We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Last Six Weeks

So, I think that six weeks behind requires me to do an update! Maybe I will actually stick to it this time and it won’t be another couple weeks before I write again! Let’s see what all has happen in the last six weeks? Six weeks makes a huge difference in a baby’s life, and these six weeks have been pretty exciting for our family! I am just going to list some of the fun things we have been up to for the past little while!

Week 35:
Abby started taking an interest in her books and now her books are one of her favorite toys to play with, along with her dolly and her shoes . . . oh and any form of technology!

Abby got her very first scrap! She was helping me with the laundry (interestingly enough she was only pulling out her clothes and leaving mine and Roland’s in the basket) and she scraped her nose on the edge of the basket! She cried a little bit but Roland stopped the little bit of bleeding which made everything all better! Daddy is our hero!

Abby’s beautiful cousin, Emily, lived one beautiful week before completing her journey in this world and returned to our Heavenly Father and will wait in His arms with her big brother, Ethan, until Nicole and Joseph can join them. I know that we will have the opportunity to see these little ones grow up and Nicole will have her babies again in her arms! What comfort and joy does God’s plan bring to us when we have faith in Him! This is a quote that brought me great comfort during this time: "Despite the changes which come into our lives and with gratitude in our hearts, may we fill our days—as much as we can—with those things which matter most. May we cherish those we hold dear and express our love to them in word and in deed." ~PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON. I look forward to the great day that we will all be together again and there will be no more tears of sorrow, only tears of joy and everlasting peace!

Abby and I spent the week down visiting with my Grandma Jefferson while my aunt and uncle were out of town. We went to visit my other set of grandparents and to a doctor’s appointment in Marshfield with my grandma! We had a blast! Abby at 8 months was 28.5 inches long and weighs 16 lbs. 12 oz.! Her heart sounded great so there is no need for any follow up ...ever! Boy was Roland and I relieved that her heart murmur really was nothing to worry about, just her heart beating to a little bit of a different beat! J Before going up to the doctor’s appointment, Abby and I had to stop by our apartment and get the keys out of the car because Roland had locked his set in the car! Silly daddy!
Abby and I are having fun with Grandma Great this week! Their is LOTS of crunchy leaves down here!
Week 36:
One of the coolest things in the world happened while visiting with my grandma; we were able to watch general conference! There were a couple pretty AWESOME announcements made this conference! The first one was about a couple new temples being built and one is going to be in Arequipa, Peru! That is where Roland served his mission! He was ecstatic! The other big announcement was that the mission age has been lowered! Now boys can go at age 18 (as long as they have graduated from high school) and girls can go at age 19! What a big and exciting change! J

Abby finally found a good reason to have pacifiers . . . they make excellent teethers! Yep! That is right, Abby is getting teeth! She is of the opinion that you either do things big or not at all . . . she has spent the past month teething one tooth a week! I loved her toothless smile, but her toothy little grin is so adorable!
With such a cheerful smile on her face, you would have never know that she was feeling quite crummy earlier this morning! I guess she finally realized that she was home with daddy again!
Week 37:
Abby started meats . . . and loves them (obviously she doesn’t think they smell disgusting like Roland and I do!) We again are thanking our lucky stars for not having a picky eater! She started with chicken, then turkey, and  beef! She can’t get enough of them! I mix in some sort of veggie with them so it doesn’t smell so bad to me!

We bought Abby a high chair and now meal times go so much more smoothly! She absolutely loves her high chair and now whenever she is hungry she just goes over to the chair that it is connected to and pulls herself up to let us know that it is time to eat! What a smart little girl!
Abby is super happy now that her first tooth has finished cutting through, she just can't sit still! :)
Week 38:
Abby gave me quite the scare! Two days after her first tooth finished cutting through, she slipped in the bathtub and hit her mouth on the tub. She started bleeding and I couldn’t see her tooth anymore! I called my father-in-law up in panic and he assured me that everything would be okay. The tooth is still there and within the week everything will be back to normal. I am so glad that I have a dentist that I can call up at any time of the day! The next morning, just like my father-in-law said, everything was back to normal! Her gums had just swelled up a little and that is why I couldn’t see her tooth! I am so glad that everything turned out okay! J

It really was the week of getting into trouble for Abby! She got into the one cupboard that I hadn’t baby proofed and ended up getting into some dishwasher cleaner  . . .  so we ended up calling poison control before 7:30 in the morning! Lucky for us, she was fine and nothing bad happened! Needless to say, I finished baby proofing that cupboard before 7:30 also!

To top everything off . . . Abby ended up being the first person to give me a bloody nose! She wanted to wake me up and decided that the best way would be to wake me up would be to stick her figure all the way up my nose! It worked . . . I woke up! Good thing she is super cute!
If you look close, you can see the new additions to my pretty smile . . . TEETH! Daddy had to stop calling me toothless now! :)
Week 39:
Roland and I must be doing something right: whenever Abby hears one of us say, "I love you!" as we are getting off the phone, she will look up at us and say, "Mama?" (if it is Roland on the phone) or "Dada?" (if it is myself)! She is so cute!

Abby and I went down to visit my parents to help celebrate my dad’s sixtieth birthday! We surprise Dad by coming! He had just thought that Katie was going to be there, but Vicki and I (and Abby) surprised him by joining the party! Abby went on her very first hayride in her brand new pink winter coat with matching boots! She was so cute, as always! The only thing better than having my dad as a dad is my daughter having him as a grandpa!
Check out this NINE-MONTH-OLD who is super excited to wish you a very Happy Holloween! :)
Week 40:
Abby learned how to crawl up the stairs that are out in the hallway in our apartment building. I had been putting her down and letting her try climbing up the stairs every time that I did laundry for about a month . . . and one day, she did it! We are so proud of her!

Abby likes using random things, like thermometers, as a conductor’s baton! She is going to do something with music when she grows up! Whenever I have music on she always dances to it or tries to sing along or conduct the music like a band teacher! She has music in her blood!

Abby also had her very first bubble bath . . . and now she doesn’t think there is a better way to have a bath than with a bunch of bubbles! BUBBLE TROUBLE!

My parents took Abby and I on a little road trip up to the temple! It had been such a long time since I ad went, and it was just what I needed! My mom watched Abby while I was in the temple! I am so grateful that we live close enough to go to the temple, and that my family is willing to help with Abby so I can attend! What could be better than that?

Abby had her nine month old check-up and she is now 18 pounds 8 ounces and is 28.5 inches long! She is growing up so fast! I am still having a hard time believing that she is nine months old already! She has officially been alive outside of the womb longer than she was in it! Time sure has flown by!
We went for a little green since it snowed! :)
Well, that is what has been happening in our lives for the past six weeks . . . Roland is still working hard at school and at work! We are so proud of him and grateful for all he is willing to do for us! He really is our superman, my hero!