Mom's Birthday

Last Friday we celebrated my Mom's birthday by surprising her with a post-Abigail-bedtime appearance. After Mom was finished with her shift, she came home to find family ready to wish her a Happy Birthday!

Of course we grabbed quite a few pictures of Abigail. Here she is excited, anticipating the camera flash, and enjoying her pizza with a big girl fork (which she has gotten pretty good at using lately):

Here is a picture of my wonderful Mom:

And, of course, it wouldn't be a birthday party without ice cream. Needless to say, Abigail got a quick bath after the festivities.

She'll be Teaching Me Soon!

Abigail and I were playing with a few of her toys when she decided she wanted to watch TV. For those of you who don't know, Abigail has figured out how to turn our TV on from the power button on the actual unit. No big deal, she's done this quite a bit lately. A few minutes later she proceeded to grab a Veggie Tales DVD, push the Eject button on our DVD player, place the DVD in the tray (right side down), and close the DVD tray. I was shocked to see her do this like it was second nature. She didn't get a chance to benefit from the fruits of her labor though, because the TV didn't automatically switch to the correct input like it usually does (but the DVD did start to play).

Once Jonathan got home I handed Abigail a DVD to see if she would repeat her new found skill. I guess it was just a one-time thing because she just kept trying to force the DVD into the DVD player without actually causing the tray to come out. It was still cute though!

Our Little Michelangelo

Yesterday I thought I would break out Abigail's crayons and coloring book for a little art time. Abigail mostly likes to take crayons out of the box, put them back in, take them back out, etc. Occasionally she will dabble in actual coloring. Well, this time she decided to expand her repertoire and add a new medium for her art-the wall!

Here is Abigail after I confiscated her blue crayon:

Here is her work of art-before Mommy washed it off (click to enlarge and see her attention to detail :-):

Summer Fun

It is finally feeling like summer here in New England. The weather has been warm and humid the past few days. We broke down and turned on the air conditioner for some relief.

Today we decided to take advantage of the pool in our apartment complex. Abigail had a blast of course. She simply loves being in the water. Today was a bonus for her because she had a bath this morning, took a dip in the pool this afternoon, and had another bath this evening (dinner was a bit on the messy side). She would spend all day in the water if she had the chance.

July 4th

I celebrated my seventh Independence Day with the Kapaldo Family this year. I really enjoy looking forward to what has become an annual tradition for us.

Abigail spent much of the holiday running around the back yard while Jonathan and his brothers threw the frisbee around. Abigail enjoyed a July 4th meal of hot dog, tomato, watermelon, and pretzels.


This was the sixth time we went to DC to watch the fireworks in the mall-Abigail's first time. We left around 4:30 with the fireworks blasting off at 9:10. We had a lot of time to kill-not to mention the fact that Abigail normally goes to bed by 8:00. Thankfully she was content with being in her carrier backpack for all but 30 minutes of our time out. She loved people watching and enjoyed pointing out doggies as we walked up and down the National Mall.

This was also Abigail's first train/subway experience.

I wasn't sure how Abigail would react to the fireworks. She loved them! I probably enjoyed watching Abigail more than watching the fireworks. After the show we joined the mass exodus to the Metro. This is the most crowded I ever remember it being. I thought Abigail would fall asleep on the way home (walking and the train) but she had too much to look at. She finally fell asleep in the car and then around 11:00 when we got home.

This picture didn't come out like I would have liked, but it gives you an idea of how interested Abigail was in the fireworks.

Unfortunately the evening may have been too much for Abigail. She woke up a bit after 2:00 and didn't finally go back to sleep until a bit after 3:15 in bed with Mommy. Our poor baby was snoring big time. She went and caught herself a cold. Regardless, Abigail had a great time and did really well with her first July 4th fireworks experience.

100 Days

Friday marked 100 days to go for Sarah and me. We are just under 26 weeks along. Sarah moves and kicks all day long! She may be quite the active baby once she's born. I am still trying to explain to Abigail that "there's a baby in ma-ma's belly" but I don't think she quite understands.

I think I have officially entered the sleep trouble phase. I am able to get comfortable enough, but I think my mind is just too busy to settle down. I need to give myself a good head start if I expect to get a decent amount of sleep. Other than sleeping difficulties all is well! We are looking forward to welcoming Sarah Elizabeth into the world in less than 100 days!

15 Months!

Abigail turned 15 months old at the end of June. We celebrated by going to the Doctor for her regular check up.

Abigail now weighs a bit over 22 pounds and is just shy of 30 inches tall. After her standard measurements and checks she got two vaccines followed by a blood test. She was not a fan of either-but especially the blood test and being restrained by Mommy and two nurses.

Abigail is building up her vocabulary. She says her "da-da" and "ma-ma" when she is desperate. She can also say "doll" "baby" and duck ("kuh"). She loves running all over the place; watching Elmo's World and Veggie Tales; and taking baths.