Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Just Throwin In Some Cuteness
I'll have more Christmas updates soon but felt the urge to post some cute pictures of our cutie pie. Enjoy! And if I don't get back on here before Christmas, Happy Holidays to all!!!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
National Christmas Center
A little over a week ago we took Abigail to the National Christmas Center in Lancaster and Nana and Pop Pop came too. It was actually a pretty neat place and there was tons of lights and things for Abby to look at and she had her first experience of meeting Santa and getting her picture taken on his lap. It got me in the Christmas spirit that's for sure.
Oh, and of course afterwards we all ate at a very crowded Shady Maple. Great day!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
So Incredibly Thankful!
Abby's first Thanksgiving was a success! We saw almost every single family member (and even Chris online via live iChat) and stayed at Nana & Pop Pop's house for 2 two nights and had a Thanksgiving feast at Groovy Grampy's house.
Then, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving we had the Rhines' and Stauffers down for our very first feast as hosts and cooks. Peter and I roasted a 13 lb. turkey and had all the fixins plus some. It was all delish and it was just great to have everyone together.
Abby was a very good girl and we got to spend a lot of time at home and with family. We traced her hand and made her first turkey drawing. Of course it's the tiniest turkey ever.
We are so thankful this year for our little girl and couldn't ask for anything better. This holiday gives me a whole new meaning now.
Then, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving we had the Rhines' and Stauffers down for our very first feast as hosts and cooks. Peter and I roasted a 13 lb. turkey and had all the fixins plus some. It was all delish and it was just great to have everyone together.
Abby was a very good girl and we got to spend a lot of time at home and with family. We traced her hand and made her first turkey drawing. Of course it's the tiniest turkey ever.
We are so thankful this year for our little girl and couldn't ask for anything better. This holiday gives me a whole new meaning now.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Sweet Potato Love
We've been giving Abigail vegetables beginning early-mid October and has since been introduced to fruit as well (1st level). She loves all her food, which makes for a happy mommy and daddy.
She's had no allergic reactions and is good with all of the following:
She's had no allergic reactions and is good with all of the following:
- Green beans
- Peas
- Sweet Potato
- Squash
- Carrots
- Apples
- Bananas
- Prunes
- Pears
- Oatmeal
- Baby Mum-Mums (rice crackers)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Pumpkinhead's First Halloween!
I've been lacking on the blogs lately folks. Apologies! Taking care of a baby is quite time consuming. :)
Well, Halloween has come and gone but it was a good first for Miss Abicus! As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had done the pumpkin patch / corn maze / hayride / Merrymead thing which was a lot of fun. For actual Halloween, we waited at home for the trick-or-treaters - all 3 of them. We had kids dressed as a princess, a bum, and Barack Obama. Great combo.
We also took Abby up to Granma's and Grandad's house to bring some Halloween cheer. Abby was dressed as a little pumpkin for her first spooky holiday. Here are some pics!
Well, Halloween has come and gone but it was a good first for Miss Abicus! As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had done the pumpkin patch / corn maze / hayride / Merrymead thing which was a lot of fun. For actual Halloween, we waited at home for the trick-or-treaters - all 3 of them. We had kids dressed as a princess, a bum, and Barack Obama. Great combo.
We also took Abby up to Granma's and Grandad's house to bring some Halloween cheer. Abby was dressed as a little pumpkin for her first spooky holiday. Here are some pics!
Doesn't that look totally cozy and snuggly? I want one.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Connect-I-Cut in Fall
I'm a little behind here with the blogging. For our anniversary trip this year, we took Abby on her second vacation to various places around southern Connecticut. We visited Weir Farm (her first NP site!) where we took her for her first hike in the Infantino... and she LOVED it! It was a beautiful fall day and she enjoyed looking up at all of the trees and the pretty colored leaves. We also got her a national park pass book and got her first stamp.
Other things we did included visiting Essex, CT and other quaint little towns along the water, Mystic Seaport and their chowder fest, went on some ships, museums, walked around outside, ate at Mystic Pizza (the inspiration for the movie), ate at a brewery, visited some state parks, Yale University, a big house/castle made all from stone by an eccentric guy who is linked to Sherlock Holmes, and much more. Of course I took 520 pictures from our 5 day trip. Here are a few:
Other things we did included visiting Essex, CT and other quaint little towns along the water, Mystic Seaport and their chowder fest, went on some ships, museums, walked around outside, ate at Mystic Pizza (the inspiration for the movie), ate at a brewery, visited some state parks, Yale University, a big house/castle made all from stone by an eccentric guy who is linked to Sherlock Holmes, and much more. Of course I took 520 pictures from our 5 day trip. Here are a few:
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Pumpkinhead - Member of the Squash Family
Abigail's first trip to the pumpkin patch! She's a lil' pumpkin!!
We also did a hayride, corn maze, and visited Merrymead. Tons of fun!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
First Food
We tried giving Abby some rice cereal as her first food. She did alright for the first time. We gave it to her a few more times then but only a little got down, with more on her face. She has to get used to the spoon and the whole procedure. We attempted carrots too but again, more on the face, less in the mouth. She's still only 4.5 mo. old so we'll probably attempt it again down the road. We are currently putting some of the rice cereal in her bottles though... we make sure it's not too thick. And no, I'm sure it won't lead to Abby being obese (in some writings it states that putting cereal in w/ the milk bottles can lead to obesity) - whatever!
Next up: Crabcakes!
Next up: Crabcakes!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Abby's Baptism
Abby got baptized on Sunday, September 19th at Edgeboro Moravian Church in Bethlehem.
We chose to have her baptized at the 11am service which was more contemporary. She wore the beautiful eyelet dress and bonnett that I wore 30 years ago... she looked like a little doll! Pastor Chris Geisler performed the service.
Chris and Jennifer came up for the event from Virginia and had a part in the ceremony as Abby's Godparents. The rest of the family was there too!
After getting some pictures outside of the church, we all headed over to Starters Riverport in Bethlehem for some lunch.
It was a beautiful day and I thought a moving baptismal ceremony!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Formula Frenzy
As most of you are well aware, I am breastfeeding exclusively. A few times here and there though in the past couple weeks, it seemed as though Abby was still hungry and not getting enough. We thought maybe we should start supplementing a little bit with formula to hold her over.
Per the pediatrician's suggestion, we started with Similac Advance. She got 3oz. after a regular feeding. She took it from the bottle fine and then eventually she fell asleep in her crib. About 3 hours later in the middle of the night, I heard her making noises so I went into her room, only to find puke everywhere - on her mouth, all over her outfit, down her back on the crib bedding, etc. She was gagging a little and sputtering and threw up once or twice after that. Poor thing!
The pediatrician then said to try Similac Soy but only about 2oz. after having breastmilk. Peter tried to give it to her but she just kept turning her head away and didn't want anything to do with it. There are some people against soy for a few reasons, but nothing is 100% proven or clinically proven - I'll spare the details and save it for some other time but I'm not against occasional soy formula use.
The third shot at formula was Similac Sensitive. Nana was watching Abby one day and gave her the formula after having some breastmilk. So it was mixed in as breastmilk-formula-breastmilk. She took it well but then about 2 hours later she threw it up. What can I say, she prefers her mommy's milk!
I hate formula!!!
I'm not sure what to do now at this point. We don't want to keep jumping from formula to formula but it'd be good to have her used to SOME kind of formula as a back-up just in case she is still hungry and I can't provide much else, or if I get sick and have to take meds that shouldn't be passed onto her. We might try the soy again since she didn't actually digest any, just refused to take any.
Actually, I don't blame her for not taking the formula - that stuff smells nasty!
Per the pediatrician's suggestion, we started with Similac Advance. She got 3oz. after a regular feeding. She took it from the bottle fine and then eventually she fell asleep in her crib. About 3 hours later in the middle of the night, I heard her making noises so I went into her room, only to find puke everywhere - on her mouth, all over her outfit, down her back on the crib bedding, etc. She was gagging a little and sputtering and threw up once or twice after that. Poor thing!
The pediatrician then said to try Similac Soy but only about 2oz. after having breastmilk. Peter tried to give it to her but she just kept turning her head away and didn't want anything to do with it. There are some people against soy for a few reasons, but nothing is 100% proven or clinically proven - I'll spare the details and save it for some other time but I'm not against occasional soy formula use.
The third shot at formula was Similac Sensitive. Nana was watching Abby one day and gave her the formula after having some breastmilk. So it was mixed in as breastmilk-formula-breastmilk. She took it well but then about 2 hours later she threw it up. What can I say, she prefers her mommy's milk!
I hate formula!!!
I'm not sure what to do now at this point. We don't want to keep jumping from formula to formula but it'd be good to have her used to SOME kind of formula as a back-up just in case she is still hungry and I can't provide much else, or if I get sick and have to take meds that shouldn't be passed onto her. We might try the soy again since she didn't actually digest any, just refused to take any.
Actually, I don't blame her for not taking the formula - that stuff smells nasty!
Rolling On The River
Abby rolled over completely for the first time on Tuesday, September 14th! Peter was home with her and she rolled both ways on her playmat; back to belly and belly to back. Big girl!
Later on in the middle of the night I heard her making some noise in her crib so I went to go check it out, thinking I was going to feed her. I walked in to see her flipped over on her tummy! It was kind of surreal to all of a sudden see her on her belly lifting herself up on her arms and hands when all she was able to do before was lay on her back. I think she confused herself too and was like 'what the heck did I just do'?
Ever since then she's been rolling all around, consciously rolling and playing.
Later on in the middle of the night I heard her making some noise in her crib so I went to go check it out, thinking I was going to feed her. I walked in to see her flipped over on her tummy! It was kind of surreal to all of a sudden see her on her belly lifting herself up on her arms and hands when all she was able to do before was lay on her back. I think she confused herself too and was like 'what the heck did I just do'?
Ever since then she's been rolling all around, consciously rolling and playing.
3 Month Check Up
Abby's 3 month check-up (which was September 8th) went well. Her weight was 10lb., 5oz. so a bit smaller than I thought (5 %) and 24" (25%). She got 2 shots.
Peter took her by herself this time since I was at work and all went well!
Peter took her by herself this time since I was at work and all went well!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Days With Nana
Well I guess I'm kind of in the swing of things, being back at work and being a full-time working mommy. The first week was hard but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I get sooo sleepy at work and it's hard to stay awake! I think I mentioned it before but when I come home, the evenings go by so incredibly fast.
We are extremely lucky enough to have my mom (aka Nana) come down to watch Abby 2-3 days during the week while Peter and I are at work. She has been retired but now she has this new baby-sitting gig! Janet (aka Granma) was also able to come down a few days to help which was great - she will be going back to work as a teacher eventually.
Abby has been continuing to grasp objects pretty well, focus on her toys and stuffed animals, play on her back and tummy on the playmat and blankets, lift her head (when she feels like it), hold her head w/o support for the most part, sometimes suck her thumb, tons of smiles and cooing and "talking", starting to roll onto her side, listens to classical music and watches her Baby Einstein dvd, etc.
I'm so excited for the next 3 months for fall weather so that we can enjoy the outdoors more. We like taking walks around the neighborhood and I can now function with pushing the stroller and walking Sophie at the same time.
When Nana comes down to our place, she has a guestroom to sleep in and keep her things. She is welcome to our food but insists on bringing her own lunch and eats maybe two bites of turkey and cheese and a Coke. If it's nice she takes Abby on a walk and they have playtime and lots of reading. She gets two bottles of milk a day while I'm at work. Sometimes my Dad (aka Pop Pop) comes down too and keeps Nana and Abby company and helps out with the baby tasks - or sometimes he just holds her for an hour when she falls asleep. On the nights Nana sleeps over, Peter and I cook dinner or figure out somewhere for us all to go eat.
We are extremely lucky enough to have my mom (aka Nana) come down to watch Abby 2-3 days during the week while Peter and I are at work. She has been retired but now she has this new baby-sitting gig! Janet (aka Granma) was also able to come down a few days to help which was great - she will be going back to work as a teacher eventually.
Abby has been continuing to grasp objects pretty well, focus on her toys and stuffed animals, play on her back and tummy on the playmat and blankets, lift her head (when she feels like it), hold her head w/o support for the most part, sometimes suck her thumb, tons of smiles and cooing and "talking", starting to roll onto her side, listens to classical music and watches her Baby Einstein dvd, etc.
I'm so excited for the next 3 months for fall weather so that we can enjoy the outdoors more. We like taking walks around the neighborhood and I can now function with pushing the stroller and walking Sophie at the same time.
When Nana comes down to our place, she has a guestroom to sleep in and keep her things. She is welcome to our food but insists on bringing her own lunch and eats maybe two bites of turkey and cheese and a Coke. If it's nice she takes Abby on a walk and they have playtime and lots of reading. She gets two bottles of milk a day while I'm at work. Sometimes my Dad (aka Pop Pop) comes down too and keeps Nana and Abby company and helps out with the baby tasks - or sometimes he just holds her for an hour when she falls asleep. On the nights Nana sleeps over, Peter and I cook dinner or figure out somewhere for us all to go eat.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Future GW-er
Two weekends ago, Abigail had the pleasure of meeting Amy, Suzie, and Kelly for the first time (technically second for Kelly). The girls came up from MD and VA to meet Baby Abby (Abby is spelled "baby" when jumbled /tidbit) and to spend time with moi.
They arrived on Saturday at our house and they first met Abby and saw her room. We promptly then went to Pudge's for some lunch and Abby behaved. Woohoo - she hearts chicken cheesesteaks! We continued on to Valley Forge where we saw Peter at the cabins but he was too busy with visitrons so we walked around for a bit. We avoided bugs and Amy searched for a cot. We came back to the house then and everyone got a turn holding Abby, then Kelly fed her a bottle.
They then went to check into their hotel and I met up with them a bit later (sans Abby) to head on down to Victory Brewery in Downingtown. Daddy was watching Abby for the evening while Mommy got to have some downtime with the girls. AND I got to have my first beer since August 2009 - a whole year! I got a Whirlwind (similar to a Blue Moon) and it was amazing. We had a good time hanging out and talking, then I had to get home (in which Abby, Sophie, Nacho, and Peter were ALL sleeping).
The next morning we met up at Bob Evans (Abby included) for breakfast before they got on the road to head back home. Abby kept pulling her pink headband down over her eyes. :) She was sad to see them go.
I can't do GWs (girls weekends) like I used to, but it was really good to see them. Plus, Abby is a little GW-er in training! Before I know it, she'll be coming along and we'll be painting her toenails and playing dress-up. ;)
Here I am with the girls (sadly no pic with Abby):
They arrived on Saturday at our house and they first met Abby and saw her room. We promptly then went to Pudge's for some lunch and Abby behaved. Woohoo - she hearts chicken cheesesteaks! We continued on to Valley Forge where we saw Peter at the cabins but he was too busy with visitrons so we walked around for a bit. We avoided bugs and Amy searched for a cot. We came back to the house then and everyone got a turn holding Abby, then Kelly fed her a bottle.
They then went to check into their hotel and I met up with them a bit later (sans Abby) to head on down to Victory Brewery in Downingtown. Daddy was watching Abby for the evening while Mommy got to have some downtime with the girls. AND I got to have my first beer since August 2009 - a whole year! I got a Whirlwind (similar to a Blue Moon) and it was amazing. We had a good time hanging out and talking, then I had to get home (in which Abby, Sophie, Nacho, and Peter were ALL sleeping).
The next morning we met up at Bob Evans (Abby included) for breakfast before they got on the road to head back home. Abby kept pulling her pink headband down over her eyes. :) She was sad to see them go.
I can't do GWs (girls weekends) like I used to, but it was really good to see them. Plus, Abby is a little GW-er in training! Before I know it, she'll be coming along and we'll be painting her toenails and playing dress-up. ;)
Here I am with the girls (sadly no pic with Abby):
Friday, August 27, 2010
Back To Work, Back To Reality
My maternity leave officially came to an end when I returned to work on Monday, August 16th.
Although it was nice to see everyone again and update everyone on Abigail and show off new pictures of her, I wasn't looking forward to jumping back into the actual corporate world and leaving Abby at home. I figured it would be hard after spending virtually every single minute with her for the past 12 weeks.
Although I missed her, I didn't have to worry about anything since Nana and Granma were babysitting Abby at our house. They have fun watching her! Our guest room is now being put to good use too. Nana is reliving her days from when I was a baby!
Being back at work has its ups and downs. I get more adult social interaction this way. When I go to the bathroom or eat lunch, I get to take my time for the most part and don't feel rushed to get it done before baby starts crying. If I want, I can use my lunch hour to run out to the stores to get some errands done, whereas it'd be hard to do otherwise from home sometimes. My back doesn't get sore and I don't deal with baby cries or tears.
On the other hand, I wish I could be with Abigail during the day instead of just weeknights and weekends. Being at work makes me soo tired. At least before if Abby was napping during the day, I could do the same. Now I'm at work, expected to perform and then come home, deal with dinner, dishes, and other chores, plus breastfeed, playtime, bathtime, and most likely getting up in the middle of the night for another feeding. My morning routine has doubled in time for the most part. Some days I feel like a zombie at work. But wes gots to pays the bills yo!
Breastfeeding has been another interesting task while back at work. When I am at work, Abby gets two bottles which means I pump twice while at work to keep the supply going. Luckily I am close to two empty/private offices that I can use but it takes 20 minutes out of my day each time, then I have to rinse everything off in the bathroom and keep the milk in the shared refrigerators. When I come home I get to clean 2 baby bottles and 2 sets of breast pump pieces... making it a total of approximately 22 little pieces. It's time consuming and it does get tiring. On nights and weekends we don't bother with any bottles so at least I get a little break with that.
Being back at work also means...work. Right now I not only have to catch up with the analysts that backed me up on my accounts while I was out, but I was also given a new client account to learn. I am also helping out with a time-consuming Oncology project. However, my two new work rules are: 1) When it's time to go home, it's time to go home - I can't stay extra hours or log on from home in the evening as I've done in the past, and 2) I can't travel at this time and they have to just accept that.
Does it sound like I am complaining? Maybe I am. It's definitely an adjustment in numerous ways. I know there are plenty of other moms out there that are in a similar situation. I just gotta go with the flow and enjoy the time I do have with Abby to the fullest - and I am! Oh and I have 3 weeks vacation to use before the end of the year - woohoo!
Although it was nice to see everyone again and update everyone on Abigail and show off new pictures of her, I wasn't looking forward to jumping back into the actual corporate world and leaving Abby at home. I figured it would be hard after spending virtually every single minute with her for the past 12 weeks.
Although I missed her, I didn't have to worry about anything since Nana and Granma were babysitting Abby at our house. They have fun watching her! Our guest room is now being put to good use too. Nana is reliving her days from when I was a baby!
Being back at work has its ups and downs. I get more adult social interaction this way. When I go to the bathroom or eat lunch, I get to take my time for the most part and don't feel rushed to get it done before baby starts crying. If I want, I can use my lunch hour to run out to the stores to get some errands done, whereas it'd be hard to do otherwise from home sometimes. My back doesn't get sore and I don't deal with baby cries or tears.
On the other hand, I wish I could be with Abigail during the day instead of just weeknights and weekends. Being at work makes me soo tired. At least before if Abby was napping during the day, I could do the same. Now I'm at work, expected to perform and then come home, deal with dinner, dishes, and other chores, plus breastfeed, playtime, bathtime, and most likely getting up in the middle of the night for another feeding. My morning routine has doubled in time for the most part. Some days I feel like a zombie at work. But wes gots to pays the bills yo!
Breastfeeding has been another interesting task while back at work. When I am at work, Abby gets two bottles which means I pump twice while at work to keep the supply going. Luckily I am close to two empty/private offices that I can use but it takes 20 minutes out of my day each time, then I have to rinse everything off in the bathroom and keep the milk in the shared refrigerators. When I come home I get to clean 2 baby bottles and 2 sets of breast pump pieces... making it a total of approximately 22 little pieces. It's time consuming and it does get tiring. On nights and weekends we don't bother with any bottles so at least I get a little break with that.
Being back at work also means...work. Right now I not only have to catch up with the analysts that backed me up on my accounts while I was out, but I was also given a new client account to learn. I am also helping out with a time-consuming Oncology project. However, my two new work rules are: 1) When it's time to go home, it's time to go home - I can't stay extra hours or log on from home in the evening as I've done in the past, and 2) I can't travel at this time and they have to just accept that.
Does it sound like I am complaining? Maybe I am. It's definitely an adjustment in numerous ways. I know there are plenty of other moms out there that are in a similar situation. I just gotta go with the flow and enjoy the time I do have with Abby to the fullest - and I am! Oh and I have 3 weeks vacation to use before the end of the year - woohoo!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Abigail's First Vacation
Abby Cadabby did so great on her first trip/vacation! Here are some pictures:
Enjoying her buddies on the boppy.
"Hey there pals!"
Beach baby!
Life is so rough.
Enjoying the Cape Fear River Walk.
Someone fell asleep in Mommy's arms at El Zarape. Ole!
Hanging out at Carolina Beach boardwalk after some Britt's donuts.
Happy beach baby!
Still happy down at the River Walk.
Abby meets Luna, the albino alligator (hanging out in the background), at the Aquarium.
Ready for a night out on the town!
Family on the beach (gotta protect that baby from the rays!).
An enthusiastic, interactive storytime for Abbicus.
All of us downtown, the last day.
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