New Wheels

Two weekends ago Jonathan and I went car shopping. We had talked about looking for a newer and larger second vehicle. My little sedan didn't seem like quite enough - especially since we hope to continue to grow our family in the future. We ended up purchasing a 2006 Ford Escape. It handles very well in the snow and helps me to see much more than I could in my Mitsubishi. Happy trails ;-)

First Big Snow

The northeast has become quite the winter wonderland this weekend. We had a fairly significant snowfall on Friday with maybe 7 or so inches of accumulation. I wanted to take Abigail outside for a photo or two, but it was pretty windy and the snow was coming down a bit hard. Saturday was a no-go as well because we were out too long shopping and it was too dark. So, this morning after breakfast we took Abigail outside so she could experience snow for the first time.

She seemed to like it. We even sat her down in it for a bit. I don't think she was too fond of laying in it though, perhaps because more falling snow was hitting her face.

Here are pictures of Abigail with me and Jonathan:

Abigail sitting in the snow:

Abigail laying in the snow:

Abigail's first-ever snow angel:

Abigail and the Christmas Tree

When we first got our Christmas tree Abigail pretty much just let it be. But then we put bright lights and fun looking ornaments on it. The real temptations began though once we started placing presents with curly ribbons under the tree. On a number of occasions Abigail has approached the tree to play with the ribbons, try and grab a light, or even try and eat the ribbons.

Sorry Uncle James (M) but Abigail added her special touch to your present ;-)

I used to be able to simply move Abigail away and sit her down. Soon enough though Abigail learned how to get out of the seated position on her own. So, I ended up taking all of the presents out from under the tree and placed a bench in front of the tree in an effort to discourage Abigail from getting too close ;-)


On another note, Abigail's Nonna gave her a Christmas treat from the store she works at. There are four Christmas characters that tap dance to 8 different Christmas tunes with the push of a button. Abigail liked the one at her Nonna and Papa's house so much that Nonna bought one of Abigail's very own. Does anyone want to bet that the batteries run out by Christmas?

First Tooth!

On Tuesday night Jonathan did a tooth check on Abigail by rubbing his finger over her gums. He found out that her first tooth has broken through. I'm rather surprised because her temperment has been great...I have had no indication that she has been in any pain or discomfort. Hopefully this will be how it goes for every tooth ;-)

Tree Decorating and Sneak Preview

We decorated our Christmas tree last night. Abigail watched while we put up the lights and garland. She helped Jonathan put up the first ornament. After that Jonathan and I finished the job.

This afternoon we attempted family portraits in front of the Christmas tree. We dressed Abigail up in a cute green dress we got at Kohl's on sale for $8! The trick for the family portrait was getting Abigail to smile with no one behind the camera (we used the timer). I put our full-length mirror behind the camera so she could see her reflection (which sometimes results in a smile). It didn't work quite like we planned, but we did get a few shots-which I'll post later. Until then, here is sneak preview of Abigail in her cute dress:

Trimming the Tree (Literally)

Yesterday we headed to Mendon to get our Christmas tree. We went to the same place we've gone to for the past three out of four years together. It is a tree farm that lets you search for and cut down the tree of your choice. We went for our first Christmas as a married couple and loved the idea of keeping it as a family tradition. We took Abigail along in our new awesome backpack that serves as a baby carrier-much easier than pushing a carriage through the frozen mud-but much heavier too!

Jonathan and Abigail ready to search for our perfect tree.

This is the one!

Watching Daddy cut the tree down.

Posing next to our freshly cut tree.

Heading back.

New Food Experience

Abigail's typical solid food diet consists of simple fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, and yogurt. Tonight we tried something new-something I didn't plan on trying in jar form. At our last trip to BJ's we purchased a variety pack of "dinners". These dinners consist of a mix of meat and veggie and/or rice. Last night's menu item was chicken and sweet potatoes. I'm glad I had Jonathan arm himself with our camera. I don't think she cared for it. Though, I think it was more a texture thing rather than a taste thing. You see, I took a bite and I think it tasted more like sweet potatoes than chicken. Anyway, we've decided for now to hold off on the combo dinners and will stick to veggies...

Reorganizing

I started cleaning today and making room for our Christmas tree. Abigail was able to army crawl to places she has never been before. It was at this time when I realized that my baby-proofing days are far from over. We have a bookcase in between our living room and dining room. There are fun books on the bottom shelf for grabbing and tossing aside. Abigail didn't get to this point, but I'm sure it was tempting for her. I ended up moving the books a shelf up and put her toys and books on the bottom shelf. Abigail kept me company along the way.

Abigail discovering the bookcase.

Abigail in front of her very own shelf.

The final result. The next step will be to deal with the tempting plant.

Eight Months!

Time is flying by! When I see "new" babies I am surprised to see how tiny they are-Abigail used to be that tiny!

We figure Abigail tips the scales at about 18 pounds now. She is a pro at the army crawl. She also likes to pull up and stand when we're holding her hands. She gives mommy and daddy the biggest smiles-the kind when she squints her beautiful eyes. She is a joy-it is wonderful watching her grow and develop.

Family Fun!

Abigail has had tons of fun with her Uncles this weekend. It is nice to see her interact with all of them. She loves playing with them.

Uncle Nate enjoyed Abigail's stacking cups-he managed to stack them on Abigail's head:


Here she is with Uncle James:


Here she is with Uncle Michael:


We even snapped a rare photo of Abigail with her Uncle Aaron. Uncle Aaron helped lull Abigail to sleep Thanksgiving night.

Abigail also slept in Grandma's arms:


Here she is playing with Papa:

First Thanksgiving

Early Wednesday we headed down on a 9 1/2 hour drive to Northern Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with Jonathan's family. I was so surprised by how little traffic there was along the way for us-we made really great time.


Abigail celebrated her first Thanksgiving the way most of us celebrate every Thanksgiving-she ate more than she usually does. She started off with a bottle followed by a combination of sweet potatoes and apples. After that she took a nice nap (which is also something a lot of us like to do on Thanksgiving after a nice big meal).

We are looking forward to future Thanksgivings where Abigail can feast on big girl food.

Here are a few pictures of Abigail playing with her second cousin Zachary:


Here is Abigail eating her Thanksgiving feast:

Stay-At-Home Update

This weekend marks the end of my second full week as a stay-at-home mom. I must say that this week went so much better than last week. I think Abigail and I are getting used to being around each other all the time. We are starting to form a pretty consistent schedule/routine. The mornings are set: get up around 7, play around for a little bit, eat, play, and nap. After that it isn't as consistent, but we're working on it!

Abigail is doing really well with her solids at breakfast time. She'll have fruit and cereal, and then baby yogurt-which she really seems to like. At lunch time I really have to work at getting her to eat her solids. At dinner time-forget about it! I think I've discovered though that Abigail may prefer her veggies without cereal mixed in. We'll see how that goes.

Now, for the icing on the cake-what made this week so wonderful: naps! Up until this point Abigail wasn't much of a napper. When she did nap, we usually had to lull her to sleep. On Monday I put her down for a nap. Due to my laziness I waited longer than usual to "comfort" her (a.k.a. try to lull her to sleep) so she ended up falling asleep on her own! She has had a number of naps this week where she pretty much fell asleep on her own. One time she even fell asleep gabbing rather than crying (and that nap lasted 2 hours when they average only 30 minutes!!!) I am so glad she call fall asleep on her own, I thought this would take a lot of work.

So, that's my week in a nutshell. Now, here are some cute pictures as requested by JoAnne:

Here is a picture of her eating yogurt:


Here is a picture of her trying on her hand-me-down snowsuit-it makes me think of A Christmas Story when Ralphie's little brother couldn't get up or put his arms down:

And here is a picture of Abigail looking cute:

Da-Da-Da-Da-Da

On Monday I had a frustrating time feeding Abigail her breakfast. So, after we both got messy, I decided to leave her in her chair while I cleaned up a bit. I was in her room putting her clothes away when I heard her gabbing. Up until this point her "talking" was limited to squealing. Well, now she moves her mouth more and is forming sounds. First it was da-da-da-da, but her favorite now seems to be bla-bla-bla-bla. It is so cute to see her moving her mouth. She seems to concentrate when she does it-maybe she is interested in how it feels to move her tongue and gums around. This makes her a bit more drooly now. The first thing Jonathan and I thought: we really need to watch what we say around her :-)

Last night Abigail spent a lot of time getting up on her hands and knees. Up until this point she gets from point "a" to point "b" using an army crawl. Anyway, last night she even rocked back and forth on her hands and knees. I really need to finish baby proofing!

Abigail also learned how to open coffee table drawers. She started this at Nonna's Monday afternoon and continued here at home last night. Man, she is becoming a cute little handful ;-)

We Made It!

Abigail and I made it through our first week together with Jonathan at work. Things went well generally. We had a few tiring moments (when will she appreciate how wonderful naps are???). We also had nice bonding moments (mommy found new ways to make Abigail giggle).

This is a full-time job! Even though I'm home most of the time I find myself looking forward to the weekend-that's when Jonathan will be around all day!

I was able to mix things up a bit with visits with family and friends. It has been great to see Abigail open up to people more. Last night I was at my parents and I spent little time playing with her. She was too busy playing with Papa, Nonna, Auntie Laura, Uncle Nick, and her cousin Constance.

Overall it has been a great week. I think as time passes Abigail and I will get used to each other and will develop some sort of schedule/routine.

The pictures below let you all know what happens when you leave me alone with Abigail and a camera: