I took Abby in to get her 9 month photos today. The girl would not smile to save her life! I know it was due to me having to wake her up from her nap a little bit before she was ready to make the appointment (miscommunication with Dad this morning as I went to a dentist appointment meant she went down way early and then wanted a second nap just under an hour before we needed to leave the house), but I thought I'd be able to coax at least one smile out of her. All I got were little grins. Oh, well, I'm still going to keep her!
See the (few) pictures we took here: Abby's 9 Month Photos
November 29, 2011
November 26, 2011
Thanksgiving with the Akers
Thanksgiving with my family (the Akers) took place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving as this was when he had my niece, Haylee (on the actual day of Thanksgiving she was with her Dad - custody arrangement schedule). As the Apple Cup was this day (the football game between my college Washington State University (GO COUGS!) and our state rival the University of Washington) we decided to have an informal gathering and eat an early dinner then munch on dessert and snacks during the game. It was a nice and relaxing event. We all wore our Cougar gear (or at least crimson and grey colors) and chatted up a storm. My Mom also gathered all the family together for a family portrait. It's fun watching the family grow each year with all our new members. Here's to a second great family Thanksgiving get-together!
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| Watching the Cougar game and munching on snacks. My family has never really been into the formal Thanksgiving meal. Our best Thanksgiving celebrations have actually been on the ski slopes where we literally skied down the mountain and onto the lifts. If there were 20 people on the slopes we would have been surprised! |
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| The bestest of cousins. |
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| We also celebrated Nate's 33rd birthday with my family. Notice the 'candles' are actually matches as we couldn't find anything else! We sang "Happy Birthday" and had Nate blow out the 'candles' very quickly. |
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| Our family. Front Row: David (brother) , Maddie, Me, Abby, Keola, Katie (sister) Back Row: Dad, Nate, Cousin Haylee, Bo (Katie's boyfriend), Lily, Mom |
Abby Loves Her Mama
In the past few days I've noticed that Abby has started to hug me like I hug her. When I give her a hug I pat and rub her back. Abby has started to mimic me by also patting my arm when she gives me a hug. It's too cute! I've also got her saying more "mom mom mom" babbling. She's upgraded from the "ma ma ma" babbles.
Abby Babbles
In just these last two days Abby has gone from making sounds to officially babbling! It was really neat. One day she made vowel-like sounds but not much else and the next day she was saying "ba ba ba ba" and "da da da da". Three days later she started saying "ma ma ma ma". I love it! I'm sure I'll soon which she'd be quiet again, but for now I'm totally enjoying listening to my little girl 'talk' to me.
November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving with the Carstens/Eslingers
This year Nate's Parents and Grandparents came to the Tri-Cities for Thanksgiving. So our holiday plans ended up being spending Thanksgiving Day with his side of the family, including his Aunt Sharon, Uncle Paul, Cousin Levi and some of their friends. (The Saturday after Thanksgiving will be for celebrating with my family.) Additionally, one of the Carstens' former exchange students, Tim, and his girlfriend, Iris, joined us for the week visit.
It was a really nice Thanksgiving with all the food trimmings, festive table settings, and interesting conversation. We even opened up a puzzle and had a big gathering around the table putting it together. Iris was particularly fantastic at putting the puzzle together. She could see where a random piece on the other end of the table would fit perfectly into an obscure part of the puzzle that someone else was working on. If there's even a puzzle match to the death, I want her on my team!
The night was a really nice affair. I even got some adult conversation time as one of the girls that was there (belonging to the friend's of the Eslinger's) was enamored with Abby and basically took care of her for me. It was really nice on her part, although I'm sure she was enjoying playing with her just as much.
We're still figuring out how to blend our third family into the two existing ones, and there's been some occasional struggle with that as we have to incorporate a mother-in-law who doesn't always feel well enough to travel, grandparents who are getting older and aren't able to travel as much, and a niece that is in a changing holiday custody arrangement between her Dad and Mom, but this holiday proved that we're starting to get the hang of it. No fights, lots of fun. I can definitely handle more holidays like this!
To end, I am very thankful for my husband and daughter and the wonderful life that we have together. I am thankful for our good health and encouraging spirits. I'm thankful for the family members that are still in our lives and the ones that have passed on but left so many wonderful memories. I am thankful for a comfortable lifestyle where I don't have to worry about housing or meals. And I'm thankful to God for blessing us with his love.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
It was a really nice Thanksgiving with all the food trimmings, festive table settings, and interesting conversation. We even opened up a puzzle and had a big gathering around the table putting it together. Iris was particularly fantastic at putting the puzzle together. She could see where a random piece on the other end of the table would fit perfectly into an obscure part of the puzzle that someone else was working on. If there's even a puzzle match to the death, I want her on my team!
The night was a really nice affair. I even got some adult conversation time as one of the girls that was there (belonging to the friend's of the Eslinger's) was enamored with Abby and basically took care of her for me. It was really nice on her part, although I'm sure she was enjoying playing with her just as much.
We're still figuring out how to blend our third family into the two existing ones, and there's been some occasional struggle with that as we have to incorporate a mother-in-law who doesn't always feel well enough to travel, grandparents who are getting older and aren't able to travel as much, and a niece that is in a changing holiday custody arrangement between her Dad and Mom, but this holiday proved that we're starting to get the hang of it. No fights, lots of fun. I can definitely handle more holidays like this!
To end, I am very thankful for my husband and daughter and the wonderful life that we have together. I am thankful for our good health and encouraging spirits. I'm thankful for the family members that are still in our lives and the ones that have passed on but left so many wonderful memories. I am thankful for a comfortable lifestyle where I don't have to worry about housing or meals. And I'm thankful to God for blessing us with his love.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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| Nate and I feeding Abby pieces of my jello dessert before our meal. My, but she can get demanding when she wants something. :-) |
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| Tim, Iris, and I filling up on yummy food while Levi brings out more turkey. |
November 23, 2011
Nate's 33rd Birthday
Today we celebrated Nate's 33rd birthday! Technically, his birthday isn't until Friday (November 25th) but with not knowing when Nate's parents and grandparents might leave to return to Portland we decided to celebrate early in the trip. It was a family affair with Nate's Grandparents, Parents, an Aunt and Uncle, a Cousin, a former exchange student, his girlfriend, and of course his wife and daughter. We ordered take-out from Olive Garden and focused more on just chatting and hanging out rather than cooking (saving all of that energy for the big T day tomorrow). Nate's Mom also bought a German Chocolate Cake from a well-liked bakery in Portland and brought it up for the celebration. It mostly made the trip, as you'll see in a future picture. One of the fun things I noticed was that in all the pictures we took Abby makes an appearance. It's funny that even in such a person-specific event like a birthday our little girl steals the show! For his birthday this year I was able to purchase tickets to see a favorite comedian of ours, Gabriel Iglesias (seriously, check him out if you haven't heard his show before) and we are both looking forward to his show. January seems like a bit away but it'll be here before we know it.
Happy birthday, Nate! I look forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays with you.
Happy birthday, Nate! I look forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays with you.
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| Half of the group eating dinner. We're so big we need two tables now! |
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| This picture counts as that's Nate's hand on the right. :-) I couldn't pass up this adorable grin my Abs is showing! |
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| Watching Nate blow out the candles. (See how the cake leans to the side - the trip up from Portland did a number on it, but it was still good enough to eat when we dug into it.) |
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| Nate got some very nice presents. A renewal for his Costco membership, beer, an Olive Garden gift certificate, coffee and flavoring, and tickets for Gabriel Iglesias. And that's just his side of the family! (We celebrate with mine for our side of the family's Thanksgiving celebration on Saturday.) |
November 19, 2011
Abby Sees Snow
Two days after our first snow, we had another light dusting. This time Abby woke up in time to see the snow fall. I'm so glad she did, too, as she had such a smile while watching it fall. I can't wait to get inches or feet of snow so that she can play in it and experience the joy of snow in all its awesomeness (no need for her to have to learn about the downside of snowfall until much, much later in life).
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| Enjoying the snowfall in daddy's arms. |
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| What is this neat stuff? |
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| I love this smile of hers. Such innocent joy. |
November 17, 2011
First Snow of the Year
It's crazy that it's not yet Thanksgiving and we're currently experiencing snow. Totally reminds me of when I was little and we'd receive feet of snow and have a really long winter season. Then it seemed like we didn't get any snow but got really hot and long summers for a while. What goes around, comes around I guess. Yeah, snow! (Yes, I realize I may regret saying this in another month or two but for now...yeah, snow!)
While pictures don't do the snow justice there was very lovely snowfall that stuck around for just a bit before melting away. The forecast calls for more snow this week, so we'll see what we eventually get (if anything).
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| You can just see the white flakes falling, especially against the background of the trees. |
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| A little bit is sticking to the leaves, grass, and fire pit. |
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| The lower-left corner leaf shows a good view of the snowflakes. The grass is tipped white. |
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| I think the shot of the little flakes on the dead branch and leaves is pretty. |
While pictures don't do the snow justice there was very lovely snowfall that stuck around for just a bit before melting away. The forecast calls for more snow this week, so we'll see what we eventually get (if anything).
November 10, 2011
Abby is 9 Months Old
I can hardly believe that my little girl is 9 months old today. It really does feel like just a few days ago I was bringing home this teeny, tiny little baby that I was somehow supposed to know how to take care of. Now, I'm got this crawler who wiggles and giggles and moves every which way! Yesterday she had her checkup so her stats are:
Height Weight Head CM
Birth 19.5 in. 7 lbs. 0 oz.
1 Week 19.0 in. 6 lbs. 9 oz. 33cm
2 Months 22.0 in. 11 lbs. 6 oz. 38cm
4 Months 24.75 in. 15 lbs. 6 oz. 39.5 cm
6 Months 26.75 in. 18 lbs. 6 oz. 41.5 cm
9 Months 28.25 in. 21 lbs. 3 oz. 44cm
This puts Abby in the 75th percentile for height, 85th percentile for weight, and 50th percentile for head circumference. Once again my little girl is tall and chunky with a little bitty head. Yes, I still appreciate that tiny head. :-)
Abby has been crazy with all of her met milestones as of late. She's a ferocious crawler and is across the room (and house!) in the blink of an eye. I've had a number of experiences leaving a room with her in it, then walking back into said room a few seconds later, and she's not there anymore! Every time my heart skips a beat until I find her. You'd think by now I'd learn to expect her disappearing acts. Abby has also figured out how to pull herself up onto furniture, get down from that standing position (yeah!), and how to cruise along the edges of whatever she pulls herself up onto. She's even had a few moments where she'll have both hands in the air as she dives from the ottoman to the coffee table. Her pediatrician thinks that these signs are all pointing to walking before she's one. We'll see. One the one hand this would be nice, but on the other I'm not quite ready to baby proof my house that much. I'm getting there, though.
Abby has also learned that her mouth and nose make funny sounds. She breathes heavily through her nose while ending in giggles, has learned to pant through her mouth and loves it when others pant back, and just recently she's figured out how to cluck her tongue. I love watching her play in the living room while I'm in the kitchen and see her exploring all the different sounds she can make, all the different ways the toys move, and just generally enjoying her 'by her self' playtime. It wasn't too long ago that she didn't know how to do these fun things without someone showing her how to first.
Finally, Abby has learned the joys of people food. It's fun to watch her use her pinchers to pick up items and see how she's so proud of herself for doing so. Tonight she was just a hog. Eggs, cottage cheese, regular cheese, rice, puffs, and a jar and a half of baby food. We're still going strong with nursing but I can see that there's an end of this tunnel in sight. She's definitely still wanting mommy milk but there are times when she'd much prefer real food. I'm not sure I'm ready for ending this aspect of our relationship.
The few things that we still need to work on are sleeping through the night, or at least only getting up once, and being more comfortable with non-mom people. Once we get these two things down Mommy will be a very, very happy camper.
Overall, these past 9 months have been an absolute joy and I look forward to what the upcoming months bring. Next big milestone...a year! Ack!
Height Weight Head CM
Birth 19.5 in. 7 lbs. 0 oz.
1 Week 19.0 in. 6 lbs. 9 oz. 33cm
2 Months 22.0 in. 11 lbs. 6 oz. 38cm
4 Months 24.75 in. 15 lbs. 6 oz. 39.5 cm
6 Months 26.75 in. 18 lbs. 6 oz. 41.5 cm
9 Months 28.25 in. 21 lbs. 3 oz. 44cm
This puts Abby in the 75th percentile for height, 85th percentile for weight, and 50th percentile for head circumference. Once again my little girl is tall and chunky with a little bitty head. Yes, I still appreciate that tiny head. :-)
Abby has been crazy with all of her met milestones as of late. She's a ferocious crawler and is across the room (and house!) in the blink of an eye. I've had a number of experiences leaving a room with her in it, then walking back into said room a few seconds later, and she's not there anymore! Every time my heart skips a beat until I find her. You'd think by now I'd learn to expect her disappearing acts. Abby has also figured out how to pull herself up onto furniture, get down from that standing position (yeah!), and how to cruise along the edges of whatever she pulls herself up onto. She's even had a few moments where she'll have both hands in the air as she dives from the ottoman to the coffee table. Her pediatrician thinks that these signs are all pointing to walking before she's one. We'll see. One the one hand this would be nice, but on the other I'm not quite ready to baby proof my house that much. I'm getting there, though.
Abby has also learned that her mouth and nose make funny sounds. She breathes heavily through her nose while ending in giggles, has learned to pant through her mouth and loves it when others pant back, and just recently she's figured out how to cluck her tongue. I love watching her play in the living room while I'm in the kitchen and see her exploring all the different sounds she can make, all the different ways the toys move, and just generally enjoying her 'by her self' playtime. It wasn't too long ago that she didn't know how to do these fun things without someone showing her how to first.
Finally, Abby has learned the joys of people food. It's fun to watch her use her pinchers to pick up items and see how she's so proud of herself for doing so. Tonight she was just a hog. Eggs, cottage cheese, regular cheese, rice, puffs, and a jar and a half of baby food. We're still going strong with nursing but I can see that there's an end of this tunnel in sight. She's definitely still wanting mommy milk but there are times when she'd much prefer real food. I'm not sure I'm ready for ending this aspect of our relationship.
The few things that we still need to work on are sleeping through the night, or at least only getting up once, and being more comfortable with non-mom people. Once we get these two things down Mommy will be a very, very happy camper.
Overall, these past 9 months have been an absolute joy and I look forward to what the upcoming months bring. Next big milestone...a year! Ack!
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| Happy 9 Months! |
November 8, 2011
I'm Caught Up...Whew!
I promised that one of these days I'd get caught up on all the blog posts I was behind on. That day is today! Below are links to all the blog posts that I inserted into their appropriate chronological date spot (as posting/scrapbooking chronologically is what makes me a happy camper). Each link opens up a new tab. Enjoy! (I also promise to keep up-to-date more frequently!)
Abby Gets on Her Knees
Abby Reads a Book
Abby Almost Crawls
It's the Little Things in Life
I Just Love Her Smile
Abby Found Her Nose
Abby Makes a Horn
Abby Crawls!
Abby Stands!
Random Pictures
Happy Halloween
Abby Gets on Her Knees
Abby Reads a Book
Abby Almost Crawls
It's the Little Things in Life
I Just Love Her Smile
Abby Found Her Nose
Abby Makes a Horn
Abby Crawls!
Abby Stands!
Random Pictures
Happy Halloween
20 Kids and Counting
Yep, you read that right. This morning Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar announced that they are pregnant with baby #20, due sometime in April.
Many of you may know that this is a favorite family of mine. I first found out about them years ago when they were on a documentary called 14 Kids and Pregnant Again. I kept watching these documentaries as they added babies 15 and 16 and then was thrilled when they got their own TV show 16 Kids and Counting. I honestly can't wait to see the new season's logo and intro with 20 Kids and Counting! This show is one of my feel-good shows. I know that I can sit down and spend about 30 minutes in wholesome entertainment without having to worry if Abby is nearby and what she may be seeing or hearing. Now, I'll admit that I don't agree with everything the Duggars believe in or do but overall I learn neat Mom tips, see a family that actually enjoys spending time together, and just enjoying watching the kids as they grow into young adults and then become adults themselves starting their own families.
So congratulations, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar on blessing #20!
Many of you may know that this is a favorite family of mine. I first found out about them years ago when they were on a documentary called 14 Kids and Pregnant Again. I kept watching these documentaries as they added babies 15 and 16 and then was thrilled when they got their own TV show 16 Kids and Counting. I honestly can't wait to see the new season's logo and intro with 20 Kids and Counting! This show is one of my feel-good shows. I know that I can sit down and spend about 30 minutes in wholesome entertainment without having to worry if Abby is nearby and what she may be seeing or hearing. Now, I'll admit that I don't agree with everything the Duggars believe in or do but overall I learn neat Mom tips, see a family that actually enjoys spending time together, and just enjoying watching the kids as they grow into young adults and then become adults themselves starting their own families.
So congratulations, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar on blessing #20!
November 4, 2011
Behind on Blog Posts - I Promise We Have an Interesting Life!
I hate to admit it but I'm really (like REALLY) behind in blog posts. There's been some awesome Abby milestones met, some fun family outings, and finished house projects but I just haven't had the energy to post pictures/paragraphs lately. I'm totally blaming Nate and his PE exam for this, too! :-) However, Nate's exam is behind us (woo hoo! - here's hoping we hear soon that he passed!) and I have the upcoming weekend at Nate's parents house to update this blog to my heart's content. I'm hopeful that by Sunday COB (and close of business now means 9pm instead of 5pm) I'll have this blog up to speed. Wish me luck!
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