6 Month Check up

Yesterday I brought Abigail in for her 6 month check up with her doctor.  No concerns on my part to share, except for the fact that the baby has had a bit of a cold and cough, and she's a bit congested.  The doctor says Abbie is fine, and says that it looks like the congestion could be due to a mild cold or teething.  Apparently it looks like Abbie's top teeth will be making an appearance any time now.  

The doctor checked her height and weight, and she is now 27 inches tall and 15 lb and 15 oz.  Her weight used to be in the 75%ile, but now it's more in the 40th percentile, as for her height....she's just a tall girl.  She definitely gets that from Michael's mom's side.  The doctor says Abbie is healthy, looks great and is impressed that she can sit up by herself now.  She said that we can slowly start introducing finger foods and different textured foods soon, and she also told me to expect her to be scooting and crawling soon. I guess we better get started on baby proofing! Yikes!

Scooting around on the crinkly paper and playing with her sock :)

She TALKS!

I've been meaning to blog about this...and in fact, I finally recorded her talking, but for some reason I was not able to attach the sound clip to this blog :(  But nevertheless....MY BABY SAID HER FIRST WORD!  :)

Last Wednesday night (Oct 19th), Michael and I were at Target picking up some groceries.  I was walking down the aisles, pushing her stroller and listening to her babble, when all of a sudden, she started saying "mama mama!!"  :)  I called Michael over to have him hear her.  He doubted that she was saying it, and said that it didn't really sound like "mama."  Michael said that babies don't usually talk until 7 months or so.  But even when we were checking out with the cashier, he even confirmed that Abbie was saying it.  Haha...What's funnier is that later that night, as I'm putting the groceries away, I could hear Michael with the baby in her room saying, "Can you say 'dada'??"

She now says it all the time, and it just melts my heart every time!  <3

Thing 1 & Thing 2

With all the craziness that's been going on, I've been so busy, but sooo needing to blog!  We've been so busy with work/school/and with everything going on with my brother, that I haven't had time to post about a big milestone.  I've been meaning to try and find just 5 minutes at least to escape to my computer, but before I knew it, it had been a week and a milestone became TWO milestones!



Last week on the night of Abigail's 5 months, we saw this:

That's right!!  Her first tooth!!  :)  We knew it'd be coming, especially since she's been gnawing on her hand and her toys (and everything she can get a hold of).  She's also been drooling like crazy!  Then on that night, I put my finger in her mouth to massage her gums, when all of a sudden I felt something sharp on her lower gums.  

But that's not all, folks!  Just the other night, after Abbie had been super fussy all day, I felt in her mouth and discovered something new poking through:

Tooth #2!!  It's crazy how soon it came it, considering it had been only a week (if that) since the first one came.  So now, we can say that she has teeth!  Crazy! :)

Oh poop!!!

Having been exclusively breastfed and bottle fed only breastmilk up until recently, Abigail's poop has been yellowish, and more on the runny side. As a newborn, she pooped what we thought were record breaking 8-12 times a day. (seriously, how does someone so little poop that much?!) Eventually, the number of poopy diapers went down to a few times a day, and then most lately, only a few times a week. Along with occasional tootiness, her poops didn't smell "bad"....but they had a distinct smell. All very typical and healthy. Our doctor said all of that is to be expected, as long as she was eating only breastmilk.

But now that she eats cereal too, even though it's only the 1 time a day, there have been some changes. Funky poopy changes. Who would've thought that introducing a feeding of cereal a day could change her poop that much??? I know it's supposed to be a single grain rice cereal, but what the heck do they put in there? Don't let that 1 tablespoon of simple-looking, almost translucent rice flakes fool you. It turned our innocent, smiley-faced baby into a poop monster!

Her poop's color, consistency and odor have all changed. It's thicker, darker, and smells....funky. Thank goodness she's cute, because even the smell of her toots would make you think you're in some dive bar full of big burly truck drivers who haven't showered in a week!  Haha, Alright, alright...maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it's no exaggeration to say that her diapers and toots smell. They smell bad enough that I've contemplated a few times about stopping her feedings and keeping her on only breastmilk again. But alas, this is a part of her growing older. And also, as her doctor said, giving her these feedings is not only good for her nutritionally, but it's also good for her developmental growth, as she learns to stop her tongue thrust reflex and move food from the front of her mouth to the back of her mouth.

Anyways, I don't want you to walk away from this post thinking "wow...her daughter is a beast!" so here are a couple pictures of our little cutie pie.  Although diaper changes have gotten more interesting (to say the least), I assure you that she's sweeter than ever  :)

Just finished eating and "pooped"

20 Weeks!

Time is flying like crazy!  Our little girl is 20 weeks old, can you believe it?!

She's learning so much, so quickly...not to mention growing like a weed!  We take pictures often, and even looking back at pictures from the week prior is crazy because we can see how she's changing and getting so big!

In the past couple weeks, Abigail has learned to:

• Grab her toys (any basically anything in her reach) and put them straight into her mouth
• Push the buttons on her toys to make them make noise or play music
• Reach for her toes (while laying on her back) and put them in her mouth. Boy, does she LOVE sucking on them!!

• Recognize her spoon and open up her mouth in anticipation for the next bite of rice cereal
• Roll over
• Outstretch her arms towards what/who she wants
• Respond to the sound of her name, especially when her dad calls her
• Play with all the little toys and gadgets on her jumper...before, she seemed content just hanging there and smiling.  But now, she reaches for all the little dangling toys, bats at the little flashing lights, and tries to twist all the knobs and move the little pieces around.  
• Stare and smile at her reflection in the mirror, and even tries to "talk" or scream at it.  
• Remove her pacifier with her hands, and even pick up her pacifier and put it in her mouth (although it's not always in the right way the first time, she's pretty persistent and keeps trying until it is)
• Suck her thumb!  Yep...she finally found it.  However, once she found it, she sucked on it for a day or two at the most.  It seems she is more interested in sucking on her fist or a few fingers instead.  

Abigail is doing great!  As her doctor said at our last visit, "She's perfect!!" It still breaks my heart that I have to go to work and not spend the day with her, but I think I've finally gotten the hang of it, especially since I stopped crying when dropping her off in the morning at her Grammy & Grampy's house after the first few days.  Things are going great there too during the day, by the way.  They've got their routine and it's obvious how much Abbie enjoys seeing her grandparents.  

Another thing that's going great is feeding.  Breastfeeding is still going well.  I feed her whenever I'm with her, and while I'm at work, I pump during my break.  It's time consuming and sometimes inconvenient, but it's so worth it to know that I'm giving the baby what's best for her.  Also, eating solids is going great too.  She loves her cereal and gobbles it all up.  

Again, we feel so blessed.  We're so in love with this little girl, it's just ridiculous.  Now that October is here, we're getting so excited because the holidays will be coming soon, and we can't wait to spend them with her.  There's so much to look forward to :)

Rice Cereal!

On Friday, we went ahead and gave Abigail her first taste of solid food -- rice cereal!  Although, I really don't think it's considered solid, considering it was really thin and runny, but nonetheless, it was our girl's first time eating from a spoon and sitting up in her highchair like a big girl! :)

She definitely liked sitting in her chair.  We gave her a toy to occupy her while we figured out the right proportions of breast milk and the cereal.  It was surprising how watery the cereal looked.  I was expecting something more around the consistency of a milkshake, but it seemed more like the consistency of a watery gravy.

When we started feeding her, she seemed confused by the spoon.  She sucked on it and kept trying to grab it.  She seemed to like the cereal, and she ate it up, but she gets frustrated at the part where she has to wait in between bites when we're getting another spoonful for her.  When she's hungry, she's hungry and she doesn't like to wait!   

We told her, "All done!"
She just sat and stared, and looked like she was waiting for more.

It was a successful feeding!  

She seems to like it, but it will take a little while to get her used to eating from a spoon.  In a few weeks, we'll introduce some fruits and veggies too.  :)

4 Months Old

Look who's 4 months old today!

With turning 4 months old, also comes her 4 month doctor's appointment.  The appointment went well, and the doctor was very pleased at how Abigail is growing and developing.  Her height is now 25.5 inches, which still puts her in the 90th percentile!  Also, she now weighs 14 pounds and 4 ounces, which puts her in the 64th percentile.  Her doctor also mentioned that because Abbie is 4 months and over 14 pounds, she is now ready for rice cereal!  Ahhh!  While rice cereal (a couple teaspoons mixed with a couple ounces of breastmilk) isn't considered a "solid food" yet, I still can't get over the fact that she'll be eating from a spoon now!  Also, we were told that as long as she does well with the rice cereal and gradually gets used to the texture and thickness of it, we also have the go ahead to start introducing some pureed fruits and vegetables to her in the next month, too.  I guess I better start looking for sales on baby food!

A year ago today...

A year ago today, we saw this:

I had a gut feeling that I was pregnant, but yet, when I saw the test develop, I remember my hands immediately started shaking and my face grew hot.  I was in such shock at what the digital test said, that I decided to repeat the test just so that I could make sure that I wasn't getting excited over nothing.

So I took a few more tests.  I remember still being nervous and then walking out of the bathroom to call Michael.  I admit now that I wish I was more calm about everything so that I could surprise him or tell him that he was going to become a dad in a fun way, but I was just still in such shock that I wouldn't have been able to hide the fact that I knew.  Thinking about that day, I can still vividly remember the excitement and the anxiousness that I felt.  I felt so happy that I could've danced, or sprouted wings and flown around the room.  And yet, I was scared and starting praying to God to watch over me and the tiny miracle that was just starting to happen inside of me. 

Fast forward a year, and now we're a family.  Having her was the best thing to ever happen to us.  Michael and I constantly look at each other and wonder what we did to deserve such a blessing.   

This little face just melts my heart every time!  

Sitting up for play time  :)

Things I Love

The way she giggles and smiles when she sees me walk into the room. 

Life is good.

Changed

You know what's funny?  I realized that it's been almost a year since we found out that I was pregnant.  When I was pregnant, we were beyond thrilled and thought of all the things that we had to look forward to with the coming of our little bundle of joy.  Along with that, we also wondered how our lives would change and all the things we may not be able to do.  We talked about how we would deal with those changes and whether or not we would miss being just a twosome.

But since she's been here, I really haven't even given a thought to those things.  I don't worry about missed movies or shows at the theater, being able to go shopping or anywhere I want and just spend my day wandering around, chances to go on quick trips to Vegas, or even just being able to sleep whenever and for however long.  It's funny because all those things seem so silly and little.  Someone asked me recently if I was sad about all the sacrifices that I make because of the baby.  My answer:  what sacrifices?  Having her in my life is the ultimate gift and blessing.

15 Weeks

A few new milestones met:

- Even when I was pregnant, I knew that our girl had very strong legs, made evident by the way my whole stomach would move whenever she kicked.  But lately, Abigail has been showing her very strong desire to "stand up"!  She loves trying to bear weight on her legs when we're holding her up.  Also, when we have her laying down on her back, she has learned that she can kick her legs against the bed and she'll be able to scoot away.  Unfortunately, she hasn't yet learned how to control which direction she is scooting towards, which gets her a little frustrated.

- She's so much more comfortable sitting up now!  Of course, she can't sit up by herself yet, but when we put her in her Bumbo seat, she can sit up so well with very little head bobbing.  She has great control of her neck and head!  When she's sitting independently, she loves looking around and checking out the toys nearest to her, while still turning to look at us to make sure we haven't gone too far away.

Sitting up and having a nice chat with her Papa (Michael's dad)

- Abigail's back has really gotten a lot stronger too!  She's doing fabulous at tummy time!  Before, she would tired out after a minute on her stomach, and she'd end out with her head down on her blanket with her whimpering for someone to pick her up.  But just this morning, she was on her tummy for almost 15 minutes, and still she was just looking at her toys and smiling at her reflection on her tiny mirror.  She's getting better control and more strength in her forearms.  Sometimes it looks like she's doing little baby push ups.

(pardon the bed head)  :)

- She targets specific items and then reaches for them and grabs them.   When she's sitting in her car seat, she loves batting at her toys because she has learned that they make noise if she moves them.  She seems to find great satisfaction in seeing that she can make the toys move and make noise with them.  She's got a pretty tight grip too!  I've learned very quickly not to wear my hair down, or wear any jewelry right now.  I need to teach her to be gentle.

-  She clutches her hands as if she is praying.  She's amazed at her fingers.  She loves watching them wiggle.  It's cute just watching her as she discovers that each finger can move independently from one another.

- Abigail loves making all sorts of sounds now.  She shrieks, giggles, coos, gurgles and chuckles.  I love it!!  Also, she "talks" back when she is spoken to.  When someone talk to her, she sits and listens and when they have finished talking, she seems to "respond" with her little babbles.  SOOO cute especially because often times she shows emotion, for instance, her eye brows furrow, or she smiles while she's "talking" which totally looks like she's got something important to say.

- She recognizes familiar places, toys, people and routines.  She can tell the difference between familiar voices and faces.  She definitely lets us know who she wants because she'll scream until the correct parent is holding her.  Also, she knows when we are getting her ready to go somewhere because she's usually very excited to get into her car seat now.  She loves car rides!   And at bed time, she knows when we're about to swaddle her.  She could be really fussy, but as soon as we lay her down to swaddle her, she seems to know already and instantly calms down.  It's the weirdest thing.

- Before, while I'm feeding her, her hands would stay balled up into tight fists and would stay close to her sides or up against her chest.  Recently, she started taking her hand and gently touching my face with it and stroking my cheek.  Sometimes she'll stop eating for just a second just to smile.  AHH! This girl totally just melts my heart!

- Lastly, she LOVES playing soooooo much more now!  She loves when her daddy makes her "fly."  She loves putting rattles and teethers into her mouth.  She loves toys with lights and music.  She smiles so much more and laughs when we're teasing her with the toys.



She's getting SO much more fun.  I keep thinking at every stage that "it can't possibly get any better than this".... but somehow, she just keeps getting more and more fun!  She's such a strong and smart girl!  It's the neatest thing to see her do something by accident one day...and then all of a sudden, she's doing it on purpose and smiling because she's learned how to do something new.  With each day, she's showing us more and more of her personality.  My pride and joy to the millionth degree! :)

Back at Work

This past week I went back to work.  It wasn't even actually a full week.  It was 4 days...but that was definitely long enough!  :(

While it was nice to get out of the house and see my coworkers and feel the anticipation (and STRESS) of a brand new school year, I've really been having a hard time being away from Abigail.  In the morning, I get up and get all of my things ready for work (including my breast pump), then I wake Abbie up to feed her.  After feeding her, Michael takes her to get changed while I get dressed for work.  Once I'm ready, I hold her for a few more minutes until I need to leave.  That's when my stomach starts to churn and feels like it's twisted in knots.  Goodbyes typically last several minutes.  I tell her to be a good girl while I'm away and that I'll be back soon.  Once I hand her over, I shed a few tears and get my things and start walking out the door.  Michael's so sweet and knows that I need to give her one more hug and a kiss, so he calls me back into the house to say goodbye one more time.  That's basically how every morning has been.  While I'm at work, I'm constantly thinking about her.  There have been even times when I start to feel physically ill because I miss her so much.  I have the constant feeling that a piece of me is missing.  I hear that it'll get easier....and I'm hoping so.  But for now, it just sucks being away from her.

Thankfully, though, I know that she's in very very good hands.  This past week she was either with her dad, or with her Grammy.  I can't even express how thankful I am that they text me often and even send pictures to show me that Abigail is having fun and being taken care of.  Michael even sent me a little video of her playing and smiling.  Helps to put me a little at ease because it makes me feel like she's not too far away.

As soon as I got to work on the first day, I got this texted to me. :)

After work yesterday, I found this on the counter.  :)

How sweet!  :)
...they're definitely worth everything I do and more.

It's been tough, but I know I can do this.  Also, I'm thinking that once school officially starts on Monday, the students will definitely occupy most of my attention, so hopefully my day will go by faster.  Here's to a productive new school year!

Separation Anxiety

All good things must come to and end...and unfortunately, the end of my maternity leave/summer vacation is here.  :(  I've tried to avoid thinking about it, but because this weekend is slowly coming to a close, and with work starting-- I really can't avoid it any longer.  Technically, though, I went back to work last week...although I wasn't getting paid for it.  Like most teachers, I wanted to put some time into my classroom to get it ready for the new school year.  Michael came with me and helped me set up my classroom furniture and decorate my bulletin boards.  Abigail came too...she didn't help much, but she was a good girl and sat in her seat and played with her toy and watched us work.

Sadly, once this weekend is over I'll have to go back to work again, and this time, I won't be able to have them with me.  I've felt this anxiety about being away from my baby for quite some time now.  I think it first started the night we were discharged from the hospital after she was born.  Michael's mom & stepdad had brought us home from the hospital and told us not to hesitate calling them if we needed anything at all.  Little did we know that we would be calling them later that night.  It was supposed to be our first night at home as a family....but things changed as soon as I got a call from my brother telling me that my dad had had a stroke and was being rushed to the hospital.  At first I didn't want to leave, and prayed that it wasn't anything major.  He had had a "mini-stroke" before, and was just kept in the hospital overnight to be observed.  But within the hour, I got another call from my brother telling me that I NEEDED to come to the hospital right away because things were very bad and my dad would need surgery to clear out the blood that was filling his brain.  My brother, who is usually very serious and reserved with his feelings, was crying and he told me that the doctors told him that they were going to do all that they could, but they weren't even sure if he would survive the surgery.  Knowing that you really shouldn't bring a newborn baby to the hospital to wait in the emergency room, we knew that we couldn't bring Abigail with us.  I felt so torn because I had just brought my baby home for the first time, and now I had to leave her already.  I didn't want to leave--- but on the other hand, my dad was rushed to the hospital after having a severe stroke and was dying.  There was no question that I needed to be there.  That's when we called Michael's mom & dad back and asked them to watch the baby.  You can only imagine how much my heart hurt that night.  In case you didn't know or may have forgotten, because of the complicated delivery, I had separated my pubic bone and wasn't even able to walk.  I had the use of a walker, and even making my way out of the car and up the stairs to our apartment took almost 40 minutes when we first came home.  But that night, the rain was pouring down and I hurried down the stairs and into the car in less than 10 minutes.  I was so numb from what was going on inside my head that I didn't even stop to think about the fact that I was in physical pain.  The sad part is, that although we hurried, we didn't make it to the hospital in time to see my dad before he went in for surgery.  My brother asked the doctor to wait for me, but they couldn't wait any longer and they needed to take him in.  When we got to the hospital, we sat in the waiting room for hours.  I didn't sleep at all that night.  All I could think about was my dad and my baby.  I think it was around then that I started to get my separation anxiety.  As my dad's condition worsened over the next few days and until he passed away, Abigail was the reason that I was able to keep my head straight and cope with everything.  My dad's last words to me were to take good care of her.  And I think I took all the sadness I felt and channeled it into love towards her.  Whenever I missed my dad, I'd put that energy into taking care of her.  Take all of those feelings, plus the normal bond a mom has with her baby and what do you get?  Apparently that's what I have.

Anyways, in the weeks leading up to this, I've been making a list of things to help me feel better about leaving my baby to go to work.  This is what I have come up with:

• I should be thankful that I've been able to have this much time off with her, and still have a job to go back to!  I've been out of work since April 1st.  I started my maternity leave 4 weeks before my due date.  She was born on May 13th, and is a little over 14 weeks.  In total, I've had almost 20 weeks off of work....and I still have a job!  In fact, not only is my job safe, but as soon as I go back, I get my tenure!  I'm tellin' you...it's all about timing!  As a teacher, if you get pregnant in the summer, you go out on maternity right around spring break and you can ride it through until summer vacation!  I'm so lucky it all worked out that way for me! :)
• Every one works.  It's rare to find households where only one parent works.  In this day and age, and especially with this crappy economy, we need two incomes.  Maybe if Michael hadn't been laid off from teaching, there could be a possibility that I could stay at home with her, but still.  We need the money and the health insurance.  I'm going to work because I love my family and I'm doing this for them.
• Abigail will be in good hands while I'm away.  She will be spending her days with her Grammy (Michael's mom), who I trust to take very good care of her and love her as if she was her own.
• At least I'm a teacher!  The pay isn't quite what a doctor makes (haha, yeah right!), but that's because I have all weekends, holidays and summers off.  I am guaranteed to be home with her all those times, which is more than what I had with my parents who were the typical workaholic doctors who I rarely saw.  As a teacher, I only work 186 days a year...which is pretty great, I think!
• Lastly, returning to work means that I'll be something else other than just a mom.  Don't get me wrong.  Stay at home mommyhood is hard!  Sooo much work to do taking care of a little one and a household full of chores.  But being at work means that I'll get to use my other talents.  I went to school for so long in order to become a special education teacher, why throw that away?  I will be able to help children with special needs and make a difference in their lives.  Also, I'll be able to have adult conversation about things other than laundry, dirty diapers, drooling or sleeping schedules. 

I keep telling myself these things over and over again.  I think it'll be okay though.  I know I'll be sad at first...but I'll be fine.  I just hope I don't cry (at least not in front of my coworkers). 

(almost) 14 Weeks

We experienced another milestone tonight.  Abigail's first giggle.  :)

For at least the last month, she's been making all sorts of cute cooing and gurgling sounds.  She makes those consonant vowel blends that show us that slowly but surely, her speech skills are developing.  And for the past month, she has been making the cutest almost-a-laugh sounds that really are little shrieks of delight.  However, tonight, she was full-on giggling!  It was just the sweetest sound!!  She had just finished being fed and burped, and Michael and I were sitting on either side of her, when I just started talking to her and kissing her and tickling here.  All of a sudden, there she was giggling!  I tickled her and talk to her a bit more and she just kept laughing!  We tried to record it, but as we're quickly learning (and as most parents know), as soon as you get the camera to take a picture or record something, chances are your child will stop doing whatever it was that you wanted to capture.  :(

Oh well.  I'm sure we'll record it soon enough.  I'm just glad that we were both there to hear it for the first time.  Especially because I've been sad that I go back to work in a couple days and am worried about missing the little things that Abigail does, I'm SO glad that we were both here for it.

Anyways....tomorrow, Abigail is 14 weeks!  She still is sucking on her fists, and most recently, she's pretty attached to sucking on her index and middle fingers together.  She's getting more and more "vocal" and has been making more sounds, and louder sounds too!  She still dislikes baths, but she LOVES showers!  She's still doing well with her earrings.  They still do not appear to bother her at all, and she still doesn't mind when we clean her piercings 3 times daily with the antiseptic we were given.  Not sure if there's much else that's new, but she's doing great and growing like a weed!  We couldn't be happier :)  I'm just so grateful for our little family and couldn't feel more blessed.

3 Months Old

Happy 3 Months, Abigail!

...and as usual, I couldn't pick which one was my favorite because each one has such cute expressions, so here are several.  :)

...so ridiculously cute, I can't even stand it.  haha

3 Months Portraits

So yesterday, we went to a photo studio to get Abigail's 3 month portraits done.  We were hoping that if we fed her right before we left home, and that if she slept through the car ride, she would wake up happy and smiley and be cooperative with the photographer.  Turns out, we were right.  When we got to the studio, we changed her into her dress and started the photo shoot.  She smiled up a storm and was soooo good!  She even drew in a little crowd that ooh and ahh'd over her.

The pictures came out so cute!  Definitely very happy with them. :)   Here are some of our favorites...

This picture reminds us of a specific picture her daddy took when he was at this age.

...seriously, how cute is this?!?!

13 Weeks

I know I say it all the time, but geez, seriously-- time is flying by way too fast.  I can't believe my girl is 13 weeks today!  (and tomorrow will be 3 months!)

What's new:

- She is holding her head up much better, and for longer stretches of time.  She used to get tired quickly and then start getting cranky and crying when we'd make her sit up and support her neck and head for more than a couple minutes, but now she's a pro :)  She is fine sitting in her Bumbo and watching me fold laundry...or sitting in her jumperoo and just hanging out while I eat some breakfast.

- I thought that she liked her hands, but now I realize that she's basically OBSESSED with her hands.  I had always discouraged her never-ending search for her thumb, especially since she couldn't find it since it was in her closed fist.  I used to just take her hand out of her mouth and put her pacifier in instead.  But now, she's learned how to remove her pacifier with her hands and attempts to shove her whole fist in her mouth.  Either that....or she will just suck on her fingers (basically all of them except her thumb, which she has still not been able to locate).  I've given up on my battle to get her to suck on her pacifier instead, and have made my new mission to be to make sure she has a bib on so that she doesn't soak her clothes with her drool.  Also, I make sure to watch closely, since she tends to gag on her fingers sometimes.  :(

- Just last night, Abigail found her toes!  I was sitting her up on our fed after feeding and burping her.  She was looking around and smiling, when all of a sudden she looked down at her feet and her eyes got all wide.  She stared at her toes in amazement and watched as they wiggled.  It was the cutest thing.  She stared at them intensely,  as if she was trying to will them to come to her.  Too bad her short little arms couldn't reach them yet.  Haha

-It seems as if she's starting to recognize her name.  I could be talking to Michael in the same room as her, but when I call her name she seems to recognize that sound and turns her head to look at me.  Very cool!

-This week, we put away more of her clothes that she's outgrown.  She was done with the newborn sized clothes, but now she's starting to be a little too long for the 0-3 month outfits.  She fits the 3 month clothes well, and in a couple things, (especially the Carters brand clothes) she's starting to fit in 3-6 month clothes.  It was sad to see a couple of the outfits I liked on her to be too small, but with growing out of clothes comes growing INTO new clothes!  Nicole has been so good at sending us bags of clothes from her cousin, Annabelle, that we've got lots and lots of new outfits to look forward to! :)  I've already washed all the 3 and 6 month clothes and just waiting for my girl to grow just a little bit more.  I'm excited because there are some really cute things I'm looking forward to seeing Abigail in.


Anyways, she really is growing and changing so much every day, it's hard to keep track.  We're taking pictures left and right and trying to remember to capture some videos along the way too.  And with my work start date just around the corner, I'm growing more and more anxious.  I'm trying not to think about it, though, and am trying to focus on enjoying the moment.

Jumper!

We received a jumperoo from my Uncle Ramon for Abigail at my baby shower.  I hadn't really touched it and had it still in the box because I figured that we could assemble it once Abbie gets bigger.  Well today while I was walking past the box, I realized that she can actually start using it now since she is able to hold her head up by herself!

Here she is, right after I put it together.  I think she likes it....even though she seems a little unsure of what she needs to do, and even though her feet still can't touch the floor.  :)

Her feet don't touch the floor yet, but she likes it when we bounce her up and down.

Pierced Ears!

We've been meaning to take Abigail to get her ears pierced before I go back to work, so yesterday, we did!  I know every one has their own opinions about having a baby's ears pierced, but in my family, it's pretty much a tradition that baby girls get their ears pierced when they are just a few months old.  When Michael and I talked about whether or not we should get Abigail's ears pierced, we agreed that we wanted to get her ears pierced while she is young so that she is too young to be scared or worried about what's coming, and young enough so that she won't remember it.  I got my ears pierced in the same doctor's appointment as when I got my first shots when I was just 2 months old.  Thinking about it now, if I hadn't gotten my ears pierced as a baby, as pretty as I think it is to be able to wear earrings, I'd be too scared to go get my ears pierced.  That's why I'm thankful my mom got mine done when I was young.

For Abigail, we just wanted to make sure we got her ears pierced after she received her first shots, and that she gets them done at a time while I'm home with her just in case she's in any pain or anything.  Surprisingly, though, it was a lot easier than how we originally thought it was going to be like. We had asked Abbie's doctor about how to go about getting her ears pierced, and she recommended that we take her to the mall, because that's where she had gotten her daughter's ears pierced when she was also a baby.  We took her to Claire's at the Cerritos Mall.  They apparently do this all the time because in fact, there was a line of people waiting to get their ears pierced.  We were first in line and the lady who was going to do it totally put us at ease.  While she was setting up, I saw that the people behind us in line had 2 daughters (around age 7 or 8) who were going to get their ears pierced.  The whole time they were waiting, the girls were crying and telling their mom that they were scared and didn't want to get it done anymore.  Seeing that reminded me of why I wanted to get Abbie's done now while she was young.

Anyways, it took just a minute, and it was done!  Michael sat in the chair and held Abigail while the lady pierced her ears.  It made me a little sad at first because the baby was so happy, looking around and smiling-- totally unsuspecting.  Her ears were pierced one at a time, but within seconds of each other.  She cried, but as soon as I picked her up and held her, she was fine.  By the time we paid and walked out of the store, she was already smiling again.  :)

Here's a video of her ears getting pierced:

I agree with my friend who said that it's more traumatizing for the parents.  I think I cried just as much as Abigail did, but only because I was so scared for her.  That's why I felt so happy to see how lively and animated she was for the rest of the day.  I gave her some baby Tylenol afterwards, just in case, but she really was fine.  Better than fine, actually.  She was her same happy little self.  :)  Even later that night, and even this morning when I was putting on the cleaner they told me to use on her ears and earrings, she's smiling and happy.

Here are some pictures from right afterwards:

Video Monitor

It really amazes me how much things have changed since my siblings (who are now 20 and 22 years old) or I were babies.  I remember being 6 years old and playing with the baby monitor and thinking how cool it was that I could be talking into it and someone in a different room could hear me loud and clear, as if they were in the same room as me.  Well...fast forward 20 years and now, not only can I hear Abigail from in her room loud and clear, but I can also SEE her very clearly too!

We got a video monitor from my mom and just opened it today.  We were reaallllyyy surprised how clear and crisp the sound is, and how clear the picture was too!  Although Abbie still sleeps in our room in the co-sleeper, the video monitor helps to give us peace of mind that the baby is okay while she is napping in her room.  I remember hearing from Nicole and Branden that they recommend getting a video monitor, as opposed to the typical monitors where you only hear the baby.  But now seeing how cool it is, we're so glad we took their advice and registered for it.

So cool! :)

Hi :)

Hello! :)