Monday, August 31, 2009

Friday Abbi got to "watch" her first football game while wearing gear to support the team. The Redskins played the Patriots on Friday night and since I actually remembered they were playing, we put Abbi in one of her Redskins onesises so she could cheer for the team too!

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Saturday, August 29, 2009

The other morning Jenn needed to take a shower so she could head out earlier than she has been. So once Abbi was awake-ish, Jenn hopped in the shower and left Abbi with me on the bed. Abbi eventually dozed off with me and Jenn snapped this picture of us sleeping.

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Friday, August 28, 2009

So when Abbi is laying down, this is how she lays. It looks like she's flexing her muscles.

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Thursday, August 27, 2009

This morning before work Jenn and I were sitting with Abbi and Jenn was talking with her and tickling her and she was just smiling away. Its awesome to see her smile and I can't wait until there's a little bit of laughter in there as well. Jenn took this picture a few days ago when she visited her mom. Abbi was hanging out in her bouncer at the time.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Our friends the Gilts have a daughter, almost 3 who calls Abbi, Baby Abbi. In this picture you can see baby Abbi and baby Julianna. Julianna is just as enamored with Abbi as the other children, I just happened to get a picture of her giving her a little baby kiss.

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The other day after taking my mom back home from the airport, we were on our way back home and Abbi needed to eat, so we stopped at the Lowe's in Bowie so that Jenn could feed Abbi. Once that was all done, she was happy again and I took this picture.

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Monday, August 24, 2009

I can't quite imagine what it feels like to be a grandparent, and luckily I expect it will be quite a while before I do, but if my mom's face and reaction to Abbi is any indication, it should be good times. We picked my mom up from the airport on Saturday after she was delayed over 4 hours in Little Rock, AR. Her reward, getting to hold Abbi once we got home for quite a while, and then getting hold her all through church yesterday morning, I'm thinking she figures it was worth it. Plus it was nice to get to see mom for a while!

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Friday, August 21, 2009

I've been trying for most of Abbi's life, almost 6 weeks now, to get Max to let her sit on him. Its going to take time and patience, luckily I've got plenty of time. Last week Max got up and sat on couch as he usually does and I had the idea to prop Abbi up between his leg and body and that worked perfectly. We were able to take a few pictures of Max and Abbi where he wasn't trying to eat her!

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

On my blog the other day I posted a picture of Abbi and me from the Orioles game, I thought today I would share a photo of Jenn and Abbi from the game.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Over the past two nights Abbi has managed to get in 6.5 and 6 hours of sleep straight. Thats awesome! I know Jenn is excited to have that much sleep in a row. In addition to her sleeping more at night, she is showing her first signs of smiling because of something that is going on, not just an involuntary movement. Jenn and I will tickle her stomach or feet and she smiles sometimes. Its definitely exciting!

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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Sunday we took Abbi to her first Orioles game which of course means we had to dress her proper for the game. Jenn was able to find a shirt for her at some store, I don't remember where. She looked in 1/2 a dozen stores for something Orioles related finally finding this shirt. Abbi slept through most of the game which was fine with us. One day she'll cheer with us and for the O's.

She got a certificate commemorating her first game, and a little webkins orioles bird as well. Its kinda likea beanie baby.

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Monday, August 17, 2009

Jenn's mom is one of the many family members that are to excited to describe (by me) the level of excitement they posses about Abbi being around. As such, we are the proud owners of several custom outfits made by Jenn's mom. The outfit Abbi is wearing is this picture is one of those outfits!

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Friday, August 14, 2009

If you keep up with both blogs I run then this picture is just a variant on the one I posted on my other site a few minutes ago. There isn't much more to say that I didn't say there, so I'm just going to copy that text here in case this is the only place some people visit :)

Over the past year I've seen our friend Ange take pictures of her daughter Audrey each month indicating which month it was and Jenn and I wanted to do the same thing. So last night we got her propped up on the couch and took her picture. I think she looks pretty darn cute.

She went to the doctor today to get a few shots and her 1 month checkup and stat update so I'm happy to report that Abbi is in the 75th percentile for length and weight. She weighs 10 lbs. 5.6 oz. and is now 22 inches long! Enjoy!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Abbi is 1 month old today. I honestly can't believe that she is already 1 month old, but she is. This morning she was laying on Jenn's chest in the bed and I took a minute to talk to her at her. While doing so she did her best to lift her head up and work that little neck of hers, something she's been working at her entire life!

I wanted to take a moment and reflect on the first month of Abbi's life, something I plan to do each month during her first year of life.

It was pretty amazing to watch a baby being born, and even more amazing for to have been my own baby. After all the labor and time in the hospital, it was truly amazing to see Abbi being born. It was incredibly late and Jenn and I were both exhausted, but it was just amazing. The hanging out in the hospital, not so much. That pretty much sucked.

Once we got her home, the reality of being parents settled in on us as we got up at night to change her diapers and ensure that she was fed. On top of the exhaustion, we were dealing with the presence of the the birthmarks on Abbi's face. I know in the first weeks of Abbi's life Jenn and I both spent a considerable amount of time thinking/worrying/obsessing over it. But I realized this morning while driving in and reflecting, that I don't really think about it to much anymore. We know the situation, and we know what we can do for her, so I would say there is peace in knowing your options.

Being a dad of a newborn isn't really what I thought it was going to be. During Abbi's first week of birth I changed as many diapers as I could, and did my best to get time holding her. But since Jenn is taking care of all the feeding, there is a large portion of her life I just can't participate in yet. As such there have been times where I haven't really felt all that involved or even connected. Yet I've made sure to find a away to get my own daddy-daughter time in.

Speaking of which, I find it very enjoyable to get my own time with Abbi. Since she can't really do to much, I usually just talk to her about worldly issues (for example, last night I explained to her that the pig the greatest animal of all time and all the delicious foods that come from pigs). We spend time sitting on the floor, sleeping on the couch, sleeping on the bed, and just generally lounging around. Last night we played roller coaster. I was the coaster.

In addition to all this, I can't help but feel older now. I'm sure my looming birthday (no. 28) has me feeling it a bit to, but with a new baby in the house I just feel older. I look at her, and I can't believe she's real. I can't believe she is the product of Jenn and I. I can't believe that Jenn and I will shape the life of someone else completely. That's a pretty big responsibility.

Finally, I love taking pictures of her. I've probably taken 300-400 pictures or so of her in her first month of life and I can only imagine how many more pictures I'll be taking as she gets older. She's an absolutely adorable little child and a thrill to photograph!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I am going out on a limb today, and publicly (online) stating that Abbi is starting to have a pretty good sleep habit. She seems to be awake more during the day, and sleeping decent at night. Most nights she gets in 4.5 - 5 hours of sleep. So typically Jenn feeds her around 12/12:30 and then around 5, and then again between 7-9. So she's doing pretty well. The title of course refers to sleeping "like a baby". I took this picture last week while Abbi was sleeping in her crib before I went to work.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

More good news, yesterday Abbi turned 4 weeks old and this week we get to celebrate her 1 month birthday! I can't believe she's already almost a month old. Time has certainly flown by these last four weeks.

One item of interest - Abbi's bath time has gotten much better. We bathe her in her tub in the big tub and she seems to actually enjoy it. There isn't to much going on, she just lays there and gets washed, but she does lay there. Not to much squirming around, and no crying. So here's hoping that trend continues!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Saturday we went up to Middle River Essex to join our friends the Sofinowski's for dinner and games. After dinner, but before games (and before delicious Dairy Queen) we had some baby play time. Ange had gotten out a play mat the Audrey used to use for Abbi to lay on. Abbi really seemed to like it, Jenn did to. Abbi was able to hit the different things hanging down off the top bars, which she seemed to enjoy. Then there was Audrey, you can see her here exploring Abbi as I call it. She's reaching her hand out to touch her. It was cute. I'm excited to see a friendship develop between these two little girls over the years!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

I'm trying to make sure that I spend quality time with Abbi even though she's still really young. Jenn gets to spend a ton of time with her, especially since she handles all the feeding. So when Abbi and I spend time together, I try to have fun with her. I'm not big on the sit and hold and watch her sleep aspect of things.

Over the weekend I sat in front of our front door and talked with her about outside and such, and then eventually I laid back, hence this picture.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Last night I posted another gallery of images of Abbi for those interested. They are from last week. Not to much new to report, although she is turning to her side some, and we think she's working on that rolling over thing. This picture is from Saturday when we went out downtown and got her dressed and then put on the matching headband.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

I was just commented to Jenn on the phone how Abbi likes to snuggle up to you when you're holding her. Last night after Jenn fed Abbi I had her downstairs with me while Jenn slept and Abbi and I snuggled up together on the couch. Kinda similar to this photo, where she's snuggling up on Jenn's shoulder.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Here's another pictures of Abbi with a gifted blanket. This quilt was made for her by her grandma, aka Jenn's grandmother. Getting all these names right for parents and grandparents feels a bit confusing!

As for Abbi, over the weekend we gave her two baths, and this time we put the tub into the bathtub, filled it with more water, and she seems to actually enjoy the process. She doesn't cry or scream, and she gets nice and clean!