My Promise to Abigail

 

I saw this sign on the web a few days ago and LOVE.LOVE.LOVE it.

Relaxing and Recipe Sharing

We were a super chill, super relaxed family this weekend! Friday night we joined my sister, my BIL, my parents and some additional family at Olive Garden to celebrate my niece Sydney’s 12th birthday. It is hard to believe she is already old enough to wear makeup and have a cell phone!

Happy birthday, Syd the Kid!!  

(This photo was not taken Friday night. We were both much younger in this picture but it's one of my favorite together.)

Saturday we enjoyed a nice lazy morning, followed by a little shopping and then dinner with our friends, Toby and Eva. I made two new recipes that turned out great. The first is a watermelon/arugula/feta salad. If it sounds weird, I agree, but it is very refreshing and I recommend trying it.

Watermelon/Arugula/Feta Salad

(Found here)

Ingredients:
3 cups seedless watermelon, cubed and chilled
1/2 cup crumbled feta
7 oz arugula
1/4 small red onion, sliced very thin
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and fresh pepper

Directions: Mix the top 4 ingredients together. Mix the bottom 3 ingredients together. Combine and enjoy. While making this I couldn’t help but consume lots of watermelon and it turns out Daisy, my 4-legged child, LOVES watermelon too. Also, I didn’t really measure out the ingredients; it is much easier to just add and taste as you go.

The second recipe is a Raspberry Lemonade Beer Cocktail. For my friends who remember the “Redneck Margaritas,” these are kind of similar but better, in my opinion. I think I will be busting this recipe out again during football season!

Raspberry Lemonade Beer Cocktail
(Found here)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup frozen raspberries
3 1/2 (12-oz.) bottles beer, chilled
1 (12-oz.) container frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup vodka
Garnish: lemon and lime slices

Directions: Stir everything together and drink! I used 4 beers instead of 3 ½ because that’s how we roll in my house. The more beer, the better!

Finally, we had brunch reservations for Sunday morning, but after waking up not feeling too great, we cancelled and spent the day being lazy. It was fantastic! We ended the weekend by playing a little tennis and then MYOPN (Make Your Own Pizza Night) again. Pure bliss!

Foto Friday

My 3 LOVES!

Weekend Fun

The last two weekends have been a lot of fun for us! On the 13th, Abigail and I attended the second wedding shower for my future SIL. It was a typical ‘ladies’ shower, complete with wedding shower hors d'oeuvres and mimosas.

 Allison with her bridesmaids and flower girl

We played a fun game that I’ve read about one thousand times but never actually played called ‘Make a Wedding Dress.’ I was in a group with my sister, Amanda, my niece, Syndey, and my Grandmother, Meme. We dressed Sydney in the toilet paper wedding dress since she is the smallest!

We played another trivia type game where you either held up a tiara or mustache (or both) depending on your answer. It was really cute!

Allison got LOTS of nice things for her and Chad. We gave them their Monique Lhuillier toasting flutes.

Abigail with her cousin, Sydney

Abigail with her Aunt Jodi

Last Saturday night, Jan and I had a babysitter for the first time, so we met up with my brother, Tyler, and his girlfriend, Jennifer, for a night of adult fun celebrating Ty's birthday.

We went to a new country bar called Bootleggers, where a girl was swinging on a tire all night. I felt sorry for her and knew she had to be tired, ha!

I love the look that Jennifer is giving Tyler! 

Georgia football is just around the corner and I am excited! I really hope we have a decent season this year and I'm happy that I'm not preggo. I'm ready for the fun football parties and to dress Abigail in all her red and black. We start them young here in Georgia, and if I have it my way, she will go to UGA like her Momma.

Letters to Abigail: Happy Two Months!!

Dear Abigail,

Two months, already? It really is amazing how fast time goes by and how quickly you grow.

You are just shy of 13 pounds already and a really good eater. We are on 100% formula now and you drink it with ease. We feed you about 6 ounces every 4 hours during the day but at night you can last 8 hours! We like to have your last daily feeding around 10 p.m., then you sleep until around 6:30 a.m. when Daddy gets up with you to start our day. From there, you usually eat at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m. and then again at 10 p.m. The 6 p.m. feeding is sometimes a challenge during the week because we get caught in the commute, but we can usually work it out without terrible consequences (i.e. you screaming your head off in the car for 30 minutes).

Since I returned to work, you stay with your Grandma at least 3 days a week and with Mrs. Carol (your Nanny) the other 2 days. You are happy at both places and I think you will really love it when you get older.

Our weeks are crazy and hectic between us working, taking/picking you up, cooking dinner, Daddy’s tennis lessons, etc. I always feel like we don’t have enough time together, but we do the best we can. I miss you terribly when I’m at work but I know you are in good hands, so I try not to worry too much.

You have begun to smile more frequently and intentionally. Your Daddy will spend hours making faces and funny noises just to get one smile from you…and it’s totally worth it! Your entire face lights up and your eyes sparkle. It’s fantastic!

You still make cute little noises and your facial expressions continue to make us laugh. Of course, we think you are the BEST looking baby in the whole world! Your eyes are huge and expressive, your cheeks are still chubby and you still have two chins. You look more like me now than you did when you were born. You have super long eyelashes, too.

You love your changing pad and have since we brought you home from the hospital. You smile constantly while laying on it and have some fascination with the pink wall. You’re still sleeping in the bassinet next to our bed and have yet to spend a night in your crib.

We have three mandatory take-alongs these days…your pacifier, a blanket and your Ling-Ling (musical travel giraffe). You love to be warm and I keep you wrapped tightly all the time. You’re a fantastic little snuggler and we spend as much time as possible snuggled together!

 

You love to blow bubbles and you are spitting up more as you grow older. I keep a bib on you at all times so you don't ruin your clothes. You noticed your sister, Daisy, the other day and seemed very intrigued by her. It won't be long before you guys are running around the house together. You are wearing a size 3 months in clothes and size 2 in diapers. However, most of your footie pajamas are getting too short because you are SO long! I have a feeling we will move into the 6 month size very soon.

You are still an amazingly easy baby and we are so happy to have you in our lives. You bring us so much joy and happiness and we can't imagine our life without you now. We love getting to know you better each day and seeing your little personality develop. You are a very happy baby, which makes me REALLY happy!

Happy 2 Months, Abigail Suzanne! We love you so much!

Foto Friday

                                                                       

Sisters

First swim suit

Birthday Wishes and Smiles!

Happy birthday to my baby brother, Tyler! He is 22 today!

 

My Mother watches Abigail three days a week and yesterday she caught some smiles on film. They just melt my heart. 

It's funny how the most important thing my Mother has ever done for me isn't really for me at all but for my child. Abigail LOVES being with her and I am SO happy that they get to spend time together. There is no better place for Abigail to be.

 

Pure LOVE!

MYOPN - Make your own pizza night!

Last night was MYOPN in the Greeff house! A few weeks ago Jan and I were at dinner with friends and they mentioned that they make their own pizzas all the time. After discussing the process, we were inspired to try it ourselves, so while making the monthly meal menu, I marked Friday, August 12th as MYOPN.

The adventure was a success and we will definitely be doing it again! Last night we played it safe with bacon, cheese, pepperoni, avocado and spices. I will be doing lots of research in the coming weeks regarding tops, etc and hope to make a more 'adult' pizza next time. I'm already dreaming of feta, olives and peppers!

Before

Note: Pizza making is messy! I strongly recommend have MYOPN the day before you clean/mop the kitchen or the day before the maid comes, ha! I think this is going to be a GREAT family activity in the future. I mean, what kid doesn't like throwing around flour and eating pizza?

After

Do you have any pizza making suggestions? Interesting topping combinations?

51 days and 100 shares

Abigail is 51 days old today and just purchased her first 100 shares of stock. The e-trade baby has nothing on her, ha! We decided we had to get her started early so she can take care of Mommy and Daddy one day. Thank you to her Oupa and Ouma for the “seed” money they gave Abigail. Hopefully she will turn it into Millions!

Isn't she beautiful?

I’ve obviously taken an unintentional blog break but have lots of great excuses. My maternity leave ended last Monday, so it was back to work on August 1st. As you can imagine, catching up on 6 weeks worth of emails and other happenings is extremely time consuming (although my co-workers did a fabulous job covering my desk while I was playing Mommy).

I just can't get enough of this little one! 

Jan and I have attempted to settle into a routine with Abigail and lucky for us, she has given us her full cooperation, ha! She truly is such an easy baby that I am ready for number 2!!! J.k.

My chunky monkey!

Last Saturday, I attended the first wedding shower for my future SIL. It was great to have a little “girl time” and I know Jan enjoyed his Daddy – Daughter time.

This is at the beginning of the shower when the dog was trying to steal Allison's boa!

The Fab Five Sisters!

My parent’s celebrated their anniversary last Saturday also, so congrats to them! They are a great example to Jan and I, and we appreciate everything they do. Abigail is lucky to have such wonderful grandparents, who also live so close.

They may not appreciate this picture but I think it's great!

A special shout out to my girlfriend, Brittany, who turned 30! this past Monday. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it to ATL Saturday night to celebrate with her so we jealously went to bed at 9:00 p.m. in protest, ha! Happy belated birthday, Brittany!

Brittany is the one who doesn't look 30, ha! Jealous!

In order to be a better blogger, I am actually setting a goal to take more pictures and blog more frequently (at least 3 times a week). Abigail is growing SO fast and I know that I need to document it better.