For all of you that know my Grandma Prueter, please wish her a fast and speedy recovery! Last Wednesday she fell at home and broke her hip. She had to have a partial hip replacement, but from what I have been told is healing well. They had her up an moving the day after surgery and she should be home from the hospital now. What a bummer, but she did great and I am sure will be back to her normal self in no time. I will keep you posted on her recovery!
Month: January 2009
Growing Even Faster!!!
So on Friday January 9th, Abigail went in for her 3 month check up. Once again Dr. Calig gave her a clean bill of health and said she looked wonderful. That is always music to a mother’s ears (and daddy too). Abigail now weighs 13 pounds 9 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. She gained nearly two and a half pounds since the last visit and grew about an inch and a half in length. I swear I am not feeding her miracle grow.
Abigail is doing very well. She is babbling, cooing and laughing like crazy. She sits in her little chair very steady and seems to enjoy watching the world around her. Its to the point now where she doesn’t like laying down unless its time to sleep. She is trying very hard to sit up on her own. If she is in the right position she can do it, but she is generally already close to sitting upright at that moment anyways. She uses her legs a lot and will stand steady on them as long as you are holding her. She isn’t too fond of tummy time, but we still do it anyway. I don’t want her to skip the crawling process. It is very important! She pushes her head and chest up when she is on her tummy and while she doesn’t go anywhere, she is kicking her feet too. She also rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time. Unfortunately I was at work when this happened, so I missed it. Shaun had the chance to see her do it though, so I cant complain! We will keep working on it so that I can see it too!
Abigail appears to have started some teething as well. We cant seem to catch up with all of the drool and her hands are constantly in her mouth. She chews on them a lot and seems to prefer them over her binky. Her little cheeks get red as well and shes had a stuffy nose. Thus far the teething isn’t bad, but then again… its just the beginning! We will see what the next few months bring.
Jack is doing well too! Certainly cant leave him out of anything. He’s our big baby and definitely shows affection towards Abigail, but does get jealous when he is not being attended to. He has had an ongoing problem with his ear on one side, but after spending a bit on him… his ear looks great and he seems to be on the mend. He is still the affectionate, smart yet goofy dog that we fell in love with that day at the shelter back in October of 2006!
Abigail is enjoying her “Bumbo seat”. She likes to sit on the bed with mom and read books, talk and watch t.v.
Abigail sitting in her bassinet watching football, yes you read it right, football! Im sure its all the little men dressed in brightly colored uniforms running around all over the field that gets her attention. 🙂 She loves hockey even more!
Gotta love that adorable face! January 18th, 2009
The big baby of the family… That’s Jack! Gotta love that adorable face too!
Catching Up After the New Year!
Greetings and Happy New Year!
Well I said I would get everyone caught up on what has happened since I last posted and that is what I plan to do. I think I have basically left everything out from Thanksgiving until now. So here I go!
Thanksgiving in the Wharton house was quiet, fairly uneventful and wasnt even spent at home! I think after moving, adding Abigail to the family and not being completely settled yet made us want some quiet time away from it all. So there wasn’t too much to report there. It was nice to have some quiet time with Abigail and Shaun and just forget the stress we have been under.
Abigail seemed to enjoy her time, although she slept a lot. We helped her celebrate her First Thanksgiving by dressing her in her cute little turkey “onsie”. Hehe… our little butterball!
Before we knew it Thanksgiving quickly slipped by and all of a sudden Christmas was upon us. This year Christmas felt a little detached for me, as we were still in housing limbo, my parents were far away and it was the first without my Grandpa Prueter. It hit me hard and for the first time in my life, I actually had the blues at Christmas. I was determined, however, to keep the blues from getting the best of me. I continuously reminded myself that this was Abigails’s First Christmas and it would be a joyous occasion. Which it was.
Christmas Eve was spent at Mary and Tom’s (Shaun’s Aunt and Uncle, mine too now!). It was wonderful to visit with family and see all of the Oliver’s and Wharton’s together. After the party we came home and I stayed up way too late packing and getting ready for our getaway(more about that later!). It was our plan to leave early in the morning the day after Christmas and I knew Christmas day would be a busy one. I also had to throw in some holiday baking and try out the recipe that Patrick gave me for Molasses Cookies. They came out great and made some wonderful snacks on the road. Thank you Patrick and thank you Grandma Pat.
Abigail, dressed completely in red and looking a lot like Santa’s little helper in her red Santa boots, gets ready to leave her first of many Christmas Eve parties at Mary and Toms. By the time we got home she was passed out and ready for Santa to come!
Christmas day started off at a decent hour. Give it a few more years and I am sure that wont be the case! We opened presents at home and enjoyed our version of a Christmas tree. We opened gifts from my side of the family and all I have to say is that Abigail beat both Shaun and I in regards to the gifts under the tree, not that there was a competition! Daddy also gave her a very special gift from Tiffany’s. The first piece of jewelry a little girl receives should always come from her daddy. Now she has something very special to wear when she gets older. It was so wonderful to spend this time with Abigail and I know we will cherish her first Christmas always! Jack even enjoyed the day too and got a stocking full of toys from Grandma Taylor as well.
Its hard to see it among the presents but there is a little tiny tree in there somewhere.
Even though Abigail is far too young to remember or understand Christmas, it certainly looks as though she had a lot of fun! It was all of the bright colored wrapping paper.
After opening presents at home, we headed over to Patrick and Fiona’s house to celebrate. We had a wonderful breakfast complete with sausage, bacon, danishes, and Fiona’s famous egg souffle. Abigail received several books and outfits from the family and an absolutely adorable dress from her Aunt Brittany. James and his girlfriend Samantha were there as well and spent plenty of time holding and playing with Abigail. Although it seems that James always makes her cry!! (Just Kidding..its a bit of an inside joke.) I think Abigail is loved by all and I know as she grows older and understands it more, she will appreciate it and love every moment of it.
Uncle James certainly loves his niece! Its show in the amount of time he likes to spend with her and hold her. He also seems to like to share things with her like Grandpa’s new hat! She’s too cute!
The Wharton’s together at Christmas! Unfortunately Brittany was unable to be in the picture, that’s OK though, well get one of all of us soon!
After we had brunch with everyone, we made our way to the final house of the day. Around 4pm we arrived at Zoe’s house ready to make a tasty and simple Christmas dinner. Shaun and I worked in the kitchen making the stuffing and mashed potatoes while Grandma Zoe had the chance to spend some time with Abigail. We ate a lovely dinner and then opened gifts afterward. Abigail received a handsome amount of clothing, books and toys from Grandma Zoe. She’s set for quite some time! More importantly though is the amount of love that she is given. That is truly what makes Christmas special. That night we spent time together until about 9 or 10pm and then had to head home. Shaun had planned a getaway to Park City Utah for us and we needed to finish packing.
Grandma Zoe and Abigail… look they match!
Not sure what this was all about… but I think it has something to do with the shirt…
Grandma Zoe and Abigail… look they match!
The next morning, Shaun and I jumped into the car with Abigail in tow and headed toward Park City. It was a bittersweet trip as I was excited to go but I also knew that even though we wouldn’t be far from Montana, we wouldn’t have the chance to visit with my parents due to their schedules and the fact that this trip was planned at the last minute. The drive through California and Nevada was nice, just a little bit of snow on the ground. Just outside of Las Vegas we stopped for a break and it started to hail and snow for a little while.
Across the California desert… the moutains appear to be getting a bit of snow!
Crossing over into Nevada… this is the first time that Abigail has been out of state! Only 3 months old and a national traveler!
Just outside of Mesquite Nevada, Shaun let me open a pressent he had placed under the tree with a note attached, banning me from opening it until we arrived in Park City. It was a little purple box, beautifully wrapped I might add. When I opened it I found a little scroll inside and the message the scroll contained blew me away. Shaun had written a note, letting me know that we werent going to Park City at all. We were actually on our way to Montana to see my parents!! He got me good!! Apparently everyone else knew about this, except for me! Unfortunatly we were driving when it happened so he was unable to take pictures or video of my reaction, but lets just say that I was at a loss for words, aside from saying “really??”, over and over again. Yes I cried… but most of you already knew that. It was the best Christmas gift ever! That night we stayed in Salt Lake City and the next day Shaun planned to drive from Salt Lake City to Bozeman.
The trip to see my parents was incredible! The weather going up was a bit crazy at times, but we survived. We arrived in Bozeman late Saturday night and the next morning we were over at their house with bells on. Even though it was a few days late, we had the traditional Christmas breakfast of German Pancakes and enjoyed each others company. Mom, Dad, and Jillian had the entire day to cuddle, hold and play with Abigail. They even had the chance to babysit Abby while Shaun and I took a drive. We ended up in Trident, which is the headwaters of the Missouri River. The Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison Rivers come together to form the beautiful Missouri river. This time we had the chance to see it completely frozen over! Seeing them spend the holidays with Abby, especially her first, made my heart soar. Shaun is the best husband in the world for giving such a gift.
Interstate 15, North of Tremonton… trust me it was worse then this, but I wasnt thinking about my camera or pictures at that point!
Stopping to get a bite to eat in Pocatello… in the Jack in the Box parking lot. Hey when you need to eat, you need to eat!
All bundled up and warm.. which is good considering its only abut 10 degrees out! Her cozy sleeper was a Christmas present from daddy! He did a great job picking something out for her! She’s adorable!
All bundled up and warm.. which is good considering its only abut 10 degrees out! Her cozy sleeper was a Christmas present from daddy! He did a great job picking something out for her! She’s adorable!
The Headwaters of the Missouri River… completely frozen over.
Me… 
Shaun…
The next day, Grandma Prueter, Aunt Diane, Uncle Barry and Mike (who was visiting for the holidays as well) came over from Anaconda to visit and have lunch. We went over to the Baxter Hotel in downtown Bozeman to Ted’s (Ted Turner’s restaurant). We had a lovely lunch and enjoyed each others company. Abigail did a wonderful job and was a little lady when it came to sitting in the restaurant. Grandma Prueter was very proud and extremely happy to get the chance to see Abigail again.
Great Grandma Prueter getting the chance to spend some time with Abigail… such a special moment!
Aunt Diane (Great Aunt Diane to Abigail if you want to get technical) spends a little quality time with Abigail.
Shaun and Abigail laughing it up. What a cute smile! She is growing so fast, its hard to believe it!
Mike, Jillian and Shaun at Ted’s in the old Baxter Hotel.
The rest of the trip was spent hanging out and enjoying family. We didnt really do too much, but that was all I could ask for. We had talked about driving out to the road through Yellowstone that goes out to Cook City, but the weather stopped usfrom doing so. One night Shaun and I ran to Target while the Taylor’s spent more time with the little one. We went into the store with chilly but nice weather. When we left, you could barely see out through the front doors. Within a half an hour a major storm blew through causing a blizzard. It was a fun ride back to my parents house!
My parents street after only about 45 minutes of the blizzard… it was lots of fun!
Abigail sitting with her Grandpa Taylor, doing one of two things… 1. attempting to eat the cupcake on her shirt or 2. staring at her little toes and trying to figure out how to reach them. She’s only 3 months old, what do you think she is actually doing?
On New Years Eve, we jumped into the car (me with tears in my eyes) and headed home. Our intent was to stay in Jackson Hole that night, but unfortunately the weather prevented that as well. Pesky snow! Instead we stayed in Pocatello, Idaho. This did work out though, as it allowed us to stop in and visit with Grandma Pat, who was absolutely thrilled to visit with us and meet her great granddaughter for the first time. That night we stayed in Las Vegas and ended up there for two nights due to holiday traffic.
Abigail and Great Grandma Pat meet for the first time. Grandma Pat looked so happy to have us there. Put a smile on my face!
Coming home was bittersweet but I felt blessed that I have a husband who was so thoughtful. It truly made my 2008 end with a bang and start off my 2009 with nothing but love and a smile on my face. Happy NewYear!!
Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year Everyone!! Welcome to 2009! I hope that this year brings love, prosperity and good health. I know I havent posted in a while, but life has been super busy, especially over the holidays. I promise to update you shortly about everything that has happened since our last post! More pictures and updates to come your way very soon! Take care everyone and HELLO 2009!
The Wharton Adventures 