4 Months

Abby is almost 5 months old now.  I'm still confused as to how to count the months exactly because she was born on the 31st, but there aren't 31 days in each month.  Confusing.  Anyway, she's growing up way too fast!  It's a recurring theme with my 2 little monkeys.  Also a recurring theme: me, almost missing the month entirely before I do a photo shoot and a post!


Here is some info on Abby at 4 months:


She's a peanut.  She weighs 11lbs and is about 23 inches long.  That's about the 5th% for weight and 15-25th% for height.  She's very petite!  As a comparison, at her 4 month check-up, Emma weighed 14lbs, 6oz, and was 24 5/8 inches long!

She dropped a percentile on weight this month, but the doctor is not concerned.  She's still spitting up quite a bit, and there's not much that can be done about it.  Medication for reflux just reduces the acid in the tummy, causing less burning with reflux.  Abby doesn't have any pain, because she just spits up breastmilk immediately following eating, before it's been digested.  

I think I've had a bit of a "milk supply" issue lately.  She, like her sister did, fusses and acts really rotten when she gets ready for bed.  She had been really frustrated when nursing for the last time before bed.  I've been upping my water intake SUBSTANTIALLY, and taking some herbal supplements.  I think it's helped quite a bit.  We discussed starting rice cereal (actually, we're going to do oatmeal because the rice made Emma SO constipated. TMI?).  The pediatrician recommends waiting until closer to 6 months to start, and I'm in no hurry.  Starting too early has been shown to lead to food allergies and obesity, so they recommend waiting.  Being a peanut is just fine with me!

She can roll from her back to her tummy, and has rolled tummy to back once, but I think it was an accident!


She adores her big sister.  She's not completely trusting of her (with good reason!) because she tends to be on high alert when Emma's around! 

She smiles the biggest smiles and laughs for Daddy when he gets home.


Her Aunt Nancy got some serious belly laughs last night!  We're not sure what exactly she thought was so funny, but she CRACKED up!  She's pretty stingy with those belly laughs, so it was really awesome.


She's a mama's girl.  No doubt about it.  I tend to be the only one to calm her down when she's really fussy.  She also still looks just like her mama, or so I'm told.  I can't complain. ;)


She had been losing some of her hair in the back, but it's coming in again!  Emma was bald for so long, that I'm not used to having a baby with a little hair!  It's just about the same color as mine.  That cracks me up because, as a baby, my hair was exactly Emma's color.  In fact, we have a lock of my hair from my first haircut and it looks like it came off of Emma's head.  It didn't darken up until much later.  Abby's is starting out so dark, I wonder what will happen?


She wears 0-3 and 3 month clothes.  She has some 3-6 month clothes, but they're still a bit big.  I had hoped to be able to share all of their clothes because Abby was due 4 days before Emma's birthday.  No such luck.  Emma was a chunk, and Abby is petite and came 3 weeks ahead of schedule!  I pulled out 3 rubbermaid boxes this morning and sorted clothes.  Luckily, Emma had a few 6 month and 6-9 winter clothes, though most are 9 month.  I think she'll be wearing some bigger clothes with the legs and sleeves rolled up!  

She is still a good sleeper.  She takes 2 big naps a day, and 1 short one around 5:30.  She goes into the crib awake, and falls asleep on her own.  She sleeps from 8:30PM-8:30AM most days, waking once to eat.  Sometimes that one time is around 7:00, so I can't complain!  She's had a few nights lately where she's woken twice to eat, but she's been catching our cold, so I can't blame her.


Speaking of colds, Abby has her first.  It seems to be a much weaker version of what Emma and I had.  She is a little sneezy and sounds snotty, but only has to have her nose wiped just after she wakes up.  She ran a low-grade fever at one point, but Tylenol worked it's magic.

She's been a busy body lately.  She tries to sit up if you lay her down, even to change her diaper!  She also is too interested in what's going on around her to nurse very efficiently lately.  She's been doing her best eating in the middle of the night.  Emma was the same way!

See her trying to sit up?

She wears XS diaper covers still.  To put this into perspective, we really began cloth diapering Emma at 4 months.  She went straight into a medium.  Abby swims in a small!


She had her first trip to the zoo a few weekends ago (also her first train ride!).  We had a ball.  I'll do a post on it very soon.  


She also took her first trip to Stone Mountain.  It was Emma's first as well.  We rode the train and walked around.  Can't wait to take them to a laser show!


She loves her swing, but I worry that she spends too much time in it.  She is in there while we eat every meal.  She doesn't seem to mind, and I have a hard time tending to her wild sister during meals, much less eating myself.  

She loves having her hands in her mouth.  We have to physically fight her to get them out and put the passy in.  When her hands go in, puke comes out, so we tend to stick with the passy.  Also, as I tell her all the time, I can't cut her hands off when she turns 2, but I CAN take the passy away!


She's my precious little angel.  Having been through it with Emma, I know that this is my favorite age.  She's happy nearly all of the time, giving us big gummy grins constantly.  She's a snuggle-bug and adores being held.  She also likes to spend time playing on the floor with her toys and play gym - the best of both worlds!


I can't believe it's nearly Halloween.  A lot of people have asked about costumes.  Emma is going to be Olivia the pig.  Abby has a Halloween shirt that says "I love my mummy" and will be along for the ride!

A Fat Lip

Well, she finally did it.  Emma earned herself an emergency trip to the doctor's office.  We were going to head straight to the ER, but the doctor's office said that we could come by there first and get their opinion, so we did.  Emma must like to make sure my heart rate stays nice and high.  

What happened?  Let me explain.

We had just finished breakfast.  Emma had eaten and was playing in the living room like she does every day.  I had just put Abby down for her morning nap and came back to the kitchen to wash some dishes.  We do this every single morning.  Emma plays like an angel, I clean up the kitchen, and then we play together until Abby gets up.  Not today.  

Today I had just put away the clean dishes and was re-loading the dishwasher when I heard a bump and Emma screaming bloody murder.  I went running and picked her up.  She looked fine, but shaken.  I took her into the kitchen and sat her on the counter to get a better look (and turn off the water).  Blood.  Everywhere.  I thought she knocked out a tooth, but upon inspection, noticed a hole clear through her bottom lip.  Well, technically it's just below her lip, but above her chin.  I PANICKED.

I carefully cleaned up her face with a warm washcloth and got her a Popsicle.  We were both still in our pajamas, so I carried her, Popsicle and all, to our bed.  I made phone call after phone call while my hands were shaking uncontrollably, getting myself and Emma dressed in the process.  First person I called?  My MAMA!  I knew she could get here before anyone else.  Then I called Brad's mom.  She was on her way.  Then I tried Brad.  He was the farthest one out.  No answer.  Shit.  I frantically searched my phone for his school phone number.  Called and got the secretary.  I told her who I was and that we were about to head to the ER with my daughter and couldn't get in touch with Brad.  She radioed him and had him call me.  He was on his way as soon as he could pass his class off to another teacher.

I called the doctor's office and they said we could come there first if we wanted to.  I would rather do ANYTHING than get Emma stitches OR deal with the ER, so I took them up on it.  My mom got here first, and then Brad's mom.  Abby was still napping so I gave Brad's mom a few instructions and some disposable diapers.  By the grace of God, I had 2 ounces of pumped milk (the results of 2 miserable and fruitless pumping sessions) in the fridge.  This is the first time since Abby was born that I have really pumped, and had been trying to get enough to freeze in case we ever had an emergency.  How lucky was that??  Any other day and we'd be searching the house for formula samples.

So Mom and Emma and I left and Brad's mom stayed with Abby.  Brad beat us to the doctor's office.  We sat in the waiting room for a few minutes before heading back to see the nurse practitioner.  She took a look, cleaned it up a bit, and recommended a stitch or 2.  It had stopped bleeding within minutes of her cutting it, but the doctor said it's for "cosmetic reasons" that they recommend stitches.  Anytime that it's outside of the lip line, they recommend them.  I very politely asked her if we had any choice.  She consulted with another doctor, and told us she'd be fine, but to keep Neosporin on it and watch for infection, which wasn't likely.  YAY!  We left like bats out of hell!  I just wanted my babies.in.my.arms.  My nerves were shot, as were all of ours.

We got back to our house and Brad's Dad was here.  It meant the world to me that he came by.  Seriously.  My family is awesome.  Have I mentioned that?  They love us, and my girls SO much, and it's mutual.  The fact that all 3 of them left work and flew straight to our house the minute I called, is just awesome.  We couldn't have asked for better grandparents for these girls.  

 Emma got the ice cream I promised her, and Brad brought home her favorite - pillow chicken (Chick-Fil-A).  She ate, I very carefully wiped her mouth, and put Neosporin on it, and we all had a much-needed family nap-time.  We got up and Brad took Emma to pick up a school order of clay at a local shop, and I fed Abby.  When they got back we headed to Mom's for dinner. 

Emma has been an angel.  She only cried for a minute once it happened, and only for a second or 2 while the doctor looked at it.  I'm so impressed with her.  She's awesome.  AND big!  Did I mention that she went from 25lbs in early July, to 28lbs today?  And here I was getting concerned that she's not eating quite as much as she used to.  

I bought some Mederma to use once her lip heals to help reduce scarring.  It's really not that bad, but I'd hate to think that my choice to avoid a traumatic hospital experience would cause a scar she'd hate me for forever.  Praying that doesn't happen.  If it doesn't disappear, maybe she'll be proud of it and consider it a battle scar that adds character, though I'm not sure that little girl could stand one more ounce of character!  One day, when she has her own babies, she'll understand.  Until then, she can have ANYTHING SHE WANTS!!!!!  

I'll leave you with a funny.  This is what she did while I nursed Abby last night.  She's a nut.

Emma Claire

I've been meaning to do a post just about my sweet EC, but I just haven't sat down and done it.  I want to make sure to remember all of the hysterical things she says, and know that she she says so many that I'll end up forgetting some.  This girl talks a mile a minute these days and she never fails to crack me up.  So here goes.


The other day, Abby stayed with Mimi while we went "chopping" at Target.  :)


She LOVES to cook in her pretend kitchen.  She'll bring me a cup and say "here, lemonade."  She'll take a pretend drink of hers and say "deeeeee-licious."


She was in time-out in the hallway the other day.  She was crying and fussing (mostly pretending) and then I heard her instantly stop crying and say "heeeeere Sissy!  Come here, Sissy.  Whatcha doin, Sissy?  Wanna play?"  Sissy is the cat, in case you don't know.


When we pass Citgo she says "Look mom!  Triangle!"


She adores Chick-Fil-A.  Only she doesn't call it Chick-Fil-A.  She calls it "pillow chicken."  We're not exactly sure why, but she can spot the sign a mile away.  


She loves eating shabeggy (spaghetti), blockly (broccoli), and hummus (thomas).  She also likes spigots......biscuits!  She also recently had boiled okra (YUCK!) for the first time with Mimi and loved it.


Mom and Bailey were over the other day and Bailey was sitting in such a way that Emma couldn't get between he and I to walk through.  She started shouting "OPEN!"  You know, like it was a door.


She loves bathtime and watching the "vortex" after the tub drains.


She adores watching kids shows on Netflix during breakfast.  She makes sure to tell me "it's loading" and "it's thinking" if it takes a second to start.


If she hears an airplane she says "leeeeeesten!  Hear it?"


Just before she goes to bed she says "I stay in bed?"  She's heard it enough!


Sometimes after she is supposed to be asleep, Brad or I will hear her pushing the grilling buttons on her kitchen.  I'll ask him what he wants to order since she's apparently up late working her second job as a fry cook.


She still adores Yo Gabba Gabba and can do a lot of the dances on the show.  She particularly loves the "Twirly Lurly" (Twirly Whirly) and the "Chomp, Chomp, Chippy, Chippy, Chomp"  (an alligator dance).


She has started to sing along with me when I sing, instead of finishing lines.  She loves to sing "I love Jesus" (Jesus Loves Me), and "This little light of mine."  She also knows most of the words to Copa Cabana (I know, I'm strange).  If I sing "Her name was Emma," she follows up with "she was a showgirl" and continues from there.  She can sing every single word of "Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer do."


She's a huge climber these days.  She climbs on the side table in the living room on a daily basis and the other day she disappeared from her bedroom where all 4 of us had been playing.  Brad found her sitting in the center of our kitchen table, eating goldfish.


She mostly calls Brad "Dad."  If he's not answering her when she calls him the first time, she changes it up.  He's called "Pappy", "Papps", "Chacho", and "Brad" most everyday.


She has an awesome sense of humor.  She calls Lucy "Loose Goose" and Abby is "Abbs Abbs", "Abby Gwail" or "Abby the Gwail."  I can't blame her, I rarely call either one of them by their actual names.


Speaking of nicknames, Emma has several.  Emmanems, Nemmers, Nem, Eeema Neeema, Neem.  She will answer to any of them. 


She often refers to herself as Emma Claire.  She'll be climbing on the table to get my attention.  When I ignore her, she says "What are you DOING Emma Claire?!"


She loves to watch "Mickey Mouse Cluh-house."


Instead of saying "can I help you?" she says "you help me?"  And instead of "I want some" she says "You want some?"


She can count to 14.  After that, it just gets funny!


I'm sure there are a million more, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind.

3 Months

I can hardly believe that my littlest monkey will be 4 months old so soon.  I guess it's time that I did her 3 month update, huh?  I'm such a bad blogger now that Abby is here.  I have NO spare time these days, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I spend my "spare time" kissing and loving on the 2 sweetest girls in the world.

All About Abby:

She's somewhere around 11-12 lbs the best I can tell.  I scheduled her 4 month appointment today, so I'll know her stats soon enough.  I'm dreading that appointment - more shots.  

Speaking of shots, I'm pretty much following the same vaccine schedule that I did with Emma.  I'm delaying the chicken pox vaccine, and waiting to do the MMR until she's 2.  It works for us, and I'm comfortable with it, as is my doctor.  

Abby is growing SO fast!  She loves to stand up, but only wants to be in a sitting position for limited amounts of time.  She still loves her swing and sits in it while we eat.

She is learning to reach and grab toys.  She has reached for her beads on her changing table for a LONG time, but we're working on grabbing toys.  She's TERRIFIED of rattles.  No clue why!

 

She loves to just lay on a blanket and play and be talked to.  It's her favorite thing.

She tolerates tummy time, but doesn't have much patience for it.  She rolled over from tummy to back this month, but hasn't done it again.  She sort of scared herself when she did it!

She cracks up when we jiggle her around.  She likes to be messed with!

She gives her Daddy the biggest smiles when he gets home from work.

She's a mama's girl.  Big time.  She will let most people hold her for a minute, but not much longer.  My mom is just about the only exception to that rule.  And she usually only calms down for Mama.

She wears 3 month or 0-3 month clothes.  3-6 are too big still.  I had to buy several outfits recently for her to wear when it gets cold.  All of Emma's winter clothes are 9 months.  My guess is that Abby MIGHT be into 6 month clothes by then!  She's such a peanut!

She is still spitting up, but not nearly as much.  

She's a great sleeper, with only a few weird occasions of waking up.  She takes 3 naps a day and sleeps from 8:00 until 8-9:00 AM.  She only wakes up once to eat during that span.  It's awesome!

She's addicted to her nap schedule - big time.  If she misses a nap, we all hear about it.  It makes traveling or getting out and about a bit tough.  She screams like a wild child and has a hard time settling to nap unless she's in her bed.  Reminds me of someone......Emma!

She has started to hate the car, just like her sister.  She's significantly better than Emma was at this age though.  She only cries if she's sleepy.  Unfortunately, that means that if we stay anywhere past about 6:30, she's going to scream all the way home.  We've even tried driving with me sitting in the back, squeezed between the 2 carseats.  She still screams.

2 Months - 3 Months

She has the tiniest ankles ever.  I still can't get socks to stay on the poor thing.  Check out the picture of her ankles vs. Emma's at the same age.  Explains a lot!

I still can't believe what a chunk Emma was compared to Abby.  Or how different they look!  Abby is all mama, while Emma was mostly Brad.  Right now, Emma's more me when I was her age.  It's so funny how they change back and forth!

She fits into our little family so well!  She's just perfect.

 

Angels

Since my Dad died, I have had some serious internal questioning going on.  I've always believed in heaven, God, life eternal.  I still do believe in all of those things.  I always assumed that if someone as close to me as my Dad passed away, I'd feel some sort of presence.  Shortly after he died I searched everywhere for him.  I found him in the red cardinal that suddenly decided that the best place to be while Emma and I were eating breakfast was right outside our kitchen window, staring in at us through the whole meal.  I saw him in the bluebird that perched on my mom's fence, sitting there while we talked about Dad, day after day.  


Since a little time has passed, I'm still looking, but finding nothing.  I don't feel his presence anywhere.  I see him in Abby.  GOD, do I ever.  Sometimes it's as though he's the one looking back at me from behind her eyes.  That's truly the only place.  It's pretty devastating.  


I said all of that, to tell you about this.  I think he may come visit Emma.  And no, I'm not crazy.  There have been SO many times that she's said things about him out of the blue.  At the exact moment he died, my sister-in-law told me that Emma started saying "Papa?  Papa?"  At the time, that was what she called him.  Since then, I've referred to him as "Grandpa."  Each night we pray for our family members by name.  We always pray for "Grandpa, in heaven with Jesus" (or "Stegis" as Emma used to say!).  She calls Brad's Dad "Grandpops," so it's not him that she's talking about.  


A few weeks ago we were eating dinner at my mom's house.  Emma reached up and grabbed  her head and scrunched her hair, just like Dad used to do to her.  She stared off into space while she did it and said "Grandpa!"  It was like she was seeing him.  


A couple of weeks ago I decided, out of the blue, to get Emma her first big ice cream cone.  I wanted to do something my Dad loved to do - give a toddler a huge ice cream cone and let them make a huge mess.  It's SO not my style, but I knew it was something my Dad would have already seen to that we do.  So we did.  On the way to the ice cream place, Emma looked out the window and said, "Hi Grandpa.  I see you Grandpa.  Whatcha doin, Grandpa?"  She speaks very clearly, and those were her exact words.  It took my breath away and I didn't even know what to say.  I've since thought that I should have asked her questions, and I WILL next time.  


I know that she remembers my Dad, even though it's been several months since she last saw him.  I've got a few pictures on the fridge, and have a necklace with his picture on it.  She always says "Grandpa!" when she sees them.  She also says "grandpa" when she sees pictures of men with gray hair and glasses that resemble my Dad.  I wish I could find the words that her little mind could wrap her head around to explain.  I just can't.  I want to take her with me to the cemetery, but don't think it's the time.  I know she'll ask questions that I don't know how to answer.  I'm sure I'll know when the time is right.  


I wish more than anything that he could see my girls right now.  He loved Emma more than anything in this world and would be so thrilled with how smart she is.  He would adore snuggling with Abby's sweet self.  I guess he IS seeing them right now, even though I struggle with the faith that he's still somewhere watching.  I hope and pray that I'll find him somewhere again, and that my faith will be restored.  I just wish I didn't have to wait until I make it to heaven for that to happen.  It's hard to accept the finality of death, and that I have no control over what God has planned.  This grasping for his presence won't make it happen.  I guess that's what faith is, huh?


It reminds me so much of one of my favorite Jars of Clay songs.  

"Like A Child"

Dear God, surround me as I speak,
the bridges that I walk across are weak
Frustrations fill the void that I can't solely bear
Dear God, don't let me fall apart,
you've held me close to you
I have turned away and searched for answers I can't understand

[Chorus:]

They say that I can move the mountains
And send them crashing into the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe
with faith like a child

Sometimes, when I feel miles away
and my eyes can't see your face
I wonder if I've grown to lose the recklessness
I walked in light of you

[Chorus]

[Little girl:]
"I've got joy like a fountain!"
"Be kind one to others"
"In Jesus Christ Your son"

They say that love can heal the broken
They say that hope can make you see
They say that faith can find a Savior
If you would follow and believe
with faith like a child 

The Cemetery

Many of you probably don't know about the runaround that my mom and I have been given at the cemetery.  They purchased their mausoleum plots many years back, and all of the things involved with internment were paid for.  That includes the grave marker.  My mom and I had to go to the cemetery office 2 days after my Dad's funeral to design the marker.  It was really painful, and the last place we wanted to be, both physically and emotionally.  But we did it.  The creepy guy in charge of working with us was, well.....creepy.  And not in a "I work at a cemetery and only wear black suits" kind of creepy.  In a "I like to play with the bodies when no one is looking" kind of creepy.  I don't know of any other way to describe it!   


Anyway, fast forward at least 2 months.  We still hadn't heard from him regarding when the marker would be placed.  I had been to the cemetery to check a couple of times.  It was hideously painful.  Not only was the wound on my heart very fresh, but to see him buried in an unmarked grave was just gut wrenching.  I burst into tears every time I went.  I had finally had enough.  I wrote a letter, describing the experience we had had with the creepy dude and emailed it to their office. The manager called me the following day and I put him in contact with my mom.  A new guy (much less creepy) was assigned to us and the marker was designed, proofs sent to my mom for approval, ordered, and installed.  And here it is.  

I think it's perfect.  Dad would be so proud.  The only thing missing was flowers.  I took care of that this Sunday while my girls and their Daddy napped.  

What do you think?  I was going for "Fall, pretty, yet masculine."


Do you know what?  In the few times that I've been back since it was installed, I feel such a sense of peace.  It's no longer a painful place that I dread going to.  It's a place where I can talk to my Dad, be alone, and feel a little bit of closeness.  It's amazing the difference that a grave marker and some flowers can do.

Abby's Baptism

This past Saturday we had the honor of having Abigail Marie baptized in our church.  It was a wonderful day full of family and friends and we were so blessed to have them all there with us.  Abby was an absolute angel.  She didn't mind the big, uncomfy dress too much.  She wore Brad's christening gown, my grandmother's cross necklace, and on the necklace, she wore a baby ring that Brad's mother had made from one of her rings.  My mom also gave her a special bib that was blessed by Pope Benedict.  It was so special to have all sides of her family represented.  

It was a very emotional day for me.  The last time that we attended a baptism at Holy Cross, it was Emma's.  My Dad was there with us, as was Brad's Grandaddy.  My Dad's absence was so painful for me.  It was never more obvious that when the deacon traced the sign of the cross on Abby's forehead, and invited all who felt compelled to do the same.  My Dad should have been right there.  It hurt more than words can possibly express.  I miss him daily, but there are certain moments when it sneaks up on me and hits me like a bus.  That whole day was filled with those moments.  He would have ADORED Abby, just as he adored Em.  He would love to hear all of the crazy things Emma says these days.  He would have cracked up when, as the Deacon was about to pour water over Abby's head, Emma shouted "Abby takin a bath!"  He would have thought it was hysterical when she completed the sign of the cross with the Deacon.  "Father, Son, and Holy Spiwit."  Precious.

We were so blessed that Brad's Aunt Elaine and Uncle George honored us by becoming Abby's godparents.  She adores them already!  They drove all the way from the southern tip of Florida to be with us, and it meant the world.  

After the baptism we headed home to celebrate with cake and punch.  There's a funny story behind the cake.  I have bad luck at Publix with baptism cakes.  Emma's had to be completely remade on the morning of her baptism because they made it orange instead of pink.  It was SO ugly!  Well, I went to pick up Abby's and noticed that it read "God Bless AbiGALI Marie."  I just about died.  Had it said Emma's nickname for her, "Abigwail," I would have let it go.  But Abigali had to go.  They were able to remove the wrong letters and fix it, but you could still tell.  I think I've learned my lesson with Publix.  It sure did taste good though!

After most of our guests had left, Amber, Jason, and their daughter, Quinn, stayed and we got to visit.  We don't see them nearly often enough.  We had Mexican for dinner and they left just before the girls went to bed.  It was an awesome day that we will never forget.