Christmas, 8 months old & New Years!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Well I believe that it was New Year's Eve last year when I actually started this blog. So in the spirit of keeping the tradition I thought I should blog tonight. We have had a busy couple of weeks ...as I am sure most of you have.

We went to Oklahoma on Friday before Christmas and stayed through Christmas morning. We had a great time and ate so much good food we were sick! We had 18 people at my parent's house on Christmas eve ... it was crazy. Abby did great and was into most of her presents ... which I wasn't sure she would be. She especially liked all the wrapping paper and ribbon!

On Christmas morning we drove back to Plano to the Holms. We had a great time with them too and it was a little more calm since there were only 10 people there.

Nathan & I have both been off work since Friday, 21st ... so we have been super productive around our house this week. It has been so nice to be home and get things accomplished ... you know all the things you put off like filing papers or reorganizing closets. Also, it has been good to be home together because we have been passing around a stuffy nose and cough ... so we haven't felt like doing much outside the house anyway.

Abby turned 8 months old yesterday! I just can't believe it. She is doing something new all the time now. She sits up very well, but now she rocks back and forth and then lands on her tummy. She "swims" on her tummy, but no crawling yet. I was very thankful that she didn't start crawling while we had all the Christmas decor out. I am sure it won't be long and she'll be mobile ...then my life will really be over!

I hope you all have a safe New Year's Eve ... we are at home relaxing watching a movie. Since we haven't been well we thought it best to stay in ... no wild parties this year!

Safe Sleeping?

I had to post this picture we took tonight. Abby has started this habit of going to sleep with her lovie (blanket) over her face. Every night I go in there and she has it over her face ... it worries me that she is going to smother herself so I usually try to gently move it, but she always whips it back over her face. So tonight Nathan and I took a picture of her weird habit and I just had to share ... we think it is funny. She is a piece of work!

By the way ... please don't report us to CPS! :)

Happy Holidays!

You gotta see this ... I was cracking up!

Elf Yourself - The Holms

I got the idea from Sarah Jones ... it was on her blog! I was laughing so hard I had to do one too.

Enjoy!

Abby: 7 Months Old!

Gosh I have been a bad blogger ... it has been so busy with the holidays! We have been running from one thing to the next - baby showers, birthday parties, holiday parties and gatherings, etc. I am sure you are all having the same issues.

Abby turned 7 months old last Friday! On Thursday I took her to have her picture made with Santa. She actually did really well. I wasn't sure if she would be scared or what her reaction would be. She just sat there on Santa's lap looking up at him with this uncertain look on her face. It was funny! We got a good picture of her smiling though, I went to the mall at the perfect time ... when no one else was there so the picture ladies were very helpful! She did try to pull on his beard - which I thought was funny, but the problem was that Santa's beard was real ... so it probably wasn't that funny to him!

She has really picked up some new tricks lately ... she now eats fruits & veggies. So far she has liked everything so I am happy about that! Abby has always liked to eat so I figured we wouldn't have any trouble with food. Of course, Nathan likes to taste all of the food she eats - so he gives me the scoop on what is nasty and what is good.

I have to tell you one story ... I decided last week I would try to make some carrots for Abby, you know the Domestic Goddess I am! My friend at work had told me how easy it was to make her babies food. So I steamed the carrots, but I knew they had to get really good and soft before I could put them in the food processor. Well it was taking a long time so I decided to go check my email. Well awhile later I smelled burning! I quickly remember THE CARROTS! The water under the basket had evaporated and left a nice black burn on the bottom of the pan. Needless to say it stunk up my whole house! Well the carrots are nice and soft now. Oh did I mention that I don't eat carrots - so I sure wasn't going to give these a taste test myself! So I puree the carrots and they look pretty good - I mean they pretty much look like what Gerber makes. So at dinner that night I decide to give Abby a little - she made the worst face I have ever seen her make ... it was awful! Those carrots must have tasted like burned nasties ... I ended up throwing them out. Do you think this could be considered child abuse? I think I'll stick with Gerber for now!

Here are a few 7 month pictures of our precious sweet Abby!

This was taken at Thanksgiving - 5 Generations!

Abby: 6 Months Old!

Where did October go??? We have been so busy, I just haven't had time to blog ... my apologies.

October was a busy month ... Abby turned 6 months old, Abby's first Halloween, we went to ACU Homecoming, Nathan had a hunting trip and I had a show at work - which always makes things extra crazy!

Abby is now 6 months old ... gosh I can't believe it. It makes me a little sad that she is getting so big, but it is exciting all the new things she can do! Like right now while I am blogging she is holding her own bottle. Greatness! I love this new skill ... it gives me a whole new freedom. She is such a good girl, we really are enjoying every minute. Next week we go to the doctor for 6 month shots and then we talk about starting solids. She has already been enjoying rice cereal for a couple of months, but next week is when we start fruits and veggies ... I am sure that will be messy!

ACU Homecoming was fun! It was so nice to see all of our friends and all their kids. It is so funny to think all of us have kids now. Just seems like yesterday we were crazy college kids ... who would have thought we would grow up and be parents?! We saw a lot of old faces, but there were a lot of people we didn't see.

Halloween was fairly uneventful ... we didn't have as many trick-or-treaters this year as usual. However, I was thankful that we didn't have all the old teenagers who don't dress up - don't you just hate that? Abby was a bumble bee ... pretty cute. She had the totally humiliated look on her face the whole time. It was funny! On Halloween our friends Rob & Rachel came over for a visit. It was our first time to meet little Nash - he is sooo cute! They just moved back to Texas this week and we are very excited about that! Abby was a total show off - blowing bubbles and being silly while Nash was just chillin' sitting quietly.

Well here is what you came for ... the pictures

Boomer Sooner!

How 'bout them Sooners?! We had a great weekend ... my brother and Whitley were here this weekend. The four of us went to the OU v. tx game on Saturday, while Abby played with her cousins and aunt and uncle. We of course had to get an OU family photo before the game ... and it is a good thing we did because after the game we looked awful! It rained Saturday morning and then got hot so we all sweated our butts off - it felt like a sauna ... then just as the game was over a storm moved in and we walked about 1/2 mile to our car in the rain. Even still we had great seats - thanks to my brother - and we had a great time! Go Big Red!!!

Abby: 5 Months Old!

Hey Everyone ... well we were out of town last weekend so I am a little behind on posting her 5 month pictures. We started rice cereal about 2 weeks ago and she seems to be getting the hang of it. At first about 90% of it went down the front of her face/bib, but she is getting used to the spoon now. Yesterday she was grabbing the spoon every time I put it in her mouth ... I had to tell her that she wasn't quite ready to feed herself yet - over achiever! Ha! All is well with us, we have a ridiculously busy October. We are planning on going to Homecoming - so hopefully we will see a lot of you in Abilene!

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

4 Month Check - Up

Abby had her 4 month check-up today with the doctor. She is growing and changing all the time ... it just goes too fast! She enjoyed smiling and cooing and laughing at all the nurses and the doctor, well that is until she got 4 shots. So sad, but at least she forgot about it pretty quickly. Everything was great, we are going to start rice cereal in the next week or so, so I am sure there will be some kodak moments from that. Here stats were ...

Weight: 13 lbs 4 oz (25-50%)

Height: 25 inches (75%)

Head: 40 1/2 (25-50%)

Sadly Abby has inherited all the allergies and nasties that I have always had. Poor Girl!!! She has had eczema since about week 1 and we are still fighting it along with another weird rash. So the doctor has now referred us to a pediatric dermatologist. Guess we will see what comes of that. We are also going to try Soy formula and see if that helps.

On another note, I have to tell you about an embarrasing moment yesterday. Abby, Molly and I went for a morning walk - it has been beautiful weather here lately. Anyway, we are just around the corner from our house walking along ... and I see an older man out in his yard. I say hello as we pass by, he responds, and we exchange a few words about how nice the weather is ... just as we are leaving his yard Molly decides it is time to leave a little present for him. Ugh I was so embarrased!!! I said, Oh no Molly, ummmm uhhhhh ... then I pretended to be talking to Abby. I decided to not make eye contact or look back, but just keep on walking like it never happened. Oh I couldn't believe it ... why Molly, why? I am sorry but I am not one of those poop scooping dog walkers, so I had nothing with me to even pretend that I was. It was awful ... I seriusly hope I never see that man again...because I can only imagine what he would refer to me as. The poop lady or something worse!

Here are a few pictures of Abby from last weekend when we were at my parent's house ...

A Scary Night…

So I have to tell you about our exciting night last night…

First a little background info – since Abby was born we have used a white noise CD (vacuum cleaner cd as we call it) to help her sleep at night. We put it on repeat and it plays all night. It has been a great tool and worked wonderfully! I would highly recommend it to others, especially if you are dealing with colic. Anyway …
Last night Nathan decided that it was time to start weaning Abby off the CD. So the plan was to play it only once and not put it on repeat. I told him that I preferred to try this plan out on a night where I didn’t have to go to work the next morning, but he said tonight’s the night and he would be the one to get up with her if she did in fact wake up. So we went ahead with the plan. Abby went to sleep around 9:30 and the CD turned off around 10:30. We went to bed about 11 pm. Well to my disappointment I realized that I had become dependent on the white noise CD. I could NOT fall asleep! The house was just too quiet … I was hearing the dogs moving around, Abby moves a lot in her sleep and makes noises and I heard everything through the monitor in our room. It was driving me crazy! Around midnight I was still awake and frustrated, so I decided to go check on her because I kept hearing noises coming from her room. And then I came back and turned the monitor off in our room – she is just too noisy of a sleeper! Well then I had to pee, so I go to the bathroom – all the while Nathan is still asleep in bed. Sidebar: I didn’t put my glasses on when I got up, so I can’t see as well and it was pitch dark in our house.
While in the bathroom I hear a noise again from her room. So I finish up and head back into her room. Well just as I make my way into her room a MAN is coming out of her room!!! (It was Nathan) I screamed, gasped and my stomach fell, I started backing up down the hallway with my hand over my mouth in shock! I realize at this point that this “MAN” is wearing familiar boxers and saying to me “Lindsey, Lindsey it’s me!” UHHHH – he scared me to death! He grabbed me and I started punching him in the arm saying “what are you doing up, you scared me to death” My heart was pounding in my chest, I almost started crying … it was just a total shock because I thought he was still in bed! It is a wonder we didn’t wake up Abby. Anyway, we have been laughing about it today – how Nathan tried to kill me in the night, but oh my goodness he scared me bad. It took us both forever to go back to sleep because our adrenaline was racing, so we ended up turning the vacuum CD back on!
Basically, the moral of the story is Abby doesn’t need the CD, but we do!

Under construction right now

Bare with me here, I am experimenting with HTML and other things ...

Abby: 4 Months Old!

Well I am a little behind in getting this posted, but Abby turned 4 months old last Thursday. She is really starting to get her own little personality ... which includes squealing/screaming at us when we aren't doing things they way she likes it! She is a piece of work! I tell Nathan all the time we are in trouble. We take her back to the doctor next Friday for her 4 month visit. I am curious to see how much she weighs and all of that. Plus she will start cereal after that visit, and I am not sure but I think we even start veggies and fruits not long after as well. I am sure some fun pictures will come of that!

Last weekend we celebrated my 30th birthday while we were at Nathan's family reunion. We had a nice long weekend at the lake. Turning 30 wasn't so bad after all!

Here are a few pictures ...

Road Trip!

We took our first family road trip last week to visit my grandparents in Ruidoso, NM. We left Wednesday night and then came back on Sunday. It was a LONG drive! 10 hours! Those of you who know me know that I do not like to ride in the car for a long time, so it was a whipping! But, I was very proud of Abby. She was great! I really think it was the perfect age to take her on this trip. If she had been a little older and could move around she would not have wanted to be in that car seat. She was a good girl!
We really enjoyed the time with Barb and Henry ... grandma's cookin', the beautiful weather, lots of relaxing, going to the horse races (we won $30!) and playing games. It was a fun trip, we wished we could have stayed longer.
Abby learned a new trick while in Ruidoso. We have been blowing our lips and she thinks it is really funny. Well, now she does it herself and she drools all over the place. We think it is pretty cute!

Happy 30th Na!

Happy Birthday to my older husband! He claims he is 29 again, but we all know the truth! Oh well I am not far behind you dear. I thought in honor of Na's birthday I would share a few of my favorite photos of him. He always says this blog is all about Abby, so today it can be all about him! I love you smooch!

Swimming

Abby had her first swim this weekend! She loves to take a bath and splash around, so I thought she might enjoy the pool too. Here are a couple of pictures of her short, but fun swim at Cookie & Poppie's house on Saturday.

Oh and yes, Nathan is trying to teach Molly to "surf." Poor tortured dogs!

Abby: 3 Months Old!

Well Abby is 3 months old today! I can't believe how fast it is going! She is getting so big and changes every week. Last week she started sleeping 8-9 hours a night consistently. It has been so great! Gosh, just a few weeks ago I thought this time would never come and now we have arrived! Hello sleep...I have missed you!
I haven't been as good about pictures lately so here you go... Oh and by the way several are blurry because she moves constantly! And the big eyes are funny, she just started doing that when the flash goes off! I think it is funny lookin'.

P.S. I saw on our friend's blog - Tiff & Caisson that their son Maddox is already rolling over! He is a few weeks younger than Abby ... so we have been working on rolling over this week! I thought a little healthy competition would be good for her... you know, positive peer pressure. So I'll let you know when that happens ... I mean she can't be out done, she has got to keep up her skills!

Baby Praise Videos

Today Abby discovered the world of videos! Last week we got a set of 3 DVDs called Baby Praise from Bob & Olena Reid. Well today I put one on to see what she would do. Needless to say she liked it! It was great... She laughed, cooed at the TV and kicked and moved her arms in delight! Too cute! I had to share some pictures and even a little video of her new interest. Oh and by the way...I am a big fan too! Do you know how much you can get done during a 30 min video! WOW!!!! Thank you Olena!


Baby Praise Video

Abby's ABC Adventure Video

I love Shutterfly! Here is something new you can do with your pictures on Shutterfly. I thought it was funny so I thought I'd share.
For some reason the html code wasn't working ... try this link.


http://www.myabcadventure.com/index.htm?movieid=437F49D1-3FF2-4104-9344-A2E601B0C3CC

Doctor Visit

Yesterday we went for Abby's 2 month check up ... and they told us what we already knew ... she is pretty perfect! Ha!

Weight: 10 lbs 9 oz (50%)
Height: 23 inches (75%)
Head: 38 1/4 (50%)

She is doing just great, growing and changing just like she should. The only sad thing was that she had to have 4 shots yesterday. I was glad that Nathan was there to hold her down, because I felt so bad for her. Anyway they had 2 nurses give 2 shots each in the legs at the same time and boy did she scream! However, Nathan picked her right up and got her calmed down pretty fast. It was later that afternoon when she woke up from a nap that she really told us how mad she was about it! The doctor told us to give her a little Tylenol to help with the soreness so we did that and it seemed to help. Not much to report this time, we are still using the Zantac - which has really helped her - for acid reflux. She is a lot less fussy and gassy. We go back to the doctor at 4 months and that is when she gets to start trying cereal and other solids.

Play Time!

Well I made it through my first week back at work. It wasn't so bad after all...my mom was here until Wednesday evening keeping Abby and helping with the transition. It was nice to know she was in good hands, but still sad that our little time together was over ... now we are in a new phase. I am so thankful though that I will be able to be home with her on Thursdays and Fridays!

So today we have had lots of fun! We went for a walk this morning and met daddy for lunch at his office and then this afternoon we had a little "play time." Abby is finally getting interested in playing a little so we have been working on "kick the ball!" I guess this is where the teacher in me comes out because I have been reading this book that tells you what skills they should learn each month. This month she will discover her hands and feet, smile/laugh (if she hadn't already - she's advanced) and begin to make more "talking noises" in response to us talking to her. It has been fun! You can really see her concentrating on kicking that ball and moving those arms around ... so funny. She has definitely discovered her hands because last week she started licking her fist like it was a lollipop...the strangest thing...at first I thought she was hungry and then I realized she was just having a little fun...I guess that hand is tasty.

Here are a couple of pictures from our play time today...

We head back to the doctor tomorrow morning for her 2 month check up ... so I'll have to post again and let you know all the details of that tomorrow. Until then...

Abby: 2 Months Old!

You know everyone says ... "it goes by so quickly" or "they grow up so fast" - well now I understand! How can it be that she is already 2 months old? I remember saying ... "oh, she is 2 weeks old!" Well today Abby is 2 months old, and she is changing every day. Just this week she has started sleeping more at night - Thank goodness! And now she smiles/laughs at us on a daily basis. She particulary likes it when Na makes up funny songs about her and the dogs or whatever and sings to her.

I have one more week at home and then I head back to work on the 9th. I have very mixed feelings ... I want to be home with her, but I am still interested in my work and enjoy what I do. I am fortunate that I am only going to be working 3 days a week - so I'll be home with her the other 4 days a week. I know it will be a difficult adjustment, but I think after a couple of weeks it will be good for all of us.

Here she is sporting her 4th of July outfit for her pictures this month!

Fun with Cousin!

Abby and I have had a fun week. My cousin Jessica and her little boy, Robby, came on Sunday to visit us and went home today. We went to the park one day, we went with my sister-in-law and her two kids another day to an indoor playhouse, but mostly we stayed inside because it has been raining here for days. Nathan & I enjoyed Jessica being here because she helped us so much with Abby! It was nice to have an extra set of hands. Robby is such a good boy that we always like having him here. Here are a few pictures from the week ...

Happy 1st Father's Day!

We had a good weekend in Oklahoma visiting with my family for Father's Day. Nathan & I actually got to go to the movies Saturday night while my parent's kept Abby. Mostly it was a relaxing weekend with good food cooked by Momma Renee.

Abby is starting to smile - as you can see in this picture. She is growing so fast, I can tell she has gotten bigger in the last week or so. She is 7 weeks old and has started looking at lights, fans, our faces, and some objects/toys we put up close to her. It is amazing to see her little brain learn and grow. We are looking forward to her being able to play and interact with us more, which I know is only a few more weeks away. We worry that she is already spoiled because she loves to be held ... this is problematic when I am home alone with her so I rely heavily on the Baby Bjorn so I can get things done. Overall, she has been a good baby and we hope it stays that way!

Bad Hair Day!

This is a picture of Abby's first (as I am sure there will by many in her life) bad hair day. Last night Nathan gave Abby a bath and then got her ready for bed. It was so nice of him and I really appreciated it - but you know how Daddys don't do things like Mommys do ... well hence the bad hair day. I always brush her hair after a bath and then it lays nicely, but Nathan towel dried it and it was all spikey, now I can't get it to lay down even after a brushing. It looks hilarious! It might be hard to tell in these pictures, but it is spiked up. Too Funny!

P.S. Notice her onsie is appropriate for the occasion.

Abby: 1 Month Old!

Wow, how time is flying by... Abby is one month old today! Here are a few pictures I took this morning of her. The quilt she is laying on was made by Nathan's Grandmother Faye.

A Lazy Memorial Weekend

We had a nice rainy weekend at the lake with Nathan's family for Memorial weekend. Abby enjoyed lots of sleep ... and so did mommy and daddy (since extra adults were on hand to help out)! We were able to get the boat out a few times, but only between all the down pours. We spent most of the weekend eating, napping and playing games ... it was a nice time.

Below is a family picture we took - all decked out in our Old Navy Memorial Day Shirts.

The most exciting part of the weekend happened at the end - Monday afternoon ...

Nathan and Ron were checking out the duck house down by the lake when they discovered a large snake resting inside... Well of course ... Nathan had to catch it! Here is his trophy ...

It was alive when he captured it, but it has now been beheaded & disposed of in honor of saving the ducks and their eggs. In my opinion the world is a better place with one less snake in the world!