Warning for Sensitive Viewers

This last weekend the weather was beautiful - if a little on the chilly side in the morning. For those that live along the Wasatch Front you know that this kind of weather has been hard to come by this spring so we wanted to take full advantage of it while we could. We decided to go on a family bike ride. We went seven miles down the Jordan River Parkway to a park where Abbie could play. Needless to say in my pregnant state I had to adapt a little to create the "Sexy Biker Mama" look you see displayed ....


We had an absolute blast. Russ and I absolutely love biking and Abbie is getting used to it - but she loves the park at the end.

This was one of the few Saturdays where we didn't have other obligations so we made the most of it by spending the later afternoon with Russ's family at the zoo. It was as close to a perfect day as you can get when you share the zoo with the other hundreds of people who decided it was also a perfect day.

Six Months......and Painting

This blog post is in answer to a request from Jen to see a picture of me pregnant. I don't normally like to take pictures of me when I am looking my best - so taking pictures of me pregnant has an almost repulsive quality. Yet, in the back of my mind there is something about the need to have these things recorded for the baby when she is born that helps me to override my aversion and go forward.

Here I am six months pregnant with Gray baby two. I also got a new hairstyle a few weeks ago that I am actually enjoying (although you can't see it well in the picture.) It is the shortest I've ever had my hair so it was a big deal for a haircutting baby like myself.Russ says I have the Ebert problem of not being able to smile normally in pictures - as this picture clearly illustrates.


Now because I felt especially vulnerable posting this picture for all the world to see - I felt I needed to post something of Russ's for everyone to see- his latest painting. (This is not just so Russ can be embarrassed like me, but mostly because I think my husband is a talented artist who doesn't show off enough.)

This is a painting he did by request for his dad's friend and business partner Jess to give to his sister as a birthday present. It is of a family story about his father who taking his sister children for a ride on the tractor. This painting was especially challenging for Russ as he didn't have any photos to look at but I think it turned out amazingly well. I was told that Jess's sister cried when she saw the painting so I think we can safely say it was well received.

Twinkle, Twinkle....

Abbie's favorite song is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." She sings it as she wanders around the house, sits in the car, has her diaper changed. It is a near constant. This in and of it self is unusual because while Russ has a wonderful voice - neither of us sing a lot, loudly, or ever - except church. In addition to the singing, Abbie has become obsessed with the idea of "silly." We got a book from the library that asks if animals make certain sounds - always the wrong ones - and she LOVES the book. Yesterday as we were on our way to pick Russ up for a picnic in the park, Abbie began her usual version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". However, this time she sang, "Twinkle Twinkle little park.....no that's silly." (Our standard line in the animal book.) She found herself so funny that she kept saying it over and over again - encouraged of course by my loud and continuous laughter.

Its All Happening at the Zoo!

We really haven't had too much to tell lately. Last week was my last week of teaching before summer break and so I've spent most of this week catching up on some things I let slide and starting a deep spring cleaning. I absolutely have LOVED teaching this last year. I love that I get to use that part of my brain. It has been so rewarding as I've had different students tell me that they didn't think they would like my class and ended up enjoying it quite a bit. That all said - I'm ready for summer break! (Because having a baby is such a break!)

Unfortunately summer is not yet ready for me.

It has been freezing this week. Yet, in our naive optimism Russ took Tuesday morning off work and we went to the zoo. For the record, the weather looked great from the inside - and even at our house it was not too cold. Unfortunately, up at Hogle Zoo there was a wonderful crisp (to put it mildly) wind. None of us were dressed for it. Abbie of course didn't notice as she ran from exhibit to exhibit. Russ and I were quite grateful though for all the indoor monkey houses. (This first picture is Abbie at the monkey house. You can't see it well, but the monkey is right by the glass and Abbie has her hand touching right where he is.)

This time Abbie's favorite exhibit was watching the elephants eat their dinner. Every time the elephant would lift its trunk up to take a bite she would just start giggling. Russ had never been to the zoo with Abbie and he thoroughly enjoyed watching how excited and giggly she got with each of the different animals. The advantage of going on such a cold day was that almost all of the animals were quite active - which Abbie enjoyed even more. So even though it wasn't ideal- it was SO nice to spend the day as a family.

Yum-O

So if you've ever lived with me you know that I LOVE food! I think we all enjoy food but, I always seem to have comments made about me about my....exuberance...when it comes to culinary delights. Sadly, I never really cooked until I started staying home with Abbie.
So along those lines...I've found a new - and yummy recipe I am way too excited about. Probably because it is super easy, yummy, and cheap. I made this as a fancy alternative to grilled cheese on the spur of the moment and it was a BIG hit.

Chicken Pesto Panini's

Bread (Any kind will work but we bought some artisan bread at Costco - YUM!)
Chopped Chicken Breast
Pesto Sauce
Mozzarella cheese

So basically you put it all together, brush the outside with olive oil and put it on a panini press. Pretty basic but we don't have a panini press and didn't have Pesto sauce.

Here is where it gets easy. We discovered that you can use a George Foreman grill as a panini press. Roughly 2 and a half minutes for a sandwich. Second, we didn't have pesto sauce at the time so I made it - again super easy with stuff you probably have at your house.

Pesto Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups fresh basil (Yeah right. I used 2-3 tablespoons of dried basil and it worked fine. Probably wouldn't work on a pasta but for sandwiches it was great.)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

You are supposed to mix it in a food processor, which I did the first time, but after that mixing it in a bowl worked fine and was less messy. Overall making the sauce and sandwiches took less than ten minutes!

Nose, Toes

Today when I went in to get Abbie up from her nap I was met with a most unique display. Abbie had taken off one of her socks (not unusual) and was -what I thought - playing with her toes. I sat to watch her for a minute. She stuck her finger up her nose and then removed the contents (not boogers per se..) and rubbed them on her toes. If this wasn't bizarre (and disgusting) enough in itself, I then heard her repeating - "Nose, toes, nose toes..." over and over. I have never laughed so hard in my life!

Easter at the Gray's

Easter at the Gray's was overall low key but we had fun anyway. On Saturday morning, Lisa and Ben invited us to go with them to an Easter Egg hunt in Bountiful. Although the weather was sunny it was still early and freezing cold. We had all been told we needed to get their early because it had a high attendance, unfortunately that meant by the time the hunt started, Abbie was crying from the cold and needing to wait to get the eggs, which were in clear site of everyone. It was hilarious because all the little kids were crying and miserable as we parents kept trying to convince them how much fun this was. Then things we do for - and to - our kids. Twenty seconds after it began the hunt was over, but Abbie still thought it was fun.

Saturday afternoon we colored eggs. Which, considering Abbie can't eat them ,was a little overkill (She is allergic to nuts we have to avoid all "high allergen foods" until she is three. Joy.) However as her favorite activity is to cook with water we thought that coloring eggs would be a lot of fun. Abbie loved it. She got so excited about all of the different colors and was thrilled about choosing which eggs got to be which colors. I don't think she even knows eggs are edible so she didn't even act bothered at not being able to eat them.

Sunday started with an Easter egg hung (plastic eggs with jelly beans inside). Thankfully, the eggs and jelly beans occupied her for most of the morning. We had wonderful meetings at church and then got to go over to Stew and Nicki's for a wonderful Easter dinner. All in all an nice Easter weekend.

Did you know?

Did you know that you have an extra pocket that you carry with you everyday? While it is much easier for babies and toddlers, in theory we all have it . Abbie discovered it. I was on the phone today and turned and looked. There she was stuffing handfuls of hair elastics down the front of her diaper! She seemed to think this was the best place to keep them handy. Thankfully when I went to "clean her out" they weren't stuffed too far down, but down far enough that we threw them away. So if you are looking for some extra portable storage just know you have one with you wherever you go!

First Haircut

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm all about comfort over fashion, form over function, and substance over style. (My designer husband and architect brother are rolling their eyes as they read this I'm sure.) It is not that I don't want to look nice or appreciate beauty but when push comes to shove I'll take the comfortable route any day. I have never felt a need to apologize or be embarrassed for this world view until I made the decision to have a daughter.

Having a daughter brings out a whole other dimension in me. I want her to look adorable. I still prefer substance to style and don't want a fashionista on my hands if I have any control over it at all (and I'm sure any of you with daughters will be quick to remind me that I don't). However, I have been fretting over the last few weeks because Abbie -- while still the most beautiful girl in the whole world --was having some hair issues. Specifically - her bangs were too short to stay pulled back in elastics or clips, and long enough to be constantly in her eyes. Her hair is so thin that it was starting to look straggly after nap time and always falling into her eyes...so I gave in. (This picture doesn't really show how much the hair falls into her face, but you can see how they are always pushed around.)

I cut her bangs.

This was a big deal because I hated growing out my bangs between junior high and high school and thought it would just be better to not bother with them in the first place. But I went for it anyway. This is where my lack of any clue about how to make her hair look cute and fashionable made me realize (once again) my complete inadequacy in the realms of raising girls. I was terrified at having scissors close to her face and terrifed that with one misplaced snip I would have ruined her adorable hair. However thanks to "A Bugs Life" and fruit snacks, Abbie sat very still for the single snip of the scissors across her forhead and I was only left to fix one or two stragglers in the morning.

I think it turned out pretty good all things considered and can only console myself with the fact that she is way too young to care. Heaven help me when she is twelve!

One Fun Week

First, a random collection of Abbie stories, by Russ....

The other day, I was talking to Emily on the phone at work. Emily had called me on our home phone, and we were having a pretty interesting, engaging conversation. I got interrupted half-way through, by a call on my other line, and so slightly annoyed, I switched over: “Hello?” A small voice immediately chirped excitedly: “Hi!” Abbie, of course. “Hi! Hi! Hi, Daddy! Hi!” She had found Emily’s cell phone and used it to call me while her Mommy was hogging the other phone talking to me. Smart girl.

She says hello and bye bye a lot. In fact, she often says it to herself, or to her toys, food items, or other inanimate objects. For example: when she’s done with breakfast (signified by the oft-used expression: “dah-dahn!”, or all-done!), I usually say, “Are you sure?” and she then says (as if to drive home the point) “Ba-bye, sodder (cereal), ba-bye spoon, ba-bye, mah (milk) etc”, and waves to each one.

She is learning songs, like The Alphabet Song, The Wheels on the Bus, and Old MacDonald, just to name a few. Today at church, whenever we’d finish a hymn, she’d say, “More song?” a few times. When I say she is learning songs, what I mean is she’s learning the last word of each line of many songs. So, for example, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (which, unlike most songs, she has known this well for over a month at least, ): “blah blah blah blah blah blah STAAAAAR, blah blah blah blah blah AAAAAAARE, blah blah blah blah blah blah HIIIIIIIIIGH, blah blah blah blah blah blah SKYYYYYYYY, etc etc.”

Now for Emily to explain the pictures...

This week we went to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. We had a blast! They have a mini mountain with water coming down through tubes, dams, and tubs. The kids have bowls, boats and balls to play with in the water. As seen on previous posts Abbie LOVES to play in water so this exhibit was a big hit. She fell in love with the cars. She loved to push herself around in the police car, and talk on the walkie-talkie (like her phone.) Just before we left we found the helicopter, which was a surprising hit. While I thought Abbie would be scared of the noise, she loved the buttons and being inside with daddy. I don't think we'll be going back any time soon because - while fun - the price just motivates me to come up with similar activities at home.

....Which brings us to the park. On Friday we went to the park. It was a little colder than we expected but we had still fun all around. Abbie was thrilled at her new skill of climbing up the stairs, by herself and going down the slide by herself. She did it over and over.

Then because today was stake conference we had the afternoon free and went for a walk as a family to the Cultural Celebration Center by our house. We live quite close, but with a 1 and a half year old wanting to push her stroller herself the distance was just fine.

Misc. Abbie News

Well, I haven't posted much, either because we haven't done much or during the things we have done I've forgotten to bring my camera with me, but I'll give you some highlights of our fairly non-exciting lives.

Abbie loves books and has taken up starting to read them to herself when I'm not around. I usually don't know what she is saying (I only get about half of it normally) but she babbles through the books quite regularly. There are a few simple books though that she knows all the words and will read them quite accurately to me when we sit down together. It makes this book-addict mother proud.

In other news, Abbie runs like a girl. It is hilarious and I almost laugh out loud every time she runs down the hall (which is all day, every day). Her hands are up about shoulder height and she flaps them as she runs. At some point we will probably need to cure her of this but right now I get such a kick that I just want her to do it over and over.

Finally, Abbie's new favorite game is "Seek" or as you might know it "Hide and Seek". "Seek" begins with Abbie standing in our bedroom facing the wall counting. If Russ our I are there we count all the numbers, if it is just Abbie we get "4,5,6". Meanwhile Russ or I hide in one of the five spots available upstairs and Abbie starts to look for us over, and over again. When I was a kid, I hated being "it" but it seems to be Abbie's favorite position as she can't ever sit still long enough to hide. She gets SO excited when she finds us and immediately yells out "Again!" and the whole process begins, again!

Our weekend Getaway

We spent last weekend up at my grandparent's cabin at Bear Lake. It was beautiful! Russ and I went cross country skiing on Saturday - at least in the morning. It killed my poor pregnant body. However it was SO fun - it always nice to be in the mountains with and spending time with your husband! We had a low key time the rest of the weekend just playing with Abbie and relaxing. On Sunday when we were coming home we ran into a couple of snow storms but nothing too serious - until we got to Park City.

In Park City the traffic completely stopped. It turns out that a semi had jack-knifed on the road completely blocking traffic. We were stuck in a truck for two hours with a 20 month old child - making the entire drive five hours. We don't have (and didn't think we needed) a portable DVD player or other entertainment as Abbie is usually fine in the car for the 3 hour drive. Needless to say by the time we got home I was far from feeling rested and relaxed from our wonderful weekend. I went to bed last night at 9:20.