Merrifield Gardens and Uncle Sean

Abbie had another terrific day: in the afternoon we went to Merrifield Gardens, where we walked around flowers, shrubberies and trees for a long time.  Abbie was mesmerized by the colors and textures of everything she saw.  She ate a Sage leaf and Stevia leaf (not at the same time, yuck) and picked a few more flowers for her little garden, including a Bouganvillea, which she was *really* excited about.  We had so much fun!  Abigail just loves the outdoors, which pleases me to no end, since I do too.  I am looking forward to more days in the sun.  

In the afternoon, her honorary Uncle Sean came over to visit.  It was so good to see him again, but of course there is a sad note since he is here getting everything set up for the move to Colorado: it makes it all so final... It seems so hard to believe that another chapter of life is ending.  So many people come and go, it's hard to say goodbye...  Abbie took an immediate liking to Sean, she voluntarily crawled over to him to check him out and be picked up by him. And of course, Sean was absolutely adorable with her -- he is really good with babies -- and got along famously with the little one.  They played, he helped her to get on her feet (which is sure to win immediate approval), talked to her, and she chirped away.  It had been a long time since she last saw him, so she definitely did not remember him.  How time flies!  I am really hoping that we will get another chance to spend some more time with Sean this week before he takes off for good.  And Abbie would love to see him again too, I know.

A rose for Abigail

Abigail and I went flower shopping today. We had so much fun! We went to Merrifield Gardens here in Fairfax, and I carried her in her Baby Bjorn while I walked all over the nursery. She was so excited, the sun was high in the sky and it was nice and warm, the perfect temperature! As usual, Abbie received a lot of compliments from people, including an old couple who talked to her for a while, and she just giggled and clapped the whole time.
We looked at flowers to plant in our little balcony as I do every year, and picked out the most amazingly colored Geraniums, which she seemed very excited about: she tried to grab the flowers, and of course, eat them. Then I took her to see the roses. Does she like roses! She could not stop fidgeting the way she does when she is excited, she stretched to touch them, and when I got her close to a rose to smell it, she just had the biggest, brightest smile on that cute face of hers. So I thought: let's get you your very own rose plant! And I told her, "choose the one you like the most" as I went about the plants. I picked out a light pink colored rose plant which she seemed to like: she got *really* fidgety when she saw it. I though it was perfect: a pink rose for Abbie. We planted it once we got home, with her dad. Abigail's rose! A beautiful flower for my beautiful girl.