Do you see it?

Several people have commented on how much Kris Allen from American Idol looks like Marc. I just don't see it. But others seem to think they could be twins. What do you think?

Abby is 15 Months

Abby had her 15 month check up today. She is 34.25 inches long (99th percentile) and weighs 27 lbs 8 oz (96th percentile). The Dr. said that my 15 month old is the size of an average 3 year old! Crazy!! At least her weight and height are proportionate. Hopefully she doesn't end up being any taller than I am. Marc and I are both 5'11". If she does end up taller than me I just have to hope that she is more coordinated than me also so that she can put her height to good use playing volleyball. She was a real trooper for her shots today and only cried for a few seconds.

She is still crawling most of the time. Every now and then I see her walk between pieces of furniture but for the most part she doesn't walk unless I encourage her to walk from something to me. I think it is just a confidence issue. When she falls she freaks out even when she isn't hurt. The other day she would take a couple steps and then just squat down and start crying. Then she would crawl back to where she started stand up, take two steps and squat and cry again. She had fallen a couple times before that so I think she was just scared. Once I realized what why she was crying and that she wasn't hurt, it was a little funny. I considered grabbing the video camera :). She also tries to run all the time. She can't even walk well yet, but when she is excited to get to something she tries to run and it usually ends up in a tumble. She wants to walk all over the house holding my hand. She walks just fine holding my hand so I know she is capable. She already opens all our doors by herself so I am in big trouble once she starts walking everywhere.

Her favorite thing right now is books. She brings me books all day long to read to her. Her favorites are the ones with real pictures and not drawings. She likes to point at the pictures as I say them. She can identify most of the objects in her "Happy Baby Words" book. Another favorite activity right now is making animal sounds when I ask her what certain animals say. She knows dog, cow, sheep, dinosaur, fish, kitty, and horse. She also says vvvroom when asked what a car says. We also taught her that Mommies and Daddies say "love you". It sounds more like lof when she says love, but still so cute.

Taking Steps!

Abby is now taking 5 or 6 steps on her own. She is still very wobbly and won't really walk without encouragement. We just keep helping her practice in hopes that one day she will just take off. I don't consider her a "walker" until she chooses that as her primary mode of transportation. She still crawls everywhere unless I sit down and encourage her to walk to me. It is so fun to watch her! Here is a video of her in action.

Dinner At My House

If you have ever had the pleasure of having dinner at our house, you know that I am not exactly a gourmet chef. If it doesn't come in a box or cook in a crock pot you probably won't find it on my table. Luckily Marc is content with whatever I "cook" as long as he has food on the table. I thought I would share some of our staples....

Abby is enjoying spaghetti night...

Marc seems perfectly happy with mac-n-cheese night.

(He arranged the face on his plate himself)

Happy Valentine's Day

Growing Up So Fast

I just thought I would post a little update about what Abby is up to. First of all, she has been sick three times already this year which is no fun for anyone. She only got sick one time (ear infection) the entire first year so I guess she is making up for it now. This last virus hit her really good. Her temperature actually got all the way up to 105.8. Luckily after some Motrin and nap it came down to 102.3. Had it not come down we would have been on our way to the emergency room. Now that she has gotten over that I think she has her first molar working its way to the surface. I can feel it right under the surface of the gums and her gums are SOOO swollen. She was up at 5:30am this morning and while I was watching her on the video monitor she just kept putting her finger in her mouth and chewing on it.


On to more fun items....Abby can now identify every part of our faces. When we ask her where the part is she will point to it. Today she successfully did hair, ear, cheek, eye, nose, mouth and chin. She caught on so fast. We only had to show her a couple times before she got it. She also knows what a lot of her toys are and when we tell her to go get something specific she will. When asked for a hug she will just lay her head against us. Very cute and fun for Mommy since she has never been much of a cuddler.


She also has some words now. I count them as words because I know what she is saying but I am not sure anyone else would have any idea what she is saying. Does that count? Anyway, she says dog (goc), duck(guc), more(mo), and mama. She also signs more and eat.


She is very in to cause and effect toys and very interested in the way things work. One of her favorite things to do is to get the remote and turn the TV on and off. She also really enjoys putting lids on bottles. She plays with an empty mouthwash and shampoo bottle in the bathtub and likes to put the lids back on them. When she can't get it just right she gets frustrated and chucks the lid as hard as she can across the bathtub. Kinda reminds me of her Daddy when one of his household projects isn't going right :).


She still has quite a ways to go before walking on her own, but she sure does love to walk holding on to our hands. She has low muscle tone so she will be a late walker. Her ankles are weak and turn in when she walks so she walks on the inside of her feet. She cruises the furniture very well though.


I am just trying to enjoy every moment of it. They are only little once and it goes by so fast. I already miss my little newborn. Funny that I remember her first smiles and laughs perfectly but I can't remember what it felt like to be up every 2 hours all night long and the 2 hour crying sessions. I guess that is how nature intended it though. Selective amnesia so we will continue to have more children!





In this pictue Abby was looking out the window to the backyard trying to find Layla.

Grandma and Grandpa Bryand's Visit

Marc's Mom and Dad came to visit in the beginning of January and I am just now getting around to posting. I know, I stink at this blogging thing. Anyway, they had not seen Abby since she was 6 months old so it was nice that they were able to come from Minnesota. Abby got sick the day after they got here so she was not her usual self for the first few days. Once she felt better she had a great time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.

Abby went hiking with Dad, Grandma and Grandpa.

Here she is hitching a ride on Grandpa's back
Grandma decided to go trailblazing and this is what happened to Grandpa when he tried to rescue her.....Oh well, what is a trip to AZ without getting attacked by a cactus?

Powdered Sugar Everywhere!

One of Abby's favorite places is our pantry. She LOVES to take everything out of the areas she can reach. I keep a lot of baking items on the bottom shelf. Most of it is in plastic bags so she can't really get in to it. Well, yesterday she managed to get the powdered sugar open while I was making dinner and not paying attention. This is what I found when I looked at her....

VIDEOS: Getting Closer

Abby is getting closer and closer to walking. She is cruising the furniture really well now and recently started pushing anything she can (barstools, highchair, toys, etc) around the house. It is so fun to watch. The first time mommy in me is always paranoid that she is going to fall flat on her face but I do my best to just let her learn! Here are a couple videos of her showing off her new skills.

Update Coming Soon

I know I am way behind. We have a household of sickos right now. Marc, Abby and I are all sick. It is no fun for anyone. Tissues are like gold around here! I promise I will catch up soon.

Christmas

We had a really nice Christmas this year. I baked (or attempted to bake) in the morning on Christmas Eve. Then we took some goodies with us and took Abby to see Grammie. We then had dinner at Panda Express. After Abby went to bed Marc and I watched The Polar Express, which we have made a Christmas Eve tradition. I can't wait until Abby is old enough to take interest in it and watch it with us!

Christmas morning we got up and opened presents before breakfast. After Abby's nap we headed out to my sister's house. It is a very long drive (usually about an hour and 15 minute drive). It was pouring rain the whole way there. Lynette and Dan cooked a very yummy dinner and Abby got to play with her cousins. The ride home was a little rough because Abby was tired and she HATES being in the car. She pretty much lost it about 20 minutes into the drive home, but I jumped into the backseat with her and was able to keep her calm for the rest of the ride home.

It was a great couple days. It was sad to see the decorations start coming down today!

Highlights of Abby's Day

Hanging out in my jammies still

Getting into stuff as usual

BUSTED!!!

Finding leftovers from breakfast

BUSTED AGAIN!!


Checking out Layla's home



Pulling on mom's legs to be picked up (happens quite frequently these days)

Trying to look so sweet that Mom won't be able to resist picking me up

Pretty Christmas Dresses

My Mom got Abby the cutest Christmas dresses. I had to share pictures of them since she won't get much wear out of them (she grows way too fast!).

One Year Stats

Abby went to the Dr. yesterday for her 12 month check up. It went well. We went to a new Dr. and I like her a lot better than the Dr. we had been going to before. Abby got 3 shots...MMR, Chickenpox Vaccine, and a Flu Shot. She screamed as soon as the first shot touched her leg. I was able to calm her down quickly afterwards though. All I had to do was give her my cell phone. lol. She loves it.
She weighs 25 lbs 10 oz (96th percentile), is 31 inches tall (93rd percentile) and her head circumference in 45 1/2 cm (64th percentile). She hasn't gained or grown much since her 9 month check up. I suspect her weight gain slowed a lot because she is so active now. It is also nice to know she won't have an abnormally large head! :)
She is cruising the furniture pretty well now and pulls to standing on everything (including my legs). She likes to point a lot and has recently started waving bye bye. She is also doing the sign for more but I am still not sure if she is associating it with getting more food or not because she does it at random times. She still has not said her first word but she has many conversations with herself that I cannot understand. Hopefully she will be walking in the next couple months because my back could really use a break from carrying her everywhere!

Abby's 1 Year Pictures

We had Abby's 1 year pictures taken a couple weeks ago. They turned out really cute. We took them at 8am and it was extremely cold and windy. Abby was a real trooper. She did great and never complained. I couldn't pick just a couple to post so I am posting a slideshow. The pictures were taken by a friend of mine from high school. She does beautiful photography. Her portfolio is posted on her blog. I highly recommend her! http://www.photosbynatalie.blogspot.com