Looking forward...

to meeting this sweet little girl Miss Abigail (Abby) Hope!  

Only 11 more weeks to go!  I'm hoping for more like 9 or 10 more weeks but who knows...this little girl could be stubborn like her older sister.

We finally decided on her name.  It took us awhile this go around unlike Madelyn which we had picked out VERY early.  I love the name Abigail which means "Father's joy" or "Joy of the Father".  We know this little miss will bring so much joy to us and her Father in Heaven.  "Hope" was a huge word for me in my healing after losing our precious 2nd baby in December.  Learning to have "hope in the Lord" was a powerful lesson I learned and continue to learn. So naturally, we wanted her middle name to symbolize the hope we have in Christ.  

These full face pictures always look a little alien-like.  

This little girl did cause her mom and dad to worry this week at my doctor's appointment.  The doctor was concerned because I was measuring small so they sent me directly to the ultrasound room.  Thankfully, Abby measured right on track and there was enough amniotic fluid.  We will just keep monitoring my size.  (I guess the doctor doesn't realize that I am chasing/carrying around a toddler ALL. DAY. LONG and that this little one may be small like her older sister.)  
We're working on Abby's room but are not even close to being ready. Hopefully in the next month we can get her room set up.  We can't wait to meet Miss Abby!

Being More Intentional

Over the last month and half since we moved to Cheyenne, Mady and I get to spend TONS of time together.  We haven't found a babysitter yet so Mom can get out a little bit on her own and some of the bible studies through our church haven't started just yet.  (They'll be starting in a few weeks with free childcare and I'm SO excited!)  At times, it can be very tiring spending all day with my little girl and having no outlets for me.  I don't do well with very limited or non-existant social time.  The first 2 weeks went well because we had a lot of different places to explore around Cheyenne.  But as soon as the "new-ness" of it wore off, I began to have a more selfish attitude.  
So to combat that, I decided to be more intentional with Mady each day.  
Since I was a teacher, writing lesson plans comes naturally to me.  I decided that to help me become more intentional, I would write a general lesson plan for our week and what activities we were going to do each day.  Thanks to pinterest and the HUGE amount of toddler websites, I came up with lots of new activities.  Now we don't always do a new activity EVERY day, but I try to do something new at least every other day.  
Sometimes our activity is going to the library or the Children's Village.  
Other times its an art project or a sensory tub.
And sometimes, it's more of a "learning" activity like our Red Day we're planning for this Friday to learn about the color red.

Here's an example of an activity we did last week.  We made a foil river and had lots of fun playing in the water hose and watching ice cubes make their way down the river.

I'm hoping that starting this now with only 1 child, I will be able to continue it somewhat when I have 2.  I know that it will look different and we will have to be more flexible when I have more than 1 little girl around but it's a start. I also hope to incorporate bible lessons in our weekly plan as well.
 I can tell by Mady's behavior and my attitude that being more intentional each day has helped tremendously!

Lately...

we've been:
1. Cleaning our play kitchen and other things around the house.

2. Riding in our pink car.  Everyday we go down to our mailbox in our pink car with the mailbox keys.  Then we come back and "deliver" the mail.

3. Pushing our baby around in our pink stroller.

4. Figuring out how to get partly undressed while sleeping(??)  Don't know how she did this but she wasn't too happy the morning I found her like this.

The Children's Village

Last week, we went to the Children's Village in Cheyenne.  It's a part of the Botanic Gardens.  I didn't dress us appropriately (i.e. sunscreen and sandals) so we didn't stay as long as we both wanted to.  We ended up being there for 45 minutes but I'm pretty sure Mady would love to be there all day! 
They had a lot of really neat things to do, most of them having to do with water.  There were places where Mady could get in the water but we didn't wear sandals and with the rocks, it wasn't a good idea to go barefoot.  
Here's a few pictures from our trip.  Next time we'll come more prepared and will stay longer.

The Best Garage Sale Find EVER

While we were in Colorado at my parents house over the weekend, there just happened to be a garage sale down the street.  I love garage sales and love to try to find a good deal so we headed down there on Saturday morning.  
And what did I find?
Only the thing that I've been wanting to get Mady for a LONG time.  
A Kitchen Set!
See I have been looking and looking and looking for one. 
I did NOT want to pay much money.  
I also wanted something to look realistic and for it to not be made completely out of plastic.
I was contemplating doing one of these amazing pinterest ideas.

But the first thing I spotted as I walked up the driveway was this set!

It's made completely out of wood.

It needs a new coat of paint but other than that, it's in great shape.

Mady LOVES it!  
And I may be just as excited about it as she is.  

Oh yeah, and I paid $10 for both pieces.  SCORE!

A few of Mady's Favorites

Here's a few of Mady's favorites from this week.
1. Diving on soft pillows!  We made a fort in the living room while I cleaned the dining room and had fun diving on the pillows.

2. Wearing Daddy's (or Mommy's) shoes!  She probably does this at least 5 times a day.  

3. Putting on Mommy's bracelets!  If at any point I'm getting ready during the day, Mady is back in our bedroom playing with these bracelets.  (of course she tries to play with ALL my jewelry, but only these have been approved)

4. Folding laundry!  She was so funny putting underwear on her head and trying to put Mommy's socks on her feet.

5.  Playing with shaving cream!  She was not sure if she wanted to touch it at first.  It took about 5 minutes before we decided it was ok:-)  Then she started "sharing" it on her mom's legs and the patio furniture.

6. Saying the word "No" ALL.  THE.  TIME.  This is her favorite word at the moment... I know it's a phase and it will pass...


7.  Going to the Spray Park.  We tried out Cheyenne's spray park for the first time.  We had a lot of fun!  I didn't take any pictures as I was with Mady getting wet.  We did get cold though!  While all you in Oklahoma and Kansas are suffering through a major heat wave, we've been at least 20 degrees cooler than you each day.  So feel free to visit us if you need to escape from the heat!