Egg-cellent Fun for Easter

Oh the fun we had with a basket full of empty plastic eggs!

Our First Easter with Abby Lu

Our first Easter family picture!

I have wanted to dress up a baby girl for Easter for many years and today was the day! I ordered this dress around the time she was born from a sweet lady on eBay who will custom make anything on your dress. You pick the colors, the applique, the monogram color and she will handmake it and deliver it straight to your mailbox. It is the perfect Spring dress for our perfect gift from God.

This little angel did wonderful at her first big service! Rock Band training was perfect - the loud music of the band didn't scare her at all. We spent the entire 90 minutes without her fussing at all. She sat in my arms, took a bottle, slept, and finished her bottle.

Happy Easter 2009

Her Easter Present

I ordered Abby Lu this super soft chair for Easter from Pottery Barn Kids. It is like a mini-recliner just for her for a boppy wrapped around it. She can sit in it pretty well and I know she'll get more use out of it as she has the strength to fully hold herself up. For now, she can sit in it for a few minutes before the slide down begins. It is the perfect place for watching her Praise Baby DVDs.

Daddy is a Rocker!

Abby Lu supports her Daddy's rocker ways!

Friday night we went over to our friend Mo and Jessica's house for Marcus to get his rock band on. You'll recall he has played drummer in the Hold Family Band as well. Last night he practiced his lead and bass guitar, but found most of his time was best spend on the drums!

Abby's First Easter Party (with 50 kids!)

l to r: Josette, Heather, Katie, Lori (the hostess) Natalie, Blythe, Michael, Abby Lu, me, Jenny and Ivan

I was off on Friday and was super excited to spend the morning with some of my church girlfriends for the Pavesi's annual Easter Egg hunt. I have heard about this party for years, but never attended. It was all I had expected and more!

The party came complete with brunch, the Easter story, a big egg hunt, outdoor play, and an egg toss for all of these kids! Wow! I look forward to next year when Abby Lu can really wobble around and pick up eggs filled with candy for Mommy and Daddy!

Look at sweet Abby Lu in her lamb ears with me and her sweet friend Michael. His Mom Natalie and I have fun doing photo shoots. Michael often ends up making faces at Abby Lu who falls over on Michael.

I hope they are friends when they are older and we can use these pictures! Michael gave up on Abby Lu and just took her ears!

Abigayle's Newborn Portrait

Jenny delivered Abby's newborn portrait framed and ready to hang to my office today. I just love this sweet, soft, angelic image of her. I am sure it will be nice to look back on when she isn't as sweet, in like 13 years!

Music playlist...

So I am working on a CD for someone..and as I am scrolling through my songs.....I found some songs that I 'locked' away....songs I never wanted to hear because I just didn't like the way they made me feel.   Guys are great at hiding their feelings, and hiding these songs was a great way to do it.  But the events of the past year have let me "unlock" these songs....

Tough Little Boys - Gary Allen

"tough little boys grow up to be Dads, and turn into big babies again"  - The song is the story of a man becoming a dad to a daughter, and how tough he is...until he is with that little girl...

Beyond Measure - Jeremy Camp

"I feel the breeze of my new born daughter's breathe.." The realization of God's love comes after this experience.....

Heaven - Live

To some what of the same point, through the song, he takes all those really really good arguments against God, and Heaven, and has but one retort....his little baby daughter....and that becomes all he needs against the logic.

There goes my life - Kenny Chesney

This was the hardest one of all....the song starts with a resentment to having a child...something that during our struggle made me upset...the guy takes the whole song to see the gift he has.  But I see now the beauty of the song....the point is not about the resentment, or the progress, but the truth that a parent's goal is to give their kids more than they ever had..."She headed off to the west coast..."

thats it.  4 songs.  Come on.....thats a lot for a guy to fess up....

Marcus

100 Days Old

This is my sweet girl this morning celebrating 100 days since her birth. She looks so perfect that Marcus thought she looked like a doll.

Smiling for her Daddy

This morning before school.... she loves her Daddy and his silly voices and faces!

NOTE: This is the last time to wear this sweet onesie. It fits her just fine around, but is obviously too short for her. I don't think off the shoulder is in style for 3 months olds!

Abby Lu Can Play!

On Sunday afternoon we pulled out Abby's exersaucer for the first time. She isn't able to bounce or spin, but she did look at all of the toys intently. She even showed some of them her love by slobbering all over them! I love watching her brain take things in for the first time. You can see her concentrating, focusing and then smiling. Such a smart girl!

New TV Wall

Congratulations Heather- you are correct! Marcus painted our TV wall cut out a dark red color on Saturday while Abby and I were in Round Top. It looks wonderful!

Cooling Off with Ice in Round Top

Mom, Tiffany, Kyleigh, Abby and I drove to Round Top this morning for the semi-annual antiques (read JUNK) market. I came home with 3 things that I just love!

My college roommate Katy had an old milk can like this and it served as a great stool, drink holder, or table. I have it on the fireplace for now. It is a cool blue color with red coming through the peeled spots.

Love this rooster for my kitchen!

I saw one like this last weekend at the Leander High craft fair and the women was unwilling to sell and ship me one. She had already sold the one she brought.

Finally, my Mom bought me this cool green glass jar for my birthday. It is a neat antique looking glass with the metal red lid with peeling paint :)

I have it on the mantel, but don't know where it will end up or what I will put inside it. I am thinking of black beans and a big ivory candle.

We were lucky to find a covered porch to eat our BBQ sandwiches on. We took a little time there to get out of the heat and make faces with Abby. She was in the jogger and the front loader carrier for most of the day. She slept a little, ate a little and smiled a lot! All of the little ladies loved her.

While sitting on the porch, Tiffany gave her some ice to try. She made the funniest faces, but kept going back for more!

Daddy Goes Rawr

Abby Lu finds her Daddy to be pretty funny. Mind you, this is a sweet happy baby that spent 3.5 hours in the car and 5 hours outside today. We are so so very blessed- she has such an easy disposition.

complete state of Zen

So last night, lil Abby went down about 8:45 after a nice big 6 oz bottle.  At about 6am this morning, Anna said that we should go check on her.  Good idea.  

I walk into the nursery and peer over the crib.  Lil bit is looking right back at me.  Little shocking that she was awake with this Zen like contemplation look on her face.  She sees me and realizes its time to get out, and gets excited.  

At bedtime, she weighed somewhere around 13.5 pounds. This morning, she was about 2lbs heavier.....in the tailpipe.  Nightclothes were soaked....bedding soaked.....

That diaper had gone about twice as long as it should have...and our little Zen child was just fine.  No peep.  Nothing.  Not even a frustrated mumble through the monitor. 

MJ

Funny Name Game

This made me laugh! I tag all of my bloggy friends to do it! I believe my stripper name can not be topped!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Freckles Equinox
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe):Peppermint Wedge
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Lamb
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Gayle Austin
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name):Jende
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Tea
7. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent,favorite candy):Coco Mademoiselle Twizzler (this is the best!)
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): O'Donnell Ottawa
9. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Geranium
10. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now):Pear Jeans
11. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Sugar Oak

Long and Lean

Look at how long Abby Lu is getting! I am amazed. It feels like she is getting too long for her swing, changing table and the boppy. I know she can use there for much longer, but it is strange to see her fold up into the swing, kick the wipes off the edge of the changing table and lay across the entire boppy.

Our next pediatrician appointment is at the end of April, I look forward to seeing how long she really is. I am sure it is only a one-inch growth, but it feels like 10!


PS The diapers and shoes arrived yesterday. Diapers are fine, but the shoes are twice her foot size even though she is the right age for them. This girl has the tiniest feet. Socks are still falling off (even newborn socks!) and only one pair of shoes fit and she has to be wearing socks for them to stay on. Doesn't she know Momma has a whole lot of cute shoes just waiting for her?

New Carseat Toy

When I pick Abby Lu up from school each day she has fun on her short ride home playing with her cool frog that Kyleigh and I bought her a few weeks ago.









Look at our smart strong girl- she can grab at the toys and make them spin and light up.

I love seeing her happily relate to the things around her. I know it means her brain is growing and she is enjoying herself. I hope the next thing is her recognizing me and smiling when I arrive at school to pick her up.



This is her perspective of the frog, turtle and spinning mirror. The whole car ride home I hear the beads in the turtle rattling and Abby Lu giggling. She isn't able to press the frog's eyes to play the music just yet. I am sure it will happen soon.

One Year Ago Today...

March 2008 was a really big month for us! On this day last year, I had my ICSI procedure done and learned that all of our hard work had led to six successful embryos! Now, one year later, I have one beautiful healthy baby girl.

Last week, while standing in Nordstrom's, I heard my phone ring. The caller ID showed our infertility doctor was calling and my heart stopped. Why would he be calling me now? And, if he had questions, how do I talk about sperm in the shoe department of Nordstroms?

They had called to discuss the embryo we have "on ice" and discuss our options and plans for the embryo. Marcus and I made the decision to donate it to research because there are some possible future complications with it. I had really thought about holding onto it and we had decided to pay the storage fee for one year until we felt convicted. Knowing there are possible problems felt like an answered prayer to push us in one direction. Thank you God for Baby Abby Lu and for giving us resolve to a pending issue.

Diapers.com Coupon

We started Abby Lu on Pampers Swaddlers based upon the recommendations of many of my friends who are Mommy's of little girls. They are soft and clothlike. We had tried some other diapers, but I seem to be able to smell what is inside them more than the Pampers. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all of the free diapers I have received, but if I am spending our money on them, I prefer Pampers.

I read on another blog about buying from Diapers.com and checked it out Friday night... aren't you jealous at how exciting my life is?!? So, I bought them and used a $10 off referral code I found. The big box of diapers was $40 which is a deal! We are moving into size 2 next and I discovered you start getting less diapers for the same price as you move up. Diapers.com also offers free shipping when you spend $49 and they arrive in 1-2 days.

My diapers are on their way and the confirmation email they sent me offered a referral code so that my friends can receive $10 off when they sign up on their site. So, if you need diapers, enter the code ANNA1256 to save! Plus, I get $5 when you place an order.

So, if my diapers cost $40 and I had to spend $49 for free shipping, how did I get to the magic number you ask? With these darling little Robeez. I can't wait to see Abby's little piggies inside the fushia patent!