Social Circles

Yesterday, a girl from my sunday school hosted a mommy and baby brunch at her house... it was so great!! There were 5 babies there including an 8 month old, 7 month old, 6.5 month old, Micah @ 2.5 months old and a 6 week old. Micah was entranced watching the "old kids" crawling around and playing with each other and even got kisses from one of the older girls. It was really cool to see him interact with other babies and try to talk to them. All of the kids were making noises back and forth to each other in some sort of infant caveman language. It was so cute to watch! It was also great to get in some time with some of the sweet mothers from our sunday school class. They truly are a blessing :) Some of the girls took pictures, so as soon as they email them out I'll post them here.... adorable!

Hmmmmm

I'm trying to figure out what I can do with Micah in order to buy me enough time to shower AND dry my hair..... I'll let you know if I figure something out :P

Fun :)

Today was the first MOPS meeting and it was SO GREAT!!! Our real first meeting was cancelled due to Ike, so we had to wait a bit longer to get started. I really like the girls at my table... it's gonna be a fun year!

Poop!!

Now tell me that title didn't get your attention :P

Micah has been a little, well, full recently. In fact, he went 10 days without, ahem, emptying himself of solids. We called the pediatrician around day 5 and tried out his tips to no avail. I was getting ready to call the doctor again when yesterday the bomb dropped..... I've never been so happy to see poop before in my whole life :P Seriously, it was like the day I found out I was pregnant... I excitedly called Nate and my mom as soon as I changed his (whopper of a) diaper. The news was met with equal excitement on the other end of the phone. Conclusion? Motherhood does weird things to you :)

Diet Schmiet

One of the after effects of Ike is that the local grocery stores are still looking picked over, even 2 weeks after the big rush for food. Even in Katy where most people got their power back within 15 hours of losing it, a lot of people lost any food that was in their fridge or freezer and have been trying to restock, leaving the stores looking a little barren.

Nate and I went to Super Target last Friday to get weekend groceries and we considered ourselves really lucky to find almost everything on our list in stock... yes!! Well, I did say "almost". We needed soft taco sized tortillas to make enchiladas (Jana, they just don't taste as good when I make them... I'm going to try using less onion next time :P) and they didn't have them. I scanned the shelf wildly trying to find them, but no luck. Well, what DO they have? They had fajita sized tortillas (too small)... oh wait! Carb Balance soft taco sized tortillas... score!! But wait, how do they make "carb balance" tortillas, you ask? Well, they basically make them smaller.... exactly the size of the fajita tortillas and NOT 8" across like the real soft taco tortillas. So let me get this right..... The Mission company has put small tortillas into a soft taco package and labelled them carb balance so that they can charge more? Fantastic :P I'm going to start my own line of carb balance bread..... half the bread, twice the price!!!

I Can Be Your Hero Baby.......

Ok, enough Enrique :) Seriously though, Heroes premiered last night after being off of the air since the writer's strike and WHOA. I mean, what is going on?!! I wish they had done a recap before the premiere so that I could remember ANYTHING that happened last season... I think they aren't catching us up so that everyone will run out and buy the dvd's just so they can remember who is dead from last season :P

Anyhoo, I was very glad to welcome it back as well as looking forward to the return of The Office this Thursday! Maybe now we can cut back on all of the ridiculous game shows and reality shows that were born from the writers strike (Wipeout excluded of course... that one better stay :)

For all of those who were worried that I might have been trapped under something heavy yesterday that prevented me from blogging, it was merely an Internet outage that prevented my daily ramblings. I apologize for the lack of a more exciting story to explain my absence, but hey.. it is what it is :)

As Promised

Now, the pic is blurry because I was using the timer on the camera and it focused on something other than me :) But still, you get the idea.

He said it best

My brother posted this today in honor of our oldest brother's birthday~

http://comewhatcomemay.blogspot.com/2008/09/jesse.html

For those of you not familiar with my family history, this might surprise you. I can't imagine a much more fitting tribute, so I'll leave it to Ben.

Ego Boost

We took Micah to the hospital yesterday for an ultrasound of his spine (everything turned out normal... praise the Lord!) and we had an interesting experience. We were in hospital lobby waiting to get called in, and people began to be drawn to us like magnets. They would try to walk by with a fleeting glance, but without fail they would double back saying something like "Oh, I just HAD to come see him up close. He's SO cute!!". They would ask how old he was, say how totally cute he was, ask why we were there. They would then say how cute he is again and usually go about their business (some added a few more questions and cute comments). This happened a TON in the hour or so that we were waiting.

I decided something right then and there.... we simply do not get out enough. No, seriously... I could use an ego boost like this more often :) It's fun to have people fawn over your kid and say how much he looks like you (we got this a lot too) and then say he's cute. Wait, does that mean I'M cute?? Well, to follow the logic of if/ then statements..... If he looks a lot like us and he is cute, Then we must be cute. SWEET!! Although, to be honest, I am perfectly ok with him being the cute one... probably a good thing :)

Open and Shut Case

I don't know why, but for me when I decide to do something it is a quick decision and I get really antsy to do it. Yesterday I decided I need to get my hair cut and I nearly went out of my mind when I called them to get an appointment and they were closed... the nerve! Well I called this morning and I am going under the knife (or scissors, whatever) on Friday morning. I'm not going to tell you what I am going to do to it, I'll just let you be surprised :) If I like the cut then there should be a picture of it up around noon on Friday... just a little something to look forward to :P

Two months old!

Today, our little boy is officially 2 months old! We went to the doctor this morning and found out that our little man is 10 pounds, 10 ounces and 22.5 inches long. He is is the 25th percentile for weight, height, and head size. Basically he is a lean, mean, fighting machine :)

Inspired by Amy's updates of Evan, here are so Micah tidbits.

~He is super smiley. He likes to do the Hokey Pokey and go on "runs" with his dad and he rewards us with huge grins each time we do these.

~He likes kisses and tries to catch your mouth with his when you kiss his cheek.

~ He has started laughing and I gotta say, pretty much the best sound ever :)

~ He is a bit spoiled by first born attention and likes to be held alot. He will let you know if he feels he is not getting the attention he desires :P

~ He likes to sit in his swing and just yesterday started sitting in his BeBe Pod.

That's about all I have right now.... 2 month olds aren't exactly a hotbed of activity :)

Regular Programming

So, do any Houstonians out there have any guesses as to when we might see anything besides post-Ike coverage on NBC, ABC and CBS? On the upside, Nate and I have power again and we're good to go!

Safe, Dry, and Mooching Like Crazy :)

Hey peeps. This is just to let you know that Nate and I are fine, our house is standing and didn't even have a window broken in the storm. Our fence was not so fortunate.... it's completely knocked down. We feel blessed though that the fence was the worst of the damage. We spent last night in our interior bathroom with 6 couch cushions, a ton of baby supplies, and Micah sleeping on Nate's chest.

My parents are one of the few people in all of Houston who have had power today, so we are bunking with them and eating their food :) When I say "few", I mean that 2.1 million of Centerpoint's 2.2 million customers are without power, so we are truly blessed. Anyhoo, Nate and I are hoping that our power returns soon, but the official Centerpoint stance is that we should be prepared to go up to 4 weeks without power, so we'll see :P

Ike.... Yikes!!

For those of you who might not be following the storm, Hurricane Ike has set his sights on Houston and is coming to get us. Well, technically he has set his sights on Katy. The eye is supposed to pass directly over Katy on Saturday bringing with it 10-14 inches of rain and 100 mph winds. Hmmmmm, this should be fun :P The official City of Houston stance on Ike is that only those in the storm surge area should evacuate and the rest of us should "shelter in place". Nate and I have debated whether or not to evacuate and thus far we have decided to stay here and ride it out. I'm not gonna lie, I'm scared. I'm not terrified, just scared, and not entirely sure that we shouldn't evacuate.

We are getting ready, storing water and putting our essentials into our interior room (aka, downstairs bathroom). We are even flying in duct tape from California (compliments of my dad) in order to tape up our windows. If you are reading this, please be praying for everybody near the Texas coast. We don't ever know for sure where these storms might go, and a good portion of the Texas coastline is still at risk. Pray for our safety as we hunker down as well as protection for our neighbors as Katy is expected to have a direct hit. We may still decide to leave, but for now we are planning to stay..... I'm getting nervous :P

Coupon Frenzy

My grandma has been bringing me her coupons that she gets from the paper, and I think I have found my new favorite pastime. I REALLY like clipping coupons!! I have no idea why, but it gets me all excited. I also can't wait to use them!! It's official... I'm a mom. I get excited over coupons and call my husband to tell him about Micah's extraordinary poop this morning.... I don't want to think about what comes next :P

First Place

Sooo, Nate and I started our First Place bible study last night at Kingsland. For those of you unfamiliar, First Place is a bible study that focuses on exercise and good eating habits. It teaches you nutrition as well as how to put food in the proper perspective as a Christian. Nate and I wanted to establish good eating habits before Micah ever eats solid foods so that he grows up with good eating habits. It looks like it is going to be really good and really challenging!

The first night was good... our leader explained some things to us about the program and then began to play a couple of segments from the DVD.... wait a second, that's Erin!! We knew she had played a major role in developing the new curriculum, but we didn't know that she was the one who had done the videos. It was surreal :) (Erin is in our Sunday School @ First) Erin, if you still read this blog, you did great! You sounded very professional and explained things well :)

The Hairless Wonder

Here is something interesting.... the weirdness of pregnancy extends beyond the bounds of pregnancy... oh yes, it does. During pregnancy you get so used to really weird physical things happening to you that they start to not phase you at all. Now, the assumption is that this will end once the baby is out.... WRONG!!

The newest random thing I've noticed is that I am losing A LOT of hair. Like, clumps every time I brush it, or touch it. When this started happening, I was kinda worried. This is where I become very thankful for Google :) I found out that this is common and does not, in fact, mean that I am going bald. Apparently pregnancy hormones make you hold on to hair that you would normally shed. Well, once your hormones re-adjust, all the hair you would have lost over 9 months comes out in 1 month instead. I'm adding this to my list of things that nobody tells you before you have kids :P

Anyhoo, sorry for the late post.... I went to Katy Mills early this morning with my mom and logged 3 miles in air conditioned comfort :) We brought Micah home after that to eat and then we went to La Centerra and visited the Loft and Gymboree and I just now got home. Gosh, it feels fantastic to be writing so late because I was out doing something and not because I was passed out or trapped under a sleeping infant :)

Night Owl

Sooooo, last night Micah tried something new and VERY unwelcome. Between 10pm and 6 am he slept for a grand total of 30 minutes.... yikes!! With people coming over at 9am, this left me with a bad attitude and very little sleep :P For those of you who are thinking, "but how tired are you, Abby?". Well, it's about like this ~


Now, I understand that not everyone is a cat person, so if you are unfamiliar with the body language of this pooped-out kitten, allow me to demonstrate my lack of energy with the following human example~

So I feel like that.... only slightly less Asian :P

Six Random Things

Ok, Liz.... sorry for the delay, I had to wait for my mom to get home so that I could write a longer post :)


1) I am incapable of talking on the phone in one place. I pace around the entire time I am on the phone and will not stop moving until I hang up. This is why I don't like talking on the phone that much... it's very tiring and contributes to the wearing down of the carpet :P


2) I am a sore loser. No really.... I should have gotten over it in kindergarten, but I didn't. I'm ok around the general public, but when I play games with my family I can't stand to lose and I'm kind of a brat about it :P


3) I danced Ballet, Jazz and Tap for 9 years total growing up (some years I did all 3). At one point, I auditioned and got a part in a Dallas Ballet production of Cinderella. I was a caterpillar :P Caterpillar was the second best child's part available and I have to admit, I wanted the best part. What was that, you ask? Firefly. The butt of their costumes lit up :P

4) My maternal grandmother was a skater in Holiday on Ice and was a headliner. She met my grandpa when he became the manager of the ice show. He went on the manage Madison Square Garden, travelling the world to find new acts to entertain the people of New York.

5) I have an unhealthy obsession with paper.... good paper. One of my life dreams is to own my own specialty paper and invitation store.

6) I heart food. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach... forget that! The way to MY heart is through my stomach too :) I am daily thankful to my dad's metabolism for allowing my love of food without me weighing 290 pounds :P

Open to Suggestions

Thank you to Rachel for the suggestion of this site for a little fun.....they have a look-alike feature that takes pictures of both parents and tells you who your child looks more like. Well, this was my first attempt~



Sweet!! I win!!! For try #1, I used a pic from late in my pregnancy. I realized afterward that I did have some extra fun puffiness during that time that might effect the outcome. To be fair to Nate, I tried it again with a pre-pregnancy pic....

Woo Hoo!!! Yes sir, that's MY baby :P