Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, grandpas, papas, and godfathers in our lives!!!!!




Dear Daddy,

Happy 2nd Father's Day! I think you are the best daddy in the whole world! You make me laugh more than anybody!! I get so excited when I hear the garage door open when you get home from work..I run so fast to the gate to say "Hi" to you. I love when you read me books in your silly voices and rock me to bed at night. Thank you for all the fun things you do with me! I love you so much, Daddy!

Love, Abigail Grace



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We had a GREAT weekend. On Saturday we went to the Flyers game with Staniaks and other friends! It was a fund-raiser so it was a great game for a great cause! Abigail loved just being at the stadium! She had so much fun I think Mommy and Abigail are going to go back next Friday with Grandma and Grandpa!



Showing off her new hat!


Sunday, Father's Day, was a very relaxing day at the Wennerstrom home. Both our dads were out of town so we spent the day just relaxing as a family. All Rob wanted to do on his Father's day was smoke ribs in his smoker and spend time relaxing.

Wagon rides outside!!!!!

Daddy is teaching Abigail all about "Man Food".

Look at that spread! Happy Father's Day, Rob!

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Tomorrow is Abigail's 1/2 birthday. As most people know, since Abigail's birthday is 3 days before Christmas (and she shares her birthday with a pretty important baby...Jesus), we decided we would always celebrate her 1/2 birthday too so she has a special day all to herself!
It is just a small event that we do as a family that includes 1/2 a cake or 1/2 cupcakes and 1 present! I can't believe my "baby" is 18 months tomorrow. She is so funny. She is starting to talk more...and while we don't always know what she's saying, she's starting to repeat things more. Her favorite song is "Twinkle Twinkle" because she had add her words "up, high, I". Her favorite book hands down is Brown Bear. I am absolutely amazed at how much she LOVES this book. We read it 20+ times a day, and she reads it 20+ times to herself too. She is starting to stack blocks and loves to feed her dolly. She loves the cabinet with bottles and plastic bowls and spoons in it and is always mixing things together. She loves to brush her teeth..which is because she is able to get up on her step stool and get her toothbrush out of her drawer all by herself. She will still eat any fruit or vegetable put in front of her, but she has started a new thing where she won't swallow her food...she just keeps it in her mouth. I did the same thing as a kid (earning the nickname Chipmunk). One day after nap she still had turkey in her mouth from lunch. She still LOVES Kramer and wants to hold his leash on walks. She loves going to the pool and has no fear of the water! She continues to be our little princess and mommy and daddy's pride and joy!

Happy 18 months, Abigail!!!! We love you!!!

17 Weeks

I was just trying a different place in the living room but it came out a little "artistic"...I wasn't going for this look but it's kind of sweet of mommy and baby

How far along? 17 Weeks

Total weight gain: 6 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes. Wore my new maternity bathing suit this week to the pool...it was GREAT! I wish I could wear it forever!!! So much more confident in a bathing suit with a big belly...call me crazy!

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Getting better...the couch is my new friend!!! Sleep so much better when leaning my back against it.

Best moment this week: Heard the heartbeat on the doppler right away..it was so cool!!!

Movement: Still not much...just a little "reminder" every day or two

Food cravings: peanut butter and jelly, gummi snacks, orange juice

Gender: Surprise!!! (Rob feels girl, I feel boy...only one can be right)

Labor Signs: No

What I miss: Hot dogs on the grill and salami sandwiches...but don't mind at all!

What I am looking forward to: Ordering my double stroller! (Baby Trend Sit n Stand Plus...has 2 seats now, but when Abigail is bigger it can be transitioned to 1 seat for Lil W and a bench for Abigail to ride on when need be.)

Weekly Wisdom: I am just telling myself to enjoy this! I really do enjoy every single day I'm pregnant!!!

Milestones: *This week is my 2nd check for a cerclage...if we make it through this week and the 20 week check, I'll be clear if it! *Showing more this week and enjoying my little belly! *Starting to think of names and purchases...big milestone for us!

Our Weekend in Cincinnati (Part 1)

This weekend we headed to Cincinnati for my cousin's wedding. It was our 1st official road trip (complete with car snacks, lunch packed in the cooler, and my favorite, truck stops)! Abigail was so good in the car. She usually cries when we do the drive up to the cabin so we were very nervous and I invested in every gadget possible to keep her entertained. However, she was great! Having the tv with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD was a big help. We had such a great family weekend...we really had a wonderful time! The wedding itself was beautiful...but I forgot my camera for the wedding so Part 2 will be coming later this week when I get pics from my sister and dad. In the meantime, here was our weekend up to the wedding.

We hit the road on Friday morning. While we did hit some traffic, we made it to Cincinnati by 5:00. My parents left around the same time and when we finally talked, we realized we were only like 10 cars away from each other...so we arrived at the same time! On Friday night my parents went to the rehearsal dinner. We took advantage of this time to explore Cincinnati. Of course we had Skyline Chili for dinner. Then we went to a music festival, walked along the river, saw the Red's and Bengal's stadium, and ended with ice cream! The hotel where we stayed was a Suite, so we had a seperate bed room, family room, and kitchen. It was perfect with Abigail because she was able to nap in her own room and we were able to feed her breakfast at home.

On Saturday, my sister flew in and the whole family went to Coney Island for the morning. Coney Island is a small little amusement park. It was really empty, which was GREAT for us because Abigail had the run of the park! We had some more Skyline for lunch and then headed back for a little nap before the wedding. The wedding and the reception were beautiful and so much fun...but I won't get into too many details until I get those pictures. However, I will stay that we were able to spend a lot of time with my aunt, uncle, and cousins who we don't get to see very often, so that was really great!!! My cousin Jodee and I are only 3 months apart and Abigail and her son are only 1 month apart, so we had lots to talk and laugh about!

On Sunday we had one more visit to Skyline...this time we went to the restaurant on University of Cincinnati's campus where my dad went to school...and then it was time for the 2nd leg of our road trip. Rob discovered how nice it was to sit in the back with Abigail and watch movies...so I drove most of the drive home. We were home by 4:00. It was such a great weekend...lots of family time!


Hitting the road


Abigail must have been telling us "This is my 1st of many road trips"! She is holding her tray...one of our many investments for the car.



Mmmm...Skyline Chili! It is a Cincinnati staple. It may be an acquired taste, but we LOVE it and literally ate it every single meal except at the reception. After 3 full days of it, you'd think I'd be sick of it...but right now I'd LOVE to have some! I think Lil W will LOVE Skyline after all I ate this weekend.


Downtown Cincinnati at a music festival



Abigail's 1st ride. We weren't sure how she'd do, but she LOVED it! She road it all by herself (luckily she was the only person on the ride, so we knew we could stop it if she didn't like it) and everytime she came around, she had the cutest smile on her face. She was so proud of herself every time she passed us...I wish I had my video camera because I never want to forget her smile!

Hold on tight (these things moved as slow as turtles..it was almost comical how slow they were)!

Discovering the bell on the train

Making sure all 5 of us were watching her and waving!

Aunt Katie and Abigail at Coney Island

They had this little town and Abigail LOVED the school because of the desk.

Our little student!

Check back for part 2...the wedding and reception!

Lots of Pictures!!!

We have been very busy the past few weeks. I had so many pictures that I had to pick one or two from each event to keep this from getting too long. Here are pictures of Dupage Children's Museum with the Hackneys, Brookfield Zoo with the Hackneys, Carol Stream Festival (yep, with the Hackneys, but we didn't have our camera the night they came with us), and a few random pics and visits.

Quick story to report: Abigail sang her 1st song. We were in the car listening to some of her nursery rhyme songs and I wasn't even paying attention to the song on the radio (Twinkle Twinkle) but she started singing "up" and "hi" in the cutest singing voice everytime she heard it on the song.

Here are the pics of our last week or so...

2 weeks ago, we went to the Dupage Children's Museum with the Hackneys. Abigail tried out the wind tunnel where you have to wear goggles...so cute!

Last week Renee and I braved Brookfield Zoo on the BUSIEST day of the year to go see The Little People Show...no, it's not a show with little people...it's a show put on by Fisher Price. The show was so much fun (the zoo was really crazy so I'd say the other best part of our day was ice cream)!

Believe it or not..Abigail was having so much fun...just an odd picture that looks like I'm torturing her by making her have fun at the zoo.

The Hackneys...so cute!!!!

Abigail just chilling watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse as Mommy prepares her milk...man does she have the life. I wish I could say I posed her but I didn't...she really was flipping channels.

Abigial went on her 1st pony ride at the Carol Stream Fest. Rob and I were expecting her to cry and be scared but she really loved it!!!

They even let her go around a 2nd time because she (and daddy...and mommy) was having so much fun!

The best part is they told us they have a really small white pony that they dress up as a pink princess that comes to Little Girls birthday parties! I told Rob that next summer we have to have a summer birthday party for Abigail....how cute would that be????

Abigail loved the ponies so much that Daddy took Abigail on the merry-go-round!

We had so much fun enjoying the music at the Carol Stream Fest. There was lots of room there for Abigail to run around and practice her dancing and jumping skills! We were jamming out to Jimmy Buffet music this day!

Abigail went to Kindergarten! We went to help my mom clean her classroom for the end of the year...and Abigail loved playing there. She even helped sort the number and letters for Grandma!

Abigail visiting Great-Grandma Fran

Daddy and Abigail watching hockey and snacking together.

This weekend we are headed to Cincinnati for my cousin's wedding. We are taking Abigail to Coney Island on Saturday so there should be fun pictures!

16 Weeks

16 Weeks

How far along? 16 Weeks
Total weight gain: 5 lbs
Maternity clothes? Mostly
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Yes but have crazy, insane nightmares!
Best moment this week: Went to prenatal yoga for the 1st time...Lil W seemed to really enjoy it because I felt some movement...it was almost the same feelings as the 1st time I felt Abigail move.
Movement: Still not much...just a little "reminder" every day or two
Food cravings: still peanut butter and jelly, gummi snacks
Gender: Surprise!!! (Rob feels girl, I feel boy...only one can be right)
Labor Signs: No
What I miss: A cold beer every once in a while...but still too grateful and excited to miss anything!
What I am looking forward to: Dr. App't this week to hear the heartbeat again!
Weekly Wisdom: Take a break!
Milestones: Far enough along to start prenatal yoga, starting Progesterone shots this week, one more month till 1/2 way (or for Abigail, this would have already been 1/2 way there)!

Happy Birthday, Rob!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Rob (and Daddy)!!!! You are the best husband and dad. We appreciate everything you do for us! We are so lucky and blessed to have your in our lives! You make every day more fun!!! We hope your birthday is a great day! Happy 32nd birthday! We love you!!! Love, Beth and Abigail

Our Little Gymnast

Last week was Abigail's last week of gymnastics at Carol Stream Park District. I am very happy we did this class...Abigail got a lot out of the class. She really gained confidence and developed a brave side to herself. She is climbing and crawling up things now. And you will randomly catch her doing a log roll in our family room. Here are some pics from our last class.



Abigail on the top of the podium getting her certificate.



She loved the tunnel.

Hula Hoops have LOTS of fun uses!

Abigail's "hands behind back" walking technique

Climbing


Abigail's dismount after a roll down the mat


Climbing through the obstacle course


Climbing out of the pit