Pumpkin- the finished product!

Well, we finally finished our pumpkin yesterday!  Both Leif and I carved it while Abby napped. :)  Abby was completely worn out from our first trip to the playground!  We went to Robbins Farm Park in Arlington.  We took Abby down the slide (she sat on my lap once and on Leif's lap once)- she enjoyed that just fine but she really really enjoyed the swing.  We put Abby in the swing and gave it a good push and boy did that girl laugh!  She was grinning from ear to ear and probably could have spent the entire day on that swing.  :)  We walked the park quickly as well- it has amazing views of Boston from its hilly terrain.  It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon in the park.  :)  The image of Abby laughing in the swing has haunted me all day and makes me feel oh so happy. :)

Here are some pics and video from yesterday:
Abby Swinging
Abby Swinging 2

and the PUMPKIN!

Pumpkin Carving!

Well it turns out that pumpkin carving is a two day experience when you work long hours and don't spend too much time at home... ;)  Last night we opened the pumpkin up and cleaned it out.  We also let Abby play with the innards and put her right in it.  She liked playing with the pulp and laughed about it.  She liked being in the pumpkin too but felt that the flesh was a bit cold on her skin.  :)  Tonight we'll carve the pumpkin and will add pictures of the finished work. :)  Here are a couple pictures and a video from our pumpkin adventure last night.

Abby's First Pumpkin

We ended the evening all curled up in bed reading "When You're Not Looking".  It was a wonderful, cozy, and loving evening.  :)

Here are some more videos from our adventures too!

Abby in her new jumperoo
Pumpkin Catapulting 1
Pumpkin Catapulting 2
Abby eating squash!
Abby playing in the sink in Maine

CARROTS!

Abby tried carrots for the first time last night and liked them! :)  They were much denser than the other solids that she's tried so she couldn't eat as much but she reached for the spoon a couple of times and seemed to really enjoy them.  Tonight Leif and I are hoping to carve our pumpkin and can't wait to see Abby's reaction to putting her fingers in the mucky pumpkin guts (yeah, we are a messy family... hehe)  :)  

Pumpkin Catapulting, Hayrides, Crisp Leaves... FALL IS HERE!

We had a very New England fall weekend.  It was perfect.  On Saturday Leif and I took Abby to Boston Hill Farm in North Andover.  They had a wonderful live band playing, bright pumpkins stacked in front of their store, and a catered BBQ lunch off to the side.  We took Abby on her first hayride.  The hayride went around the farm, through the pumpkin patches and apple orchards.  Abby just loved it- she was so excited. The farm had a wonderful petting zoo that we visited as well- Abby enjoyed looking at the goats, sheep, chicken, and baby bunnies (oh were the baby bunnies cute!)  Abby most enjoyed watching the other children around her though.  She is such a social butterfly.  Leif and I enjoyed some BBQ before heading back to McCue's farmstand by our apartment to pick out the perfect pumpkin to carve.  We'll be carving it this week. :)

On Sunday we went to the Pumpkin Catapulting event at Amesbury Sports Park.  They could catapult those pumpkins so far in to the bright blue sky!  Abby enjoyed staring up in to the sunshine and clouds.  My mom and dad and Mandy and Matt joined us at the catapulting event and all really enjoyed the afternoon.  They had a great live band playing and Mandy even treated Abby and I to Abby's first train ride around the soccer field.  Abby loved it.  Abby was dressed to the nines for her pumpkin afternoon and got many words of praise over her cute ensemble. :)  After pumpkin catapulting, we headed to Park Lunch in Newburyport and met up with Leif's mom for a nice meal of fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried clams and french fries (yeah...  they have EXCELLENT fried food...) ;)  Abby sat on Carol's lap for the whole meal and was just as happy as could be.  Everyone stopped to talk to her- she certainly is not shy either- she smiled at each visitor. :)  After Park Lunch, we headed home to make halloween cards.  We made white footprints on black card stock to make little ghosts.  Abby was pleased with the crafting and allowed me to paint on her feet without any grief. :)

Here are some pictures from the weekend :)  Sending love to all!!!! :)

And finally... THE BEAR OUTFIT!

Here are the pics of Abby's adorable bear outfit.  I am smitten.  :)

In recent Abby news- the girl likes squash!  :)  Leif and I tried squash with her this week- Grammy made a special batch just for Abby.  The first day of it went well- she didn't protest too much and never gagged.  Last night we gave her some more and she was smacking her lips and reaching for the spoon! :)

Abby is able to pull herself up on to her knees and hands- she is so so so close to crawling!  The other night she woke up around midnight and I watched her on the baby monitor- she made about five laps of her crib by scooting around.  She'll be completely mobile before we know (and we'll be baby proofing like champs...)  ;) :)  She is definitely more skilled at traveling backyards than forewords but I have witnessed her scoot herself to the front of her crib moving foreword as well.  She is still so full of energy (and we love that).

We'll be pumpkin carving this weekend so we'll have a host of fall pictures to upload after the weekend. We have so much video footage too!  :)

Sending love to all and wishing everyone a very happy weekend! :)

Abby's School Portrait!

Here is one of the pics from her photo shoot! :)  Sorry it's taken so long- we've been so busy lately! :)  I still have massive amounts of pictures to mail out to family- school portraits and baptism pics- so keep an eye out for them! :)  We should be mailing them out next week :)

Love to all! :)

Prayer Request

We Dugans have just returned from a wonderful long weekend in Maine.  We didn't take many photos but I have tons of video footage to upload and share with you all- it was a perfect New England weekend. :)  This morning though, I'm asking for your prayers for my cousin Jeff.  We just found out that Jeff will be returning to Afghanistan and my heart feels heavy.  Please keep him and his wife Val in your thoughts and prayers.  Here's hoping for a quick and safe tour and for a swift return home.  Here are a couple pics of Jeff and Abby (we were lucky enough to meet up with him while he visited New England in July- he lives in Georgia right now but misses New England terribly)  Jeff referred to Abby's outfit as her "business dress."  ;)  My cousin constantly has everyone in stitches.

Jeff doesn't want this news posted on Facebook so I'm using this blog as my prayer request arena.

 Me and Jeff as kids at Canobie Lake Park

Abby and Jeff at Lester's BBQ this July :)

Videos!

Just some recent videos of Abby from her Petting Zoo experience at the Big E Fair in West Springfield.  Will add the Mardi Gras parade footage once it has been uploaded and processed :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-uXxdZnzqs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dAvKFGEHys

Solid Foods!

Abby tried solid foods for the first time last night!  We treated her to some roasted sweet potato.  :)  In all I would say it was a success but she definitely had moments of uncertainty about this new texture and taste.  :)  Leif and I have been dying to give Abby solids for 2 months now but have held off per doctor's suggestion.  :)  Last night Abby took a nap and when she awoke, she tried her first solid food. :)  Tomorrow we take Abby in for her 6 month appointment on her 6 month birthday.  It's hard to believe that Abby is already 6 months old!!  Time certainly does fly- though we're hoping to slow it down a bit with a long weekend trip to Maine this weekend.  Us Dugans are desperately in need of a little down time and relaxation! :)

Here is the video footage and a picture from the adventure ;) :)

Abby Eating Sweet Potato

Abby did something yesterday that made my heart swell (well, ok, everything she does makes my heart swell...)  When I picked her up from daycare, she was playing in an exersaucer.  She gave me a big smile the second I walked in to her classroom and I smiled back.  I turned around to retrieve her cooler for her bottles from her cubby and she started to cry because she thought I was leaving.  Abby hasn't really exhibited any separation anxiety- which is wonderful- she is truly an easy easy baby.  It was nice, however, to see that she wanted her mommy really badly.  It's almost like she knew that mommy was having a bad day and wanted to tell her that she loved her. :)  I was having a pretty bad day (or string of days really)  When I left the daycare center with Abby in my arms, she was staring up at the sky and trees like she often does.  It was such a beautiful fall day- a PERFECT fall day- so we took a quick walk around Horn Pond (where we had a picnic after her baptism.)  The wind was strong so the water was choppy and beautiful with the sun beaming off of it.  She was quite content in the fresh air and sunshine. :)

Abby is very close to crawling- she moves all over her crib.  She smiles and laughs so often and gives little hugs when she's excited about seeing someone or something.  She still adores her kitty, Orion, but certainly hasn't mastered the art of animal petting.  She likes to grab clumps of fur and pull.  ;)  Orion is so good about it though.  She is extremely interested in buttons, zippers, and glasses and grabs at all three  when we hold her.  She's excellent at taking off her socks and tries to scoot out of my car seat when we head off on any adventure.  Her hair is growing thicker and longer and blonder.  She loves baths- she loves to kick her legs and flail her arms to splash the water around- we always give her a little extra bath time to make a watery mess... :) :)  She is amazing.

Abby's First Mardi Gras Parade

We have returned from a rainy weekend in Western, MA!  Saturday morning we headed down to our cabin in Huntington, MA (Leif met up with us a bit later as he had to work- he still made it down just in time to fish with my dad and Matt though)  :)  The weather wasn't perfect- it was pouring when we arrived, but the rain stopped long enough for us girls to get Abby out for a walk around the lake (which is so swollen with water right now- Western MA has really been hit with some rainy weather!)  The temperatures were cool and crisp and we all enjoyed a fire in the cabin.  Leif lit off some fireworks but Abby enjoyed the sparklers more than the fireworks this time around.  The noise from the fireworks was a bit alarming and Abby spent the duration of the display cuddling with mom- no crying or pouting, but she was definitely a bit more scared of the noise this time which shows us how developed her hearing is now! :)  On Sunday we woke up to a thick rainstorm that we feared might threaten our trip to the Big E fair in West Springfield.  Luckily the weather improved, Mandy and I were able to take Abby for another walk around the lake, and we made it to the fair.  Abby went in to the petting zoo and met some adorable goats, a zebra, a donkey, and an Elephant!  Abby's favorite animal was the donkey- he put his face right out by her so that she could pat him.  He was sweet and tame and so good natured.  After the petting zoo, we walked around the fairgrounds and found a perfect perch to watch the Mardi Gras parade that marches through the grounds.  This was Abby's favorite part of the fair- she danced along with the music, watched every float with wide eyes and really soaked in all of the sounds and colors.  She even got some Mardi Gras beads from a couple of the floats (that she immediately tried to eat)  ;)  Abby laughed and smiled at the parade.  We have adorable footage of both events- the petting zoo and the parade- and will post them soon!  We will also post pictures of Abby's bear suit that she wore to watch the fireworks.  We think that it might be the cutest outfit that Abby owns so here is fair warning that you're going to melt when you see the pics! ;)

We had a wonderful weekend and are now looking forward to Abby's 6 month appointment on Friday followed by a looooong weekend in Maine!  Can you believe that our girl will be 6 months on Friday?!?!  :)