To Blog or Not to Blog

I suppose the novelty of blogging has worn off a bit for me and when I think of all the things I need to do blogging seems like a pretty low priority. Even now, I should be taking advantage of Abby's nap by getting some computer work done or even taking a nap myself. But I feel bad that I haven't blogged in over a week, so here I am, feeling like I'm wasting my time but also glad to get a post on here so I don't feel like I'm letting my readers down!

So what's been going on around here? Well, the biggest news is that Abby turned one last week. Her birthday celebration wasn't much to speak of though. We had planned a family party for her the weekend before her birthday, but we had to cancel it because Kevin was sick. We rescheduled it for the next weekend, but by then Abby and I were sick so it was cancelled again. The day of Abby's actual birthday was sunny and warm (for fall) and I'd hoped to take her to the zoo, but I was having such a horrible day with pregnancy sickness that I couldn't get up the energy to go. So instead, later in the day, we headed over to a nearby park that has swings since our park doesn't. I thought Abby would get a real kick out of the swings. She did. At first she didn't want me to put her in the swing and she hung tightly to my arms. But after a few pushes, she was giggling away and having a great time.

We've decided that one-year-old is the best age (just like we said about six-months-old, seven-months-old, etc =). We are truly amazed everyday by how much Abby grows, learns and develops. She is such a joy to us and we couldn't consider ourselves more blessed to have such a precious daughter. We've also enjoyed watching her personality show itself more lately. She tends to be a bit of a goof and loves to make us laugh. She's also quite sensitive and will cry sometimes when the kitty ditches her, when we tell her "no," or if someone uses a negative or overly boisterous tone (we have to be careful when we're relating a story or event that happened because sometimes we repeat what someone said in the tone they did and she thinks we're upset). She is very much a cuddler and loves to hug her Mommy and Daddy. She LOVES animals - real life ones, stuffed ones, pictures of animals, animal toys, etc. She also really enjoys music, bopping or swaying along to the radio or a cd and especially playing the piano. Almost daily now, Kevin or I will play the piano with her and she often goes over to it to play it on her own too. She is very observant of everything around her and pays close attention to details and small things. It's possible she might be a bit of a neat freak because she dislikes having any crumbs on her highchair tray and will painstakingly pick up any tinsy little piece of food on the tray and hand it back to me. Abby is such a sweet little girl and we love her so very much! I could go on and on about my precious girl, but I will try to move on to other topics now... =)

Baby #2 seems to be doing well. I'm pretty sure I've been feeling him/her moving around lately. I'm into my second trimester now (14 1/2 weeks), but unfortunately I haven't got over the morning sickness yet (but that's to be expected as I was very sick into the 15th or 16th week with Abby). I do seem to be getting more of my energy back lately which is nice, but I've been regularly vomiting for the last few weeks which is no fun at all. I'm definitely starting to show now, but it of course just looks like extra fat at this point. And, of course, it's a lot more jiggly down there than the first time around. Sigh. The sacrifices of motherhood...

Church-league volleyball started up last night and Kevin and I are excited to be the coaches of our church's team. It was great to be out on the court again after only playing volleyball one time in the last year and half to two years. I'm a bit rusty, but I thought I didn't do too bad for a pregnant lady! ;o) I don't know if I'll be able to play the whole season (it goes until the end of February), but it'll be a lot of fun for as long as I do last.

On Halloween, we went to with my mom to her church for their annual Harvest Fest. Abby was dressed up as a princess (I put on her prettiest dress, her new silver shoes from Aunt Debbie for her birthday, and made her a little princess wand which she surprisingly loved to hold and wave....cheap and quick =). She obviously couldn't participate in most of the activities, but she enjoyed watching all the action and we did find a few things for her to do. One was the cake walk. She loved "walking" around on the pumpkin pictures with numbers taped on the floor. My back got tired out long before her legs got tired out!

The church also had a room designated for 4-year-olds and under. It was decorated with Christmas lights, stuffed animals and things like that. They had candy scattered all around that the kids could just pick up (kind of Easter egg hunt style), but Abby was most interested in the stuffed animals and a bubble maker they had set up. That might be the first time Abby had seen bubbles if I am remembering correctly - she was quite intrigued.

As we were leaving, we decided to quickly hop on the hay ride even though it was getting late and boy were we glad we did. Abby loved it! She rocked back and forth on my lap to the motion of the tractor/trailer and she loved waving her wand in the light coming from the blinking hazard lights on the tractor.

Well, that's about it folks. Hopefully I'll be able to go sneak in a couple of winks before Abby wakes up from her nap. =)