September's Random Ramblings

• The first night Abby slept in her big girl bed, she asked if she was a big girl. When I told her yes she was, she replied with well, can I drive now too?
• Abby has been learning/talking about the weather in school. One day she asked me if it was "froggy" outside. It took me a minute to realize she meant foggy!
• We were getting ready to have our pictures taken and Abby didn't want to have her hair brushed. So in an attempt to get her to cooperate, Andrew asked her if she wanted to brush his hair first. She looked at him like he was crazy, then smiled and said, "Daddy, you don't have any hair, but I will brush your fur for you!"
• Andrew told Abby he was going to "brush her hair out" after her tubby and she got a very concerned look on her face and asked him why he was was going to brush her hair out of her head! They take everything so literally :)
• Abby and I were outside playing one day and she was chatting away. Some of it was nonsensical so I was only half listening when something caught my ear. She said, I want to go do that with my other family. I asked her who her other family was and she said, you know, Nolan and miss Sam!!
  

Appliance obsession

Abby likes to help with whatever I do...laundry, cooking, cleaning. She really gets "into" it!

Pink, pink, and more pink!!!

Last Saturday, Sam graciously hosted an awesome baby shower for me. Sam lived up to her reputation as "hostess with the mostess" and went way above and beyond to make this a memorable event for me. It was a wonderful afternoon with yummy food, great friends, and lots of laughs. I can't even begin to thank everyone enough for their generosity and for showering me, our baby girl, and even Abby with gifts and more importantly, love! Many of the girls offered help when the baby comes and I am so thankful to have these women in my life. One of the hardest things about being in the military is being so far from family especially when you have a newborn! But, since I am surrounded by such awesome friends we will have all the help we need. Thank you Sam for putting this together for me, it was a blast and I truly appreciate it!

Opening gifts

All the gals!!

The yummy food

The beautiful cake

They made me share!!

Myself and Martha Stewart, I mean Sam!!

P.S. As you can see from the title of this post, pink seemed to be a major theme for this shower. I know that is the case for most showers when the baby is going to be a girl but this was a bit different because everyone that attended the shower has boys. Erika is the only other person that has a daughter but she isn't due till a few months after me! I heard several times that these girls were excited to buy baby girl stuff and they did a wonderful job!! Just thought that was a neat fact that I should share :)

Fire station tour

Last week we toured the police and fire stations here in Crestview with the Mom and Me group we go to. It was less of a "tour" and more of just looking at the police car and fire truck, but that is fine since that is what the kids like anyway.

Abby and Nolan in the back of the police car. They are trouble makers, but this will be the only time we see them in the back of this kind of car!!

In the firetruck

(This is for Susan)

At the end of the "tour" all the kids got fire hats, beach balls and sheriff stickers.

I guess you could call it a trial run

Well, I had my first visit to the hospital for baby related issues yesterday afternoon. Before I go any further everything is FINE with me and the baby is doing great. Bits of the following story may be too much information for some so feel free to skip this post, if not just know that I warned you! Its really not all that gross its just bodily functions related so I feel I owe a warning.

Anyhow, it all started yesterday afternoon when I went to the bathroom and realized my pee was not the right color. It was a weird orange color (like pee mixed with blood). I didn't have any other symptoms but I was so startled by the strange color that I decided to call the doctor just to put my mind at ease, I just didn't want to be worried all night. So, I put in the call thinking they would say everything is fine but after answering all the nurses questions I seemed to have her stumped. So, she told me to come in to be checked out and monitored just to be on the safe side. So, I dropped Abby off at work with Andrew (which she was really excited about, because she has always wanted to "go to work") and headed to labor and delivery at the base hospital. When I pulled up to the hospital I realized I had no idea where labor and delivery was. I wandered around the nearly empty first floor of the hospital till I finally ran into someone who worked there and asked where labor and delivery was. After heading up to the 3rd floor, I was taken into a triage room and asked for a urine sample and then hooked up to the machines to monitor the baby. Right away the nurse assured me that everything with the baby looked wonderful. After that I spoke to the doctor and went through all my symptoms to include the horrible back pain I have had the last couple of days. They took some blood and ran a few tests.

Long story short, everything was fine just as I had thought. The final verdict is that I may have passed a VERY SMALL (teeny, tiny) kidney stone. There was a also a small amount of protein in my urine but nothing to be concerned about and that may have caused the strange color. Basically, they don't really know what was wrong but they do know it was nothing serious and the baby and myself are perfectly fine. So, basically it was just a four hour stay at the hospital so that I could find out exactly where labor and delivery was and to see the little one's heartbeat and movements and confirm that the tightening I have been feeling are braxton hicks! I am very relieved nothing serious was wrong and I am very grateful to Sam and Brian for being such wonderful friends and taking care of Abby after Andrew was done at work so that he could be with me at the hospital. Thank you guys!!

Hopefully next time you read about me being in the hospital, I will be sent home with a beautiful baby girl in my arms!!!

Abby's "Big" Present

For Abby's birthday we decided to get her a big girl bed. Well, at first it wasn't really for her birthday, but we happened to get a good deal on a very cute bed right before her birthday and thought it would be fun to have this be her big birthday surprise. Since Susan was in town she was able to get in on the idea and purchased the bedding and rug which was a huge help :)

I know Abby may seem young for a big girl bed, but I knew she was ready because she slept in a regular bed at both my mom and my dad's house when we were out visiting in Colorado. And, she LOVES her new bed. She had absolutely no problems adjusting to the new bed and wants to show everyone who comes over her new big girl bed.

Along with the big girl bed, Abby has began to refuse sitting in the booster seat. She insists she is a big girl and only wants to sit on a regular chair, just like Mommy and Daddy. I knew turning 3 was a big milestone, but I didn't realize what a big girl she would become almost overnight!

The big girl bed before the birthday girl saw it.

I think she likes it!

The new rug was a big hit too!

The first night in the big girl bed

Abby's Birthday Party

Abby's birthday celebrations ended on Sunday with her birthday party. Since Andrew was deployed last year on her birthday, we skipped having a party when she turned 2 (but she did have a good birthday and was spoiled rotten). This year we decided to go all out and invited 12 kids and had an arts and crafts themed party. We did sheet painting, sidewalk chalk, window painting, and some coloring on the "table cloth" restaurant style. This was all followed up by decorating your own cupcake. I think that was the biggest hit, we had all different colors/kinds of sprinkles and the kids got very creative. After the crafts and some playing, we opened all the wonderful gifts from Abby's friends. I think Abby had a blast and the party was a big success!! Thank you to everyone near and far who helped make Abby's 3rd birthday so special :)

The birthday girl before the party started

Sheet painting

Decorating cupcakes

Opening presents

Abby and Libby.
Libby was the only other girl besides Abby, the rest of the guests were boys...11 of them!!

Abby's Pre-birthday celebrations

The birthday celebration for Abby began early this year. Since she didn't have school on her actual birthday, we celebrated the occasion on the Thursday before. She brought in cupcakes to share with her class and her teacher Miss Marlo made her a special birthday crown!


Then, on Saturday, we had a surprise visitor. Grammy Susan flew in from Wisconsin to spend a couple of days with the birthday girl. Abby was sooo excited to see her sitting in the house when we returned from a trip to WalMart. Later that day we all headed over to Pensacola to do some birthday shopping. Papi and Grammy Reeves sent Abby some money for her birthday so we went to Toys R Us for a little mini-shopping spree. Abby looked at tons of toys and had a blast trying them all out but finally decided on a play-doh activity kit and a pink v-tech computer. After Toys R Us we went to Target to pick up some last minute birthday surprises and followed that up with dinner at Flounders on Pensacola beach. It was the perfect place for birthday dinner because the food is good and its right on the beach so the kids can play in the sand and the outdoor playground. It was a very nice end to a fun filled day.

This is in back of Flounders. I didn't really get a good picture, but the playground is over to the left and its just steps away from the water. Its a really neat restaurant.

I don't know if you can read the sign, but it says:
Man-Eating Giant Clam
Known to eat bad little boys and girls in one gulp.

Susan, Abby and Andrew outside Flounders

Happy 3rd Birthday Abigail

My Dearest Abigail,

Well, another year has flown by and my baby is now 3 years old! I can hardly believe it. So much has changed in the past year, yet a lot has stayed the same. You are still strong willed and have an opinion about everything, you talk non-stop, your favorite color is still pink and you will forever be a girly-girl! Your love for dresses, make-up, and all things princess has intensified while your dependence on me has waned. You have made the conversion from a crib, to a toddler bed, and finally a big girl bed! You are fully potty trained and have even began closing the door on me sometimes, so as to have your privacy while you are doing your business. You are going to preschool and learning new things all the time. You have a love for learning and reading that I hope you will keep through out your life. You love to help in the kitchen and may have even surpassed your mom in cooking skills (all thanks to your Dad and Grandpa Pete). You have a kind and gentle spirit and you love to "take care" of people and things around you. And although you have become more independent in many ways, you still come to me or Daddy in times of need. You still love to snuggle in the morning and before bed. You still need a kiss and some extra attention when you fall down and get hurt, or when you are sick. And when your independence has peaked, you look up with your wide eyes and long lashes, throw your arms around one of us and say "I love you" totally unprompted, just as a reminder to us that we are still needed and loved.

Your birthday this year is bittersweet for me. As we await the arrival of your little sister anxiously, I secretly enjoy and cherish my one on one mommy time with you. I know you will be a wonderful big sister, but I am going to relish this birthday since it will be your last as an only child. We are about to embark on a wonderful adventure and it's a task I know you are up for. A lot of things will change and I am just so happy that we are able to focus solely on you for something as special as your birthday one last time before we become a family of 4.

Abigail, you inspire me to be a better person; you remind me to be kind to those around me; and you make me smile and laugh out loud on a daily basis. My life wouldn't be the same if you hadn't came into it 3 short years ago. I am the luckiest Mommy in the world. So, with that Happy Birthday my little princess, I am going to continue to enjoy watching you grow, just don't let it happen too quickly!

All the love in my heart,
Mommy Cheyna

Labor Day Weekend in Atlanta

Over the long holiday weekend we decided to go visit some friends who live up near Atlanta. Jon and Amy were stationed at Hanscom with us and Jon and Andrew went to the Academy together. They have a little boy, Gabriel who is just a few days younger than Abby and we hadn't seen them since the kids were babies. It was great spending time with them and the kids got along so well! Here are some pictures from our weekend. We were very busy and did a lot over the few days we were there, we just had a blast! Enjoy the pictures, I tried to pick just a few but you know how that goes ;)

The kiddos in the bath

Snuggling on the couch

On Saturday we went into the city and went to the Atlanta Children's Museum. The kids had a blast!

Abby playing dress up and dancing in front of the big mirror.

At the "circus" in the museum

Catching some fish

Playing in the tree house

Wall painting

The finished masterpiece

Daddy and Abby playing with moon sand. This stuff is really cool. It looks just like sand but the consistency is something between sand and play doh. I think Andrew had just as much fun playing with this stuff as Abby and Gabriel did.

Leaving the museum. Aren't they cute holding hands??

After the museum we went to Chick-fil-a for a very late lunch. Abby went to play in the playground and when we went to check on her she was crying hysterically. She said she was scared and it turned out that she had a little bit of an accident since she couldn't figure out how to get down. I don't carry clothes in my diaper bag anymore because she has been accident free for so long, but thankfully Gabriel had a change of clothes for her to borrow, so crisis averted. I guess this is what our child would look like if we had a boy!!

On Sunday we went to 6 flags. It was a lot fun, but it was hot! The kids had a blast riding on all the rides and Abby had no fear of any of them. She even wanted to ride the roller coaster but the line was too long. I got a touch of heat stroke and spent the better part of the day inside in the air conditioning sipping on water.