Bye Bye, Texas!

Saying goodbye to Texas (Wednesday) was bittersweet for us. We had a great last day there, swimming, playing, sightseeing, and doing some shopping. I was, in a way, ready to come home, but in others it was such a good time, I did not want it to end.

Abbie had a great week in Texas. She enjoyed the food, a lot. She had a good time playing, meeting people, swimming, and I think she will be happy to know, in a few years, everything she did, and how much she seemed to like it.

At the pool, a funny guy came over to us and told her: "ok, it's official: you are the cutest girl in the pool!" She laughed, cooed, and waved hello. Most people we met there were extremely friendly and nice. What a refreshing experience!

The plane ride was totally fine, with Abigail playing and enjoying herself for the vast majority of it. She did fall asleep, but the booming voice of the captain abruptly cut her nap short. She just went back to playing without a problem.

Abbie was visibly and audibly excited to be back home, however: she went to check all her books and toys, to ensure that they were all there, and no one else messed around with them while she was gone. She also checked her flowers outside, and was pleased to see that they are still alive and blooming! What a cookie!

Here are some pics of her last day: playing in the bedroom with mommy's watch, and swimming in the pool with Iadada. I cannot wait for another vacation as fun as this one!

We've howdied but we ain't shook yet

Itty Bitty Abbie had another full and fun day in Texas. In the morning we did the usual playing in the bedroom and sightseeing. When we got back to the room, she fell asleep like a log while I was reading her one of her books. After her nap, Christopher and I took her, again, to the Riverwalk Cafe' to get some of that meat that she loved so much on Sunday. She ate with gusto everything on her plate. She struck a conversation with our lovely waitress, who told us that she has a five year old girl and a 20-month old baby boy. They just loved each other, for some reason, so our waitress came up to our table a couple of times just to play with Abigail.

In the late afternoon, I took her to the outside pool. It was so nice! The water, as one can expect in a 103 degree weather, was warm and felt great after a few minutes in the sun. Abbie made several new acquaintances there. It always astounds me how quickly she draws people's attention. It's probable that most babies do, actually, but I have never had any reason to pay attention before now.

Garrett was her first victim: a ten year old with the bluest, most beautiful eyes I ever saw. Actually, I think Garrett is the most beautiful ten year old I ever saw, period; friendly and very polite. He has the deepest blue eyes, and a ton of dark, full, long eye lashes to seal the deal. Anyway, he and Abbie played in the water, and Garrett told me that she reminded him of a little puppy his grandparents have because of how she flails her arms when she is excited. The puppy puts on a similar act when he wants something. He kept on coming back to play with Abigail, and they made each other laugh.

While in the water, Abbie waved and greeted everyone nearby and chatted with anyone who gave her half a chance. And once I wore her out (or so I thought) after an hour of swimming, we lounged in the sun for a few minutes. Apparently, her excitement was superior to her fatigue, because she went crawling around to greet people. She charmed some ladies sitting behind us, and *crawled up* the chaise to greet them. They laughed quite a bit. She then found a way to get off the chaise and went to chat with Alison, who was waving at her from the pool. I took a picture of them. The whole time, Abigail did not give me a minute's rest... I was so tired of picking her up, putting her down, following her, keeping her from falling off the chaise, grabbing her, that I finally said "enough," and while people waved "Goodbye" at us, I trudged back inside the hotel.

It's true when they say that appearances can be deceiving: she was more tired than I gave her credit for - while I was rocking her and burping her after her last feed, she just pulled herself up, looked at me in the eye, and then pointed at her crib. I thought to myself: "Ha! there is no way that she is going to go down without a fight..." But I gave it a shot. I lowered into the crib, Abbie rolled on to her side, clutched her soft lovey, and went to sleep.

In the heat of Texas...

Today was a fun day: in the morning, Abbie and I lounged in the room while we waited for Christopher to be done with his quick meeting. She had fun checking everything out, getting into things, and making sure that That Baby in The Mirror made it to Texas, too. She then had a blast walking by herself while pushing her stroller around and laughing, which was a funny sight. Show off! :)

When her daddy returned, we went down to the gardens, and took a few pictures. Abbie was particularly taken by Hank, the steer, and looked at it with a lot of curiosity. We stopped at the Riverwalk Cafe' for a drink at the bar, and she clapped and danced energetically to live music, which raised a lot of laughs and a final applause by a wedding party sitting at a table nearby... I thought it was so sweet on their part!

In the afternoon we took the trolley to downtown Grapevine, only a few minutes ride. I guess we miscalculated how hot 105 degrees really is, because as soon as we stepped onto the street we pretty much evaporated instantly. It was a short walk around town, less than an hour, singularized by the many "visits" to local, air conditioned shops. A somewhat cute, very Texan town. Abigail made several friends this time too: she chatted and "petted" (in her own clumsy way) two nice ladies that were awaiting the trolley, and then proceeded to be-friend a sweet older lady on the trolley. She talked to everyone, literally: she just looked at everyone right in the eye and turned the chatterbox on. It's so funny to see her interact with people, because I think that she honestly wants to convey some message, and when people respond back, it makes her totally happy. She is very communicative and friendly almost immediately upon meeting someone, although I have noticed that, at times, it takes her a few minutes of scrutiny before opening up and approaching people. I guess she takes after me on that.

After we got back to the Gaylord, she went for a swim in the indoor pool with her dad. She found out how cool her chirpings and squeals sound in stereo, and so she gave us a little show, but she was too tired to do it for long. We'll have to let her pick it up tomorrow!

Yippee-kay-ay!

Here we are, in big ole Texas for our five day vacation!

Our trip was rushed from the get-go, seeing as out Little Birdie decided to sleep until 8:30 this morning (we had planned to leave for the airport at 8:45...). Unheard of. But, frankly, that's the only set-back we had. Abigail was such a good girl all the way! She played on our laps and though we tried to keep her busy (or maybe *because* we tried to keep her busy), she was excited and smily and giggly, chatted incessantly and, of course, let herself be heard - at times. It was not as bad as I thought it might be, and people responded with smiles to Her Loudness and her occasional chirpings. She waved and said "hi" to everyone in the cabin and made a few friends. Of course, she never slept although she was visibly tired, until, you guessed it, ten minutes prior to landing. That was a short-lived nap.

Once we finally got to to the Gaylord Texan, I took her all over the place: we saw the "Alamo" and the Riverwalk, all the stores, the indoor and outdoor pools, and several other attractions quite unique to the place. The hotel is very big, and pretty. There is huge indoor garden, with trees, flowers, little rivers, music and of course lots of places to sit and enjoy the view. I love it, because it's like being outside in the open without the heat of a Texan summer. A plus!!! There was also a little Monkey, Miki: a cute show for kids. Abigail looked at the monkey make noise and move about for a little bit, then looked at me as if saying: "So what's the big deal? I can do all that!"

Abbie and I stopped at the Riverwalk Cafe, and I got her her first taste os Texan food, while I sipped not one, but two Mojitos! Yummm....! Abigail was totally impressed by the roast beef: she kept opening her mouth for more. Those Texans sure know how to fix their beef! She also showed off her ability to drink from a normal glass, which some people sitting near us found remarkable, for some reason.

Here are a couple of pictures of my little girl enjoying her first day in Texas, and some of the Hotel.

Abbie in Tilghman Island & St. Michaels Island

We came to Denice and Nancy's house yesterday, and since then Abigail is having the time of her life.  She had her first bar experience in St. Michaels today! While I drank a Mojito and her Daddy had an Ice Tea (reversed roles, for once), Abigail had fun smacking the bar table with her hand and requesting drinks (it seemed) when I did not let her have a sip of mine.  She made friends with the bartender, a nice, welcoming lady who kept coming over to talk to her, paid compliments to her and gave her some applesauce (she even offered to babysit!)  We spoke seriously with Abbie about underage drinking and how we would never put up with it, and she laughed at us with a mischievous look in her eyes.  Then she had even more fun when we sat in her in the kiddie pool we just bought. She never had sooooo much fun in the water! 
There was so much of it, outside in the sunshine, and Abigail just laughed and splashed and thought the world is just peachy.  Tomorrow we will do it again, and this time Daddy will get in the water with her (today, I did, and I admit I had a lot of fun myself!) This is a great weekend, Abbie could not have a better time than she is able to enjoy right now.  It seems as though we might have to buy a house out here after all!