Seven Months!

If I could freeze time and keep Abigail at this age just a little longer, I would do it!  She just turned seven months old today and this is by far my favorite stage.  She is perfectly content to sit in my lap or on a blanket and look around or play with a little book.  I know it's only a matter of time before she realizes that she has places to go!  

Every morning, I grab a book and a few toys and as I sip my coffee, Abigail sits in my lap entertaining herself.  It is by far my favorite part of the day and I know before long she is going to want to get down and chase Miller!  I'm hoping I have a few more months to enjoy this sweet morning time with her before she is completely mobile. 

Sweet baby girl!

Things Abigail is doing at 7 months: 

* getting up on into quadruped and rocking
* combat crawling and pulling herself around the house
* sitting in her chair at the table like a big girl
* eating lots of veggies
* starting to try to talk.  So far " ba ba ba"
* learning to use a sippy cup 

Happy 7 months sweet girl!

A little Summer Picnic

With every passing year, I come to love the Fall more and more!  Pumpkin spice lattes, boots, and harvest candles are a few of my favorite things!  But I have really enjoyed this summer with our little one.  We were able to take a few beach trips this year, but some of my favorite moments have also been random days at the pool and small weekend adventures.  

We took a quick trip out to Arrington Vineyard this weekend with the Baileys and had a fun little picnic!  I'm trying to take advantage of this age with Abigail because right now she just sits quietly on a blanket.  I am aware this will not last much longer...

I am so happy Abigail will get to play with the Bailey girls now that they live here because they are so sweet!  Anya really liked getting her picture taken.  She would say " take my picture" and then gaze away from the camera.  Love!

Brian and Aimee actually introduced Mike and I so we are forever grateful to them! One of our fist trips as a couple was to visit Brian and Aimee in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Aimee was pregnant with Eden at the time and it's crazy to believe this little girl started Kindergarden this year.  Check out her beautiful curls!!

With Fall on the way, I am looking forward to spending more time outdoors and enjoying the beauty of Middle Tennessee!  Hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer too!

" A picture is worth a thousand words"

We moved into our first home two years ago. I knew I didn't want to quickly buy art just to have something on the walls so I took my time deciding what would fit our room best.  This month, I finally decided it was time to decorate the wall in our family room!  I am a very sentimental person, so I decided to piece together photos for a "wall collage" of our favorite memories. It turned out to be such a fun project for me and was kind of like taking a trip down memory lane! 

I collected pictures that are special to me that probably wouldn't mean much to most people.  In fact, the quality in a few of the photos is pretty poor, but oh the memory!  If you are like me, then certain pictures are framed in your heart and mind forever.  A picture that can take you back to a special day or a specific emotion are priceless.  I chose a few from my childhood that captured moments I will forever hold on to.  Here are two of my favorites. 

In this first one, my dad is playing with me at the park.  I don't have very many pictures of my dad and I at this age and I love how happy I am in my daddy's arms.  

This next picture is so precious to me.  I remember seeing it years ago as Dee Dee and I looked through old boxes of pictures.  I sat and stared at this one for a while because it brought back so many memories of joy for me.  There were a lot of hard times when I was this age, but Dee Dee made sure there were times I could just be a child.  She took me to throw the frisbee and blow bubbles as often as she could!

It's funny how it all started out as my little "project"!  But before long, Mike was pretty excited about our wall!  We sat up one night thumbing through old albums and I loved watching his eyes light up as he remembered his childhood in Bogota.  Here is my favorite that we found of Mike and his father.  I love the sweet smile on Mike's face as he smells the flowers and the way his father is beaming with JOY over his son! 

I also included a few photos from places we've traveled together that mean so much to us.  In this picture, Mike is standing in the main plaza of Villa de Leyva, Colombia. This quaint little town is special to Mike because he spent many years vacationing there with his family.   A few years ago, Mike took me to visit Villa de Leyva while we were in South America.  I love this little plaza because during the day it is filled with laughter as children eat ice cream and play soccer.  Families fly kites and sit on the steps without a care in the world.  At night, the scene takes on a more romantic ambiance as couples sit under verandas sipping their wine and listening to Colombian music.  Such a beautiful little town!

These last two pictures are probably my favorites on the wall!  My grandmother is one of the most special ladies in my life and as I planned our wedding a few years ago, I sat with my grandmother Shirley looking through boxes of her old hats.  She told me stories of all the hats she owned and we searched til we found the perfect one for my wedding day. With a little bit of dye and new russian veiling, my grandmother's old hat became a treasure to me!  Here is a picture of Dee Dee putting it on for me.  

I didn't realize that my grandmother had a similar picture from her wedding day until this year when I looked through an album at her house.  When I saw it, I knew immediately that it had to go on my wall!  This is my sweet great grandmother Mildred putting my grandmother's wedding hat on.  Priceless! 

So needless to say, I am really happy with how our wall collage turned out! I collected all the frames from Goodwill so I could get a good eclectic mix of shapes, colors, and styles.  I also included a few random pieces or art and sketches to mix it up a bit.  A good friend recommended that I cut out shapes of the frames and tape them up for a few days so I could try out the new look before I made my collage permanent.  Excellent advice since I moved them around each day for a week before making up my mind!! Miller, our golden retriever, of course was involved in each step of the process...    

Here is how it turned out!  Each picture has a sweet story behind it and now I am reminded of all the joy and provision the Lord has extended to our family throughout the years.  I hope I continue to stop and thank God for all the blessings in my life each day as I walk by my wall of pictures. 

Six Months Old!

Check out my little sweet pea sitting up all by herself!  Abigail Elizabeth is 6 months old today and I feel like so much has changed in just a few short weeks.  She started sitting up about 2 weeks ago and she seems so happy to be able to reach and play while she is sitting now.

Things that Miss Abigail is doing at 6 months old: 


* Sitting up on her own
* She has learned to fake cough and fake cry... oh my!
* She has tried sweet potatoes
* She cut her first 2 teeth!  
* She turns to watch Mike every time he walks in the room or she hears his voice...so adorable! 


One thing that hasn't changed is that this girl loves to sleep!  She naps 2 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon, and then sleeps 11 hours at night!  I wake up every morning to the sound of her cooing and laughing to herself.  This is the sweet smile that greets me!

But don't let those sweet blue eyes fool you!  She can also give 
you the stink eye!  This is the look I get on Sunday mornings when I have to wake her up early to head to church.  Not so happy...






We were able to get a few pictures of Abigail trying sweet potatoes for the first time!  She seemed to really like them and didn't make silly faces.  































First night of sweet potatoes was a success!  However, her second taste of sweet potatoes involved a wrinkled nose and a few shivers...

My little girl keeps changing!!

I am amazed at how much babies change each week.  I am trying to take as many pictures of my sweet girl as I possibly can so that I can capture each phase she goes through.  If she only knew about her hair...


Abigail was born with a head FULL of hair!  She was rockin the "old man" hair do for a few months!  Check this out!

I tried to help her out as much as I could with pretty bows.  Most of the time she tolerated me pretty well, but occasionally she would give me looks like this when I would put a bow on her head!

Around four to five months, her original hair finally started to fall out.  But just on top, which means her hair was still pretty thick on the sides and in the back.  She was rocking the baby mullet there for a while!  

Now she is growing new hair and it's much lighter!  She still has her curly little "wings" on the side! So cute!  

Here is a picture of her handsome daddy with his blonde curls!  Yeah...she might favor him a bit!

Yea...she favors her daddy alright!

5 Months Old!

Oh the adventures I have taking Abigail's picture!  She is five months old now which means she does NOT sit still in the chair for me anymore! A few birds had her attention outside the window when I took this first picture, but then she figured out she could rock the chair...

I had great intentions of getting a few pictures where she looked up at me and I could see her 5 month sticker, but instead I laughed with her til I was in tears and decided this was more of a blog of " bloopers"!  So if you haven't laughed much today, here is your chance!

Next, I tried to prop her by the ottoman and stabilize her trunk with my feet.  Yeah right! 

So then I thought I would get a little smarter.  I'll just put her in the Bumbo where I can still see her 5 month sticker and hopefully get her to look up at me.  Check out this face...

Right after this, she tried to climb over the side of the Bumbo and get in the floor.   So that's where we ended up!  

Here is what Abigail is doing at 5 months: 

* Insists that she sleep on her stomach which makes for very paranoid parents 

* She doesn't like to recline in her bathtub anymore but thinks it's more fun to sit up and try to stick her hands in the water and splash!

*  She is eating a little rice cereal and getting ready for vegetables soon!

*  Her favorite thing to do is pull my hair and stick her hands in my mouth...true story. 

*  She laughs when you kiss her belly 

*  When she is really excited she smiles and her whole body shakes...cutest thing EVER

*  She finally noticed our dogs and sticks her hands out so they can lick her

*  Her hair FINALLY started to fall out

*  AND She still has the most beautiful blue eyes - like her Daddy!

  

5 Months!

First Father's Day

Sweet Abigail Elizabeth, 

You are too little right now to know what an incredible father you have so I'm going to write this down and save these pictures so you'll see it for yourself one day!  You are so loved little girl and you can see it in your daddy's eyes.  

When we brought you home from the hospital, your daddy jumped right in to help!  He changed the smelliest diapers and swaddled you better than anyone!  He fed you late at night and listened while you slept to make sure you were breathing okay.  He swaddled and rocked and walked you til you were happy as could be! 

And when it's time for your bath, he helps make sure you don't get too cold and that you aren't scared.  

And when you see things for the first time, he holds you close and lets you explore!  

His eyes light up when he talks to you!  He likes to read to you with silly voices that make you laugh and at night when you are asleep, he tells me he wants to go wake you up so he can give you one more kiss.  

Yes, your daddy absolutely adores you and he will tell anyone who stops to listen how awesome his baby girl is!  

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing husband and partner I could hope for!  Thank you for all that you do for our family.  We love you bunches Mike Harder!