2 Months Old

Abigail is two months old!  The past two months have been filled with many firsts for all of us.  Abby has had her first bath, first smiles and first outing to the beach among other things.  She has grown and changed so quickly from a tiny, sleepy newborn to an alert and active baby exploring her world.  We thought we'd share a few pictures from Abigail's first two months.  She is growing and changing so fast!

 

It's a Girl!

Daniel and I are excited to introduce you to our daughter, Abigail Grace!  Abigail arrived at 1:26 am on April 21st.  She weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

Abigail came three weeks early.  She wasn't due to arrive until May 9th so we were completely surprised when I went into labor on Easter Sunday.  Daniel and I had gathered with friends for Easter dinner.  Shortly before dinner my water broke.  We called my doctor and the nurse on call told me that I needed to be at the hospital within an hour.  Daniel and I left right away and stopped at home to pick up my bag, which I had thankfully started to pack.  Labor was already moving quickly.  Contractions had begun within 15 minutes of my water breaking at 6 pm and were only 5 minutes apart from the start.  By the time we got checked in at the hospital my contractions were one on top of the other, measuring 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.  Shortly after midnight we were ready to push and after an hour or so Abigail was here.  As she came out Daniel made the announcement, "It's a girl!"

Daniel and I truly feel blessed that we have been given this precious gift.  She has already brought us tremendous joy (Abigail means "source of joy") and we look forward to watching Abby grow up.

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."  Psalm 126:3

24 Weeks

I just reached 24 weeks and am feeling good.  Its definitely been nice to have my energy back and feeling more like my old self, besides the growing belly.  The baby has been moving around a lot these days.  In fact, just in the past few days, I've been able to see my belly move here and there. 

20 Weeks!

Beautiful

Today was my 18 week ultrasound.  Daniel was able to take a little time off work and join me at this appointment.  We've had two other ultrasounds - 6 1/2 weeks and 8 weeks - but this one was extra special as we were able to see how much our little one has grown and developed.  I have to admit, I was anxious about this ultrasound.  Deep down I was worried that something would be wrong.  The ultrasound tech told us our baby was "beautiful"!  Everything looks perfect - heart, brain, spine, size.  Our little one was even sucking its thumb at one point!  We are so thankful for this beautiful blessing.

Thankfulness

Daniel and I have much to be thankful for. As I've spent that past few days preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving, I've been contemplating the many things that I am grateful for. I thought I'd share a few of those things with you:

Daniel - I'm so thankful to have a loving and supportive husband to walk through life with.  Daniel is my best friend.  We have been through our ups and downs and I can't imagine not having him by my side.

A home - I feel blessed to have a warm house and a roof over my head. I have thoroughly enjoyed having a house of our very own. And it's more than just a house, it's a home.  It's that feeling that I get when I arrive home, of being where I belong.

Our jobs - Even though my hours have been cut back at work, I'm thankful to have a place of employment. I love going to work and interacting with students, their families and the teachers and staff. I'm also thankful for Daniel's job. He has been blessed with a supportive director and supervisor.

Family - As we've been away from family the past few years I have come to cherish the time spent together and have learned to not take family for granted. I'm thankful for phone calls, emails and Skype.

Friends -  The friendships that we have formed here have been a blessing to me. In fact, some of these friends have become "family".  How special it is to have friends to enjoy holidays with!

New life - I give thanks to God every day for the new life that is growing inside of me. I feel blessed beyond words as Daniel and I prepare to become parents. It's been a long journey with disappointment and heartache. But God is faithful!

Minnesota Road Trip

A few weeks ago, Daniel and I packed up the car, loaded Makwa into the back and started our loooooong journey to Minnesota. We left home at 4am and drove 14 hours to Elkhart, IN where we spent the night. The next morning we got up early and drove the final 10 hours to Minneapolis. We hadn't done the drive since we moved to the Boston area over four years ago, so we decided to make the drive this time. We were looking forward to a good road trip. Daniel insisted on bringing his golf clubs (since there was space in the car) and got to play a couple of rounds. I was able to schedule some time with a couple of friends that I hadn't seen in a long time. We also had a great time visiting with family, celebrating birthdays and the 4th of July, and just hanging out together.

Makwa was ready to go!

Foggy drive through Massachusetts

Chicago before morning rush hour

Hello Minnesota!

 

Makwa's excited to be back in Minneapolis, too!

Celebrating a special birthday

More birthday celebrations!

 

4th of July fireworks in Minneapolis

Back on the road

Almost home!