Birthday Present: Little People Noah's Ark

I saw my friend Tabriah last week and she brough Abby a giant bag filled with a birthday present! Included were some awesome play keys and this Little People Noah's Ark. We had just recently played with similiar animals at the doctor's office, so the timing was perfect. Abby enjoyed eating the animals and putting them in and out of the ark. Girl loves to organize things!
Next up, teaching her what each of these animals are! Thanks Tabriah for a wonderful gift! I was so sad to put the Little People nativity away and now we have an alternative.

It's A Hat

This week in her class at school, Abby Lu studied hats and practiced trying on different hats. Last week while I was at a meeting, Marcus caught Abby making a hat out of her utensil basket in her kitchen. Smart girl!

Pardon the overturned blender and the sink that obviously needs a plumber. This kitchen's Momma is busy!

Cheese and Cousins

Thursday night on my way home from a meeting, I saw this sign and knew it was the place for me! So, we ate lunch today at Chedd's, a gourmet grilled cheese restaurant. They had a million different grilled cheese options- breads, over 30 cheeses, meats, veggies, and sauces! I was pretty boring with mozzarella, pepperoni and Focaccia bread. A yummy pizza sandwich. They recommended I add green peppers, black olives and pizza sauce. I opted not to :)

This is Marcus' sandwich- smoked Gouda, cheddar, turkey and pickles on marbled rye. He loved it and wants to try every combination possible! This place was great for kids- Abby loves grilled cheese! She had cheddar on white with milk and a fruit cup. Perfect for her! This evening our cousins Landry and Bella came over to play. Abby and sweet Landry tried to get a picture, but Abby just wanted to look at Landry. Landry is such a little Mom, she has a voice just for talking to babies. And, she rubs Abby's head. So cute!

Birthday Present: The Ball Popper

Abby received so many fun new items for her birthday and we've had a blast trying them out. I placed a few in the closet to pull out in another month or so, but I wanted to share with the gift givers pictures of Abby playing with her new toys and books. My cousin Kristi always shares pictures like these and I enjoy reading them. It may also help many of you looking for new toys.

Abby received 2 purses for her birthday. What are you people saying, here? ha! We exchanged the purse from our friend Jay, Heather, Katie and Connor for this ball popper.

Very quickly Abby learned to press the purple button to turn it on.The balls are then pressed with air to move through the clear tube in the base and pop up the yellow center. Sometimes they even fly out or are pulled out prematurely by grabby hands!
And, when you finally get 2 balls out, you can bang them together!

Abby loves her ball popper- thanks friends!

Happy Belated Birthday Aunt Vicki

This week was my Aunt Vicki's birthday and I had a booger of a time getting Abby to share in the celebration! She threw the sign, kicked the sign and tried to eat the sign!
Heck, she wouldn't even smile for me!

But, the sentiment is the same!

We hope you had a wonderful birthday and that we get to see you again soon!

Looking Ahead

Wait just one minute, something feels wrong! Hmmm, I think I like this. I am in the car and I can see you. How does this work?

Hi Momma! Hi Daddy! This weekend we moved my carseat to Marcus' car and faced it forward for Abby. We have the clearance from the pediatrician! This carseat can face backward longer, but she is long and gets mad kicking the seat. So, we moved it to Marcus' car that she only rides in about 2 miles per day.

Her other car seat still has plenty of rear facing leg room, so it is now in my car and still facing backward.

We're Moving Up!

This pretty girl spent her last Sunday in the baby room at church! We hadn't been in about 6 weeks due to travel and crazy holiday festivities and it was too long for Abby. She was unhappy about being left. When I went and checked on her I asked about moving her up. So, next week she'll be with the big kids! After church, we had lunch at Rudy's BBQ and Abby played peek-a-boo with us.
When we got home, I pulled out all of her 12-18 month winter clothes and washed, dried and put them in her drawers and closet. So many memories in this bin- clothes from sweet friends, items I bought last winter's end, and gifts from our baby shower!

It is going to be a wild 6 months! Gymboree ran a leopard and zebra line last year. I bought a few of these items and the leopard shirt and pants were a gift from our friends Rob and Josette. I'm thinking Abby needs a black long sleeved shirt to go with these.

Abby spent the afternoon napping and playing! She crawled into the office and stood up trying to get her birthday party balloon. She loves to punch it and have it bounce back and hit her in the face!

We hope you had a wonderful Sunday, too!

One Year Well Check

Friday afternoon we took Abby Lu to her 12 month well check.

I always feel so blessed when we leave these appointments- knowing we have a healthy baby girl makes me so very happy. I always pray with Abby before bed and on nights like this I often find myself praying for parents who didn't get a healthy report or who see doctors for reasons so much bigger than a well check. Her doctor said she is developmentally, verbally and socially where she should be. No concerns!

Abby is:

21 lbs and 12 ounces heavy- 60th percentile

29.5 inches long- 65th percentile

47.25 cm round head- 95th percentile

Here are her 9 month stats to see her growth.

At 12 months, Abby can verbally say "momma", "daddy" and "nana". We are working on "jaja" for Jacque and "please". She once said hedgie for her toy, but we really can't get her to say it again.

She signs, "more", "all done", "eat", "drink" and "touchdown". We are working on "off sides".

She loves to read books. At night, I'll pull 3 or 4 and show them to her and she picks the order we read them in. She still loves "Where is the Cat" only we now read the book by turning the page and having Abby point to the cat on each page. It amazes me how smart she is!

She also loves her Abby Cadabby doll and hugs, kisses, and talks to her non-stop. We've really seen her transition lately from baby toys to those that stimulate her more. Luckily, we received lots of those for her birthday!

We aren't walking yet without assistance of a walking toy. We crawl fast all over the house and can walk around the coffee table. She'll stand using her belly to support her on the table, but won't let go just yet. I know she'll get there soon! I think she looks so petite in her jeans and boots standing up!

Abby still wears most of her 6-12 month clothing. I'll pull out the 12-18 months soon as I think they'll also fit fine. We have moved into a size 3 shoes which is 6-9 months. I bought her pink Ugg boots at Target this week and Marcus bought her Adidas today on clearance.

We don't bother with our new earrings and won't leave a hair bow in our hair for anything! If I put it in her hair, she immediately pulls it out and hands it to me. We'll play that game 4 or 5 times before she gives up and leaves it in. Taking her socks off happens at record speed. She'll also hand you her sock with a big smile on her face.

Abby transitioned to whole milk like a pro. We immediately put it in hard topped sippy cups and she's never looked back. No formula at all. Not washing and packing bottles each day for school has been lovely! Her morning snack was a bottle and she hasn't noticed it is gone. The ability to disregard a schedule without any concern is not a trait she got from me!

We are completely self-feeding table food. Abby eats most anything, but it is hit-or-miss. Her favorite food on Monday is thrown and not eaten on Thursday. We just keep on giving her different things.

Meat- ham, turkey franks, chopped chicken, and sausage.
Veggies- corn, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries, french fries, green beans, pinto beans, avocado, squash and pickles.
Fruit- oranges, peaches, pears, apples, bananas, kiwi, blueberries and strawberries.
Others- pancakes, waffles, fruit and grain bars, goldfish, yogurt meals, string cheese, cheddar cheese, ravioli, craisins, raisins, graham crackers, and nilla wafers.

For breakfast she eats fruit and waffles, pancakes or a fruit bar. I plan to add breakfast sausage this week to up her protein.

For lunch she eats a meat, cheese and veggie.

For snack, she eats any combination of a cookie/craker snack, cheese, and/or dried fruit.

Dinner is much like lunch only we'll often add fruit or a sweet item like nilla wafers.

Drinks- just water and milk for as long as I can!

We also decided to start giving Abby Zyrtec Allergy. She has coughed every night for 6 plus weeks. We hope it is just allergies and the Zyrtec will help her out. She coughs about 3 times per night for less than 5 minutes, but it wakes us all up! Abby goes right back to sleep without us doing anything, but we both struggle lying in bed just awaiting her crying or coughing again.

Thank you Lord for an amazing first year with an awesome kiddo!

Silly Monkey

We laugh at her daily! This baby girl is so much fun! I love her smiles, expressions and love that she now knows what to do to make us laugh. She is so silly!

I'm Getting Closer

Abby's teachers at school are just wonderful! We are able to give them goals for Abby and they update us on how they worked on them regularly. Abby is getting close to moving into the next class and we'd really like her walking in that class. She would be the youngest and they are all walking. I think it is safer for her to be with the wobbly walkers if she doesn't have 10 little fingers on the floor! Today they told me she had been walking around the classroom on a toy like this. So, we put it in front of her tonight and she walked the length of the living room. Last time we tried this toy she would put her weight on it causing it to push forward and she didn't know to move her legs to stay upright.
We're told we'll have a walker by the end of the month! I am excited to see her grow and develop and ready for her to come home without brown knees everyday! ha!

Visit from Friends

Our friends came to visit this week and deliver a sweet birthday present for Abigayle. After playing for a little, Abby settled in for dinner and the kids enjoyed watching her! Natalie and I have been setting these two up since before they were born. They were bunnies at Easter together and Abby gave Michael some Texas Tech gear for his birthday hoping they'd be at Tech together! She is still open for the Homecoming dance their freshman year.
She was so excited to see friends. This kid really is social! If she is getting cranky, we almost always can attribute it to boredom and seeing people even from the cart at Target cheers her up! She was clapping with glee as they all played in her kitchen.

Thank you friends for her toys, book, froggy set and diaper cover (it reads, "I'm behind the Red Raiders!) and thanks for taking the time to come visit us!

Miss Gabrielle

Today at lunch, Marcus and I met our friend Jessica downtown at the NICU to meet her beautiful miracle Gabrielle Hope. Ellie was born at 28 weeks. Her older sister Emma was born at 21 weeks and lives in Heaven. Marcus and I are good friends with Jessica and her husband Mo and are so very blessed to know them and pray with them for a day like today. You may look at this baby girl and think how small or how sad that she isn't home or see the feeding tube in her nose. Her parents see the miracle, her eyelashes beginning to form, her contentment from being well fed, her spunky spirir, her father's hairline, her long fingers and legs.
They've felt the worst that life can bring and now see the beauty in life that many of us will never see. Look closely, isn't she beautiful?

I give so many thanks to the Lord for answering our prayers and sharing His child with Mo and Jessica. I also give thanks to the amazing medical team at the NICU in Austin and around the world. They do such an amazing job and give Moms like Jessica comfort.

New Sign

In honor of Marcus and I playing each other in our fantasy football championship game, we taught Abby a new sign. If you say TOUCHDOWN, she'll raise her hands above her head just like the officials do. Smart girl!

Abby's First Birthday Party

Look at this pink party explosion fit for the sweetest cutest baby girl I know!

We had lots of fun on Sunday afternoon with about 40 of our friends and family. Sweet Abby did wonderful- she was so very bored from spending a week with us. She was just giddy with excitement the moment she saw other kids to play with. It took her a while to realize the pink sparkles in front of her was a sweet yummy cupcake and she could do what she wanted with it. She eventually ate it up!

Abby opened some sweet presents from our guests- funny books, educational toys, cute outfits. We loved it all! Here she is riding in her wagon from Marcus and I. She sat in it long after the party was over! It will be perfect for trips to the pool, park and mailbox.
Check out this post on my craft blog for details on the decor and fancy cake!

It is hard to believe we have a 1 year old. It is still hard to believe we are parents! Luckiest parents on earth, in my opinion!

Next Weight Loss Goal

If I lose 10 more pounds by March 1, this will be my new Spring bag. If not, then I have to wait until I lose 20 pounds to make the purchase.

Isn't it pretty- a soft khaki leather, a bug floppy purse perfect for springtime. I hope it will be mine in just 8 weeks. I'll keep you posted!

2010 Alamo Bowl

Saturday night Marcus and I drove to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl to cheer on our Texas Tech Red Raiders. We bought the tickets in early December before the big Mike Leach controversy. We stayed overnight at Westin La Cantera which is one of our favorite hotels. Gotta love hotel points! Walking from the parking garage to the game was filled with fanfare like we've never seen. The fans of Tech love Coach Mike Leach and it was evident from the crazy chants as we walked to the scores of handmade t-shirts on the fans. It was the most spirited I've ever seen and we loved watching it all!
There were so many signs in the crowd that were funny, mean, and so creative. Here is a sampling:

Craig James Detroyed SMU and Wrecked Tech

What's the Big Deal? Mack (Brown) has had McCoy and Shipley in the closet for years.

We Like Mike

Fire Myers

This one- ESPN Lies.


ESPN stands for Extra Sensitive Parent Network

Leach Power

We Support Pirate Nation

F-U AJ (Adam James)

Michigan State had a sign that said, "We Love Craig James"

Real Men Aren't Afraid of the Dark

Save Our Captain

I Wish Craig James was my Daddy

Once the game started, it was about the team and playing the game. They entered the field arm-in-arm with the interim coach on the front row. It was a touching sign of unity. They normally run out like crazy men!
It was a great game with turnovers, big plays, huge tackles and lots of scoring. My type of game! Tech ultimately won by 10 and we stayed for the trophy presentation.

I've never heard our interim coach speak, and he was awesome. He opened with, "Raider Nation, what up?" You know the players love him! He spoke about how professional the coaching staff have been, about how he gained 120 sons this week and how proud he was. You could just see his pride in his face, in the high fives and hip bumps during the game and in his entrance to the field with his players.

I am so glad I attended the game. My raider pride is on high and I can't wait to see how the controversy ends and who our new coach will be.