Nonfiction Lately

For some reason I'm on a reading kick.  I mostly blame Paul because he's the one that is always looking for new books to read and downloading them on the kindle.  Unfortunately he has other reading (homework) that he has to do, so I end up reading them instead.  It's not a bad thing, I like it, but I kind of want/need someone to discuss with!  Here are the books I've read lately:

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Lucky Man: A Memoir by Michael J Fox
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling

I liked them all, especially the first two.  You should read them and discuss them with me.


PS I just joined a book club (yay!) so I might be posting about books more often.

Myrtle Beach with Calvin

A few weeks ago Paul and I decided that it would be a good idea to go to the Tanger Outlet Mall in Myrtle beach to buy me some postpartum clothes since I was no longer able to keep my maternity pants up and my old jeans were still too tight.  I love outlet malls and the beach so it sounded awesome.  It wasn't.

Calvin hates the car for some reason and cried almost the whole day.  We got some dirty looks in Banana Republic as I hurriedly carried his screaming head out of the dressing room, followed by Paul and our humungous stroller.  Calvin also gets really scared at loud noises and screamed his head off when I was changing his diaper in the mall bathroom and someone dared to dry their hands with an electric drier.  Poor baby.

When we got down to the beach after shopping Calvin managed to fall asleep in the stroller so we did get to enjoy the boardwalk a little.  It was pretty cloudy.

The drive home took us more than 3 hours because we had to stop and soothe him practically every 5 minutes. 

On the bright side, I now have jeans that fit me and a pretty cute top to wear with them.  And I think (3 weeks later) that we might be figuring out how to keep Calvin from freaking out in the car.  Maybe.

Sumter County Fair

Calvin has had his fair share of outings for being such a little guy.  He's been to several restaurants, grocery shopping, out to Swan Lake, to church, and just this weekend we took him to the fair!  Yup, it's fair season again!  Talk about sensory overload for the little babe!  There were so many sounds, sites, and smells to take in but he handled it like a champ. 

Paul and I had a good time as well!  This time around we bought deep-fried Oreos and deep-fried Rice Krispie Treats.  I wasn't a fan of the Oreo but I looooooved the Rice Krispie Treat.  I think it was even better than the deep-fried Reeses that we tried last year at the State Fair.

We thoroughly enjoyed walking the midway, perusing the exhibits, and seeing all of the animals.  Calvin is always really good when we take him out but I think he especially liked the fair.


And for those craving more news about the little guy . . . He really likes being swaddled and rocked.  He also loves being outside.  At his appointment last week he weighed 10 lbs 14 oz, and I'm sure he's gained a ton since then.  He likes his bath only every other time and he's losing some of his hair.  He also tricks us into thinking he's responding to or smiling at us when in reality he's just filling his pants.  We love being his parents though and feel lucky that he's fitting into our lives so nicely!

20 days

Calvin will be 3 weeks old tomorrow.  It is hard to believe that 3 weeks have gone by since he was born and it has sure been an interesting 3 weeks so far!  My mom and dad were here, then Paul's mom was here, and we've had numerous visitors and several outings already.  Paul's been back to work so I've had 3 days alone with Calvin and I have a feeling we are going to get along just fine. 

I took this video of Calvin yesterday right after we had some tummy time.  He is so darn cute and tiny I can't believe it. 

 

 And for your amusement here's a picture of him going crazy for his fist:

 And one of him with his I-think-I've-had-too-much-to-drink face:

We love him so much!

Baby Boy

Our baby Calvin Paul made it to us on Friday, August 24th, 2012.  He was 8 lbs 10 oz and 21.5 inches long.  It was 8:43 in the morning. 

 

He is the sweetest thing and Paul and I love him immensely! We are so grateful to have him in our lives and feel so lucky that he made it to us safe and sound.  All I want to do now is kiss his cheeks over and over again.

Almost There!

39.5 weeks along and I feel like a lucky lady.  I haven't had any back pain and I'm moving around relatively comfortably considering my size.  The worst symptoms in my 3rd trimester hardly compare to the misery that was morning sickness.  Maybe this is my body trying to trick me into thinking my pregnancy was easy . . . 

My biggest complaint right now is the all-over itching, which has been going on about 2 weeks.  The second worst thing is the swelling of hands, ankles, feet, and face (which is why you only get to see my belly in this picture), but honestly those things are very manageable.  I would add heartburn in there as well except that I discovered the miracle of Zantac and have been heartburn free for about 6 weeks.  yay! 

So, I'm feeling pretty good and feeling ready for baby to come!  2 days until my due date!

21, 25, 28, 31, 35, 36 weeks

 

And I think I'm still getting bigger!
Click on the picture to see it bigger!

On the 4th of July

We celebrated our nation's independence by taking a hike at Harbison State Forest in North Columbia.  I made Paul walk ahead of me so I didn't have to walk through the spider webs.  It makes sense though . . . I mean the webs hit me in the face but they hit him in the shoulders.  That seems like it would be much easier to handle.  No one wants a spider in their face.  After the hike we did a little baby shopping then came home for some hamburgers on the grill.  Later we went to the park to watch a spectacular fireworks show with practically the whole city.  Once again it was incredibly hot and muggy.  Story of my life.

Paul left today for yet another TDY.  I swear we've only been home for 3 of the 7 months that have gone by this year.  I'm sad I can't go with him this time (ya know because I'm pregnant and all that jazz) but Annie's coming to keep me company and that basically equals party time.

Lake Wateree

Hi, I'm Abby.  I'm 34 weeks pregnant and I went kayaking on a lake with my husband in 100 degree weather.  This was our kayak.  It weighed about a million pounds.

This is me showing off my life vest that was too loose on the top and too tight on the bottom.  Also, sidenote, I bought a lot of pink maternity clothes . . . you might suppose I'm having a girl, but no.

Here's Paul the man waiting to return our life vests.  He was the champion paddler/steerer because he has all the muscles and stuff.  Also, he's an Eagle Scout.

We kayaked out to that little island in the middle of the lake, had a picnic, and swam in the water.  And we got majorly burned by our friend the sun.  Did I mention it was 100 degrees?

But it was a fantastic day.  And I'm glad my husband is so nice.  And also strong enough to help me and my baby out of a kayak.

And just for fun, here's a picture of the cockroach that I found in my shower the other day.  I killed it, don't worry.

San Angelo in Numbers

During our 7 weeks in San Angelo we . . .

upped our bird count to 41 birds
used up 1.9 punch cards at our favorite frozen yogurt place
ate at our favorite tex mex restaurant Armenta's 4 times
consumed 12 blizzards
went to 2 San Angelo Colts baseball games (and got 1 free ticket!)
stayed in 5 hotels
bought 10 skeins of yarn and learned to crochet
sat through 1 hail storm
went to the pool 3 times
watched 3 seasons of The Big Bang Theory
celebrated 27 years of Paul's life
read 7 books
watched over 5 inches of rain fall (that's a ton compared to last year!)
saw 1 lunar eclipse
spent 10 dollars on a trip to the Abilene zoo
checked out 9 DVDs from the library and never watched them

Also . . .
our car thermometer registered a temperature of 122 degrees
I went from my 23rd to my 30th week of pregnancy

It wasn't a bad 7 weeks but we are definitely glad to be home!  When we got home our lawn was overgrown, but all of our stuff was here and there was only 1 cockroach in our house . . .

well, only 1 living cockroach . . . yuck!

Morvies

The Avengers.  Paul and I both liked this one!  The plot was a little simplistic and it almost seemed like the heroes fought with each other more than they fought against the enemy, but lots of stuff blew up so . . . I think we can overlook the lack-of-substance part.  Also, I was surprised with how funny it was.  Mostly Iron Man.

The Muppets.  Since Paul and I really like The Big Bang Theory I think the best part of this movie was Jim Parsons' cameo where he sang "Am I a Man or am I a Muppet".  That song and a few others were kind of catchy, and of course I think Amy Adams is adorable, but mostly the movie was a dud.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  Meh.  This was mostly weird.  Not bad necessarily, but it wasn't my favorite.

We Bought a Zoo.  Matt Damon.  I thought it was sad and cute.

Larry Crowne.  Yeah, it was okay.  Kind of weird, but with a nice message.  I was crocheting while it was on so I don't know if I can really give an accurate assessment.

And Star Wars (all the episodes) was on TV recently and Paul and I watched a few.  I know I've seen Episode I, II, and IV, but I can't be sure about any of the other ones.  At least, I wouldn't remember them if I saw them.  Paul was making fun of me because I kept asking who was who during Episode I.  He also pointed out that I really don't understand a lot of pop culture references to Star Wars since I barely know the characters.  Oh well, there are worse things.

Next week Paul is going to California with his class for 4 days so I'll be all alone.  I was thinking about borrowing Gilmore Girls from the library, but I can't decide which season, 1 or 2?  Any good chick flicks I should watch?

SA State Park Birds

So Paul and I might have a new favorite hobby.  Ever since we bought a bird book in the Smoky Mountains we've been trying to spot and identify birds.  During the day we'll sit out and watch for them.  Just outside our hotel and around the base we've seen a blue jay (we named him Jay; clever, no?), white-winged doves, mockingbirds, western kingbirds, house sparrows, and grackles.  A few weeks ago the Kindle daily deal was The Audobon Bird Guide app for freeee so that helps us identify them.  We also got a Birds of Texas book from the library last week and that helps too.  AND Paul bought binoculars with some of his birthday money so now we're basically pros.  Turns out bird watching can be really fun.

On Saturday we went to San Angelo State Park to birdwatch.  It was about 100 degrees out.  We brought all of our gear, but forgot the camera.  Here are some of the cooler-looking birds we saw.

Pyrrhuloxia

 

Greater Roadrunner

Bullock's Oriole

Summer Tanager

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher

Curve-billed Thrasher

We also saw Turkey Vultures, a Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and a few others that we failed to identify.  AND we saw a jack rabbit, a huge wild pig, bison, a Texas long-horn herd, and prairie dogs, which were all awesome too.

Our life list now has 27 birds on it, only counting the ones we've seen since our hobby began.   Next weekend we plan on birding at the lake and we'll probably go every other weekend too.  It's nice to spend some time outside but since you don't have to do much to watch birds we're able to stay cool in this desert weather.

The Great Smoky Mountains Day 3

Our last day in the park started out rainy and stormy, so we went to breakfast at a diner in town and waited out the rain a little bit.  Then we went out to try our luck on some more hikes.

It was still a little rainy when we drove up Lakeview Drive past this view of Fontana Lake.  I was glad that we had the umbrella.

Then we went to hike the Tunnel Bypass Trail and it was really fun.  First we walked through this long tunnel.  It was so dark in the middle that we couldn't see our feet.  Can you see the opening way at the other end?

The rest of the hike was so beautiful.  I kept hoping that we would see another bear, but the only wildlife we saw were some birds that were taunting us with their chirps.  At least it stopped raining!

After hiking, we went for another picnic and by the time we were finished we were surrounded by at least 6 crows.  It was a little eerie, like they were about to attack us or something.  Luckily they waited until we got in the car to swoop down on our table and scrounge for leftovers.

We went back to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to finish out the day.  We walked around the historic farm and then found an awesome spot to skip rocks into the river.  This also reminded me very much of Waterton.

Paul was really good at skipping rocks and throwing rocks across the river.  Here he is playing a game I think my uncle Tom taught me in Waterton.  You try to throw as many rocks as possible out of one hand before your first one hits the water.  (sorry the video is sideways).

I was okay too but hit myself on the chest.

We hiked the rest of the Oconaluftee River Trail, saw some birds, and then went back to Bryson City for more ice cream and to rest from another long day.

These last pictures are for my dad.  The NC entrance to the park is on the Cherokee Indian Reservation so most of the signs have English and Cherokee on them.  Neat eh?  This and the fact that there are juncos should be enough to convince him to come for a visit!

We had such a great time exploring the Great Smoky Mountains, and it turned out to be one of our favorite vacations of all time.  Mountains really have so much to offer and Paul and I are dreaming of owning a mountain cabin someday so we can hike and bird to our heart's content.

And for those of you who are curious . . . we ended up identifying 15 birds (but hearing and spotting, like, a billion more!): Carolina Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, American Crow, American Robin, Morning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Mallard Duck, Eastern Pheobe, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-tailed Hawk, Carolina Wren, Pigeon, Goose, and I swear there was a 15th.

The Great Smoky Mountains Day 2

We started out day 2 in the Deep Creek area of the park.  This area is known for its lovely babbling creek and for 3 even lovelier waterfalls, and we decided to hike to all of them.

The first was Juney Whank Falls.  We hiked up about half a mile to see this 90 foot waterfall.  We sat for a while and eventually spotted an Eastern Pheobe living under the bridge (that's a bird). 

Me hiking back down from the falls.  Do I look 23 weeks pregnant?

The next waterfall was called Tom Branch Falls, followed by Indian Creek Falls.  Both waterfalls were about 25 feet tall.

By this time my need for a bathroom was excruciatingly urgent, so we only wandered a little farther along the trail and then headed out to have a picnic.

Afterwards, we drove to the Cherokee Indian Reservation to see Mingo Falls.  I read somewhere that at 120 feet tall, Mingo Falls is one of the tallest and most spectacular waterfalls in the southern Appalachians.  Neat!  It was beautiful!

Mingo Falls was probably the best waterfall that we saw.  We had to climb approximately 160 stairs to get to it, but it was worth it.

Next we went to Mingus Mill, an historic gristmill on the other side of the park.  We watched a little demonstration of how the mill works and then took a short up-and-back hike along Mingus Creek.  On the way, we tried to find birds but all we could do was look towards their chirping for movement.  We decided that we need binoculars if we are ever going to be anything but amateurs.  

Then we decided to drive back up into the mountains to see the view at Newfound Gap.  It was once again gorgeous.

While we were up there we saw some Dark-eyed Juncos!  These made me think of home because my parents are always telling me about the juncos they see in their backyard.  They are pretty fun to watch.

My hiking buddy!  and me.

Then we headed back to Bryson City after some dinner.  Paul posed in front of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad train for me right before we went for ice cream.  I got a chocolate-dipped waffle cone with two scoops of ice cream and for a minute I thought I was in Waterton.  I can't wait to take Paul to Waterton someday, because I just know he would love it.

That night we sat out on the porch in an attempt to improve our birding skills.  We saw a cardinal that pooped on our car and we named him Pete.