Monday's Monkey

Lil' monkey hands

Lil' monkey feet

Mommy's precious lil' monkey treat!

Letters to Abigail: Happy One Month!!

Dear Abigail,

You are 1 month old today, congrats! It is hard to believe that a whole month has gone by since we first met each other. Time is moving way too quickly and you are growing way too fast! Thank you for being such a good baby and allowing me to transition into the role of motherhood with ease. You are absolutely beautiful and have the best little personality.

You are a growing girl and weigh almost 11 lbs today. When you are hungry, you put your fists to your mouth and you are now eating about 5 ounces every 4 hours. We developed a good feeding schedule in the hospital and it continued once we returned home. Since you sleep pretty solidly for 4 hours at a time, I only have to wake up once during the night to feed you. Your Daddy and I are extremely thankful for this!

You LOVE to be swaddled and have spent every night of your life wrapped tightly. You sleep wonderfully in your bassinet beside our bed and enjoy the white noise sound on your music box. After the sun rises, I usually sneak you into bed with me for some Mommy – Baby snuggle time! I cherish our quiet moments together and know they won’t last forever.

When you are awake, you are constantly moving. You love to stretch but sometimes hit yourself in the face when your arms spring back uncontrolled. You prefer to be vertical rather than horizontal, and you like to look around at your surroundings. You have a love – hate relationship with the pacifier. Sometimes it is the only way to soothe you but at other times, you lock your lips tightly and absolutely refuse to take it. You are beginning to enjoy your baths a little more (well, you don’t scream). After each bath, I cover you in baby lotion and then could spend all day smelling your sweet smell. 

You are very strong and use your little legs to push and move around. You can also roll over and move your head from side-to-side while on your tummy. You’ve actually been doing these things for a while and even impressed the pediatrician at your two-week appointment. He told us not to be surprised if you were crawling at 6 months, but I prefer you wait a little longer if possible.



You make the funniest little faces and we’ve even named a few: the “One-eyed Willy”, the “Poopy face” and the “Lori look”, named after yours truly. Your face is full of character and makes your Daddy and I laugh a lot! You smile occasionally but I don’t think it’s been intentional. We are still waiting for you to smile directly at us. You also make lots of cute noises.



Your eyes are still blue but have lightened up a lot. According to standard genetics, since your Daddy and I both have green eyes, there is a 75% probability that your eyes will be green and a 25% chance that they will be blue. I guess time will tell. I think you have my eye shape and chin but your Daddy’s nose and lips. I think you will be a good mix of us both and we look forward to watching you change and develop over the next several months. 

You have outgrown your newborn clothes and are wearing a 3 – month size. I don’t think you’ve worn a single outfit twice and we still have a closet full! Your Grandma likes to spoil you and is constantly bringing over new items. You look so darn cute in everything!



Yesterday was your first bad spit-up, and you showed us how you can make it projectile! Luckily, your Daddy was still home to witness it and we both had a good laugh. His exact response was, “That was so cool…like out of a movie.” I wonder if he still thought it was cool when he was helping me make the bed for the second time in two days, haha!



Daddy and I both love you tremendously and are so grateful to have you in our lives. We want only the best for you and look forward to watching you grow and develop over the next month, year, 5 years, etc.

Happy 1 Month, Abigail Suzanne! We love you bunches!

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is always hard to do and this past Tuesday, we had to say goodbye to Jan's parents. We had the pleasure of having them here for 3 1/2 weeks and really hated to see them go! However, we have already booked our trip to South Africa in December, and look forward to seeing them again soon.

Abigail is their first grandchild and it meant so much to Jan and I that they were able to be here for her birth. She is also the first Greeff girl since Jan is one of three boys, and his Dad always wanted a little girl!

We thoroughly enjoyed their visit, especially the last week when they lived with us. It was nice to have them around and it was a huge help to me.

I am not a huge fan of some technologies but Skype has proven to be amazing over the past several months. Even though they may not get to hold Abigail for several months, they will be able to see her grow and change on a weekly basis. Abigail will also be able to hear their voices and get to see them so they won't seem like strangers when we visit.

We are also happy Hendre, Jan's younger brother, was able to visit and meet Abigail. I know he is going to be a great Uncle!

It was strange coming home from the airport to a quite house on Tuesday evening...actually kind of sad. However, Jan and I are working to get back on our normal schedule and routine. He started teaching tennis lessons again this week and I began cooking again on Wednesday. I also spent all day Wednesday and Thursday cleaning and organzing my house, so it is finally presentable again.

Dinner out and my lil’ chunker!

My BIL and sister, Jody and Jodi (yes, they have the same name), treated Jan’s parents and us to a nice dinner out this past Wednesday at Carrabba’s. Since Abigail was over 2 weeks old, I decided it was okay to take her with as long as she didn’t come out of her carrier and the carrier cover was in place the entire time. The dinner was very nice and I know everyone had a wonderful time. Our waitress was kind enough to photograph Abigail’s first dinner out (and I even raised the carrier cover for a few seconds).

Speaking of the carrier cover (the pink paisley blanket attached to her carrier), my Aunt Sue sent it to us as a gift and I absolutely LOVE it. I feel as though it provides an extra layer of protection for Abigail in regards to germs, UV rays, etc (even if it doesn’t). It was one of those gifts that I never even considered needing until I received it, and now won’t go anywhere without it. So thanks, Aunt Sue, for the very thoughtful gift!

Abigail’s 2-week wellness appointment was yesterday, July 8^th. At 17 days old, she weighed 9 lbs 7 ounces and was 21.75 inches long. (At her 3-day wellness appointment on June 24^th, she was 7 lbs 15 ounces.) Since birth she has gained 1 lb 1 ounce and grown ¾ of an inch. She is above the 95% percentile in both her length and weight. Needless to say, she is progressing fabulously and the Dr was very pleased. I have a feeling that she may take after me; I weighed in at 30 lbs on my 1^st birthday! According to my Mother, I wasn’t obese just REALLY healthy! Of course, as soon as I started crawling/walking/running, I slimmed down and haven’t been overweight since. The other day our friend Caroline said, “I love a lil’ chunker,” and I couldn’t agree with her more!

And finally, below are some recent daily pictures of the lil' chunker.

 

July 4th and fireworks of a different kind

It’s been another busy week in the Greeff household and thus, a very delayed blog post…oops! I suppose such is life with a newborn.

Abigail went on her first ‘road trip’ last Saturday…all the way to Pine Mountain, GA! My parents hosted an early 4^th of July BBQ, complete with ribs, burgers, games, swimming, fireworks and lots of fun! The entire immediate family was there (my four siblings and their families), along with our Grandmother, MeMe, and Jan’s parents. After you count the four dogs, it becomes quite a party when we all get together! Everyone enjoyed an afternoon of good food and conversation, which ended with a great fireworks show put together by my brothers Chad and Tyler.

After an exhausting Saturday of fun, Jan and I looked forward to a relaxing Sunday afternoon. We decided to leave Abigail with her Oupa and Ouma around Noon on Sunday, and slipped away for a few hours to ourselves. We enjoyed a great breakfast at Waffle House (we love it) and then quickly visited Sam’s and Walmart for a few items. Upon returning to pick up Abigail, we decided to stay and watch a movie with Jan’s parents and order a pizza. (Jan’s parents were staying at my Grandmother’s extra house in Columbus.) Unfortunately, Mother Nature had different plans for us, and an ugly thunderstorm with severe lightening provided us with fireworks of a different kind. As random as it sounds, the house was struck by lightening, which immediately caused an electrical fire in the attic. Once we realized what had occurred, we quickly scrambled to get Abigail and everyone out of the house (that was quickly filling with smoke). The fire department was able to extinguish the fire but not before the house was practically destroyed. From what I understand, the fire was contained in the attic; however the ceilings completely collapsed in every room, ruining most of the furnishings, etc. Luckily enough, the small area where Jan’s parents’ belongings were kept remained fairly dry and they were able to salvage most of their items. Needless to say, it was an exciting Sunday evening and Jan’s parents have now relocated to our house.

July 4^th was Abigail’s first holiday and we celebrated the occasion at our friends Razvan and Ashley’s house. (Jan and I had originally planned to host this party at the house his parent’s were living in but obviously had to change plans after the Sunday fire.) Razvan had both of his grills working and Ashley provided a great atmosphere as always. The guys enjoyed several games of croquet, the food was delicious and the conversation was great. Jan and I enjoyed talking with another couple, Jessica and Garrett, who had a baby 4 days before Abigail. They seem to be pretty lucky in the baby department also…Jessica had a great pregnancy and their little girl, Dillon, has been a great baby so far.

Today, Jan went back to work after having two weeks off. Time is just passing way too quickly!

Abigail Suzanne at 15 days!