Well, it's 7 am.....

And I've been up since a little before 4 am. Abigail decided that she didn't want to sleep anymore at about that time, and she didn't finally fall back asleep until 6 am. So, in the meantime, I have cleaned the kitchen, put up dishes, folded clothes, gone through and organized our mail, picked up some clutter, made a few emails, and started working....so it was probably a good thing! She wasn't really fussing from 4 - 6 (after her initial crying and screaming fit), but I stayed up and as soon as the pacifier fell out, I'd hop up and put it back in....just to prevent a much anticipated freak out. She doesn't take a pacifier any other time - only when tired.

Here's a picture of Abigail with her daddy. She loves him....and he is so good with her. He knows all the tricks to getting her to calm down and go to sleep! I guess that comes with experience from doing the "night session".

I think she may really be looking at his big froey hair, thinking, "what is that stuff?!"

Turkey, Travel and Tantrums

I've been super busy since Thanksgiving, so I forgot to post....
Thanksgiving:

Headed out on the road to Ellijay, looking cute, wish the picture wasn't blurry:

A two hour trip to Ellijay to eat with Derrick's mom's side of the family. Abigail did great. Perfect little angel in the car, no crying, perfectly happy, sleeping child.

Then......

The entire 3 - 4 hours we were there from the moment we walked in until the moment we left, she screamed hysterically, with about 30 - 45 minutes of happiness somewhere in the mix once things were quieter.

We got to eat some really good food and socialize some before heading to Lawrenceville to my parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner.

At mom and dad's it was the same thing...she would all of a sudden just start screaming hysterically. It's a blood curtling, you almost can't help but laugh scream. She gets so beside herself that her face gets purple. And it is purely just pitching a fit! She calmed down some so we could eat, which was nice! We left with her screaming again....

And then we got home......


Yep, perfectly happy. I've determined that she really doesn't like loud noises and being around strangers. I think that she has finally gotten used to her surroundings and freaks out in new situations. It's crazy though because now she does it at mom and dad's house and she has been there several times! The girl needs to get out and socialize! I also have an inkling that she may be teething. Gosh I hope not. She is sucking and biting at everything in sight; sometimes she will be feeding and then all of a sudden start screaming; she fights sleep like crazy, though sleeps a long time once she finally goes to sleep; did I mention that she is sucking on everything in sight??
The rest of the weekend:

I started decorating. It always takes longer than I want or plan, because everything I do turns out looking like junk it seems like, so then I have to start over. Christmas decorating should be fun. It starts out fun, and ends up just being tiring and a pain. And P.S., I'm not even halfway through after a weekend of hard work.

We didn't go to the UGA/Tech game. Tickets were crazy pricey and we are majorly tight for money right now, so we watched at home. I know Derrick was disappointed, especially with the big win. Abigail had fun watching, sporting her Bulldawg colors:

Sports

NASCAR has now ended, and football will be ending soon, so soon will be the days of basketball being on all the time at our house. Booo! I have never been a big fan, but I know that it's what Derrick played (and supposedly was good at? I've watched him in the Peachtree Presbyterian league - not so sure about that!) Just kidding - he was good when I watched!

I hope that Abigail likes to play basketball - I know it would make Derrick happy, and it would make me happy because it's not cheerleading! I just really don't know that I can tolerate cheerleading moms! If cheerleaders just cheered at games like we used to do, it would be fine, because there is football in the background, but all of these competition things are just too much for me! And moms take it WAY too seriously. So, here's hoping that our little girl is athletic and wants to throw or hit a ball around, not throw spirit sprinkles!! :-)

Hanging out all comfortable watching basketball:

So our daughter probably won't be a celebrity.....

....and if she is, she'll be one of those that is secluded from or lashes out at the paparazzi.

Today, we went to have her 3 month pictures taken, a couple of weeks too late. She wouldn't smile at all. Surprisingly though, they captured a few good shots. Somehow, I ended up paying too much money, as I was in a rush to get out of there because of all of the loud kids (including our own) and just the situation as a whole. I can say that I probably won't be going to Portrait Innovations again. I didn't see that the quality of pictures was any better than my friends' who have good cameras. And Abigail was not exactly impressed with their "kid-friendly" staff, including the "baby whisperer". He totally freaked her out shaking all this stuff in her face. So, the Christmas pictures were a disaster. We can totally do those ourselves though!

Here are some of the pictures that turned out well...yes, I have a few, since I bought the CD which you had to buy a package to get....boo!

The whole point in her wearing this outfit was for the hat, which ended up not really working:

This one was my favorite:

By the time the Christmas pictures were taken, she was tired, hungry and really didn't like "The Baby Whisperer". You can tell by the look on her face that she was like "you are just scary." Oh yeah, and she scratched the heck out of her face yesterday, you can kind of tell it in this picture.

Weekend

This weekend Abbey Claire(AC for short in this post) and I hung out while Derrick went to the UGA/KY game. I'm so glad I didn't go. It was the first home game I had missed in almost 10 years, but I didn't really mind it. Especially given the results of the game, but I won't start on that topic.

AC has been going through this fussy thing at night. I finally got sick of it, so I fed her, changed her and put her in her crib to let her fuss. It lasted about 20 or 30 minutes, and then she was finally zonked out. She slept from 10:30 until about 9:00, with 2 feedings in between. That was amazingly good for us! As a result, she also woke up really happy and ready to play on Sunday morning!





I have been making her do more and more tummy time. When I hold her on my chest now, even to burp her, she pops that head and chest up big time. I will recline in our recliner and she goes crazy lifting herself up and kicking her legs and moving her head side to side. So, I put her on the playmat to do the same there. She scooted across the playmat, very loudly I might add! It lasted about 20 minutes or so, until she finally gave out...... but, I made her do that about 3 more times during the day....working on getting that neck strong so she can sit up!



She plays hard on her mat, will fuss a little and then just passes out. Typically with all 4 limbs spread apart!

My how times change.....

I was just thinking about it this morning when I was getting super frustrated that my iPhone was locking up during "Words with Friends" (yes, I told you that I'm addicted). Times have changed so much. It really wasn't that long ago that we didn't have cell phones at all, and now we get frustrated when they don't work for 5 minutes. I remember my freshman year of college, I was sent to school with my 1996 Olympics "Emergency-only" cell phone. I was told to not use it unless there was an absolute emergency because it cost like $1 a minute. One time, I made a quick call with it to my boyfriend at Georgia Southern because I ran out of minutes on my calling card. I freaked out for a month anticipating dad's reaction to his AT&T bill and the fact that I used the phone for something other than an emergency. I never got that freak-out reaction. I'm thinking he probably had some free minutes but just told me otherwise! Nowadays, 8 year olds have cell phones. It's crazy.

Yet, everything seems to come back around. New Kids on the Block and Prince made a comeback. I see college girls walking around with stirrup pants and flats and, yes, the other day I saw a few with their shirts tied in a knot on the side. Then, it hit me, they had not experienced the 80's wear before. So, this was like new fashion to them. Yikes. If banana clips come back, just gag me with a spoon! :-) Although, I had one pretty thick and pretty pony tail with those things!

Times change though. I remember just last year saying that we would wait a while until we had a baby, and now we have this beautiful little girl, and I can't imagine our lives without her. I also set all of these standards for the man I would marry. He had to have this, that, and the other. And now, I'm married to a man who won't eat oysters, has less-than attractive feet (for better words than "ugly"), is not a morning person, and is not a curly-headed Dierks Bentley look-alike. Oh yeah, and we aren't millionaires, not by a long shot. But, he's a cutie, has the best heart, and is the best daddy....oh yeah, and loves George Strait (that one I was not backing down from!).

It's funny how things change. Your opinions change and your priorities change. But you gotta love it, because it makes thoughts of your future that much more exciting!

Bored to tears....

Yesterday I had a tax Continuing Ed class in Gwinnett. It was good to see friends I haven't seen in a while at it, but that's about all. Getting a bunch of accountants in a room to talk about taxes is BORING! I think honestly some people like to talk about it though, well, I guess SOMEONE needs to enjoy the stuff. Accounting is a good career choice, don't get me wrong, but good grief, I often wonder how I ended up choosing that career path!

So, I thought that I could just follow the birth of my friend Katie's baby all day long and that would keep me entertained.....but she popped that baby out fast (3 pushes, good grief)! Congratulations Katie and Chris - she's a beauty, oh and Katie looked sickening beautiful throughout the day! Meanwhile, I was swollen and shaking throughout my "Labor day"!!

So, I played "Words with Friends" on my iPhone until my battery died during the class. This game is absolutely 100% addictive. It's basically Scrabble, but you play against other random people and can have tons of games open at once. It's crazy addictive. Don't start playing it unless you plan to check on it every hour, or ummm, every 20 minutes.

Abbey C. stayed with mom and dad while I was in class. Unfortunately, she was fussy and didn't seem to feel well. Nothing makes you feel more guilty than leaving a fussy baby with someone else! Hopefully she will have a better day today!

Pictures of Miss Abbey Claire, because I know that's all you care about:

Sitting up and chilling out with daddy:

"Did you want something?"


Her hand must be made of sugar, because it's ALWAYS in her mouth!

Happy Girl

It was so nice being greeted with this smiley little face this morning. Typically when I leave, she's sleeping, but I left a little later this morning. I don't think I've had someone greet me with a smile in the mornings, since, well....before I got married! Derrick sure isn't a morning person! haha.

And Derrick sent this to me....she's halfway to rolling over, hopefully soon! Her head is starting to look a little flat to me, I want her rolling over and stuff so that will get better, and so her hair will start to grow back in the back - she has a complete bald spot now (sad!).

Beautiful weather equals happy mommy and baby!

I love this beautiful weather. Love it, love it, love it! I love being able to put Abbey Claire in the stroller, strap Otis onto my arm and head out in the neighborhood. We have the best neighborhood for walking. The absolute best. There are so many options and different ways you can go so that the walk is never boring. I tell you what, pushing a 13 lb baby and pulling a 35 lb dog up and down hills is hard work! I can never make it more than 30 minutes hardly, which is probably why I haven't lost a pound! (Oh, and my occasional sneaking of Halloween candy - that doesn't help either!).

What I don't love though is the time change. It majorly stinks. I have to hurry up and put on my walking clothes after work and get us out the door by 4 or 4:30 at the latest, or we will be walking in the dark. It's depressing looking outside at 6:30 pm and it being dark. Feels like I can't get anything done that I want to in the evenings. And, I'm tired by like 8:00. Ok, so I was that way before the time change.

Update on AC: her skin is A LOT better. Her arms are still dry, but the redness is a lot better. Her legs and stomach are almost completely smooth. She has been super happy lately, and really funny. However, her hands are CONSTANTLY in her mouth. It is driving us crazy! And boy, she gets mad when you take them out! During tummy time, I figured out that was how to get her to practice moving her neck around. When I took her hand out of her mouth, she pitched a fit, lifted her head and chest and turned her head to get to the other hand. We did this for about 15 minutes. She was not happy with me at all, but it worked!

Poor baby....

For the past few weeks, Abbey Claire has been getting dry patches on her skin that have progressively gotten worse. It all started when the weather started getting cooler, so I just thought it was dry skin. Well in the past week or so, it turned into a rash. It got better for a day or two when I didn't give her a bath everyday, but yesterday it was back to being really bad, so I called the doctor. They had us come in when the place was about to close (best thing ever because NO WAITING!).

Anyways, the doctor diagnosed her with signifant Eczema all over her body. He prescribed Hydrocortisone for us to apply liberally for a week. He said that it should signifantly improve. Then, we are supposed to oil her down really well before and after baths after that week. Poor little thing, you know she's been so itchy!

Funny part....when mom called to see what the diagnosis was, Derrick told her "Emphysema". Yep, we've been giving her cigarettes. haha.

Not the best quality pictures, but so cute:

All decked out to go to the doctor:

Finally an upclose shot of her super dark eyes....she definitely has my eyes and not Derrick's!

Laughing....

So, for a while now, Abbey Claire has been laughing, but a quiet laugh, and she usually covers and turns her face when she does it. Well, last night while Derrick was holding her, she was looking at me and started laughing hysterically. It was this real deep chuckle and was the cutest thing ever! Derrick and I were beside ourselves laughing at it. Of course, then we spent the rest of the night trying to get her to do it again, and she wouldn't. Just her normal shy laugh. Hopefully she will do it again soon and we can get it on video!

Smiley and happy little girl:

Otis is like, "When is she going to play with me?!"

Ok, so I can dream that's what he is thinking. He has been getting on our last nerve lately. We've had some total Marley and Me moments....it seems like every time we get her to sleep, he barks at something. And playing on the floor with her is hard because he thinks we are down there to play with him. I know it's confusing for him. He used to get all of the attention, and now he plays #2. I have been running him every chance I get, as it is good for both of us! He may be annoying sometimes, but he sure is cute and sweet!

Why? Wednesday

Why did I forget to post that on Sunday, Abigail, Abbey Claire, Abbey (Aka: the little girl of many names) turned 3 months old?! It's hard to believe that she is that old, but then again, it seems like forever ago that I was about to topple over with a big belly and then in the hospital a week.

About Abigail these days.....

- She's sleeping better at night. She will have some nights that aren't as good, but they are usually because we couldn't keep her up during the day. I am embarassed to say she still sits in a seat in her crib, but it's the only way. With her reflux, you aren't supposed to put her down flat for like 30 minutes after eating, and if you do that, she's wide awake, so it's not worth it right now trying it any other way. Maybe soon.....

- While the hair in the front has come back, she now has a bald spot in the back....I think from rubbing her head back and forth - I call it her Stevie Wonder moments - she gets that neck a'going!

- She now reaches for and hits the things in her playgym. Last night, she held on to one of them. She likes using one dangly thing (don't you love that technical term?)to hit another....

- She drinks almost 30 oz. of formula a day (which is hurting our pocketbook big time).

- Her reflux is much better now that on Similac Sensitive A.R., the Ready to Feed kind - note: the pocketbook comment!

- She is outgrowing some of her 3 month clothes. I'm not sure what to do, because the next size is SO long.

- She loves smiling and is a happy baby almost all of the time, when not, it is usually because her tummy is hurting.

- She is starting to really check out Otis, Otis is warming up a little, though will still not make eye contact.

- When you hold her under her arms while in your lap, she can hold her head up for a few minutes. It really doesn't even wabble much at all, and usually only after a few minutes.

- The girl LOVES TV. You can turn her back to it, and she will almost turn her head completely around to see it. Especially when sports are on. She is her daddy's child.

- Her absolute favorite spot is the changing table. She coos and "talks" and smiles like crazy up there.

- If she could, she would sleep all day and stay up all night....like I said, she is her daddy's child!

- I wish that the whole sleeping on their back thing wasn't the rule, because she loves sleeping on her stomach....but HATES tummy time.

It's tough being a 3 month old: