Apples!!

APPLES APPLES APPLES!

I couldn't resist posting these pictures. I think its safe to assume that our first meeting with apples was not the best. We will give it a try again tomorrow and see if we do any better.

"What was that"

"I really don't think I like it"

"Mom why am I getting more of this?"

"Seriously, why am I having to eat more?"

"I really don't like these"

"BLAH" (Love this picture! May go into the "mommy's embarrassing pictures box")

"Oh no, really no more"

"Daddy, I said I didn't like these!"

"HA! I'll show you Dad! I can spit it back out with the best of them!"

GO TERPS!

Abby experienced her first TERPS game on Mommy and Daddy's Anniversary!

Mom and Dad went to the game and Abby hung out with Gramma and Grandpa.

Where has the time gone!?!

It has been a while since I last updated so you will see we have several posts this week! We have been busy, what can I say!

I believe we are weighing in around 13 lbs 6 oz. Every time we "chunk" up a little, she has a growth spurt and slims down in the middle again. So she is tall enough for some of her 6 month stuff but she does a bit of swimming around the middle.

Abby had her first photo session and for the most part she did very well. Lots of eating her dress instead of posing for the camera! But we did get a few great shots.

Mom and Dad took a few days off from work and we headed out to the beach to visit with Matt's parents. Abby got to meet several more dogs, which she LOVED. She is really going to be a dog lover. She is mesmerized by them and loves to reach out and pet them.

Abby got to take her first trip to the boardwalk in OC. It was a hot one but Abby stayed awake the entire time and people watched. Abby also got to take a ride on Grandpa Paul's boat. She's not such a huge fan of the life jacket and usually fusses until she falls asleep then its smooth sailing.

Abby is ready for the fall and winter and all the Holiday's that it will bring. We have several Halloween outfits, a Turkey day outfit and of course several Christmas options! Let the fun begin!!

It is amazing how many milestones we are reaching these days. Its hard to believe how fast 6 months has come and gone. Abby has mastered sitting up unassisted and she really has been doing that since about 4.5 - 5 months. Tho she is not crawling per say we are calling it the inch worm. She can get from one location to another without any problems other than it takes forever. She will roll from side to side and push off to inch herself along. Its really fun to watch.

We learned a new "trick" today, which really scares mom! Abby has learned that she can reach out and grab the side of her pack n' play and pull herself to a standing position! She's not even 6 months old yet! SOOOOO.....this means its time to lower the pack n' play for sure!

I have also noticed lately that she is spending more time getting up on her hands and knees and just sitting there without moving. My guess is one day she is just going to take off! Its so scary! The baby proofing will commence soon.

Abby is still LOVING sweet potatoes. It is a battle to get them to her fast enough. If you aren't moving fast enough she will reach out and grab the spoon and stuff it in her mouth for you. She's a hungry girl!

Mom hasn't had a chance to make Apples yet, but I did pick up a sample at the store to compare my final product. Hopefully it goes as well as sweet potato making did!

Abby's personality really is starting to come out. She has also mastered the art of getting exactly what she wants! She will let you know when you are not paying enough attention to her and as soon as you get there she is all smiles and giggles.

Matt and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on Labor Day. We were able to go and enjoy part of the MD football game.....in the rain but we got a W so that's awesome! Matt and I are realizing that it may be just a bit tooo difficult to take abby to football games. I'm sure we will give it the old College try a time or two but we may quickly learn our lesson.

I seem to have been forgetting my camera lately so I feel like I don't have many pictures. But here are quite a few "random" cell phone shots!

Our FIRST trip to the boardwalk!

Oh Captain, my captain! Abby loves a good boat ride!

Jenny Jump Up! Abby's new favorite past time!

Everyone loves the quiet moments!

Someone can be such a ham!

So Cute!!

Missed this one from the last post. Mom isn't such a fan of the

thought of Abby on a motorcycle!

Ms. Abigail prefers to feed herself these days

All ready to go in my party dress!

Play time in Gramma's office!

Dancing with Daddy at the party!

I'm not sure who loves who more!

While at the beach we discovered that Abby really does love ALL dogs and she was happy to share her pack n play briefly with Grandma's dog Killer.

Little Miss Independent......

Abby has become quite the independent little lady as of late. She is really beginning to develop her own personality and tell everyone how things are supposed to go!

It was an adventure of a week.

We began by having an Earthquake. No significant issues other than gramma's nerves! Gramma was quite shaken up but she grabbed Abby and her phone and made it outside! Good job Gramma!

Next, we braced for Hurricane Irene. I am convinced that because we all made plans for power outages and backup food, Irene was a bust! However, I'd rather have a bust than be out of power for a week! Hopefully all of our followers have survived with minimal damage and get their power back soon if they lost it.

Abby is moving up into some bigger size clothes. Her 3 month PJ's are a little snug so we are moving to the 6 month. Its so funny how different clothing lines sizes can vary soooo much. Mom's excited to break out the next batch of clothes so we did some rearranging this weekend to have our 6 month stock all set up and ready to go.

I also got out a lot of our 6 mo+ toys. Abby is really starting to enjoy playing with toys on her own. Since she is sitting so well she will sit and play for a good long while. It helps to tire her out in the evenings too!

We are soooo close on the crawling. She can get up on all 4's with a little effort and looks around like hmm....what can i do from here. Mom is bracing for the quick baby proofing that will have to occur as soon as she's on the move.

SWEET POTATOES!!!

Abigail LOVES sweet potatoes! I started with a jar of organic baby food sweet potatoes to see if she would like them and to give me an idea of consistency. She loved them so I decided I'd make a batch of my own. I think I did pretty well if I do say so myself! It was relatively easy so I think I'll try my luck and work on Apples next. They may be a bit harder but we'll see.

Abby has been sleeping for longer stretches lately. Cross our fingers that this continues! It might be because mom and dad have "spiked" her last bottle of the evening with a bit of rice cereal to help fill us up!

We have our first "professional" photo appointment on Thursday. Hopefully Abby will be all smiles and giggles! Speaking of photos, I finally had a bunch of pictures printed up and got some of the frames for them. I think I have a good batch of Christmas presents going already! Its so hard to choose when there are so many pictures you love! Dad has his work cut out for him hanging all of these new frames.

Football starts next monday so dad spent the weekend making a carrier for the back of the car since we will now have tooooo much stuff to fit it all inside. Dad was extremely pleased with himself as he learned how to weld. Good job Dad!!

Up next: Apples....stay tuned!

Abby rocking her first pair of jeans!

More bathtime. You will see why below!

Sweet Potatoes!! YUMMMMMY

Abby loves to help feed herself.

Finger licking good!

Daddy learning to weld!

Abby ready for the Hurricane!

Abby had her first "ride" on the Motorcycle.....it didn't go anywhere! :-)

23 Weeks!

Our latest trick this week has been demanding to hold our own bottle. She has on occasion held her own bottle but this week it is a must and Abby will get mad at you if you try to help her. She still needs a bit of assistance in holding the bottle high enough for the milk to come out but boy has her independence really come out this week.

Earlier this week Abby got to spend some time with Grandma Mauriello who came to babysit on Monday. Abby was fantastic that day. On Tuesday Aunt Chelsea came to watch Abby and well Abby wasn't such a good girl. It was a fussy day to say the least.

This past week we ventured into the world of Bananas. I can't say that Abby loved them. I think it was a mild dislike. Up next: Sweet Potatoes. Stay tuned!

Abigail has grown a significant amount this week. We are weighing in right around 13 lbs. Every time I pick her up she feels just a bit more heavy to me, which is a great thing! That carseat / baby combo is getting quite heavy.

Uncle Kris visited from NY this weekend with his friend Lisa so Abby got to meet some more new people. Abby loves new people, they keep her entertained AND she gets to throw her nap schedule out the window for play time. Not so great for mom and dad but she LOVES it!

Football season is quickly approaching which means mom and dad have to get ready for tailgating! Dad is convinced that Abby is going to LOVE tailgating and we are going to have a fantastic time. Mom is slightly less convinced. I think it will be an adventure but mom has decided that she and Abby will be skipping the really late games for an early bedtime! :-)

We have had a slight regression in our crib sleeping. We did great for a week or two and now we are back to sleeping in our crib for 3-5 hours and then we are up and want mom and dad. So she spends half the night in her crib and the other half in our bed. It is amazing how much space a 13 lb baby can command in a king size bed. Mom feel like sometimes she should just sleep on the floor!

We will have our 6 month check up in September so we will see how big and tall we have gotten then. Hopefully we will make a leap up on the growth charts! Abby is still in 3 month clothes and we are thinking by winter she may make it to 6 month. She is starting get too tall for some of her pajamas but certainly not to chubby!

Here are a few pictures from the week. Enjoy! :-)

Bathtime! Loving my new toys!!

Mom decided its time to move up to the high chair for feeding time.

Abby is not so sure she agrees.

Abby playing in one of her many toys with Aunt Laura

Abby and Uncle Rob.

Growing Growing Growing

Well we are quickly approaching our 5 month birthday! Mom has been holding out a bit on introducing more food until we are at least 5 months old. So what should our first food (other than rice cereal) be?? We have a few choices in the fruits and veggies category.

Fruits: Apples, Avacado, Bananas, Pears

Veggies: Sweet Potatoes, Acorn/Butternut Squash, Green Beans.

I think we are going to try the veggies first so we can teach her to eat her veggies! haha I really don't think this will have one bit of influence but we will see. I think we may start with some sweet potatoes and then maybe some avacado. I've decided I AM going to make my own baby food. I'm thinking this weekend we will do a little testing to see how things go. Cross your fingers!

Abigail weighs right around 12 lbs. 5 oz. now. Its amazing how big she has gotten from when we first brought her home until now. We took out her newborn car seat insert the other day. She's just such the big girl now!

Abby has been doing a FANTASTIC job sleeping in her bed. Her grandpa and Uncle Ricky installed the new AC and let's just say mom and dad are freeeeeezing now. But it makes sleeping much more comfortable. In fact last night Abby slept in her bed from about 9:30 -4:30! Then from 5 - 7 when daddy had to wake her up. WOHOOOOOO. While you would think that mom then got great sleep too, sadly this isn't the case as I kept waking up worrying about her and making the occasional trip to make sure she was okay. Eventually, I think this will get easier, at least I hope so.

I have the sneaking suspicion that Abigail Elizabeth Mauriello is developing a slight case of separation anxiety. She does fine with Gramma as she spends a good chunk of her time with Gramma. The other day Aunt Rennee was watching her for a bit and she did okay at first but then got quite a bit upset but then as soon as Daddy arrived all was right with the world. Daddy was very pleased with himself!

This little girl would be on the move if her head wasn't just a bit tooo big for the rest of her body. She is rolling over like a pro. She is sitting up quite a bit without support. She has her moments where she loses her balance but a lot of the time she is able to correct and keep herself from falling over. Her new thing at Gramma's is to sit in her pack n play and play with her toys. Reaching for things and keeping herself entertained.

We took a trip to the lake this past weekend. Abby does very well with changes to her normal routine. She enjoys seeing all the new things and meeting new people.

Abby and mommy are going to get to spend a few days together while Gramma goes on her biker trip with Grandpa and Aunt Terri and Uncle Barry. We hope they come back safe and in one piece! Mommy is excited to see what fun she and Abby can get into!

Here are a few pictures from the week.

Abby & Mommy. This is Abby's new favorite spot to sleep.

Abby is really enjoying sitting up and playing with toys

She can't quite push it enough to get it to spin but she gives it her best shot!

Abby LOVES daddy's face. Any time she can get close enough she is reaching for it and trying to put his nose in her mouth! Its quite entertaining.

Daddy's Girl.

She is the toy queen these days.

Abby enjoyed her wind blown hair look from the boat.

I think she also enjoyed the freedom of not having to wear all her clothes on the boat!

She is beginning to develop an attachment to her toys. Mommy used to have a glow worm that was her absolute FAVORITE toy. Abby now has one too!

Playing!