Potty Progress

Big news to report in the world of "thinking about potty training"...today at school Abby 1) asked to go potty out of the blue 2) had a clean diaper upon request and 3) pooped in the toilet for the first time ever!!!  I must say that this is a pretty big day for Abby.  I realize that we are a far cry from officially being potty trained, but it is getting harder and harder to deny that she is ready.  The above events, along with Abby taking off her wet diaper while I was in the other room and then announcing the need for a new one pretty much seals the deal.  I'm glad that we are planning on a 3 day boot camp right after Christmas, or maybe we'll even start on Christmas day. We'll see how ambitious Mommy feels when the day gets here.

Until then, the potty prep continues.  I washed another 9 pair of undies tonight and Santa is bringing her 3 more pair for her stocking (My Little Pony ones because I hear they are the smallest ones out there.  If you have a Peanut too and want more details, let me know and I will share...).  I laugh each time I go to fold them because the are soooooo tiny.  I only wish her little bum would stay that small forever.  Wait, that would be weird!

Story Time

Bed time has been rough for Mommy and Abby for a few months now--anytime I am in her room she REFUSES to go to sleep because she knows I will leave. So, MJ has been in charge of bedtime duties. But Abby has slowly found her way to our bed each night, or should I say morning as in 4 am, warm and snug as a bug! But this morning I decided enough is enough. And the fight begins...

I spent about 25 minutes in her room, fighting to keep her in bed and trying to get her to lie down. About the third round of crazy screams MJ tagged himself in. And stayed in there for the rest of the morning after two failed escapes.

Guess we "won" on keeping her in her own bed ;)

So tonight I went in to start the process...determined to get her over her issue of mommy putting her to bed. As we were reading our goodnight book that we have not read in a few months b/c I don't put her to bed she would finish the sentence when I paused: "find pajamas big and...." "small" replied Abby. "And when the moon is on the rise they all go up...." "to exercise!!" said Abby. "the day is done they say "goodnight" and somebody turns off the..." "light!" she peeps in. I just can't believe that she remembers all of that! It is crazy just how much of a sponge she was even all those months ago.

Moral of the story to other parents....careful, they ARE watching!

Not Yet

I refuse to believe that my little Peanut will be two next week...it just can't be true! I don't think MJ understands my denial, but I think all the other mothers out there just might. Can I get an Amen???

Nothing to Report

We tried a few doctors today and everyone wanted to wait until Monday or so to see her. They said that they wanted to wait for the swelling to go down before doing anything. At that point I was feeling a bit defeated and concerned but then Michael came to the rescue with a recommendation from our friend Mary!! We called Dr. Jones and we have an appointment for 8:30 tomorrow.

But all in all, Abby had a good day. She got mad at the splint three times and tried to take it off. It took a little finessing, but in the end we got her to keep it on. It is amazing what a sucker or M&M can do!

April Already...

Where is the time going??? I always have the best of intentions to post on a more regular basis, then life happens! Super quick update as I am getting to the end of my night and still need to pay some bills, feed the cats, put a load of clothes into the dryer but I can hear Abby starting to cough.... And that leads me to my update: Abby has yet another ear infection!!! UGGGGHHH! I am always amazed at how wonderful she is, happy, playful, loving, until that 102.5 fever hits (and as always it is in the middle of the night--go figure)! Then it is all down hill from there! Bless her little heart! It was Thursday night when the latest fever hit and I knew right away that it was an ear infection (she had asked me to itch her ear earlier that day but I didn't think anything of it until then). So off to the Dr. we went. I can't say that I was happy to hear that she would need to go on an antibiotic (yeah, he said it was pretty bad) other than the last time the other Dr. over wrote her Rx (2 bottles instead of 1) and I still had a full round left. Other than having what I needed on hand, this is poopy! Little Peanut has been a bit clingy on both Friday and today, though Saturday was great--go figure! I just hope this works itself out soon because Mommy and Daddy are going for a little get-away soon....

Top of the Mornin'

Happy St. Patty's day from us to you!

Abby is in her St. Patty's shirt

I'm wearing fun St. Patty's socks

And MJ has on a green tie...how are you celebrating today?

Art, Family and Yummy!

Here is a weekend update, short and sweet:

I think that I forgot to post about Abby getting her top left front tooth a week or so ago...ooops!!

Abby brought home her first work of art from school on Friday (which is proudly hanging on the fridge)...



Just incase you can't tell it is a footprint snowman. LOVE it!!!

I found out the hard was that Bra World by Oakland Mall no longer exists...Ugggghh!

I decide that i can't take much more of the winter-blahs without saying/doing something that I'll regret. So to the tanning bed I went :) Boy how I have missed you tanning bed! Keep you lectures to yourselves please--I know the risks and have decided that this is the only way to make it (and I am lecturing myself as I drive to and from said appointments).

We had a great visit with Uncle Tom and Aunt Amanda yesterday. Lots of playing, dancing and laughing.

Pics to come...

And we finished our weekend with a busy Sunday full of conducting singers at church, dinner with Nana and Papa, and Abby's first trip to Coldstone...







She refused to eat it until I gave her her own spoon and then she was unstoppable!! She was double-fisting with a Timbit, so cute!!

And that was it (well now I'm off to do some grocery shopping...)! Hope you had a great weekend!

Good and Stubborn

Abby had another great day at daycare, which I love!! I was able to sneak in and watch her play for a few minutes which was a pleasure. I always wonder what she does while there so it was nice to see her in action. She was over by the jumpers playing with the toys attached, pushing, turning and clicking away. Then she saw me and started to cry. What is that about?? I told her that she was fine and that seemed to fix it. Then she came running to me with a huge smile on her face. That warmed my heart and was just what I needed after a frustrating day at work. I swooped her up and then she started tickling me. Abby LOVES to tickle...yesterday the ladies at daycare told me how she spent the afternoon tickling baby Abby who thought it was the funniest thing in the world and let them know by belly laughing the whole time!

And now here we are, minute 42 of Abby crying "Momma, momma, momma" from her crib. This little girl is persistent and stubborn just like her Mommy! I don't know that I'd call it crying so much as whining. All she wants is for me to come and rock her (or to sleep in my bed...), which part of me would love to do for her but the realistic part of me keeps telling me that this has to stop (and sometime soon). I know that she will only be tiny for a short time and little ones need lots of extra love, but since she has been sick lately we have gotten into the bad habit of rocking her when she wakes. Oh how I long for the day of sleeping through the night again! Maybe in ten years that will happen on a regular basis.......

Spring Please Hurry

Hello! I know that I have been neglecting the blog since returning to work...I'm still trying to find a groove/motivation to get it all done without much success. I will get there, I will get there. Here are a few updates:

Well, we are all still sick! It seems like every time we think we are getting over this chest cold, two days later we wind up with a cough again! Both MJ and Abby have been on antibiotics with no luck so it seems that we just have to wait for May and the warm weather to get here.

Abby has had a better two day at daycare after a rough two weeks. A double ear infection, cold, crazy hives and teething will do that to a one year old! When I picked her up today the new girl raved about how great she was today. I pursued to tell her that this is more our "normal" Abby over the supercranky Abby that has been around for a few weeks. I'm not too sure she believed me...

We had Abby's 18 month check up last week and her stats read like this: 10% for weight (17 lbs 11 oz), 25% for height (29") and 50% for head (18.4"). She truly is a Peanut--but has come a long way from the little 7 lbs, 20 inch newborn that came into this world a year and a half ago! I think she might be hitting a growth spurt, that or she is making up for the lack of appetite these last few weeks. When I put her on the scale this evening and she is up to 19 lbs 2 oz! On the right track...

In more Abby news, she is cutting her 5th tooth! This time it is the top-front-left tooth. I'm so nervous about this one because I know that these will change her looks forever and I'm just so used to my little Abby just the way she is.

MJ is enjoying his student teaching. I can't believe that he has less than five weeks to go and then he will certified!!! Wow, the last two years have gone by so fast and have been filled with change. All of it great though, just perfect!

As for me, work is...um...well....hummm. I guess the jury is still out. On one hand it is nice to get out of the house but on the other I'm struggling with the everyday tasks (cooking, cleaning, working out (oh wait, I've always struggled with that one) feeling like I get enough time in with Abby (and MJ), I'm sure you know the rest of the list). I just keep telling myself that I will adjust to my new normal in time.

Toothy

Here is the first picture of Abby where you can see her tooth. It is kind of a strange thing for me since I've known her for so long without them!

Got Another One

I was right (I do love saying that...)!! I finally got in there to feel around and sure enough she is cutting another molar. So, we are up to four teeth (two bottom front and two top molars (one on each side)).

I do want to give yet another shout out to Dr. Moscovic! I appreciate getting a phone call back from him at 8:30 at night to see how Abby is doing and to make sure he was writing the orders for daycare to give ibuprofen right. It sure is nice to get a call from the Dr. instead of his head nurse (though we love her too). And to the ladies at daycare, hang in there! Happy Abby should be back soon...

Three or more?

Well the third tooth has popped!!! And by the amount of fussing that is going on I wouldn't be surprised if a few more are on their way! I must say that I love all the cuddling that is happening but I sure do wish she felt better...

Road Trip

I haven't been snowboarding since the winter before I got pregnant with Abby. Which makes it more than three years since I put my board to good use. Being the attentive and loving hubby that MJ is he knew it was time to change that. So for my bday present Abby and MJ booked a cottage for us and the Wolvens in the Bay Harbor area so we could hit Boyne!!! Our friend Tina came along for the ride and we had a great time.

Paul and I got out for our first run around 12 (after an equipment issue--thanks Boyne repair shop for the help) and I must say it is just like riding a bike!! Paul did a great job for his second time in SEVEN years ( I thought it had been a long time since I was last out...). Sadly Paul had to call it a day so he could head home to Haley who got the flu. I went back to the cottage w/ him for a bite to eat.

After lunch Abby decided she wanted to be a snowbunny...



Too cute if you ask me! After a little lunch I was back on the slopes :) I had a great time and hope to make it back out at least one more time this year!

We're on our way home right now and Abby is rather tuckered out after a weekend of playing with Tina, here she is napping in her carseat:

Snow Day!

We managed to survive the big storm! Daddy is not feeling well, so I got out and snow blowed the drive at 9:30 this morning and it is just about ready to be done again. At this point I would guess that we have got about 11 inches of snow. No matter the number of inches, it was enough to get the mail woman stuck and a good excuse to get out and play in it! Here are some pictures of Abby exploring the white stuff:

Time for a ride in the sled!

She wasn't ready to come in, she kept asking for "more, more", but her little cheeks were getting rosy and my nose was cold! Maybe we'll head out for another round after nap!

Today finally arrived. I always knew it would but I can't say that I was really ready. Today was Abby's first full day of daycare and my first day back to work in eleven months. But I am happy to report that neither one of us had a complete meltdown, neither one of us through a temper tantrum on the floor, neither one of us had to be sent home ;)

I dropped her off at 7:10 and managed to hold it together until I turned to walk out the door. Miss Kelly said to have a good day and--BOOM--the tears welled up and that pesky frog appeared in my throat. I choked out a rough "bye" as I ran out the door. I refused to let them drop from my eyes, I refused to let my sorrow, guilt, selfishness win. I thought to myself "Abby will have a great time and I will live".

I am oh-so-thankful that my I was able to carpool down to Detroit for training because that hour drive by myself would have killed me! Once we got to work, I only allowed myself to call and check in one time for many reasons: 1) I would drive myself crazy waiting for the next break so I could call again, 2) what was I going to do if she wasn't doing well, 3) I had to have faith in those who I had left her with, 4) deep down I knew that my social little butterfly would love playing with her new friends. So, I managed to make it through 7 hours of training without obsessing or crying.

And I was right! When I went in at 5:20 Miss Melissa said that Abby had a GREAT first day--better than most first days! Not only did she enjoy playing with the others, she ate well and even took an hour and ten minute nap (with minimal crying and a little back rubbing (or at least that is what they told me!))!!! As we were leaving Miss Melissa asked me how old Abby is. I told her 17 months and she was rather amazed. At first I thought it was because she is so small or because she has so few teeth, but she told me that her vocabulary is amazing. I laughed and said that I know that I am going to be in trouble when she gets to be a teenager!

All in all we had a good day. I can't say that I am "so happy" to be back to work or that I really missed this and wished I would have done it sooner but I can say that I know that this is what is best for our family and that we have made the right decisions--and that feels good!

Second Tooth

Abby has cut a second tooth! I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but it feels like it was within the last few days--and by the way she has been sleeping, or should I say waking, I think that is just about right. So, her first tooth was her bottom left tooth and her second tooth is on the top right and I am guessing the fourth one back...Looks like Abby is going to be anything but normal when it comes to her teeth :)

Can't Live Without the Sprayer

I have been meaning to post this as a Product I Can't Live Without for a while now, but after our recent bout of the stomach bug, it is definitely something I have to share:

bumGenius Diaper Sprayer

As a non-disposable diaper user, this item has saved me from dipping my hand into the toilet to rinse off the non-plastic liner and cloth pant when nature gets, well, um...messy. It is also great for rinsing out the diaper pail or tub too (the water comes from the line BEFORE it hits the toilet, so no worries---it is CLEAN water). An added bonus is that it is super easy to install! I managed to do it by myself during one of Abby's super short naps. In fact, I was mad a myself for putting it off so long because I thought it would be hard to do! I had originally planned on posting with that alone.

However, this past week the sprayer was assigned overtime as I sprayed off the chunks of vomit from Abby's pajamas, outfits, sheets, crib rail, towels, and even my shirts (not from me people, Abby has great aim) before putting them in the washer. It is bad enough to have to deal with these "body-fluids" if you will, but it is worse to have to swish them in the toilet! So to bumGenius I say THANK YOU and to all you moms out there I say this is a product that is definitely worth every penny spent!

This is for the birds....

I was hoping to post some Christmas updates today...lots to share...but our day has been full of vomit!!!! I was in denial this morning--chalked the first two up to phlegm overload--but after Abby's fifth wardrobe change I am starting to wonder if this is her first case of the flu. I'll keep you posted...

Update:

Well, Abby got sick six times that day and I had to call the Dr. office because she couldn't keep a thing down--not crackers, not water. It was so sad to see her little face each time she would get sick, she just didn't know what was going on and it seemed to scare her a bit. It broke my heart each time. It is amazing that you really don't care about cleaning chunks out of the carpet (when you have all that hardwood that she could have vomited on....) or all the laundry you'll have to do when your baby is getting sick. You truly just want them to feel ok.

Abby seemed to be doing better around dinner time (hadn't thrown up in over 3 hours) and she was starving so I let her eat some crackers and such. Well, needless to say we had a visitor in our bed that night because about 3 hours after going to be her sheets were covered. The next day she was fine all day, other than being a sleepy little girl, but she yet again got sick in bed. Poor thing!

Thus far, I was in the clear. Come New Year's Eve, I was going on day two w/o getting sick so we went ahead with our dinner plans. Gramps and Grandma D came over to Abbysit while we went out for a nice adult dinner with friends. Just about the time the appetisers came it hit me like a ton of bricks out of NOWHERE! I have to say that I can't remember the last time I got sick in a public bathroom (maybe because I had had a bit too much to drink then...just saying...) and I never want to do it again! YUCK! Well, we didn't get to enjoy that meal, in fact I didn't get to enjoy any meal until dinner the next day :( So much for not getting this one from Abby!

I do have to say that this was an easy tummy bug--no fever, no body aches, no headache, no chills. It really could have been worse. I just look at it this way, I got my diet off to a good start! Happy New Year to me....

Merry Tooth-mas

After getting home from our Christmas Eve visits Abby crashed hard and MJ and I got busy prepping for Christmas morning. As always, there was some last minute wrapping (but not much this year), cleaning, and other odds and ends to attend to. But little miss Abby had other plans for Mommy and Daddy...around 11 pm or so she woke a not so happy girl and refused to go back to sleep on her own. So MJ took one for the team and went to bed with our Little Peanut. So, on I went with prepping for breakfast, filling out cards, and other elf like duties (I never realized just how hard Santa's elves have to work to get ready for his arrival!!!). I called it quites about 2 am. That is what I get for being a perfectionist/control freak!!

Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that Abby loves to give herself gifts on big occasions...when we woke up on Christmas morning I decided to check to see if she cut her first tooth overnight since refused to go back to sleep on her own and sure enough the razor like tooth was there just above her gum!! So it is official, my 16 month old daughter has her first tooth! A quick "thank you" to Abby for making it so easy to remember these milestones ;)

Christmas morning was just perfect:

Family photo 2010
Let the opening begin!

Santa gifts first

Abby has the hang of unwrapping!

Play food complete with an apron

cutting board and crackers too

Daddy's girls

Then around 10 am we got a personal visit from Santa!!! We are so very lucky to get these visits, we hope he is able to come every year though we know it can get tricky ;)

Abby was excited to see Santa, but at the same time didn't want to get too close. Here she is checking him out from Grandma's lap.

She was interested in his bag and all the goodies it held

Santa was even nice enough to help with the bows :)

I love this one! You can see the "OOOOOOO" on her face

Puppets!!

What else you got, Santa?

Almost--close--enough--Got it!

I'm not sure if she is checking out Santa or her new tooth here

A new dolly! Abby loves the nose on this one...

Abby showing Santa how to push dolly in her new stroller

Reading a new book with Grandma D

I see you Santa...

After all that hesitation, Abby was sad to see Santa go. She watched him from the window and told him "bye" time and time again.

After our visit from Gramps, Grandma D then Santa, Nana and Papa came over for dinner and we Skyped with Grandmama in Virginia! It was a busy day full of love spent in our Christmas pajamas--perfect if you ask me!

This sums up our feeling at the end of the day: time for bed!

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve festivities started at the Johnson's at about 1:30 where we had yummy appetizers and opened gifts:

Gracie, Abby and Julia in their pretty Christmas dresses

Abby just wanted down to play with the toys...


Helping Nana open her gifts

Abby refused to put down Aunt Stacey's phone...

One handed attempt to open her gifts

Serious Abby

Gracie loved her backpack of coloring stuff

Off she goes! Too funny!

Julia loves to help Abby when ever she can

A doll!

This is Abby's "it hard" or frustrated sign--she squeezes her fists and shakes them while clenching her jaw...it is so funny to see in person! She just wanted to hold her doll and Daddy wasn't get her out fast enough

Can I touch her yet?

Almost time to hold my new doll

Time to open the next gift

Abby got so excited each time she opened a gift. She let out a little "yeaaaa" for each one.

Then it was time for a visit with Grandma Kat, Great Grandma Davis, Aunt Lauren and Uncle Jason! This was a special visit since everyone but Great Grandma lives out of town and we don't get to see them as often as we would like. It was nice to get some one on one time with them during the very busy holiday visit.

Abby and Grandma Kat hanging out

Munching on some Goldfish with Great Grandma Davis

A little love from Aunt Lauren and Uncle Jason

After a long day of visits, gifts and food we headed home and got ready for the big day ahead of us!! I was so excited for Abby's second Christmas after the preview Christmas Eve gave us!