A Special Day Just for Abby

I know that my having two kids pales in comparison to some, well probably most, other people's challenges and responsibilities.  I think one thing that might set me apart, is, honestly, I'm not a "kid person".  After Abby was born I was terrified and overwhelmed.  It took me a while to really bond with her, basically because I was scared of her.  I always worried about the damage a novice mom could do to her little infant.  Over time, I became less scared, and more confident, but I also became less and less patient.  So when it was time for a second little baby to join our family, I knew I could be a mother, but I was so concerned about whether I would have the patience.  Well...I have found that right now, patience isn't what I am lacking, it's time.

There just isn't enough time to get everything done.  It's seems that most days, by the time I get all the chores and errands run, it's already 4 or 5 pm.  That means it's about time to start dinner, then it's time to get the kids in bed, then, if I'm lucky I will get about an hour of relaxing before I crash into bed.  What happened to free time?

I think what bothers me the most is KNOWING how bored Abby can get.  I wish I could do fun activities with her all the time, but it just isn't possible right now.  I've tried to get her excited about helping fold laundry, or vacuuming and it worked for a while, but it seems to be getting less and less fun for her everyday :)  So after a week or two of her following me around as I cleaned, or dragging her to run errand after errand, I decided to have a fun day just for Abby.  We started by going to a local bookstore that opened up  in my little town a while ago.  We've never been, but I really like to support the local businesses, so we browsed around a bit.  Next, a viewing of "Princess and the Frog" at the Provo dollar theater.  I've never taken Abby to see a movie, so I thought if it was a complete failure, at least I'd only be out $1.50.  We arrived in Provo a few minutes early, so we took a trip over the Provo temple to do a drive by.  Abby loves to see the temples, but is always disappointed when all we can do is drive by them and look at the outside. 

Once we got to the movie, I got her a small popcorn and drink, and she was so excited!  When the previews started she got upset, she thought we weren't going to see "Princess and the Frog".  But eventually the movie started, and she sat and watched the movie and ate her popcorn.  I can't believe she sat through the whole thing!  And Lexi did great too, she just slept most of the time!  Since we were down close to Orem, I thought we would try to stop and see Cameron at work before we headed home.  However, almost as soon as we arrived, they got a call and had to leave.  So, we loaded back into the car and headed home.  To top off the "day of Abby", I let her stay up late, and then we had a sleep over in my room.

I hope the day was special for her, she seemed to enjoy it.  I LOVED the whole day.  It really was special to me and helped to build a little better relationship with Abby.