6 Months Post-Op...and Crawling!

For those of you who missed it, 6 months ago today, Abby looked like this...

And, today, she is doing this...

And I'm officially in need of baby-proofing help. Our girl is on the move!

Easter

Easter is a wonderful time for our family, celebrating our Risen Lord all together -- although, since Abby was born, it hasn't involved church! We figure waiting just a bit longer to put her in with the swarm of germs in sunday school is a good idea. I tell ya, we're very spoiled having a child that has never been sick. I'll do just about anything to keep her that way! We spent Easter weekend in Palm Desert with Grandma and Pop Pop, Grant's brothers, their wives, the kids and all of our dogs! It was insanity and we all stayed under one roof. We aren't used to sleeping in the same room with Abby anymore (and thank goodness, after the little bit of sleep we got that weekend) and she tossed, turned, cried and even talked in her sleep. We spent our days playing with cousins, eating, sleeping and in the pool.

Last year, Stacey and I looked like this:




and this year, we look like this (with Abram and Abby, exactly two months apart).




The finer points of desert grass picking...


Abby had fun, after being slathered in sunscreen and wearing her rash guard to cover her scar, hanging in the pool and splashing around. I think we've got a water baby on our hands.

Fun with daddy....




Aunt Karen and Liv and Gab...


Hanging with Uncle Bill




Easter Sunday was a beautiful day and Abby got her first bonnet from Grandma as well as a gorgeous Easter basket.

Finding Her Voice

This is from a few weeks ago but I thought I'd share it while I try to find the camera to upload the insanity from Easter. Abby's finding her "voice" these days... and she's awfully pleased with herself about it.

When she isn't doing this, she's busy feeing herself lots of blueberries, peas, zucchini and scrambled egg yolk. Forget that baby food, mom.... I want real food! I'm happy to oblige as our little monkey is gaining some great weight (although still in a small percentile for her age.)

Bevy of Visitors

Lots of fun gals have been stopping by this week! Auntie Emi and cousin Katy (with Aunt Christi, who always makes Abby smile) came by to share the love. Abby is getting more social all the time and loves these impromptu visits!

Other things she's doing nowadays...

-- she is scooting backwards happily
-- she can go from sitting to all fours and back again
-- if she is holding a toy while we're getting her dressed, she'll switch hands without us prompting her when it's time to put her arm through the sleeve
-- she eats readily with both hands (and likes beets!)
-- she wants either jarred baby food or real food (that she can feed herself) but not the pureed food that i've got an entire freezer full of, awaiting her.
--shes down to nursing just 4 times a day

The Scooch 2.0

The original scooch (1.0) is basically Abby scooting backward and fussing. The new and improved scooch is right here. She might be moving in the wrong direction, but she is just fine with it now.

Hair and Kissies!

Bath time with daddy... just to show off her crazy "washcloth head", long hair and new kissing (the duckie) skills -- it's all open mouth and tongue, which is only reserved for mommy, daddy and absolutely no boys. Ever.

Go Bruins!

Friday was a big day for Abby although she'll probably remember it for the pulling on Tori's nose and watching the "big kids" run up and down Bruin Walk. I went over to UCLA to spend time with my friend Lisa who was visiting from Nor Cal with her four kids and sweet husband. Her oldest, Tori, promptly said "this one!" when Lisa asked her if she liked UCLA or Stanford's campus better. Good girl! Abby loved pulling on her hair and nose and waving at her. We sat under a big, shady tree and then walked through a taping of Lie To Me without meaning to (happening on Bruin Walk) where we saw Tim Roth up close and personal. It was such a fun day to catch up with Lisa and her family and even more fun for Abby, I think. She slept the entire way home. Her afternoon nap is usually 30 minutes at best, even in the car. This one lasted over an hour. If she could only clap, surely she'd be doing the 8-clap right about now. Here's a picture of Abby and I at the Bruin on campus with 3 of the 4 Lajous kidos. What a day!

Grass Picker

These are from a few weeks ago.

Her favorite spring pastime...



Can't you just hear her? Ewww. Not that one!

That Day

Today was That Day. That Day sneaks up on you and is glorious for absolutely no reason and every reason all at once. Maybe it was the 70 degree late afternoon hang out time on the front lawn. The dog was bathed, baby was happy nibbling on her teething biscuit and Grant was pouring us each a glass of wine. Maybe it was that. There were piles of dishes in the sink, dinner wasn't prepped yet and mountains of clothes still had to be sorted (all in the 3-6 age range) and stored. But that wasn't a deterrent. For the handful of stressful, hard and emotional days we've had in the previous (almost!) 10 months, today was just a sweet reminder that That Day exists, is a wonderful thing and can happen if you'll only take the time to look. I'm so happy, thankful and blessed today. Life with our wholehearted girl is very, very good. Even in light of those lingering dishes.

Here is a tiny video from last night, a small snippet of life after we finished dinner at our favorite local burger joint.

Feet and Such

I've been obsessed with Abby's feet recently. Suddenly, they're big. (Well, to us they're big!).

Who doesn't love chubby feet? (And if you don't think those are chubby, you should've seen her before surgery).













Did you know they make Teva's for babies? Me neither. Really cute. Thanks, Karis!














I swear her feet didn't reach this footrest, like, yesterday.

Summer's Comin'...

It was warm here today -- like in the 80's. Waahoo! Abby got to wear her first official summer dress (a fab hand-me-down) but had to wear a onesie underneath. Gotta protect that scar from the sun so it won't be seared into her skin forever. As I've said before, I never really want it to go away completely. But that's just me talking. And not in the 7th grade at a swim party with all my friends, sick of explaining "what happened." But I digress. Her teeth still seem to be working their way in, and bunny's ears are a favorite to chew on.

These days, our daylight hours look something like this : breakfast, play, nurse, nap, dog walk, lunch, play while i shower, nurse, nap (if i'm lucky!), an errand or two (if i'm lucky!), dinner and the whole bed time routine. Thankfully, a year ago Grant got me my wonderful iphone and I can actually check my email while I'm waiting at a red light...err.....while I'm at home.

Chomper - Singular

And, then there were teeth! :) She's been looking like this for quite awhile now...




This week, along with some interrupted night sleep, her bottom tooth came shoving through. I can't wait for her first "crunch."

I've been realizing lately that I am getting quite used to the idea of Abby with a whole heart. With this comes a mountain of things I find myself no longer worrying about. For this, I am so thankful to God who shouldered those burdens even when I didn't know how to lay them down.

Bring on the big girl food... :)

Mommy Works, Abby Plays

I did my first wedding job since Abby arrived few weeks ago. Grandma and Papa coming down to watch Abby while I gave it a go. Thanks, Jenny, for giving me the opportunity! Abby had lots of fun -- eating :





Going for walks with Grandma in the ergo (she's a pro!) -- and head-butting Papa :




And this is what happens when Daddy works and Abby plays!

Big Week...Big Girl

Abby seems to be changing every single day. She did two very "big girl" things this week -- and now that I'm back to reading my Baby Books, I see that most kids her age are beyond this -- but hey! those kids don't have an awesome to scar to show for all that they've been through, right? She took her first walk facing forward in the stroller instead of using her carseat, attached to the top and she rode in a shopping cart (thanks Auntie Tam for the germ-fighter!). She made friends with everyone we met, especially those that were talking on their phones since she thought they were chatting to her. :)

Reality Check

I got a great reality check today when I received some pictures that were taken 2.5 months ago.

Here is Abby last December, two months after surgery, to the day. She was still a very little peanut and we didn't take her out much. She was a bit overwhelmed at little Tate's birthday party but eventually warmed up to our friend Laura taking a few shots of her. And now, two and a half months later, our little monkey looks mammoth in comparison.

We had our cardiologist appointment on Monday and it went great. Abby has hit a new phase where she isn't really thrilled with strangers and we had a few tears from time to time as the nurses and doctors approached her. I kept thanking God that we had surgery when we did, instead of now. Originally, that was the plan - to get her to 7 or 8 months and then proceed, knowing the risks were less the older and heavier she got. It would've been much more traumatic for all of us if we would've waited, in my humble opinion. We did an echo of her heart again and the cardiologist said he can't even see where the tiny hole was that remained post surgery. He also said the stitching was very, very clean in her heart. She still has a bit of a leaky valve from when he heart was enlarged but he thinks it will go away with time. If it doesn't, he said that there is a 99% chance that there will be absolutely no problems because of it. Can you believe it?! We are so thrilled....

And now we go to sleep thinking about Abby's chubby little thighs and smiling.