Sleeping Angel

I'm posting this morning after having 10 wonderful hours of straight sleep. Oh my, it felt so good! Abby Kate didn't make a sound all night. This morning I looked over at our video monitor to see her still sleeping so soundly - so soundly that I had to stare at it for a few minutes to make sure she was still breathing! Sure, she has "slept through the night" before, but the previous definition of that for me was that I didn't get up to FEED her all night, not that she didn't wake up all night. Last night I didn't get up once to put her pacifier back in, to move her away from the side of the crib or for any other reason. So anyway, SUCCESS!!! I hope tonight is a repeat performance!

Where in the world have I been lately?!

Sorry for not posting for such a long time. So what's new? Well, Abby Kate and I just returned from a trip to Kentucky where we spent some quality time with her Grami and Pawpaw and some family and friends. It was a great visit. The only bad part was the airline travel. AK didn't like to sit for that long without anything to look at. She hardly cried, but that's because I was working (and sweating) the whole time, trying to stop her cries before they started. And trust me, they were going to start. She had all kinds of grimaces going.

On the way back, Mom went to the airport with me and helped me all the way to the gate because she had to fly out of town for business the same day. (Thanks, Mom! I wouldn't have made it without you.)

So we're sitting there killing time at the Starbucks in the Louisville International Airport. I decided the ask for a cup of hot water to warm AK's bottle before we boarded the plane. [I still breastfeed Abby Kate, so I had spent the last few days pumping extra milk for our air travel. It was especially important to have it on the plane as it stops her crying immediately.] So anyway, I took the bottle up the the counter and asked for the hot water. The worker (a young woman) took the bottle and said, "oh you're like the third person who's asked me to do this today." So I figured she knew what she was doing. Wrong. She unscrewed the top before I could stop her and half the bottle spilled out all over her and the coffee machines. Wonderful. I was so sick to my stomach! But there was nothing I could do. She kept apologizing (not really meaning it). She said, "was that formula or just milk?" I guess she thought she could just fill it back up with milk or something. I smiled and laughed a little inside before telling her it was breast milk. You should've seen the look on her face! She started screaming, "Oh my God, Oh my God!" It was priceless. I just walked away with my half empty bottle.

All that to tell you I ended up having to let AK stuck on an empty bottle for 50 minutes(!) to keep her quiet on the last leg of the flight. It was one of those Playtex bottles with the plastic baggie, so she wasn't sucking air or anything. It's just that she knows the difference between the pacifier and the bottle, so I had to trick her!

But we did have a wonderful visit while in Kentucky. We hung out at home with my mom and dad and Brian and Carrie and William. It was so cute to watch William and AK play together. Here are a few pictures from our visit. I have more to post, but a lot of them are on my mom's camera, so I'll have to post them later...






I also drove up to Lexington for my friend Kate's baby shower and to visit my friend Julane.







Abby Kate got to meet her maternal great-grandmother for the first time.



She also saw her other great-grandmother, my dad's mom.




A few friends came by to see her including my long-time friends, Sarah Kinser and Lyndsay Smith. On Sunday, Abby Kate had her second photoshoot with my friend, Sara Floyd. I'll be posting some of the beautiful pictures she took in a later blog entry.

<< REWIND TO BEFORE OUR KY VISIT
Before we left on our trip, Mike and I took Abby Kate to the beach for the first time. She liked it, we think. We put her toes in the sand - and in the (freezing) ocean for a second. Watch for yourself! (Presenting my first ever uploaded video...)








And you're probably wondering what Mike's been up to lately since all I've posted about is Abby Kate since she was born. Well, he's been doing a lot of studying and a lot of flying, too. He had his solo flight a few weeks ago and did great. He's been learning aerobatics and formation flying for the past couple of weeks. We're still not sure when he'll be done with this part of his training, but we expect we'll be finding out where the next move will be by Mid-March. So stay tuned!

Vanity

Abby Kate has no self-esteem issues, I'm glad to report. Even with spit-up all down her shirt, she was delighted at seeing her own image for the first time. I held her up close to a full-length mirror to see what she'd do. She just stared intently at first at the baby looking back at her. She looked herself up and down, and then a slow smile started to creep across her face. When she saw the baby in the mirror smiling back, her smile just kept getting bigger and bigger. She started to coo and laugh and tried to reach out and touch her own hand. So cute! Now every time she looks in the mirror she grins from ear to ear.

(click on the image for a closer view)

Two Months

Our baby is over two months old now. I feel like we've had her for so much longer. Pregnancy, labor and delivery seem like so long ago. Longer than two months, anyway. She is growing so fast - already pushing the limits on some of her 0-3 month clothes! I love caring for her and I love watching Mike care for her, too. Watching her learn new things every day, even the simplest things, makes me smile. She is the greatest joy!

Mike and I took Abby Kate to her 2-month wellness checkup yesterday. She weighs in at 11.5 lbs and is 22.5 inches long. The doctor told us she's in the 50th percentile for height, the 50th for head circumference and the 60th for weight. She was all smiles for Dr. Branton while she looked her over. After that part was done, Mike and I wrapped her in a blanket and took her down to Immunizations for her first round of shots. She was still smiling right up until the first needle went in her upper left leg. They used one of those air-gun things. It scared her so much. Her beaming smile was replaced with huge fearful eyes and then tears ran out as she screamed until she choked. I was so sad for her! I could hardly stand to watch it. After three more shots, she was done, and to my utter amazement, a great big smile spread across her face before the doc was even finished putting on her Tweetybird Band-Aids. That-a-girl!

Christmas in Texas

We traveled to Texas this year to celebrate Christmas with Mike's family. Thanks to Lee (Mike's dad), we were able to cut a 12 hour trip down to three as he offered to come pick us up in his plane. It was a very smooth flight. Mike sat up front with his dad while Abby Kate, Junah and I sat in the comfy middle seats. We landed in no time at a small airport near Tyler, waited for Bill (Mike's younger brother) to arrive, and then drove to the Wallace's ranch where the rest of the family greeted us. Abby Kate was quickly passed around to everyone, meeting Mike's brothers and sisters-in-law for the first time.

We went to church the morning of Christmas Eve. After the service, we had Abby Kate christened. She cried the whole time! It was out of character for her to do that considering she sat quietly through the entire hour-long service just before that. Oh well. We went back to church that evening for the candlelight service. Again, AK was an angel and didn't make a peep. I was so glad. It was hard to concentrate on the message while worrying about my infant making a scene.

We came home and opened gifts after that. Everyone gave such great things! My favorite gift this year was what my dear husband gave me... Ballroom Dancing Lessons!!! Isn't he thoughtful?! The best part about the gift is that he'll be learning with me. We have four "learning" sessions and several [dancing] "parties" set up for us. Thanks, honey! I can't wait.

Abby Kate had a nice first Christmas, I think. Of course she doesn't have a clue about the importance of Jesus' birth or of family togetherness, but I think she enjoyed the change of scenery nonetheless. I look forward to next Christmas when she'll be walking and talking and helping with the tree and ripping into wrapping paper!

Thanks again to the Wallaces for such a nice holiday!

AK with Daddy, getting ready for her first plane ride!
Me and AK, getting ready to board. Junah has already boarded, as you can see. He's poking his head out to make sure we're coming.
This picture cracks me up. This is as we were taking off. She's like "Wheeee, Mommy, I'm flying!" Of course in reality she never knew we left the ground.
AK meets Aunt Beth (Matt's wife)
AK meets Aunt Amber. (CJ's wife. They're expecting baby boy Luke in March!)
AK with Grandma Wallace.
AK with Grandpa Wallace, both tired from a long day of traveling. Grandpa entertained her with her singing dog (a gift courtesy of Grammy and Pawpaw Carnes).
AK meets Uncle Bill.
AK meets Uncle CJ.
AK meets Uncle Matt.
I was sad to see that she did not like her Christmas outfit. :)
After the christening.
The boys entertain.
Ginger and Lee treated the girls to a full day at the spa. We each had a massage, a facial, a pedicure and manicure. So relaxing! I started missing AK toward the end, though. It was the longest I'd spent without her. But it was nice to have a few hours to do something just for myself without having to worry about her. Thanks to all the guys for babysitting!