4 Month Adventures... and Halloween

Well, Abigail is now 4 months old, as of Oct. 20th. At her 4 month pediatricians appointment, she weighed in at 13 lbs. 3 oz. and was 24.5 inches long.

This month has been lots of fun as Abigail has more of a personality developing.  She smiles lots and lots, especially at mommy and daddy.  She has not quite figured out how to laugh, but when we tickle her or give her raspberries on her tummy, she will grin really big and let out a loud AHHH. Speaking of raspberries, that is Abigail's newest trick.  She also LOVES to babble and squeal.  She is really discovering her voice.  One of her favorite times to talk is when she wakes up in the middle of the night.  It is so darn cute to hear her talking to herself in her crib.  She is sleeping really well.  She usually goes to bed around 7:30 or 8:00 PM and doesn't wake up until 4-6:00 AM, then goes back to bed and wakes up for the day at 7:30.

We have had some fun adventures too.  We still go on walks frequently with our friends, but as it gets colder we either go later in the day, or have to forgo the walk all together.

We also took a Fall drive up in the canyon.  The leaves were beautiful.  Abigail was asleep the whole time, but it was still a fun little family outing.

Abigail and mommy have also had a few outings with friends.  We went to the Church History Museum, where they have a special kids section (only until January though).  Abigail had fun looking around and watching the other kids play, and Alison had fun visiting with friends.

On another occasion, we went to Gardener Village to see the Witches and other Halloween decorations.  Abigail loved riding in the carrier and being able to see everything.

For Halloween the Harris' love to wear coordinating costumes (Our first Halloween while dating Alison was a butterfly and Steve a butterfly catcher; next Halloween Steve was a dog and Alison a dog trainer; and last Halloween, Alison was a cat and Steve was a scratching post).  This year we were Lions, and Tigers, and Bears ("Oh my!").

We are excited for many more adventures to come with our wonderful Abigail Mae!

3 Months

Abigail turned 3 months old on Sept. 20th.  My how the time flies.  She is growing up fast.  She is already 23.5 inches long and can no longer fit in 0-3 month sleepers.  We got some cute family and 3 month pictures taken to document another month in her development.

This one was Steve's idea :) 

Look I am sitting up! (Well, mom is helping a little in back)

In addition to being blessed this month and attending the Brigham City Temple open house (see previous blog), Abigail experienced her first BYU-Utah Rivalry game (well sort of).  Steve and I were decked out in our blue and red, and of course our "purple baby" was in purple. (Not the greatest resolution for the pic)

The game started late, but we tried to go to our neighborhood big screen showing.  Abigail lasted about 30 minutes before spitting up everywhere!  I brought her home and got her to bed.  Steve stayed til half time, but then decided to come home so we could all get to bed.

Abigail is becoming much more alert and aware of her surroundings.  She loves going on walks and looking around at the world.  We try to go on a walk every morning with our friends Sara and Chase (Chase is 1 1/2 weeks older than Abigail).  She usually rides forward facing in her stroller now like a big girl.  When she is not, she often tries to sit up in her carrier.

She is still batting at objects and loves to hit the sun on her play gym to make music play.  In addition to batting at objects, she is grasping toys (usually if they are placed right by her hands, but some times she will reach out toward them). She is even trying to help hold the bottle.

She has also discovered her hands!!! She loves sucking on them.  I think she is bound and determined to fit her whole fist in her mouth.

Abigail is tolerating tummy time a little better, though she still doesn't love it.  She is not rolling over yet, but she is sure trying to move.

We love our little girl and love watching her grow and reach new milestones.  We are glad to share some of her progress with you.

Last but not least, here are a few Bloopers:

 Trying to take a pic of her slippers

Crazy hair 

The face she makes when we make funny noises (such as Steve's Chewbacca growl) 

Breakdown at photo shoot

Baby Blessing and Brigham City Temple

Abigail Mae Harris was given a name and a blessing on September 2, 2012.  She surprised us Saturday night by sleeping from 9 PM to 5 AM!  So we were all pretty well rested when we woke up for church.  Abigail cooperated very well during the blessing (something I think every mother and father worries about when their child is the center of attention in church).  Steve gave a wonderful blessing with many special promises including health and strength, the ability to face the challenges in this life, a desire to learn the gospel, a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation in order to keep the commandments and live righteously, choosing a husband with similar desires and entering the temple to be sealed, and being an example to siblings and others.

Abigail looked beautiful in her dress.

We were so happy to celebrated this occasion as our little family. And we even had matching outfits :)

We were grateful for all the family and friends who were able to make it too.

It was such a special day and one that we will always remember and cherish.

On September 10, 2012 Alison and Abigail went to the Brigham City Temple Open House with their friends Valerie, Mike, and Dallin Hatch (Steve had to work late, so he wasn't able to come).  Heavenly Father definitely had a hand in making everything ideal for the best experience possible.  Abigail ate and napped when she needed to in order to be awake, alert, and happy as they walked through the temple.  Though she is too young to remember this experience, we hope she was able to feel the special spirit of the temple and that it reminded her of being in the presence of God not too long ago.

On a side note, Alison broke down and got the new mom hair cut.

Sleepover, sickness, shots, and sewing

Since last time, we had our first family overnighter.  We traveled to Logan to attend a sealing and reception of some great friends--Jen and Mike Teagle.  In route we were able to stop by and introduce Abigail to Great-Grandma and Grandpa  Lord.

We had a few mishaps during the trip: the road to the hotel being closed, not being able to check in right away, rushing to feed Abigail before rushing to the temple, spitting up on the hotel bed skirt, and having 6 hours to try and fill between checkout and the reception (Abigail definitely got tired of being in the car).

But all in all it was a great trip and Abigail did wonderfully well sleeping in an unfamiliar place.  She also was able to have her first official Daddy-Daughter dance.

The cold also hit our household this month.  It started with Steve, then Abigail, then Alison.  We are happy to report that we are all feeling better now.  Unfortunately Abigail's 2 month immunizations fell during the same week we were sick, which made the shots even worse.  The night following her shots she would wake up moaning and whimpering.  I don't know which is worse, the pain cry after the shots or the sick cry that night.  Within a couple days Abigail was back to her old self.

Alison decided to be crafty with some sewing projects.  She saw a pattern for "circle skirts" and decided to make a pink one to go with a hat and booties (from Grandma Harris) for Abigail's 2 month pictures.

 She then made matching skirts for her and Abigail.  Then she got really crazy and added head bands and even a tie for Steve.  They will all be debuted at Abigail's blessing this Sunday.

Look what I can do!

This blog post is going to be dedicated to displaying all of the exciting things that Abigail is doing so far in her 6 weeks of life.  Starting at week 3, we began giving her one bottle of pumped milk each day.  Daddy loves his time feeding Abigail.

She has done so great taking bottles, which has allowed us to go on a couple of dates outside the home.  For Steve's birthday we went to see The Amazing Spiderman while Alison's mom watched Abigail.  Then on July 20th Steve's parents watched her while we went to Wicked.  We were also able to go on a date to the temple to do sealings.

Abigail is developing motor skills as well.  She is starting to bat at things (though at this point her batting is somewhat random and unintentional, but you have to start somewhere, right?)

Abigail can do a few minutes of tummy time, which we try to do each day.  She is able to lift her head for a little bit while on her tummy.

Abigail is also starting to smile intentionally and we are looking forward to seeing many more smiles to come.  Here is her first smile caught on camera.  Don't worry though, her loyalty is not decided yet.

On the sleeping front, Abigail has had nights where she has slept 5, 6, and even one night of 7 hours between feedings.  Of course she still has the nights where she is up every 3 hours to eat too.

We are so grateful for a fun, happy, healthy, growing girl.  We love her and feel so blessed to have her in our family.  Life is definitely different, but we wouldn't change it for the world.

For one month pictures of Abigail, you can follow this link:
http://www.SearsPhotos.com/ViewSharedAlbum.aspx?ShareID=87286e33-8a77-4893-9638-937c5f3cf623