Teeth

Yes, they are here.  We've been working on them for almost a month.  Ironically, they coincided with moving to Maine.  We weren't sure if Miss Crankypants decided to come out because of the transition, teeth or something else.  Well, we're pretty sure it's teeth!   A bottom front has broken through and we're hoping the second one will pop through quickly.  Abby had been sleeping through the night with little soothing from us, but now she's up around 1am or 2am for anywhere between 10 minutes to an hour.  It's been a challenge, but we're sharing the duty.   The bigger challenge has been not to wake up others who live in the house.  Thankfully, MiMi and Grampy have been patient and supportive. 

It's hard to get pictures  of this girl on the move, but here a couple from the past couple of weeks. 

Abby took her first dip in a pool.  Because of its 80 degree temp, Abby LOVED it!  She didn't 

cry at all, and I would love her to swim in her Hippo Pool.  Not a big fan....

Abby's Antics

Oh, Abby, Abby, Abby......

Where do we start?  First, she is an amazing rockstar who really does bring much joy and laughter.  Her smiles first thing in the morning are infectious; her giggles are adorable; her growth astounding.  Speaking of growth...

She's army crawling like its her job, well, I guess it actually is.  She's putting everything into her mouth.  which by the way has its FIRST TOOTH!  Her first chomper poked through about a week ago and by her behavior I'm guessing the other is about to come through as well. 

The transition to Maine for Abby hasn't gone as smoothly as I had hoped.  In conjunction with teething and a new environment she's not sleeping as well as she had been.  Which means Mom and Dad aren't sleeping as well either.   We swore we wouldn't have a child who slept in our bed, but with her waking up and living with my parents, we don't have a choice.  She's quieter when sleeping with us in our nice, warm, big, comfy bed.  Let's hope she grows out of this very quickly.  Please....pretty please....

Other than the sleeping issue, she's been doing awesome! She plays independently for a long period of time and she loves playing with her musical karaoke type toy and other noise making things.

Best of all she's showing signs of her sparkling personality - gregarious, coy, flirty, stubborn, curious, vocal, and so much more.  She's just plain awesome...antics and all....

What's going on? oh, nothing....

hahahahahaha

I wish that were the case! Things in Proctor Land are in the fast lane. Forget the fast lane, try the autobaun!

I'll save Abby's updates for its own post - this one is about me :-)

We've officially been in Maine for one week and one day. The transition has gone well for Tim and I - we're working on Abby. Like I said, another post. As soon as we got here and few boxes unpacked, I set up my small craft space. Some of you know I'm passionate about crafting and the earth, so I combined both into an entrepreneur type adventure. I started an etsy shop called Reuse Zone (www.reusezone.etsy.com) in early May and have recently spent more time devoted on the project. Mom and I went to a Farmer's Market on Sunday and word is getting out quickly. A market attendee has a blog called Cute Potato and she featured me on her blog!! I had two big orders for the day! Maybe this little business will grow into something big...kind of like Abby (wait for the other post!).

I have some feelers out in the retail and corporate world and of course I'm fulfilling orders for friends and family (hint, hint, hint!). My Mom's coworkers get a special shout out! Everyone has been really supportive of this new adventure. Now that I'm not "working", I'm doing what I can to add to Abby's College Fund. :-)

So, what's going on? "Nothing" is far from it....I'm a Mom, my own boss, a wife, errand runner, taxi driver, chef, diaper changer, play group mom, nurse, crafter, and on and on.....

Happy Seven Months, Abster!

These pictures are getting harder and harder to take... she's squirmy!

Thankfully, she LOVES taking pictures and is now a ham when the camera comes out. She gives us great big smiles!

in case you're wondering....

What this beautiful flower stand looks like. I stopped by again during the day and had my camera with me...

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

We have officially moved back to Maine! The truck has been loaded, unloaded, and returned; boxes packed, unpacked, moved, packed and unpacked again; the organizing is 98.9 % complete; and a few trips down memory lane taken.

One of those trips down memory lane includes visiting one of my favorite beaches - Higgins Beach. Where parking used to be on-street for free, but now costs $10 in the convenience store lot. Where high tide hits the rocks taking the whole beach with it. It's really a gorgeous beach and I'm jealous of the home owners along its shore. The memory lane bit isn't the beach itself, but the journey to get to the beach. The beach's entrance falls on Route 77 in Scarborough and as you head to the most perfect beach, you pass a quaint flower stand. It's a small stand, no more than five feet by three feet deep, but has always had the most beautiful wild flower bouquets. The owners live right behind the stand, and I've actually only met the proprietor a handful of times.

The bouquets are beautifully arranged and placed in vases (used to be metal coffee cans) along the inside of the stand and ledges. Each held tightly together with a rubber band and stems snipped neatly. The newspaper, to wrap the wet stems, was still neatly stacked and held down by a rock. I've seen upwards of 20 bouquets to choose from, but tonight there were only five.

As we drove up, Tim and I had bets on the cost. The last bouquet I purchased from the stand was well over five years ago and was $3.00. I bet him $4 - I was right. With just a few bouquets available, I picked the most perfect one, dropped a five in the unlocked till, and turned to Tim and thanked him for the best Anniversary gift ever - flowers from Maine.

Happy Anniversary, Tim.....and thank you for making the journey to Maine, with so many more memories to come.

Nice Cheeks!

To say we've been busy is an understatement. Moving, working, mothering, wifing (is that a word?), packing, cleaning.....I need about 36 hours in a day to make a dent. Finally, tonight I see the light at the end of the tunnel. We took a moment at bath time to enjoy Abster and her glorious, chunky, pinchable cheeks..and not the ones next to her beautiful blue eyes. See what she says about the pending trip to Maine.

Hopefully the next post won't be when she's starting Kindergarten!