Bubble Bath Time

Steve took Abby upstairs to "put on her pajamas" last night and after 30 minutes they had still not emerged, so I went to see how they were coming on the change from play clothes to pajamas. Somehow Abby accidentally fell into the bathtub, which evidently filled itself with water and bubbles in the process. And Abby and her dad were having a great time making bubble beards, bubble shirts, and doing bubble high fives. Abby even made a bubble beard for Steve. It was pretty funny! I am glad that I don't have to worry about my girl when her daddy is around.

Abby has been practicing her reading skills a lot lately. She can tell what the title of the book is and will often say the title to us when she brings the book over to be read. She can also read quite a few pages from "Hop on Pop," especially the "All Tall" page. We obviously are a little biased, but we are pretty sure she is way smarter than most kids her age. She even has been practicing her good manners lately and has been using the phrase "excuse me" after she has a little burping or tooting going on. And because she has been using her manners she also now knows that "me" refers to her, so last night when we were playing ball and I asked her who I should throw the ball to, she said "me" instead of Abby. Again... this girl is way to smart.

Our Baby - Week 15

How your baby's growing:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

You've probably gained about 5 pounds by now (a little more or less is fine, too) and are well into the swing of your pregnancy, but you may still be surprised by an unexpected symptom now and then. Actually, I've only gained 2.2 pounds according to the Wii fit, which I hadn't used since July (whoops), so I guess some Halloween candy is in order. And maybe some pumpkin pie... If your nose is stuffed up, for instance, you can probably chalk it up to the combined effect of hormonal changes and increased blood flow to your mucous membranes. Stuffy nose... check. This condition is so common, there's even a name for it: "rhinitis of pregnancy." Some pregnant women also suffer nosebleeds as a result of increased blood volume and blood vessel expansion in the nose.

(from: http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-15-weeks_1104.bc)

Abby's Baby Name

Abby has decided, quite definitely, that she wants to name the new baby Sister. So hopefully the new baby will be a girl or it will be very difficult to explain to Abby that we can't call a baby boy "Sister".

Some Ham To Go With Your Eggs

When Grandma Mary came over Abby learned about how fun it can be to make funny faces for the camera and then see the pictures. Since then she has been hamming it up and begging for us to pull out the camera whenever possible. She's done some pretty funny pictures lately. One night she had to take off her pajamas just so she could model her new boots. We didn't coach her on any of her modeling poses or faces - she is just a natural talent.

Abby enjoyed playgroup this morning. She got to make a place mat with her picture on it and had a lot of fun coloring it with all her favorite colors. She also got to do some dancing and singing, which she really got into. We have a great time playing with Abby's friends every week. And, as a special treat she had lunch with dad at his office afterward. It was lots of fun.

Stinky Dog Kisses

Abby has been particularly enjoying dog kisses lately. Last night I was snuggling her after she jumped head first off the couch and noticed a very doggish smell coming right off the top of her head. She must have been letting Maize groom her or something. They were back at it again this morning and Abby was cracking up. What a nut!

Abby has recently discovered lotion and is now obsessed with getting it rubbed onto her. I think she likes the rubbing more than the lotion feeling, but I'm sure that the lotion feels good on her dry skin (I know... I have terrible dry skin in the winter too). She keeps finding me bottles of lotion and bringing them to me. I now have quite a collection of lotion bottles. She is going to be quite a girlie girl someday I am afraid.

We are waiting for the little princess to wake up from her nap. She has in the last week been putting herself in bed. I just place her in her room, get told to "go away," shut the door and leave. She plays for a little bit and then makes her way into bed. I always go check on her within 30 minutes to make sure she got into bed and to leave her door open so she can escape when she wakes up. It's been working out well so far, which will be a big help when I have a second kid to put down for a nap too.

Boy or Girl

We have been asking Abby lately whether she wants the new baby to be a boy or a girl. So far her answer changes daily (today we are back to girl). So does her proposed names. I'm pretty sure we won't be naming the baby Maize, or number, or baby, so she'll have to keep thinking up ideas. So, in the spirit of Abby's answering ability, we will put the poll to you - boy or girl. You have less than 6 weeks to make your best educated guess.

Good luck!

P.S. According to the Chinese birth chart Abby will be passing her clothes down to a little sister.

18 Months Old!!!

Where has the time gone?!? We hope the next 16 1/2 years go as smoothly as the first 1 1/2. Abby has sure been a great baby and toddler.

I tried giving Abby her first hair trim today. We got it a little shorter than I would have preferred, but I was cutting wet hair on a wiggly kid. Next time I'll have to remember to dry it and then trim it. But, as you can see from the pictures we took afterward, she is still the cutest girl in the Upper Peninsula. Now we just have an ear length bob instead of a shoulder length mullet. We will have to see what dad thinks when he gets home.

Abby finally will tell you that she is "one" when she puts her finger up. It took a lot of practicing, since she was pretty set in holding up one finger and saying "two" instead. She certainly has a mind of her own when she gets an idea into her little brains.

Along with the haircut today, we also got Abby a new set of blackout curtains to try and help keep heat in her room. We picked out a curtain liner that we can reuse no matter how many times she switches her exterior curtains, which were pink this time. She thinks it is a princess room and was very impressed with her upgrade. We are hoping it saves us a few dollars in heating too, or at least keeps her toasty warm at night.

Our Baby - Week 14

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy cover of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

(from: http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-14-weeks_1103.bc)

In other news... we had our 14 week checkup and things were looking good. Abby and Steve came too, so Abby could learn that not all trips to the doctors office result in shots and other pain. She even warmed up enough by the end to give Dr. Mackie a high-five. And she was pretty impressed by the baby's heartbeat - which was 144 beats per minute. We will be checking in again at 18 weeks and will have to do the glucose tolerance test that visit, so I am not looking forward to that fun, but I figure we might as well get it out of the way.

Lion King Sized Success

They had one copy of The Lion King at Goodwill and it had just come in today. It is Abby's best day ever. She said sweet 27 times when we started the movie.

Hurricane Abby

Our house is looking a lot like a mega hurricane hit and I'm not too sure where to start in attacking the mess. I'm sure I had this place pretty much spic and span Friday, so it appears we have one fast mess maker. I guess we will be spending at least part of the next few days cleaning up the messes.

Abby and I took a trip to the library today. She was very excited to be coming home with 3 books. Unfortunately, we were unable to find one of the things I really wanted to pick up - The Lion King. Abby has been obsessed with The Lion King ever since we let her watch some of the songs from the movie on youtube. Unfortunately for her our local movie rental store doesn't have a copy, the library said it has a copy, but it was missing in action, and the movie is currently locked in the Disney vault, so I can't even buy her a new copy. We are heading to Goodwill in a little while for Angel Food, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will have a copy there. If not I guess I will be hitting ebay and half.com later this week.

Abby wore her puffy, fur trimmed coat this morning to play group. She thought she was sure hot stuff. And she had a great time playing with her friends. I'm glad that we have the opportunity to get out and play with other children. It is really helping with her friendliness.