Wordless Wednesday - Naptime Redefined

Abby may be resisting naps more and more ...

... but at least she is napping.

(most of the time)

34 weeks - Baby No. 2 :)

So I'm not technically 34 weeks until Wednesday, but it just sounds better to say 34 weeks instead of 33 weeks 5 days. :)

Total weight gain: I'll know Wednesday at my doctors appointment.... I'm guessing I'm up 26 pounds.

Maternity clothes: Mostly, but still wearing tunics and tanks that are not.

Sleep: Seem to be getting less and less. I'm up using the bathroom a handful of times and then it's hard for me to fall back to sleep. My mind just won't shut off.

Best moment of the week: Having an afternoon to just relax. Abby was at school and I decided it was time to simply be lazy. It was fabulous!

Movement: Definitely still moving a lot. Sometimes it's quite ticklish, other times not too comfortable!

Food cravings: Not really, unless you count going through Thin Mints like crazy. Darn those Girl Scouts!

Gender: Boy :)

What I miss: Eating without heartburn. I'm going through this bottle of Tums like it's candy.

What I'm looking forward to: Playdates with kiddies while men are at the ballpark... Spring Training is here!

Things I've been experiencing this week: Lower back pain and heartburn. My right leg has also been going numb, which I remember happening with Abby. Levi is most likely positioned on a nerve, which causes this to happen. More cramping and Braxton Hicks.

Size of baby: Durian fruit ... whatever that is!

Wordless Wednesday - Body Paint

Abby loves to paint these days ...

In only her big girl undies....

... and only if we make a big mess! :)

Let the madness begin!

It's something that happens every February, yet every year I still feel like it comes way too fast. I just can't seem to find a way to slow it down, but when it draws near I look back and remember all the things our family did together. And it always puts a smile on my face. I love the off season ... time where our family has the freedom to take mini getaways, complete projects around the house, and enjoy spur of the moment get togethers with friends.

So here we are, mid February and Spring Training is once again in full swing. We can't stop it from coming, so on Sunday the madness officially began! We enjoyed every bit of our last weekend and spent some quality time together as a family.

We kept it simple on Friday night. Dinner at home, followed by some gardening lessons from Daddy. The hubs got Abby an adorable gardening kit from PBK and Abby enjoyed mixing the potting soil and planting her seeds. We've been checking every day for plant growth and this morning she was super excited to see a few sprouts!

On Saturday, we decided to visit Mote Aquarium. I hadn't been in years, not since I was teaching and we took a field trip there. I forgot how small the aquarium was, but Abby enjoyed seeing the penguins. We saw manatees, sea turtles, sharks, and other fish but Abby was disappointed that the dolphins were unavailable that day. Such a let down for a little girl who loves her dolphins.

Here she is with Daddy watching the penguins "waggle."

Just one of the penguins :)

Then Sunday morning came and Jim was out of the door by 7am, ready for his first day of Spring Training. Abby and I did our usual routine, getting ready for church and were out of the house a bit early. Just early enough to whiz through the Dunkin Donuts line for some donut holes. :)

Pretty girl all ready to sing and dance at church.

Abby and I kept ourselves quite busy on Sunday and met Jim at the circus that evening. His first day back was long and exhausting, but we managed to squeeze in a little bit of fun as a family. We went with several friends and their children and had a great time. Abby wasn't a huge fan of the clowns and didn't like the loud noise, so we were in and out most of the time, giving her breaks to run and not cover her ears. :( It was a great time like always!

So even though Spring Training is here and our schedules get kicked into crazy mode, I'm trying my best to embrace it. Thanks to a friend and fellow baseball wife, I'm going into this baseball season with a different outlook ... and I think she says it best ...

Here's to the 2012 season!

Let the fun begin :)

A special Sunday

It may have taken us two and a half years to have our sweet Abigail Grace baptized, but it was well worth the wait. I had always envisioned having our babies baptized when they were still infants and small enough to fit in hand me down Christening gowns, but when Abby was born it didn't quite work out like that.

For the past several years, Jim and I were on a "church shopping" adventure, trying to find a church that we felt would best fit our family needs. Before Abby was born, we found a church where we liked the pastors, connected with the messages, but unfortunately there weren't many young families, only a few children, and the prayer list (names of congregation members) took about ten minutes to read during each service. Needless to say, we didn't feel like it would be the church for us to raise a family so we continued to shop around. We visited friends churches, a church that had live music with strobe lights and a concert feel, churches of different denominations.

Finally we found a church that immediately felt like "home." We were welcomed with friendly smiles and I remember one of the pastors seeking us out our very first visit there. The messages are relatable to us, the congregation full of all ages, and children everywhere. The contemporary service works for us ... live music, but not over the top. All in all, we just feel like this is a church where we can raise a family, a church that we can so happily call ours.

And that was important to me. I wanted to have Abby baptized in our church. I didn't want to have her baptized at a random church just to say we'd had it done. So even though it was later than expected, I'm extremely thankful that we were able to have this special day to share with our family and friends.

Before the baptism. Abby "cheeses" for the camera all the time.

Abby's godparents were able to join us!

Uncle Chris (Jim's brother) & Aunt Jenny aka Aunt YaYa (my sister).

Our family with the pastors from our church.

Although most of our family was unable to make this special day, we were thankful to have friends come and share the day with us. It meant a lot to our family to have these wonderful people around us!

"Let the little children come to me ...

for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs."

Mark 10:14

Love is in the air! :)

Abby's Big Girl Room

Since I shared Levi's Nursery the other day, I figured I would take y'all on a tour of Miss Abby's room. We decorated her room to match the PBK Penelope bedding set. Abby has always loved birdies and so we went a little bird crazy!

Abby's Big Girl Bed :)

Thankfully this transition was super easy for us ...

::knocks on wood::

Reused wooden flowers from her nursery to give her room

a "garden feel."

Other parts of the room ...

It's all about the details!

My favorite ... handpainted drawer pulls from Etsy that match the bedding. They are all different... some have birds, some have stripes, and others have polka dots.

Lamp, bird cages, and what girl doesn't have bows?!

Wordless Wednesday - Abby's New Pet

Don't worry ...

we didn't add another dog to the mix.

Just another koi fish for our pond!

Abby was so excited when Daddy brought this "fishy" home.

Now having three fish for our pond, Abby says we have a "baby fishy, Mommy fishy, and Daddy fishy. " :)

It's almost done!

The nursery for our baby boy is almost done and I couldn't be more excited with how it's coming together.

The hubs and I started looking for boy bedding a few months back and couldn't find anything that really stood out. You always see the same thing for boys ... safari animals, sports, or sailboats. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with those themes and some of the designs are adorable. To be different, we decided we would look for fabric and have the bedding made.

I have to admit that the hubs found this fabric first and knew it was it. I, on the other hand kept looking ... unsure of how we would use the designs throughout the room. But after looking at the fabrics more and more and seeing samples in person, the colors and designs really grew on me. So we both decided we would do a pirate themed nursery, with bedding that would be full of polka dots, stripes, and skulls and crossbones. Then a friend of ours whipped up the bedding set in no time and it couldn't be more perfect! I love it!

Since Abby got her big girl furniture a few months back, we reused all her nursery furniture for her baby brother. We are still waiting on the valance and curtains, which will match the bedding!

Fabric by Michael Miller. So fun!

Pillow, quilt, basket liners. I love how everything matches :)

Wall decor ...

We found the oars at our local architectural salvage yard, the ship wheel from Marshall's, and the pirate ship wall decal online. Letters and canvas are homemade! I found the canvas idea on Etsy and Jim and I recreated the look, for a lot less!

And the letters ... well ... now you know Baby Boy Johnson's name. :)

What do you think?!

Wordless Wednesday - Abby Visits the Dentist

Abby had her first trip to the dentist last week!

It was just an appointment to familiarize Abby with going to the dentist.

No cleaning this time ... Dr. McAvoy just counted teeth, checked for cavities (none!), and showed her all the fancy tools used at the office.

Abby was nervous and very unsure at first.

That all changed when she became a dentist herself with some rubber gloves and her own mirror tool.

We'll take Abby back in six months for her first cleaning! :)