Zoo Trip

Today we went to the Indianapolis Zoo with my friend and "business partner" Traci. Abi adores her two little girls, Harper & Hadley. Everytime we go somewhere she asks if "Arper and Hagee" will be there. Traci is also pregnant and due a month before me. They have a zoo pass so we got in for FREE. Bonus! It was a really nice day and the zoo wasn't overly crowded. After looking at all the animals we had a picnic lunch before heading home.

We went to the aquarium in Pigeon Forge over Spring Break and Abi was basically terrified the whole time. Which was strange because she loves to look at animals in books and see them on tv. So I was anxious to see how she would do today. She did pretty good unless they got super close to her. Then she was scared. Her favorite animal of the day was definitely the giraffes. She kept waving at them saying, "come here, giraffe!" and "Hi, giraffe!"



Offering the cheetah one of her goldfish



Jumpy bridge

Why all the excitement you ask? Ducks. Plain, ordinary, everyday ducks.

So excited to have an elephant on her shirt at the elephant exhibit

Eventually she will smile when asked. So I tell myself.



IT'S A......

.....GIRL!!!!

I couldn't help but laugh outloud when the ultrasound tech said it was officially a girl! Adam's face was soooo priceless. Like he was the victim of a practical joke! It probably didn't help that I kept saying I thought it was a boy this time. But then in the car this morning I heard the Carrie Underwood song All American Girl and KNEW it was a hint from God that it was a girl! Apparently the second half of the song where she falls in love with the star of the football team doesn't apply to us though. According to Adam, all our daughters are going to be nuns. HA! He jokes all the time about how much he wants a boy. But I know he loves having a daughter. And just like in the song he has been totally wrapped around Abi's little finger since the second she was born. And I know he wouldn't trade her for anything. It will be the same with this baby girl too. But I am afraid we may end up with six or seven girls trying to get that boy!! At least the dog is a boy, right honey!?!?

The most important news is that Baby Girl Megel looks perfectly healthy so far. And the tech said she is already weighing heavier than she should for her "age." Really!? Abi didn't even do that and she was 9 lbs at birth!!

God has apparently decided to bless us with another "strong-willed" child. Just like Abigail, she wouldn't cooperate and it was really hard to get any good pictures of her. To Adam's delight, she was quite modest and had her legs closed most of the time making it hard to confirm the gender. But we were able to get a pretty good pic of her face. And we absolutely could not believe that she already has Abi's nose!! How cool is that?

"Doesn't look like a baby to me."

22 weeks

Just another day in paradise...

About this time two years ago I was laying awake nights debating whether or not I should "quit" teaching and stay home full time with my little bun in the oven. Adam and I spent hours discussing it and crunching numbers. I asked pretty much everyone I knew for their opinion. That seems like a lifetime ago.
Sometimes when I have to put groceries back at the register because I went over my budget or Adam and I say no to eating out, new clothes and concerts with friends for the umpteenth time I wonder if it's really worth it. But then days like today remind me exactly why we knew my "career change" was the right choice.

This morning Abi and I ran a couple errands and liesurely played at The Commons. It seems like everyday she changes and learns something new. She is pretty cautious and careful in general (like her mom) and it always takes her a little bit to get acclamated when we go somewhere. If I didn't encourage her to explore the playground and try different pieces of equipment she would just go down the slide over and over.

After we played for awhile I let her throw some pennies in the water under the clock/sculpture/thing. It was definitely the highlight of her day. And she cried when I ran out of pennies. I couldn't help but remember my mom letting us throw pennies under the same clock/sculpture/thing when I was a kid, only in the old Commons.

We headed home for lunch and naptime. Which I spent folding laundry, starting dinner and reading. It was also Bookmobile day!! The Bookmobile basically parks right in front of our house every other Tuesday afternoon. It is such an awesome program and I LOVE that there are no late fees! Abi thinks it is so cool to walk across the street carrying her bag of books and go inside what is essentially a bus.

It's not that we did anything super-exciting today. And everything we did today was FREE, unless you count the $.06 Abi tossed in the water. But it's days like today I will always treasure and enjoy remembering. I can always go back to teaching but Abi (and her future siblings) will only grow up once. And I know there will come a day when throwing pennies into the water isn't the epitome of fun. It also makes those cute shoes I was drooling over last week seem a lot less important. And I hope that when all our kids are older and grown they will recognize and appreciate the sacrifices we made so they could have a full-time mom and a more family-oriented lifestyle. But I mostly hope they will have memories that they treasure too.

Abigail's 18 Month Well-Check

Today we went for Abi's 18 month well-check with Dr. Taylor. Abi loooves to go to the doctor and talked about it all day. I know, I'm enjoying it while it lasts. She weighed 22lbs 12oz and was 32 inches long. Her head circumphrence was 48cm. That puts her weight in the 23rd percentile, her height in the 54th percentile and her head size in the 84th percentile. The last few visits we have been concerned about her weight but the Dr. Taylor always says she's fine and that she's just petite. But there's no convincing Adam - "Megels aren't petite. She's too skinny, we should feed her more." But short of hooking her up to an IV drip, I'm not really sure what to do! Her large head has been a consistent theme since she was born (hence 22 hours of labor with no progression). And Dr. Taylor said today, "If she's going to be this pretty, she better be smart too." ha! And we happen to agree that she is both. :) The best news at today's appointment? No more shots till she's 5! Yay! She did get one shot today, but with the help of her paci and a sticker afterwards she took it like a champ.

an actual smile!

Some things I want to remember about Abigail at 18 months old:
Abi can say over 50 words and is starting to string words together: come here jack, thank you mommy, love you, purple shoes, abi's turn, don't touch, etc. Shes usually pretty easy to understand. Some of the funny ways she says things are: rays-rays (raisins), oatmoat (oatmeal), Key-Keys (Lennox), See-See (Olivia, her fav cartoon)
Right now her favorite foods (when she decides to eat) are strawberries, cantelope, apples, yogurt, corn and pasta.
She has been "using" utensils for a few months now, but she's really starting to get the hang of it. She can even feed herself yogurt and oatmeal. Although it makes a pretty big mess.

Abi has always had a lot of energy. Even in the womb she was constantly kicking, punching and doing somersaults. Nowadays it's pretty common for her to literally run in circles around the house for extended periods of time. Usually pushing her stroller. Abi can be very stubborn and persistent. (Which she obviously gets from her dad) And some days just drives me plain batty. Her favorite phrases are "no," "nope," "no way" and "don't touch." She never gives in when she wants something. I tell myself this will make her very successful later in life. Luckily, she will never be more stubborn than me. :) She is also really funny and loves to be silly. She loves to dance and sing Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, ABCs, and lots of other songs. Her newest trick is she learned how to spell her name. And she loves for people to ask her to spell it and of course be clapped for afterwards. She can count to three and can sort of say her abc's up to e.



Abi in a nutshell. Miss Sassypants one minute....



...goofball the next!

Sometimes I look around and think, "when did she go from a baby to a toddler!?" It seems like we were just bribing her with food to get her to crawl. And then other times we can't remember what we did before she was here. What did we DO with all that free time!?



Happy Easter!

I love Easter. Especially when the weather is beautiful like this year. The flowers are blooming, there's always delicious food, and everyone wears their best to celebrate the Risen Lord! What's not to be happy about?

On Saturday, Abi and I made Hummingbird Cupcakes. Adam  is convinced Abi is going to be chef because she LOVES to bake! (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he loves dessert) She loves to dump in the ingredients and stir of course. She always makes a huge mess and it takes twice as long as it would if I did it by myself. But we always have fun and there are so many little lessons to be learned in the kitchen. Patience, identifying ingredients, measuring, doing something nice for people you love, etc. Once a teacher, always a teacher I guess. :)

 



finished product!

We got to spend a lot of time with the Megels over the weekend. Which means that Abigail and Elijah played and played and played some more. When we left Sunday evening we had two tired, grumpy kiddos! Abi and Eli are exactly a week apart and I am so glad they have each other. Some of my happiest childhood memories are playing with my cousins. I hope they will be life-long friends. We get such a kick out of watching those two little goofballs. But they are so cute together Sarah and I can't resist taking a million pictures!

we want to play cornhole too!



I think we said the phrase "you need to share with _____" 478 times



showing off this "butt" (belly button). love, love, love this little stinker!!

 

The moment they both realize Eli pooped in the tub! haha!



Break-out wrestling match

 

Helping Papaw mow

 



















The Easter Bunny brought Abi fingerpaints and paper and Abi-sized gardening tools and watering can. She also got lots of other little toys and treats from all her grandparents and Uncle Aaron & Aunt Sarah. She is so totally spoiled.



"out!"



Our sweet baby girl



In case you haven't already heard me complain about this, Abi is going through a phase where she refuses to smile for and typically even look at the camera. Add in a pregnant mama plus the wind, and a good family photo is pretty much a lost cause.

 I can't help but feel blessed today for all God has given me. A wonderful husband who drives me crazy and a stubborn little girl that brings me so much joy. Not to mention the (so-far!) healthy bundle of joy on the way! We have a roof over our heads, food in the pantry and even dvr. :)



P.S. Adam has agreed to teach me Photo Illustrator so a more visually-appealing blog is coming soon. Try to contain your excitement!

In the short 18 months I've been a parent I've done a lot of things I swore I would never do back when I thought a I knew a lot about parenting (back when I didn't have any kids). Examples: open boxes of food in the store before paying for it, purchasing one of those dorky baby carriers that make you look like your going skydiving, letting my child play in the dog's water bowl, and....starting a blog. I've always been anti-blog for, as Adam puts it, "no good reason." It's mostly because I assume I have nothing to say that would be of interest to anyone besides my mom. But I've come to the sad realization that I'm making memories everyday with Abi that I don't have time to record. She has a beautiful scrapbook I made of her first year. I stayed up till midnight for weeks before her birthday to finish it. I haven't done one page since her birthday....6 months ago. And with baby #2 coming in August I don't think I'm going to be having any more free time that I have now. So this is my new attempt at "lazy scrapbooking." Plus I will be able to write about funny things she (and her future siblings) say and do that I wouldn't remember 8 months later at 11:30pm when I would be scrapbooking the pictures.

* I'm writing this disclaimer now for Abi and all her future siblings to read in 20 years or so:*

Yes, Abigail has a handmade scrapbook of her first year of life. I'm sorry to the rest of you that you probably don't have one. I don't love you any less, but when you have your own children you will understand. (Now I sound like my mother) To Abigail, I'm sorry I didn't start this until now and don't have a more detailed account of your first 18 months. If this is your worst complaint about me then I will consider my motherhood a tremendous success. 

Love, Mom

Well, since this is our family scrapbook now I guess I should post some pictures! Here are a few random ones from the last couple weeks. Bear with me as I figure out this whole blog thing.

Now that it's getting warm out, Abi LOVES to be outside! And her favorite thing to do it ride bikes with daddy.

She also loves to "help" mommy do the dishes. That usually consists of playing with bubbles and trying to eat them when I'm not looking. I guess washing her mouth out with soap later on may not be very effective. She apparently loves the taste of dishsoap.

Watching cartoons

This week we had a picnic dinner with Harper and Hadley at Donner Park! Abi is refusing to look at the camera as usual.

Playing in Jack's water bowl...gross