The final stretch....

The count down to our second baby's birth is pretty much started. She is due on Feb 22 and since that's roughly 4 weeks away, I can say that I'm pretty much counting the days. It's funny though. With Abby, I was hoping that she would go just a few days past her due date so that she and Brandon would have different birth months. (Someday, I'd like to get a birthstone ring or necklace for the whole family and I am just hoping it will have lots of different colors on it and not all the same ones.) But as you know, Abby was born the day before her due date and so she and Brandon have the same birth month. With this baby, I'm all mixed up inside. First of all, you need to know that everytime they measure her, they say that she's measuring 5 days small but it's not enough for them to change her due date but just enough that it could actually mean her due date is the 27. So, that plus the fact that Feb is so short could mean that I'll have a March baby and get to share my birthmonth with the baby. So, logically, I should be rooting for the baby to be born in Feb, not March, right? But in someways, I am kind of wishing that the baby will wait a little longer just because I'm jealous for Brandon not getting to see her yet so somehow I figure if she's a little later, than it's not like we got to enjoy her that much longer before he did. Of course, that's stupid because it's still like 12-16 weeks after the baby is born before he gets to come home but still.... I guess some of it is that I just never thought I'd have a baby without my husband being there with me and it's kind of hard for me to settle on the idea that he's going to miss all of the new baby and hospital stuff with this one. I mean, she'll still be new but she won't be THAT new when he gets back. Abby was sleeping 6-8 hour nights by the time she was 12-16 weeks old, and she was starting to try to hold things with her hands, and smiling at people, and noticing things like the Christmas tree...she just wasn't a newborn anymore...

I'm going to try to post some pictures but I'm going to make them a different post than this one so that if it takes forever I can cancel it and not have to wait like 3 hours. In case you are confused, this part of the world ONLY has dial up internet and it takes forever to do things like upload pictures to a blog or send pictures by email, or whatever like that so I may not post many (or any) pictures while I'm here. We'll see.

Abby doesn't really like the snow much but she is getting less afraid of it. It has snowed here nearly every other day since we arrived Dec 5. Plus, the snow on the ground hasn't ever melted all the way off yet so it's pretty white and snowcovered. The first few times we got Abby out into the snow, she cried and cried. She did not even like riding the sled with me on it too. But ever since then she's gotten better and better. She will ride a sled with someone and she doesn't even cry but I'm not totally sure she's just loving it. Liking it, maybe, but loving it...probably not. If it works, I'll try to post some pictures of her in the snow and sledding. One time on a climb back to the top of the road, she fell asleep in the sled. So that tells you she's not so terrified of it that she can't sleep anyway...

Brandon is good. He gets to call me two times a week for 15 minutes each time. The time goes faster and faster each time. Everyone asks me for news about how he's doing and honestly, I can't tell them much. He doesn't tell me much. Some of it is stuff he wants to tell me by can't because it's not a secure line and the stuff could comprimise the mission. Another reason is that he wants to know all of my news and that takes up time but mostly, the reason we have little to say is that we spend the whole 15 minutes mostly saying "I love you" and "I miss you" so if you want me to give you news about how Brandon is, that's mostly all you'll hear each time. "He loves me and he misses me and I love him and I miss him." :) He's lonely and he is bored when he's not working. He works 12 hour shifts and the last time I talked to him, he had not had a day off yet since he arrived on like Jan 7?. And honestly, really, truly, for real, that's about all the news I have on him.

Abby is walking very, very well now. In fact, she climbing! She runs away from me very well also. Boy, when they get mobile, they get mobile! She has a whole mouth full of teeth. When we came almost 2 months ago, she had 4 teeth and some swelling indicating others about to come in. Now she has 8 teeth and swelling for about 4 more to come in! Her hair is fuzzier now. She still has way too little of it to put in bows or anything. If I wanted to put it up, I would have to get one of those velcro bows like you put in a newborn's hair. No kidding! But she wouldn't leave it in so it wouldn't matter anyway. I keep hoping that Emma will have a ton of hair so I can put it in bows or something. :)

For Christmas, Brandon got me a sewing machine. I am thrilled with it! I have made a ton of things. The first thing I made (once Mom taught me how to use it) was a daddy doll. I got the idea for a daddy doll off this flyer they hand out in base grocery store. The flyer had a story about how this lady made dolls resembling her husband for her kids so that when he was deployed, the kids would not forget about him and he would feel like he was still a part of their lives. So I made one using the printable iron on transfers and a picture of Brandon. Now, I have to admit that the first daddy doll I made looked an awful lot like a frog because once it was sewed, the legs and body were more frog shaped. So we made another, abandoning the whole body being Daddy's body and just using the transfer to make a head. We made his body more like a rag doll so it didn't look so much like a frog and now he has changable clothing (which I got to make on my neat new machine as well.) I also made a dress for Abby. It is sooo cute but it is a little big. We used the pattern for her height and weight but it is so big I think it will last a while still. I'm going to make a matching one for Emma. I also made a baby blanket and I want to make another one soon. I have several other projects planned so I would have to say the sewing machine was a great gift. My husband is awesome! He always gets me such thoughtful and creative and perfect gifts. This one is one I have been wanting for a while but have never really gotten around to getting. It is also good because it keeps me from being too lonely or bored.

Not that you can get very bored with an active 15 month old running around, making messes just as fast as she can. :) Soon, it will be two of them and I'll be wondering why I thought I was so busy with the one. :)

Anyway, that's about all the news. Now I'm going to try to post this and if it will let me, to post some pictures as well. Love you all!