Family Photos

We had pictures taken yesterday. I had been trying to do it for a few weeks and just hadn't gotten around to it. So, yesterday we finally decided we needed to do it now or never! It was pretty last minute so I am not all that thrilled with how they turned out, but better to have something than nothing! Abby, being the sensitive child that she is, was not thrilled with the whole experience. She does not respond well to strangers or anything that 99% of babies would smile at. Every time they tried to get her to smile she would just stick out her pouty bottom lip like she was about to cry. I guess considering the circumstances the pictures did not turn out all that bad.

Abby in the Pool

Last summer I bought a kiddie pool for our backyard when I wanted to work on my tan before a trip to Minnesota for work. It is pretty funny because our backyard is still all dirt. So, there is a big dirt lot with a little pool in the middle of it. We decided to set it up again this year so we can take Abby out there in the evenings after the sun goes down a little. I don't think she was really sure what to think about it. Maybe she was thinking it is just a big bathtub! She just kinda sat there with us. She is not really into splashing with hands yet, so I think once she it and once she can sit up by herself she will enjoy it a lot more. Either way it was fun to get some nice hot fresh air.

Shots

Poor baby Abby had her 6 month check up and shots yesterday. She hates going to the Dr. already, so she wasn't happy about being there even before they gave her the shots. She always cries for a couple minutes after shots until someone distracts her enough or she is put back in her car seat where she feels safe. She also always cries when the Dr. looks in her ears or mouth. Yesterday, they had a tough time keeping the rotavirus vaccine in her mouth because she squirls medication away in her cheeks and then spits it out. After all the excitement at the Dr. we came home and she was pretty grumpy for the rest of the day. She was running a fever. She took a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon, which NEVER happens around here. We usually only get an hour out of her. She seems to be feeling a little better today, but still not quite herself. She weighed in at 20lbs 12oz and she is 28 inches long. No more shots for another 6 months!!

Abby is 6 Months!!

Happy half birthday baby girl! Hard to believe it has been six months since our little princess joined our family. She is really starting to laugh a lot now. Sometimes she will just crack up at the weirdest things for no reason. She is really into our dog Layla. She loves to watch her and always smiles at her. She is also starting to show us her independence and stubbornness. Mostly when it comes to naps. She is really giving us a hard time and many times will not sleep when we put her down for a nap. She will lay in there for an hour and not sleep even though it is obvious she was tired before we put her down. We will get it figured out one of these days. She does gives us a full nights rest though, so no complaints about that! Today she tried squash for the first time. As you will see by the pictures, she was just not that into it!

Abby's Room

I had a request for pictures of Abby's room, so here they are....

Thanks for your help putting up the fan Grpa!

Lunch with Grammy

Here is a picture from earlier this week when Abby and I had a wonderful lunch with her Grammy. Thanks again Grammy.

VIDEO: Over She Goes

Abby has finally learned to roll from her back to her tummy. She is a little behind the curve, so we were happy to see her accomplish this task yesterday for the first time. Now we cannot get her to stay on her back. She rolls right over to her tummy. She has a harder time rolling back over to her back so she get frustrated after she rolls on to her tummy!

Grma and Grpa are coming!

So it looks like Grma and Grpa Bryand are coming for a visit again. The last time they were here was a few months ago when Abby was only 11 weeks. They are definitely looking forward to seeing her. We always have lots of fun when they are here. They will be here in the beginning of July. Here is a picture from their last visit.

Things I HATE in my neighborhood

For those of you who don't know, Abby is the lightest sleeper ever born. It does not take much to wake her. So as I sit here praying nothing will wake her before she has been napping for at least an hour I decided to make a list of all the things in my neighborhood that raise my blood pressure because they wake Abby up.

• The neighbor who starts their loud vehicle every morning at 4:45am which means that Abby is up every morning at 4:45am (and therefore so am I).
• The recycle truck on Tuesdays (Twice- once down the other side of the street and then 15 minutes later down our side of the street)
• The garbage truck on Fridays (Twice- Same as above)
• The guy who has been using power tools in the backyard two doors down all day long for the last 3 weeks.
• The UPS truck
• The FedEx truck
• The little yipper dog in the yard behind us
• The barking beagle in the yard next to the one above
• The pool guy that always slams the tailgate of his truck shut
• The guy across the street who is always scraping a shovel on the bed of his truck and tossing rocks, dirt or brick into a wheelbarrow.
• Oh, and lets not forget about the sun beginning to show its bright and shiny self at 5am if she actually sleeps though number one on my list.

I am sure I left plenty of things out, but you get the idea. I wonder what it would be like if Abby actually slept like a baby! I think it is funny when people can take pictures of their kids napping in their beds. Abby wakes up just from me turning the doorknob!

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was pretty uneventful for us. Marc went mountain biking in Sedona with Kip. I am always glad when he makes it home injury free. I had a rough weekend with Abby. She is still being very difficult to feed even after the ear infection has cleared. She will start to nurse and then just cry. So hard to figure out. Is it reflux, another ear infection (Dr. says no), teething, etc? Just makes my days a little more difficult. She is eating a little rice cereal once a day now. On a better note....Jenny and kids are back from Utah. We missed them terribly while they were gone. They stopped by on their way back into town. It was really nice to see them. Those kids are so stinkin' cute!

Success with Solids!!

Today I gave Abby her first taste of rice cereal. I was pretty nervous about how she would like it. She actually did very well. She opened her mouth for the first bite and swallowed what I gave her. She eagerly took more too! We were very excited that she responded so well. Our journey into a whole new world of fun with food begins......

Stay at Home Mommy

Well, for those of you who have kept updated on our situation with our stubborn little one....she is still not taking a bottle. I tried to go back to work after my 3 months of maternity leave, but it is just too hard to do since I am the only one who can feed Abby. My manager at work has been incredibly wonderful and has really bent over backwards to help me out. I brought Abby to work with me for about a month. Since then she has been at Grammy's house. Grammy lives about 10 minutes from work and I could go and feed Abby every 3 hours. Well, it has been very difficult. Abby struggles with reflux, so I never know how well she is actually going to eat and when she will want her next meal. So, it looks like I have officially become a domestic engineer. As soon as we get Abby taking either a bottle or sippy cup I will be going back to work. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I am really not happy about leaving my job because for the most part I love it. I do feel very blessed to be able to spend my days with my little sweetheart though.

VIDEO: MOMMY IS SCARY

Last night Abby was just chillin' on the couch babbling to herself. I thought is was cute so I got the camera out. Well, then she noticed me taping her. When I said hi to her it scared her. You will see her jump and then get upset. I am glad we finally have proof of what a sensitive child Abby is. She has always been very jumpy an easily scared. I still swear that it is all due the buzzer they used to wake her during one of my fetal monitoring sessions before she was born. The poor little thing almost jumped right out of my belly. Hopefully she grows out of it!

Marc's New Job

Marc has been at his new job with IASIS Health Care a little over a month now. IASIS operates a few hospitals here in AZ. He is the National Director of Physician Contracting. He is responsible for Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Utah. He may be traveling occasionally, but hopefully not very often since Abby and I hate it when he is gone! Here is a brief and simple version of what he does for all of you who have never really quite understood what he does: Doctors have contracted amounts they will be paid by the insurance companies for services to patients. Marc negotiates what the contracted amount will be on behalf of the doctors who work in IASIS hospitals. Things seem to be going well. It is a bit of a drive so he is filling the tank a lot more frequently. Before we know it gas prices will be $4 a gallon.

VIDEO: ABBY LOVES RASPBERRIES

Abby has been practicing her raspberries and is very good at them. She has been very successful at getting everything around her soaking wet. It is quite funny to watch though. I was experimenting with the camera so this video is a bit long and you might get sick from all the zooming in and out. I took it with the camera (not the video camera) so the quality is not all that great. Enjoy!