Abby Sitting Up

Eric and I have been watching Abby sit up lately and she is getting pretty good at it. We have taken some video the last couple of days so you can see how good she is doing (the first part of the video she does not do quite as well as she does on the rest of the video.) We also took a little more video of her laughing. Hope you enjoy.

Not much going on!

I have not written since Sunday, because really there is not much going on in our lives (or Abby's). This has been our first full week of school, so Eric and I are both exhausted, but Abby seems to be holding up well :) she is her usual happy, go with the flow, self. This is a great trait to have in a child. She even took some naps at the sitter's this week (which she was having trouble doing because of all of the other kids around-too much excitement). I found out last night that my duties at church are going to be cut in half with no cut in pay (not that I make much anyway :) This is a huge relief because I was getting really burned out having to stay in the nursery or pre-school EVERY Sunday because I do not have enough volunteers to work. Anyone who works at a church knows how tough it can be to find volunteers to work. It is the principal of 20% of the people do 80% of the work in the church. I have not been able to attend a church service since right after the baby was born, it has been months. So, hopefully with this cut in duties, I can get to church occasionally. That would be nice. So, other than that, everything in our lives is cruising right along nicely. Here are some pics of Abby visiting Eric in his classroom at school over the summer.

More pics

Here are more pics of the dedication

Baby Dedication

Today we had Abby dedicated at my church. I bought a beautiful dress and the dedication was really good. My pastor did a really good job. Everyone came up for it. Eric's parents. my mom, my grandma Margie, my Papaw Clynis, Aunt Brenda, and Aunt Sheila (and of course Eric) were all there. After church. we all came back to our house and had a nice lunch and sat by the pool and talked and played with the baby. Abby got several nice presents from her relatives that we really appreciate. Thanks to everybody for coming and for the presents. We love you all so much. For those of you who were not able to make it, I am posting some pictures of Abby in her dress at home, but I will have to wait until one of the grandmas sends me pictures of all of us at the church and I will post some more.

Laughing Baby!

Eric wanted me to post this video of Abby laughing. She laughed all night long after we brought her home from her first day at daycare! I think she missed us!!!!! ( I know we missed her!!!) Notice Eric's evil laugh. apparently, Abby thinks it's funny, that does not bode well for future discipline.....

First Day Tears!!!

Today was Eric and I's first day back to school. Therefore, we had to put the baby in daycare for the first time. Now, I did find a great place to put her. A friend of mine has home daycare that is just down the street from us. She only has 4-6 kids and I know her and her family really well. So, it was a great place to put Abby. However, that did not make it any easier to leave her for the first day. I (we) am lucky enough to have the summers off as teachers, and we did not have to put the baby into daycare until she was 4 1/2 months old, which is great because many families that have 2 working parents, have to put their babies in daycare much earlier, so we were lucky to be able to stay with her that long, but I think it made it all that much harder to leave her there. I cried as we drove away and I watched her waving out the door at us. All Eric and I talked about all morning was how feasible it would be for me to quit and stay home with the baby (which after lots of tears and talking we decided is not feasible at all.) A few hours after we got to work, the daycare provider (her name is Jenny) called to let me know that the baby is doing great and that everything was going well. And when we picked her up at the end of the day, Jenni told us that Abby was wonderful and happy all day long. That is the bonus of having a friend watch your baby, she knows how you are feeling and calls to tell you everything is ok. Needless to say, this was a very sad day for us and I just hope it gets easier from here on out. I can't cry everyday, right?

Abby's first Zoo Trip

Today we decided to take Abby to the zoo for the first time. We know at 4 months old, she is a little young to really appreciate all of the animals, but she can see many of them as they move around (like the seals, and fish and birds.) So, Eric, Mimi, Grandpa, and I took her on her first zoo visit. Abby had a great time and she did enjoy watching the seal and birds, and fish. We also went to see the chimps, apes, tifers, the African exhibit, wolves, and the frogs. (She slept through the frogs though) I think the rest of us enjoyed it more than she did. Next summer I think she will be old enough to really enjoy it and I am going to get a family pass to the zoo so we can go all the time. Here are some pics of her first zoo trip.

Eric's Accomplishment

I have been so busy writing about Abby's recent accomplishments, that I have neglected to mention Eric's big accomplishment of the summer. Every summer Eric shoots at a big match at Camp Perry (not far from us on RT. 2). People from all over the United States come and stay for days at a time and shoot in these matches to see who is the best. This is Eric's 3rd year competing. He shoots in 2 different matches. He shoots the M1 Garand and the Springfield Rifle. Both of these are vintage rifles from like WWII (I think, what do I know though). For the first time this year, I did not get to go watch him because of the baby. Each of these matches takes between 4-6 hours to complete because 1200 or so people shoot in each one. Last year, he got a bronze in the Springfield, and a silver in the M1. He placed 93 out of 1400 shooters. And this year, he got a bronze in the Springfield match and a GOLD medal in the M1 match. He placed 53rd out of 1200 shooters. He is in the top 53 shooters in the country in the M1 category. He was so excited, he texted me immediately and told me. Abby and I are so proud of him. Next year, Abby will go with me and we can both watch Daddy compete. Here are a couple of pictures of Eric shooting, and Eric wearing his Gold medal and standing with R. Lee Ermey (he was in a couple of war movies and he hosts a show on TV called Mail Call, he shot in the match as well, but Eric got a better score than he did.)

Solid Foods!

Yesterday, the doctor told us that we could start Abby on some rice cereal anytime we were ready. So yesterday evening, we decided to try some to see how she did. She did pretty well for her first time. Daddy videoed while mammy fed and Mimi and Grandpa (Eric's parents) watched. She is not too taken with eating yet though. She definitely prefers her bottle, but we fed her again today and she did fine. I am sure in a couple of days she will be eating her rice cereal like an old pro. Soon we will be able to feed her veggies and fruit. Wow, such variety, I don't think she will know what to do with it. Anyway, that is our big news of the day that we thought we would share. I will put the video of her first solid food on here so you can all watch her take her first bite.

Abby's 4 month check-up

Today we went for Abby's 4 month check up at the doctor. We were really anxious to know how much she had grown and how much she weighs now, She currently weighs 13 lbs. 81/2 oz. Whcih is the 50th percentile. Her height is 24 1/2 inches which is the 60th percentile and her head measure 41 cm which is the 50th percentile. So the doctor said she ig growing perfectly and everything looks perfect. She also sais we can start her on rice cereal any time now. By the time she goes back for her 6 month check up she will be eating cereal and veggies. (and fruit) the first step foods. Yea!! She is growing so fast!!! Again, this time she had tp have 3 shots for her immunizations. This is the hardest part for Daddy and I. You do what you can to make it the best possible, but she does not understand and she cries and cries. It was so sad. She looks at you like how could you do this to me. I hate that part of the visit. She will have to get shots again at her 6 month visit, but then not again until her 1 year visit. So, at least we will have a 6 month reprieve from the shots. However, after the trauma of her shots, she does fall asleep and take a nice long nap and when she wakes up she is better. So, no harm in the long run.

Isabelles 2nd Birthday

I am still trying to figure out how to add pictures and things, but here goes nothing. As many of you know, it was Isabelle's 2nd birthday on Saturday and Abby and I drove down to my parents house to celebrate with everyone. We had a great time and Isabelle finally began warming up to Abby as the day went on. On all of our previous visits with Isabelle, she has not liked Abby much at all because Abby takes all of the attention away from her and she does not like that. However, Danielle is trying to get Isabelle used to having a baby around since it will only be a couple of months until her 2nd one comes along. Abby had a great time at the party, as did I. It was nice to see everyone. I don't get to see Danielle, Isabelle, and Conrad enough. Here are some of the fun pics of Abby (and Isabelle) that I took. As you can see in one of the pictures, Isabelle got a roller coaster for her birthday from Oma and Opa. Every 2 year old needs their own personal roller coaster. Abby rode on it once with Omas help. Roller coaster are still a little big for my little 4 month old. However, it won't be too long until she is riding it like a big girl.

To Blog or Not to Blog, that is the question

We have been being hasseled by our loved ones to start a blog, so we will see how faithful we are at updating this. I am only doing this so our friends and family can watch Abby grow up. We live relatively boring lives, so I am sure our blog will not be as exciting as Danielle's. However, I will at least try to put pictures of Abby on it on a regular basis.