8-9-09
Here are some of Abby's nicknames that me and Andy like to call her.
Nicknames Andy made up:
Abby Mergooshnah
Mergooshnah Goo
Nursey Milk Baby (or just Nursey Milk, or Nursey)
Ab-ohs
Nicknames Audrey made up:
Princess
Sweet Darling
Sweet Daughter
I know we have more nicknames than these for her, but I haven't remembered yet what they are. I will add them later.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Abby says "No, no"
Abby added a new word to her vocabulary this morning when she said, "No, no." It was kind of at a random moment when she was crawling around the house, so I'm not sure what "No-No" she was thinking about.
Andy called on his way home from the dentist this afternoon. I saw that it was him on the caller ID, so I answered the way I usually do when he calls with, "Hi Sweetie." I was holding Abby, and as soon as I said that she ascertained that it was Andy calling so she reached for the phone and said, "Da da"! I was so tickled and surprised that she knew it was Andy, just by the way I answered the phone! I let Andy talk to her for a moment on the phone, before finishing our conversation.
Abby is getting very good at mimicking. On the way to taking Elysia to Burley yesterday (to meet Ken), Elysia was making gibberish noises with her tongue to Abby, like, "Budader, budader." Abby copied her and made a very good impression of Elysia! She's also been copying Andy, saying "Ah!" when he says it, and other sounds, too.
Andy called on his way home from the dentist this afternoon. I saw that it was him on the caller ID, so I answered the way I usually do when he calls with, "Hi Sweetie." I was holding Abby, and as soon as I said that she ascertained that it was Andy calling so she reached for the phone and said, "Da da"! I was so tickled and surprised that she knew it was Andy, just by the way I answered the phone! I let Andy talk to her for a moment on the phone, before finishing our conversation.
Abby is getting very good at mimicking. On the way to taking Elysia to Burley yesterday (to meet Ken), Elysia was making gibberish noises with her tongue to Abby, like, "Budader, budader." Abby copied her and made a very good impression of Elysia! She's also been copying Andy, saying "Ah!" when he says it, and other sounds, too.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Abby give first real hug
Abby gave me her first real hug yesterday! She has given lots of kisses(slobbery, baby style kisses), and snuggles, but never really squeezed me with her arms when she was snuggling with me. So yesterday I was carrying her and holding her in the front room, and she reached her little arms around me and gave me a real squeezing hug! It was so heart-warming and precious! Abby is such an affectionate little sweetie! She makes me feel very loved.
Abby says "Hello", sings, hides herself, and gets a leg up
7-31-09
Ok, so I haven’t been doing very well keeping up my journal writing lately. I’m going to do better!
Abby is so cute and funny! It seems like she’s always doing something new that is just so sweet and endearing! For example, about a week ago, she started doing this adorable thing whenever she nurses on the right side. Not only will she reach up with her little hand to try to feel around in my mouth (usually I let her), but also she’ll swing up her right leg under my jaw so her pudgy size 4 foot can get as close as possible to my face, too! It’s so funny and sweet! She’ll get into position to nurse (we like the cradle position), swing her right little foot up there (with her left food resting on the arm of the chair, so she’s doing the splits), and latch on to get her yummy mommy’s milk! All with this satisfied look on her face like, “Ahh, this is the good life.” She seems to enjoy it how I stroke her little arm and leg and give her a foot massage while she nurses.
About three days ago, Abby started playing Peek-a-Boo all by herself! While sitting on the floor in the bathroom, next to the bathtub, she pulls the shower curtain around herself, so I can’t see her upper body. “Where’s Abby?” I say. “Where’d she go?” I continue wondering out loud where she went until she pulls the curtain away to uncover herself and smile sweetly up at me. “There she is!” I exclaim enthusiastically. Quickly, she hides herself again to continue the game. She is so smart! I am amazed that she can already hide herself to play Peek-a-boo at 9 months old!
Abby has eight teeth now! The four front bottom, and the four front top. No canines or molars yet.
Last week, Abby said “Hello” very clearly to Papi (Dan Hargrave, my dad) on the phone! He could even understand her without me translating! It was so amazing! She’s already been saying “Hi” very clearly, for quite some time, and now she can say “Hello”, too! Wow! I was so surprised that she could already make the “L” sound so clearly. I guess I shouldn’t be, because she often sings, “La, la, la” in her tiny little soprano voice. It’s so cute when Papa Ken sings with her. He’ll hold her in front of his torso, with her facing around and bounce her up and down while he sings songs that he makes up. She’ll sing right along with her sweet little “Aaaaah”, “La, la” or other baby singing sounds while she waves her hands in the air like she’s conducting music! It’s so dang cute! We should get a video of it.
Abby is getting faster at crawling. We have to be very vigilant when she's exploring because she has a tendency to be interested in all the things she's not supposed to have. For example, she is drawn to paper (she likes the crinkly noise). I sometimes let her play with it as long as I am right there hovering over her to stop her from putting it in her mouth. She also loves to pull on electrical cords and tries to put them in her mouth. This is a big "No-no" of course. I've arranged all the furniture so that the electrical cords are blocked. But we still have a hard time when we use the lap top computer to keep her from grabbing the cord. She also loves plastic bags. Again, I think she likes the feel and sound of the crinkly-ness. She knows garbage cans have plastic bag liners, and will crawl quickly for them, so we have to put garbage cans out of her reach. Whenever she goes to the child watch at the YMCA (while I work out), they have to put the garbage up on the window sill. Everyone at the Y thinks she's so cute! They always greet us with "Hi Abby! Oh she's so cute!" Of course, everywhere we go, strangers always tell us how beautiful and cute she is, but it's just kinda funny being a parent, because people always greet your child, and don't pay much attention to the parent! That's just fine with me, though! I do the same thing! Adorable little babies need the extra attention as they learn to be social! Abby is a very socialable little girl. She usually has a happy little grin for everyone who greets her! Sometimes she waves, too! Once in a while she is shy, which she shows by putting her downy head on my chest, and smiling up shyly at them like, "Hello, I just want to stay with my mommy."
Ok, so I haven’t been doing very well keeping up my journal writing lately. I’m going to do better!
Abby is so cute and funny! It seems like she’s always doing something new that is just so sweet and endearing! For example, about a week ago, she started doing this adorable thing whenever she nurses on the right side. Not only will she reach up with her little hand to try to feel around in my mouth (usually I let her), but also she’ll swing up her right leg under my jaw so her pudgy size 4 foot can get as close as possible to my face, too! It’s so funny and sweet! She’ll get into position to nurse (we like the cradle position), swing her right little foot up there (with her left food resting on the arm of the chair, so she’s doing the splits), and latch on to get her yummy mommy’s milk! All with this satisfied look on her face like, “Ahh, this is the good life.” She seems to enjoy it how I stroke her little arm and leg and give her a foot massage while she nurses.
About three days ago, Abby started playing Peek-a-Boo all by herself! While sitting on the floor in the bathroom, next to the bathtub, she pulls the shower curtain around herself, so I can’t see her upper body. “Where’s Abby?” I say. “Where’d she go?” I continue wondering out loud where she went until she pulls the curtain away to uncover herself and smile sweetly up at me. “There she is!” I exclaim enthusiastically. Quickly, she hides herself again to continue the game. She is so smart! I am amazed that she can already hide herself to play Peek-a-boo at 9 months old!
Abby has eight teeth now! The four front bottom, and the four front top. No canines or molars yet.
Last week, Abby said “Hello” very clearly to Papi (Dan Hargrave, my dad) on the phone! He could even understand her without me translating! It was so amazing! She’s already been saying “Hi” very clearly, for quite some time, and now she can say “Hello”, too! Wow! I was so surprised that she could already make the “L” sound so clearly. I guess I shouldn’t be, because she often sings, “La, la, la” in her tiny little soprano voice. It’s so cute when Papa Ken sings with her. He’ll hold her in front of his torso, with her facing around and bounce her up and down while he sings songs that he makes up. She’ll sing right along with her sweet little “Aaaaah”, “La, la” or other baby singing sounds while she waves her hands in the air like she’s conducting music! It’s so dang cute! We should get a video of it.
Abby is getting faster at crawling. We have to be very vigilant when she's exploring because she has a tendency to be interested in all the things she's not supposed to have. For example, she is drawn to paper (she likes the crinkly noise). I sometimes let her play with it as long as I am right there hovering over her to stop her from putting it in her mouth. She also loves to pull on electrical cords and tries to put them in her mouth. This is a big "No-no" of course. I've arranged all the furniture so that the electrical cords are blocked. But we still have a hard time when we use the lap top computer to keep her from grabbing the cord. She also loves plastic bags. Again, I think she likes the feel and sound of the crinkly-ness. She knows garbage cans have plastic bag liners, and will crawl quickly for them, so we have to put garbage cans out of her reach. Whenever she goes to the child watch at the YMCA (while I work out), they have to put the garbage up on the window sill. Everyone at the Y thinks she's so cute! They always greet us with "Hi Abby! Oh she's so cute!" Of course, everywhere we go, strangers always tell us how beautiful and cute she is, but it's just kinda funny being a parent, because people always greet your child, and don't pay much attention to the parent! That's just fine with me, though! I do the same thing! Adorable little babies need the extra attention as they learn to be social! Abby is a very socialable little girl. She usually has a happy little grin for everyone who greets her! Sometimes she waves, too! Once in a while she is shy, which she shows by putting her downy head on my chest, and smiling up shyly at them like, "Hello, I just want to stay with my mommy."
Thursday, June 25, 2009
How to prevent baby pooh leaks
I thought it could possibly help if I share my experience with an explosive pooper. I found that when I tried to go up a size to contain the poop, it actually made it worse, because then the diaper is not tight enough around the legs and waist to contain the poop. This is what I do to contain the poop: First I put her in the right size diaper (not too big or too small) and I use regular Huggies or Kirkland signature. Then the way that I put on the diaper is the most important. I put it on high in the back and lower in the front. This keeps the pooh from leaking out above her butt crack. I snug it around her thighs carefully before I tape it down, and put the diaper on the inside of her thigh rolls. When I tape it down, instead of taping it straight across, I do it slightly downward and make sure I have just the right amount of tension. Then after I get it on, I check the position and tightness of the leg openings. They should be tight enough that both the gusset elastic and leg elastic snap back like a pair of good fitting panties would. This keeps the pooh from leaking out the leg holes. It does make a little bit of a pink mark on the legs after I take off the diaper, but I realized this doesn't hurt her a bit, it's just like if you had snug socks on they would make marks on your legs but still be comfortable.
All this said, sometimes she still poops such a huge amount of runny (exclusively breast fed) pooh at once, that I don't think any diaper could contain it all, and she ends up leaking.
Also, I found that I shouldn't eat prunes or anything like that because if it moves fast through me, it will move fast through her, too, and make her pooh a whole bunch at once!
All this said, sometimes she still poops such a huge amount of runny (exclusively breast fed) pooh at once, that I don't think any diaper could contain it all, and she ends up leaking.
Also, I found that I shouldn't eat prunes or anything like that because if it moves fast through me, it will move fast through her, too, and make her pooh a whole bunch at once!
Huck a what?
It was so funny this monring. I was going downstairs to the storage room to get some more plastic cutlery. This is how the conversation went:
Elysia: What are you doing?
Audrey: Going downstairs to get some knives, spoons, forks...
Elysia: Going to get what?
Audrey: Going to get some cutlery.
Elysia: Going to get huckaberry?
LOL! I don't know how she got "huckaberry" out of "cutlery" and I've never heard of a huckaberry before, but I think it must be like a huckleberry, except instead of eating it, you throw it. Elysia is so funny!
Abby is taking a nap right now, so I am eating lunch and journaling. It's been difficult lately, because she hasn't been napping very long. But so far she's already slept an hour and 20 minutes which is much better than the 40 minute naps she's been taking lately. I'm eating a PB&J sandwich, potato chips, and chocolate milk, which is actually a much healthier like than it sounds like. This is because the sandwich is made with organic PB, 100% whole wheat Orowheat bread, and huckleberry jam (the latter not especially healthy, but still okay). The potato chips are Kettle Chips, lightly salted, which are more natural and healthy than other chips. And the drink is Almond Breeze chocolate almond milk, sweetened with stevia, only 40 calories a cup. So I get to eat my yummy comfort food, and still eat relatively healthily.
I made some banana bread while Abby napped. Nikki and Jason Halverson invited us over to dinner tonight, and I'm going to bring them a loaf. I've been making banana bread a lot lately because it tastes good, and then I can use up the old bananas and don't have to throw them away. A loaf of homemade banana bread also makes a good gift. The last batch, I gave one to our new neighbors: Jerrica and her fiance. She is really nice, and when I went over there, she remembered me because she's actually our dental hygienist at Willamette Dental! Cool! It's a good thing I already made a good impression because I take good care of my teeth. :-P Although I think she would like me even if I didn't because we're both nice people!
Andy's foot is still healing, after breaking it and dislocating it on May first. He's been going to physical therapy every week, and he can hobble along now without the crutches since he wears his walking cast. He's been icing and elevating it every night to help with the swelling, like his physical therapist suggested. It still gets sore, so he can't walk on it very long. He mowed the front lawn a few days ago, which must have looked kinda funny, with him crippling along with the big cast and the lawn mower. I think on his next four days off, I'll get him to watch Abby while I mow the back lawn myself. It is a very huge area to mow with a push mower, we live on half an acre. It would be nice if we had a riding lawn mower. Maybe someday.
Elysia: What are you doing?
Audrey: Going downstairs to get some knives, spoons, forks...
Elysia: Going to get what?
Audrey: Going to get some cutlery.
Elysia: Going to get huckaberry?
LOL! I don't know how she got "huckaberry" out of "cutlery" and I've never heard of a huckaberry before, but I think it must be like a huckleberry, except instead of eating it, you throw it. Elysia is so funny!
Abby is taking a nap right now, so I am eating lunch and journaling. It's been difficult lately, because she hasn't been napping very long. But so far she's already slept an hour and 20 minutes which is much better than the 40 minute naps she's been taking lately. I'm eating a PB&J sandwich, potato chips, and chocolate milk, which is actually a much healthier like than it sounds like. This is because the sandwich is made with organic PB, 100% whole wheat Orowheat bread, and huckleberry jam (the latter not especially healthy, but still okay). The potato chips are Kettle Chips, lightly salted, which are more natural and healthy than other chips. And the drink is Almond Breeze chocolate almond milk, sweetened with stevia, only 40 calories a cup. So I get to eat my yummy comfort food, and still eat relatively healthily.
I made some banana bread while Abby napped. Nikki and Jason Halverson invited us over to dinner tonight, and I'm going to bring them a loaf. I've been making banana bread a lot lately because it tastes good, and then I can use up the old bananas and don't have to throw them away. A loaf of homemade banana bread also makes a good gift. The last batch, I gave one to our new neighbors: Jerrica and her fiance. She is really nice, and when I went over there, she remembered me because she's actually our dental hygienist at Willamette Dental! Cool! It's a good thing I already made a good impression because I take good care of my teeth. :-P Although I think she would like me even if I didn't because we're both nice people!
Andy's foot is still healing, after breaking it and dislocating it on May first. He's been going to physical therapy every week, and he can hobble along now without the crutches since he wears his walking cast. He's been icing and elevating it every night to help with the swelling, like his physical therapist suggested. It still gets sore, so he can't walk on it very long. He mowed the front lawn a few days ago, which must have looked kinda funny, with him crippling along with the big cast and the lawn mower. I think on his next four days off, I'll get him to watch Abby while I mow the back lawn myself. It is a very huge area to mow with a push mower, we live on half an acre. It would be nice if we had a riding lawn mower. Maybe someday.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Abby first time playing with toilet paper
Abby and I were at the library today, which I believe was her first time at the library. She had fun interacting with some other kids, and crawling around. She reaches out to touch the other kids and says, "Hiya!" So cute! I read her one book, but half way through she decided she wanted to chew on it, so that didn't last very long. I keep telling her, "Books are for looking at and touching, not for chewing," but it hasn't seems to sunk in yet. So I had just finished changing her poopy diaper in the bathroom, when she fussed to let me know she was hungry. So I sat down in the bathroom stall and started to nurse her. She was kicking her feet on the wall like she normally likes to do, while she nurses, and then she noticed she could reach the toilet paper dispenser. So she reached out and grabbed the toilet paper and jerked it around until she pulled off a sheet. She dropped that on the floor and did it again, also dropping the second piece on the floor. She did all this while nursing and kicking the wall with her feet. It was so funny, I just sat there laughing! "You're so funny, Abby!" I told her. She just looked at me and smiled.
Andy's foot is still on the mend.
Andy's foot is still on the mend.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Abby chases the vacuum
It's funny, many babies are scared of the vacuum. Not Abby. When someone starts vacuuming, Abby chases after it on all fours! She has this happy, determined look on her face like, "All right! The vacuum! I'm gonna get it!" It's so funny and cute!
Abby still is mainly breast fed, and rarely eats baby food. She has figured out that when we're out and about I like to nurse her in the car (instead of having to go to a rest room or dressing room). So she waits to ask for milk until we get to the car! She's so smart and trusting! She trusts that I will nurse her when she asks for it, so she usually will wait until we're at the car to ask for milk. She asks by panting, smacking her tongue, making a little cry, and/or signing "milk". Then I stop and sit in the front seat of the car and nurse her.
Abby still is mainly breast fed, and rarely eats baby food. She has figured out that when we're out and about I like to nurse her in the car (instead of having to go to a rest room or dressing room). So she waits to ask for milk until we get to the car! She's so smart and trusting! She trusts that I will nurse her when she asks for it, so she usually will wait until we're at the car to ask for milk. She asks by panting, smacking her tongue, making a little cry, and/or signing "milk". Then I stop and sit in the front seat of the car and nurse her.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
We went to the Carnival and the Jail
Today was Western Days in Twin Falls, Idaho, so this morning we went to see the parade. Me, Abby, and Elysia. Then we went to the carnival and Abby went on her first ride, the merry-go-round. They wouldn't let us on the ride unless Abby was wearing shoes. I haven't even put shoes on Abby in months because she would always kick them off. So I took the throw-away-flip flops that they gave me at the nail salon, stuck them onto Abby's pudgy little baby feet, and then they let us on! It was pretty funny! I stood next to the plastic horse and held Abby on it. When it first started to go up and down and around, Abby looked a little scared and whimpered, so I took her off and just held her, then she seemed satisfied. She patted the back of the horse and enjoyed watching everyone as we whirled around.
Later today we went to bring Andy some Rescue Cream at his work because he needed it for a rash on his foot. They actually decided to let us come in and see where he works, which was very exciting for me, because I had always wanted to see the inside of the jail. It was very cute to see how much Abby loves her Daddy! First when she heard his voice on the intercom she started to cry a little like, "I hear Daddy! Where is he?" Then when we went inside the jail waiting room and saw Andy dimly through the window, she really burst into tears! It's like Abby was crying, "Why is Daddy in there?! Is he okay? I want my Daddy!" She was very worried and really sobbing. A deputy came to the door to let us in and while we waited for Andy to push the button from the control room to let us through the next door the Deputy said to Andy on the radio half jokingly, "You'd better hurry up and open this door!" because he could see that Abby was having a major melt down wanting to get to her daddy! As soon as we got into the control room, and Abby saw Andy, she settled down immediately and was just fine. It just shows how much Abby loves her Andy Daddy!
Later today we went to bring Andy some Rescue Cream at his work because he needed it for a rash on his foot. They actually decided to let us come in and see where he works, which was very exciting for me, because I had always wanted to see the inside of the jail. It was very cute to see how much Abby loves her Daddy! First when she heard his voice on the intercom she started to cry a little like, "I hear Daddy! Where is he?" Then when we went inside the jail waiting room and saw Andy dimly through the window, she really burst into tears! It's like Abby was crying, "Why is Daddy in there?! Is he okay? I want my Daddy!" She was very worried and really sobbing. A deputy came to the door to let us in and while we waited for Andy to push the button from the control room to let us through the next door the Deputy said to Andy on the radio half jokingly, "You'd better hurry up and open this door!" because he could see that Abby was having a major melt down wanting to get to her daddy! As soon as we got into the control room, and Abby saw Andy, she settled down immediately and was just fine. It just shows how much Abby loves her Andy Daddy!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Andy went back to work
So Andy went back to work today, on light duty. Today is his first day back at work since he dislocated and broke his foot. This is a short entry because Abby is in her play pen fussing at me. Stress....
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Abby waves Bye and says "Ba Ba"
Today Abby waved bye bye all on her own! She has waved bye bye twice before but it was not so obvious, and it was after I had already been waving her arm for her. This time, we were leaving Dr. Adamson's office, and I hadn't said "bye" or prompted her at all, and she started waving her whole arm bye bye all by herself! The receptionists saw and were so tickled and impressed that she could already wave bye! She did it for about a full 15 seconds! Wow!
And then later on with Grandma Lori and her daddy, they were trying to get her to wave bye bye and instead of waving she said "ba ba"! She said it a couple times so we knew she was trying to say "bye bye"!
Then later on when I was shopping at Target, I was on the phone with Grandma CC gushing to her about Abby's accomplishments waving bye, and then she waved again!
Also, she is still signing "milk" every day, especially when she is nursing. It is so cute to watch her nursing contentedly while she looks at her little hand slowly opening and closing to sign "milk". How sweet!
Grandma Lori is visiting still, and Abby is just loving having her here! We were concerned before she came that Abby might not remember her. But there was no need to worry because Abby was immediately comfortable and happy with Lollie, which shows she does remember her! What a good memory she has!
So here are Abby's first words so far:
1. Hi! She said this to a little girl (about 3) at the park and it was so cute! I lowered her down to the little girl's level and she said "Hi!" which I had been saying to her a lot, so I knew she knew what she was saying. She said this at about 5 months old.
2. Mama
3. Dada
4. Milk
5. Dog (or actually "og")
6. Bye bye (ba ba)
And then later on with Grandma Lori and her daddy, they were trying to get her to wave bye bye and instead of waving she said "ba ba"! She said it a couple times so we knew she was trying to say "bye bye"!
Then later on when I was shopping at Target, I was on the phone with Grandma CC gushing to her about Abby's accomplishments waving bye, and then she waved again!
Also, she is still signing "milk" every day, especially when she is nursing. It is so cute to watch her nursing contentedly while she looks at her little hand slowly opening and closing to sign "milk". How sweet!
Grandma Lori is visiting still, and Abby is just loving having her here! We were concerned before she came that Abby might not remember her. But there was no need to worry because Abby was immediately comfortable and happy with Lollie, which shows she does remember her! What a good memory she has!
So here are Abby's first words so far:
1. Hi! She said this to a little girl (about 3) at the park and it was so cute! I lowered her down to the little girl's level and she said "Hi!" which I had been saying to her a lot, so I knew she knew what she was saying. She said this at about 5 months old.
2. Mama
3. Dada
4. Milk
5. Dog (or actually "og")
6. Bye bye (ba ba)
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Abigial can sit and crawl!
We have been working on teaching Abigail to sit and she can do it all by herself now for almost a full minute! I get all excited and say, "Wow! Good sitting! Look at you sit!" to encourage her. Also Abby is crawling now! She can crawl slowly in a straight line. She is getting better and better at it! I am very excited for her to crawl because it is so essential for her brain development. This is further incentive for me to finish baby proofing our house! Its very hard to have time to do it though since Andy is laid up.
I have noticed when Abigail poohs in her diaper she starts calling for me to change her! Like this morning she was in the great room with Andy in her jumperoo when she went poo pooh. Then she started calling for me very loudly! She was yelling, "AAAAMM!" (like Mom without the first "M") So cute and funny!
I have noticed when Abigail poohs in her diaper she starts calling for me to change her! Like this morning she was in the great room with Andy in her jumperoo when she went poo pooh. Then she started calling for me very loudly! She was yelling, "AAAAMM!" (like Mom without the first "M") So cute and funny!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Diaper Rash
Abby started having diarrhea yesterday, I don't know why. She must have succumbed to a virus or something, because she hasn't been eating anything but breast milk. Even though I've been changing her right away she's still gotten a painful diaper rash from the acidic, watery pooh. She's only had very mild diaper rash in the past, never this bad before. Burt's Bees diaper cream has worked great in the past on preventing and treating mild diaper rash, but it hasn't been working well on the moderate diaper rash, so I'm trying new diaper creams. The one I just put on tonight is the A&D ointment. We'll see how it works. I am ready to buy any and every diaper cream to get one that works to heal this diaper rash! I hate to see Abby in pain, and whenever I have to wipe the pooh off her little bum she cries in pain. Poor sweetie! So then I think maybe the chemicals in the wipes are hurting her, so I rush her to the bath and rinse her off with warm water. She seems to be happy about that part, especially if I let her play in the water.
I have a good idea from my mom on how I should treat the diarrhea. Tomorrow I am going to try opening a capsule of acidophilus into some baby food and feed it to Abigail, since acidophilus is supposed to help diarrhea.
Abigail does the sign for "milk" while she nurses by squeezing me with her hand. It's so cute! I am so excited about her learning to sign, so that she can communicate with us before she learns to talk. Plus, teaching your baby ASL increases their spoken vocabulary and helps them learn to talk faster.
I have a good idea from my mom on how I should treat the diarrhea. Tomorrow I am going to try opening a capsule of acidophilus into some baby food and feed it to Abigail, since acidophilus is supposed to help diarrhea.
Abigail does the sign for "milk" while she nurses by squeezing me with her hand. It's so cute! I am so excited about her learning to sign, so that she can communicate with us before she learns to talk. Plus, teaching your baby ASL increases their spoken vocabulary and helps them learn to talk faster.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Abby at church
Abby was so cute at church today. I co-teach the Sunbeams (3 and 4 year olds) with Tasha Schroeder. Usually Tina takes care of Abby while I teach, but she wasn't at church today, so Wendy and Becky took care of Abby. Wendy brought Abby to me towards the end and when Abby saw me she did the sign for milk! So cute! Plus, Abby seemed to enjoy being held while Wendy led the music.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Andy's broken foot
5-16-2009
Andy was playing church basketball with the men on Friday, May 1st, when I got a call from Jason Roethig from Andy's cell phone. After learning that Andy has badly hurt his foot, and the ambulance was on the way to the church, I hurried to go help him. When coming down from a rebound, Andy had landed on someone's foot, turning his foot to the inside. It was after 9 pm and I had to get Abby out of bed. Of course she was hungry when I woke her up, so I had to nurse her before I left. I wanted to just rush to Andy's aid, but I couldn't have Abby crying with hunger, so I had to feed her first. On the way to the chapel, I repeadtedly explained to Abby that we were going to help Daddy who had an big owie on his foot. I was very concerned about my dear hubby, and over and over I prayed for Heavenly Father to help him, especially with the pain. Abby looked a little worried and was very quite on the car ride. Before we reached the church, Jason called again and told us that Andy was in the ambulance with the paramedics on the way to the hospital, so we flipped a U-turn, and easily beat them to the Emergency room. We were standing outside the ER when the ambulance pulled up, and I could tell by Andy's expression that he was in a lot of pain. The medics had him drugged up on painkillers: 20ccs of Morphine and some Valium, too. I checked him in (they wouldn't let me do it unti after he got there) while they wheeled him back to his own room. We went back there and I showed Abby his badly deformed ankle. "See Daddy's big owie, sweetie?" The sole of his left foot was facing his right ankle, instead of facing the floor like it was supposed to. Later, Andy told me that when he first got injured, all the pain and the shock of seeing his foot facing the wrong way sent him into a panic. Aghast, he started trying to move around using his hands and the other players rushed to immobilize him. Quickly, they gave him a priesthood blessing of healing and comfort, and Andy immediately felt calmed and somewhat relieved from the pain. When the paramedics got there, at first the were going to attempt to reset his dislocated foot right there on the gym floor. When they took off Andy's running shoe and saw the severity of the injury, to Andy's relief they decided leave the resetting of his foot to the doctors. In the ER, after doing an X-ray, Dr. Holiday put Andy under general anesthesia to reset his dislocated foot. A couple minutes after Andy was out, the Dr. tried manipulating Andy's foot to see if Andy was under enough to be pain free. Andy gasped in pain, so the Dr. could tell he had to wait a few more minutes. Then, while I sat in the corner of the room, trying to comfort our fussing 6 month old daughter (who was very worried about her daddy), the Dr. yanked Andy's foot back into place, with Andy completely oblivious to the process. Andy woke up a few minutes later, and felt much better. Before, his pain was a 5 or 6 on a scale of 1 to 10, and after they put his foot back in place it was only a 2 or 3. He said he didn't feel or remember the foot being put back in place and that he was dreaming while he was out. I was very curious since he usually doesn't remember his dreams. "What were you dreaming about?" I asked. I had to laugh when he responded with his favorite food, "Pepperoni pizza," he replied with a weary smile. After they reset it, they did another X-ray, and then a cat scan. You couldn't see it with the x-ray, but the cat scan showed that the outside of his talus bone was fractured. A little chip was seperated from the rest of the bone. Dr. Holiday put Andy in a soft splint since the foot was going to swell so much.
Andy is now in his removable cast, and laying here on the couch in the great room, which he has been doing all day every day since the accident. He has to keep his foot elevated above his heart. If he is up on his crutches for more than a couple minutes his foot startes to hurting very badly from the blood flowing down to his foot and increasing the swelling.
So now I am taking care of Andy, the baby, Elysia, and our three dogs, and it is rather stressful. I got a touch of the flu a couple of days ago, but I'm better now.
Andy has a hard time being cooped up and stuck on the couch all day. At least he has a big screen TV to watch (his Christmas present), video games to play, and a laptop computer to surf the internet with. It's still very hard on him though, mentally and emotionally, especially because he is such a hard worker and he wants so badly to be back at his job at the jail, and to be installing a sprinkler system in our front yard.
Andy was playing church basketball with the men on Friday, May 1st, when I got a call from Jason Roethig from Andy's cell phone. After learning that Andy has badly hurt his foot, and the ambulance was on the way to the church, I hurried to go help him. When coming down from a rebound, Andy had landed on someone's foot, turning his foot to the inside. It was after 9 pm and I had to get Abby out of bed. Of course she was hungry when I woke her up, so I had to nurse her before I left. I wanted to just rush to Andy's aid, but I couldn't have Abby crying with hunger, so I had to feed her first. On the way to the chapel, I repeadtedly explained to Abby that we were going to help Daddy who had an big owie on his foot. I was very concerned about my dear hubby, and over and over I prayed for Heavenly Father to help him, especially with the pain. Abby looked a little worried and was very quite on the car ride. Before we reached the church, Jason called again and told us that Andy was in the ambulance with the paramedics on the way to the hospital, so we flipped a U-turn, and easily beat them to the Emergency room. We were standing outside the ER when the ambulance pulled up, and I could tell by Andy's expression that he was in a lot of pain. The medics had him drugged up on painkillers: 20ccs of Morphine and some Valium, too. I checked him in (they wouldn't let me do it unti after he got there) while they wheeled him back to his own room. We went back there and I showed Abby his badly deformed ankle. "See Daddy's big owie, sweetie?" The sole of his left foot was facing his right ankle, instead of facing the floor like it was supposed to. Later, Andy told me that when he first got injured, all the pain and the shock of seeing his foot facing the wrong way sent him into a panic. Aghast, he started trying to move around using his hands and the other players rushed to immobilize him. Quickly, they gave him a priesthood blessing of healing and comfort, and Andy immediately felt calmed and somewhat relieved from the pain. When the paramedics got there, at first the were going to attempt to reset his dislocated foot right there on the gym floor. When they took off Andy's running shoe and saw the severity of the injury, to Andy's relief they decided leave the resetting of his foot to the doctors. In the ER, after doing an X-ray, Dr. Holiday put Andy under general anesthesia to reset his dislocated foot. A couple minutes after Andy was out, the Dr. tried manipulating Andy's foot to see if Andy was under enough to be pain free. Andy gasped in pain, so the Dr. could tell he had to wait a few more minutes. Then, while I sat in the corner of the room, trying to comfort our fussing 6 month old daughter (who was very worried about her daddy), the Dr. yanked Andy's foot back into place, with Andy completely oblivious to the process. Andy woke up a few minutes later, and felt much better. Before, his pain was a 5 or 6 on a scale of 1 to 10, and after they put his foot back in place it was only a 2 or 3. He said he didn't feel or remember the foot being put back in place and that he was dreaming while he was out. I was very curious since he usually doesn't remember his dreams. "What were you dreaming about?" I asked. I had to laugh when he responded with his favorite food, "Pepperoni pizza," he replied with a weary smile. After they reset it, they did another X-ray, and then a cat scan. You couldn't see it with the x-ray, but the cat scan showed that the outside of his talus bone was fractured. A little chip was seperated from the rest of the bone. Dr. Holiday put Andy in a soft splint since the foot was going to swell so much.
Andy is now in his removable cast, and laying here on the couch in the great room, which he has been doing all day every day since the accident. He has to keep his foot elevated above his heart. If he is up on his crutches for more than a couple minutes his foot startes to hurting very badly from the blood flowing down to his foot and increasing the swelling.
So now I am taking care of Andy, the baby, Elysia, and our three dogs, and it is rather stressful. I got a touch of the flu a couple of days ago, but I'm better now.
Andy has a hard time being cooped up and stuck on the couch all day. At least he has a big screen TV to watch (his Christmas present), video games to play, and a laptop computer to surf the internet with. It's still very hard on him though, mentally and emotionally, especially because he is such a hard worker and he wants so badly to be back at his job at the jail, and to be installing a sprinkler system in our front yard.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Abby's first ASL sign
5-15-09
Ok, since I have not been doing a very good job at blogging regularly, I decided to make a goal of writing at least two sentences a day.
Something funny about Abby is that she seems to like to go pooh when she's in her jumperoo. This makes it a bit of a problem though, because then since there's pressure from the jumperoo on her bum, there's not as much space for the pooh to go, and then her diaper leaks! I'm not quite sure what to do about this.
Abby has been working on crawling. She hasn't mastered it yet, but she's getting a lot better at it. She can go forward now, but not the regular way. She rocks front and back on her hands and knees, and then she dives forward!
Abby's on my lap right now wearing her pink nightgown that Grammy Lollie gave her, which Andy calls her "baby mumu." So funny! She's very cute in it.
Abby started using her first ASL sign last week! She can now sign "milk" which she uses when she's hungry or if she just wants mommy, or sometimes just for fun! It's especially cute when she signs milk while she's nursing! Some of the other signs we're teaching her are: mom, dad, change (diaper), hurt, sleep, cry, sad, happy, love, eat, etc.
Ok, since I have not been doing a very good job at blogging regularly, I decided to make a goal of writing at least two sentences a day.
Something funny about Abby is that she seems to like to go pooh when she's in her jumperoo. This makes it a bit of a problem though, because then since there's pressure from the jumperoo on her bum, there's not as much space for the pooh to go, and then her diaper leaks! I'm not quite sure what to do about this.
Abby has been working on crawling. She hasn't mastered it yet, but she's getting a lot better at it. She can go forward now, but not the regular way. She rocks front and back on her hands and knees, and then she dives forward!
Abby's on my lap right now wearing her pink nightgown that Grammy Lollie gave her, which Andy calls her "baby mumu." So funny! She's very cute in it.
Abby started using her first ASL sign last week! She can now sign "milk" which she uses when she's hungry or if she just wants mommy, or sometimes just for fun! It's especially cute when she signs milk while she's nursing! Some of the other signs we're teaching her are: mom, dad, change (diaper), hurt, sleep, cry, sad, happy, love, eat, etc.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Turning over milestone reached
Jan. 27, 09
Yesterday was the first day that Abby rolled over from her back to her stomach, all by herself!
Today, Abigail rolled over both ways! (From her stomach to her back, and visa versa.) She is already getting so good at it, that when I laid her down in her crib, it took her one second flat to roll over to her stomach!
Yesterday was the first day that Abby rolled over from her back to her stomach, all by herself!
Today, Abigail rolled over both ways! (From her stomach to her back, and visa versa.) She is already getting so good at it, that when I laid her down in her crib, it took her one second flat to roll over to her stomach!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Abigail
I'm sitting here on the couch, while Abby is having fun on her play mat. She is my main reason for starting this blog, or journal, because when she grows up, she will want to know what she was like as a baby. Plus, the prophet said that we need to be keeping a journal. So this is my version of a journal.
Yesterday, Abby started making a new sound. It's a "A" vowel sound where she starts out low and goes high, or starts out high and goes low. It's so cute! What was particularly amazing was that she started doing it to mimic the music on her jumperoo! It would make the sound, and then almost at the same time, she would mimic it! Very impressive for a three month old!
Also, she seems to understand how to talk on the phone! She talks to her Grandma CC, while looking at my cell phone and listening to CC's responses, then "talking" some more. How unusual for such a young baby to already grasp the concept of telephone conversation!
I love how Abigail gives me slobbery kisses! When I pause after covering her chubby little cheeks with kisses, she looks up at me and opens her mouth to show she wants to give me kisses, too! I put my cheek on her mouth to let her give me her slobbery baby kisses! So cute! Today, she grabbed my hand to give it kisses, too! Aww! Such a sweetie pie! I can tell it's kisses, because when she chews or sucks on my fingers that's totally different.
We have been teaching Abby American Sign Language. First, we started with the sign for "milk", or "nursies" as we call it. She's already done that sign twice! The first time, someone else was holding her, she looked right at me from across the room, and did the "milk" sign. I wasn't sure if she knew what she was doing, but I said, hesitantly, "I think she's hungry." Now normally, Abby is very particular about when she eats. She will only nurse right when she wants to, and no sooner. If I offer her nursies before she wants it, she will arch her back away from me and fuss or scream in anger. (Which is why I've been teaching her the "no" sign!) So I offered her nursies, and sure enough, she wanted it! Wow! Then the second time, Andy saw her do the "milk" sign when he was holding her, so I offered her milk and again, she wanted it! The third sign we've been teaching is the sign for "toilet" which we do when she poops in her diaper and we say "poo poo!"
Abigial really loves taking a bath. Normally, I will fill the tub with water, and then get in the bath with her. I put my hand behind her head and neck to support her while she floats in the water on her back. She gets so excited to be in the warm water, she smiles real big, and immediately starts working her arms and legs, kicking and splashing up a storm! She is so fun to watch, and so adorable! I wash her from head to toe with a soft baby washcloth and Burt's Baby Bee Shampoo and Body wash, which is gentle, natural, and smells wonderful! We give her a bath two or three times a week, which is what Pediatricians recommend to keep her clean, but not dry out her skin.
Something funny that Abigail has been doing the past few days, is that when she's nursing, she wants to suck on her index finger at the same time! It's so funny! She keeps trying to get her finger in her mouth, too, and I keep taking her hand away. She got so frustrated today, because I wouldn't let her do it, and she really wanted the satisfaction of having both her finger and her nursies at the same time! She started crying and getting all mad! I would let her do it, but first of all she can't get any milk that way, and second, it's kind of uncomfortable. Such a cutie, though. She's so determined! She just won't quit trying!
Oh also, yesterday she started sucking her thumb! I figured she would probably start doing it sometime, because she loves putting her hands in her mouth so much. I wasn't so happy about it, though, because thumb sucking is a hard habit to break! I would know, I sucked my thumb until I was eight! At that age, it was mostly just at night, but I can remember how hard it was to stop. I had to put socks over my hands, and pin them to my pajamas to keep from doing it while I was asleep! Plus it can mess up your teeth. Apparently, Abby is at least the third generation of thumb suckers, because my mom sucked her thumb, too! Well, my teeth actually turned out okay, and so did my mom's so I guess I won't worry about it. Besides, she's so cute when she sucks her thumb!
Right now, she is sleeping on my chest while I type this. She loves to be held while she sleeps. That is when she takes the longest naps. I love to hold her while she sleeps. She is so sweet, snuggly, and full of love and trust. I have a hard time putting her down!
Yesterday, Abby started making a new sound. It's a "A" vowel sound where she starts out low and goes high, or starts out high and goes low. It's so cute! What was particularly amazing was that she started doing it to mimic the music on her jumperoo! It would make the sound, and then almost at the same time, she would mimic it! Very impressive for a three month old!
Also, she seems to understand how to talk on the phone! She talks to her Grandma CC, while looking at my cell phone and listening to CC's responses, then "talking" some more. How unusual for such a young baby to already grasp the concept of telephone conversation!
I love how Abigail gives me slobbery kisses! When I pause after covering her chubby little cheeks with kisses, she looks up at me and opens her mouth to show she wants to give me kisses, too! I put my cheek on her mouth to let her give me her slobbery baby kisses! So cute! Today, she grabbed my hand to give it kisses, too! Aww! Such a sweetie pie! I can tell it's kisses, because when she chews or sucks on my fingers that's totally different.
We have been teaching Abby American Sign Language. First, we started with the sign for "milk", or "nursies" as we call it. She's already done that sign twice! The first time, someone else was holding her, she looked right at me from across the room, and did the "milk" sign. I wasn't sure if she knew what she was doing, but I said, hesitantly, "I think she's hungry." Now normally, Abby is very particular about when she eats. She will only nurse right when she wants to, and no sooner. If I offer her nursies before she wants it, she will arch her back away from me and fuss or scream in anger. (Which is why I've been teaching her the "no" sign!) So I offered her nursies, and sure enough, she wanted it! Wow! Then the second time, Andy saw her do the "milk" sign when he was holding her, so I offered her milk and again, she wanted it! The third sign we've been teaching is the sign for "toilet" which we do when she poops in her diaper and we say "poo poo!"
Abigial really loves taking a bath. Normally, I will fill the tub with water, and then get in the bath with her. I put my hand behind her head and neck to support her while she floats in the water on her back. She gets so excited to be in the warm water, she smiles real big, and immediately starts working her arms and legs, kicking and splashing up a storm! She is so fun to watch, and so adorable! I wash her from head to toe with a soft baby washcloth and Burt's Baby Bee Shampoo and Body wash, which is gentle, natural, and smells wonderful! We give her a bath two or three times a week, which is what Pediatricians recommend to keep her clean, but not dry out her skin.
Something funny that Abigail has been doing the past few days, is that when she's nursing, she wants to suck on her index finger at the same time! It's so funny! She keeps trying to get her finger in her mouth, too, and I keep taking her hand away. She got so frustrated today, because I wouldn't let her do it, and she really wanted the satisfaction of having both her finger and her nursies at the same time! She started crying and getting all mad! I would let her do it, but first of all she can't get any milk that way, and second, it's kind of uncomfortable. Such a cutie, though. She's so determined! She just won't quit trying!
Oh also, yesterday she started sucking her thumb! I figured she would probably start doing it sometime, because she loves putting her hands in her mouth so much. I wasn't so happy about it, though, because thumb sucking is a hard habit to break! I would know, I sucked my thumb until I was eight! At that age, it was mostly just at night, but I can remember how hard it was to stop. I had to put socks over my hands, and pin them to my pajamas to keep from doing it while I was asleep! Plus it can mess up your teeth. Apparently, Abby is at least the third generation of thumb suckers, because my mom sucked her thumb, too! Well, my teeth actually turned out okay, and so did my mom's so I guess I won't worry about it. Besides, she's so cute when she sucks her thumb!
Right now, she is sleeping on my chest while I type this. She loves to be held while she sleeps. That is when she takes the longest naps. I love to hold her while she sleeps. She is so sweet, snuggly, and full of love and trust. I have a hard time putting her down!
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