summer fun has begun

We had a busy week.

Monday we went swimming and...

She actually liked it!!! (not that you can really tell from the picture) I am so happy because we plan on swimming a lot this summer.

Tuesday we went to the Zoo. She enjoyed looking at the trees, grass, and fences more than the animals :) 

Oh, and fun fact, Abbie is about the size of an infant gorilla.

Wednesday we had a lazy day. However we did go for a walk around the neighborhood while there was a showing.

P.S. we will only be house-sitting for another week. I sure am going to miss all the space, the washer and dryer, dishwasher, and being so close to family.

Thursday we went to Lagoon and spent the majority of the time at Lagoon-a-beach. 

Once again Abbie enjoyed being in the water, which was a good thing because it was so hot!

She experienced all of the baby slides but didn't really react to them. 

Friday Abbie had a play date/ met her new friend Eloise, Amanda's (my childhood best friend) daughter.

Abbie is 5 weeks younger, although, they were close to the same size, except that Eloise was a little taller.

It was funny because it took a long time for them to actually look at each other :)

While there, Abbie played with Eloise's teddy bear. She found a new toy perfect for her mouth. It was so cute!

Friday night Brandon and I went to the Drive-in to see Cars 2 (my father's day gift to him). We loved it. The 2nd feature was Pirates of the Carribbean 4, whatever that's called. We decided to stay for it, however, I was tired and had a hard time keeping my eyes open and eventually fell asleep.  Brandon thought it was pretty good though. And it's true, Abbie was not invited. My mom and sister stayed over and watched her. It was really nice to go on a date again.

Saturday we slept in because we didn't get home til close to 3 am. We went to In-n-Out for lunch, had friends over for a couple of hours, went grocery shopping (finally), and went to a BBQ with the Crowthers. (I know I am lame for not taking any pics)

Today, Sunday, we went back to Provo for church and went to a dinner wedding celebration for Brandon's uncle.

I'd say we had quite the busy week. I think I need another lazy day

Other random happenings:

Abbie waking up daddy, who was being a sleepy-head

Sneezing. Ha ha.  Who knew you could capture it in action?

So. I got a new pump that actually works. Yay, no more of this sometimes working, sometimes not stuff, and hopefully no more worrying if there is enough milk for Abbie.

Also, Abbie has perfected the art of rolling from back to front. Almost immediately after she is put on the ground she rolls over. She loves it. Until she realizes she is stuck on her tummy and can't get back. I guess now she will have to work on going from tummy to back.

Camping

Friday

We left Salt Lake around noon and headed up to Mantua (next to Brigham City) to have a weekend get away with Brandon's family.  We fit 12 people and all our gear in 2 cars and a van, and boy were they packed to the rim.

When we got there we set up tents and then spent the rest of the day hanging out and relaxing.

Grandma and Abbie

 Chillin in the tent- don't worry we didn't all sleep in the one tent

Here is the setup of our campsite

It was fun to have the campground next to a lake. We all took turns going on the raft. It was also cool that there were a couple of swings. I think Abbie enjoyed it.

Saturday

This is how Abbie woke up in the morning. What a cutie! 

It was pretty cold during the night. Fortunately we took plenty of blankets for Abbie and so she slept just fine. Brandon and I, on the other hand, were very cold until half way through the night we got smart and each used our own sleeping bag.

Abbie and daddy lounging about in the sleeping bag before heading off to Lava Hot Springs for the day.

We wanted to tube down the river, unfortunately the river was high and a little too dangerous. So, we settled for the olympic pool and hot springs. We had a picnic at the pool. Abbie had some chocolate pudding and liked it, though you can't tell from the picture. When everyone was ready to swim she decided she was tired. So, I sat out with her and read my book. When she got up, we got in the pool also. She wasn't happy about that and started crying right away. So, far we haven't had the best experience with her at swimming pools.

Then we went up to the Hot springs. Some of them were REALLY hot.

I was expecting them to look more natural. Something like what you would see at Yellowstone. But, no matter, they were still really cool.

After a fun day at Lava we headed back to the campground and had smores around the fire.

The fire felt so good because it was getting cold. And, I have to say that I am a pro at roasting golden marshmellows :)

Before we all headed off to bed we played the game Big Budha. It was fun and spontaneous.

Sunday

Abbie woke up around 6:30 am and had busted out of all her blankets. She was cold so I put her in my sleeping bag to keep her warm. I am glad she was able to get warm and sleep more, however, I had a hard time sleeping after that. 

Because it was raining we cleaned up camp quickly. Here we are being matchy-matchy in the tent to keep warm. It was pretty funny, Abbie was wearing a jacket over her warm jammies, with a headband to hold the hoodie, and socks as gloves.

We had such a fun time! I didn't really know that I like camping so much. And I am so glad that Abbie was soooo good, especially considering her ear infection. She took good naps, slept great during the night and was generally happy. 

Oh, and because it was father's day I just want to thank Brandon, my dad, my father-in-law, and all our grandpas for being awesome examples and wonderful dads! 

Sick.. Really??

Tuesday morning I went and helped my mom at work. Of course Abbie came with me.  She was fussy, which is not normal and when she slept it was only because I had to put her to sleep, again not normal. And the naps didn't last very long. I thought nothing of it, just figured I had thrown off her routine and she didn't know how to handle it. So, being the brilliant person that I am, Sydney, Abbie, and I went up to the spa to go swimming. Stupid. We got in the water and Abbie began her 20 minutes of screaming. We got out and nothing I did could calm her down. All the people looked at me and probably wondered what in the world I was doing to her to make her scream  like that. So, we left. You can guess I was a little irritated. I went right home, thinking she would sleep better in a crib, to give her a nice long nap. Except by the time we got home she was acting happy. Yep, I was frustrated. Really, what was all that screaming about?
After a little while she got back to being really fussy and tired but had a hard time sleeping. This went on for the rest of the day. By the evening I was so frustrated with her. My family came over to give us a break, and we ran a couple of errands.

When we got home my mom said she thought Abbie might have an ear infection. Duh, why didn't I come up with the possibility that she might be sick. Yep, I am a great mom. My whole attitude changed and I felt terrible for getting frustrated with her earlier. I gave her some tylenol and that helped her sleep ok through the night.

Wednesday morning I made a doctor appointment and she and I headed to Provo. While there, her tylenol ran out and I had a miserable baby. She couldn't stop crying and even though she was hungry she wouldn't eat. The doctor checked her out and sure enough, she has an ear infection in her right ear. The doctor said that it is very rare for babies under six months to get ear infections. Well, it's rare unless you are in my family. Great, we can expect many more to come.

We left the doctor's office and I gave her more tylenol and tried to feed her again. It took a while but finally she was able to get some food in her.  The whole time I felt so bad for her because I remember ear infections being really painful. Look at those sad, red eyes :(

She fell asleep on the way to Wal-mart, where I was going to pick up her prescription. We got there and they told me it would be a 1/2 hour wait. I figured that was fine because she seemed ok for the moment and I could get a little shopping done. We ended up being there for an hour and a half. Longest trip ever, with a sick baby. Finally we got out of there, and I was so anxious to get back. I must have been a little too anxious because I ended up locking Abbie in the car. Yep, one more great thing to add to my day. It was sooo hot, and I was having a panic attack. I called Brandon and thankfully he helped me find the spare key. She was only locked in the car for a few minutes. We finally got home! What a long day, and it was only half over.
With the prescription and the tylenol in her she was feeling much better though.

So, being the great mom that I am, we headed to Lagoon. You didn't think all that would stop me from going did you? Actually, I was a little hesitant.Thankfully Abbie was pretty good, and we had fun.

Our little family on the Sky Ride

She has been doing a lot better today as long as I keep up with her meds. Hopefully her ear infection will get better soon, so we can have our very happy baby back.

And now tomorrow we are headed off for a short vacation to Lava Hot Springs. See you on the other side.

Lagoon & This is the Place Park

One morning last week I woke up and heard 'talking'. I found Abbie in the crib like this. It was so cute, she was just entertaining herself. She is getting so good at breaking out of her burrito wrap.

Thursday was a busy day.  We packed up everything we need for a month and temporarily moved into my Aunt and Uncle's house in Draper. We are house-sitting for them while they are in California. As soon as we dropped off all our stuff we headed off to Lagoon.

Abbie's first ride, the merry-go-round

Do you think she liked it?

Heather and Amanda came with us. I am so glad because then I had somebody to go on the rides with while Brandon watched Abbie (his choice, he is not a big ride freak like me). Mom, dad, Janessa, grandma, and grandpa joined us later in the day.

Riding on the train

We got to see some tigers and lions along with some other animals.

Ha ha, this is supposed to be a kid ride. I guess some of us are still kids at heart

Hanging out with Grandma while we went on a few rides

Going on the merry-go-round again. This time with great grandpa McDaniel

Friday, we spent the day with Brandon's family. We went up to This is the Place Park for the free day. 

Here we are riding the train.

Brandon's dad is working there during the summer. He plays the part of a banker.

 We took a picnic and the park gave everyone a free ice cream cone. It was a hot day but we still had lots of fun.

Afterwards we went to their house to hang out. Brandon and I got a haircut from his mom. And of course here is Abbie showing off her skills :)

Also, Brandon won a McDonald's gift card and t-shirt on the radio. Yay! Except that I am not a fan a McDonald's. Oh, well it was still fun.

My baby girl is getting bigger

Abbie is 3 months old!

 

She likes to:

Play with her toys

 Roll over

Yep, in the last couple of days she has perfected the roll over from back to left side to tummy.

 Sit up

Watch tv/ movies

Play with daddy (and mommy)

 

Stand up

And, smile :)  (sometimes laugh)

 

Also, in the last couple of weeks we have gotten on a routine. Yay! I read the book On Becoming Baby Wise and found a lot of it helpful. 
She normally goes to bed around 8pm and wakes up usually once during the night (around 4pm). And she always goes right back to sleep. During the day she is on a sleep/feed/wake routine. So, she eats about every 3 hours. I am so happy there is no more snacking. I let her eat as much as she wants which is usually about 4 ounces. Then we play for awhile, usually about 1-1 1/2 hours and then she takes a nap. I don't usually let her fall asleep in my arms. If I am home then I put her in the crib awake. Sometimes she cries for a couple minutes and sometimes she goes right to sleep. 

This routine has been so great! I feel like she gets better sleep and is a lot happier when she is awake and hardly ever fussy.

She is a pretty good baby and we love her so much!

RaNdOm happenings

This post is kind of choppy. But, here is what we have been up to the last couple of days.

Visiting Brandon for lunch one day. We must have tired her out.

 This is Abbie's half smile. She has started to laugh just recently, but it is still pretty rare.

I subbed last friday for a 4th grade class at Bella Vista (yay money).  So, while we were up there we decided to take Abbie swimming at the rec center. It was her first time.

 Janessa and Amanda went with us. We had a fun time.  The weather was nice but there was a breeze that made it a little chilly.

The water was pretty cold too--at least when we first got in. Abbie didn't seem to really mind though.

 Being in the floaty thing lasted for just a couple minutes

 Actually her whole swimming experience only lasted for about 10 minutes. Brandon was able to take some pictures and then go down the slide twice before we had a crying baby (because she was tired). He spent the rest of the time reading and holding her while she slept. Us girls got to enjoy the pool a little longer :)

Abbie just keeps getting better on her tummy and seems to enjoy it more also.

 

Our cutie in the nude-y :)

 Also, We went to Amanda's dance concert and Planet play/Pizza Pie cafe for Syd's 14th birthday. Unfortunately I forgot the SD card for the camera so we didn't get any pictures :(

Abbie still hasn't rolled over since that one day. I think it must have been a fluke. She is getting so close but just can't quite make it all the way over. Hopefully soon.

I am so excited that we got Lagoon season passes with my family. We will probably go this week so watch for pictures.

For your viewing pleasure:

 

Ok, I think that is everything for now.