7 weeks

It's been 7 weeks since Abby has played with other children. That's 1176 hours of "adult time". 70,560 minutes of constant adult-interaction. 4,233,600 seconds of growing up that's past without getting properly dirtied up, roughed up or princess-dressed up. It all culminated last night when we arrived in Monroe, La. and had dinner with my Uncle David and Aunt Bonnie. There Abby sat for a good chunk of time listening to 4 adults chit chat back and forth. Oh, don't worry - Abby did plenty of talking too, but towards the end you could tell that she was ready for a playground (didn't help matters any that I mentioned that her cousins would be there and I was wrong!) Abby has been looking forward to playing with her cousins all week.

As I mentioned on Little Moon yesterday, Abby announced to us prior to meeting up with her cousins, "I have my plans laid out for what I do when I see my cousins." Her plan was to run up and hug them tight. Well, she stayed true to her laid out plans and then some. We met up with my cousins Ashley and Robyn at the "Jungle Gym" to let the kids run around and play. Ashley brought her 3 kids (Addison, Emerson and the baby Grayson) as well as her niece and nephew. The niece was the first to walk in the door to the Gym and of course Abby thought she was one of her cousins so she ran right up to her and gave her a big ol squeeze! Poor kid didn't know what hit her. Anyway - she proceeded to hug all her cousins as they came in and the next thing you know, they've run off to play leaving the adults behind for some good ol catchin' up. The kids had a wonderful time gettin' all sweaty and familiar with each other. We had lunch there and just had a great time watching them have fun. After the gym, Abby got to spend the afternoon over at cousin Tori's house...Emerson came as well so the 3 girlie girls had more bonding time.

Grillin' and Chillin'

Later on, we went back to Uncle David/Aunt Bonnie's house to do what it is that us Moore's do best....visit and eat. No Moore gathering is complete without grill master D workin' his magic on Black Beauty (the smoker grill). We had smoked pork, chicken and sausage that was 'slap yo mama's hand' good; Aunt Jan's potato salad; Nana's beans; some Boudin Balls from Ray's that Jan picked up on the way to Monroe; some Texas Toast and some little weenies wrapped in bacon that Cuz Robyn made. It gets setup buffet style and you just sit where you can find you a seat. Mike and I sat at the dining room table w/ Jan, David, Ashley, Robyn and Stan (Ashley's hub) and had a good time chatting. The food was great and the family time is even better. The best though, is seeing all the kids run around screaming and giggling. I had a flashback to my childhood thinking about me, Steve, Robyn, Ashley and Jeremy running around in that same backyard while the adults were grillin and chillin. Now I get to see my daughter make those same memories with Addison, Emerson, Tori and Grayson (Kayley too, who we are missing!) How cool is that?

After hours of outdoor play, the girls spent the rest of the evening playing dress up...our little princesses - they were muy preciousa! And puttin' up with all that girlie girl stuff was sweet Addison who is ALL BOY.

He plays so well with the girls but doesn't compromise on his boyness. Although he's not the oldest cousin of this group (that honor belongs to Kayley who lives in Tx), he was the elder today and took charge when he needed to. Like when a rogue puppy dog kept running into the yard (you know they don't have fences round these here parts) scaring little Emerson, Addison was right there to chase him off his turf.


Another great attraction today was the baby Grayson...just under a year old, I think. He is a chunkster with a million dollar smile that will warm your heart. My favorite picture (to the left) shows baby boy chillin' in a super fine nap pose - complete with foot hiked up on the snack tray and thumb in mouth. Grayson even made and appearance in the blow up jumpy house with his Aunt Robyn. He is a good baby and very adaptable....you have to be in this group!

Tomorrow we head out to the "Byrd Camp" in Mer Rouge for more family fun...stay tuned.

love & miss,
k

ps: Stay up to date on the pics...there's some good ones!!