Tonight...

Was the first night since we got rid of the pacifier that there were no tears - at all! I am so proud of my little big girl!!

There will be pictures coming soon from this weekend ~ Abigail was the flower girl in her Aunt Rhiannon's wedding. Jordan and I were in the wedding party, also and we had a fantastic time!

Success!!

Tonight was a success!!

We talked to Abigail about being a big girl and not needing her pacifier while rocking. When we laid her down we did our normal routine, but I, again, rubbed her side/tummy and Jordan rubbed her head/cheek.

We left the room, and she started to whimper... she cried, but it was a normal cry. AND, it only lasted about 2 minutes!

I think that is a success! :)

No paci....?

Getting rid of Abigail's pacifier has been a topic of discussion for quite some time. She has been napping at day care without it for quite some time, and Jordan and I both have been going back and forth about the right time, and method, to get rid of it at home (I should note that she has only had it at night for a long time).

Friday night we decided that it was time. She has is the best sleeper and goes to bed without any problems, so we discussed the how. A good friend took her daughter to Build-A-Bear when it was time for her to give it up, and we thought that was kind of cleaver, so we decided that's what we would do.

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast and headed out for the mall. I had never experienced Build-A-Bear before, and it was really cool. We let Abby pick out what animal she wanted, and she picked a little terrier puppy. After you choose your animal, you get to stuff it! This was quite the site to witness. They let Abigail step on this little foot pedal that is attached to the stuffing machine.

Watching in wonder...

Her last pacifier picture.

Almost full!

Picking out a heartbeat.

Yes, the puppy has a heartbeat. It's really neat, actually. I thought it mead the heartbeat sound, but nope! It actually pulsates. 

So we put in the heartbeat, and then the paci... she cried for a second, but once her puppy was all tied up, she was good-to-go. She was in love with puppy and carried it with her everywhere.

Saturday night I had a bachelorette party to attend, so Jordan and Renie put Abby to bed. They both said it went great and she went to sleep fast and without any problems. 

Then Sunday came... 

I slept in, due to being out way too late. But, Abigail had breakfast and we had a great morning. Then nap time happened. Or, didn't happen. She screamed and cried and refused to sleep. After 20 minutes of torture, we let her get up. 

Needless to say our afternoon was pretty interesting. Overall, for not having a nap, she was good, but there were a couple of episodes.

Then it was time for bed. After she screamed and cried for 15 minutes, we rocked for awhile and read another book. Jordan came in and we discussed what we should do. This cry wasn't just a regular cry, it was her hurt/scared cry. We debated what was going on and concluded that it had to either be night terrors, or the pacifier. Well, we laid her back down and Jordan rubbed her head/cheek and I rubbed her arm/side and we told her that we loved her and weren't going anywhere. But, the second we would stop touching her and try to walk out, the crying would start again. 

We aren't proud of the next part, but we broke down and gave her a pacifier (we had to search long and hard to find one ~ we thought they were all gone). We're going to try again tomorrow night...

Our BIG Girl!

Tonight Abby went potty in her potty chair for the first time! I am such a proud mommy!! It's funny how things like that can make you so happy. No, we aren't going to start potty training already. I believe in the "all or nothing" approach and we're traveling a LOT over the next few months, so I don't want to push the potty training until I know we're going to be home more (or at least not in the car for 10 hours ~ to Texas for Thanksgiving).

Anyways, I haven't been good about keeping the blog updated, and I apologize. We've been busy and are enjoying our family time. I can't begin to describe how wonderful it is to have Jordan home, but here are a few pictures of the last few weeks...

Abby and Mommy

Daddy and Abby being silly

Jordan refused to shave for the first two weeks he was home

Abby and Daddy eating edimame with trainer chopsticks!

Abby with her bunny ice cream from the ice cream truck

Licking the stick!

Kisses for Daddy!!

Handmade gifts...

Jordan and I were discussing Abigail's upcoming birthday and CHRISTMAS (how can it be so close?!), and I realized this little girl really has everything that she could need... she has plenty of jeans, jammies and coats for this winter (because I like to bargain shop AND we have amazing friends who gave us some great hand-me-downs). She has a doll house and at least seven (yes, seven!) chairs and is too little for Barbies.

Abigail really enjoys playing in the small kitchen she has now, and can often be found sipping from her tea cups. She's becoming quite the little chef :)  So, I was searching online last night and decided I'm going to make her a bunch of felt food and enlist Jordan to help me make her a new, and bigger, kitchen. Homemade by Jill made her son a really neat kitchen and Sweetie Pie Bakery sells patterns for felt food, plus there are tons of free tutorials and downloads on the internet.

If anyone has and sites with helpful links or free tutorials, I would love to have them!

Jordan's Home!

I have looked forward to this post for some time and finally, I can say it! Jordan is HOME!!

We picked him up in Jefferson City on Sunday. At 1300 they had a Welcome Home ceremony and the Governor and some senators spoke. Overall it was an okay ceremony, I think everyone knew that the soldiers just wanted to get home to their families.

Abigail did great with everything. I'm not sure what I expected...

She wasn't too sure of Jordan at first. She wanted him within her line of sight, but wasn't sure about him holding her. When we arrived he was getting lined up, but we found him. There were kisses and hugs, but we quickly went to find our seats. Well, Abigail kept asking for "Abby Daddy", so we walked back to check on him twice. She would stand about a foot away from him and just look. At one point knelt down to talk to her and she copied him. It was really cute. When the ceremony started she kept wanting to go find him and would yell "Daddy" and "Abby Daddy". It was adorable and he said that he (which means probably everyone) heard, but who cares?!

We loaded all of Jordan's totes into the Tahoe and then he had to run back in and sign for the gun he bought. When he ran back inside Abigail had a little pannic attack. She was worried he wasn't coming back, I think.

Then, in the car whenever Jordan and I would touch she would say "No, Mommy! Abby Daddy!". Last night we went to dinner and she said the same thing. I'm not positive how long this is going to last, but we're trying to stress that we both love her, but we love eachother, too and she doesn't always get all of the attention, and we have to/get to spend time with eachother. I think that's goign to be our biggest trouble spot.

After the ceremony we went to Les Bourgeois vineyard outside of Columbia. It was a bit warm, but we had a good time chatting with both of our families. My parents and Allison and Tim came down as did Jordan's parents, Megan, and Renie and Kennison.

We are SO happy to have Jordan home safe and are enjoying our time together!

Summer Catch-Up

I have been horrible at keeping the blog updated this summer. I have good reasons ~ we have been crazy busy! Without my other half to keep Abigail occupied all of my time is devoted to her, and if she's sleeping, there's a decent chance that I am, too (or I'm relaxing).

I have tried to take lots of pictures, but I'm not always the best at that, either. Here's what I have, that you haven't seen:

Relaxing in her recliner after the pool

Hi Mommy!

The beautiful flowers Jordan sent Abigail and I because we had "one month left!!"

Abigail wanted to be a big girl and sit at the table. So, I put her on a phone book! :)

Mason's 2nd birthday! 

Eating with Papa Jim at Mason's party

The clothesline I made for Lisa's baby shower

(I have been sewing this summer, I promise!)

Abigail on Czech Days

I made her skirt and a friend of the family made the vest

I hope to get better pictures soon

I'm hesitant to write this (because I don't want to jinx anything), BUT Friday night (about 11PM) Jordan called and was stepping off an airplane in INDIANA!! He is finally in the USA! Hopefully that means he'll be home with us in about two weeks! Thank you, everyone, for your continued support ~ Abigail and I couldn't have made it through the last year without all of you!