9 months

Abby had her 9-month check-up today. Other than trying to eat the doctors stethoscope she did great - only cried for a couple minutes after her shot. She is still small (16th percentile) but she has stopped dropping growth curves so the doctor is pleased. Here are some pics.

This was my rocking chair when I was little. As you can see, now that she figured out how to move she doesn't stay still for more than a couple seconds!

She has really been into pointing lately. Her other latest fad is saying "whoa". Unfortunately "mama" didn't last more that a couple days. She prefers saying "dade" even to me.

So Big!

Abby is 9 months old today. It seems like she has been doing something new every day lately. She loves to point, wave and say, "hi!", pull herself up, play peek-a-boo and keep mom awake all night (does that ever go away?). She still does a modified bear crawl and I think it is really cute! She uses the knee on one leg and her foot on the other, but she gets around that way quite well.

Another First

Hard at Work

My little helper. She was completely enthralled with my files today and must have spent a good 30 minutes playing with them.

A Learning Experience

These are some things I have learned over the last several months:
1. little socks will clog a washer hose
2. a baby's stomach does not digest peas, grape skins, olives or little round pieces of plastic.
3. drive-thru's were a wonderful invention - bless that person!
4. you can do a lot of things one handed
5. the vacuum cleaner does not pick up everything (but a baby does)
6. vacuum cleaners are scary monsters even when sitting unplugged across the room
7. one-stop shopping was another great invention - thank you Mr. Fred Meyer!
8. my heart melts at the sound of ma-ma or little giggles
9. I should not have bothered with teething rings. Everything else in my house works just as well.
10. Waving is a full body expression.
11. Sleep deprivation is a method of torture used on POW's and mothers of babies.

Seriously?

Apparently the peel tastes much better than the inside since she chewed on it the whole way home from the cafeteria.

Baby Friends and a heavy heart

Last week Eugene and I had a 15-minute schedule overlap so Abby got to hang out with Sterling (thank you, Sara!). She really likes her friend and Sara took these adorable pictures. The two of them crack me up. The other night we had dinner together and Sterling was sucking on Abby's foot while she was trying to teeth on his head! What are friends for, right?


Some of you know that a little boy I had in my Cubbies group was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago. Darian has been a precious little trooper and undergone a leg amputation as well as many months of chemo. Just last month his family was celebrating the end of chemo and his 6th birthday. I am heartbroken tonight to find out the cancer spread to his lungs. I am also continually amazed by his mom. Here is a clip from her online journal yesterday:

Darian will more than likely have 1-3 months with us. Probably leaning toward the 1 month. I know this is very shocking to most of you. We are taking things one day at a time.

We serve a great God. I am amazed at the care we have received at Legacy, and the amount of love they have shown us. They couldn't have done a better job. Secondly, thank you for all your support during this journey. God has a plan for each of us, and I am so glad that I get the opportunity to help raise Darian and be his mommy.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated, and I will keep you updated on how darian is doing.

I feel so guilty for complaining about Abby not sleeping or eating well. Eugene and I are so blessed to have a happy, healthy child and I should never take that for granted. If you want to read more about Darian this is his link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/darianking.

First Words and a Third Tooth

Abby has said Da-Da for quite a while, but we are both sure that she now associates it with Daddy. When I arrived at church this morning she spotted Eugene through the glass doors and squealed, "i da-dy". She also waves with her whole arm, and if she is really excited you get a two arm wave. Abby is becoming very good at crawling so we are learning what it is like to have a baby on the move! We were supposed to baby-proof the house this weekend, but didn't get past scrubbing the kitchen floor. She also will walk if you hold her upright, but she has absolutely no balance! She is just full of developments this week! A top tooth started poking through today and I'm hoping that is why she has had such a hard time at night even though she is not sick anymore. Maybe one of these days I will get to sleep again . . .

Modified Bear Crawl

I think Abby now qualifies more as a crawler than a scooter. Last night she seemed to finally figure it out, but she still kind of does her own unique form of movement. She prefers using her toes instead of her knees and when she does try to use her knees they tend to slip out from under her! Eugene and I have so much fun watching her try and just enjoy every new stage as it comes.

People often ask me what it is like to live in a men's dorm. Well, one unique thing is that when I to go look through our recent pictures we have taken to post on the blog, this is what I see:

Feeling Better and a Nice Surprise

Although she still has a runny nose and cough, Abby is back to her normal happy baby self and starting to sleep better. Today when I arrived at church our children's director had arranged for someone else to teach the preschoolers this month so I was able to go to "big" church :) Well, at least for about 30 minutes until Abby started talking to everyone so I took her into the cry room.
She likes feeding herself, but I'm running out of things I can give to her at this age that she won't choke on. This whole stuffy nose thing worked to my advantage this morning. Abby needed to breathe through her mouth so I was able to shovel a little food into her!