Playing Catch Up

OK, Sarah, friend-on-bedrest-bored-and-needing-things-to-read, this if for you. And the other dozen or so of you who actually read this silly blog of mine. :) Yes, it's been forever since I last posted. Having two kids seriously increases my time away from the computer! :) So, to catch you up on what we've been doing for the past four months, I thought I'd give you a list. I am such a list-er. I don't want to weigh you down with paragraphs, so hopefully this will be quick and easy. I'm not promising to be better about updating this blog, because I'm afraid I won't be able to keep that promise! Ha!


Things/observations/goings on from the past four months:

1. Having a second child is like looking at your first one all over again. It's uncanny. Macy looks SO much like Abby did. Granted, that doesn't always show up in photographs, but in person, it's like I get to see Abby all over again at age three months. I love it!

2. Abby LOVES being a Big Sister. And she particularly loves playing with Macy's little baby ears. Oh, they are a joy to be around. I can already picture the "shows" they're going to put on in a couple of years.


3. Macy started sleeping through the night at 13 weeks, and she has yet to wake up in the middle of the night since then. HALLELUJIAH!!!!! It's AMAZING what uninterrupted sleep will do for a body!

4. I've started working out. Yes, me, Mrs. Doesn't-Break-A-Sweat Cathy. I started to jog, but I admit, I HATE jogging. So, now I'm doing the bike, and I LOVE it! (Clarification: I love the feeling afterward--NOT the actual biking. Pain sucks, plain and simple.) I'm already back into pre-pregnancy jeans, so I feel like it's paying off. Yay for sweat!

5. I love how Abby uses her imagination all of the time. If this girl could play with her little princess dolls all day, she would. Every day, I hear her giving the dolls voices. And she still loves villians. During the week, I am told to be numerous characters: Cruela DeVil, Maleficent, the mean stepsisters, Scar, Gaston...the list goes on and on. And don't even get me started on how many poisoned apples I've pretended to eat! I think I lost count at 100...

6. She is also obsessed with letters. On TV, on a billboard, at the grocery store, it doesn't matter, the girl is reeling off letters that she sees. "T-A-R-G-E-T" is a favorite of hers! :) She has her alphabet down, and she LOVES to write too. I'm SOOOOOO thrilled that she loves to write. Let's hope she keeps it up! :) Although, I have a feeling with her long line of journalist blood, I shouldn't be too worried about it!


7. SOOO many people I know are pregnant. There must have been something in the water over the past few months! Or perhaps it's because it was so darn hot this summer and people wanted to stay inside and not venture out in the heat. :)

8. Macy's smile makes my heart melt. And I Love how she "talks" back to us. Oh, she's going to be a talker alright. Sorry, Matt! Poor guy. You really do need a man cave.

9. Abby loves school! Her teachers are absolutely fabulous this year, and she loves going there three times a week. She thrives there, and I couldn't be happier with how much she is learning! Although, Mrs. Tara, a New York native, did bribe all of the kids with lollipops to say, "Go Yankees!" during the championship series. I talked with the director about giving her the ol' pink slip, but that never happened. Ha! :) We quickly taught Abby, "Go Rangers!" Too bad they lost!

10. Abby got "married" to her friend Jackson, but she also claims she is going to marry her classmate Charlie. Uh-oh. I hope they don't all end up on a future episode of Maury Povich.

11. Macy turns four months this Saturday. Where has the time gone?! And where has her hair gone? It started falling out at month 3, but I think some of it is making its return. Thank goodness. I was about to start looking for some Baby Rogaine.

12. She is a chunk. I mean it. My friends who haven't seen her in a few days will see her and say, "Holy cow! When did she get so big?!" :)

13. The second child gets toted around town WAY more than the first child! I remember with Abby we wouldn't leave the house more than once a day, or every two days. Poor Mace is getting hauled to church, grocery store, etc. all the time! She's probably memorized every square inch of the back seat of the Tahoe.

14. My dad just published his fourth book. Yay Dad!!! It's a pictoral history of Longview, told through postcards. He is an avid postcard collector, and he's been working on this book for a long time. So, if you're looking for a Christmas present for someone (hint, hint), I highly recommend it! Heck, I could even have it autographed for you. :)

15. I love Abby and her daddy's relationship. They have more fun together. They love to wrestle, play chase, and have dance parties. Oh, and every Saturday morning, they make their infamous Donut Run. Abby goes with her daddy to get donuts, still in her PJs. I love that!

16. Abby eats a pancake and orange juice for breakfast pretty much every morning. (Exept Saturday, of course.) She does love waffles, cereal, cereal bars, etc. too, but most mornings she requests pancakes. Thank goodness for the frozen kind!!! :)

17. I think Macy is going to look like me! Finally! Matt says that Abby looks like him but acts like me. We think Macy is going to be the opposite.

18. I miss my best friend Kathy. She is way out in ol' flat, brown Lubbock, and I wish she and Cary lived closer. Oh well! We did go visit them this past weekend, and we had a blast! I love having a best friend who I can be 100% myself around. With them, we always have a good time. Guys, there are lots of homes for sale in Allen. I will gladly contact a realtor for you. And Cary, surely there's some products to be ginned around here!

19. Kids don't understand what Daylight Savings is. We are all up in the 6:00 hour now, and--to be honest--I actually don't mind it. We are able to take our time in the mornings, and Matt is finally able to see all of us before he goes into work.

20. Morning reactions are different for Abby and Macy. Macy is ALL smiles first thing in the morning, oohing and aahing, making the cutest baby faces. Abby, on the other hand, is like her mama. She is NOT a morning person. Whoo! Just give the girl a few minutes and then she's good to go! :)

21. My biggest challenge with two children is actually devoting enough time to either of them. Sure, we do things together, but it's difficult because it's IMPOSSIBLE to give 100% attention to either child. I've come to the realization that that's just how it is. Now I understand why I don't have nearly as many photo albums of me as a baby than my brother does. As a mom of two, I just have to let things go. And you know what gets "let go" too often?! Putting up the darn laundry. If I could hire someone to fold and put up clothes for me, I WOULD! Sorry, Matt. I am a horrible clothes-putter-upper. All too often he hears, "Yeah, it's clean. Look on top of the dryer." Oy! The only remedy (besides making the time for it...winning the lottery!)

22. I am so, so blessed. I love my life. I never thought I could be this happy. Stacked up laundry and all. :)

By the way, I could write for hours, but diaper changing is calling!! :)

Miss Macy is Here!

Sorry for the delay, but we've been quite busy around here! We are pleased to announce that Miss Macy Anne Tenner was born on July 13, at 9:33 a.m., weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces, and she is perfectly healthy and beautiful. We could not be more blessed to have two little girls! Abby is the best Big Sister around--she has absolutely fallen in love with her new role, and she LOVES to help out with "Baby Macy!"

Miss Macy came two weeks early, just like Abby, but this time I was much, much more prepared. I was already 5 centimeters dilated when I went to the OB the morning before she was born, but there was no apparent sign she was coming soon. So, I did what I've heard to do: We went to eat at On The Border, and I ordered the habanero sauce with my fajitas and ate lots and lots of salsa. I even joked with our waitress that my plan was to go into labor later that night, so the hotter the salsa, the better. Who knew that less than 7 hours later, my wish would actually come true!

I woke up at 1:37 with a contraction. I waited. Thought it might pass. At 1:48, I felt another one, and that's when I decided to wake up Matt. And then the contractions got stronger and closer together, and I was DONE at that point! Why don't they invent an at-home epidural?? Genius, in my opinion! I showered, called the doctor, all while trying not to pass out from the excruciating pain, and then Matt and I grabbed our bags, grabbed Abby to take to the neighbors' house (HUGE shout out to our good friends Jonathan, Mica, and Ava!!!) and we headed to the hospital. We arrived at 4:00, and I finally got my epidural right at 6:00. How anyone has a baby without medicine is beyond me. A Giant Kudos to you moms out there!! Four-and-a-half hours of intense contractions was enough for me! :) I was much more relaxed at that point (whew!), and a little after 9:00, it was time to push. Three contractions and a few pushes later, Little Miss Macy was here! And I was so, so happy. I just smiled from ear to ear, SO, SO relieved to finally have her here, safe and sound, and feeling such overwhelming joy and peace at her birth. She is such an enhancement to our little family!

We are adjusting to life as a family of four, but having an active three year old certainly helps! Abby keeps us entertained throughout the day, and she can entertain herself, which is great!! With the second child (and I imagine 3rd and 4th...), life still goes on. Matt and I are not nearly as stressed or as nervous as we were the first time around. Things come back so naturally! Although, the feedings in the middle of the night take some getting used to again!

Fun facts/observations over the past 9 days:

-Macy is SUCH a good baby! While she definitely can use her lungs, she really only cries when she's hungry, getting a diaper change, or is wanting to be held. (She's like her sister in that she wants to be where the action is!)

-When Abby first saw her sister's picture on her daddy's cell phone, she took his phone and hugged it oh-so-tightly, smile across her face. When I heard that, I think my heart melted.

-And then, after she met her little sister for the first time, her Nana and Papa asked Abby what she thought about Macy. Abby replied, "That was perfect!" I cry when I think about how blessed we are with such a sweet Big Sister for Macy.

-Speaking of her sister, I keep calling Macy "Abby." Oy.

-Macy looks just like Abby when she was born, hence my calling her by her sister's name!

-Macy gets hiccups more than any child I know. She did daily in utero, and that continues today. In fact, she has them as I type this! :)

-Abby has to say Goodnight to "Baby Macy" every night. And she loves to "pet" her head, hold her bottle, cover up her feet, kiss her little toes, and be around her. Luckily, we haven't seen too, too much jealously on her part. She has been known to say, "Mommy, can you put Baby Macy down so I can sit in your lap and read a book?" She's been Great through this whole adjustment!

-The first time I cried in the hospital was when I heard that after Abby found out her sister had been born, she did a "happy dance." Made my day. :)

-I forgot how much going outside calms a baby. Even in this Texas heat!

-Diapers and formula are dadgum expensive! I've forgotten this in three years!

-I have no idea how I'm going to balance having two children, but I know that it will just happen. I hope I can be as good of a mom to Macy as I feel I have been to Abby for the past three years. Although I haven't even finished Abby's baby book; how will I ever get Macy's done? Yikes! I guess that's just what happens with second siblings, right?!

-We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who have come to the hospital, called or emailed, church friends who are brining food for a month, friends who kept Abby while we were in the hospital, the absolute best Prayer Group a girl could ask for, for your continued prayers over the past nine months, and thoughts, prayers, and well wishes from so many of you out there!

-I have the best husband in the world who is also the absolute best father to our two little girls. I think Matt was meant to be a daddy to two sweet little girls. I can't imagine it any other way! I love you, babe!

I think that's it. I think Miss Macy needs a diaper change! I will post pics soon. (It's so much easier to do just a separate photo post!)

Love, Cathy :)

Abby's Program

Abby's Spring Program for school was last night at our church. Her class sang two songs: Jesus Loves Me and He's Got The Whole World In His Hands. Abby has been singing the songs at home quite a bit. Luckily last night she didn't sing "He's Got The Whole World In His Booty" like she does at home. Ah, almost-three-year-olds. Gotta love 'em, right?! :)

Abby barely sang, but she did do some of the hand gestures as you'll see in the video. She was a bit distracted when one of her classmates decided he didn't want to sing anymore, and I think she was people-watching the entire time! Ha!

Enjoy! :)

Saying Goodbye to Grandma

Thank you for all of the prayers and sweet words you have sent our way. This weekend was a wonderful celebration of Grandma's life! She was one of the most spirited, funniest, wittiest, fun-loving people I have ever known. She was certainly not your "typical" grandmother. Our bond exceeded that beyond grandmother and granddaughter. As my dad put it, she was the Matriarch of our family, and boy did that mean we had some good times with Grandma around!

My dad and brother both spoke at her memorial. They both did an amazing job. Grandma would have been so, so proud! While we miss Grandma so very much, we know she is in a much better place. Heaven is a much happier place with Grandma there now. :)


Chris's memorium:
For those of you that knew Dorothy, you know that she wouldn’t want today to be a sad occasion. Dorothy was always Grandma to myself and my sister, Cathy, and she always will be.

She was truly a person that always made the best of every situation--typically with laughter. She could make people laugh…sometimes even when she wasn’t trying to be funny.

Those who met her have described her as: contagiously funny, full of spirit, a positive person and a real hoot to be around. That’s how me and my family will always remember her. But I’d say she loved three things most: God, her family and making people laugh.

GROWING UP
Growing up, my sister and I always looked forward to the weekends when we could to to Grandma‘s and Grandan‘s house, and even spend the night on numerous occasions.. They were special occasions--filled with lots of opportunities to get away with things that we couldn’t always get away with at home.

Grandma would always feed us good food. And when I say good food, I don’t mean good-for-you food. At Grandma’s, we’d eat our weight in popsicles, ice cream, shoestring potatoes and Frito Pies. I can’t even remember how many HyTop Pizzas she cooked for us, but it was a ridiculous amount. But she was happy when she knew we were happy.

That’s just the type of person she was. She wasn’t happy until she could make other people happy.

She brought happiness to others through laughter. I really think it was her best quality.

She would always introduce myself and my sister as, “this is my favorite granddaughter” or “this is my favorite grandson.”

Our response would always be, “Grandma, I’m your only granddaughter,” or “Grandma, I’m your only grandson.” She’d always reply, “That’s why you’re my favorite.”

After Cathy married Matt, she always loved to pick on Matt, who was the new guy in the family. Every time Matt would get a phone call while he was over, she would always say to my sister, “Yep, there’s that little blonde calling again that he’s seeing.”

You just couldn’t help but laugh.

STUBBORN
For those of you who knew her well, you probably knew that she was stubborn. No, she wasn’t stubborn in a mean way--she just had her own idea about things.

She loved game shows. Especially Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud. One day, while watching Family Feud, she insisted that it wasn’t fair that the person on the right had an advantage because his buzzer was closer than the one on the left. We tried to convince her that they were equal distance, but with no accord.

When you tried to argue with her about “her opinion” about something, and she still didn’t agree, she would always say, “Well, I guess…” We would drive ourselves crazy trying to explain some things to her, but once she had her mind set about something, there was just no changing.

She also had her own opinions about the local and national news. Grandma was so intrigued by breaking news and she loved to discuss it.

I’ll never forget a phone call I got in 1994. I answered, and Grandma said, “Are you watching this?” I said, “Watching what, Grandma?”

She said, “O.J. Simpson’s on the run and it’s on TV. Hurry, turn your TV on!” I turned the TV on and we stayed on the phone with each other for about an hour commenting on every turn the infamous white Bronco made. I think she stayed up later that night than I ever remember her staying up…which was probably about 10:30.

Also, if you ever rode in the car with her driving, it was well advised to buckle your seat belt tight. You see, she drove with two feet--one on the gas and one on the pedal. At red lights, you could hear the engine roaring, and you had better be holding on to something when the light turned green. I would ask her why her engine was making such a weird noise, and she’d just say, “What noise?”

That brings us to the other characteristic about Grandma. She was hard of hearing, but I think she made her mind up in 1980 that she would never get a hearing aide, and she never did.

In recent years, it had gotten much worse. When we’d mention a hearing aid, she’d always say, “Oh, it’s just people’s tone.” They can’t fix that. Or, “Oh, they’re just mumbling. They need to speak clearly.”

On a trip to the doctor in the last few years that Mom took Grandma to, the doctor told Grandma that she was a hoot.

Grandma’s response was, “I need to eat more fruit?”

SHE LOVED TIGER
Grandma also had another love. Tiger the Chihuahua. My sister and I were dying for a dog when we were little. Our parents surprised us with a little three-pound spotted Chihuahua we named Tiger.

Grandma loved this dog so much, and Tiger felt the same. We’d always take Tiger over to Grandma’s. As soon as we got two-to-three blocks away, Tiger would start panting and barking with excitement. He knew he was headed to Grandma’s and couldn’t wait to get there.

Arriving at the house, Tiger would jump out of the car, rush to the screen door and begin scratching to alarm Grandma that he was there. She usually couldn’t hear him scratching since the TV was turned up so loud, so we’d poke our heads in and say, “Grandma, we’re here!”

Tiger would immediately rush to Grandma, who would pick him up. They were both content.

If Tiger spent the night with Grandma while we were on a trip, she would always insist that Tiger said “Goodnight” before they went to sleep. Grandma said she would say, “Goodnight Tiger,” and his response was a “chirp, chirp” signifying “goodnight.”

We had a hard time believing this, but it was too funny to picture.

Grandma always said, “If everybody loved me as much as Tiger, I’d have it made.”

LUCKY
Truth is, we were all lucky to have known Dorothy, or Grandma as I know her. She was one special person. As she got older, and couldn’t take care of herself as well, she moved in with my parents. She wasn’t able to get out as much as she wanted to.

On Sundays, when we’d get home from church, she’d be watching TV, and I’d ask her what she was watching. She’d say, “Oh, I was Baptist today” or “Oh I was Methodist today” referring to the church service she saw on TV that morning.

She always had such a wonderful peace about her and trusted in God through all of what she loved to call “life’s little trivials.”

I probably heard her say that a million times.

When trouble would arise in her life, she’d always say, “You know…I’m an old Presbyterian… what’s meant to be, will be.”

That’s pretty much how she lived life. She rolled through the tough times with laughter and the good times with pure joy.

The first time I remember seeing Grandma sad was when my grandfather, that we called Grandan, passed away in 1988. I was 12 years old. In typical Grandma fashion, though, she wiped away her tears, hugged us and assured us that everything would be OK.

She loved Grandan, my mom and dad, and me and my sister and her husband, and especially her great grandchild, Abby, who affectionately called her MoMo with all of her heart. Her love for family was evident every time we were around her.

Even when she couldn’t walk anymore and was bedridden, she was still positive for the most part, accepting what God had planned for her life.

On the last day she ever spoke, she told me in a broken, weak voice, “When something happens to me, y’all don’t fall apart. We had some great times. I love you.”

We did have some great times, Grandma, but I know that now your great times are greatness that we can‘t even imagine on earth…

…you know a peace that we humans cannot comprehend… and I also know that the other angels are laughing in Heaven like they never knew they could.

Prayers Needed

Please pray for my grandmother as she is nearing the end of her life. Grandma has put up a tough fight with her cancer, but it has finally caught up with her. Luckily she is resting comfortably, which is good. The nurses put her on oxygen this morning to help make her more comfortable. Matt and I were able to see her for a few minutes this weekend, and even though the moments of lucidity were short, I was able to tell her how much I loved her, and she reciprocated again and again. Oh how that made my heart swell with joy.

Please pray she continues to be comfortable and that my family can get through these difficult next few days/weeks.

Recent Happenings

It's time for an update! Here is what has been going on with us:

• I feel GREAT! Nausea has ended completely, and I finally feel good and energized! Woo-hoo!
• Our little peanut moves around A LOT. I forgot how wonderful it was to feel that little human being inside of me. Matt felt her for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I love being able to share that feeling with someone else too.
• Our little girl has a name: Macy. We love it. I hope you do too.
• Potty training has been hard core around here, and I am pleased to say that it's going exceptionally well. Abby stayed dry for 12 hours yesterday (even during school, which I was so proud of!) and she has been initiating more potty time, so that's great. It doesn't hurt that she has a Pretty Pink Princess Potty that plays a royal tune every time she goes. :)

Here is our little girl, all smiles.
We have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and hit up the park. Here is Abby cheesing it up before going down the slide. And here she is with her pal Ava, swinging. Oh to be two again!

One of Abby's favorite things to do: blow bubbles!

Our little Sweet Pea!Abby and I ventured to Longview for five days during Spring Break, and we had a WONDERFUL TIME! We got to spend real quality time with all of our family, which was the best. On Monday of Spring Break, we traveled to Mrs. Lee's Daffodil Garden in Gladewater for some picture opportunities. Here we are. With the famAbby and Nana


Abby's obsession with all things Princess continues, and she is fascinated with marriage and weddings. I promised her that while at BeBe and Pops' house, she could try on my veil. Here's our pretty little future bride (hopefully not TOO soon though!) :)
Abby with her new Stick Horse, Major. Thanks, Nana and Papa and Cracker Barrel! :)

OK, I'm off to get this little rugrat in bed. Wish me luck! :) Enjoy this beautiful weather! :)

It's a Girl!

We had our big sonogram this morning, and our Little Peanut was revealed to be a girl! Funny thing is that with Abby, it took her a while to cooperate, but this morning, we discovered her gender in the first 60 seconds. And more importantly, she is a healthy, active (go figure!), wiggly, perfectly beautiful little bundle of girl joy.

Poor Matt has always been surrounded by girls. Me, Abby, our dogs Millie and Winnie... and now our Little Peanut. I think he's already thinking about taking out a loan just to afford two daughters! :) When it hit him that he'd have to pay for two weddings, my dad gave him a piece of advice: "One word: Elopement." All joking aside, we are thrilled to add a healthy baby girl to our family. We are planning on telling Abby tonight. I can't wait to reveal the exciting news to her too. And I think she is going to be the greatest big sister!! Abby is so loving, sweet, compassionate, and as many of know, quite a rascal and independent at times, all qualities a Big Sister should possess. And while I am super thrilled that we'll be adding some more estrogen to this house, Matt is already talking about his need for a Man Cave. Hey babe, I think it's going to be the garage. Nothing better than drinking a Budweiser, playing darts, right?

She weighs about 10 ounces and is 7.6 inches long. Here are some pics from this morning. Seeing our little girl on that screen was such a reminder of how miraculous all of this really is. Do you ever feel blessed beyond belief?

Belly Shot!

Here is proof that I'm actually pregnant. My Baby Bump seemed to get progressively bigger over the past week, and for the first time, I feel like I actually look pregnant.

Here's me at 5 weeks:
And here's me today, at 17 weeks. Am I starting to look pregnant? I must admit, though, that my belly has been known in the past to swell to this size after a particularly good meal at On The Border. :) Only this time, it's full of amniotic fluid and not chips and salsa.

Thank goodness for finally feeling good and actually starting to look pregnant. When I was pregnant with Abby, it amazed me at how nice strangers were to me. Doors were held open, people smiled, etc. I, however, also walked into a lot of doors and seemed to get more forgetful as the weeks continued on. Hmmm. The highs and lows of expecting! :)

One thing that I absolutely love is that Abby is obsessed with my growing belly. She'll look at it and proclaim excitedly, "Your tummy!!!!! It's getting bigger!!!!" And she likes to lift up my shirt and "pet" the baby or kiss my belly. My heart swells with joy. Except when she tries to lift up my shirt in front of people. Not so cool. We're still working on concepts like "appropriate" and "privacy" at our house. :)

Only 10 more days until we find out the sex! We can't wait!!! I'm off to snack. :)

A night with Kids

A Typical Night BEFORE KIDS:

11:00pm-Go to bed. Head hits pillow. I'm out.
7:00- Alarm goes off. Slept like a baby all night.

Our Night Last Night:

11:00pm-Go to bed. Head hits pillow. I'm out. Looking forward to getting a solid eight hours of sleep.
3:00am- Wake up to Abby yelling, "Daddyyyyyy! Daddyyyyyy!" quite nonchalantly, I might add. I get up. Discover she has wet all over the bed. Awesome!
3:05- Diaper, PJ, and blanket change.
3:07- Abby informs me that she's "done going night night." I beg to differ, and the battle begins.
3:09-Abby requests a reading of The Three Little Pigs, to which I respond a resounding NO! The tears flow.
3:10- We rock. And rock and rock and rock. Girlfriend seems to be wide awake. My eyelids are getting heavier and heavier.
3:20- Success! She's almost asleep, but she re-requests The Three Little Pigs. We compromise: she can sleep with it in her bed. Matter resolved. Whew.
3:21- She's back in bed. A hug and a kiss later, I'm out the door. But not for long...
3:21:30- I'm not two steps out her door before she starts crying that she wants her Mickey Mouse doll in bed with her. Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!
3:22-4:05-I am now in bed, awake, and can't go back to sleep. Good times.
4:16- Abby sneezes. Loudly.
4:16:30- "Mommmmmmmy!" I go in her room. "I need to wipe my nose!"
4:17-I wipe her nose. A hug and a kiss later, I am out the door.
4:18-Back in bed, I finally fall back asleep. Woo-hoo! However, I will soon discover it is short-lived.
5:00- "Mommmmy! Mommmmmy!" This time, Matt gets up. Poor guy only has 60 minutes left before his alarm goes off!
5:02- Matt returns. Apparently Abby had lost her Bobby blanket. Crisis averted, thanks to good ol' Dad!
5:03- We're all back to sleep. Thank goodness. I still have two hours of good sleep ahead of me before my alarm goes off.
6:00- Fussing again. You've got to be kidding me! Matt jumps up, to which I say, "Be nice! Be nice!" (Not that he wouldn't be, but at 6:00 and being awakened three times already, it's always nice to have a friendly reminder, right?!) :)
6:03- Matt returns. "What did she want now?" I asked. Matt responds, "SHE WANTED A FREAKIN' CHEESEBURGER!" Seriously, folks. Matt doesn't bother getting back into bed. His day has begun. Poor guy. No rest for the weary. The shower turns on. I finally fall back asleep.
7:00- My alarm goes off. My head hurts and my eyes are heavy. No Slept-Like-A-Baby Sleep for us. Nosiree. Instead, we got the Slept-Like-A-Two-Year-Old Sleep!!

Just another unexpected night with a two year old! Oh, how boring was life before kids, right?? :)

We Heart Snow!

What a wonderful day yesterday was. Snow had been in the forecast, but no one, not even the meteorologists, could have predicted record snowfall like we had. How absolutely gorgeous it was! But first, Abby had her Valentine's party at school, and oh, how much fun it was! Here is me with my Little Valentine Roo.
Pretty in Pink

Here's our house yesterday morning when it had been snowing for a few hours. It snowed for the rest of the day and through last night too. Unbelievable!

After the fun Valentine's party, we ventured down the street so Abby could play with her good pal Ava. Abby loved stomping around the snow, throwing snowballs at Ava. Ava, not so much! I don't blame her. I'm not a fan of getting too wet myself! :) Here are the happy girls.

Roo looking like she's up to no good!

Getting her aim ready to hit Miss Mica.

A fun time was had by all yesterday! With no nap and a super busy day, we were all exhausted last night! But first, after Matt got home, he and Abbster went for a trek around the neighborhood. She had a blast...well, until she fell down in the snow!

We were back up and at 'em this morning because I told Abby we could build a big snowman. Here's the little Snow Bunny.

Diggin' the snow

Cheeeeeese!

And here is the saddest, most pathetic snowman that ever was built. Oh well. Had Matt not had to go to work, I'm sure it would have been much more fantastic. Maybe next year! Ha! :) I really wanted to take a picture of Abby with this pathetic snowman, but she refused to do so. Can't say I blame her really!! It is a little scary looking, I must admit.

I hope you all have enjoyed the snow as much as we have! Happy Friday everyone! :)

What we're up to today...

Abby still has a little bit of a cough, so we’re staying in all day in hopes of it being gone by tomorrow’s Valentine’s Party at school. And what better way to pass the time than play Princess? Gosh, I am loving this fun stage of Imaginative Play. It’s never-ending around here!!

Goings On

Sorry for not updating recently. Not too much has been going on here, but I'll give you the highlights:

1. I went to my OB last week, and we heard Little Peanut's heartbeat immediately this time, which was wonderful! The heartrate was good, and we're scheduled to find out the sex on March 2. We can't wait!! Luckily I had only gained one pound in the past four weeks. Now, some of you may be thinking that's not very much, but considering I gained TEN pounds from weeks 7-11, I'd say that one pound was sufficient.

2. I am...knock on wood...finally feeling much, much better. I don't want to use the term "back to normal" because, as many of you know, when you're pregnant, there is no such thing as "normal"! But the nausea is less prevalent, so that's great news!

3. Abby is SO excited about this baby. She gets giddy when she sees my baby bump and says, "Mommy's tummy's gettin' bigger!" So cute! However, she is DEAD SET on having a girl. If you ask her, she demands that it be a girl. Last week she even told me in a very stern voice, "I don't want a boy like baby Clarky (her cousin); I want a girl like Molly (her Nana and Papa's dog)"! Oy. We told her that God might have put a baby boy in Mommy's tummy, but that just made her mad. We've decided not to press it much further until we find out what we're having. If it's a boy, God help us all when it comes to The Wrath of Abby! :)

4. Abby is OBSESSED with princesses at the moment. She HAS to wear her Cinderella dress and glass slippers every day. In fact, she wears her glass slippers all day around the house. And because of her obsession with all things Cinderella, she only wears one glass slipper. Sometimes she makes me be the Prince and yell after her about her lost glass slipper. Many times a week you can find her with a shirt, diaper and glass slippers. (She likes to take off her pants a lot. When we ask her why, she simply replies, "I'm too hot in my pants.") We pick our battles. :)

5. Speaking of Cinderella dress, hers was thrown away this weekend in Longview. Of course, it had to make the trip with us to see the grandparents, but Abby started getting sick when we rolled into town, and on Saturday night, while wearing her favorite dress, she threw up all over it. It was not salvagable. Trust me. So now she tells me, "My other dress yucky. We need to buy a new one." And oh, how we have perused online at "beautiful" Cinderella dresses.

6. Abby's new favorite word is "Beautiful." I love this.

7. Abby has been So, So, So unbelievably good lately. I don't want to jinx myself, but she has been such a joy to be around. I hear that 3 is worse than 2, but I'm hoping that doesn't ring true.

8. The second I start thinking about potty training, I have a panic attack. I'm thinking Spring Break would be a good time to do this while we're at home. Also, we plan on moving Abby to a Big Girl bed soon. I feel like she is growing up SO fast; while I know these transitions need to come, it all seemed to have come in a flash.

9. I feel like the next couple of months are the calm before the storm. I feel pretty good right now, but oh a' change is comin'! I'm trying to soak up all the time I have with Roo right now before Little Peanut comes and our lives and schedules are changed.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's much more, but my brain is fried. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Try to stay warm! :)

What Else? More pics, of course!

Here's our beautiful little girl modeling a possible Easter dress. She just had to show it off for her Nana and Papa who were in town! Although most days, around the house, she can be found looking like this. The crown and earrings are a must. Of course, so is only ONE glass slipper. She's got to be just like Cinderella after all!
Here's Abby with her good pal Ava!
She LOVES bathtime!

Love this picture of her with her cousin Clark. Notice how she's opening her mouth too? Too funny! I think she could have fed him all night long if we would have let her. And I'm also certain Clark would have eaten all night too. He was one hungry little boy!

Miss Hollywood herself.

We both got our H1N1 shots last week, and Abby was not a happy camper. Here she is emulating how she felt when she got the shot.

Luckily the nurse gave Abby three stickers, and she requested a red lollipop, so that most certainly helped things! Here's our little Roo back to her happy, normal self. :)

I didn't mention to her that she has to go back for another round in three weeks. That will just be our little secret, ok? :)

I go back to my OB on Tuesday to hear Little Peanut's heartbeat. Hopefully she will have an easier time finding it than she did last time! And then, the first week of March, we will have our big sonogram to find out if Abby will have a little brother or a little sister. If you ask her what she wants, her answer changes daily. Hopefully she will be happy with whatever comes her way! :)

Stay warm, everyone! :)

I Promise She Has Real Friends!

Abby has found some new BFFs: the mannequins at Old Navy!