Shoes

UPDATE: The shoes can be found here. I did email them and they will do adult sizes in any of the shoes for the kids price x2. The kids shoes are between $20 and $25.

A few weeks ago a fellow blogger gave away a pair of those precious shoes and I have loved them ever since. They make shoes for baby girls and for their Mommas. I think I want to order Abby and I a pair and we can do a photo of our feet side by side. But, I am debating which pair and if they look like baby girl shoes and would like silly on me. Give me your opinion- can I own a pair and which pair do you like the best? BTW, my pair would not have the ribbon ties. They would just be a ballet slipper like shoe. Any baby pair can have the ribbon ties or the velcro strap.

OPTION #1: BROWN WITH PINK

OPTION #2: PINK WITH FLOWERS
OPTION #3: RED AND WHITE DAMASK

Poor Pitiful Little Thing

Look at this sweet little baby girl who is clearly in a daze. Her medicine and 4 month shots got the best of her. Poor pitiful little thing!

We visited the doctor at 8:30 this morning and she passed all of her tests with flying colors, even the cuteness test and the personality test. She smiled and laughed at her pediatrician and cooed at all of the office ladies. Those tests are important too!

We took her to school after her appointment where she has enjoyed long naps in her crib and lazy times in her swing. Daddy just couldn't take it anymore and plans to get her. It is hard to be away from your baby when all they want is to be cuddled.

Here are her new stats and they are impressive!

Weight: 14 lbs. 11 ounces (75th percentile)

She is sitting strong in her 75th percentile category. She has gained about 3 pounds in 2 months. She is growing just as she should. Dr. Sperling recommends we cut out the night feeding in the next few nights. It isn't out of concern that she is too big, but that she needs to begin sleeping through the night and is taking the bottle out of comfort and not necessity. I plan to read up a little more on the Ferber method she recommended. It sounds like we are in for a couple of crying fits and then the long awaited full night of sleep.

Length: 25 1/4 inches (75-90 percentile)

She has grown 2 1/4 inches in two months. I knew she was going to be deemed long. Many of her footed pajamas just don't fit or her 0-3 months onesies fit fine around and then seem to pull on her lengthwise. I always wanted to be taller and hope Abby Lu is taller than I am. It would save so much money on alterations. Hemming everything gets expensive!

Head Circumference: 42 3/4 cm (90th percentile)

Big brains! Her head has grown 2 3/4 cm in two months. A growing brain is a good thing!

Overall, we have a healthy and happy baby and couldn't be more blessed. So many blogs lately are about sick children and it just breaks your heart. I thank God for my healthy girl and ask Him to bless others with the same. I get the joy of focusing on her outfit each day and not her heart, brain, or lungs. What a blessing.

Happy 4 Months Abby Lu!

Happy 4 Months!

Our sweet baby girl is 4 months old today! I love her so and wanted to share with you all her likes, dislikes and major accomplishments.

• She loves the sound of her Mommy's voice.
• She enjoys sitting up especially in her bumbo and bouncer. The boppy and swing are not nearly as cool anymore.
• She takes a 6 ounces bottle every 3 hours with 1 or 2 feedings at night. We are officially done breastfeeding.
• She wakes up happy and just lights up when you pick her out of bed.
• She loves being on her changing table.
• You have to be quick when changing her diaper. Cool open air has led to many accidents lately.
• TV is suddenly a big distraction. You have to be really careful when feeding her that she doesn't know it is on or she looks away from the bottle.
• Praise Baby DVDs still rock!
• She can hold her bottle with both hands, but doesn't yet realize she is the reason it is still in her mouth. She'll knock it out and get mad.
• She loves her feet and feet kisses from Mommy and Daddy.
• She talks and talks and talks. Most sounds are basic vowels sounds, but she does like to moo.
• She prefers to sleep on her side and gets mad when she makes it onto her belly.
• She falls asleep between 7:30 and 8:00 at night.
• She can hold her head up, but not for long before wearing out and telling us about it.
• She loves to be outside. When upset, we often walk onto the back patio and let her "eat wind". She will open her mouth and just giggle at the wind.Obviously still working on sitting up :)

Vintage Ring Arrived!

Here is my very first Mother's Day present! It finally arrived in the mail yesterday. I just love it!

Look What I Can Do!

Yea, I'm on my belly. What cha gonna do about it? Wanna see how I got here? Check me out!

By the way, babies eyes are not set until 6 months, but we will have big baby blues!

What? These are MY feet!

What? These are MY feet! I can eat them anytime I want! Score!

New Fleece Blanket

I love fleece blankets and homemade ones are super easy- no sewing machines, no straight lines, no fuss! I saw one online combining fleece and fur and spent the rainy afternoon (I am home sick with a cold!) making one for Abby Lu. Here are the super simple directions:

Purchase 2 pieces of fabric 1 1/4 yard each

Wash and dry fabric

Start in one corner and begin paperclipping around the fabric. If it is different sizes (due to different size bolts or from shrinage in the wash) trim fabric to make them the same size.

Using sharp scissors cut about 1.5 inches strips along the edges. Each piece of fringe should be about an inch wide. Do this around all four sides.

It absolutely doesn't have to be perfect- some will be longer or fatter than others. It all works out! This will be a great play on the floor blanket for Abby Lu. All in all, it was under $20 and took about 2 hours to complete.

Sick Baby Girl

UPDATE: She is doing much better today. Thanks for the tips- we have done steam rooms and tried Runny Noses. Both were recommendations from the nurseline we called and our beloved friends. She slept most of today, but didn't sneeze nearly as much. Unfortunately, I have a sore throat coming on. This cold is an equal opportunity attacker.

We are dealing with our first runny nose and it is pathetic. She only wants Mommy and wants to be held and snuggle. That part isn't all that bad; however, she sleeps horribly at night. We are walking zombies! It is worse than when she was a newborn. She is too little for meds, so we are just aspirating regularly and letting her relax. If she isn't better on Monday, we'll have our first pediatrician appointment.

National Infertility Week

Today is the beginning of National Infertility Week. Say a prayer tonight for your friends, family, or strangers that await holding a baby in their arms.

It is life changing. It is painful. It is heartbreaking. It is frustrating. It is lonely. It is humbling. It doesn't always have a happy ending.

However, I will always be grateful for the experience. It was life changing. It was spiritual. It was bonding. It focused me. It made me a better person, a better wife, a better Christian, and ultimately a better mother.

Big TV for a Little Girl

LOVES LOVES LOVES her Praise Baby videos. It is perfect for dinnertime and I love the songs. Isn't too bad to be singing "God of Wonders" in my head. Much better than some silly song!
And Marcus thinks we need a bigger TV!

She's Crafty!

Abby Lu made her first craft project! Her class made these cute shirts/onesies at school last week. Upon seeing the bright fun colors, you know what I had to do... order her a bow to match! Isn't this one cute- it is from eBay! The center is a bottle cap of Abby Cadabby, Elmos' friend.

Why yes, the bow is larger than her feet!

TuTu Cute!

First Incident Report

Her first boo boo.... Abby Lu was hit by a plastic toy this morning at school. There is a pea sized purple bump on the left side of her forehead. I had to sign a report that I discussed the issue with her teachers. Abby cried when it occurred, but was perfectly fine by the time I saw her.

New Camera

I drove to Dallas and back on Monday for work and used my mileage check to buy a new camera. I always have a camera in my purse and have been told that Abby is the most photographer child in the world! Since having a baby, I haven't been satisfied with my small camera- I think I overzoom, don't keep my hand still, and try to take pictures in bad lighting. It was adding up to 40 takes to get a good shot. I find this camera on Amazon- it does everything you can imagine, plus it is 13.6 megapixels! I love the clarity! I can also edit on the camera, it has smile detection and can focus on a face. You can also tell it ahead of time if you plan to blow up a picture (up to 11x17) and it will ajust the pixels with that in mind. Here is my first pic of Abby Lu with the new camera. She hung out in her bumbo this morning on the bathroom counter while I did my hair and makeup. She was starting to get unhappy. Sitting up is hard work!

Completely Inappropriate Post

Just to make sure we don't win any "Parents of the Year" awards (wink wink), we had to post the fun we had with Abby last night and this morning.

I almost peed myself when I saw this picture. I had seen on FB recently a dog with a cigar and beer and told Marcus about it. He was having a glass of red wine with dinner, so we sat it next to Abby and I snapped her photo. We didn't know she would play along like a drunk as well!

Last night Abby's fashion godmother stopped by and brought over a bag of clothing including some funny onesies. This one cracked us up. Oh so wrong, but funny! We'll see if she gets kicked out of school for her tacky tee today!

I love that her big belly almost makes the words unreadable. That's sexy!

Abby Lu and Her Bumbo

We have tried the bumbo a couple of times, but last night she finally seemed to enjoy it for more than 10 seconds. We sat Abby on the dining room table while making dinner and she just took it all in.
She was very attentive to Marcus pulling out the pots and pans needed for spaghetti and garlic bread.

I had to include this one because it shows off her little bitty skinny feet.... still waiting on the closet full of shoes to fit her. Argh!

Our New Bedroom Additions

Doesn't she look tiny! We broke down and bought a new mattress Monday night. We have talked about for months each morning when we both wake up sore! Our super soft pillow top was not good for us. We kept holding off debating upgrading to a king bed, but the investment in a new mattress became new bedding, headboard, etc. etc. We just bought a cheap mattress and will upgrade in the next few years.







We also recently added a treadmill to the bedroom! Yea! My Dad and stepmom are out of town until September so they let us borrow theirs. I love it- I can walk/run for 30 minutes after Abby Lu goes to bed and do it in private with my TV running those girly shows that Marcus doesn't watch. Let's hope I love it long enough to get those baby inches off. I want my full wardrobe available to me again!

How Abby Lu Rolls...

Guess what my sweet girl did on Tuesday at school? Yep, at 16 weeks and one day old she ROLLED over! Way to go Abby! She did it twice from back to belly at school, but I haven't seen it yet. I am excited for her and sad for me- I wish I had seen it firsthand.
Her wonderful teacher told us Abby is strong for her age and some of their older kids don't roll back to belly yet. She fully expects Abby Lu to crawl and walk early. I am so proud of her. As I read so many blogs asking for prayer requests as children go in and out of surgery, I praise God that our daughter is healthy, happy and growing as she should.

Thank you for contacting us...

Thank you for contacting the Journey with the Jenks.  There is no one here currently to update you with a new blog posting.  Currently, Mrs. Jenk is on travel for the day, and Mr. Jenk is running around with his hair on fire.  Thank you for your interest, and we hope to have some interesting information for you on the following business day.

Regards,

Jenks

The Great Swimsuit Struggle of 2009

Let me preface this by saying this little cupcake is totally worth it!

I can't find a swimsuit to save my life! We have a great neighborhood pool that I really want to visit with Abby Lu this summer. She loves bath time so I think she'll love the pool. I haven't bought a swimsuit in 4 or more years not counting the maternity suits for Hawaii. I have ordered two suits from Old Navy and returned them both. The first one was too small- obviously I have grown a little post Abby. The second one fit but wanted to make sure the neighborhood saw all of my "girls". I can only imagine what would show while holding Abby!

Then I ordered one from Target. It came this weekend and I like the top. It didn't come with a bottom! Seriously- the picture showed a bottom and it was called a tankini which as far as I know includes a bottom. I am so annoyed. I will now return that top to Target as I refuse to pay more for shipping the bottoms! Hopefully my local Target store has something that I like.

Jason and Laurel's Wedding

There is something about attending a wedding with a dressed up little baby girl that makes me smile! This weekend we attended the wedding of my co-worker Laurel at her family's ranch in Bandera. It was a beautiful and silly ceremony with the best catered food I've ever had! Beautiful.... handmade lace linens from her grandmother, antique mismatched tea cups for coffee, outdoor ceremony along a creek under the oak trees, blackberry cobbler with Blue Bell. Silly... the wedding party exited to Mony Mony and danced down the aisle, a funny choreographed dance with her Dad to "It Takes Two" by DJ Easy Rock and Rob Bass.

Abby and I talked before the wedding about how to act like a lady during the ceremony. I'm guessing she did not hear me. She fussed, then took her bottle and luckily, did not burp loudly. I was fearful of a "make Daddy proud" burp during the prayer.

The wedding was at 6:30 and we enjoyed the ceremony, dinner and a few drinks before putting Abby in her pajamas, telling the bride congratulations and heading back to the hotel. Everyone was in bed by 10:00. Success!

First Overnight Trip

How in the world does one little bitty person need so much stuff? This weekend was our first overnight trip with Abby Lu. We went out of town, about 2 hours away, and stayed in a hotel. We were prepared for anything that could happen in the 22 hours we were gone. We had the jogger, car seat, 4 toys, one portable swing, boppy, 6 outfits, 6 bottles, formula for 8 feedings (along with nursing!), enough diapers and wipes for a week and one happy baby ready for an adventure!
Said happy baby did wonderful- she slept from 10 PM to 7:30 AM in her swing in the hotel room. We woke up at 7:30 and she was already awake just chilling in her swing. Seriously, we have the most laid back child. We also started this week at school feeding every 3 hours instead of 2.5. Saturday was our first day to feed in this schedule and it worked. We did it all weekend! I am looking forward to the elusive routine!

Blog This Momma!

What do you think- is this not perfect? She looks a little annoyed at the bright flash of the camera. It took close to ONE MILLION takes to get her looking at me and her shirt legible.

You can get the shirt in sizes up to 5T here!

A Man After My Own Stomach

My college buddy John sent me this video and it made me laugh out loud. Click here!

Don't worry it is not dirty and you can listen to it at work.

Yard Envy

Oh to be retired and tend to roses all day long!

Abby's New Frog

My Dad was in the National Guard when I was growing up and he would have to leave town with them a couple of times per year. He always brought us back a present and I loved it! Just the excitement and wonder of what could be in his duffle bag! Since I travel for my job, I hope to bring back something for Abby each time I go.

While I was in Michigan I bought Abby a big stuffed frog. She has a frog on her changing table and the bar on her car seat that she loves has a frog. She loves them all! I am thinking the bright shade of green is key. Developmentally, she can't see all colors, but green might be an early one.

First, she "kissed" (READ: ate) froggy and then she just held onto him tight to keep him in her control. Then, poor baby girl just conked out with froggy.
Notice her sweet bib, it says "Shop Til You Nap". This photo was taken inside the shopping cart at Target, so I guess it is fitting.

Reunited...

... and it feels so good!
Boy did I miss my baby girl this week! I flew to Michigan for work on Monday morning and landed Wednesday night after 10:00. It was a long 2 days. I couldn't wait to get home and just snuggle with Abby Lu and kiss her sweet neck. Thankfully she remembered me and smiled when Marcus brought her to me at 1:30 for her middle of the night feeding. It was wonderful. This morning when I got her ready for school she grasped my hand with both of her hands just to make sure I didn't leave again.

Marcus did wonderful with her and impressed me immensely! He had to manage school drop off and pick up, all of her feedings included the middle of the night one, getting ready in the morning, and nighttime entertainment. To top it off, he still found time to get me roses when I arrived home. Thank you Marcus- you are an amazing husband and father and Abby and I are so lucky to have you!