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!

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!

Nine Months

Nine months have passed oh-so-quickly!! Abby is not growing a whole lot physically--she is still able to wear her 6 month Carters clothing but I'm putting her in her 9 month stuff because I am SO VERY SICK of her 6 month stuff--but her repertoire of skills are almost multiplying by the day! Here's what is new in the last 30 days: She is clearly waving "bye-bye" with out a doubt, pulling up on things without assistance, has graduated real/table food, is pushing up onto all four and rocking...crawling is in our near future, she has been healthy for more than 2 weeks for the first time since Christmas which also meas that she is sleeping through the night again (Sooooo happy about that!), has developed what we call a "scrunchy" face and took her fist swim class.

Pulling up to her favorite toy:

Almost there....


Standing tall!

Squirmy-worm:

Just has to coordinate movement now:

Determined:

Making it hard for Mommy to get a good picture:

The world must feel better without socks...

Break time:

Just practicing...

Got a good one, finally!!

Abby and Peanut at 9 months

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

Michael LOVES to swim. Every time we go to a hotel, he makes sure to pack his swim trunks, just in case. Every summer (and winter too) he talks about how great it would be to have a pool the proceeds to plan where he wold to put it. When we found out that we were going to have a baby, he talked about taking swim classes with our little Peanut and just how much fun that was going to be.

Well, that day has come! Today, Daddy and Abby's took their first swim class together! So off the the high school we went. We got there a little early and had to wait for the previous class to finish before they could get in. Abby was VERY interested in what was happening in the pool. She seemed to be watching every kid in the pool, not sure what to think.

Here she is in her cozy robe checking things out:

Abby waiting and wondering:

Then it was time for them to get in. They started by sitting on the edge and Daddy poured small cups full of water onto her legs. Daddy said the water was rather cold. This wasn't going to be as warm and cozy as the tub! Abby didn't seem to mind the water from the cup; she was still pretty busy checking out the other kids. Next, Daddy got in with Abby...

I wish I could say that she had a blast at her first swim class, but this photo pretty much sums it up:

We have devised a new plan for the next class: Dip Abby in up to her neck for 30 seconds as soon as they get in. We are hoping that this will get her used to the water temp and that way she can enjoy her time splashing around instead of working at keeping her arms out of the water. Wish us luck! Hopefully, by the end of the summer we can call Abby our Little Fishy :)

Drop It...

I did not realize that this day would come so soon...but just yesterday I put Abby in her crib while I opened a few window around the house only to come back into the room to see her with both hand on the crib side and her butt in the air! Scary! So when Michael got home today we dropped her crib to the lowest setting. I guess I was living in my own little world in thinking (or not thinking I guess) that her crib wouldn't have to be lowered until her first b-day or so...First time motherhood is funny like that!

Little Jumper

We first put Abby in her jumper in late November and not much happened. Actually, she was still so wobbly in the seat that we had to pad her with little blankets so that she wouldn't flop around too much. Needless to say, she didn't jump at that point. Partially because her little legs were too short and uncoordinated, but mostly because she still had to learn what to do. Really, it was just for a change of scenery at that point.

It is amazing how fast babies learn! We found the prefect box to put under her feet so she didn't just dangle there and slowly she caught on to the fun that could be had. The last two weeks have been filled with jumping and talking. Here is a little video from January 2nd, one of her first times of really jumping:

For Christmas Grandma D got Abby a walker that looks like a car--a pink convertable actually--and doubles as a jumper as well. She loves to sit in that and honk the horn. I'm sure it won't be long before she is crusing around the house in that!

Still Normal

We went to the OBGYN today for another check up!

Doc reports that not much has changed since the last time I was checked, though he would guess me less than the 50% effaced (visual learners can click here for more info) that the midwife guessed. He said that Peanut was still high, around -3 (again, visual learners click here) and that my blood pressure, urine and weight look good too. He sees no reason why I won't make it to my due date. He was rather surprised when I said "As long as we make it to August 6th I'm happy". He said usually by this point women are starting to beg to get the baby out.

Not me, I have to wait until at least the 6th (which is my 1 year mark at Girl Scout and the day that I am eligible for FMLA...Stay in there Peanut, at least until the 6th!!!). I asked if he had a guess as to the size of Peanut and he said that everything looks normal, so right around 8 lbs. when all is said and done.

All in all, life is good!

Marathon

No question about it---it was a marathon!!! I'll keep the summary short:

10 couples braved the Saturday Marathon and of course it was a mixed crowd! Normal for the most part, which means one "know-it-all-couple", one "are-you-kidding-me-couple", that brought mom and one "so-sorry-for-you-big-guy-couple". I'll explain the last one in more detail: "Lucy" and "Bob" were about 16 or 17 years of age (strike one) and had "Lucy's" grandma (yup, she is on her way to being "Great Grandma"--strike two) in tow. Needless to say Grate Grandma to-be was NOT happy about the situation and was sure to let EVERYONE know (strike three....so sorry for you Bob) as often as possible!!! To add to their misery, she also loved to discuss her birthing experiences when given the chance.

Even though it was a Marathon, it did fall into the "Express" category as far as information goes. That, or I read way too much and expected too much from the class. MJ seemed to find it useful and I am sure I will appreciate his new knowledge of the birthing positions and all of the back rubbing he is REQUIRED to do when the time comes :)

What did I WANT to learn that I did not:

1) the true meaning of "pressure" and "pain"
2) will contractions feel more along the lines of "OMG Leg cramp" x10 or "Oh S#&$, my cervix is being RIPED open and set on fire"
3) detailed info on pain meds vs. epidural (Tylenol vs. numbing from the dentist??)

Pretty much what I could expect in the "feeling" department. I managed to talk to a girl at work who gave birth 3 months ago and tends not to take Advil, Pep-to, NyQuil, etc. like me and learn more in a 30 conversation than I did participating in the marathon. Thanks Renee!!

We did get to tour the facility....No bad. The family waiting room is a little on the small side, we might fill it up with just our families (hope no one else plans on giving birth when we do). On that note, we did notice that NO ONE was there. Well, new or delivering mothers that is--plenty of staff. At first we were a bit concerned Is this not a good place to have a baby? , then we realized that it was actually a good thing: You get all the attention you need/want because there is no one else to need anything. Score!

All in all I am glad that we went.

Express or Marthon?

We are off to our birthing class at Critton Hospital...All...Day...Long....from 9-5. They call it an "Express" class because it is all in one day, I think it is more like a marathon. We'll see who is right! Enjoy your Saturday knowing MJ and I will be breathing our way through it!


p.s. I will be sure to keep you posted on the out come :)