Week In Review

We have had a busy week and are looking forward to the holidays next week and some much needed downtime. We've had lots of playing, partying, and cooking this week.

On Monday Abby had a play date with her friend A.J., including some yummy lunch. Abby and A.J. are starting to really get into playing with each other, which as a mom is so much fun to watch. They have the funniest conversations with each other while they are playing - most of it isn't understandable to me, but they sure seem to know what they are saying to each other.

On Wednesday we hosted Steve's office Christmas party. Abby had fun with the assistants and other dentists and even got to help open a present. She was mostly shy, like normal in big groups, but she did let some of the assistants pick her up and did give a few tours to her new friends. And she got to eat some goodies, like cheese and crackers and cheesecake. And we ended up with two animated goodies and lots of packing peanuts (she only tried to eat two of them).

To round out our busy week we went to the Christmas party for the crisis pregnancy center (CareNet Pregnancy Center of the EUP). Abby had fun playing with her friend Sophia from church. Sophia is almost three and enjoyed greatly playing with "Little Abby". It cracked me up since we have another friend who has a baby named Abby and so we are used to calling our girl "big Abby" and their daughter "little Abby". The reversal of nicknames was fun for a while. And Abby was on her best behavior - she really impressed the other ladies at the party. And we were semi-successful on our first cheesecake (it was softer than I would have liked, but since it wasn't baked it had a different texture than many baked cheesecakes). It tasted wonderful though, so that makes us for a multitude of little shortcomings. The next time I try this recipe I am going to put it in a baking dish instead of trying it with a springform pan.

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.

Stuck Inside

Abby is bumming out because we got stuck inside all day. First we had to watch the Lions, who actually won for the first time in Abby's lifetime. She did her touchdowns like a pro, right on cue. Then we had a yummy warm apple pie to eat and naps to take. By the time we had time to go outside it was raining. So we missed out on playing outside.

Abby has been really busy this weekend and so have we. We had the Angel Food delivery on Saturday, so that sucked up our morning, then we watched Michigan win again, which made for a very happy family. And we had dinner with the Drocktons. It has been a busy day. We are going to need a long nap tomorrow.

Busy Weekend!

We've been very busy again this weekend. Steve's mom, dad, and Grandma Obreiter came up and helped us complete a lot of the little projects that we needed to get done. We've now removed all the carpet from our house, almost all the wallpaper from the half bath, put in a walkway and garden, fixed the outdoor spigot, removed the leaky dishwasher (water was coming up through the floor)... as you can see we've been very, very busy!

Yesterday we did Tahquamenon Falls and it was really, really hot for up here! We have some good pictures, but we don't have the time right yet to upload them. Maybe later...

Abby has been saying her name over and over and over. She must like the sound of it.

A Step In The Wrong Direction

We thought our snow was finally melting, but we were wrong. The bare patches that had appeared on our driveway are now gone. It is definitely a step in the wrong direction for us weather-wise.

We are enjoying some good times lately. Abby is playing longer into the evenings and is having a great time with her Dad each night. She still has a lot of fun with Maize and Mom during the day. Yesterday Abby had her first taste of broccoli and actually ate quite a bit of it before tossing the rest overboard to her furry friend.

We are busy, busy, busy this week and trying hard to keep up with housekeeping, blogging, and resting. Tonight we are having dinner out with friends, tomorrow Abby and I have Time Out For Moms and have to take Angel Food orders, Thursday we have a meeting with the MSU Extension office and have to take more Angel Food orders, and Friday we have a little play date, more Angel Food ordering, and bible study. And then Saturday we are off to Hastings so Steve can fly to Portland, Oregon on Sunday. Whoa... it makes my head hurt to think of all the work we are going to have to do in the next five days. On that note I better be getting back to something at least slightly productive!

Pepsi Please

We are really behind and have no good excuse. This weekend seemed to get away from us and we sure didn't get things done like we planned. Oh well... it was fun. Abby got her 6th tooth yesterday. She now has 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom. Quite a set of choppers they are and they are very good at biting and eating.

Most of our blogging dysfunction this weekend is due to Abby's new found love of the computer. If it is out she is trying to mess with it, pushing the buttons, pulling out the power cord, and in general being a little bit of a pest. So, that limits my ability to distract her with toys and get things done on the computer, which may cause quite a problem with all the Angel Food things I have to do this week. Abby's very favorite thing to do is open the cd-rom drive and smash it closed. Obviously not a good choice.

Abby's also pretty into pop cans. We may have to start pouring soda into a cup because she is like a heat seeking missile when it comes to pop cans. She found a closed Pepsi can this weekend and went crazy for it. But since she's already cut her finger 3 times on open cans that were left within her reach, we have got to find a better toy for her to play with.

In the last week Abby also began playing a newer, rougher game with her dog. It's a mild form of wrestling, with lots of kicking by both Abby and Maize involved. Maize will lay on her side and kick her legs at Abby while Abby, who is standing, kicks back and her. Then Abby laughs and Maize wags her tail. Apparently I am not enlightened enough to understand the joy of kicking and being kicked by your pet dog. Oh well...

And on a final note, Abby walked all the way across the living room at our Pastor's house last night. We had a nice visit with them and we were super proud of her long walking skills.