Our growing girl August 11, 2009

Last full week in Savannah February 9, 2010

This post will be fairly brief as we’re in hyper packing mode. David went to Asheville yesterday to check out properties we picked online, and he found one that’s a winner. It’s such a relief to know we have a definite place waiting on us. We head out Friday morning; it really hasn’t hit me yet. I’m sure it will soon!

Abigail’s 6-month appointment got canceled last week because of and issue with Dr. Mozer. We’re rescheduled for Wednesday and look forward to getting that appointment behind us. Boo to being at a pediatrician’s office for 1-2 hours and boo to shots. I’ll be sure to update with Abigail’s new stats.

For the past week, Abigail has been waking early (5am instead of 6-6:30am). We’re not sure if it’s her 6-month growth spurt or teething or stress from the chaotic state of the apartment or something else that’s messing with her sleep, but we’re certainly hoping she gets back to normal soon.
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Loving the swing!
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She sticks her tongue out quite often. It’s pretty cute!
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Thursday was David’s last day at CBI. He picked up two dozen doughnuts that morning to share with his coworkers and told me later that it was a bittersweet day. He learned so much through working with CBI and met a ton of great folks. And with it being the only job he’s worked since college, it was a little strange for him to leave. Regardless, he and I are both excited about what is ahead with SolTherm.

We pulled out the painting supplies on Friday to prime Abigail’s green wall—got to get it back to it’s original cream color. It took three coats of primer to conceal that beautiful wall; the green didn’t want to get covered up.
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Playing at her musical table. She’s getting pretty good at the whole standing-while-holding-on-to-something bit.
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We also took everything off the walls in every bedroom and took an inventory. We donated something like 15 large picture frames and still had enough to fill a huge $17 Rubbermaid storage container (thank you, Wal-Mart)! With everything off the walls, our apartment started to look pretty bare. It’s amazing how much wall decor can enhance and warm a room whether it’s furnished or not.
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She acts like she’s ready to crawl, but hasn’t quite figured it out yet.
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That night, we headed to Mellow Mushroom with Chuck, Carrie and Madison for dinner. This was Abigail’s first time in a true highchair (vs. the bumbo with a tray), and she did great—aside from lunging at our calzones and cheese sticks. I’m really ready to let her try some solids, but as I’ve kept mentioning, I want us to be settled in Asheville before I start introducing any changes to her schedule.

Saturday morning, the three of us headed out to Tybee Island to run our respective races. David and Abigail did the 5K at 8am, and David ran into the same issue we had at the bridge run. Strollers are supposed to start at the back of the race, but alas, the walkers start there too. David had to weave back and forth for over a mile of the 5K before the group started thinning out. Yuck!

My half marathon started at 8:30am. The weather wasn’t the best (windy, chilly, and misty), but I hadn’t trained all that time for nothing. I felt pretty awesome for the first eight miles, but somewhere around mile 9, the wind really picked up and the lactic acid began to build. I still gave it everything I had and finished in 2:05—not too shabby for 6-months post partum.

At mile 7, I saw Abigail’s pediatrician on the sidelines. I wanted to yell at him for canceling our appointment the day before, but figured I’d just heckle him on Wednesday for just being a bystander instead of actually competing in the race.
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Around mile 6. It started to rain again moments later.
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About 1/10 mile from the finish—moving so fast, I’m blurry! Ha.
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David and Abigail found me three times during the route. The second time was at a turnaround at mile 10; the turnaround happened right beside where we parked our car, and David was in the backseat feeding Abigail at the time I ran by. Turns out, she’s not a fan of cool milk. We thawed it overnight and assumed it would warm up in the car. Ha. Not at all.

Because of that, I finished the half marathon, walked a mile back to the car, and had to nurse. Not sure of the last time I felt that exhausted. I ate like a ravenous animal the rest of the day to try and make up for everything I burned (circa 2,200 calories between the race and nursing).
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Back in the car after the race.
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The packing began Saturday afternoon and kicked into high gear on Sunday when we packed up the whole kitchen. It’s so hard to really appreciate how many bowls and plates and gadgets we have because they’re always put away in cabinets or drawers. Once we pulled everything out, we were pretty overwhelmed. Whew. A few boxes later, though, and the kitchen beast was slain.
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Kisses from Daddy.
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We also watched football that night—along with millions of others. What a game! What commercials! Quotables from a couple of my favorites, “Milk-a-what?” and “>Slap< Keep your hands off my mama, and keep your hands off my Doritos!” Too fun!

Yesterday, David spent the whole day (and night) up in Asheville checking out places for us to live. A townhome we looked at online was our top pick, and excitingly, it’s working out for us to move there. Yeehaw!

While David was away, I worked on packing up Abigail’s stuff. It didn’t take all that long, and I got a little stir crazy (David drove the Sonata to Asheville, and the CR-V is getting serviced). We needed a few things from the store, so I opted to strap Abigail into the k’tan and walk to Publix. It’s probably 1.5-2 miles away, and the walk felt amazing. My legs are still very angry at me for Saturday’s race, so getting out and walking was great therapy.

Can’t wait to move this weekend! I’ll be sure to post photos of our new place as soon as we’re settled.
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The beginning of our packing. Abigail was biting her nails with all the craziness. Heh.
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photos MIA February 9, 2010

This week’s blog is written and ready to go, but all the pictures are on our camera, and the camera is with David in Asheville.

And truly, what fun is a blog without photos and video?

Check back this afternoon!

26 weeks old…transitions February 2, 2010

This week began a time of transitioning for our family as a whole and for Abigail individually.

I didn’t mention this in last week’s post because it wasn’t 100% final yet, but in less than two weeks, we’ll be moving our little family up to Asheville, NC, and we couldn’t be more excited! David took a job with a start-up renewable energy company called SolTherm which will enable us to actully put roots down—no more moves! We’ll absolutely miss our friends here in Savannah, but are looking forward to getting settled somewhere for the long haul.

Abigail seems to be in official transition in regards to naps and eating and diapers.

Naps: She’s been taking three naps for a couple of months now, but in the past week, getting her to take her third nap has been a challenge, and it hasn’t lasted more than 30 minutes or so. I tried totally knocking it out for two days, but she did not thrive on a two nap schedule. Guess we’ll be transitioning for a bit longer.

Eating: We’ll be starting her on solids once we’re up in Asheville—too much thinking involved to do it while trying to plan and pack for our move. In the mean time, she’s been shifting from five to four nursing sessions a day. She’s not really consistent about it, though. No need to rush her, of course; we’ll wait until she’s totally ready to go to a four-hour eating schedule. So more transitional time needed.

Diapers: This transition is complete. She’s officially in size 3 diapers! We used 458 size 2’s in total, and of the diapers left over, I was able to return 144 and donate 42. Yee haw!

This past week was filled with hanging out with Savannah friends; we’re trying to squeeze in time with everyone, but our time here is rapidly coming to a close. We’ll really miss all of you!

On Monday night, a group of gals from MOPS went out with me to the Melting Pot for Ladies Night as sort of a “farewell” dinner. That night, Lyndsay told me she wouldn’t be in town for the half marathon. For a moment, I panicked; she’s been my training partner for this run since November, and I was (and still am) sad that we wouldn’t be able to run the race together. She suggested that we go out and run the course together for our next run. Wha…!?

So 9am on Tuesday morning, we headed out to Tybee Island—route in hand—to run the half marathon a week and a half early. Haha! Other than the wind, it was a beautiful day for running. Traffic was minimal, and the sky was blue with white puffy clouds. Sigh.

We finished the 13.1 mile route with babies in tow in 2:09. Not half bad! I’ll be running so hard this Saturday to try and break that 2-hour mark; I told Lyndsay I’d do everything I could to meet our goal (between 1:50-1:59). If you’re awake Saturday morning between 8:30 and 10:30, say a “speedy thoughts” prayer for me, please.
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Our little running group just after finishing.
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I’m going to miss you, girl!
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Thanks for your stroller endurance, Abigail (5.5 months) and Ellie (10.5 months)!
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Tuesday was one of the two-nap, four-meal days, and by the time dinner rolled around, I asked David to feed Abigail a bottle of pumped milk just to see how much she was eating. I figured if she’s supposed to have between 24-30oz per day and only ate four times, she’d have to eat at least 6oz. The last time we bottle-fed her, we only gave her 4oz. Oops. In total, she had 6.5oz Tuesday night. Grow tummy, grow!

I started out my Wednesday by going to MOPS’s 9th annual spa day. It was so wonderful to get pampered, baby-free, of course. The food was delicious, and the massage I got—divine. Carrie and Lyndsay came to check out MOPS and to get in on the fun. It’s always great to hang out with them.
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Lyndsay and Carrie with Abigail. Their daughters were still in MOPS’s childcare rooms.
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After MOPS, we stopped by to see David during his lunch break. Depending on where we live in Asheville, his office may only be walking distance away. Maybe more family lunches are in our future!
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Daddy and daughter
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I checked our mail later that evening and found a package from Hendrix (Eric and Blythe Royaards’ 3-month-old) addressed to Abigail. She “helped” me open it, and we found a Valentine’s Day present complete with chocolate kisses, a tutu, cute pink shirt, and a homemade valentine. How precious! Abigail only seemed interested in how everything tasted (don’t worry, the chocolate didn’t get near her!)—especially the tutu. Hilarious!
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So excited!
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“Happy V-Day Abigail!! Love, Hendrix “
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Thursday was pretty low-key. Chris and Jamie were planning to hang out that night, so Abigail and I whipped up a pan of brownies.
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Don’t worry; I used a different spoon for mixing the batter. Heh. She’ll chew on ANYTHING!
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Chris and Jamie came over to talk baby with us. Jamie is now one week away from her due date, so little Eli will be here very soon. We answered all their questions as best we could and wished them well. Here’s to hoping they have the smoothest birthing experience possible!

Friday was a real treat as Abigail and I got to meet up with Kristy for breakfast. She was in town from Chapel Hill for a couple of days and squeezed us into her crazy packed visiting schedule. It was awesome to see her and to tell her about our upcoming move. North Carolina is a long state, folks because even though we’ll be in the same state as Travis and Kristy, we’ll still be nearly four hours away.
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Yup, Abigail’s wearing the same thing she wore on Wednesday. I found that outfit in her closet—sized 3-6 months—and she’d never worn it. Catastrophe! Gotta get some use out of it.
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David got home early that night and was able to play a bit of peek-a-boo with Abigail. Not sure how you other parents feel, but it’s pretty fun to be the most hilarious person your child has ever seen. Seriously. Don’t your babies laugh at just about anything you do? I love it.
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On Saturday, we worked on cleaning out the apartment; two trashbags of clothes, three boxes of stuff, one bag of trash and a trip to Goodwill and the dump later, we were finished. We listed a few things on eBay and Craig’s List, and as of today, they’re all sold and shipped. It always feels good to get back to the basics.
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Abigail observing the cleaning madness.
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This is her new thing—putting a cloth or toy or teether in her mouth and holding it there while she multitasks. Pretty funny to watch.
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That night, we hung out with Travis and Ashley (24 weeks pregnant now) to talk baby a bit, then they watched Abigail so we could go out to dinner with George and Princess. Basil’s was delicious, and the company made it even better!

Sunday was a low-key day since all the cleaning was complete. We rented “The Soloist” (pretty good movie) and laid low. Abigail wanted nothing to do with laying anywhere. She preferred to stand.
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No, she didn’t pull up to that position, but she stood there like a pro while grabbing for books.
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A different outfit later in the day. She just couldn’t get enough of this!
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Monday, we started back into what looks like teething again. No nubs yet, but if the fussiness and drool are any indicator, those top teeth are probably on their way in. Two teeth in, only 18 to go. Oh man.

Coming up this week, Abigail’s 6-month checkup, David’s last day with CBI, the Tybee half marathon and more, I’m sure!

25 weeks old…big step for Abigail and for us January 26, 2010

David and I had our first overnight (x2) away from Abigail this past weekend. Considering I’d never been away from her for more than 3 hours at a time since she was born, jumping to two nights away was intense. More about that soon!

Abigail seems to be learning her name or at least recognizing that we use the word “Abigail” all the time. Regardless, it’s nice that she’ll turn when we call her name most times. I’ve also been working with her on holding her arms up when she wants to get picked up, and she’s starting to get the hang of it! It’s so nice that she’s beginning to be able to communicate her desires a bit more clearly.

In a few weeks, we’ll likely start with baby sign language so that she can let us know when she’s hungry or when she wants more, etc. Teaching those new skills will hopefully coincide with when we start her on rice, then solids. We’re still holding out per AAP recommendations until six months to start “real” food. Honestly, I’m really enjoying the convenience of nursing and the fact that I don’t have to measure anything. Pretty soon, it’ll be one tablespoon of this and two jars of that…oh man. I’m in no rush!

On Tuesday, Abigail had a first. I put her on her play mat for some tummy time, and she rolled over to the left. Then rolled again, and again, and again. Usually she’ll roll to her back then back the same way over to her tummy. She’d never just rolled over and over to cover any sort of distance. Pretty funny!
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She started on the mat and ended up near the kitchen once I moved the exersaucer out of the way.
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Wednesday was filled with a bunch of packing for our weekend getaway trip. We’ve traveled with Abigail before, but there’s a whole new level of packing when we’re leaving your baby for a couple of days and aren’t sure what my parents will be up against. Looking back, we shouldn’t have been anxious at all.

We hit the road first thing Thursday morning and dropped Abigail off with my parents in Greenville. It was kind of weird saying goodbye to her all while knowing we wouldn’t see her until Saturday afternoon. I held myself together, though, and on to Asheville we went to celebrate 3 years of marriage (a few weeks early)!

Once we pulled up to the Inn at Biltmore, I started to relax. A valet parked our car while we checked in, and we were able to head straight into our room. The decor was very Biltmore in its over-the-top-ness, but we enjoyed it all the same—especially the fact that the room was huge, complete with a terrace area and bathroom nearly the size of the bedroom. Wonderful!
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Right after check in. Super comfy bed!
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Once we were settled in a bit, we changed clothes and headed out for a night of spontenaeity. Remember, I hadn’t been away from Abigail for more than three hours at a stretch since August, and we’re always in bed by 9pm. So back to our night…

By a friend’s recommendation, we ate dinner at the Tupleo Honey Cafe in downtown Asheville. We didn’t know until that night that Asheville is a pretty organic town with many restaurants serving farm-to-table cuisine (fresh, local, organic). Every bit of dinner was incredible. “Incredible” doesn’t accurately capture how delicious everything was, so perhaps you should go check it out and order either the jalapeno-glazed New York strip (David) or the bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin (me) in addition to the pimento cheese dip with chips as an appetizer. Cheers!

After dinner, we opted to explore Asheville a little bit and ended up on the south side at Biltmore Park (residential, office, and retail complex). There was a movie theater at one end, and we went to see what was playing right then. We hadn’t been to a movie in a theater since Abigail was born, so this was a real treat! “Up in the Air” with George Clooney was the only one showing right around when we arrived, but we didn’t care what it was, so long as we were in the theater together. Turns out, we were the only ones who showed up to see that movie. Kind of nice having a theater to yourself!

Once the movie ended, we headed out on a cheesecake quest and ended up at Applebee’s. It was nearly 10:30pm, so not all that many places were open, but the cheesecake dessert shooter I ordered hit the spot!

We slept great Thursday night (no listening for Abigail on my part), and on Friday morning, we checked out the chef’s breakfast buffet at the inn. Let’s just say it was nothing like a normal hotel breakfast. Gee whiz! Aside from the entire row of pastries, muffins and coffee cakes, there was a slew of fresh fruit, a french toast bake, cheddar scrambled eggs, cheese blintz with fruit compote, hash brown casserole, applewood smoked bacon, sausage, smoked salmon, grits, and even an omelette and waffle chef at your service. Too bad our stomachs wouldn’t stretch to accomodate everything. Sigh.
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Minutes after waking up. Just threw on clothes from the day before; we were hungry!
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Around noon, we headed over to the Biltmore House for a brief self-guided tour. Both of us had toured the house before, and although it has 250 ornate and beautiful rooms on six floors, it really is just a big, big house. No need to check the whole thing out all over again. And in truth, we were just trying to make the time pass before our horseback trail ride.
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Us with the back of the Biltmore House in the background. I’m on “Goose,” and David’s on “Deacon.”
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We were the only two on the trail ride, so we really got to pick the brains of our guides about the Asheville area, the Biltmore, the horses, etc. Turns out, the estate has 22 horses—all male, and mine was one of the youngest at 10 years. The one-hour ride flew by much too quickly, but we enjoyed every moment!

With about three hours before we needed to start getting ready for dinner, we headed over to the Biltmore winery for a quick tour and a free wine tasting. Again, delicious and lots of fun.

Dinner Friday night was at Market Place in downtown Asheville (sort of behind Tupleo Honey Cafe). This restaurant was a step up from Tupelo, and the food was truly mouth watering. It’s the type of place that serves your meal on a geometric white dish, and it looks like a small work of art that could never fill you up, but it does. Love it! Their menu changes every few months as they’re a farm-to-table restaurant and only serve what’s fresh and in season.

We were craving cheesecake again—well, maybe just me—and asked our server for his opinion on a great dessert place. He recommended French Broad Chocolates, but wasn’t sure if they served cheesecake. Not to worry! He whipped out his cell and called them (speed dial!) to check. Once we got the go ahead, we walked the few blocks to check it out. It seemed like sort of a hole-in-the-wall—at least location-wise, but once inside, we had no doubt that whatever we ordered would be fantastic. And it was. Mm!

After another great night of rest, we enjoyed our second and final breakfast buffet before driving around Asheville a little more. It’s a pretty neat place with some similarities to Savannah—as far as the artistic side goes, but has a really young vibe about it. At least that’s the impression we got while downtown. We were sad to leave our retreat but super excited to see Abigail after two whole days away from her.
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On one of the porches at the Inn with the foggy Blue Ridge Mountains behind us.
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*A sidenote to my nursing mama friends: I was pretty nervous about leaving Abigail for that long and having her drink pumped milk for about 10 meals. She takes to a bottle just fine, but I was apprehensive that she wouldn’t go back to nursing after having two days of easy meals. To my pleasant surprise, she went right back without a hitch once I was back in town.

Sidenote part II: pumping in Asheville was hilarious. Not the act of pumping, itself, but the locations where it had to take place. I tried to pump every 2-3 hours to maintain my supply, and we were rarely at the Inn when it was time again. I pumped on the interstate, beside a barn, in a parking garage, on back roads, etc—all in the car, of course. And it was cold enough outside that once we parked, I put the bottles of milk just under the car to keep them nice and chilly until we made it back to the fridge in our room. I also rolled up a bottle in the window so that the bottle part was outside but secured to the window by the cap. I hate to pump and dump! *

When we got back to Greenville, Abigail was down for a nap. Sigh. My parents filled us in on everything, and Abigail did wonderful while we were away. She stuck right to her schedule, went down great for naps, slept well at night, ate well during the day. All in all, we weren’t missed too much, it seems. When she woke up from her nap, I was right there ready to smother her with hugs and kisses. So nice!

A little while later, we met up briefly with a few of our friends in the area. It’s so hard to see everyone when we’re in town since we’re never around all that long. Anyhow, it was awesome to catch up with Tripp, Melissa, Kirby, and Meredith and to let them hang out with our little one. Later, it was dinner with my parents and the Duke vs. Clemson game before heading to bed.

Sunday morning, David and I did something we’d never done before. We arrived to a church service two hours before it began and stood in the rain, wind, and cold for 45 minutes before they opened the doors. Incredible, right? It was NewSpring’s 10th anniversary service, and we weren’t about to miss it. They had all four of their campuses under one roof at the BiLo center in downtown Greenville; an estimated 15,000 folks were there.
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This was the crowd about nine minutes before the service started.
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When David and I started going to NewSpring in August of 2003, there were around 1,500 people each Sunday. It’s amazing how quickly it’s grown. What’s more amazing is how so many people were willing to brave the dreadful weather and wait in line to get inside at 9:00am when the service didn’t even start until 10:45am! That’s how church should be! Not a dreaded obligation, but instead, something you look forward to.

After the service, we ate lunch with my parents before driving a quick four hours back to Savannah. It rained the whole way, but the sun came out yesterday!

So all in all, we had a wonderful time in Asheville, and although we missed Abigail a TON, it was great to spend quality time together away from her. Afterall, we were together before she was born, and we’ll be together after she’s grown and gone. We’ve got to keep working on our marriage to keep it strong all along the way.

In closing, here are a couple of fun videos:
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24 weeks old…teeth are fun, right? January 19, 2010

Another fun week for the Mertens! Winter weather went away for the past few days (it’s been in the upper 60s and 70s), so Abigail, David and I made the most of every beautiful moment.

Abigail is getting more and more vocal every day, it seems. We encourage her efforts, of couse, which often results in loud and lengthy “talking” sessions regardless of where we are. Entertaining to say the least!
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She loves to talk!
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But knows how to keep quiet every now and then.
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She’s also started what looks like the beginning of crawling. She’s been maneuvering herself from one end of the crib to the other, but not until this past week did she try to do it during the day on the floor. She’ll work her bottom way up into the air with her legs straight and push forward with her toes. Then her whole body falls to the side. I haven’t really caught much of it on video, but will be sure to share when I do!
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Before moving to the other side of the crib.

 

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As the half marathon gets closer and closer, my runs are picking up in length and intensity. There’s no turning back now! Lyndsay and I ran 5 miles at Gregory Park on Tuesday and 5 miles at Daffin Park on Wednesday. It’s pretty nice that finally I can say “I have a 5-mile run today” and not be the slightest bit anxious about it. I look forward to it. Woo hoo!

I went back to MOPS on Wednesday (first time since November), and it was great to see all those gals again. Unfortunately, Abigail wasn’t really able to nap in the nursery. It was crazy packed, and only two women were working to watch all the babies 12 months and under. Poor ladies! Anyway, she caught up on some of her sleep during that afternoon’s run. It’s nice that she can comfortably sleep even if the stroller’s hitting bumps or whatever.

Since David’s been working such long hours, Abigail and I have made an effort to go to his worksite for lunch at least twice a week. Most of these visits are unplanned, so he gets surprised. Thursday was one of those days, and we got to eat down by the water (this particular project is on an island). It’s always nice to break up our days by meeting up in the middle, and I know David loves hanging out with his little girl whenever possible!

Friday was an off-day from running, but since it was beautiful out, I opted to take Abigail on a walk at the YMCA.
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I forgot her cute blanket, so I layered a towel and my nursing cover over her legs. Heh. Whatever works, right?
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On our third lap, I saw Larami and her precious little Lydia (9 weeks old) over by the swing set; I let Abigail swing a bit while Larami and I caught up. It continually amazes me when I see newborns and how small they are. Abigail was once that tiny, and it really wasn’t all that long ago. It’s hard to remember her that small, though. I prefer her at the size she is now. Much more sturdy!

Friday night was date night for the week, and David and I finally tested out a baby-swap babysitting situation. Carrie came over to watch Abigail for free so we could go out on a date, and I planned to go watch Madison so Carrie and Chuck could have a night out. Oh how I wish we’d done that months ago! It was so nice to swap favors like that and to get to spend time with another precious little girl.

David and I headed downtown to Panera Bread (dessert at Leopold’s…MMM!) then walked around Broughton Street. It was so nice to be out late (for us) without having to worry about Abigail at all. We couldn’t go downtown without stopping by BabyGap, though. And lucky for us, they were having a great sale (25% off the whole store—even clearance!) We bought $69 worth of cute clothes for $22. Let’s make a DEAL!

Saturday was a rainy one—as in rain coming down steadily all day. I had a 10-mile run to do, and the rain cover I ordered for Abigail’s jogging stroller had just come in (as had my new shoes). Despite the rain, I opted to break everything in and ran seven laps around Daffin Park’s 1.45 mile loop. Whew. Abigail was a sport the whole time—sleeping on and off and watching the rain run down the rain cover.

After the run, we hurried back to the apartment so I could shower and get ready to meet David for lunch. It was so great to see him (redundant? perhaps, but true. It’s always great to see my man!), and I actually thought to take pictures this time.
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Always so cute together.
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Quick family shot.
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Just before I left, David felt in Abigail’s mouth for her tooth and realized her second bottom, middle one had broken through. Can’t wait until they’re both all the way in!
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This is the best shot we could get of her teeth.

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Saturday night, we opted to try renting a movie from a RedBox kiosk after hearing lots of good stuff about it. We had a slew of free movie codes, so our Four Christmases rental was free. Even if it had cost $1 a night like the movies from RedBox usually do, it would have absolutely been worth it! We always watch rented movies the night we rent them and return them the next day, so we have always hated paying $5 for a week’s rental at Blockbuster when we know we only need the movie that night. RedBox saves the day!

The rain cleared away just in time for Sunday, and David was off. We headed to the grocery store in the morning before it got crowded, and we tried out Abigail’s cart cover for the first time. She’s been sitting up really well at home, so we figured, why not? Pretty sure she loved the new view.
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During the trip, she kept leaning to the side and trying to chew on the straps. Jokester!
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Later on, once Abigail got up from her afternoon nap, we drove out to Daffin for a family walk in the sun. It felt nothing like January, and honestly, that was ok with us.
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Occasionally, she sleeps on her hands—as evidenced above.
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So happy to be outside goofing off with Daddy.
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Sunday night I got to watch Madison so Chuck and Carrie could head out on a date of their own. Madison was a little wary of me at first and wasn’t happy that her mom and dad left, but she eventually warmed up so that we could play for a bit before her bedtime. I enjoyed interacting with a little girl only seven months ahead of Abigail. It’s sort of like a preview.

Yesterday, I met up with Leah and her girls (Mackenzie and Annie) for lunch at Sundae Cafe out on Tybee Island. Leah just ran a full marathon not long ago, so I had to pick her brain a bit. It’s been over a year since I’ve run a long race, and I’m a little rusty on all the mental endurance tricks. She was a great resource for that!

We have a big week ahead of us as David and I leave Abigail with my parents so that we can celebrate our 3-year anniversary (a few weeks early). It’ll be the longest I’ve been away from her other than when she’s sleeping at night. Nervous!

23 weeks old…sitting tall, but a little anxious with strangers January 12, 2010

First sat up at 3 months old (tripod), but finally got the hang of sitting straight up over the past week.
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Great goodness; what a week! I feel like Abigail develops in bursts. She’ll sort of coast for a bit without doing anything all that radically new, then she’ll burst with loads development out of nowhere.

In short, she’s sitting up easily, turning in a circle or scooting backwards while on her tummy, moving from one end of the crib to the other (forward or backward), reaching and grabbing for toys (and shaking them hard), and getting super interested in our dinner plates. You think you’ve got your child figured out, then they go and grow up and change to throw you off. Wouldn’t change it for the world, though!

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When I put her down, she was on the other end of the crib. She’s not crawling yet, but is able to slowly maneuver herself forward. It’s funny to watch!
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My half marathon training is still in full swing—despite the cold temperatures. My little baby burrito (precisely what Abigail looks like in the jogger on the cold mornings) is building up quite the stroller endurance, and for that, I’m thankful. What’s amusing to me is that running with a jogging stroller never really gets easier since your child is constantly growing and getting heavier to push. Ha!

Anyhow, both five-mile runs last week were in sub 20F weather (with the wind chill). That’s pretty chilly for Savannah, let me tell you, but I’m thankful I’ve still got all my Under Armor cold gear from Pittsburgh. It made a world of difference!

I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday and brought Abigail with me. I wasn’t quite sure how that would go, but she did really great. I had to get X-rays at one point, so she couldn’t be in the room. The receptionist offered to watch her, and I could hear Abigail cooing and giggling. Once the X-rays were over, I sat Abigail in my lap so she could see what all the dental hygienist was doing. While cleaning my teeth, she made a good point: it’s good to bring your kids (even as babies) to the dentist to “normalize” such visits and help aleviate potential fears in the future.

Let’s just note that Tuesday was the last time Abigail was ok with strangers. More on that in a second.
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Enjoying what is usually a great part of her day—bathtime. The rubber-bristled toothbrush (thanks, Ashley!) is her new favorite part of her bath.
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Wednesday night, David and I headed over to the Itoh’s for Toshimi’s going-away party. It was great to be around a bunch of other couples our age, although almost everyone else brought their kids with them (all two years old and under). We’d arranged for sitters for Abigail so that her bedtime routine wouldn’t get thrown out of whack. We had a great time and headed back around 9pm.

Once back, our sitters informed us that Abigail had a total meltdown after we left and cried through her entire bath (usually her favorite part of the day) and through getting dressed for bed. She took her bottle fine and passed out for bed, but was a terror before. These same sitters had watched Abigail before and knew how she normally acted. I passed it off as her being over-tired. More to come.

Thursday was a play group day, but unfortunately, Abigail and I were the only ones to show up (other than the hostess and the 15-month-old she nannies). Ah well. We had as much fun as we could!
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Sitting up at Sally Rose’s house and loving it!
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Friday was our date night for the week, and Princess came over to watch Abigail. I asked her to arrive a little early so that I could show her where everything was, and once I did that, I handed Abigail off. She watched me walk away, and once I was in the bedroom (finishing getting ready), she fell apart. I walked back to where Princess was holding her, and she calmed down almost immediately. We tried this a few more times (with bathtime and with getting her dressed for bed), and she consistently got upset when I left and wouldn’t calm down for Princess or even for David.

I remembered reading about separation anxiety starting around eight to ten months old. Despite that, it seemed like that was exactly what we were facing. We still went out (left while Princess was feeding her) and had a wonderful time at dinner, although we wouldn’t recommend the restaurant to anyone. Yikes! It was just a bit off.
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David with his mahi mahi meal, complete with an orchid. Heh. The restaurant was trying too hard—at least, that’s what we thought.
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Me with my “fine fusion” stir fry.
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Later, I did a little digging on BabyCenter.com and came across this info about five-month olds:

“Your baby may start showing signs of one of her first major emotional milestones—stranger anxiety. She may become clingy and anxious around new (and even familiar) people and may cry if a stranger suddenly approaches her.

Keep this in mind when you’re around people she doesn’t know, and try not to be embarrassed when she cries in someone else’s arms—just take her back and calm her down by holding her yourself. Tell your friends and family to approach your little one with slow, gentle movements.

A case of stranger anxiety doesn’t mean you have to avoid new faces. Your baby will benefit from being around people other than you and your partner. Just remember that she needs your patience and understanding to get through this very important stage of development.”

Got it. That’s precisely what’s going on. Anyone else dealing with this? Advice or tips for us? Help! It’s hard being the only one that can soothe her at times.

Also, after a five-day hiatus, we started the dreamfeed again. We stopped after doing it for two weeks to see if she was ready to sleep straight through. Nope! She consistently went from 7pm until 5am, ate, and went back down. Dreamfeed it is!

On Saturday, I hit a new milestone with my post-baby running: a nine-miler with Lyndsay, Ellie, and Abigail. It was freezing outside and windy, but we pushed through and finished in a little under an hour and a half. It had been over a year since I’d run that kind of distance, and as hard as it was, I’m thrilled I did it—with a jogging stroller, no less!

David’s been on 7-12’s (working 12-hr days, 7 days a week) since his Christmas break ended, but he managed to get Sunday off. Mainly because of a killer shift (18-hours) scheduled for yesterday. Anyhow, we were thrilled to have him home. It was the first time he really got to see Abigail sitting up and interacting with her toys. It was so hard for both of us when she wouldn’t calm all the way down with him on Friday as though he was a stranger or something. It’ll be nice when he’s home more often and can spend more time with our little one.
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Horsing around shortly after Abigail got up Sunday morning.
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Yesterday marked another fun first for Abigail: swinging! We rarely use her swing at home, but after walking and jogging a few laps with Carrie and Madison around the YMCA trail, we all opted to stop by the playground and let the girls swing. Abigail seemed to really enjoy it despite the chilly conditions. Let’s just say that we’ll be stopping by that playground much more frequently in the coming weeks.
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She kept putting one arm back inside the swing every time I pulled it out. Who knows what that was all about.
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Coming up this week? The American Idol premiere (tonight!), although I’m not sure that I’m emotionally ready to invest that much of my time and energy into another season. We’ll see. Also coming up: MOPS on Wednesday, another playgroup, a lunch or two with David and Abigail, and lots of running!

21-22 weeks old…Christmas, New Years, and more! January 5, 2010

What an eventful, memorable two weeks we’ve had. We branched out with traveling, spent time with extended family, hung out as a family of three, logged a bunch of miles, made resolutions, toasted the new year (at 10pm, of course), and saw Abigail hit the 5-month mark! I’ll do my best to recap all the goings-on of the Mertens family these past 14 days without writing too long of a novel!
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Looking stylish with the new headband we bought.
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On Christmas Eve, we decided to head to the mall to take Abigail’s picture with Santa. Better (almost) late than never, right? We’re still not sure if we’ll be doing the whole “Santa Claus” thing with her in the coming years, but until we decide, we opted to take advantage of Bass Pro Shop’s free 4×6″ picture deal. Of course, in waiting until the last minute, we figured the line would be miles long. Apparently most folks go ahead of time, so we were in and out—photo in hand—within 10 minutes.
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With the Bass Pro Shop’s Santa.
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That evening, we had our annual Christmas Eve dinner (cheeseburgers, french fries, and chocolate birthday cake for Jesus), read the Christmas story from Luke 2—although Abigail was much more interested in eating her hands, and read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas to Abigail before putting her to bed.
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Seems like a fairly “normal” meal, perhaps, but it’s one of the only times during the year that we make burgers.
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She slept straight through to 7am on Christmas morning (a lovely present, indeed), so we were able to savor our cinnamon rolls before waking her up. We had a blast opening our “I love you because…” boxes and the presents from George and Princess; Abigail wasn’t too sure about the wrapping paper just yet.
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Not quite awake, yet.
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She got some adorable pajamas from George and Princess. Took a while to get the package opened, but it was fun to see her curiosity in regards to the wrapping paper.
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After gifts, we drove out to Tybee beach for a family walk. It was rather chilly, but we bundled ourselves and Abigail up for the 20-minute stroll. Last year on Christmas, we were telling my parents about our pregnancy. This Christmas, we were celebrating with our 4.5 month old. Oh how time flies!
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It was chilly and windy with sand blowing around—hence the crazy get-ups. Had to keep Abigail’s eyes safe!
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Feeling sand on her feet. She didn’t really react, but we’re betting she will if we go to the beach next summer!
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As a special Christmas present, Abigail proved to us that we haven’t been making things up. The teething was real! One of her bottom middle teeth broke through on Christmas morning, and the nub for the other one became more prominent. We cannot believe our little baby is getting teeth already!

Saturday morning, we drove up to Myrtle Beach to meet up with David’s extended family for a few days. We thought the drive would take us five hours or so, but hardly anyone else was on the road. Just over four hours and one stop later, we were at the condo.
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With Grandpa Mertens
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With Grandma Mertens
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With Great-grandpa and Great-grandma Harley
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That night, David’s brother, Kevin, made delicious lasagna for the family, and we all played games and hung out. I got to meet David’s Uncle Sean and his family—most notably, Devin and his 3-week-old little boy, Aden. It’s so hard to believe that Abigail was that tiny once!
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So if my familial terminology memory serves me right, Aden and Abigail are first cousins once removed. Heh.
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On Sunday, David and I left Abigail with Karon, Leo, and Kevin and headed out for a 6-mile run. Sadly, I forgot to pack my Under Armor cold gear running clothes, so needless to say, it took quite a while to get my muscles fully warmed up with temps in the upper 30s, low 40s. Don’t get me wrong, I love cold weather. I just like to be a bit more prepared when running in it.

After finishing and getting all showered up, we had our Mertens family Christmas. It was fun to exchange gifts with everyone. Abigail got her first pair of shoes and a Cincinnati Bearcats shirt!
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Go Cincinnati!
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Family photo! Abigail was distracted by the window, apparently.
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Later in the day, it was time for more tennis and games (Yahtzee, Scrabble, Michigan Rummy, etc) before heading back to Savannah on Monday morning.
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Watching Daddy play tennis from Great-grandpa Harley’s lap.
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All smiles when hanging out with Daddy!
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She loves to fly (and mimic my facial expression, apparently)!
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A day later, my parents and brother came down to Savannah to celebrate a belated Christmas with us. It had only been three weeks since my parents last saw Abigail, but they still could recognize huge changes in her. When they were in town before, Abigail wasn’t reaching for things and had no teeth…not the case anymore!

It was so great to see them and to see my brother. He’s in grad school at Winthrop, so we don’t get to hang out all that often. He gave Abigail an incredible gift—a bookshelf he built from scratch (painted and decorated it too) for her to use one day. It’s the perfect height for her to pull up on (in the coming months) and pull books out of without me having to worry about it toppling over on her. Greg did a beautiful job on it, and I know Abigail will treasure it!
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Mom and Dad opening a gift from Greg, David and I
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Greg and Abigail in front of her bookshelf. Abigail was mid-babble when this photo was snapped.
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The beautiful bookshelf Greg built, painted, and decorated for Abigail.
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Abigail’s teething started back in full force on New Year’s Eve; it seems to come in waves for whatever reason. That said, we kept the day and night very low-key and didn’t bother to stay up until midnight. Regardless of what time we went to bed, we knew we’d wake up to a new year.

To start out said new year, we traveled up to Lexington to see friends. My freshman roommate, Laura, happened to be in town, and it’d been two years since we’d seen each other. It was so much fun to catch up with her and let her meet Abigail. To think, Laura and I met over seven years ago as freshmen at Clemson; so much changes as the years pass by.
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Met as 18-year olds, and now we’re 25 and 26. Has it really been that long already?
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After lunch with Laura, David, Abigail and I headed over to see Eric, Blythe, and their 2-month-old, Hendrix; and Kelly, Kristen, and their 4-month-old, Kaitlynn. Kristen, Blythe, and I have been friends for years, and it’s amazing that we’ve all got kids right around the same age. The husbands watched football while we chatted about babies, labor, and all things feminine. Thanks for dealing with the conversation topic, guys!
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Communal tummy time: Hendrix (10 weeks), Abigail (5 months), and Kaitlynn (4 months)
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The mamas…
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…and the papas!
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For the first time since Abigail’s had a consistent bedtime schedule, we kept her out past it to stay in Columbia for a delicious fondue dinner (thanks, Blythe!) We left around 6:45 after feeding Abigail in the car. She slept pretty much straight until we got back to Savannah around 9:15pm. I gave her a dream feed, then put her straight down. She slept clear until 6am which was fine by us! We stayed up a bit later to watch the Sugar Bowl and finish a puzzle we’d started over David’s break. The bed felt so, so good that night.

On Saturday, we headed out on a brisk family run. It was my long-run day of the week for the half marathon training—7 miles. David and Abigail were with me for the first 4.5 of it—a couple of awesome motivators, for sure. I finished at just under a 9-minute-mile pace. That, my friends, made me a happy camper!

After the run (and after replenishing fluids and munching on some pretzels and a banana), I nursed Abigail. We then headed over to Fleet Feet to donate blood. They were offering 30% off of shoes if you donated, and both David and I were in desperate need of new running shoes. Let’s just say that of the three activities—running 7 miles, nursing a 5-month old, and giving blood—one may assume that the first is the only real workout. Whew. That’s not the case, folks. Even though I don’t sweat while doing the latter two on the list, they’re tiring in a different way. Doing all three within a three-hour period wasn’t the smartest of things. I was wiped for the rest of the day.

Sunday was kept pretty low-key since it was David’s last day at home. Can’t believe he’s already back at work! As far as we know, he’ll be working 12-hour shifts for the next straight 3-4 weeks. Hopefully he’ll get a few days off here and there, but we’re not sure. I’m just so thankful that he got the time off for Christmas and that he was able to spend so much time bonding with Abigail.

To reward those of you who read to the end, here are a couple of videos that will hopefully bring a smile to your face. They do to ours!
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Vacation December 25, 2009

Hello, and Merry Christmas to all you in the blogosphere! David is off work until January 4, so we’ll be taking a break from the blog to spend time visiting with extended family and enhancing our little family of three.

A new post will be up with pictures from Christmas and New Years on January 5. Who knows what all Abigail will be up to by then!

See you in 2010!

20 weeks old…first Christmas is around the corner! December 22, 2009

Christmas is nearly here—as is David’s super long break from work. He’s working a half day today and is then off for nearly two weeks. We have been looking forward to this for so long!

Not sure how many of you comment or read the comments on each post, but my pal Kacie mentioned that she thought I could embed videos in the blog for free via YouTube. She was right! I don’t want to go all video crazy and post five a week or anything (although I probably film that many or more each week), but I’m thinking maybe one per post. Remember that pouty lip thing that Abigail does that I have never been able to catch on camera? Well, I got it, finally.
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So happy to have been shown a way to do this for free!
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I have a few random comments before our weekly recap. At some point last week, I put Abigail down for a nap while David was home. He and I went in together to get her up when it was time to eat, and she had scooted herself from one end of the crib to the other (she’s a tummy sleeper), and her feet were pushing through the crib slats. Strong, but silly, girl. She hasn’t done it since.

Also, she’s really been into textures recently. Whether it’s rubbing David’s beard, or my shirt, or a stuffed animal, she’s all about touching different textured things. It might finally be time for the Pat the Bunny book! I love that book, but the binding is so fragile. Wish it came in board-book form!
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Fishhooking herself while playing with her teething links.
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This past week, I was definitely sick, but finally kicked the cold to the curb on Saturday. Remember that crazy weather I mentioned? Well, on Tuesday, it was 75 and sunny. Then it got cold, then rainy, then colder, then mild. It’s back to cold again. Make up your mind, mother nature! I’m determined not to get sick again this season despite the elements. It’s just no fun! Thankfully, Abigail didn’t catch anything from me, nor did David. Hallelujah for being cautious.

With the weather getting cooler—albeit not consistently cooler, but whatever—Abigail’s little cheeks get chapped quite often during our runs. Even on days in the apartment with the dry air (despite the humidifier’s efforts), her face dries out and gets red. We had been using Aquaphor (a vaseline-based moisturizer) to remedy the situation until last Wednesday. I was waiting in line at the post office—which is what you do there this time of year—and made friends with the lady behind me. Afterall, we knew we’d be in line for quite some time; why not shoot the breeze with your neighbor? Anyhow, she said that her daughter used to get rashes and dry skin on her face, and she used Bag Balm to fix it. She’s from Alaska, so she knows all about dry, cold air.

For those of you that already clicked on the Bag Balm link above, you’re probably wondering, “what the heck is that stuff? The website is all about cows!” Yup. It was originally created in the late 1800’s for use on chaffed cow udders. Now it’s used for all sorts of stuff and can be found with the other moisturizers in your local Walgreen’s. Anyhow, we used it, and it worked. As an added bonus, it makes my hands super soft. We’ll never go back!

Abigail’s been fascinated by mirrors for a few weeks now, but I kept forgetting to document it with a picture. David and I love to watch her grin and coo at her reflection. Too cute!
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“Walking” up the mirror
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On Wednesday, I was hired for another freelance editing job. I keep meaning to post an entry about this, and I will—hopefully this week—but here’s the skinny. I’m trying to get back in to the freelance editing scene, and it’s a field in which word-of-mouth is your best advertising. If you or someone you know needs an editor (technical or otherwise), please let me know. I’ve edited the content and formatting of everything from theses and dissertations to technical documents and a novel. I love doing it and hope to make it more than just a sporadic source of income. More detailed blog about this coming soon.

I’m tired of making this claim, but we think, as of Thursday, the teething is for real. Abigail was super fussy and chewing on everything. I rubbed my finger along her gums and came across a hard nub on the bottom in the middle. Since then, she’s been super cuddly, will go to town on a cold, rolled-up wash cloth or frozen teething ring, and will fuss in pain at odd times (e.g., while eating). I wore her around in the K’tan most of the afternoon, and rather than look around like she normally does, she just laid against me quietly. Poor baby. All she wants for Christmas is a bottom tooth…
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The nub is just to the left of where her finger is on the bottom. She was just chomping away here.
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That night, we had my running partner, Lyndsay, and her husband, Toshimi over for dinner with their daughter, Ellie. We had fun watching our babies “interact” as much as they can at this stage and took a few shots in front of the Christmas tree.
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Ellie is nine months old and is super cute. Abigail was up past her bedtime and teething—hence the glazed staring.
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The whole group
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The Itoh’s left straight from our house that night to drive to D.C. and check out where they’re moving to next. They got caught in that massive snow storm; no fun! I mean, of course it would be awesome to see some snow as David and I are in withdrawal, but getting caught in it with a baby would not be my choice of a way to spend a day.

Instead of snow on Friday, we got rain—loads and loads of rain. David had to be out in it all day and was soaked by the time he got home! Within 15 minutes, though, he was showered and ready to go to date night. Amy came over to watch Abigail, and we treated ourselves to Bonefish Grill. It was delicious, and it felt great to be able to stay out past 7pm. And of course, it’s reassuring that other people can do Abigail’s bedtime routine without it messing up her night sleep. Hurray!

On Saturday, Abigail got to go to her first party; Madison’s first birthday party. It was a cute monkey theme since Chuck and Carrie gave her the “monkey” nickname. We didn’t stay all that long as we hit nap time only 45 minutes into the party, but we went all the same and had a good time. There were a bunch of kiddos there; the oldest was seven and the youngest was Abigail. She enjoyed watching the other kids and practicing her sitting up on the floor. I look forward to the time when she’ll be able to play with the other kids!
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The birthday girl is in the background in polka dots. Abigail was checking out the ball popper toy to the left. She can pretty much hold her own sitting up, but I was afraid she’d fall right when I went to take the picture; that’s why I’m holing her middle finger—as though that would do anything if she fell. Heh.
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“Thanks for holding my hand and everything, but I’m fine.”
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David got home a little early from work on Saturday (4:30pm), and we started talking about Abigail’s night-time sleep. As I’ve mentioned before, she’ll go to bed at 7pm and sleep until 5am, eat, and then have a tough time getting back to sleep. I reached out to several different online forums for mama’s (and Facebook) for advice. The resounding recommendation was to try a dreamfeed to see if Abigail would sleep until 7am.

We opted to try the dreamfeed Saturday night. For those who aren’t aware, a dreamfeed occurs 2-4 hours after you put your baby to bed. Essentially, you feed them in their sleep. David picked Abigail up, placed her on the boppy, and I nursed her all while she was in between asleep and awake. Then back into the bed she went. She slept until 6:15am! The next day, until 5:45am. Same with today. At 5:45am, we give her a pacifier and let her go back to sleep until 6:45am/7am, and that’s worked well so far. We’re thinking she just got into the habit of waking up around 5/5:15 and is keeping it up. Time to break that!

On Sunday, we made our next pseudo big (size-wise) baby purchase: an exersaucer. We’ve been working with Abigail on grabbing for things, per the doctor’s orders, and thought an exersaucer would give her even more practice. It was the first baby thing David has assembled since July or so. Fun times!
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Assembly time. This exersaucer is pretty neat because it collapses for easy storage and travel. Woo!
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Watching Daddy work
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I think she likes it! She’s still getting the hang of things, but seems to enjoy herself while in there.
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Yesterday, I went on a 4.5 run with Lyndsay and Ellie, but had to use our normal stroller. Our jogger was in the Sonata which David took to work. Arg! Let’s just say there’s a huge difference between the two strollers. It felt like we were running a much longer distance. I won’t make that mistake again.
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Just before setting out. It was just a bit chilly. Brr!
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Just after finishing. Ellie was super curious about Abigail’s huge head (she’s got two hats on), and Abigail was wondering where her socks went (fell off mid run and were tossed in the car moments before this photo).
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Last night, we had our second date night in less than four days (loving it!) when Caleb and Sara came over to watch Abigail. We headed out to Richmond Hill (almost that far out) to try Houlihan’s. We’d eaten there while in Pittsburgh and loved it, but thought that was the only one. Nope. It’s a chain! Anyhow, dinner was fabulous, and I got to wear some of my new Jewels by Park Lane jewelry that I got from Amy Smith. I didn’t take a picture, but it felt so, so good to be dressed all snazzy with new jewelry!

That’s all for now. Abigail’s napping, and I need to squeeze in a shower before David gets home (only working a half day today)! Merry Christmas to you all!

19 weeks old…$60 for video posting? December 15, 2009

A coolish, rainy week was had by the southeast. Except for the random bursts of 70s and sunny. Due to the cataclysmic shifts in weather over just a few days and my semi lousy sleep due to other things, I caught a cold. It’s my first time being sick since before getting married (nearly three years), and I’m out of practice.

Not to mention it’s a whole new story being a new mom—a nursing new mom, at that. So, as soon as I started feeling icky, I called the lactation folks at Candler and got the glorious news that I can take basic cold medication (Tylenol Cold & Sinus), but I have to nearly triple my fluid intake in order to maintain my milk supply (cold meds dry up your runny nose, but also threaten your milk). Additional suggestions? Take a hot bath, drink hot tea, rest when you can, etc.

I’ve been doing all of that and hope to be all healed up soon! I’m tired of not being able to kiss my baby’s face or coo at her up close. Not to mention not being able to kiss my husband. No fun!

Before I launch into our week’s recap, I just want to let you know that I hope to be posting videos soon. I looked at embedding video files into our weekly blog, but in order to do that, I’d have to pay a $59.95 yearly fee. No thanks. Instead, I’ll be posting videos to our (newly created) YouTube account and linking to said videos here. Keep an eye out; it should be fun!
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This is precisely why we always have a bib on our daughter and never dress her in cute things. I put her in this outfit just long enough to take a picture, and the moment I held up the camera, she decided to give me back some of her previous meal. Thanks, dear.
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So, Abigail (and I) recovered from her traumatic doctor experience last week—mainly the X-ray bit—and was back to normal by Friday. We heard from her pediatrician on Thursday that Abigail’s hips are just fine. The radiologist told us as much on Tuesday, but it was nice to hear it from the doctor too. One thing that concerned Dr. Mozer in our well-visit, though, was that Abigail wasn’t really grabbing for toys. If we handed her something, she’d grip it, but she wouldn’t look at a toy and reach for it.

He encouraged us to start working with her on that. Seems like we just had too much energy focused on her sitting up and rolling over that we lapsed on the whole grabbing-bit. She’s doing much better with that now—especially after I bought her a set of teething links. She seems to be a big fan.
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These were $1.25. Works for me!
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On Wednesday, David and I went in to the YMCA for our yearly health screening—a free service offered to members. Our YMCA has partnered with Candler Hospital to make it possible. It’s nice to be copay free as far as that goes! More than anything, I want to see if all my numbers are back to normal now that Abigail’s been born. Pregnancy does some interesting stuff to your body besides just growing a baby and adding 20+ pounds to your frame. Stay tuned as we wait for results.

In the past week, Abigail dropped her sixth feeding again and added it back in. We’re not really sure what that’s all about, but are just going with the flow. I remember from Babywise that babies sleep 10-12 hours at night meaning that some kiddos are only 10-hour babies. That might be Abigail. She goes to bed right at 7pm and wakes up at 5am nearly every day. I feed her at 5am and put her back down, but recently, she’s been talking in her crib until 6am or so before going back to sleep.

On Friday, David and I decided to get her up when she woke up at 5am and just see how she did throughout the day. She took significantly longer naps, and by 5:30pm that night, she totally fell apart. Usually she’s fine being held by other people, but when the Winfrey’s came over for dinner and tried to hold her, Abigail totally broke down. We ended up putting her to bed at 6:30pm. So yeah, not too sure what the best move is. Maybe she’ll go longer at night when she moves to just two naps a day. At least she sleeps soundly through the night!
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Our happy girl!
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Saturday, Abigail and I decided to surprise David at work during his lunch break. It was partly because I wanted to see him, but partly because I wanted him to take Abigail for 30 minutes so I could nap in the car. My cold was coming on, and I was feeling pretty worn out. It was a yucky, rainy day, and when we got to the job site, David opted to just come home to allow me to get some rest. He’s incredible!

He drew me a HOT lavender bubble bath (took me a good five minutes to get totally in) with candles around the rim of the tub and made hot tea. This remedy was suggested by Peter from Brighter Day. It essentially mimics a fever by raising your body temp and encourages your body to sweat out the virus (if you have some viral…I wasn’t sure at that point whether I did or not). Anyhow, once I got out of the tub and rehydrated, I felt a bit better.

David went back to work on Sunday for another half day because of the rain (hurray!). Once he got home, we went out and bought a small stocking for Abigail. It’s as soft as her baby blankets! Getting it allowed us to finish our Christmas decorating.
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Hanging Abigail’s stocking on the garland will have to do for this year. We miss having a mantle!
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David put up the snowy wrapping paper behind our sconces.
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Abigail has been keeping her hands in or near her mouth for over a month now, but has begun to figure out fun things she can do with said hands and her mouth. She’ll often fishhook herself and make crazy noises while doing so. She even figured out how to totally interlock her fingers.
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Interlocked fingers AND a fishhook. Too funny!
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In more fun news, I just signed up for a half marathon (13.1 miles) in February! I’ll be training with Lyndsay, and we hope to finish at a quick pace. It’ll be so cool to run a half only six months after having Abigail. It’ll allow me to prove to myself that I’m really back and in shape. I’ll keep you all posted on the training. It’ll be interesting to see how Lyndsay and I do since we’ll train with strollers (30-40lbs of resistance) but run the race without them.

In closing, some photos for your viewing pleasure.
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This was our backup halloween costume if the Tigger one didn’t work out. A butterfly!
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Too cute!
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My two favorite people!

18 weeks old…gnaw, gnaw, gnaw December 8, 2009

Before starting this week’s blog, here’s a photo from the girls night I had right before writing last week’s entry. Lyndsay, Carrie, and I had a great time and look forward to our next night out!
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Right before diving into our chocolate dessert fondue!
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Also, I forgot to mention that on Thanksgiving, we made an ornament with Abigail for our Christmas tree commemorating her first Thanksgiving. It took several tries to get her hand traced, but we think it turned out pretty cute:
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Looks like a turkey to me!
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Alright, so this week…Abigail entered into her fifth month of life by celebrating her four-month birthday. Woo! It’s incredible how even though the days can seem really long at times, the weeks are flying by.

After an awesome Thanksgiving break with David off for five days, we got the news that he won’t have another day off until December 23 or 24. Whoa! So to my mama friends in Savannah: let’s plan lots of runs and play groups and picnics and whatever else to keep me busy these next 2.5 weeks. Here’s to hoping time continues to move quickly through David’s busy season.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Abigail had dropped down to five meals a day. Well, in the past week, she added back in that sixth one. We haven’t fed her anything aside from breast milk since day one, so it might be time for rice cereal. I’ll check with the pediatrician today and see. We’re in no rush to add complexity to her meal times. Nursing is way too convenient to rush to add things to it! We’ll keep you posted.

Abigail is definitely wanting to be more mobile, but isn’t sure how to go about it. She’ll shimmy down and almost out of her bouncy seat and throws her weight around in the Bumbo; she nearly flipped it over a few days ago. And she’s so close to rolling around freely. She tries so hard to do it and can usually get halfway, but then needs a little encouragement and a gentle push to finish it off whether from back to tummy or tummy to back. She has even woken herself up by trying to roll during naps. Practice, practice, practice! Hope she grasps this skill soon.

On Wednesday, the weather was icky—cold and rainy. Abigail and I stayed inside most of the day and worked on Christmas cards. And might I say that I’m really impressed with the US postal service. I dropped off our Christmas cards on Saturday two hours after the “last pickup” of the day, but somehow, some friends received them yesterday! Go USPS!

Thursday was play group time over at Erin’s house, and we had a really great turnout. Abigail practiced sitting up most of the time we were there. She’s the youngest of the group and seems to enjoy watching all the other kids roll, crawl, and walk. Maybe she’ll get some ideas!
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Sitting up by Andrew. She was able to keep herself up for quite some time! She’s getting better every day.
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On Saturday, we did our very first family 5K race by competing in the Savannah Bridge Run. The weather wasn’t the best (40’s and raining), but we bundled Abigail up in lots of layers, covered the stroller, and set out to do our best! We were amazed at the number of walkers in the race. I have no problem with people choosing to walk, but goodness, start at the BACK! We had to maneuver our stroller around walkers for the first half of the race. Anyhow, we finished in under 30 minutes which works for us. Can’t wait until our next one!
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Before the race. We rigged up a couple of stroller sun-covers to create a rain shield for Abigail.
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Cozy and ready to ride!
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I drove David straight to work after the race, and once home, Abigail crashed for a nice nap. We kept the rest of the day low-key with lots of stretching. George brought David home from work and came in to visit for a few minutes. He hadn’t seen Abigail in a month or two—oh how much changes in that span of time!
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She had quite the grip on his pocket!
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There’s something she’s started doing when she’s unhappy, and she did it while George was holding her (she wanted Daddy). She’ll stick out her lower lip really far and furrow her brow. It’s hilarious! I have yet to be able to catch it on camera, but here’s the closest I’ve gotten to capturing it:

You can’t really get a sense of it here. Anyhow, she did it when my parents were in town too. They can vouch!
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On Sunday, we finished up our Christmas decorating and bought a Christmas tree. It’s smaller than the trees we’ve had in previous years, but I think we both like it better. Besides being fun to look at, our tree makes the apartment smell awesomely fresh!
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So excited about the Christmas tree shopping to come!
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Gnawing on my finger while meandering through the trees. She’ll gnaw on anything put close to her mouth. And yes, I bought a new baby k’tan. The other one fits David better than me. I needed a size down. The green color is fun too!
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She no longer lays back when we put her in her car seat. She’s always wanting to lean forward and sit up.
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Happy about sitting up, apparently.
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Tying the tree down for our short trip home.
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Abigail “helping” with the ornaments. She’s holding her “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament—a baby in a  pea pod. Cute!
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After an awesome day of Christmas fun, we went to bed. For the first time in my life, I slept with ear plugs because of our inconsiderate upstairs and downstairs neighbors. We are so over apartment living. It’s ironic that though this is the nicest apartment we’ve lived in thus far, it’s been our worst living experience. We’ll be out of here soon! Praise the Lord for that one! Oh, and the ear plugs worked GREAT! It’s just that only one of us can be wearing them, else we won’t hear Abigail OR our alarms. Heh.

Sunday night, my parents came into town to celebrate Dad’s birthday and to hang out with our little family. Mom, Dad, and I went on a stroll through downtown Savannah on Monday afternoon and snapped some cute pictures in front of the Marshall House’s Christmas tree (the B&B where they stayed).
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It’s nice that Abigail is getting the hang of smiling for the camera!
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That night, Mom and Dad watched Abigail so that David and I could have our weekly date night. We went back to our old tradition of Atlanta Bread Company and Coldstone. Delicious!

Today was Abigail’s four-month check-up at the pediatrician. Everything is looking grand! She’s up to 16lbs 12oz, is 25″ long, and has a 17″ head. So that’s 97-99th percentile for everything. Grow baby, grow!
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Waiting for the doctor.
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Dr. Mozer did encourage us to start her on rice cereal sometime in the next four weeks, and we look forward to doing so. Time to buy some rubber-tipped spoons and cereal. Any suggestions on brands of rice cereal? Just go with Gerber? Oatmeal or whole wheat or what? Why are there so many options!?

Oh, and still no teeth or teething. I think we’re just going to stop speculating and be happy whenever they come in. At least for now, we don’t have to worry about brushing her teeth everyday. One less thing on our to-do list!

Abigail got her second round of shots and handled them really well. I did better this time too. No tears!

The tears fell all over the place, though, after the appointment. I had to take Abigail to the imaging center to get an X-ray of her hips. Dr. Mozer wanted to rule out hip dysplasia because the roll she has on one thigh is more pronounced than on the other—common in babies with hip dysplasia. Thankfully, the X-ray showed she’s a-okay, but the X-raying process was brutal. She had just gotten shots in both thighs, and the radiologist’s assistant had to pin down Abigail’s legs to get the X-rays. Poor baby was on that table for 10 minutes screaming.

Now, Abigail never flat-out screams—especially in pain. I had no idea how to handle that when I couldn’t comfort her. And when they finished, it took quite a few minutes to calm us both down. Glad we’ve got that behind us!

Here’s to hoping the next few weeks breeze by since David has just under two weeks off for Christmas. 2010 is right around the corner, and I can’t believe it!

17 weeks old…Thankful for so much December 1, 2009

What a full week we had!

For starters, unless we’re going mad (which is entirely possible), Abigail is teething for sure. We only assumed she was teething before because she drooled a lot and we thought we saw white spots on her gums. Well, the drooling increased 10-fold in the past week as she soaks through a bib every hour or so; her fussiness has increased; and her hands really only leave her mouth if something else is going in (i.e. pacifier, teether, etc) for her to chew on.

If we don’t see a tooth in the next week or so, then perhaps she’s just picking up new habits and skills. Heh. Who knows? We’ll keep you posted.
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Goofing around on her play mat
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Getting excited about a gift from her Grandma Schwartz (Christmas pajamas!)
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Right after waking up on Wednesday morning. Practicing sitting up in the boppy.
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David only had to work until Wednesday afternoon last week and got Thursday through Monday off for Thanksgiving. What a welcome break it was. We soaked up every moment of family time that we could.

On Thanksgiving day, we headed up to Columbia to see my Dad’s side of the family. They have a huge gathering each Thanksgiving filled with great people and a ton of delicious food. I searched earlier in the week for one of the “Baby’s First Thanksgiving” onesies, but alas. All sold out wherever I went. That’s what I get for waiting until the last minute. Instead, I bought an orange fleece jumper, brown leggings, and a brown onesie w/orange, pink, white, and red polka dots. The outfit looked Thanksgiving-y enough for me!
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The bear hat was on because the room was a little chilly for Abigail’s (nearly) bald head.
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Abigail had the best time with her Great-Granddaddy Schwartz. He kept her smiling all through our lunch.
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Isn’t she a cute little centerpiece? Too bad her socks kept falling off (who has found baby socks that stay on? What brand are they? Any tips or advice are welcome!)
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In total, we were in the car a little over six hours Thanksgiving day, and Abigail was a real trooper. She missed out on both of her long naps, but was able to get a few 30-45 minute cat naps here and there in the car. That night, she surprised us by sleeping great! We figured that messing up her naps would interfere with her night sleep, but not the case this time.

On Friday, David got up at 3am and braved the day-after-Thanksgiving-sale crowds to head to Best Buy and find a new TV. There was nothing really wrong with our other TV except the fact that it weighed around 75 pounds and was HUGE (27″ screen, but one of the old rear-projection deals). It’s not exactly the most thrilling thing to move according to David. I’ve never had to lift it, thankfully. Anyhow, David was able to find an awesome LG flat screen TV for a great price, and it weighs in at 30 pounds. Yee haw!
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.David with our new TV. Hurray for an upgrade!
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Daddy-baby workout after moving the old TV. David was doing push-ups over Abigail, and she got a kick out of it!
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A little later that morning, I went running with Lyndsay and Ellie—4.5 miles. Woo hoo! It feels great to be getting back into the swing of things with running. On Saturday, David and I have our first race together since Abigail was born: the Savannah bridge run. We’ll be pushing Abigail in her jogging stroller which will make things interesting. If you’ve never tried running with a jogging stroller, you should. It looks easy, but it adds a whole new dimension to the run. It’s tough!
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Our attempt at a family photo Friday evening during a walk.
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On Saturday, we made a last-minute decision to drive up to Charleston. We met up with our friends Kirby and Meredith (and a group of other Clemson folks) to watch the (dreadfully embarrassing) Clemson/USC football game. We watched it at the Kickin’ Chicken and figured Abigail would be fine with the noise and might even be able to nap through it. Wrong! After Clemson scored in the first 20 seconds of the game, people were hooting and hollering, clapping and cheering, and Abigail was terrified. I have never seen her scared like that. Yikes!

David and I took her out to the car and took turns holding her in the back seat so that she could nap a bit. Once she was rested, we brought her back in, and the noise level was much lower. If you saw the game, you know why. So sad.

Anyhow, it was really great to spend time with friends and cheer on Clemson with other Clemson fans. What fun is a football game without a bunch of friends around to watch it with, eh?
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Me, Meredith, and Abigail
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Kirby, David, and Abigail. Abigail later fell asleep while Kirby held her. Too cute!
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Sunday was a low-key family day during which we started baking for our little family Thanksgiving. David and I made sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and the apple pie with plans to take care of the turkey, bread, and other fixings on Monday. The rest of our time was spent hanging out.
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All ready for a family walk!
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David and Abigail by our backyard marsh.
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Family photo by the marsh.
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Sitting up on Daddy.
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On Monday, we prepped and cooked the turkey and rolls, ate our Thanksgiving meal, relaxed, and took a Christmas picture for our cards.
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David adding seasonings to the turkey.
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Our spread (minus the bread). Cranberry sauce, apple pie, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and our seven-pound bird. Mmm!
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Later Monday evening, I went out for a girl’s night at The Melting Pot with Carrie and Lyndsay. Tons of fun! I would have included pictures, but I just got home 30 minutes ago as I’m writing this and need to get to bed. Have a great week, and happy December!

16 weeks old…Dropping a nap? November 24, 2009

As if Abigail’s weeks weren’t already flying by, we’re entering the holiday season which—at least for us—whizzes by super fast each year. When all is said and done, it’ll be January in a flash, and Abigail will be five months old. Wow.

So in the past week, we’ve had some fun developments. Abigail is down from 20-25 minute nursing sessions to 8-15 minute ones (yay for efficiency!); when she hears a noise, she’ll look around until she finds its source; she rolled from her back to her tummy for the first time last night—in super slow motion; and as of Sunday, she’s dropped her evening nap. I’ll talk more about that later.

First, a PSA: perhaps this is rather repetitive, but why on earth are most mom-baby events during the morning when most babies are napping? Sheesh. I’ve sort of started to play hookie with my moms groups since they tend to meet between 9-10am and instead, I set up times later in the day to meet up with moms within those groups. It seems like the best time for Abigail and I is from around 10am until 12pm. She only takes a 30 minute nap or so between her 10am and 1pm meals, so it’s a perfect window to hang out with pals. So yeah, let’s adjust those meeting times, mom groups! Thanks!
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“Please don’t wake me up from my morning nap. I’m too precious!”
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On Tuesday, Abigail and I opted to surprise David at work during his lunch break. We’ve done it once before, but I have the feeling it’ll never get old for me or David (or all the guys he works with). His break is 30 minutes, and I made sure he soaked up all the Abigail time he could—even if that meant other people couldn’t hold her. Heh. David wouldn’t have given her up anyway.
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Lounging in Daddy’s office
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I opted to skip MOPS on Wednesday because of Abigail’s morning nap (it’s usually 1.5 hours or more) and ended up going running with Carrie and Madison. Earlier Wednesday morning, I’d already run 2.5 miles at the gym and added another 2 miles with Carrie. I thought nothing of it until later that afternoon. Attention nursing mamas that work out or plan to work out: make sure you eat extra calories if you work out more than normal on a given day. Whoa nelly. I spent the afternoon dizzy and queasy and couldn’t figure out why until after eating dinner and feeling better. I had wondered what it would be like to feel icky and still have to be an energetic mom…it’s tough. Never again, folks, if I can help it!

Also on Wednesday, I was able to return our extra size 1 diapers; always keep your receipts! I returned what I had receipts for and donated the rest. It’ll be interesting to see how long Abigail stays in the size 2 diapers we’ve got stockpiled. Hopefully for at least a month or two!

We ventued out to the Lake Mayer play group on Thursday and had a pretty good time. I certainly don’t want to rush things, but I am looking forward to when Abigail can crawl around and interact with the other babies! She was able to sit up quite a while during the group and check everyone our from afar.

One of the moms I met through that play group, Lyndsay, is a big runner. I think I might have finally found a running partner! Lyndsay’s daughter, Ellie, is now seven months old and absolutely adorable. They met up with Abigail and me at Daffin Park last Friday for a mid-morning run. Not sure exactly how many miles we logged, but somewhere around 3-4. It was still pretty chilly out, so I had Abigail all bundled. Too cute not to take a picture or two:
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Awake or asleep behind those shades?
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Rather bright-eyed, I’d say!
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Later on Friday, we made another big step as parents: we had sitters come over in the evening while we went out. They had to do Abigail’s entire bedtime routine and put her down. It was the first time anyone else had done it, and I was quite nervous. I filled up the entire front of sheet of notebook paper—college ruled, of course—with all the specifics of what we do with Abigail each night. Our pals, Travis and Ashley, did a wonderful job, and Abigail slept her normal 10+ hours that night. It’s so great to know that Abigail can handle someone else doing her bedtime routine! Our freedom as parents continues to grow little by little.

So while we had sitters, we headed over to Chuck and Carrie’s house for their annual pre-Thanksgiving dinner. There were 10 or so other couples that came, and most brought their kiddos. At one point, David and I mentioned to each other that it would have been fun to bring Abigail, but then we reminded ourselves that she would need to be in bed by 7:30pm. Without her with us, we were able to hang out until 8:30pm before heading back. It’s funny how early David and I both get sleepy nowadays!

David had the weekend off again and spent a Daddy-daughter Saturday morning with Abigail at Home Depot and Target. He wore her in the Baby K’tan sling facing out so she could see everything. David said that at Home Depot, he got eyed by the women in the store as they exclaimed, “oh how cute!” But in Target, no one batted an eye. Ha! I guess it’s because you rarely see a little baby in a home improvement store—especially in a sling on her Daddy! While David was gone, I used that precious alone time to knock out some Christmas gifts (and clean, and do laundry, and catch up on emails…heh). It’s incredible how productive you can be as a mom when you are given a small block of baby-free time!
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About to walk to the mailbox. Loving the bright colors!
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On Sunday, we headed back to LifeBridge church and left Abigail in the nursery. Even though we’ve had a couple of negative nursery experiences, we’re trying to just stick with it. We’ve got to be able to focus during the worship service, and it’s tough to do that with a baby in tow.

Anyhow, when we picked Abigail up, the nursery workers said she didn’t sleep at all. That meant she had been up for two hours already. Now, all babies are different, but the two-hour mark has been Abigail’s crashing point where her body usually just gives up and goes to sleep regardless of where she is. Not the case on Sunday. We decided to experiment and keep her up until the 2.5 hour mark, put her down for a 30 minute nap, and go about the day with her next meal at 1pm.
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During that long span of waketime
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She stayed up fine, went down for her nap fine, and woke up 30 minutes later on-the-dot. I fed her, changed her, and the three of us hung out until putting her down at 2pm for her afternoon nap. After 2.5 hours of sleep (what on earth!?) we got her up at 4:30pm so that she could see our friends that were over (Chris and Jamie—due in February!) and so that she could eat. Once Chris and Jamie left, it was 5:45pm. Abigail had been up a little over an hour, but on a normal day, she would have just been getting up from her evening nap about 15 minutes later. We decided to experiment again and skip her evening nap.

She started getting pretty fussy around 6:15, so I went ahead and gave her a bath then fed her at 6:45pm. She was out at 7pm and slept until 6:30am Monday morning.

It will be interesting to see if this is a new trend or just a bout of extreme fatigue!

On Monday, I pulled down our Christmas boxes, but no decorations will go up until after Thanksgiving. I just wanted to see how many cards we bought last year during after-Christmas sales to see what I might need to get in the next couple of weeks. We’re pretty well stocked, so it’s time to start pulling together our annual Christmas letter. I’m not quite sure what all to write, though, since most everyone we’ll be sending one to reads this blog. You’re all up to date on us!

But yes, the holidays are upon us, and as exciting as this time of year is, David and I are a bit anxious. We’ll be traveling a little bit with Abigail and are dreading throwing her off her schedule. Here’s to hoping we can maintain it despite our travels!

In closing, two photos to compare. Abigail’s wearing the same outfit in both, but on the left, she’s three weeks old; on the right, she’s 15 weeks old. Incredible how fast she’s growing!

15 weeks old…gastrointestinal yuck! November 17, 2009

The weeks keep getting more and more fun as Abigail grows and learns new things. No monumental changes this week, but she’s smiling much more frequently and giggling when a smile just doesn’t capture all of her happiness. It’s so sweet to watch. Her smile will get bigger and bigger until she just bursts into a giggle. Love it!
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Pre-giggle. We love her smile!
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Remember that chocolate cake with peanut butter icing? Well, not sure if it was the specific culprit, but Abigail was a gassy and poopy mess Tuesday-Friday last week (that’s how long the cake and ice cream lasted). We weren’t sure what the issue was until we finished the cake Friday night, and she was back to normal Saturday. It’s hard to always remember that since I’m breastfeeding, what I eat, Abigail—to some extent—eats too. I hope she doesn’t have a chocolate aversion!

Moving right along…the hand sucking and hand clasping has continued, but now she’ll get a couple of fingers (or as many as four) in her mouth and suck away. She hasn’t quite figured out how to do it voluntarily; she’ll just have her fist shoved against her mouth, and a finger or two will sort of slip in. Not sure if she’ll be a finger sucker or not. Here’s to hoping she’s just exploring her hands!
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Munch, munch, munch…
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On Tuesday, I was finally able to meet up with my MOMS club big sister, Renee’, for lunch. Her daughter, Isabella, is almost 2.5 years old and is absolutely adorable! I’m looking forward to Abigail being that age (mainly for the ease of communication and ability to play more) but am savoring every moment of the present. I know I’ll miss it. Heck, I already miss when she was teeny tiny and would fall asleep cozy on my chest. She’ll still do that on me and on David, but she’s sort of all over us sprawled out.

Anyhow, on the way to lunch, I was pushing Abigail in the jogging stroller. I’ve only used it a few times now, but plan to get into running with her in that stroller instead of our normal travel-system one. It was pretty hard to turn the stroller, so I checked it out. The tires were low, but I thought that there was something wrong with the pivoting front wheel—maybe it was locked or something. I loosened what I thought was the position lock for the wheel, but I was actually unfastening the wheel from the stroller. Oops. I figured that out when I went to bump up on a curb. I pushed down on the handles to pop the front tire up over the curb, and when I lowered the front of the stroller, the metal frame where the wheel used to be hit the cement. The wheel had fallen off.

It was all rather funny to me once I realized that it was a simple fix. What bummed me out is that a couple walking down the sidewalk (no one else was around on this back road) saw it happen, walked by looking at me and even said, “that sucks” without offering to help. Shame on you people! I mean, I was able to fix it, but it still would have been nice to have someone offer. Ah well. All is better now, and my embarrassment quota is filled for a bit.

Once upon a time, rainy days were some of my favorite days ever. Now, not so much. A rainy day means no afternoon stroller walks around the YMCA or the apartment complex. My walking place on a rainy day is the mall, but it’s 20+ minutes away. Regardless, Wednesday was a rainy day, and Abigail and I hung out inside all day. We definitely needed the rain, but man was it hard to be alert and energetic when it was so dark outside and when I knew David would be working late.

Enough moping. We had our fun times, for sure! Especially when our pregnant pals came over again that afternoon to chat baby with me and play with Abigail. She’s 12.5 weeks along and so ready for things to move along. I can remember feeling like I was going to burst inside with my desire to start looking pregnant already and to feel the baby move, etc. Then, of course, when you really start showing, your tummy grows at an alarming rate and you want it to slow down a bit. And then when the baby starts moving, it often gets hiccups. Then it’s like “ok, enough already, baby. Settle down in there!” We’re such fickle beings, we are.

Thursday morning was pretty funny—in a way that only parents will really appreciate, I think. I put Abigail down for her morning nap (normally 1.5-2 hours at the most), but she woke up fussing after 45 minutes. It wasn’t horrible crying, just fussing. You know the type of noise I mean. Anyhow, I let her fuss for a few minutes, and she went back to sleep. Then woke up a few minutes later, fussed a few minutes, and went back to bed. She’s great at settling herself these days, but little did I know why exactly she was fussing.

On Thursday, cake and ice cream was still being fed into my system. I went to wake Abigail up at the two-hour mark and found out that she had apparently felt a little tummy sick mid-nap. Destroyed that outfit! She was all smiles and sunshine when I woke her up—despite her soiled state. I took a picture to document this, but will spare you the nastiness.

We had a play group later on that day. It’s so fun to see Abigail staring down the other babies. I wonder what she’s pondering when she looks at them. No telling! All the staring must have worn her out because her afternoon nap was marvelously long!

David had Saturday and Sunday off again. It looks like this might be a trend for a while, and for that, we’re all so thankful! The annual Savannah Children’s Book Festival was on Saturday, and we met up with Chuck, Carrie and Madison to check out the events. Most everything was more geared toward 3-4 year olds and up, but we still had a great time. We spread out two big blankets and had a picnic amidst the crowd (an estimated 25,000 people were there).

The weather was perfect for such an event, and we had a great time enjoying the sunshine and breeze. We even got to listen to “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” read by the author herself. Pretty neato!
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Hanging out on Daddy’s shoulders. It was a Clemson game day too, if you didn’t notice.
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Quick family shot. Abigail was more interested in looking at Madison than at the camera. Ah well!
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We later walked up from Forsyth Park to Gap to buy some much-needed clothing for both David and I. Abigail’s set for the time being, and we only shop clearance stuff for her anyway. David was able to pick up a few new shirts and a pair of chinos while I got all new non-t-shirt tops. I’ve been living in t-shirts since Abigail was born because of spit-up or drool or whatever. It was nice to get some dressier shirts!

On Sunday, Abigail went down late for her morning nap, so David stayed home with her while I went to church. This Sunday was Operation Christmas Child day, and after the service, we packed shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene products, etc that will be delivered to needy kids around the world. Pretty neat program if you’re looking for a way to donate your time or money this holiday season.

After a delicious lunch with some pals from church (thanks Travis and Ashley!), we had a family afternoon complete with a fun stroller walk around the apartment complex and lots of Daddy-daughter time.
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David put the baby legs on her arms, along with socks. “It’s opposites day, Abigail! Your hands are feet!”
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Happy to be sitting up on Daddy.
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Monday was pretty uneventful, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun. Like I said earlier, every day gets more fun as Abigail learns more. We have our tough days, but the good ones definitely outweigh the not-so-good ones.
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Sitting up in the crib in the boppy. To all the moms-to-be, a boppy pillow is one of those essential purchases. Add it to the list!
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Coming up this week, we’ve got a MOPS meeting, the Lake Mayer play group, Tradewinds, a Clemson game, hang out time with another of our pregnant couple friends, and more. We sure do love to keep busy around here!

**Random note: read any good books lately? I’ve finished all the books I’ve been given or have bought and am looking to start some more. Any suggestions welcome!**

14 weeks old… “Look ma! No hands!” November 10, 2009

I tend to start writing each week’s blog post over the weekend. This weekend, though, we were celebrating David’s 26th birthday. No time for blogging until this morning. All you eager beavers may have been slightly disappointed, but I trust you’ll find this post worth the wait!

After about a week of scouring eBay, Facebook and Craig’s List, we finally landed ourselves a Bumbo seat. It only cost us $15 (instead of the retail cost of $40), and Abigail seems to be a fan. It’s a good thing we didn’t spend all that much on it because by the end of the weekend, she was doing pretty well sitting up without it.
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This was taken last Monday, 11/2. First day with the bumbo.
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This was taken last night, 11/9. She stayed upright like that for a few minutes. She’d sat up in David’s lap before, but never for longer than 15-30 seconds at the most.
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So we decided to see how she did without Daddy’s lap. Still pretty good! Our little tripod. Amazingly enough, this all happened during her fussy time (post bath, pre bedtime meal), hence the pacifier.
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Definitely glad we didn’t pay full price for that bumbo seat since it looks like we won’t be needing it all that much longer (outside of maybe using it as a highchair/booster seat at restaurants). Can’t believe she’s doing so well sitting up already. It seems like she learns something new every week. And she started the sitting up/tripod thing just in time for David’s birthday—a pretty cool birthday present if I do say so myself.

Another thing she began last week? Eating her hands. All. Day. Long. We were wondering if she’d ever realize that she had control over those things, and it looks like she’s getting there. Apparently they’re tasty. Just this morning, I put her back in her crib after she woke up early, and she cooed and sucked on her hands for an hour without falling asleep for a second. That’s a first.
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Munching away while in her swing. This was last Tuesday, but as of late, she’ll try to devour both hands at once.
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On Wednesday, I went on a stroller walk with Joanne—a neighbor in our apartment complex. Her little boy, Graham, is about three weeks behind Abigail and is such a cutie. Both babies slept most of the 3-mile walk—abnormal for Abigail these days; she prefers her crib it seems. Anyhow, the weather has finally started to cool off, so we had a gorgeous day for walking around the YMCA’s trail. Sunny and breezy in the 70s. Beautiful!

While feeding Abigail around 4:00pm that afternoon, my mind wandered. I mean really, ladies, you can only gaze into your baby’s eyes for so long until you start planning out the next part of your day in your head while nursing—or catch a quick nap. Anyhow, I knew I had friends coming over in about 45 minutes and was planning out what I needed to do before they arrived: finish feeding Abigail, straighten up the den, make a pitcher of lemonade, change Abigail’s dia—wait. It was then I realized she hadn’t pooped in over 24 hours. She must have heard my thoughts and while eating, made up for those 24 hours in one movement of the bowels. My word. Another outfit thrown in the trash.

**Commercial  Break: New and expecting parents: do not spend much money on clothes. It’s just silly. You’ll end up saving some soiled garments by the use of Shout or a Tide-to-go pen, but some messes are just beyond repair. I don’t fret when I know I spent like $1 for the onesie she was wearing. Just a bit of advice.

It was then that I admitted that she’s outgrown size 1 diapers. Ugh! I now have somewhere around 200-250 size 1 diapers that she’ll never get a chance to dirty. Good thing I saved my receipts. I’ll return what I can and donate the rest. Size 2, here we come!

Wednesday night, we had some friends over—the company I mentioned earlier—who just found out that they’re pregnant. I’ll keep their names off of here since I’m not sure if they’re keeping it a secret from anyone. Regardless, they came over to talk baby with me. It was a blast! She is planning on a natural labor and delivery and wanted to hear about my experience. Those who have gone through a natural birth would agree with me, I think, when I say that it’s an incredible thing to relive. I love sharing that story—especially when it helps to clear away the myths surrounding it. They’re coming back over this week for more. Too fun!

On Thursday, Abigail and I headed back to the Lake Mayer play group and had a wonderful time. Before leaving, though, I strapped Abigail into her car seat and watched as she coughed and shot milk out of her nose. Another first!

Back to the play group…the weather was gorgeous again, and Abigail seemed to enjoy more of her time this week. She had some great tummy time and even rolled over at one point. It’s fun to see her and the other babies interact. I’m sure she’s wanting to be as mobile as the others!
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Abigail and Ellie (6-7 months…can’t remember!) hanging out.
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On Friday, after another day of only one poop (Thursday), she made up for it all day long. Thanks, darling. Anyone else run into that? Does it have anything to do with growth spurts? I read somewhere that if they’re in a growth spurt, they won’t fill their diapers as much because they’re using most of what goes in their body to grow. Truth in that?

Anyway, it was a weird day and night. After five days of sleeping from 7:30pm-6:30/7:00am, she woke up twice Friday night and early Saturday morning to eat. She hasn’t done that in weeks and weeks. She woke up twice on Saturday night too, but settled herself back down by the time we decided to go in and check on her. I’m starting to wonder if she’s napping too much during the day thus affecting her night sleep. She usually takes a total of 4-5 hours of naps. Maybe we should scale that back…or put her to bed later. Parenthood is so much trial and error, isn’t it?

On Saturday morning, Abigail woke up in a super mood. Maybe she just knew that we’d be starting Daddy’s birthday celebration weekend that day. Who knows?
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Yes, this photo was staged. She’s kneeling and balancing against the rail. Anyhow, she rarely smiles at the camera. She’d rather stare at it. So, she was smiling here before I held up the interesting shiny gray thing.
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David and I aren’t big on getting each other presents—partly because of the pressure involved and partly because our top love languages are quality time and words of affirmation. When we found out that David had the weekend before his birthday off work, I asked him to decide what he wanted to do. He chose to go to the National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Saturday morning with Abigail and to the Melting Pot Saturday night with just me. And he requested a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing—but we’ll get to that later.

So off we went on Saturday to check out the NWR. It’s a huge natural refuge for all sorts of birds, fish, and alligators in addition to more Spanish moss than you’d ever thought could land in one place. I packed a picnic lunch for us, but due to the large amounts of gnats, we just ate on the trunk of the car. Sadly, the NWR wasn’t the best place to bring Abigail at this age, so David made a note to check it out later sans baby.
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David checking out the plant life. Abigail was passed out in our K’tan by this point.
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The road ahead of us while picnic-ing on the trunk of the car.
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Later that afternoon, we dropped Abigail off with Kevin and Sherry Landfried (Kevin is David’s boss) so that we could head out to the Melting Pot for dinner. And what an incredible fondue dinner it was! If you’ve never been there, go. It’s that simple.
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Before the feast! So happy to have a really nice dinner date. A shift from our normal Jersey Mike’s date night!
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Midway through our meal I thought to take a picture. Mmm! We did the “Big Night Out” four-course meal—cheese fondue (with bread, apples and veggies to dip), salad, a surf and turf entree (lobster tail, shrimp, filet, chicken, sausage, strip steak, ravioli, potatoes, mushrooms, and broccoli) to dip in our coq a vin fondue marinade…then…
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…chocolate fondue for dessert! That’s the yin-yang fondue—white and dark chocolate. Delish!
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When we got back to pick up Abigail, the Landfried’s reported that she’d been great. It’s amazing how much we new parents worry about leaving our baby with someone else only to find out that the baby was totally fine. Dating each other is definitely more important than any hangups we have with leaving Abigail with sitters. Thank you, Kevin and Sherry!

Sunday was a laid back day as we tried to digest the massive amount of food we had for dinner the night before. Abigail finally got back on her nap schedule after a few days off, and we got to just have fun as a family. We met up with Jason and Amy Smith (met Amy through MOPS) that afternoon. It’s so nice to spend time with other parents of preschoolers. We all speak the same language!
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Smiling on Daddy’s shoulders. Too bad she’s too short for her smile to show!
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On Monday, David opted to take the day off of work (first time he’s taken a personal day since we moved to Savannah) so that he could have a day to himself. I suggested this idea weeks ago, but he debated until Sunday night. Anyhow, he opted to sleep in a bit, go back to the NWR, spend nearly two hours at the gym, and eat a yummy dinner made by moi complete with that cake we talked about earlier.
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 Smiling at Daddy before dinner.
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Too bad this is the only picture I got of dinner. I made breaded ranch chicken with broccoli potato supreme on the side (believe it or not, it looked exactly like the picture—woo)! So tasty! David complimented his meal with some of our Biltmore Estate wine.
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Birthday boy with the birthday cake. My first attempt at making homemade icing. It tasted amazing, but was a pain to spread! Any suggestions from other folks that have done this before? I used this peanut butter icing recipe and actually used more milk than it called for to make it a little more spreadable. To no avail!
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It tasted great regardless of its patchy appearance!
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We ended the night by starting to watch, The Legend of 1900. But with all movies as of late, we resigned to watching it over the course of this entire week as we have time.

Coming up this week, lunch with my big sister from the MOMS club (had to reschedule), my first run with the jogging stroller at Daffin Park, another Lake Mayer play group, and dinner with Carrie and Chuck (and little Madison). Should be fun!