Happy New Year

I have so many pictures, videos, and stories to post about!  I took a much needed break from email and blogging and virtually anything having to do with computers during my vacation but promise to post all sorts of goodies soon!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :)  Here's a pic of Abby to tide you over...  ;)

Our daughter, the trouble maker

Yesterday when I picked Abby up from daycare, I learned that she is a trouble-maker- not in a mean, menacing way, but in a "keep your eyes on that girl, she's trouble" way.  Evidently yesterday Abby was in to everything- had her hands on everything- and was trying to pull herself up on everything.  The baby gate was up on the door to the infant classroom- solely for Abby's sake because the girl tries to escape and visit other rooms.  She's all over the floor and her teacher gave me the distinct impression that she has more energy than any other child in the facility.  ;)

Abby really is a live wire- and we love it.  She's really great at entertaining herself as well but there are times now where all she wants is to be held- and if you put her down- she has learned to scream an ear piercing scream.  It is impressive. :)  She has a mirror in her crib that keeps her smiling daily- she just loves that happy baby in the reflection- as do we. :)  I think she could spend an entire day laughing at that baby and making funny faces at that baby in the mirror.

Abby's tried a couple new fruits this week too- papaya and blueberries.  She loves both.  The smell of the papaya reminds me of tropical vacations so I think we'll include it in her meal plan for a while.  ;) :)

We are getting ready for the holidays and hoping for a bit of snow to make it feel more like Christmas!! :)  I just finished addressing the christmas cards, they'll be hitting mailboxes next week! :)  Our gifts are somehow getting wrapped and Orion has decided to leave the wrapping paper on- though we have decided that ribbon is a no-no- he's too interested. ;)

We're sending love to all and promise to update more often after this crazy holiday season!  We hope everyone has a blessed, happy, and magical holiday season.

Love you all!

Thankful

I realized this morning that us Dugans never really vocalized what we're thankful for this year.  I am much better at putting my feelings down in words and decided that we'd use this blog to give thanks.

This year, us Dugans are thankful for:

1) A healthy, happy baby girl.  My whole pregnancy was quite uncomplicated and hearing at each doctor's appointment that Abby was doing really well was the biggest blessing in the world.  During labor & delivery, hearing the word "healthy" was music to our ears- hearing Abby's first cries as she came in to our world in full force was so comforting.  Each good doctor's appointment, each morning that we wake up to a smiling baby, and each each night as we put our healthy little girl to sleep, we give thanks that she is healthy, and here, and ours.

2) Each other.  Leif and I are so lucky to have each other.  We keep our flow going forward in a positive direction, we know how to help one another, how to support one another, and how to say everything that needs to be said in a single action.  We constantly grow together as a couple and now as parents.

3) Our jobs.  We might complain often about having to go to work and leaving our little girl for the day but in such rough economic times, we truly are grateful for employment, health benefits, coworkers, good salaries, and the ability to pay our bills and put food on our table monthly.

4) Our family.  We wouldn't be able to do this all without the love and support of our parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grand parents, and extended family.  Leif and I are both so blessed to have tight knit families who will laugh with us, cry with us, and let us know that we're doing a good job, everything is ok, and that they love us.  We are thankful for each one of you- immensely so- and love you tremendously.

5) Our friends.  We have an amazing group of friends who help us with so much, who fill our lives with such joy, and who can make us laugh in the midst of any obstacle.  We love each one of you.

6) The Red Sox.  I just had to put this in here because, come on, they are the greatest sports team ever (despite their paramount collapse this year).

7) My pump.  Yeah, I never thought that I would be thanking the world for my pump- but truly- it allows me to continue to feed my daughter naturally- something that I wanted to do so badly- and though I often curse my pump, I am so thankful that we were able to afford such a nice one that affords us the luxury of feeding our daughter breast milk.

8) Orion.  He is the best cat in the world (aside from Fenny- who was, perhaps, the sweetest cat on the planet).  He saw us through the entire pregnancy- all of my mood swings, exhaustion, our nervousness, etc.  He's such a loving pet and so good with Abby.  We never worry about him with Abby and we love the fact that he curls up on our feet each and every night and loves us unconditionally.

9) Our apt.  It is small, it is a bit cluttered, there are problems that have gone unfixed for a very long time-  but it is still wonderful to have a roof over our head, a management team that plows us out every winter, free heat and hot water, a beautiful balcony where I can grow my veggies, a good location for our work, and some really sweet neighbors.

10) Our daycare center.  It is difficult leaving your precious child while you go to work for the day- there is no arguing that- but we are so lucky to have such a wonderful center watching our Abby Wednesday-Friday.  They love her- genuinely love her- and shower her with attention.  She is surrounded by wonderful baby friends and we can tell that she enjoys the time that she spends at daycare.

11) The internet!  We are able to keep in touch with all of our out-of-state and out-of-country loved ones thanks to the internet.  What an amazing blessing!

12) Coffee.  I firmly believe that currently, we could not survive without coffee.  That may seem like a dramatic statement- but we would never get out the door in the morning without a jolt of caffeine to help out.  :)

13) Amazing inventions like my bread maker, ice cream maker, and food processor.  We are able to enjoy fresh from scratch treats thanks to these gadgets.  I would never have the time to bake bread or make ice cream if it weren't for two of my favorite kitchen appliances, and Abby wouldn't be eating homemade baby food daily if it weren't for our food processor.  These gadgets are AWESOME!  :)

14) Our cars.  We are a family on the go- we like day trips, camping trips, visits, adventures, and get-a-ways.  Our cars make it all possible and we're so grateful to have reliable four wheel drive vehicles to get us safely from point A to point B daily.

15) Friends and coworkers with new babies!  We've been fortunate enough to have a slew of friends and coworkers with new babies.  It is refreshing and often times relieving to talk with parents who are experiencing the same stuff at the same time.  :)

I could go on and on and on.  I am very grateful this year and am so happy with my slice of life.  So thank you to all for everything that you do.  We love you all.  :)

The Holiday Season

Well, the New England weather wouldn't have you believing that it is December but all of the beautiful Christmas lights, holiday music, and good cheer would!  :)  We had a wonderful weekend with little Miss Abby and put up Abby's first Christmas tree as a family.

Abby loved walking around the farm stand looking at the excited kids, trees, and Christmas decorations.  We picked out the perfect tree almost immediately on Saturday and decorated it on Sunday.

 Our tree!

Abby and dada decorating the tree- they're hanging one of Grandma Vi's ornaments! :)

Abby and I have also been working on some art projects and had quite a messy and comical scene Sunday night (don't worry folks- the paint is non-toxic and washable!) :

 She was painting like a professional with her fingers and then suddenly decided to taste test as well... ;)

Abby and I both required a wardrobe change after this but we had so much fun getting messy! :)

Abby is such a happy girl- the happiest I think.  She just beams love and happiness and it is so contagious:

Abby is trying all sorts of new foods- avocado is one of her all time favorites right now.  We're beginning to add all sorts of spices to her food as well- vanilla, cinnamon & nutmeg to her applesauce, cinnamon to her carrots.  I've been having so much fun making her food and the reward is so worth the labor- Abby just loves eating her solids. :)

Abby continues to sleep through the night.  She loves playing with Orion, enjoys crawling everywhere, jumping in our laps, giving kisses, investigating EVERYTHING, laughing, listening to music- any and all music for that matter (she has even learned how to turn the music of her mobile on by herself), smiling at her reflection in the mirror, and filling our lives with so much love and happiness.  Leif and I feel so blessed.  

Abby Ann :)

Life has been busy- but oh so blessed- and by busy I mean- we're enjoying life.  :)  We took Abby away "on holiday" last weekend.  We headed up to Gilford, NH and stayed at the very hotel that Leif and I booked when I was very pregnant with Abby and in need of some pool side R&R. :)  It was neat to return with our amazing little girl. :)  Mandy and Matt came with us and we had a really wonderful weekend.  We walked Weirs Beach, swam in the hotel pool, played a somewhat heated game of Monopoly, and enjoyed watching Abby do her Abby thing (which involves lots of smiling, laughing, crawling, scooting, shouting, talking, more smiling, and more crawling)  :)  Here are some pics from the weekend:

Thanksgiving was wonderful as well.  We celebrated with everyone at my Aunt Amy's house.  She always puts on such a wonderful dinner.  We had the traditional turkey day feast and Abby enjoyed a feast of her own as well!  Leif and I started off Thanksgiving by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in our pajamas with Abby- this is family tradition and I had been talking about this parade for a good month before the holiday.  Abby liked the music and vibrantly dressed dancers.  She didn't watch a whole ton of the parade- she had better things to do- but enjoyed the little bit that caught her attention.

Here are some pics from Thanksgiving:

 Abby and Nanie

 Abby's Thanksgiving Dinner!

Obligatory Shot with the Drumstick ;)

There's so much more that I want to share- more to come! :)  Sending lots of love and hugs and kisses! :)

Baby on the move!

Abby is definitely crawling now- there's still a bit of lumbering involved, but she's perfecting her crawling quickly.  She's also becoming sweeter and sweeter by the day- and I'm not sure how that could be since she is already so so sweet.  She laughs a lot and smiles the most heart warming smiles and is so vocal!  She really does amaze us.  We've had some fun adventures lately:

We took Abby to America's Stonehenge in Salem, NH.  It was really neat and we thoroughly tested out the all terrain stroller- it made it through mud and over roots and rocks.  Impressive!  By the time Leif and I visited the on-site alpaca farm, Abby was asleep, but we still took a cute picture of her hanging out with the alpacas! :)  The one in this picture was particularly interested in Abby.  He kept staring at her and trying to figure her out.

Abby also took a nice walk down the Minuteman Bike Path.  We hooked on to the path in Lexington and were hoping to walk to Arlington, but Abby decided that she had had enough (and then decided that we could keep going if she could sit on dad's shoulders but alas, the girl gets heavy!)  :)

We took Abby to Christmas City in Lexington.  It's really just a store that really decks out for the holidays.  Abby loved looking at all of the lights and wanted to touch all of the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling.

Last night Abby and I painted for a bit.  She was an extremely enthusiastic painter and came up with some beautiful little pieces of art.  :)  She really liked looking at all of the colors on the page (and her hands, face, clothing, mama, etc)

Abby has perfected sitting up on her own and is very proud of herself (as she should be!)

Abby started eating solids 3 times a day this week!  Lately she's been eating pears, apples & cinnamon and green beans.  She likes both just fine but much prefers the fruit. :)  She's also eating mixtures of squash, carrots, and applesauce.  I've been having a lot of fun cooking new food for her and Leif and I love watching her reactions to each new taste.

Quick update :)

Well Leif and I were really sick last week with a nasty cold so I've fallen behind on blog entries.  We've been so busy- and happy- but hectic.  Here are just a couple quick and cute updates on Miss Abby:

She can play patty cake by herself now.  If you start singing patty cake, she's been clapping her hands along to it- it is oh so adorable.

She is so chatty these days and dada is definitely her favorite word right now.  She proclaims it often.  She still says kitty but this word has definitely taken a backseat to dada. ;)

Her two front teeth are in so she doesn't need to ask for them for Christmas. ;) :)  They are cute and sharp! :)  Abby has been quite pleasant throughout the teething process- pretty amazing. :)

She bubbles over with happiness- she's constantly smiling, laughing, jumping- she can't help but brighten your day.

She's currently eating pears that I baked and she likes them.  The first bite has been surprising these past two days but then she opens her mouth like a little birdy and wants more.  She's taken quite well to solids now and I even got her to eat carrots the other night- mixed with a bit of applesauce they're quite palatable.  ;)  She also is a huge fan of roasted pumpkin.

We had a good halloween with her- went to the Halloween Parade in Woburn on Sunday 10/30 and then spent halloween at grammy and papa's.  We put on quite a display in the front yard this year and Abby dressed like a cat.  I took her trick-or-treating to the neighbor's houses.

Here is a bit of eye candy: