We're Home!

Wow, what a whirlwind and fabulous trip. It is amazing to me how I feel after going on these trips. I love seeing my family but after a trip like this (especially one this long) I feel so homesick for a while. It is even more pronounced now that I have Abigail. I really wish that we lived closer! Anyway, I don't want to dwell on that since I don't want to keep crying so I'll write a post telling all the fun things we did!

Giving Grandpa (Pappy) a "goodbye" kiss! :( So sad.

We wanted Abigail to spend lots of time with her grandparents, great grandparents, aunt and uncle, and uncle. So, we did spend quite a bit of time on the farm, which I loved! Abigail enjoyed feeding the cats almost every morning with her Grandpa Kurt, we took tractor rides, she got lots of wagon rides, and she had lots of fun playing catch with all members of the family.

Abigail and Grandma before bed. Isn't my mom pretty? She doesn't look old enough to be a Grandma! :)

She learned lots of new words when we were in Kansas. We think she is starting to be able to say her numbers. My mom would say "one" and she'd continue on with "two". I think she is saying "kitty" and can definitely say the word "up". She can say that so clearly and does it over and over. Also on our trip she learned how to sign "drink" and now calls almost everything she eats "cheese".

Encouraging Abigail to "snuggle" with Uncle Brett.

Abigail was a bit of a momma's girl while we were out there. I'd like to think that she is always a momma's girl but it was even more pronounced while we were there. However, by the middle of the week she had warmed up to everyone. She even started to cry when my parents would leave the room or the house. That was nice (not the crying part but the warming up part).

Having supper with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. They fed Abigail and she loved it!

My parents watched Abigail for us on Friday so that Andrew and I could have a "date lunch". Our anniversary was on Monday, May 25th (6 years!) and Andrew was gone that night to visit a friend. This friend was only in town for a few hours on Monday night, so I guess that was excusable. I suppose the honeymoon is over, folks! :)

We also spent most late mornings (after Abigail's nap) at my Grandparents house. One of Abigail's favorite things to do there was to ride in my dads old wagon (inside). My grandpa (Abigail's great grandpa) was a good enough sport to pull her around and around inside. Also my parents and grandparents have my old play house back again (after loaning it to a friend) and Abigail loved it. I can still stand up inside it so it is pretty substantial in size. She'll have fun playing with that when we visit Kansas (or we'll figure out a way to get it here).

A "slap happy" Abigail is wrestling and cuddling with her daddy.

Of course, one of my favorite things about traveling (which is why I don't care where we go) is that I get uninterrupted time with my own little family. I have to leave Abigail four days a week and feel like I see Andrew even less with his busy work schedule so this travel time is very very precious to me! Even the 14+ hours in the car are precious!

Great Grandpa Keith reading a book to Abigail.

Abigail also spent lots of time meeting new people! :) My dad, who is always the basketball coach, is coaching a summer team and wanted Abigail to come into practice to be shown off to people. She LOVED (and I do mean LOVED) running up and down those long hallways. She also, actually, loved watching the junior high boys practice. She was facinated by the basketball flying by. We stayed longer than I anticpated because she enjoyed it so much.

My mom visits a friend at the rest home in St. John and has been showing her pictures of Abigail from time to time so we visited her. It went very well. I thought Abigail would be a bit more clingy but she got right down from my lap and everyone enjoyed watching her play with her ball. We also saw a former church member there and that was neat as well.

She is starting to "fake" smile for pictures. It is so cute!

The family, minus Aunt Jenny and Uncle Luke. They had to leave on Wednesday.

Aunt Jean (my great aunt) and Uncle Joe brought us pizza for supper on Tuesday. It is my favorite pizza on this planet! Aunt Jean is giving Abigail a few tickles here! I have fond members of Aunt Jean "tickling" my neck in church. It always felt so good!

Well, I think that is about all for now. Abigail certainly is happy to be back and sleeping in her own crib. She "asked" to be put down for a nap twice today and so that is very nice.

We have quite a "to do" list now that we're back. Thankfully we did laundry in Kansas (thanks, Mom for spoiling us and folding our clothes!!!!!) so I don't have that to worry about. I still need to grocery shop, lots of cleaning to do, weeding the garden, the yard needs mowed, the front bed of our house needs to be landscaped before too long (I was planning on doing that today but now I don't think I'll get to it), finances done for May (I'm so behind), and there is always the pesky matter of having to work tomorrow!

Andrew is teaching his first class at Indiana Wesleyan next week so he is busy preparing for that. That means for 5 weeks I'll be doing supper and bedtime alone. Andrew is cutting back to 4 days at week at his current job because his side jobs have picked up so much. I'm very glad. He was working every spare moment so hopefully this will free up a little evening and weekend time.

Well, I'm off to do something else on that "to-do" list!

Sleep and Traveling with a Toddler don't mix!

My darling daughter simply cannot share a room. At least, I think that is what is wrong. She has been keeping us up so much at night. Last night we were up from 11 to 3:00 am. She screamed most of that time. We finally put her in bed with us (a big mistake, I know) and we all slept!

I don't think she's sick, teething, in pain, no dirty diapers, etc, yet she's awake quite a bit. I think she can't handle knowing she's sleeping in the same room with us.

I'm quite tired. I feel like falling asleep sitting here at the computer, so I may have to nap today. I am at my wits end trying to think of how to help her with this issue.

Anyway, we spent a lovely "day" (few hours) in Sterling. I checked out our rental house (hmm), spent some wonderful time visiting with college friends, and had some delicious BBQ! Thanks, Melanie, for driving out to see us! It was good to catch up, even if it was brief.

Abigail was having a melt-down at lunch (a 20 minute morning nap and our night last night certainly did her in) so we didn't get to stay as long as we hoped but it was still nice.

Andrew is still out visiting friends the rest of today. Abigail is enjoying all of the fun toys here at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Her favorites include the two homemade toys that my mom made (a yogurt container that she can put lids in and a juice bottle that she puts clothes pins in), a toy vacuum, and a toy stove. The last two are definitely flash backs to my childhood!

Ok, I'm so tired that I am rambling. Must go now.

We're Here!

My parents have been without internet access until today and now it's spotty. But, we made it to Kansas and we're having a great time! Time is flying by much too quickly!

Time Crunch!

We've entered the time crunch before vacation. See, the thing is Andrew has to be at a business meeting at 7:15 am tomorrow morning. It's about a 20 minute drive from here so Abigail and I are planning to go with him and hang out so we can leave from there instead of having him waste time by driving back up here. We'll need to leave by 6:30 am. So, we don't have much time left! I have also been looking into getting a rental van for our trip since our car gets so cramped with three people. No luck! They are either not available (nobody rents minivans?) or it's just too expensive to justify the cost. So, I guess we'll be cheap and cramped. Oh well.

I got two rows planted in the garden last night. I didn't start until 8:00 pm because Andrew was mowing before that and Abigail wasn't asleep yet. I don't like leaving the house empty while she's in bed. Andrew, on the other hand, talks (although I hope he wouldn't ever do this) about going grocery shopping while she is down for a nap. Yikes! Anyway, I'm getting off subject.

I planted tomatoes, peppers, corn, and cucumbers. I think I need to move the cucumbers. I planted them far apart but I don't think I gave them enough room to vine out so I will probably move them to the other end of the garden.

I still have onions, carrots, sugar snap peas, and bit more corn to plant. I think that's it.

I also bought some marigolds (thanks for the tip Susan) and am planting those on the ends. I think I may have bought too many, however. Oh well.

Abigail seems to be ok. I'm just not sure she's fully recovered yet. She still had a very low grade fever yesterday 99.1 or so then it dropped below normal after her nap. I was excited. I took it right before bed and it was 99.5. Argh! Normal this morning, so we'll see.

Here is a video of Abigail putting on my shoes.

Abigail Report

Well, here is what is going on with the girl.

I stayed home with her yesterday. She had a mild fever return after her morning nap and stayed with her until bedtime. I took her to have a chiropractic adjustment at 4:00 pm and the chiropractor confirmed that she had some sort of a virus. She could tell by her swollen lymph nodes, which I also felt (so sad).

Her temp was just at 100 when I put her to bed and that was the highest it had been all day. She had a hard time falling asleep (I was out getting my hair cut and grocery shopping) so I finally got her put down at 9:00 pm when I returned.

She did wake once in the night. It was at 2:15 am and I was very nervous that I would go in there to find her vomiting with a high fever but . . . she was fine. I couldn't find anything wrong with her, except she had lost her pacifier (it was on the ground). Her temp was normal, no dirty or wet diaper, and she was happy as could be to have me in there. She fell back asleep easily with her paci in her mouth. :)

Andrew stayed home with her today because she was running that low-grade one yesterday. He said the highest temperature reading of the day so far is 98.9, which is pretty good considering. I still think she's fighting something because she usually runs under normal. We'll see what the afternoon holds.

Andrew is making the most of his day. He finished the frame for our sidewalk this morning during Abigail's 2 1/2 hour nap (it's a one-nap day, I foresee) and he plans on pouring it this afternoon! I asked him if he plans to do that with the baby around and he said that he'd worry about that. So, I decided to keep my trap shut. I'll probably (finally) have a front sidewalk when I get home. Yeah!

We're also frantically trying to get a garden planted before we leave on our Kansas trip. So, I'm stopping to buy plants and seeds on my way home from work today. I'll have to get most of them in the ground tonight. I saw two lovely bunnies playing in our garden the other night (nothing is planted yet) so we're going to have to figure out how to keep them out.

That's all for now.

Sorry, this is very long! :)

I think I have figured out how to post video, so maybe I'll try to do that later.

Oh what a night!

By the way, this may be fairly boring, etc, for all of you. But lately I've been learning about how highly valuable it is to have all this written down and my blog seems to be the only place I can remember to do it! So, feel free to skip this! :)

This will be short because I've got the girl on my lap here this morning. Wow, what a night we had. I woke up at midnight to her crying. I went into her room and she was in the middle of throwing up. I got her cleaned up and took her temp and it was at 104.2! So I called for Andrew (also to help me clean up). I was ready to take her to the emergency room but Andrew thought we ought to try Tylenol first. We gave her some Motrin but she couldn't keep that down. So we tried Tylenol and nursing, which worked (meaning she kept it down). She really wanted to nurse at lot so we kept at it for a while. It took her a while to fall back asleep but she finally did around 2:30 am. Her temp was way down by that point. I didn't think it was all the Tylenol's doing!

She woke at 6:15 am and was starving. Her temp was 98.1!!!! I brought her back to our bed and nursed her for a while (again, I've said, thank goodness we're still doing that). She was very drowsy and so we both laid down, fell asleep, and slept until 8:15 am.

Her temp is still normal this morning! I hope this is the end of all this sickness!

Diagnosis!

We just got home from the doctor and the diagnosis is: that there is nothing wrong with her! Ugh! I am frustrated. I'm mainly frustrated because I am pretty sure she still has a temp yet the doctor took her temp with one of those ear things and it said 97.5. I hate ear thermometers. I have never gotten one to work right. My temporal lobe one just said 100 and 99.2. We'll see what happens the rest of the day.

Anyway, he said it was just a virus and it looks like her body has already taken care of it.

So much for a $20 co-pay and over an hour (round trip) of driving time to get there.

I'm thinking if she still has a fever in a day or so I'll get a second opinion.

He did say that her ears look great and the infection has cleared up completely. So that concern is gone, I guess.

Hopefully we'll get it figured out this time!

Doctor's appointment for Abigail at 12:30 pm today. She still had a 100 degree temp when she woke up from sleeping through the night. (yeah!). I had to cancel my hair appointment that was at 12:15 pm today. Oh well, a few more days isn't going to hurt since I haven't had it cut since January. I hope we can figure out what is ailing my sweet daughter.

Poor Girl!

Our girl is sick again. She was fine this morning but was very warm when I picked her up from the nursery this morning. 102.5 fever at the moment with no other symptoms. Could be the ear infection lingering. We'll be attempting to visit the doctor tomorrow.

My favorite things . . .

Besides "talking" (I'll get Andrew to help me put a video of this on here soon), Abigail's newest favorite thing is "Kefir" a cultured milk drink. She slurps it down like it's going out of style. Yesterday she drank two sippy cups full and wanted more.

Here's more information on it. I've been pouring it over my cereal in the morning. I feel so much better drinking it than milk. I'm also glad to know that Abigail is getting lots of good calcium with it, too.

http://www.kefir.net/kefiryogurt.htm

The sweetest sound!

Today I got to hear the sweetest sound in the world . . . my baby's heartbeat for the first time. I remember hearing Abigail's and it truly is the most beautiful sound ever. I can't help but smile when I hear it. Other than that, my midwife appointment was pretty straight forward. She told me that at my next appointment (June 9) we can do an ultrasound to tell the gender! Yeah! After that . . . either let the shopping or the laundry begin! If it's a girl - Abigail's old clothes have been sitting in a dusty storage area all this time and really aren't sorted well, so I would have my work cut out for me.

By the way, the baby's heartbeat was a litte slower than Abigail's at that appointment. The midwife said, "sounds like it's a boy". Ha! We'll see.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank some very special people. I'm glad no one is around (Abigail is napping) because thinking of this makes my pregnant self cry!

Andrew and I are so amazing blessed to have two sets of fabulous parents. I have no idea where we would be without them.

So . . .

Mom and Dad, thanks so much for all you are doing to help us out with our "renter" situation. From being our advocates with lawyers, meeting our renters, and just being there for advice and support has meant so much to us. I am so thankful for you! I would probably still be "unpaid" and feeling guilty for every demand I made if it weren't for you guys and your encouragement and support.

Wayne and Susan, thanks so much for your willingness to always lend a hand and keep Abigail for me! It was so nice to go to my appointment this morning without having to worry about dragging her along, missing naps, bringing food, keeping her quiet in the office, etc. Hopefully we can train her up to be a great tea room worker, so she can help you out soon! Ha! Thanks for all the food you make us. It is such a blessing for me right now not to have to cook every night and worry about all the dishes! These things are such a blessing to me. I'm so thankful for you too!

Seriously, what would I do without these parents and in-laws of mine?!

It's a Mystery

I have never been very good at solving mysteries. This time is no exception. There is something weird going on with my daughter and I just can't figure it out. It all started Tuesday night. She had a weird day at the sitters with short naps. She fell asleep in the car on the way home and then struggled to get to sleep that night.

She finally fell asleep with me holding her hand at 9:30 pm. That is very late for her. She slept through the night, however. Then, Wednesday morning she woke up with a puffy face. I thought it might be from all the crying.

Picture of her puffy face - eye. :(

I took her to the sitters and when I visited at noon, the sitter told me that Abigail had a puffy eye and a fever (99.8 or so). So I took her home. She took a normal afternoon nap (1 hr and 20 minutes) but then was extra fussy until Andrew got home.

We went to Andrew's grandparents for dinner. She did ok but was cranky for part of the time. We got home at 8:00 pm and she was asleep by 8:30 pm.

Then at 12:30 am, I woke up to her screaming. I went to her room and she stopped as soon as she saw me. No dirty diaper, no fever (98.5), no throw-up, no snot, etc. I just changed her mildly wet diaper, gave her motrin and laid her back down. Again at 1:30 am, I woke up to her screaming. I went in and she immediately stopped when she saw me. I checked everything (temp, diaper, etc) and all was fine.

I was so exhausted by this point that I broke one of my cardinal rules of baby sleep and laid down with her in the twin bed in her room. It didn't last long. I quickly realized that neither of us would be able to sleep that way. She was snuggly but restless. She was "asking" to nurse at that point, so I obliged and she went right to sleep after that. (I went back to my own bed).

I heard her cry out a few more times in the night but I waited to see if she'd go back to sleep and she did without much fuss. Again, this morning her temp is normal and there is no sign of any other illness, no runny nose, no tummy trouble. Weird!

I mean, the child just doesn't wake up at night unless there is a problem. She has been like this since she was 9-months old. I suppose it could be a phase but I'm just not sure.

Ok, to sum this all up (this post got long on me).

1) It could be her ears. She could still have a lingering infection. Hmm. Doctor? Seems weird to call the doctor when there are virtually no symptoms to report.
2) Pretty sure it's not her teeth. She has sixteen teeth. The next ones to come in are the 2-year molars and I don't think she's ready for those yet.
3) The only other possible thing that I can think of is that she just going through some sort of separation anxiety, since she seems to instantly calm down and not be in pain if I am around.
4) I suppose she could have had a tummy ache. However, I was in there with her for a while the second time she woke up and she didn't have gas, or a rumbly tummy.

It's all very puzzling and . . . I'm so tired. It doesn't help that I stayed up "late" (for me) painting the downstairs bathroom trim. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just gone to bed.

The Dreams have Started

The night before last I had a very vivid dream. This also happened while I was pregnant with Abigail, so these pregnancy dreams have started.

I was giving birth in the same room that I had Abigail in (which may very well happen, actually). It was in real-time, meaning that I was having the baby that night, at 13 weeks pregnant. The baby came out and was fine (a girl by-the-way). The labor was easy and I only pushed a handful of times (versus over 2 1/2 hours with Abigail). Abigail came and visited our room and we snuggled. It was a very nice dream. I hope this is a sign of things to come, except I'd like the baby to stay in until at least 39 weeks.

Fun and Not-So-Fun

It's amazing how life can bring such joy one minute and such annoyance another minute later.

Here is the joy:

Abigail enjoying "Hemmie's Korean Chicken" made by her Grandma Susan last night.

She loved it! Her belly was so full and stuck out so much when she was taking a bath that I thought her belly button might pop out! :) Ha!

And the annoyance is some not-very-fun things going on with our rental home in Kansas. We've been trying to sell it for six + months now but there haven't been any bites. Now we're having renter trouble. Andrew doesn't like it when I inject ANY emotion into our business dealings but I just have to say that it is frustrating. It's mainly frustrating because we live so far away. I am SO thankful that my family is close by and has been so gracious and helpful to us throughout this whole process. Hopefully it will be over soon and we can get renters that actually pay and communicate with us.

It's weird. We've never had any trouble like this before.

Allergies: I mowed last night and when I was finished, I couldn't breathe through my nose. Yuck! I've been doing my usual treatment - a shower before bed to wash the allergens out of my hair, a fresh pillow case, and nasal cleansing but it's not cutting it!

It is mainly the sinus headaches, which can be quite intense, that get to me. I have written out a plan to completely (in my opinion) clean my house before we leave for Kansas and I don't want anything (headaches) to get in my way! Ha!

That's all for now!

My Weekend!

I had a fabulous weekend. On Saturday morning, I woke up, nursed Abigail, and went back to sleep until 8:30 am! I can't remember the last time that I slept in that late. Oh wait, yes I can. It was probably 15 1/2 months ago. Anyway, I had a lovely breakfast in bed and then got up and got ready to go shopping! I went shopping by myself! That is my favorite. I don't have to go into any other stores that were not necessary. I can get in and out which is my favorite way to shop. I like getting the clothes from shopping but I pretty much detest the act of shopping in itself. It's tiring and I have to try on about 10 things before I find something that fits me.

Anyway, I headed home and spent some lovely time outside with my family. We played on the slide, with the wagon, and Andrew and I worked around the yard some. I then promptly went inside and fell asleep on the couch. I actually slept through Abigail playing right by me, and having supper. That's what happens when I try to combine pregnancy and shopping!

I took Abigail upstairs and gave her a bath and put her to bed. When I came back downstairs, Andrew had set up a romantic and yummy dinner. He had bought me roses and had made a ravioli with a lobster cream sauce that was delicious. It was amazing that we just sat around and talked for a while.

We proceeded to watch a movie together and had a wonderful date-night in. Boy, my husband sure can cook (when he puts his mind to it).

My mother's day was lovely but generally uneventful. "Abigail" gave me a lovely card and she spent a lot of time snuggling with me so that was great. Andrew and I got out together (with many others) to see Star Trek and it was a good movie. Makes me want to watch the other stuff too! :)

Now, if only I can stop myself from thinking of 1) how messy my house is, dirty, cluttered, and packed with unwashed clothes; 2) what I should make for dinner tonight; 3) of everything I still have to get done with the garden and yard before we leave for our Kansas trip; and 4) how tired I am, I'd be good!

Finally time to share about our #2!!

I have been so antsy, waiting to share on my blog and on Facebook that I am pregnant again but I've had to wait!! I just got up the nerve to tell my boss and other co-workers and they are the last to know. I just couldn't do it. Since I passed the "magic" 12-week mark last Saturday, I decided it was about time to spill the beans!

So, here's the scoop:

1). Yes, this is very much a surprise! I was not anticipating another kiddo for a FEW more years.

2). I am due November 14.

3). At this time, I am still expecting to return to work after a maternity break. I carry the very valuable insurance and unless other numbers match up by my return to work in January, I'll be back.

4). I have had a bit of queasiness with this pregnancy but thankfully no vomiting. I have no idea how I would have handled a 15-month-old in the morning and throwing up and trying to get to work! My queasiness centers around food, and frozen food. I really can't make much food that has already been frozen. I really have to eat only what sounds good to me or I feel pretty bad. It is finally starting to let up! Andrew has, mercifully, done a lot more cooking the past few months.

5). Yes, we are absolutely sure this is true! We saw an ultrasound picture at our first appointment. It was phenomenal to see such a miracle in progress!

I am sort of sad that I didn't blog from the beginning because I enjoyed looking back and reading through my pregnancy with Abigail. This post will have to suffice!

Time flies when you're having fun!

I cannot believe it has been a whole year since Andrew and I started on the Dave Ramsey plan. My in-law's introduced us to it and I am so thankful! It is amazing the progress that we have made in just one year. We have cheated the plan just a bit because of job uncertainty and the economy, so we still have about 1/4 of Andrew's student loan left to pay off (which is NOT much considering the beginning balance!) and now we have a decent savings account. We need to double that before reaching step #4 but we're on our way.

(For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you're supposed to pay off all debt before building your Fully Funded Emergency Fund and we went ahead and worked on the fund for a while.)

Andrew has started his own business, on the side, and it is rolling along. He worked for several hours last night and is getting ready to sent a rather large bill to one of his "clients". At times it feels like a black hole since the money goes into our business account but that business account will, one day, give our personal account a "pay check".

It is exciting to have this one-year anniversary.

It is amazing that we have had a written budget, on paper, every month, for one whole year.

It is amazing that at the end of each month, I have charted to see how close or far we have gotten from the budget and have a roll-over system set up that works amazingly well!

Here's to another good year!

Weekend and Yearly Recap

We had a great time in Romeoville. It was fun to hang out with Jenny, Luke, and Alex. My sister treated me to a glorious facial on Saturday and then Luke treated us to a dinner out at Mongolian Barbeque that night. We had never been there before. It was a fun experience!

Sunday was my birthday. It was strange. I almost forgot that it was my birthday as I lay in bed at 6:30 am. It was a mean ploy, I guess, to wait and see how long it took my husband to say "Happy Birthday" to me after he woke up. For the record, it took him a while. And, he was logged into Facebook at the time, and ended up telling me who had written on my wall, so I'm not completely sure that he hadn't forgotten and was just reminded by Facebook. Interesting. Apparently he has something up his sleeve for this weekend because he told me to keep Saturday free from obligation.

Of course, he has plenty of time to redeem himself. If you didn't know, May is celebrate Jaime month. Ha ha! :) Just kidding. It just feels like it with my birthday, mother's day, and our anniversary.

Speaking of mother's day, I'm feeling the pressure. What to do, what to do?! I have a father's day gift already for Andrew (for June) but nothing planned for this weekend. I must think fast!

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In other updates: It has been a whole year since I began my "clothing fast". The rules included not buying any new clothes for myself (used were acceptable), except if the clothes were purchased by someone else or using someone else's money (gift). Here's what happened:

• Early on I bought a few things from consignment stores. Shopping there is difficult however, because you can find something you like but if it isn't in your size you can't just go back to the rack and get a different size. I don't think I got anything from there after July.
• In July, I was in desperate need of a few shirts. My other ones were old, ratty, and stained. My husband came to the rescue and gave me a "gift" of two new shirts from Kohls. I don't think the price totaled over $20 for both shirts. This was sort-of cheating but he came with me to pick it all out, so that made it legitimate! I tried to find them in rush this morning and couldn't. Hmm, where could they be?
  
• In January, I spent about $150 on clothes using my gift money from Christmas. This $150 included children's clothing as well.
• In April I became very frustrated that I didn't have anything to wear for Easter. So, I completely, 100% cheated and bought myself an Easter dress. No gift or anything. It was 1/2 price but I still paid about $30 for this. Oops.

And now my year of clothes-fasting is over. I will still probably adopt a similar lifestyle, although having very little clothing to choose from is getting tough. My husband has done a very similar thing, although not on purpose and his wardrobe needs refreshing as well. We have about $30 a month in the budget for clothes but RARELY spend that, so it has accumlately to the point where I could buy a few things for him.

I plan to purchase some clothes (for me and Abigail) with my birthday money, but they will only last me for the next seven months or so (more on this later). :)

That's all for now. Sorry that this got long on me! I'll try to post some videos from our trip later!

In the land of Romeo

We've arrived in Romeoville, the home of my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. We had a great car ride up, a great time visiting last night, and a pretty good night's sleep. I'm still amazed at how just one hour of time change can affect kids. See, it gets light here at 6:15 am, so that is when Abigail got up for the day. Alex was already up so Jenny and Andrew took them both to play at McDonalds and it's only 7:30 am! Therefore, I am free to blog and read for a while before they return.

We made great time on the way up here. My sister said, "You would be the only person I know who would actually arrive early instead of late!" Ha! It is so true. I don't like running behind or being late. I packed and worked hard on Thursday night so we could leave at a decent time on Friday. Of course it helps that Abigail is usually up by 7 am anyway. No incentive to sleep in!

I'm off to enjoy my good book for a while longer!

My name

Our sweet girl is finally calling me by name. She has said the sounds "mama" for a long time now but not in direct reference to me. Now she says "mama" when I leave her and when I arrive. Oh, and also when she wants me to pick her up.

We're on our way to Chicago this weekend for a visit with Aunt Jenny, Uncle Luke , and Cousin Alex (to Abigail - it's my sister). I'm not sure if I'll be posting or not. We'll try to take lots of pictures. I certainly hope Abigail doesn't cry/whine/fuss in the car the whole way. I'm planning to bring my iPod.