Abby's May, June & July 2008

Abby's May, June & July 2008

Dear loved ones,

We hope you are all doing well and have been enjoying the hot summer months. This summer has definitely been flying by!

Our little family of 3 is only two months away from becoming a family of 4! We are thrilled to be welcoming our new little girl into the world at the end of October. We try to explain the whole “new baby sister” thing to Abby, but she’s still a bit young to understand. I ask her where the baby is and she lifts her shirt and points to her belly!

Miss Abby is growing and changing so fast. We are very happy to announce that she is walking!! YEAH! She took her first steps on July 24. Mark & I were having dinner with friends and my dad was babysitting Abby. He called to tell us that she took 6 steps to him! We were excited that he could share that big moment with his granddaughter!

We have been sharing lots of special moments together with family this summer. It all started in May when we celebrated Mother’s Day with family in Ocean Grove, NJ. I included many precious photos from that weekend. It was Abby’s 1st time at the ocean! It was comforting to be with family on a weekend when we were all missing my mom dearly. She taught us to celebrate life, so we celebrated amidst our sadness. She was watching down on us, happy that we were together.

We gained a new “family” member on May 20 when our life-long friends, Heather & David, had their baby girl, Meghan Elizabeth. Abby is crazy about Meghan!! Abby just wants to hold her, sit next to her and kiss her. It’s adorable!

In mid-June we enjoyed a visit from Mark’s brother, Chris, his wife Brandy and their 3 kiddos, Emma, Cynthia & Audrey. It was fun to see Abby with her 3 older cousins!

We took a week-long vacation in mid-July to Deep Creek Lake, MD with my dad, Alyssa & Anthony. What a relaxing time! Our house was right on the lake and we rented a boat for the week. It was such a treat to be able to walk out back and hop on the boat anytime we wanted. We had to nickname Abby our little water-baby! This kid LOVES water! The trip was wonderful and we think it may have to become an annual event!

Other silly little notes on our daughter –
-She is ALL girl! She loves playing with mommy’s jewelry & make-up. She recently discovered dress up clothes… photos to come in August!
-She is starting to say more words, although they aren’t always understandable. The one word she can say the best – NO!
-She has really become a cuddly little girl. She likes to snuggle up with us and cover up with a blanket. We love it!
-She is very attached to her baby doll. She gives it a bottle and takes it on walks. It isn’t uncommon for her to want us to pick her AND the baby up to give hugs or dance together.

We think of you all often and are grateful to have you as friends & family. Enjoy the photos!

With love,
Jen

January - April 2008

Abby's January - April 2008

Hello friends & family,

A lot of time as passed by since we last updated Abby’s photos. As you all know, we lost my mom in March, so 2008 has been very hard for us. We miss her every day, but we know she is watching us from Heaven and she’ll always be in our hearts. We do have some nice memories from 2008 as well. My Grandma turned 80 in January and we had a family party for her. We’re so thankful that we were all able to be together. We saw lots of friends & family, took a trip to NY with my dad, and started enjoying the warmer weather. Abby is growing into quite a little lady! She has such a funny personality, which brings us much laughter! She is still not walking, but she’s getting close! We can’t imagine life without her and we’re continually blessed by her smiles and cuddles. And just in case you didn’t know… her baby brother or sister will be arriving at the end of October!

Much love to all,

Mark, Jen and Abby

Abby's 12th Month

Abby's 12th Month

(Click on the photo to see the full album)

Abby celebrated her 1st birthday on January 3! We were grateful to be able to share that day with my parents & Mark’s parents. How special to have all of Abby’s grandparents there to celebrate with us! Our little baby has turned into a little lady! She has about 5 teeth (she had only 2 until a month ago!) and she’s crawling all over now. It’s fun to see her cruise around her playroom from toy to toy. She’s totally off baby food and is now eating regular “table food!” She was a bit underweight (under 50%) at her 1 year checkup, but we’re almost positive that she’s gained a pound or 2 in the last month. She’s now drinking whole milk and LOVES it! We think it’s fattening her up! She’s a pure joy and cracks us up constantly. We’ve been trying to teach her the sign for “more” and she finally got it this weekend! It was precious to see her ask for “more” today after Mark gave her a bath!! She loves her bath time and I guess she was trying to tell him that she wasn’t ready to get out of the tub! Enjoy the photos!

Abby's 10th & 11th Months

Abby's 10th & 11th Months

(Click on the photo to see full album )

Abby's 8th & 9th Months!

Abby's 8th & 9th Months

(Click on the photo to see Abby’s album)

It’s been an exciting 2 months! Abby is now 9 months old. At her Dr’s appointment we found out that she has slimmed down! She didn’t gain as much weight as the Dr. expected, so the Dr. said to put more fat in her diet and suggested cheese, sausage, bacon, eggs, lasagna, meatballs! Wow – this was exciting news!! We didn’t realized she could start eating all of this “normal” food. We’ve just been giving her baby veggies & fruit, so a whole new world is about to open up for all of us! I’m sure we’ll have some fun & messy photos for next month! Abby got her first tooth on Sept 27! She spent the next few days playing with this tooth with her tongue. J We were very thankful that it didn’t seem to cause her any discomfort! As you’ll see in the photos, we’ve been going to the park. Abby LOVES the swing! She also seems to love being outside. She laughs when the wind blows in her face! She isn’t crawling yet, but she rolls back and forth easily now. Abby is a happy baby and continues to bring us all such joy!

Much love,
Mark & Jen

Abby's 7th Month!

Abby's 7th Month

Hi friends & family,

Abby’s 7th month (July) was filled with new & exciting milestones! She is eating all sorts of baby food now. She seems to like pears & carrots the best. She seems to take after her mommy by even loving peas! She was getting way too big for her infant carrier, so she is now in her new big girl car seat and new stroller! Big changes! J She always wants to sit up and grabs for anything she can get her hands on. Of course, once she grabs it, it goes straight into her mouth! Still no teeth, but lots of teething & drooling! We’ve spend lots of time with my mom this past month. My mom is now ½ way through her chemo treatments! We are thankful to be close by and to be able to spend so much time together. Abby has brought many smiles to grandma’s face through this tough time. Please keep my mom in your prayers! J We also had a visit from Abby’s great-aunt Lisa! She has been such a blessing to us and a tremendous help to my parents! July was a just another example of God’s wonderful kindness to our family. Thank you for sharing our lives with us!

Lots of love, Jen

Abby's 5th & 6th Months

Abby's 5th & 6th Months

Welcome back to Abby's blog! The little lady is now 6 months old! She weighed in at 17.5 pounds and 26 inches at her doctor's appointment. We started her on rice cereal - which she wasn't too thrilled about. We're going to try apple sauce tomorrow! She rolled over once from her back to her belly, but hasn't done it again since. Maybe she's just lazy! She's getting better at sitting up on her own and she is reaching for everything now! It seems like she's growing up so fast - and she's only 6 months old. We totally understand how all the parents out there always say their kids grow too quickly. We're trying our hardest to appreciate all of the little things and enjoy every moment we spend with our little girl. Enjoy the photos!
God bless,
Mark & Jen