Abigail is 9 Months Old

Yesterday, Abigail turned 9 months old! She also had her nine month check-up. She is 20 lbs, 6 oz (75th percentile) and 29 1/2 inches long (95th percentile). We are so blessed with two happy and healthy little girls. I can't believe how fast the months have flown by and how fun it has been to watch her learn new things.

Babies change sooo much this first year. This is Abigail at just a few days old.

Here are some things Abigail is doing at nine months old:

• Crawling all over... she has a very funny crawl where it looks like she is doing a bear walk


• Pulling herself up on the couch, chairs, etc.


• Walking around if you hold her hand


• Eating all kinds of foods: cheerios, bread, pasta, beans, blueberries, tomatoes, watermelon, banana, etc.


• Last week was the first time she really exhibited anger/frustration - Grace took something out of her hand and she started banging her arms up and down - it was quite funny (yes, I know it won't be funny in a couple of months)


• She will sometimes babble: mamamama, dadadada, gagagaga


• She still loves to smile and giggle (especially if Grace is playing with her)

We can't believe how quickly the time goes. I think it goes even faster with a second child. So we try to treasure the small moments and milestones and look forward to the next ones.

Preschool Graduation

Friday was a big day for Grace - she graduated from preschool!

After two years of homework, projects, and hard work, it all paid off on the big day when she was awarded her diploma (summa cum laude) from the prestigious preschool she has been attending. To be honest, they do give the kids some breaks from all the hard work of learning the alphabet and numbers - there was summer camp, playing outside in the park, ballet class, performing arts class, art club and endless songs and games.

We were so proud of Grace when she stood on the stage in front of about 50-75 people and sang "I can't smile without you" with 4 of her friends. It does not get much cuter than that!

We had a great time and aunt Kerri was able to join us for the festivities.

What's next for Grace? First summer camp at her school and then on to kindergarten!

Easy Diet Coke Cake Recipe

I recently read about Coca-Cola cakes on several different blogs so my curiousity finally got the best of me and Grace and I made one last night. (Sorry I don't have any pictures.)

I got the inspiration from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes and just added one additional ingredient.

Box of cake mix (I used chocolate)
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp of vanilla
A can of soda (or "pop" if you are from Michigan or any other state that uses the word "pop") - I used diet coke

Mix it all together and bake according to the directions on the box. Mine took much less time to bake, so you should check it often with a toothpick.

Of course it is supposed to be "low fat" until, as I did, you slather it with frosting.

I used a 9 x 13 pan. It tasted kind of dry last night but this morning it tasted much more moist (could be related to the frosting that was slathered on last night)!

The Cherry and the Pit

Two weeks ago, at the wedding of the century, I was chatting with my cousin John O. He has 4 children and he told me about a daily tradition he and his wife, Traci, started with their kids.

They explained to their kids (at least with the ones who are old enough to understand) that a cherry has two parts: the pit, which does not taste good and is mostly the "yucky" part of the cherry, and then the cherry itself, which is sweet and delicious. Then they explained that our every days lives usually have a "pit" part and a "cherry" part. So, each night, they ask their kids "what was the cherry part of your day and what was the pit part of your day?"

So we started the tradition with Grace. We used to ask her "what was the best part of your day?" but I like the cherry and the pit question because it sheds light on both parts of her day. I like the pit analogy because it seems better than asking "what was the worst part of your day?" It is so interesting to hear what she says each day.

And of course she asks us about our cherry and pit parts of our day. The cherry part of my weekdays is picking up Grace from school and having her run over and give me a big hug and picking Abigail from daycare and seeing her face light up with a smile when she sees me. The cherry part of Bruno's day is walking in the door after work and having Grace run into his arms yelling "daddy!" and seeing Abigail burst into a huge smile! Ususally those moments make the pit parts seem not as bad!

Those precious moments

As each month goes by and Abigail gets older, I keep trying to appreciate those precious little moments and soak them in. I know that when I am in the moment, I think I couldn't possibly forget how wonderful it is, but I know that I likely will as she moves into each new phase.

So here are my "Abigail is 8 1/2 months old" precious moments:

• She woke up at 6:00 a.m. yesterday (she usually sleeps until 7:00 a.m.) so I just rocked her and she cuddled for almost 45 minutes - I loved every minute of it!


• The smell of her hair after it has just been washed


• The way she lights up when Grace, Bruno or I walk into a room


• Her giggle - oh how I love that giggle when we are tickling her!


• The tight grasp she has when I am holding her hands helping her to walk
  
• The way she falls alseep in my arms when I am feeding her bottle before she goes to bed


• The way Grace can make her laugh by just talking to her


• Watching her crawl across the floor to try and get something that she wants

Each stage is filled with precious moments and I just try to treasure them and hope that I will never forget all the special times!

A great day in DC

Bruno and I are always commenting that we don't really take advantage of living less than 5 miles from our nation's capitol. So, this weekend, we decided to take Grace and Abigail to the Lincoln Memorial. Grace had never been and I kept telling her how big the statute was. I was expecting a giant "wow" from her - thinking that she would be staring in awe at the grandeur of the statue. But, no such luck. She was excited to climb all the stairs and then looked at Lincoln as if it was just another statue. Hard to explain to a 5 year-old the significance of one of our greatest Presidents and what he did for our country. She did find it intriguing when I showed her the back of the penny and she was looking at the Memorial on the back of the penny and then looking at it in person.


When we got home, it was pretty hot out so we pulled out the kiddie pool. Grace and Abigail had fun splashing around. We had the pool in our front yard (the back is too full of mosquitos) and eventually had about 6 other neighborhood kids over splashing in the water. We have about 15 kids under the age of 5 on our block so it is a very kid-friendly neighborhood - we love it!

And one of my newest Grace stories - the other day she was trying to get Bruno to turn on her favorite tv show and she repeatedly asked him. He was distracted with something so she turned to me and said "Will you please turn on my show? This man is not listening to me!" We laughed so hard!

The Big Day - and She's Off...

I was trying to wait and get some pictures before I posted but then I realized too many fun things have ocurred lately so I just have a few pics!

First of all - Kerri and Mark's big day! What a fabulous weekend! Everything was perfect and fun from the bridal luncheon to the rehearsal dinner to the wedding to the brunch (are you seeing a theme of one meal to the next - yes!) Kerri looked gorgeous and Mark looked very handsome - and most importantly - they were so happy!

Grace was the flower girl and, we may be slightly biased, but she was the best flower girl ever! She walked slowly down the aisle dropping the petals, smiling and looking around. I will never forget how adorable she looked walking down the aisle.

The ceremony was beautiful - Kerri and Mark did a fabulous job of intertwining the Catholic and Jewish traditions. The flowers surrounding them were stunning and the music was perfect.

And Abigail looked adorable in her beautiful pink dress. Unfortunately, she was pretty much ready for bed by the time we were ready to take pictures so, again, I don't have many of her yet.

The reception was fabulous - the food was delicious and the band was incredible! Everyone danced the entire night (including Grace who danced until the last song). I asked Grace where she learned to dance so well and she said she watched Sammy and the "water polo cousins" (Kristen and Megan) and she figured if they could dance so well, so could she!

It was a wonderful weekend to be surrounded by our family and friends celebrating Kerri and Mark's special day. And now they are relaxing in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean sipping cocktails, sitting by the beach and watching the sunsets - ahhh!

And she's off... about 2 weeks before the wedding, a few days before she turned 8 months old, Abigail started crawling! She picked it up pretty quickly and has ventured off the carpet a few times. I know it won't be long before she is cruising around the house getting into everything! Grace has had quite the reality check now that Abigail can crawl over to her stuff and start going through it.

Both girls continue to bring smiles to our faces every day! They are at such different stages of their lives and we enjoy every minute of each stage!