I had fun with the camera today taking pictures of Abby. She took a good 3 hour nap today so I got some things done around the house. We then took a trip to the library (Mom wants to read about something besides magazines), the mall, the meat market and the bank. We came home and Abby was nice enough to explode in her diaper. All up the back of her diaper and on to Mom's shorts. How lovely! The weather has been alot cooler with the high at 80 degrees. We've been getting our walks in with the dog.

Abby and I went to visit some coworkers today. It was nice to see some old friends. We had a short walk this morning and finished off the day by going shopping at Walmart and Target. What an eventful day. Congrats to my sister on her new baby boy. Abby is excited to have a cousin just a couple months younger.

Abby slept for 6 hours in a row last night. Yippee. She has shifted her bedtime from 8 to 9 pm though. Mom has just been working on things around the house. Doing a little fall cleaning. At least paperwork cleaning. I am starting to feed Abby a bottle of breastmilk once a day to prepare going back to work. She doesn't spit it up as much when it isn't cold if you can imagine that. It's crazy trying to figure out how much she will eat since I haven't had to worry about ounces before. We enjoyed a walk this morning and I'll take Abby on another 4-wheel ride this evening to take out the trash.

Today Dad went back to work. Abby was nice enough to be up when Dad left at 5 am to say goodbye. Abby and I got some chores done today. We went to the post office and did some grocery shopping. I think Abby has found her voice. Sometimes she likes to holler just to holler. She seems to catch herself off guard when she does it. We had our friend from work over for dinner and we enjoyed that. Abby had to do without all of Dad's entertainment. I think she did okay with Mom's crazy singing and dancing. What wierd parents she has.

Abby got a new car. On Thursday we traded in the Explorer for a new Toyota Sienna. Yes it is a minivan. What has happened? We decided to get something that would be more practical for us with the little one. Ok it's not just for her. It was nice having the extra room period. We also went to a local smokehouse. It was pretty good. On Friday we got to really try the vehicle out and went to Cabelas. We only needed one tank of gas. That wouldn't have happened with the Explorer. Today we are taking it easy at home. It's crazy how you need those days to regroup. We had rain and thunderstorms last night and this morning. It was much needed rain.

Well here is a happy picture of Abby. We have enjoyed her smiling all the time now. We are just waiting for that laugh. She seems to have realized that she can make noise. We did some grocery shopping on Sunday and then came home for the day and on Monday we went to the outlet malls. We figured since school started that day it might not be as busy. I got some clothes and Dad got some headphones for the plane. We also got the little one some clothes from Carter's. We just couldn't resist. Today we slept in after being up with the little on at night. She wasn't fussy just was smiling like it was time to get up. She likes it when Dad makes animal noises at her. I went through Abby's clothes as she will probably going in to the next size in a couple weeks. She is probably 11 lbs. now.

On Thursday we went to the Cardinals baseball game with Mom, Dad, and cousin. It was alot of fun but Abby got a sunburn. Dad got her the Fred bird from the picture at the build a bear factory. We were in the shade the whole time at the stadium so that was nice. The new Busch Stadium is really laid out well. We had wheel chair seats so it was nice to spread out with the little ones. The Cardinals won in the 9th inning 2 to 1. Yesterday we just hung out at home since it was over 100 degrees. And last night Abby slept in her crib in her room for the first time. Mom was a little nervous on how she was doing so had to check on her a couple times. I actually put her to bed awake and she cooed for a little bit and then went to sleep. I think that is what shocked me. Today we will probably make it to the grocery store and that's about it.

Dad made it home and they are sleeping so thought I would write a note. The picture of Abby after a stroller ride up to the mailbox. She doesn't seem to scared from the bumpy ride, right? We are going to a baseball game tomorrow so that should be fun. Abby just grinned and grinned at Daddy when he showed up. She watched him with smiles as he opened his mail. Yukon definitely remembered him. We have been enjoying some cooler weather, high 80s. Yesterday Abby had her first 4wheeler ride. I had to take the trash out so I put her in the baby sling and up we went. I think we topped out at 6 miles an hour. A little slower than when I go by myself. We were going to have supper with Steph last night and got stuck in traffic for road construction.
I gave up after an hour and 15 minute ride that normally takes 30 minutes at most. Steph came and had supper at our place instead. Having a screaming baby in the back doesn't help my temper. Oh well all is good now.

Weot up bright and early this morning. We got in a walk and are just getting some things done around the house. The little one wants some attention so I am leaving this short.

Today we ventured out for a morning walk. Then we went to work to have lunch with Steph. It is always nice to get Mom out to have some adult contact. We then went grocery shopping. We were pretty worn out afterward so took a good hour nap. That felt good but where did the day go. I love this picture because it looks like she would laugh if she could. She has really been smiling alot. Other than that things are good.

Today has started off good. I think it helped with how we went to sleep last night. I have been able to get Abby to sleep by 9 and then talk to Dad. Last night I even took a shower before going to bed and I woke up so much better this morning. I have been reading a magazine this morning with Abby sleeping in my arms. Thought I would get this blog in this morning also while she is still sleeping. Dad comes home in a couple days and we are looking forward to that.

I thought we would do a happy picture and a mad picture today. We got up this morning and went garage saling. It was a community wide sale this weekend. I didn't find anything I needed so came home empty handed. Yesterday I put Abby to bed and then talked to Dad on the phone. First time I have been in the living room without the baby. It felt very weird. It is strange how quickly your life can completely change and not even realize it. Today we are going to take it easy. Love to all.

Does this picture have the look of terror or what? Abby and I made it to Sam's Club today. Abby screamed at the check out counter because she got hungry. We got up nice and early this morning. I think Abby was confused because she went back to sleep after an hour instead of staying awake like she usually does. Abby has been handling being sick pretty good. She got fussy last night and you could just tell she was hurting. Poor little thing. Now I am getting some laundry and dishes done. And I need to seperate out that 10 lbs. of cheese I bought and freeze it. Got to love Sam's Club for bulk. Yesterday it finally rained. We even walked to the mailbox in the afternoon because it was below 80 degrees. We will probably wait a little later today before we walk. Well that's the scoop for now.

Yesterday Grandpa and Grandma came down to say hello. Abby made sure she was heard while they were here. I forgot to say the doctor weighed Abby at 9 lbs. 10 oz. so she is growing fast. With the cold we didn't sleep too well last night. Makes it hard to eat with a stuffy nose. Mom got groused out by snot this morning. Abby sneezed and out it came. Yuck. Maybe that was why I was dredding her getting sick. I didn't throw up though so that is good. She has been doing pretty good taking her antibiotics. The trick is not to give it all in one squirt or most of it will come right back out. It smells like bubble gum and she seems to like it just doesn't know how to swallow it. Abby has started cooing. This is great because it is a new form of communication other than the cry. We managed to not have any animals ever pee in the house. Well the rules have changed because Abby has peed on the couch yesterday and the bed this morning. It helps if the diaper is secure to prevent leaks. We have the pest guy coming today to help with our black widow spider problem in the garage. I hope it helps. Love to all. Abby would like to say a special hello to her dad. "Coo coo."

A month old and Abby has gotten her first cold and ear infection. Last night she sounded stuffed up. I thought I was just being paranoid (or hoping) and took her to the doctor. Nope she is sick. Not so easy to tell when she smiles at you in the morning. So today we are going to get lots of rest and see if that makes the nasal congestion go away. We'll see how taking medicine goes. For some reason a syringe just doesn't look good. Abby wasn't to thrilled about the saline in the nose and nasal bulb to suck out snot. Poor kid. I called work today and I guess the cold is going around there. Oh well. What are you going to do?

Hello. Today we got up at 6:50. Abby was wide awake so we just got up. We went for a walk before it got too hot. It is 104 right now. Then we went into town and went shopping at Walmart. I have been craving frozen pizzas so got a couple of those and some fresh fruit. We came home and took an hour and half nap. In the picture above, I found I could sit with her in Dad's chair and just hang out. This gives my arms some rest. Today Abby is a month old. Can you believe it?

Today Abby has been a little fussy so we have been held alot. That is good because it gives Mom an excuse not to get anything done. We did try a shower for the first time. Abby liked it except for the drying off part. I think she gets cold. We enjoyed our swing for a little while and got our usual kisses on the mouth from Yukon.

Well Abby fought to go to sleep last night but once she did we got a 5 hour stretch of sleep again. Hooray. This morning we went to visit Miranda and her kids. She will be the one watching Abby when I go back to work. The visit was good and I got some references. Her little boys just loved Abby. Gabriel who is 4 just layed beside Abby and looked at her. It makes me feel alot better about going back to work. I figure I'll stop by a few more time while I am off. Then we went to work and got a t-shirt ordered. Then I decided to treat myself to Arby's. It is 20 minutes away but worth it. Now we are just hanging out at home.

Last night Abby let me have a 5 hour stretch of sleep. That was nice. We then tried out our jogging stroller since the temperature finally got below 80. Yukon loved being out doing any sort of exercise. We did some cooking and laundry. I had to spend some time just holding the baby. I also told Abby the story of Goldilocks (sp?) and the Three Bears. She just looked at me in amazement.

A picture Mom likes

Tuesday, August 1st

Well Grandma and Grandpa have left us in this hot weather. I don't think they were able to enjoy the outdoors much. Grandma did get some sunbathing in. They were able to spoil Abby a whole bunch and even me with helping with meals, grocery shopping, laundry, dishes and cleaning. Thanks for everything. Abby and I are going to see how we handle a day together alone for the first time. Yipes. A couple of co-workers are coming over after work to visit so Abby will get a little more spoiled. We got some shopping done at Target and the mall yesterday. Yukon wondered how we could leave her out in the heat like that. Poor dog. The goals for today is to get a nap and take everything else as it comes.