37 weeks

I tried to post this last night, but I fell asleep.  That pretty much sums it up.  ;)

So, 37 weeks.  I (technically) have 3 weeks left until mini-mut makes his/her debut.  The general opinion seems to be, however, that s/he will be here before then.  

At this point in this pregnancy, things are progressing very differently than with Abs. With Abby, I felt the same at 40.5 weeks as I did at 30 weeks.  I had braxton hicks contractions on occasion, but I had no other sign (that I recognized) that labor was in the near future.  And for good reason - even after my water broke, I still never had contractions.  10 hours later they gave me pitocin to try to get my body to shape up and cooperate.  10 hours after that, Abs was born.  

But, I didn't have the typical experience.  I never got to feel real - non-induced- contractions, I never had to time them until it was time to call the doc, I never did any of that kind of thing.  

So, at 37 weeks with #2, things are different.  I've had Braxton Hicks for over half this pregnancy, but this last week, they've gotten stronger and more frequent.  I've also experienced contractions in my back for the first time.  They're uncomfortable and I might even go as far as to say mildly painful at times, but they are irregular.  Yesterday, after my doctor's appointment, I started having deeper contractions in addition to the other two types.  The three different kinds (Braxton, Back, Deeper) just alternated for most of the afternoon and evening.  But, they've calmed down as of this morning. 

I went in yesterday for a non-stress test, I'll get them weekly just to monitor baby.  It was lovely.  I got to sit back, relax, eat graham crackers and apple juice and just listen to the baby for 20 mins.  I got to see my contractions on the monitor, which was nice because it gave some credibility to what I thought I was feeling.  The nurse seemed surprised that I hadn't mentioned them my doctor yet as I was having them semi-regularly during the test - but I explained that they'd only been happening for a few days and they were quite irregular. 

After the NST, I saw my doc and she says I'm at 1cm.  That doesn't mean too much other than my body is just getting things ready this time.  I could still have this baby late, or I could have it this weekend.  I don't know what to expect, and neither does anyone else.  But, I suspect this baby will come at least a little early.  I can certainly feel like the baby has dropped at this point.  I can eat more, and walk less.  My  hip, leg, and pelvic bones all feel like they're being pulled apart and pounded on - bruised perhaps.  

I've decided to try to take some more time and start my maternity leave earlier.  If that gets approved, my last day will be April 8th - a week from Friday.  That's kind of exciting.  

Last night I was giving Abs a bath and she, suddenly, asked to be put on the potty.  She's never done that before, so I didn't waste the chance.  We ended up sitting there for probably 20 minutes.  She never did anything, but we had fun playing and talking and laughing.  She really wanted to play with baby.  She kept tickling and hugging baby and she likes to put both hands on my belly and say "Gotcha Baby!"    So, I had Kyle snap a quick pic on his phone so that I can remember that fun little moment we had.  

So, until next week, I'll be here - working and mommying and taking advantage of anybody who would like to rub my back in between.  :)

You Capture - Vibrance

So when I saw that "Vibrance" was the theme for this week, my first thought was "colorful"  I looked up the definition and was actually surprised to see that colorful was definition number 3 or 4.  Movement was number 1.

I had great things planned for this...but, something about being 9 months pregnant, working full time, and having a sick toddler put a dampener in those plans.  So, here we are and I'm just gonna use what I've got this week.

While shopping this weekend, a friend and I ran across a candy apple store.  What's sad is that my first thought wasn't "Oh, those look delicious!" but rather "Oh, those would make great pictures!" :)

We had a comedy of errors trying to get a picture of Abs playing with her big red ball one morning.  I never quite got that perfect shot - but this one - where she looks like a seal - makes me smile. 

And this one - this is the opposite of vibrance - but this is the reason I don't have more pictures this week.   Poor sick kiddo.  

(she's on the mend)

I can't wait to see what other things people have captured this week - and if you're bored at work - you should too. ;)  Go to Beth's. 

Dear new baby

Dear new baby,

Hi, it's mom again.

There are three weeks left until you are supposed to make your debut into this world of ours, but, I'm beginning to think that you'd like to speed that process up a bit.  I could be wrong, of course, but you just seem awfully restless in there.

Regardless of when you officially arrive, I can't believe it's so close.  This whole pregnancy has been very similar and very different than my first pregnancy with your sister.  It has been similar in that I could consider both of them to be "easy" pregnancies.  A bit of an oxymoron perhaps, but when I look back in 10 years on this time, I won't remember the aches and pains (I might remember the heartburn you gave me last night, but we'll see).  Both pregnancies have had their different quarks, cravings, and memories - but overall, they've been similar.  However, they have been complete opposites in the way I've experienced them.

I've had less time to concentrate on pregnancy this time.  And, part of that just come with the territory.  I've been through this stuff once before, so I don't need to spend every spare second reading books and searching the internet for every tiny bit of information - not that I have too many spare seconds to spare anyway.  That also comes with the territory I suppose.

I had a dream 2 nights ago that was weird and odd and didn't really make a lot of sense, but there was once scene that has stuck with me.  I was sitting on a park bench, on a cliff, overlooking the ocean.  It was sunny and there was a breeze and everything was peaceful.  You daddy was sitting next to me and I had a small cup of hot coffee that I was slowly sipping as I just watched the waves and soaked up the sunshine.  While one hand held my coffee mug, my other hand gently rubbed my belly back and forth and I sat there - on that warm sunny park bench - and just thought of you.

It was a dream because that is what I've been longing to do - to just sit and think of you.  I've been making efforts to do that.  When I can, I go downstairs early in the morning and eat breakfast alone before anyone else wakes up.  It's during this time that it's just you and me.  And that's nice.  And, I know it sounds a little crazy (and you'll soon learn that I sound that way a lot ;), but somehow having that moment in that dream left me feeling fulfilled....like I really had spent an entire afternoon with just you.

Anyway.  I do think about you a lot.  Especially at night...sometimes because you're making it so difficult for me to sleep, but often just because that's a nice quiet time.  I wonder who you are.  A boy or a girl?  What will your name be?  Your daddy and I still haven't decided.  If you are a girl, I know your older sister will love having a little sister around, and it's easy for me to imagine "girl things" like tea parties for two and matching dresses and all that fun stuff.  Sisters are awesome.  And, if you're a boy, I would be so happy to have the experience of having a son.  I hope that if you're a boy that you look a little bit like me because your sister looked just like your daddy when she was born. :)  That would only be fair.

I wonder what our relationship will be like.  I wonder how different I will be with you than I was with your sister - having done the newborn phase once before and having a vague idea of what to expect, I wonder if I'll be able to better cope with the difficult moments or if I'll have an easier time with hormones and nursing and all of those things you and I will deal with together.  Of course it's a little scary - any change is.  The unknown is always a little scary, but that doesn't mean that it's bad...just something to learn.

Your room is pretty much ready for you, although you'll be sharing with me and daddy for a little while. Abigail makes sure that your toys get played with on occasion so they don't get lonely.  She made you a little teddy bear that is waiting for you in your crib - she can't wait to show it to you.  She's going to love you so much.

As will I, as will your daddy.  I can't wait to hold you.  In some ways, you seem so surreal still.  I can't believe we're so close to meeting you face to face.  Yet, I know once you get here I won't be able to remember what life was like before you arrived.  I think you'll like it with us, at least most of the time.  We do have fun and we do love each other an awful lot.  And I kinda think that's all you need...when you really think about it.

So, until we meet and I'm carrying you in my arms instead of my belly - just know that I'm excited about this.  And know that I, We, love you already.

sleeping beauty

On Saturday night, I knew Abs didn't feel well.  I gave her some Tylenol and put her to bed.  I heard her wake up around 6:30 on Sunday morning, which is normal for her.  But, because I had stayed up late I actually fell back to sleep (very not normal for me).  I woke up an hour later and didn't hear Abs playing or reading.  

So, I got up to find this - Abs had fallen back asleep in her reading chair.

She got up easily enough, and ate a little breakfast.  We had a low key morning, but soon it was time for us to go pick up Kyle from his conference.  I had an errand I wanted to run on the way, so off we went.

Abs was very quiet the whole ride, and as I got off the interstate, I looked back to see that she had fallen asleep again.  Abs doesn't usually fall asleep in the car unless it's past her naptime already.  But, this was around 11am.

I sat in the parking lot with her for about 35 mins letting her rest.  She woke up on her own, so I decided to go ahead and run into the store and look for a few things.  As soon as I got down a few aisles, this is what happened: 

Now, had there been any doubts, they were washed away.  It was clear she wasn't feeling well.  She tried to wake up a few times and I spent about 5 minutes in an aisle wiping sad little tears off her face as she kind of whimpered and cried because she didn't feel well.  But, then something caught her eye and she was awake again and generally happy.  She saw a little journal that you can color the front of and, for whatever reason, had to have it.  It was a dollar, so I was ok with it.  We checked out and headed off to get Kyle.

We got Kyle and gave a few of his friends a ride home as well.   On the way we all stopped for lunch and Abs didn't eat too much.  Only some yogurt and my red onions from a salad.  Um, yum?

We got home and put her right to nap, even though it was already after 3.  Because I didn't want her to sleep straight till 7, I went up and woke her up a little before 5.  She was groggy, and I let her lay on me for a while downstairs while I watched the end of a basketball game.  When I got up, she just stayed on the couch and asked to be "tuck-tucked"

So, nap #5 of the day.

She didn't eat much for dinner, but she did eat and she drank milk and water.  We tried to give her a bath, but for the first time in the history of the world she acted like the water was boiling lava and was *freaking* out about it.  So, we let her off the hook and just got her ready for bed.  She didn't put up much fight.

I heard her wake up this morning around 5:45am.  I have a rule that if it's before 6am, she has to go back to bed.  I got up to go tell her to get back in bed - I expected to find her playing or reading like usual, but instead, I found her curled up in her reading chair like a little kitten, hugging her sippy of water - asleep.

I picked her up and put her back to bed.  I had to leave for work, but Kyle says she didn't get back up until he woke her up around 8:30 before he had to leave.  He told me that she kept trying to play, but just kept falling asleep and kept asking to lie down.  Poor thing.  The nanny let us know that after the tylenol kicked in, she seemed to perk up, was in good spirits, and was eating and drinking a little better.

The kid is just sick.  She'll be fine, and thank goodness for Tylenol.  But it's still just so sad to see her so lethargic.  :-/

On a funnier note - this is what I found in the shower yesterday morning.  Life is more fun with a toddler in the house...or at least showers are that much more festive.  :)

Hope everyone has a good Monday. Send Abs some strong and healthy immune system thoughts.  

shopping day

Over Christmas while we were in Arkansas, we ate at Cracker Barrel with Kyle's family.  This is a normal Sunday tradition for them, and it was a nice time and a nice meal.  But, for whatever reason, the stars were aligned and that breakfast was the best thing I'd ever had.  When we got back to Boston, I actually thought about it a lot.  Specifically, grits.  I supposed you could call it a craving, but it was really more of a pre-occupation.  I really wanted grits and all the other yummy breakfast stuff.  And, considering that I'm not usually a big breakfast person - it was noteworthy.  

Well, some friends informed me that there's a Cracker Barrel just under an hour away from where we live.  Another friend pointed out that it's right by an outlet mall and suggested we all make a day of it.  

Kyle is at a conference, so it was good timing.  One of my friends ended up having to stay home with her sick daughter, but my friend Kelly and I enjoyed a fun little day trip yesterday.

When Kelly came over, she surprised Abby with some presents.  A red pinwheel and a new purse (What's a girl's shopping day without a new purse?)

Ready to hit the road

Upon further inspection, Abby found another surprise in her purse - a whole dollar for her to spend on whatever her heart desired today.  :)  Here's the sad part...Abby didn't really know what it was.  In thinking about it, she's probably only seen dollar bills at church when we give her one for the offering plate.  I held up a quarter and asked her what it was and she said "money!"  I held up my credit card and asked her what it was and she said "pay for it!" I pointed to the dollar and asked her what it was, and she just stared at me.  I, obviously, don't use a lot of cash.  Ha.  So, we spent a few minutes explaining that a dollar is like a card and you use it to "pay for it" too.

Kelly snapped this shot with her phone

We hit the road and found Cracker Barrel easily.  I was pretty excited.  It was kinda weird though - to be in a place that I associate so strongly with the south and with Conway, but to be here.

Abs loved playing with the pegs - but got a little upset when she didn't have a peg for every hole (one is supposed to be left empty)  She kept telling me she lost a peg and couldn't find it. 

Then our food came. Yum.  And, yes, I ate all my food.  Duh.

Kelly, excited about pancakes

After our meal, I let Abby shop.  She didn't really hesitate.  She walked right up to a big jar of lollipops, stood up on her tiptoes and reached out her hand saying "I want the red one!"  It was perfect.  I gave her her dollar and her red lollipop and told her she could go buy it all by herself.  I sat her on the counter and the cashier was very nice and made a big fuss over Abby's first solo purchase.

Abs was pretty pleased with herself.  She gave the dollar, got her change back and said "I pay for it!"

Next? Shopping!

The only downside to yesterday was that it was cold.  In the 30s.  It was otherwise beautiful, which was good.  Cold is always easier to deal with on sunny days.  Here's Abs all bundled up ready for shopping.  This picture makes me laugh - she's so serious.

Anyway, we spent several hours shopping.  It was fun.  At the end of the day, I hadn't actually bought anything.  I'm funny like that - I get really indecisive about spending money sometimes - but we all had a nice time and I really did enjoy looking through all the stores.  We left the outlets around 1:45 and Abs was all but asleep in her stroller.  Like clockwork, she is.  We got back in the car and she was OUT, nearly instantly.

Kelly and I decided we wanted ice cream, so we detoured and found a cold stone creamery.  Abs woke up, so we just al went in.  Yum.  There was a toy store next door, so I let Abs walk through and pick out a toy.  She got a funny little squishy ball thing that she was pretty excited about.  After that, we all headed home.  We said bye to Kelly and took it easy for the rest of the evening.

I decided that it was too late for Abs to nap by the time we got home.  We played for a while, and I noticed that Abs was acting a little off.  I felt her and she was definitely warm.  Before long, her eyes got that heavy eye-lid glazed look, and it was clear she had a fever.  :(

I decided that some low-key snuggle time was in order and I dug through my DVDs to find one that I thought Abby might enjoy.  We've never sat her down to watch a movie before.  I didn't know if she'd make it through the whole thing or not, but she seemed excited about the idea of "a movie with mommy and popcorn"  So, that's just what we did.

Abs and I snuggled in on the couch under a pile of blankets with our bowls of popcorn and drinks.  It didn't take too long before she had her head resting on my belly and I was just stroking her warm little head and back.  

Of course, as soon as Nemo's mom was gone in the first part of the movie, Abby sits up and says "Where did nemo's mommy go?  Where is she?"  Sigh.  I didn't really expect her to be paying attention to the movie.  I took the easy way out though and just gave a generic "oh, she's not here anymore - Look! They're going to school!  Look at the colors, so pretty."  And she was satisified with that.  

We watched all but the last 15 mins or so of the movie.  At that point, she was getting really sleepy and a little restless and I wanted her to get to bed on time(ish).  So, I gave her some medicine and read her some books.  I held her and rubbed her back and she fell asleep on me.  It was sweet.  I put her in bed and tucked her in with her barely waking up - first time I've put her down to bed alseep in as long as I can remember. Sweet girl.  

So.  It was a great day.  Even though Abs ended up not feeling well.  She seems in good spirits this morning though and I know she'll be fine.  Thanks Kelly for making the day that much more special for Abs and extra fun for me. :)

awww, shucks.

I'm at work.  I got here at 5:57am in order to work on some things before the day officially started and I've been super productive (yay me!).  But, I also have a ton left to do (boohiss).  But, I need a quick mental break before delving into writing another report, scoring more protocols, or thinking about anything regarding executive function or anxiety disorders for a few moments.

So.  The last post I wrote?  About Kyle?  I liked writing it and I meant what I said and I was happy with it. But I was totally surprised by how many of you folks liked it too.  I want to say thank you for all the sweet comments and emails, texts and even phone calls about it.  I certainly did NOT expect that, but it was a constant stream of warm fuzzies for me all day yesterday.  I'm thankful for all of you.  Truly.

Kyle says he thought about commenting how he was just afraid I'd beat him up if he ever broke up with me.  ;)  Whatever works, right?  Silly boy.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a nod to all the kind words - I'm spoiled by all of you to a ridiculous degree.

What else?

It's Friday.  That's good.  Kyle's leaving this weekend for a conference, so I've planned some girl time with a friend and Abs.  Grits and shopping are on the agenda, among other things...looking forward to that.  I'm also hoping to make some more headway on baby preparation.  We're like 76% ready. I've got my "honey-do" (baby-due?) list all typed out and I think we can get those things done over the next few weeks.

mental note: I need to write about baby.  I compose letters and posts in my head to this sweet little thing all the time, I need to get one record.

I stopped for coffee this morning (yes, that means I stopped AND still made it to work before 6am - impressive for me.)  I ordered my usual and the lady looks at me, looks at my belly, and says "you want decaf, right?"

Um.  wrong.  Who wants decaf at 5:45 in the morning?  Seriously.  She was probably judging me as being an irresponsible pregnant lady - subjecting this poor baby to all that caffeine.  But, that's fine. Coffee is fine.  And I don't think the baby minds the caffeine any more than it minds all the sugar in that donut I ordered to go with it.  ;)

Anyway.

The other night we got to meet up with our friend Karen who was visiting town.  We hadn't seen her in a few months, and Abby was so excited.  It was great to have dinner together and chat and a lot of fun for me to watch Abby play and be generally excited about our trip out into the city.  I'm not entirely sure which she was more excited about - seeing Karen or riding a train.  :)  Regardless, it was a nice time.  I'll leave you with a pic of the two of them as I (SIGH) try to get back to being productive here at work.

Happy Fridays everyone.  Y'all rock.

7 years

Once upon a time a girl named Laura had a crush on a boy named Kyle.

Luckily, the boy named Kyle felt the same way.  And after months and months of being best friends, working together, studying together, spending lots of time together and growing more and more fond of each other - the boy asked the girl to be his girlfriend.

Well, his actual words were "I know you know I like you.  So, should we give this a shot?"
And my response was, "Um, we can try"

That first week was awkward.  We were best friends who suddenly had given themselves a new label.  We didn't know how to act - should I hug him?  Do we hold hands now?  Do we just pretend like nothing's changed?  The week after Kyle asked me out was our Spring break and I had to work, but the dorms were closed, and I needed a place to stay.  So, Kyle's family let me stay with them (a theme that would be repeated much later on as well. ;)

It was 10 days after Kyle had asked me out.  I was about to go to bed, so I went to tell him goodnight.  I gave him a hug and he lifted my chin and kissed me.  First kiss. March 23rd 2004.

I didn't know, at that point, that I would marry him.  It took me another week to figure that out.
(No lie, I knew two weeks in, I can remember the exact moment that I thought to myself - I'm going to marry him.  We were stuck in traffic on I-40.  I remember it all, clear as crystal.)

I certainly didn't know we'd be here, where we are now, just 7 years later.

I suppose we've had our bad moments.  Our fights, our spats, our stressors, our moods.  But nothing specific comes to mind when I try to recall them.  When I think back on the past 7 years - it's all been so good.

This morning, I came downstairs with Abs and Kyle had made coffee.  I was standing by the counter pouring myself a cup and appreciating how the sun was filling the kitchen and making everything seem warm...nearly springlike.  I remembered, then, that today marked 7 years since our first kiss and I just stood there and took everything in.  The thought that filled my head was "and look at as now"  I was ready for work - sipping a cup of (perfectly delicious) hot coffee.  Abby was eating breakfast and happily chattering away in her high chair.  Kyle answered her questions while he buttoned the top buttons of his dress shirt and packed his work bag.  I just stood there and watched them interact for a bit.  Baby kicked.  And I was reminded that not only have we managed to raise this amazing toddler, but we have another one on the way.  The whole scene was spectacularly normal, just two parents getting ready for work in the morning, but I was overwhelmed with how lucky I am.

And, maybe I cried a little bit.  But only because I was really happy (and, yes, ok, fine -also really hormonal) But mostly just happy.

Kyle.  Thank you for asking me out, even if you were scared to.  And thank you for kissing me, even if I was being painfully shy.  And thank you for everything in between then and now, even when I make things difficult.  My life is so happy because of you and I just thought you should know that.

You Capture -Youth

You Capture this week was themed "Youth"  

Let's just say I had a lot to chose from this week.  I typically try to keep my You Capture posts to 5 pics or less, but you get 7 this week...and that's only because I thought posting my 75 top favorites would be annoying.  

I'm still enjoying the new camera and learning little by little how to make it work to do what I want it to do.  If you stop by the blog often, a lot of these will be repeats from the week, but that's ok, right?  :)  

youth is: playing blocks

learning

sweet smiles

 hats that are too big

being broken hearted after spilling all your bubbles

climbing trees

and the simple joy found in a balloon

Go see more at Beth's! 

Id vs. Superego

This is what happens when you're 9 months pregnant and exhausted and just as you're about to put your feet up for the first time all day, you realize you're out of milk and you really need milk for tomorrow, so you drag your tired bones and aching muscles to the door and grab your coat and scarf (because it's the first day of spring and it's sleeting and snowing and raining all at the same time, and um, it's cold) at 9pm to head out to the grocery store....just to get milk.

Id wins.

Yes, that would be TWO bags of doritos, and TWO different dips, chocolate fudge almond ice cream AND a cadbury egg (for good measure).

...for the record, I got milk too.

green balloon

Last month, I blogged about a balloon I'd gotten for Abby.  I accidently lost the balloon and was kinda sad about it - feeling like I'd let Abby down.  Abby, on the other hand, took it like a champ and that was that.

Then, this morning, as we're walking into church - Abs looks up at the sky and, out of nowhere, says "Abby's balloon went way up in sky.  I no have it anymore.  I can't weach it.  It's weally weally far away"  Sigh.  Straight to the heart, right?  Of course she remembered it.  Kyle was sweet - he told her the balloon had gone to go play with the moon and stars, and Abby was all "yeah, play with the moon"

We had a nice easy afternoon, then I decided we needed to get outside.  Kyle went running and I drove Abs to the reservoir where Kyle met us.  But, on the way, I decided I needed to redeem myself.  We stopped by our local grocery store and Abs got a brand new pretty green star balloon.

And boy was she excited about it.  :)  

We continued on to the reservoir, and Abby clutched her balloon the entire time.  She had so much fun with it and it just filled me with so much happiness to watch her be so pleased with something so so simple.  I mean, that's what childhood is all about, right?  Simple joy.

and speaking of simple joy, I taught Abby how to "make music" by running a stick along the fence.  She was impressed with that and we spent a lot of time testing out different sized sticks to see what sounds they all made. :)

a girl and her balloon.

when she wasn't running, she was jumping.

"C'mon mama! Let's go!"

:)

we found Kyle (or, rather, he found us) and we all headed back home for the evening

It was a very nice way to spend some time this afternoon.  Best $1.99 I spent all week.

just stuff

Thursday was gorgeous, and Friday didn't disappoint.  We gladly welcomed the burst of spring air passing through the area as everyone left their big coats at home and wore brighter colors.  It was nice.  I had a lot to get done at work, and actually had a pretty productive day - but I was ready to get home and ready to enjoy the sunshine.

Abby had spent the entire day outside with the nanny and was taking a nap when I got home.  She usually sleeps for another hour or so after I arrive.  But, not yesterday.  She got up about 15 mins after I got home.  Since she'd been asleep for close to an hour...and I wanted to go outside too...I just let her.  She reads on her own after her nap.  It's cute.  She gets out of bed, goes to her play area, sits in her chair, pulls up a stack of books and starts "reading" them.  She'll do this until I whistle.

I don't know when I started whistling for her - a few months ago?  Now it's just a fun habit/ritual.  I whistle from downstairs and she hears it and laughs.  Every time I whistle - she laughs.  And more often than not, she runs to the gate to wait for me saying "mommy came home again!"

Anyway.  Back to Friday.  Abs woke up early, so we headed out.

I mentioned how I broke my camera lens the other day.  More specifically, the auto focus.  I was very sad about that.  I decided to take it into the camera store just to see what they would say, although I was fully prepared for them to tell me that it would be cheaper to buy a new lens than fix it.  The older gentleman at the counter took a look at it, tried another lens, tested the camera, then tried mine again.  He asked when I'd bought it and I told him about 2 weeks ago.

He goes to the back, pulls out a new box and sets it on the counter in front of me and says "you're all set"  Yep - he just gave me a brand new lens!  I was speechless and quite happy.  He said "there's definitely something wrong with yours, here you go"  It made. my. day.

So, with a heart full of happy, a sky full of sunshine, and afternoon to spend - Abs and I headed to the park. She'd spent all morning there, but it didn't take a lot of convincing to get her to go again.  She kept saying "I go to the park Again!  I go with Mommy now!"

she still loves the swings. 

Abby has a little friend from the playgroup we attend on Tuesdays.  We were happy to run into them there at the park.  It was one of the first, if not only, time that's happened to me.  Running into people you know just doesn't happen as often here as it does in the south.  Bigger city, more people, plus I know fewer folks too...so, it's a little extra special for me when I actually run into a friend.  I enjoyed talking with the mom while the girls played.

peek-a-boo!

We played for an hour and a half or so at the park and Abs wasn't ready to leave when it was time.  I could have stayed too, honestly.  It was just so nice outside.  But, alas, we needed to get on with things.  We picked up Kyle at work and all headed to the grocery store for a quick few items.

Since Kyle was with me, and we were only getting a few things - we decided to try something new.  We let Abby walk instead of ride in a cart AND we let her bring in her own grocery bag.  She did SO well. It helped that the store wasn't busy.  We let Abby pick out some strawberries.  Then, she saw the cucumbers and decided she needed one of those as well.  She carried "Abby's food" all over the store - taking breaks when it got heavy -but not letting anyone help her.  I mean, she was just beaming with how proud she was of herself. :)

I only remembered to snap a picture as we were leaving - and this was as she was getting protective.  She didn't want to put her food on the belt at first.  Here she is hugging the cucumber saying "no, Abby keep it?"

But, she did give it up, and the baggers were nice enough to put her food back in her bag.  She's growing up so fast.

As for today?  It's been laaaaazy.  We did go through Abby's old clothes and pulled out the gender neutral stuff we had.  It's all washed and folded and waiting baby now.  Weird.  Those things are tiny.  The only other productive thing I did today was cook.  I'd planned to cook corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day - but I was too tired.  So, we had it tonight.  I'd never made it before, but I was pleased with how it turned out.  Especially considering how cheap the meal was - it was a win-win.

don't worry, the beer was for Kyle ;)

and of course, a green dessert was in order as well. 

(pistachio pudding = YUMMO)

So far the weekend has been good.  A little unplanned, a little lazy, but not bad.  And I'll take that.

Paddy pics

We had a fun St. Patrick's Day yesterday, and I hope everyone else did as well. :)  I think one reason I love this holiday is that it just lends itself SO easily to themed fun.  And I'm a sucker for themed fun.  Seriously. 

Kyle laughs at me, and jokingly makes fun of me (he says he's not making fun of me and that he just thinks that I'm being "cute"...but I know better)  I told him I refuse to feel guilty for making Abby's childhood Fun, lol.  When I pointed out that he put on a green shirt yesterday without any prompting from me, he said "Well, I was afraid I might be kicked out of the family if I didn't wear green" Anyway, point is - we had fun.  Kyle did too.  

This will be a picture heavy post.  Sorry.  I probably *only* took 200ish pictures yesterday.  Which, is actually saying a lot.  Unfortunately, I like way too many of them.  I've picked out a dozen or so to share here.

Our day started with breakfast.  Kyle made coffee, I made shamrock eggs. :)

These were SO easy and really yummy...and, even healthy!  You gotta try them: 

Shamrock Eggs

Eggs (I used 7)

Spinach (drained - however little or as much as you like.  You'll be able to taste it)

Parmesean (I used about 4-5 Tbs)

A little salt (optional)

food coloring (remember to use blue, not green)

Pour into muffin tins and make at 350 for 20ish mins or until eggs are done.  This made 8 big muffins for us.

After breakfast, we took Kyle to work and Abs and I came home to take pictures.  We had a fun time actually.  After picture taking, we just played.  We only had one tragedy when I dropped my camera. :(  Sadly, my autofocus has now stopped working on my favorite lens.  I can still take pictures, and the manual focus works fine.  I'm going to take it in to get it looked at today or tomorrow.  It would be great if they can fix it, but if not...I suppose it could be worse.  At least it's the lens that was hurt and not the camera itself.  And, as far as lenses go, it's a relatively cheap one (not that $125 is "Cheap")

Here are a few of my faves from our morning St. Patrick's Day shoot. :)

not getting her way.

my fave

This one makes me think "Benny & Joon"

'

asking for "ONE more cookie"

After pictures, we went to pick Kyle back up from work because he was kind enough to take off an accompany me (and Abs) to a few doc appointments.  Long story short: We waited for nearly 2 hours for our u/s appointment, and then had my regular OB appointment after that.  It was a looooong afternoon of waiting.  And poor Abby did fantastically well, but was so so so tired by the time we finally got home.

Baby looks good and everything is fine.  I start going in for weekly appointments now - crazy, no?

We went home, Abs and a quick snack and a good nap.  When she woke up, we had to take advantage of the warm afternoon.  It was in the high 50s and just great outside.  We went to BC and roamed around campus while we waited for Kyle to finish up work.

sunshine!

Abby REALLY wanted to play bubbles outside.  She'd been talking about it since she woke up from nap.  She was really excited when we finally sat down to play with some.  After a minute or two, she insisted on holding the bottle herself.  I took pictures.  Then - she dropped it and the entire bottle of bubbles spilled.  It was so classically sad.  She was devastated in the most innocent of ways.  I comforted her and told her it was ok and that we had more bubbles at home.  But she was just so upset.  She kept saying "Abby broke the bubbles.  I can't blow bubbles any more!"  I asked her if she wanted to keep the wand and she poutily said "No.  Bubbles broken.  Abby broke them" and went and threw the wand away in the trash.

Luckily, toddlers rebound easily and it didn't take long before she was playing again.  Here are a few more pics.

she wanted to climb the tree to "get the apples" and we had a fun time eating and throwing all the pretend apples she gathered from her perch there. :)

Finally, Kyle was done and my awesome dinner of corned beef and cabbage was just going to have to wait.  I was exhausted and time was short.  We went out for dinner and had a nice time.  By the time we got home and put Abs to bed, I was really worn out.  In fact, I started to post this last night, but fell asleep in my chair while the pictures were uploading.  Heh.

I'm out of time to write now - gotta run.  It was a really fun day for us...and judging by how late Abby slept in this morning - I'm thinking she had a great day too.