My First Pony Ride

Thanks to Hannah and Emily for the Pony :-)

Good Girls

Our two girls were good for the babysitter, she said. We will see if they were really good when we try to get Katie to watch them again. Of course, right as I was trying to leave one dirtied her diaper and the other got excited and peed on the floor (you can figure out which did which). And... I believe that Miss Abigail didn't do a very good job at getting her morning nap, so we have a little whine to go with our afternoon bottle.

Tomorrow we hop in the car for our big trip "downstate". I am keeping my fingers crossed that both Abby and Maize will do a good job on the car ride. We probably won't be on the road until about 5:30, so hopefully Abby will sleep most of the ride. We listened to the fireworks up here last night for Canada Day. Maize didn't appreciate them, but the rest of us didn't mind them much.

The First Park Visit

Abby took her first trip to the park today, and me being in a rush forget to grab the camera. Oh well... She had a great time watching all the kids sliding and swinging and playing. And, Abby and I even tried out the swing together. We had a lot of fun. Unfortunately the reason we had gone to the park was to participate in the "Time Out for Moms" that our church was putting on, but I misread the bulletin and was an hour late. The only moms Abby and I saw at the park were talking about being drunk at a wedding reception and were wearing some pretty provocative clothes - not quite the group that I was out to meet. They are having another "Time Out for Moms" in a few weeks, so we will try again.

This afternoon Abby and I need to clean up at least the lower level of our house. Tomorrow Abby will be staying with a babysitter for the first time so I can head out to an appointment. I could have tried to take her, but sitting in a car seat would be no fun for sweet Abigail, and the appointment is during her nap time. So, one of Dr. Drockton's daughters is coming to stay with Abby. I'm sure she will be much happier and I should be able to get back much faster without having to deal with keeping an eye on her.

And then we need to wash clothes and pack them up. We need to make sure we will have room for all of our things in the car and still have room to bring back our supplies. What a busy week - I am getting tired just thinking about it all.

"I don't know how you do this all day," he said

It is nice when you have a spouse that notices all the things you do in a day. It is even nicer when that comment does not come during the middle of a scream-fest, but I'll take it either way.

Abby has been a little cranky since lunch time - I am not really sure why, but she's been in hysterics several times. I think she must be growing or something. Steve came home for lunch and was telling Abby how much he loved her right before he left. That caused big crocodile tears and 40 plus minutes of uncontrolled crying. I walked her, I rocked her, I tried a bottle, I tried a pacifier, I tried singing, I tried laying down together, and finally after swaying until my sides ached she fell asleep. I am hoping this is a one day phenomenon.

Tomorrow Abby and I are going to the park for a mothers with preschoolers group. Abby probably won't appreciate the park much, but it will be nice to meet a few mothers with young children. Hopefully the weather remains nice. So, it's back to doing "this all day" - changing diaper after diaper, washing bottles, comforting Abby when she cries, letting the dog out and in and out and in and so on, and trying to remain sane in the process. And, since they are doing road work on the main road to Steve's office, he won't be able to come home for lunch anymore this week, so I can't use that time to get a shower. But, only 3 days until we go "downstate" and I can enjoy some "me" time while Abby gets attention from her aunties and grandmas and the "greats". I can't wait :-)

And... congratulations to our friends the Zirks from Ann Arbor on their new baby, Paige. We are really excited for them and their second little girl!

First Laugh

Abby laughed in response to something for the first time today. While Steve was trying to get her into her carseat and ready for church, he started playing with her toy pink poodle. Abby laughed a real laugh and repeated that 3 or 4 times before we had to leave and go to church. She's been very chatty this afternoon, so we caught a bit of that on video, but we couldn't get another laugh.

Boat Racing and Movie Watching

It was a not so glorious day for boat racing in Sault Sainte Marie today. In fact, our weather has been down right crummy today. But, we did manage to catch the first race, the 0 to 200 horsepower division). After that we decided it was a great day to stay inside and catch up on a few new movies, so we went down to the local Family Video and rented some movies. Abby slept through our first feature for the day - hopefully she will wake up enough this evening that she will sleep all night tonight.

We did get some great boat photos. The rest are going to be loaded up on our flickr photo page for you to see.

Abby wanted to tell you a story today

Abby was telling stories this morning. We decided to share one of them with you. She is a very good story teller in the mornings and at night when the rest of her family is trying to sleep. Tonight we are taking Abby to her first parade ever, the Great Tugboat Race Parade. Tomorrow we are going to watch the boats racing in the St. Mary's River. It should be a very interesting afternoon. I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures to share.

Today we are finishing the laundry so we can start thinking about what we want to take with us when we go "downstate" to visit all our family for the 4th of July. We also have to make a list of things we need to buy while we are down there that we can't get up here or can't get in the same quantities or at the better prices. I hope Sam's Club and Target are well stocked, because Abby is coming for supplies. It's kind of like being a pioneer and having to plan and purchase everything you'll need before you reach the next stop on the trail. Maize is requesting pig's ears and Abby is hoping to get stocked up on the Sam's Club brand wet wipes, since they are the best to carry in a diaper bag. I am thinking a nice big box of laundry detergent would beat having to keep buying the small boxes at the local WalMart.

Hopefully we will be seeing many of you soon!

Welcome Summer

It is finally warm up here. It's the 5th beautiful day in a row and we are enjoying our lovely summer weather. Abby has been able to wear her really cute summer outfits and sun suits and we have been enjoying walking outside.

Abby and her dad got a new toy last night - a Coleman roadtrip grill. We still need to put it together and get a propane tank, so we probably won't be grilling until Friday. Those yummy porkchops from Hannah and Emily's 4-H hogs will be meeting our new grill soon :)

This weekend there is The Great Tugboat Races here in Sault Sainte Marie. We are going to try to catch the racing action from one of the local parks. We also found out that one of Steve's co-workers has some connections with Mackinac Island, so we should be able to explore the island's historical sites without having to pay the extra fees. Of course, there is still the pesky ferry boats and that extra expense. But, we are so excited to have another great Upper Peninsula attraction to explore.

It is a working day today. So far I've got one basket of laundry to fold and a sink full of dishes to wash. I am really missing the dishwasher. Abby is having her mid-morning nap, so I better get to those dishes.

A Typical Day with Abby

Today Abby and I thought we'd share with you what our typical day is like, just in case you were wondering what I do all day.

5 am - Abby wakes me up with her noise making. Sometimes she wakes herself up, but normally she finds her thumb and goes back to sleep all by herself. It normally takes me about 30 minutes to get back to sleep. Maize normally wants let out too.

6:20 - Steve's first alarm goes off. If Abby hasn't had her early morning snack yet, she normally is up around this time to eat, get clean diapers, and then go back to sleep.

6:30 - Steve's second alarm goes off. He gets up. Some days Abby gets to take her dad's spot in the bed (if she and mom are both awake when dad gets up).

7:30 - This is the latest that Abby will sleep in the morning before her first morning snack. She usually goes back to sleep after her snacking.

9:30 - Abby wakes up for the morning (after she takes her first early morning nap from 6 or 7 am). Every other morning or so Abby takes a warm bath and gets dressed up. She always wakes up smiling in the mornings.

10:00 - After Abby gets washed up and dressed (and I get dressed, but not showered) we have some playtime. Abby loves reading books and currently is a big fan of standing up on me, or Steve, or the couch. We have to let Maize out if Abby is going to play on the floor. After playtime Abby is ready for a snack and has vitamins in her bottle so the milk is cherry flavored.

10:30 ish - Abby takes a nap for 2 or so hours. If I am not to exhausted, I try to sneak in a shower, do dishes, and get lunch.

1:00 - Abby is awake again by 1 and wants some more food. After she eats we try to run any errands that we have so we are home before her next napping period. I often have to go do errands without a shower, I usually remember to at least put on deodorant and my glasses or contacts.

4:00 - It is Abby's naptime again. She is cranky by the time she gets to her afternoon nap, so we usually have a little bit of crying or whining before Abby falls asleep. This is usually a time when we read books again. Especially Junior's Colors. We are espeically grateful for Abby's many pacifiers at this time. She highly recommends the Soothie pacifiers. While Abby naps I may be able to get a shower, I have to start dinner, and Maize normally is feeling left out by now and needs to play a round or two of fetch. If I have time I try to read a little or check my email. This is also laundry time, pick up time, and bill paying time.

5:10 ish - Abby's dad gets home and she plays with him while they wait for dinner to get ready. She likes to stand on her dad and stomp her feet on him. She gets another bottle before dinner and then sits in her high chair at the table while we eat.

5:30 ish - Abby and her dad watch SportsCenter or some other ESPN program while her mom does the dishes.

6:00 ish - Either we take a family hike around the neighborhood, or if needed we head out to do our weekly shopping. Sometimes I go out by myself and sometimes Abby and Steve go too. I try to do all of the grocery shopping and other trips where we will have more than one bag when Steve is home, since it is too much work wrangling a baby carrier, tons of bags, and unlocking and opening a door with an excited dog behind it.

8:00 - We start the calm down routine with Abby. She eats again and gets snuggled by her dad. We read books or work on a puzzle.

9:00 - Our family heads up to bed for an hour of reading time before bedtime. Steve is currently reading The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel. I am reading the collected short stories of Dostoevsky and the biography of John Adams.

10:00 - Abby gets a clean diaper, gets a snack, and gets laid down for bed. Sometimes she goes right to sleep and sometimes she talks until 10:30 or 11.

1:00 or 2:00 am - Maize thinks she needs to go outside. I assess the situation and either tell her to get back to bed or let her out (based on the urgency of the whining).

Our Library Adventure

Abby and I went to the library today. We checked out Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See and some books for big people. Abby really likes the pictures. She also is a big fan of Junior's Colors (a veggie tales book). Besides the library we had to go to K-mart to stock up on wet wipes. Abby slipped a new bathing suit and hat into the cart to wear at Grandma Mary's pool when she goes to visit.