Earthquakes and Other Random Events

Yep... I really mean earthquakes. We apparently experienced one that had an epicenter about 500 miles away. Neither Steve nor I felt it, but lots of our friends did. I was trying to put Abby down for a nap and she was walking all over on the bed during the earthquake. I think that combined with the fact that we have a cinder block house made it unnoticeable for me. Steve was working on a patient and was concentrating on what he was doing, so he didn't notice it either. But Dave, Steve's co-worker, saw the waves from the earthquake ripple across the belly of his very overweight patient. I can imagine it was a very weird experience (and probably hard not to laugh, which would have been pretty mean).

So... other than being earthquaked, we have been trying so hard to potty train. Abby had one morning where we tried the drink until you have to pee every 15 minutes method. She went 14 times in the morning, then decided that "I can't" (said in her most whiny voice). So... we are back to refusing to sit on the potty chair after her recording breaking morning. Ugh...

Olivia laughed at me for the first time last night when I was blowing raspberries on her belly. It was just a little laugh, but it was pretty adorable. She is still trying hard to flatten out the right side of her head. I can't seem to figure out how to keep her from rolling over onto it in the night. I've tried the sleep positioner, rolling blankets under her right side, putting her to sleep on her side, basically everything I could think of. No luck.

As for Abby, here are her best lines from the week:
"When I grow big like a mom I can drink coffee and diet coke."
"I am going to get my waffle (it is 3 steps away). I will be back in 3 minutes."

And finally... we are all having cabin fever since Summer didn't get the message that it arrived already. We have had rain, rain, and more rain. We took advantage of the nicer (warm but way, way windy) afternoon yesterday and went to the park with Autumn, Little Abby, Mrs. Hood and their foster boy. Abby had a lot of fun with her friends. And it was great to see people since we've been stuck inside and have had snotty nosed kids. I'm hoping their noses are dry soon.

Kitten Hat Pattern

Just for the record, and for those of you brave enough to try knitting (this pattern is really pretty easy), here is the kitten hat pattern:

Size 3 months - size 4 knitting needles
Size 6 months - size 5 knitting needles
Size 9 months - size 6 knitting needles
Toddler size - I used a size 8 needle

4 ply Miss Canada Superior Fingering yarn recommended (I didn't use it for either hat)

Cast on 65 stitches. Knit 9 rows in garter stitch (knit each row).
Row 10: Knit 2, increase 1 stitch in the next stitch, repeat until until last five stitches. Knit last five stitches. (85 stitches total on needle)
Row 11: Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 12: Knit
Row 13: Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 14: Knit
Row 15: Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 16: Knit
Row 17: Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 18: Knit
Row 19: Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 20: Knit
Row 21: Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 22: Knit 29, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 22, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 30
Row 23 and alternate (odd) rows: Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 24: Knit 30, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 24, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 31
Row 26: Knit 31, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 26, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 32 (the increase should be directly above the previous increase for this and all even rows)
Row 28: Knit 32, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 28, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 33
Row 30: Knit 33, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 30, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 34
Row 32: Knit 34, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 32, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 35
Row 34: Knit 35, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 34, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 36
Row 36: Knit 36, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 36, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 37
Row 38: Knit 37, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 38, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 38
Row 40: Knit 38, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 40, increase 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, knit 39
Row 42: Cast off 52 stitches. Knit to end of row.
Row 43: Cast off 52 stitches purlways. Purl to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 44: Knit
Row 45 (and all odd rows): Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1
Row 46: Knit
Row 48: Knit
Row 50: Knit 1, decrease 1 stitch, knit to two stitches, decrease 1 stitch, knit 1 (decrease two total stitches on on each end)
Row 52: Knit
Row 54: Knit
Row 56: Knit 1, decrease 1 stitch, knit to two stitches, decrease 1 stitch, knit 1 (decrease two total stitches on on each end)
Row 58: Knit
Row 60: Knit
Row 62: Knit 1, decrease 1 stitch, knit to two stitches, decrease 1 stitch, knit 1 (decrease two total stitches on on each end)
Row 64: Knit
Row 66: Knit
Row 68: Knit 1, decrease 1 stitch, knit to two stitches, decrease 1 stitch, knit 1 (decrease two total stitches on on each end)
Row 70: Knit
Row 72: Knit
Row 74: Knit 1, decrease 1 stitch, knit to two stitches, decrease 1 stitch, knit 1 (decrease two total stitches on on each end)
Row 76: Knit
Row 78: Knit
Row 79: Knit 1, purl to last stitch, knit 1. Break wool, leaving stitches on needle.
Row 80: With right side facing, join wool at edge of bonnet. Pick up and knit 21 stitches along this edge, knit in 11 stitches left on needle, pick up and knit 22 additional stitches along other edge (54 stitches total).
Row 81: Knit
Row 82: Knit 2 together, knit. Repeat until end of row.
Row 83: Knit. Cast off.

Sew up two seams in the back with yard needle. Either make a cord (double yarn crocheted) at each eyelet at front of bonnet or crochet chin strap.

Three Milestones

First: Abby told her first "not" joke. It went something like this... "Abby change her play clothes... not." Then she laughed. I laughed harder - almost hard enough to fall down the steps. She certainly keeps us on our toes.

Second: I am up to 47 1/2 inches. I don't know how much further my poor belly can stretch.

Third: Steve now weighs 3 pounds less than I do. This is the first time since we've been dating that I've outweighed him. I guess his 4 weeks of eating sensibly and running on the elliptical have worked wonders. Now we are going to have to pull out his box of smaller pants and I'll need to pull out my box of maternity dresses, since pants are becoming a more and more uncomfortable option.

Abby is Grouchy

"Abby is grouchy."

The above statement came directly from the little girls mouth on the way home from play group. She wasn't kidding. After 1 entire hour of crying before taking her nap, I am exhausted. So for today, all you are getting from me is Abby's revelation that she is grouchy (this was said before the napping incident).

I think I should be grouchy too... but I am trying hard not to be. First my little grouch woke me up at 3:30 because she wanted to listen to her veggie tales c.d. Then the city decided they needed to remove the huge embankments along the edge of the road. Last year they were chest high when the city came through and took them down. This year they are mid-shin to knee high. I'm not sure that amount of snow merited waking me up at 6 a.m. so that they could remove it - I could see over the bank just fine, even in the granny car.

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Dentist's Kids Gone Wild

The coke can was robbed from the recycling bin. I did let her have the sucker, but we were making valentines for her friends with the other ones, so it hardly seemed fair not to let her have one.

Swim Class - Week 2

Abby has been practicing putting her own shoes on all week. She is getting pretty good with most of her pairs. But, sometimes this new found skill creates extra headaches trying to get out the door - like yesterday when she switched shoes 4 times before we could finally leave.

Week two of swim class was about the same as week one, except with extra fun created by the addition of Daddy and AJ and family to the swimming crew. Abby had a great time - she even asked multiple times to go underwater. She is going to become quite a fish. She is really enjoying her time in the pool. It's just too bad that we have such a short summer season this far north.

I learned a valuable lesson about living this far north - the sticker for your license plate will not stick in sub-freezing weather. I finally had to bring the plate in off the car, let it warm up, and use glue to get the sticker to freeze. But at least this way I will not be pulled over for having expired plates.

Still no progress on the baby naming front. I believe we are back to square one at this point. We were fairly certain that we were going to use Elizabeth Claire, but with the loss of dear sweet Ella shortly after her birth, we wanted to use a name that would be distinctly different so it wouldn't seem like a constant reminder of the loss our family will be dealing with for days, and weeks, and years to come. Our broken hearts are praying without ceasing for Laura, Marty, and their families. I can imagine nothing more heartbreaking than the loss of a child, especially after the 21 months of enjoying our sweet Abigail.

Playland Predicament

Abby met her friend AJ for a lunch date at the other play land in town today (Burger King) and she was actually big enough to climb in and around all by herself. But we still had issues... big kids. Abby is terrified of coming near them. And so, when she gets all the way up into play land and one gets near her, big pregnant mom has to climb up too so that Abby can be rescued. The rules sign on the outside said, "If you see anything weird, tell a manager." I'm pretty sure big pregnant women climbing around in the play structure counts as something weird, right?

Who Taught You That?

We have been having the following conversation at our house all day:

Abby: "taught you that."

Me: "who taught you that?"

Abby: fill in the blank with a relative or friend. The score so far is Daddy 5, Grandma Lorraine 3, and Uncle Dan 2 with some other names randomly thrown in. You all probably don't want to know what she's claiming you taught her, since it mostly involves disgusting bodily functions and/or doing things she shouldn't like nose picking.

What a nut...

Party Weekend

It is snowing again. And of course, we have a silly winter weather advisory (news flash... it is winter in the UP, it snows, a lot). So... apparently I should be out shoveling some of it before it gets too deep (2 to 5 inches says the national weather service), but instead I'm thinking about all the fun we had with Abby this weekend.Friday night we had friends over so Abby had lots of little playmates. She is just starting to get to the point where she wants to play with other kids, not just next to them. They had lots of fun playing with the toy kitchen things. On Saturday we went to Maddie's birthday party (one of Abby's two best friends). All her friends were there again, so we got to watch the girls have another great playtime. And, Abby ate all of her ice cream, all of my ice cream, and none of her cake. So I got double cake and she got double ice cream. Not a terrible trade-off.

Yesterday Abby really went to work and made dozens and dozens of cookies at the Drockton's house. She had lots of fun visiting "Doctor Dave", Jackie, and the girls. We did have some minor moments of confusion when Abby couldn't tell which big girl was Kitty, but we got over it pretty quickly. Abby enjoyed playing with all the doll house pieces and parts that the Drockton's had. She was in little girl heaven. And we brought home a lot of delicious cookies, candies, and fudge. It's a good thing there is snow to shovel or my waistline would be expanding faster than allowable.

Here's some funny stuff Abby's come up with lately. She now asks for a "family hug" - aka mom and dad hugging her at the same time. She also continues to tell her dad to kiss her mom (I still think some money is secretly changing hands). And apparently Abby isn't really a big fan of Christmas cookies - she loves oreos, but she won't even try most of the cookies we made yesterday.

Some Random Abby-ness

Here are a few random things Abby has done to make us laugh in the last few days...

1. Abby has made the switch from always saying "uh-huh" when she wants to say yes. Now instead she says "yeah." It is simply adorable. Except when she is being naughty or having a fit.

2. Last night I really wanted to soak in the bathtub, since Baby O. was not being a nice girl. I didn't say the words bath, bathroom, tub, water, or anything resembling those. I told Steve I was going to go soak for a while. Faster than lightning, Abby said "Abby take bubble bath, yeah!" and she was up the stairs within about 1 minute. So much for a nice soak...

3. Abby no longer wants to sleep in our bed, at all, ever. Hooray!!! Last night Steve was tired from work and shoveling out our driveway, so he accidentally fell asleep in Abby's bed while they were playing in Abby's room. So, Abby came into our room where I was putting away clothes. I put her in bed with me when we were done with our chore. She lasted about two minutes before she asked to go lay down in Abby's bed. I've been waiting and waiting for this moment :-)

4. Abby is over the mom holding another baby jealousy - at least for the most part. This morning Abby and I went over to her friend A.J.'s house to lend a helping hand, since they received a tiny little infant foster child yesterday. They already had 2 girls 2 and under, so we figured that some extra hands would be helpful, especially since A.J.'s dad was going to be at work all day. Abby was very good about touching the little boy gently and letting me hold and feed him so A.J.'s mom could do some laundry, shower, and get ready for the meetings she has to go to this afternoon.

Christmas Card Photo Hint

This isn't our Christmas card photo, but it is a hint at what that picture might look like.

Here are somethings Abby has been trying lately:
1. More fruits. She has especially enjoyed kiwi, peaches, and dried cranberries lately.
2. Dog treats. Abby found a dog treat when we re-arranged the furniture and decided it would be nice to try and eat it. Obviously some gagging occurred (both her and me).
3. Opening DVD cases. This is something we are trying to discourage, since we don't want the dvd's rubbed all over the floor. We have had multiple time outs over this proposed activity.
4. Yoga. Mostly the downward facing dog pose (imagine Abby making a triangle with her body). Next we will be teaching her to snap a football from this pose.

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).

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...)

An Observation

Swim class is over. It was fun, but I don't think we are going to register for session 2. Abby is a little too young to learn basic swimming, even though she was doing great at working on her swimming skills.

I was in bed with Abby last night playing toys and this thought struck me. Abby was hugging and snuggling her little teddy bear. Why is it that we teach kids that bears are nice to hug and play with? They watch Winnie the Pooh on t.v. When Abby sees her first bear in the wild (and it's bound to happen since we live in the U.P.) I'd rather her think, "Oh no! That's a bear, I'd better run!" Not, "Oh look, a cute cuddly bear. I wonder if we can eat honey and sing songs."

Just a thought...

So Not Funny

I don't have the time or energy to post today, what with the packing and all going on around here, but I thought you all would get a good laugh at our expense.

Noon's temperature - 71 or 72 degrees
Four o'clock temperature - 45 degrees

Nice...

Our Big Barnyard

This is our farm herd. It's rather large. We just thought you all might enjoy meeting them. Plus they need names - any ideas appreciated!

Just For Fun

We thought this was too funny not to share. Our winter up here has been better when it comes to slipping and sliding. The snow is too dry to be slippery for the most part. Instead we have the 6 foot tall snowbanks along all the roads which force you to play chicken when deciding whether it is safe to turn or cross the street. Stay warm!

Abby's Post

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That was all from Abby

It is 1 Degree Outside

Good thing we are heading to Florida in 15 days!

More later...

Jen's 10 Reasons Why Living In the Soo is Just Like Camping

1. It's an old house - I am washing dishes by hand, just like when we camp.

2. Again, old house, cold - sleeping in our bedroom is about as warm as a tent in the fall.

3. Bathing - shower no bigger than a camp shower or an old iron tub, just about the same as camping only with a little more consistent (sometimes) hot water.

4. Smells - did we mention that we've had skunk spray twice behind our house in the middle of town?

5. Shopping - when Wal-Mart, K-Mart and JC Penney are the high end shopping in town (and the best for about 200 miles), you are basically "roughing it"

6. Security - old house, unsquare doors... probably can't withstand repeated kicks. Hardly better than our tent.

7. Food - when the only option for reliable sit down service (that isn't a bar or stuffed to the rafters with roadkill) is Applebee's, you mightas well eat at home. And with the improved camping stoves, my at home cooking is basically the same as my camping menu.

8. Dirt - We have a yard, we have a dog. Our floors are probably cleaner in the tent camping than in here...

9. Noise - Old house, paper thin walls and windows, we can hear it all and some of it is not good.

10. All of the places we wanted to visit on our family camping trips are now a stone's throw away. Mackinac Island - just about an hour, Tahquamenon Falls - a hour and a half, Lake Superior - 20 minutes...