27 Again...

27 weeks pregnant that is!!!!!  I can't believe that two trimesters have passed already and that our new addition will be here in just three short months.  Where does the time go??  I have meant to publish the news time and time again but the time has never seemed right or when it did, I just didn't have the time/energy/wittiness to make it happen.  So here we are at the start of the third trimester sharing our new publicly.

The positive pregnancy test happened a the end of August, just before Michael was hired, which puts us with an April 28th due date.  This time has been much different than the last time: morning sickness was a few weeks earlier and much more frequent, exhaustion has hung on well into the 2nd trimester, as far as food goes--it seems like I never know what I want to eat/nothing sounds good (no chocolate milk cravings and G2 was my go to for the first 20 weeks), my pelvic bone "pops" upon changing positions after laying/sitting one way too long (that NEVER happened with Abby and started at about 13 weeks this time and happens at least once a day), among other way-too-personal-stuff-to-post-here things.  Like they say, no two pregnancies are alike!

Any-whoo, welcome to our journey of second time parents!  I will do my best to get you up to speed this week, including ultrasound pictures and re-dos, the announcement of what the gender is and how we found out, and if you are lucky a picture to compare this belly to the last time.

Mission Accomplished

CONGRATULATIONS to MJ on his first official teaching job! As of 9:02 this evening MJ will be teaching 4th graders!

It is hard to believe that just 2 1/2 years ago we started the journey to this day and now it is officially here! Michael, I am so very proud of you and happy for you that you set this goal and achieved it in such a short time and with a job VERY well done. You are an amazing man, husband, father and now teacher too!!! Way to go Michael, way to go!!!

Christmas Card Photos

I realize that I already briefly posted on this, but I wanted to give a little update since our cards are out (obviously) and now I can post a few more pics.

The winner was:

But let me let you in on a little behind the scenes info: it took a lot of "baby wrangling" and over 135 shots to get the magical one!! Here are some of my "favorite" ones.

Sleepy Little Peanut

Wow! That was one sleepy little Peanut! Abby must have had some catching up to do since she hasn't been napping much lately. She went to be at 7 last night and slept til 6 this morning then came to bed with Mommy for a little morning cuddling. We both fell back to sleep and didn't wake up again until 9:45!!! Fourteen hours and 45 minutes later, Peanut is in a WONDERFUL mood and ready for her day!

Abby's Bedhead....ha, ha, ha!

Fun Town!

Saturday brought us to our Annual Fun Town visit with the Wolven family! We had a great time as always--though we laughed at how times have changed now that we both have little ones--and stuffed ourselves on a delicious chicken dinner at The Bavarian Inn. After our yummy eats, we headed over to Bronner's for a little shopping! Abby LOVED all the sights, music and people and wanted to touch everything. It was so much fun to watch her take it all in.

Just Another October Day

Ahhhhh, what a good day today was! First, Abby and I got up around 8:15 (after a rather restless night--up at 12:40, 1:20 and 3:15....) and had breakfast. We chatted about animals and the sounds they make. It is amazing how fast she is learning things. Of course, she knows some better than others but it is pretty funny to hear her interpretation of some too. Here is a little video of our breakfast (excuse the first part, I was trying to hide the camera so she wouldn't cry for the baby...I failed).

Then, it was time for a nap. Abby took a 2 hour nap again today!!!!!!! This is the third time this week that she has taken a LONG nap (read-longer than her typical 40 minutes). Tuesday it was 2 hours, Wednesday it was 1:20. I think we might be on to something...

Then after a little trip to Kroger for a few things (organic 1/2 gallons of milk are on sale BTW) we took a little nap then did a little dancing. Abby loves Dance-a-lot Robot, especially the Flower Dance. Get your dancing shoes ready:

Playing in the Leaves

Just a quick post of Abby's fall frolic in the back yard! Ahhh, the wonders of fall and little ones!!!

Abby's First Year

Party Time!

Well, after MUCH prep and hard work, Abby's party was here! I must say that I was glad that it was time to have fun, but also wished we had a few more days to get stuff done at the same time...imagine that! All in all it was a great day filled with loving family and friends, good food and priceless memories. Here are a few pics:

Our Birthday Girl

The cake of mini cupcakes

After a delicious meal of "Abby-burgers", Mac-n-cheese, and other goodies cooked by one of Michael's new found "friends" we got ready to sing Abby Happy Birthday!

Easy to clean: Diaper and bib only :)

Abby's Cake

Getting ready to blow out the candle...

Dig in!

Such a lady! She didn't really dig, just nibbled...

and shared with Mommy!

And Aunt Wendy too ;P

Then came the pinata!

And gifts!

And cuteness!

And bounce house fun, too!

What a great ending to a perfect year! I learned a lot in the process of planning this party:

*it is ok to let go of some projects and let a professional help (thanks to Carolyn for cooking and Mission Clean for cleaning)

*after estimating how long you think it will take to complete a project (videos especially) TRIPLE your time

*NEVER expect specific, verbal directions to over ride a picture of a rough idea (even when you explain the pic has flaws)

*family is always there to lend a hand and make GREAT babysitters

*the day will always go by too fast so be sure to take LOTS of pictures (or even better: appoint someone to take them for you! It is like a gift you give to yourself, especially when you get to look at them and see things you missed)

*take a moment together as a family so that you feel like you had at least one special second all to yourselves.

Hopefully, I will take all of this with me into our second year and be a better mother because of it!

I want to say a special thanks to all of you, my followers and lurkers (you know who you are...), for spending a little of you time here at our blog this past year. I hope that you have enjoyed my ramblings and maybe even learned a little too! I hope to hear from you soon!

Birthday Fun Begins!

What a wonderful day today turned out to be!

We woke up to a happy little girl banging her paci on her crib and a few birthday phone calls. It was great to know that we weren't the only ones excited for this day! Birthday breakfast was yummy, Abby had pancakes, yogurt, and grapes. Then, MJ and I did some stuff around the house while Aunt Wendy Abbysat for a bit. It seems as though Abby decided that walking was a bit more interesting today too. Wendy said that she walked from the chair to the coffee table, which is about 5 feet or so, and then she stood for a good minute then walked 2 feet or so before sitting down. Go Abby! Later this after noon, we got ready and hit the road. Where were we going you ask? The Zoo!!!

We had so much fun checking out all the sights: trees, swimmy things, kangaroos, feathered things, a polar bear or two, sleepy tigers, and Abby's favorite--PEOPLE! I think she had more fun waving hello to all the people than anything else. Figures :) Perhaps this will be our B-day tradition!

Cheese!

Getting ready to see the polar bears:

Wow, that is a big foot print!

Loving Daddy

Mommy time!

Next we went to dinner and Abby ate tons of pasta. I think she ate 1/4 of my dinner! She sure love it, that or she was super hungry. When our bellies were full we headed home for some cake, but Abby was so tuckered out that it just wasn't going to happen tonight. Well, I guess the birthday festivities will have to continue into tomorrow! Hey, we have until 11:02 a.m. to celebrate her birth"day" (24 hours, right?!!)!

All in all it was a perfect day! As you know, I had been dreading Abby turning one...but in the end I was sad to see this special day go. I am just amazed at how much has changed in the last year and am so excited to see what the next one brings!