Life's A Beach

Trooper

2009-10-26T21:56:00.002-04:00

Abby was a trooper today. Joe had to take her in to get her second dose of the flu shot and also to get some blood drawn. Normally I would take her to the appointment but I had to work, so Joe gets a lot of dad points today. We were lucky and got a great nurse at the drs office who was really quick about the flu shot. Joe said she cried for a second but once she realized it was over she stopped. Then it was downstairs for the next appointment. Joe had to hold her for this one. He realized at that point how strong a little 21 pounder can be. But he said that once the needle was in and the blood was going Abby stopped crying and watched the blood... I don't know if that is wierd or what. I think she didn't know what to do about that. He said that when the nurse was done with her she reached out and wanted to give her a hug. The nurse said that she had never gotten a hug from a baby she had just taken their blood from! I am sure it made her day =)

Fair

2009-10-26T21:47:00.003-04:00

Just catching up on some old posts - We went to the Calvert County Fair a couple of weekends ago. Joe loves the fair for some odd reason I still have not figured out. We didn't even get any food while we were there so it must not be for that anymore. We went with another couple from church who have a little girl Abbys age. So the girls got a big kick out of seeing the animals and the people and the rides. But the most amuzing thing was the little dancing area that was near the stage. It was gospel music day when we went, so the girls were getting down to some classics =)

Caroline (aren't her overalls cute)

Abby getting jiggy with it!

Cow says Mooo!

Abby and Daddy on the John Deere! (Keep dreaming hunny)

How many KIX can you fit in your mouth?

2009-10-26T20:27:00.002-04:00

Abby is teething ALOT! I think she has about 4 or 5 going at once now so it is a whole lot of fun in the Garner household lately =) One thing I have found that helps is giving her KIX. They help to massage the inside of her mouth...especially when she sticks about 10 in at once ;)

Here is a video of her in the act!

Look who's talking now!

2009-09-11T20:46:00.002-04:00

So Abby has upgraded from babbling to trying to talk in sentences (well kind of) =) She has started staying "what is that?" (when we are in the car and she is looking out the window) "piece please" (when she wants more of something) "sited" (when she is excited about something) Those are the only ones we have actually heard repeatedly - the rest of what she talks about, only she knows!

Funny little stories of Abby

2009-09-09T07:31:00.002-04:00

So Abby is coming into her own now that she is a whole year old =) There are 3 little stories that I wanted to share.

"In Control"
So Abby is really fascinated with the remote control for the t.v. and she knows the difference between the VCR remote and the TV remote. She knows the VCR remote does nothing so therefore she will not be fooled into playing with that! And don't even try to give her, her toy remote - which by the way speaks 3 languages, sings, talks,etc. - still NOT good enough. So the other day she got a hold of the remote and managed to change the channel. It landed on a music channel which had the Beatles singing Twist and Shout. She was so excited with her selection that she started dancing with remote in hand. She would turn around to look at Joe and I with the biggest smile on her face. Then when I joined in to dance with her she was just cracking up! It was so cute. Of course by the time we got the camera she was pretty much done with the whole dancing part and had moved on to playing with her toys.

"O.C.D."
So there are times when I can see Joe come out in Abby. The other day I was putting laundry away in our room and Abby was with me "helping". I had put a basket of dirty clothes near the door to take downstairs and had emptied another basket that was full of folded clothes. So Abby began to take the clothes from the basket of dirty clothes and take them piece by piece over to the empty basket. If a piece of clothing did not make it all the way in the basket she would not leave until she had put it ALL THE WAY in. She was talking the entire time to herself because she did not notice I was watching her. I was just staring in amazement at how much time and effort she was putting into transferring the clothes. It was almost as if she was saying, "mommy you did this all wrong...I would have done it this way!"

"Kiss Me!"
The other day I went to pick Abby up from school and Joe has been doing it alot and he has a routine that he does with her (which I found out later). I went into the classroom and said Hi! and picked her up. Then I started talking to her teacher. Then I felt a hand grab my face and turn it to look at her then she gave me a big kiss! It was so cute. I was laughing all the way home about that. I asked Joe what he does when he picks her up and he always tries to give her a kiss when he picks her up. So being so routine like her father she was expecting the kiss =)

Hike to Calvert Cliffs

2009-09-07T09:30:00.002-04:00

We went to Calvert Cliffs with the Metz's the weekend before Abbys party. We had never used the backpack we had gotten at a yard sale for Abby yet so we were prematurely excited to use it. I am sure it is great for a 1-2 mile hike but the hike to the beach ended up being 2 miles there and 2 miles back. And with a 20lb baby on your back it starts getting heavy =) It was interesting as well to go with a 3 yr old (Peyton) and a 5 yr old (Carter). Joe and I were going to be watching the two of them on August 29th. So this was just a taste of what we were in for. The boys did amazingly well for their age. They really didn't ask to be held too much. The water was nice to look at. There were people on the beach because it was a really nice day to be out. The big draw for Calvert Cliffs is the Sharks Teeth. So that was what the boys wanted to go and do. Abby just wanted to pick up every piece of trash, shell, sand...didn't really matter and try and stick it in her mouth. After the hike the Metz's came back to our house for pizza. I was sure that the boys were going to be tired, but I was wrong - they still had energy after that hike. And that is when we realized we were going to be really in for it!

When we watched the boys on the 29th we were prepared with a lot of activities. After they had some play time at the house - which 3 and 5 yr olds still get a kick out of baby toys, we took them for a walk. We went to the Fire Department and they got to get on the truck and sit in the driver's seat and then the jr. fireman that was giving the tour opened all of the compartments and showed the boys everything inside. It was really pretty cool. Then we walked to Papa Johns and picked up a cheese pizza and took it to one of the picnic tables near the boardwalk and ate. Then we walked to the water and let them play on the "pirate ship" then we walked back home. Once we got home we had them take a break and they watched Toy Story. Joe and I are not quite ready for a little boy! They are non-stop energy.

Abby's 1st Birthday!!!

2009-09-07T08:56:00.002-04:00

We are so far behind in our postings and I am going to kick myself later because of it. I use this blog to remind myself of when things happen and I am about 2 months overdue. Poor Abby will have a gap in her first year! I am going to attempt to remember everything.

So starting with her first birthday!!! Of course poor baby had to start teething and get a cold right before her big day! So she spent Thursday and Friday home with mom and dad. She also spent all weekend in her pack and play which we had to rig in order for her to have an incline. She was so stuffed up it was pitiful and it was also keeping her up. She really has been a healthy kid considering she has been in daycare since she was 8 weeks old. But thank goodness for Motrin and Orajel. There is nothing else we could give her for the little cold. So on the day of her party she was a little doped up. And in some of the pics you could tell she was a tad out of it. And the other part of the Motrin is her equilibrium is off so she falls more - which for her is frustrating!

Her theme was "on the farm" and let me just say Oriental Trading Company is the best for little themes. They had some of the cutest stuff! So I went a little overboard with the theme - she had two goats come to her party, Ziggy and Rascal (the party animals as their owners called them). Some of our friends from church have goats as pets which they were really great to bring them. The kids loved them because goats eat NON-STOP so the kids got a kick out of feeding them. And they were still babies so they were just about the same height as the little ones. Abby had about 15 kids total at her little party. We had also ordered this Ball Pit/tunnel castle (didn't go with the theme - but the kids loved it). Abby loved the ball pit and she was short enough she could walk through the tunnels. Lucky for us Joe is a "weather forcaster" because he had the insight to have them set the ballpit in the basement. At 12 it was sunny and warm so I was thinking it was kind of silly to put it inside, but by 3:30 it was raining sheets, we had a waterfall coming down our backyard. I had never seen it rain so much.

For her cake, it was my first attempt at using Fondant icing. I got some pointers from a friend on which brands to go with and what to add to the cake mixes to make it a little more sturdy. It turned out a lot like what I had envisioned. And best of all it was edible =) Some of the layers were strawberry with strawberry icing and others were lemon with cream cheese icing and then the pig pen was yellow cake with chocolate icing. The silo and hay bales were made out of rice krispy treats. Abby slowly but surely tore into the cake. Then she was trying to share with everyone around her. She didn't get to wierded out with everyone singing Happy Birthday (probably because of the Motrin =)) She was such a good sport about everything. I think all of the people and the activities it really helped to get her mind off of the teething pain.

For the kids we had a egg hunt in the living room and craft time out on the deck. They were able to make barn photo holders. They could decorate them with all these little farm animal stickers. Then just for laughs I had gotten a John Deere tractor pinata. The kids got a kick out of it.

We had attempted to control the gifts by asking people to donate to the Weirs mission trip to PNG. We understand it is hard not to get stuff for the little ones. So it fell on deaf ears for some people =) But from what we know about Abby was able to give $180 to the Weirs, which is great for a one year old =) No one is to little to give!

It was a lot of fun. Joe and I looked at eachother when it was all done and said family party next year =)

She is WALKING!!

2009-07-07T21:03:00.003-04:00

We finally got the camera out in time to get her taking a few steps =) She is really getting around great! Which means no sitting still for mommy and daddy anymore. She is into everything now.

Where is the bathtub?

2009-07-01T20:52:00.003-04:00

Abby now knows when she is getting her bath and has a little routine going like everything else in her little world. However bathtime has gotten a lot more difficult now that she is moving around and CANNOT sit still for 5 minutes. So she is like a slippery fish in the tub! So I think we will be moving to the regular tub in a couple of days so she has all the space she needs...

New "Trick"

2009-07-01T20:33:00.003-04:00

There were no scary moments or close calls during the filming of this video. And we know we are probably encouraging something we will be complaining about later...but she will eventually have to learn how to conquer the steps one day. I promise we are right behind her every step of the way! =)

For the 200th post...

2009-07-01T20:19:00.003-04:00

My parents have pretty much provided a majority of the plants in our garden. But one of the most special plants was one the bought for Abby. It was a daylily called "Abigale My Love" (I forgive the person who named the plant and misspelled Abbys name...) It didn't bloom last year but it has finally bloomed this year and it is beautiful! It is pink with yellow in the center. Currently the plant is pretty short like Abby but the bloom is large and in charge which is fitting. Small but mighty!

Abigale My Love in bloom

Some of the other daylilies that have come out!

The reason I like daylilies is because they don't need a lot of love and attention and they keep coming back on their own each year! Definitely my kind of plant =)

Abby who was not to interested in looking at the camera. More interested in wondering why she was standing on the retaining wall!

How Many Words Per Minute Can You Type?

2009-06-27T17:53:00.002-04:00

Beach Footage

2009-06-27T17:32:00.002-04:00

Alot can happen in a month!

2009-06-27T15:45:00.005-04:00

So it has been a while since Joe and I have updated the blog with new information and new milestones for Abby.

Abby has turned 10 Months old! It has seriously flown by and every day it seems like she is doing something new.

1. First time in a pool - May 30th we took Abby to the pool that I visited everyday from about May til August! She loved it. I think she is going to be a fish. She wants to constantly stick her head in the water, so I am trying to find a class so I know what I can really do with a 10 month old! We also went to the water park on the 31st which again she loved. We went with Joes family because we were celebrating all of the June B-days. It was a lot of fun. I did not have a lot of expectations of the Chesapeake Water Park but it was actually really nice. They had a lazy river, two baby/kids pools, a bigger kids pool area with lots of small slides, two big slides and a bigger pool. Perfect for just about everyone!

2. 1st time at Gymboree - On June 6th, we went on a playdate with a woman I work with, Suzanne and her 10 month old Sophia. Sophia was about a head taller than Abby but hadn't quite gotten the nosey bug yet to start pulling up on stuff. Suzanne said after the playdate and after watch Abby pull up on stuff Sophia started too! It is amazing how quickly babies pick up stuff. Gymboree was so much fun! They had lots of new toys and climbing things that Abby had never seen before. 45minutes flew by. I also found out that Abby is not the only Bully in her daycare, Sophia is also the bully in her daycare. So it was like a match made in heaven. They just took each others toys and really completely fine with it. Abby really has gotten into her role as bully and will actually crawl head first into people.

Abby in the tunnel - She loved crawling through stuff!

Abby and Sophia (on the right) They both wore pink and they are both pretty much bald so it might be hard to tell =)

The two "bullys" getting adventurous together =)

3. 1st official steps - One June 12th Abby took 4 steps at Daycare. When I got to the daycare they asked me if I had ever given Abby Cheerios. I told them no because we still hadn't finished the can of Puffs. So they told me that Abby was playing on this bench and Olivia was in the high chair eating some cheerios behind Abby. Abby saw what Olivia was eating and walked over to grab a handful right off of the tray!! So the note home that day said, "Will walk for food". She has taken more steps at home so she could show us her stuff. It will not be long before she is running around =(

4. 1st time she said Mama! - (June 16th) This was what I had been waiting for, for 9 1/2 months! Abby finally said Mama =) Joe and I laugh because she says Mama when she needs something or is upset and Dada when she is excited and happy! Go figure but I will take it however it comes.

5. 1st time at the Beach - Even though we live at the beach we don't really count it as "the beach". On June 17th - 21st we went to Ocean City with some of Joe's family. We had a great time. Even though the weather wasn't totally great that weekend we still managed to find some sunny days to go out and enjoy the beach. Really overcast and rainy weather is my kind of beach weather! Joe and I got to go out to eat and celebrate our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe it has been 5 years already. We went out to Fagger's Island which is where we ate last year around this time, when I was 7 months pregnant. So it was bringing back a lot of memories =) Most of them wonderful but I am so glad that she is now residing outside of my body! Abby was not a huge fan of the sand or the ocean. The sand stuck to her and she is teething so she always wants to put her hands in her mouth, so she kept getting handfuls of sand in her mouth! The ocean was cold and I think its size and sound intimidates the little ones, so she wasn't totally sold on all of the hype.

Mommy and Abby playing in the condo.

Beautiful Clouds...

Crazy Clouds!...

Abby and Dada on the beach

Our anniversary shot!

Abby wasn't sure which sand toy to play with or stick in her mouth! Decisions, Decisions!

Two happy campers! Enjoying their own little beach. Dave, being the engineer that he is made a sand pool for the kids to enjoy!

Elsa got very attached to the jingle ant that Abby brought! She took it everywhere!

6. 1st Fathers Day! - Jayna made everyone breakfast and then after breakfast Joe and I took Abby down to the boardwalk. It was our last day at Ocean City and Joe has to go at least once down to the boardwalk. It was a fairly nice day, there were scattered thundershowers but most of the time they only lasted a few minutes. Abby gave her dada a card and a picture frame for work that talks. I tried multiple times to get her to say dada really loud but it was always after I had stopped pressing the button that she would scream it! So luckily we can record over and over again =)

7. 1st time she officially helped me turn the pages in her night-night book - June 21st, the day we got back from the beach we were reading our bedtime stories in the rocking chair and Abby would turn the pages for me. It was really cute!

8. 1st time she ate cheese - June 22nd She loves cheese and I probably held out on her for a little too long. She kept wanting more! She has since tried Cantelope and Watermelon and is a big fan of both. I love all of the summer fruits!

9. 1st time at Lil Gym - June 23rd - This time Dada got to go with us. It was fun, it was just a little bit crazy/hectic. There were about 15 kids under the age of 1 1/2 there so it was a little out of control. And Abby was one of the youngest there and pretty much the only one that wasn't completely walking. She had fun, but she had to get adjusted.

10. 1st real birthday party - June 27th - One of the little girls in her sunday school class was turning 1 so we went to her party. It was really cute. The theme was Mickey Mouse Beach Bash. She enjoyed playing with all of Ava's toys. I think it is very exciting for kids to go to other kids houses and play with all of their stuff.

Ava - Birthday Girl!

So you see, a lot can happen in a month when you have a little one! Sorry it has been so long since we have posted! I think I put it off because I feel the need to post pics at the same time. But I will learn to get over that and edit the pics in later!

Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God I Am Free AT LAST!

2009-05-22T07:29:00.003-04:00

Well,

Today is my official last day with my company. Let's just say that my close friends know how long I have been dreaming about this. I can say all the bad/good things that have happened the time I was there, but I am not going to complain anymore.

This post is dedicated to all the people that helped keep me going throughout my time here when I felt down and completely exhausted. I can not thank you all so much for everything you all have done.

Most of all, there are no words that I can type or express my undying love for my wife Christina. She has been my rock, the hugger when I really needed it, my advice giver, the bright spot in my day, everything, everything, everything to me. I can definitely say that bc of her, I was able to not make dumb decisions that I would have regretted and kept me goal oriented in time. She keeps me centered when I go all horizontal in my head, and she always, I mean ALWAYS, makes sure that I keep true to my walk with God.

I love this woman more than anything else in the world, well, I love our little stinker too at home, she is the bestest as well.

But thank you all again for all the support and encouragement. I am about to begin another journey in life, and I am more than excited about it.

-Joe of Garner

JC Penny Photo Shoot

2009-05-19T18:08:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple of the shots of Declan and Abby that we had taken while they were together in NC.

Declan with his cute "What?" face

Abby "the little monster" Garner crawling away.

Smile =)

Abby and Declan - I am blaming it on the teeth =)

Grumpy and Cutie

Look at the little angel!

Wardrobe Change

Declan can sit up and look at the curls!

Classic Abby!

2009-05-19T13:42:00.004-04:00

Abby has started standing up in her crib and we had to put it on the lowest setting bc our little girl is an explorer. Christina and I both love our Saturdays bc Abby gets to sleep past 5:30 a.m. and when she wakes up for the day, she is so happy and this is what we get to see.

Does this picture remind you of anything? Look at the 3rd frame in the comic strip:

Laura and Allan's Wedding

2009-05-19T08:47:00.010-04:00

Christina, Abby, and I drove down to Greensboro, NC this past weeked for her cousin Laura's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding. They did lots of very unique things that I am sure they will cherish later on. They did a slideshow of all of the people who had passed, they did an open invitation where the guests were able to share stories of either the bride and groom (during the ceremony), Laura and her mom hand made the programs which turned into fans, they left the church in an antique covertible and the list could go on.

We had a great time hanging out with Aunt Jennifer, cousin Declan, Grandma, and Grandpa the night before. Saturday morning we took the kids to JCPenny to try and get their pictures made together. I will say that Declan cooperated and was the most photogenic baby ever that day! Abby on the other hand was not ready for her photo op nor did she have any interest in Declan so the ones of them together are funny, not cute. So we will have to keep trying...

Christina and I have learned that if we drive home right after Abby takes her 5:30 a.m. bottle, then we will pretty much get a enjoyable car ride home that only takes 5 1/2 hrs as opposed to 7 hours +

Abby and Grandma

Uncle Steven being Silly!

Wedding Shots

Family Shot

Cousins

Mommy's 1st Mommy's Day!

2009-05-19T08:28:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Christina's 1st Mommy's Day and we wanted to make her feel extra special the entire weekend. On Saturday, I made her breakfast, and gave her lots of hugs and kisses.

On Sunday Abby and I gave Mommy a photo album we made for her of all the fun times we have had together so far and there is a voice box in the album to record special messages from us. We also gave Mommy a nice photo frame and picture of Abby and her together that will make her smile when she is not in a smiling mood at work.

Abby and Joshua

2009-05-19T08:26:00.006-04:00

Christina and I were able to meet up with Angela, Jimmy, and Joshua a few weeks ago to catch up and hang out. Our original plan was to go hiking at Prince William Forest Park, but the weather was calling for bad thunderstorms in the VA area.
So we all decided to meet up at the Potomac Mills Mall, since it was the halfway point for all of us, and it was pretty much the same distance if we were going to go hiking as well. We all had a great time, and it was so funny to watch Abby and Joshua interact. They are exactly one month apart in age, but Joshua wears 9 month clothes, and Abby is in 12 months, that little chunk. I think it might be how they cut the girls clothes.

There was not a whole lot of play places for Abby and Joshua, so we found a big store and went to the baby section and sat down and played with them for about an hour. It is funny bc Joshua loved to just watch Abby crawl and get into everything. But by the end of the day Abby had burned herself out and Joshua was still plugging away!

All in all, we had a great time, and will be doing it again. Hopefully this time we will actually be able to go hiking.

My Baby Can Pull Up!

2009-04-29T22:03:00.003-04:00

So Abby is growing up way to fast. Every day I see something new. She just catches on really quickly. If you do something she is like a little mirror and will do it back. Today I picked her up from daycare and she crawled right over to me and climbed up my leg and then just let go and stood there. I was just in shock. I said "who are you and what did you do with my baby" and then she fell down =)

Easter

2009-04-29T21:30:00.003-04:00

We went to the sunrise service at 6:30 in the morning! Abby was a trooper because she normally goes back to sleep in the morning. It was a great service! It is also torture as well because they have breakfast afterwards so all you smell is bacon, eggs, sausage, etc.

We spent the rest of the day with the Garner's. Joe's Uncle Bobby and cousin Chris came as well so it was a good time as always.

Our little bunny!

2009-04-05T22:52:00.003-04:00

Ok I know Easter is next week but we couldn't resist with the hat. And as you can see the hat will not fit next week, nor does it really fit this week. But she didn't seem to care. She was to busy trying to get around.

Cherry Blossoms and Abbys First Tooth!!!!

2009-04-05T22:37:00.004-04:00

The day has come for our baby's first tooth to come in! It is a little white speck on her bottom gums. I think it has been trying to come in for a couple of days but now you can really see it. She hasn't complained too much about it and it hasn't really affected her sleep too much. Thank goodness for baby orajel, teething rings, and tylenol!

We had a pretty exciting day today. After church we went downtown to see the Cherry Blossoms. This was Abbys day of firsts. She got her first tooth, had her first ride on the metro, had her first day in DC, saw Cherry Blossoms for the first time, played in the grass for the first time! (she is a little sheltered I guess, but it has been cold!) She was great considering she was teething and it was a little bit of a mad house down near the tidal basin. There were so many people! But the trees were beautiful and the weather could not have been better. So it would have been a crime to have stayed inside all day!

Cherry Blossom up close.

Abby and her Da-Da

Do you eat the Cherry Blossoms?!

You want to know where the gun show is?!

Mommy and Abby =)

Our little cutie.

Thinking really hard...

It was a photo op and we had to take it...they are only this little for a short time!

She seems to be a big fan of grass!

Easter Egg Hunt and Joe's B-day party!

2009-04-05T22:18:00.003-04:00

Our Saturday turned out to be pretty busy. In the morning our church had an easter egg hunt for the kids. While the workers were hiding the eggs, the kids were watching Veggie Tales Easter Special, which was pretty cute. Joe says that Abby will not own a Veggie Tales video but I highly doubt that! Abby, as you can guess is not really ready for the whole hunt part. She enjoys gnawing on an egg or two though! Her cousins, Logan and Savannah are old enough to actually hunt down the eggs. They got a little bit of help on a few with the old hot or cold game. After the hunt was over the kids got to go in and decorate some cookies. Again Abby is not quite old enough but her mommy and daddy helped her on this one ;)

There was another little baby girl there as well who was 2 days younger than Abby but Abby looked like a little giant compared to Charlie. It is funny to see her with babies her own age because I think she looks a little bit older than she is and she has started to do stuff that older babies are doing. She started crawling hard core last week and now we pretty much have to watch her like a hawk. Whatever she sees she will pretty much try to get now.

Abby enjoyed chewing on the eggs and watching the kids run around.

Brian with the kids!

Savannah and her bag full of eggs!

Logans loot!

After the Easter Egg Hunt it was over to our house for some "gourmet" pizzas and "homemade" icecream cake. We had pesto pizza with sauted mushrooms, white pizza with sauted spinach, pesto pizza with shrimp and tomatoes, chicken bacon ranch, and pepperoni (for the kids). It turned out really good with a little help from Dave! The cake I made instead of buying the carvel I made Cookie Dough and Chocolate Chip for Joe! It turned out delicious. But how can it not, when the ingredients are chopped oreos, Cookie Dough and Chocolate Chip ice cream and whipped cream icing?!

It says "watch out"

After everyone left it was time for a household nap (literally everyone one was asleep including the kittens!) and then about 6pm Juan called to let us know he was outside. He had tried to knock but nobody heard him. So we went to dinner with Juan and attempted to watch the Bond movie but we were all completely lost so we made it through an hour and Juan hit the road and we hit the bed! Long day, but great day!

Beautiful Dress

2009-03-30T20:51:00.003-04:00

On Thursday we received a package from Christina and Steven (my brother and sister-in-law). When we were opening the package Joe and I were convinced there was going to be a message saying they were pregnant, but that was not the message (we can still hope =)) Instead we opened up a box and inside was the prettiest little pink dress. Christina's mom (Clara) is dabbling in the art of smocking and what comes out is the most adorable little dress! We put it on her tonight so she could model it for everyone...

Here is a close up so you can see the details.

"Don't I look amazing?"

Big Cheese - She was just so excited with herself!

She just needed a little help standing up to show you what the whole dress looked like from top to bottom.

Surprise!

2009-03-30T20:46:00.002-04:00

At daycare today Abby made a birthday card for her Da-da! It turned out really cute =) She had some very helpful elves I am sure (thank you guys!)

St. Joseph of Waldorf Day!

2009-03-30T09:04:00.001-04:00

It is officially St. Joseph of Waldorf day! Joe turns 28 today! So as
part of his present I filled out the lovely questionnaire everyone has been posting about their husbands and I am making a pact that I will be extra nice to him today. I love you hunny and hope you have a great birthday!!!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
if I'm in the room? The Office, Hell's Kitchen, Food Network, Monk,
Psych (kind of depends on the season and the day...)
if I'm not in the room or he thinks I'm not paying attention? Lost, 30
Rock, Smallville, UFC, TNA

This is why we can't get rid of cable...

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Caesar

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
Some kinds of fish and taco salad

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? Miller Lite

5. Has he ever played a musical instrument?
Yes - I think he had a Tuba once and he played another instrument for a
couple of months as a kid... Nothing really stuck =)

6. What size shoe does he wear?
11 1/2

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
He used to collect OCC bikes, and then it was model cars, now I would
say he might get into old trains...

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
PB&J (with homemade strawberry jelly), he also likes toasted bagel
sandwiches with turkey and cheese

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Pizza - because you can change the toppings to something new each day.

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Cookie Crisp

11. What would he never wear?
He used to say pink and then we had Abby and I convinced him to get a
pink shirt and he looks good in pink. He doesn't like wearing anything
baggy and if the neck of the shirt is too loose it is pretty much
garbage!

12. What is his favorite sports team?
The Redskins, even when they are playing bad (that is the sign of a true
fan!)

13. Who did he vote for?
McCain, because that is who I voted for... Joe is not really into
politics so my vote just counts twice ;)

14. Who is his best friend?
Besides me - it would be Caleb, which is great. I think everyone needs
someone they can say just about anything to and be able to hang out.
Also Joe cherishes the friendship with Caleb for his bike, which he is
going to take ownership of in June. He is just a little excited about
this transfer.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Leave the
mail and other paperwork on the kitchen table, leave dishes in the sink,
nag (sometimes I can get on a roll!)

16. What is his heritage?
English/Catholic/Jewish (not sure if the last two are really
heritages...)

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Ice Cream
Cake

18. Did he play sports in high school?
Football (when he wasn't injured)

19. What could he spend hours doing?
Watching TV (which is why we can't get rid of cable), working on
projects outside or in his workshop in the basement, playing with Abby

20. What is one unique talent? Joe can make you laugh at just about
anytime. I can't stay mad at him for very long because he will do
something random or say something funny and sucker me into forgiving
him.

Amazing Race!

2009-03-29T21:27:00.009-04:00

Well a few weeks ago I decided to go to an open casting call for the next season of the Amazing Race with my brother in law Dave.
The tryouts were in Baltimore so Christina, Abby and I decided to make a weekend trip out of it. The girls went to the aquarium while Dave and I bared the cold weather at 7am.
We got there early bc we didn't know how long the line was going to be, and I was extremely happy bc the tryouts were at the Harley Davidson dealership.
Let me tell you that Baltimore's finest was out and we had a lot of laughs.
We finally got called up for our audition around 11ish, and we were both nervous.
All the audition was once we entered the room we had to stand in front of a camera and we had 3 minutes to say why we would be good competitors for the show.
Needles to say, we doubt we will get a call back, but I had a great time hanging out with him. Plus my brother Brian made us really cool shirts to wear as well.

Build A Bear

2009-03-29T21:27:00.007-04:00

We were in Waldorf yesterday celebrating Shannon's B-day. We had a gift certificate to build a bear that was burning a hole in my pocket. So since it was just right around the corner we decided to take Abby for her first time. She was so good during the whole thing. All smiles and she would not let go of her little turtle. And when she holds on to something she has a death grip. The child is super strong. We were lucky that when we got there we didn't have to wait and we got right in front of a party full of 8 year old little girls. If we had come any later Abby would have had to wait for her experience =) Just like most other kid-centric places they are traps for turning something quasi-cheap into something expensive. They have outfits, shoes, sunglasses, sounds, heart beats...the list could go on. We decided that Terra the Turtle would go all natural but we did cave and do a personalized message. So everytime Abby presses Terra's hand she will hear her mom and dad. It was too cute to pass up.

We went through multiple selections, koala bear, elephant, zebra, but we kept holding on to the turtle =)

Who is more excited?

Abby was very in to what was going on with Terra (her turtle) she did not take her eyes off of her turtle!

She kissed the hearts or slobbered on them which ever one you want =)

Meet Terra the Turtle!

Baltimore Aquarium

2009-03-29T21:21:00.004-04:00

The Saturday before last while Joe and Dave were auditioning for the Amazing Race, Angie and I took our girls to the Baltimore Aquarium. It was Abby's first experience and she was speechless =) Whenever she sees something new for the first time she just stares and offers no real emotion, it is like she is soaking it in. She did really good for the hour or so we were there but by the end she had passed out. Her little brain was on overload! I think it had been over 5 yrs since I had been to the Aquarium as well so I had forgotten how cool it was as well. Elsa was a pro - she knew exactly where she wanted to go and all of the cool things to see. The Noppenbergers have season passes to the Aquarium and the Zoo which is awesome. There is always something to do! We all had a great time hanging out!

Freakiest think I have seen in a while! A snake and a turtle combined...How?

Cool shot of some of the fish we got to see.

Me and Abby. She had to enjoy the Aquarium from the Ergo Baby, but she didn't seem to mind.

Did you see that mom?!

Elsa got to see everything up close. She was so cute!

Abby talking up a storm!

2009-03-19T20:21:00.004-04:00

She say's all words we could type about this!

Fleetwood Mac

2009-03-17T07:44:00.003-04:00

Last Tuesday Christina gave me my birthday present early, tickets to go see Fleetwood Mac at the Verizon Center. Christina and I are both huge Mac fans and we even had "Songbird" as our Wedding Song as well.
My mom so graciously watched Abby and Christina and I went to our 1st concert together since college when we saw Bon Jovi.
We met up with my sister Angie and her husband Dave bc they are big Mac fans and have seen them before too.
Well I have to say the concert was AWESOME! We had quite a number of older folks come up to us and say "Aren't you all too young to be here", and we said "Not too young for this music that still affects our generation" well I didn't really say that, I just smiled and said "whatever you say Buddy".
There was no opening act, and they just walked out on stage and played all their greatest hits.
The Verizon Center was not built to hold big concerts as the acoustics were not the best, but you could still here them rocking out. We all had a great time, and unfortunately we did not get to here Songbird as Christine McVie was not on tour with them, but we did here one of the greatest songs ever, Big Love...

We only stayed at the venue until about 10:20ish as we still had to get up the next morning at 4:30 and it was about an hour commute home from the venue.

All in All, it was a great time together even though we would look at pics of Abby constantly on our phone bc we missed her so much, but it was much needed, and we loved it.

New views

2009-03-16T21:52:00.004-04:00

Abby can now sit up in her stroller and it definitely changes her perspectives on things. The whole ride up to subway the other weekend she sat in silence just staring at all of the cars, people, buildings, trees, etc. By the time we left subway it was dark and cold so I carried her home in the ergo carrier and in 5 minutes she was out like a light. She was a little overstimulated from all of the stuff she got to see, but I know she is going to enjoy that perspective than the previous view of skies and trees.

Ok these shorts were 9 month shorts but they turned into little booty shorts. I couldn't believe how tiny they were! But she had to wear them at least one time! So we took a picture just for Aunt Jennifer to see how the outfit she picked out looked like =)

Movin' and a Shakin'

2009-03-16T21:22:00.003-04:00

Abby has started to try and get mobile. She sees what she wants and she goes for it now. So if that means she leans forward, then rolls, then stretches and squirms, she will eventually get whatever it is. It is exciting and scary at the same time that she is beginning to get mobile. Joe and I have some work to do in order to get the house more baby proof.

First Big Snow Fall

2009-03-07T10:34:00.003-05:00

We got close to a foot of snow on Sunday. It was so pretty and for the first time we didn't have freezing rain that followed the snow fall. Which made it a little safer to get around town and also meant the snow stayed white and fluffy a little longer. Abby was not all that into the snow. It was bright and cold and wet. A combo that doesn't really appeal to kids under 2 =) So she tolerated it for about 3 minutes and then was done being outside in the snow. Joe and his parents scraped the driveway which took about 4 hours to complete. They were freezing and numb in certain spots by the end of it all!

Sick (Thanks Baby!)

2009-03-07T10:25:00.003-05:00

I caught whatever little Abigail had and it was not fun. I have been sick for over a week now. I am finally feeling a little more normal. Last weekend was the pits. I was on house arrest all weekend. I think I got the flu even though I got the shot this year. Go figure! So I missed Brians Magic Show and Danny's birthday, but Abby represented for me.

Abby was so into Uncle BB, she was watching so intently and loved the show.

6 month drs appt

2009-03-07T10:21:00.002-05:00

Abby had her 6 month check up last Friday. She was 16lbs 2oz and 27 1/4 in long. So she was in the 70th percentile for weight and 95th for height. She was really good for Dr. Julia (as always). She was trying to show her how she can move from the sitting position to the crawling position on the exam table. She was non-stop moving and grabbing. At one point she just took the stethascope right from the doctor. Thank goodness pediatricians find this amusing. We also found out that our Dr. is having her own baby in August! So seeing Abby gives her a taste of what she is about to experience. Abby had to get 3 shots and an oral vaccine which are never fun but she was a trooper!

Abby is 6 Months Old!!!

2009-02-24T20:51:00.004-05:00

Abby is already 6 months old! We cannot believe time has flown by so fast! It has definitely been the most amazing 6 months of our lives =) Joe and I have definitely enjoyed our new addition to the fam! She is so fun and has grown so much in every way. She now can grab, reach, squeal, smile, laugh, pull, stand, roll over, push up, eat "real" food, and the list can just keep on going. That is such a leap from when she first arrived. I made Abby two half cakes, one for daycare and the other for her to rip into at the house. She definitely enjoyed tearing into the cake. I think she liked the squishy, slimy feeling =) Not to mention the taste! She hasn't really had the sweet stuff yet. We decided to strip her down to her diaper so all we had to do was transfer her to the bathtub after it was all over. What the cake looked like "pre-Abby" What the cake looked like after the masacre...=) Abby getting pumped up and excited about what she was about to do! "I am a MESS and love it!!!"

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T22:32:00.003-05:00

Abby has been sleeping so great! Today was no exception. She woke up at 5:45 to eat and then right back to sleep until 9:30!!! Thank you Abby =) We have been transitioning off of her sleeping wedge/form. It all started because I left it at daycare this week. Which to be honest I was a little nervous when I put her to bed the night I forgot the form at daycare. I was thinking that she would wake up at least 5 times that night. But she did not make a peep until 5am (when she is supposed to be up!). I could not believe it! She actually sleeps better without it. If anyone is enabling her it would be me. I keep thinking she can't do something and then she proves me wrong!

We spent the day just hanging out together. We got up and made breakfast, then we went to get our hair cut. We stopped by an Amish Market that is now in Upper Marlboro, about 2 minutes from where we used to live. It isn't quite up to the same level as the Annapolis Amish Market but it was still delicious. We ended up getting some Chocolate covered strawberries which we awesome. Then we went to Bowie for a little bit of shopping and then back home to go to dinner with Ma-moo and Pop-pop. We had a great day of hanging out. Abby was so good, she loves to see all of the new things wherever we go. So normally her look is inquisitive and nosey =)

Abby helped me with the Valentines Day Cards. She gave a little something extra to the cards =)

Our little carebear! We bought her the carebear to match her helmet/snow cap =)

I got some cuddle time with my little valentine!

What I do on Friday Nights Now...

2009-02-14T22:08:00.003-05:00

So we have been wanting to go through the medicine cabinet for a couple of weeks now. We bought all of the organizational tools but just didn't have the time or motivation. So Joe went to the movies to go see Friday the 13th, and those of you reading this that know me, know how I CANNOT watch scary movies! I have too much of an imagination, that I would not be able to sleep if I were to watch something like that. Joe has grown up on horror movies. What cracks me up, is the person who introduced him to the classics (his Dad, no longer watches them! So Joe ended up going solo to the movie. Brian was going to go with him but wasn't feeling well on Friday. So since it was just Abby and I at the house we decided to tackle some of the stuff that we had been putting off. What is so sad is I ended up finding some items that had expiration dates of 2000 and 2003....whoops! I have decided that since I am now a mom, I need to start paying attention to things like expiration dates!

Look at all of that trash!

Look at the organization =) I can do it if I try...

Daddy's Girl!

2009-02-11T20:22:00.003-05:00

Abby is sitting up on her own right now which opens up new possibilities with playtime! And as you will see from her reaction in the video she is a daddy's girl!

Highlight of my day... by far

2009-02-02T21:51:00.002-05:00

So Abby has started to grab and hold things. She is really into faces and will stare hard core at people. So tonight I was watching Abby while Joe was at a Deacons meeting and Abby just grabs my face and pulls it to her and gives me the biggest smile ever! I was a very happy mommy in that moment. It is in those moments that I truly appreciate the small stuff!!!

Weekend in NC

2009-01-26T22:11:00.005-05:00

Joe, Abby and I went down to NC over the weekend to go to the Kids Exchange (baby sale) and to celebrate my dad's RETIREMENT!!! I am still in denile that my dad is retired... it makes me feel like I have forever to go =) I have only been working for 5 years which by my dad's standards I still have about 30+ to go! Woohoo... The baby exchange was overwhelming but good. They had a lot of everything - toys, clothes, strollers, books, screaming kids, preggos, etc. They have another one in July which will have fall and winter clothes. I would suggest shopping for clothes on Sunday because everything goes 50% off! Jennifer went shopping for Abby (and me) and came out with about 15 outfits for $25! So that is a steal if you ask me.

We were actually able to surprise my dad. I really did not think that we were going to be able to pull it off. My mom and dad are ALWAYS together so it is hard to go shopping and be secretive, but I have to give it to my mom, she was able to pull it off. =) My Aunt and Uncle and cousin helped with the little white lies that had to be told to get him to the church, so thanks guys! We had the surprise party at my parents church. There were some people there from their sunday school and also family came from Greensboro. So we had a good time celebrating the occassion. My dad racked up on Golf Gift Certificates from his kids so he has something to do when he goes for visits ;)

My dad cutting into his huge cake. It tasted just like a twinkie! Yummy!

While we were in NC we were able to spend some time with the Weirs'! It is always a lot of fun seeing Ben. I think he grows an inch every time we see him. I don't know how keen he is about Abby in his territory. As you can see from the picture he is shoving Abby, and letting her know that, that is HIS MOMMY =)

"step away from my mommy" =) Can't you just feel the love!

Also while we were at the Weir's Joe had to ride his future bike. Don't worry in the picture the bike was not on, but Abby was prepared with her helmet =) I think she looks like a carebear!

"I don't know about this..."

We were also able to spend QT time with Aunt Jennifer and Declan! He is so cute and getting so big! Youjust want to squeeze him...He already rolls over and has been doing so since he was probably 2 months old. The little over-achiever! Jennifer said that she actually was a little perturbed the first time he rolled from his stomach to his back because she wanted him to have tummy time =) He showed her what he really wanted to do!

Little Old Man - He has the pants and the facial expressions down =)

She did it!

2009-01-20T16:02:00.003-05:00

She rolled over! Today I had off of work for inauguration and Joe was able to work from home. So that means play time with Abby all day =) I had her on the floor having some tummy time and she just decided to roll over! It was so exciting. I had a feeling she had already done it at daycare, but of course that doesn't count because I didn't see it =)

My new favorite picture, it makes me smile everytime!

Watch out!

2009-01-17T22:24:00.002-05:00

So last Sunday I got a stomach virus which lasted about 3 days and it was really nasty. Thankfully I had Joe there to take care of Abby! So last night Joe started feeling sick and has been at home all day with the same stomach virus that I had last week. I think that the house is sick now. Once Joe is feeling better we are going to have to clean the house from top to bottom! I am convinced the house is now sick =)

New Foods =)

2009-01-17T21:55:00.003-05:00

Abby started eating sweet potatoes last weekend. She seemed to really like them! I am going to try to make her food. There are some really great books out there for making your own baby food. The sweet potatoes were extremely easy to make. You cook them just like you would for yourself. You just don't add all of the sugar, cinamon and marshmallows ;) Then you can freeze the leftover portions in ice cube trays and take out what you need when you need it. We get to introduce a new food every 5 days, so the new one is peas. I think she might like them even more because she has now started making mmm noises.

The food all over the face is inevitable!

Peas oh yeah!

4 Month Appointment

2009-01-07T21:44:00.002-05:00

Abby had her 4 month appointment yesterday. She is a little older than 4 months but with the holidays this was the earliest appointment we could get =). I was really excited about this appointment (minus the 4 shots and an oral vaccine), because I could ask the doctor about introducing "other" foods and I also wanted to know how much our little chunk weighed. She came in at 14lbs 7.5oz and was 26 in long! So she was in the 75th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height. She is growing like a little weed =) Abby loves the doctor that we go to. She always just watches what she does and smiles. It is just when the doctor leaves she knows what is about to happen to her and lets us know. She did very good this time with the shots. She just cried a little bit when she was getting the shots and this time we had kind of a slow nurse, so that just prolongs the pain. I love it when the nurses have the shots open and lined up and they just go a quickly as possible. This one was kind of fumbling around but Abby did a great job despite the slow pace.

The doctor was as excited as me about introducing new foods. We have to start out slow and steady introducing one new food (veggies first) every 4-5 days just in case she is allergic to anything. I got a baby food cook book for Christmas and I stopped by the library today to pick up another one. So before I start I am going to read up on some stuff first. It looks like the first food Abby will be trying will be sweat potatoes. mmm. We will have to video her reaction =). She has already been practicing with the rice cereal and has been doing great with the spoon and swallow technique!

Polar Bear Plunge

2009-01-07T05:44:00.005-05:00

So I decided to start out 2009 with some STUPIDITY!!
My younger sister, Jayna, myself, and a friend from church, Daniel, decided to do the annual North Beach Polar Bear Plunge. Basically what you do is on New Years Day jump into the Chesapeake Bay. Smart, right??

We all successfully did it, and might I add, Daniel and I went topless too!!
Let me tell you, it was extremely refreshing to go into the water, but man was it freakin cold.

On a sad note, I decided while I was running/waddling into the water to roll my ankle over. I was planning on going full into the water much farther up to prepare myself, but when I got about thigh deep in, my ankle buckled, and I as you would say, "Tipped Over".

I did something similar to my other ankle last year, but that was much worse and painful. Jayna said she saw me running into the water, then all of sudden I just fell over.

I got up, realized what I did, and hoped over to Christina for sympathy. My ankle got pretty swollen right when we got out of the water, and not so fun to walk on. As you can see there are not a whole lot of pictures after the run into the water, bc I was not very photo-genic at that moment.

We went over to the Ambulance just to make sure everything was ok, since they had one there, and he asked me if I was in any pain. I told him that I just ran into the Chesapeake, and boy are my arms tired!!hehehe. No I told him everything was pretty numb so I could really answer the question. He said it just looks like a bad sprain and to do the usually for the healing process.

So now I get to tell people I screwed up my ankle again, however, this time it was jumping into the Chesapeake Bay in January.

Teeth

2009-01-05T10:23:00.002-05:00

Our little pumpkin finally got some teeth, and they grew really really fast!

Always playing catch up!

2009-01-04T20:20:00.006-05:00

Abby had her first Christmas! She was definitely NOT as interested in it as her mom and dad. She woke up about 7am on Christmas day so I fed her and we decided to go downstairs and open presents. She made it through about 2 presents and was ready to go back to bed. She only had about 3 presents so we were kind of planning on the lack of interest (and we knew her grandparents and aunts and uncles were going to spoil her!) After she woke up from her nap we went over to say Merry Christmas to Ma-moo, Pop-pop, and Aunt Jay-Jay. Then we were on the road to NC. We drove over 1000 miles over the weekend visiting family and friends. The first stop was visiting Grandmother in the rest home and then on to Grandma's house for the Edwards' family Christmas. It was really great because this year there were 3 babies, Declan, Abigail and Sophia! We are expanding like crazy let me tell you! Then we drove to Garner to spend the night with my parents. The next day we went to fayetteville to hang out with Jennifer and Declan. We had a blast and Abby and Declan seemed to get along. Just wait till next year and they are both waddling around =) On Sunday it was back to Greensboro for my moms side's Christmas lunch. We had italian which was such a nice change from the traditional turkey or ham =) Then that night we went to Steven and Christina's for our last Christmas celebration with my immediate family. We had a great time. After we opened presents we challenged each other to the Wii and passed the babies around =)

Merry Christmas Hunny!!

2008-12-24T19:51:00.003-05:00

We love you Mommy and enjoy your relaxing trip with the girls.

Christmas at the Garner's

2008-12-20T21:39:00.005-05:00

Today was our Christmas celebration with the Garners'. We had such a great time hanging out with family. It is always a lively (and loud) event when you get us all together. I think with every addition it gets more and more exciting! Santa even stopped by for a visit this year. The kids were all able to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Abby just seemed to want to stuff her hand in her mouth, maybe it is sign language for food... who knows. She seemed to like him. Maybe she thought his outfit was familiar. She kind of was a mini female version of him today. She was really cute as always =) I am not partial or anything!

This was Abby's Christmas outfit!

Just like her mommy, she is so into her shoes!

Abby meets Santa and loves him!

Abigial got a lot of fun books and toys for Christmas. She didn't quite know what to do. Just wait till next year!

The kids got a Wii =)

The Twinkies - Elsa and Abby got the same Christmas outfit...Elsa gave Abby a nice slobbery kiss. It was cute!

Here are all the kids with Santa - It was as organized as we could all get =)

Jingle All The Way - 10K

2008-12-15T11:17:00.004-05:00

So I did my first 10K yesterday. I am just glad that I finished it =) I went with a couple of people from work. It was a really nice day for a walk in downtown dc. It was of course freezing in the morning but once you got going I had to start taking off layers. Today I am sore because some of the muscles that were used during the race yesterday had not been used in a while (pretty much pre-Abby) But it felt good getting outside and doing some exercising. I mainly walked/jogged with Alicyn and we both finished the race together at 1hr and 31min. Which is a little less that 15 minutes per mile. Next year I will be able to bring Abby along for the run and hopefully improve the time =)

Alicyn, Me, and Laura after the race - Sorry it is a little on the dark side, it came from the camera phone =)

She found her toes!

2008-12-15T11:14:00.004-05:00

Abigail found her feet and she is fascinated with grabbing them. We have a little video, I just have to figure out how to get it onto the computer =) She has actually begun grabbing and playing with a lot of little toys and holding on to stuff like a big girl. Ma-moo came over last night and she had a faux fur coat on and Abby would just pet it! It was hillarious. =)

"Look at my foot mommy!"

Cotinued Prayer Request-Updated

2008-12-11T09:45:00.004-05:00

It is with great sadness that we have lost a very special person in our family. Grandma Kleaver passed away on Friday evening. She is with her husband again and we know she is in a better place. We will dearly miss her.

My Grandma Kleaver is still in the hospital recovering from medical procedures from a few weeks ago. Her condition is improving, it will just take a good amount of time for her to be back to her old self again.

She is possibly having another procedure this Friday and if you could continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers for her and my family.

Abby's Dedication!

2008-12-11T09:31:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lateness, we just have had busy nights this week and we forgot to add a blog about Abby's dedication to the church this past Sunday.

It was a true blessing for Christina and I to dedicate Abby to the Lord, it meant so much to us. It was a great message that our pastor gave about Abby and the meaning behind the dedication. Mama and Steve made the trip for this special event and all of my immediate family as well. It was so great to have all of them there for this special event. We know a lot of our friends and family members could not make the service bc of travel, but we both know you all were praying for her and us this past weekend, and we thank you so much for that.

I was ordained as a Deacon for our church during the same service and it was very humbling to have so many people pray over Christina and myself. I know we both will be working extremely hard to represent our church and God to our community and friends. It truly feels like a giant family every Sunday when we go to DBC.

At the afterparty for Abby we had a lot of our church family and others that attended the service over at our house for some good grub. Christina's Dad made delicious ribs, and superb sliders. Mama made deserts that always won over peoples tummys. Christina made her Porky Award Winning Tina's Weenas. My mom made her famous potato salad and pasta salad. As for Abby and myself, we ATE.

Thank you again to everyone that attend Abby service and for all that thought and prayed for our family, we love you all so very much.

Rubbing her head...

2008-12-03T22:08:00.003-05:00

So Abby is fascinated with rubbing her head! She rubs it when she is tired, when she is eating, when she is just playing on the floor. It is really cute when she does it. She looks so perplexed like she is thinking about something or is concerned. She is such a serious little baby it just makes you laugh =)

Here she is with Ma-moo.

Just relaxing for her nap.

Decorating!

2008-12-03T21:54:00.003-05:00

So the weekend after thanksgiving, Joe got all of the boxes of christmas stuff out of the basement and we put up the tree and decorated the house! We of course did our tradition and watched Elf (with Will Ferrel). Abby was all into the tree. I think she was mesmerized by the lights and the pretty ornaments. She wore her Elf in training sleeper that Aunt Jennifer got for her. She is about to outgrow it so it is good that Christmas is right around the corner! Joe and his dad spent from 10am -5pm on the lights that went on the outside of the house. They of course did a great job as always. This year the new addition to the outside was they lit the wreaths and they added music to the unveiling =) Each year I guess we are going to add one thing on the outside. I just hope 10 years from now our house can't be seen from space =)

Here is her Elf outfit, I also found slippers =) Sometimes it is hard to resist the torture of dress up!

Here she is with a big smile, she is so excited to help with Christmas Decorations!!

Abby with her cousins Savannah and Logan! They were so excited to hang out with her and she was just chillin =)

This is Abby's reaction to her daddy and pop-pop's work on the outside of the house, she is saying, "what next...Santa on the roof?" =)

The final outcome of all of that work! Good job dad and pop-pop!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T21:42:00.003-05:00

This year Joe and I definitely have A LOT to be thankful for. We have an amazing baby girl, who has brought us more joy than we ever thought imaginable! We have a wonderful family that is so supportive and loving! We have a great church family that encourages us and strengthens our relationship with God. It has definitely been a busy year (in a good way) and we wouldn't change a thing about it!

On Sunday our pastor gave a message on thanksgiving and he pointed out that many times when we give our thanks it is on the material things, we are thankful for our house and for our cars and for food in our bellys, but that many times we forget to be thankful for the people that we have in our lives and for the relationships we are able to develop. And that many times when people are looking back on life they always say, I wish I had said that or I wish I had spent more time with X, etc. So during the sermon he gave the floor to the congregation to say thank you to the people who have meant the most in their lives. It was so amazing to hear the stories and hear the sincerity and almost a relief from people who finally got to say what they had been thinking. Sometimes we get so caught up in the day to day life and the materialism gets to us that we forget about what really matters. I appreciated the wake up call. It has definitely put things into perspective for me.

The below is the turkey cake I made for thanksgiving. Abby helped with the hand portion =)

Always playing catch up

2008-12-03T21:11:00.004-05:00

One of these days I will have time to do all of the things that I want to do, but for now it will just have to be sporatic =) We have quite of few things to catch up on, so there is going to be multiple posts! We have a couple of videos of where Abby is now, she seems to be quite the talker!

The next video is her tummy time. She practices quite a bit at daycare with Mrs. Stephanie. I am so thankful we found a great daycare to take Abby to, it has made going back to work a much easier thing to do!

Abby's 3 month photo shoot

2008-11-21T07:25:00.003-05:00

We had Annette who is a friend from Joe's old work (NEBF) take some pictures of Abby and the family on Sunday. She did a great job! They turned out really good. Abby did a good job as well. She didn't get her normal nap so I was a little worried she would be extra fussy but she wasn't to bad. You could tell she just wanted to go to bed though. And right when we were done with the pictures she fell asleep for about 2 hours!

Here is a little sneak peak:

Abigail with Joe - this is a classic pic

Abigail looks like she is cracking up! She is talking more =)

Abigail looks like she is scheming!

Abigail is holding Daddy's finger, she is doing a good job holding on to stuff.

What can I say... you just want to squeeze her!

Way Behind! - Jennifer had Declan

2008-11-21T07:17:00.003-05:00

Jennifer had her baby boy, Declan Patrick McGarry on Saturday, November 15th at 5:19am. He was 9lbs 2oz and 21 inches long. The Edwards girls do not make little babies =) He had a full head of dark hair and is so cute! Mom and dad are doing well. Jennifer was able to come home from the hospital on Monday afternoon. And they are currently experiencing their first road trip to TN.

Day off = Mommy and Abigail day!

2008-11-11T14:00:00.004-05:00

So today is veterans day and I have the day off. Unfortunately Joe does not so it is just me and the little munchkin today =) So I think she might have some teeth coming in. There are two little white caps on the bottom that look a little like her molars or something. She has been a little fussy last night and this morning but when I gave her the baby orajel and a teether it seemed to help her out =) So she is just an early bloomer it seems like. She is also grabbing and holding onto her toys. I had the day care lady, Stephanie practice some more with her yesterday and she said she got so excited that she banged herself in the head with it. She didn't cry though, she probably just layed there and thought about it. She seems to have this look of deep thought sometimes, which is hillarious.

I also decided to try out the bumbo chair since she is doing much better with her head control. And from the pic you can see she is doing pretty good on her own! Now if she could just find her thumb I think she would be a happy camper.

Hi daddy, we miss you!

"What?!" =)

Big Weekend!

2008-11-06T07:10:00.002-05:00

"Ahhh a lion Mommy!"

Joe doing his duty =)

Mommy and her little giraffe!

Proud zoo keepers =)

The "Zoo Poo Crew" Check out those high boots =)

We had a very fun weekend last weekend. Joe and I were able to take Friday off and head down to NC early. Of course we hit traffic going down there in VA and when you are traveling with a 10 week old you kind of can't really hurry persay... On Friday night we went to a fall festival with Caleb, Adrienne, and Ben. Ben was a Lion and Abby was a Giraffe. So Adrienne and I were Zoo Keepers, she was a lion tamer and I was a giraffe keeper. We made shirts with their pictures on the back. And Caleb and Joe were the "Zoo Poo Crew" =) Caleb really got into it and him and Adrienne did a great job on their costumes. Joe was not too excited but he eventually came around! They wore white hazmat suits with "poo" (brown spray paint) flung all over them. They had Poo 1 and Poo 2 hats, Joe had thigh high fly fishing boots on and Caleb had on green rain galoshes. They looked hillarious and to keep in the spirit of things Abby even provided dad some poo to clean up =) We were waiting in line for the hay ride and she just let everything go! So we didn't make it on the hayride.

We will have pictures soon we just left our camera at the Pritchett's house so they are mailing it to us!

Saturday was Campbell's Homecoming and our 5 year "reunion". Campbell got a football team and this was the first year. We are going to have to give them a few years to get a little better. I don't think they have won a game yet and they definitely didn't come close on Saturday. I believe the final score was 42 to 0! Go Camels! ;) It was about 80 degrees outside so Abby and I didn't really make it too long at the game. They didn't allow strollers so I had to wear the Ergo Baby sling which has a quilted insert and she was in a long sleeve sleep and play. So we were both sweaty and hot. But we and all the other moms with babies found AC at the student center. It was so awesome seeing everyone and A LOT of people had new additions! Andrea, Joseph and Leela came all the way from Oklahoma! She was the oldest out of the group of babies. Then Megan, Mark, Maebry, and Clarke came from Charlotte. Angela, Jimmy, and Joshua came from Richmond. Beth and her husband John came from Mt. Airy, NC. So there were babies babies everywhere. I know I am probably missing people! After homecoming we went back to my parents house and they babysat Abby while Joe and I went to Jon and Katie's for a little get together. My mom and dad were so excited to watch Abby and everyone at the party with kids were so jealous that we could drop her off with them =) There were so many people that we had not seen in such a long time. It was great to catch up with everyone and to see familiar faces. Jon fried a turkey, cooked hamburgers and chicken and they had a firepit outside. We had a great time we just tire out much faster than back in the day. By 10pm Joe and I were holding our eyes open! This is another reason we forgot the camera =)

Sunday morning Joe and I drove back to MD. Abby did so good in the car. We only had to stop once and we made it home in about 5.5 hours!

New Friends

2008-10-27T09:00:00.004-04:00

I have to play a little bit of catch up. Since I had to take the day off today I figure it is as good a day as any. For some reason my body has decided to crap out on me at the worst possible time. Joe is out of town again for business and for some reason every joint in my body is aching like an 80 year old. So I am trying to get an appointment to see the doctor today.

Before I had to go back to work Abby and I did quite a bit of traveling. We went to visit Joe in New Jersey one weekend. He actually put us both to work, so Abigail got her first paycheck at the age of 7 weeks!! Since he had to work all weekend the only way we could really see him was to go to work with him to. And since we were going to be there anyways why not get paid to stick labels on bottles?! It was really great to see him and it helped to break up the two week span. I just really don't enjoy driving up North by myself, primarily because of tolls. I just don't really see the point in SO MANY TOLLS!!! And of course the first one I come to I mess up and get in the wrong lane. It said cash only and E-Zpass but I guess it changed to E-Zpass only before I realized it and so I was stuck. I had all of these irrate people behind me and the only thing I could do was keep on going through. It's not like I didn't have enough to worry about with a baby, not knowing where I was going exactly, but I also had to know that if a yellow light was flashing that it turns the lane into an E-Z pass only lane. I had my $2 ready and my window rolled down and everything!!! Oh well I was so happy when we finally got to the hotel that night I could hardly stand it. I definitely did not want to get back into the car again any time soon!

Joe and Abby reuniting.

After NJ we went to NC to visit with my parents and family. My mom just had knee replacement surgery so Abby was there for encouragement and special healing =) We had a lot of fun. My mom had found a bunch of boxes that had clothes and blankets from when we were kids. A lot of the clothes actually fit Abby which is great because she is going to need sweaters and snow caps for the winter.

We also got to visit her cousin Sophia who turned 1 on October 19th. She is so big! She can walk all over the place and has the most beautiful smile =) She definitely LOVES her daddy, so when Eric held Abigail, Sophia was not too happy about it. She was trying to find a way to get on his lap too! I am sure Abby will be like that too with her daddy.

We finally introduced Abigail to Benjamin (you know, her future hubby ;)) He was really excited about it too. And Abigail would watch Ben to see what he was going to do to her. We were so happy to get to spend some time with Adrienne and Ben. It has been hard to try to get schedules and sickness worked out. It is too early to tell if there was a connection or not but we will see. We are going to be going to a fall festival with them on Halloween. Abby is a Giraffe and Ben is a Lion. We will fill you in on what the parents will be next week =)

Day Care Begins

2008-10-20T10:28:00.004-04:00

Well today was very hard for Christina and me. We dropped Abby off at the day care for the 1st time this morning bc Christina started back to work today. We were both able to do it through a lot of tears and trust that the day care with our daughter and show her the love we give her. Well maybe not that much love, bc no one can love our Abby as much as we do.

I swear every time we worry about something, Abby is there to cheer us up. We both have been pretty hesitant about day care and especially leading up to today. When we got Abby up this morning she was so awake and happy it just made us smile so big. We all prayed together in the car before we went into the day care and we know God will be watching over our little special lady during the day and we will show her so much love in the evening when we see her. We both can't wait until this 1st day is over so we can go run back and squeeze our little chubby-cheeked daugther.

Back from Work!

2008-10-20T10:14:00.006-04:00

I survived!!! The past two weeks were miserable for me. I don't want to go into much detail bc all I did was work, work, work. I worked 95 hrs the 1st week, and about 70 this past week. I was able to see Christina for a little bit when they came down, however, I had to work both Saturday and Sunday so being the greatest wife in the world she is, she actually came to the warehouse I was working in and helped out as well. Abby was such a delight when they both came up to see me. While Christina and I were both working, she just was as peaceful and quiet as she could be Christina would send me pictures everyday to cheer me up and it gave me motivation each day to keep going and get this stuff done so I can see my family. I came home Friday evening and I didn't want to let go of my wife or my daughter. Christina was amazing with taking care of Abby the two weeks I was away. I am so blessed to have her as my wife and to have Abby as my daugther. These two women are to of the most special things to me and I cherish every moment I get to spend with them. I attached some of the pictures that Christina would send me. The great thing is Abby is developing her own little persona now and is smiling like crazy. It just lights up Christina and myself to see that big grin.

Bye Daddy =(

2008-10-05T16:09:00.002-04:00

Joe had to leave on his business trip today. He is going to be gone for two weeks. That is the longest we have been away from eachother in 6+ years! Abby and I are going to make a trip to New Jersey to visit him next Friday in order to break up the time we are apart. So I know the time will fly by, it will just be hard on all sides to be apart for that long. Keep us in your prayers =)

Here is a picture of our cool chick at 6 weeks!

Amazing

2008-10-03T11:52:00.004-04:00

So I have a theory that when you are on the verge of going crazy your baby does something amazing and you get over it (whatever it is). So last night was my night and Abby was being special showing both Joe and I how loud she could scream, which by the way is one octave below ear piercing! This went on for about an hour and a half. I had to pray for patience and also prayed that we would get some sleep =) She went to bed about 11pm and did not wake up until 6am! I was in shock when I got up to look at the clock at 4:30 and she was still out. So I just rolled back over and went to sleep. Thank you Abby!

Also my child is growing like a weed. She is already in 3-6 month clothes and she is not even a month and a half! So needless to say many of her 0-3 month clothes only got worn once and some not even at all =( Below is her Muhammad Ali shirt that I got especially for her. It is a 3-6 month and I was thinking that it would swallow her up but it almost doesn't stretch to fit. By the end of the month it will probably be too small!

She was caught off guard a bit but I thought she was funny =)

As you can see she has her pink Ali shirt and her camo capris. She is one tough chick =)

Abbys One Month Drs Appt

2008-09-27T09:27:00.002-04:00

Abby had a doctors appointment yesterday for her one month. She is in the 90th percentile for height and weight. She was 10 lbs. 4 oz. and was 22 1/4 in. She is almost 2 ft. tall =) The doctor said that she was doing great and that she was going to be a big girl. They had to give her a hepatitis B shot which she turned red and screamed for 30 seconds and then went back to starring at the ceiling =)

We had a little bit of a scare on Thursday night because we thought she might have had a cold. But it turns out she probably just was going through a little bit of an allergy attack. She had the whole runny nose and watery red eyes. It was pretty pitiful. We checked her temperature in all areas (ears, armpit, and butt) 98.8 so she was ok. =)

Abby One Month Big

Daddy teaching her bad habits =)

Visit to Baltimore and the Zoo

2008-09-26T11:52:00.003-04:00

We met Aunt G-G (Angie) and Elsa at the zoo on Thursday morning. I had not been to the zoo in year and really miss going. I had never been to the one in Baltimore but it was really nice. The animals were out that morning because the weather was so nice. It was in the mid-60s. They had a baby elephant that had just been born so we were able to see him, and the giraffes and chimpanzees, and penguins, rhinos, zebras, cheetahs, etc. It was also good exercise pushing the stroller up and down all of the hills. ;)

After the zoo we went back to Angie and Daves for lunch and Abby got to hang out with everyone before we had to head back. I had to make a pit stop on the way back to the house because I had dreamed that the diaper bag was stocked full of diapers, but in reality there was only 1 left in there. I also forgot her pacifier which is sometimes a necessity in between feedings so I was kicking myself. So we had to go to Safeway, thank goodness for grocery stores!

Visit at the DEA

2008-09-26T11:47:00.003-04:00

We went to my work on Tuesday so that everyone could see Abby. Since she let me sleep on Monday night we were able to make it. If it had been a hard night we probably would have had to reschedule the visit. Everyone enjoyed seeing her. We were there for quite a few hours. There are a lot of people to visit and see! It took us about an hour and a half just to make it from the outside of the building to my cube. (There were a lot of people stopping us to see the baby before we actually made it to my section) She let everyone know she was there when she got hungry so they got to see all sides of her and check out the volume on those lungs!

Mary feeding Abby

Toni having mommy flashbacks =)

Tiffany was a natural she had her knocked out in about 2 minutes

Michele getting to cuddle with Abby

We are missing one SIBer and that is Michelle Bower - I was slacking in the camera department...

Road Trip - Day 4

2008-09-26T11:39:00.003-04:00

Monday was our last day. We went to visit Uncle Phil and Aunt Kym in the morning since they weren't able to make it to the shower. Their whole family went to Myrtle Beach for a long weekend and some of them came back sick =(

Then we went to go see Great Grandmother who was also not able to make it to the shower. She got to hold her and said that she was not used to holding so much weight. Abby is starting to pack on the pounds, she is probably a little over 10 lbs. We will find out for sure today at the doctors. We did get to take a great generations picture with grandmother, mama, myself and Abby.

We left around 12 and finally made it back home around 9. We had to make a couple of stops on the way back up and by 6:30 mommy was ready to get out of the car! So we stopped and visited with Aunt Jay Jay (Jayna) in Waldorf. It was a nice break from the car. I had called Joe and said if he wanted to see his wife and daughter before 9pm that he would have to drive to Waldorf. Of course he came and brought dinner as well (great husband!). He even drove home with Abby who was not quite as happy to be back in the car. But we made it back in one piece from our road trip. She stayed wide awake from 9pm to 12:30 am and then gave mommy 5 straight hours! I believe God gave me that because by 12:30 I was about to lose it because I was SOOO tired! Again we have a great baby! =)

Grandma with her second great grandbaby =)

Grandpa getting Abby to cheese =)

Generations picture

Road Trip - Day 3

2008-09-26T11:33:00.003-04:00

Sunday was Jennifers shower. Abby and I went to Fayetteville early so we could spend some time with her before everyone else got there. We also were able to have brunch with Sean, his mom, sister and her fiance. It was nice to get to spend some time with them as well.

Jennifer did a great job decorating the house and the nursery. Declan definitely has a posh room that he can grow in. They did a safari theme with jungle animals. I totally forgot to take pictures of the actual room. Abby and I broke in the rocker and the changing table though while we were there =)

It was so good to see all of the family. We got to see almost everyone in one place which makes it a lot easier on me and Abby as well. She was good about being passed around. I think as long as she was being cuddled she didn't care who was holding her.

After the party we went to Greensboro to stay with Great Grandma and Grandpa. It took what felt like forever to get there though. I think we were just all tired so the 2 hour car ride felt like 5!

Mommy and Daddy to be

This was Uncle Sean's first time holding a baby =) There will be a lot of practice coming soon =)

All the girls together!

Road Trip - Day 2

2008-09-26T11:26:00.003-04:00

Saturday Abby, Grandma, and I had some errands to run. We wanted to surprise daddy by getting her pictures made for her one month. We ended up going to JC Pennys. They turned out pretty good. I should get the pictures next month so I will post them when the come in. She did fine until the photographer kept wanting to tease her with her pacifier. So we went to the mall and to Walmart which all took about 5 hours. We were gone for quite a while, but Abby was good. She is allowing us to tote her around pretty much anywhere as long as she can eat and get changed out of her dirty diapers =)

That night we finished up the stuff for Jennifers party. I broke out all of my cake decorating kit and made a little tank cake for Declan. It turned out pretty cute and what I had imagined in my head.

First Road Trip! - Day One

2008-09-26T11:05:00.004-04:00

Sorry we have been off of the cycle of updates but Abby and I have been a little busy for the past week. =) We took our first road trip down to North Carolina. Joe was wonderful and let us go down by ourselves in order to get to spend some more time with the family and not be rushed. Abby and I left on Friday morning. We made a pit stop halfway in Richmond to see Angela (college roomie) and her new baby boy Joshua. He was so cute. He looked just like his dad. I am not sure how much either baby paid attention to the other, but it was nice for me to get some adult time in with Angela! It was also nice to get off the road for a little while. 2 Hours was actullay the longest I had driven with Abby and we still had over 3 hours to go. Angela and Joshua had a little surprise for Abby. They got her, her first pair of sunglasses, some toys, a pair of duck slippers, and a book. There must be a new Sesame Street character since we were kids. Her name is Abby - that was the book that they had found. My Abby actually loves to look at the book, it has all of the shapes. I have some refreshing to do on my cartoons and childrens stuff in general.

We got to my parents house by about 5:45, so we were on the road from 10am to 6pm. She was a great baby. She slept for the most part and let me know when she was hungry or dirty. At my parents house she of course got spoiled with love from Grandma who grabbed her right when we walked in the door =) Grandpa schooled her on golf while we ate dinner. That night we started getting stuff made for Jennifers shower.

Mommy Angela with Baby Joshua - he only had a couple of pounds on Abby.

Angela with Abby

We did a baby switch - when we were pregnant Angela wanted a girl and I wanted a boy. I don't think that we could pull off the actual switch.

Backed up =(

2008-09-18T08:50:00.002-04:00

Abigail had to deal with her first bout of constipation this week. The poor girl would try to push but nothing would come out, so she would get upset. We tried everything. Floor exercise, warm baths, burping, rocking, stretching, etc. I called the doctor on Monday and they suggested the warm bath and then to try a rectal thermometer. I have to admit I was always scared that one day I would have to do something like this. I had to do some research before I attempted the thermometer. I pulled out all of my parenting books and looked on the internet. When I finally got the guts to do it, Abigail was perfectly pleasant. No kicking or screaming like I had imagined, she just layed there perfectly still. I was kind of proud of myself. Nothing came immediately but after her nap in the morning she woke up with a very dirty diaper and we had a very happy baby =) Thank goodness!

Abby gets to meet Mommy's siblings

2008-09-14T14:32:00.003-04:00

We had a full house this weekend. My brother Steven, sister in law Christina and sister Jennifer came up to see Abigail. It was so good to see everyone. We were able to take Steven and Christina to the Amish Market in Annapolis. We spent a lot of time around North Beach because Abigail is just so entertaining you don't even need to leave the house much ;) Abby even got to meet her future father in law Caleb too :0 Thankfully no one was afraid of babies that cry. She is a little fussy because I think she might have gas or a little acid reflux. We are going to keep trying some different things to see if anything works. I have been watching what I eat and we have tried some different floor exercises in order to help Abby out. So far we just have to deal with the crying. Poor baby.

Abigail was somewhat confused on the similarity of Aunt Jennifer and mommy =)

We went to the buffet at the Rod and Reel with Aunt Christina and Uncle Steven so we got to take some pictures at the pier.

Uncle Steven got to feed Abby and see how much she gobbles up in a few minutes. She is passionate about her food. Which might be one reason she has so many bubbles.

Ergo Baby Sling

2008-09-10T10:41:00.004-04:00

So Joe's one request for baby items was for an ergo baby carrier. We broke it out the other night for a test drive. She loved it and fell right to sleep. She loved the movement and probably for good reason because mommy never stopped moving when she was inside of me. So it was familiar territory. It is just nice now to have daddy carrying some of the load and give mommys back a little break =) 9 lbs can feel like a ton after a while ;)

If anyone knows how to correct the layout of the video let me know. I can't get to the setting to rotate clockwise...

Tummy time here we come!!!

2008-09-10T10:36:00.002-04:00

Last night something big happened... Abigail lost her umbilical cord!!! It looks like we might end up with an outie but time will tell.

No ugly black thing on this little belly =)

Sponge Bath Time

2008-09-08T19:01:00.002-04:00

Abigail loves being clean (I think I have mentioned that a couple of times). So she really enjoys her sponge baths. We can't start the official bath time until her umbilical cord falls off. Sometimes we will give her a bath because she falls asleep during her feedings and needs a little wake up call =) It works... This is actually her second bath, the first bath pics vanished from the camera and we didn't know how to get them back.

Thank you Grandma!

2008-09-08T15:46:00.003-04:00

Grandma had to go home yesterday. =( We definitely enjoyed her company and the extra hands. She was such a blessing during the first two weeks taking care of both Abigail and I. She was always there doing what needed to get done without me having to say or ask for anything. I was able to just focus on the baby and heal myself. Who knew mom needed a recovery time too!

Thank you Grandma =)

Today was my first "official" day as a mom. Abigail was great, she just got a little fussy and clingy in the afternoon which meant she was almost glued to me. Every time I tried to lay her down she either wanted mommy or needed to be changed. So I was happy when daddy came home =)

Daddy's first day back

2008-09-04T14:21:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Joe's first day back to work. We missed him a lot but we were so excited to see him when he got back =) The pictures capture the reunion!

New stuff to focus on...

2008-09-04T14:13:00.002-04:00

We got some pointers from Adrienne on new stuff to get Abby to focus on. We made some artwork with babies faces and stripes. She seemed to really look at the stuff and was able to focus. Thanks for the tip =)

Drs. Visit

2008-09-04T13:49:00.004-04:00

Abigail had her first doctors visit to the pediatrician the day after we got out of the hospital. She had lost some weight from when she came out. She was about 7lbs 15oz which is down from the 8lb 9oz.

Todays appointment was the tale tale sign to see how things are coming along. Grandma went with Abby and I to the appointment. Abby has actually exceeded her birth weight =) She was 9lbs 2oz when she was weighed. We could not believe it! I knew she was eating A LOT but girlfriend is a chunk ;) A very adorable chunk of course. She is 21 1/2 inches long. She had to have her heal pricked again today which is not fun. But she was a trooper. The doctor was very happy with her progress and couldn't believe how much she had grown in the 9 days it had been since the last appointment. I am so glad that we found a great pediatrician. She is great with Abigail and is very thorough.

Abby is One Week Old!

2008-09-01T10:00:00.002-04:00

Time is just flying by and Abigail is changing everyday. It is amazing just to watch her move, sleep, smile, cry and change expressions. The below are just a few things we have learned about our little girl:

1. She loves being clean - cries because of a dirty diaper and smiles when she is getting bathed (that is definitely daddy inside of her)
2. She is a very HUNGRY girl. So there is no doubt she will gain her birth weight back =) This makes mommy feel good.
3. She loves play time when she lays on her mat and stares at her mirror and her little pink bear. She is really trying to roll over, but she is probably just getting excited.
4. She loves noise. (Yay!) We went to church yesterday and she slept through the singing, clapping and sermon. Then we had fellowship afterwards and with all of the talking and people she was just snoring away =)
5. She has two cries one that sounds like a sheep and the other that sounds like a squeeky toy. They both make you laugh. It loses some cuteness at 3am but we still love her a lot!
6. She loves being outside on the porch. All of the birds and the bug sounds keep her eyes wide open. She looks so curious. It is a free nature soundtrack.

I am sure we will continue to observe new and amazing things as the weeks go by!

This is a dream of Caleb and mine!

2008-08-28T20:58:00.002-04:00

Picture Pefect III

2008-08-28T20:41:00.002-04:00

Nurse Cathy (she is the nurse that stayed with us through the entire labor)

Angelic

Abby right after she left her bubble inside of Mommy

So tired!

Chillin in her Pink Beanie

Picture Perfect II

2008-08-28T20:34:00.003-04:00

Abby and Mommy

Grandma, Mommy, and Abby
The Mother Theresa Wrap

No more crying

Observing what we just created

Picture Perfect

2008-08-28T20:25:00.003-04:00

Abby and Pop-Pop

Daddy and Abby

A full family at last!

Abby after her 1st bath

Not very happy at this moment

Grandma and Abby

2008-08-28T13:35:00.003-04:00

We have been so blessed to have Mamma to us and Grandma to Abby here helping out. If we need a break for a few mins, she is there, if Abby needs to get a burp out, she is there, if we need a delicious meal, she is there, if there are odd things to do around the house or laundry, she is there. She is there, and we are so blessed to have her HERE.

Abby Updates

2008-08-28T12:29:00.002-04:00

We will try our best to keep this blog updated with pictures and stories of our beautiful little daugther, but as most parents read this they know that time stands still around your newborn from dawn to dust.

So here it goes, the Birth - Joe Version:

This past Saturday morning I woke up about 6am hearing Christina making all this cooing and ahhh happy sounds in the bathroom. I jumped up and wanted to see what the fuss was about. She said that she thinks her Mucus Plug just came out and when she stood up she was leaking fluids pretty rapidly. She didn't think it was her water bc we are expecting it to look like the Hoover Dam once that happens bc the girl was drinking tons and tons of H2O.

Christina wanted to wait and see if she started to feel some contractions and if so then we will call the doctor. Nothing really happened during the day except maybe for a few more liquid outburst here and there.

We decided to go walk some more around lunchtime to the Bayfest that our boardwalk has once a year. We met up with my family, ate some spicy foods, Christina got her nails done, I got some candy cigarettes, and then we went back home.

After a few more hours Christina decided to give her doctor a call just to tell her what happened earlier with the plug. The doctor asked for us to go to the labor and delivery just to check and see if her water had burst. We make it to the hospital and we met the not so nicest nurse. She was very mad at us for not calling earlier if we thought that her water had burst. After a few lectures from her, another sonogram, we were told that her water had not burst and when it did we WILL definitely know. They told us to go home and just wait to see what happens bc even though her Mucus Plug came out, it could still be a day or even a week until she goes into labor.

On the drive back home Christina started having some contractions but nothing that was too painful. We get back home and I went out to go get something for us to eat while Christina just relaxed on our deck in her rocking chair. I was gone for no longer than 30 mins and I come back to her curled up in a little ball with a blanket over top shivering as if she is freezing. I was pretty concerned at the time bc I was caught off guard but I knew I had to stay calm to find out what happened and to help her out.

She wasn't saying much at this point except that she was feeling queasy and had the chills. She was having some mild and hard contractions that were about 5 to 7 mins apart. That went on for about an hour and I tried to make sure she stayed as hydrated as possible. She then said she felt like she was going to vomit and I went to the kitchen to grab a bowl. Well here's the thing, she recently reorganized some of the cabinets in the kitchen and I couldn't find a bowl. All I could find was a cake container and I thought that this is not a good idea. I finally found a bowl and rushed back over only to be about 3 secs too late as I heard the sounds of her vomit hugging the carpet. She was getting in more pain at the time and I was getting a little worried bc she vomited again upstairs this time in the golden bowl, but I stayed calm, bc I that is what I learned in our birthing class as a coach, RELAXATION.

Luckily I called my mom and she was able to come over and help with the clean up. I called the doctor and told her what happened. She said the vomiting was expected but the chills were not so she wanted us to go right back to the hospital. Please remember it had only been about 2 hours since we last left so I was laughing inside about how fast she changed.

We get to the hospital and the doctor grabbed us right at the door and said that if she has to see us twice that is immediate admittance to the hospital, her policy. They checked her and she was about 3 centimeters.
Well from there, labor came through the door at full force. Her contractions were very intense about every 3 mins and each one lasted about 30 secs. They hooked her up to a machine so we could here Abby's heartbeat and I could also see when a contraction was starting, peaking, and ending.

That was the process we went through for about 3 hrs and she was in a lot of pain. She was still vomiting but they had her on a IV bc her temperature was 102. Her temp would eventually go down and was normal during all this but that was a big worry.
At about 1 or 2 in the morning she was checked and she was only about 4+ centimeters dilated. Christina was extremely frustrated at this point but wanted to keep going even though she was sick as a dog.

About another hour went by and they checked her again and she was about 6 centimeters and Christina got extremely upset. She then looked at me and said if we want her to have energy to push Abby out later, she would need an Epidural. I went over a few things with her to make sure she wanted some. I looked at the nurse that had been with us all night and gave her a head nod for yes.
The great thing about the hospital we were at is that they never once brought up a sales pitch for the meds, it was all us.

Christina was a champ getting the Epidural put in and she started to feel as better as one in labor can feel. She didn't feel the pain at this point, but she still felt the pressure of each contraction.

Nurse Cathy wanted us to rest for a few hours to get the energy for pushing later. Christina was able to get a little bit, but I could not. I was sick to my stomach with nerves at that point and had an empty tummy bc I didn't get to eat dinner bc once i got home from picking it up, it was Christina time, not food time.

While she was sleeping I heard a women next door screaming at the top of her lungs and I thought in my head, oh man, I hope Christina isn't going to be like that when we have to push.

About an hour passed by and they check her again. They were really happy bc she was 10 centimeters and they said it's time to push. Right then her bed was like a transformer, it went from a normal bed to a full on delivery station.

I was holding one leg and coaching, and the nurse was holding the other leg. Christina was able to get some energy from her rest and push 4 times each lasting 10 seconds for 1 contraction. This processes went on for about 45 mins and then the nurse said ok, stop pushing bc she is coming and we need to get the doctor.

Well, they couldn't' find the doctor and our nurse was getting pissed. Another contraction was coming and she told Christina not to push but to breath through it. She did and the doctor finally came in. She got on her labor outfit and welding helmet it looked like and was ready to deliver Abby.

After a few good pushes out popped Abby's head. Her cord was wrapped around her neck and they immediately removed it and gave her a good slap on the back and Abby started saying very loudly "THANK YOU VERY MUCH''.

She then slid right out with about 10 gallons of dark fluid it looked like. Here is the best part though, I SAW EVERY BIT OF IT. So for all those people that thought I couldn't do it, should be very proud bc I witnessed my daughter being born in all her glory.

They put her on Christina's chest for the skin to skin contact and we cleaned her and her cone head up. After a few mins they brought Abby over to the warming table and worked on Christina. I went over with Abby and I really do think she recognized my voice bc she stopped crying and moved her head in my direction.

Christina ended up having a 2nd degree tear but was so happy when she saw our daughter. Abby got her 1st bath later and her Apgar Score at 1 min was a 9, and then at 5 mins later she was a 9 still.

I just have to say the nursing staff was great the second time and were so helpful with us.

It was truly a miracle watching all this happen and just looking at little Abby makes me smile so much inside knowing that I had a hand in creating this beautiful gift from God.

Abby ONDEMAND!

2008-08-28T00:18:00.003-04:00

Abby after a delicious milky meal!

Abigail meeting Uncle Brian and Aunt Shannon

2008-08-27T21:35:00.002-04:00

Day 2 with Abby =)

2008-08-25T22:33:00.004-04:00

Abby had a very busy day today at the hospital. They had to do a lot of tests. She had her Hep B shot, a heal test, a hearing test, and jaundis test. She passed all of them with flying colors, which means we got to go home today =) We get to sleep in our own bed without a lot of interruptions. And we promised Abby no more pricking or poking at the house ;)

She slept the whole ride home from the hospital because she had a full belly. She has been feeding pretty well. We are all getting adjusted to the new changes. The kittens are still getting used to the new noises, smells and of course Abby.

Enjoy some new pictures!

Changing for her first "professional" pic. She does NOT like clothes yet!!!

Sleeping beauty in the car ride home =)

Uncle Dave and Uncle Brian hooked Abigail and I up with a beautiful welcome home sign. Thank you guys!

Mommy and Abby are talking things over at the hospital =)

Daddy is making her laugh with his oohs and aahs!

Mommy, Grandma and Abby enjoying being at home.

Grandma and Abigail enjoying eachothers company!

Introducing Abigail Elizabeth Garner

2008-08-25T00:49:00.004-04:00

The day finally arrived and Abigail Elizabeth Garner came into our lives on Sunday, August 24th at 6:01am, weighing 8lbs 10 oz, and measuring 20.6in. She came out alert with her eyes wide open. She didn't want to miss a thing! So far she has had a pretty exciting day getting to meet all of her grandparents, friends from church and Aunt GG and Uncle Dave. She has been really great about getting sleep during the day but now that it is midnight she is having a hard time realizing the concept of sleep =) It is all part of parenthood right?!

Our precious little baby girl!

The Mother Theresa look that one of the nurses wrapped her up like.

She is even cute when she is angry!

Daddys first hold!

First Family Shot!

Another Step Closer!

2008-08-23T06:42:00.003-04:00

Well we are still waiting to meet are most likely chubby faced daugther, and hopefully the time will be soon. We had a little bit of excitement this morning as Christina believes her Mucus Plug came out. We don't know for definite, but she is confident that she did, and usually 99% of the time she is right about this stuff.
So now we are just going to let her body work and see what happens.
You can definitely tell Christina is carrying much lower and it looks like little Abby could just slide on down at any minute.
This past week I decided to stop asking my wife if she wants to try this out or that to get this baby out, bc I think it was stressing us both out. So lately, Christina will suggest stuff like eating some spicy food, or walking on our great boardwalk at night. The last few nights I have to say have been truly awesome, we would go walking on our boardwalk usually around 9pm and it wouldn't be crowded at all. We would usually walk for about an hour and it was so nice with the cool weather we have been getting, and with the stars shining so bright, we are truly blessed to live where we do.

We will try and keep you all updated on how Christina and Abby are doing and hopefully with some good news soon as we know so many people are wanting to meet this little lady.

It's a Waiting Game!!

2008-08-21T09:28:00.002-04:00

So we are waiting, waiting, and waiting. Is it ever going to happen, will it!! Every night we pray and hope that Christina will start feeling some pain in real contractions. We know a bunch of people keep telling us to enjoy the time we spend together alone right now and to not hope for pain soon. But we so desperately want to meet our daugther and hug her, show her how much love we have for her, and to just hear that 1st scream, that is all we want.

We are hoping soon that the day will come and we get to meet our little pretty lady.

Come on Abby, let's get this party started!!

Drs. Appt.

2008-08-19T23:39:00.002-04:00

We had another drs. appt. this morning. Not much has changed since last Thursday despite all of the walking, swimming, spicy foods, and other attempts... =) I am still 2+ cm dialated and 90% effaced. Which to me seems like there isn't a whole lot holding her in, but for some reason gravity and her whopping 8+ lbs (this is a total estimation on my part) is not really working to our advantage right now. Time will tell how long she will hang in there. I was able to go into work today after the appointment which helps me to focus on something other than trying to get Abigail out. Since I was out of the office yesterday everyone thought that I had finally delivered...sike! To many peoples surprise she stayed in my belly over the weekend. My coworkers finally had to put up a sign in my cube saying, "Christina is out of the office, but has NOT had the baby." For this reason, I try not to miss too much work. If she still hasn't made her appearance by Thursday I will be back in the office. I feel that I might be making some people a little nervous to see me waddling around but I would rather work now and take the time off when she gets here. And because honestly I am running out of projects to do around the house!