New Dress from Christmas

From Grandma and Grandpa D....

New Elefun Game

Abby got some Toys R Us giftcards for Christmas from some family, so we went on a little shopping trip the day after Christmas. She bought a new play shopping cart full of groceries, a Minnie Mouse small toy, and the game Elefun. I was unfamiliar with the game, but she claims she has played it before. We finally got it put together and the way it works is that there is a fan in the elephant, and it blows little butterflies up its trunk that you try to catch with your net. It is trickier than it looks and Abby shrieks as they fly into the air. It is pretty funny. I snapped a couple pictures of Abby and Matt playing (which Matt was thrilled about on our lazy morning).

The Lion King Today

Today Matt and I took Abby to her first Broadway show, the Lion King. It was part of a Broadway Across America series that is here. Matt surprised Abby and I with tickets as our big Christmas gift. It was wonderful. Abby had seen the movie at daycare, so she was familiar with some of the songs and characters already. She did so well, though because it was a 2:00 showing, she missed her nap and it showed a few times. She had some loud yawns at times!

If you haven't seen this musical, it begins with the parade of animals down the aisles of the theater during the song "Circle of Life". It is a pretty powerful number and a great opener. Abby's face lit up as it started and everytime a new animal was visible, she got excited. I have to admit, I got a little emotional watching Abby take it all in. I'm blaming it on pregnancy hormones. I have included (at the top) a picture I found online of that song. It is (in my opinion) the best number of the whole show.

What a fun day.

Christmas Morning

For those family members that are far away this year, here are a few pictures of our morning...  We miss you all and Merry Christmas!

A Visit With Santa

We finally made it to visit Santa.  Abby was very excited.  She has never had a year where she was frightened by him.  This year, for the first time, she had a very specific list of items that she wanted:  Handy Manny Toolbox, a toy mouse, and a pink ball.  The toy mouse is influenced by  a Laurie Berker song called "Mouse in My Toolbox".  For those of you interested, it is on her Rocketship Run CD.  I highly recommend it to anyone with little ones. 

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I FINALLY saw it!

I FINALLY saw it!!! Twilight. I read all the books a while back and have been waiting patiently for the movie to come out, and then once it did, I didn't have anyone who wanted to go see it with me. So, today I dropped Abby off at daycare since we have to pay for Wednesdays whether I work or not, and went Christmas shopping and then SAW TWILIGHT!

My review as someone who read the book, is that I thought it captured the spirit of the books. I enjoyed it. I think it didn't go too long, which is a danger with some movies. I am so glad that I took some "me" time today to go see it.

Ice

We got what the weather people called a "wintery mix" yesterday afternoon and evening, which in turn, turned the roads to skating rinks. Today the major roads are all pretty good, but our subdivision is still solid ice. Just to prove my point, kids are playing ice hockey on the cul-de-sac behind our house. I guess if you can't beat them (meaning the icy conditions), join them?

I just bought my first newborn girly outfit for the baby! It was exciting. I ordered it online while I was shopping for Christmas- you know, all those free shipping offers are tough to beat. Anway, it is a red and pink stripped "sweater" knit one piece-so cute. Abby was a summer baby so I don't have a lot of winter clothes that are 0-3 months, so it was fun to buy. I also bought a 3 pack of white long sleeved onesies for layering. So fun. Just wanted to share...

Baby/Pregnancy Update

It has been a while since I've done much updating on here about the pregnancy. Today I had my 32 week appointment. Everything looks great. The baby's heartbeat was around 150 beats/min. which is very good. Apparently, though I feel like I'm the size of a house, I am actually doing well on weight gain and size. I was pleasantly surprised that I have gained only 27 pounds (which is within a very normal range), because I never look at the scale when they weigh me. My doctor and I had a laugh because I reacted with such surprise that it was a good number! I had feared that I would be up 40 pounds or something! All of my annoying pregnancy complaints are just that, annoying. They aren't anything to worry about, and really, are much better than they were with Abby.

As far as the non-medical stuff goes, we are slowly getting ready around the house. I'm starting to feel like I'd really like to be more ready than I feel. We are going to work on it quite a bit over Christmas break. I still haven't gone through Abby's old stuff to see what newborn clothes will be warm enough for this time around. We also have some furniture to move around. I've spent some time talking about it with Abby, because she'll be losing some furniture, but she is excited about some of the changes we are going to make in her room. I'm hoping if we can spin it that way she will not struggle with that part of it as much.

Matt and I have talked baby names some, but still haven't narrowed it down to "the one". We have a top 3 now, which we are keeping to ourselves- sorry, I know that is hard, but I'm feeling good about our choices (though he did shoot down one of my favorites on the list). We will probably do it the way we did with Abby, where you all will find out when she is born.

"Making" Christmas Cookies

This was cookie baking weekend at our house. We went and bought extra of all the essentials (flour, sugar, butter, powdered sugar, etc.) on Saturday morning and have worked in short bursts. We have made 3 kinds of cookies so far (or at least started them).  Saturday we made the sugar cookie dough and chilled it, and finally on Sunday (today) we cut them out and baked them. Frosting them will come maybe tomorrow. Abby was a BIG help. As you can tell from the pictures, she got flour everywhere! (including on her mouth, hmmmm, I wonder how it got there?)

After we finished, Abby was in charge of washing the cookie cutters.  I think I remember that she did that last year too.  I feared we made glue by the time she was done, because of the mixture of a lot of flour and water on her dress.  It will wash.  She had a great time and did her job well with a smile.  We are building memories.

Christmas Music

I love Christmas music.  Matt and I have a great collection of Holiday CDs, and usually it is hard for me to wait until Thanksgiving to listen to them. This year, however, I have felt like I needed some fresh music for the season. So, I just got on iTunes and downloaded a CDs worth of new Christmas songs to enjoy in the car.  A majority of them are by Christian artists that Matt and I like. I haven't listened to it completely yet, but I have high hopes.  Here is my playlist, in case you'd like to do the same:

Away in a Manger, Casting Crowns
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Jack Johnson
Carol of the Bells/Sing We Now of Christmas, BarlowGirl
This is All I Have to Give, Todd Agnew
Someday at Christmas, Jack Johnson
O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Enya
Where Are You Christmas, Faith Hill
12 Days of Christmas, Relient K
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Casting Crowns
Do You Hear What I Hear, Todd Agnew
All I Want for Christmas Is You, Mariah Carey
All Is Well, Michael W. Smith
O Holy Night, Faith Hill

Abby and her Audience

Painting, Part 2

Well, it's done!  ...and beautiful!  Nicole had a laser level and she and I taped everything off for the stripe.  The men painted.  Then, we made up the crib so we could see how it all looked and it really pulled it together.  Matt and I are feeling really good about how much we got done AND how it looks.  Here are some pictures:

My Rainbow

I stole this idea from my Mom's blog.  Here is my Rainbow:

Your rainbow is strongly shaded yellow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a joyful person. You appreciate optimism. You're good at getting people to like you.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Painting, Part 1

Today is Painting Day!  "We" are painting the baby's room.  Our friends Nicole and Derick are my heros, helping us out.  The fumes are already pretty bad in there, and they just started, so I'm pretty much banned other than checking in.  My big responsibility is food today.  We started with doughnuts and are having yummy queso for lunch.  Abby has gotten to help some, which she is so excited about.  Here are some Phase 1 pictures.  More to come soon!

Playing Wii

Last night, we had a bit of a family night playing Wii.  Abby loves it and Matt is really good at letting her "help" him.  We golfed and bowled, and then Matt and Abby played tennis.  Now, there is a secret, but you can't tell Abby.  When Matt plays tennis with her, we give her a controller to play with, but really (shhh, don't tell) only Matt is playing.  Abby swings her little heart out and really thinks that she is the only controlling those players.  It is the only game we really do it on.  Everything else she really does play.  Just keep it a secret, okay?

Mac and Cheese

For Thanksgiving, I made a huge thing of baked macaroni and cheese, particularly because I thought Abby would definitely eat it, not to mention that I love mac and cheese.  So, the recipe I used has you put cracker crumbs on the top of it, which I really like.  However, when it was time to eat Thanksgiving dinner, I was told by my three year old that she didn't like macaroni and cheese that had crackers on it.  I give up, right?

Okay, fast forward to last night's church pitch in.  We get Abby a little macaroni and cheese (that strongly resembles the stuff I made) on her plate.  She eats it!  After a question or two from me about her food, she informed me that she doesn't like macaroni and cheese with crackers on it from our house, but she DOES like macaroni and cheese with crackers on it from other people's houses.  Now, I truly give up!