Girlie Girls

Well... Abby's baby is a good wiggler, kicker, and flipper. SHE also knows how to do the touchdown symbol already (we saw her do it at least 3 times). That's right... Abby is getting a little sister. She was very excited to see her baby on the ultrasound and was actually pretty good for the hour long scan. I'm not sure that ultrasounds normally require an hour, but with the amount of flipping our ninja was doing it took a long time to get all the measurements and pictures they wanted. And we found out this will be a second large headed child (her head was measuring one week ahead of schedule). Must be this will be another big brained child.

Now it is on to the big project - picking a name for the baby girl. We had our boy name set in concrete, but we haven't quite figured out what to call a little girl. We would be happy for any good suggestions, but remember that the initials need to create a word (like Abigail Grace Obreiter - ago). That certainly complicates the process, along with the fact that I have tons of cousins and all of our favorite names have been used by at least one of them. Abby suggestions so far include "Boy" and "Maize".

The Big Day

Tomorrow is the 20 week ultrasound and (hopefully) the big revelation of Baby "Ninja"'s gender. Stay tuned tomorrow night (probably after 8 pm) for the big reveal :-)

Abby Knock Up Door

We left Abby with her friend A.J. today while we were at a funeral. On the way in, Abby helped knock on A.J.'s door and then she said to me "Abby knock up door." I could hardly keep from laughing. She is quite an observant little lady.

Not much else is going on. We are just working on laundry and packing. Abby is reading me Hop on Pop (only the big words, not the whole page). So on this page above, she would read me "Hop Pop" and then I'd read the rest. She is pretty smart to have memorized the big words on almost all the pages. That and we read this book almost everyday.

Playing By The Door

Abby stayed with her favorite baby sitter Kitty tonight and they had a very interesting time. Apparently the whole two hours we were gone they spent playing with various toys, books and puzzles, but only sitting next to the back door. Weird...

We will begin the packing and getting ready for our trip down for Thanksgiving tomorrow after we attend the funeral for our friend Dan. He was an amazing person and a great example of living the Christian life, even with his medical issues and other challenges. We aren't looking forward to the funeral tomorrow, but we know our friend is in Heaven and is finally healed.

While we are at the funeral, Abby will be playing with her friend A.J. and A.J.'s grandpa (who she calls Apple). I'm not sure how Abby will react, but she will certainly be happier there than she would be at a funeral or staying at Steve's office with his assistants, which was our only other option. And now... on to little people time. Abby is a very demanding task master.

Oh Well... Go Blue Anyway!

Abby was hoping to feel like this after the Michigan/OSU football game. Unfortunately...
she felt more like this.

But she did enjoy wearing her Michigan warm-ups (Thanks Grandpa Scott!) and she looked good doing it. Now that football season is over for her, Abby is going to have to start learning her basketball lingo, since touchdown really won't work when watching Michigan Basketball with daddy or Michigan Hockey with Grandpa Scott.

We've been really busy, but we are still finding time to squeeze in some random fun. Like colored water bubble baths and Veggie Tales movies. Abby also has been working on not throwing her food onto the floor - Friday night she had 3 time outs for doing that trick before she was excused from the table. I'm pretty sure she only ate about 3 bites of dinner that night, and she did about the same at lunch today. She has suddenly developed an aversion to eating what I put on her plate, but has no problem eating the same foods if we take her out to eat. Weird...

Sweet Victory

We only had 10 minutes of crying and door pounding before she gave up and put herself into bed. When I was gone Steve got her to sleep at nap time almost instantly, no crying... I don't know how he did it. He must be the baby whisperer.

And since we got Abby into bed I've been cleaning up around here, since it is a big, huge mess! So far I've managed to clean off the surfaces, which seem to be super clutter catchers. And I realized that Abby stole one of the votive holders in my 5 candle holder, so I have 4 of 5 glass pieces... ugh - that thing could be anywhere!

And now... back to cleaning since it is going to be a crazy, busy, and emotional few days. Yesterday we lost a friend we had made up here, so there will be a funeral to attend. It is of course Michigan vs. Ohio State weekend and the Lions vs. the Browns, so there will be football viewing parties to host. And it is an Angel Food distribution weekend (we are almost done with the project - after December we will have our weekends back). So, needless to say we will be busy and won't have much time between events and such to clean back up.

Napping Battles

We are having a nap time power struggle for the last few days. Today I am letting Abby stay up as late as she can handle to see if that will make her so tired she falls asleep without the massive amounts of crying and door pounding. She's asking to take a nap now, so we will see how this experiment works...

Our Baby - Week 19

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

from (http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-19-weeks_1108.bc)

Today Abby says our baby is a boy. She has been talking to the baby a lot, so the baby will probably know her voice very well by the time it arrives. And it will probably know the words "no" and "time out" too since Abby has been having a very defiant week this week. Hopefully it is just a product of the two teeth that are coming in right now. Or maybe it's something in this house, since Maize has been growling at Abby a lot more lately. It may be time to get out of dodge for a few days.

Test One - Passed!

I officially passed the first glucose challenge test, so as of last week I hadn't developed gestational diabetes. There will probably need to be a re-test in about 10 weeks, but it's nice to know that I can enjoy some yummy holiday treats without worrying about my blood sugar. And I think tonight is going to involve some ice cream in celebration!

Abby had a great play date with her friends Little Abby and A.J. this morning. We really enjoy the ability to play with other kids (and she also enjoyed playing with their puppies Maggie and CoCo). Abby and I are thinking about heading out to finish up some Christmas shopping today - we are over halfway done and hoping to be all finished before Thanksgiving. Abby has been thinking really hard about what to get for her Aunties and Uncles now that we have all of her cousins' shopping done.

Veggie Tales Dance

Christmas Shopping Extravaganza

I don't think Abby missed me that much while I was Christmas shopping in Traverse City. She was huggy and snuggly when I got home, but I think she had a lot of fun with her Daddy yesterday. And I had lots of fun with my friend Tara getting a jump start on Christmas shopping. So far, we have presents for all the little people in our lives (including all of Abby's gifts). Now we just have to tackle presents for some of the bigger people.

Since Abby can't read, and I can't take things back easily, here is what I got her: the play-doh version of Mr. Potato Head, the books Olivia and Olivia's Opposites, a Little People panda and giraffe set, and some more of the Gymboree dog gear (socks, barrettes, and a white t-shirt). Most of her present is going straight into her college fund, since she is too little to care whether we bought her a ton of stuff. And she has a ton of stuff... too much to put away.

We had been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather lately, but today is no good. I am not a fan of forty, sprinkly, windy, and grey. I don't think my heater is a fan either. But it is good napping weather and Abby has been working on a nice long nap for quite a while now. Which means Steve and I managed to get her presents all wrapped while she was asleep, so they will all be great surprises.

Abby Crabby

Abby has been having one of those crabby days today - must be the lack of sunshine and Maize's refusal to wear a cup on her nose all day. It may be a wonderful weekend for me to escape and let Steve and Abby have some good one on one time. Of course, I will feel bad if she is super crabby for him all day tomorrow and Sunday morning while I am in Traverse City shopping and hanging out with a friend.

Abby helped me pick out new glasses at the eye doctor's today. She was very insistent that she get to try on most of the pairs I tried on. It took way longer than necessary, but she had fun. And I think I found a pair of glasses I like (I hope) despite being rushed to get out of there by the fact that Abby was trying to bust a few pairs. Someday she will be picking out her own lenses, since I'm sure she is genetically doomed to bad eyes like her dad and I.

Abby Back Hurts

It must be that Steve and I have been talking about my aching back a little too much, because this morning Abby woke up, came down for breakfast and said to me "Abby back hurts. Hot shower." Needless to say I couldn't control the laughing and we took Miss Abby up for her hot shower, after which she was all better. She doesn't seem to miss a thing anymore. So, as much as my back is probably going to hurt for the rest of this pregnancy, I think I am going have to grin and bear it.

Last night Abby found her portable dvd player and insisted on watching Veggie Tales on it, even though her dad volunteered the big screen t.v. for her. She sure has a mind of her own. But she enjoyed Bob and Larry and her daddy was able to enjoy his sports center and other programs. She also insisted on wearing only dog clothes this morning, but after spilling a whole cup of milk on herself at lunch, she is now wearing a cute blue sweater and plain old khaki pants.

Abby enjoyed her daddy's day off yesterday by taking two walks around town, including one to the library. She enjoyed her library books so much that she went to bed with them last night. They were still sleeping with her when she woke up this morning. Another example of the crazy ideas that this girl gets into her little head. And another reason why we love her so much!

Here's one last picture of Abby and the puppy her dad said would be too much work for us (and I'm sure he was right, but it is such an adorable puppy).

Our Baby - Week 18

How your baby's growing:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

from (http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-18-weeks_1107.bc)

We had our monthly checkup for Baby O. this morning. Everything was progressing on schedule and we are hoping that the glucose tolerance test comes back good so that I don't have to start testing my blood sugar daily. We have our next ultrasound on November 30th, so we are hoping that Baby O. cooperates and we can find out the gender (along with making sure that all the organs and systems have developed properly). Unfortunately, my back and hip pain is only going to get worse and Dr. Mackie didn't seem to think there was much that could be done to prevent it, short of doing less activity. And since Abby isn't on board with the less activity idea, I guess I will be having a sore back and hip until Baby O. arrives.

P.S.

We've uploaded Abby's 15-18 month pictures to http://photos1.walmart.com/groups/abbyschristmasalbum

Happy photo printing! Sorry we got so behind in the uploading. We still have all of our pictures from camping to upload.

Two New Favorite Things

I have two new things I could no longer live without. The first is my boppy pregnancy wedge pillow (http://shopboppy.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=17&zenid=798c8798fc3a3f9508743805eeaf8624). I'd been trying to alleviate my daily backaches by using a standard pillow, but this magic little pillow was the perfect shape to help support my back from the ache caused by the growing midsection.

The other great new purchase I made this week was a food steamer. Abby and I picked out the Rival model (http://www.rivalproducts.com/product.aspx?pid=2420) at our local Wal-Mart and have been enjoying yummy veggies and meats from it. It has two steaming trays, so we can fix multiple vegetables at the same time without doing the microwave juggle. And the food tasted so much better at dinner last night after a quick trip through the steamer.

Abby's new favorite thing is play-doh. She's played with it at playgroup before, but over the weekend she and Aunt Emily really got into it. Abby especially enjoys cutting and pretting things into the play-doh. We left the play-doh from the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Hodges' house, but we replaced it with our own play-doh 4 pack. On the way home Abby counted the play-doh and then finished counting. I had no idea she knew how to count, so I was quite pleasantly surprised to hear "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, two" from the backseat. We've since had to throw one of her new play-doh tubs away (I didn't think yogurt smoothie and play-doh mix would sit very well), but we are still enjoying lots of creative playing.

Getting Back On Schedule

We had a great time visiting family last week, but now it is time for us to get back on schedule. We have a lot to do this week!

We headed down to visit family last Wednesday night and enjoyed seeing Grandmas and Grandpas and Great Grandparents too. Abby had a lot of fun playing with Aunt Hannah and Aunt Emily. She especially enjoying having play-doh time with Emily on Saturday while everyone was busy. Emily made lots of good things and then Abby cut them up. We were cracking up. And Abby also had fun teasing Uncle Dan and talking to him on the pretend phone. She had so much fun doing it that she kept it up for a good part of the car ride home.

I think the highlight of Abby's weekend may have been visiting Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jim's puppies. Abby and I tried really hard to talk her dad into letting us keep one, but he is a stickler for the one dog rule. She had so much fun with the puppies that she talked about it into her sleep that night.

Abby also came home with some neat stuff, like a double stroller and a rocking chair. We test rode the stroller around our house this morning and it worked well. And we also brought home Abby's new favorite shirt - a monkey sweater. We have a lot of stuff to put away and so I'd better get back to it.

Our Baby - Week 17

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

(from: http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-17-weeks_1106.bc)

Next Wednesday is our next OB appointment. I get to take the lovely glucose tolerance test and we will be setting a date for our 20 week ultrasound. We've had several people we know recently who have been unable to determine gender from that ultrasound, so we are praying that Baby O. cooperates and Abby can settle on a name for her new baby. Last night's choice was Boy Sister.

In Case You Don't Facebook

This is Abby's singing debut. She needs some work on the rest of the lyrics, but it's not bad for a first timer.

New Phases

Our car dialogue after playgroup.

Abby: "Shoes off"
Me: "No Abby, please keep your shoes on big girl."
Abby: "Why?"
Me: "Because we are going to Subway and you need shoes to go inside" - in my head (oh man... I thought I had at least a year before we started this...)

Moon Boots

Hmm... Abby wonders. Who is cooler? Abby in her spandex and moon boots or Napoleon Dynamite? He does have sweet pockets on the side of his pants, but she thinks the stripes are a much bigger fashion statement.

Abby enjoyed a visit from Grandpa Roy, who was in town to train the staff at the local Department of Agriculture office. We got to have dinner last night with Grandpa and then visit afterward and had lunch together today too. And, tomorrow night Abby will be headed off to Hastings to do lots and lots of visiting with family and friends.

Today was Abby's playgroup day. We had a great time playing with the other kids and Abby enjoyed the lesson on making healthy fruit salad from our local MSU extension office friend Janet. Abby even got to help make the fruit salad by cutting up peaches (don't worry, it was a plastic knife and she is very handy). I am so glad she has a safe, fun place to play with other kids and learn things each week. And, it is nice for me to interact with other moms. Just this morning one of them was asking me how I handled staying at home when I had so much education and had an "important" job before having kids. It's nice to be able to share with moms like that how much Steve and I value the fact that we can give Abby and Baby O. a great start by letting them have a stay at home mom. Not that me working would have been a bad thing, its just too much fun to give up in exchange for extra income. And I get to witness all the firsts. Like the singing of twinkle, twinkle little star. We are up to "twinkle star how wonder are up diamond twinkle star how wonder are." Pretty soon she will have the whole song down.

Daylight Savings Time = BAD!

We are not enjoying daylight savings time. I have been getting less and less sleep lately from the pregnancy. So when Saturday night rolled around we tried to keep Abby up an extra hour hoping that would help her make the "fall back" switch. Wrong... Instead I was up an extra hour and still up at her normal time (8 a.m, which was now 7 a.m., on a Sunday morning when I don't need to be up until 9 a.m.). We are still fighting the fight. She was super sleepy and ready for bed at 8 last night, rather than her normal 9 or 10 p.m. bedtime and she woke me up at 4 a.m. this morning.

I really need a nice long nap, and this string of icky weather we've been having has been just what I need to help with napping. Now I just need to get rid of the rest of the things I need to complete, so that I can actually take advantage of the nice napping weather.

Abby has been singing to us lately. She is really funny. Today she was singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It went about like this... Twinkle star wonder are. She is pretty much adorable. She also loves to sing Jesus Loves Me to me, mostly in the car. She insists that the radio be off before she sings. And, if she doesn't like the song on the radio, she sticks her fingers into her ears and yells out "change, change" until I switch songs. It is hilarious!