An Update

I know it hasn't been as long since my last post as it has in the past, but I know I need to start posting on our blog more often since babies change so quickly and we don't get to see you all very often. Our little Abbigaile will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday! Its crazy how fast the time flies and how much she's changed since we brought her home. She's so sweet and such a good baby! She's still sleeping a ton, as most infants do; however, there have been a few rough nights here and there. She usually only wakes up a few times a night to eat and have her little bum changed, but there are times when we're ready to sleep and she just wants to be up and awake; the other night it was from 4-5:30 AM—ugh. Luckily Mark and Jody were willing to take Jack to church, so Abbigaile and I were able to sleep a little later (thanks again!).

Jack has adjusted to having her here for the most part, but still has a hard sometimes especially when he first wakes up from his nap in the afternoon. I think the hardest part about having two kids, at least right now, is that Abbigaile loves to be held almost constantly sometimes and sometimes Jack just needs some cuddle time. It's always fun when one child is crying and so the other starts up too. We're definitely having fun though (and that's not sarcastic). One thing I love, that I think has made it a little easier for me, is my Ergo Baby Carrier! I love this thing! It makes getting things done and tending to Jack easier when she just wants to be held or I don't want Jack to touch her, and it doesn't hurt my back.

Oh, Abbigaile has already been sick with a few things (poor girl). Just after we brought her home, actually that Sunday, her right eye started getting really goopy—I don't know if that's a real word ;-). We took her in the following day and they gave us some ointment to put in her little eye three times a day; luckily that helped to clear it up although they said it might also partially be due to a clogged tear duct (but who knows). I can happily say that she no longer has any eye gunk left! We also had to go to the doctor several times because of her jaundice; I think I had her blood drawn about three times over the span of a week and a half—it was so sad to hear her cry. Her levels are now okay, I just have to be sure to expose her to sunlight to keep everything regulated (sounds a bit like a plant, doesn't it). Now she has a bit of a cold, thanks to her loving big brother. Jack really likes to kiss her and be in her face, and since he has a cold she does too. Fortunately no one has green boogies and I think they are both finally starting to clear up.

Now for some of the fun I was talking about. A couple of weeks ago, Justin was changing Abbigaile's diaper in her bassinet and she pooped on his hand before he could put the new diaper on, so he called me to have me finish changing her. As I went to lift her bum she decided to poop again; this time the poo shot up and over the side of the bassinet and onto the carpet in our room. We just had to laugh and now I'm writing about it so we don't forget for the future.

Jack is such a good big brother. He loves kissing his sister, sometimes a little too much, and is very concerned if she cries. He'll often try to comfort her by kissing her head (and often leaves some saliva behind in the process) and now he even has his monkey (binky) George (Choch) give Abbigaile's head kisses, too. Jack loves to dance to music that comes on the television and even some in the car and he always makes sure someone is watching him. If he's dancing, or even stacking blocks or running in circles, he'll say "Daddy! Mom!" to get our attention and will keep saying our names if we don't respond and acknowledge him. The other day he was dancing and said "Daddy! Mom! Baby!" I thought it was so cute that he decided to include Abbigaile and wanted to make sure she was watching him, too. It's so cute; he'll also try to tickle her when she's awake. Jack seems to like/love his sister most of the time; however, he will hit her head sometimes, but I think it's just to see what he can get away with. I think we're very blessed that the transition has gone as smoothly as it has.

I feel like things are somewhat returning to normal around here. I haven't done much for activities with Jack, but that's just because I'm not ready to have Abbigaile around tons of germy little ones that don't know not to touch her hands or face. I think I'll start to go back to that whole routine slowly, as Jack doesn't seem to be suffering horribly. We do have interaction with others when we go to do errands, when he goes to church, when Jeremiah comes over to study, or when we visit Justin's work. I do look forward to seeing my friends again and resuming life as normal. I know it'll happen soon.

I don't think much has changed with Justin. He's still working and going to school full-time. I think I've said it before, but this is Justin's last semester of school! His graduation ceremony date is May 16^th at 3:00 PM. We can give you all more details closer to the date for anyone who's interested.

As for me, not much has changed. We're definitely changing many more diapers and are now really looking forward to potty training Jack; we didn't want to do it before because we thought too many changes at once wouldn't be good for him. Now that we've been at the new house for a while, gotten rid of the binky, and Abbigaile's arrived—we're gonna do it! So, anyone who has tips for us . . . just pass them along. The cheer season is done until tryouts, so as of now I'm done. I miss my girls, but it's also nice to stay home with the kiddos and not have to rush anywhere. I'm still really excited about the whole freezer-cooking thing (I know I still need to post some of the recipes I made) and I'm checking out lots of books from the library for different recipes. I just love knowing that our freezer is stocked with yummy meals, so we have dinner on hand and I know what's in them. The other day I made a large batch of my meatballs and baked them; they're now ready to go in freezer bags whenever we want spaghetti and meatballs or some meatball sandwiches (yummy!).

I think that's about it for right now. I'll post more very soon and I'll also get some pictures added to this post. As for now, Abbigaile's starting to fuss and I have to go check on Jack. We love you all!