Hawaii In Review

I am writing this for several reasons. The most important one is that I need to preserve this somewhere for my memories sake. I don't particularly think this will be enjoyable reading, so if you get bored, skip ahead or come back another day for more delightful reading! :)




Day 1: July 24, 2008




We get off of work a little early, pack our bags, and drive to Indianapolis, IN. We stay at the Sleep Inn for the night.




Day 2: July 25, 2008




We get up at 4:00 am to catch our 5:00 am shuttle to the airport. Our flight leaves at 7:00 am. We meet some interesting people while waiting, a family going to Florida with TONS of stuff. They are impressed with us packing in only one suitcase. We arrive and get checked in at the airport with no problems. As we arrive at our gate, they announce first class upgrades for $80 per ticket (I think, it might have been $60). We splurge and spoil ourselves forever! Coach will never be the same. First class was amazing. We had a delicious meal, big luxurious seats, and foot rests (my favorite).




Abigail slept about 2 hours on the flight and was happy playing the rest of the time. We land at LAX at 8:30 am local time. Our flight doesn't leave for another 6 hours. The time drags on! We finally leave for Oahu in coach. We are cramped and a little cranky. Abigail sleeps maybe 1 1/2 or 2 hours and whines A LOT! It is now past her normal Eastern Standard Time bedtime and she knows it! We sat by a very nice Hawaiian lady who gave us $5 for Abigail even though she was crammed by the window the whole time. We had very rude and obnoxious teenagers on this flight.




We land in Oahu at 5:30 pm local time. Jennie and Graham pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel. We stayed at the Queen Kapiolani (which soon earns the name Crapiolani). It is only 1 block from Waikiki beach but it is dirty, noisy, and hot! I put Abigail to bed while Andrew goes to get supper (Teddy's Bigger Burgers). I sleep lightly and wake almost every hour but Andrew and Abigail sleep decently. We rise again at 4:00 am for the Superferry.




Day 3, July 26, 2008 (saturday)




We take a taxi to the Superferry and think we've lost our travel book (with our boarding passes in it) when we get there. We wake up Andrew's dad at 4:30 am to finally discover that I have lost my mind and placed it in the bottom of the stroller. All is well and we board the Superferry. We find a nice spot on a leather couch and settle down for the 3 hour ride to Maui. It is delightful! The Superferry is very nice, comfortable, beautiful views, and we all feel great the whole time.




When we land, Andrew's uncle (Ron) and cousin (Maggie) pick us up (Thanks Guys!) and take us to the airport to get our rental car. It is hotter here than I expected. We get our car and figure out what to do for the next few hours before our lunch reservation and before we can check into our condo.




We find a beach and go there for an hour or so. Andrew takes pictures while Abigail and I pose and then stay out of the wind and sun. The Harp family calls and tells us about a scenic outlook so we head up there. It also happens to be the wind surfing capitol of Hawaii and we enjoy watching that. After our stop there we head over to Mama's Fish House for an enjoyable (yet expensive) meal. I had corn and crab chowder! Yum yum yum! Abigail is very tired and pretty fussy at this point so I do have to leave to put her to sleep. She sleeps through the whole lunch, thankfully!




We then head to Costco to stock up on supplies for the week. Andrew goes in and I stay in the car to breastfeed Abigail. It is the first of MANY times that she ate in the car on this trip. I tried to minimize that as much as possible, because it isn't pleasant for either of us, but at times it had to be done. We go and check into our condo after this. It is absolutely beautiful with a great view, etc. Others go down to the beach and I put Abigail to bed and follow shortly!




Day 4, July 27, 2008 (sunday)




We get up early since we're not used to the time. Abigail and I take a walk on the beach. Andrew offers to watch her so that I can go to church. My in-law's and I head to an Hawaiian church for the service. It was neat. They had contemporary music, an interpretive Hawaiian dance to one song, and a rambly but good preacher. I was so drowsy during the service!




We get back to our condo and have lunch and afternoon naps. Abigail takes a long nap and I lay down and try to sleep but can't fall asleep. I'm so tired that I feel like falling over whenever I stand! At 4:30 pm we get ready for the Luau. Abigail is still asleep so I manage to get her into the car seat without waking her. We arrive there and I feed her . . . again in the car.




We make it into the Luau. I am, once again, so tired that I feel like I can't stand up. Abigail seems pretty tired and a little cranky too. We enjoyed the food and the show at the Luau. It was authentic and entertaining (Old Lahaina Luau) and I would recommend it. Next time (ha ha) I would have liked to do it later in the week so I would be more rested and better able to enjoy it. Abigail managed to fall asleep during the show. This is AMAZING since there are loud drums, shouting from the dancers, and lights flashing.




Day 5, July 28, 2008 (monday)




We enjoy a laid back Monday with beach and pool time, lots of naps, and some eating . . . ok, lots of eating! I think some people in our group went snorkeling today.

DAy 6, July 29, 2008 (tuesday)

The Road to Hana day! We set out "early" for the Road to Hana and stopped and a lovely little place for breakfast called Anthony's (I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong) and once again, Abigail had breakfast in the car! :) We enjoyed many lovely stops along the road to Hana. The sights were breath-taking as we viewed tropical paradise cliffs, waterfalls, and rock-formations. Andrew, Graham, Linda, Abigail and I were in one car and Susan, Wayne, Maggie, Jennie, and Michael were in the other car. At one point we stopped at a waterfall. I began this stop by once again, feeding Abigail in the car. As soon as I got to the waterfall, I discovered Andrew and Graham perched at the top of the falls getting ready to jump.

My mind instantly started preparing itself for the fact that I was going to be a widow! :) I didn't freak out on the outside because I knew it wouldn't do any good but I was definitely scared that they would die or get injured. Well, they ended up jumping and were just fine after the fact. Graham did let Andrew go first! :) Ha ha!

One of my favorite parts about this trip was all of the "local" stuff we got along the way; smoothies, incredible homemade coconut ice cream made with coconut milk, banana bread, etc. We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch when we finally arrived in Hana. We pretty much just drove straight back to our condo without stops. This road is very curvy and hilly. Everyone in our car was fine, except for poor Abigail, who did get car sick on the way back. She was one happy girl after she threw up.

Day 6, July 30, 2008 (wednesday)

Another relaxing day. We definitely needed it after being gone all day on the road to Hana the day before. We relaxed on the beach, pool, and Abigail got lots of good naps. Oh, we also enjoyed some competitive games of 500!

Day 7, July 31, 2008 (thursday)

Jennie, Wayne, Linda, and Michael did the Haleakala bike tour this morning. I think they all got up around 1:30 am to do it but they said it was worth it, so we're putting it on our list for next time! :) Andrew and Graham did more snorkeling. After the Haleakala bike people got back to our condo, Andrew decided to carry a tired Jennie back to our condo so she could babysit Abigail. Well, in the process of picking her up, he threw out his back (I think that's how the story goes). He still wanted to go to the Nakalele BlowHole, so off we went (Wayne, Graham, Andrew, and I). It was so much fun. The hike was a tad bit rocky for my taste but it was well worth it. After we got back to the condo and Andrew sat for a while, his back muscles really tightened up. He was unable to walk. I was pretty worried about how we would make the long journey back to Ohio with two members of our family unable to walk!

Day 8, August 1, 2008 (friday)

Boy, it's a good thing I'm starting to write this down now because I'm beginning to forget. It would be really bad news in a month! :0 I think we pretty much hung out at the condo all day, due to Andrew's back. I did some laundry and went down to the beach by myself, while Andrew watched Abigail.

Day 9, August 2, 2008 (saturday)

We got ready to leave for the Superferry. Once again, Ron picked up Andrew at the rental car place and transported him to the Superferry! Yeah! We got all checked in and were in line for the shuttle bus to take us to where you board the ferry. Andrew was moving slowly due to his back so we were in the back of the line. This turned out to be a good thing actually, as we got on a bus with only one other lady. The driver commented on how Andrew was making me carry the heavy stuff and we told him about the back injury. He offered to drive the shuttle bus onto the Superferry and drop us off right by the handicap (aka limited mobility) lift. It was such a blessing! I'm sure we wouldn't have died trying to walk the three flights of stairs into the ferry but with me carrying Abigail in the carseat and Andrew barely able to walk it wouldn't have been pretty!

We had a nice ride once we got on the ferry. I had some new found freedom in Andrew's back injury. He had to stay in his seat since he definitely couldn't really walk well with the boat swaying so I got to be the one to stand outside the whole time and take pictures. I also took Abigail to the kids play area and let her lay on a blanket and play with toys. She had fun! :)

We took the lift down the Superferry and were able to catch a rental car shuttle to go pick up our car. Andrew's back was improving by then. We headed to our hotel for some supper and bedtime for Abigail. I, once again, enjoyed the freedom of Andrew's limited mobility by having him stay in the room while I went to get supper.

Day 10, August 3, 2008 (sunday)

We received a nice set of maps from the rental car company and also a driving tour guide to Oahu so we decided to do that. I am so glad we did! The landscaping was absolutely breath-taking. We were able to see beautiful beaches, outlooks, etc on our drive around the island. I read out of the driving tour guide to Andrew (and Abigail when she wasn't asleep) and we all had fun. We had a little lunch at Haleiwa Joes, a delicious sea food grill. I had a fish sandwich and I think Andrew had coconut shrimp. I tried them . . . and they were good. That's not as easy thing for me to say about shrimp!

We took another leisurely drive back to an outlook near our hotel and then back to the hotel for Abigail's bedtime. I, again, left Abigail with Andrew and went down to enjoy Waikiki beach. I enjoyed it! It was crowded but the beach was beautiful. I also got to see some surfing at this point. We hadn't seen any before since the waves were too small. I did a little souviner shopping also. When I got back, Andrew was feeling well enough to make the trek himself, so he went down to the beach and took pictures. He also got us supper from our new favorite place, Teddy's Bigger Burgers.

Gazebo?

Jet Lag and Parenting

Beware, this could be long . . .

Well, we're all having a difficult time readjusting to Ohio time, Abigail especially. She took a nice long nap yesterday afternoon and also fell asleep on the way home. I let her sleep about 20 more minutes when we got home before waking her up. She was cranky at about 7 pm so we started bedtime. She fell asleep by about 8:00 pm. I couldn't believe our luck. She was down for the night!

Wrong!

She woke up at about 9:30 pm ready to play. She did not want to be laying in her bed or falling asleep. Andrew took her for a while but when he went to bed at 10:30 pm, I took her into her room. For a while, I laid with her on the bed and let her play with a stuffed animal. When she started to look tired, I tried rocking for a while. Finally, around 11:30 pm, I laid her in her crib. She fussed just a little but I finally got her back to sleep around 11:45. Yes! I went to bed and promptly fell asleep.

1:00 am. I wake up to Abigail crying. I go in and try to put her back to sleep with the pacifier but she's not having any of it! So I nurse her for a bit and then put her back to sleep. She goes down pretty easily. I lay in bed awake (blogging in my mind) until about 2:00 am when I finally get up and go downstairs for a snack, since my rumbling tummy is keeping me awake. I finally fall asleep after a small snack.

3:45 am. I wake up to Abigail crying. I get her out of her crib and lay with her in the twin bed but that just makes her even more upset. I try nursing her which sort of works. I continue to lay with her in bed while she flops around trying to get comfortable and fall asleep and we eventually fall asleep. I can't see the time from the bed but I would imagine it was around 4:30 am.

6:15 am. My alarm clock goes off for work and yes . . . I get up! We're trying to not let Abigail sleep any more than normal today so hopefully each night will get better. Now for the second part of my post. . .

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Andrew and I are very fortunate. We really agree and get along well with many things: We share a similar faith, similar political stance, similar family background, similar interests, and we generally agree on money issues. Amazing, right?! However, we are discovering that we do not agree on parenting! Around 9:30 pm last night, I was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed but Abigail was up and wanted to play. Andrew, being the good dad and helpful husband that he is, offered to keep her up for a while so I could go to bed. At 10:30 pm he came up to bed and put her in her crib. She instantly started to cry and sob. Andrew continues to completely close her bedroom door and to completely close our bedroom door so we can't hear her crying!! I am completely freaked out by this. What if she really needs us/gets sick/etc? We can't hear her!

Let me clarify. I am all for letting Abigail cry a bit when needed. She pretty much does whenever she goes to sleep. However, I am not willing to let her scream and cry in her crib while I lay there asleep and uninvolved. I at least want to be alert to know if she really does need something. The reason why this is causing some difficulty for us is that when Andrew offers to help me, at times I'm not so sure I want to accept his help because I don't like the way he will help.

Let me clarify again . . . I think Andrew is a wonderful daddy and I know he would never do anything to hurt Abigail. I simply feel like I am more in touch with the emotional side of parenting. I hope that makes sense. I have hesitated to write about this much because I don't want to portray Andrew as mean or an unconcerned dad at all, because he's not. We're just different.

Anyone else with this problem? Perhaps it is just me and my need to be in control, which is a different post for a different time. Anyway, this tired mommy is just rambling. I know Abigail's sleep will be getting better as she readjusts to this time zone. I mean, I had a hard time sleeping too!

Next up (which I may also post today): The Food Dilemma! Abigail is getting ready to start solids - probably this weekend. I am in a huge mental debate as to what her first food should be. I have done TONS of research on the matter and will share that at some point.

(All food will be organic or farm fresh/raised in nature)

A banana? Will she eat veggies if she tries fruit first?

Pureed meat? Sounds gross but that is what has been recommended.

Egg Yolk? Also has been highly recommended but I'm concerned about an allergy and the portability of this food for next week.

Rice Cereal? Has not come highly recommended by the whole foods books and articles I have been reading but this is what main stream America (doctors) recommend.

More on this at a later date.

Hawaii pictures will be coming as soon as I can get more than 4 hours of sleep in my brain.

Happy Half-Birthday

I have been negligent in mentioning the fact that Abigail turned six months old on our trip. I wanted to wait until I could write a proper post for it. So here it goes:

Dear Sweet Daughter,

Happy half birthday! On the flight back from Hawaii I looked down at you sleeping on my lap. I was overwhelmed in that moment by how much God must love me. He must love me more than I can imagine simply because He gave you to me (and us) to love and raise. We love you darling daughter. We're enjoying watching you grow and change every moment and we're looking forward to what the future holds for all of us! We took you to Hawaii for your six month birthday. How will we ever top that when you turn 1 year old?! :)

Love,

Mommy

For lack of a better title: We're home!

We're home after a long and grueling day of travel! We left Honolulu (after a long day of sight-seeing) at 10:30 pm Hawaii time and arrived in our driveway around 1:00 am Ohio time! We were all VERY tired! Abigail really did great on the flights. She slept the whole first flight (thanks to it being over-night), most of the second, and about half of the third. Thankfully the flights kept getting shorter. I'm so glad I don't have to sit in a plane any more for a while. When I was falling asleep last night, I couldn't even lay on my back because my butt hurt so bad from sitting!

I really am impressed with Abigail's flying ability! She doesn't seem to be too far off as far as the time-change goes. We'll see. She went to bed at 2:00 am and slept until 10:00 am. Then napped while still at home and on the way to the sitters. It will be interesting to see how she did this afternoon.

We had such a wonderful time in Hawaii. I was so sad to leave. To be honest my favorite part of the trip wasn't one specific thing we did but was simply getting to spend time with family, my little family and extended family.

I feel like I hardly get to see Andrew during the week, since he and I are either at work or he is at home working and I'm cleaning up or attending the baby. It was also a joy for me to get to spend a whole 11 days with Abigail. She got into a really great rhythm of napping, feeding (which she does MUCH better without switching to a bottle 1/2 of the time), and playing once we got there and got settled.

I really did enjoy touring around Oahu. We had to be pretty picky about stuff we did because of the baby, so we got a driving tour map and did that. It was incredibly fun! I didn't realize how beautiful the Oahu north and east shores are. Truly breath taking. We'll post pictures later!

Anyway, it was also great to sleep in our own beds last night. As my eyes droop while I'm typing this, I am also looking forward to this luxury tonight!

We made it to Honolulu

I had a whole thing written on here and it got deleted! Not easy typing on this phone. Anyway, we made it safely and without any further back injury to Honolulu. We are already lonesome for Maui and the wonderful times we had with family. Perhaps more will be written later after Abigail goes to sleep.

Updates

Andrew is better today. He can at least walk! :) His back is still pretty sore but things are looking much better. I was thinking how uncomfortable he would be on such long flights, plus I was wondering how I would manage getting all of our stuff everywhere. I'll probably still try to do more of the lifting but I'm glad I don't have to push a wheel chair!

We are heading out on the SuperFerry tomorrow morning. We will stay in Oahu for two nights and three days before our flight leaves for home. We're planning on visiting Pearl Harbor if Andrew's back is up for it. I won't have a computer there so I may not blog again until we get home.

I'll write a recap there. It will be nice for all of us to be in our own beds again, especially Abigail!

Aloha!

New Development

We had a nice relaxing day today. We went to the condo pool in the morning and Abigail had some good naps today. We were getting ready to go to the Nakalele BlowHole (which is awesome by the way) when Andrew threw out his back trying to pick up his sister. I don't have the whole story. He made it down to the blow hole and back up but when he laid down it tightened up. Anyway, he is really bad right now. Not able to walk. We are going back to Honolulu on Saturday so I hope he can walk by then! Please pray he will get better.

I think there is nothing planned but relaxing tomorrow. Yeah! We got lots of great pictures at the blow hole.

Aloha!

Road to Hana

For the most part, the road to Hana was wonderful. We enjoyed many beautiful scenes and we drove today. We also enjoy some fabulous food along the way. My favorite was some coconut ice cream completely dairy free - made with coconut milk. It was SO delicious! We also enjoyed great smoothies and fresh banana bread! The views along the road were great. We have pictures but they aren't on the computer yet as we just arrived home.

Abigail was a trooper the whole way. She had a major diaper blow out on the way up there but thankfully her bundle me was in the carseat so we just took that out. The worst part of the trip was the ride back. We didn't stop at all and the road is very curvy! The adults were fine but poor Abigail got car sick and threw up! I'm trying not to let my mommy guilt get the best of me (like I'm torturing my baby by taking her out of her routine so I can go on this vacation) and just enjoy myself. She was a brand new girl after the puke. She was happy and smiley and seemed to enjoy the rest of the ride. I guess I know the difference between spit-up and puke now! Anyway, that was it.

Tomorrow is a laid back day for us. We're planning on watching Andrew and Graham snorkel and we're also going to a very nearby beach. I think that's it. We're looking forward to some R&R after our long trip today.

Aloha!

Hawaii Pics

The luau was fun last night. Lots of good food and great dancing. We got a little more sleep last night but Abigail still woke up at 5:45 am ready to be up for the day. So we went for a walk on the beach and she was back down for a nap by 7:30. She has been a great napper! Here are some photos. Enjoy!

Hula dancers at our Luau

Andrew, Abigail, and I at the luau

Yeah, this is the view from our condo lanai (balcony) and that is me and Abigail walking on the beach. You can seriously get to that beach in like 1 minute! Down the elevators and around the corner. We have a laid back day planned with eating, games, snorkeling (not me!), and a little grocery shopping. I believe we're going on the road to Hana tomorrow. Should be fun!

We're In Maui!

We have finally arrived in Maui (yesterday). Our second flight wasn't quite as smooth with Abigail as the first. She fought sleep and was whiney but we made it through. I think most of the problem was that there were rude teenagers on our plane who kept being loud, kicking seats, getting up and down. Who could sleep with all that noise?

We had an interesting experience in Oahu. We stayed at a hotel down by Waikiki beach. Well, let's just say that we picked the PARTY hotel without knowing it. Very noisy, sirens going off, bottles smashing, etc. I may have slept 5 hours. Thankfully Andrew and Abigail fared a little better. We had to rise early again the next day to catch our ride on the SuperFerry.

We LOVED the SuperFerry. It was almost luxurious. We enjoyed seeing more of the islands, the voyage movie, leather couches, etc. Abigail didn't sleep all that well there either but eventually konked out at the end. They kept telling everyone to take their motion sickness tablets and so I was a little concerned about that but we all felt fine the whole way (we didn't take any drugs either).

Upon arriving in Maui, we got our rental car and hung out at a beach and an outlook for a few hours before lunch. We ate a delicious meal at Mama's Fish House. Very yummy. By then we could check into our condo so we headed over here. Our condo is seriously paradise on earth! The view is something out of a post card! I'll get Andrew to upload a photo later and I'll put it on here. It makes me want to come back here all the time. Of course that won't happen, not for a while anyway.

Miss Abigail is still a little mixed up on her time zones but not too bad. She just woke up pretty early this morning. We went for a walk on the beach. She also keeps to have a slightly stuffy nose. I'm wondering if this is related to teething, since she is SERIOUSLY working on her second bottom tooth. Everything is going into her mouth and Andrew says he can see it.

This morning my mother-in-law, father-in-law and I went to a Hawaiian church service (Andrew kept Abigail). It was excellent. The music was great, the message was inspiring, and there was a lady who did a beautiful interpretive dance. The people were very friendly also. I'm glad that we went! The pastor said at the end of his sermon, "God wants to make this week the best week ever (for you)." We couldn't agree more!

Everyone is at our beach right now (which is like 30 second walk away) and I'll head down after Abigail wakes up from her nap. We are headed to our luau tonight. Should be fun!!

Oh, and my father-in-law brought his laptop so that's where I'm blogging from and where I'll post pictures. I could not have typed all this from Andrew's little phone. Hopefully some pictures will follow later.

Aloha!

Day 1: Blog from the road

We're in LAX at the moment. Our first flight was great!! We upgraded ourselves to first class for a few bucks. It was our first time and it was great! We both had cheese scrambled eggs with meat and fresh fruit. We think the "others" had water and pretzels! Abigail did great and ended up sleeping most of the time and then playing nicely. Let's hope the next flight which is longer is just as smooth.

On our way

I amm blogging this from A's phone on our way ti Indy. Sorry for any typos. The keyboard on this thing is tough! We managed to get packed up and left by 6pm so we'll get to our hotel by 8pm. Miss Abigail is peacefully asleep in her seat and I just finished reading a chapter of The Shack to Andrew. Aloha!

We're Packed

I think we're almost packed. We have those last minute items to put in the suitcase (curling iron, alarm clock, etc) but it should only take minutes! :) I am going to shock all of you with the next statement . . . .

Andrew, me and Abigail ALL PACKED in ONE (1!!!!) SUITCASE!! The only thing that my thwart our amazing packing abilities would be if it is over the suitcase weight limit. We're going to weigh it before we leave. Seriously - I love being a low maintenance packer! It's not even stuffed full - amazing!

I keep going over the packing list in my mind. I think there are several things that we can even take out of the suitcase. For example, Abigail's PJ's. She usually wears one pair for several nights, as she is clean when she goes to bed and rarely does anything escape the diaper at night. I have three pair of PJ's packed and I think she can do with two of them. I'll put one in the carryon for comfy plane sleeping (please, please, please Abigail, sleep on the plane!!) and plan on doing laundry at least once.

Ok, I'm rambling on. Andrew keeps debating the laptop, so it may come with us (in his carry-on).

I may not post before we leave. So - Aloha! :)

**Oh, and thanks to whoever it was who left the LittleTykes play thing (for lack of a better description), toddler bed, and open pack of diapers in our garage yesterday. To be honest, I'm a little creeped out by the whole experience but I'm sure the stuff will come in handy in the future. :) And I will feel better when we figure out who did it!**

We Have Teeth!

Our big announcement of the day is that Abigail is getting a tooth! I can feel a tiny little jagged edge poking up through the gums. I'm kind of surprised. She hasn't been fussier lately. She's been quite happy, actually. She has been putting lots of stuff in her mouth and has been drooling more lately. Also . . . no fever. Anyway, I hope it fully comes through before our flight!

I wish I could post a picture on here but I can hardly get her to let me hold down her bottom lip long enough to look at her bottom gums, let alone take a picture!

Wonderful!

We had such a wonderful visit with my family. I don't know what we would have done if my parents wouldn't have spent the entire visit working! They cleaned our house, did laundry, mowed the yard, made meals for us, watched Abigail, etc! Thanks Mom and Dad! It is so nice to just finish up a little laundry, pack, and be ready for travel!

I am planning on doing a bit of blogging from the road. In an effort to travel "lightly" (is that possible with a baby?) we decided not to bring the laptop, so there won't be pictures until we get back. I can access the internet from Andrew's phone so I will blog from there. Could I really go 11 days without blogging or worse yet . . . reading blogs?! Yikes!

Anyway, tomorrow night we're leaving for this (we're actually flying out on Friday but at this point that doesn't matter!):

More Pics

Mutual Adoration between Grandpa and Abigail

Figuring out who these people are that love me so much!

Giggles and Kisses!

I LOVE it when my mommy kisses my cheeks! :)

Family Visit and 6 month pics

We have been having a WONDERFUL time with my family visiting. Jenny and Luke had to go home yesterday but my parents are still here. They are babysitting Abigail for me today! We took some family photos yesterday (I will post more later) and then some 6 month photos of Abigail. They turned out very cute!

Uncle Luke and Aunt Jenny with Abigail

Aunt, Mommy, and Grandma with Abigail

She looks so big in this picture! When did she grow up so much?!

Tagged *updated*

Ari, over at thecorcofam.blogspot.com tagged me on this. Enjoy!

1. Where is your cell phone? on My Desk
2. Your significant other? Working hard at work
4. Your mother? Babysitting Abigail!!
5. Your father? Babysitting Abigail and mowing our yard! Thanks Dad!
6. Your favorite thing? Books and Hawaii Vacations
7. Your dream last night? Didn't sleep enough to dream!
8 Your favorite drink? Archer Farms Peace Pear Soda
9. Your dream/goal? To live fully in God's will!
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your hobby? Reading
12. Your fear? Losing my husband or daughter
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Right here . . . with more kids!
14. What you’re not? A Shopaholic
15. Muffins? Pear
16. One of your wish list items? No Debt (I agree with Ari on this one)
17. Where you grew up? Kansas
18. The last thing you did? Drank Tea
19. What are you wearing? Khaki Pants and a brown shirt
20. Favorite gadget? The Bouncy Seat!
21. Your pets? Dewey the Dog
22. Your computer? Some Thing Andrew built.
23. Your mood? Ready for Hawaii - to spend time with my sweet husband and daughter!
24. Missing someone? Yes
25. Your car? Toyota
26. Something you’re not wearing? Socks
27. Favorite store? Probably Target or Kohls
28. Like someone? I like lots of people!
29. Your favorite color? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Last Night
31. Last time you cried? It's been a while. I don't remember.

**I forgot to tag people. I tag Jenn W. and Laura! :)*

What's In a Name? *Updated*

I have decided that I need a new name for my blog. It really needs to be catchy yet defining. Please leave any ideas in the comments section. All ideas are welcome!

Abigail slept through the night...again! She cried out once but got back to sleep before I had time to make it into her room, which was a good thing. I'm very afraid that I'm being spoiled!

*Please note the updates to my newly organized blog roll (to the right). Happy reading!*

Guess who . . .

Guess who slept through the night last night. . . me! . . . oh and Abigail as well!

We are super excited about all the fun things coming up.

1) My parents, sister, and her fiance visit this weekend! We are looking forward to their visit and for them to get to experience Abigail in all her "fun"ness". Oh and they are bringing lots of goodies from the Fairchild Farms. Can you say "sweet corn"?!

2) Um, yeah, we're going to Hawaii!!! We actually leave for the airport one week from today! The airport is about 1 1/2 hrs away and since our flight leaves at 7 am, we're staying the night before and parking there for the trip.

3) When we get back from Hawaii I will be cutting back my hours at work. It hard to work full-time with a new baby, especially when your husband has a new job, a longer commute, oh and two other jobs as well (means the house work, most of the mowing, cooking, laundry, etc is my job!). I will be working 4 days a week. I'm so excited to be able to spend more time with Abigail, perhaps have a clean house, and feel more relaxed instead of rushing around all the time. I really do love my job and the people I work with (they are FABULOUS . . . really!) and I'm so thankful for that but it's time to spend a little more time at home.

I am also planning on making a lot of Abigail's baby food. I find store bought baby food extremely gross (although perhaps the baby doesn't mind), expensive, and probably full of preservatives. I'm sure that I won't be able to make ALL of it but having Fridays off will give me more time to puree, freeze and bag food for her to have at Grandma's house and with the babysitter.

I promise that more pictures are coming soon. We haven't taken any in so long but I'm sure we'll have a big six month photo shoot.

Nourishment and Sleep Update

This isn't a subject I write a lot about. I want to touch on the subject of breastfeeding. It has been a very important part of Abigail's life so far and I just wanted to share my experience a bit.

It was pretty easy from the start. She had trouble latching on just a bit the first or second time we tried but she soon caught on. I occasionally used a shield to help her for the first week or two of her life.

Our biggest trial came on Wendesday, the 6th of February. Oh my! My milk had finally come in and the poor girl could not figure out what was going on. We all suspected she was hungry but when I tried to nurse her, she'd just scream. It was truly the night of terror! After about 4 hours of crying, she finally fell asleep in bed with me but that only lasted about an hour. In desperation, I called the LLL hotline. At first the lady was groggy and I was panicked but she soon came around with some suggestions. She recommended that I pump a little to relieve the pressure.

Bingo! That worked. We all (husband, mother-in-law, and me) watched and held our breath as she lactched on and finally at after 5 or 6 hours of crying! I fought with a little fear at this point that we'd relieve that night of terror but we never did.

After that things really went smoothly. When I first started pumping I was so concerned that I couldn't only get 1 to 2 ounces at a time. I was a nervous wreck thinking that I wouldn't be able to successfully go back to work and breastfeed. However, time and practice paid off and I was able to still pump and work.

However, my transition to work was also a bit of a challenge. At first, I could pump so much more than she was eating. It was wonderful to have the assurance that she wouldn't go hungry but when the weekend rolled around and I wasn't pumping but only feeding her, I had terrible engorgement like I'd never had before! I soon learned to regulate and only pump the amount she was eating each day and things got better.

She has grown since then (obviously) and at one point I realized all my freezer supply was being used up. Oops! This means that I wasn't keeping up with her anymore. I've been working hard over the last few weeks to keep up. This means that on days when I don't have her with me at work, I'll pump 4 maybe 5 times to keep up and increase my supply a bit. Sometimes if she eats and I don't think she at a lot, I will take her into my little pumping room with her and pump what she missed. It's not often that I can get a lot that way, but it helps, I think.

I have also been pumping on the weekends when I'm exclusively nursing her. For me, the hardest part of breastfeeding is the pumping. I am thankful that I am successful at it but it can be painful, lonely, boring, and time consuming!

Needless to say, I have found breastfeeding to be one of the most challenging yet rewarding things I have ever done. It gives me great satisfaction to know what is going into her body (because it's what went into mine) and to keep her as healthy as I can. I also look at my strong healthy girl and am proud that it was my body that did that. I not only grew her inside of me but for the past 5 1/2 months, she has only received nourishment from me! It has definitely changed the way I think about myself. I understand there are medical reasons why some women cannot breastfeed but if you get the chance, I highly recommend it. It is hard work but is an extremely satisfying and empowering experience.

Sleep Update:
She has been such a bear to get to sleep lately. She fussed, cried, etc from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm last night. Someone suggested that perhaps she wasn't tired but that was not the case. She was asleep at certain points during this time period but just woke up screaming. When I went to bed at 10 pm, I was very restless listening for her cry and thinking that we were in for a bad night. Fortunately, she only woke once and went down easily after she ate. I am so thankful she is sleeping better at night. . . once she gets to sleep. Also, for her afternoon nap, she fell asleep WITHOUT TEARS, in her bouncy seat, which she hasn't done in quite a while for me.

My parents, sister, and her fiance are coming this weekend to see us. We're so excited to have them visit and for them to see Abigail in all her cuteness! I hope they don't mind that things will probably be a bit boring, since we'll be cleaning and doing laundry in preparation for our trip to Hawaii! I am hoping we'll find the time to sneak away to the Dayton airshow or the bodies exhibit downtown. We'll see what they want to do.

Packing List

Ok. Here is the packing list for Hawaii of what I'm bringing for Abigail. I think I have everything on there. If anyone has any suggestions, please leave me a comment! I don't want to forget anything vital!

3 swimming suits (yes, she has these already)
Wipes
Diapers
Swim Diapers
Swimming Cover Up
PJ's (3 pair, 1 for carryon and two for suitcase)
Clothes (5 or 6 outfits)
Laundry Soap (we have a washer/dryer in our condo)
Shampoo
Brush
Plastic Bags for Carry-on
Teething Toy
Hylands Teething Tablets
Cortisone Cream, just in case
Lotion
Diaper Rash Cream
Pacifiers (6 to 8 of them)
Blanket (for carryon)
Pillow (for carryon)
2 Hats
Birth Certificate copy for travel
Thermometer
Pak N Play Sheet
Disposable Changing Pads (for travel)
Baby Monitor
Toys
Nail Clippers
Nightlight
3 bibs
3 pair of socks
1 jacket (for cool evenings)
1 pair of jeans (also for cool evenings)

I will also bring baby Tylenol, just in case of a very high fever or extreme pain.

Any other suggestions?

Not-So-Great Clips * Updated

As I'm sure all of my readers know by know, I am cheap (frugal, conservative, whatever). It's not that I wouldn't be able to spend money if I had it, but I just always feel like I don't have enough to be wildly spending it everywhere. One place where I have tried to be conservative lately is the beauty line item. I stopped coloring my hair several years ago for several reasons, one of which was that I didn't have gray hair so why was I spending tons of money on that when my natural color was just fine. So, I don't spend on that anymore. Since Abigail has been born, I have only gotten my hair cut once. Unfortunately, trying to be cheap, I picked not-so-great-clips. Hopefully none of you work there! :0 I'm sure there are some terrific stylists at those places but let's just say, I did not get one!

So, in order to remedy the situation, I'm going back to my old salon today and will drop around $40 on a hair cut, after tip. I have learned my lesson, however. A good haircut will last much longer than a bad one!

Now, I just have to decide how to get it cut . . . hmm.

Since my appointment is at 11:30 am today, I doubt I have time to ask for suggestions, but if you have one before then, feel free to post it. My old hair cut is getting well . . . old. I'm thinking a little longer style will make me look at little more youthful. I think I will have to break down and ask the stylist her opinion. I wonder if they get tired of that.

**Update: Abigail slept through the night last night. I am just totally bewildered. We did nothing different than we have the past 5 months! :) In fact, I even gave in a rocked her to sleep since she was SO fussy and had been crying for over an hour. I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to totally figure out babies.**

New Blogs

I have come across a lot of new fun blogs lately, but the best one is from my cousin, Laura. Here is a link: http://mountainmillards.blogspot.com/.

Enjoy!

Goodnight Sweetheart . . .

We're still having some sleeping issues at night. Abigail has always been a good sleeper. At about week 2, she started to even out and would only wake once, maybe twice, a night. This trend continued until about the middle of May. Then she became fussy for naps and fussy for bedtime. She was also more restless at bedtime. I do believe this has a direct connection with the time she learned to roll-over and other developmental milestones. However, the middle of May was also when she first slept clear through the night. She did it for 5 days in one week. Little did I know that she was tricking me! Then came the RASH . . .

Now that we have that cleared up, I was expecting her to go back to her old ways of sleeping but I did get up three times last night to nurse her. This definitely shakes my confidence as a mother. I keep asking myself all the time: WHY?! Well, I have been doing a lot of research today and I think I may have discovered at least part of the reason why.

First of all, she could possibly be teething. I don't see any teeth or swelling, however, and she doesn't seem to be gumming or drooling more than normal. My second thought has to do with her daytime nursing. She is very restless during the day when she nurses from me. I do believe this primarily comes from her new ability to SEE and INTERACT with things around her. She is really distracted . . . . . . except at night, when she nurses for 20 to 30 minutes at a stretch. Hmm, this got me thinking that perhaps she isn't getting enough calories during the day and is making up for it at night. Her nursing times during the day, seriously only last 5 to 10 minutes (10 minutes is a good day). I have some ideas in mind that I might try to see if things go better.

My last thought on this . . . and then I promise I will try to post about something A LITTLE more interesting in the future, is that she now knows that mom will come to her and give her comfort in the middle of the night when she wakes up. I was doing that during her rashy time and maybe it's just a habit now. Who knows! I think it's a little early in her life to totally let her cry-it-out at night. There is still the good possibility that she is actually hungry.

When she was a newborn, I kept a sleep journal. I wrote down when she woke up, when she ate, and when she fell back asleep at night. It was helpful to see that nighttime sleep was improving after a few weeks. I think I need to do that again to see if I can find a pattern to the madness!

I am looking forward to trying solid foods (29 days) with her. It will give me a little more freedom . . . I think it will be fun . . . and hopefully she can stay full longer at night!

New Pacifier

Abigail has discovered a new pacifier. Her big toe! I had her at work today. When I looked down to see what she was up to, I caught her sucking on her big toe! I quickly grabbed my phone (the camera was in the car) and snapped the photo below. It had slipped out of her mouth but you can see how high she was lifting her legs! Yes, the things she is holding in her hands are her feet!




This photo is from when she had the rash. You can see it on her face and the expression on her face definitely shows how she was feeling. Poor babe!

New Things

If you'll notice, there have been some changes to my right side bar. I'm now the proud hostess to BlogHer Ads. Some of you will be thrilled to know that this means I must keep blogging (frequently) in order to keep these on my site. If you see something over there that interests you, don't hesitate to click on it and check it out!

Not much new in our world . . . since my post yesterday, that is. Andrew has another orientation session tonight for his professorship (ok, the place where he will be an instructor), so I'm on my own for supper and bedtime. I don't mind. This means I will get to make myself something with Tuna and I can head to bed/computer time early after cleaning up the house.

I'm still working on our packing lists for Hawaii. I actually think I might post them on here (at least the baby's list) to see if anyone has any other suggestions of things to bring. I only have a few more calls to make to set things up and we'll be good to go. Here is my to-do list.

1) Call Hawaii hotel where we'll be staying 3 nights to get a portable crib!
2) Call Super Ferry to check on whether a copy of Abigail's birth certificate will suffice or if I need to bring the actual thing.
3) Reserve Dewey's spot in the kennel. Poor boy, he will think we've left for good!
4) Call airline to check on gate checking seat/stroller combo and also birth certificate.

Hmm, I think that's it.

--------Abigail update----------
Of course I can't post without writing about the darling, right?! She seems to be doing better all around with sleep. She only woke once, again, last night and she actually just fell asleep for an afternoon nap (hopefully a long one) without ANY crying. I'm doing my best not to consider this action or lack of action "normal" incase she starts waking 2+ times at night or being fussy for naps again. I'm so much better off if I have low expectations! :)

All for now . . .

My Hope

You are righteous

You love justice

and those who honor You

will see Your face.

I will arise

And lift my eyes to see

Your majesty, Your holiness

And all I am will bless You.

My hope is in the name of the Lord,

Where my help comes from.

Your my strength, my song.

My trust is in the name of the Lord.

I will sing your praise,

you are faithful.

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Above are the lyrics to one of my new favorite songs. It has just really spoken to my heart recently. I especially love the line that says, "Your my strength, my song." I feel like as a new mom that I need a lot of strength and singing lately! I am so blessed today that I know where my strength comes from!

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Abigail's sleep continues to improve. Sometimes we have nights where she still wakes twice but she seems much more comfortable than before. She was awake only once last night. She is back to her old self (from 8 weeks to 4 months) when it comes to bedtime. She has been SO fussy the last few weeks when it came to bedtime but last night, I actually laid her in her crib and she fell asleep . . . . no crying, no screaming and NO PACIFIER! I couldn't believe it! She struggled with naps yesterday but we kept running her around and not letting her sleep the way she likes so I don't blame her for being a little cranky!

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I have been thinking about this whole clothes/fashion thing lately. It's not as if I can't dress myself, it just seems like such an effort right now, taking up my energy, time, and money when I don't have extra of any of those things! I have been reading on Proverbs 31 a lot lately and these verses have meant a lot to me. I want to be beautiful without having my whole life focused on the things this world considers beautiful. I don't want to be frumpy or a martyr (at all). So finding that balance is my challenge!

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Prov 31: 25, 26, 27 - She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Prov 31:30 - Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Travel Advice Needed

Thanks for all the book advice! I think a trip to the Library is in order . . . even though that means paying my $13 fine! :) I only got that fine because I had a DVD checked out when I went into labor. Needless to say I didn't get it back to the Library (and then my mother-in-law took it back for me) until the week after Abigail was born.

Ok, I am starting to think ahead to our trip to Hawaii. Does anyone have baby travel advice? We have flown with her before and she did great. This, of course, is not going to be a one hour flight like last time. It will be more like 7 hours, and she is bigger. Anyway, I am really looking for any tips on flying with an infant (yes we know about the sucking during take off and landing) and how to successfully change time zones with your baby. I would like to enjoy Hawaii during the day and not have Abigail's clock mixed up the whole time we're there, if possible.

Originally, we weren't going to bring her car seat and stroller into the airport (but check it as baggage) but I think we've changed our minds and will check it at the gate. It will be a little more hassle to get through security but once we have our long layover at LAX it will give her a comfortable and familiar place to nap, also giving our arms and backs a break from carrying her around. I was also planning on just putting in our luggage a little baby travel bed but that will no longer work. She moves around a lot at night and could easily knock the side of this bed down and just roll out onto the floor. So we'll have to rent a travel bed but that's ok.

Any advice is welcome! I want to have as enjoyable a trip as possible!

**I want to say thanks to my wonderful in-laws who came over and mowed our WHOLE yard last night (2 acres and it took 2 mowers). It is so nice that we have all weekend to just do whatever and we don't have to worry about mowing!!**

I need book advice!

I'm sure you are all relieved that this post won't be a long drawn out explaination of Abigail's sleep. I will include an update at the end however. I am writing this post because I need some suggestions of good books to read. I need a good long book to take with me to Hawaii. I only want to bring one book because we're already going to be cramped for space in our luggage. Any ideas? I also just want titles of good books in general. Thanks!

** Sleep Update: Abigail's rash seems to be so much better. She did wake up twice last night however, but didn't seem to be irritated and fell back asleep, after nursing, in her crib very easily. She didn't eat much at 7 pm when I fed her, so I wasn't surprised when she woke at 11:45 to eat again. She woke again at 4:45 am. Really, it doesn't seem bad to live with that, especially after Sunday night!**

-----Updated-----
I just got done reading The Chamber by John Grisham. Very thought provoking! I am currently reading Tramp for the Lord by Corrie Ten Boom. I am also going through "For this Child I Prayed" (thanks Mom and Dad!) but it's not really a book you just read straight through.

Eureka!

Yes, we like the TV show Eureka but we also figured out what was causing the sleep problems! Itching! Miss Abigail slept clear through the night, bless her heart. I did wake up a few times because it was so weird that she wasn't crying. I just looked at the monitor to see she was alright and went back to sleep. She fell asleep (was fussy going down!) at 9 pm and woke up a little after 6 am.

The doctor said she has a bad case of eczema and gave us a few different things to try. He is a holistic doctor, so he is into treating the whole person. He has a medical degree too. I feel so good going to him because he will take a look at the whole picture. We LOVE him. I'm so glad that I found him when Abigail was born. Andrew and I probably ought to go as a new patient . . . so we actually have a doctor, just in case we would ever need to go.

Anyway, he did give me a prescription for cortizone cream. I'm sure that is what stopped the itching last night but he also gave me some other things to try: a homeopathic remedy, and diet limitations for me (no dairy, eggs, soy, citrus, chocolate, or peanuts).

My mom and the lady I talked to at the health food store gave me ideas for other things to try to clear this up, so I am taking extra fish oil, vitamin B, and probiotics to help her. I also tried putting a little epsom salt in her bath to help soothe the skin and we got some calendula cream. Whew! I think that's it. Oh, I left her out of her diaper for almost 2 hours yesterday afternoon! I had puppy pads (yes, funny, I know) for her to lay on the floor on, but I had her outside for about an hour of that and she peed on me three times! I was soaked with baby pee but I didn't care. It was fun! She laughed and giggled every time she went on me like it was fun! :)

I'm not getting my hopes up that she will sleep through every night but hopefully this will settle her down and help her sleep! I really want to try and have this cleared up by the time we take our trip to Hawaii. It would be miserable for everyone to have any itchy baby on a 7 hour plane ride!

I am surprised at how good my attitude has been about the diet thing. I've been praying for a good attitude A LOT lately. I am just excited that someone is making me eat this way. Hopefully I will lose some weight in the process! :) I had a banana and blueberries for breakfast and I'm hungry! I have got to figure out what to eat for breakfast! I'm thinking of rice milk with a few things. I've just got to get some. For lunch I have carrots, an apple, veggie chips, and a homemade chicken salad sandwich, without the mayo (eggs and dairy in that). I hope that is all free of the stuff I'm not supposed to eat. It's hard to remember everything!

That's it for the update today. I was starting to feel like she was a newborn again (and sort of "baby blues ish") last night. If you haven't experienced that . . . it's rough. A good nights sleep did the trick. I feel like a new person today. Here are a few pictures from the last week.

Taken during our sleep deprived weekend! Abigail looks like she's watching TV but we don't have a TV in our bedroom. Abigail loves hanging out with dad on Saturday morning.

Isn't she precious?! This is taken in the bathroom. Ha ha! She loves sitting in here while I take a shower and get ready for the day. What will we do when she out grows this?

And finally, her weird sleeping positions. Last night she mostly slept on her side with her back to one of the crib bumpers. Weird girl! She loves the tummy and side sleeping the most. We've tried using a sleep positioner this past week, to keep her on her back but she's figured out how to get out of it these past two nights so it seems more dangerous to have that thing loose in her crib than to have her on her back.



She was still very tired this morning and fell asleep before we left the house! She's probably just as worn out as we are by not being able to sleep. She only got about 9 hours last night and should have between 10 to 12 for her age. We'll work on an earlier bedtime tonight.

1,000 Titles

Between 11:15 pm and 5:30 am, I thought of 1,000 different titles for this post but none of them stuck. Please don't mind any misspellings or other grammatical errors in this post. I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep! Abigail's sleep has gone from bad to worse! Last night she went to sleep fairly easily. I had to hold her legs and arms down but once I helped her quit kicking, she fell asleep. She woke again at 11:15 pm (I hadn't been asleep yet) and was restless, etc. So, I picked her up and rocked her with a paci. She was asleep almost before I sat down in the chair to rock! This cycle of rocking, putting down, me going in to bed, fussing, picking up, rocking, etc, continued until about 12:30 am. I decided to try to co-sleep with her. I went down to the guest room and took her sleep positioner, so she wouldn't roll off the other side of the bed or into me. Well, it sort of worked. I, again, had to help her quit squirming, but she eventually fell asleep beside me. She woke up again (and woke me up) at 3:00 am. I nursed her in bed. I couldn't get her back to sleep! Finally, frustrated, I carried her swing upstairs and rocked her for a bit and then put her in the swing. She fell asleep in there (by this time it's almost 4 am) but only slept until 5 am!!!!!

Andrew got up with her at 5:00 am and rocked her and put her back in her crib. She miraculously slept in there until about 6:15 am. Unfortunately, I did not fall back asleep after 5 am!

I am almost 100% sure that the problem with her interrupted sleep is due to itching. Her rash is worse and she is constantly scratching her head, chest, and rubbing her back on the bed when we lay her down. She seems to be comforted by holding and rocking. I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to sleep next to a squirming infant, but I did at the time!

I think that there is a small possibility that she just can't settle herself down without our help. If that is the case, I'm not looking forward to the night of crying that we'll have to endure to solve that problem! However, it seems weird to me that last Monday she would just suddenly start to wake up frequently and not be able to settle herself, without another cause.

So, when I say that I got 3 hours of sleep last night, that is being generous! It makes me feel very nervous when I hear that eczema, sometimes, cannot be cured or it takes up to 3 weeks!

I hear about others not getting sleep with infants and it sounds so trivial but it is NOT when it is happening to you! We have been praying about this so much and no answers have come yet. I guess this is a patience building exercise! It is a great comfort to me to know that my God is much bigger than sleep, eczema, babies, or weariness! He has overcome the greatest battle so He can overcome what trials/annoyances are upon my family right now!

What a difference!

I suppose you read the title and thought Abigail's sleeping had improved last night but that is not the case. . . Still a rough night. The difference is however, that I had a little attitute change at about 2:00 am. I have definitely had a "poor me" attitude lately regarding sleep and our whole situation. At 2:00 am I just thought that I can't keep doing this to myself . . . thinking about what could be. I simply thought, "I am so lucky to be able to have this extra 1/2 hour to spend with my daughter, even though it is at 2:00 am!" Oh, I'm sure she'll love to read this in a few years, but she pooped twice during the night, so that may explain some of the waking and restlessness!

I'm pretty sure that her teeth are bothering her. Abigail's babysitter is also a breastfeeding mom and has worked with a lot of kids over the years. She told me that most babies find breastfeeding very comforting while teething, so that would explain the constant waking in order to eat at night. She also recommended today (as did my mother-in-law) some homeopathic teething tablets, which I will look for today. Isn't Abigail so lucky to have such wonderful people taking care of her? We are lucky and blessed too!

In other news: my husband is going to be a professor! He tells me that his actual title is going to be instructor, but still. I have learned some lessons over the years about blogging too much personal information (and avoiding negativity, if possible) so I won't put where he is teaching. It will be his third job. I keep encouraging him to take it easy with all the working but he assured me last night that he is not a work-a-holic and he will make his family a priority. He keeps repeating, "Live like no one else . . . " All you Ramsey plan people know what I'm talking about! I definitely love the damage that we're doing to his student loans! :)

Same Topic . . . again . . . sleep!

Where oh where did my good sleeper go? Here is last night's breakdown:

6:30 pm - Bedtime Routine
7:00 pm - Nursed, read a book (amazing that she sat still and didn't cry), rocked a little
7:15 pm - Down in bed awake
8:00 pm - Asleep (I'm not exactly sure of the time, but I just let her cry/fuss, since it didn't sound serious).
12:20 am - Awake and fussing - Nursed, changed and back to sleep
2:20 am - Awake and fussing - put her paci back in, patted, and back to bed
3:30 am - Awake and fussing - Nursed, changed and back to sleep
5:30 am - I heard her fussing but I was just going to let her cry it out for 1/2 hour, since I didn't think she could possibly be hungry. Andrew got up for the day.
5:50 am - Still fussing so I got her and put her in bed with me - nursed and she fell asleep
7:10 am - I woke her to get her dressed for the day and fed her AGAIN.

I was so spoiled by her only waking up once or not at all. I hope that whatever is disturbing her will pass quickly, so we can all get some sleep! Andrew seems to think he can feel a little tooth but I'm not sure. I don't doubt that they can bother her for a long time before coming through.

I'm looking forward to the weekend so I will feel like I can ask for help from the other parent in the house, since she doesn't always need to be fed. I know I can wake him up if I NEED to, but where is that line? He is working SO hard for us right now that I just don't want to bother him with anything else. He will be gone until 10 pm tonight at an orientation for his teaching job which will start in August.

Fashion Advice

I finally decided it would make sense to actually show you all what the clothes I bought look like . . . before I take them back. So, here are the clothes that Andrew said make me look like an old lady.

The second one fits better, I think. Anyway, his advice to me was to wear dark solid colors. Then when I wore all black on Sunday and then said I was hot, he said, "Well, why did you wear all black?" I don't understand men!




Speaking of: Here is a picture of my hard working man. He is working on some websites for his old company in the evenings.

And, of course, I can't put pictures on a blog without posting one of our darling. I have some funny pictures taken of ways that she sleeps but I'll do those another time.

She was on the changing table getting ready for the day! Smiles at 6 am! Amazing!

And the last post leads me to a new blog . . .

I found a bunch of great blogs yesterday. This one is a lady who helps other people look good. I NEED her! Anyway, I'm just going to read the blog for a while and hope that it all soaks in!

http://sharibraendel.blogspot.com/

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Sleep update:
Last night - 6/23/2008
7 pm - started bedtime routine
7:20 pm - Nursing (cranky, fussy, squirmy and didn't eat much)
7:30 pm - Down in crib (cranky, fussy, squirmy, and CRYING)
I patted her occasionally while putting away clothes in her room.
8:00 pm - Still crying so I rocked her - very drowsy
8:10 pm - down in crib - suddenly awake again and crying
8:15 pm - rocking again and back down - calm but rolling around in crib so I left to work in my bedroom
8:20 pm - I heard her SCREAM from my room while I was folding clothes.
8:21 pm - Crying, screaming and sobbing, so I rocked her with a paci
8:30 pm - She actually fell asleep on me (very rare) and I managed to transfer her calmly to her crib.
11:30 pm - Awake and making noise (no crying really) so I fed her.
2:30 am - Awake and restless - I did not want to get her used to me feeding her all night long, so I tried the paci in her crib but she wouldn't settle down, so I rocked her. She fell asleep and I put her down. 2 minutes later, awake again! Ah! I am wishing that I could wake Andrew to do this, since it doesn't involve feeding, but he has such a difficult time sleeping anyway. Rocked and comforted for 30 minutes. Laid her back down. Finally at 3:00 am I head back to bed, lay on top of the covers with my glasses on because I fully expect to get up in 5 minutes. She (and I) slept until 6 am.

Teeth? I don't know.
Itchy rash? I don't know.
Crazy/sweet baby trying to make her mom go insane? yes!

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I know she could be SOOOO much worse. The problem is is that I am so spoiled by only getting up once a night! It also makes a HUGE difference when Andrew is home in the evening, even when he doesn't do anything to help put her to sleep. It's amazing how much better I feel just knowing I have backup! He was at Bible study last night.

Being frugal without looking 80 years old!

We had a crazy whirl wind weekend! :) I went shopping on Saturday afternoon, with Abigail, to buy Andrew some new clothes. His old company gave him many company logoed shirts to wear (23 to be exact) so needless to say, he needed some new shirts to wear! I found two great shirts and a pair of pants for him.

Here is a little background to help you understand the rest of this story: Andrew and I are following the Dave Ramsey plan. We are currently paying off debt (all we have is school loans) and so I'm trying to live as cheaply as possible. One thing that I made a committment to do was to not purchase any NEW clothes for one whole year. There are a few exceptions to this rule. 1) I can buy new underwear and a swimming suit, 2) I can buy new clothes if the money is a gift from someone. So, Andrew decided to "gift" me about $50 (from his bonus) so I could buy some new clothes for myself. My wardrobe is pretty scarce!

So, I went to JcPenneys. I only need a few new shirts. I found some shirts that fit great. The best part was that they were buy one for $6.95 and get a second one for $1! Yeah! I didn't particularly like the pattern but there wasn't much to choose from. So, I took them home and when I showed Andrew he immediately said, "Well, those look a little old lady-ish." See, that is a problem for me. I go for convenience and cheapness and don't think about style. So, I can't wear the shirts. They have to be returned. So much for new clothes! We decided that I am going to buy Andrew's clothes and he is going to buy mine. I'm a bit frightened by this. He will buy me stylish clothes, but can I fit into them? That is the question!

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On a separate note:
Abigail is still a bear to get to sleep! It makes me hurt to see her struggling so much with sleep because there is not much I can do to help her. In the past week, she seriously only went down for one nap (with me) peacefully. The rest of the time she is crying, fussy, screaming even, and it takes a LONG time to get her to go to sleep. Part of me dreads nap and bedtime, but I KNOW that my baby needs her rest and she is cranky if she doesn't sleep enough, so I have to press on. For example, on Saturday morning, I tried everything to get her to sleep: bouncy chair, swing, crib, rocking with pacifier, and even nursing her to sleep. Nothing worked! Aunt Carol finally got her to sleep (in the afternoon) in her car seat. I'm looking for advice again. Everything I have read says that you should be consistent with nap times and well . . . we just can't do that, since she has a new schedule each day! Any other tips on getting her to sleep peacefully? Perhaps it is just her thing. She is a very happy baby otherwise. Perhaps she will just be hard baby to put to sleep (she usually sleeps great once she is down).

Bathroom Conversations

Scene: Bathroom at Work with preschool kids from summer camp coming in to use the facilities. Abigail is getting a diaper change on the Koala Bear changing station.

Little Girl: Cute Baby!
Me: Thanks!
LG: I have a little baby sister who is younger than your baby.
Me: Oh really? How old is your sister?
LG: 8 months.
Me: Well, this baby is actually 4 months old.
LG: Wow, really? She's huge!
Me: Yes, she's a big baby.
LG: What's her name?
Me: Abigail.
LG: Wow, that's pretty!

I'm taking the "she's huge" comment as a compliment! :) Yes, I'm not sure how we did it but we grew a huge baby and purposefully named her a beautiful name! :)

P.S. We're fighting a diaper rash right now. Any moms out there have any tried and true cures? I've tried several "normal" remedies (desitin) and several "natural" approaches too (cloth diapers and silver) and it seems to be hanging on. This weekend, I'm going to spend a lot of time airing her bottom out. I set up a station last night (trash bag flat with a blanket and towel, just in case) and let her go without a diaper for 30 minutes but it needs to be longer than that. Poor baby. Any advice is welcome!

Thoughts on Fathers

I realize that I'm a few days late for Father's Day but better late than never. I've been thinking about fathers lately. I have been unbelievably blessed by the "fathers" in my life and I'd like to share a little bit about them.

First of all, my dad. . . growing up, I was known to be a daddy's girl and proud of it. I loved having Dad read me a bed time story, give me a bath, play outside, and do farm stuff with. My dad always worked so hard on the farm to support us and as a teenager, I got to join him in this. I took a tractor safety class and became an employee of Fairchild Farms. :) I have such fond memories of that summer and of growing up on the farm in general. I loved riding in the combine and tractor with Dad. I have learned a lot from my dad over the years but one of the most important lessons is that of hard work and dedication. Being a farmer is never easy, lots of sweat, pain, and unpleasant things (like pulling calves) but my dad is always out there working hard. I spent many hours of my life watching my dad's sport teams play and taking stats. As much as I may joke about hating it, it was fun to be the coach's daughter and as I enjoy being organized and record keeping, keeping stats was right up my alley. I love my dad very much and I am SO excited for the future when Abigail gets to hang out on the farm and learn from her grandpa. I admire my dad's hard work and dedication!

My Grandpa Walter. . . he is now gone from this world, but what a wonderful person he was! I have such fond memories of going out on coffee breaks, fishing, visiting his welding shop, crushing cans (ha ha), and many more in Downs, Kansas. My grandpa never knew a stranger and was always inviting people to church . . . and making sure they had a ride! His positive attitude in life is something that will always stick with me. Even when his kidney's were failing and he didn't feel well, he would say "Oh, I have a cold drink and my nice warm fire, so I'm ok." If only I could have that positive attitude!

My Grandpa Fairchild. . . he also passed along the legacy of hard work and dedication to me! He is a behind-the-scenes kind of man but if he sees something to be done, then he is there, especially when it comes to things needing done at church. He was always in our lives supporting us and making sure that we knew how much we were loved! This is now passed along to my daughter. It brought an immense amount of joy to my heart to see my grandparents play with and enjoy my daughter. I admire my grandpa's quiet strength and strong love!

My father-in-law . . . what a loyal family man and hard worker he is! He is another wonderful example of what a godly father and husband looks like. I can see in his life that he really is walking the walk and not just talking the talk. He is understanding, fun to be around, a hard worker, helpful around the house (an amazing trait), and he can fix anything! I'm serious! He is also a laundry expert (so I've heard) and builds the most beautiful furniture I have ever seen. He is very dedicated to God, his family, his job and now his granddaughter. It has also been a joy for me to watch be a loving grandfather to Abigail!

And last but not least, my loving wonderful husband! I never had a doubt in my mind that he would be the worlds most terrific father (he had a good example). He is patient, loving, funny (this comes in very handy when Abigail is screaming), calm and relaxed, ready to discipline if necessary (this hasn't come yet), willing to get up at night, a fabulous diaper changer, the best bath giver, and a wonderful provider for us! He is excited for Abigail to grow up so he can do bonding things with her. She is absolutely the luckiest girl in the world to have such a loving and attentive daddy. His best quality trait, however, is that he loves the Lord. He wants to raise our daughter to love Him too and that is the best gift ever!

I could seriously go on and on (and include my husband's grandfathers in this too) but I'm out of time and my husband says people stop reading after the first paragraph. :) I hope you have gotten just a little glimpse of how lucky I am to know or have known all of these terrific fathers. Like I have said, the best quality in all of them is that they love the Lord and desire to live lives that glorify Him!

A Link to our Amazing Friends!!!

I want to give a shout out to our friends, the Munafos. They are serving as missionaries in Nigeria and they are awesome! I love you guys! Anyway, I know Emilee reads this and I want to link to her site and the new interns website (for the summer). Emilee (and Jason), please keep us up-to-date and let us know how we can help.

We're back from Hocking Hills

We had a nice weekend at Hocking Hills for the Schechter Family reunion. We enjoyed a nice hike and a dip in the pool on Saturday (intersperced with naps and eating). We had a good time with family and it was fun to have Abigail meet her new 2nd cousin, Graham. We shared a cottage and it actually worked out well. The babies didn't seem to disturb each other and the parents took turns on baby watch for various reasons (showers, campfire sing-a-longs, etc).

We headed back yesterday morning to gather ourselves again before another full work week. Abigail did a pretty good job of napping while we were there. She really didn't fight being put to sleep and actually took 1 - 3 hour nap! Amazing! This was all fine and dandy until we got home! I'm not sure what set her off but she was acting tired around 2:30 pm so we tried getting her to sleep. I headed out to mow and left Andrew to tempt her into sleep. I came back over an hour later to find her still fighting it. So, after my shower, I tried. Nothing! Finally when Andrew left to go to the grocery store at 6:00 pm (he is awesome!) I wrestled (just a term, no wrestling was involved) her into sleep for about 45 minutes. She woke up at 6:45 pm and was still tired and cranky for bed at 7:15 pm so off we went. She fought her bedtime like a bear too. Lots of crying and screaming (she screamed and I cried) and she finally fell asleep at 8:30 pm. The good news from this whole story is that she slept peacefully in her crib until 6:30 am! Through the night. Yeah! It's a good thing because I was too busy watching the Tony's to go to bed before 11:00 pm! She is silly!

Today I have her at work all day. She had a nice 1 hour nap already this morning and I just put her back down for another try and she slipped easily off into la-la land with NO FUSSING! I wish I knew what I did differently between the times she is fussy, whinning, and screaming for hours, vs 1 minute pacifier fix into blissful sleep! Ah babies!

I will post some wonderful pictures we got at Hocking Hills at some point. Probably not today as Andrew is working at PCC a few hours tonight, so I'm going solo on the bedtime routine.

Truly a post from the road!

We are headed to Hocking Hills state park this weekend for a family reunion. I am literally blogging from the road!! I am using Andrew's new phone which has internet capabilities. This is so cool!!! We are actually driving up 71 right now. Anyway I don't have much to say except this is really cool! I am thankful my husband is willing to drive and share is cool phone!

Andrew in the news!

http://www.gbbn.com/About/News/In_The_Press/In4_Names_Schechter_Business_Analyst/

I'm so proud of my wonderful husband. I took the picture in this press release. I'm quite proud of how it looks! :)

Choices!

This morning was the first time I caught Abigail actually sleeping on her stomach. I thought she was just rolling over right when she woke up and then cries when she can't get back to sleep that way. She was a little fussy around 11:00 pm (when we were going to bed) so I peeked in on her to find her, once again, on her tummy. I thought I'd try putting her back to sleep without nursing, and it worked! I just put her on her back with a paci and she slept until 1:30 am. Then from 2 am to 6:15! Yeah! She was sleeping on her tummy when I got up at 6 am. I can't believe our girl is old enough to actually make a choice now! She can choose whether to sleep on her back or her stomach. We have now started putting the crib side all the way up. I have also cleared all the junk (ok stuffed toys) out of her crib, since she can end up anywhere in the morning, instead of just right where I left her! She has been a good baby to have at work this week. I have several pictures of her "helping" mom in the office. Thanks Maggie for letting me use your camera!!

Also, my friend Lisa is starting a photography business. I linked to her blog over on the right, so check her site out. She is a wonderful photographer! She took the pictures of Abigail and of us when Abigail was 8 days old.

Seriously, what's up with all the posts?

I've been a blogging fool lately. Perhaps I've been spurred on by the fact that many of my friends have just started blogs. Perhaps I just have a lot to say. I have no idea!

The main focus of my life right now is Abigail's naps. Isn't that weird how I never thought about babies naps before having a baby? I never knew how important they would be to a happy health baby! We had one rough weekend with Abigail. She woke up several extra times on Friday night and the fought her naps Saturday with everything that she had! She lived up to her silly nickname "Crabbygail" on Saturday. Crazy girl! I held her off at bedtime (my art of baby distraction is becoming very refined) until 7:30 pm. Sunday was a little better. She relaxed and slept during church but really fought her nap while we were lunching at Andrew's grandparents. She finally fell asleep but only stayed down for an hour. She still needs two or three naps a day (with about 5 hours sleeping time between them). When we got home she napped after nursing for about 20 minutes. She was still so cranky, so off to bed we went. She slept from 8:00 pm until (ugh!) 5:15 am! I love it that she can sleep that long but 5:15 am is a killer since my alarm goes off at 6 am.

However, I do have good news to report. She is back to her cheerful self today! Since my MIL is away on vacation, I took her to work with me this morning. She has been an absolute angel. She slept for almost two hours (8 am to 10 am) and she just went back down for a nap at 11:30 am. She's still asleep. Perhaps she is making up for the weekend. I don't know! Hopefully she is good for Aunt Jennie this afternoon.

This weekend we are heading off to Hocking Hills State Park for a family reunion (Schechters). I am in the midst of a mental debate over what baby equipment I should bring. I always try to be a minimalist when packing but perhaps I should consider what might make the weekend a little easier on Abigail! We're staying in a cabin with the other new baby in the family so hopefully that will be the quiet cabin so the babies can nap when they need to!

Seriously, naps make my world go round! :)

Blogging

Several of my friends have joined the blogging world recently. Yeah! I love blogging and even more so - I love reading other people's blogs (which motivates me to write on my own). See the links to the right for some of my favorite reads. There are several new ones.

Abigail has had a rough day. She woke up 5 to 7 times last night. So I bet she slept less than I did! :) Anyway, she woke up tired, wasn't satisfied by any of her 20 minute naps. I finally got her to sleep in her swing, where she stayed for almost 2 hours. She still was pretty cranky by 6:30 - 7:00 pm. She's growing up and exploring things (rolling like crazy) and she doesn't want to miss anything! Andrew is on baby watch right now (she's falling asleep) so I can have a break and do stuff down stairs . . . like balance the checkbook and check the budget!

We have mobility! and Reverse Anorexia

Abigail has really taken off with her rolling. She has been able to roll from stomach to back for a few weeks now and went from back to stomach on Memorial Day for the first time. Lately, she has become a rolling fool! :) I had her on her play mat at work this week and within 1/2 hour, she had rolled over 2 times. Last night, I put her on her back on a blanket and she rolled over probably 5 or 6 times to her stomach. Then, when I got up to feel her at 1:30 am (she was crying), I walked in to find her on her stomach! Ah! We'll have to start raising the side of the crib that is adjustable. I no longer feel safe leaving her up on our bed alone for fear she might roll or scoot off (while I'm getting ready), so I put a blanket on the floor and she was a happy camper playing down there. I have a feeling it won't be too long before she is able to really move around on her own!

One of my new favorite things to do with Abigail is to sit in our closet (it's a huge walk in) and play in front of our big mirror. Abigail LOVES to see herself. She can be in the worst mood, tired and crabby, but she will instantly start laughing and giggling at herself if I put her in front of that mirror. My husband and several of his family members have what they call "reverse anorexia". It is where they think they look really good, while in reality, they may have a few trouble spots (as small as they might be) to work on. I do believe that my daughter has inherited this trait from her father, as she loves to look at herself in the mirror (I know all babies do!).

Plans Explained

Our plan for solid food for Abigail is to wait. This article explains my reasons way better than I can, so I am linking to it. It will be nice and simple when we travel to Hawaii to only have her on breastmilk (she'll turn 6 months while we're there). We'll do a lot of hanging out together! :)

http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/solidfood.html

I especially like the part where they say you are substituting a inferior food (rice cereal or veggies) for a superior food (breastmilk). Abigail is obviously not hurting for food. In her checkup yesterday, she weighed 17 pounds, was 25 1/2 inches long, and her head size was 17 inches. She was over 90% for all categories and was in the 97+% for weight. I wonder if she will be tall like her dad.

We had a bit of weather excitement last night. Around 10:00 pm the tornado sirens by us started to go off. When you're from Kansas, tornado sirens mean serious business (like someone has seen one), and so you're supposed to go to the basement. Andrew looked at an online radar and showed the path of a funnel cloud and storm headed straight for us. Also, Dewey was barking up a storm (pun intended) because of the sirens, so we all headed downstairs. Abigail actually stayed asleep in my arms for 10 or 15 minutes before finally waking up and discovering that she was NOT in her bed. She wasn't a happy camper about that! Anyway, I felt sort of silly sitting in my basement during a thunderstorm but I guess a lot of people in our area did as well (my co-worker at least) and it's better to be safe than blown away! We learned this lesson during our last trip to Kansas when we "slept" through a really bad storm only to wake up the next morning to see tornado damage about a mile from where we were staying. Oops, we should have turned on the TV at least. So, at 10:30 the sirens quit and we headed upstairs to bed. I fed Abigail once more, so she lasted until 5:30 am (why can't she sleep for 1/2 hour more when my alarm goes off; why oh why!!). That was our excitement for the night.

Happy Birthday Mom!

This day is a very special one because it is my mom's birthday. As I continue on the wonderful and challenging path that is motherhood, I am increasingly thankful for my own mother. I want to honor her today by sharing how I want to be like my mom!

My mom the warrior! Growing up I took for granted that my mom prayed for us. As I grew into adulthood and went through some troubling times in college, this knowledge became the greatest comfort to me. The problems I faced always became managable when I remembered that my mom was praying for me, specifically and daily. I am so thankful that I can continually go to her with my problems and concerns and I know that she will take these concerns before our heavenly Father. When I went into labor, Andrew and I made the decision to only call one person (because we needed patience and calmness in the labor process) and we decided to call my mom, so that she could be praying for us as Abigail made her way into the world. I can only hope that I am as faithful of a prayer warrior to my daughter as she grows as my own mother is to me! It is a blessing to me every day!

My mom the comforter! It is widely known that I am a wimp. Yes, I did have a drug-free birth but I still don't like to feel sick at all. My mom has always been a wonderful caretaker. I was shocked when I got married that my husband didn't act like my mom when I was sick. He didn't know to automatically make me feel better by bringing me a cool wet washcloth or toast cut into four squares with tea! :) I remember feeling relieved to see my mom in the recovery room when I woke up from gallbladder surgery. I can only hope that I am as good of comforter to my daughter as my mom was and is to me!

My mom the supporter! My mom and my dad (and grandparents) rarely missed any of our events growing up. When I played tennis in High School, I remember telling them that they really didn't need to come to the far away meets. They always showed up anyway to support me. My mom was also the one who started me on my music "career". She was always there to practice with me when I was singing, and to make me practice the piano! :) While I was in college, she even drove over to play for me a time or two. I was so spoiled!

My mom the "understander"! This is one that I took for granted until I got married. I think my parents knew in the back of their minds that we would end up in Ohio. When we told them we were moving here, I'm sure the news was sad to them but they never (for one moment) made me feel guilty for moving away from them. I consider this a very unique gift from my mom and dad, as I know several friends whose parents have given them a guilt trip if they decide to move an hour away, let alone 15 hours, like we did! They continue to be this way today. They are very thankful for the time that we do get to spend with them but if we have to cut things short because of vacation time, etc, they are understanding! Amazing!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday, Mom! Thank you so much for all you have done for me. I cannot express how much your love and support has meant to me and continues to mean to me today. I hope that someday I can be as loving and supportive to my kids as you are to me!

Happy Birthday!

My 4-month-old

I cannot believe that our beautiful daughter is 4 months old today. It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with her and that our life was still "normal". Now, I never want to go back to the way it was!! It is amazing to us, as her parents, to watch her grow and change every single day. She was started to really laugh out-loud. This sound has become a delight to our ears. She also struggled for two weeks with bedtime sleep and now suddenly the switch flipped again, and goes down easily and at times, even without a pacifier! She slept through the night on Saturday and woke up only once last night. I cannot begin to understand the ways of infants. The only thing that I read about and heard was a major developmental growth at 4 months can sometimes interrupt sleep. I hope this calm trend continues. We've also tried to be really consistent with her bedtime and bedtime routine. Perhaps that is helping. She is consistently rolling over from stomach to back and once has rolled from back to stomach. She is getting better about sitting up but isn't quite there yet.

My continued daily prayer for my daughter is this: that she be healthy and safe from harm, that she learn as she grows up to lean on her everlasting Father, and also to learn that the world won't always be fair to her but that she will always have parents to love her and support her. I am so thankful today that I have such a wonderful loving husband and that we together, have such a beautiful little girl!

*Side Note: Andrew started his new job today. He took the bus downtown and he called me at 7:40 am to say he had made it down there. I must admit that it was rather weird that he got up before I did. That has not happened since our first year of marriage, when he worked while I was in school. It will take some getting used to. I'm also jealous of him getting to ride the bus. I would LOVE for my 30 minute commute to be on a bus so I could read the whole time!*