Super Sitter

Olivia started sitting up unassisted on Thursday of last week (I know... it's Monday...I'm busy). She's up to a minute or so before she grabs for sometime and takes a dive. But she really, really enjoys the view from the upright position and loves being able to interact with Abby. Olivia is also right in the middle of getting some teeth, or something, I hope. Last night she had a bad night, so she and I ended up spending the second half of the night (after 2 am) sleeping together on the couch. I'm hoping that is the last night of such nonsense. I need my sleep too...

The girls stayed with their favorite babysitters on Friday night so Steve and I could enjoy some adult conversation (and Dairy Queen without having to get some for Abby). Abby is getting better about staying with a sitter or at the church nursery with each attempt, we are still waiting for the day when she doesn't cry about it. Olivia, on the other hand, could care less. She is just a flirt, so anyone is generally fine unless she is tired.

This weekend Steve, with the help of our friend Mr. Dodge, removed the big, rotting, brown shed from our backyard. Or maybe I should say cut it up, since one wall completely fell in when Steve started taking things out of the shed. We found some interesting treasures inside including a really old, really tall men's schwinn bike. It's free to the first to claim and remove it from my back yard. Thankfully we don't have to worry about the shed falling down on our children anymore, but I think I may have to take some time out soon and go pick up any stray nails and screws that are left out there.

Abby Rides A Zebra

Abby is getting ready for her visit downstate, complete with a visit to the Toledo Zoo, by riding her toy zebra. She especially likes riding it at night with the lights off so that the flashing lights on the handle show up better. She rode last night until just before she passed out. She was so tired we ended up putting her to sleep in her clothes.
We have been keeping busy and trying to stay warm and dry this weekend. It hasn't been above 60 degrees yet this weekend - not exactly what you'd expect for the last weekend in August. So we had to break out Abby's fall clothing collection a bit early. She has been feeling like a princess all weekend in her new gear. We are almost rested up from all of the activities Steve and I have been working on this weekend. First, we helped friends Jon, Michelle, and Mackenzie get their uhaul loaded for their big move back to Kalamazoo. We will sure miss them! After doing that late into Friday night (Abby was enjoying a huge play date with all her normal buddies), we had to be up really early for Angel Food on Saturday morning. We got that all under control and then napped for most of Saturday afternoon. Finally we are about back on our regular schedule.

Today Steve is teaching Abby the important skill of installing a vanity. I can't wait to have our bathroom back together for the first time since we moved in. What a relief now that I am making many, many trips to the bathroom.

Abby has started stringing multiple words together and will parrot just about anything she hears - this means we are being extra careful what she watches on t.v. and hears on the radio. Not that we weren't careful before, but even more so now. Sometimes though you just can't prevent the occasional naughty word from popping out of her mouth. Like yesterday when she was trying to say "fox". Abby's version of "fox" is basically a four letter word right now, so we've put away the book with the foxes in it so that she doesn't keep saying that new word, because try as hard as we can, we can't help but giggle when she says it. Bad parenting... I know.

Oh... and in less than 48 hours we will know the answer to the big mystery. One crib or two.... that is the question :)

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Here's one last picture from our camping trip. We sure had fun. It's too bad it was cool last week because the week we just survived was HOT! Today was 88 with about 90% humidity (okay... maybe not 90%, but it was high).

We got part of our bathroom project done, but then we ran into a little unexpected dilemma that we need to figure out. We didn't consider the huge, beautiful mop board when we picked a sink, so we need to get a trim board to attach to fill the gap between the wall and the cabinet and also figure out how to fill the gap between the sink basin and the wall. Overall though we made good progress for such a hot, muggy day. And we have a working toilet downstairs, so that is nice. So that we'd have potty stuff for Abby in each room we picked out a potty seat that fits onto the big toilet. True to her current obsession, we had to get the Dora the Explorer potty seat.

Now we have another hot night to get through and then we will see what adventures this week has in store for us. I'm sure it will be something exciting - it hardly seems we can go two days without something. And probably we will have lots of new words presented by Abby - yesterday's word was doctor and today's was taco.

Beach Baby

Abby and I went to the beach yesterday - she went swimming in the Upper Saint Mary's River at Sherman Park. She even went underwater 2 times and asked to do it. She is getting to be a much more confident swimmer. And since it is in the 80's again today we are heading back to the beach at dinner time to meet friends to swim and play.

Steve finished grouting our half bathroom's floor last night, so once we get it sealed (in 3 days) then we can get the new toilet and sink installed and be back to business in the functioning bathroom department. Just in time for Abby to move her potty seat into the new bathroom. We need to finish some touch up painting and such, but that part is easy compared to the floor demolition and laying new tile.

Abby keeps learning new words - yesterday she said uncle along with I'm sure many other things I hadn't heard before. And then the good old "no way" when Maize tried to steal her food. She is quite a character! She spent so long yesterday trying to catch the puppy that kept coming up on our porch. She sure loves dogs. Fortunately for her dad she was unable to catch that puppy.