Abigail looking at pictures with Grandpa Mike

Aunt Tracey teaching her how to text

With the birthday daddy:

Terry and his sheepskin slippers from Abigail:

He got a new sleeping bag from me:

Here he is with Abigail trying it out:

He also got a couple new games from me:

This is the gameboard on Sunday after I beat him!

Both of these games are really fun! I can’t wait to play them some more!

She weighs 17lbs 7oz & is 26.5 inches tall!

More pictures are coming soon!

The two cousins (Abigail & Melanie) wore matching dresses on Sunday but I guess we never even took a picture of them together! They were very cute!

She also realized that tags are the best part of toys so here she is trying her hardest to get the tag and chew on it!

I did get some knitting done this weekend despite my cold.

That picture was on Friday night. After going to knitting last night I’m 1/2 an inch from starting the toe!

I also worked on a pair of mittens for Abigail while we were driving on Saturday but that was the worst day of my cold so I didn’t even get one done!

I am so proud of everything he has done.

He decided that going back to college was really important to him and to our future. He did that very well and found an amazing job with great people to work with when he was finished. He convinced me to do the same and I am better for having done it!

He is an absolutely wonderful dad! I couldn’t do this parenting thing without him! He is so sweet, caring and fun with Abigail and she loves to play with him!

Terry is a really wonderful husband. He is so caring, helpful and encouraging to me! When he really likes something he wants everyone else he cares about to try it too and hopefully they will enjoy it just as much! He did get me into mountain biking & strategy games and I really like being able to enjoy those things with him!

Terry, thank you for letting me enjoy the past 5.73 years with you! I can’t wait to see what our future holds!

Happy Birthday!

A good friend of mine lost her job last week, then I got a cold & went away for the weekend so I’ve been busy.

Here’s my cutie on 10/15

and on 10/19 in the sweater I knit her (btw, it didn’t fit her as well a week later!)

That same day Terry went mountain biking with one of his friends from work.
This is Charlie,

Terry & I found out today that Charlie & Meagan are having a baby in May! Congratulations!

I don’t have the pictures uploaded from the weekend so that will have to be another post!

This past week Abigail has been sleeping better. She’s only getting up once between 4am & 5am rather than a couple times throughout the night. She also really likes sweet potatoes, thinks peas taste pretty good and isn’t totally sold on green beans. She did really want to try our pizza last night but I just don’t think it would taste the same pureed!

Terry decided we should go here as part of my birthday celebration and I thought it was a great idea! Terry’s mom came with us as an extra pair of hands to help with Abigail (but we really like to hang out with her too!).

We took over 400 pictures & it was absolutely beautiful so even though there are a lot of pictures in this post, it’s a very small percentage!

I worked on a pair of socks, learned how to use my new compass (really not that hard!) and then we ate some brats off the grill!

It was a wonderful day!

We got Abigail in the backpack then started out on our pothole tour!

I was knitting during the tour but I was trying to be careful and not drop a needle into any of the potholes!

No matter how much I liked my needles or needed them I don’t think I’d climb down to get one that dropped!

Abigail only made it in the backpack for a little while until she got hungry, thankfully our tour was basically done then. So we sat on part of the cliff and enjoyed the view!

The St. Croix River

We stopped at Schoony’s Malt shop for a little refreshment & to avoid the Asian beetles that were everywhere!

Abigail liked the view on the bridge to Wisconsin

Kathy & I were shocked to see potholes on the Wisconsin side too!

She enjoyed the fall walk in the sling/wrap

so much that she fell asleep! I had to tuck her head in so it wouldn’t flop around

Terry almost convinced his mom to scale the side of the cliff, but she decided getting in a pothole was more her style!

Terry was a little concerned while he was in this pothole, he said the “bottom” didn’t feel very solid!

She woke up!

We found a couple little friends along our walk

Here I am contemplating the Abigail sized pothole

Mommy you’re right! This is fun!

Now for Daddy’s idea!

What’s that?

The pine needles and pine cones were more interesting than mom!

What a cutie!

Terry took this awesome photo

On our way home Terry was looking everywhere for a yarn shop for me to stop at and I didn’t even ask him too! We found a cute one in Lindstrom, Miss Elsie’s Yarnery. It’s actually part of Cottage Gifts so they have more than just yarn! I found some great yarn, Nashua Vignette, it’s a bulky superwash wool in very pretty colors! I picked out the Distant Mountains color. I started a hat on Monday and I just have to do the finishing on it tonight and then start the matching mittens!

My birthday was last Wednesday and I turned 26.

Remember the cake my super wonderful awesome sister made me? Well, I brought it to work on Wednesday to share with everyone. More than one person asked if I made my own birthday cake, but I made sure they knew it was my sister! So we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and immediately after that we had chocolate cake.

Then the girls took me out to Macaroni Grill (thanks for taking the pictures Andrea!)

And after an awesome lunch of Penne Rustica I got another chocolate cake (our nice server actually gave us 2 of these! We brought one back to the office for the guys!)

I also got flowers for my desk from the office and they are still looking great a week later!

After work it was time for more celebrating!
Abigail got me a compass, survival whistle(also includes waterproof matches, flint, etc) and a single burner propane stove!

Terry got me an awesome lightweight sleeping bag and a really great set of stainless steel pans! I’ve used them a couple times and I really love them!

Abigail really liked the tissue paper in my presents!

Here is my 3rd Chocolate cake of the day

We didn’t eat it right then thankfully! We opened presents first so Abigail would be awake and happy for the pictures then we went to Famous Dave’s for supper.

This was her first time sitting in one of the typical restaurant highchairs and she had fun looking at people and playing until just before our food arrived! She did the same thing the next Saturday so we’re changing our strategy–we’re not going to put her in until our food arrives then at least we’ll have a few minutes to eat while she plays!

When we got home we did not eat chocolate cake thankfully! It was a small cake but we ate it over a couple nights which made it more of a treat!

Today the office had a little birthday celebration for Andrea and I because last week all the department heads were gone. So guess what they got me? A chocolate cake! I think I’m going to need a little break from chocolate for awhile!

We celebrated 6 birthdays this past Sunday. I’ll just give you a few highlights.

I’m pretty sure she liked her present… It was some material to make a tablecloth, placemats (maybe) & napkins plus some paint to match. She asked for all these things because she’s going to make an orange & yellow tea set and she wanted material to go with it.

Terry & I got the Three Wisemen to add to our Nativity Set & special cakes for each of us!

Deb made a cake for me to bring to work on my birthday and she made Terry a cake for us to share on his birthday because it’s all the way at the end of the month. It’s hard to see but it says “Terry 28″ on his cake. He won’t be 28 but he thought Deb was turning a year older than she actually was so she had to tease him back!

I gave Jeannette the Caledonian Mist socks I finished knitting that morning. She moved too fast for Terry to get a clear picture. Later she said that they really kept her feet warm! I’m so glad she likes them!

Abigail with her oldest uncle Jon:

Playing piano with her cousin Cora:

With her cousin Jenna:

With uncle Dan:

The sisters knitting:

I’m working on a hat for Abigail and Deb is working on her first sock! My mom is casting on for her second sock in the far left of the picture.

And I can’t forget to show you Melanie’s first taste of cake!

Hey Dad? I think I like this one!

This yarn tastes so yummy! And soft too!

Do I have yarn on my tongue?

I’d say we had a great weekend and I’ll post about the rest of it later!

I know talk about the bailout is everywhere right now but I for one (and there are many, many more) do not think the bailout is a good or appropriate measure right now.

Norm Coleman admitted that the calls coming in to his office before the U.S. Senate voted on this unconstitutional bill were approximately 11,000 to 100 against the bill and yet he did not listen to the people he claims to represent.

Our country has gone through more than one bubble bursting in the past, we’ve all survived and our economy has held on and grown. A major reason we haven’t plunged into depressions because of those bubbles is because the government has left the private sector alone. Now, this year, today it decides that they (Congress) will be the saviors of us all by adding regulations and throwing money at us. Why is this crisis the one they decide to “fix”?

It is critical that our country look to the past and learn from it. This is an excellent article put out by the CATO Institute in September of 2005 regarding how government intervention actually caused the Great Depression rather than helping us out of it.

I believe we will be headed for another Great Depression if this bailout bill does pass in the U.S. House today. Government intervention into the private sector and the market has not worked in the past, so why should it work now?

**Just after I posted this, the House vote took place and the bailout bill was passed. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see exactly what the ramifications are.

I’m thinking about my next projects and which ones are going to have the soonest deadlines.  Thankfully I don’t officially have another thing that needs to be completed until the 1st week in Dec, but then Christmas is right around the corner so I should probably make a list outside of the one in my head so I don’t forget all my plans!

Terry & I were talking the other night about how much we spend on gifts and we set up a special sub-account in our savings account with ING just for Christmas & birthday gifts.  BTW I love ING and all the features you get but I think the best part is that you earn interest on your checking with no minimum balance and you get about 3.0% interest on checking & savings! If you decide to open up an account with them let me know because if you get referred I think we both get a little free money!

Anyway, I said to Terry that I’m going to try and make things for ppl for Christmas and he said, don’t you spend about that much to make something too? I had to admit that it doesn’t necessarily “save” money to make gifts for people and it adds some stress (when I get down to the wire on a deadline), but I really like to do it if I can!

http://blog.abigailpearson.com

Some of her updates that were previously on here will now be on her own site!

And a “Goodnight Moon” cake.

Abigail had lots of fun with her Aunt Tracey and she loved watching this video over the weekend!

This weekend we also installed a programmable thermostat and completely rearranged the living room.

I’ll post pictures of the living room once we finish it up tonight!

I also finished a pillow I started quite awhile ago. I finished the blocks probably in June but i just never got around to sewing them together! So here is the finished product!

Now what was I reaching for?

She had fun sitting there laughing at Terry (with her new blanket from Michelle on her lap) then she decided laying down would be more fun.

P.S. It was my dad’s birthday on Monday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!

I got some organizing and laundry done. Then a bit of knitting on the Caledonian Mist socks and plans for our next big birthday party are in the works!

Abigail looks pretty happy after her bath on Friday night doesn’t she?

Terry worked on the lawn and some residual dirt piles from putting in the patio.

I don’t think I ever posted a photo of the finished patio–I also didn’t take a picture of just the patio so bear with me–there is a cute baby in some of them!

We got a new patio set too!

He also went mountain biking on Sunday but I’ll let him tell you about that.

Don’t you think it looks fun?

She weighed in at 15lbs 2oz, height of 26in and a head circumference of 16in.

Then we waited quite awhile for her doctor to come in. He looked her over and said she’s doing just great! He said we’ll probably have to lay her down next time to look in her ears because she’s just so squirmy! My baby’s a mover! She’s never in the same spot in her crib in the morning–she’s usually facing the opposite direction!

When we got home there was a package on the step from Michelle & Scott our good friends from Washington! Inside was the cutest blanket that Michelle (I assume Scott didn’t make it) made just for Abigail! It is so soft and Abigail grabbed it right away!

I basically finished the DIC Tulip Cardigan on Saturday night after the Renaissance Festival. I still have a few ends left to weave in on the second sleeve. I decided to use the leftover yarn for a hat for Abigail using this pattern without the face. I’m using US4 dpns and making the color changes every 6 rows.

I’ll leave you with a video of Abigail playing in her exersaucer before bed on Monday night:

I had a 12oz prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and a ceasar salad. The prime rib was very tender and juicy. I enjoyed it. Terry had swordfish with basmatti rice and a ceasar salad. The swordfish had a mango sauce on it. Terry was expecting to be sweet and citrus but it was mostly just spicy.  He did enjoy the swordfish without the extra sauce.

Abigail was very well behaved and all the servers were impressed by her!

Then we brought Abigail down to Grandma Kathy’s while we went to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We really enjoyed this movie and it looks like they used this as a stepping stone for the next generation of Indiana Jones movies as Harrison Ford is starting to get pretty old.

Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the Renaissance Festival.

This was our first time and the most disappointing thing was the weather. It rained all day.

We tried the turkey legs–very good and took in the Mud Show among other things.

We tried to get a picture of our cousin Dan working at the Roasted Corn booth but he doesn’t like pictures.

That’s him through the window hiding from us. His coworkers kept warning him that Terry was coming with the camera.
Abigail got her first taste of a can of Diet Pepsi (don’t worry–it was just the can not the pop)

I got to try out my new Ultimate Baby Wrap.

Abigail liked it and liked laughing at her Daddy as well! She’s wearing the hat her Auntie April knit for her before she was born. Isn’t it cute on her?

Sunday after church we went to ApplianceSmart to look at dishwashers. We found one that we really liked and was a good deal but it was still more than we were planning on spending so we’ll be saving up for a couple more months and then we’ll look again. We were very tired after Friday & Saturday so we all took naps after we got home.

Then elephant:

After that she played in her exersaucer:

Abigail chewing on her fingers last Tuesday (17 weeks)

I worked on the DIC Tulip Cardigan a bunch more this weekend. I finished the last stripe, measured the sweater and found that I must be a “bit” off on my row gauge (no row gauge was listed so I don’t know exactly how much). I knew my stitch gauge was off because I’m using smaller needles (US6 instead of US7) but I didn’t really think how that would also affect the length of the sweater. After finishing all eight colors & the edging the sweater should have been about 10.5 inches long from the top of the shoulder. I measured before starting the edging and was at about 8″–which would mean 2.5″ of seed stitch edging. I thought that would look a little funny since each stripe was about an inch wide. So I decided to repeat one of the colors to get the sweater to an acceptable length. I repeated Wisterious (the 3rd color from the previous picture/post). It looks good next to the last color Beach Fog and it comes immediately before Ruby River in the sweater which is also the edging color.

I finished the first Caledonian Mist sock a few weeks ago. Started on July 24. Finished about 2 weeks later.

I love the way the ShiBui Knits Breeze colorway looks with this pattern (the yarn called for by the designer so I’d hope so!) I love these socks!
I’m also almost finished with my first sock of the Diagonal-Cross Rib socks from Favorite Socks. Details can be found here. I started this one on July 26 but stopped when I started the Starry Night socks for my sister on August 12.

Sunday afternoon I was 4 or 5 decrease rounds into the heel gusset and I got all the decreasing done and most of the foot done that day and Monday and I started the toe decreases on Wednesday.

So that would mean from July 24 - Sept 3 I’ve basically knit 2 pairs of socks. Only one is a full set, but I’m still working on the others!

Earlier in the evening on Thursday Abigail looked like this:

Deb–thanks for the cute outfit!

While I was gone she looked like this:

Feeding herself

And like this:

On a walk with Daddy

After I got home she looked like this:

Sleepy girl

Terry works in downtown St Paul close to the Xcel. Each day this week he’s been allowed to leave work 1 to 1/2 hours early in order to stay out of the RNC traffic and protests. Because of this Abigail has gotten much more Daddy time and less Mommy time than normal. I guess yesterday while I was out knitting she seemed sad and Terry could not get her to stay awake long enough for me to get home. So he let her doze next to him on the couch until I got home.
She did wake up soon after that last picture and we talked about her day and played pat-a-cake and smiled at each other before she decided she needed her last meal of the day.

In every picture someone was moving–this time the blurry blob is Casey!

Saturday morning (okay it was actually noon) we left for my parents house. A quick stop at sam’s club to pick up reprints for them and some lunch for all 3 of us.

This was one of the pictures I cropped and got wallet prints of. Isn’t she cute?

Then a stop in Marshall to pick up a TracFone for my parents for their birthdays (if you want one that works on a CDMA network you have to buy it in the area it’s going to be used–they only have GSM TracFones in our area). We weren’t celebrating birthdays until Sunday but we figured it would be better for them to have a few more hours to learn things and work out the bugs so we gave it to them right after supper on Saturday.

Then Abigail got an education on the Twins from Grandpa (unfortunately they lost–she went to bed beforehand so she didn’t have to see the disappointment).

She was very well behaved except when she decided it would be fun to give Grandpa a hickey on his arm–he decided that wasn’t a good idea and gave her a pacifier instead.

I worked hard on the Starry Starry Night Socks for my sister (Knit Picks Gloss in Dolphin)

I wasn’t too concerned about getting them finished–I was working on the toe of the second sock. Then I took a little detour and helped my mom with her sock. It all worked out though because Abigail was up and hungry at 6am Sunday so I just stayed awake and finished knitting, grafting & weaving in ends before church. It is so nice to have a sister with the same size feet as you–i never have to guess on whether they will fit!

Abigail wasn’t thinking that a nap during church was a good idea, so she didn’t. We finally found a pack’n'play around 12:15pm and she slept in there for maybe 1/2 an hour while we ate (we were having a wedding reception lunch).

She finally got a nap in when we drove to my brother’s at 3pm and she slept until about 5:30 when everyone got back from playing on the lake. I got a much needed nap also!

We had bacon cheeseburgers on the grill, cheesy potatoes, potatoes & asparagus and chips. All were very tasty. My mom and I took care of the cake–My sister’s recipe for “The Best Deep Dark Chocolate Cake” with a yummy chocolate frosting that is more like a glaze, it’s got a real nice sheen to it once it dries.

My sister really liked her socks–she put them on right away!

Everyone had fun holding Abigail, playing with her and seeing how much she’s grown in the last month and a half!

I have a cute picture of the youngest cousins together! Melanie liked to try and hug Abigail until the camera came out–then she just wanted to smile for us. That was okay too!

We left for home Monday morning, stopped at Grandma Kathy’s, had an early supper with her and then brought the dogs home.

It was a very nice weekend!

There were a few people there with us!

Family photo

At the DNR building with Grandpa Mike

Eating Pancakes-on-a-stick (not as exotic as chocolate-covered-bacon but they were good!)

Asleep in her stroller (she never stayed asleep very long–she was very tired by the end of the day!)

In her new sling (finished the night before). She really liked holding on to and sucking on the edge!

With mom

Terry told Abigail before we left that she would get to see some animals but we never made it to the animal barns. We did stopped by the Miracle of Birth barn on our way out and Abigail really liked looking at the piglets and a sheep looked right at her and bleated! Terry jumped from surprise and so did Abigail but then they kept staring at each other!

I assume this is the Wall of Death.  I’ve been told it is much steeper than the picture shows.

Here is the buck. It was bigger than the picture shows. It was sitting on the trail, then watched part of our group from about 10 feet off then it heard Terry & I coming and bounded off (apparently we are really loud).

The trails at Battle Creek, besides being thoroughly confusing, are the softest I’ve ever tried to ride. There was so much sand, loose gravel, HUGE hills, & ruts that I was exhausted before we even rode a majority of the trail. One of the hills was so steep (and soft I feared) that I wouldn’t even ride down it for fear of hurting myself.

Charlie & Megan are going to have to come try out one of the many trails we ride. I heard whispers of Minnesota River Bottoms!

Before Grooming:

After Grooming:

She was even “fluffier” on Friday than the first picture shows. I think she looks really good without all that extra fur and the house was really starting to look like we should be vacuuming more often from her shedding!

Then she decided that it was time to chew on her fist (she loves this!)

Monday we drove to REI to bring our bikes in for their Warranty Tune-ups.  I love REI! We saw the fellow that helped us find Terry’s bike and he was quite happy that we still liked it and he got to see Abigail too (she was just a BIG bulge last time)!

Tuesday was bath time w/Mommy after eating on the patio. I am usually the support person (grabbing towels, diaper, wipes, etc) while Terry does the actual bathing, but Terry was washing dishes so I washed Abigail!

Wednesday must be fun event night for us. Last week we went to the movies. This week we decided to go to the Mall of America as a last fun event since it is Jenna’s last week with us.

I got some sock knitting done while we wandered,

Terry ran into Barack Hussein Obama (Terry’s face isn’t because the sock doesn’t look good),

Abigail had a fun time looking at all the stores while she rode in her stroller,

Jenna did some shopping,

And then we had dessert at the Rainforest Cafe. Jenna & I shared a huge piece of cheesecake! Excellent!

We were shocked to discover that my brother (Jenna’s dad) was there too!

There was also a scary snake on our way out!

If we were part of “Man vs Wild” we would have killed and eaten it right there.

Tonight (Thursday) Terry is going back to REI to pick up our bikes and I have my knitting group.

Tomorrow (Friday) Jenna’s mom is coming to get her and I’m bringing Casey in to get groomed!

What a week!

*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!

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!

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!

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)!

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.

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.

It was a pretty exciting day for her.  She had her grandparents there for a full day while mom & dad were at wo