Abby certainly isn’t walking yet, but she is getting so very close. Her favorite place to make these attempts, as you can see, is near the stairs in our room. By the way, she has figured out how to crawl up those stairs too! I think she will be walking very soon but we aren’t rushing it! She has had a few fleeting moments of standing on her own. If history repeats itself and she does the same thing she did with crawling, she will just suddenly start walking. Abby is one of those on her own terms kind of kids! I wonder where she gets that from? Hmmmm….
Tag: Milestones
Disneyland… A Few First Moments
Yesterday was Abby’s second trip to Disneyland and while that may not seem all that important it was! Back on Abby’s 4 month birthday we took her for the very first time, but she was still to little to go on any rides or truly enjoy things. This time around was much different.
We decided to go for the afternoon and evening to meet up with Emerson, Jackie and their kids as they were celebrating Emily’s First Birthday! We took our time getting there, actually we were forced to. Traffic was a nightmare and on the way Abby started to have a meltdown because mommy wasn’t thinking and put her Doggy out of reach. Boy does she love that Doggy! Luckily we were able to get off of the freeway and get Doggy and a bottle for her. I thought that would help her to fall asleep for the rest of the ride, but instead… she chattered the rest of the way there which left her a little cranky.
Despite being a little cranky when we first arrived, Abby seemed to take everything in. The colors, the sounds, the characters and the ducks on the Rivers of America! At one point I think she was trying to have a serious conversation with them!
It was so much fun to see her enjoy herself, even if we were just walking around enjoying the sights! After some sight seeing we decided to finally take Abby on her very first Disneyland ride! So exciting! I must say that I was probably more excited about this then Abby and Shaun put together. Because we were already over in Critter Country we decided to go on Winnie the Pooh! Very appropriate for Abby’s first ride! She took in all of the colors, wiggled a bit with the songs and just stared at all of the characters. She also just looked so cute sitting in our laps, holding onto the lap bar.
Right after we got off the Winnie the Pooh ride, we spotted Tigger and Rabbit visiting with lots of visitor to the park. Shaun and I would have liked to had pictures taken with both of them but the line was extremely long. However, as we stood there Abby caught a glimpse of Tigger and seemed very excited! Her reaction was priceless and it almost seemed as if she was trying to talk with him!
After the excitement of her first ride, we decided to just walk around a bit more and enjoy one of our favorite places. My hope was to get Abby to fall asleep for a bit and eventually she did. Of course she looked cute doing that too! Luckily for us she fell asleep just before our dinner reservation, which allowed us to eat for a while before she woke up again. Dinner was at the Big Thunder BBQ, which for me was very exciting. The Big Thunder ranch used to have a BBQ restaurant when I was a little girl and the last time we had the chance to eat there, well… if you dont know the story about Snow White’s wishing well, as me some time. The BBQ was excellent! ALl of our food came out in metal buckets and our drinks were served in mason jars. During our dinner there was also a show which was pretty cute. Abby woke up when it started and she seemed to get a kick out of it.
After dinner we were finally able to meet up with Emerson, Jackie, Matthew, Jacob and of course the birthday girl… Emily! She and Abby had some time to get to know one another and it was too cute. I think Abby tried to kick Emily and Emily almost bit Abby but hey… thats what happens when you are little. They also giggled and chattered at one another, so I think this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
After chatting for a bit, we had the moment to watch fireworks together and both girls seemed to love it. Some of the fireowrks were a little too bright but aside from that they seemed to be pretty engrossed with it. After the fireworks we parted ways and decided to get onto one last ride before we left. We got onto Small World in no time and that seemed to be, well… I think the jury is still out on that one for Abby. Singing, dancing little dolls at 10pm might have been a bit much, but she didnt complain. Just sat here and took it all in!
All in all it was a great night and I cant wait to go back and tackle more rides with our little girl!
Surprise Teeth!
Ok, so I know that new teeth in a baby aren’t really a surprise… we know that they grow in but this one had us fooled! Abby has had swollen gum’s up top for quite some time and its obvious that her two front are teeth coming in. While they havent broken through yet, you can see the outline of her teeth and you can tell her gums are softening in those areas. She has been cranky lately, so we have been watching for them. Also, Abby is at that point where she hates it when you stick your finger in her mouth to check or try to lift up her lip to look, which makes feeling around for teeth very difficult.
The other evening Abby was sitting in her “saucer” and I thought I saw a piece of lint or string in her mouth. When I went in to retrieve it I found that it wasnt anything like that at all… it was the top of a tooth! While we were monitoring those top teeth, Abby had cut another tooth on bottom. Her bottom left hand side next to her two center teeth to be exact! Didnt have a clue that she was even cutting a tooth on bottom!
That is now 3 teeth and counting!
Ten Months and Only Two to Go!
Abby turned 10 months old today! I think I say it all the time but I cannot believe how quickly time flies and how much Abby has grown. Her little personality is really starting to come out now. The belly laughs and giggles are cuter then ever and now when you tickle her, she screams in delight. Its hilarious and whenever I need a good smile I just give her little tummy or under arms a tickle. Abby is crawling and moving like crazy. She has started an attempt to climb stairs and she is trying to stand on her own. A few days ago, while standing in her play pen, she let go and stood for a few fleeting seconds. As long as she has something to hold on to, she will move around. Although, anytime you try to get her to walk by holding her hands, she just becomes dead weight and wants to swing and use you as her transportation. Smart little cookie if you ask me!
This morning I woke Abby up and as always, she was happy to see me. It really is wonderful to see her face light up and watch her excitement when you walk into her room in the morning or after a nap. The best part of being a parent is being loved unconditionally. When I walked in this is what greeted me!
Seriously?? How can you resist a face like that greeting you every morning?? What a blessing! Her smiles, giggles, chatters and the expressions she makes with her face make my heart sing.
After Abby woke up and did her usually morning things we sat down for a little bit of breakfast. Abby had what has become her new favorite, scrambled eggs and turkey sticks. She loves them! After breakfast it was time for Abby’s mid morning nap which gave me a chance to clean house. Not only was it Abby’s 10 month birthday, it was also Grandma Zoe’s birthday! We were getting the house together and cooking a lovely birthday dinner.
In the afternoon, Abby woke up just in time for Auntie Kenzi to make a quick stop to see all of us and the new house. Being as busy as she is with school and getting her PhD in Physical Therapy, it was so wonderful that she had the chance to come by and visit. It gave me the chance to catch up with her. We miss her bunches!
As Auntie Kenzi was leaving, grandma Zoe came and the birthday dinner was underway. Shaun BBQ’d some chicken, which was amazing, and made some wonderful salads to go with it! Abby had some mashed potates with turkey and carrots which she seemed to enjoy immensly. As you can see below, Abby has also discovered some new things about herself…like her nose. Better yet, she has discivered that she can stick her finger in it! So pretty!
Ah what a little charmer! I cant wait to show this one off to any future boyfriends! The perk of being a parent… blackmail photos!
Watching Her Grow…
One of the best things about being a parent is watching your child grow… at least I think so. The little changes and connections being made in developement to the physical growth.
Tonight I sat Abby down for dinner with the usual things. Some Gerber chicken sticks, diced cooked apples and diced cooked carrots. I also gave her some Turkey and Rice dinner in a bowl with a spoon. She already needed a bath so making a mess of herself wasnt going to be an issue. Abby is still working on using that spoon, but tonight something new happened. She was having a hard time getting food on her spoon and getting the concept of scooping, so she figured out another way! Abby took her finger, dipped it into the Turkey and Rice and then started rubbing it onto the spoon. She did this a few times and then, when she was satisfied, she put the spoon in her mouth! Great problem solving skills of you ask me! And all on the eve of her 10 month birthday! Gotta love watching her grow and learn.
9 months… and counting!
On July 1st Abby turned 9 months… can you believe it? She is only a few shorts months away from her 1st birthday! I cant believe how fast time has gone. I know I say this all of the time, but I cant help it! I think as time goes on, life moves faster. If that’s possible. Abby is crawling like crazy and standing whenever she can. She can “cruise” around her play yard and at times has taken a chance and let go. She only stands for a few fleeting seconds, but its a step closer! I cant believe the changes that happen overnight! Even bigger news, Abby holds her own bottle! I am sure all you moms understand the joy I feel… freedom! I can actually feed her and do other things at the same time. Yay! She is also babbling a lot and I have a feeling she will be saying her first words soon. Based on what goes on in the house it will probably be Dog, Jack or Jack NO! Hehehe we shall see!
Because of timing and a scheduling faux pas on my part, our check up with the pediatrician was later then normal. We werent able to go until yesterday. We went in to see Dr. Suze this time, as Dr Calig wasn’t available. Dr Suze was great and so loving and gentle with Abby. Once again Abby was dubbed “absolutely perfect”. She has grown in length to 27.5 inches and she now weighs 22 pounds and 12 ounces. She is getting to be a big girl! I cant believe it! This time I decided to take a few pictures during the appointment. They were on my cell phone so they aren’t as clear as my usual pictures.
Too cute if you ask me! Hitting Abby’s 9 month mark makes me want to look back. This time last year I was 6 months pregnant and trying to survive the summer heat. At the time we were living in Simi Valley at the Archstone apartments. Lucky for me there was air conditioning, but the stairs up to our apartment were killer. I still had my little Nissan Sentra that took 20 minutes of driving at 50 miles an hour to get the AC going and the drive out to Thousand Oaks for work was miserable. Abby was moving around in my tummy like crazy and I loved every moment of it. Tommie was putting together a fantastic baby shower for me and it was only a month away! I was almost to the point of making weekly trips to the doctors office. I was only months away from becoming a mother and I was so happy. I cant believe how the time has gone by.
Happy 4th of July!!… A few days late.
Before I say anymore… I have to remind everyone that on July 1st, Abby turned 9 months old. Can you believe it?? I really feel like time moves faster as each day goes by. Its a little nuts if you ask me, but I guess its something that parents have to get used to.
The 4th of July was a pretty quiet and relaxing day. Time was spent with family and friends but we also had the chance to spend some time together; just Shaun, myself and Abby. Abby had the chance to try some new foods and boy was it an adventure. She had her first taste of mashed potatoes and boy was she in heaven! Abby loved them but more importantly, she loved picking them up in her fingers and playing with them. Mommy also had the bright idea of letting Abby try to eat her peaches with a spoon from her bowl… HA! As you can see that turned out to be a mess. Luckily, we had time to take a bath before we had to be anywhere!
After a well deserved bath, we headed off to Zoe’s house to watch some 4th of July fireworks. Shepard of the Hills church in Porter Ranch puts on a very nice fireworks show and it seems to be quite popular with the locals in that area of the valley. Luckily Zoe’s house sits up in the hills of Porter Ranch and the area in front of her house is still a dirt lot, for now, so we had a fairly unobstructed view. Emerson, Jackie, Matthew, Jacob and Emily all came up as well to enjoy the show and I have to say that it was nice to finally spend some time with them. Emily has grown so big! The fireworks were received with mixed emotions when it came to Emily and Abby. Both of the girls were celebrating their first 4th of July. Emily didn’t seem all that pleased with the noise while Abby was completely engrossed with what was going on. Its amazing how different babies can be! I have to say that it was a fun night had by all!
While its fun to celebrate, watch fireworks and eat great food please don’t forget the reason we are celebrating. As citizens of this wonderful country we may not always see eye to eye or have the same views, but instead of yelling and screaming at each other lets remember how wonderful it is to be able to share those differences with one another and express who we are. Lets honor our freedom, our independence and the beauty that is America… God Bless America! To everyone out there… Happy 4th of July!
So Much Has Happened!!
Wow… so I have really been busy and have slacked off on the blog! My apologies… but there is plenty to update you with!
On June 1st, 2009… Abby turned 8 months old. Good grief time is flying by super fast and she is growing more and more each day. She is moving around a lot more and learning new things and she takes more interest in things each day. Her motor skills have improved a great deal and she is sitting up on her own now. She tips over from time to time, but hey… many of us adults still trip over our own feet! Baths are so much fun now. She plays with toys, loves to splash around and the drain and bubbles have become huge points of interest.
Abby is also loving her new furniture and her room. Its really starting to take shape and look like the nursery we had imagined. Its obvious that Abby loves her new crib. There is so much more room to play and sleep and she is a real crowd pleaser when she acts like the poor, cute little jail bird!
On the evening of June 8th, Shaun and I were working around the house trying to unpack more boxes and clean up. I had been working in Abby’s room, setting things up on her new bookshelf. I had stepped out of the room to grab more things from a box and when I walked back in, there was Abby standing up on her own in her crib! I cant believe how quickly it happened. I had a feeling she would be trying to stand on her own soon, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. We were still working on crawling! She was too cute and of course mommy wanted to cry!
So shes standing on her own! Before you know it she will be walking and of course I will have video of that as well. But, just when you think that’s all for the moment… Sunday June 14th comes and there are more surprises waiting for us! Out of the blue, as if she decided…”Ok, fine! Lets do this!” Abby started crawling! She is a little wobbly at it still, but hey…she did it! And she seems pretty darn proud of herself too!
So much has happened in the few short weeks since Abby turned 8 months old. There is plenty left to do in the month of June, so I am sure there will be more to tell!
Time Marches On….
Time marches on and Abby is growing so fast. I cant believe she is 7 and a half months now! Where does all of the time go? Abby is growing into quite the personality. She is more and more expressive each day and I definitly think she will be the little talker. She has mastered the words BA BA and MAMA, although I cant say they are first words because she babbles them all the time and cant place a meaning to them. We are getting there though! Lets not rush it though!
At times some of the babble sounds like she is singing a song that she has made up in her head. Sometimes shell just tilt her head to the side and give you a sweet little look when you are talking sweetly to her. She seems to love music and when a song comes on TV, when I turn on music or she makes her “exisaucer” play Old McDonald… she tilts her head back and forth and bounces around. Its way too funny. She laughs and giggles a lot not, especially reacting to something you might say or do. So much personality!
Abby is also on the move. She isnt crawling just yet, but shes almost there. She gets her hands and knees underneath her and starts rocking back and forth. On a few occaisions she has been able to move and scoot forward a bit, but currnetly she is stuck with her gears in reverse! No worries though, shell find that forward button before we know it. And I am sure at that moment we will be wishing that she wasnt crawling!
She may not be crawling but if you give her the opportunity, she certainly tries her hand at standing and walking. Abby is a very stronger little girl and with some help she will pul herself up and stand on those chubby little legs of hers. I think that even if we get her crawling, she wont do it for long! She is ready for bigger and better things although I certainly dont want to rush this one either!
On top of it all, isnt that the cutest dress??!! I love it and she looks absolutly adorable in it! It was quite the steal too! I think it was only $15 at Old Navy. Boy am I biased mom! More to come!
First Teeth and More!!
So I don’t have an actual picture, because they are still small and Abby insists on chewing on my finger every time I go to pull her lip down, but Abby has offically popped her first two teeth! Her bottom front teeth popped in simultaneously a day or two ago. Abby was really working on them while we were up in Montana visiting with my family and they cut through towards the end of our trip, but now they are officially there! My goodness I cant believe she has teeth! I am certainly going to miss those bare little gums.
Abby has also finished her veggies and has moved on to fruits! We tried bananas today for the first time and well, she loved them! A few more days of bananas and then she will be on to applesauce! After that, peaches and after that pears! Once those are down we can move on to our stage 2 foods like mixed fruits, meats and more. Abby is also sleeping a lot on her tummy with her knees underneath her. I think she will be crawling in no time at all! Hopefully I can catch video of that and figure out how to post it. She is growing so fast, before you know it she will be off to college!
Growing Older, Wonderful Memories and New Beginnings!
Ok so I am back! There has been so much going on that it was nearly impossible to keep up with it all. But I will catch up with everything as best I can!
Abby at 5 months… look at those big baby blues! On April 2nd, 2009 Abby went in for her 6 month check up. We are always blessed to hear the words… “she looks perfect” and that was exactly what Dr. Calig said again! Abby was 26 inches long and weighed 18 pounds 15 ounces at the time. I am sure she has grown more since. Abby is changing so fast and is doing a lot in regards to development. She has just finished eating her first round of veggies and is now on to fruits. Luckily, she is not a picky eater and peas were her only issue. While she makes faces of distaste for them, she still eats them. Abby is rolling all over the place and I am sure will be crawling soon. If she had it her way, she would be walking instead of crawling but Shaun and I dont want her to miss that important step in development. We shall see what happens in the next little bit!
Abby at 6 months… Smiling away like the little cutie she is!
Since my last post and I happy to say that we have found a house! Yes, we finally found a home that we absolutely love! We put an offer in and now we have a wonderful home in the San Fernando Valley. We closed escrow close to the end of March and moved in not too long after. We have done some work on the house which has slowed our ability to unpack boxes, but we are finally settled and hope to stop living out of boxes soon! Once the work is finished I will post some before and after pictures for everyone to look at. It is a beautiful home and I am so happy to live here!
One drawback to the house was that the kitchen hadnt been touched since the house was built back in the 40’s. So Shaun decided that it was the first thing that needed to be fixed and right away. Work began completely gutting the kitchen before we moved in. I think we hoped that a bulk of the work would be done before time came to move, but alas it wasnt meant to be. The kitchen renovation has taken care longer then expected and still has not been completed. Shaun knew it was driving me batty as it meant that we couldnt really even unpack everything from the move, so I spent spring break with my parents and sister up in Montana. Abby came with me, but unfortunatly Shaun had to stay and work. I already had the time off. I had a wonderul trip and it was great to get away. Even though my parents still had to work because of the late notice, I still had lots of time to visit and relax. Abby and I had the chance to see where Aunt Jillian works ( both Bath and Body works and Tanya’s Dance Company), meet one of my dad’s coworkers, meet my moms coworkers and we had the chance to visit Yellowstone National Park. It was Abby’s first trip! We also had the chance to see Jillian dance at the Montana State Games in Billings. All in all it was a wonderful trip and as a plus I came home to a kitchen that was almost done, minus a few important details.
Its early in the morning but Abby smiles for mommy just before hitting the road for Montana.
Abby and Auntie Jillian had the chance to hang out quite a bit and Abby took everything Jillian had to say very serious…. I love this picture!
Abby seems to think she is Grace Kelly! She is sporting her glasses on her first morning out to Yellowstone…
Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park. This area of the park is home to several of Yellowstones largest wolf packs, the Druid Pack and the Slough Creek Pack.
Mommy and Abby in Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. Can you see Abby’s adorable bunny slippers? They were a gift from Great Grandma Prueter, Aunt Diane and Uncle Barry and they looked absolutly adorable on her tiny little feet!Other then that, we have been settling in and trying to get everything unpacked. Abby’s room is still the area were we have our boxes stored, but Shaun emptied a lot while we were away! Hopefully we will have it cleared and can set up Abby’s own room soon. It will be nice once Abby can have an official nursery of her her own!
4 Month Check Up
On Friday February 6th, Abigail went in for her 4 month check up and from what the doctor says… “She’s Perfect” (music to a mother and father’s ears). Its so wonderful to see that she is healthy and so very happy. Her current measurements put her weight at 15 pounds and 10 ounces and her length at 25 inches! She is getting big! She had her vaccinations as well and let me tell you… it was hard as a mom not to reach out and smack the nurse who made her cry. But that’s not rational or appropriate! She screamed for both shots, but once she was dressed again and back in her stroller with her blanky and binky… life was good. Shes been a bit crabby and feverish, but thats normal.
Abby is really starting to develop a personality. She knows what gets our attention and how to keep it. She is definitely starting to sit up on her own, although she still needs our help most of the time. She is grabbing everything now and most things end up in her mouth. She seems to be teething a little, although its not too bad thus far. She talks like crazy and I think she has figured out the right octave that can shatter glass! She giggles and smiles a lot, especially when she sees mommy and daddy but most importantly when she sees her bottle! She is such a little angel and I am so blessed that she was given to us. I cant wait to watch as she grows and I cherish each day that passes.
Abby enjoys her binky and supports the Kings during the Ottawa game. She must have been a good luck charm because they won! (The Kings that is).
Abby looks like she is up to no good!
Mommy and Abby just hanging out, based on the look on her face… Abby is close to bedtime!
Mommy tries to get in some kisses, but Abby isnt having it! Its time for bed!
Mommy and Abby just hanging out, based on the look on her face… Abby is close to bedtime!
Mommy tries to get in some kisses, but Abby isnt having it! Its time for bed!
The Wharton Adventures 