Life with Abby

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:40:23 GMT

FALL HAS COME

THE SUMMER SLIPPED BY

I HAD LOTS OF ADVENTURES

I WATCHED TIME FLY

GROWING UP BIGGER

LOVING MOM AND DAD

PLAYING WITH FAMILY

MORE FUN IS TO BE HAD!

Thu, 21 May 2009 21:31:08 GMT

holey moley. Has it really been 2 months since I last blogged? Gah. I always think about it, and mean to, but then things like this happen...

...you know, life. And yes, I realize a lot of pictures I have of Abby are of her eating... but if you could see how MUCH she enjoys eating... well, here you go. Abby and daddy eating frozen blueberries. And my fantastic videotaking abilities. :)

(hopefully this works)
http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee149/kimberlyjenott/?action=view&current=011-18.flv

It's a good thing I don't have many crises or issues to blog about that often. I am blessed with a healthy almost 2 year old (gulp!) that I get to have adventures with. She is so smart and funny and I am so proud to be her mama.

So maybe I'll blog again soon, and it might be another month or two. But I hope you're having fun, too. Thanks for checking in on us.

Love,
Kim and Abby

thought provoking...

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:58:01 GMT

My goal is to embody this:

If I had my child to raise over again,

I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.

I'd do less correcting, and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less, and know to care more.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I'd run through more fields, and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging, and less tugging.

I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.

I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd teach less about the love of power,

And more about the power of love.

From 100 Ways to Build Self-Esteem & Teach Values by Diana Loomans

Milestones and Miscellaneous

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:21:17 GMT

The past weeks have been flying by. Abigail is 20 months now, and this is an incredibly FUN age. She is starting to communicate well. We still work on sign language, which she picks up really quickly, and her vocabulary is astonishing. "More cheese" was her first two word sentence a couple weeks ago. Logan and I figure she knows how to say around 100 words, and understands a lot more than that. Incredible.

We have some big news, too... Abby is in a big girl bed now. She toppled out of her crib and landed on her forehead, and after that we decided to try changing it. We were given a crib when she was born that has one side that can be removed, so she is now sleeping in a three sided bed. She's fallen out once, but we put cushions on the floor so she wasn't injured, or even really awoken (is that a word??). Twice she's been on the floor - once trying to get under the area rug as a blanket, and once just curled up on the cushions. It's a wonderful event when she wakes up. She used to immediately scream bloody murder when she woke up, but now she hops out of bed and comes wandering into our bedroom with her blankie. We put the baby gate at the end of the hall, so the only place she can wander is in her room or into ours. She's been sleeping thru the night all night, and although I am a little melancholy she's growing up so fast, I love who she's turning into and the milestones she's hitting.

Another piece of news - we have more teeth!!! Abby started drooling around 3 months old, and has had a perpetually wet shirt ever since. She popped four front teeth eventually, and her four molars. Then everything stopped. For months. She has the appetite of a toddler with all of her teeth, and get frustrated when she can't take big bites like she wants to or can't eat what she wants to. So we were excited to see that the drooling increased, and teeth are coming through. So far it's just two more front teeth, one on top and bottom, which means she'll have three front teeth each on top and bottom. Rather lopsided, but her gums are swollen and she's chewing on her hands like crazy, so I think they rest will come thru shortly.

We have stopped nursing almost entirely. We struggled so much in the early days with supply and pain and it was tempting to give up. I am so proud that we made it for as long as we did. I think we have a strong bond due to it.

I am fascinated by who Abby is developing into. She is a fun loving, kind, energetic little girl. She loves her daddy so much, and they have a special nighttime routine (Goodnight Moon and cuddling on the couch) that is heartwarming. She is gregarious and interested in everything. She is still learning coping skills, and I have seen a couple of awe-inspiring tantrums (luckily, none in public). She's had time outs in the corner, and they are pretty effective as she does not like sitting by herself and not being able to talk or play. Overall, however, she is obedient and is learning her chores (picking up after herself, putting away toys, etc.).

I'm hoping to update a little more frequently so that there are more event specific blogs, rather than just an overall glance, but it's hard to find the time to sit and blog. Maybe in the mornings when Abby is watching Seasame St or Curious George (yep, we're a tv family, along with Abby's videos of Pooh and Elmo).

And a quick catch up since the beginning of the year...

You're leaving me New Years Eve??

More to come soon. Off to a playdate. Why is this underlined? :)

Gearing up for the New Year

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:27:33 GMT

Welcome, 2009!! I am glad to see you and am excited for the changes/improvements that are going to happen this year.

-We are working on getting completely out of consumer debt this year. This has been a long road, as Logan and I did not see eye-to-eye when we got married regarding debt. He HATES it and I had the idea that debt would always be with me, and I wasn't willing to "let it ruin my life". I wanted to play and travel and buy things, and pay the minimum on the debt, since I would always be saddled by it. Basically, having the debt kept me from doing the things I want to do, and prevented me from having a closer relationship with my husband. Long story short, I can now see the wisdom of the man God blessed me with, and we have the same goals. I have been shouldering the same $$ around for years... it is a burden and unwelcome. We are in a good place, as my small business is growing (against the odds of a poor economy... being able to accept insurance helps!) and Logan's job is secure. I am working on a monthly budget. Beans and rice and TVP isn't romantic, but being out of debt is, so it's a small (temporary) price to pay.

We are big fans of Dave Ramsey too, and he has a lot of helpful hints from a Christ-centered perspective on living debt free.

Part of the plan is a budget. Often money gets frittered away on a new outfit for Abby, or an extra large coffee (or two), or 'gee-gaws and hickafrazz' (Logan's terms for candles and cutesy little home things). Sometimes I look back at the end of the month, and I have 100's of dollars unaccounted for. Sometimes I give in to the euphoria of buying something new, sometimes I get something without price shopping first, sometimes I feel down or overwhlemed or tired and a little pick me up at the store is exactly what I "need". I think there is room for all of this, but it has to be accounted for. There's no problem with hitting Starbucks every day, as long as there is money for that treat. (well, except my drink of choice probably has a lot of calories and fat in it. so that's a bit of a problem, but I digress...). Logan and I have talked extensively before about how much we want for mad money, how much for household, etc. I'm looking forward to learning to live within the budget. Being frugal can be fun. I enjoy price shopping and seeing how I can make a meal for cheap. Abby has more than enough clothes (more than Logan and I put together!), new shoes, and tons of toys that I am rotating, so she always has new ones to play with. I sent Logan to Costco and he bought a huge bag of coffee beans, and I bought flavored creamer on sale and froze it (it actually unfreezes great!). I play the Grocery Game using coupons and look forward to seeing how much I can save every month. When I was doing it seriously before Abby was born, one month I spent $150 and saved over $400 using coupons. Logan loves a stocked pantry and I like the savings. :)
Anyway, I think we are set. I need to be vigilant about not going out and spending money just because I am bored or we need out of the house. I live 1/2 mile away from an awesome library and a super kids play area; we can walk there and Abby can play.

I was thinking about this tonight, and I think one of the main reasons my mindset has changed regarding debt is that I really want to be a role model in every area of my life for Abby. If she grows up in a family that is debt free and uses money as a tool, instead of being used by money, I think she will be well ahead of the game when she gets older and goes to college/starts her own family. Plus, the idea of not having to have "The Talk" about money anymore with Logan makes me giddy.

-I am getting fit again. I (mostly) ran a 1/2 marathon last April, and was walking 10 miles 3x a week. I haven't walked much since the weather turned yucky. I just feel better when I have exercised. Abby loves getting out too. I got my ends cut off my hair, so it's more manageable and pretty. I am 90% sure I am a sugar addict. I am working on figuring out how to live 2009 in a way that glorifies God and takes care of my body.

-Working on our garage. We have an awesome garage (900 sf!) and I am excited about organizing it. Putting up shelves and hanging hooks for the bikes and buckets for clothes Ab has outgrown. There is a lot to get done, but there is even more potential. It will be like having an addition to our house. I'm looking forward to it.

There's always more to talk about, but it's hard to put it out in internetland. For now, I think I'll leave you with a few pics of the cutest girl in the world.

With her mama on Christmas day wearing our new hats from Daddy!

Happy New Year!!

Love,
Kim and Abby

p.s. if you have new year resolutions or goals/dreams/plans, I'd love to hear 'em!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:19:29 GMT

...since we are snowed in!

We have about inches, with a forecast of 3-4 more tonight. Flights are canceled and my family isn't done Christmas shopping yet. I made a few prezzies, but will have to wait until after Christmas to post pics.

Since we are house bound, we played out in the snow a little bit. Logan took care of her today for me, so I could focus on getting gifts done. He found the secret to Abby sleeping 2 hours at every nap and all night long - stuffing her full of food. Seriously, she eats almost as much as I do. Cheese and banana and crackers and a baby sized thing of vegetable beef (ew) and some of my lasagna and grapes and a cookie... geesh!

Out in the snow today. Abby stood there most of the time, squealing if she started to tip over. She does not like her hands in the snow. Guess I don't blame her!

(yes, I realize there is dog rear in the pic)

Yesterday in the sun

More pics to come tomorrow, I'm sure. :)

Love,
Kim and Abigail

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 21:46:31 GMT

Hello, my faithful 2 readers! Thanks for sticking around. :)

This has been a busy time with Abby. She has popped her two top molars and one bottom molar, so now she is up to 7 teeth. She had a runny nose and a cough, but other than that has been healthy for some time.

We have snow! Abby enjoys watching it from a distance, or in our arms, but isn't too fond of it when she falls over. :)

Catching the first flakes with daddy

All bundled up...

Has her mamas sweet tooth - enjoying what is left of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce! Check out her hair and forehead!

At the Santa Parade with daddy

Trying to get her tights off- she doesn't realize they go all the way up. :)

My mama dresses me funny!

Helping mama in the kitchen

Reading with daddy - almost as long as he is!

Loving on the dollie that Grandma Vi made for her

Bathtime!

One of my favs!

Have a great Christmas! Stay warm!!

xo Kim and Abigail

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:23:15 GMT

my dear husband is sitting next to me complaining that I haven't posted in weeks. true. so here's a quick little update.

Items of interest that have happened in the past three weeks:
-Abby popped a molar! So now she has two top and two bottom teeth, and one random on on the side. Which actually is really cute, because when she eats she shoves everything back to that one tooth to chew.

-We went to the dr for a well baby check up. Abby is 24 lbs and almost off the charts for height still. Dr said to keep feeding her fattening foods, since she is getting more active and can lose weight (her baby cheeks are already gone). I don't know how I can feed her more food - the girl eats as much as her daddy does! :)

We celebrated halloween by going to grandma's and daddy's work. Abby was a reluctant butterfly.

With a mouthful of crackers

But she discovered that she really likes mounds bars, like Grandpa John. :)

We cleaned out a pumpkin and then Logan and I ate all of the cooked seeds in about 10 minutes. Mmmm!

Abby was really interested. (insert rolling eyes here)

It was good weather and we were able to go play on the swings.

another of Abby's costumes for halloween (thanks Andy!!)

More to come, but that's a good sampling.

:) Kim and Abby

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:09:38 GMT

It's been three weeks of whirlwind activity.

I went to school at Seattle Midwifery to become a doula (labor assistant). I've attended one birth (a boy weighing in at 9 lb 14 oz - mama did a great job!) and am on call for another birth.

I am considering/planning on changing my office space to a location that would provide more clients, and that is taking a lot of energy (mental and physical) to get it done.

Abby is almost running, which in and of itself makes life more fun and yet more hard. She routinely walks into walls because she's not looking where she going, and has bruises up and down her shins from where she's fallen. She's trouper, tho. Still no more teeth than the original four (well, three really - the two bottom ones and the two top ones that are 1/2 in. :D)

Our adventures lately -

not sure about Ronald

ok, maybe he's not that bad. :)

Abby camoflauged on her new rug (unintentional, I promise!)

Cheese!!

Not too excited about being stuck in a high chair (love the pouty lips!)

Learning to eat with a spoon is messy!

The best pic I could get this morning - the girl doesn't like to sit still anymore for photos! (Ignore the strewn toys in the background).

Today we are going to Jamba Juice and then the mall. I'll take my camera and one of these days I'll get another pic of Abby smiling. I promise it still happens! :0)

Love,

Kim and Abby

Once upon a time...

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:11:44 GMT

...there was a stay at home mama who thought, "how hard can it be to write in a blog for 30 days straight?? sure, I'll bet an expensive coffee drink that I can!".

Tomorrow, I am out $5 and some odd change for an expensive coffee. Probably a really big one, with lots of flavors and milk and multiple shots of espresso.

Tonight, however, I am ~~embarrassed~~ motivated enough to do another post. So, here is my life in all its glory. (I actually just wrote "glort", which somehow seems more fitting. :) )

I have a story, but I have to tell a little backstory to get to it.

My baby girl turns 15 months old tomorrow. How time goes by. We have been doing modified cosleeping, meaning I have been sleeping in her room, popping her paci back in and tucking her in the few times a night she wakes up in her crib. It's actually worked quite well, and I got almost 4 hours of straight glorious sleep. Then, a couple of Wednesdays ago, she woke up with a bit of a runny nose. By midmorning it was drizzling, and by afternoon she was sneezing and snotting all over. My daughter does nothing halfway, and when she gets a cold, she goes gangbusters. Which usually means I catch it as well, then give it back to her when she is on the brink of getting better, and then she gives it back to me. It's quite a lovely, drawn out process. I think I've had more sneezes and blown my nose more since Abby was born then the rest of my entire life combined. No kidding.

So. we are doing the modified cosleeping, Abby is only waking up 2-3 times a night for just a few minutes, life is good. Then she gets this cold. But seriously, it was the worst cold she's had yet. Poor girl had bright green nose juice. She had no appetite. She wasn't happy being held or put down. The few bites she tried to eat she gagged on, and her little body was so hot a couple of evenings. Of course, since she couldn't breathe thru her nose, she couldn't use her paci, so she couldn't fall asleep properly. She could *kind of* breathe when I held her upright, so we spent the majority of three nights in a semi-reclining position (that was oh so comfy). I finally took her in to the dr, cause I thought she might have an ear infection or strep. Nope (whew), but doc said she had a lot of blisters and a very red throat. Poor sweetie. The past two days she is becoming herself again, and I really really really hope this is the last of the colds for awhile. I got the tailend of this cold, and I can't breathe and my throat hurt for a day, and I just feel so bad for her.

The last two nights she's been in her crib again. I've been sleeping in the "big girl bed" (mmmmmmmm!) and coming into her room when she awakens. I guess most babies lay in their crib and cry. Not my Abby. She immediately stands up and throws her paci and starts hollering. If we ignore her, it just goes up in pitch and rythym. So when I first hear her cry, I race to her bed, in hopes of getting there before she stands up. She's much easier to put back to sleep when she hasn't wound herself up. I'm amazing myself how I can go from a dead sleep to flying thru the room in a split second.

So, all this info for the story. It was 3 am, and Abby started crying. I went in to soothe her, and she kept trying to stand up and talk to me. She has an adorable way of asking for kisses, but it's much cuter in daylight. So, I tried to not interact with her very much (I was cold and wanted to get back into my own bed ASAP). I laid her down and tucked her in and gave her her paci, just like always. She popped right back up, grinning. I laid her down, tucked her in... she popped up again.

I was less than amused. My mattress was in there, so I decided to ignore her and pray she'd lay down by herself. Right. As soon as I lay down, her banshee wail started. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep, and with amazing accuracy, was pegged on my forehead by a sticky, wet, warm paci. I ignored that (although I laughed about it later). Next came her water bottle. Onto the floor, not my head, luckily, but thrown with quite a bit of effort. Then, came the blankets. Our house is cold, as we haven't turned on the heat yet, and she has several blankets in there with her. One, two, three they landed on my legs and feet. No way - I won't put up with that.

I got up and she immediately started asking for kisses. Her little crocodile tears shimmered on her cheeks in the glow of the nightlight. What I failed to notice, failed to check for, was any of this leftover sludge/nose drainage from her cold. Let's just say that it was one of the wettest, coldest kisses I've ever experienced in my life (and I have two dogs). After the fact, she smiled at me. Sure, wipe it on mama. I wiped off what was still on her, retrieved her water bottle and gave her a drink, lay her down and she closed her eyes. fell asleep, and became my little princess again.

Sometimes being a mama is so challenging. And sometimes it just takes sticky kisses and a drink of water.

*******************
We got dressed today for a walk in the wind, and so I was bundling Abby up. She just looked so cute in her babylegs and onesie (and winter hat - thanks Chad!) that I had to take a pic of her.

Once at the playground

Waiting for Daddy to get home

I looked up to see her stuck like this. Where are your legs Abby?

At the fair with daddy

VERY pleased with the mess she made with spaghetti

Have a great night!
More to come soon (after I swallow my pride and buy a large coffee with all the trimmings!)
Kim (and Abby too!)

p.s. somehow the pics tonight can be clicked on and made bigger, but some of the print is in another color...? whatever. maybe livejournal is so dazzled with her amazing blue eyes that it's having a meltdown.

wow...

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:59:32 GMT

I didn't realize the pics were going to be so insanely huge. Oops. :)

pics of the trip...

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:58:47 GMT

IN DOWNTOWN VICTORIA

RIDING THE FERRY

IN CHINATOWN

NARROWEST ALLEY IN VICTORIA

CLOSE UP!

SLEEPY GIRL - LOVES TO SLEEP LIKE THIS!

MMMM - CHOCOLATE GELATO

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:18:44 GMT

ok. the spirit is willing but my typing is weak. i've missed several days, but i plan on blogging enough to equal a month worth of abby info. :)

we are leaving in the morning to go visit logan's mom, and we will be back on sunday night. so there won't be any blogs until then, but i thought i'd leave you with some pics.

Playing in the lake with daddy

Not so sure about the spraying water

Superstar!

You can see her top teeth in this pic

All tuckered out (note the bubble? hee)

Playing with grandma and grandpa

Also, I realize these pics can't be expanded. I am going to upload to a server from now on so they can be made bigger. :)

Have a great weekend!
Kim and Abby

Feelin' hot hot hot!

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:03:24 GMT

Logan's bday celebration was a success. We went up to Alki and he played volleyball in the sand while I read a book. His teammates took us out for a pint (or a 25 oz, in Logan's case!), and then we went and caught "Stepbrothers", a mindless, humorous Will Farrell movie. My mom watched Abby and when we got home she had been asleep for a couple of hours. It was a good evening. I gave him a pair of New Balance running shoes and some clothes, and a case of Coke from Mexico. Apparently Coke hecho en Mexico has real cane sugar in it, not high fructose corn syrup. I saw a case of it in Costco last month, and although he normally doesn't drink it a lot, I had to buy it for him. But I think he's already drank three of them.

Tracie and Logan and I sat out on the back porch last night (we missed you, Andy! and you too Becca!!!) and drank beer and had a fire. We talked a lot about God and our previous church experiences. It was so warm, even at 11 at night. Abby woke up around that time, as she had fallen asleep and missed dinner. I fed her noodles and chicken, and she sat and smiled on my lap and pointed at the fire. She eventually fell back asleep on Logan's chest. It was a very comfy, wonderful night.

The weather the past couple of days has been waaay too hot - 94 yesterday, and they say it may hit 100 today. I wilt really bad in weather over 80, and get too cold under 65. I know, I'm a princess. Anyway, we are going to go to the ocean today. We invited my folks to come along but I haven't heard back from them yet. We are gonna take the dogs and the daughter. It's supposed to be up to 30 degress cooler there. Pics coming tonight!

blue screen

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:23:59 GMT

Good morning!

I had a post I was working on and I got the scary blue screen of death. My computer turned off. I tried to restart it. More blue screen. Then a message - Acer is not able to restart your computer. Then it turned off again.

I was freaked out. I have 14 months of Abby pictures on this little computer. Some are uploaded for sharing, but a lot are just on here.

I was finally able to cajole it into running some sort of scan and it's working good now. Whew. But you can bet I'm going to save all my pics on cd's and upload all of them too. Just to be safe.

What is it about time-saving technology that always makes us work more?

************
Watching the Olympics last night, I thought about one of my favorite all time ideas - taking people that excel in one arena, and putting them in another. Like, jockeys playing football. And basketball players curling. And wrestlers doing the long jump. And soccer players playing badmitton or table tennis. That kind of thing.

But seriously, Michael Phelps? That guy is incredible. I read online that he eats 12,000 calories a day (!!!!!!!!!!!!). I bet he would be good at any sport... including competitive knitting (altho that's probably not a real game, but should be).

*************
Abby has a blueberry addiction. She will eat as many as I put in front of her. The problem with blueberries, I soon discovered, is that they tend to come out looking quite similar to how they went in. She's limited to a smaller amount now.

And I have to hide the blueberries from Logan. He'll eat them all too. She is so his daughter.

*************
Speaking of Logan, today is his 36th BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday honey!!! I went and picked about three lbs of blueberries yesterday for him to consume at his leisure. (Be careful, Logan. Remember what happens to Abby when she eats too many??). Tonight my mom is coming over to watch babygirl and I am going to take Logan out for dinner after his volleyball game. Should be a lot of fun.

**************
Will post more in a little bit... I have two days to make up for missing. You know, I've been thinking about why I don't blog more often. I have lots of (inane) stuff to say. I think I was afraid if I blogged too much someone would miss a post or it would become boring.

Of course, I don't know who "someone" is. My mom and dad read this, as does my husband. Beyond that? Dunno.

but glad to be back blogging more frequently. :)

And, the required, ubiquitous pic of Abby

five minutes to go...

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:00:13 GMT

until tomorrow. post #3!! yay me!

tomorrow is a long post catching up. for tonight, here are a few pics of our weekend:

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:24:57 GMT

Look! Two blog posts in two days! I did it! :D

I realize I have really been remiss because I haven't posted any pics yet of our first camping trip with Abby. We went car camping for our 7 year anniversary (go us!!) I was a little (ok, a lot) nervous about taking her into the dark and cold overnight. And she gets so dirty just playing in my living room - could I cope with how dirty she was going to get camping?

Ok, I admit I made Logan drag the bathtub along. We were going to stay in a campground with a shower available, and I thought if Abby got filthy then it'd be nice to have something to scrub her off in. We brought her pack and play, her stroller. Already cooked chicken for her to nosh on. Logan's little blow up camp mattress, and our uber deluxe full sized blow up mattress (which Abby and I slept on - thank you Logan for sacrificing your comfort!). We brought our full sized camp stove and a camp kitchen and about half of our worldly possessions. There was barely room for the three of us in the Jeep once it was packed. And unpacking took the better part of an hour. But once all was set up, it was actually a really nice time. We went over to Sequim in the Olympics, a weekend before the Lavender Festival. Logan found an amazing deal where for $20, I could go to 7 wineries and have tastings at each. He also found a hike he'd never been on that he wanted to do. So it was a win-win for the both of us.

An awesome breakfast made by Logan!

This is what she wanted to do the whole time we were camping - push her stroller around.

Good morning!

Chillin with daddy in the hammock

At my favorite Winery

Toes in the cold water!

Crawling on mama...

I'm going to post a lot of pics tomorrow, including a run down of the hike we did today.

Good night!

Kim and Abby

because it's already been more than a month...

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 05:35:12 GMT

I really need some sleep tonight.

Abby is walking. My baby is a full blown toddler. And she is wearing.me.out. She is going full steam. Still working on the balance part. But now she can go from sitting down to standing up without pulling herself up on the couch.

She's popping her two top teeth. They're looking more like Chicklets and less like way-too-big-foreign-white-things in her mouth.

She eats more than I do. No kidding. The girl can put it away.

And I really need to get some sleep.

But I have to blog first. Because last week I was challenged to write in this blog. Everyday. For a month. I thought about it (for no more than a second) and took up the challenge. My other friends? Look askance at me when I tell them I'm going to blog. I know I've been less than punctual about updating on here. I was putting off this post, because this starts the month-long blogging.

So check in daily. Leave a comment. Abby and I love your comments.

Things I'm going to talk about:
honesty in this blog
what i love the most about Abby (and what has challenged me the most)
my future plans - regarding babies and my career
how my marriage has changed, and been enriched, by becoming parents
some of my fav blogs - people you need to meet that will change your life

If you have something you'd like to know, lemme know. I have 30 days stretching ahead of me, and that's a lot of words.

Good night!

Catching Up

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:11:21 GMT

I can't believe how fast time is going by. Every day I promise myself that I am going to post a blog on here, and the next thing I know, it's 11 pm and I'm exhausted and ready for bed.

Here is what has been going on that is taking up all of my time.

My baby is turning into a toddler.

It is a bittersweet, wonderful event. She is talking, singing, using her imagination. She gogogo's until she is drop dead tired, at which point she needs! mama! immmediately! Abby is able to walk while pushing on toys, and can stand by herself for up to 30 seconds before she realizes she's unsupported and plops down onto her bottom. Her two top teeth are pushing through too. She has entered the clingy stage, where she prefers me more than daddy or auntie or grandma (and makes it known through ear piercing shrieks and crocodile tears). It's flattering, but really wears me out too. So worth it in the long run, though, and I know I am so blessed to be at home with her.

Her bday party was a success. I was surprised at how much energy it took to organize it. I think her next party I plan will be her 16th. :) There were a total of about 40 people that showed up, and around 15 kids, 6 of whom were her baby friends. I really enjoyed myself. It was neat, too, because it affirmed me as a mama that all these people showed up to celebrate my kid's birthday, simply because they like us. I got a little choked up singing happy birthday to Abby, and was pleased to see that she shares her mama's sweet tooth. (actually, I should be a little worried about that. Hee). Here are a few pics of her party and the cake...

So I bought decoration at the dollar store. Originally, when I opened up the sign, it read "HAHPY BIRTHDAY". We ripped off the extra "H" so instead it read:

Eating the cake. I sprinkled blueberries on top, which was a mistake, cause she had to eat each one first before diving into the frosting. But when she did, she loved it!

The cake for the rest of us

She got too tired before the end of the party to open her presents. I asked for favorite books from childhood, and was tickled with the gifts!

One thing that really impresses me about Abigail is her appetite. Whenever I go someplace new with Logan, I try in advance to feed him, or give a head's up to the host that he likes to eat. Apparently, Abby has acquired this love of food also. She eats anything I put in front of her. It makes feeding her a lot easier, and it helps me eat more healthily, too, since she is eating off of my plate.

One day we had lasagna.

I introduced Abby to the joys of ice cream early. MMM!

Shepherds Pie and Peas. MMM?

We've been fishing with Grandpa (my dad) three times. Although Abby isn't crazy about the life jacket, she enjoys the quiet and all the snacks I give her. The waving motion of the boat invariably makes her fall asleep. The first two times we went out we got skunked, but the last time we went Grandpa caught two fish and I caught one. Abby wasn't sure what to make of her first fish introduction.

More post later on... we are on our way out to the door to the Zoo!

Love you!
Kim and Abigail

Happy Birthday my Sweet Sweet Girl!

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:44:39 GMT

Today is Abigail's one year birthday. I have a lot of pictures and stories to post, but for tonight, here is a teaser...

Hard to believe that a year ago she looked like this...

I love you babygirl!!!

Milestones

Tue, 27 May 2008 08:03:47 GMT

This month has gone by so fast. Abigail is less than 30 days away from turning one year old. Among the developments that have happened this month:

- Two teeth, both on the bottom. Which means she loves to chew on everything.

- Pulling up on everything, such as the couch, her pack and play, her crib, the coffee table, and her mama.

- Exploring her verbal prowess - including ultra high pitched screeches, screams, giggles, and lots of loud "mamamas" and "dadadas" in grocery stores, malls, and churches.

- Crawling. She has been getting better and faster at crawling on her belly, but this week she has figured out how to crawl on her hands and knees. She looks so cute balancing and learning coordination.

- She loves to walk, albeit drunkenly, along the couch. She can also walk across the room, but only with a death grip on both of my hands. One handed, I can't get her to move at all. I think I've lost circulation in my fingertips a couple of times.

- Eating - a lot. Olive, pickle, sourdough bread, chocolate mousse, peas, lemon and cod have all been met with approval.

- A sense of self. A sense of boundaries. A sense of wanting to explore just how firm those boundaries are. For example, I am trying to not use the word "no" very much, unless is it important. I try to use words like "icky" or "not for Abby". She seems to be realizing what these words mean. In the corner of my house I have a lamp and some cords for my cell phone. She makes a beeline for them every chance she gets, so I am trying to teach her to leave it alone. Usually I pick her up and redirect her with a toy. A few days ago she was headed for them, and I said "not for Abby". She looked over her shoulder at me, then looked back at the lamp... then crawled towards it as fast as her little legs and arms would take her. I had to laugh, because it was really neat to see her own independence beginning to assert itself, but I know in the future I am going to have my hands full.

- She is learning to point. At strangers. The dogs. The air.

- She is almost definitely left handed. Thanks a lot, Grandma (both sides!).

- There is no better toy in the world than mommy. Loves to climb on me. If I am trying to eat or check my email, I am infinitely more interesting.

We have had a great month. My camera broke, which I am bummed about, because that means there is a three week period or so where I didn't take any pictures. I have made up for it, though, with the new camera that Abby and Logan got me for Mother's Day.

Speaking of which, we went to the ocean for Mom's Day, and it was Abby's first trip.

When we first got there. It was sunny but cold!

Watching daddy and the puppies play - Morty can jump high!

Reflections in the sand

Not sure what to think of the sand...

...but realizing it feels good slipping through fingers!

I really like these pics of us, even though Abby is making faces

It was a wonderful day of food and sunshine.

Logan is on a volleyball team that plays on Monday nights at Alki, so Abby and I drove up there and cheered them on.

Abby with Logan playing in the background.

Grandma took a day off and we went for a walk in the gorgeous weather. Played on the swings too.

A good shot of her two teeth

Recently discovered that teeth feel pretty cool on the tongue (she does this a lot)

Having a picnic

Two teeth = First toothbrush

She is all girl, though. She goes from this

to this

within the span of 0.5 seconds because I insist on changing her diaper. On the changing table. What a bad mama I am. She's a little drama queen!

Abby loves her sippy cup, or bottle as the case may be. She's good at it too!

You talking to me??

We went over to a friend's house and played with Sofia (who is five months older)

If Sofia can sit by herself in a chair...

...so can Abby!

...and, apparently, eat an entire muffin while mama's not looking. (shot looking down at her from my perspective)

I can't leave her alone any more, not even for a minute. I went to put on slippers, and when I came back, I found that Abby had stood up, grabbed my mail off of the couch, and was perusing it Abby-style. I didn't even get a chance to read it!

Good thing she's so cute.

This weekend we walked over to the local Farmer's Market. There are swings there, and daddy got to push Abby for a bit.

Then we hung out in the shade for awhile.

Got a good smile from her while daddy was driving... the noises I make to get her to grin!

Taken today. We went to Seattle with a friend who is visiting from England, and we did A LOT. Abby was incredibly good and happy, and took naps as we drove around. It was a 12 hour day, and I am so proud of her.

I am really going to work on posting much more regularly, as my camera works and we are having lots of adventures.

Love,
Kimberly and Abigail

a tooth and hair and crawling, oh my!

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:08:49 GMT

Since an entire month has gone by, there is quite a bit to update on.

Abby had her well baby 9 month check up. She's 31 inches long (105%) and weighs 22lbs (95%). So she is gonna be tall - long arms and legs like her daddy. In the past week she has started to 'army crawl' - pulling herself along with just her arms. She still hasn't figured out how to get from a laying position to sitting, but that is right around the corner. She is also standing completely on her own, holding on to just one of my fingers. A couple of times I have let go of her, and she has swayed back and forth but stayed upright. Yay! I think she is going to bypass serious crawling and just start running. :D

Abby is eating more and more solid foods. Still not crazy about fruits, but she loves carrots and veggies. She has perfected the art of gazing at Logan or me (whoever is eating at the time) and batting her eyes, trying to get a bite of our food. She loves carbohydrates, just like her mama. Bread and pasta and sweets (she had her first taste of cupcake at a birthday party and I thought she was going to try to bite my finger off in her enthusiasm!).

Speaking of biting, Miss Abigail FINALLY has a tooth breaking through! It's her lower left one. She has been cranky and had some bad diaper rash, which is unusual. She got into some paper this morning, and I was making sure she didn't have any in her mouth when *Chomp!*, she bit my finger, and there was a little tiny white sharp thing poking through. My little girl is growing up. Makes me sad and excited at the same time.

I am gearing up to do a half marathon next weekend, so Abby and I have been getting a lot of exercise. There is a trail in a nearby town that we walk almost daily, and she loves getting out. We have seen so many animals - eagles and deer and cattle and donkeys and emus (emi??) and lots of dogs and a pot bellied pig. She is such a laid back little girl. She sits in her stroller and watches the world go by and takes it all in. I'm very blessed.

After the blog I left regarding cosleeping, Logan and I figured out a method that has been working pretty well. Logan puts her to sleep in her crib at night, after her evening rituals. She falls asleep with him much easier than me, and she has stayed in her crib until at least 2 or 3 in the morning, when I pull her into bed with us. There have been a couple of times she's slept until 5 am, and she takes all of her naps in her crib. It's solved a lot of issues, and she isn't crying at all, and Logan is happy to not have a squirming kicking nose picking little baby in bed all the time (who can blame him?). :)

Here are some pics from the past month.

We went on an Easter egg hunt at the local park.

Eskimo face!

Her friends

Looking Innocent.... what did she do now?

Mama put spoons in her paci. Not sure what she thinks about that!

With her 6 month old friend Josiah!

In her big girl car seat

Lily, Courtney, and Abigail at Lily's 1st Birthday Party

Love me some balloon!

Mama's tie dye princess eating apple pieces in her mesh feeder

Have a great Sunday! We love you!
Kim and Abigial

praying for Eva

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:08:45 GMT

Eva is a five day old baby that has been diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a fatal disease. This is her mama's blog.

She is a friend of a friend of a friend... please send good thoughts and lots of prayers to her and her family in this really tough time.

Thank you friends!

261

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:14:57 GMT

That's how many days old Abigail is. That's quite a few mornings and evenings. A lot of diapers. And spit up. But it has gone by really quickly. She is already closer to being one then she is to the day she was born.

I am a proponent of several "crunchy" ideas, much to my uber mainstream hubby's chagrin. I enjoy "wearing' Abby in my different baby carriers. I am still breastfeeding, and will continue to do so. I imagine she will self wean pretty soon, as she is getting more and more interested in big people food, but I am so happy that I have hit the 8 month milestone and we are still going strong. I tried to cloth diaper, for one day. Didn't work out too good. But I like the idea. I am a firm believer in extended rear facing in her car seat. Bought an expensive car seat that will let me keep her rear facing for a good long time. I am queasy about vaccinations, but feel I am informed and that the risk of not vaccinating is greater than what might happen to her if I don't. I still do research and watch her behaviors closely and ask a lot of questions

One of the biggest things as a mama that I get the most satisfaction out of is cosleeping. Since day one, Abby has spent almost every night in our room, whether in her bassinet or in our bed. There is something so special about feeling her little body next to mine, helping her get back
to sleep when she stirs and nursing when she wakes up. Although she is a squirmer when she sleeps, it is an arrangement that has worked out better than I ever even hoped.

However.

There is another body in our bed, a 200+ being commonly known as daddy, that does not think that Abby taking up the lion share of the king sized bed is the greatest thing ever. This person likes to sleep all night long, without toes poking into his ribs and fingers being shoved up his nose (yes, Abby has discovered noses and like nothing better then exploring. But that is another blog). There was a two week period when Abby was 3 months old that we put her down in her crib at 8 pm and she slept until 9 am. I thought "this parenting thing is a piece of cake!". Then one night she woke up screaming, and she has been in our bed ever since. Now, as I stated, I enjoy it. I love waking up with her and nursing and singing her to sleep. But in deference to the husband, I have been trying to get her to sleep more in her crib. Sometimes during her nap I will lay her down in her crib, but since she is used to being warm and cuddled, her crib just doesn't cut it. There have been nights when she will go down and sleep until 1 or 2 am, but then she is hysterical until I pull her into bed with me. I think Logan is a little stressed about it because he imagines that she will be in 2nd grade and still sleeping with us. I try to reassure him that she will be sleeping alone soon enough, but it is hard to see when she is with us every night.

Today I tried to put her down in her crib for her nap, and she cried for 45 minutes. Since I lean more towards the 'crunchy' parts of parenting, I refuse to let her cry it out. I think it is damaging and teaches her that she cannot depend on me to meet her needs. After all, all she has known since being born is being with me 24/7, except for the few hours that I am working, and then she is with another family member. I am not going to plop her in her crib and just let her cry. She quickly gets hysterical, and today she got so worked up she couldn't breathe thru her nose anymore, so she couldn't sleep nor suck her pacifier. I do leave her in her crib alone for a few minutes at a time, or I stand over her and rock her and smoothe her cheek. When she is tired or wanting me that's not enough.

So I brought her into bed with me. I am writing this blog and she is laying next to me, playing with her toes. Her eyelids are heavy and I know she will be falling asleep shortly. Then she will wake up and call out for me and we will play in bed for awhile. These lazy afternoons laying with her are memories I treasure in my heart. Pretty soon she will be running around and forgetting to put on a sweater before she goes outside and putting on her own bandaids and crying over a crush. She will be going to prom and packing up her bags for college and introducing me to her own children. For today, she is warm and comfortable and safe with me here in our bed. For tonight, we will have night 261 of cuddles and nursing and kisses on the forehead. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Warning! A ton of pictures ahead!

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:06:47 GMT

A whole month has gone by since my last post....

...and my baby is now 8 months old! I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Every week we get together with other mamas, I work a little bit, and Abby gets a little bigger and a little more mobile. She is rocking back and forth on her knees now and wants to crawl (it's just a matter of a few more days, I think ), sits up completely on her own, eats solids ( loves carbs and sweets like her mama!), and moves around the room in her walker (thank you Aunt Janie and Uncle Marty!). No teeth yet. Not even a little nub of a tooth. But she's biting and chewing on stuff like crazy, so that's the next adventure, I'm sure. Here are some pics of our recent adventures together.

Not so sure about this snow thing!

First snowball!

Eating spaghetti for the first time. I think she liked it!

Time with Auntie Tra!

Time with mama!

Time with Daddy!

Sweetsweet Abby being her sweetsweet self!

Playing with her beautiful friend Courtney!

MMMM! Peas and Carrots!

We love you!
Kimberly and Abigail