Abby: Week 5

Week 5

Well here we are at 5 weeks old.  The beginning of the week was fairly uneventful.  Mommy and Abby just hung out around the house.  However, Abby officially turned one month old this week!  

Hey everybody!  I'm a month old today!

We did get in a couple walks this week, one was even with Daddy.  We are really happy to live in a neighborhood that has so many nice side streets to walk on.  It wasn't until the end of the week that things got exciting!  This week Abby was introduced to more family!!  It was now Daddy's side of the family coming to visit.  Grampie Chris, Auntie Sherri and cousins, Bailey and Madison all arrived on Thursday afternoon.  They were so excited to finally meet little Abby.  The girls immediately ran into the house looking for her and as soon as they saw her it was, "can I hold baby Abby?"  So they did just that.  Madison is 4 and Bailey is 5, but when they were holding Abby it seemed like Abby was half their size!!  (That's my little chunky baby!) Here are the introductions to Daddy's side of the family.

 Meeting Madison

 Meeting Bailey

 Meeting Grampie

 Meeting Auntie Sherri

 Bailey lovin' on her cousin.  She loves to just sit and watch Abby.  She always tells me how cute she thinks Baby Abby is.  

Of course with a 4 year old and 5 year old you need to find things to keep their attention.  As cute as Abby is, they are not going to sit and look at her all day so while Auntie Sherri got in some snuggle time with Abby, Mommy decided to be a good Auntie Rachel and we had a makeover.  This is what happens when you let a 4 and 5 year old give you a makeover....yeah....this really happened.

 And then to top it off, Bailey felt I needed my hair done too.  I think it really completed the look, don't you think?

 After taking a trip upstairs to remove the wonderful makeover face, my little helper Bailey and I made brownies.

On Friday we had a HUGE day for Abby.  We knew the girls were going to go to Legoland when they came to visit, but we originally thought Abby and Mommy would stay home.  After talking it over with Daddy we decided to all make the trip.  Mommy was a little nervous about the length of time we would be away from the house, as this was our first big outing, but Abby was great.  We left the house around 11:30 and first hit up a yard sale in the neighborhood.  We snagged three outfits, two picture frames for Abby's room and four books all for $7.50!  Mommy loves yard sales!  Then it was off to Legoland!  But first, some morning snuggle time with Grampa. <3

Back to Legoland!!

Seemed like the girls had a great time there. :)

Abby got to try out her sling, harness, thing (Mommy has not idea what it is really called.  Let's just call it awesome.)  She loved it. 

 As usual, she slept.  We were all really surprised.  There were a hundred screaming children running around in Legoland and Abby could care less.  She was comfy and cozy with Daddy all afternoon.  I think Daddy liked it as much as Abby did.

 After Legoland we grabbed lunch at Johnny Rockets. 

Even Abby got her lunch.

After a long day at Legoland and Johnny Rockets, we started our trip back home only to put that on hold so we can make a last minute stop at Walmart to grab some toys for the girls to play with back at the house.  What we thought would be a short trip turned into another hour, but Abby handled it like a champ!!  After a long day like that she still had some energy to play for a bit on the floor. 

Another "first" for Abby!! One of the things Mommy decided to get was a little pool for Abby.  Abby LOVES to take a bath so we thought she would probably enjoy a pool.  We also thought it would be easier to play in this pool at home instead of hiking down to the big pool which is crowded.  Maybe we'll try that next year when she is older.  For now, Abby LOVES her pool.  Here is Abby taking her first dip in her pool. 

Hmmmm, I'm wet, but it's not bad

Kick, Kick, Kick!!!

Laughing and and kicking in the pool

Cousin Madison showing Abby how to splash

So content in her pool.  She is going to take after Mommy and live in the pool during the summers. :)

It was fun spending time with Daddy's side of the family.  We got to do so many new and fun things.  Before they all left to go back home we got some good snuggle time in.  Looks like Bailey really loves her cousin. She can't wait until we go to Maine for Thanksgiving so she can play more with Abby. 

Last day snuggles with Grampie

One other little exciting thing happened this week.  Mommy keeps up with her friend's blog and saw how her friend's son has "A new babysitter".  Her friend wrote about how much her son loved this toy.  He seems to be quite the little kicker, which is what little Miss Abby likes to do as well so Daddy and Mommy decided to get the same toy for her.  It came in today and of course we had to test it out.  She seemed to kind of like it, but then again she was also trying to poop so she was a little preoccupied at the time.  I'm sure when she is more awake and ready to play she will love it!  We'll update on that again later. 

This was a fun and very eventful end to the week.  Abby is growing more and every day!  I'll leave you this week with a photo of Abby and her best friend Bear.

Abby: Week 4

Week 4

So for anybody who has picked up on the time that these last two blogs were written you will see that Week 3 and Week 4 were both written today.  Mommy got a little behind on the blogs.  It's amazing how feeding, burping, changing and remembering to eat can take up an entire day!  I started the Week 3 blog two days after Abby turned 3 weeks old (and by started, I mean I titled it and managed to get "Week 3" written at the top of the page) and didn't get it finished until today.  Oh well, at least it's there.  So with that confession out of the way I might as well go and explain that I may have added a couple of the Week 4 experiences in the Week 3 post....sigh....BUT....there was more to Week 4 we can talk about.  Most of the week we had Grampa Mark, Grammie Joan, Great Gram Mason and Uncle Trevor here.  Grampa, Grammie and Uncle Trevor took a day to go to the Aquarium while Great Gram Mason stayed at the house to hang out with Mommy and Abby.  I think she really like that quality time with the two of us.  I know we enjoyed her being here.  :)

One of the "firsts" that I didn't mention in the last post was Abby's first outing to a restaurant!!  Grampa and Grammie wanted to take Mommy and Daddy out to dinner (how nice of them!) so we packed up and headed to Olive Garden.  I'll admit, I was a bit nervous to be taking Abby not only out into public again, but also out to dinner.  I was dreading the thought of Abby having a complete meltdown at the restaurant and how I was going to be able to deal with it.  I clearly didn't have anything to worry about because she was great!!  I was hoping she would sleep the entire time as to avoid a breakdown, but instead she was awake and fairly happy.  She got a little fussy when she got hungry (as usual....when Mommy's food is ready, that is when she wakes up and is hungry too....never fails).  Luckily Mommy and Daddy were thinking ahead of time and brought some breast milk for her that Mommy had pumped earlier.  I fed her  right in her car seat and then got her out to burp her.  With a full belly she was happy to sit back down and let Mommy eat her dinner.  After a little bit she was getting slightly fussy (and by slightly I mean, Daddy couldn't even hear her and he was sitting right next to me) so she went to sit with Daddy, who was done eating, and fell asleep in his arms.  The trip couldn't have gone any better.  We are so lucky.  Let's hope it stays this way!  Although, I'm sure we'll get the meltdowns sooner or later.  I'm just happy it wasn't on her first time out to dinner. 

Abby would like to say a big Thank You to Grampa Mark for helping Daddy install a new garage door opener for Mommy's side of the garage.  Now Mommy can park in there if there is bad weather and not have to get Abby in and out of the truck outside when it's raining.  :)  

Thanks Grampa Mark!!

Abby got to spend some quality time with the family before they left for their long drive back to Maine.  Then, it was just Mommy, Daddy and Abby for the weekend.  It was so weird to have the house to ourselves with Abby and no plans.  It felt a little weird to be honest.  However, Mommy and Daddy took full advantage of our time with Abby.  

I want to mention Daddy for a minute.  I know he doesn't get a lot of recognition for all he does, but he has been one heck of a Daddy!!  It's been hard for him having to be at work and feeling like he is missing out on time with his little girl, but as I've begun to notice, Abby knows exactly who her Daddy is and loves spending time with him.   Nick has really stepped into the role of fatherhood like a natural.  I always knew he would be a good Dad, but seeing him with our little girl truly melts my heart.  He loves her so much and you can tell she loves him too.  The way she reacts to him is different from anybody else.  You can just see the look in her eyes when she sits and plays with him.  Not only has he been great with Abby, but he's really been picking up the slack for Mommy these past weeks.  I know I've said it before, but I didn't realize how much of my day would be taken up with attending to Abby's needs.  I thought for sure I would be able to get more done around the house.  By the time I'm done with the feedings, changes, burping, play time, feeding myself...I'm exhausted and just want to zone out or nap instead of doing the dishes or cleaning the house.  For now I'm choosing to rest instead of clean.  I know I'll have to learn how to do it all, but in the meantime, while I slack off a bit, Daddy has really stepped in and is making sure everything is taken care of and for that he deserves a huge THANK YOU!!  Abby and Mommy really appreciate and love him more than he knows. 

Here are some pictures of Daddy and Abby.  They truly are a pair!

 MOMMY STEALING KISSES....AGAIN! :)

We got a visit from Auntie Missy, Brayden and Miss Carrie this weekend!!  Auntie Missy brought over some lasagna for Mommy and Daddy.  Thanks Auntie!!  It was awesome having food ready and not having to figure out what was for dinner.  Miss Carrie was down visiting Auntie Missy for the weekend so it was a real treat to see her.  

 

Before our visit, Mommy, Daddy and Abby went on our first walk together.  Again, Abby slept through it, but it was nice to be able to get outside for a bit.  It finally stopped raining down here.  (well, at least long enough for us to get a walk in)  After our walk and visit Mommy and Daddy had fun taking pictures with our little girl.  Here are some of the ones Daddy took of Mommy and Abby.

This week was a mixture of hectic times with the family and quiet moments for just the three of us.  I enjoyed both and was grateful we had a little of each.  Thinking lately about the fact I have to return to work in just three short weeks and I'm dreading it.  Thinking more and more of ways to start my own business and work from home just so I can be around Abby more.  Realistically though, Mommy needs to get back to work.  Boo. :(  Maybe someday we'll win the lottery and be able to not have to work, but for now...it's reality.  Until then I'm going to enjoy the last few weeks we have together at home.  Later this week we have big things to look forward to!!  Daddy's side of the family will be here to meet Abby!!  Grampa Chris, Auntie Sherri and cousins Bailey and Maddie will be here!!!  Talk about exhausted, a 4 year old, 5 year old and 1 month old all at the same time.  We are going to be pooped!!  It's going to be so much fun though, we can't wait!!! And yes Maddie, we will go to Lego Land, we promise! :) (the poor girl has been waiting for months to get down here so she can go to Lego Land.)

Week 4 has been pretty good to us.  Can't believe that in just two short days our little girl will officially be a month old!  We're looking forward to new "firsts" and watching her grow throughout the next months of her life.   

Abby: Week 3

WEEK 3

Week three we got in some more "firsts"!  But before we talk about the "firsts" we have to talk about having fun with Papa John!  (and no, he still did not deliver us any pizza)  Abby got in a lot of good snuggle and play time with Papa John.  Papa John likes to get up early so Mommy took advantage of that a couple of mornings and let Papa John hang out with Abby so she could either A) sleep more or B) get in a shower.  Both of which are considered precious luxuries these days.  Abby actually went on her first walk with Mommy and Papa John.  She slept through the whole thing, but it's good to know she likes them!

Morning snuggles <3

laughing and playing with Papa

 pooped after all that playing

 more play time

One big "first" for Miss Abby was her first holiday!  Miss Abby dressed the part for her first 4th of July!  Mommy put her in a skirt Nana sent a few months back that is actually size 6-9 months, but hey, even though it was falling off her it was still cute. 

It rained all day on the 4th so we played inside which made for a tired little girl...

One of the other "firsts" this week was our first outing (not including going to the doctor's office, even though we did that too.  And hey, she's back up to her birth weight at 9 lbs 2 oz.)  Funny side story.... Mommy got a text message from a friend of hers back in Maine who had an adorable little boy about a month before Abby was born that said her little one had his one month check up and he weighed 9 lbs 2 oz.  LOL, It made Mommy laugh.  I mean really, my little chunky girl weighed at birth what her friend's boy weighed at a month old. Anyway....back to week three.  Mommy, Nana and Papa took Abby out into the world to go to the store....even thought it was to Walmart....sorry kid. :)

Another BIG first was meeting more family!!!  This week Abby met her Great Gram Mason, Grampa Mark, Grammie Joan and Uncle Trevor.  They all drove down from Maine to meet her.  

Grampa Mark just couldn't get enough of his first granddaughter...

 Great Gram Mason kisses are the best <3

 Since we had the whole family there we decided to do an impromptu photo shoot!

4 generations

Mommy, Daddy and Abby (not looking as tired as we have in other photos, yay!  Well, except for Abby.)

Love from Mommy with Pictures of Abby's Great Grandfather Herschel and Great Grandmother Joan McEwen as well as her Great Great Grandmother Parker in the background looking over her from heaven.

 Another Family photo with the Great Grandparents in the background.  This was Nana and Papa's last day here with Abby.

More kisses from Mommy....what can I say, I just can't help it!!

And finally, a whole family photo from Mommy's side of the family.

 Oh look, more Skyping! Great Gram Mason just loves to show her off!  This time it was to her sister, Glenna.

 Abby and her beautiful Great Gram Mason

Snuggle time with Grampa

Later in the week there was another impromptu photo shoot at the request of Great Gram Mason.  These sweaters were hand made for Abby by her Great Aunts and one of Great Gram Mason's friends from church who happens to be 90 years old!  (good for her for still being able to make these things!)  

 This sweater is from her Great Auntie Elaine

 This sweater is from her Great Auntie Glenna

And this sweater/dress is from the 90 year old lady.  Also, the quilt Abby is on was hand made by that same lady. 

So before Nana and Papa left we thought it would be cute to take Abby's 3 week photo with them, but Mommy decided if they wanted to do that they would also have to have signs showing how many weeks old they were too!  They were good sports about it.  :)

Nana, Papa and Abby....without the signs.

All in all it was a very busy week.  Between getting out and about on the town, saying goodbye to Nana and Papa (for now) and meeting four new family members, it was definitely a whirlwind of a week.  However, Mommy did manage to sneak in a day of just her and Abby.  :)  It was our first day just the two of us and I'm not going to lie, as much as I LOVE having the family around, it was awesome just spending some quality time with my baby girl.  We got in play time on the floor mat, snuggles, told some stories to one another....it was great.  It made me think about how fast she is growing up and how again, I want to slow down time to make this last longer.  I truly love being a mom, it's probably the best job I have ever had and the great thing is that I'll never stop being a mom.  I finally understand why I'm still, at 31 years old, "Mom's little girl" and "Dad's sweet pea".  Life is good. :)

And oh yeah....MORE KISSES!!! <3 <3 <3