Let's Do This!

If everything goes as planned, in less than 20 hours, I will be the proud mommy to two little girls, Abby and she who will remain nameless for just 20 more hours. My surgery is at 8:00, but I have to be at the hospital at 6:00.

Today I am tying up all the loose ends around the house. I have set up the bassinet. Matt and I have washed and changed all the guest bed sheets, Abby's trundle being one. Lissy will be bunking in with her, which should be interesting. Our fridge is stocked, the laundry's done, and the house is as clean as it is gonna get. I need to stay busy and distracted, I think, for the rest of the day, if possible. Otherwise, I am going to think too much about tomorrow and get really nervous. I got permission from my OB to take Tylenol PM tonight before bed, so that I am able to sleep.

As of yesterday, we had gotten 12.5 inches of snow. Our driveway is cleared, thanks to my wonderful husband. Local roads are not great, I've heard. At this point, I don't even want to watch the weather reports anymore, because it is out of my control. I just hope that all of our family has safe travels as they head up to meet our new addition. Mom and Lissy arrive tonight and everyone else is coming tomorrow.

Favorite Read Alouds

I just got done reading some books with Abby for her naptime. Last night, she and I created an "audio book" of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by using the program Garage Band and then we exported it to iTunes and burned it onto a CD. (Sounds harder than it is, once you know how to do it.) We just listed to it twice, and I started thinking about which other "favorite" books would be worth doing that to. I thought I'd recommend some of our favorite Preschool books, that I consider classics. Here they are...

January Snowstorm

As I write this, we are in the middle of getting a ton of snow.  Not the best timing, in my opinion, since baby could be here anytime.  

Now, I grew up in northern Indiana, with lots of lake effect snow from Lake Michigan.  That means that I was VERY used to lots of snow.  Now?  Not so much.  We get much less here.  So we woke up with just an inch or two this morning, but are supposed to get a TON more tonight through noontime tomorrow.  Matt took a first swipe at the driveway and Abby joined him.  Sometimes I wish she had the snow experience that I got as a kid, but today was still fun and if we get the 10-12 inches they think could be possible, she'll have time to play outside tomorrow.  Since she's been old enough, we haven't really had enough snow to make a good snowman.   Maybe tomorrow.

(hot chocolate after coming in...)

Thinking Back to 2005

So, with the rapidly approaching birth of our second daughter, I was trying to think about what to post about. It seems that I have done a lot of thinking about what it was like last time I did this baby thing, so I thought I'd pull a couple pictures of Abby's time in the hospital as a newborn. It is amazing how much she has grown up. She is in no way a baby anymore... she is all little girl.

Just yesterday I was snuggling with her on the couch in the morning after we woke up, and I told her that she was just going to have to stay my baby forever and that she wasn't allowed to grow up. She told me that she had to grow up because she had to be a big sister! Almost makes me a little sad. She is growing up so fast.

Abigail Grace Dickerson

Born 7-1-05

A Mix of Emotions

It seems like I have hit a mix of emotions. It occured to me today that this weekend is my last weekend before life changes drastically for Matt, Abby, and I. Up to this point (recently), that has all I have been looking forward to. I am tired of being pregnant and we have everything ready. I am ready for this little person to arrive healthy and safe. I've been working on To Do Lists, my maternity clothes are on their last leg, the list goes on and on as to why we are ready.

So, all of a sudden when I realized it is our last weekend as-is, I got a little sad. Life is changing and I thought my nerves about that were gone, but it kind of hit me all at once. It is fleeting, as I go back to my previous feelings too, but I can't completely drop that sad feeling. Up to now, in many ways, I have had a very charmed life. We have carved out a pretty comfortable, happy existance. Abby has been my world and I am a little nervous as to how that is going to feel with another one. My head and heart feel different ways. I know in my head that it is going to be fine, that there might be a transition, but we'll get through it. My heart is wondering how that is all going to work.

Tuesday Ramblings

i just finished watching the inauguration- a little late. I had to pause it twice as my home life took over: lunch, nap, etc. What a great day. It is so historical and I am at an age that I will remember it always. Abby told her preschool teacher that today Barack Obama was going to be president. My blessed three year old.

Abby informed me, as I put her down for nap, that last night she read her book "Bark, George" after we put her to bed because she wasn't tired. I confirmed with her that it was when we thought she was sleeping? She said yes. I questioned her that, "wasn't it too dark to see?", but she said her Angel Light gave her enough light to see the pictures. Little sneak. I told her that was a very grown up thing to do but really she should be sleeping after we tuck her in.

I had another OB appointment today- no biggie, but everything is still normal and routine. January 30 is starting to feel far away, as I am so ready physically. I keep thinking that I should really stay on top of things around the house so that no matter when I deliver, we are fairly ready around here. That would be easier if I didn't feel so sore, big, and awkward. Funny story: Last night Abby talked to her grandma on the phone and is very excited for all her grandparents to come visit next weekend. She told me in the car on the way to preschool that she was going to share with her teacher that they were all coming when Mommy was in the hospial to have the baby. So, I arrived a little early at church to pick her up because I needed to run inside and have a paper signed. As I walked in, I was told by a couple people that they heard that Abby said I was at the hospital TODAY having the baby. Oops, mixed-up communication. I talked to her teacher and she had questioned Abby a little closer in the classroom and got the true story, but others didn't. It was a bit of a surprise when I walked in, I think!

Our first bowling adventure

Our Fusion group at church had a bowling social today, and it was Abby's first time bowling. We had one lane just for little kids, with the bumpers up, and eventually we got a ramp thingy for the kids to push their ball down.  I didn't bowl, as everyone feared it would throw me into labor, so instead I got to sit and hang out with some of my favorite people.  A true sacrifice. 

Abby insisted on pushing the ball all by herself, which as you see, made it take forever to get down the lane. I worried that it wouldn't make it, but it did. She had a great time.


Get it going....



Still going...



Will it make it?



Ah, much fast with this!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

We have reached a milestone with Abby. Our first Parent/Teacher Conferences (for Preschool)! Now, as a teacher, I have done my fair share of conferences, and this was similar to what I would have expected. Her teacher had a whole list of "End of Year Goals" for the 3's class. They were broken into catagories:

• Social/School Skills and Behaviors
• Cognitive Skills
• Self-Help Skills
• Motor Skills

I was the most interested in Cognitive Skills, of course, and here were the specific things that she "tested" them on in that category.

• Can identify all body parts.
• Recognize my first and last name (so far they only do first).
• Identify red, yellow, green, blue, black, brown, orange, purple.
• Recite rhymes/sing songs.
• Identify a circle, square, triangle, rectangle (she does more shapes, including oval, octagon, etc.).
• Count from 1-10 (but they go higher).
• Identify numbers 1-5 (she added zero).
• Speak in sentences of five or more words.
• Tell a story. (apparently Abby excels at this!)
• Know alike and different.

Abby aced it all. Her teacher said she "is a bright little girl." Which we knew, of course, but it is nice to hear.

The only area that we want to work on a little is Motor Skills. She isn't really behind on it, but she's not ahead of the curve either. Her teacher had a cutting exercise to show us, of a drawn circle that they were asked to cut out. Abby's was perfectly cut, though she is the only one in her class that didn't get it completely cut out. Hers, at the most, was only 1/4 cut out. Her teacher commented that Abby is a bit of a perfectionist (wonder where she got that), so it had to be perfect or it wasn't going to get done. What can I say- she's definitely my kid.

37 weeks

Well, here it is... a baby bump picture. We haven't really taken any of these this time around. With Abby, we took tons, and then lost them all when our old computer crashed. So, here goes, 37 weeks. I don't think I'm as puffy as I was with Abby, but there is definitely a baby there.



This picture is of Abby testing out our baby sling. I didn't use one with Abby, but am anxious to try it this time around. She makes it look easy!

Bath time

Today Abby had Preschool. I have found in the last couple weeks that it is a nice treat to postpone my shower until after I take her. Then, I get plenty of time to pamper myself without worrying about her or being walked in on. So, today that is what I did. The difference, however, this week was that I had new towels! I got them for Christmas from Mom and Dad about a week ago, but had postponed using them because I had just changed the towels in the bathroom. I finally got the out yesterday afternoon and they were worth the wait. I should preface this by saying that our other towels are the ones we registered for when we got married, so they are a good seven and a half years old and are showing their age. I had also decided in the last year or so that I would like to buy only white linens and towels in the future because then they match everything and they look so clean and fresh.

Fast forward to this morning... The towels are AWESOME. They were so soft you didn't feel like they were drying you, but they were. They were thick and cozy and soft. Mmmmmm. It made for a nice drying off experience!

So, on top of that, I decided to try to trim and paint my toenails today. Now, remember, I am 9 months pregnant, so that is no easy feat. It makes for a lot of awkward twisting and reaching, but I did it! Yesterday, I painted Abby's fingernails a pretty blue that she picked, so I thought I'd try that for my toes too. The only problem? On my toes, it makes me look like a corpse. Oh well. The effort it took to do them means I'm not fixing them, the color will just have to do. I wonder if they'll look okay and make it two and a half weeks to delivery?

Getting Close

I just noticed my little Lilypie thingy on the sidebar of how far along I am- I am almost there!!!  Kinda weird to see it on that.  I remember when I first put that on, it seemed so far away.

My mind has pretty much been on baby stuff lately.  Matt and I still haven't chosen a name- but we're working on it.  It is such a big responsibility to name a person.  You want it to be right.  Not too trendy, but cute.  Classic.  I feel like we did that with Abby, so it ups the pressure a little.

I also think I'm mentally nesting.  Ha.  I keep thinking of things to do to prepare, but haven't actually done them.  I'm working on it.

Comparing Yourself with Others

My Mom's group is starting a new book next week and I just finished reading the first chapter. It is called You Matter More Than You Think by Dr. Leslie Parrott. She shared some scripture in the first chapter that I really liked and also really made me think- It is from the Message, so the text is very contemporary and I just wanted to share:

"Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.

That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original."

Galatians 5:45-46 MSG

~

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."

Galatians 6:4-5 MSG

More Presents

We finally had our Christmas with my side of the family, and of course Abby made out like a bandit. She has spent the last 2 days (since she got them) playing with her new things. She got a cash register, and bought a grocery cart with a gift card about a week ago, so she was completely set to play grocery store. The register has a play speaker PA, and she is constantly announcing that they are closing at 10:20. Why 10:20? No one knows.

She also got a Leapfrog Tag, which she loves. She has already listened to the books she has more times than I can count. We bought a fourth book today at Target.



So, in between grocery and Tag, she goes into the bathroom and closes the door with her new headlamp on. Pretty funny.



Thanks Mom and Dad and Lissy and Chad for the nice weekend!

The Pains of Pregnancy

Ah, the pains of pregnancy. I am now 35 weeks and new ones are showing up. This pregnancy has been different in the kinds of pains, some better, some worse. I am learning that every pregnancy is different, and everyone experiences it a little differently. Please allow me a few minutes to unload some of my gripes.

With Abby, I had some minor upset stomach at the beginning, really bad heartburn, carpal tunnel in my hands, and horrible swelling. This time, I had no stomach issues, or carpal tunnel. I have had bad heartburn again and very minor swelling- really an improvement. I also haven't noticed being hot all the time because it is winter out- which has actually been nice.

This time around, though, I've had more actual pain. I have had a nerve or muscle in my back that shoots down my leg that has flared up a few times. Many times, when the baby moves a lot, it actually hurts and feels really tender on my belly. Recently (and what prompted this post) I have started to have pain in my hips, particularly my right one. I notice it more when I'm sleeping and up to last night, flipping over has helped. Last night, it got so bad it kept waking me up, and it didn't matter which side I layed on. I was on the verge of tears for a while (actually still am). This is particularly frustrating because when you are pregnant, your side is really the only way you can lay. I would fall back asleep and wake back up with it hurting, and only 15 minutes would have passed. Around 1:00, I took some Tylenol, which I don't think worked because I was still waking up for the next couple hours. I made sure I wasn't feeling it in my belly and that I could still feel the baby moving, just in case.


So, it is now morning. I got some sleep, but my right hip is still hurting. I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to call my doctor because I fear they will just say to take some Tylenol and to take it easy. We'll see.

Thanks for letting me vent.