Trunk or Treat

Tonight was the Trunk or Treat at our ward. We had dinner beforehand so we didn't do the buffet but Abi had a cupcake...
Our cute little witch..

She was so much braver this year and actually said Trick or Treat to everyone and thank you after. You can see the bottom of her hair is kind of purple.. I got this spray on hair dye for both of us but noticed today that it said don't use if you have dyed your hair in the last year so that put me out of the running and then it said use caution when using on light colored or thin hair so I was a little worried about whether it would come out of Abi's hair or not.... I figured if it doesn't come out of the bottom I can cut it off.

I took her around once but she wanted Daddy to take her too so they went to a few vans and cars again.

Ready to go.. I really love her little costume. I'm so glad we were able to find it while we were in Salem. It made it that much cooler to me.

Getting close

Do you see the baby countdown? Two weeks. From today. Holy cow.

Making Jack o'Lanterns

Last night we had planned on carving our pumpkins but Doug had to stay late at work for a team building thing so he said we could go ahead and do it without him if Abi wanted to... we had put it off already a few nights. Abi did want to do it. I think her exact words were, "I want to still do them now but we'll miss Daddy."
So, I grabbed our pumpkins and prepared the little table..

it worked so great last year to cut out the bottom instead of the top so that instead of dropping in candles we just place the pumpkin over the top of them.

Abi scooping out her "goopy goo"

I gave her a marker and told her to draw on the face she wanted carved first. Of course there ended up being a face as well as a bunch of other drawings including a Christmas tree..

So proud of her finished Jack

and mine.....

Halloween song

I saw the video below on Heathers blog (except with her kids) Hope you don't mind I stole it! I added Grandma and Uncle Mark to our family since I had their pics on the computer..
Abi kept asking "How did you get me to sing different? When did I do that?"

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Fall Frolics

I have been wanting to take pictures of Abi in the fall leaves for awhile so this morning we woke up and I curled her hair, got dressed, and we headed out looking for some.
It was so much fun to play in the leaves and good that we went early as I then lost my energy for the day and we got home just in time to crash.

I think this picture is hilarious. I helped her up on this branch thinking how cute the picture would be but then she got scared even though I was still holding on to her leg. She was holding on so tight. I think it's funny how her cheek is all squished against her eye as she holds on. I love it!

Gearing up for Hibernation: a warning and explanation

As if having a baby doesn't give me enough to worry about, as if having a winter baby doesn't make me paranoid about sicknesses enough, H1N1 had to rear its ugly head this year.
So- a little back story here about when Abi was born. There wasn't any big flu that year... just the normal things and RSV. I was worried though. So, we hardly left the house. I would go to my sisters house every once in a while, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we went to the nativity at Doug's parents house. But that night we knew there would be a lot of people there so we made a rule that no one could hold her at those so we didn't have to single out anyone that we didn't want to hold her.
Every once in a while we would go out on errands but she would always be completely covered and I would sanitize like crazy. No one was able to touch or hold her if they had any sign of any sickness and/or without sanitizing first (this included Doug and I).
What was the result of all of this? She never got sick. She didn't get so much as a head cold until she was a year old. A lot of people bugged me about that saying she wouldn't have a good immune system, etc.. so I asked my pediatricians about it and they told me that it was amazing to keep a baby healthy during that important first year and that I should keep doing what I was doing.. that it WAS the right thing. They told me she would have plenty of time to be exposed to things. She has gotten colds and other sicknesses since then but she really doesn't get sick that often which I am so grateful for.
Besides the difference of the H1N1 this time around I also realize that it will be harder this time around to stay in hibernation. We weren't really connected in our apartment ward last time and knew we would be moving so it didn't matter as much that I stayed away from church for a few months, I was a new mom so I was more comfortable staying close to home anyway, and there was no older sibling to go do activities with.
I've been thinking about this a lot. This is what I have come up with.....
There are some things I want to still do like shopping the day after thanksgiving when my mom is here, going to American Girl Cafe with my mom for Abi, various Christmas activities and parties, etc so I am going to try to do as many of those as possible (this also depends on my recovery) but she will always be completely covered up like I did with Abi.
I will not be at church for awhile. There are just too many people gathered in a small place with so many sick kids to risk that exposure right away.
And as far as the big activities and parties we have decided to enforce the same rule as last time- no one will hold her unless it's a small gathering of only friends/family. And at these no one can hold/touch without sanitizing first.
Also if you decide to visit us after she is born in the hospital or at our home (which we would love to see people I promise!) please refrain if you or anyone in your family has even a hint of the sniffles.
I hope that no one will take offense to this or stay away from us when they are healthy because it is not meant to hurt anyone's feelings or anything like that. It's just what worked before. I feel like as a mother it is my duty to make sure my kids are not exposed to things when I can help it especially during those first few months.
She may still get sick. There is only so much I can do. But I have to do what I feel is right. Doug and I both agree on this.
I thought I should make this post in warning so no one is surprised when she is born and these things begin happening.. but again please know that we value all of your friendships and don't want this to affect them in any way...
And if you want to make fun of me... I'm used to it. Believe me it happened last time. It did hurt my feelings but once again my babies are more important to me than my pride... so you can if you'd like just please respect us and our decision and help us to keep our baby healthy.

Caramel Apples

I've been promising Abi we would make caramel apples for a while now and yesterday we finally did it. Abi was so excited.

Abi loved unwrapping the caramels and got pretty good at it.

She asked me to take a picture of her doing this. "Look what I can do!" She isn't sitting on the counter, just holding herself up.

Here they were after being rolled in caramel. After they cooled for awhile we melted chocolate and drizzled them with it and rolled some in nuts and some in sprinkles and left some plain. Abi hasn't tried them yet but I did last night. They turned out pretty good for my first attempt but are a little too chocolatey. Oh well. It was a fun activity.

She did it!

Those of you who know Abi personally know how timid and shy she can be. At home and around most family and friends she is all over the place- a little ball of energy and talks your ear off but the second you get her in a different setting she becomes more reserved and quiet.

This year has been difficult getting her to go into Primary. We've had to resort to bribery and every week she gets a treat on the way home if she has stayed in Primary the entire time by herself.

Well, after our long vacation I thought it might be even harder to get her to go in- especially because they were gearing up for the Primary Program. She would have a line to say and songs to sing all in front of the entire ward. I did not think she would do it.

So, they have had a couple weeks of practice Sundays and then the practice yesterday. Yesterday I peeked in and saw she was singing which surprised me. In all the times I had to sit in Primary with her I never heard her sing with the group even though we sing the songs all the time at home.

So, today I was crossing my fingers she would even go up on the stand let alone sing or say her part.

They called the Primary up and she went out by her friend Alisse and then for some unknown reason she started crying and came back into our bench. We asked what was wrong but she wouldn't say. Maybe she just got nervous.. not sure.

So, at this point I was pretty sure it wasn't going to happen but I asked her if she would go up with Daddy and he could help her into her seat and then come back down.

So up they went and he stayed for a minute as she clung to him ... then she let him come back down.

I watched as she actually sang the first song. I was so excited. It was so fun to watch.

Then she ran back down to us. She came into the bench and wanted to play with her eye spy bag.

I tried to talk with her and talk her into going back up and she did.

Then she came back down again almost immediately.

I had brought a little prize for her if she participated (I am the queen of bribery all of a sudden it seems) . I reminded her of that but told her she didn't have to go up if she didn't want to. Doug didn't want her to at first.. he didn't want her going up and down. But I told him we had to let her have one more chance if she chose to.

I told her it was almost her turn to speak so if she wanted to do her part she needed to go back up.

She stood up and scooted past Doug and walked up to her seat. A few minutes later it was her turn.

I wondered what would happen. Would she really walk up to the microphone? Once there would she actually say something?

Then I watched as she walked up to the microphone pushing the hair out of her face. The Primary President helped her up and put the microphone at her level and ......

She did it!!! In a loud and clear voice she said, "Mommy helps me to come to church." and then sat back down.

She kept looking at me with a little half smile. I was so proud!! She had just stood up in front of a LOT of people.

She did end up coming back down to us a few minutes later and we told her she would just stay down after that but she continued to sing the songs with them from our bench.

It was such a great moment for us to see that breakthrough. It doesn't necessarily mean she will do it again or be less shy- but I'm just glad she did it this time!!

Pumpkin Patch

What can make Doug shake his head and say, "wow"? As we got out of the car at the Pumpkin Patch and I explained to Abi that we were only going to get pumpkins today and we could go back on a not as muddy day to play and she said, "So we can stay until we find the pumpkin?"
And then we both said, "Let's find the Perfect Pumpkin." at exactly the same time.
That's my girl.
Abi had a primary program practice and pizza party this morning so we swung by the Pumpkin patch on the way home... wanting Doug to be able to go with us and realizing it was the last day he could before Halloween.
Here's Abi with her "perfect pumpkin".

By the way she's not wearing lipstick.. she had just been eating an icee.
Doug and Abi with both the pumpkins...

Baby Faces

When I put on the ultrasound picture of Madeline's face the other day I mentioned how it looked a lot like Abi's. I thought I'd post them next to each other.... just to see if I was remembering correctly.

Here is Madeline

Here is Abi

Stocked!

Yay! I did it. I had a few goals this week of things I wanted to get done by Friday. One of these things was to do a bunch of cooking so that I could have a lot of freedom over the next two-three weeks to have a bunch of dinners ready just in case the baby comes early and if she doesn't to just make it easier....
So I made tonights dinner plus an extra of the same. I also made 2 lasagnas, 2 chicken and artichoke casseroles, and 2 No Peek Chickens. Our freezer now has 7 big dinners which with the size of our family usually last for at least 2 nights! My feet hurt and I'm tired but it feels so good to open the freezer and see this....

Nothing like a little peace of mind.

Good Mail x2

Monday we got a package from Doug's mom. It had Doug's birthday gifts in it: a headlamp and the big coat vest. It also had a family cookbook, 3 paperback children's cookbooks, a "Bee Prepared" apron which I have been donning all day as I make things to freeze, and two special day plates. So fun!

A few minutes ago I looked out the front window at this huge wasp that was flying around and noticed that there was a box on our porch (our mail lady never knocks so I never know about it until after) It turned out to be a package from my mom this time!
It had a Halloween treat bag for each of us in it, a bunch of baby coupons they have got in the mail recently, a Little Women book- my mom used to read out of this to us when we were kids and when we visited Orchard House she decided to buy a new one and send me the old one- Abi's Polly pocket without legs that she left at their house, our Angels and Demons on CD that we let them borrow for their drive home after they dropped us off, my tea set cookie cutters I bought in Boston but my mom accidentally shipped back to her house, and a bunch of stickers for Abi. Abi was so excited to have a piece of candy and play with her stickers that she just had to be in the picture!

Thanks Moms!!

Pregnancy discussions

I keep thinking the baby will come early since Abi was 2 1/2 wks early but then I think of how different this pregnancy has been from Abi's. So what are the similarities and differences?
The Same:
1) The weight gain. I'm right on schedule to gain exactly the same amount of weight (give or take a pound)
2) The horrible heartburn
3) I don't have stretch marks yet. With Abi they showed up about a month before but so far no sign of them yet. I imagine they will appear any second.
4) Being hot. Not in the sexy way. I have a high body temp anyway and am usually warmer but during pregnancy I am most often very hot.
5) Cankles- although they aren't nearly as bad this time around.

Different:
1) While the weight gain has been the same the odd thing is that this pregnancy I haven't worked out anywhere near the same as when pregnant with Abi. I have also ate pretty much whatever and with Abi I was very cautious.
2) The sheer exhaustion.. this started right away. It was debilitating. I have never been so tired. I could be hanging out in the beanbag to relax for a minute during the first 3 months and wake up an hour later in a panic about what Abi would be up to. She watched a lot more tv than normal. This let up a little during the summer months but has been coming back with a vengeance the past few weeks.
3) I actually threw up this time. I felt sick a lot in the first 3 months. The only thing that would make it better was snacking on something. Weird. I don't remember how many times I threw up but it still wasn't very many.. but with Abi I never did.
4) The cravings. With Abi I craved steak steak steak. This time it's been more carbs.... white rice, popcorn, bread, etc.
5) I think I'm carrying this baby lower because there are a lot of maternity shirts that fit me in the final trimester last time that I was looking forward to wearing and they don't reach down far enough to cover this belly.
6) The fake contractions.. I have them ALL the time. I never had one with Abi.
7) The aches and pains in my bones (hips, pelvis etc). There are times when I stand up and feel like everything is going to break apart and fall out. At night I have to switch sides all the time and it is painful. So strange.
8) Last time I had too much amniotic fluid.. so far that doesn't seem to be the same... only a little extra.
9) This time I KNEW I was pregnant a week into it. It was strange. I was hanging out with Doug and Abi and laid down on the floor on my stomach. It felt like I was laying on a rock. Then I made turkey sandwiches for lunch about a week after that and went to take a bite of mine and almost threw up. I had to take the meat off. I kept telling myself there was no way I could have symptoms so soon but... since it turned out I was pregnant I guess you can.

Anyway, I have finally entered the nesting phase. I denied it for awhile but it's pretty obvious now. Today I am working in spurts so as to not put myself into labor (Doug was worried about me doing that last night) to get the kitchen done. Really it needed to be cleaned in just the normal weekly way but I decided to clean out and reorganize every cupboard so I've been doing that as well as the pantry and fridge since about 6:30am. Yesterday I stocked up at Sams club and Wal Mart on a ton of food so that over the next few days I could be cooking and freezing things just in case she comes early before my mom is here.
So here is a question....

Have your pregnancies been the same or different?
What things were the same.. what things were different?
Did you nest?

baby face

This morning was my second ultrasound. There were a few times when we could see her face pretty good but we didn't get pictures of it. This is the best one we got printed out of her face so hopefully you can see her. If you need help, the top of her head is on the right side...

anyway, I found it amazing how much she looks like Abi did in the second ultrasound pictures. So, I have a feeling she is going to look a lot like Abi.

Also, she is a big baby. Either she is going to be born sooner than expected or she is going to be a lot bigger than Abi was.

Today she is 6 lbs 9 oz. Abi was 7.3 when she was born and dropped down to 6.8 in the hospital...so she is bigger right now than Abi was the day after she was born. Crazy.

It was such fun to see her again and have Doug and Abi get to share in that.

Stickers and hayrides

This is kind of a random photo from Friday. Abi came with me to my dr. appt and she was in such a good mood because one nurse saw her in the waiting room and said, "Oh! You are waiting so good! And you are so beautiful... " and came back a minute later with 3 sparkly princess stickers and a lollipop.
Then the nurse that was taking care of me told her, "You are being so good!" and gave her 2 barbie stickers and 2 halloween stickers.
So, she came home with pockets full of stickers which she loves!

Saturday evening we went to a farm/ pumpkin patch with our ward for a chili cookoff/ hayride. It was a pretty eclectic place with crazy things everywhere including many old McDonalds toys like this tree. ..

and all these old toys..

They did have some fun cut outs which you know I love!

We rent to ride the hayride first and waited in it for over 1/2 hour before we gave up and went back over to have dinner..

Abi loved this cupcake and made such a mess with it.

I think her happiest moment was seeing her friend Alisse for the first time since the beginning of July..

After having some chili and cider and cupcakes we went back over to the hayride and finally got to ride it. Abi really liked it but said it was long. I just kept laughing at the situation because we were on the truck thing with a bunch of drunk people. The lady next to me was sitting so close that I had to lean forward and toward Doug and Abi to be comfy and every time she talked I felt sick from the overwhelming smell of beer. It was pretty crazy.
It was fun though and worth it to see Abi get so excited about so many things.

Our little half naked chef

Abi is pretty much a little mini me and one of the things we have in common is that we don't really mind cold. Abi actually takes this to an extreme way beyond me which means she likes to strip down to her diaper a few times a day and just hang out like that. Yes, she is still in a diaper- she says she will wear big girl panties when she is a big sister... so hopefully here in a month or so..
It is kind of funny how Abi can be in a diaper, I can be in pj bottoms and a tee shirt, and Doug will be in pajamas with sweaters over them and blankets.. oh well.
Anyway, although she will hate me for this later I just thought this was such a photo moment.
Abi making meatloaf a few minutes ago...

Opinions needed

On Sunday during the morning session of Conference I started working on a stocking for Madeline. Knowing that I probably won't get around to it in November I want to get it done as soon as possible. I haven't sewn it together yet but I pinned everything to get an idea of what it would look like finished.
So, this is the material on the back of the stocking (Abi just had to be in the picture too)

The front has a mixture of strips from 3 different fabrics: the one on back ,a red snowflake print and a green candy cane print. The blue fabric is the lining.
The thing I'm trying to figure out is which fabric to use for the cuff at the top. Originally I had planned to use the back fabric for that but now I'm not so sure... so here are the four options..
The blue lining fabric

The fabric from the back

the red snowflake fabric

the green candy cane fabric

Which one do you think looks best?

So funny.. to me at least

I have always thought Doug looked like Jason Priestley.. most of you will remember him as Brandon from the original Beverly Hills 90210. In high school that was probably one of the things that attracted me to him because I remember thinking it the night we met.
Through the years as they have both gotten older I have still seen the resemblence.
So, yesterday morning I was watching an old 90210 rerun on CBS.com while Abi was watching a cartoon. Abi came over and was watching for a minute and then said,
"There's DADDY!"

our festive girl

One thing that can be said about me is that I LOVE holidays. I have apparently passed that on to Abi. We keep her Christmas Fisher Price Nativity set up in the top of her closet rather than packed away with our other Christmas decorations and a few days ago she asked us to get it down. I've let her have it to play with for a few days now. So, today she wanted to watch a cartoon when she first woke up. What did she pick? Max and Ruby's Halloween? Dora? Nope. Little Einsteins Christmas Wish.
Then she decided she wanted to play in her room for a while. I went in our room to work on a few things and soon she came running in asking if I wanted to come and see what she had done.
"I followed the instructions!" She said.
So, I followed her into her room and saw that she had set up her nativity exactly the way it is on the front of the box...

with the exception of adding Rudolph and Santa Claus of course.....