Abby's First "Real" Pictures

Doesn't she look adorable! Many of these were cropped and look amazing! We went to portrait innovations and got a ton of pictures for a very reasonable price. We'll definetely go back.

Our little noise maker

Abby is really making some noises now. A few weeks ago she was making a few sounds and last week she started blowing "rasberries" and making spit bubbles. She can even mimic you when you blow rasberries with her. As you can see from the video, she had a good laugh one day after I walked in from work and started blowing raspberries at her. This week she has again started "talking" to us about everything. She really likes Cindy's high pitched voice and will try to talk to her whenever Cindy talks to her. She has the sweetest voice and we love to hear her jabber with us.

Today we took her to get her first portraits made. She did very good but got a bit tired of constantly changing clothes by the end of the session. Many of you will be receiving a copy of her pictures soon but you can purchase your's early for only $20 down : ) She espically asked us to send one to Brock Slocumb and write "Eat your heart out Big Boy" on the back. She's a heartbreaker aleady.

Abby's Nana has been visiting with us this weekend from Alabama. Nana is such a great help when she comes to visit. Abby gave her a big smile to her Nana when she came in the door which immediately melted her heart. She stayed at home Friday with Nana while we were at work and had a great time. Grandma came and visited her and Nana and they all had a great visit. Tonight Nana is cooking hamburgers and Grandma and Grandpa are picking out their favorite pictures. Let's just hope there are some left when they leave : )

Are our babies full of bisphenol-A?

Today researchers released studies suggesting that plastic products containing bisphenol-A can leach into our food or drink. This especially became a concern to me as we use plastic baby bottles which contain the harmful toxin. I recently began paying attention to the studies and became even more concerned today when announcements were made that Canada is considering banning the chemical all together. I know you can't worry about everything since our lives seem to be surrounded with plastic products we use everyday but at least I can try to make a few changes. We have been using the Dr. Brown's bottles, which are not cheap to begin with, and they were on the list of bottles that contain the BPA. So, I decided to get online and buy some glass bottles. I was actually surprised to find some evenflo bottles that were very cheap and ordered them. It will just make me feel better knowing that harmful chemicals are not leaching into our little Abby's body everytime she eats. Will I ever know if it made a difference? probably not. Will I sleep better at night knowing that I tried to do everything in my power to be a good mom? the answer is yes.

More about Oprah

It's funny that I just rambled yesterday about Oprah being New Age. Check out this story on Fox news today that gives some staggering background information about Eckhart Tolle.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351545,00.html

Just some thoughts.....

I haven't blogged since the weekend and just wanted to share some thoughts. First of all miss Abby is growing so much these days. She is definitely in the 3-6 month clothes now and I seriously doubt she'll make it much longer in that size. She has gotten so long over the last few weeks and amazes me with all of the new things she is doing everyday. I have really been torn these last few days with thoughts of not wanting to work. I really struggled Monday going back to work after being home with her all last week while I was on spring break. Heth and I are prayerfully considering what God will have me do about work in the next few years. I do love teaching but right now I desperately long to be with my sweet girl everyday. The older she gets, the stronger my desire is to stay home with her. Please pray that God will guide us in making a decision over the next year and will open up opportunities for part-time or other flexible job opportunities. Also be praying for Heth as he is going to try and get his architecture licensure exams completed this year. That means another raise which would help a lot!
On another note, I want to talk about Oprah. Yes, Oprah. I have always enjoyed watching the Oprah show but have found myself more and more annoyed with the latest book club book and conversations about its contents. The current book is Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, Awakening to your Life's Purpose. I honestly have not read the book because I believe it is or could be characterized as a self-help book or tends to have a new age slant. What bothered me most was a comment a "expert" made on her show the other day. She defined spirituality as mans longing or desire for something greater than yourself. Then Oprah added that religion was different, and that people look to religion to fulfill their spirituality. I guess what annoys me the most is that they leave this religion thing open to various venues instead of pointing people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only truth that can awaken people to their life purpose. From what I understand, the book also refers to the "ego" a lot. This being translated by the Bible is the sinful heart of man. Again, I think what annoys me the most is that this book takes and uses some biblical principles and things that naturally do make people "better" so to speak and then fails to lead them to the truth. How can you fulfill spirituality without truth? Oprah also brings ministers onto her show and interviews them asking them to explain how this book has changed their lives. Why can't we go to the Bible and make this the next book club book? A few months ago Oprah had "the secret". Another new age self-help philosophy. Next month I'm sure it will be something else. She has so much power to influence so many people and yet I think without really knowing it leads them down a dead end path that will only fulfill them for a short period of time. I know that was a lot of rambling but I just get more annoyed as I watch each week. I guess I should stop watching....

Guitar Hero Anyone??

Here is Heth jamming out to Guitar Hero. The ninetendo Wii has been a lot of fun for us. It did keep us up too late last night!

Abby Talk

Things I love..

There are so many little things that I love about our little Abby now. Things that I notice she does and how her personality seems to be evolving more and more everyday. I also wanted to document these so that I never forget them and can cherish them while they last. So, here are the just a few of the things I love about Abby:

1. I love that she has a full head of hair. Babies with hair are just cute.

2. I love how she sleeps with both arms straight out to the side- this is only her nighttime sleep position. She doesn't usually do this during her daytime naps.

3. I love how she stretches. This girl loves to stretch. She throws her head and arms back, pulls her legs in and pushes her butt out. She also scrunches up her face and raises her eyebrows.

4. I love that she loves to get her diaper off and kick her legs.

5. I love how she puts her left hand on the top of the bottle and holds your arm or finger with her right hand.

6. I love that she has found her hands and likes to lick them. I just hope she doesn't start sucking her thumb- she is trying really hard to figure that one out.

7. I love her coos and new sounds that she is making every day now. I seriously think she is going to be a talker. Sometimes it sounds like she's saying "Hey".

8. I love that she smiles at me now when I walk into the room or go to pick her up in the morning.

9. I love that she gags. This is the weirdest thing but she has a super sensitive gag reflex. You can put something on her mouth and she'll just gag. I really do think this is some kind of behavioral pattern she has developed and think she does it on purpose sometimes.

10. I love how she smiles and laughs at her pink monkey.

11. Most importantly I love being Abby's mommy. I never imagined how much I would love being a mother. I have never been a person to love babies in the past but I just love knowing that she needs me and this has to be the most fulfilling thing I've ever done in my life. She is learning new things from me everyday and depends on Heth and I to meet her basic needs. It really is a special feeling that I can't really put into words.

I could go on but I'm sure that was enough to make you want to gag. I hope I've been spelling that word right, it just doesn't look right. Anyhow, Heth called with some exciting news today. He got us a Ninetendo Wii. I know that is probably not exciting news to some of you but we have been wanting a Wii for quite some time now. I was going to buy him one for Christmas but waited too late and of course everyone was seeking them out and were impossible to find. He bought it from a lady that works with him and got a great deal. After he called me I went to Costco, I had to pick up some pictures anyways, and saw Guitar Hero for the Wii. How could I pass that up. I have had so many people tell me how much fun it is and I can't wait to play. I know you're probably wondering when we will have time to enjoy our Wii, but remember little Abby goes to bed around 7:30 now, so mom and dad will bust out the Wii after she goes to bed. If only she knew what went down after she goes to bed. Just ask Heth about learning the Soulja boy dance one night. Good times, good times...

Sleeping with a runny nose...

Yesterday I noticed that Abby was starting to sound a little congested and her nose was running. As a new mom I was of course worried and really didn't know what to do. I knew that you can't really give babies anything for a cold so I called my friend Amie. I now call her my resident doctor on call. She has three children and has been through just about everything. Her daughter Audrey and Abby are only three months apart in age. Amie always makes me feel better and gives me helpful things to do and usually saves me a trip to the doctors office. So after talking with my "doctor" I started using saline drops and pulled the humidifier out of the closet. I was just worried that Abby was not going to sleep well. She was cooing and playing all day as if nothing bothered her, but I know how I feel when I lay down with a stuffy nose. You wake up and can't breathe and just feel yucky. So, she fell asleep around 7:30 last night. After she went to sleep Heth and I watched "Bee Movie", which was okay. When we went to bed we checked on her and she seemed to be doing fine. She then slept through the night for the first time- she woke up at 6 AM. I couldn't believe it. She has always been a good sleeper but I was not expecting her to sleep like this before she hit three months (which she'll be on Weds.) She was a little stuffy when she woke up today but has been doing great all day. She has taken several long naps today and I am continuing to use the saline drops and clear her nose if it starts to sound stuffed up. It may not actually be a cold, it could be the pollen and weather. I honestly wish it would decide to stay warm or cold. Lately it will be 70 degrees one day then 40 the next. That is usually enough to get my sinuses out of whack. I sure hope she doesn't have allergies. Hopefully this will pass so that her and I can get out later this week when the weather is supposed to warm up.

Ladies Night Out

Last night I was able to go to dinner with some ladies from my sunday school class. We headed to uptown to a great restaurant called Cajun Queen. It is always crowded and has a live band upstairs. One of those places that you have to talk really loud to hear each other and then you feel old because you realize you can't hear what anyone is saying. We had a great dinner and conversation. Many of us are new moms and its always fun to exchange baby stories but more importantly have adult conversations about other things as well. We were having such a great time we were oblivious to all of the tornado threats. As we were leaving it started raining and we were planning on going to the Starbuck's across the street to extend our time out until we realized the weather was so bad. The funniest part of the night is when we piled in the back of Bethany's Honda Minivan, I mean in the very back, since the other seats were occupied with car seats. Denise and Brandy are piled in with the strollers sitting on the floor of the van. We all laughed about heading to downtown Charlotte and going "clubbing", wouldn't we be a hoot, a bunch of mommies unloading from the floorboard of a minivan. Of course we don't go clubbing and the thought of all of that going down gave us all a good laugh. Needless to say we all had a great time getting away for a little while. It reminded me how important it is to get away, it seems to make me appreciate my time with Heth and Abby even more.

Tornado Warnings and Watches

I hate tornadoes... Well, I guess to that effect I don't know anyone who would say "I love tornadoes." The weather tonight is pretty sketchy for North and South Carolina. I've been watching the local weather station for the past two hours and so far our county has been under a tornado warning three times. Add that up with all of the adjacent counties and it's been non-stop warnings for several hours. The weatherman keeps telling people "move to the central part of your house, bring in your pets, get in your basement, etc." I can imagine people all over the Charlotte area lying in ditches or sitting in their closets with cats and dogs as each warning is announced.

I've often wondered about getting into a ditch as a safety measure. I've always thought about the option of getting into a ditch as a pretty asinine idea during a storm. If there's a storm, wouldn't a ditch be the first thing to fill with water? It seems like jumping into a ditch would only heighten your chances of drowning in addition to getting hit by debris from a tornado. But I digress...

I've always been a heavy sleeper and can usually sleep through the worst a storm can offer. I remember my dad and sister telling me of a time we were under a tornado warning in Alabama and the storm had gotten so bad they were preparing to take cover in a hall closet. My dad stood at my bedroom doorway and was ready to grab me if things went horribly wrong. Things eventually settled down and I never woke up. I'm not sure if it's a good thing to sleep so soundly since I could miss the emergency weather siren. Cindy, on the other hand, will wake up before I will.

They've just issued a tornado warning for a neighborhood where several of my co-workers live. My ears have been popping for about 45 minutes, telling me the barometric pressure is dropping. I married a science teacher, I would know. Growing up in the south, we all know what a "hook echo" and a "bow echo" are. The weatherman said we should expect penny to nickle size hail within the next 20 minutes. I guess I should put my car in the garage. Cindy is at a dinner with some of the ladies from our Sunday School and I've asked her to either come home or stay put. She said they had no idea things were getting so bad. She's on her way home now and should be here in about 30minutes.

Abby is snoozing and has been for the past 1 1/2 hour. If things look like they are getting bad I'll get her and bring her downstairs with me. We have a interior closet that we will get in if things decline. We will not get in a ditch. A country boy can survive. On the plus side, maybe this storm will get rid if the bird that comes every morning. Or maybe it will get struck by lightning.

2 Months and 3 Weeks Old