120 Days is an awfully long wait for a meal

Abby saw her Grandma and Grandpa Osgood off this morning for their next stop on their wild road trip. She had lots and lots of fun with them and they taught her some new things. Grandpa Steve showed Abby how to take steps with her super strong legs, so we may be walking here earlier than expected, but not anytime too soon.
Today Abby had her very first bowl of oatmeal. Her bib had most of it, but she did get quite a bit down into her little belly. She really loves eating off a spoon, mostly because she is always hoping for a little bite of ice cream. Now we are going to rest up and get packed to head back to Hastings after Grandma and Grandpa Obreiter visit this weekend. Wow... what a busy week :)

Visiting the Locks

Yesterday we spend almost 3 hours at the Soo Locks watching the boats. This is Abby napping at the park. Grandma Jennie pushed her in the stroller until she fell asleep, then Grandma and I spend an hour watching the boats while Abby napped. Grandpa was up in the observation tower, but it wasn't stroller friendly and we wanted to sit in the sun.
This boat is the American Spirit - when we watched it leave the locks it blew its horn once, just like all the boats do. It scared Abby half to death and made her cry, but after a Grandma Jennie hug she was okay. We saw 3 big freighters in the locks, plus 3 tour boats, a sailboat, and a tugboat pulling a barge with a HUGE crane on it. And it was sunny and lovely.

This Pony Can Jump!

Yesterday Abby jumped in this pony for almost 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure her little legs are super tired from all the jumping, but she wanted right back in this morning for more pony riding fun!

Mission Spoil

Grandma Jennie and Grandpa Steve are here ~ Abby says let the spoiling begin! She was a very quick learner when it came to Grandma's voice. They are having a great time. More update later...

26 1/2 inches of Fun

That is our Abby - 26 1/2 inches long and well within the big girl clothes. I decided to measure her today just for fun. I can't believe how big she has gotten in the past 3 1/2 months! She wiggled, or this would have been a super cute picture.
This is our girls right before bed last night. Neither of them was in a good mood. Especially Abby, she finally today got back on schedule after last weekend's travel and chaos. Hopefully now we can stay under control for a few days so Steve and I don't go crazy.
Whoa! Her pony Little Brown tried to buck her off or something. Abby loves her standing up toys like the bounceroo and the exer-saucer. We love them too since getting stomped on the lap isn't the most fun activity.
Oh... and you know I'd put my baby girl in blue socks if they had basset hounds on them. Abby wore her Maize socks and Grandma Jennie track suit today, just in case Grandma came over (and because it was chilly). Grandma is coming on Sunday though, so she may have to wear the track suit again soon. This weekend we are going to try and hang out here and stay on schedule. We can't take another week of craziness. And, I need to start thinking about getting ready for the week long visit to Hastings that Abby and I are going to be making on August 17th. And clean so that Grandma and Grandpa Osgood can visit Sunday and Grandma and Grandpa Obreiter can visit next Friday. Whoa... we are going to be busy.

Could we have some whine to go with dinner please?

We've had 3 days of wildness and it is wearing our patience quite thin. Grandma Jennie better get here soon to snuggle Abby. She's been super tired, but doesn't want to miss out on any of the action, so rather than peaceful evenings with Abby napping, we get whines. Lots of whines. When she does finally go to sleep it's for long naps, so it isn't too terrible if you can get to the sleeping part.

Lots of sleeping... 15 hours between last night and 9 when we put her to bed and lunchtime today when I woke her up so she could eat. She did take a little snack break at 7 am, but went back to sleep within 5 minutes of finishing her bottle. She must be growing this week! We had to put away the things that were 3-6 months sized. The straight 6 months size still fit, but barely. Today Abby is wearing a pair of jeans that Steve had picked out for her to wear during football season. We are glad that she is big and healthy, but it is making our previously purchased wardrobe slightly obsolete. Lots of her cute "Baby's First Christmas" gear would fit her now, so I'm sure it won't be her size when December actually rolls around. Oh well... at least most of it still has tags on it and can be given as a gift.

We bought a dvd recorder to replace our dead dvd player and dying vcr. So far Abby and I have transfered 6 of our vhs tapes onto dvds. Still lots and lots to go. Guess we know what I'll be doing in my spare time for the next few weeks :-)

Visitors and Wild Life in Sault Ste. Marie

Abby had visitors this week. Abby's Aunt Hannah and Uncle Dan stopped in on their way home from Minnesota. We had a good time visiting with them and taking them to the tourist traps down by the Soo Locks. We also took them to The Antlers and took Abby's picture with a deer in the background and by the polar bear.
This is a sample of the great collection at The Antlers - or The Redneck Zoo as I've dubbed it. There are lots and lots of scary dead things, but Abby is only afraid of sitting under the birch bark canoe. She likes looking around at the rest of the critters.
Here's Abby and her Uncle Dan with a polar bear and a golden eagle. Abby was looking at the two-headed calf rather than looking at the camera.
We went downtown to the Soo Locks park, which is bounded on all sides by shops and hotels and restaurants. While we were in the park we saw this porcupine, which Dan decided to chase so he could be in the picture with it. Another wild "only in the UP" moment. Today Abby and I are cleaning up and getting ready for Grandma Great Jennie and Grandpa Great Steve to come over! We are going to have a lot of fun.

This Weekend in Photos

Photos from this weekend:

1. Steve and Abby at the wedding

2. Mr. & Mrs. Greg & Stefanie Wagner

3. This week's Sunday Best for church

4. Abby sleeping on the beach

Soo Locks and Beaches

We did lots of great things this weekend. These photos are from Friday night, when we walked down to the Soo Locks to watch some boats and to get a little exercise. We got to watch one boat head down into Lake Huron. It was a lovely evening, so we enjoyed just being outside. And, Abby had her first experience of laying in the grass. She wasn't too sure about it, or the freighter horns, but we had a great time.

Yesterday we drove down to Traverse City for a wedding. Steve's friend Greg Wagner from Steve's Tri-State days got married on the bay at the Bower's Harbor Inn. His new wife Stefanie looked beautiful, the weather was great, and we had a good time catching up with some old friends. Apparently the Inn is haunted, but we were pretty sure they were just trying to trick us. Nonetheless the wedding was wonderful. It was also wonderful to get to some stores - especially Sam's Club for lots of chicken and baby supplies. Abby loves to shop, so she really enjoyed that part. Unfortunately the big day created a little too much excitement for Abby and she didn't get a nap, so she was very tired and crabby by the end of the evening.

Today was perfect so we drove over a few miles to the shores of Lake Superior west of Brimley. We all enjoyed the beach, especially Maize. It was a "Maize Day" since she had to be home alone all day yesterday. She even managed to hold it all day - over 15 hours - so we had no accidents to clean up. She's a good dog. Abby wasn't too sure about the beach and couldn't quite nap, so we only stayed a couple hours before we headed home for a real nap. Tomorrow Abby's Aunt Hannah and Uncle Dan will be visiting, so it will be another trip to The Antlers so they can enjoy our best local cuisine.

5th Month Friday

Abby has officially been alive during 5 different months (April, May, June, July, and August). That's quite a lot for a girl who is just 3 1/2 months old.

Yesterday Abby and I found our old flannel and we've made a very snuggly, warm blanket for Abby out of it. She loves being wrapped right up and we couldn't do that anymore with her store bought blankets.

We are resting up today so we will be ready for our big adventure tomorrow. First we will be shopping in Traverse City and then attending a wedding at a resort. We are very excited to see Steve's college friends and also very excited to see a mall and Target and Sam's Club. It's the simple things that excite us "Yuppers".

Have a wonderful weekend :-)