Abigail Mae is 3 months old!

She is such a little darling! I kiss her chubby cheeks all day. I love having all of this time with her and Audrey.

Abby is doing well. She's super alert and has discovered the tv. Whether she's in our bedroom or the living room, she always turns her head towards it and stares. I remember Audrey did the same thing. I wonder if she'll have the same reaction to Mickey Mouse that Audrey did?

When we put her on her tummy all she wants to do is chew on her hands. She can lift her head up but doesn't keep it there for very long. She hasn't attempted to roll over yet, but she does manage to scoot and rotate herself when she's on her back. She really likes her Bumbo and her (new) bouncer. She likes being able to see what we're all doing. She's very alert and super happy!

She smiles all the time, it's the sweetest thing. And she's started to laugh which is ADORABLE! I think she may be ticklish :) She's especially vocal when you talk to her. We have little conversations and she just smiles and coos the whole time. I can't wait to see if she'll be as talkative as her sister...if so, we're in trouble!

She's eating 5 oz every 3-4 hours. In the evening I've started feeding her every 2- 2.5 hours in hopes of helping her STTN. Usually she's up twice at night around 2:00 and 6:00. The last two nights she's only been up once at 5:00. I'm a little nervous about going back to work and having to get up for a 2-3 am feeding...by the time I'm done feeding her, pumping, and falling back to sleep it'll be time to get up! She still naps in her bouncer or the swing during the day. She still gets swaddled at night and I'm wondering when we should stop? She doesn't try to roll over and seems perfectly content so I may hold off.
She's wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes. Since it's been so hot she usually just wears a onesie at home and a dress when we go out. Her hair is out of control and I'm really curious to see what's going to happen to it. It looks like it's falling out around the sides, but growing in the front and on top. It looks like a tidal wave of brown hair in the back, sticks straight up and curves over. I'm thinking that she'll be sporting lots of hats come fall and winter :)

























CHEEKS!



I'm super excited about month 4. We get to take out the exersaucer and doorway jumper (I just hope she loves them as much as Audrey did!) We'll also be trying solid foods, too. Her 4 month appt is scheduled for Sept. 1. I'm a little sad that all of this will be happening as I go back to work. It's going to make the time FLY BY. With Audrey I was home for the summer and really got to enjoy the time when she was starting to do new things (5-8 months.) I loved that stage; sitting up, crawling, pulling up...Abigail will be doing it all before we know it!

Words from the Wise, Part Two

This book is one of my most prized possessions. Each student wrote and illustrated a page. These are some very special kids with some very special advice for sweet Audrey Cate:



My kids always tease me about crying...I've only cried a couple of times in front of them...once while reading "The Kissing Hand" and then again at the end of their 2nd grade year. Being 8 and 9 year olds, they have never let me live it down :) I definitely cried when I read the dedication. In front of them. They were totally pleased with themselves!! LOL

Love the illustration on this one, apparently Audrey is bleeding out, lol.

I love the arm around the shoulders :)



Is that supposed to be me looking in the mirror? haha





"You get to grow up together and share a great Mom." Awww!


"When you are sad or broken your sister will cheer you up."

One of my favorites! "Trust me she will think you know everything."



LOVE the spellings of the girls' names!


I'm saving my two favorites for last...they're Christopher's favorites, too. They're not even from my "best" writers...but they are so sweet and incredibly touching.


I almost want to type this whole quote and hang it in Audrey's room!

Love this, especially the very simple picture.

I am so grateful that my sub took the time to do this special project with my kids. I will always cherish this book and I know Audrey will, too.

I love babies!

It's 4 am and I should be sleeping but I can't get back to sleep after Abby's wake up call. Plus, I'm feeling inspired, so here goes!

I am so in love with Abigail. Babies are just so sweet, from their heads to their toes!

Abby's hair is a total wreck...it sticks straight up and drives me crazy but I've stopped trying to control it. But it looks so funny that it makes me smile and so I love it.

I could stare at her face forever; sometimes she makes the weirdest faces that seriously only a mother could love. I have 2 favorites though...her sleeping face- she looks so calm, peaceful and still. Sometimes her mouth moves and her eyes flutter. When she's starting to fall asleep she smiles randomly (my heart melts!) The other fave is her look of recognition...when she sees something or someone she loves she gives this little upward nod, her eyes literally light up and she gets the biggest grin...sometimes she'll add in a little "ahhh" noise (again, heart melting!) Even her "pooping" face is cute (well, more funny than cute!) She gets all red, her eyes glass over and her eyebrows dip down because she's concentrating so hard, lol. When she cries she has the cutest little pout. I adore her blue eyes, especially how they contrast with her dark hair. I love her chubby cheeks and can't stop kissing them!

I could also kiss her arms, legs, and feet forever! She has the most delicious, soft rolls. Audrey and I love tickling her little toes.

I love everything about her, especially her baby smells. Obv after she's had a bath she smells delightful from head to toe. But- and this is so weird- I even love her "dirty" smells...I was talking about this with a friend the other day...they don't smell so bad just yet because she's just getting breast milk...there's still something sweet about them...I'm not alone, right? LOL...it's not like I want to bottle them up and wear them as perfume, it's more like a smell that is ALL baby and sticks to my memory. I love the smell of her plain skin, even when it's not lotioned up...she's perfection!

When she cries at night it is not at all annoying because she rarely cries. I find myself actually kind of excited to see her, to hold her and love on her. This is probably mostly due to the fact that I know she'll be right back to sleep as soon as she's done eating, lol. But I do love the quiet time in the middle of the night, just the two of us! I love holding her chubby face in my hand as I try to get her to burp...sometimes, when I lay her back in my arms, she perses her lips so tight, it's too adorable. When I unswaddle her and get her out of her crib I love how she puts both fists up to her face, tilts her head to the side, and scrunches her lips...it's EXACTLY the same face Audrey used to make.

All of these things are what I've grown to love about Abigail...some are normal (who doesn't love a great smile?!) & some are kind of weird...but it's the weird things that make me her mom :)

What "weird" things do you love about your little one? Post them here or write your own blog post, I'd love to read them!

Currently...

Listening: to silence...Chris just left for work and both girls are sleeping (correction- I hear ocean sounds over Abby's monitor!)

Eating: a chocolate donut (must be done before Audrey wakes up!)

Drinking: chocolate milk

Wearing: lounge clothes, everyday baby!

Feeling: hopeful

Weather: so, so hot...

Wanting: a pedicure & an eyebrow wax

Needing: to sit down and get my school order together

Thinking: these girls will probably wake up at the exact same time, lol

Words from the Wise: Part One

When I was pregnant with Audrey our school bookkeeper made me leave my room for an hour...she told me to go take a break so that she could do a special project with my kids. That special project was a book filled with predictions about the baby (boy, girl, height, weight, names, etc.) and best of all, advice. As you can imagine, it was a joy to read and something I will cherish forever.

So I definitely wanted another baby book for BB #2. My last group of kids have been my most favorite (I was with them for 2 years!) and I was really excited to see what they'd come up with.

Some of the highlights:

7 thought I'd have a girl, 9 thought boy

They came up with some very nice names...for girls- Lily, Annie (oh how I love this name!), Allie, Maxine, Sabrina, Amy, Katie, Alice. For boys- Jack, Enrique (hehe), Will, Anthony, Drake, Chris, Junior, Nick, Matt, James, Andrew, Brady.

They were told that my due date was May 7th but that many babies come early or late. The latest due date I got was May 24th (ha!) The closest date was April 25th.

Even though these are 3rd graders, they don't necessarily grasp the concept of height and weight, at least not for a newborn baby. While most of them were very good with their predictions (most said 7-8 lbs), some were so funny! For height I got 10, 14, and 25 inches. For weight I got 11, 5, a couple of 10s, and 20 lbs (seriously?!)

Now onto my favorite parts of the book...advice!

What advice do you have for Mr. & Mrs. Burns about how to take care of Baby Burns?

"Always watch the baby."

"Before letting the baby take a nap, warm milk and let it drink for 2 minutes and then it will fall asleep."

"To love and care for him or her."

"Good luck. Try not to spend a whole lot."

"Take care of the baby how you took care of Audrey."

"Always feed him or her and give him or her a bath."

"Feed and care for them first thing in the morning."

"Give it toys when it is crying."

"Always listen to Baby Burns."

"Show it to Audrey and keep doing it until Audrey gets used to her."

"Be nice parents and feed Baby Burns."

"Feed Baby Burns in the morning, afternoon, and at night. Put Baby Burns to bed in the afternoon. When you hear Baby Burns get him up."

"Do not spoil Baby Burns too much or Audrey will feel left out."

And my personal favorite, from a girl with 3 little siblings:
"If Baby Burns cries put ear plugs in your ears."

They also wrote messages to Audrey:

"Help your mom out and be nice."

"Be careful with the baby."

"Don't be mean and show him or her around."

"Don't be jealous when they're taking care of him or her."

"Help her walk."

"Never bite or hit."

"Be nice and kind to Baby Burns."

"Please play with the baby, read to the baby, and watch tv with the baby."

"Never ever tell her what to do or you'll have a lot of fights."

"Take good care of your baby brother or sister and watch out for him or her."

I titled this post Part One because while I was gone my amazing sub had them make a book for Audrey on what it means to be a big sister. That deserves its own post!

Some pictures of Abby from this morning- I had her all to myself while Audrey slept in!









So many expressions, just like her big sister :)

2 months, 2 weeks, 2 days

Yesterday I noticed that Abigail's ticker read 2m 2w 2d...then I remember doing a blog post for Audrey at this age. I would have loved to put Abby in the same clothes and take her picture but I just packed them up the other day! That's right..all the 0-3 months clothes are dunzo, just a bit too snug for comfort. Audrey was on the small side and Abigail is on the big side.


Abby loves to gnaw on my finger... I end up soaking wet!








Sisters


Lovely blue eyes!

Audrey and Chris have a game; one of them will call out, "1,2,3, TACKLE!" and tackle the other. This time Audrey kept saying, "I love you, Dad!" before she'd tackle him, lol.




Abby's hair is out of control! Since her last bath a few days ago the back of her hair has been sicking straight up! Drives me crazy, lol.

She loves looking at the ceiling fan in our room


We took out the water table over the weekend and Audrey loves it. I take her out after her nap since the front part of the house is shaded by then and it's a bit cooler if Abby joins us.


She likes to water the flowers in her "garden"

By this time next year Miss Abigail will get to join in the fun :)



I felt like Super Mom last night! Chris worked late so he wasn't around for dinner and the evening routine. When we came in from the water table I got Audrey settled with juice and toys (and Jake, of course) in the living room while I fed Abby. Then I made grilled cheese for Audrey while I got Abby's bath ready in the kitchen. When Audrey was done with dinner, she "helped" me give Abby a bath. Then she played in Abby's room while I finished getting Abby ready. It was too early for Abby's bedtime so I put her in the bouncer and she watched Audrey take her bath. By the time Audrey was done, Abby had fallen asleep. I got Audrey dressed and settled in my room with her milk and Jake (yes, Jake AGAIN.) Then I ate...Abby woke up after a short time (a little cranky) so she got swaddled and fed again. Then I put her in the swing while Audrey and I read books and danced in her room. Chris came home at that time and even though the evening went so smoothly I was so happy to see him!