Not a Pincushion

Poor Abby thought the doctor and nurses at our new family practice must have had her confused with a pincushion today. The poor little lady had to get her first set of shots and she was as unimpressed with them as her mother. I'm sure she's inherited my abhorrence of needles when used to give shots (I love sewing and other uses of needles). But, she's now immunized and on her way to what we hope will be a long and healthy life. And, our new family doctor graduated high school with Uncle Jeff Mansfield, so he fits the category of old enough to be experienced but young enough to avoid any potential memory or coordination problems. Pretty much the perfect age when it comes to someone treating your ills and caring for your most precious possession.

We had a very nice Father's Day yesterday for Steve's first year as a dad. We tried out the Wesleyan Church and will probably begin attending, but the regular minister was out of town, so we'll have to hear him before we make the final decision. The only thing we were disappointed with was the lack of friendliness in the congregation (only one person out of about 100 introduced herself to us) and some older people behind us who were definitely not supporting the missions trips that the church was planning. It's unfortunate when there is a group of people in a church who do not understand the Great Commission enough to know that we are called to go beyond our towns to spread the good news of the Gospel. But, besides those few dissenters and the not so friendly reception, we though it was the best fit we've found so far. And since we are generally stuck with "best available" and not a perfect fit here, it will probably become our new church home.

After church we had a relaxing afternoon and went to the Soo Locks in the evening, just in time to see the largest ship that sails on the Great Lakes make its way through the locks. It never gets old seeing such gigantic ships fitting into such a small space and then dropping the 20 or so feet so they can go from Lake Superior to Lake Huron. I must be a mechanical engineering junkie or something - most normal people probably would not be so impressed with the locks, but since I have never professed normalcy, I don't mind being one of the few who are easily impressed by big boats raising and lowering in a tight space.

And... I have all of my gardening done (I hope). As long as all the seeds I've sown come up, we should have quite an array of flowers this summer to enjoy. Now all we need is to get a grill and set up our patio furniture (and a lot of citronella candles) and we can start enjoying our beautiful Northern Michigan nights.

And so, while Abby has been sleeping all day from wearing herself out screaming during her shots, I have gotten to quite a few things I was hoping to get done. Hopefully she will not have any adverse reactions to the injections - so far we are fever free and just a bit grouchy.

O Canada

Abigail is an international traveler. Today she made her first border crossing on a trip into Canada to explore the neighboring town of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. We found both malls and had lunch at A&W (can you say root beer float). On the way back we got stopped for a while on the International Bridge, so we took a minute to give Abby her bottle. She created an amazing milk goatee with the snack.

In the Money

Abby is now the official owner of a bank account. She even has money in it. Probably more money than her mom or dad had at 60 days old. Since it is sunny out today she is going out to enjoy the nice weather, so we are not going to spend any more time blogging today - sorry.

The Story of the Exer-saucer, as told by Abigail Obreiter

First, I started crying after I woke up, so my dad had to pick me up instead of making strawberry shortcake for him and mom to eat. Then we watched some golf. After a while, my dad decided I should try out my exer-saucer while he and mom watched me play. Mom didn't see him put me in, so I ended up backwards in the seat (my mom says the warning label is supposed to go in the back).



























Then my dad and I played with all the toys on my exer-saucer. Some of the toys make fun noises. One toy barked at me, just like Maize does. And there is a dragon that was trying to lick me on the head.


















Then my dad left me in the exer-saucer with mom and he went to the kitchen to make strawberry shortcake for him and mom. I watched him leave. I hope he lets me try some of the big people food. Then my mom rescued me and put me in the chair the right way (with the warning label in the back).


















After a little bit I got tired and very hungry, so I cried for mom to rescue me. She came and got me and gave me a big bottle and I ate a whole lot of food. Then I wrote my blog with my mom while the food cooked. It smelled really good.

Can it be warm already???

Abby and I spent another day at home today. And... not only were we at home, we were in sweaters because of yet another cold, wet day. Someone told Steve that summer up here lasts from the 4th of July to mid-August. We just aren't too sure about such a short summer season. Tonight I did some major gardening after Steve got home. The results are on the other blog, which you can get to by clicking this link. It was a very dirty undertaking.


















Abby slept all night last night. But then she decided not to nap today, so she is already sleeping and has been since 7 p.m. It is going to be a long night...

Today Abby got her social security number, so we can officially put her to work. Before we get her started on her career, we need to get her a passport so that we can travel into Canada, which is just minutes away. Tomorrow she and I will be heading to the post office to pick up a passport application for her and to find out what we need to do to get a passport for a baby. I'm sure there are some hoops we are going to need to jump through.

The weatherman says we will have sun tomorrow - I will believe it when I see it. If we do get some sun, Abby and I may be enjoying our day outside. Hopefully that will keep her more entertained - she is busy trying out all her muscles, especially the leg muscles for kicking and the neck muscles for head butting mothers and the belly muscles for throwing herself around when I am trying to carry her up the stairs. If she could only get outside there would be much more to look at and she wouldn't have to abuse me.

Just One of Those Days

Abby and I are having one of those days where nothing seems to be getting done. First off, after sleeping seven straight hours the night before last, Abby went back to 3 to 4 hour spurts of sleeping last night, so I was back to getting 2 to 3 hours (by the time I got her fed, changed her diaper, and got myself back to sleep it was an hour after she first woke me up). And, unlike normal mornings, when we sleep to around 9 or 9:30, Abby wanted to be up and at it before 8, so it was a very short night for me. It was a short night for Abby too, but that has made her hard to get down for naps today, so I'm sure she'll be very charming when her dad gets home in an hour. Hopefully when he gets home from work I will finally be able to get a shower in today, but the way today is going I wouldn't be surprised if I never make it into the shower.

I tried to plant some more flowers in my flower bed this afternoon. It was sunny when I decided to get Abby and I ready to go out for some yard work, but by the time we got outside it was back to cloudy and cool (it is 59.4 degrees as I type this). So, I only got half of my lilies planted and didn't get any of my edging fence up, so Maize can still get into my flower bed and lay on the new plants. So far I have cosmos, columbine, lupine, foxglove, elephant ear plants, annual vinca, petunias, verbena, Asiatic lilies, and giant pumpkins. We will see how many of those seeds actually come up.

So, now that it is 4 p.m., I should probably do the domestic thing and think about starting dinner. But since I just got Abby to sleep, I may have some screaming going on if I try to sneak away and she wakes up while I am in the kitchen. She's been keeping her eye cracked while she sleeps and won't let me get away from her for long. Her yawning picture is today's special, the nice smile pictures below are yesterday's sweet baby.

This weekend's big plans are visiting Paradise and Whitefish Point. We are hoping that the weather is nice so we can enjoy the big lake and see part of our beautiful new neighborhood.

Sleeping Seven Straight

Last night was a great first in the Obreiter household. It was the first time Abby slept 7 straight hours. Unfortunately, she didn't start the sleeping until after 11 p.m. last night. And, since I am feeing Abby breast milk from a bottle, I still had to get up in the middle of the night. But, sleeping all night means Abby may soon be ready to move out of her bassinet and into her very own room. We are very hopeful that she can make that transition so that I can get some better sleep, since I am a very light sleeper and all her wiggling and snoring wakes me up.

Yesterday Abby and I went to the children's only consignment store. We got a heavy duty hiking baby carrier and some new blue jeans for Abigail. Steve and I are very excited to try out the backpack this fall, but for now we will continue to use the Snugli carrier that keeps Abby right on our belly and within sight. She is starting to really enjoy walking outside and is constantly looking all around while we walk.

We tried out the First Baptist Church last Sunday. Unfortunately there were no children at that church and only one other couple who looked to be close to our age. They are also in the process of searching for a new pastor, so it seems like it's not quite the right place for us right now. We really want Abby to be in a church that has some programs for her to supplement what we are teaching her at home.

Rainy Days and Sundays

Little Miss Abigail didn't quite know what to do with her rainy Sunday, so she's been rather out of sorts today. She napped for over 3 hours this afternoon and woke up happy and played with Steve and I for a while. But then, somebody called the "wha-mbulance" and we could not get little Abby to calm down for quite a while. Finally a rocking chair, bottle, and Yupper radio got her to stop screaming and settle down a bit. I'm hoping this show was just a momentary fluke and not a new habit.

Abby got a new afghan from Steve's Uncle Terry and Aunt Rita, along with an embroidered bib, crocheted pacifier holder, and purple booties. We really love the fun new afghan and other homemade goodies. Abby has been very spoiled by our families - not that we are going to complain about that kind of spoiling.

Tomorrow Abby and I are going to explore the 4 thrift shops we haven't visited yet to see if we can find any treasures. If you have any special requests for items we should check for, just let me know. We hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

Going Vintage

In the spirit of fashion, with vintage clothing always being in style, Abigail is modeling a dress that I wore for some of my first pictures. She started out smiley, but the fun of being a supermodel quickly wore off. That and it was getting close to Abby's normal bedtime.

We cleaned Abby's room today and put away her dresses and all the clothes she's managed to wear and get dirty in the two weeks we've been here. For a little girl she sure creates a lot of laundry. Abby, however, spent most of today sleeping. She must be about to grow a lot because she is putting away much more food and sleeping a lot more and for longer periods. I am not going to complain about either of those things.


Tomorrow Abby could help her dad do some projects around here, like hanging our new shelves for the living room. Or maybe she will decide to help her mom finish planting the little flower garden outside. But probably she will just sleep and play with her toys and her favorite dog Maize.

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Splish Splash I WasTaking a Bath