Abby 9 month well check- a tale of three heads

This is our beautiful blond baby girl playing with the paper at her 9 month well check just before we learned she has a GIANT head!

I don't think it looks large when you are looking at her and she seems to be able to hold it up just fine, but the law of percentiles tells us there are only 3% of people her age with a larger head. Luckily at birth she was in the 50th percentile.

So, after reviewing her chart, Dr. Sperling asked if either of us have a large head. I fessed up- it is me. My head has always been large! I have to loosen a ball cap of Marcus' to wear it. So, she wanted to measure us both to confirm. If neither of us have a giant head, then she wants to do a few more tests just to make sure something isn't wrong with Abby.

So, she pulls out the standard measuring tool and it doesn't fit around my head- nice! Then, she measures Marcus. And, he measures just fine. She is going to look it up at lunch and call us, but I couldn't wait. Here is what the charts says:

Marcus- 5'10" 55 -57 cm head = 3rd- 10th percentile

This equates to a small head for his gender and size

Anna- 5'3" 59 cm head = OFF THE CHARTS!

Um yea, there is a reason I am so smart! 57 cm is the 97th percentile!

Want to know your head size- click here to convert your height to CM and here to compare. To measure your head, use a measuring tape and wrap it around your head about the middle of your forehead. Let me know how you rank!

Abby- 9 months and 46 1/2 cm head = 97th percentile

Wow! Now her feet really need to grow to help her support that big head!

Her other stats were good- weight is 18.9 lbs. which is 50th percentile and length is 28.5 which is 75 percentile.

I asked a few questions and everything confirmed well. We are feeding her the right amount and she is growing as she should. No major changes need to be made.

She also got a flu shot and cried for all of 10 seconds. Brave girl!

Cleanup on Aisle 6

Nothing wrong with this picture.... just a baby enjoying her bottle in her exersaucer. Look a litte closer.....
Here is the close up for you... thanks goodness I spent $7 and opted for the jumbo tub of Clorox wipes. I striped her down inside the saucer. Marcus gave her a prebath rinsing and then put her in the tub. I proceeded to smear poo in every nook and cranny of the saucer before finally making progress. This will go on her wedding slideshow for sure!

Happy 9 Months Sweet Girl

Today is my 1/2 birthday and Abby's 9 month birthday! I have loved the past 9 months and am so excited about what the next 9 will bring. Tomorrow is our 9 month appointment and I'll share her stats with you. Tonight, I wanted to share some of Abby's accomplishments, likes and dislikes.

• We are a big girl and sit up. We do not lay down. We even drink our bottles sitting up unless we are super tired.
• We pull up occasionally and crawl only when necessary. We can stand if leaning against something and placed in that position by one of us.
• We love to have our teeth brushed and go to bed with a minimal fight. Abby sleeps from 7 PM - 5:30 AM without waking up. She takes 2 small naps during the day.
• She just recently learned to give Momma kisses. I have to have her focused on me and make the kissy face and sounds to really get her attention. She'll smile, shake her head no and then fall into me. It is fun to do!
• She is very flexible and contorts herself to some odd positions- she does the splits, licks her knee and can lay on her back with one arm underneath and across her back.
• We have 5 teeth and #6 is very close. Luckily, it appears she will fill in the big top gap in little time.
• She wants Daddy to hold her if given an option. He still flys her around and she still laughs and kicks the whole time, even when sick.
• She loves to fly in the front yard and touch the leaves on the trees and listen for cars.
• Abby can play peek-a-boo and knows what a mirror is for.


• She knows when we are out of her sight and whines. We can talk to her while leaving the room and it seems to help.
• Abby takes a bottle when she wakes up, a bottle at 7 AM, eats yogurt or oatmeal with fruit for breakfast, veggies and fruit for lunch, Mum Mums for snack, and meat, veggies and fruit for dinner.
• Her most favorite food is mandarin orange, followed closely by bananas and avocado. The only food she really rejects is peaches. I can feed her 2:1 bananas to peaches and she'll take them.
• She uses her left hand more than her right.
• She turns her head to respond to you calling her name.

It is our privledge to watch her grow and shape her world. Thank you God for such a wonderful baby girl!

Snaggletooth Grin

We've got 5 teeth now!

Abby and Yoda

This past weekend we ran into Target for a few items. As we were crossing over from grocery to the baby section for formula and diapers Marcus makes a comment about us getting out of Target without buying Abby a toy. Just as he does I see the new Star Wars line at Target including 2-3 feet tall stuffed Yoda dolls.

The cart whiped around so fast and then Marcus in his best Yoda voice is speaking to Abby and she is laughing, smiling and kicking her feet. She loved Yoda or Daddy's Yoda voice.

We put him in the cart with her because Marcus obviously has short term memory loss and proceeded to the baby section where we discovered a cool alphabet ball that Abby had played with earlier at a birthday party and seemed to like. When both of them were in her range, she went for the ball and Marcus conceded the Yoda would not be. We returned it to the aisle of Star Wars goodies.

If anyone is ready to start Christmas shopping, this would be a great gift for Abby and her Daddy. We found it in the bedding aisle at Target.

UPDATE: Shhh, don't tell Abby, but a Yoda has been purchased. :)

Her New Favorite

Abby has a new favorite food and I honestly can't feed it to her fast enough- she LOVES little mandarin oranges! We fed them to her one night when she was still hungry and I hadn't thawed any additional fruit. We had those little cartons that I take to work for snack. They are so easy since you can break them apart in your fingers while you feed them. Additionally, they are soft and easy for her to gum and swallow.

Tonight I was working on dip for a baby shower I am co-hosting tomorrow morning and sat the oranges on Abby's tray to feed herself. She can do puffs just fine, but has pretty much gotten frustrated and quit on all other finger foods. Knowing how much she loves mandarin oranges, I pushed the issue. And, she did it!

Look at the focus on her face and all that juice from the oranges on her tray!

Since they are so slippery, she learned to grasp them in her hand and then.... ... shovel them in her mouth!When she was sick last week, we were able to feed her oranges and bread over anything else. Yummy!

Abby's New Ride

It is hard to believe my little bitty baby girl is ready for her next car seat! This one should last us until she is 4 years old.

Thanks to my friend Meg and a blogger Mary Kate with babies Abby's age, I went with the Maxi Cosi Priori for my car. I had been debating 2 seats and Mary Kate's review and the safety links she posted pushed me in one direction.

Technically Abby can stay in her current seat until she is a little heavier, but she is no longer comfortable. She looks folded up, sits in that constant lounge position and can't see out. She has a convertible car seat in Marcus' car and just chills. She is so much more spread out and relaxed.

Her new seat will allow Abby to rear face until she is 35 lbs. Rear facing is much safer and this one allows for that longer than most. It has great safety ratings and some cool features like those little black ovals on the sides, those hold the straps when you are taking her in and out. No more digging around Abby's hiney to find the buckle. She'll be thrilled! It also reclines in 4 different positions which she will enjoy on longer car trips or when she is sleeping in the car.

It comes in lots of cool colors. We really liked the blue, but opted for the pumpkin. I'm hoping it looks a little less USC in person. Plus, we scored 10% off and free shipping on our purchase! For now, the Chicco system is going back in the box and in the attic. Who knows, we might need it again in a few years. ;)

Parties with Friends

Abby and I had a busy Saturday with a baby shower and birthday party. Abby played with her friend Elizabeth during the shower. Elizabeth thought she was a baby doll and kept wanting to pick Abby up. They haven't really seen each other since March. After the shower we attended our friend Michael's first birthday. It was a circus theme and oh so cute! Abby came to the party as a clown. She hated the itchy curly clown wig, but we eventually snapped a shot of her in the wig!

Abby played with balloons for the first time. She had fun trying to grab and bite them. I'm thankful none popped! Look at her pointing her toes while doing the splits. She can also touch her face to the ground in this position. Wow!

I captured Abby with two of the boys, Michael (the birthday boy, on the left) and Ivan. She looks a little scared to be left alone with these two!

This is sad, but it is the best group shot I could get of the zoo! It was crazy!

from left to right- Abby the monkey, Blythe the bear, Elizabeth the cat, David the tiger, Michael the lion, Connor the lion, Abby the clown and Ivan. There were 3 or 4 additional kids there not in the picture.

Happy 8th Birthday

Happy Birthday Kyleigh! We love you!

Can you see what I see?

Be very quiet- I don't think she sees me.

Baby Girl is Back

Abby Lu is back! Her appetite, smiles and spunk rejoined our family last night. I missed her!

Funny little story, we have been teaching Abby how to turn lights on and off for at least a month. It has been a very concrete way to watch her transition from using her hands to using her fingers and to see her progression. She knows to use her index finger bent like a claw to turn off the light.
I always cheer for her and often clap when she gets the light. We make a big deal out of it. This morning she put her hand up to the switch and didn't pay attention, but just swiped at it. Then she looked at me and clapped to congratulate herself. She hadn't even touched the switch and the light was still on. It made me laugh. She knows the routine, but the cause and effect component isn't there yet.

Open Open Open

Is this how I make the Praise Baby DVD come on? Mom and Dad are always in here and then my show comes on. Surely I can figure this out!

Clownin' Around

Abby is attending a first birthday party this weekend for her friend Michael. He is having a circus party and kids are encouraged to come as a circus animal. Abby is going as a clown, so we have been practicing wearing the wig. It doesn't last more than 3 seconds. We'll be sure to share pictures from Saturday when she is all decked out!

Drunk Rocker

She has mastered the drunk rocker look at 9 months.

Abby discovered the guitar for guitar hero this evening and had fun discovering the buttons and strings.

Family Resemblence

I took a couple of pictures of pictures of Kyleigh when she was younger to look at the comparison of her and Abby Lu. When K was little we often said she looked like me. Seeing these pictures and knowing Abby now, I think they look very alike.
What do you think- do they look alike?

Tongue and New Teeth

Abby has discovered her tongue and provided there isn't a camera in front of her, she will stick it out in response to you sticking your tongue out. It'll be cute for a few more months. :)

She also has her 3rd and 4th tooth. They came in early last week. They are on top and are not the middle two or the two next to the middle two, but the two outside of those. If she doesn't fill in that gap before these get larger, we may have to adjust and be Dracula for Halloween!

Abby's Poor Tum-Tum

UPDATE: School called at 2:30 and Abby lost her lunch. Poor thing- she can't keep any food down. We just keep her hydrated and let this run it's course.

We almost made it to Abby's 9 month check up without a doctors appointment! After being sick on Friday and then just a little "low" over the weekend, Abby threw up twice Monday morning at school. We took her to the pediatrician on Monday afternoon and she has a little virus that she likely got from school last week and then was reinfected over the weekend. Since so much goes into her mouth, there is no doubt her germs reappeared sometime on Sunday.

After the appointment, we set her up with all of her warm and soft blankets, pillows, and animals to watch Praise Baby videos for as long as she wanted. She was on clear liquids until dinner last night and kept down 2 bottles and a little food. She was rejecting everything, but ate more mandarin oranges than 1 person her size should. We went and bought more in case she is still disinterested in dinner tonight. She is still at school and they said she has kept down her bottles and oatmeal from this morning.

My New Shelf

When Momma and Daddy feed me a good dinner....
I end up with a shelf to store my cracker crumbs on.

Momma, stop takin' pictures of my belly!

Lovin' Our West Texas Stops

Before leaving Abilene Saturday afternoon, we grabbed lunch at my favorite West Texas spot- Rosa's Cafe. We don't have one in Austin and beyond good cheap Mexican food- they have the very best flour tortillas! So, in honor of her West Texas roots, Abby had her first flour tortilla. We fed her a few small pieces and she gummed them up just fine. We are encouraged to give her a certain number of carb servings each day and we seem to always fall short. So, totrillas made her bread quota for the day. Before lunch, we ran into Academy in Abilene for some Read Raider gear. I got a cute new TTU shirt with a zebra print and we bought Abby an outfit for tailgate next year and bought a few gifts. It was a fruitful stop!

My Favorite Red Raider Fans

Although she was in bed before kickoff, Abby Lu is dreaming of a Red Raider victory...... so is her Daddy!

Trip to Merkel for Homecoming

Marcus and I took off work on Friday to drive to Merkel (15 miles west of Abilene, Texas) for Homecoming. Marcus graduated 17 years ago, so it wasn't a reunion weekend for him, but a chance to see his new FB friends from high school and for Abby to see Grammy.

We got into town for a late lunch at Taco Bueno with Marcus' Mom, Grammy. We also got to see her office and meet her co-workers who follow Abby on the blog. It was so nice to meet everyone with our sweet little girl. She showed off with a little crawling and a lot of flying!

After lunch, we drove downtown to the homecoming parade where we met Bill and Wendy.

The parade was a town event, not a school event like I remember. There were lots of parents and city officials in the parade. Afterward, they held a pep rally downtown.

The parade was complete with horses, including one who left us an aromatic present!

After the parade, we went to Marcus' childhood home where Grammy had presents awaiting Abby. She even wrapped them to see how Abby will do at Christmas. She was super excited, but slow in opening and much more excited about the paper at first.

We then got into our school colors and went to dinner at the local restaurant- Skeets. They have awesome fried pickles and chicken fried steak. Darn that Weight Watchers didn't go to Merkel with me either!

I ordered Abby this cute dress in yellow with a purple pony from Ralph Lauren. They have a great Create your Own division and even put them in sale.

The stadium was how I experienced HS football- lots of parents in the stands, students under the bleachers buying blow pops and looking for their friends, and the community showing awesome support!

We parked in a field near the stadium in rows with many other cars. Since Abby was tired, we left in the third quarter and discovered the late comers had just pulled onto the field and not formed neat little rows. Marcus pulled us partially into the field and then had to walk out a path for us by my headlights to confirm there was a true way out and we wouldn't get stuck.

The weather for the game was perfect- I even had to put on a light jacket when the sun went down. Abby did a great job looking around at the people, taking in the noises and feeling the cool breeze.

And then, she was so tired. We just couldn't keep her out any longer. We got home about 9:30. It doesn't seem all that late, but Abby goes to bed about 7:00 so it was late for her.

We gave Abby a bottle to help her go to sleep. Her and I were sleeping together and Marcus was planning to sleep on the couch in the living room. Abby's tummy had other plans. She threw up her bottle, her dinner, another bottle and the little water left in her tummy during the night. It was awful. A sick baby is tough, but a sick baby in another person's house is even worse. We had picked all of the baby meds we have, but didn't bring Pedialyte. Nothing was open and the nearest open store or hospital was 20 minutes away. Abby tore through 2 pairs of pajamas, 2 shirts for Momma, 2 pairs of sheets, 4 towels, and 2 pillowcases!
Luckily, she woke up feeling fine and didn't throw up after about 1 AM. She slept on my chest or Marcus' the remainder of the night. She has kept everything down today, just eaten much less than normal. She slept for 2 hours on the car ride home and went to bed at 6:30 Saturday night.

I Like to Move It Move It

Here are a few still images of our CRAWLING baby girl! If you sit her on the floor now and put a toy (or a cat) out of her reach, she'll go for it.
I would clap for her as she was crawling and she'd stop and clap for herself!

Then, she'd get right back at it.

So, at 8 months and 2 weeks, Abby Lu is a crawler!