Fun filled weekend trip to AZ

Wow! Abby and I had quite the busy weekend in Arizona.

We started off the trip with a 2 day trip to see Grandma & Grandpa (Monica and Bart). They were so much fun with Abby - quite doting and loving. Monica gave us a beautiful scrapbook - a year in review of Abby's life so far. I was blown away to say the least! I cannot imagine how many hours of work, love, and sweat went into that. Monica, thank you again.

We had a nice visit with Great Grandma & Grandpa too. In the evening we showed Abby how to feed ducks. While she did find this interesting, she ate the bread instead of throwing it. :)

Saturday, we met up with Mimi (my mom), and went to Aunt Amy's baby shower. This was a fun day for Abby to meet many of our family friends. That afternoon, we went to Mimi's place for a nap and a picnic dinner. Abby ran all over the place and practiced giving out hugs and kisses.

Sunday was a very busy day. We traveled down to Tucson for Great Grandma Coatsworth's 90th Birthday party. This was a family reunion where we got to see family who I haven't seen in YEARS. It was great. I was so proud to show off my cute baby girl. She sure charmed the crowd with her confident and sweet personality.

It was challenging for me to travel alone with Abby. She was a squirmy little bugger on the plane as a lap child but did fabulously when she had her own seat on the way home. She is of the age of separation anxiety.... enough said - a little rough at times. Sleep was not as easy either, but overall, she was a really, really a great traveler (certainly amazing for a 13 month old). She is the type to go with the flow. She's a versatile eater, a charmer, and a ham! Brian missed us so much, and he was amazed at all she'd learned in the 5 days we were away from him.

Eskimo kisses (and just kisses in general) are definitely "in" around here. She gives hugs while patting gently on your back. She loves her dolls, dogs, and (of course) her sleepy fox. Her new pose is to stand (and walk) with her hands neatly held behind her back, especially when she's up to no good. She started saying, "dis" = "this" while pointing. She's still working on animal sounds, but clearly does not always perform on command. Never thought I'd say this, but she's sitting quietly to read books and is learning imaginative play. Tonight she was being super silly and started crawling again, which cracked her up.

All around, it's fun times here in the McFarlane home. I'd like to promise you that I will blog more often. I certainly can't do that with my crazy, hectic, "last minute" lifestyle, but I will try! It's fun to share our family stories with you all.

I just posted over 200 photos of our trip - enjoy!

Love,

Diana