A long time....

Hi,

It has been a long time since I have updated my blog. We have been so busy and I have to admit it....I have been extremely tired. WOW...I don't know how people do it with more than one.

Sheldon and I have been so excited by our new life. Abby is keeping us busy and she is changing every day. She is starting to smile and play for awhile. She hardly ever takes naps which makes life a bit busier.

Here are a few pictures that I took today of her playing with her new music ball.



Other news:
Sheldon has a job interview tomorrow and I am excited.
I am taking up sewing and am going to start a quilting class in a few weeks.
Abby and I are going to visit my mom for a couple of weeks.

My Life Now....

My hands are quite chapped as I get to wash bottles about 6 to 8 times every day. It has been only 6 weeks but I already don't want to see another bottle again for the rest of my life. :)

However, when I look at my baby girl...I figure it is all worth it. She definitely doesn't like sleeping by herself. She takes about an hour to an hour and a half to go to sleep if we have her by herself. If we hold her...it takes about 10 minutes.

Here Abby is getting her belly time. As you can tell she uses it as a chance to catch up on sleep. She will usually last about 5 minutes before she starts crying. She is already beginning to scoot forward...so we won't be able to leave her alone on the couch for long.

Sleep seems to be the theme of the day. Rocky is enjoying Abby's bed. We find that all 3 cats will sleep whereever she sleeps but only when she isn't there. I guess they want to feel special too.

Grandma Susan & Grandpa Chuck will be back this week. I haven't made any progress on the baby dress. So, I decided that I better do something and I have been wanting to make Abby a Christmas baby blanket. First I did a little tag handheld blanket and tomorrow I will make a stroller/carseat blanket. Hopefully, this will make up for my slacking on the dress. It is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Thanks for reading and hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Creating with My Sister

My sister is in town and we created some cards today. Well, one each....in between watching the baby girl and hanging out. I made one for the lady who sent Abby the colorful hat and Chris made one for her sister in law.
I used the image from weedsgalore...the flower lady. I love her and she fit the look exactly. Tomorrow we are going to breakfast with family and then we might either make cards or jewelry.

More Baby Abby Pics

Abby's First Halloween

Hi, You will have to hit full size to see the pics. Not sure why it isn't working otherwise.

Having Fun Sewing...Kind of...

It has been a lot of work and a lot of restlessness since Grandma and grampa left. WOW...I guess we never had a chance to feel exhausted. All Abigail did today was sleep on Mommy or Daddy.
My mom had previously given me a really cute hat for Abby...and when I bought her a 6 piece outfit set which came with a hat I decided to make my own. I came up with the idea of using velcro so I can make the flowers interchangeable and to make washing easier. The flower I bought for $1.50 on sale at the craftstore. I already had the ribbon. It was very hard to sew on the sewing machine...I won't say how long it took me. YIKES. As I had to rethread the machine about 10 times and the needle still didn't want to move.

Little Baby Abigail

Hi,

I actually started typing an email the other day....but then I was distracted by the nurses and all the vital things they do to you in the hospital and haven't been on since. (So here is the short & condensed version.....I think.)

We went to the doctor's on Thursday night...my bp was 182/102. So after some discussion he decided we were going in right then and there.

We officially checked into the hospital at 7:30 and the doctor started the pitocin. I sent Sheldon home around 2 am when my mom showed up and he came back around 10 am or so. I still hadn’t dialated anymore….I was still 1 cm (the same as my 35 week appointment.)

At 12:30 we broke my water, and at 3 PM they gave me the epideral as my bp was still high. By 8:00 PM I was only up to 3 cm dialated and the doctor gave us a choice….try for another couple of hours or do a c-section. At that point as I was having some problems with the epideral….I decided I just wanted to see her and not wait any longer.

So by 8:40 I was in the operating room….and Abigail was born at 9:27 PM weighing 5 lbs 14 oz. She is 18.9” long….red hair and blue eyed.

We have been pretty busy as she doesn’t quite having the sucking reflex down yet….so we have been breastfeeding and pumping. She has lost ½ and we are trying to keep her from losing anymore. Tomorrow morning is her first doctor’s appointment….so we hope that everything goes well there.

Besides, the eating issues (she is now up to 1 ½ oz per feeding session) she has been the perfect baby….very cuddly, only cries if she needs something….Sheldon and I are terribly blessed to have her in our lives and appreciate all of your prayers.

Blacksmithing Update

Hi,

Sheldon has been bugging me about putting up his blacksmithing photos. Though he won't tell me what to say. So I will make up something.

When Sheldon and I went to the renaissance festival in May I discovered that he wanted to learn how to blacksmith. We knew that he wouldn't be able to do it on his own at our house as there are lots of tools that are involved. Though I am not sure if we knew it at the time or not....his boss at the EPA does blacksmithing. And he invited Sheldon and a postdoc student Carl to come up and try it. Well they have been several times and I am not sure about Carl but Sheldon loves it. His first creation was a BBQ fork. Which he teases me because I call its shape organic. Next he made a throwing knife which turned out very cool. Then he was going to work on some tongs but I asked him to make something for me. And he ended up making me a heart. He isn't quite satisfied with it as he wasn't able to make it as pointy on the ends as he would like....but I love it.So when we move and get settled into our new life when Sheldon graduates....I have a feeling an anvil and a forge will soon be on the way.

TFL

Jennie

Jumping on the unmounting of rubber stamps bandwagon...

Hi,

Yesterday morning while I was supposedd to be sleeping I was thinking about organizing my craftroom instead.....I am needing to downsize for several reasons. First for the baby. Second to turn my room into a guest room. Third....I need it to feel organized and uncluttered for when we start to sell.

Originally, I was going to store half my stamps in storage...but then I wouldn't be able to use them. So I remember that I was planning on unmounting them all. So I reread a couple of tutorials and started. I am about half way done...I don't have a lot of stamps but as you will be able to see from the pictures doing this still saves a lot of space. Especially because in my comparison picture noone stacks their stamps the way I had them.
So once I purchase some more CD holders I will finish. Next week our friend Jim is going to help Sheldon move a few big pieces of furniture to storage and I need to be done with my organization.
So far this is a total of 46 stamps.

Jennie

Check out your name......

What Jennie Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

What about Sheldon & The Baby

What Sheldon Means

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

What Abigail Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality. You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life. You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone. Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Another Paint Chip Card

Hi,

I would really love to win Angela's contest...however, I am hoping she gets lots of entries as her prize is fantastic and I want her contest to go well.

I made this card with a bunch of paint chips....the duckies are paint chips, the background is one big one, and the thank you is one.

I made this for my inlaws...they have been so generous with giving us baby gifts and wanted to let them know how much I appreciate it. I am late on owing them a card. I will probably send them 2 cards.

TFL

PS....I almost feel human today and have tons of energy except for a brief period where I felt my blood pressure drop....I was very light headed for about 20 minutes...but I guess that is better than too high.

Baby Pineapple Update

Hi,

The babycenter website says she weighs as much as a pineapple....around 4 pounds. My guestimate from the last US is that she weighs about 4 1/2 pounds. The doctor yesterday figured she might be closer to 5 pounds. LOL As the US can be off up to 1/2pound either way.

So the good news....if we had to deliver early there shouldn't be any problems....Even better news....we shouldn't have to deliver early at this moment. My blood pressure is still fine....I don't have any signs of preeclampsia.

Next week, I get to have my last US from the specialist....Sheldon will go with me to that appointment. Then next week and the next 2 weeks I get to go and get the non-stress-test. Just to make sure she is not being bothered by my blood pressure. I guess they will hook me up to a monitor and monitor her HeartRate for about 20 minutes or so. Just normal for someone in my condition.

Overall, doctor is happy with our results and how things are going. He is still thinking 38 weeks instead of 40. LOL So I guess I better be prepared to be early.

TFL