Happy 6 Months Abby Lu

Yesterday was Abby's Half Birthday- she is now 6 months old! Oh how I love this stage and hear the next few months get even better. So hard to imagine, but she is getting cuter and cuter and so much more fun!

At 6 months:

• Abby loves to be upright. Long before she could sit up on her own, we were propping her up with pillows so that she could see all that is around her.
• As soon as she hears the bottle shaking, she is giddy and kicking her legs with glee.
• We call her Little Miss Daredevil- she loves to fly in the air, go high above our heads and then drop to the bed (with us still holding her of course) and to ka-boom on the couch pillows.
• She does not like to be held across your body like a baby, but upright and often facing out to look around.
• Abby laughs at you when you laugh at her and does the cutest little giggles. They are getting longer and longer!
  

• Praise Baby DVDs are still her favorite. We know when they end because she immediately makes it known that she wants more!
• She loves being naked, especially when we come home from school in the hot car.
• She knows when I lift her off the bed/changing table without a diaper that it is bath time and smiles and kicks with excitement.
• She could lounge in her bathtub forever! She just loves water and splashes herself silly. No complaints of water in her eyes from the pool or the bath. It is also so funny to her.

• She currently eats 5 8-oz. bottles per day and sometimes wakes up during the night for another 4 ounces.
• For dinner, she has either 1 tablespoon of rice ceral or 1/3 of a banana. She loves that banana.
• She still has just the one bottom middle tooth.
• She likes to drink water after every couple of bites of food and eats in her highchair.
• She can still wear most of her 3-6 month clothes although we are moving her into the 6-12 month to make sure they are worn.
• She still wears a newborn size shoe, but I have managed to get a couple of the size 1 to stay on her.
• She wears lots of dresses to school and doesn't wear pants too often. She still wears her Trumpette Mary Jane socks all the time.
• At school, they comment on what a good mood she is in, how her smile can light up the room, and that you have to be careful because she french kisses! Oh Daddy!

Her 6 month appointment (with shots-boo!) is tomorrow morning. I'll be sure to post her doctor's comments and her growth. I have a feeling our "little" girl will remain in the 75-90% percentile which is fine by me. I want her to stay healthy and keep on truckin'!

Seriously, this is insane!

Abby Lu is so very blessed to have girlfriends just a little bit older than her and I am blessed that their Mommas have given me so many clothes from their daughters. I met with Natalie on Thursday night to go through her daughter Blythe's clothes. Look at the four tubs I took home! It was so much fun and I know Blythe will love seeing them on Abby at church. Natalie is also a Tech fan and Blythe's birthday is also in late December, so the clothes are the right season and full of red and black!
Friday when I got home I had another bag of clothes from Johnna, the original fashion godmother. It had some of the cutest little outfits. The cherries set from Gymboree were my favorite! I spent the afternoon packing up the remaining 0-3 and many 3-6 month clothes for our attic and friend Carrie due any day now. I also sorted all of these tubs and labeled the sizes to make it easy to transition as Abby grows. Although many of her 3-6 month still fit, I packed them up and moved us into the 6-12 month clothes. There are just so many and I want to make sure she gets to wear them all at least once!

Thank you Natalie and Johnna and little Blythe and Anna Adeleine for sharing!

In addition to having more clothes than I know what to do with, look at this shoe collection! I promise most of these were gifts or came from Anna and Blythe. I think I have bought her 4 pairs of shoes total! Abby can wear 4 pairs of these shoes! Grow little newborn feet grow! Great things await you- pink and orange patent mary janes, fabulous pink and turquoise glitter tennis shoes, soft butter yellow loafers, and even leopard print slippers.

Greatest Accomplishment Ever

This frees up so much of my day :)

I love that she can feed herself. I enjoy holding her during feedings, but also struggle because her nighttime feeding during the week if often while Marcus is trying to make dinner. It'll be nice to give her a bottle and help with dinner or eat my dinner while it is hot.

Steven and Melynne's Wedding

This weekend Marcus and I drove to Houston (Hockley, actually) for Marcus' cousin Steven's wedding to Melynne (a cool way to spell Melanie). It was a beautiful ceremony and lots of fun to see some West Texas family that hadn't met Abby Lu yet.

Here is the House Plantation where the wedding was held. It is just a few miles off 290, but felt like we were in the country.

The rocking chairs on the front porch were perfect for rocking a baby girl who was way too social to even attempt to sleep. We left the wedding after 10 PM. She did fall fast asleep in the parking lot! She loved Daddy's tie- pulling on it, eating it and wadding it up. Since it has a "stain resistant" tag, Marcus let her play.Here is the baby girl before the wedding showing us how excited she was to party! She had big plans for the night- stay up late, impress the wedding guests with her charm, eat an extra bottle for fun, and make her self known during the blessing. Seriously, this is the second time she has decided to "speak" during a very quiet moment of prayer in front of a large crowd!

This is a blurry shot of the bride and groom! She looked beautiful! We had not met Melynne before the wedding, but loved her! Marcus and Steven are just 9 months apart. The newlyweds are off on an Alaskan cruise.... a nice way to beat the Texas heat.

This is Marcus' Aunt Iva. She is the amazing seamstress that made all of Abby's treasures from Abby's great-grandmothers old fabrics. We adore Iva and visited her much more often when we lived in Lubbock. I hate that we don't live closer. She is the Aunt everyone wishes they had- the type that brings you the best casserole when you need it. Her necklace is more than 70 years old and belonged to an Aunt of hers. She looked perfect!

The ceremony was on the back porch and there was the best breeze blowing throughout. It was wonderful to cool everyone off; however, my wrap dress did not appreciate the breeze. Between the wind showing everyone my Spanx and Abby opening up my shirt, it is no wonder we weren't asked to leave.

Marcus' uncle Brian (the groom's father) played guitar for everyone as we waited for the bride to enter. He did a wonderful job even thought he prefers to play with a much smaller crowd. It was touching to see him play in spite of his fears as a token of love to his son and he did a fabulous job!

Abby Lu did great on the car ride to and fro, but did awful last night. She was not happy with the hotel's crib ( a playpen) and spent part of the night in bed with us (a first) and part of the night in her car seat that her Daddy retrieved at 3 AM. I don't think either of us slept more than 2 hours in one stretch. I hope we all get lots of sleep tonight!

Cat Got Your Tongue?

I finally captured Abby twisting her tongue. She does it ALL THE TIME! She was doing it when I picked her up from school on Friday and another Mom (a dentist) told me not to worry about it. She likely just discovered her tongue and was playing. She also said it was genetic and likely a close family member could also do it. I know I can't, but we discovered Marcus can. Since we are constantly told she looks just like me, it was fun for Marcus to share something with her.

Look What I Am Doing Now!

At just a few days short of 6 months, I sat Abby up on the guest bed on Saturday morning to play with her and she stayed sitting up! I think the bed was just "squishy" enough to allow her to sink in and helped her sit up. She sat for 2-5 minutes before falling over. I haven't tried her on the floor without the boppy yet, but I am certain we will be sitting up by the end of the week without the assistance of the boppy.

Goin' Bananas!

Saturday morning we put some leftover banana in Abby's netting feeder and she loved it. I don't think she had the jaw strength to really access the grapes, but she really ate up the banana. Marcus eats a banana almost everyday, so she may be taking after her Daddy on this one. I am not a banana fan.

Kyleigh Comes Over

My sister was in the area tonight for a Mary Kay party and brought Kyleigh over to play with us for a couple of hours.

She spent the day at Fiesta Texas and found pink cheeks there :)

Abby just laughs at Kyleigh! It is cute to see them interact. Kyleigh doesn't have a sister and Abby Lu likely won't either, so I hope they are close.


We went to the swimming pool and then Kyleigh helped me put Abby to bed by reading a book to her. Abby was engrossed in her book.

After reading, Marcus and Kyleigh went out and got us pizza rolls while I put Abby down. After dinner, an enthralling match of Wii bowling, golf and boxing kept us busy.

Leaning Tower of Abby

Learning to Sit is HARD WORK!!!!

Abby's teachers spent some extra time with her today practicing sitting up. She is SO CLOSE and really wants to sit up. She gets so frustrated because almost all of the other kids in her class can sit up. She wants to see more and play more.
This afternoon when I picked her up, she fell asleep on the short 5 minute ride home and stayed asleep as I took her out of the car, held her while folding clothes and was still asleep when I laid her in bed. I eventually woke her up at 6:15 for cereal and bathtime.

Father's Day Present

I made Marcus a book to celebrate his first Father's Day. I wrote it in the voice of Abby thanking her Daddy for all that he does for her. Here are a couple of the pages.

Check out details on how to make a book yourself at my personal blog- www.yourlittlebirdie.blogspot.com.

Enjoy!

First Trip to the Swimming Pool

Look at this diva and her model physique! I had dreams of a tiny little fun bikini for Abby, but have to be practical. This little girl is fair and I think a little coverage will go a long way with her. So, look for a bikini next summer. For now, we are playing it safe!We went to the neighborhood swimming pool this morning at 9:30 AM. (We skipped church because we heard about all of the sick VBS kids and didn't want to expose Abby in case any came back too soon!) There was only one other family there and it wasn't too hot yet. We had been up since 4:45 this morning. It felt like noon to us!

Abby didn't love her ladybug as much as she liked splashing us! I sat with her in the super shallow part to help her get accustomed to the water's temperature. It was, afterall, the coldest water of her life! She had so much fun kicking and slapping the water. Her hat was soaked!

Once she was having fun, Marcus and I went shoulder deep with her. We would walk around and lay her out on her belly as though she were swimming. She never once complained! We even turned on the kiddie toys that shoot water all around and Abby loved the water hitting her on the head. Really- she giggled the whole time!

I think we will be spending lots of weekend mornings in the pool and look for swimming lessons to come soon. I want to make sure she not only loves the water, but knows how to respond in it.

Food Exploration

This morning we placed Abby in her highchair that we had assembled on Friday night. She did wonderful in it. I have to believe it is more comfortable than her Bumbo which requires a little more use of her stomach muscles. She had fun playing in her chair and ate her rice cereal in it.
Tonight I pulled out her Sassy feeder. If you haven't seen one, you can put squishy foods inside and let your child bite on it. It is said to feel good on their gums and introduces them to the juice of foods. I had bought grapes and placed them inside. Abby chewed on them for quite a while.

I think she is ready for some food. She is getting worse at night- getting up at least once and only going down with a bottle. She is hungry! I am planning to up her bottle at night and see if it helps. Our next pediatrician appointment in July 1 and I fully expect the green light for foods then. I know Abby is going to just love it!

Happy First Father's Day

As much as I have wanted to celebrate Mother's Day, I have wanted to see Marcus be celebrated on Father' Day. I have said all along that he was meant to be a little girl's Daddy. Fathers of daughters have big jobs ahead of them!

His nurturing side will do wonders for a little girl's self esteem. I am so lucky to watch that relationship grow and know Abby Lu will become a strong confident women one day because of the love of her father. If little girls look for a man to marry like their Daddy, I have great faith Abby Lu will always be loved my the man in her life.

Happy First Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Granpa

These are the proofs from our SURPRISE photo session for my parents.

We sent a copy of this one to my Dad for Father's Day. He is still in South Dakota. I hope it made it! If not, a real copy in a frame is coming your way Dad!

Thank you for being a wonderful father, father-in-law and Granpa. We love you and can't wait to see you again!

You can not imagine how hard it was to get one good picture of these 3 kids. Kyleigh would get in position and just freeze her smile face until she tired out. Abby was looking around, not smiling, and slumping over in Kyleigh's tired arms. Cohen, well Cohen is a 4 year old boy with energy bigger than the room we had placed him in.

It was fun and I love the pictures, but am certain we won't be doing this again for a few more years!

Look Mom, No Hands!

for the record, her feet were not touching either!

Cohen's Birthday Party

After having breakfast with my friend Patricia this morning (and taking no pictures!), we drove to New Braunfels for Cohen's 4.5 birthday party. He is one active dude, so it took a little strangling to slow him down and grab a picture! He was high on excitement, sugar and outdoor water fun! We bought him a Wolverine figure, X-Men movie and a large claw he can put on just like Wolverine has. When I brought it home, Marcus thought it was his surprise and was visibly upset when I told him it was Cohen's gift!

With our little fair skinned girl, we spent most of the time under their nice covered patio; however, Abby was still hot. So, I put took her out of her sweet dress and into a onesie. We covered her in sunscreen and let Kyleigh walk through the sprinkler with her. Abby just laughed and Kyleigh was so excited- it was her first time to be allowed to hold Abby while not sitting down. She was a big girl carrying the baby!
Look at how wet she got and how relieved she looks to be cooled off!
Abby also had lots of fun playing with Aunt Tiffany. My sister has spent many years working with children under the age of 5 and can find ways to make Abby laugh. She was "vibrating" her and blowing in her face this afternoon and Abby loved it!

The Next Stage is Quickly Coming...

Friday night Marcus and I put together Abby Lu's highchair after she had gone to bed. I want to get her accustomed to sitting in it with rice so that she enjoys it when we introduce new foods after her 6 month appointment in just a few weeks.

Up until now, she had been eating her cereal in her bumbo chair which works great, but isn't ideal when new foods come into play. I am so excited to enter this next stage when food becomes more fun!

Our highchair was a shower gift from Abby's Grammy. I love that it isn't something new inside our kitchen but fits nicely at our table. She is part of the family now and will eat/play at her seat when we eat (provided we eat before her super early bedtime!).


After much reading and research I have decided to make her baby food. It just makes sense- it is cheaper and healthier and can be done in bulk on Sunday afternoons. I have no doubt canned food will likely be bought on ocassion, but hope to give her a healthy start with fresh fruits and vegetables.

I also made the decision to buy the Beabe Babycook and found it online cheaper and with free shipping! I talked to friends that have the Babycook, read blogs from Mom's who use it and read the Amazon reviews. I know I could do it without it, but Marcus and I decided we are more likely to stick with it if it is convenient. I think if I stayed home with Abby I could do without the convenience factor this possesses and save money, but I just don't want to be using multiple devices and cleaning multiple bowls every Sunday. I applaud you Meg for doing it all without this device!

Look for an orange faced baby on the blog in early July!

A Fun Night at our House

Last night my Mom spent the night since she had a training in North Austin on Thursday morning. Marcus and I enjoyed a date night.

Before Mom arrived, we played with Abby. It is so hot and sunny these days that I thought I'd try our her sunglasses again. She liked them this time around! We hope to be using them at the pool this weekend!

After goofing around, I fed Abby her rice cereal. Look at the smiles she was giving me! It might be because I am her Momma or because I was holding the spoon of her beloved rice just outside of the camera :)
Marcus and I went to a lovely dinner and then went to Walmart to use Abby's Gift Certificate for being the youngest person at my family reunion this weekend.

I think it time to transition her from the soft rattle-like toys to those that help her more developmentally. Her school says she is very smart and observant and they are doing a better job of stimulating her mind than we are. So, we bought these fun bright toys to try out.

My Goofy Girl

Oh she makes me giggle! Happy Hump Day!

Think Daddy Got Wet?

SOAKED! Daddy got SOAKED and he LOVED every minute of it!

Moving to the Bathtub

Abby Lu loves bathtime. She knows when I pick her up naked off her changing table that it is bathtime. The kicking of her legs honestly begins at that moment and ends when her pajamas go back on.

Tonight, we moved her bathtub into our bathtub . She is so excited during bathtime that her kicking was making a mess. We had water on the counters, the cabinets, the floor, the rug, the wall, etc. It is cute and I want her to love the water, but the cleanup was too much.

Bathing her in the bath was much easier.


Check out the video to see her kicking in action.