8 weeks!

Dearest Tiny Treasure (Abigail),

What a joy you are to me! I think we have finally gotten past the survival stage and we are now really enjoying your babyness! You are such a funny girl. You love to talk and interact with us now. My heart overflows every time I see you smile! I never thought I could love you more than the day you were born but I do, every single day. My heart is bursting just thinking of you (and my tears are flowing). You are growing up so fast. I am trying to enjoy every single moment yet I am always looking forward to seeing the wonderful person you will become. I have noticed lately that whenever you are near me, I simply can't stop kissing your beautiful baby cheeks. I hope you don't mind! Happy 8 week birthday to you, my daughter. Love, Your Mama.

Easter Photo

Here is our 2008 Easter picture. It's a pretty good picture of all of us, except for Abigail, poor girl, although it kind of looks like she's singing!! :)

7 weeks

Abigail is officially 7 weeks old! I'm not sure if it is due to our scheduling (we really just feed her every 3 hours) or whether she is just a good baby, but for the most part she really sleeps very well! Last night she slept for two 5 hours stretches! That was a first! She actually went to sleep about 9:30 pm last night.

Naps are another matter. She isn't a huge fan of naps unless she is in the car, in her stroller, or in her bouncy seat (and sometimes she fights it then too). I think she is a social baby and doesn't want to miss out on anything!

Yesterday I left Abigail with her daddy while I went to my 6 week midwife appointment. They did great together and Andrew said that Abigail took the bottle very easily. I'm so thankful for that. I'm still not sure how much she is supposed to be eating at every feeding (I just let her go until she stops) so we'll have to experiment with that. I also left the two of them together today while I went grocery shopping. I was so excited to be able to fill my cart full without having to worry about a car seat or Abigail in her sling.

We interviewed a babysitter for Abigail yesterday. I'm very excited about Abigail staying with her for 1 1/2 days a week. I think that being with me or Grandma Susan is best for Abigail, but this lady has had 8 kids of her own and was really wonderful with Abigail. Her kids go to the preschool where I work, which is also handy. We're still working out the details but it looks like it is going to work out. Also she lives about 1 minute from where I work, so I will be able to go over and breastfeed Abigail during the day! :)

Sorry, we don't have any more pictures to put on here. We need to take one today on her 7 week birthday. I'm sure we'll have lots of lovely Easter pictures to share!

I continue to fall more and more in love with my daughter every day. She is such a joy and I can't wait to see the person she becomes!

The Joy of Great-Grandparents

We just enjoyed a visit from my grandparents, Abigail's great-grandparents. It was so much fun to have them visit us. It was a joy for me to see them enjoy Abigail, get to see our new house, and show them around the area. Here are some pictures from their visit.

Grandpa and Grandma Fairchild and Abigail

Abigail laughing at silly Grandpa Fairchild

She's all smiles and giggles these days!

Talking with Grandma

Abigail ushered in her six week birthday with a gift to her parents: sleeping for 7 straight hours! She hasn't done that consistently but really she's a great sleeper most of the time. She is also beginning to be easier to put to bed. We usually get her down about 10:30 pm, which will be great for when I go back to work in just two short weeks. I've really enjoyed these 8 weeks with Abigail and I will be sad to leave her during the day but I know she'll be in good hands. I will be bringing her to work part-time, so that will also be GREAT!

We are looking forward to Easter, remembering the sacrifice that Christ made for us, and celebrating His resurrection. We truly do have so much to be thankful for this year. I am really looking forward to when we can teach our precious daughter what Easter is really all about! We'll start by telling her about it this year! :)

Mock Work Day

I decided last week to have a Mock Work Day, where I could get up at 6:00 am (like I would on a work day), get Abigail ready, fed, etc, and actually leave the house by 7:30 am or so, like I was going to work. Then I would come back here and work in the office just like I would if I were at the church. It all started out when Abigail decided to sleep longer than usual and didn't wake up for her middle of the night feeding until 5:00 am. Well, it took 1/2 hour to feed her so I didn't ever go back to sleep. I "got up" at 6:00 am and took a shower, ate breakfast, got ready, etc. I work up Abigail at 6:45 am for her breakfast. The problem was that I sat down to feed her in the easy chair. We both fell asleep and stayed asleep until 9:30 am! I guess I'm fired! :) Somehow, she needs to wake up earlier in the night so I don't get up for the day at 5:00 am! Anyway, we're still trying to have somewhat of a Mock Work Day by working in the office, just like I would if I had her at work (which I will part-time). So far so good, no screaming. She's currently settling in for a nap in her bouncy seat, which I will take to work with me.

I took some pictures of her early morning smiles a little while ago and wanted to share. I may have gotten a little too close to her face, but they are still cute!

Her famous open mouth smile!

One-eyed smile!

Beautiful Abigail smile!

Oh my heart! :)

Also, I believe she discovered her hands for the first time yesterday. She was sitting in her bouncy seat just staring at her hands. A moment later she was bringing her fist up to her mouth and sucked on it for a while. So cute!

Big Girl!

Abigail is really growing! She feels heavier to me today than she did yesterday. I am curious to see how much she really weighs. Our bathroom scale is so inaccurate anyway that it's hard to tell on there by holding her. This picture is of her wearing one of the cloth diapers my mom made. So cute! She is smiling so much these days. I'm going to try and capture a photo of one tomorrow. She is also starting to coo and "talk" a little more. So precious! Our video camera works about 25% of the time, so I'm going to try and video her cooing but I can't guarantee that it will work.

One Month!

Dear Abigail,

It has been one month (and one day) since you were born. I wasn't sure we were going to survive the first week, when the night felt like day, and the day felt like night. I've never truly pulled an all-nighter before you came along! :) We made it through that first week and each day keeps getting better as we get to know you. I cannot believe how blessed we are to have such a sweet daughter like you. My heart melts when I see your sweet smiles early in the morning. You cannot believe the gift you have given us when you started sleeping for 4, then 5, then 6, and last night 6 1/2 hours stretches. That was without much prompting or "scheduling" on our part! Your daddy and I are so excited to see you grow up and get to know you better every day. We named you Abigail, not because of how it sounded (like is popular today), but because of what it meant; "a father's joy". You are a joy to your earthy father and heavenly Father and I pray everyday that we can raise you to continue to be a joy to your heavenly Father and to take joy in Him as well. I never expected the journey to motherhood would be filled with this much love, awe, and wonder. I wouldn't trade a moment for anything.

Love,
Your Mama