Ladies and Gentlemen, we have take off!

Abby took steps last night.  :)  Two steps towards her puffs (she is very food-motivated) and then another step later towards her puffs again- she took all of these steps without falling, or even wobbling for that matter.  She evidently is already working on her manners as well and says "thank you".  It hasn't been perfected yet, but she is definitely saying thank you.  This leads Leif and I to believe that we also have a well-mannered household.  ;)

Abby also had her first haircut on Monday.  :)  Though we're growing her hair out so that I can finally give her pigtails, my Auntie E asked if we'd like to give her bangs on Monday during hair night- and I said yes, please.  Her bangs are adorable and we saved the very small clipping for Abby's scrapbook.  :)

Abby says "uh oh" constantly now.  She also puts her hands up in a "I didn't do it" pose when she purposefully drops an item- it is ridiculously adorable.  :)

She loves to point at everything and can also figure out how to take each and every shoe that we've ever purchased for her off- she is like Houdini when it comes to shoes.  Abby's daycare teacher and I were joking about it this morning.  I sent her in wearing a pair of Robeez this morning- they're rumored to be the most difficult shoe for a baby to remove- we'll see if they make it the day or not.  ;)

Leif and I are huge American Idol fans.  Last night while watching the men perform, Abby clapped throughout this entire performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPsxBBDP1-I.  Evidently Colton Dixon is her favorite.  :)  Leif and I are partial to Phillip Phillips however.  ;)

My mom took Abby to visit my Nanie yesterday at her assisted living facility.  Nanie was down in the common room with her housemates and evidently Abby was quite the performer.  She was pointing at them, laughing at them, saying "uh oh" and putting on a show.  I imagine it was quite a cute scene. :)

Looks like we're getting some snow today and tonight here in New England!  Maybe there's hope for Abby's toboggan...  we've barely used the darn thing this winter!  :)

Chuck E Cheese!

Leif and I took Abby to chuck e cheese yesterday.  It was a perfect little adventure- close enough that we could walk there and enjoy the nice weather as well.  :)  Abby really loved watching all of the kids running wild and went on a couple of rides too- her favorite was a boat ride.  Here are a couple of videos from the adventure.  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZW6i2aMFvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzbV90R96Mo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QoBCAkV1FQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywgIhXjCIdM

Abby has this walker toy that my Aunt Amy and Uncle Dave got her for Christmas- up 'til this moment, she liked playing with it but not using it to walk...  well, last night she was playing with the toy and started shouting.  She was shouting for me to move the obstructions so that she could cruise with it!  She was walking all over the apartment with the walker last night!  I got some good video footage that I'll share soon too (I uploaded the file from our digital camcorder last night but wasn't able to upload it to youtube in time- there aren't enough hours in the day!)  :)  It won't be long until she's walking without her walker...  that's for sure! :)

We are getting ready for our big trip to Florida!!!  Less than two weeks to go and we could all really use the vacation and family time together. :) :) :)

Sending love to all! :)

UNH Hockey, Slides, Swings & a Few New Things! ;)

We have been busy! :)  Abby has completely recovered from her stomach bug and we've been taking advantage of our renewed health by getting out and about! :)  Over the weekend my mom and I took Abby to her first UNH Hockey game and she just loved it!  She danced along to the music, actually watched some of the game, and pointed and flirted with the fans around us. :)  It was wonderful to be back up on campus and neat to be able to bring my mom and daughter to their first UNH hockey games! :)  UNH ended up losing in overtime but we had left with two minutes remaining in the last period so we didn't hear the bad news 'til we got home. :)  We sat next to the sweetest woman at the game who was so taken with Abby- as was her husband.

Leif and I have been taking Abby for tons of walks in this unseasonal weather (it has been so warm and beautiful out!)  Over the weekend we strolled around the Mystic River, through the streets of Portsmouth, NH (including Prescott Park), and around Woburn (we found a little playground by us and Abby tried her first slide- she loved it!)  :)  

Abby is still exhibiting a voracious appetite. :)  She had chicken for the first time the other night and loved it. :)  She's also tried nectarine recently as well.  Here are a couple pics of her eating banana.  :)

Last night we celebrated Mardi Gras with little Miss Abby- we didn't do anything elaborate but it was by far our best Mardi Gras yet.  We all played on the ground, and Leif and I watched our little girl laughing and smiling like crazy.  She has been so darn happy as of late- it's infectious.  :)

Here are a couple silly pictures of our girl. :)  She has taken a couple of steps now though becomes unsteady and falls.  She'll be walking soon for sure though :)

Sending love to all!!!  :) :) :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  We had a wonderful one. :)  Leif was able to ski for the day (and I pretended to be skiing while at work...) ;)  We had a chili dinner together when we got home and watched Abby play contently.  Leif got me a night away in our favorite hotel room that has a fireplaced area that overlooks the hotel's pool.  We'll take Abby with us and have a little mini holiday.  :)  I got Leif tickets to this Friday's UNH Hockey game.  We're planning on taking Abby to the place where it all started- the place where her mom and dad fell in love. :)

Abby is 110% recovered from the stomach bug now and has a VORACIOUS appetite!  She tried broccoli for the first time this week and is just like her mom- she absolutely loves it!  She's also eating whole milk yogurt now and likes it when we mix fruit in with it- the yogurt zing is a bit much by itself.  Abby wore the adorable outfit that her grandma got her for Valentine's Day and even wore a headband for 2.5 seconds- long enough for me to get a picture in other words.  I fear that the days of headbands are over but the good news is- she doesn't mind barrettes.  ;)  Here is a pic of our funny little valentine:

Over the weekend we took Abby to the New England Aquarium.  It was so much fun and Abby absolutely LOVED looking at all of the fish.  We did learn that every family in Massachusetts has the same idea on a Sunday afternoon- the aquarium was packed! :)  We saw some sea lions, penguins, and spent a lot of time in our own little space looking at the big tank in the middle of the aquarium.  Abby liked looking at the brightly colored small fish best but thought that the sea turtle was also quite magical.

Leif and I are planning a trip to Florida next month during Harvard's spring break.  We're planning on staying in a cabin in a campground in St. Augustine.  My parents used to take Mandy and me to St Augustine each February break- it is a really neat and magical little area of Northern Florida that even holds Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth! :)  We have decided to drive down to Florida since plane tickets are so expensive during the month of college spring breaks.  The best news about driving down is that we're planning on stopping in to visit with our niece Lauren at Virginia Tech!

Abby is now saying "woah" all the time.  She is also pointing at people a lot- esp if you point at her first. :)

We hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day and we're sending oodles of love! :)

Stomach bugs are no joke

Abby had another first- her first stomach bug.  It was a terrible bug that both Leif and I caught (and now my mom and dad have as well...) so we can say with first hand experience that it is plain miserable.  It has taken a great deal of time to rebound from this one.  Yesterday was the first day that Abby ate her normal amount of milk- she's still not so keen on solids but is slowly working her way back to them.  Sick babies are scary- I've spent the past week concerned that Abby was dehydrated- I pushed water and milk on that poor girl like crazy.  Amidst her sickness though, Abby still found strength and energy to play a bit- she just amazes us.

Abby is saying "woah" now and it is adorable.  Yesterday in daycare, they went for a walk and evidently when they went over the speed bump, Abby exclaimed "Woah!"  Abby is also hitting the stage of separation anxiety.  10 months is right around when it hits and it is heart breaking at times.  This week has been tough- bringing her in to daycare has involved some tears (both from mama and baby), tugs, and extra long hugs.  Abby is happy as can be when we pick her up from daycare though- that's so reassuring.  :)

We're due for a bit of snow tomorrow and are hoping that we'll be able to take Abby's sled out for a spin around town if enough falls. :)

Have a happy weekend, y'all! :)  Sending love and hugs! :)