Stranded

I have lost my keys, and so tonight, instead of shopping and picking up groceries while Steve is out golfing I am stranded here in the house with a screaming, unhappy baby. Needless to say we are both unhappy at this point. She really needed the car ride. And the keys are no where to be found. I have ripped apart my purse, the diaper bag, the car, and everywhere else I can think of. I probably dropped them the other night when I was out with Steve and they are long gone.

Abby got another cousin today - baby Jack Hagberg. Jack was only 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long, so Abby is feeling rather large at twice his size (she was almost 16 pounds the other day). We can't wait to meet Abby's newest cousin :-) We are all super happy for Melissa and Glenn.

Holy Roller

We have had 4 successful attempts by Abby at rolling over today - her first time accomplishing this monumental task. She rolled over this morning and I thought it must have been a fluke or the way I laid her on her belly to play, so I flipped her back onto her belly and she rolled over again (the other way this time). Being a skeptic, I made her do it a third time just to be sure. And she is a roller.

Steve saw her do the new trick while he was home for lunch. Unfortunately Abby's been camera shy when it comes to rolling, so we having been able to film this new feat - but we will be working on that tonight. Right now she is napping to get her strength up for this evening's attempt. She is still in the novice rolling category - we have to put her arms in the right spot for her and she hasn't quite figured out what she is doing to cause the rolling, but she is sure catching on quickly.

Why So Crabby Abby?

She was happy for about 3 hours total today. A bit this morning for photos in her cute Sunday outfit (thanks to Great Grandma Joyce Obreiter for the dress and hat). Then she didn't take her morning nap at church like usual. It was all downhill from there...

Abby and I took a nap together this afternoon while Steve mowed our lawn. I had every intention of not taking a nap, but she kept waking up with big cries every 15 or 20 minutes. She was just way too tired. At least she was super cute today when she was happy.

We wore the ruffle bottom tights today and had to take a picture just for Auntie Meg. We always loved our ruffle bottom tights as kids :-)

If you have a weak stomach quit reading this paragraph now. We had another big blowout in her diapers today. I think it is about time to move up to size 3's before we need to bleach every outfit she owns. That's 3 blowouts in 3 days - 100% deadly accurate. Every dirty diaper has been a blowout.

The weather was cooler today, but terribly humid, so it was miserable and we had to go to Goodwill and K-Mart to get into some air conditioning. Tonight will be early bedtime.

Incredible Feats of Strength

Baby Push-Ups






















Standing and holding all her weight on her own - now we just need to work on balance

Where is the Beach???

We tried to go to the beach along the Saint Mary's River near Lake Huron today. The map showed a turnout where it seemed to go right along the coast. We stopped along the Munuscong River, which according to the map drained right into the big lake. The beautiful grasslands in the photo are the "beach" we were headed to. Obviously, we did not go to the beach. On the bright side, the campground there was big, with sites right on the river, and there were only 2 sites with people in them, so we are pretty sure it would be a great place to get together with friends or family just to hang out. The fishing may or may not be good - more research is necessary.

We did go to some yard sales today and got quite a few size 12 months pajamas for Abby. We also found a great play set for Abby - it is a ocean themed belly mat that turns into a tunnel for when Abby gets bigger. Now we are all a little tired from driving all around the eastern part of Chippewa County.

Dog Days of Summer

We hit 80 degrees again today. By my count that is 4 straight days. Finally... summer. Just in time for a great beach expedition tomorrow. Since Abby has now visited Lake Superior, we are going down the road in the opposite direction to try out Lake Huron. Should be perfect beach weather.

Abby attacked her piggy rattle today since it was the large animal auction at the Barry County Fair and her Aunt Hannah and Aunt Emily were busy selling hogs. We hope they remember to save some bacon for Abby, but it may be a while before she can eat it. Today she was very interested in the bowl of cereal I was having for breakfast, so I'm sure she'll be more than ready for rice cereal when we start that next month.

Happy weekend everyone - we hope it is cooler "downstate" than it has been lately!

Hallelujah!!!

Great news on two fronts.

First - we are 1 hour and 45 minutes into a nap (and counting). This means I got to work out, lift weights (thank heaven for the bowflex) and shower and I still have time to update the blog.

Second - my biopsy results came back with "no abnormal cells" which makes me non-cancerous. They still haven't figured out what is causing the lump, but since it isn't anything that is dangerous, we can just leave it be and see if it goes away on its own. The latest theory is that the lump is an abscess, but I have no pain, no swelling, no redness, and no tenderness so Steve and I are pretty skeptical about that diagnosis. But... cancer free is fine with us, so we will just leave it at that.

And... since Abby and Maize are still quietly napping, I had better get some cleaning done before my hands are full again.

Sleepy Girl

Abby loves to sleep in late, but only if she gets to sleep on my spot in our bed. I've lately been swapping out my spot in the bed early and letting Abby rest in my spot while I get around in the morning. We just trap her in with some pillows to make sure she doesn't try to make a great escape, put her baby monitor in our room, and let her sleep until she's ready to be awake.

I normally get two to three hours of productive time this way. Now that Abby is sleeping in her own room, I am sleeping much better and feel ready to get up at 7 when she is ready to trade spaces. Abby's made it an entire week sleeping in her own room, with the exception of last night since it was so hot in this house and we only had enough fans for our room. Poor Abby barely fit into her bassinet, but I'm sure it felt better than having lots of space in a super hot room.

I was reading an article this morning that said babies have a highly developed sense of smell even while they are in the womb. That must be the reason that sweet little Abby loves being in my spot on the bed. We found out yesterday that it is the only place where she will nap for more than 20 minutes. So... I think I will be looking for those bed safety rails that you can slip in under your mattress. We'll need them eventually anyway for her and I would love some extra time during the day to work out while she naps. Only 25 pounds left to go until I am back to what I weighed before we were married. Only 15 to get back to my pre-bar exam weight and only 10 to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

It is supposed to be another warm and sunny day in the Soo - I think we will be enjoying some of the afternoon outdoors again. Maybe I will be able to tan enough to be darker than Abby.

Three Months Old (Yesterday)

Yesterday Abby turned the big 3 months. I had every intention of putting our pictures from yesterday up in a timely fashion, but the evening got away from us. Abby started her first day as an infant (apparently the switch from "newborn" to "infant" occurs at 3 months) by sleeping until quarter past 10. She did wake up around 7 am for her first breakfast and to see her dad off to work, but it was a very short burst of energy before going right back to sleep. We had a fun morning of folding laundry and learning about clothes and colors. She was especially entertained by wiggling socks in front of her. We had lots of laughing.

Yesterday afternoon was a particularly splendid day for laying around in the backyard. There was a good breeze, lots of sun, and most importantly no bugs. So, Abby and I took our playtime outside and relaxed under our new beach umbrella. We had such a fun time that Abby wouldn't take her nap (again). When Steve got home we took Abby to our local library. She got to check out two books this time. We are going to be reading Piggies (about our fingers) and Seven Blind Mice, since it has lovely pictures. I've also been working with Abby on learning to control her hand movements - we've been playing a lot of open and close hands games and songs. She still isn't getting it on her own most of the time, but I bet she isn't too far off.

Since we had an unproductive nap time, we had to take a ride to our favorite store (WalMart) to get some milk and pick up contact lenses. Abby stayed awake the whole time, but the ride at least ended the crying. On the way home we celebrated with Dairy Queen :-)

So now we have a very beautiful, very happy three month old little girl. We can't wait for Melissa and Glenn to have their own sweet little Baby H - only 7 days until he or she is due!

Our Napping Dilemma

Abby is now an official grabber of toys, hair, and anything else that gets within arms reach.

We have a slight dilemma on our hands up here in Sault Ste. Marie. Abby has decided that nap time is a great time to practice singing (happy songs for the most part). We have tried napping in several locations and at different times of the day. We have tried putting her down while she is awake and putting her down when she is out. Anyway we try it, within 5 minutes she is wide awake and having a great time. The only way she will nap is if she is laying next to me, on me, or is riding in the car. Obviously this is not going to work. Any great ideas would be much appreciated. Until then, Abby and I will be having nap time on my bed (she naps, I read or crochet or something).

I had the biopsy today for the lump in my breast. It was partially fluid filled, partially solid. Results from the pathologist won't be in until Wednesday or Thursday. We'll have to wait and see what they say and what our next step is. Until then we are going to hang out and try to have a bit of excitement. Tomorrow is library day again. We are going to have to get several kids books, because Abby is a lover of books. Yesterday she was mesmerized with pictures in the books Steve was reading to her. She didn't look away from the pages once during the two books they read.