Over the river and through the woods...

...to Great Grandmom and Grandpop's we go!!!

On Tuesday Mommy, Grandmom, and Aunt Meg took Abbie to meet her Great Grandparents in PA. Even with an upset stomach and fussy attitude, it sounded like she did not wear out her welcome.

Abbie can't wait to meet the remainder of her family at her baptism on the 9th!

Saddest Little Giant

Last Sunday Abbie's favorite football team was eliminated from playoff contention in embarrassing fashion. She cried her eyes out all night.

To make things worse... now she'll have to listen to all her Eagle-fan cousins/aunts/uncles/great grandparents at her baptism brag about their upcoming postseason run.

On the bright-side... only 49 days til pitchers and catchers report.

Success!!!!

It's no secret that Abbie has been a great sleeper. But all of her success to date has come in the car seat. Mommy & Daddy didn't want to rock the boat... but figured it was time to try the crib again (especially since Daddy has been home from work over Christmas and Abbie's doctor told us we need to break OUR bad habits by 4 months).

So... we're happy to report that on attempt #3 last night... Abbie slept in her crib all night long without a peep!


Have we broken the car seat curse??? Keep it going Abbie-girl!

Celebrity Look-alike

VOTE !!!!!!

______________________________________________________

Is she Raggedy Ann?

Janice from the Muppets??

Or a white Whoopi???

Christmas

Christmas morning we headed back to Grandmom and Grandpa's and waited around for Uncle Brian to get out of bed so we could open our presents. Here is Daddy reading Abbie's new book, NY Mets History A-to-Z. P is for Piazza.



Then we packed up Abbie and headed to Aunt Elaine's house for Christmas with the Heyerts. Here she is in Outfit #3 with Great Aunt Diane.


Afterwards, it was off to the Bakers' for a few after-dinner drinks and dessert. For awhile, it seemed like Abbie wasn't going to let Mommy and Daddy relax and have fun. But after some help from the baby whisperers, she was well-fed and sound asleep... even amidst plenty of loud RockBand music & festive holiday prank phone calls.

Can't wait til next year when she can enjoy Christmas even more...

Christmas Eve Night

Christmas Eve Night it was off to the annual dinner at the Mildes' where Abbie stole the show in "Outfit #2".....
Here was the fourth annual Milde/Heyert team photo with Abbie assuming the role as the trophy. Unfortunately we couldn't find any gold spray paint. Maybe next year....

After dinner, Mommy & Daddy took Abbie to Grammy and Grandpa's house for cocktails, appetizers, and presents.... unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) all of this took place after Abbie's bedtime, so no pictures to share.

Brunch! (and Outfit #1)

This morning's annual Christmas Eve brunch was a hit again. LOTS of food and laughs. And for some reason, the recurring theme in the big "gag" present swap seemed to be Snuggies this year...

Anyway... onto fashion. For brunch, Abbie played it very casual... modeling her striped Christmas PJs and bathrobe (or smoking jacket... depending on who you ask).

Everyone else was dressed nicely as well. Except maybe Daddy. He tried to hide it here...

But in this picture... there's no denying that (once again) he made a mockery of Christmas Eve Brunch with a ridiculous "ugly Christmas sweater". Just like last year... Daddy knows where to find the best stuff in the KMart women's section. Check out those ice-skating penguins...

Christmas Eve!

Today is Christmas Eve Brunch at Abbie's house. Can't wait to see all the Grandparents, Aunts and Uncle. Here she is with her new best friend and early Christmas present from Aunt Meg....

-Abbie & Abby Cadabby-

Stay tuned for the myriad of outfits that Miss Abbie has planned for today/tomorrow...

Merry Christmas!

Grandmom & Grandpa's XMas Party

Despite the snow, last Sunday was Grandmom & Grandpa's annual Christmas party. Unfortunately, the Hare/Gutgesell clan had to bail given the excessive snowfall in PA, but at least Abbie got to meet most of the Heyerts for the first time.

She's looking forward to meeting everyone else in the near future... especially cousin Carlyn!

Oh Christmas Tree

Friday night we decorated the Christmas tree for the first time with Abbie. She wasn't too interested in the whole process, but Mom and Dad pounded a bottle of wine, so they had fun. Maybe Abbie will be a little more excited next year...

Here she is with her favorite ornament. I heard Jason Bay is on her Christmas List, just in case the Wilpons are listening.

Christmas Card Outtakes

The other day Mommy and Aunt Meg took photos of Abbie for this year's Christmas card. As you can see, we didn't have too much too work with... here is the "Best of the Worst".

1) Eddie Munster in a dress...

2) Dad should've taken Abbie to JCPenney... at least they'd give her a pillow.

3) The lighting really brings out her neck in this one....

Blackout Party at Grandmom & Grandpas!

Last Saturday night there was a big party at Grandmom and Grandpa's house - the second annual Blackout Black Friday (just one day late this year). Abbie spent most of the night in bed, but she made a brief cameo appearance just after puking her entire dinner onto Daddy's lap. But he and Uncle Brian cleaned up nicely for the semi-formal.

Thanksgiving

Abbie spent her first Thanksgiving with the Schoberl family - the only Thanksiving in America with live fireworks before, during, and after the turkey.

At least we got to introduce her to Great Grandmommy. At 95 years old, she taught Mommy & Daddy a few things about soothing a 3 week old. I guess it's like riding a bicycle.

CSI Bridgewater

Some of you know that Mommy is a crime show addict. She watches every episode of NCIS, Cold Case, Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, CSI Miami, CSI New York, CSI Las Vegas, and CSI Topeka. And if she hasn't seen an episode... it's taking up space on our DVR until she DOES see it. But even with all that "experience" under her belt, it's obvious from these pictures that she'd make a terrible forensic scientist.

Here was her attempt to capture Abbie's footprints & handprints last night...
















Tell Horatio Caine that if he's looking for the no fingered bandit with 9 toes on her left foot.... she's passed out in her crib with drool on her chin.

Abbie's Dark Secret

Don't be fooled by the photo. Abbie might be cute... but she has a dark little secret that she has shared with few people besides Mommy and Daddy. But this weekend, she unleashed her inhumane talent upon everyone who crossed her path. The secret..... her farts are UNGODLY.

Sure, they started off cute, often accompanied with a little smile or smirk afterward, which always made everyone in the room chuckle a bit. But what was unveiled this weekend was a stench so overpowering it could be considered capital punishment in most civilized countries. The stench is not only strong, it lingers waaaaay too long. In fact, the farts resulted in a half dozen "false alarms" with Mommy & Daddy racing to change her diaper convinced that it was dirty. But nope... it was just a stale fart cloud surrounding her existence like PigPen.

On the positive side, Daddy is hoping this little talent keeps the boys away for awhile.

Caption Fun!

This is the first (of many) caption contests to be held on Miss Abbie B's blog... I'll start it off, but we're looking for some good group participation. The caption could be Abbie's thoughts, or just a general comment. Winner gets to change her next diaper.

Here's the first submission...."Dad!!! Seriously? Can I get a little effort here?

Lay off the afternoon lagers, chief!"

Day at the Park

Today it was about 60 degrees so we went to Duke Island Park. This technically wasn't Abbie's first time to this park, but it was the first time she has seen it outside of Mommy's tummy. Abbie didn't seem too impressed and fell asleep about a 1/8th of a mile in. However, I can attest that Mommy was MUCH happier on this Duke Island walk than she was during our mid/late October walks.

Million Dollar Smile

All smiles before bedtime...

First Bath

Tonight before bed Abbie took her first bath, albeit a sponge bath. She didn't really like it all too much. Mommy thinks it helps her relax, but Daddy isn't so sure, Maybe Abbie takes after Aunt Bid. She never liked to shower either back in the day... guess that's how she got that great "second" nickname.

Daddy's Belated Birthday

Today we came home from the hospital and celebrated Daddy's birthday with the whole family. Even though it was 8 days late (and Abbie slept through most of the "celebration") he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Hello Abigail Claire!

11/6/09 5:39 PM

"Ah-say-bay" becomes

ABIGAIL CLAIRE!!!!

9 lbs. 0 oz. 21 in long

The Big Day - Version 3.0

The more updates I write... the closer the baby is. I'm sensing a pattern here.

Colleen was checked by the doctor at 1pm. She's made excellent progress and was dilated 4 (maybe 5) centimeters. The doctor also broke her water at that time and everything looks perfect. Colleen is in no pain and is now resting up for the big finale. The doctor is coming back at around 3:30/4:00 to reevaluate the progress. but she's expecting about 1 cm per hour from here on out. That means we should hit the full 10cm around 6:00/7:00pm... then we start pushing. And then the androgynous baby formerly known as "ACB", "Ah-say-bay", and "Terry"... will officially become either Andrew or Abigail!

I'll call with an update after the next doctor checkup. At that point, we can discuss when it makes sense to pack up the coolers for tonight's happy hour in the hospital. Somebody please bring a cold lager for the daddy....

The Big Day - Part Duex

Update two is not much of an update.... but in an effort to keep a dialogue going (and to keep me busy)...

Our new nurse started around 7:30 and seems real sharp. Ironically, turns out she's a Roxbury resident because her kids had Kevin for high school math. She's very diligent and is paying a lot more attention to the monitors that Colleen is hooked up to than the first two nurses. Ironically their names were Liz and Alison (this morning I was hoping for the trifecta and get a Meghan... but "Shirley" has been excellent so far).

The mild pain med that Colleen got at 7 has worn off -- and that's a good thing. While it minimized the pain and allowed her to sleep a little, it also made her feel a little nauseous. 100% positive that she'll never take those meds again... it will only be the epidural from here on out... Contractions are starting to become more consistent but the nurse said they need to come slightly closer together. I think they're like 4 min now. We should be seeing a doctor around noon after she gets out of a C-section. Then she'll recheck dilation and see where to progress from there.

The Big Day - Part I

Besides both of us getting virtually no sleep, last night was uneventful. We've both been up for good since around 5am. Around that time, Colleen started to have contractions of varying strength and frequency. This is a good sign... but we still have a long way to go (at last check, she's only dilated <1cm). The contractions were painful at times so she got some very mild pain meds around 7 and was able to catch up on some sleep.

The pitocin was also just started and the nurse told me that it usually takes about an hour to go 1cm. It could be faster or slower... but generally first time moms are on the slow side. That means we could be looking at 10hrs or more from now. She has not been able to eat anything since yesterday at 5pm besides fluids and ice chips and that is going to continue while she is on the pitocin.

All things considered... she is handling everything very well and you'd all be proud of her.