Cookie Making

Abby and I are going to have a cookie making extravaganza tonight so that she can share valentine's cookies with her dad's office mates and her favorite babysitter and family. We picked up some heart shaped cookie cutters, so all we need to do is bake and decorate!

Tomorrow Abby is going to be breaking in a 2nd new babysitter for the week. This time Susie, Kitty's sister, is going to be babysitting Abby while Steve and I spend the afternoon in board meetings (again... it must be the week for being bored... or board). Luckily for Susie, tomorrow morning is swimming class, which Steve can take Abby to before his meeting. So, by the time Susie comes, Abby should either be napping or ready to.

We did another night with the c.d. player - I wish I would have discovered this months ago. I put on the Veggie Tales c.d. (it sings to Abby with her name in the songs), sat with her for the first couple songs (since one is "If You're Happy and You Know It" and she just has to get up and stomp her feet) and then left. She fell asleep, the c.d. ended, and it was blissfully quiet by 9:30 in our house last night. It was close to a world record for getting Abby to bed early. And she still slept until after 8 a.m. this morning, so I'd call that a good night all around. Except for maybe the fact that Baby Sister was using me for a punching bag.

New Beds Are Up!

Abby loves her new beds. In fact, she loves them so much that we had very little problems getting her to sleep last night. Except that we may have started a dangerous new habit - listening to music while she falls asleep.

We got a great deal on Abby's new mattresses - Big Lots is having a great sale where the box springs are only $10 with the purchase of a mattress. We were very excited and decided to go ahead and buy both sets and put up both beds. So now Aunt Hannah or Aunt Emily can camp out with Abby. They all love sleeping in, so it should be a great fit.

Our Girl - 31 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

from (http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-31-weeks_1120.bc)

We had our checkup this week. Baby's heartbeat was 144 beats per minute. Abby was excited to listen to her baby "sing." We also got a tentative c-section date (the surgeon just has to okay it) for April 7th. If we can make it that long.

New Things

Abby has two big new things since yesterday afternoon. The first is a new baby sitter in her lineup, her friend Autumn's older (17 year old) sister Kasi. She had a great time with Kasi last night while Steve and I were both at board meetings. She talked and talked about "our friend" Kasi after I got home. I'm so thankful that we now have two baby sitters that Abby loves staying with.

The other new thing in Abby's universe is her twin sized bed, which arrived via UPS earlier today. Abby and I put the first of the two beds together this afternoon so that we'd have a idea of what we wanted to do as far as mattresses and box springs. Abby and her dad have a date planned for tonight to go look at mattresses. She was very excited about her "princess bed" and I hope that will transfer over into excitement about sleeping in it. In the process of moving things around we did manage to crack an electrical outlet in half, but that was only a 95 cent repair that Steve will have to make sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Dentist's Kids Gone Wild

The coke can was robbed from the recycling bin. I did let her have the sucker, but we were making valentines for her friends with the other ones, so it hardly seemed fair not to let her have one.

No, I'm Fine

We have been hearing "No, I'm fine." a lot lately. Ask Abby about anything and you are likely to get that response. Like, "Abby, do you need some breakfast?" or "Abby, do you need a new diaper?" She is apparently fine. All the time.

We survived our unplanned trip to Hastings and now have the hard task of getting back into a regular routine - including nap time. Yesterday Abby was so exhausted that she had to leave the nursery during church, then she fell asleep while listening to the sermon. She also took a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. She was apparently pretty tired. And she slept her normal 11-ish hours this morning.

Last night Abby put a little soccer ball under her shirt and walked around for a little while with her baby "Angela." She wouldn't let me take her picture, but it was pretty hilarious. Maybe we can catch her in the act again sometime.

It's Puppy Time

Abby is having a great time visiting her grandmas and grandpas, but I think she is most concerned with the 5 wiggly bulldog puppies at Grandma and Grandpa Hodges house. She is pretty impressed with those guys and has been sneaking in to pet and hold them as often as possible. She even has all of their names down pretty well.

Abby spent almost all day yesterday with Grandpa Roy and she had a great time. She even made it an entire day without watching Beauty and the Beast - this is a big step for us. And Grandpa Roy survived watching all 4 of the Obreiter grandkids at once by himself for a few hours before reinforcements in the form of Great Grandma Joy and Great Aunt Jessie arrived. I am so thankful that we have wonderful family who don't mind having an extra little person around.

Abby cracked me up yesterday watching Aunt Emily play basketball. She was pretty good about staying in the bleachers and actually watching part of the game. But... she was most impressed with the automatic flushing toilets in the bathroom. Apparently she's never seen one of those in Sault Ste. Marie before. She was also pretty impressed with Grandpa Scott's popcorn.

We are just about 2 months away from having Baby Sister (who still needs a name, by the way). I will be glad to be over some of the "joys" of pregnancy, like the 7 charlie horses I had during the night last night. Or the fact that the seat belt in the very back seat of mom and dad's car only fit around me if I pulled it all the way out (which then causes it to tighten and lock, so that I was strapped in tighter than Abby ever is). Or my all time favorite, being so big that my pants don't go up high enough to beat gravity and keep falling down and practically off. I'd rather have the crying baby, the sleepless nights, and the surgical recovery than any of those annoying pregnancy issues...

Our Girl - 30 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

from (http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-30-weeks_1119.bc)

Boys Are Busy

Abby and I had some new friends over today and boy oh boy did I forget how busy little boys are! We watched an 18 month old and 3 year old from a new family who is attending our church (and their dad works at the tribe with Steve). Huron and Rian were cute and well behaved little boys, but boys certainly play much differently than girls. Much, much differently. Luckily, Abby napped through most of their visit, so I only had to handle 3 children under the age of 3 for about 30 minutes.

Abby and I are spending some quality Abby/Mommy time tonight while Steve is attending the tribal board meeting to see if he is going to get a raise under the new compensation package that is being voted on tonight. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the package will be approved, especially since Abby's favorite baby sitter lives with Dr. Dave, Steve's office partner, and Dr. Dave has been considering his options if the package isn't approved. We don't want to be on the hunt for a new baby sitter anytime soon, so we've been praying for a good outcome.

We are also praying for a good ride down tomorrow to visit family. Cousin Joe Nichelson probably doesn't quite know what he is getting himself into taking Miss Abby on a ride with him. But then again, he does have lots of littler siblings, so I'm sure he's had his share of fun riding in the car with a toddler. I'm hoping enough fruit snacks and dvd's will make the ride a happy one for Abby. Either way, we are glad to be going and spending some time with Joe. It's been a long time since I've had a good chance to visit with him and I personally am pretty sure I have the most amazing cousins in the world.

Whoops!!!

Apparently we aren't quite ready to use our workbook with the dry erase marker. Guess we'll put that away for a few months (and supervise better the next time she is using it!).