Eyes Wide Shut

Some days when I am taking pictures, I just cant get one of her with her eyes open. No matter how many I take, she has to close her eyes!

Finally, although not smiling, she has her eyes open!

We have discovered the wonderful-ness that is the pack n play. Abby wont stay in it for long, but it is so much easier than having her crawl all over the place and get into everything. And she still gets to move around.

Happy in it for now!

An update on food: Abby eats EVERYTHING!! We are down to only about 3, maybe 4, bottles a day. She has oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, a veggie and fruit for lunch, and a veggie and fruit for dinner. She also adores her Gerber puffs. She puts a few in her left hand (we say she is saving them), then eats the rest with her right. Once they are all gone (or down in her chair), she eats the ones in her left hand. I swear she is a bottomless pit, that gal can eat!

Abby's First Trip to the Zoo

Abby had her first trip to the zoo today. We saw lots of great animals and had an awesome time.

Here are our pictures (there are a lot!)

In the car on the way to the zoo.....

Daddy and Abby getting ready to go in. She tends to close her eyes for pictures...pretty sure that she got that from her momma!

Bought Abby a giraffe named Penny. She loved it!! For the whole visit, she was sitting up in the stroller, leaning over. As soon as she got the giraffe, chilled the rest of the visit, lovin' on Penny.

You can just tell how happy she is with this giraffe (although she did get mad on the trip home and throw it at me)...

Took a picture of me and Stu.

The whole family!

Justine and I with the giraffes.

Abby's take on the whole thing....

Stu and Steve "acting "cool.

Abby got to go on her first tram ride as well, she looks terrified in this picture

And shocked in this one.

All in all, we had a great day. It was freaking hot as anything and the zoo was about 5 miles long, but we still enjoyed it. Since the zoo is a 4 hour drive, no plans to head back soon. But Im sure there will be other zoos we can go to!


Some things from Friday:

Yes, I propped Abby up for this one, but she still was able to stay up there on her own! Then proceeded to pull all of the coasters off the coffee table.


The scene when I got home from work.... Daddy sleeping on the couch, Abby screaming in the pack 'n' play. He swears she started when I walked in the door. Ssssuuuurrreee......

Video of Abby

I took a video of Abby tonight. You can see her clapping, laughing, coughing, just having a good ole time!! I made noises in the background to try and get her to do more, but it was near her bedtime. Just not as playful. But now that I have figured out that I can do this (yeah!!!) Ill try and do more often.

Enjoy your weekend!

Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

Tonight I dropped my toy in the bottom of this contraption that mom likes me to sit in. Well, while I was trying to get it, somehow I managed to fall all in. I heard Mommy laughing and telling Daddy to come in there. Then I heard the click of a camera:

Personally, I didnt find it very funny as it is very hard to sit up trapped under here. No worries, though, I knew someone would eventually rescue me (I have great parents that would do anything for me).

For example, today, I started in classroom three. Then one of my teachers got sick, so they moved me. I worried that Mommy would't find me. But at 5, I heard her getting hysterical with the lady working there, especially when that lady asked "Well what was she wearing?" Silly lady, what else would I be wearing but pink? But Mommy found me and I crawled as fast as I could to her. She thought they had lost me!

I couldn't help but laugh at myself as Im sure I looked pretty silly under there!

Im just so happy all the time and I am SUPER excited to see my Nona and Gammy next week (as well as Poppa and Grandad of course!). I have even heard Mommy talk about "cake", not sure what that is....maybe one day when Im old enough!!

Oops, Wheel of Fortune is almost over, time for bed!

Good night everyone! Love you!

Stuart vs. Softball

Stuart's second to last softball game was tonight. Usually his games are at 8 or 9 (way past Abby's bedtime), but tonight's was at 7 so we went! The softball fields are snugly fit next to some sort of sewage pump which made the hot weather just a pleasant experience. But we did have a good time and Im glad that we went.

Stretching before the big game

Abby wondering "What the heck have you brought me too?"

As long as she has a toy, she is content.

Preparing to knock that ball outta here....

On second base, raring to go!

"Look at daddy, come on, look at daddy!"

Stu's big hit with three rbi's

Bath Time

Abby screams her head off if we are not right beside her. So when we both make dinner (which is rare, Stu is the chef, but I make salads). I thought maybe something to distract her would work. She never really got that she could hit the tupperware with the spoon, but the spoon kept her distracted for quite awhile.

Poor thing just looks so confused...

Loving bath time, as usual

Hope it is ok to eat soapy toys, cuz she is doing it!

Facebook Types

Sorry to interrupt my normal Abby postings, but I saw this article on CNN and thought it was hilarious! I am totally a lurker!

Here are 12 of the most annoying types of Facebook users:


The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. "I'm waking up." "I had Wheaties for breakfast." "I'm bored at work." "I'm stuck in traffic." You're kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn't mean we all want to know when you're waiting for the bus.

The Self-Promoter. OK, so we've probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.

The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies -- you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway -- might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 "friends?" Unless you're George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That's just showing off.

The Town Crier. "Michael Jackson is dead!!!" You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.

The TMIer. "Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids." Boundaries of privacy and decorum don't seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.

The Bad Grammarian. "So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe". Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.

The Sympathy-Baiter. "Barbara is feeling sad today." "Man, am I glad that's over." "Jim could really use some good news about now." Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks -- baited with vague tales of woe -- in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.

The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you'll be talking to them and they'll mention something you posted, so you know they're on your page, hiding in the shadows. It's just a little creepy.

The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn't complain about. "Carl isn't really that impressed with idiots who don't realize how idiotic they are." [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.

The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone's posted a photo of you from last weekend's party -- a photo you didn't authorize and haven't even seen? You'd really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.

The Maddening Obscurist. "If not now then when?" "You'll see..." "Grist for the mill." "John is, small world." "Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not." [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you're not being mysterious -- just nonsensical.

The Chronic Inviter. "Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which 'Star Trek' character are you? Here are the 'Top 5 cars I have personally owned.' Here are '25 Things About Me.' Here's a drink. What drink are you? We're related! I took the 'What President Are You?' quiz and found out I'm Millard Fillmore! What president are you?"

Good times!

Just a few things that Ms. Abby did this weekend:

Demolished a tissue that Daddy gave her

Hammed for the camera

Attmpted to eat a cracker with her pacy in her mouth

Crawled on mommy's book that she was trying to read

Read with mommy

Played with the glass at Auntie Justine and Uncle Steve's apt

Licked the glass at their apt as well, by far my favorite picture!

Caden Matthew Baxter

Just a few pictures of Caden Matthew...they are really small since I "stole" them from Amber's facebook. And he also just seems so tiny, I cant wait to get my hands on him!

I missed my baby!

I traveled to VA for work this week. Although this is not the first time I have been away from Abby, it still hurt! Luckily, Justine watched her Tuesday night and posted some pictures on her blog of my baby. But as soon as I got home, after all the hugs and kisses, I took some pictures.

I like how she is sitting in this one. Flexible little booger.

Loves playing with her toys....

More pictures of playing with toys.

Trying to crawl on top of me. She loves to crawl in my lap when Im playing with her. She has a mean little grip though and has brought tears to my eyes a few times.

Daddy taught her to "blow bubbles" and she does it ALL the time.

Too cute!

One of my favorite faces....the "Im not too sure what is going on" face.

So I went to the kitchen to make her bottle. I usually leave her in the playroom and she fine. But tonight she wanted to follow me. We have got her hands full as she is crawling all over the place.


Conked out in the crib. I love how she sleeps!