As Promised

Here's Abby's "official" 8th Monthday picture:

The most amazing thing about this picture is that she was grumpy due to lack of napping at daycare and we had to take it in a super-hurry because Ed and I had about five minutes at home together before we both had to take off again.

Here are some outtakes:

And we're good for another month. ;) For anyone who was wondering...my event rocked last night. As usual, I drove myself crazy for nothing.

8 Months!

Can you believe my Abby-doo is 8 months old today? It's crazy how quickly this year is flying by. Everyday she seems just a little bit bigger. That's why I make it a point to try to enjoy each stage of her babyhood as much as possible. I know it won't last nearly as long as I would like it to! Picture to come later...

I'm actually working late on a Monday. I have a big event with Lewis Black tonight. At least, I hope it will be big! I always have nightmares when I have "big name authors" scheduled that nobody will show up to see them. How embarrassing that would be!

I dropped Abby off at daycare at 8...mostly so I didn't throw her schedule off too much. I usually take her in around 10 on the days I work late, but when I did that last Wednesday, she was not her usually pleasant self at daycare. I'm thinking that was probably an isolated incident, but why take a chance if I don't have to? I'm still going to pick her up at 3:45, which is her usual Monday time, so we can meet Ed here, take her 8-month picture, and then get her ready to go to Ed's mom's. He has an important work meeting at 5, but his mom gets off at 3, so she said she would watch Abby for us. Since she lives 5 minutes away from his office, it was definitely the most convenient solution for us.

I think I'm going to try to sleep a little more before getting ready for work. May as well take full advantage of my baby-free morning. :)

6am is Early!

And unfortunately, it seems to be Abby's new preferred wake-up time. Blah. Every morning since Wednesday, it's been 6:00 on the dot when we first hear her talking to herself through the monitor. Luckily, she wakes up happy (for the most part...unless she's starving or doesn't feel good), so she'll pretty much just play in the crib until we get her. We usually don't make her wait too long, but some mornings we just can't get out of bed. If she gets really annoyed with waiting, she lets us know...but for the most part she's cool with it. Gotta love my easy-going kid. ;)

I remembered another Abby funny. She has discovered the joy of Puffs. She hasn't met a Puff yet that she hasn't liked. But for some reason, she won't feed them to herself. If I put some on the highchair tray for her, she'll play with them fine. She can get them into her hand and will even raise her hand to mouth level. But she refuses to try to put them in her own mouth. But as soon as you pick up the same Puff she just dropped back onto the tray, she'll open wide so you can put it in her mouth for her. She's so funny...she'll put any toy you give her into her mouth, just not what she's supposed to put in there. Oy.

It's Dang Hot!

I guess summer has officially arrived because it's hot! So much for trying not to overuse the air conditioner this early. I'm afraid to see our next BGE bill! I did manage to take the baby for a walk this morning before it got unbearable out there. I knew she was tired, but she was fighting taking her morning nap, so I decided to just put her in the stroller and go. She was out within five minutes. I just kept walking, so I actually got some exercise in today. I seriously need to start the diet again. I've gained back everything I lost since I had her. That means I'll have to suck it up and start taking lunches to work. Blah.

Abby is working on a couple of new tricks. When I clap my hands together and say "clap, clap, clap" she give me a big grin and brings her hands together. She doesn't quite get the clapping yet, but she's definitely trying. She's working on the crawling too. She actually got up on her knees at my mom's yesterday and started the rocking thing. So cute. :) She's still rolling like crazy...at daycare there's a little boy who was born either the day before or the day after she was (I can't remember which). She loves to steal his pacifier (since she doesn't have any of her own) and then start rolling away with it so he can't take it back. My little thief. ;)

She had fun over her grandma's yesterday. Val brought over Abby's friend Jordan and apparently they had quite the little playdate. Abby is in love with Jordan's hair, but then again who isn't? ;) Hopefully my mom will remember to get me a picture CD when she gets her disposable camera (I know!) developed. I'll post any cute pictures of the two of them.

Have a lovely Saturday all!

Small Photo Dump

Happy baby playing on the floor.

Watching Daddy play softball.

Spike! a.k.a. "Mommy is silly!"

Trying to clap her hands. Gotta love the purple "sneaker socks."

Boo! Hiss!

Yes, I'm flaking out of the PH Playgroup. I'm very sad about it...I was really looking forward to getting together with everyone. But, as the fates would have it, I now have an off-site event to handle at work that day. :( But Tracy and I are going to work on a second date sometime in early July, so hopefully everyone will be able to make that one. Abby and I miss our peeps!

Right now I'm just hanging around the house waiting to go to work. There's a bookfair tonight, so I need to rest up now while I can. I dropped Abby off at daycare around 10 and then went to CVS to finally take advantage of the kick-dupa Pampers sale they're having this week. Jumbos are $7.99 and if you buy $20 worth, you get $5 back in Extra Care Bucks. As a bonus, I had 4 $1.50 off coupons, so I got them for a steal. Yay for saving money!

Ed has a meeting tonight, so I have to use my lunch break today to pick Abby up from daycare and then drop her off at my mom's house. At least my mom has a crib for her there which Abby loves to sleep in. She refused to nap for me this morning, so I had to drop her off at daycare sleepy...which really isn't good considering she rarely sleeps enough while she's there. At least she should go right now once she gets to grandma's. I guess I should call Ed to see if he has any clue what time his meeting will be over so I can let mom know when he's picking her up. I'm going to pack her dinner and pj's just in case. Good times. ;)

Fun Weekend and a Dr.'s Visit

We actually just had a pretty good weekend. Saturday, Ed and I went to a wedding. Well, I went, Ed was best man. I wasn't sure what to expect because it was on a boat, but it was one of the most enjoyable weddings I've been to. It was on a river boat in Havre de Grace called the Lantern Queen. Apparently they do regular dinner cruises too. Maybe one day we can get a group together and go. It's really nice. We were a little afraid of the weather, but it cleared up just in time and it turned out to be a beautiful night.

Anyway, the wedding was about three hours long, then we actually went to a bar with a group of friends afterward. Something else we never do. But it was a lot of fun and I'm glad we went. It was novel to get a night out on the town without the baby. For those wondering, Becky and Scott got to my mom first for babysitting that night since they also had a wedding. Luckily, my in-laws were available and just kept Abby overnight. :)

Sunday we went to pick up the baby and then went to softball. It was much better this time. The weather started out nice and we got a nice shady spot on the ground under a tree. She had just gotten up from a three-hour nap, so Abby was well rested and in a good mood. We watched the first game and about half the second before the rain clouds started coming in. I got her in the car just before the first drops started to fall. For those who care, Ed's team won the first and lost the second game...but it was against a team they had never beaten before, so they were thrilled.

For the past few days, I've noticed some little rash-like spots on Abby's legs and tummy. I assumed it was eczema, but wasn't positive. When I picked her up from daycare today, it was a lot worse, so I called the doctor's office when I got home. Gotta love a large practice...there's always someone available to take you. I called at 4 and she asked if we could be there at 4:30. So, the doctor took one look and said that it was, indeed, eczema. She gave me the names of a few possible products to try and we have to use something three times a day. Fun stuff. But at least it's nothing too serious. It just doesn't look pretty.

That's all for now. Happy Monday. ;)

New Reading

My sister started a blog. :) Check out what it's like to be pregnant with twins (when you REALLY weren't expecting to be).

It's a Nephew...and a Nephew!!!

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh...yeah. When my sister breaks a streak, she REALLY breaks it. Yup...Becky is having twins. The best part is that they only saw one embryo when she had her internal ultrasound at her first doctor's appointment. I guess baby #2 was hiding behind his brother. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this one...I can only imagine how Becky and Scott are feeling right now. But regardless, I think it's exciting (and I'm sure they will too...eventually). ;) So, congratulations Becky and Scott.

There's No Place Like Home...

As usual, I now need a vacation from my vacation. But I'm very much happy to be home. Not as happy as Abby though. She missed her crib. A lot. I guess the comfort of the Pack-n-Play just can compare to her comfy crib. Tired now...will blog more later. Hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend. :)

Why is it...

That on the nights when I have a million things to do, Ed's not home and Abby decides to be difficult. As in, "if you even try to put me down I will cry as loudly as possible until you pick me back up!" Argh.

Photo Dump

I know, I've been a blog-slacker again. Actually, I haven't even been online at home for the past few days. Just been too busy with Abby and life to get upstairs to the computer. But, I'm off today and the baby is napping, so I can finally update. :)

Things have been same-old around here. I'm very sad that we're going to miss Jordan's birthday party. :( Back when I thought it was going to be on Saturday, we promised Ed's parents that we would go to their other house for the rest of the weekend. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get out of it, so we'll be sending a gift with Becky. Sorry, Val! :( That also means that I have to go to Hoopers Island this weekend. Which is so not what I feel like doing...especially with a baby in tow. Blah.

Here's some pictures that I finally got around to downloading. Enjoy. :)

Abby at her first softball game. And her last until we get a Sunday that's neither cold nor wet.



How we're usually greeted when we get her after a nap.

Abby in her walker...now that's she's finally big enough for it.

Playing at Aunt Becky's house on Mother's Day.

If you look really, really close (with a magnifying glass perhaps), you can see her two teeth.

Our newly rearranged, pro-baby living room.

Checking out the Ducky Tub. No more tears during bath time. Yay!

Eating her first Biter Biscuit in one of the mesh things. She loved it. :)

Ducky Tub

I followed Krystyna's advice and looked in Walmart after I failed to find an inflatable tub in-stock at BRU (I know...something out-of-stock at BRU...shocking!). Even though I generally hate Walmart, I had to love it today because I found the ducky tub! It's seriously just too darned cute. It even quacks. Now the trick is for one of us to actually inflate it so she can take a bath tomorrow night. Good thing we have a foot pump!

In other news, we finally have a real highchair! Mealtime was getting pretty pathetic. We were still putting her in a bouncer to eat her solids (when she was in the kitchen, we had her booster seat in the sunroom...it's just now always ideal conditions to feed her out there). Becky has had one for us for awhile, but it was never a good time to pick it up or when I was over there, I had too much stuff in my car to fit it in. Ed stopped by there today on his way back from the wedding rehearsal to pick it up. Yay! :) And then he decided not to go to the other thing he was going to go to tonight. Double yay! :)

Start Practicing Your Scream!

New Kids on the Block are coming to the Verizon Center on October 2nd! Woooooooooooooooooooo!!! Tickets go on sale next month! I'm so there!

I Got My Baby Back, Baby Back, Baby Back...

It was definitely novel to be baby-free for a whole day, but I was oh-so-happy when I finally got to see her today. I missed her very, very much. And she was very happy to see me too. I got the biggest smile, giggles and happy/excited kicks. Yay. :) I'm on my own for most of the day tomorrow. Ed has a wedding rehearsal to go to during the afternoon...for a wedding that's still two weeks away. I know! Then he's supposed to go to a "reception" in the evening for one of his work peeps that got married in St. Lucia last month. Good times for him...boring times for me. At least I can play with my Abby-doodle.

Perhaps Abby and I will trek on over to BRU to get her an inflatable tub. Hopefully they carry inflatable tubs in store. I know they have them on their site, but I'm not sure if it will be there when we go. All of a sudden, Abby hates baths. She used to love them, but the past three times we've bathed her, it's been tears galore. I'm thinking maybe the baby tub is getting too small and uncomfortable for her. I'm still not ready to just plop her in the big tub yet, so we're going to try the inflatable one. Assuming I can find one I don't have to pay shipping for. I hate to pay for shipping!

And for my fellow bargain hunters, I got cheap ice cream today. Walgreens had their Ben and Jerry's on sale, buy one get one for a penny, this week (through tomorrow). If you go to Smartsource.com, there should be a coupon for $1 off 2 that you can print twice (or at least it was there last week). I got my B&J's on for about $1.75 each. Yeehah.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yup, 31 is here. Definitely not nearly as traumatic as 30 was. Just another year closer to the next horrible milestone. ;) Thanks Val, Kathy, Meg and Becky for the birthday wishes (in one form or another). :)

The real trauma of today is the fact that we're spending our first night without Abby since she was born. :( My MIL has been chomping at the bit to get her overnight for months now, so I finally gave in so Ed and I could go out for my birthday. We had a nice dinner and he took me out for ice cream. Woohoo. Now I just miss my baby. But, it's good to get her used to spending the night without us on occasion. It will do all three of us good. We talked to his mom around 7:30 and she had just fallen to sleep. She was a good girl all day, so that makes me feel a little better. I'll be happier when I'm back with her tomorrow.

Randomness

-Stupid cable has been down, so I haven't been able to get online at home for a couple of days. Blah.
-My first Mother's Day was pretty good. Exhausting, but good. Abby and I made four stops in one day. The best was my sister's house for a mother's day cookout...yummy food and good company. Ed did good with the gift...I got a gift certificate to a spa. Woohoo!
-I was right about tooth number two being right behind the tooth number one. It popped up the next day. :)
-My birthday's in two days. I'll be old plus a year. Heh. I'm over the 30-thing now...it is what it is. You're only as old as you feel (although some days I feel pretty darned old).
-I got my driver's license renewed today. It was actually pretty painless. The new MVA express up this way is quick and easy. I could have done it by mail, but dumb me forgot about it until it was too late to mail it in. Oh well, at least now I can mail it next time instead. :)
-That's all...I'm tired and I have to load the dishwasher before I go to bed. Or else I'll be washing bottles by hand in the morning. So not going to happen!

7 Months!

And yet another month flies by. I can't believe how big my little baby is getting. I remember when I could hold her in one arm...not anymore! But she's still such a good baby. She's curious about everything and loves to play with whatever she can get her hands on. She sits up on her own like a pro and rolls all over the place. She's been babbling away and Ed and I are both trying our best to get her to say either "mamamamama" or "dadadadadada" (it depends on who's talking to her). I know we still have a little time before we get to that, but it's fun to try. ;) She's now eating solids three times a day and she's started on meat dishes at night. She's all about anything with chicken right now. And we've discovered the joy of puffs.

And for a monthday present, Abby got...her first tooth! Woohoo! She's been a little grumpy the past few evenings and now we know why. It's the one on right side (if you're looking at her) in the center bottom. That toothless grin that I love will be gone before I know it. But, she'll be eating real foods before I know it too. I have a feeling that the other bottom one will be along shortly as well.

Here's her official monthday picture:

No worries, she wasn't going around all day yesterday in bare legs. She was actually in her jammies all day because she was over grandma's house and grandma likes to keep her in the sleepers. I just liked this dress and she'll probably won't have a chance to wear it out, so I put her in it to take the picture. :) Ed keep getting her to smile, but we couldn't time the smile with the camera. This was the best one we could get. But I like it. :)

Another Half Weekend

Yup...had to work another Saturday. Blah. It wasn't too bad though...I had our spring "Teacher Open House," so that kept me busy for most of the day. Not that many teachers showed, but I only do what the company says I have to do. At least it made the day fly by.

When I got home yesterday, Ed had just put Abby down for a nap. He was watching her in the monitor and when I came and said hello to him, he saw Abby's head pop up at the sound of my voice. So I had to go get her and cuddle her for awhile (not that I minded in the least). I love getting her out of her crib...as soon as she sees me or Ed she grins from ear to ear and starts to giggle. It's the little things in life.

After she had a little snooze, we went to Kohl's and to one of the Timonium garden centers. We got some stuff for Abby and a large azalea bush for his mom for Mother's Day. I was supposed to get my mom a couple of hanging baskets for Mother's Day, but she called me today and said that she went out and bought them herself because she saw one that she loved. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. But, she gave me another idea, so I'll just have to work on that instead.

Speaking of Mother's Day, I thought I had bought all the Mother's Day cards we needed the other day, but then I realized that I forgot to get grandmother cards from me and Ed. Too many cards this year...everything is doubled because of the baby. Heaven forbid anyone doesn't get a card just from Abby. Plus, Ed still has to buy me cards (it's my first Mother's Day after all, I must insist that I get my cards). We should own stock in Hallmark.

Today was okay. Ed had softball early, so Abby and I opted to stay home and snooze instead. We went to Target to get a couple of things and then played for awhile. I even managed to get a few things done around the house. We even lowered her crib, which we've been meaning to do for awhile. It was still on the first setting. At least we don't have to cover her Ocean Wonders Aquarium with the bumper pad anymore (not that it stopped her from playing with it once she figured out how to get it out of the way...we only had it like that she she didn't hit it with her head while she slept). She's getting so big. It's a little sad, actually.

Claire and Daddy

Hehehe...cute, short video of my Claire-Bear and Scott. Listen closely...she gets a little excited at the end and misses a couple of numbers.:)