Happy 5 Month Birthday!

Sweet baby girl is 5 months! How is this possible? The baby phase seriously goes by way too quickly. She is getting to be so fun these days! Giggling and smiling all the time. Her stranger anxiety is finally tapering off I think. The fact that she takes 1-2 bottles a day helps I think. She is very comfortable with her daddy now (no more panic/screaming attack if her mommy isn't holding her). And LOVES her brother. Her eyes just light up at him. She is sleeping very well (goes to bed around 8:00, wakes at 7:30, and nurses maybe once in the middle of the night). She loves her paci to sleep, and also enjoys sleeping on her side. If she rolls onto her belly she gets stuck and mad. I'm eager for her to just sleep on her stomach. But I guess she has to get better at rolling back onto her back first. She is starting to sit unassisted pretty well. She is a HUGE talker and squealer. It's going to be fun time when she's a toddler. Her and Dylan will probably be talking over each other. Anyways, her are some pics! And to compare to Dylan, check out his blog:
http://babydylanhalliday.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-5-month-birthday-dylan.html

Happy 4 Month Birthday!

Sweet baby girl is already 4 months! Her personality is definitely starting to really come out now and I love it! I can already tell she is very independent. She is a huge talker and a big squealer. Such a high pitched little happy scream, it's hilarious. She has the strongest hands and you have to watch out. She'll grab whatever she can (preferably your hand/fingers) and shove it into her mouth. She started rolling back to belly the week before she turned 4 months, this is now her favorite thing. She is a huge kicker and always squirming around. Bath time is one of her favorites. She still takes a paci, mostly to go to sleep but sometimes when she's in a chaotic atmosphere (parties, restaurants, etc.) She is a great sleeper and really enjoys her quiet, cool crib for naps. She still sleeps in the PnP in our room at nighttime. She favorite toy is the Lamaze Firefly and her teething rings. She also has a few stuffed animals (money & giraffe) she loves playing with. She sits up amazingly well, loves being in her bumbo. She developed stranger anxiety SUPER early (before 3 months actually) and would scream bloody murder if anyone but her mama held her. It's weird, almost like a panic attack, even with her daddy. I think this is slowly wearing off and she is getting a bit more comfortable with others. This is something that definitely caught me off guard since we have been so used to Dylan and his little social butterfly personality! But I'll take every extra minute I can get with her, she wont be a little baby for long!
At her 4 month apt. she weighed 12.5 lbs and she is 24 3/4" long. I can definitely tell she is going through a growth spurt because she is nursing all the time lately. She did really well getting her vaccinations and the doctor said she looks perfectly healthy!
Check out Dylan's blog at http://babydylanhalliday.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html to compare the two!

Dylan's 2nd Birthday

Just wanted to share some photos from Dylan's 2nd birthday weekend. These were taken at the Dallas Arboretum. Enjoy!

Brothers always entertain!

It is sooo much fun watching Dylan & Abbey grow together. Thus far, Dylan is a great big brother. The first couple of months he had a little bit of a rough time I think, but now he just adores her. I cant count how many kisses he gives her in a day. He also is a pretty good helper with taking care of her. Though he can't actually "change" her diaper, he is certainly eager to go get one and bring it to me. He loves going on a "paci" hunt when she is fussy and LOVES distributing toys to her. I also think Abbey just adores him. She is always watching and giggling at him. Really, she is with him almost just as much as with me. Occasionally when he gets rowdy he does make her a bit jumpy but overall they really seem to enjoy each others company.

Abbey's First Ranger Game=FAIL!

So on August 23rd we decided to take both kids to the Ranger game because Luke had free (good) tickets and they were playing against the Red Sox! Plus, who doesn't love to go to the ballgame? Well, in the TX summer heat, it should have been us. I was hesitant to go from the beginning. My intuition told me it wasn't a good idea and was going to be WAY to hot. I should have listened. BUT, our tickets included a free admission into the Cuervo Club which was air conditioned, so I figured we would be OK. Well fast forward to game day-We get to the ballpark and both kids are asleep. I put the baby bjorn on and strap sleeping Abbey to my chest (Fail #2 being abbey does not really enjoy being worn) and Luke carries Dylan asleep on his shoulder. We were excited to be at the game but man did the walk from the car to the ballpark get REALLY long with the hot texas sun beating down on us. We finally make it in! About then, both kids wake up wondering where the heck they are. All is well and we proceed to our (outside) seats. MY back is drenched in sweat but I'm hanging in there. Then we decide to go get a hot dog (it's $1 hotdog night, woot woot!) and about that time Abbey is looking a wee bit concerned but doing ok. We go back to our (outside) seats and eat our hotdogs. We should have gone straight to the Cuervo Club to check it out. Instead, Abbey starts screaming as we sit down and it all goes to hell in a handbag. We decide "maybe" it's too hot for her and we should go inside, hmmm would have been nice, but there was a HUGE line to get inside. Well luckily with a screaming baby the guys at the door let me hang out inside by the door and I was able to nurse Abbey. That was about the only time she was ok, the rest she was not happy and crying. So, we decided we better leave. AND, that was our fun time at the Ranger game, FAIL! Here's a picture before the chaos began:

Happy 3 Month Birthday Abbey!

Abbey is 3 months old! She is officially a baby (and not a newborn!) and developing such a personality. When she was first born I kept noticing her doing all the same things that Dylan did has a baby, but now she really is just one of a kind. Much different than Dylan. She is very independent, partly I think because she has to be with all the attention Dylan requires. Very good at amusing herself and putting herself to sleep/staying entertained on her own.
She has incredible hand coordination. It really is amazing watching her play with her hands (putting fingers from one hand in between fingers in the other hand). She also is really good at grabbing her feet and the toys on the bouncy seat (mostly with her feet). She is dramatic. Can be very happy and then all of a sudden very sad. She talks all the time!! She LOVES her pacifier and has just figured out how to suck on her thumb. (It's crazy too because she prefers a completely different kind of shape of pacifier than Dylan did) She loves to snuggle with her blankets/lovey and likes being tight & secure (when held, enjoys her carseat, etc.) She can get overstimulated VERY easy.
Within the last couple weeks she has developed a huge fear of strangers (even her Daddy sometimes) I didn't think this could happen so early but she freaks out/panics if someone else holds her. It's really like a panic attack. But then when her mommy takes her back, she's fine again. I want to say it's the weirdest thing, but honestly, really she knows me best and gets all her attention from me, again since Dylan is usually taking everyone elses. Funny how the dynamics work.
Anyways, she is still sleeping and eating great. Goes to bed around 8:30, wakes around 5:00am to eat and sleeps until 8:00. She is starting to take her daytime naps in her crib in her room and doing great! I'd say she's all around a healthy happy little girl.

All the pretty little things....

WOW....can a two month old really have this many bows already? *Brings a tear to my eye!
Dylan enjoying helping me make Abbeys bow holder that we'll hang on the wall in her bedroom. He seems to think the bows are for him.