Father's Day

This post we get to celebrate Father's and in particular, the father of my beautiful little girl. But first, I have to share that we got a high chair. Finally. We had been using a little booster seat type of high chair, which worked, but I was afraid that once she gets a little bigger, she will tip it over off the chair. So, we took that to Grandpa and Grandma Fox's house to use there (they have chairs that have arms on them, where I'm not so afraid of her tipping the seat over). We found the high chair for $10 at a yard sale. Woohoo! That's my kind of price range. It's wooden, which I wanted, but it's been painted white. So, it's not exactly what I wanted, but it's pretty close. And I really like it. And we use it a LOT. Seriously, when I go in the kitchen to bake, cook or wash dishes (which, by the way, needs to be done... again. Why don't dishes wash themselves? I love to cook and bake but hate the clean-up process afterwards), I put her in her little white high chair and go to it. I'll give her some toys, or daddy's spare watch or measuring spoons to play with and it usually keeps her busy long enough so that I can finish.... but not always.


And daddy has been feeding her in it, too, which I love to watch. He gets such a kick out of feeding her and it just warms my heart when she makes him smile or vice versa. We have now tried sweet potatoes, avocado (which didn't agree with her stomach), bananas and peas. I think carrots are next on the menu. Maybe only because that's what I want. lol


This past week we went to Wylie Park and mini-golfed. It was Derrick's first attempt and while I beat him by a mile the first time around, the second time he caught up and I only beat him by 1 shot. So... next time I'm sure he'll blow me in the water, which is why I'm enjoying my hard-earned winning bliss. Because, after all, I even shot a couple holes while holding a baby and still beat him. hehe



On the way home we took a detour and drove by the wind towers that went up recently in our area. They are huge, but we still can't quite get just how huge. I'd love to stand directly underneath one to get a real comparison and idea just how big they are.


My sister had an idea for Father's Day to get updated pictures of us three girls together and also of his two grandkids as a gift to our dad. So these are the result of her idea, which he loved.




We also took this shot of my Grandma Steiner (Great-Grandma to the two little ones in the picture with her):


And a couple random pictures from that day at the park:




Father's Day came and it was a great day! We spent it with family but first we had our own little celebration at home for Derrick and he loved the book I made for him (it's kind of for him to read to Abbie, but it's mainly a photo book).




Then we went to Eden and visited Grandpa Steiner (Great-Grandpa to Abbie).


And then it was Grandpa Dempsey (Great-Grandpa to Abbie).


And although I somehow managed to forget to take one of my dad with Abbie, I do have an older one of them together (from the last post).


And of course, my mom with Abbie.


And my adorable and rambunctious nephew, Elijah.


And my dad took this last pictures, which concluded our visit to Eden. Thanks, dad!!

june ketchup.... er, catch-up

Ok, so I finally got to edit some photos from May and June and here is the result!

It has been a crazy and busy couple of months, for some reason. Abbie continues to grow and develop and it's getting more and more fun to play with her. She is such a little cutie, too!




One day, we went to Falls Park in Sioux Falls and although it was a cloudy day, Derrick took a couple pictures of Abbie and I. Looking back over the past few months that she has been born, there are a lot of "motherless" pictures so we're trying to remedy that.


We also ended up at Wylie Park another day and this time it was Derrick's turn to be in the spotlight, again, another cloudy day so somewhat lifeless photos, for which I apologize.



And of course, there are the quiet times at home where all is peaceful.... well, mostly peaceful, anyway.


Abbie loves it outside. Seriously, girl can go from screaming at the top of her lungs to instant quiet if she goes from indoors to outdoors. Which is good, because I plan on spending a lot of time outside with her. Although, I have a bad relationship with sunscreen. I love it, yes, but I hate putting it on. And it's even worse putting it on Abbie, who is clueless as to how it really helps. Hopefully she gets her daddy's skin and not mine, but she's looking pretty fair still.



Stroller-time fun! And with daddy, no less. How much more fun can it get? Oh, yeah, add in being clothed in only a diaper and I think it's about as good as it gets.


Family time can be good - when Abbie allows someone else to hold her. At this point, it's hit and miss. One day she likes everyone else and will let them hold her, the next day she's back to being a mama's girl. I tell myself it will only last so long and then she'll be a daddy's girl, through-and-through, so I might as well enjoy it now. Once she's a teenager she won't want anything to do with me, I'm sure.






We celebrated our first anniversary a little late, but it was worth the wait. We went to Palisades Park, where Derrick has been before with Mark and Megan but I had never been there and it was so awesome! And we tested out the new bug repellent, all-natural, and it works! Hurrah! No bugs!



Derrick decided to hitchhike:

And eat bugs.... ew!




And we also went to the zoo, which Abbie isn't quite into yet, but I know once she is older she will LOVE the zoo! Maybe we can even one day go to the San Diego zoo, I've heard so many good things about it. This was the only picture I took there, though.


She's get it from her dad. She loves to hear her own voice and is becoming quite the talker! I love it. She's got such a girly voice and talks so sweetly. I just wonder what she is saying.


Another day was basketball! Abbie sat so nicely on the blanket (she's such a doll when outside, I love it!) and watched Derrick shoot some hoops.




Abbie's first food - sweet potatoes. Home-made sweet potatoes. None of this canned food stuff. Real, good, food.

randomness sans pictures

Life has been so busy lately I haven't had time to edit the pictures from May yet and it's already June! Where does the time go?! At any rate, we have been doing things and I have taken pictures, but I figure I should at least post.... ok, that's not entirely true. I need to vent and this is my outlet. But there are good things to talk about, too.

Like numbers. The number 2: Abbie has TWO teeth coming through (on the bottom front) and I am so excited! This means solids are on the way (within 1-2 months we will start). Now to figure out what to start on and start preparing the food. I am going to make her food at home and freeze it for when it's needed. I have done some research on freezer trays for baby food but may end up just doing the simple and cheap route with ice cube trays. They aren't exactly 1oz, but they are close enough and I can get those at Wal-Mart, so we'll probably just go that route. The numbers 6-9: the size Abbie is wearing! I have officially packed away all of the 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes she was still wearing and we are now sporting cool 6-9 month outfits. Hoorah! And a number I don't even know: Abbie's hair is coming in and getting longer. A brush. I don't have a brush yet! Must get one. lol Not that it will be needed for a while yet, anyway. Although her hair is coming in, it's still slow in coming but it is finally coming in now. Again, the number 2: Abbie is getting closer to be able to crawl, she did two pushups the other night! So exciting! And terrifying. I have to baby-proof the house yet. Oh my. I want to set boundaries and off-limit items so she can learn not to touch when told, but there are still things to put away and things to cover up (plug-ins, etc.). The number 1: Derrick and I celebrated our first year anniversary. Wow, the time really does go by fast, I can't believe it was here already. We didn't do anything too special but I did make a white cake with white frosting. lol

Other non-number related items... Bath time: has now finally become FUN for Abbie. Although they are short baths, she is playing with toys and splashing the water now and it's fun to watch her. Babble has become more than just a word in our house. Abbie has started to babble and I fully understand the term now. It's so exciting every time she starts to babble and I hear something that sounds like the beginnings of a word I stop and hold my breath, waiting for more. Then I giggle and she stops to look at me with this question of "What is so funny?" in her eyes.

Life lessons. Sometimes they are so hard and I don't know how to get through this one. What do you do when there is someone in your life who negatively affects not only your life, but your whole family, and you aren't able to do anything about it? You just have to sit there and take it and "don't worry about it" but how can you not worry about it? This person does things that have a huge impact on your life but you aren't able to do anything other than sit there and deal with it. And said person doesn't care one whit that what they are doing has any affect on anyone else other than themselves. I compared said person to a drunk driver: someone who thinks what they are doing only affects themselves but when they get in the car and drive away and crash into someone else.... it doesn't just affect them anymore. But what can you do about it? When you don't get to change the effect it has on your life and there are people standing by who CAN do something and they won't? It's not that there isn't a solution, it's that *I* am not allowed do do anything about it. But other people can and they won't. They get to walk away from the situation because in reality, it's not going to affect them the same way it affects me and my family. They can do something and they choose not to. So I get to sit here and let the tears roll down my face because I am not allowed to do anything to make things better for me and my family. I have to sit and know that while I am physically and mentally capable of making a change, I am not allowed to. While life in general is great, this part of it absolutely sucks. It just sucks. It makes me sad and it makes me angry and resentful. Somebody who gets to do what they want and they don't care that it negatively affects your life, your husband's life or your daughter's life. They just don't care. It's like this great big dark cloud hanging over us that won't go away. It just gets bigger and darker and more ominous and scary and you know what it's going to do but you just have to sit there and.... what? Take it? Grin and bear it? I'm not one of those people that thinks everything in life has to be fair, but this simply isn't fair. And when you want to change it and can't, it's so frustrating.

So, while I haven't gotten past this thing yet, I am trying to just enjoy my daughter and the time I get to spend with her. Because I am so grateful that I get to stay at home with her and even though the first six months were so rough for me, the second half of her first year has started out great and I can't even begin to tell how much I love this little girl that we have been blessed with. She is beautiful and she is smart and I love her smiles. I love her laugh and I love how you can see a smile start in her eyes and work it's way down to her perfect little rose-bud mouth and then her whole face lights up. She is a little sunbeam and a gift from heaven. And I love being her mama! I want the best in life for her. And not just things - but the best people to surround her and to help her be the best that she can be. Loving, caring, gentle, kind, compassionate, sweet, funny, smart and happy. Those are just some of the things I want her to be. I started a list one time of all the qualities I want her to possess so I could figure out how we can teach her and guide her to be those things. And as I sit here typing this, with her sitting on the floor beside me, playing with her daddy's watch, she looks up at me with furrowed brow until I sing to her and then she smiles. She smiles even though I can't carry a tune. Hopefully she gets her Aunt Megan's ability to sing. Wow, that sends shivers down my spine. Megan sang at our wedding and I've only heard her a couple of times, but Megan sings so beautifully. Hopefully Abbie will get some of her Aunt's other qualities, as well. If Abbie can get the best of all of us....

at katey's

Wow! This past Friday I was able to spend the majority of the day with a friend who let me use some of her photography equipment and props and we also took our kids to storybook land for a photo session for practice. And boy, do I ever need the practice! But it was so much fun and I hope we get to do it again soon. I am so jealous of Katey's props and equipment but I admire her talent and all the time and effort she puts into her work. So, here is a picture of Abbie that I caught while we were playing around and a couple of Katey and her little guy.

quick may update

since I haven't posted anything in so long.... here is a really, really quick update, with just two pics. Life has been busy, but don't ask me what I've accomplished because it's so little in comparison to the time I've had. Mainly it's just the day to day and some days aren't so good and others more than make up for it. We've had a couple of road trips, which are so fun! Especially when they are spontaneous. The weather has been slightly depressing but the sun was out yesterday and it was so awesome! I love rain, but I love having the sun out more. I've done some baking. Nothing special, just using up some yummy rhubarb. Going through my recipes and organizing and throwing out the ones I didn't care for. Partially going through Abbie's clothes is a chore so I haven't completed that one yet. Trying to figure out what all she has in each size, etc. and what else is needed for those sizes, if anything. My amazing mother, who loves to yard sale, has made it her mission to supply Abbie with clothes. Which is great. I love having clothes show up at my door so all I have to do is wash and organize them and ooh and ahh over her great bargain finds. But I am running out of storage space now. haha I am so far behind on editing. I've only edited the maternity photo shoot I've done this month so I need to finish editing all my photos, mainly of Abbie, of course. I got to have lunch with some of my former co-workers and friends and it was such an awesome day of visiting and eating at a great little place in Aberdeen. I ordered Abbie some cute little outfits, as displayed in the photos, and I can't wait to get more pics of her in them. We've gotten so many compliments on the hat that Abbie wore in just one day that I was amazed at how many people commented on it! I love hats. I loved hats before but now it's even more fun! Ok, off to bed! More to come soon. Hopefully. :)

calving season

I have decided that I officially do NOT like calving season. Yes, the calves are so cute and they are definitely fun to watch as they run and kick back their heels and have a good ol' time. Yes, calving season means spring and longer days and sunshine and warm weather. It means grilling season is back. But it also means not seeing my husband very much. And I miss him. A lot. I got used to being with him the majority of the time and now that he has to be out there with the cows and fencing and everything else, I kind of wish he did have a regular M-F/8-5 job. But only for selfish reasons. Because I know he loves doing what he does and I love him for that. I love the fact that I married a farmer and I respect him for what he does. I just wish the cows had a more regular schedule for calving and that there wasn't so much work involved with it - maybe that it was spaced out throughout the year a little more. That's not asking too much, is it? I mean, really. lol

So, instead Abbie and I sit at home. Today was actually a nice day but I wasn't feeling so great so we just stayed home and didn't even go for a walk. Although we did go outside to clean the grass from debris to get ready for the first mowing of the year. And I did grill pork loin steaks.

Yesterday, I had my first maternity photo shoot and it was fun! I wish the weather had cooperated and we would have been able to go outside, but it was all indoor shots and I got a couple of decent ones. I'm not done editing but here is a sample. I want to do more. I need the practice. Really bad. lol








Abbie is getting so great at sitting up! I can't believe how quickly she caught on to it and while she still isn't completely stable, she is getting much stronger every day.


A few weeks ago, I was notified that I had won a giveaway for a lillebaby everywhere carrier and it came in the mail late last week. So, this past weekend I got to test it out and it's definitely not as comfy as the moby wrap, but the thing it does have going for it is that it is a lot cooler to wear than the Moby. So I'll do some more testing and see which is my favorite. I DO like the pocket on the front of the lillebaby as well as the little "rain" hood (which I did use since it rained some yesterday). But I forgot to have Derrick take a picture of Abbie and I while she was in it. I need to do that more often since there are so very few pictures of Abbie and I.