My ears are hurting!

Do any of you have a screamer?  If you do, I know you'll sympathize with us.  We are PRAYING TO GOD that this is just a new phase for Abigail.  Can you hear the desperation in my writing voice???

Yes, you may remember from previous posts that Abigail has already asserted herself as a screamer.  And we were managing.  Correcting, telling her no, redirecting, time-outs, you name it!  Was it annoying?  Yes.  But did we feel like we had it at least in a manageable state?  Yes.

Ask us these questions now.  Is it manageable?  NO! NO! NO!  Abby has recently amplified her screaming.  And mind you, she was ALREADY loud.  Now, she screams so loud that my ears ring for hours afterwards and I swear they almost started to bleed once.  (Okay, the bleeding part is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the gist).  And you know what, it really is starting to DRIVE ME NUTS!  Even calm and patient Bryan is starting to become unnerved by her blood-curdling, ear-piercing, screaming!

No condemning or correcting advice needed.  But, if you are ever with us and you hear a horrid sound coming from our youngest child--rest assured--we are just as irritated about it as you! 

Thankfully, despite all the screaming and pounding headaches I end up with, Abigail Joy is living up to her name--she truly is such a joyful little girl!  We love her to pieces--but seriously wish she would stop screaming.

What's not to love here?

Following in Daddy's footsteps

Don't little girls usually like following in their mommies' footsteps?  Well, probably not all.  I was definitely a Daddy's little girl myself.  So I guess its not surprising that Abby LOVES her daddy's shoes & slippers.

 Here, she had just learned to put them on correctly.  Quite a "feet" for the little one! haha! I crack myself up.

 Here, she found Daddy's snow boats tucked away in a cubbyhole.  They are heavy and clunky, but that didn't stop her from getting them on her feet and walking around with them! Typical of Abby, when I asked her to put them back, she picked up both shoes, started running, and threw them on the sofa at the other end of our apartment.  What a little stinker!

The Joy of Siblings

Now that Abigail is getting older, it has truly been a joy to see Josiah and Abigail interact.  They actually enjoy playing with one another for at least some part of the day (other parts of the day are filled with screams, tears, grabbing, throwing toys, and yells of "NO!"--and the occasional full force pushing/hitting).  We thought we'd share some highlight moments--and yes, these are "highlights".  Don't think that life with siblings is always so peachy! ha!

Greatest toy EVER.  The cardboard BOX.  This has probably been the most played with "toy" all summer (even though I've tried throwing it out almost every week). 

 

Playing in the box together.

"Hi!  I'm Dr. Scott.  Abigail, can you open your mouth for me?  Say AHHH!"

"Okay.  Hold still.  I'm going to use my otoscope to look in your ear."  And Abby loved every moment of being Josiah's patient!!

Watching TV together in the morning.  Abby always run to sit next to her brother on the sofa.

Josiah let Abby play with his precious foosball table! 

 

And here's Abby copying her older brother.  He had been telling his version of "knock knock" jokes--and she was copying his every word and move!

Over the river and through the woods....

It's clearly been a long time since our last post.  We are already half-way through summer, and the new school year is fast approaching.  How have we spent our summer?  Busy, as usual.  But this year has also been, surprisingly, more relaxing than most.  Maybe we've just learned by now how to actually take advantage of time to rest and take a some-what "break" from the ministry. 

We recently returned from visiting Grandma & Granddaddy Scott in North Carolina.  Our kids had a BLAST!  Josiah was in fact, quite distraught over leaving.  Poor little guy.  The kids adored Grandma & Granddaddy's new dogs--especially Josiah, who took every opportunity he could to boss those two puppies around (which gave Abby a nice respite from her, at times, overly-bossy brother).  Highlights from this trip include Bryan getting to officiate the wedding of his brother, Kevin, time in the inflatable pool (some perks of suburban life), and of course, just spending ample amounts of quality time with Grandma & Granddaddy. 

Here are the kids playing in our $8.00 inflatable pool from Wal-Mart.

More pictures of our time in NC.  Josiah and Daddy having fun with cups!

 Abby being silly.  She is turning into quite the clown--always trying to get a laugh.

Here is Abby playing with her Granddaddy!

And lastly, Bryan officiating the wedding of his older brother Kevin!  Congrats to Kevin & Toni!