Friday is Bath Time

Yesterday afternoon I came home and was welcomed with the a baby girl that had spent most of the day spitting up on herself. Jill had already begun prepping the bathtub in determination to have a clean Abigail before nighttime. So we went upstairs got all of the things ready so we could give Abby her first real "bath" bath. Of course, Abby was still showing those big gummy smiles (see previous post below), so I grabbed my camera and snapped off the following shot.



After Abby and her daddy had some mirror fun smiling back and forth, we met back up with mom and let the fun begin. And Jill made sure that all that fun was not just Abby's by jumping in with her clothes on. I made sure to snap plenty of photos, which of course we will now share in the following slideshow. Enjoy!

Gummy Smiles

Morning time is so much fun with Abigail. She's wide awake and alert from a long night's sleep, and when she wakes she eats, so her belly is full...then it's time to play. She coos and will stick her tongue out (which is her way of playing with us). Recently she's been opening her mouth so wide, all you get is one big gummy smile! I love it! I had captured a cute smile on my camera phone and sent it to Matt, my mom and Matt's dad. When I sent pics to my mom, she'll usually call. I put the phone on speaker so Abigail could hear her Nina talk, and she kept cooing and smiling. Now the two of us are off to walk the mall since it's still too cold to walk the neighborhood. :) Have a great day everyone!

Naptime with Daddy

Matt got home early today (4:30pm!) and Abigail was just dozing off. He had picked up the mail on the way in and we traded, he got Abigail and I got the mail. We finally received a ton of mail from our insurance company with the explanation of benefits, none of my medical bills from November had been processed until recently. There were two claims being denied so I went into the dining room to make my phone call. Finally finished with the numerous calls necessary, I went into the living room to find both daddy and daughter napping. The photo op was too cute for me to pass up, just had to share!

Eight Pounds

While we have not seen the latest Will Smith flick, I was able to weigh Abigail today!

Toby had an appointment for his annual shots at the vet and their was a kitty scale in the room. When they took Toby to the back for blood and fecal samples, I took it upon myself to weigh my FULLY CLOTHED daughter on the kitty scale! I emphasized FULLY CLOTHED because she was wearing a hat, long sleeve onsie & socks while I put her on the scale so no one can lecture me on the germs. She weighed a whopping 8lbs 2.5oz...part of that being the clothes, so she's probably right under 8lbs at 5wks. This is is up from 6lbs 1oz at her last appointment, when she was 9 days old. When I confessed to the vet that I used the scale, she laughed and explained it was actually a baby scale they use for kitties.

I did find a new nap time position for Abigail today. She was fighting sleep, which she normally doesn't do until it's bedtime. I gave her a little nap time snack and she fell asleep on the boppy. I was able to move the boppy off my lap and placed it next to me on the couch. It was amazing, she napped for almost 3 hours!

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon in La Grange - Abigail's first visit to her daddy's hometown. She had fun seeing her great grandparents, her grandparents (Nana & Papa), and her Aunt Val & Uncle J. Oh, and Matt's cousin Wendy and her husband Mike also stopped by briefly to spend some time with Abby.

All in the Details

One of my favorite tiny details is Abigail's eyelashes. When she was born, there was barely any at all. Over the weeks her eyelashes have continued to grow and slightly darken. Her eyebrows are starting to get a slight color to them as well. She also still has cute little peach fuzz along the edges of her ears.

I love Abigail's hands and feet. Her fingernails grow fairly quickly, I've been giving her baby manicures. She has started to grasp onto our fingers. When Abigail is eating, if she finds my hand, she will hold onto a finger. Meanwhile, still eating, she's gently rubbing her little feet against my arm and elbow. It's as if she's trying to tell me 'Mom this boobie is so tasty.' Sometimes I rub her feet while she's eating, she likes that too. Then there are her toes (her daddy's monkey toes); it's so adorable when she flexes and bends and stretches them.

Abigail wont be weighed again until the end of February for her 8wk check-up. I tried weighing myself, then weighing both of us but it wasn't accurate. Her cheeks are fuller (as I'm sure you can tell by pictures). What you do not see, are the cute little rolls she now has at the top of her thighs. She's still an itty bitty thing, but those thighs are too cute! We tried measuring her today and we estimate she's measuring at least 20in long.


Little noises are more than just crying now. Abigail is cooing a little bit and we have even heard a giggle or two. She was smiling and cooing at me this morning when I was telling her she had a stinky in her diaper. I think the funniest noise is this partial cry, she starts to whine and then stops as quickly as it started.

As the days and weeks continue to pass, Abigail is only going to get more active and her personality will continue to shine through. I'll try my best to keep everyone updated on Abigail as she continues to grow both inside and out. :)

Mom, Not Now I'm Trying to Sleep

Happy One Month Birthday, Abigail

Today was a special day for our country as most of us watched President Obama be sworn into office in Washington, but there's another reason Jill and I are super excited about January 20th...Abigail Jaclyn Barnes is now a full one month old. Woohoo! I think it's really amazing to think that only a month ago we were awaiting her pre-Christmas arrival at the hospital. To say that she has turned our world upside down and inside out since that day would be a minor understatement, but there are no words to describe what she's brought to our lives and how great it is to be her parents.

We shot this video last night after watching her take a few steps...with my help of course. :-)


Abby Walks from Jill Barnes on Vimeo.

Abigail - One Month in Photos

Nina & Nano Go to Washington

Just got a photo from Anita as she and Wayne await the beginning of Barack Obama's Inauguration as the 44th President of the United States. Nice seats, eh!

Well, I'm heading to the breakroom here at the office for our Inauguration Hot Dog Potluck luncheon. I don't know about you, but there's an overwhelming sense of enthusiasm and hope with me today. Yes, I've been a Republican voter in the past, but this is beyond partisan politics people. We as Americans need some tangible hope to grab a hold of, and this event I hope will be unifying for all of us. Happy Inauguration Day, everyone!

The Little Cowgirl

We received the hat & boots from my parents the same weekend we announced we were expecting a little girl. They thought the entire cowgirl ensemble was too cute to resist for their future grand daughter, and they even bought it full price from Gymboree! Remember, we were living in Nashville at the time, so the cowgirl thing made more sense if we were still there.

While the cowgirl dress wont fit our petite peanut just yet, I decided to have her try on the hat and boots since they matched her outfit quite nicely today. The hat is still HUGE, but the boots are close to fitting (she has her daddy's feet!).

Abby Jack Turns 4 Weeks Old

This past Saturday we reached a big milestone as our little Miss Abigail officially turned 4 weeks old. Considering how much of a heart-warming and life-changing blur the last month has ultimately been, we can't begin to explain how great it is to have our baby girl around to hug, kiss and hold. There are no words to describe the feeling of being a parent, especially when those cute little eyes stare right back at you and smile. As the days go by, she's beginning to make the transition away from her newborn status and it shows with more faces, more smiles and more sounds that welcome us each and every day. And I just can't wait to see how she continues to mature in the coming weeks and so on. I know I've been told a hundred times by so many that time will absolutely fly by as I watch her grow up, so I will continue to take countless photos of her as often as I can so that we can all look back with the fondest of memories.

Thanks for everyone's continued thoughts and comments, and for checking in on us constantly to see what new things are going on with us. Having all of you connected via this blog really makes us feel so much closer than we really are. Much love to you all. Thanks again. Have a great week, everyone!

Sling Time

Yesterday, Abigail and I were waiting for my grandparents to arrive after their drive up from Tampa. I put an awake Abigail in the sling so I could walk about the house and have 2 free hands. A couple minutes later, I glanced down, she was completely passed out and managed to get a foot out. While she looks very uncomfortable, she must have been super cozy because she was OUT!

Stay Tuned for more pictures to come later today...Abigail is 4 weeks old today!

More Photos Please...

At the request of many of you, I've put together these slideshows of recent photos we've taken over the last week or so. Enjoy!

Scrapbook Page

:)

Abigail is great. She has started cooing a little. My favorite noise right now is the little grunt she does at the end of each squirt of poo. I'm sure that's gross to most of you, sorry.

She's eating really well. Thanks to Marisa, we've now learned that the 'neh' cry means Abigail wants to eat. The supply and demand of 'the pantry' has evened out, although I've had a couple leakage problems - it's really not a nice trick, the leaking. Abigail eats well and has plenty of diapers to show for it. Daddy likes diaper changing time. Mommy handles the food going in, and daddy handles it coming out - gotta love baby bonding!

We still read to Abigail and she seems mesmerized looking at the colorful pictures. I know, you're all wondering about more pictures and while we do take pictures, they don't always come off Matt's camera as quickly as the pictures are snapped. We'll try to get them posted really soon for your viewing pleasure!

Trying to Wake Abby

Trying to Wake Abby from Jill Barnes on Vimeo.

Abby Speaks!

Untitled from Jill Barnes on Vimeo.

Web Randomness

Alright, I just had to blog about this. Sure, it's completely off subject from our normal blogs, but everyone needs a change of pace, so enjoy.

Yes, that's Colonel Sanders, Al gore & Bill Clinton on the left.

Call it a case of total web randomness or call it a "hidden gem of awesomeness" as I now term it, but either way you'll shake your head in with a smile. The images you see to the left are just 3 of 64 total "peep jokes" that can be found on an online packaging supply website. Maybe I should've known since the site is called Cheepcheepboxes.com. Honestly, I found it purely by accident while trying to find a cheap packaging solution with a coworker for a project at work. Makes "WTF" instantly pop up in your head, right?! By far my favorite is the KFC Colonel Sanders cartoon above, but there's so many more jokes. And unlike chicken jokes you normally see/hear, pretty much all of these are fairly witty. Oh, and if you've got some better ones (Wesley), they even let you submit jokes. So, take a minute out of your time to follow the below link to see the site. The chicken jokes will be at the bottom of the page. Remember to hit the refresh button on your web browser (or F5 key) in order to load a new joke each time.

Cheepcheepboxes.com

Dear Blog Readers...

Dear Blog Readers,

We hope you enjoy keeping up with our blog, we try our best to keep it updated for you. I know there are a few of you that check the blog very frequently (Mom, Uma, Janet & Christina) or are self-professed 'addictics' (Alyssa).

But we must confess, we like the comments just as much as you like the blog. So, please comment! Especially for those of you who don't drop by as often as our frequent readers. Matt recently added a Live Traffic Feed so we can see where people are reading from and it's fun for us to figure out who lives where. It's become a little game, but it'd be so much easier if you actually commented to let us know you've stopped by. I think we're still stumped by the Auburn, Georgia feed, who are you? We even had a visitor from Spain we cannot figure out.

So please let us know you're out there reading!

Sending long distant hugs,
Jill, Matt, Abigail & Toby

Happy Birthday, Jilly Bean!

For those who don't know, today is my wonderful wife's birthday. Jill is turning a magical (this space left blank intentionally) years old today, so everyone make sure to wish her a Happy Birthday!

Sleep is NOT an Option

Alright, so last night I stayed up with Lil' Bit (aka Abby) and watched the Tostitos Bowl (Texas vs. Ohio State), which didn't even start until 8:30pm (honestly, could this have been earlier cause who cares if the west coast is still commuting home from work when the game is on).

Alright, so I figured:
A.) I could get my 2nd to last fix for college football before the season is officially over and then that dreadful 8 month layoff begins,
B.) that taking care of Abby downstairs for a few hours would give Jill a jump on her much needed sleep before the night really got going.

Yeah, I achieved both goals, but I forgot one thing...BCS bowl games last for at least 3.5 hours (due to all of the commercialization) and Abby sleeping during most of that means she'll be wide awake and ready to eat sometime close to the end of the game. I know it's only been a little over two weeks since I became a dad, however I should've been smart enough to know that something had to give and that ended up being my sleep. I'm absolutely exhausted this morning and I owe it all to my need to watch Texas beat Ohio State in a very good bowl game. You see, Abby woke up right as Texas was driving down the field in the weening seconds of the game. I attempted to keep her calm, but with less than 20 secs left in the game she decided that she'd had enough. So, I raced upstairs with baby in tow, woke up Jill to let her know that it was feeding time, and then flipped on the bedroom TV to watch the Texas wide receiver catch a Colt McCoy pass and streak into the endzone for the winning score. Woohoo! Yes, that woohoo is because at least I managed to see the end. I mean, come on, had I watched the entire game up until that point and not seen how it ended....well....that would've sucked.

Regardless, after Abby had her late night snack she was wide awake (as predicted), so Jill read a book and I read a book to her. I then got things together for the next morning, got ready for bed, and finally found my head hitting the pillow sometime around 1am+. Just a tad later than I wanted, which resulted in me sleeping through most of my alarms (yes, that plural) and having to rush this morning out the door so I could beat the always crazy ATL traffic to work. As I said above, I'm exhausted and the day is only beginning. I know, call me stubborn or naive or just plain dumb for thinking I could have my cake (as in football) and eat it too while having a newborn in the hacienda. Lesson learned. Geez, I'm sure glad football season is almost over. Ha!

Bedtime Story with Mommy

Abby was wide awake tonight for a short while and so Jill took the opportunity to read her favorite childhood book, the Tawny Scrawny Lion, to Abigail for her bedtime story. It was great to see Abby at least appear to be following along with the story. For me, it was a scene just too cute not to capture, so here are just a few photos. Have a great night everyone!

Talking with Daddy

Talking with Daddy from Jill Barnes on Vimeo.
By the way, Abigail does not like having her diaper changed! She doesn't mind having her outfit changed or naked time for a bath, it's funny. :)

Happy New Year 2009

It's almost 2am here in the Barnes household, and as both sets of grandparents are off to dreamland along with Jill, me & Abby, I just wanted to wish everyone all the best in the upcoming year. The year of 2008 has been a wild ride for us, but at the end we got to enjoy the addition of Abigail to our family, so of course we're looking forward to 2009 very much. Alright, I'm going to watch a little Conan and crash. Later!

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By the way, for those of you who were on here earlier you may have noticed that those beautiful photos I posted on here have now disappeared. Apparently, I'm not allowed to put those up on the blog, so I apologize for those who wanted to see them and didn't. We had an impromptu photoshoot with Abigail for her birth announcement, and all of you will just have to wait for that to arrive. As a teaser, below is a shot of our upset tiny model before we got things going. Ha! :-)