Foto Friday

Happy Friday, everyone!

Free Family Fun

I love to find free family fun events (how's that for alliteration) and last night's "Screen on the Green" was right up our alley! After work yesterday, Jan went to get Abigail from the Nanny and I went to Subway to pick up sandwiches, and then we met back for our little "dinner and a movie" date (with 1,000 other people). We arrived early enough to throw our blanket down on a nice piece of grass and listen to a local band. After enjoying our somewhat healthy dinner (better than McDonalds, right?) and partaking in lots of people-watching, Abigail passed out and we watched the new X-Men movie, which was actually better than I expected. Cheers for FREE FAMILY FUN!!

 

Sunday Funday

We had a great weekend that ended with a family-filled Sunday Funday! Friday night my parents offered to keep Abigail for a few more minutes, so Jan and I went to eat at this great little Mexican joint in Pine Mountain! Saturday morning we ran several errands and managed to find some new jeans and shorts for Jan (someone besides me gained weight during the pregnancy!). We watched most of the GA game that afternoon and then Abigail and I headed to the tennis courts to cheer on my team. I didn't play this week but as team captain I still needed to be there. Abigail LOVES being outside, so we had a great time!

Saturday was National Braai Day in South Africa, so after the tennis matches, we enjoyed a nice evening and braai.

 Daddy and his lil' helper cooking the boerewors and braai-broodjies

Yesterday we had Abigail's 3-month photo shoot. Our photographers are also our friends, so they came over bright and early to catch Abigail's morning smiles! Jan and I had prepared breakfast, so we all enjoyed coffee, rooibos tea, hashbrown casserole, bacon and fruit! We can't wait to see the magic Wesley and Neely captured! 

After the shoot, we went to visit my Grandmother and Abigail's Great-Grandmother. I think Grandma Ruby is 84 and her mind is still really sharp! 

Since we were out and about visiting family, we also stopped by to meet Miss Mattie Hughes, a new cousin born on Labor Day. She is tiny compared to Abigail!! Lucky for us, several other cousins were there, so we had a really fun visit. Check out all the pretty babies!

We ended our weekend with Jan washing the cars and playing with Daisy, who LOVES to jump for the water hose and puts on quite an acrobatic show!  

I hope everyone else had a fantastic weekend! It's hard to believe September is already gone.

Foto Friday

Letters to Abigail: Happy Three Months!!

Dear Abigail,

Yesterday we celebrated 3 months with you. As usual, we took 1,000 pictures and said, “I can’t believe it’s been 3 months!”

You are still in size 1-2 diapers (up to 14 pounds) but we are finishing the last pack and moving on to size 2 (up to 18 pounds) very soon. Daddy and I sometimes get confused by the whole diaper size thing, so we really rely on the weight parameter. And speaking of weight, I don’t know exactly how much you weigh right now, but considering you weighed 13 lbs and 3 ounces exactly 22 days ago, I assume you are a little shy of 14 pounds.

You wear size 3 month and size 6 month clothes. The fit really depends on the outfit design and brand. However, you can only wear size 6 month footie pajamas because you are so long! We are still amazed at how long you are.

You have become a lot more animated this month. We call you our Lil’ Pirate because you make the ‘Aargh’ noise a lot! It’s really cute. You are a very happy baby and smile a ton, especially in the mornings. Last Saturday (9/17), you actually laughed for the first time. It was fantastic and Daddy spent the rest of the weekend trying to make you laugh again. We look forward to lots of baby chuckles very soon!

You discovered your hand this month and it cracks me up! You will stare intently at your hand as you hold it in front of your face and you seem completely amazed that it’s real and it’s yours, and it moves when you want it to. I get a kick out of watching you! It’s only a matter of time before you discover your feet.

You are drooling a little more this month which makes me wonder if you will start teething soon. You are also sucking your bottom lip a lot lately. I hope it doesn't become chapped!

You are still a wonderful sleeper and Daddy and I are SO happy about it! We put you to bed around 9:30 p.m. and you sleep solidly in your bassinet until 6:30 a.m. Sometimes you try to fight sleep but your battle usually only last five minutes! You’re still a good eater too. We recently introduced cereal into your bottle and it helps keep you full for longer. I like to call you my “hungry, hungry hippo!” You are definitely a healthy baby.

Your neck is really strong and you can sit up really well in your Bumbo seat. I like to set you on my vanity counter in the mornings so we can see each other while I put on my makeup. The other day you saw yourself in the mirror and busted out into a huge grin. It was very cute!!

Over the past month, you: 1) took your first trip to the beach, 2) went to your first outdoor concert, 3) laughed out loud for the first time, 4) had cereal in your bottle for the first time and 5) got your first passport. It’s been a very busy month!!

Sometimes I wonder how we got so lucky to have such a wonderful baby. You sleep great, you never cry and you seem genuinely happy all the time. I hope you are always happy. Daddy and I cherish every moment we have with you and just love you to pieces. You are an absolutely beautiful baby with an outstanding personality. True perfection!

 

Happy 3 Months, Abigail Suzanne! We love you to pieces!

Passport Photos

On Monday night, we took almost 100 pictures of Abigail in an attempt to get the perfect passport photo. For those of you familiar with the process, you know the photos have to be very specific...white background, contrasting color shirt, the head can't be too big or too small, etc. Well, Abigail decided to stick out her tongue, blow bubbles and move NON-stop! Here is one of the attempts.

Tongue out and drooling!!! Haha! Of course, I wanted to put a bow on her head but that was against the rules too! Check out those LONG eyelashes...B-E-A-utiful! I could eat her with a spoon. South Africa and Holland, here we come!!!

September Weekend

It seems our weekends are always so busy and this past weekend was no exception. Friday night we headed downtown for a free concert featuring Peggy Jenkins & the Bizness. We dined at a local brew pub, The Cannon,  and enjoyed some great outdoor music. Abigail was wonderful as always, and took in all the new sights, sounds and people! 

 

After the concert, we headed home and it was time for Abigail and I to go to bed. Jan was just getting his night started, however, since South Africa was playing Fiji in the Rugby World Cup at 2:00 AM!!! The crazy time differences make for very strange game times, but Jan is a true Springboks fan and watches them play anyway. While Abigail and I dreamed of snow cones and cupcakes, Jan was hanging out at Scruffy Murphy's with several other South Africans. I don't think he got home until after 4 AM! While we were downtown earlier that night for the concert, he proudly hung his SA flag in the window at Scruffy's in preparation for the game later that night.

I had a tennis match Saturday morning and then we had a surprise birthday party to attend Saturday night. Our friend, Roxy, turned 25 and Ashley and Razvan hosted a party for her at their house. It was a lot of fun and nice to see several of our friends. I did manage to take a few pictures.

Roxy making her way around the room after the big "surprise!"

Raz and Jan

Eva & Toby

(Eva only has 10 weeks to go before Max arrives!)

Sunday was a much needed day of relaxation and recovery. I spent all day hanging out with Abigail and Jan went to play golf in the afternoon. Thank goodness for Sundays! :)

Abigail's Newborn Session

I finally uploaded some photos from Abigail's newborn session. I figured it was about time since her 3 month pictures are being taken a week from Sunday. WHAT?? 3 months ALREADY? Geez!

These photos were taken by our friends, Wesley and Neely Ker-Fox of Ker-Fox Photography. As usual, they did a great job! Their little Fox is only a few weeks away from arriving and we look forward to introducing Abigail to Finley.