abbie update

Abbie has somehow gone from being a baby to being a toddler. I'm not sure exactly when or how this happened but it has. And boy is she a busy girl! Although she will still sit and read by herself or play by herself, she is constantly running around, climbing on the couches, getting back down, going from room to room... looking for things to get into. Or maybe she just finds things to get into; maybe she really isn't looking for them, she just happens upon something when she goes wandering. Either way... she keeps me hopping, and at this point, hopping is not on my list of things I really want to do right now. lol

It started when I was going through all the boy clothes and accessories that Amy brought over... she used one of the tubs of clothes to climb onto the couch. Now she doesn't need the tub, she can climb up on the couch without any other assistance. And, thankfully, she seems to know how to get down off the couch by herself, without falling off. She still makes me nervous, though.






We like hot chocolate - bottoms up!



And chocolate pudding, made with avocado instead of milk is the best...


Yeah, I'm cool.



But just look at my curls!


Abbie likes to sit on the computer desk if I'm at the computer and we will look at other photographer's work. If there's pictures of babies, she's all over that.


The other day, before it snowed again, it was so nice outside we walked up to the post office and got the mail. Abbie didn't want to go inside when we got back so I grabbed the camera quick and we stayed outside for awhile. She loved it! I wouldn't let her get too close to the big puddles, but she still had fun. When it was time to come in, she stood outside the door while I stood inside and said "no" when I said we were going inside. Yes, another sign she is a toddler. The use of the word "no".

babymoons

Awhile back, I'd asked Derrick if we could go somewhere. Just the two of us. And leave Abbie overnight, for the first time, with someone else. Not only did he fulfill my request, but he did even better than what I'd asked for. I'd asked for one night away, possibly around Sioux Falls in a bed and breakfast or something like that. Instead, he took me out to Rapid for two nights. We left Abbie with Mark, Megan and Clara and although it was my first time away from Abbie for that long of a time period, it was great! Was I glad to get home to her at the end? Yes, I definitely missed her. But it was sooo good to get away and just relax and not have to worry about changing diapers or if she's been in the car seat too long or did I bring enough snacks and milk? I told Derrick afterward that I think we should make that an annual tradition - for him and I to go somewhere in January or February by ourselves. And here is some of the evidence of our trip:




There was some snow out there, but otherwise the farther west we drove the less snow there was. I felt pretty silly sometimes because I'd only taken my snowboots with me. lol





For only being a two day trip, we made the most of it and got to see everything we wanted to. Custer State Park, Rapid, Spearfish, Deadwood and all the scenery in between. It was great! I only asked that next time we go out that way, I not be pregnant. Seriously - the only two times I've been out there I've been pregnant. lol






The interesting thing this trip was how much more wildlife we got to see just driving around.





We even spotted bigfoot and he posed for a quick pic....



With a new baby almost here, it's been nice to have a child who will sit and just read.



I got these books on how to incorporate vegetable purees into regular foods kids will eat. And while it was a lot of work, especially at 9 months pregnant, to get all of the puree cooked, packaged and frozen, it's been worth it for the few things I've tried so far.



First, it was cauliflower puree mixed into garlic mashed potatoes and Derrick couldn't tell it was in there. Next I tried squash mixed in with boxed mac and cheese but it was pretty sweet so it was a noticeable difference. I would try something different next time for that one. But then I tried broccoli and sweet potato purees mixed into homemade tomato soup (I never buy canned tomato soup anymore) and it was absolutely delicious and you couldn't tell any difference in taste. The next thing I want to try are these beet pancakes. We'll see how it goes! :)

Well, as the title says, babymoon is plural. (Not sure it really counts as a babymoon, since we already have one child, but I think it's such a weird term, I just wanted to use it anyway.) I got a second opportunity to have a night away before baby #2 arrives. Derrick took me to Sioux Falls overnight and although we didn't really do any shopping, we did get to eat out and go to a movie and go to the Sertoma Butterfly house, which was pretty cool. We both thought that Abbie would enjoy it, even at this age, so we'll definitely go back sometime. When we first walked into the garden area with the butterflies, it was like we were transported to some other climate. Even though it was warm that day and we didn't need jackets outdoors, it was still cool to go from winter to tropical rainforest.








One of them even landed on Derrick!






The place also had a small collection of fish; the display was still under construction, but it was neat to see what they've started with.








And finally, a random picture to end with, since it's snowing again today. Although this is a picture from the blizzard we had not too long ago.... worst weather I've seen since I moved up here almost 9 years ago. Glad baby boy didn't decide to make his appearance during this!

March Madness

There are only 4-1/2 weeks left. And I'm getting nervous. But also anxious. I'm so ready to be done with being pregnant and all the backaches and heartburn and the pressure on my ribs. Seriously - this kid found my ribs and will not let off. lol But yet, I know that once he's here, I can't put him back and that things are going to change. It'll be different at first, but I'm excited to see how Abbie responds to a baby at home, full time. She spots them all the time - at the Doctor's office, in books, grocery shopping and even her own little baby doll; the first toy we actually bought her (as shown in the above picture with the hat Erin made)




We don't have a name picked out yet. We don't even really have it narrowed down yet. How do you name someone you haven't met yet? But there are other people that have names picked out by the time they find out if it's a boy or girl. It's a big decision. This little person is going to have that name the rest of their life, you want to make sure it's the right name. Right?

This pregnancy has gone so much smoother than my first and I'm continuing to hope that I'll get a VBAC. The doctor says I have a 90% chance of it right now, barring any complications. I can't believe how fast the time goes by.... seems like it wasn't that long ago that we found out Abbie was on the way and now we are so close to having our second baby. Wow.

I wanted to have maternity photos this time around, but I've gained enough weight with this pregnancy that I'm not too keen on that idea anymore. lol So the ones I took in the mirror of myself will have to do. :)



Abbie is still hooked on books. So much so, that she has to sometimes take one with just to have her diaper changed. And one time, when she was dirty and I was afraid of getting the book dirty, too, I took the book away from her just to change her.... she about threw a fit. I think it's great, though, and I am so glad that she is content to sit and read books with me as much as she does. I just don't have enough energy to run around all day with her so sitting and reading is a great thing for us. But sometimes, we turn the music up and we dance. And that's fun. She instantly smiles when the music comes on. And for now, we're overlooking the fact that she currently has her mom's rhythm, or lack thereof. lol



She has the phone mastered. And when daddy is on the phone, we put it on speakerphone so she can hear him and talk back to him. Then she does this thing that is so cute - she puts her nose down to the phone like she's hugging/kissing daddy. One time, I forgot to let her talk to him before we hung up, and as soon as I had hung up, she looked at me and said daddy and put her ear to the phone to see if he was still there. I felt so bad!

I think she is going to be a big help to daddy on the farm.... these pails are ice cream pails filled with homemade wipes, so they still had some weight to them!


The other night I was baking and I'd left the "pantry" door (isn't pantry such a luxurious word? I just love it! Despite the fact that we live in a 530 sq. ft. apartment, we have a pantry. Ok, so maybe it's supposed to be a linen closet, but it works great as a pantry.) open and Abbie decided to help herself...


So, once that mess was cleaned up, she wanted to help me measure out the cinnamon for caramel rolls....


and you can't tell by the picture, but that also turned out to be a messy endeavor...


I've discovered chocolate pudding made with avocado instead of milk and Abbie loves it!


This time, I let her clean up the spatula, which she thought was great fun.



And while we've been so busy the past couple months, those are the highlights of what we've been doing. Notice how a lot of it revolves around food? :) Now if only there was some magical fairy that came every night to clean up the kitchen so I could just cook and bake and not have to do any clean up. Yeah, I'll wake up from my dream now. Goodnight!