157 careers).
--Still loves her princesses, but likes Barbie better "because she's for big kids like me."
--Has an amazing vocabulary. She regularly uses the words "inappropriate, unacceptable and old-school" in context. She is always asking for the definitions of words and loves to read.
--Is a wonderful eater. Thank heavens, b/c I know a lot of parents struggle with this. Not us! Abbey even loves Brussels Sprouts. In her words: "I crush them, mom."
--Does NOT like to be teased. It's going to be a long life for her in this family. :)
--Is the world's best big sister. It's a good thing Curren doesn't know the concept of personal space, b/c he doesn't have any!!

Developmental Leap!

In the past week, Abbey has learned to ride a bike and sleeps without a diaper. She has also learned to swing herself in the last few weeks. (Praise the Lord!). She says she is doing all of this b/c she is nearly 5, and we believe her! When that kid sets her mind to something, look out. There is no stopping her! This is the same child that potty trained herself in one weekend and taught herself to swim the day after her birthday b/c "I'm four now." Speaking of, I cannot believe that I am registering her for KINDERGARTEN tomorrow! Wasn't I just pregnant with her?

Here's a funny story Abbey told me today: "Mom, have you heard the legend of the love baby? There is a baby that flies around in a diaper and carries one of those plunger things...a clean one, not one with poop on it. And he sticks it on people's butts and they fall in love." LOL! I am pretty sure she was talking about Cupid, but that is one for the baby book for sure. I do keep a book filled with just the funny things she says...it's getting pretty thick already!

And speaking of love...I also uploaded a picture above of Abbey and Scott before their annual Daddy/Daughter date (which is a dance that benefits a local charity. It's adorable).

Curren just got his first haircut (photo above). He cried when it was over. He is my child after all...I LOVE a good haircut! But he looks so grown up now, sniff sniff.

The Nut Allergic

Above are some pretty typical pics of Abbey and Curren. Namely, him happy alone and him irritated when she is up in his business. Ahh, but she loves him at least.

At Curren's one year well-check, the pediatrician said we could go ahead and try nut butters. With Abbey, we waited until after 2 years for some reason. I just had a funny "mother's intuition" thing going on. Well, that turned out to be wrong, b/c she tolerated all nuts just fine. With Curren, I figured that he would be fine since nobody in our family has a nut allergy. (And he is the second child, with whom you are always a little less cautious...) I guess my faulty mother's intuition was misplaced, b/c Curren was NOT fine with peanut butter. Within minutes of my giving it to him, his little face swelled up and his hands turned red and hivey. So, we rushed to the ER where they gave him some meds and declared that he is allergic to nuts.

We have an appointment with a pediatric allergist next month, but we all have to stay away from nuts until then. Case in point, I had some cashews today and washed my hands briefly before changing Curren's diaper, and he still broke out in a hive on his face where I must have touched him. Touchy, touchy. My poor baby. And poor Hendersons! We are missing our peanut butter dearly!

Before I forget...

Tonight we were talking before dinner and Abbey mentioned that there is a "no kissing" rule at her school. I was amazed that kissing was such an issue that it deserved a rule, so I asked Abbey to tell me more. Her response? "Well mommy, we're not allowed to kiss. That means I can't kiss Shabbir. But when I get to kindergarten I'm gonna kiss 'em!" Sigh. Scott and I are still working on the concept of playing hard to get. ;)

In other news...Curren can now hold a baseball in one hand. He's one. His hands have catcher written all over them!

Curren's Birthday and Baptism

Curren has been one for a week now (since March 5th) and I am just now getting around to posting about the week's festivities. His actual birthday was cold and rainy, so we just did a low-key cake and presents thing with family. Scott's parents and sister came in from the west coast, and my mom came in from Florida. Unfortunately, the whole cake shindig lasted about 5 minutes, as Curren really wasn't that into it. Isn't that weird? We had to pry Abbey out of the highchair when she was one, but Curren really just wasn't having it. Oh well, more for us, right?!?

His baptism was on Sunday. I think Abbey was more excited than anyone. She kept calling it his "bappertism." Luckily, she was able to come up to the altar with us. Holly was our Godparent and Abbey was glued to her side, so up she came! She was so excited that she almost knocked over the holy water! That would have been awesome...

Curren was great. He fussed just a bit during the actual water part, but was a good sport other than that. Afterwards, we had brunch at our house, which was really nice. I still can't believe my BABY is one!!!! Sniff, sniff.

Abbey
Abbey loves her brother so much. Tonight she was telling him the following: "No matter where you go or how big you get, I'll always be here for you, standing right next to you. Even when you're 80 and I'm...20." Very sweet, but how funny that she thinks she'll always be young and cute, even when he's old. LOL!

Curren
Curren is on the move; pulling himself up on everything. He loves to stand and look out the window or feed the dog from his highchair. I've taken to calling him Mr. Mischief. He is so cute, but ooooohhhh, he is bad. We never had to baby proof much with Abs, but I don't think that will be the case with Mr. Mischief. Even when I take him for a run in the jogger, he is leaning out and grabbing leaves off of the bushes we pass. Crazy!

The latest is that he was cuddling with my mom today in the rocker in his room, when he noticed that I hung a new picture above his dresser. He kept pointing at it and looking at my mom as if to say "what's with the new decor?" He obviously picked up something from the HOURS of HGTV that I watched while nursing him as a newborn. :)

It's Snow Joke!

We have had a really cold and wet winter, with only a few days of actual snow. So you can imagine the excitement when we woke up to find big, fat flakes floating down from the sky this morning. And it continued to snow...all day (which was actually kind of a drag b/c it stuck and kept us housebound. Lucky for me that Abbey's school was open!). The above picture was taken this morning as we left for school. I'm sure you northerners are chuckling, but it was pretty neat for us down here in the south. We usually just live with cold and rain, so actual snow was a nice change.

The only other news is that Curren is now into EVERYTHING! Everything. He crawled into the freezer twice tonight. And man is he fast, too! When he first started crawling, he seemed content to just sit where he was and only really moved when he was chasing me or the cat. Not anymore! I forgot how exhausting little creepy crawlers can be. Case in point...I took 2 minutes to check my work email today and he took the time to chew on the power cord to my computer. Sigh.

Abbey's World

Scott and I think that this is Abbey's world...the rest of us just live in it. For example, we had this convo the other day...

Abbey: I'm totally going to marry Shabbir (her little boyfriend from school--they've been hot & heavy for ages)

Me: Cool. Then your name will be Abbey Akhtar

Abbey (making a face): Why?

Me: Because that's Shabbir's last name. I think Abbey Akhtar is kinda cute (when you're 30!!!)

Abbey: Hmmm. No. He can change his name. He'll be Shabbir Henderson if he wants to marry me.

NICE!!!!

In other news, Abbey and I took Curren to the indoor pool at our gym today. It was his first time in the water since Thanksgiving in Miami. He was awesome! He was struggling to get out of my arms and was actually paddling and kicking his feet in the correct motions! I know I am biased, but I see talent. Also, he reached out to the side of the pool and was holding on by himself. I let go and he stayed that way, supporting himself, for like 5 minutes! (I know, but I wanted to see what would happen and I was right there!) Michael Phelps, watch out!