Dance Fighting!!!

This past Sunday we had a ribbon cutting ceremony crab feast for my mom and dad's new deck. I always like to tease my nephew Logan as he has girlish ways like me and his father.

He proceeded to tell me he wanted to dance fight with me. I looked at him with a crazy look asking what is dance fighting.

Below is his explanation with a brief cameo and commentary from his older sister Savannah.

ENJOY!!

Baby Hobbes

So for the next couple of months we still have 2 little furry babies that need our attention and love. Hobbes has found the bassinet that Danny's mom used on all of her kids. She actually sleeps in it. This is probably a sign that we have to make sure the kittens are not in the nursery when Abigail is sleeping because they will want to join her. And Calvin likes to smother people when they are sleeping and for adults that is not a bad thing but for babies, he will have a slight weight advantage over her for about a month!

Hobbes in her bassinet!

Aerial view of the little furball!

32/33 Weeks

I am a little late in posting this picture but it still counts! We are on vacation and enjoying OC, MD! More will come about that trip. Abigail is getting bigger and definitely moving around more. She doesn't however like to perform when other people try to touch my belly. It is almost as if she is saying whoa now, who is that? And when Joe tries to feel it is almost as if it calms her down to where she stops moving! This technique will hopefully come in handy in the next couple of months when mommy needs a break! Joe has been able to feel her a little bit. He has to be sneaky about it and catch her off guard. I am getting really excited about meeting this little character that is growing inside of me. She is going to make life so exciting I am sure! =)

Bi-Monthly!

We have now begun the every 2 weeks appointments to the doctor's office. It is now getting serious =) I was really excited about going to this appointment because it was going to be with one of the midwives in the practice. It was actually a really great appointment. She was really nice and answered all of our questions. You could tell that she wasn't one of the "doctors" because she stayed with the patients for a while. Our normal appointment lasts about 5-7 minutes. This time our appointment lasted about 20-25 minutes. She also was very attentive to all of the checks she had to do as well. She listened a while to the heartbeat and talked about what she heard. She said that Abby kept turning around because her heartbeat would get loud and the soft so you could tell she was turning her body. It was really neat because as she talked I could feel it happening. Then she was able to feel what position she was in. Her head was down and she could actually feel it! She talked a lot about nutrition and said that Joe and I were doing all of the right things. My glucose test results were really good (which I figured). When I asked her if she was available for deliveries she said that since she turned 60 she sleeps well at night so the answer was no. But I have Joe as my coach so I think we will be fine. The doctor is only there for the last part anyways. So we just have to pray that we have really nice nurses to work with for the other undetermined amount of time…

Happy 4 year Anniversary Hunny Bun!

It's hard to imagine that it has already been 4 years that I have been married to my best friend. We have been together for 7 years and it has been the best times of my life. Christina and I have been through a lot together and we have so many memories. I truly do love this woman with every bone in my body. I am extremely lucky to spend every day with my Pretty Lady.

Bradley Method Class Vol. 5

Well this class definitely stood out in utter grossness. We learned labor 101 and all the fun stuff that comes with it.
We only had to listen to a little bit of hospital bashing this time so it was a nice change. I learned some new coaching tips and tricks to keep Christina calm during labor.
Here's the kicker, so we are sitting down and I finally get comfortable in a chair bc earlier we were going through some technics on massaging our wives while they are in labor, and all of a sudden the teacher goes "Ok, it's time to watch a full labor". I looked at Christina with a very worried look bc the day had finally arrived when I had to do this.
So the video basically starts out with a women in labor and her husband (who was wearing a shirt that said I'm Sorry on it a bunch of times) and they were in the final stages of child birth. The camera man or camera women must of loved their job bc the entire time it was pointed to the end zone waiting for baby to come out. I won't go into much much detail bc Momma and our church friends read our blog, but it was pretty eye opening. We watched as the women dilated to 10 centimeters and we were even lucky to have an extreme close up for when her water bursts. And the best part was, they rewinded it and showed it again in slow motion.
The women was in the squatting position the entire time during this and I don't know how she does it, I hate doing squats at the gym, even for a reps of like 12.
We saw the head of the baby come out, then the shoulders and the rest followed. Once we saw the baby come out, it was beautiful bc just seeing a miracle like that happen, was very awesome. All the blood and liquids was not awesome though.
The worst part came after that is when they pulled the placenta out and I almost threw up, that was horrible. It looked like something from a horror movie that I never want to watch again.
A crazy part in this whole labor movie was the lady had her daughter in the room with her and her dad the entire time and while the preggo was squatting the little girl would squat down too and look under mommy and would say "Yeap, I see a head".

I loved the 1st movie so much that our teach decided to show us another one. This one was just an extreme close up of a women dilating to 10 again.

Maybe next time I can bring in some 3D glasses and get the full effect.

Fathers Day!

Joe's first fathers day was busy because we helped out with the Car Show at church. It turned out to be such a nice day on Sunday so that was a definite answer to prayer! There were a lot of people that turned out for the event as well as a lot of cars and bikes for the show. The church uses the event as an outreach to the community every year. This is the 4th year they have done the show. Everything is free, registration, entertainment, games, food, drinks, etc. I am not sure exactly how many people were there but it was probably around 1000 or so.

Joe was in charge of trash pick up and any other miscellaneous thing necessary. He was able to borrow Tommy Shumates 4 -wheeler so he was in heaven.

For Father's Day Abby and I picked out a special photo frame that said Father and Daughter on it, so it is reserved for their first picture together. Then another outfit that says "Daddys Girl" (I had gotten it before the baby shower ;) ) And for mothers' day he had gotten me a Willow Tree figurine of a mommy and baby http://www.willowtreeshop.com/willowtree2006/willow-tree-26124.html, so I got him the one with a daddy holding a baby http://www.willowtreeshop.com/willowtree2006/willow-tree-26129.html. These are going in her room.

Look at that smile!

MD Shower

Last Saturday was my first baby shower. It was very beautiful and so much fun. Angie, Jayna, Peggy and Jennifer all pitched in to help coordinate the event and it turned out great. My mom was able to come up for the party as well as Adrienne and Benjamin! So it was good to see some NC representation. As well as people from NEBF (Joes old job) were able to come down. So there were a lot of people there that I had not seen in a while. There were also a lot of people from our church family that were able to make it out. So it was so nice to have everyone there to celebrate little Abigail. I have to admit that I do not like being the center of attention so after the party Abby and I crashed on the couch from being overwhelmed (in a good way of course). Abby got lots of pretty stuff that she will look so cute in. She also got some very practical things that mommy and daddy were excited about, like her stoller, the breast pump, swing, diapers, wipes, etc. I think that we found out during the shower that daddy went scanner happy in the clothing section when mommy wasn't looking and scanned everything that said, "I love my daddy" on it.

Jennifer coordinated the games and we had people play a baby version of the "price is right", a "word scramble" and then a "guess how many diapers are in the diaper cake"...game. The decorations were done in the animal family theme which turned out really cute. The cake which could have fed 100 people was done in a noah's ark type of them and tasted wonderful.

Before the shower they made me leave the house, so I went to go and get my nails done. This of course might not have been the smartest idea for the whole foot swelling thing. After I had my feet soaking in hot water for about 15 minutes, I pulled them out and they were red and huge! And there really wasn't any turning back at that point. My toenails turned out very pretty though but my feet and legs were making everyone feel sorry for me. Honestly I don't think swelling hurts it just doesn't look that pretty =)

The Sites' got Abby a Penguin Bowling game which is the best of both worlds for Joe. He and Abby will have hours of fun with this game I am sure!

We got so many cute things for her to use. I am sure over time you all will see all of this stuff on her, but the above is a turtle towel with little turtle slippers. I cannot believe the stuff they have these days for little babies. It is all adorable!

More pictures will come hopefully of the rest of the decorations. My mom had taken a few others before the party started...

Last weeks preggo pic - Week 30/31

Last week was very very draining but a lot of good stuff happened. We finished painting the stairwell and landing and one of the feature walls in the nursery. (which was a big accomplishment!) We were able to put up all of Abbys shelves, pictures, and sculptures in her room before the shower. We were able to clean and get everything ready for the shower thanks to Joe's mom and Jennifer for helping out! So every night went something like this, came home, started painting, ate dinner, kept painting, went to bed 10ish, woke up at 4:30 and started all over again! By Friday I was ready to crash but that was our longest night. Abby gave me a burst of energy at the end.

We are beginning to jut out a bit more. I think that the patterns are distracting in the shirt and it makes me look smaller. I will have to keep this logic in mind for once she is born =)

Spa Mama

Saturday Joe and I went to Annapolis because we had a Spa Mama class that was being offered at the hospital. We got to Annapolis early so we could run some errands and have lunch at the Amish Market, which was amazing as always. They have to best food ever. I could eat there everyday but I know that it would probably kill me.

The class was a 3 hour class taught by a massage therapist. She went over different massage techniques used before and during labor. Also she focused on breathing methods and visualization. I thought the class was great. Joe definitely got a work out but he is such a good sport about this stuff. He is going to be a great coach when the time comes! Which by the way based on the counter that he created is currently about 75 days away. But she can come whenever she feels like it.

Recap...

So last Wednesday was my birthday and also when Abby and I had to go in for our glucose test. Everything went great. I had to drink this "wonderful" orange flavored drink which was straight sugar! When I went in for my exam the doctor did the heart beat monitor and she was going a mile a minute! We just started laughing because this is what happens to little ones hyped up on sugar. She was very active for pretty much the rest of the day. Since I don't eat a ton of sugar this was just a little too much for her to handle all at once. I still haven't heard my results but I am assuming that no immediate contact shows that the coast is clear...


Joe got permission (actually he was told) to hang out with me and miss youth group. As it turns out it had to be cancelled anyways because there were really bad storms that day. Chesapeake Beach got hit the hardest, a tornado actually touched down in a couple of areas along 261 which is literally only about 2 miles from our house, max. So we were definitely praying on the way home that everything was fine and that hopefully we didn't have to come home to a flooded basement or trees down. Our prayers were answered. So our 2+ hour commute home was a nice birthday surprise. =) Jennifer made dinner. We had Thai Chicken with peanut sauce and broccoli and mushrooms with Jasmine rice. It was really, really good. Joe grilled zucchini and squash on the grill which was wonderful also. And for dessert we had Diane Brown's homemade apple pie with ice cream which was awesome! So Abby and I were eating really good that day =)

For my birthday Joe got me a prenatal massage and pedicure, which is going to be SO NICE! And then he got me a Willow Tree figurine that has a mom holding a baby. It will be going in the nursery. Then as a graduation/birthday present he got me a composter (for the garden). Hopefully I will learn how to properly use it. We have some professionals coming next weekend (aka: my mom and dad) who will be able to show us how I am sure! Which my parents are going to plant a "birthday garden" next to the deck when they come which will be beautiful I am sure. I will share pics after they are done... Jennifer got me a new panini maker because our other one broke, but this one is the unbreakable kind because it is not electric it is more like a skillet that sets on top of the sandwich to squish it down... If that explains it. She also got us some incense sticks and a mommy turtle and baby turtle to hang on the wall in the nursery. So I was definitely taken care of above and beyond on my birthday.

Week 28/29

So another week closer! Today we get to go to the doctors and have the diabetes test done! Fun stuff... I really hope that the apple pie and ice cream I had last night does not throw the test off! Last night I might have eaten a little too much because I had acid reflux again and again it was one of the days that I could actually sleep in!!!! How does she know that?! But the tums helped some I just had to sleep sitting up most of the night... Mommy loves you Abby! My doctors office is not moving until the middle of July now which makes it a little easier to get to the appointments from work within an hour. They are going to be moving from Bowie to Waugh Chapel which will add about 20 minutes in rush hour, but it is worth it because I like the practice we are going to.

Birthday Parties

A little bit of catch up from the weekend. We had a surprise party for Savannah for her 6th birthday. The theme was Hannah Montana - which quickly got changed to Savannah Montana because one of her gifts was a dress up kit that had the outfit and wig =) It was really cute. She was really surprised too because she did not suspect a thing! I got to be the distractor for a couple of hours prior to everyone getting there. So we painted our nails, had a snack, read a book and played some games. She is so smart! She read an entire book to Abigail with no help from me!





Here are a couple of the pics:

There is Savannah Montana complete with the microphone and blonde hair!

Logan wanted to be a rock star too!

Let it be said, let it be done!!

At 10:36pm on Sunday night I finished my last paper, for my last class!!! I am done with the Masters program and could not be more relieved or excited. =) I had to wake Joe up on Sunday to let him know that I had finished. Last night I decided to stay away from the computer and amazingly I found a lot of stuff to do around the house =) You know like go through a weeks worth of mail, make dinner, go for a walk, etc. It was very nice to just not have to think to much for a change. I even started reading my Bradley Method (birthing) book. So now my mommy education/training begins...

I would like to thank my wonderful husband for taking care of me (and the house stuff) so I could concentrate on school. Also for encouraging me and believing that I could finish when I wanted to quit. I am lucky and blessed to have Joe in my life.