It would happen to us...

Here is the quick run down:

- Josh drops me off at the front door of Wal-mart, while I run in quickly to grab a few things.
- Josh and Abby drive around the parking lot until I come out.
- I come out, and Josh pulls over to the side so I can load the few items I got.
- Josh unlocks the doors, and steps out of the car to help me put the items in the car.
- I try to open the back of the car, but it was locked (so I thought I pulled the handle too soon).
- Josh turns around to open the door to unlock it again, but he had accidently pushed LOCK when he stepped out to assist me.
- REMEMBER, Abby is still in the car!
- Everything, besides my wallet, is in the car. We don't have our cellphones, and we don't remember anyone's number.
- I am a new mommy, and I am PANICKING!!!!!!!!
- Josh quickly calms me down by reminding me the car IS running, and luckily Abby IS sleeping. Whew!
- Because it is Wal-mart, I tell Josh to go to the Automotive department.
- They offer to give him a coat hanger (Does he really look like MacGyver?!?! I think not!)
- They dial the number for a locksmith.
- Locksmith appears in 5min. or less!
- Locksmith doesn't charge us a dime!
- Whole ordeal = 25min.
Thank you Lord that everything is absolutely fine!!

Something new and exciting--Abby has rolled over from tummy to back many times now, but when placed on her back she never seems to roll around at all. I had put her down in her crib for a nap, on her back of course, and when I went in to check her, this is how I found her.

Granted it is JUST her side, but that's a big deal to me of course :-) It shows me progress! And yes she does have socks on her hands because she always scratches her face when she's sleeping, and I hate walking in her room in the morning finding a new scratch.

Daddy totally took care of her last night, cuddling with her, and loving on her. Here are a few pictures--one Josh captured, and the other one I did. So sweet!

You gotta have Faith

I'm referring to Abby's cousin, Faith :-) Josh's brother, Micheal and his wife Polly got to come for a very quick visit arriving Sunday evening and leaving Monday afternoon. This was their first time to meet Abby. Their daughter, Faith, will be 2 on October 10th, and she is SUCH a cutie! She is at the age where she repeats everything that comes out of your mouth. It's so adorable, and she just talks up a storm.

Meet Faith

Faith wanted to "pet" Abby, rock her in her bouncy seat, and assist wherever she could! She constantly said "Hey, Abby!" It really was so sweet!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I finally started putting a toy in Abby's hand, and I think she's really enjoying it. She holds her own hands quite frequently, too--so Josh had to lay beside her and imitate it...it made for a really sweet picture!

Finally, I will leave you with a video of Abby's smiles!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

U.M. Army

So I realized it has been a week since I got back from U.M. Army and I haven't posted about my experience. For those that don't know U.M. Army is a week long mission trip with our church. It is high school youth focused, but it needs adults to make it happen. This was my second year and both years I have been a work team adult, which means I am the adult (yeah right) of a team consisting of myself and 4 youth. The physical work we do during the day is home repair; things such as building wheelchair ramps and steps, repairing roofs, painting, putting up siding, etc. It is always amazing to see a project come together over a matter of days. It is even more amazing to see a project come together over a matter of days with me in charge. Getting out of the office and out of our suburban comfort zone is always eye-opening. Although the camp is centered around building, the real building is being done by God. During the week he builds each and every individual involved into stronger Christians. It is wonderful to see high school kids growing closer to God and realizing the blessings God has bestowed upon them at such young ages. Here are a few pictures from the work sites during the week:

Wheelchair ramp beginnings

Handrails for the porch and steps Wheelchair ramp completion
How many people does it take to build a wheelchair ramp?
Ms. Brown and the gang -her house got a new paint job
Are this many guns a violation of the 2nd amendment?

Also during the week there is stuff happening at the church. Every morning begins with a short worship that has singing and a morning talk. After a long day working there are different evening activities such as Color Group Olympics, Oscar Night, Client Night, capture the flag, family pictures, etc. Each night closes with a worship service. Here are some pictures of the evening activities:

My parents for the week (Hank & Nancy)An Oscar Night presentation of David vs. .....
Goliath
The Bauer Boys

True Love

Abby's already stealing the heart of our friend's son, Caleb. Generally, Caleb is rarely interested in Abby because he's far too busy checking out everything around him. (And Abby isn't much fun because she doesn't move around like all his toys and other friends do!) Sure, he'll give her the occasional glance, but on this particular night, he actually picked up Abby's hand (her arm really) and held it long enough for Kim to take a quick picture. It wasn't just all Caleb, though....Abby was staring him down, too :-)
(Sorry for all those that have already seen this picture on the Ege's blog, but I had to post it on mine, too!!)

A whole TWO months!

I can't believe two months has already come and gone for Abby. Abby was officially two months old on July 10, but she had her two month check-up today (July 17). I had my list of questions ready for the doctor, and we were trying to discuss them, but Abby had a different agenda. She was already fussing before ANYTHING had even happened. (She must have been anticipating what was to come!) Of course, I get her SO calmed down (she was practically asleep) by the time the nurse comes in with the shots. It didn't take Abby but about 2 seconds to wake up from that! As soon as I could hold her she was calming down, and she about fell asleep on the ride home.

As of today, Abby is 11 lbs. 6oz., and she's 23" long. The doctor said she's right in the 50th percentile for both, and he said she's growing like a weed. We are anxious because we discussed with the Dr. about taking Abby OFF of Nutramigen and just trying soy milk. I'm very excited to try this, so we pray it works! One other thing the Dr. mentioned was that Abby has a bit of a flat head from laying on her back. He said she needs even more tummy time (which is more difficult, read paragraph below!). After these shots today, she ate once we got home and fell asleep on my chest, so I layed her in her crib on her tummy, and she slept for an hour and 15min. ON HER TUMMY!! That's amazing for her :-)

As of two months old, Abby's biggest accomplishment is rolling from her tummy to her back. She has now done this a total of 10 times! Smiling and talking is another of her favorite past times!

Here are some pictures from her busy day :-)

Getting ready to go and looking up at daddy strapping her in.

Laying on the table before her shots...

Being comforted by mommy!

Have a look at my band aides And my cute side profile :-)

Louisiana Friends

This past week Abby and I spent our time in Bossier City, LA. Josh was on a mission trip with church called U.M. Army. He went off to Orange, Texas, and Abby and I decided we didn't want to stay here all by ourselves for a whole week. Of course, Nana and Pop were thrilled to have us come stay, and we had such a fantastic time. This was Abby's first 4 hour car trip. The ride to Louisiana was great because Abby was in desperate need of a nap. She slept for about 3 1/2 hours, and we had to entertain her a small bit at the end. The ride back to Texas was equally as great.

Abby was quite the social butterfly while we were in Bossier, and she met SO many new friends. She's a very loved little girl. Here are pictures of Abby with many of her new friends

Abby with Ms. Lisa and Ms. Denise. (Ladies my mom works with)

Meeting "honorary Aunt Ashley"Here is Abby with Mrs. Valerie....Mrs. Valerie along with her daughter (and my most wonderful friend!) Michelle, threw us a baby shower at Mrs. Valerie's house. Abby also got to meet Mimi and Paw-paw (Michelle's grandparents)...we just didn't get a picture of them holding her. But Abby really enjoyed visiting with them (she happend to be out like a light as a matter of fact!)This week, Abby and I were also able to hang out with Josh's family. She met Aunt Helen, Aunt Becky, Becky's daughter Amanda, Amanda's kids Cale and Eli, and Amanda's cousin Nicole. We had a wonderful visit, but all the pictures are on my mother-in-laws camera...so I'll post those once they're sent my way!

For anyone that truly knows my mom, you will know that MANY, MANY pictures were taken throughout the week. So I will leave you with some of my favorites! (The term "some" in my case really means 15 pictures! I had a hard time choosing!)

Abby and PopThe girls at my mom's work Her new (super cute, might I add) pink and brown dress! Holding her paciferLaughing at Pop!The "Pondering" look... Her bright, flowered dressLooking off in the distance and smiling at her imaginery friendOn the "phone" to her daddy (she was missing him at U.M. Army)Mommy and AbbyIn an earlier post, I mentioned my new shorts...way cute, right?!?! :-)Abby's cute little faceAbby's new thing in her car seatOf course, what would a blog be without pictures of Sandy, too?!?! These are pictures of Sandy looking out the window on the car ride. The second is Sandy staring me down in the car. She wanted to get in my lap, but I made her stay in the front seat by Pop! (Pop needed his little co-pilot!)

Kindergarten Friends!

That's right...ever since the good 'ol days of kindergarten, my friend Alyson and I have been best of friends. Alyson was even my maid of honor in my wedding. Aly wanted to come meet and visit my sweet Abby (since Aly is an honorary aunt, of course!). Aly came to our house on Thursday, July 5th and left on Saturday, July 7th. We had a really great visit. We did one of the most important things that girls do--we SHOPPED :-) Abby was a fantastic shopper, too...she slept the entire time! I must say, Aly and I both purchased some super cute shorts (a picture of these shorts will be posted soon!)

I was terrible about taking pictures during Aly's visit. All the pictures I have are from Aly. It really was awful that Aly and I got NO pictures of us together. But of course, we captured some cute ones of Aly and Abby and then many of Abby all by herself. Have a look...

My little cheerleader!!