Storyville Fun

Abby and I met Ethan and Tracy at Storyville today. I'd been there with Becky and Claire, but had yet to take Abby...which is really pathetic considering I live five minutes away. I had to take a last-minute vacation day today because Ed found out yesterday that he had some things to do in Virginia this afternoon and wouldn't be able to get home in time for me to get to work for a 1:00 (or even a 2:00) shift. So, I took advantage of the free day with my baby and actually left the house. Amazing, I know!

So Storyville was cool. The baby garden is really nice and has mirrors on the floor and huge "flowers" with rings around the middle so that babies can use them to stand. Lots of books and toys too, of course. Abby and Ethan had a good time playing together, although they tended to want to same toys at the same time. Typical babies. ;)

Here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Abby checking herself out in a floor mirror.

Using a flower to stand with no help from Mommy! Well...I got her to the standing, but she held it on her own. ;)

Abby and Ethan wanting the same toy. But, in their defense, it was a really cool toy!

Ethan being a cutie.

I was going to post a video of Abby and Ethan that I took at the library, but Blogger won't cooperate. Plus, I'm pretty sure nobody would find it amusing except for Tracy and me!

After Storyville, we had lunch at the Bateman's Express that's in the same shopping center as the library. My Chicken Chesapeake Sandwich was yummy, but Tracy's Buffalo Chicken Wrap was not so yummy. Oh well. The babies had fun eating Cheerios (Ethan), small pieces of Mommy's bread (Abby) and trying to suck on the rails of the dirty highchairs (both). Fun!

Abby is now passed out in her crib. I think I'll go chill in the family room and watch the random afternoon Orioles game. They're up 7-0 in the 4th. Woohoo!

Photo Dump

As promised, here are some pictures of yesterday's adventures. Enjoy!

Nap Strike!

After the half-naps of Saturday, Abby napped a total of one hour yesterday. Blah. Of all days for her to sleep in, she chooses yesterday to sleep until 8. Normally on a weekend, that would be cause for much jubilation in our house. But yesterday I was taking her to the picnic at 11, so I was hoping she would get a nap in before that. No such luck.

Feaster was quite fun though. Lots and lots of yummy food. The best being the Asian Burgers (made with ground pork and yummy seasonings) and the Pineapple Stuffing. Yum! I must have both recipes. The bourbon hotdogs and baked beans with rum were also favorites of mine. The funniest dish was the two take-out pizzas that someone brought. If you can't cook, you can always win over the masses with pizza! ;)

Abby seemed to have a good time. She good-naturedly let herself be passed around and she got to go on the swings for the first time. She loved them, but got tired of them quickly because they were out in the sun and it was a little hot out. I gave her lunch and then she was looking so tired that I took her for a quick walk in her stroller to get her to fall asleep. She did, but it only lasted for about half-an-hour. Better than nothing, I guess. We left around 2:15...well before the eventual water battle began. Good times.

I tried to get her to go down after we got home, but she wasn't having it. She just played and played and played in her crib until I finally realized that I was fighting a losing battle and got her out of there. We played for awhile and I tried again with limited success. She still played for awhile, but eventually fell asleep...but for just another half-hour. I gave her dinner and then Ed took her out to go swimming for the first time! The pool was finally ready to go, so we took advantage of the heat and let her take her first swim. At first she wasn't too sure about it, but once she got used to the water she loved it! She was kicking away and trying to splash around the little bit of water that was in her float. It was very cute. I got lots of pictures, but I haven't downloaded them yet. I'll do a photo dump later.

When we tried to put her to bed last night, she had a fit. She was overtired at that point, which is always bad news. I let her cry for a little while, but when it turned into that screechy cry that makes her cough, I went in and picked her up to rock her. She was out within 30 seconds and then stayed down when I put her back in the crib. Oy.

We had to wake her up this morning for daycare, so she started off the day sleepy. When I picked her up at 3:45, she had just fallen asleep about 15 minutes prior, so she was groggy and whiny. I tried to put her down when I got home. She was just about asleep when the darned cat decided she needed attention immediately and came into the nursery meowing as loud as can be, waking Abby up the the process. So then she was pissed and cried and cried and cried. I'm pretty sure her teeth are bothering her on top of being tired, so a fun combination that does not make. I finally got her to go down, so she's sleeping now. Hopefully she'll stay down for at least two hours and then go to bed at a decent time. Now Mommy needs a nap!

Bored...

The hubby is out at a bullroast and I'm home alone with the baby, who is now asleep. I'm bored, bored, bored. I was originally going to go to the bullroast with Ed, but his parents both have to work in the morning, so they were unavailable for over-night babysitting. My mom doesn't do overnights (at least not yet...I'm sure once the grandkids are older...and potty-trained...it will be slumber party time at Grandma's!) and I didn't want to ask her to stay here until 1am or so. Ed couldn't skip it since he was running it (it's for his softball league), so here I am alone on a Saturday night. Good times, I tell ya!

Abby and I were hoping (or at least I was hoping) to go to my friend Brooke's summer party around 4, but the baby was being poopy because she refused to take a full nap today. Usually she gets two 2 1/2 - 3 hour naps, but today she only took two 1 1/2 hour naps. So she was not her usual pleasant self. I didn't feel like testing the limits of her mood by taking her out to a party full of people she doesn't know. Plus, I didn't feel like looking for parking around Brooke's house, which is no easy feat...especially since I wouldn't have been able to get out of the house until after 4, which is when Ed left. Oh well, hopefully I'll be able to make the next one!

I will, however, leave the house tomorrow if it kills me! Some work friends are throwing a "Feaster" (a.k.a. a cookout where everyone brings food) at a local park. It starts at 11, so that should actually work out well with Abby's usual schedule. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that she doesn't deviate from it. I made my famous (in my mind) macaroni and cheese and my Jello Poke Cake. Yum! I got most of the cooking done today, so all I have to do tomorrow is put the Cool Whip on the cake and bake the mac and cheese. I hope the weather cooperates, but at least we have the pavilion at the park, so we don't have to worry about getting rained on.

Off to try to amuse myself downstairs. Maybe there's a movie on-demand that I haven't seen yet. I love on-demand. :)

Mamamamamamamama

It's still just babbling, but it's nice to hear. It was just dadadadadadadadada for a couple of months. She's also been sneaking some bababababababa's in there too. :)

She's being a good, patient girl right now. We moved her Exersaucer upstairs to where the computer is. She's playing in there right now while Mommy checks out her blogs. I haven't been online at home since Wednesday! Ed's been hogging the computer doing work stuff and by the time he's done, I'm too caught up in something else (O's game) to bother going upstairs. The baby's patience is quickly coming to an end though.

And there's the whining. Gotta run!

Grumpy Baby

Well, Abby had a low-grade fever most of the weekend (as in I didn't get a reading any higher than 100.2) and was grumpy as all get-out yesterday. It was fun, I tell you. Then this morning, I felt her gums and sure enough, the top middle gums are swollen as can be. I'm pretty sure those teeth will be breaking through within the next couple of days. Then maybe I can have my happy baby back!

Everything else is same old. Work is work, but at least I have some time off coming up. I just have to make it until July 3rd.

Oh..Erin...thanks for the baby food! Meg dropped off my half to me yesterday. That was awesome. :) It's all stuff she likes too...but that's not hard considering the little pigger likes everything (even green beans)! I don't know where she gets it from. Both Ed and I were (and are) picky eaters. I won't question it too much. I'll just be grateful and hope it lasts!

Happy Father's Day

Just in case there are any daddies out there who read my little blog. ;)

Gotta start getting ready to go over the in-laws for dinner. Yeehah!

Orioles Magic

I'm under no false delusions that my Orioles will be going to the post-season this year, but they've still been pretty darned fun to watch. :) They managed to come from behind four times tonight to win it in the ninth. Now that's fun baseball. They finally have a good mix of veterans with good attitudes and exciting young players. Give them a few years and just maybe we could be playing in October again. I'm nothing if not optimistic about my sports teams.

If anyone hasn't seen it yet, check out this video. It's the old "Orioles Magic" song "performed" by Millar along with Guthrie, Jones, Loewen, Sarfate and Sherrill. It's funny stuff...at least if you're a die-hard O's fan.

Had to work today, which wasn't too bad. The store was busy because of Father's Day tomorrow and the signing I had went well. I was apparently out of my mind when I made my June schedule. A huge signing, two smaller signings and an off-site....that's a pretty busy week in my world. I have nothing for the next several weeks though, so that will give me a break. Plus I'm taking an extended 4th of July holiday (Thursday through Monday) and I'm off the third week of July. After that, I still have a week and three days of vacation left to take before November. That's one of the advantages of working in the same place for so long, I'm up to four weeks of vacation a year. Not that we can afford to go anywhere right now, but it's nice to not have to work.

My mini-playdate with Erin and Tracy was fun yesterday. It was almost 6:00 before we knew it. I was supposed to stop at Becky's too, but that didn't happen. Had to get the Abby-doo home for dinner. But it was nice to get out of the house and visit with friends. I don't get to do that enough. Tracy took some pictures, so maybe she'll post them soon. Hint, hint. ;)

I Know You're Tired...Go To Sleep!

I'm watching Abby in the video monitor trying her best to fight taking a nap. Meanwhile, ten minutes ago, she was laying her head on my shoulder with her thumb in her mouth. She's in her crib now, crying away like I'm killing her for trying to get her to nap. Gotta love it. But the best part is that she's crying while on her tummy with her head down and the same thumb in her mouth. She's just stubborn like her mama. ;)

I want her down by 1 so that she gets a good hour and a half or so before we have to get ready to go see Miss Erin and Miss Tracy. Since I missed the PH Playgroup due to a hellish shift at work, we're going to go play for a little while today. How sad is it that Erin has yet to meet Abby since her birth? She was there for part of the labor, but didn't get to see the exciting conclusion. ;)

Abby has learned some new tricks in the past couple of days. She has finally relented her hard stance on feeding herself and will now happily put the puffs in her own mouth. Yay! And Ed went to pick her up from his mom's house yesterday and watched her get herself from a laying down position up to sitting. He made a big deal out of it and his mom said, "Oh, is that something new? She's been doing that all day!" Heh...guess we finally have to finish lowering the crib this weekend. I took a peek at her in the monitor this morning after she woke up and sure enough, there she was sitting in the corner. She'll be crawling by next weekend at the rate she's going all of a sudden! The easy baby days are just about over.

And the baby is sleeping. Yay! Now Mommy can take a shower!

Ahhhhhhhhh...

There finally seems to have been a break in the weather and we've gone from "damn hot" to just hot. It actually felt kind of nice when I walked out of the store to come home...there was a breeze and everything. This weather I can take. :)

I just worked a half day today since I'm now pulling a double tomorrow. Blah. But, I'm off on Friday, so if anyone wants to play, let me know. :)

I think this is my 6th day in a row posting. I can't remember the last time I did that. Enjoy it while it lasts! ;)

As Promised

Here's Abby's "official" 8th Monthday picture:

The most amazing thing about this picture is that she was grumpy due to lack of napping at daycare and we had to take it in a super-hurry because Ed and I had about five minutes at home together before we both had to take off again.

Here are some outtakes:

And we're good for another month. ;) For anyone who was wondering...my event rocked last night. As usual, I drove myself crazy for nothing.

8 Months!

Can you believe my Abby-doo is 8 months old today? It's crazy how quickly this year is flying by. Everyday she seems just a little bit bigger. That's why I make it a point to try to enjoy each stage of her babyhood as much as possible. I know it won't last nearly as long as I would like it to! Picture to come later...

I'm actually working late on a Monday. I have a big event with Lewis Black tonight. At least, I hope it will be big! I always have nightmares when I have "big name authors" scheduled that nobody will show up to see them. How embarrassing that would be!

I dropped Abby off at daycare at 8...mostly so I didn't throw her schedule off too much. I usually take her in around 10 on the days I work late, but when I did that last Wednesday, she was not her usually pleasant self at daycare. I'm thinking that was probably an isolated incident, but why take a chance if I don't have to? I'm still going to pick her up at 3:45, which is her usual Monday time, so we can meet Ed here, take her 8-month picture, and then get her ready to go to Ed's mom's. He has an important work meeting at 5, but his mom gets off at 3, so she said she would watch Abby for us. Since she lives 5 minutes away from his office, it was definitely the most convenient solution for us.

I think I'm going to try to sleep a little more before getting ready for work. May as well take full advantage of my baby-free morning. :)

6am is Early!

And unfortunately, it seems to be Abby's new preferred wake-up time. Blah. Every morning since Wednesday, it's been 6:00 on the dot when we first hear her talking to herself through the monitor. Luckily, she wakes up happy (for the most part...unless she's starving or doesn't feel good), so she'll pretty much just play in the crib until we get her. We usually don't make her wait too long, but some mornings we just can't get out of bed. If she gets really annoyed with waiting, she lets us know...but for the most part she's cool with it. Gotta love my easy-going kid. ;)

I remembered another Abby funny. She has discovered the joy of Puffs. She hasn't met a Puff yet that she hasn't liked. But for some reason, she won't feed them to herself. If I put some on the highchair tray for her, she'll play with them fine. She can get them into her hand and will even raise her hand to mouth level. But she refuses to try to put them in her own mouth. But as soon as you pick up the same Puff she just dropped back onto the tray, she'll open wide so you can put it in her mouth for her. She's so funny...she'll put any toy you give her into her mouth, just not what she's supposed to put in there. Oy.

It's Dang Hot!

I guess summer has officially arrived because it's hot! So much for trying not to overuse the air conditioner this early. I'm afraid to see our next BGE bill! I did manage to take the baby for a walk this morning before it got unbearable out there. I knew she was tired, but she was fighting taking her morning nap, so I decided to just put her in the stroller and go. She was out within five minutes. I just kept walking, so I actually got some exercise in today. I seriously need to start the diet again. I've gained back everything I lost since I had her. That means I'll have to suck it up and start taking lunches to work. Blah.

Abby is working on a couple of new tricks. When I clap my hands together and say "clap, clap, clap" she give me a big grin and brings her hands together. She doesn't quite get the clapping yet, but she's definitely trying. She's working on the crawling too. She actually got up on her knees at my mom's yesterday and started the rocking thing. So cute. :) She's still rolling like crazy...at daycare there's a little boy who was born either the day before or the day after she was (I can't remember which). She loves to steal his pacifier (since she doesn't have any of her own) and then start rolling away with it so he can't take it back. My little thief. ;)

She had fun over her grandma's yesterday. Val brought over Abby's friend Jordan and apparently they had quite the little playdate. Abby is in love with Jordan's hair, but then again who isn't? ;) Hopefully my mom will remember to get me a picture CD when she gets her disposable camera (I know!) developed. I'll post any cute pictures of the two of them.

Have a lovely Saturday all!

Small Photo Dump

Happy baby playing on the floor.

Watching Daddy play softball.

Spike! a.k.a. "Mommy is silly!"

Trying to clap her hands. Gotta love the purple "sneaker socks."

Boo! Hiss!

Yes, I'm flaking out of the PH Playgroup. I'm very sad about it...I was really looking forward to getting together with everyone. But, as the fates would have it, I now have an off-site event to handle at work that day. :( But Tracy and I are going to work on a second date sometime in early July, so hopefully everyone will be able to make that one. Abby and I miss our peeps!

Right now I'm just hanging around the house waiting to go to work. There's a bookfair tonight, so I need to rest up now while I can. I dropped Abby off at daycare around 10 and then went to CVS to finally take advantage of the kick-dupa Pampers sale they're having this week. Jumbos are $7.99 and if you buy $20 worth, you get $5 back in Extra Care Bucks. As a bonus, I had 4 $1.50 off coupons, so I got them for a steal. Yay for saving money!

Ed has a meeting tonight, so I have to use my lunch break today to pick Abby up from daycare and then drop her off at my mom's house. At least my mom has a crib for her there which Abby loves to sleep in. She refused to nap for me this morning, so I had to drop her off at daycare sleepy...which really isn't good considering she rarely sleeps enough while she's there. At least she should go right now once she gets to grandma's. I guess I should call Ed to see if he has any clue what time his meeting will be over so I can let mom know when he's picking her up. I'm going to pack her dinner and pj's just in case. Good times. ;)

Fun Weekend and a Dr.'s Visit

We actually just had a pretty good weekend. Saturday, Ed and I went to a wedding. Well, I went, Ed was best man. I wasn't sure what to expect because it was on a boat, but it was one of the most enjoyable weddings I've been to. It was on a river boat in Havre de Grace called the Lantern Queen. Apparently they do regular dinner cruises too. Maybe one day we can get a group together and go. It's really nice. We were a little afraid of the weather, but it cleared up just in time and it turned out to be a beautiful night.

Anyway, the wedding was about three hours long, then we actually went to a bar with a group of friends afterward. Something else we never do. But it was a lot of fun and I'm glad we went. It was novel to get a night out on the town without the baby. For those wondering, Becky and Scott got to my mom first for babysitting that night since they also had a wedding. Luckily, my in-laws were available and just kept Abby overnight. :)

Sunday we went to pick up the baby and then went to softball. It was much better this time. The weather started out nice and we got a nice shady spot on the ground under a tree. She had just gotten up from a three-hour nap, so Abby was well rested and in a good mood. We watched the first game and about half the second before the rain clouds started coming in. I got her in the car just before the first drops started to fall. For those who care, Ed's team won the first and lost the second game...but it was against a team they had never beaten before, so they were thrilled.

For the past few days, I've noticed some little rash-like spots on Abby's legs and tummy. I assumed it was eczema, but wasn't positive. When I picked her up from daycare today, it was a lot worse, so I called the doctor's office when I got home. Gotta love a large practice...there's always someone available to take you. I called at 4 and she asked if we could be there at 4:30. So, the doctor took one look and said that it was, indeed, eczema. She gave me the names of a few possible products to try and we have to use something three times a day. Fun stuff. But at least it's nothing too serious. It just doesn't look pretty.

That's all for now. Happy Monday. ;)