Needed: One Time Out Mat

This is Abby's new time out mat. She was thrilled to find it, but I think she'll be less than thrilled to find out what it means for her. It has become necessary since she started her I'll-hit-you-in-the-face-if-I'm-annoyed tomfoolery. I have a feeling she is going to spend A LOT of time on this little ditty.

Here are the rules for the time out mat:

Just so you get the full effect. (Clearly I posted it on an angle and will fix it as soon as I'm done blogging this).

Here is a time out moment caught on tape. You don't even see that wild slapping arm coming...

Any tips on how time outs work in your home?

Running Behind

It's much easier for me to take video than photos at the moment because Abby won't keep still and she's created a fake smile that comes out every time the camera does. I managed to bribe her with some nerds to get these two beauties. As soon as I get my lens fixed (the one that broke in Peru) I'll make a concerted effort to get some more.

Full Circle

This is Abby's friend, Ainsley. She is a doll. They always have a fun time when they're together. Abby enjoys having a big friend around to teach her new things and pull her around in fun toys.

This brings me back to the days of pulling my sister Pam around in the laundry basket. I used to tie the skipping rope to the handle and run as fast as I could up around the rooms of our house. It's fun to see my child doing the same things I did; although she's got two dogs to tie to the laundry basket. Some kids have all the luck.

La La La

Next time I get caught doing something naughty, like eating sunscreen, I am going to look away and sing while being questioned. It seems to work for some people..

Things About Me

Normally my blog is dedicated to all things Abby, so I thought it might be nice to let you know what I’m up to. Hopefully Jeremy will send his updates along later this weekend. Today he is at the woodshop playing with saws and welding tools. He such a man’s man J :)

Hello, David.

2010 brings a fresh new Beth Moore bible study with my PWOC group. This semester we are studying David. I am so excited to learn his story. I am so thankful there is no eschatology in David. The prophecies in Daniel made my head spin. Beth Moore gave us the Baptist view of eschatology, then we learned some of the Protestant views, and then I had to cross reference that with what the LDS manual teaches. YIKES. Regardless of which is true, I’m certainly well educated and prepared for almost all of the end-of-the-world scenarios.

Biology – Good Riddance!

Yesterday I completed my biology exam and said goodbye to science forever. I dreaded taking human biology, but I’m super proud that I finally finished that stupid class and did pretty awesome in it. I did my final thesis on whether bariatric surgery was an effective tool for fighting the obesity epidemic. At least that was interesting. My next class I’m going to take is introductory German.

Last month I had my Canadian college transcripts converted and transferred to the University of Maryland. I was thrilled so many credits were accepted. Now I really need to focus on my major (political science) and minor (Emergency Management) and hammer this thing out. I’m hoping to get a job at a place like FEMA or the Red Cross.

My Bags are Packed

So we should be flying off to Germany this week and starting our new life in Europe. Alas, I write this from my couch with no airline ticket in hand and no hope in sight. We are now guessing we’ll see new land (with a week stopover in DC) around the end of March.

Being in limbo is SO annoying. I’m trying my hardest to keep a good attitude and I’m focusing on practicing patience. I know there is a time and a season for everything; I just need to find out why this season is dragging on for so dang long.

Good Reads

I am just starting a new five-book series called: Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I haven’t heard anything about it, but my friend Christy recommended them. You’ll have to let me know if you read then and what you thought of them.

That’s all from me. Send me your news. I love getting updates on all the wonderful things you’re doing. I miss you all!

Love, Denise

The USO Rocks

The USO sponsored Sesame Street to come to Atsugi and put on a performance for the kiddos. Abby loves Elmo and was so excited to hear that he was coming to visit her. The show was about 40 minutes, with tons of singing and dancing. Jeremy didn't want to miss out on the fun and came along. It was so much fun!

**There was a photo of Crystal here but she made me take it down, which is crazy because she always looks great**

This is my friend Crystal. She has been such a treat for me. Not only is she hilarious, adventurous, loves boardgames, and is a pastry goddess, but our kids are friends and enjoy playing together.

Abby loves to cuddle with her dad.

We had great seats.

These were the characters that made an appearance.

They gave us the best toys to play with.

Our new best friends.

Everything in our house has been smacked with this spinning Elmo toy, including us and the dogs. When the battery runs out it's going to get "lost."

Where's My Baby?

This video makes me a little sad because I'm realizing that my baby is growing up. She is so independent and joyful and loving -- everything I ever hoped for. She is such a free spirit, finding entertainment around every corner. I sneak up on her laughing to herself nearly every day. I'm so glad she sometimes lets me in on the joke.

Here she is playing away her nap time:

Thanks for Nothing

Jeremy, Abby and I have all been pretty sick for the past week. Abby came down with "it" first. We still have no idea what "it" was. First she had a little red dot that appeared on her legs, then it spread out into super fun white bubbled rashes everywhere. We called the doctor and they asked if she was throwing up, not eating or drinking or had a fever. She was acting totally normal, except for the Phantom of the Opera patches all over her body. It was confirmed that she had a viral infection and Benadryl and Tylenol were our best options to making the rashes go away. They would spring up and go away within hours, always somewhere new and always with different sized bumps and colors. It was pretty fun to guess where they would show up next. They weren't itchy and didn't seep at all, so Abby had no idea they were even there.

Here are some shots of "it" captured on film:

The face-neck rashes creeped me out a lot. I was a little concerned it would work its way into her mouth and eye. Thankfully it didn't.

Here "it" is above her lip, her arm and her back.

Here it is working it's way down her legs.

I'd like to report she's as good as new now. No sign of "it" at all. Who knows when/where it will pop up next.

Jeremy and I got the flu-like symptoms to the extreme. We both had terribly sore throats, snotty noses and foggy heads. We were like a pile of zombies. We ended up going to emergency care at the air force base on the Saturday. Jeremy left with a handful of medication.

Here is how my appointment went:

Doctor: YIKES. Are you able to eat and drink okay? Your throat is really red and swollen.

Denise: Yes, but it hurts like heck.

Doctor: Good, because I'm not going to give you anything since you're pregnant. Have a nice day.

Denise: Thanks for nothing. Literally.

Knocked Up

Here is the newest addition to our family:

Baby Robertson appears pretty huge, so my due date has been pushed up to July 31st. We're pretty excited to see if we have another girl or a boy. Jeremy wants another girl, of course.

I've had my usual cravings: fresh fruit, homo milk, toasted sesame seed dressing on my salads (who are we kidding --I drink it straight from the bottle), sorbet, Canadian chocolate bars (Coffee Crisp, Caramilk, Crispy Crunch, Crunchie, etc) and things my dad used to make (fried bologna, sausages with mustard, bacon and cheese whiz on a hot dog bun).

I had some morning sickness in the beginning, but have been feeling great for the past few weeks. I'm still able to run when I have the energy. I'm really thankful I haven't gained a ton of weight (yet!).

So happy we can finally share the news!

Love,
The Robertsons

You're Gonna Get It

I spend most of my day keeping Abby from killing herself. From removing curtain sting from her neck, catching her as she falls from grand heights or chasing her down before she gets to the road – it’s never a dull day.

Here she is making the bad decision to unbuckle herself from her car seat. Although there are no car seat laws in Japan and you don’t have to put a seatbelt on your child, we’re pretty old school about the situation and require it.

Here she is openly defying me, yet again:

Don't Touch!

Jeremy decided to make parts of his new home theaeter. This is the tube amplifier for the sound system. For those of you without nerdy husbands, this amplifies the sound for the speakers. This one is made from old vacumn tubes. This has been Jeremy's "baby" for quite some time. Half of the parts had to be flown over and the rest he used his allowance to buy. He also started building it a case in the woodshop. He's still working on that.

Here he is testing it for the first time. He was extremely nervous it wouldn't work. I was nervous he wasted his time and money on something that would explode and burn our house to the ground.

The results can be seen here:

Just Like Dad

This video is proof that Abby is 100% Jeremy's child. They watch TV like twins -- always on their favorite cushion with remote control in hand. She even "hides" the remote when she sees me coming and then tells me "bye" when it's apparent I'm going to revoke her TV privileges. Love that kid. Love that dad!

Puppy Love

My mom gave Abby these cute dog statues when we went home in the summer. Abby LOVES them. She carries them everywhere -- in the car, in the stroller, to play dates. She calls them Gracie and Bethers, much like her real live pooches. I can hear her talking to them while she's in her crib. It just makes my heart smile when I see her making them give each other high fives with their paws. So thankful my mom thought to get these. I'd be terrified if I ever lost them.

Ride 'Em Cowboy

I have so much fun clowning around with Abby all day long. It's the best job I've ever had. We love driving around in this van...

It's a great cuddle spot.

I really wanted to get Abby riding her seahorse on film. She usually gets pretty animated and makes the funniest sounds. She also rides it really fast and usually ends up so exhausted she just puts her head down and rests afterwards.

Instead I got on the panda and had a blast.... until I rode it too far to the side and didn't have the thigh muscles to stay on. I had two options: pull every muscle from the lady parts down or gracefully bail out and call it a day. I could have stayed on if I wanted to. Really, I could :P

The best part is that Abby doesn't even seem to notice mom is having issues. She is so focused on making sure the train gets a proper farewell that she doesn't show any concern for her poor momma. So tender.

Undercover

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I am pretty sure Japanese people have removable legs. I can make three good cases to support this theory.

1. The back seats to their cars leave no room for legs. Poor Abby has to straddle the seat just to fit and she's not even two yet.

2. They wear incredibly short skirts with bare legs in the middle of winter and are never cold.

3. Ninety-nine percent of this country is rail thin, but almost everyone has somewhat chunky thighs. They should have thighs of narrow steel from riding their bikes all day long.

I'm on to you Japan. Don't think I haven't noticed.

A Montessori Mommy

I’ve started taking a Montessori approach to mothering Abby -- instead of forcing her to learn stuff she doesn’t care about, I follow her lead and teach her things that catch her attention. So we’ve left the world of numbers and moved on to her all-consuming love of chipmunks, sandpaper, dogs, sidewalk chalk and trains.

Sidewalk chalk has been a great way to teach her colors. She’s also pretty excited to learn shapes; although they all end up being hearts that look like straight lines. Well, at least I can be proud they’re pretty straight.

Don’t take my word for it -- check it out here:

Hot Digs

Abby and I were bored yesterday, so we took ourselves on a walking tour of Depot. So many wonderful decaying buildings to explore.

This is our meeting place in an emergency - NO JOKE! This is where we go if the end of the world ever comes; although I would dare say this building has already seen the end the world. I hope the plastic they used to fix all the missing sheet metal holds up when the enemy comes! Perhaps the enemy won't think to look in this crap hole for any survivors, or they'll take pity on us because this is the best the military can offer us for protection.

I'm particularly pleased that there is a vending machine outside so I can IV coke right into my body if I'm forced to take shelter here. Aren't you jealous?

Party On

We had a fun few days of partying it up on Depot. Ironic, isn't it?

New Year's Day involved an 8-hour board game showdown -- Culps vs. Robertsons. I think we came up pretty even, but it wasn't without some bumps and bruises. Ruckus got so out of control we had to ditch the seats and play on our feet with elbows out. We made it through this whole stack and then some.

We stopped a few times for some yummy food. My cookies came out awesome. Cheyenne made a great brisket that tasted just divine on white bread with mayo and ketchup. I have to admit I had some for breakfast the next day.

Abby had a BLAST with her friend Ainsley. They played so well almost the whole time. Even sweet baby boy Culp was a jolly monkey, content to just sit and watch the crazy adults. Abby normally refuses to go to sleep when we have guests over, but she was so exhausted she went down without a peep.

Party two was a mixer for all the Depot residents. Abby looks divine in her new sweater. It was great to finally get a chance to meet all the families that have moved onto our base. There are some really fun people here that I never would have met otherwise. We also met a fun couple that lived in Berlin for a while. We are actually trying to move into the neighborhood they lived in. It will be so much fun to get their advice and recommendations.

Cheers to a new year of friends, family and dreams fulfilled!

Recommendations

Jeremy and I are starting to stockpile downloaded TV shows and kindle books for our big move. We will probably be in a hotel for a month in Berlin while we look for a house, and then it will take about another month for our stuff to get to us. When you have to live out of a few suitcases for months at a time there isn't much room for entertainment. I am so thankful for my laptop and my kindle. It is loads of miniature fun.

I would love any suggestions on good books, movies or TV shows you have watched. They don't have to be recent; I'm always up for some great oldies. I'll return the favor below.

These were my favorite books I read in 2009:
The Education of Little Tree
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Inkheart
The Tipping Point
The Secret Garden
Life is So Good
Giving: How each of us can Change the World
The Secret Life of Bees
Angelina Jolie’s Notes From my Travels