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- The Abbey Abode has officially expanded! Last weekend, Derrick’s parents were here and they closed in our front “porch” to create our brand new mudroom/entryway! It’s been a full week since it’s been closed in and it still does not feel real. It makes our living room feel so much bigger (and I can’t wait to see how much bigger it feels again once we move all of the coats and shoes out of the living room and into the mudroom!) It’s not a huge space, but it makes a big impact – that’s for sure!
We all agree – even the outside of our house looks better with the “porch” closed in. It’s just fantastic!
(Of course, you know what my first thought was: “Just think of all the new Abby’s Saturday photo opportunities!”)
The room isn’t completely finished (obviously). It needs drywall, trim, paint, and some work on the ceiling, but it’s coming along. Hopefully within the next few weeks we’ll have it completed! - Look out world: we watched Encanto last Sunday (much to the kids’ opposition – they are so hard to introduce new things to!) But newsflash: they loved it (we all did) and so the soundtrack has been the soundtrack to our lives this week. I’ve caught BOTH Braelynn and Leander singing the songs at random times (“We don’t talk about Bruno!”) and it’s absolutely hysterical. We’ve watched so many Disney movies over the last few months, and they’ve loved all the music, but this is the first time they’ve really 100% latched onto a soundtrack.
Thankfully, I like it too. - My first wedding of the season was last weekend – it was the most beautiful, wonderful start of my year! You can see all the highlights of Jen & Justin’s wedding day here.
- Speaking of weddings – my sister got married on Sunday! She and Luis did not want a big wedding, in fact, they really didn’t want a wedding at all. So, they quietly and privately eloped in a park with our pastor (and my sister Ellen was there to take some photos). They are going to host a small reception in my parent’s backyard in a few weeks so we can all celebrate with them – so that will be a ton of fun!
Ellen and I did take some “elopement portraits” of them a few weeks ago. Em and Luis dressed all up in their wedding attire and we went to a local park together. We promised to keep those photos private until after they officially got married, and now that they are, you can look for some of my favorite images to be published on my blog this coming week! Stay tuned! - (So many big things this week!)
We officially finished school this week!! Goodbye 1st grade – hello summer vacation!! I never realized how emotional “the last day of school” would be for me. Braelynn is thrilled beyond words – she is so excited for summer! (I am too.) We had a really wonderful school year – 1st grade was way better than Kindergarten (but, honestly, I attribute that to me knowing Braelynn and her learning style so much better this year). We really had a great year and when I look back at how far Braelynn has progressed – I’m so proud of her! - Potty training update: I cried on Thursday. And not because of the usual reason (you know, accidents on the floor, having to scrub the couch again, etc.) but because three times in a row, Leander told me that he needed to go potty and was still dry. That might not seem like a significant milestone, but trust me, it is. For the last 3 weeks, we’ve been incessantly asking him if he needs to go potty and (forcibly) taking him to the potty ever 20-30 minutes. We’ve been letting him go longer and longer stretches without taking him to the potty, and he’s been doing really good – but he still wasn’t telling us when he needed to go potty, he was relying on us simply taking him. So, that’s what made Thursday such a red-letter day: because he told us he needed to go potty (and was still dry). Potty training is one of the hardest things ever and I’m SO relieved to feel like we’re finally getting it!!
(We still haven’t figured out pooping on the potty, but for now, I’m 100% thrilled to be where we are. It will come!) - I have been working my tail-feathers off, trying so hard to get caught up on stuff! I am dying to edit the videos from our Florida vacation, but I won’t let myself do it until I’ve finished the other projects I started before we went on vacation and didn’t get a chance to finish yet. Add in a wedding day that needs edited – and I’ve just been swamped. Thankfully, after working (my tail-feathers) off this week, I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! Fingers-crossed that next week I can begin working on our vacation videos!
