Abigail in August

Babies change soooooooo much in their first few weeks of life.  Here is Abigail looking very teensy in her car seat at 2 weeks old.  

Then here is a picture of Abigail in her bath at about 3 weeks (above) and then at 9 weeks (below).  

The next few pictures are between 3 weeks old and 6 weeks old.  

We call this blanket Abby's "fluffy, pink cloud." It is so soft.

 These were some of Abby's first smiles at about 5 1/2 weeks.  I love looking at the picture progression.

This one is my favorite!

August Fun

I haven't blogged in a while.  Here's a sampling of what we did:

1. Lots of swimming in Grandma's pool and hot tub with cousins and aunts and uncles (poor Evelyn is not old enough to go in the hot tub yet.)

Abigail in her swimsuit someone gave me.  She did not get in the pool.  

 2. Jared got an amazing rocket from Grandpa and Grandma for his birthday.  It goes up to 1100 feet high!  We have had lots of fun launching it on a couple of different days. 

3. Jared had a fun pack meeting for scouts.  He earned his Wolf award, and then our whole family (minus Abby and me) went kayaking.

4. We have gone up the canyon a handful of times to roast hot dogs and marshmallows.

 5. We celebrated my birthday.  Alan made yummy omelettes for breakfast.  Then we went on a ward picnic for lunch.  We had a yummy dinner of lasagna soup and this AMAZING Andes mint cake I made (it literally took me three hours to make the day before my birthday.)

 

 Alan surprised me with a new fun game called Rolling Through the Ages.  I love it!

Happy Birthday, Jared!

 A few days after Abigail and I came home from the hospital, we celebrated Jared's 9th birthday!  I somehow found time to cook him the dinner he requested and made him his chocolate cake while Alan took the kids out for some fun times.  They went to a children's museum and then up to Grandma Stout's house for a movie afternoon.

 Jared got a ton of gifts this year!  Star Wars swim towel and t-shirt, several new games (Harry Potter Clue, chess, and Stratego), some books (including the Peter and the Starcatcher series), and a fancy rocket that shoots up 1100 feet.  (We recently launched it for the first time--it was amazing!)

I love this boy!  He is growing up so fast.  He soaks up everything he learns and reads.  He is such a responsible boy and a good big brother to his three little sisters.  He's looking forward to 4th grade!

First Days at Home

The first few weeks of a new baby's life are a blur.  She is so cute and cuddly, but honestly, it is so hard to be in survival mode.  I recently told Alan that since I've been in such a fog, I feel a bit ripped off and would like my summer back, please.  Ha ha.  

I love to look at these pictures.  I can already tell that she has gotten quite a bit bigger already.  

Our little burrito

I love putting Abigail in outfits that Maggie and Evy also wore.

LOVE this picture!

Jared is such a great big brother

A visit from Aunt Emma

A nighttime cuddle 

Abigail in the Hospital

Here are some of the pictures from our stay in the hospital.  I have omitted most of the unflattering pictures of me, which are unfortunately from the first few minutes of Abigial's life.  She was so beautiful!  The hospital has recently changed things so that the moms get to hold their babies even longer before the hospital takes them away for shots and things.  I got to hold Abigail for hours and hours before they first took her away from me! It was wonderful.  

Last preggy picture!

A few minutes old

The kids came to visit with both Grandma Stout and Grandma Curtis that first afternoon.  They all doted on Abigail.

First visit from Jared, Maggie, and Evelyn

Grandma Curtis

Grandma Stout 

Grandpa Stout came to visit on Day 2

First family picture

Perky and alert!