Thursday, December 31, 2009
Bongos
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas Tree
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Santa's Lap
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Chilln'
Monday, December 21, 2009
Snow Baby
Friday, December 18, 2009
Captain
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Sleep Smile
However, these past few days, Abbi has had a cold so she's been a bit more inclined to snuggle up to a giving parent. I hope she gets better soon, but I know Jenn sure does love all the extra snuggle time she's getting with Abbi!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Playdate
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Happy Mama
Monday, December 14, 2009
5 Months
A TON of things have changed about Abbi in the last month. The biggest most obvious change is that she now has a tooth! It sticks up pretty good out of the bottom of her gums and looks cute too.
She is still just as wiggly as she has ever been but now when she wiggles it seems to be with a purpose. We still haven't seen her roll over, but Mrs. Debbi says she does it pretty consistently. This past week she learned how to grasp her feet and so now when you change her diaper she's grabbing at her feet trying to hold on real tight. Very cute!
Another huge milestone this past month - we started feeding her rice cereal, the first steps to solid food. We're still working on 1 tablespoon at a time, but she does seem to be making progress at it. Once she's got a good hold on the whole spoon to mouth concept we can move on with tastier foods!
She's of course gotten bigger, which is cool too. Her hair keeps getting longer, and I noticed last night that her head is really getting pretty solid. It seems like each month that goes by she makes these huge leaps and bounds in progress and it just seems unbelievable.
She's talking more than ever now, and of course loves to put things her in mouth. She's able to reach out and take something from you to put it in her mouth which is really cute. And to wrap that all up, she's got an awesome little laugh. When you actually get her to laugh out loud, and not her cough laugh, its really cute.
It's amazing watching a little person grow up and learn new things. Last night she sat with me and cheered the Redskins on to victory. She sat on the couch, assisted only by the side boundaries of couch and father for a good 20 minutes. Playing by herself and watching the game. It was awesome!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Mommy's Face
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Teeth
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Naptime
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Christmas Dress
Monday, November 30, 2009
First Solids
So Saturday afternoon we gave the rice cereal a go with her. She doesn't hate it, but she wasn't immediately gobbling it up either. She does seem to have a pretty good idea though about the spoon, so hopefully that will help in the adoption of eating the food and not spitting so much out. Yesterday was better than Saturday, so lets just hope that we continue to get better each day!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Visiting Santa
Abbi seemed to enjoy herself, at least as much as a 4 month old can. She didn't get upset, which we were of course worried that she might do. She was very intrigued by Santa's beard as you can obviously see here in this picture. Jenn was thrilled to be able to take Abbi to see Santa, and I enjoyed it as well.
While I know she'll never really remember yesterday, it will live on in pictures. She looked cute and Santa played his part well. I look forward to the coming years when Abbi will get excited about seeing Santa, and then eventually of course, that fascination will go away and be replaced by who knows what.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Laughing Out Loud
Monday, November 23, 2009
Smiley
And as for this picture - its a shot of just Abbi while she was playing with Jenn, same night/time as the picture I posted the other day.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Playtime
Thursday, November 19, 2009
4 Month Update
We were told that we can start her on solid foods if we'd like. So I think the next week or so we will probably start giving Abbi some rice cereal, and I'll be sure to post pictures and info on that.
Finally - Abbi got weighed of course and measured. She now weighs 15 pounds 7 ounces and she's 25 inches long! The weight gain has slowed down a little bit, thankfully, we were thinking she'd be in a 20 lb car seat by January, but now maybe not!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Stylin'
Monday, November 16, 2009
Staying Warm
Friday, November 13, 2009
4 Months
I suppose I should start with the newest development, and that is the result of Abbi's first laser treatment yesterday. Things went very well for Abbi, and Jenn and I were able to deal with it. Jenn definitely had some anxiety over putting Abbi in pain when she didn't consent to it, but as her parents we felt it was the right decision.
The whole process only took about 30 seconds. The doctor used a little laser pen to treat the birthmarks on Abbi's face. So that we would know the level of pain involved, the doctor also lasered our forearms. I would equate the pain to that of a needle or pin prick. It was uncomfortable, but wasn't to bad. And, it only hurt for the split second while it happened.
So Abbi has a little bit of bruising from the laser yesterday and it will take her about 7-10 to heal back up. We've scheduled our next appointment for February. The doctor said we should expect to go 8-15 times in order to significantly reduce the visibility.
In other Abbi developments, she is strong! That little girl has got some crazy strong legs. I like to help her get up on her legs and then help her stand, and she loves it. The other night she stood barely assisted for like 30 seconds or more, it was incredible. Just like last month, she loves to sit up and isn't to much a fan of laying down these days. She's also go incredible control over her neck!
As for Jenn and I, I think the pains of a new baby in the house are taking their toll. I don't think either of us ever get enough sleep, and Jenn is pretty much non-stop busy with school work that needs to be graded and otherwise taken care of. There just doesn't seem to be much time these days.
Luckily, the time we do have is made better and more enjoyable by Abbi and her smiles. She smiles pretty much all the time now. Yesterday we were in Target and Jenn was goofing off with Abbi, walking weird and singing to her in the car seat and Abbi loved it. She laughed and laughed over and over. She doesn't laugh a whole lot, its almost as if she hasn't quite figured out exactly how to do it.
The final awesome thing Abbi is doing these days - she is starting to get some great control with her hands. If you put something in front of her she will reach out to you/it and grasp it. She got a strong grip too! She still loves bathtime, changing time, diaper changing and all that. Something she's not to fond of though, a new development, is being left alone. We used to be able to walk away from her while she was in the bouncer or bumbo or whatever and she'd be fine, not anymore. These days she wants more and more attention. So Jenn and I are working hard to try and give that to her and make sure she feels all the love we have for her!
This picture by the way, was taken last week before all the leaves got soaked. I wanted to get a "fall" picture of Abbi and I love how this turned out. Her sticking her tounge out pretty much epitomizes her personality these days.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Big Day
Back a few months ago we took her to see a specialist at Johns Hopkins to have the birthmarks looked at and verify that they were in fact port wine stains, and they are. So one of the options that we have is to attempt to have them removed using lasers.
Jenn and I have gone over and over the idea of having something done to Abbi without her knowledge and consent to do so. So as her parents, we are doing what we believe to be the best thing for her. Today, at 3pm Abbi has her first of what will be many laser appointments at Johns Hopkins. Today starts a process that will likely take more than 3 years to "complete". I put that in quotes because there is no guarantee that the birthmarks will go away completely and even with the laser treatment they may not stay gone forever.
However, the doctors told us before that we should expect a 50-90% reduction is visibility with the treatments so we're hopeful that by treating them at a young age she won't really remember, and it will be a non-issue for her as she grows up!
All that being said, if you're reading this please keep Abbi and us in your thoughts and prayers today as we take this first big step.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Friends
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Stuck
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sleepy
Friday, November 6, 2009
Snooz'n
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Kitty
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Strike a Pose
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Smilng at Mommy
In other Abbi news, a recent "issue" for the Harrah family is that we've needed to get flu shots but haven't been able to. The worthless doctors office kept telling Jenn to call back the next day or later that afternoon. After about 2 weeks of this, Jenn lucked out and was able to get a flu shot last Friday given out by the county department of health.
So that left me still vulnerable. Today on a quick trip to Target to try and get some Redskins pumpkin patterns on clearance (no luck btw), I saw a sign for flu shots. I was able to get one thankfully and now I don't have to worry about Abbi catching the flu from Jenn or I. Since Abbi is under 6 months we had to get vaccinated instead of her, in case you were wondering.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Pea Pod
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Ooooh
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Up High
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Dress Up
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Baby Blue Eyes
As for this picture, which I choose because of her big beautiful eyes, is from Tuesday night after her bath. Jenn got our her duck bathrobe and put her in that. Such a cutie!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Footprints
We weren't initially going to bother painting one since Abbi couldn't really do it, it didn't seem worth it. Then Sarah and Corie suggested we do her hand/foot prints on the pumpkin. Genius idea ladies! Here you can see Jenn putting Abbi's foot on the pumpkin!
In other Abbi related news, today we are taking Abbi to a pediatric ophthalmologist (that's a mouthful). Because of the brithmarks on Abbi's face, particularly the one on her forehead, the doctor suggested we have her eyes checked. And today's the day! What nuts to me is that Jenn scheduled this appointment about 2.5 months ago! I'll be sure to update here with results tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Relax'n
As for the picture itself, here's my awesome daughter just chillin' on the play mat and sticking her tongue out!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Big Smile
It was a pretty awesome weekend with Abbi. Its been a week or two since I've been able to spend a good amount of time with Abbi since I've been busy with marching band, and Jenn has been busy with stuff as well keeping us apart some. This weekend because of the rain marching band things got canceled and I was able to attend a friends daughter's birthday party with Abbi and Jenn. At the party Abbi painted a pumpkin with her hand and foot prints, which is of course cute (pictures coming soon).
She starting to make more talking sounds, and of course she smiles more and more each day!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
3 Months
I thought this would be a good time to reflect again on the last month of Abbi's life and how shes continued to grow.
Just like the last two times reflected on Abbi, I went back and re-read what I previously wrote to know where to start. The older she gets the more she seems to want to smile. When I come home in the evening Abbi is always with Jenn either in her arms, or in the bouncer on the island watching Jenn cook. I find my two girls, give them kisses, and than smile at Abbi to see her smile back at me real big. It goes the same way in the mornings as well. Jenn gets everyone up and then once I'm ready and downstairs I find Abbi and she smiles at me, its a pretty awesome feeling!
As for work, and day care, things seem to have evened out some. She spends part of the week with Grandmom and the other part with Mrs. Debbi, our pastor's mother. Abbi seems to enjoy it, if nothing else, it seems the women that watch her enjoy watching her, which I suppose is more important at this age. Jenn had a really hard time getting back to work a few weeks ago, and she is still pretty sad each morning when Abbi and I leave, but it does appear to be getting better, and slightly easier for her. Lucky for us I have the ability to take Abbi, and Jenn gets the joy of picking her up.
In other Abbi developments, she's starting to sit up. The last week she's been siting up with assistance, last night no assistance was needed. She was laying on Jenn and decided she wanted to sit up. It was pretty awesome. Its so funny to see her sit up or stand up with help because you can see all the concentration going on in her little head to keep it all together.
She also becoming fond of sticking out her tongue. Its not really one of those mimic things, its just something she likes to do. And on the tongue thing, she drools like crazy. Its nuts. I can't imagine what its going to be like when she actually starts to get teeth in, but its pretty wet around her neck these days.
I guess to wrap up on Abbi's last month, its still pretty awesome. I enjoy taking her to day care each day, its a little bit of time when its just me and Abbi, and I enjoy driving with her. She keeps getting bigger and bigger, and learning new things, which is awesome. When we give her a bath she loves it. She just kicks and kicks and splashes the water around, again though you can tell she's really concentrating on what shes doing. Finally, something I'm sure all parents say, she just keeps getting cuter every day. Her hair is growing, but slowly and as such shes always got this crazy hair, and looks absolutely adorable.