Training Day

Abby decided yesterday would be a good day to start training Olivia, so we worked on "Go Blue" and the proper form for "Hail" to the Victors. Abby was very excited that Olivia has gotten big enough to wear her Michigan shirts. We had to put away most of Olivia's newborn sized clothing since her torso was getting too long for it. We also are using the very last of the newborn sized diapers up (they should be gone today).

We are looking forward to an unexpected visit from Great Grandma Jennie and Grandpa Steve, Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff (and boys). We aren't excited about the purpose of the visit (Uncle Jeff's dad Bud passed away - he was a really great man), but it will be nice to see them all. That is one benefit of being in Sault Ste. Marie - every once in a while Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff are around to visit his family, who mostly live in town. I'm sure Abby will be very excited to see her "Candy Grandma."

Two Turkeys

We have one turkey cooking in the oven and another cute one who is finally taking her nap. Abby and her dad enjoyed their usual lunch date today and watched the Michigan/UCLA basketball highlights on SportsCenter. Abby wishes her dad would have stayed up with her to watch Michigan win, but they both slept through it, so all they have is the highlight reel.

Tomorrow Abby is going to experience her first Michigan/Ohio State football game. Unfortunately Michigan will probably lose and she will be watching the game in the home of an Ohio State fan, so she will not be able to yell at the t.v. and throw toys at it. Bummer...

If anyone has a pattern for an easy dog sweater to knit or crochet please let us know, poor Maize is freezing to death when we put her outside. Even her paws are getting frostbit and then we have to watch her limp around until they warm up. Abby doesn't like that, so I am trying to crochet up a dog sweater with some scrap yarn. We'll see how this works.

Abby would like to remind you all of her favorite two words during football season "Go Blue"... Have a wonderful weekend :-)

Some New Pictures

This is a happy girl wearing size 12 months pink pig pajamas ~ thank you to Aunt Hannah and Aunt Emily for getting Abby these really cool jammies. Abby is still spending a lot of time chewing on teething rings, but those little teeth don't want to come through quite yet. Hopefully sometime really soon. Abby is now wearing both 9 month and 12 month sized clothes and we've packed up all the littler stuff and all the summer gear (except for a few 12 month sized outfits in case we get our stuff together and get down to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Hodges this winter in Florida).

We had a crisis yesterday ~ we used up all the bibs except the Michigan State bib. We really didn't want to use it on our little wolverine, but we did need something to catch her drool. She had to yell "Go Blue" when we put the MSU bib on. Also... someone needs to let the engineering department at MSU know the real dimensions of a baby's neck, since we had to tie the bib in a knot to get it to stay up. We got right to work on the laundry and by lunch time Abby was back in a pretty pink bib. Now... we don't want you all thinking we hate Michigan State, since it is the great university that Great Grandpa Harley, Great Great Aunt Barb, and Great Aunt Denise went to. We just love Michigan more is all. And we really do cheer for the Spartans against any team except Michigan. But at Abby's tender age we can't afford team loyalty confusion. She'll understand when she is older that you can love Michigan and still like Michigan State sometimes.





























And... it is fall and Abby has her first pumpkin to carve into a jack o'lantern. We aren't going to get to it this weekend, but probably by next Friday it will be carved into a two toothed baby pumpkin. Abby likes her hard, orange buddy. Unfortunately the photographer couldn't get her to smile this morning without being silly, so the photo isn't centered quite right. And... Abby has a new trick she is trying hard to master. She is now waving all the time, but we haven't quite mastered waving on command. Coming soon though...

Now off to a fabulous Friday. Tomorrow Steve is taking us on a color tour to Mackinac Island! One of the dental hygienists in the office has some inside connections, so we should have a great day.

More Boyne Fun

Abby and Aunt Emily checking out the old sled in the lobby.



















When you fall asleep in the carrier, you may get a mark on your head.









Family photo in front of the bear (Nate and Courtnie already used the bear's backside for their photo).

















Wearing our Michigan shirts for the football game! Go Blue!



















Eating taco chips with Grandma Mary is fun :-)










Wearing a birthday princess crown for Emily's birthday. We didn't have enough for Aunt Hannah to wear one too.







Playing in the pool at Avalanche Bay! Lots of splashing going on.


















First trip down a water slide with mom. Dad took her on her second trip the next day.













Watching Michigan beat Wisconsin with Grandpa Scott.

Let's Go Blue!!

Yay for football season! We hope our team impresses us today!
We've got our gear all ready - including the Michigan wind suit. Now... we must clean. Grandma Lorraine will be here this afternoon (and we just found out this morning). Lots of work to do today!

Our Beach Adventure

Campsite Report Card:

1. View From Campsite (see photo above)..........A+

There was a totally unobstructed view of Lake Michigan from our campsite. There was about 75 yards of stony field full of wildflowers and lots of monarch butterflies between us and the water. It was beautiful! If you click on the photo to get the original sized version you can really appreciate the great view we enjoyed.

2. Camping Facilities..........................................................B-

The outhouses were clean and well stocked and for an outhouse not totally unbearable. The sites were well spaced and probably half had a spectacular lake view. Our site (Number 8) was a little small and we had to put our big tent partly on the drive, so it was a little stony underfoot.

3. The Beach........................................................................D+

We picked this location because it was on the beach, but the shore behind our site was rocky (large boulders, not Lake Superior stones). There was a small amount of sandy beach both to the east and west of the campground, but it was narrow and the water was no more than knee deep for at least 100 yards out. Abby appreciated the super warm waves, but Steve and I were disappointed.

4. Our Fellow Campers..................................................................F

We came home a day early because we were tired of listening to a bunch of out of control teenage girls and another family with at least 4 kids who were up and screaming in the middle of the night. There was also an inordinately large number of dogs running loose and trying to dog fight with Maize, who was restrained at all times as per campground rules.

So.... we had a good time camping. We forgot a few key items, but otherwise Abby thoroughly enjoyed her first camping experience and her first lick of Pop Tart, which happened to be a Michigan Wolverine Pop Tart. But... eating soup without spoons and sleeping without pillows was not the most fun.

We all enjoyed the hammock - it's a good thing I insisted Steve get me one when he was in Guyana a few years ago. Abby had a great time swinging and even Maize enjoys an occasional snuggle in the hammock. And it's a great place to read a book or two.

And Abby in the last two weeks has decided that she loves the water. She didn't like Grandma Mary's pool, but she was instantly a fan of waves washing on her legs. We got lots of smiles and giggles, even when we sat her down in the water. We even put an umbrella up right in the surf to keep her from burning so she could play longer.

Unfortunately our football team lost, but Abby still loves them. And she was mighty glad for the camping sweat suit that Great Grandma Jennie got her. She wore it during the day and over her pajamas at night too!

Lake Michigan Here We Come

Picture from the internet of Little Hog IslandWe are headed to the beach near Little Hog Island this evening. We can't wait. Last night Steve loaded up our car, so all we have left to do is wait for him to get done with work.

Abby did great with her second set of shots. She didn't get any fever and wasn't grouchy at all. The only sign that she had any shots is the red marks where they gave the injections. She is a real trooper.

And... tomorrow is the start of a very special season in this household - Michigan football season! Since we are going to be camping we have already set up the tivo to record the football game. We LOVE our tivo - it is probably the best piece of electronic equipment we have ever purchased. It is WAY better than the average dvr's that the satellite dish companies provide since I can access it from anywhere in the world as long as I have internet and tell my machine what it needs to record. And it searches listings for me based on keywords - which we are currently using to increase Abigail's collection of Disney movies. Yesterday we taped 101 Dalmatians from tv onto the tivo and then from tivo onto dvd with that dvd recorder Steve got us. We are having lots of fun with technology!

Abby and I are going to play and play today so she is ready to take a ride tonight. We'll update you again on Monday evening or Tuesday :-)

The 24 Week Check-In

Steve, Sparky, Maize, and I are watching the Capital One Bowl and hoping that Sparky will not be embarrassed to wear all of the maize and blue gear she has. While we had a great time in Florida, it is wonderful to be at home and back to a more relaxing pace of life. I sure get tired quickly. I also seemed to develop what my brother's affectionately called "cankles" (when your calf and ankle are indistinguishable) from traveling, but I can now see both ankle bones, so I should be back to normal soon.

Sparky may have been the only Obreiter in this house that was awake when midnight hit last night. I was out by 8:30 and Steve was asleep before 11. Even Maize was snoring long before 11. If Sparky was awake, she was being well behaved and let me sleep until about 4 a.m.

This week's stats: My belly measures 42 1/2 inches around (about 1/2 inch in the last two weeks - I didn't measure last week, so we aren't sure when the stretch happened). Sparky is about 12 inches long and 1 pound 5 ounces. I'm sure that is a mere fraction of her final weight. She's been busily beating me up from the inside out. I've decided she must think that gym class is a daily requirement. We've started piling up all of the clothing that people have given Sparky - she is already well stocked until at least 6 months (and I am sure for much longer since most of her gear is still at my mom's house).

Happy New Year to you all from the four of us!

Week 18 - Almost half way there...

Now that Steve is home again, we can get back to the weekly photographic update. I am back down to 40 1/2 inches around (down a half inch from last week). I am blaming the loss in circumfrence on the flu bug that I had last Friday. I was definitely knocked out - I ate lunch on Thursday and didn't eat a real meal again until lunch on Saturday. It was a very long couple days...

We are going to see the doctor on Wednesday. I'm sure it will be rather uneventful, but I am looking forward to hearing the heartbeat again. Now that I've felt Sparky moving it is much easier to get worried that you haven't felt movement in a while. I'm sure the little kicker is just fine, but it's nice to feel the little guy every once in a while.

Our family is all trying to get healthy so we can travel to Hastings for Thanksgiving. After my big sickness on Friday, Maize got really sick and ended up going to the vet for kennel cough. We had a whole lot of dog cough up and puke to clean up this weekend, but we are finally getting that under control too.

Other than our little adventures, things are going well. I feel good and haven't had a problem doing any of the things I've wanted to do. I survived the last football game of the season, including the really long walk from the dental school to the stadium and back. Unfortunately Michigan couldn't make our last football game as students a win - but then again you can't win them all.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and family who we won't be able to visit with this holiday season! With love - Jen, Steve, Sparky, and Maize :)

Welcome Home Steve

Steve came home, so Sparky can now sleep (or at least let his mom sleep) in peace. Sparky's newest trick is moving around so that it feels like a million worms are crawling around in my stomach - a very odd sensation.

Sparky is getting pretty heavy, or something like that - my legs are achy at the end of the day and I've got a pulled muscle in one of them. I'm hoping that it clears up before the football game this Saturday. I also reached the too big to sit at my desk with a pillow behind my back milestone today. The pillow was nice for extra lower back support, but with it in the chair I was just too far forward and too out of balance to sit comfortably.

One week until we see the doctor again - it should be a relatively uneventful visit, but the ultrasound is only 3 weeks away. I am voting boy but Steve is hoping girl. We shall see...

Week 13 Update

Tomorrow (or today, depending on whether you listen to the nurse or the doctor) is the start of week 13 - the end of month 3 of pregnancy and the beginning of month 4. Lots of big changes for Sparky this week. We have now officially gotten past the most critical part of pregnancy (and most of the risk of miscarriage). Sparky's primary teeth have all formed by the time this week starts, so I've been getting extra calcium and keeping up on floride to give our little one the best teeth posssible (for his father's sake).

Sparky received his first gift from someone besides his grandmas and great-grandmas. Today a co-worker brought me a very cute little chicken suit. Of course, she didn't have any idea about our little chicken thing - so it was even better. After all, one doesn't really advertise that they were the champion chicken showman at the Barry County Fair. We will have to make Sparky wear his chicken outfit on a visit to the farm next spring to see his Aunt Emily's little rooster.

And now... for the information you've been waiting all week for. My belly is 39 inches around during the evening. I still lose an inch or two during the night, but it only takes an hour or two for the belly to pop right back out the next morning.

We survived the Cirque Du Soliel, the Michigan football game, and the baby shower for baby Roth last weekend. Next weekend will be Sparky's first trip to Hastings and his first Hastings High School football game. We are looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family and a weekend of some rest and relaxation.

Stretching and Soreness

I had more stretching of the muscles in my abdomen and soreness today. On the brightside, this means that it was probably not the football game last weekend that made me so sore. I am of the opinion that too much shopping yesterday was probably the culprit, along with Sparky's growing (and probably moving). I headed to Lansing yesterday to meet my Mom, Aunt Sue, Hannah, Emily, Meghan, Elaine, and Laura to do some shopping. It was a great time catching up with them and finding too many good baby bargains. Sparky, whether a he or a she, will not have to wear the same outfit twice for at least the first month or two or more. There are shorts, shirts, bathing suits, and in great abundance. It was a lot of fun to spend the time with my family and to enjoy planning for this new little life.

Since I was sore all day today, Sparky and I will be working up to the football game again on Saturday. I think I may have a football addiction. Steve may have to drop me off at the stadium and then walk down by himself, but I think I can make it. I have a feeling that Sparky will be a Michigan football fan right away too. Afterall, at least two of the new shirts are Michigan shirts, with coordinating shorts. And now... after that attempt at "relaxing" this weekend, I will probably be heading off to bed at a very early hour.