Thanks Sleepyhead

Today I am thankful for long naps. Sadly, not for Mommy, just the children but I'll take what I can get  Today, Ben blessed me with a 2:53 nap and Abby slept 1:45.  I think about 35 of those minutes overlapped, which allowed me a quick shower on my own!  It is amazing how refreshing those quiet, napping hours are.  I'm not sure I could make it through a day with out them.  Now if only I could sneak in a nap for myself once in a while. That, or maybe I should go to bed at a decent hour.  Ah, well, maybe tomorrow!!!

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!

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!

Weekend Fun

Well, holiday prep is in full swing here at the Johnson house but we are managing to squeeze in a little fun along the way! The fun started Friday night with the Oxford Tree Lighting Ceremony! MJ was in charge of organizing the event so we headed out to see Daddy hard at work. We bundled up in our winter gear and walked around downtown, ate some cookies and visited a little too. MJ did a great job on this event and the Oxford DDA will definitely be sad to see him go when he starts his student teaching in January.

Saturday was rather CRAZY--we tried all day to get out of the house to take some pics for our Christmas cards but Abby just wasn't going to have it!! She refused to nap and was a COMPLETE train wreck... lets just say that there was a ton of crying and temper tantrums. So at 4 pm we decided to put Abby in the car and get some running done (Costco, JoAnn's, Target and food). Needless to say she took a 2 hour nap in her carseat while MJ and I took turns running into the needed stores. By this point in the day we were too tired to cook and just picked up some 'Wiches and BK for dinner. MJ got some ranch with his nuggets which Abby decided she needed in order to "dip, dip" her turkey sandwich into. Here is the result of Abby's first encounter with ranch dressing, if you listen closely you can hear her "uuuuummmmmmm" as she bites....

This went on for about 10 minutes, too funny!! After a bath, Abby CRASHED for the night! Wheeew! Next MJ and I finished putting up the tree then went to be:

This morning we were able to head to the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester to take pictures by Oakland County's Largest Gingerbread House. It is super cute and even better smelling! Here are a few pics from out "shoot" (these did not make the cut for the Christmas card...hey we can't give you the good stuff other wise it would be a waste of money to send out cards, silly!!!).

Then we were off to the Rochester Christmas Parade with the Wolvens!!! It was cold but we bundled up and braved the wind. We had a great time and can't wait to go again next year!

Abby stayed warm in her snowsuit and Moby Wrap!! She is not a fan of mittens though...

Love the cheeks!

Then we came home and had some pizza, salad and cake mix brownies. After dinner the girls "played" together for a little before the Wolvens had to head home for Haley's bed time. Abby loves babies--especially her BFF Haley!

Well that is the recap of our busy weekend! Hope you enjoyed the update :)

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:

T minus 13 Days

Ladies and gentlemen, we have steps!!!!!! I am completely amazed at just how fast this is happening, but I also kind of knew it wouldn't take much after she decided that she wanted to walk. All day today Abby moved about the house with speed and a lack of fear. It was as if she owned the place (well, she kind of does but that is a given). She grew more and more confident in her diving steps and seemed to be covering greater distances with them.



Abby was in rare form for most of the afternoon, probably because she pretty much refused to sleep for more than 20 minutes at any given time. So, off to Gramps and Grandma D's we went (it is about a 40 minute drive and Mommy was hoping that she would sleep for most of that)! Gramps did his best to entertain Abby...he even busted out a little Mario Kart on the Wii. Too funny :) Afterwards, Abby decided to warm up her walking skills with a lot of cruising and standing. She stood for a long, long time a couple of times...we found that as long as she had something in her had to distract her she would stand. Then after dinner, she really got moving!



Here is how it went: Gramps was sitting on one side of the living room and I was on the other. Abby was over with Gramps playing with her pinwheel (I think it was) and I asked her to share it with Mommy. At first she just held it out then I asked her to "come here". She slowly took one small step away from Gramps, then another. Now she was past her reach of Gramps but not yet within my reach. She paused at this point but then continued. Next came step three and then step four!!! That's right, four steps in a row! There was no denying this one or explaining it away :)



I wish I could say that I have it on video, but you know---Murphy's law! I have been trying for the past few days to get Abby's diving steps on video, but have not had much luck due to the baby that resides inside the camera. (Let me help you: I let Abby watch some of the video of her on the camera a few times and now whenever she hears the camera turn on she gets excited and wants to see the baby.) I continued to try today at Gramps' house this evening, but had given up right before dinner...we tried go get a repeat, but you know that that NEVER happens! I promise to post walking video as soon as I get some. This will have to do for now!!!

Eleven Months

I....don't...want.....to.......say......it..........


But I guess I will have to at some point anyway. Here it goes: Abby is 11 months old. I can't believe that in 28 days she will be a one year old little girl. Please, say it ain't so!! It is hard to think that my days of having an "infant" are soon over (for the time being anyway) and we and staring down the through of toddlerhood!

In the last few weeks Abby has started to blossom into a little girl who loves to: answer her phone with a big "ello", wave "hi" to anyone that will watch, blow you kisses if you perused her enough, scream at and chase the cats for fun, dance any time music comes on, cruise around the house with little regard for obstacles, "walk" anywhere a pair of guiding hands will take her, eat pretty much anything that you put in front of her (especially spicy veggie patties, blueberries, grapes, cheese and yogurt (which she calls "baby" because of the picture of a baby on the package)) and protest anytime she thinks she is going to go to bed. Yes, I am starting to think that my little girl is a stubborn and sassy as I am...I'm in BIG trouble!

Abby is still a toothless, little Peanut! She is about 16 pounds and I don't think she has grown much since she is still in her 6-9 month clothes. And as for teeth...who knows! She has had a finger in her mouth at all time for the last two weeks or so...seems to be a bit more cranky too but we did cut out the afternoon nursing so I'm not sure which one is the cause! I guess we will just have to wait and see :

Abby waving hi to the bikers riding by:

Abby's big girl piggies:

Abby love to share, as long as you give it right back

Too cute for words

Abby loves her Peanut and cruising with one hand!

Balance is not much of an issue these days

I think Abby will be walking soon. She will stand for 10 seconds or so if she doesn't realize it, has taken to pushing her walking toys around the house and a somewhat fast pace, is moving from the coffee table to the couch while standing and will walk with you while holding on to one finger. I think all it will take is a little desire on her part and off she will go. Stay tuned!

Ain"t Taking This Lying Down

Well, when I went in to get Abby from her morning nap she wasn't in her normal position: on her belly, pushing up on her hands. This time she was chilling in a sitting position. It was a bit surprising, but not the first time she managed to get into this position. I grinned and scooped her up, enjoying this moment because I know moments like this will be gone much too soon.

Then came the end of her afternoon nap. I let her hangout in her crib for a few minutes before I went in to get her (I had to get the laundry switched and a few items put away before play time could begin). She was talking up a storm...I guess her conversation with her Glow Worm was a good one because I was able to get the entire load folded with out an insistent grunt, cry or scream. Then she got quite...hummm. I walked in and found her STANDING and smiling as to say "look what I can do Mom!". All I could think was "Wow, two first in one day. I wonder what the rest of the week will bring!". With Abby pushing up to all fours and rocking back and forth, I'm sure crawling is on its way sooner than later!