This will sadly be my last post on this blog.



However, please join us on our new blog and follow our daily blogging challenge!

Look what I made!

I got a sewing machine for mothers day- I've been having fun making a few things. I made some curtains for Grace's room and now these cute little taggie blankets! I'm no where near professional- infact I think they are kind of sub-par- but I'm learning as I sew and having fun.

Just wanted to post a quick update with a few pictures. Abby is being a ham as ever. She's loving first grade, has some stylin' new glasses and is a great big sister! Grace just keeps growing. She's now 3 1/2 months old- she's super alert and such a good baby. She's loving just a few of her toys, but we have tons. She's so worth our wait!

What a cute girl!

My friend Jen sent me this cute little outfit and blanket. Her note read I hope it still fits her- well Grace is just growing into size 3-6 month clothing. It's a little big but oh so cute. This is a nice fuzzy blanket that happens to match her room colors! (which is closer to being done!) ENJOY!

For Cute!

We were getting tired of Grace spitting out that binky. So I looked and looked for the cutest binky holder and I found these! This little monkey's name is Milo. He attaches to the binky making it easier for Grace and us to find. And he is so cute. The best part is it attaches to almost any binky on the market.

Well we had a little trouble with ours and the part that attaches to the binky is not sewn on straight. I contacted Stacy, president and founder of Paci Plushie, and she is sending me a replacement. Awesome. There are a few other cute animals that I want. The pink kitty is to die for cute too!

Awesome company, awesome customer service- I would definitely recommend to anyone!

Time flys by...

Grace at 6 weeks...

At her 1 month check up she weighed 9 lbs 3 oz- that's more than 2 lbs since her birth. She's a good little eater! She had a clogged tear duct, but it cleared up. She's still eating well.

Friday we got her first smiles! Awww, I so wish we could have gotten it on camera. We've had a few more since then but she seems to be a little stingy with them. She also holds her head so well. She's a strong little girl.



Abby is doing well too. She just loves Grace! I have this cute little video, but cannot get it to load. SAD!

As far as us- it's been a very busy 6 weeks. Baby born, move, week in Utah- and things are finally settling down, but now summer is halfway done.




I also loaded a bunch of pictures to my facebook page- hopefully the link works so I don't have to reload them!

2 1/2 weeks already?

I can't get this picture to load the right way- so you'll just have to turn your head! LOL!

Grace at 2 weeks- 7 lb 10 oz and 19 3/4 inches long - she's growing too fast! She's been such a great baby- she's eating like a champ and still quite the sleepy girl, I'm not complaining because I'm usually getting 4 hour stretches at night!

We've been super busy with our move and lacked internet for a week- and we've been slacking on taking pictures! Oh my! I need to be better!

However I have managed to uncover my mass amounts of goods that I've been packing and boxing- here's just my diapers and wipes!

Little Gracie

Misty and Grace are doing wonderfully this morning. Just wanted to put a short little video up of the cute little girl. She smiled a little bit afterward but I wasn't able to get a picture. Oh well, there will be plenty more, and its not like I (Ernie) don't take too many pictures as is. (We now have 6Gb worth of cards for pictures so its only going to get worse....)

Eva Grace-7 lbs. 1 oz. 18-3/4 inches Born @ 10:21am

Well everyone, Eva Grace finally came this morning at 10:21am Eastern time. She is absolutely beautiful and looks just like Abby did. We are now a family of four, and its about time. We are very thankful that she is finally here. Misty is doing great, we came in last night and they actually did something else instead of a slow Oxytocin drip. They started that at 6:30am, then the OB broke her water at 8:30. Things progressed quick and she only needed to push for about 12 minutes, which incidentally is about how long it took for Abby. Please leave comments, this is a special day and we'd love to hear from you share in our joy.

Baby tomorrow!

Just in case you read my blog only- and don't follow any other form of instant communication with me- I will be having the baby tomorrow- so it seems.

I go in to the hospital about 11:30 tonight and will be admitted at 12- that puts me at 39 weeks, ideal for insurance, they'll start me on a low dose of pitocin. My doctor seems to think it will take awhile and said- see you at 6am. We'll see...

Yesterday was a really off day. I hadn't felt the baby move and was trying to take a nap and couldn't. Every bad thing that is possible played in my mind over and over. So I went in for a non-stress test (NST), the baby was fine, but she really wasn't moving, they monitored me for over an hour and I felt 3 slight movements, but her heartbeat was beating away beautifully. He said he could induce or let me sit it out- hello induction, I'm dying over here.

So I never made it in for my regular appointment today- I guess we'll see if I have progressed any. Last week I was soft and effaced and almost 2 cm with the baby's head at station 0 (which means she's soo low). I've had tons and tons of contractions but no regularity with any of them. BTW- she's been moving like crazy today, and especially right now. I think she's getting anxious too!

Just over an hour and we head out!

Free meal at KFC!

Go to this website and print your coupons (I think you can print 4 per computer!) Limited time!

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090430-tows-kfc-coupon-download

2 pieces grilled chicken, 2 individual sides, and a biscuit- no purchase necessary

GREAT DEAL! And sounds yummy too!

Enjoy the Ride

So Huggies has introduced this new incentive program for parents called Enjoy the Ride. It's supposed to end of being like Pampers Points, or Coke rewards- right now it's still a work in progress- However this month they are giving away codes without purchasing products and then you can redeem the codes for an instant win game to win one (or more) of several prizes.

Today I won a $25 Gap Giftcard. It's really easy. And I even have all the codes saved so I can send them to you, and if you use me as a referal I get an extra 5 points- that's 2 1/2 more entries.

If you want a referral or the codes, or just more info please email me at abbysmomma@ hotmail.com- that's my coupon and junk email addy!

Sunday Stroll

So today was such a beautiful day and Misty wanted to go for a good walk (She must want to have a baby or something), so we went to Shaker Lake which is really close to the house and took the camera as usual and Abby actually had some binoculars which she loved using today. It was an amazing day and we had a really fun time enjoying the afternoon.

Abby and Misty being cute.

Abby's got a cute eye thing going on in this one.

Abby is going to be a great big sister soon.

Abby just being her cute self as usual.

This picture was actually taken on the way to the lake. I tried taking a picture the other day but bees are very hard to get if they're not sitting still like this one (wasn't long though).

The Three Amigo's.

Up until now during our visits to Shaker lake we have only caught fleeting glimpses of turtles but today was the hayday for sure because we saw three turtles on this fallen tree, two jumped off as we moved farther down the trail but we got a good picture of the closer one.
On the other side of the lake this guy almost went unnoticed, just a small turtle sunning himself, he jumped in the water after a bit and disappeared.

Last week we were able to spot a single gosling and it was really yellow, this week there were at least five and they are already getting so much bigger, very cute. The adults were very protective so we kept our distance from the Killer Geese.

Isn't this pretty?

Not exactly sure if this is an eagle, anyone know?

If you look at the very center you can see a yellow bird, a lady said it was a Finch but she didn't know what type.

I would say this was one of our cool finds of the day, it was hard to get this picture because it was far away and there were tons of branches in the way. What a beautiful Heron though.

Some turtles just sunning in the mud, these guys were at twice as big as the ones on the log.

And as always in Cleveland this time of year you can see many squirrels, this guy ran off when I got too close.

Happy 37 Weeks!

BABY UPDATE!!


Well officially I'm 37 weeks today. I went to the doctor yesterday- he checked me and he could feel the head- he said I was remarkably low for being this early. Then he had to move the head to check my cervix- he said I was almost 2 cm dilated. Based on my history with Abby (born 37 w 2 d) and my progress thus far, he's predicting a baby within the next week.

Which seems to be good news. I've been having tons of contractions for months, the last few weeks some of them have been pretty strong. I never really had contractions with Abby, but they are sort of painful. Yesterday was a busy day, I had been having contractions on and off all day, when I finally laid down for the night (at 12:00am) I was having dull contractions with sharp pains every 4-6 minutes for just over 30 minutes, and then they stopped.

And today is probably one of my hardest days of being pregnant, I just don't feel well, I'm grumpy, and so not motivated to do a thing around the house. Being pregnant is hard, but I managed to keep a cheery disposition and not complain- well today I complained.

Anyway to make me feel better (or worse for spending so much) I bought a very soft and comfy bathrobe. I had to look everywhere to find one that goes below my knees, you'd think longer robes were still around- but they are not. But I look cute in it, okay, not really, but I feel cute.



and my 32 week for easy comparison- I'm a huge house!

A great Target find...

Every January Target puts a lot of their baby stuff on clearance to make room for the new designs. It starts out slow, but if you (and everyone else) are patient enough you can find lots of great stuff for 75% off. These happen to be some of my great finds.

Right now, being 36 1/2 weeks pregnant, my very favorite find is my Boppy Total Support Body pillow for $12.48 (that's 75% off the $49.99 price). Knowing how wonderful it is now, I might just pay the $50 for one, but much happier that I got it for under $13.

My friend Melissa, has a giveaway on her bargain blog every month. Again, she is giving a Target Gift Card- but these happen to be my favorite. They are much harder to come across than CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens, and can be used on much much more in Target. Let's hope I win this month.

If you are new to bargain shopping she does a great job breaking down the deals for beginners! So check out her blog!

Happy Birthday Fun!

A little late, but better than never...

Happy Birthday Abby!

I can't believe it's been SIX years since Abby was born, seems like just yesterday. We have a great weekend where I'm sure Abby did/got everything she wanted to, because it was her birthday. We went out Friday night for some yummy pizza and her free ice cream from Cold Stone- and she got to pick the movie rental.

Saturday was the big day. We only seemed to get pictures of her party. We had her party at Build a Bear and was able to invite 6 friends- that was a tough tough choice for this very friendly girl.

Here are some pictures from the party!

Sadly, the best group picture there is!

Abby and Virginia

Abby and Kennedy

Abby and Max

Abby and Nina

Abby and Nataya- these girls are so silly together!


Abby and Peter- this kid is her 'boyfriend'.
He's such a cutie and so nice, and I really like his parents, but my little girl was holding hands with him- and they write each other love notes. I forsee a troubled future.