Terry and I have been avidly mountain biking since last summer when we were introduced to Lebanon Hills in Eagan. It was an amazing trail that was more intense than we were prepared for, but very fun. One of the best things is getting to ride through the woods, see the scenery (haha) and be in the shade! Most of the time you’re staring at the trail immediately ahead of you so you don’t see a whole lot of scenery unless you’re stopping for a water break, but it is a lot of fun and great exercise! We did go mountain biking prior to the Lebanon trek but I prefer to think of it as our first “good” mountain biking experience–please refer to the following link to get the full story.
*If you want to learn the importance of drinking water while mountain biking and a little about the Minnesota River Bottoms trail you should read this post.*
Earlier this summer Terry & Trevor biked Battle Creek, Salem HIlls & Minnesota River Bottoms.
These are pictures from the River Bottoms Trail.
A couple weeks ago we (Terry, Tracey & I) biked Salem Hills. It was my first time out since having Abigail, and really my first time since last September. It was pretty rough on me but I made it up most of the hills without stopping and it was a nice area to bike in. My arms got a little scraped from close raspberry bushes but that was the closest I got to getting hurt. I got a new bike from REI which made the biking much easier than last year. It is a hardtail with lockout front suspension (Scott Aspect 55). My previous bike was a cheap full suspension and I lost so much power from the rear suspension that it make biking much more difficult.
This Saturday we (Terry, Tracey & I) went to Murphy-Hanrehan which is south of Savage. This was a pretty sweet ride. Some real steep hils and tons of berms and quite curvy! I really need to learn how to slide the turns (like drifting in a car) instead of turning them. We only rode the Beginner & Intermediate because Tracey & I were getting tired and the Expert course would have added another 7 miles on to our ride! One thing that helped so much more this week was that Terry and I had our hydration bladders (Camelbaks) along instead of a water bottle. We didn’t have to make so many stops & I know I stayed more hydrated than if I’d had to grab a bottle when I needed a drink.
Next Saturday we’re biking Battle Creek with one of Terry’s work friends & his wife.
Abigail has gotten quality time with Grandma Kathy each time we go out!
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After I changed Abigail’s diaper this morning she was just staring at her mobile (it’s pretty normal for her) looking so cute & happy that I had to get a few shots!
Two weekends ago when we were camping Abigail was wearing these pj’s and Terry put her up against his sister’s tent and said “Abbybear is coming to get you! Grrr!”
So she’s our little Abbybear!
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If you can’t tell, we like to camp–even with a new baby! Mostly the change doesn’t affect her, she sleeps well almost anywhere. It was a little warm on Saturday so she wouldn’t nap until we took her for a drive. We took the opportunity to have a root beer float at A&W.
We had to bring the dogs to their weekend home (Terry’s mom’s house–only when we can’t take them with) on Thursday night. Terry brought Abigail with him while I went out to knit with April. I think Kathy liked getting to see Abigail!
This is our new tent. It worked great last weekend, this weekend it took on some water. Partially how we set it up, but mostly a design issue that we’re not real pleased with. If you really care, just ask.
Abigail had fun with her grandparents (you can see my niece smiling in the background too).
We got to meet the girlfriend of a friend of ours. Her name is Elizabeth and she’s quite nice. I think it would be good for him to keep her around! This is a funny picture, but I don’t think Paul should be jealous of my dad! I’m pretty sure she likes Paul more!
My mom and I did some sock knitting over the weekend. I’m working on the Diagonal Cross-Rib socks from Favorite Socks from Interweave Press using KnitPicks Essential Tweed and she’s working on her very first pair of socks. She wanted short socks for summer so I let her pick some yarn from my stash (J. Knits Superwash Me Sock in Cincinnati) & I worked out a basic pattern for her. I’m helping her with the toe in this picture. I don’t think she was prepared or noticed that Terry was actually taking a picture of us. I’m used to him taking pictures all the time so I always try to be ready!
I think she liked hanging out with her cousins too. This is Cora holding her.
We had a good weekend. I don’t know of anymore camping plans for the rest of this summer, but we’re already starting to plan for next summer!
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Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 3 months already since Abigail was born! She has grown so much & she’s so much fun! Happy 3 month birthday Abigail!
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The Loopy Ewe has been around for 2 years! Go to their Anniversary blog post, leave a comment and be entered to win some great yarn! They’ve saved some Wollmeise and lots of other fun prizes! The winner(s) will be announced this Friday (August 8th)!
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I don’t know if you think this family photo needs an explanation, but I will give you one anyway.
We were camping this weekend with Terry’s family. They get together twice a year and we always have a theme. This year the theme was the “Olympics”. Terry was a canoer and I’m sitting at home in my chinese silk robe watching the Olympics on TV with my baby. Abigail was going to come in the original attire of the Greek olympians (naked) but I had to wake her up from her nap for the pictures so I figured she might not like getting undressed too.
She was suprisingly happy!
I was also trying to sell postcards of the Great Wall, Tim was a ticket scalper & Jenna was wearing a dress I brought back from China. Doesn’t she look chinese?
I did get a good amount of sock knitting done but I never thought to take a picture when I had my knitting close.
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Right now i’m working on the third pair of little socks for my little darling. I”m using Ann Budd’s Better than Booties Baby Socks pattern–free from Knitting Daily. I’ve made 2 pairs of the ruffled rib & I’m working on the chevron lace right now. These are great for using up adult sock leftovers! I’ve used a size 1 rather than the 0 the pattern calls for and used about 20 grams of yarn for a pair. (At least I think it was twenty!)
I also made a pair of the ruffled rib for my youngest niece. I knew her feet were bigger than Abigail’s (being 6 months older) but I just guessed on how much bigger. I increased the foot length by 8 rows and my sister said they fit! Wohoo! I still have a bunch of the orange & brown striped yarn I used so I may have to whip out a pair to match for Abigail before the next time all of us get together.
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Thursday night my parents came for a visit & a day of babysitting Abigail.
It was a pretty exciting day for her. She had her grandparents there for a full day while mom & dad were at work, she got to try out a new type of bottle that was AWESOME! (Thanks Kirstin!) The previous bottles were not so good, she would end up needing at least one clothes change afterwards because of milk leekage! Grandma & Grandpa also cleaned the house for us–I guess that was more exciting for me & Terry than Abigail! Then there was a pretty big storm that rolled through in the evening.
Didn’t Terry get an amazing picture of the storm?
While we were waiting out the storm in the basement Abigail wasn’t very happy, we tried a variety of different things & then Grandpa decided to give it a try.
He swung her back & forth like this & she sent multiple drool streams onto the floor & the dog! That made her happy!
On Saturday morning I helped my mom start her first sock with some of my own stash (I need the help knitting it up!) J. Knits Superwash Me - Sock (Ravelry link) in the colorway Cincinnati. She wanted some real short socks for summer and I didn’t have any patterns like that so we just looked at another sock pattern and modified it a little for what she wanted.
I also wound some yarn (MadelineTosh Sock in Malachite) to start a new pair of socks with the pattern that came with the yarn from the yarn4socks sock club. The pattern is Scarborough Fair and is now available from the designer’s website.
My parents left early saturday afternoon and the rest of the weekend was rather “blah” due to my other visitor…a cold. I’m doing much better than I was on Friday, but I think Abigail kinda caught it too as she hasn’t been a real happy camper this weekend either!
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Abigail had her 2-month appointment on Monday so we finally know how much she weighs! Our girl has gained 4 pounds since birth which brings her up to 11 lbs 6 oz, and she has grown 3 inches for a total height of 23 3/4 inches! We knew she was getting bigger!
The doctor said she looks just great and is developing very well! The only downer about the appointment was that Abigail had to get 4 shots and one oral vaccine! The gave the shots very quickly (2 in each thigh) but she still got very upset and I felt bad for her. Shots aren’t fun at any age!
1 day
15 days
1 month 3 days…playing air guitar!
6 weeks
7 weeks 5 days
2 months - Didn’t she get me a beautiful daisy?
She keeps changing every day!
She did get to go over to Grandma Kathy’s in the evening and she really enjoyed being comforted by grandma! Also, Abigail was missing the dogs after being at camp for so long, so she said we had to go get them.
No, this isn’t a picture of Grandma. She managed to avoid being captured on camera with Abigail. Do you like her monkey suit? She got it from her uncle Jon “Monkey Boy” Myrvik.
To finish up the news from camp last week:
Notice anything different in this picture? Maybe my husband’s lack of hair? He’d wanted to shave his head for a long time (pretty much as long as I’ve known him), but I always told him that I like him with hair. Well, we both succumbed to peer pressure at camp and Terry became one of the baldy’s:
He also said he didn’t want Abigail to feel bad about her short hair so he wants to have less than her. 
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Abigail had a great time at Family Camp in Alexandria last week. She got to spend lots of time with Mom & Dad, got lots of fresh air and met many new people. There’s nothing that draws people in like a new baby!
She also got to meet her great-grandparents & great aunt in Osakis!
She got lots of quality “Daddy Time”
and “Mommy Time”
and “Tummy Time”
Grandpa Mike even helped motivate her!
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