Abby and Olivia's Disney Adventure

Well, we made it to Disney and back in one piece. After we returned... well that may be another story. We had a great time enjoying some warm weather (okay... hot... high 80's may be warm for some of you, but we are yoopers now and that was HOT!). Abby really enjoyed the swimming pools and splash pads around our resort. Olivia liked the water too, as long as it wasn't splashing or spraying around her. We probably caught Abby at the bottom of the tot water slide at least 100 times. It was marvelous and perfectly clear and sunny except for Thursday, when some hurricane related clouds rolled through.

We had great flights and mostly great behavior from our little helpers. Neither one of them really had too much trouble on the plane. Olivia cried a little, but not too much and it was crying because she was tired not because her ears hurt. Abby had a great ride both down and back sitting between Grandma Mary and Grandpa Scott. She really had a wonderful time with them (we all did) and their extra hands made the vacation a lot less stressful. Let's face it, watching two small kids at a busy resort and theme park is hardly vacation. It's more like work. But with help from my parents we had a great time and even got to squeeze in some relaxation.

We took Abby and Olivia on their first visit to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday. Abby was super excited to finally see the "princess castle." She had a great time riding on the rides. She rode most of the rides a person of her size can go on. I was bummed that It's A Small World and the Spinning Tea Cups were closed for refurbishing, but we still managed to fill our day with lots of great fun. And I'm pretty sure that the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride was Abby's favorite anyway, since we rode it twice. We also stood in a very long line to meet the Disney princesses. After waiting 30ish minutes to meet Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle we were excited for Abby to have her big moment. It did not go as planned. Abby and I went to meet Aurora and you could tell Abby was a lot freaked out by the fact that it was a real woman and not a statue like the Aurora we saw at Downtown Disney. She did pose for a picture and said thank you to Aurora. Then we got into the line to see Cinderella (which at this point was one person long since they let a small group into the princess pavilion at a time). Abby looked at me and told me it was my turn to see Cinderella and she would take pictures with Dad. So, I sent Steve to take her and meet Cinderella. Again, the look of terror was on her little face, but she smiled for a picture. We finally got to the line to see Belle, who is her all-time favorite and who she had been asking to see all week, and she told us there was no way she wanted to see Belle and that she was done. So we left without the Abby and Belle picture. She went out and told Grandma Mary that "Belle was over it and I didn't want to see her." Oh well... maybe next time.

Along with that great quote she had some other funny moments. We were feeding her and Olivia some cheerios for breakfast one morning (yep... Olivia is eating cheerios and everything she can get into her mouth), when Abby announced to Grandma Mary that we got Olivia, or "that girl" as she is frequently called, from a Happy Meal. If only it were that easy... I'd have a whole slew of kids. She was also shocked and amazed when she saw another random girl at the pool with the same bathing suit. She kept looking at the girl and saying to me "hey Mom, that girl is wearing my swimming suit." She had her other suit on, so she was sure the girl had gone into our room and stolen her bathing suit. I couldn't talk her out of it. She also got to be on the big screen at the Mike's Laugh In ride, which is a screen show based on Monsters, Inc. If you've seen the movie then you'd know that she looks a little bit like Boo, the toddler girl in the movie. During the ride's show, they used cameras to show various people from the audience on the screen as characters from the movie. Abby was amazed when her little face popped up in front of the whole theater. She hasn't stopped reminding me of it yet.

So... you can tell we had a great time. We enjoyed the Grandma and Grandpa time, the pool, and some quality time with our girls. And now we are enjoying some laundry and cleaning to get our house back into shape. And I'm working on new recipes, since last night "the dinner" made Abby throw up (her words, not mine).

Beach Time

We have been busy lately trying to stay cool. And it has been hard work with temperatures in the upper 80's and no air conditioning. It would be a lot easier if we didn't have a little baby whose precious skin needs to stay out of the sun. Olivia has been beyond miserable with the heat. She wants held to be comforted, but that only makes her hotter and more uncomfortable. It is a bad cycle.

Abby would love to be at the beach all day. She loves being in the water and will willingly put all but her head under to keep cool. But there isn't a ton of shade there. I have to bring my own shade for her, which doesn't always work to well. On the bright side... if we do take a trip to the beach Abby will pass out for a good 2 hour nap. I even carried her back into the house and changed her diaper without waking her up on Monday after our beach outing.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a little cooler so we can do something besides laying around the house feeling like we are melting or sitting at the beach trying not to fry Olivia and trying to keep an eye on Abby with the huge crowds of people who are also just trying to cool off. This is only May... it could be a long summer.

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.

Swim Class

Abby enjoyed her swim class today. She did a great job kicking and paddling and practicing holding onto the side of the pool. While she did great, the new teacher didn't - it was basically just free swim time for the people in the pool. Oh well... at least Abby and I had done the class last summer so I knew some things she could be working on.
And... most impressively, Abby let me put 4 ponytail holders into her hair this morning before the class and she actually left them in until the class was over and I took them out while washing up afterward. This new found cooperation is going to make our days so much easier and make it much easier for Abby to see Beauty and the Beast. And yes... we've watched it 3 times in the last 24 hours and probably she would have watched it 4 except I said no last night (resulting in a major meltdown). It should have been the first movie we bought... it would have saved us a lot in buying different movies to find one she actually liked.

Tale As Old As Time

Every kid does it eventually... you all know what I'm talking about. The endless watching of a single movie, over and over and over. Up until today our movie was Monsters, Inc. We watched it at least once a day everyday for the last week. So today I decided we'd buy Beauty and the Beast when I found it at the local children's consignment shop. Bad move mom...

Beauty and the Beast is apparently our over and over and over movie. We've watched it two times since noon (plus took a nap and went out on a mom and Abby date). Basically every minute we've been in our house we've been watching Beauty and the Beast. And Abby is crying at this very minute for me to put it in again. Not happening.

Steve is in Dearborn tonight and all day tomorrow for a dental conference, so I'll be flying solo with Abby tonight. I'm hoping she cooperates well. This is really the first night I've been totally alone with her. All the other nights he's had conferences I've been downstate visiting family, so I've had some assistance. And to further complicate things around here my friends, the Braxton-Hicks contractions decided that yesterday and today would be a great time to start making their grand appearance, so I've had a few minutes during each day when it's all I can do to stand up, let alone chase Abby all by myself. She already tumbled down two steps trying to do a stompy dance and chase Maize. This could be a long 11 or so weeks until the c-section.

Oh... and tomorrow is Abby's first swim class in this sememster's "Aqua Tots". It should be fun. I loaned my maternity bathing suit to our friend Tara who is bringing one of Abby's best friends, Maddie. It was to the point where my belly was hanging out the bottom anyway, so I didn't see the difference between wearing a tank top over my maternity suit and wearing one over my regular bikini. So I may be representing the less classy (read white trash) version of the bathing suit tomorrow, but I promise that's not how we live on a regular basis now that we live in the U.P.

Fancy Salon Treatment

Abby decided to give herself a fancy salon hair treatment today. Unfortunately she decided to try it at McDonald's and used a yogurt parfait for the treatment. And she really got it smashed into her hair very well. She got lots and lots of laughs from the senior citizens who were enjoying breakfast at McDonald's this morning too. So, it suddenly became bath day even though we were a couple days away from our scheduled bathing. And she had to wear the yogurt hairstyle to our Tuesday morning playgroup.

We signed Abby up for another swim class that starts this Saturday. I'm pretty excited to take her and even more excited that AJ and Baby Abby will be joining us at the class. We are hoping that Maddie will also be able to join us. Abby has recently decided that she loves swimming, so it should be a really good experience for us this time, unlike last class where we spent the first week crying and the second week clinging. And... since the class is Saturday mornings Steve will be able to get in on the fun (and save me the joy of wearing my now too short maternity suit into the pool).

Abby Loves Puppies

It is official - Abby loves puppies. Ever since we left Grandma and Grandpa Hodges' house, Abby has been talking about Grandma's puppies. She was very hesitant around them at first, but by the time we left she was holding (with supervision of course) and petting her new little friends. Fortunately all the friends will be staying at Grandma Mary's house and then hopefully finding homes other than ours. Bulldog puppies are cute, but I'll pass on the full grown version.

Abby had a great time on our most recent travels. She really enjoyed Cabelas. She talked and talked about the deer, fish, bears, and elephant that she saw. There were a few animals she wasn't a big fan of, but for the most part she thought it was a pretty incredible place. And she really, really, really loved swimming at the pool at our hotel. She had a blast. So much fun, in fact, that I came home and looked up when the next toddler swim class is being held. So starting next weekend Abby will be hitting the pool at Lake Superior State University. She is already really excited about it.

We can't sum up our little trip without saying how much we appreciated the ability to leave Maize at a dog daycare while Steve was in his class yesterday and Abby and I were shopping and visiting friends. I would have been one of the type to laugh hysterically at people who use a dog daycare (and still probably would if it were an everyday kind of thing), but for us yesterday it was a life saver. We got to do everything we wanted without the distraction of a dog in the car (and without feeling mean for locking her in the car). If you are ever in the Ann Arbor area with a dog friend, Maize would with out a doubt recommend her new friends at Karla's Bed & Biscuit. We give them 2 paws up!

Now... on to the unpacking and digesting of everything that was in the car... ugh!

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...

Tot Swim Class - Day 5

We had another great time at swim class today, except for the fact that the pool was icy cold. Friday is the last day of this session, then we will have to decide whether to re-enroll in the next session. Abby is getting to be a real water baby and has been having lots and lots of fun!

I got the half bath primed today, but the paint is slow to dry and we have friends coming to play video games today, so I probably won't be getting to the actual color for a day or two. Tonight Abby's friend Maddie is coming over and tomorrow she is going to play at AJ's house, so she should be all socialized and ready to enjoy some additional company this weekend in the form of Steve's co-workers.

We bought our first "Michigan" blueberries at the store today - yummy! I can't wait to break into them at dinner!

Tot Swim Class - Day 3 and 4

Abby was not too happy last Friday at swim class. She could see Grandma, Grandpa and Daddy from the pool and really, really wanted one of them to save her.

After a wonderful weekend of company (Grandma Mary, Grandpa Scott, Auntie Em, and Auntie Hannah) we are back to the normal routine, and back to updating you all on Abby's latest escapades. We had swim class on Friday and again today. Friday was a long class since Abby could see Grandma, Grandpa, and Daddy during the class. She really, really wanted one of them to come and rescue her from the pool. But she did make it through the whole class with only a few whimpers and did everything that I asked her to do. Today's class was great - she was happy, smiled and waved to everyone, and was having a blast. She was being the star of the swim class show.

We had lots of great adventures with my family this weekend. Abby took them on a trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. We checked out the mall so that Hannah and Emily could have some new clothes for school that no one else would have. We also checked out Crystal Falls, a really beautiful fall right outside Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. Abby went all the way to the top of the waterfall (on my back). We also checked out the casino buffet in town, watched part of the pow-wow, saw the fireworks, watched boats coming through the locks, took Hannah and Emily to stick their toes in Lake Superior, and saw the fireworks. Needless to say, we were pretty well exhausted by the end of the weekend. But it was definitely worth it.

Tot Swim Class - Day 2

We had a better day at swimming today. Abby was a lot more comfortable and actually did most everything we asked her to do. There was a lot of leg kicking going on! She kicked her legs while floating both on her back and her belly. Big improvement over last session. She also even tried blowing bubbles in the water, but she didn't quite get the blowing part down. And she again jumped off the edge - but it was only because she really, really wanted her mother. We had a much more enjoyable swim. Still quite a bit of crying, but at the end I threw her up into the air and caught her. That got a few smiles and laughs out of her.

Another great development from swim class was meeting another doctor's wife who stays at home with her 21 month old boy. We even got invited to the playgroup that she is in on Tuesdays, so it should be a great way for Abby to get more exposure to other kids and help me meet some new friends. And, most importantly, swim class has tired Abby right out, so she's been sleeping for almost 2 hours now :-) I've cleaned the entire living space, swept, and cleaned the kitchen. Hooray for free time!

Tot Swim Class - Day 1

Abby had her first day of Tot Swim Class today at Lake Superior State University. We wanted her to feel comfortable in the water, so we signed up. Luckily we actually were up and rolling before 9 am, since we arrived at the information desk to register 2 minutes after the class started. But we weren't the only late comers, so it was okay.

Abby HATED swim class. She was clingy and when she wasn't full out crying she was whimpering. No smiles for anyone. She did do a lot of the things they wanted the kids to be doing though, so it wasn't a total loss. She even jumped off the edge, but only because she really, really wanted her mommy. We'll be back every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next few weeks to see if we can make a water baby out of her :-)

Mirror, Mirror...

Someone has been enjoying the ability to stare at herself for hours (okay... maybe minutes) in her new mirror. She really cracks us up. There is a small stool that came with her vanity and she won't use the play set until you set her on the stool (she's a little too short to get onto it herself).

We had a long and busy day yesterday. Steve got up way early to go to Gaylord and pick up the load of Angel Food. I ended up awake at 4 am too. And when I tried to get up at 6 to shower and get ready I woke Abby up, so we all had a pretty early day. Abby and I helped out at the church wide garage sale (and got rid of a lot of stuff) and then passed out the Angel Food when Steve and our friend Kevin got back with the food. By the time we made it home we were beat.

We let Abby watch the Michael Jackson music video special last night, since we couldn't find anything else we wanted to watch and love him or hate him Michael Jackson made some very entertaining music. Abby had a great time dancing. She may have even learned a few new moves. She continued the dancing at church today. She's going to have to be enrolled in dance class as soon as she's big enough. Speaking of classes... tomorrow Abby and I are going to enroll her in a tot swim class. The class also starts tomorrow (we think), so we'll probably be hitting the pool as well. Steve and I thought it would be a great skill for Abby to learn early in life, especially since Grandpa and Grandma Hodges have the pool to swim in and we have lots of lakes to play in around us.

Pool Party

We've been having lots of pool parties lately. At our pool parties you can swim in whatever you have on... shoes, shirts, pants, diapers, whatever.Steve's mom, dad and Grandma Obreiter are coming to visit tonight. It should be a great time. Hopefully our poor little fireball is feeling better quickly. She's been running a fever off and on for the last couple weeks. Either it's teeth, a virus, or allergies. I just hope she's feeling better soon!

The Funniest Things

Our daughter may just have a very peculiar sense of humor. She gets a laugh out of the funniest things. For example, we always know right away that she's got a dirty diaper because she'll just start laughing. She laughs all the way through changing the poopy diaper too. I guess I must be weird or something, since I've never found dirty diapers quite as funny as she does.

And in spite of the fact that she doesn't have a smile in a single picture from the water fountain at Disney, she quite enjoyed it the first day we were there. She crawled all around and investigated all the sprayers and sprinklers. But, after the first trip, she decided she didn't want to play anymore unless we were holding her. I don't know if it was her being sick or just being silly. She'll have to wait quite a while until she gets to play in a sprinkler again. At least until June or July up here. Stay warm and healthy!

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.

Boyne Water Baby

We are back from Boyne and we had a great time! Abby had lots of fun with her Grandma and Grandpa and really liked playing with her Aunt Hannah and Aunt Emily. She also had fun with Uncle Nate and Aunt-to-be Courtnie. We all had lots of good times in the pool and in the hotel suite. Abby did lots and lots of splashing in the pool all three days and even played until she was asleep in my arms in the pool on Sunday. She was one tired girl last night.


Abby got to do lots of new things this weekend. We let her play in the fountains in the kids pool, ride down a waterslide, and cruise in the lazy river ride. She really had a great time in the water, especially in the kids pool. She is quite an inquisitive girl and was checking the whole place out. She did a lot of splashing too.


We also were able to ride to the top of the ski hills on the chair lift. We rode up Friday night to have dinner at the little restaurant on the top of the hill. It was a beautiful view. In a few weeks it is going to be even better with all the fall colors. We rode up again Saturday afternoon so we could hike around on top of the ski hills and check out some of the slopes. Abby was very good on the chair lift, which is good because being 20 something feet above the ground with only a small safety bar is a little nervewracking. It is a good thing we had the carrier to strap her in with.

We hope Emily had as much fun on her 13th birthday weekend as we did! And... Michigan even beat Wisconsin in football. We were really excited about that too. Go Blue!

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!