New Food, New Texture

The Littlest Knight

 We haven't been to "The Rivalry" in years. We usually watch it at an off-site location in Holland. So when our friends, Jon and Nicole, invited us to go with them we were excited! They had a bunch of tickets because he works there, woohoo!  Gotta love connections.

Abigail even had a "tattoo" for the event:

 I didn't have the camera out much because Abigail was so busy I needed both hands. These are the few that we snapped. I didn't even get any pictures of our friends. You can see Nicole in the background in the above photo. Hello!

 Yes, you rule the show right now, Abigail. Although you weren't such a good luck charm for the Knights because Hope won. boo hoo...

Aunt Elizabeth and Chris came too... they look like they're hiding in the shadows.

Look what "sprouted"!

It works... but I think we'll stick with no "hairdo" for a bit yet. I was just curious this morning since her hair is growing out.

What I'm wishing for...

I love to craft and scrapbook, but I'm pretty thrifty too, and those don't always mix. I wanted to get the most use out of my Cricut since I hadn't used it much over the summer so I decided to search for some videos. I knew a good 'ole Infomercial would suck me right back into using it and give me some fresh ideas. While I was searching I came a cross a few other ideas (some not-so-thrifty):

First I found this video about making my Cricut cutting mats sticky again.

So now I'm on the lookout for this:

 

Then I saw this video and dreamed up all the many possibilities of cutting I could do without purchasing any more cartridges. 

So now I want to purchase and download this:

After that I remembered this product and started dreaming, but get real, for that price it's more like a nightmare:

Now, I wonder if she could design one so I could build it for less....

Snow Day

Snow days are always a fun surprise. I go to bed thinking, "Could it be? Will it happen?" All the while the adult in me is trying to be realistic so that I'm not set up for great disappointment. Then I rush downstairs to check the television or computer after that magical 6am time limit. Upon seeing my school I continue to RECHECK it like 3 more times. Just. In. Case. 

Then there's the dilemma. Do I sneak back to bed for a bit or do I get stuff done? Hmm... Both. Grab the computer and lay in bed to work! (gotta love laptops). 

Of course this year it's a bit different:

1. I tried to tell myself I wouldn't get any snow days because I work 2 of the 5 days a week so the odds are not in my favor. (But hurray, first one was on a Tuesday!)

2. I had to grab the pump before truly heading back to bed... gotta be comfortable you know.

3. I can't sleep until 10am and then watch movies  and craft the rest of the day like I used to: Abigail will eventually wake up and need a responsible adult to play with her.

Oh, one last thing:

This is a book I saw at a teacher conference one year that just fits so perfectly with how these snow days really feel. The narrator sees the weatherman forecast a big storm, then dreams of all the fun things to do during a possible snow day. He wakes up to see they still have school and hurries with the rest of the family to get out the door to school. At the end it's actually the dad narrating the story and hoping for the snow day and he's the TEACHER! He he he. Cute book. 

Go Maroons

We received a baby t-shirt from our alma-mater/my employer when Abigail was born and I put it on her to take some photos to send in to them but she wasn't really into looking up at me. I thought they were cute anyway (yup, reading a book is cute... what can I say, I'm a teacher). I'll have to try and get one of her big smiles another day.

Sledding

Happy "1-11-11". We received 12 inches of snow over the past weekend and it was 4 degrees yesterday morning. We bundled Abigail up and took her "sledding" around the yard. I got a few smiles but it was really about the photo opportunity more than anything else I suppose. 

We've disposed of our Christmas tree since then too...

Laugh Out Loud

Seven Months Old

At Seven Months Old Abigail...

...sleeps 12 hours at night. 8:30/9:00pm-8:30/9:00am. She typically takes an hour nap in the late morning and a 1.5/2 hour nap in the afternoon. 

...eats Mama's Milk and a few solid foods: brown rice cereal, sweet potatoes, squash, avocados, and bananas.  She nurses 4 times a day (breakfast, lunch, supper, and bedtime) and she eats solid food 2-3 times a day. She's cut two more teeth this month (the top middle ones) so she has 4 total.

...plays on her own pretty well. I'll just lay her on her tummy or have her sit on the floor and spread toys around her. She can hold her tummy off the floor on her hands and knees for a little bit and she can rotate around in a circle. She doesn't roll to get to things or crawl yet, but I'll that's okay. She can walk around in her walker and can now go on the carpet in the living room with that. It is harder to walk with it on carpet so she gets frustrated sometimes and grunts and yells. She wiggles ALL THE TIME! on the changing table, in your arms, on the floor, for this photo shoot...

She can kind of say da-da but not with much meaning yet. Soon though I think!

She is such a happy girl. She smiles and laughs all the time. She "talks" and smiles at strangers.We can even get her to do a good giggle if we tickle her tummy or back. She's kind of slap happy when she's tired at night too. Her favorite toy is still Sophie the giraffe. She totally knows how to throw it down on the floor now. She kind of likes to play peek-a-boo too.

...wears 9-12 months clothes, size 2 shoes, and size 3 diapers (and cloth diapers). 

...weighs 18 lbs.
She is 26.5 inches long.

Here is her six month post.

You started it...

...and now I'm posting it on the internet!

This is what happened when I tried to take some photos over New Years. I figured they needed a post of their own:

New Years Day

a photo opp before digging into the Prime Rib

Abigail wears a party hat while Grandma plays with her

the bride and groom (it's 2011, I can officially call them that now)

and sneaky Abigail HAS to be in every photo I swear...

We actually finished the puzzle this year!

New Years Eve Fondue

 We ate had did fondue at our friends' house for New Years Eve. It warmed and steamed the place up really well and tasted oh so good. We had a lot of laughs because while you wait for food to cook you end up talking about some funny stuff: like first dates...

 We had beef and chicken broths, cheese, and chocolate fondues.

 She was happy as always. She went to bed in a pack-in-play in our friends bedroom at 9:45 and slept into the new year.

Everybody loves chocolate fondue, even toddlers.