BIPD Christmas Party

Charlie was hypnotized by the police department's Christmas tree. We didn't have our own yet, and so it was all new for her to have a giant, brightly lit tree inside. She just stood there for nearly half an hour, touching the ornaments and putting her hands on her cheeks in awe, exclaiming, "Oh, beautiful!" whenever anyone came over to talk to her.

Oh, Christmas Tree (infested with jumping spiders)

We brought home our Christmas tree this weekend, and it smells so wonderful. We did not have a tree last year, since Charlie had just become mobile and was about to walk, pulling up on everything. This year we cleared a space in our living room, took Jeff's parents and Charlie with us to the lot, and picked out the perfect tree. We put on White Christmas and decorated it, Charlie placing the first ornament (her pacifier) on a low branch, and Jeff and I taking time to remember all of our Disneyland visits, our Yosemite trips, and our honeymoon on which we purchased many of the ornaments we were hanging. Finally, Jeff held Charlie up to place the star on the top of our beautiful tree, but it didn't want to stand straight on the branch. The result was a little Dr. Seuss-like, but very charming! (We fixed it later). Despite all of the holiday cheer, we looked on our tree the next morning with horror--a family of tiny jumping spiders had taken up residence on our cockeyed star, and had strung webs all over the top of the tree. Jeff's dad took the star outside to rid it of the unwelcome guests, and Jeff sprayed the tree with indoor-outdoor insect spray. After only one recurring incident, our tree seems to be spider free, and as shining and beautiful as the night we brought it in. Hey, what's that little black thing on the nativity?

Just give her a box!

Jeff's parents came to visit us this weekend, and we had a great time with them here. They brought Christmas with them a little early, but since Jeff has nearly always worked Christmas, we try to celebrate whenever we can, so it was just fine with us (and Charlie) to open presents early. Charlie got some great toys, like a pink electric guitar so she can play like Daddy, and a Belle doll with a tea set. However, the gift that seems to be getting the most action days later is the box Belle came in. It is a cage for monkeys, a hiding place for DVDs, and a funny place to climb into and peek out of. So if you are wondering what to get that special two year old, and you are having some trouble coming up with ideas, take my advice and just give her a box.

Baby Abby Pictures

Here she is again, and this time we can tell she has her Mama's nose!

Football Player or Cheerleader?

After much speculation and my finally referring to the baby as "he" instead of "it" because I was so certain it was a boy making me so sick, we found out on Thursday that we are very likely having a girl! I say very likely because the ultrasound tech said, "Well, I would guess it's a girl, because if it was a boy, the testicles would be here, but they are not, but we don't ever guarantee girls." I was a little unsure at that point, but then when we passed the tech's eight thousand awards and credentials on the wall on our way out, I figured she's just covering her behind, and it's safe to tell everyone that it's a girl. So Abigail (middle name undecided) Benkert is on her way! Probably. Very likely she's on her way. Or we'll be surprised in the delivery room, and have to buy some boy clothes last minute. But odds are good, she's a girl. Maybe 80% sure. And if you have good middle name suggestions, please post them here. So far, we have Rose, Hope, Jane (as in Austen) and Joy.

Snow, Snow, Snow...

It started snowing around noon on Dec. 1, and didn't slow down until mid afternoon on Dec. 2. It looks like we got about a foot or so, and it is so beautiful! It makes me want to watch White Christmas and get our tree and decorate the house all at once! Our friends Trevor and Nancy came over to watch football, and we all speculated whether or not they would be able to get home. They got home safely, but we certainly aren't going anywhere for a while!

New Baby Belly Picture: 18 wks.

Post your guess: boy or girl? We find out on Thurs, Dec. 6.

Charlie's "Daddy" quilt is finally finished!

Well, if I had worked on the quilt all at once, it would have taken about a week of solid sewing to complete, but since I started it before I got sick and then picked it up again a month ago, it took just a little longer! But it is finally done, and will be under the tree for her to open on Christmas. And just in time for the freezing cold weather we're having!

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we ate with my parents and of course watched football, and then traveled to the beautiful Oregon coast to spend the weekend with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In California, we always spent the holidays with Jeff's family, so it was very special for me to get to be around all my family on Thanksgiving for the first time in about nine years. Charlie is the only grandchild/ great-grandchild, so she was, of course, spoiled with attention and got everything she wanted. She also decided not to nap at all while we were there, which was terrible, but she still charmed everyone with her mostly good manners and willingness to climb up on anyone's lap to read a book.

Goodbye truck, hello family car!

This is a fun shot of our new car. I was driving when Jeff took this picture.

From one of my favorite authors:

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad. C. S. Lewis

Uncle Scotty and Aunt Kristy visit!

When Scott and Kristy came up to visit us last week, we had fun showing them around and taking them to some of our favorite places. But possibly the most fun was when the weather cleared and we went to Battle Point Park. We all took turns chasing Charlie around the massive playground and keeping her from joining the ducks in the pond, but the funniest moment was when she spotted a flock of geese in the field and decided she wanted to touch them. She slowly walked toward them, and they slowly walked away, so she sped up and began to run, but they still kept just out of reach. She finally split three of the geese from the flock and focused on reaching their tailfeathers, and almost succeeded before I stepped in. We were all laughing so hard watching her "herd" the geese!

Precious Moment

The other night while I was rocking Charlie before bed, I asked her "Are you ready to get in your bed?" Usually she says no, but she answered "Your bed." As I laid her down in her crib without a fight, I said, "Thank you for being such a big girl." She said, "You're welcome, mama." I pulled her blankets up over her and crept out of the room, tears in my eyes that my little baby is old enough to understand me and be so sweet!

Daddy Push-Ups

Charlie discovered a new game: climbing onto Jeff and holding on as he does his push-ups and sit-ups. She laughs until she falls off, and he gets a better workout for the resistance!

Charlie has candy!!!

It was a big day for our little monkey! Not only did she trick-or-treat for the first time, but she also had candy, specifically, a lollypop and half a Tootsie Roll (which was still in the wrapper). I took her downtown, where they had closed down the main street for the trick-or-treaters, and we went from store to store, picking up candy. Then we went to our friends' neighborhood and Charlie did the house to house thing with her friend Isaac. She actually even said trick-or-treat a few times, but seemed to have more fun picking up rocks and pinecones off the ground than asking people for candy. By about 9:30, she was stretched out on the Ziemba's couch, looking a little buzzed but definitely happy!

Charlie is practicing her kung fu and coloring

The other night Jeff was watching this show called Human Weapon, where guys learn different kinds of martial arts, and when they took their shirts off to fight, Charlie wanted her shirt off, too. She ran around the living room, jumping up and down and yelling "I'm naked!" She did the same thing again when we gave her a bath, running around the house, grinning big and yelling. What have we done? She doesn't ever want to be dressed. Then last week the temperature dropped, and she now consents to being clothed, especially if we are going to go outside. She learned to swing on the big-kid swing this week, and was so very pleased with herself. She pumped her little legs and leaned back and forward as I pushed her, and looked like she had been doing it for years, although I was very nervous about her falling over backwards, and kept demanding that she hold on tightly! She also is finally mastering the art of putting crayon to paper, and uses her left hand (thank you, Jeff!). Even more than coloring, though, she loves to dump the crayons onto the floor and then meticulously put them all back in, right-side-up. That's my girl.

Ultrasound- Baby Benkert at 13 weeks!

My doctor said the baby is healthy and happy, has a good heart rate, and is very active! It would barely hold still long enough to be measured, but wanted to kick and turn over and suck its thumb instead. Not that I was uncertain if I was pregnant after being so nauseous for two months, but it's definitely real now!

The first Baby Belly picture...

So this is the belly at 8 weeks, and also the last time I got dressed in anything other than pajamas for a week.

What Charlie Is Up To

As I have been incredibly nauseous for awhile, and get up off of the couch only to feed Charlie foods that I can barely tolerate the smell of, Charlie has decided to turn to other activities for fun. She now enjoys forming imaginary romantic relationships between her Disney Princess dolls and her Seven Dwarves dolls-- just today I caught Cinderella and Grumpy under the bookshelf together and stopped them just short of sin. I have also seen Ariel making eyes at Doc on top of the TV cabinet, but at least they are behaving themselves. Charlie also enjoys getting on my cell phone and racking up huge bills talking to all her friends and checking her stocks with her broker. I also happen to know that she has taken to ordering pizza since she is tired of the spaghetti and chicken nuggets I keep feeding her. She loves to kick back in her "easy chair" and watch a movie on her personal DVD player, especially while "yucky poo-poo Daddy" watches football on the "big" TV. She actually called him that last week in utter disgust when, after the third game of the day, she asked for "Ella" and we told her no, because Daddy was watching football. She was told that calling Daddy "yucky poo-poo" was definitely not acceptable, and she later made it up by hugging him and saying "I love you, Daddy." She has taken up playing the guitar and is quite good, but only plays one song: "Sweet Child of Mine" (thank you, Jeff). Charlie is also now capable of telling the difference between little and big things: whole "big" pieces of bread are acceptable; half pieces are not. Quarters of an apple are "big" and okay; eighths are "little" and not okay. No more cut-up banana; she now has to have it whole, even if she only eats half and then leaves the other half in the middle of the living room, where I inevitably step on it on my way to the kitchen to make more peppermint tea. One very exciting skill she has recently developed: now when she spits out her chewed up food that she no longer wants onto the floor, she knows to pick it up herself and throw it away in the trash. Very exciting for me with all this nausea! Now if I could get her to not spit out chewed-up food at all...