Abigail will turn 5 months old this week. It's hard to believe it's been that long since our little firecracker was born. She's been such a good and easy baby, which is definitely a blessing considering she's our third. She seems to be pretty laid back and easygoing unless she's sleepy, then she wants to eat and go to sleep! In the last week, she's started to scooch backwards whenever she has her tummy time. If I'm not careful she ends up under our ottoman (everything but her shoulders and head!). I have a feeling she'll be crawling a lot sooner than her big sister and brother. Within the last two weeks she's discovered Baby Einstein. Baby Newton is her favorite, she gets sooo excited when the puppets appear.

Olivia and Maxwell are getting back into their school routine after the Thanksgiving break. Maxwell is doing so well with his reading skills, he tries so hard and is very proud of himself when he masters a new skill. Olivia is starting practice tomorrow for the Science Olympiad, she's excited to find out what exactly is involved and excited to be working with some 5th graders! I'm so thankful that both Olivia and Maxwell have such a passion for school, let's pray that continues thru college!

Recessive Genes At Work

I was just downloading some pictures from my camera and came across one that I took of Abigail the day before yesterday. I never would have thought 2 out of our 3 children would have blue eyes...of course, Abigail's eye color could still change to green. Hudson's great grandfather had blue eyes, as well as his Uncle. My grandfather, aunt and her four children all have blue eyes. Don't get me wrong, I don't sit around and ponder these kind of things all day. I always assumed that at least one kiddo would have Hudson's brown eyes..but he does have 2 sweet nieces and a nephew that have some gorgeous brown eyes. :)

Some recent pictures...

We've been busy the last couple of weeks with lots of activity. The kids have been excited to spend time with their grandparents. My mom has been able to come up to see us fairly often and Hudson's parents came this past weekend. We're looking forward to seeing everyone even more during the holidays.

Abigail giving Ganmamma her pirate smile.

4 months old!

As of this week, Abigail is four months old. It was exactly one year ago that we found out we were expecting a little miracle. Our sweet baby has been nothing but a blessing to us, we've enjoyed her so much. It's been a lot less stressful this time around, I think part of that is due to having "been there and done that" and also the fact that it was such an effort to get to this point. The struggles of a miscarriage and infertility help to keep things in perspective and not sweat the small stuff. My family of five is happy and healthy and we're blessed to have each other!

Abigail had her four month check up yesterday and some nasty shots. She did fairly well with the shots and seemed relieved when they were over and mommy could pick her up. She weighed in at 14lbs even (45th percentile) and is 24 inches long (35th). She's doing great all around, she loves her naps and is gracious enough to sleep through the night, poor baby has to be woken up to take her big sister and brother to school. Below is a picture of Abigail and her daddy right after he got home from work, I was able to snap a picture without him knowing. But what I really need to do is get some video, it's amazing what kind of noises he'll make to get her to smile and "talk" to him!

Trunk or Treat

On Friday we headed to church for Trunk or Treat, it was a lot of fun. Our Sunday School class did a Willy Wonka theme and it was really cute. We had dinner at church and the kids enjoyed the rock wall and inflatables and of course collected plenty of candy....which mommy's been enjoying :)

Superman shooting some hoops.


"Dr Pope" giving the rock wall a try.




Our little butterfly...can't imagine why she wouldn't smile for me..heehee.



Abigail was worn out from all of the excitement, she was even so sleepy she took a passy!

Pumpkin Time

Every year, Hudson and the kids carve a jack o lantern. This year was no exception, Olivia and Maxwell picked out a stencil and then got busy. Daddy did the dirty work of getting all of the goo out of the pumpkin and the kids were happy to assist when needed.






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It's amazing how fast a year can go by. Exactly a year ago today, I had my embryo transfer. Two beautiful embryos were transfered and we held our breath for two weeks. Hudson was out of town for his grandfather's 80th birthday (of course I insisted he go) so my mom was kind enough to take me to the hospital for the procedure. Hudson and I had no idea whether God would bless us again with another baby so we just placed it all in His hands and waited (rather impatiently). Praise the Lord, two weeks later I was expecting our sweet Abigail Grace.

This weekend we went to a birthday party for one of Olivia's friend. "M" turned 8 yrs old and had a wonderful party with a fall festival theme. Olivia's favorite was the horse rides and Maxwell enjoyed the games. What a fun time! (I didn't get many pictures b/c I had Abigail strapped to me ((Baby Bjorn)) and my battery died, once again.)






Before the party...notice the hot pink band Olivia chose at her last ortho appt.

Sweet Sister

While I was posting the "Not too Shabby" post below, I realized Olivia was reading one of her favorite books to Maxwell before they went to bed. I was able to capture some video without them realizing it! What a sweet big sister. :)

Not Too Shabby

Abigail recently went for her 3 month weigh-in. She weighed 13lbs4ozs; she gained about 1 1/2lbs since her 2 month check-up, not too shabby. She's a champ at sleeping and eating and smiles at just about anyone who talks to her. Abigail loves traveling around in her Baby Bjorn (thanks Aunt Mer) whether it's walking around the neighborhood or shopping with mommy, she loves checking out the sights around her and even sometimes falls asleep in it! She also loves her Aquarium bouncy seat, she gets so excited listening to the music and kicks her legs wildly as she watches the bubbles in front of her. I have a feeling she's going to be a very busy toddler!

Some random pictures from this week.

Abigail is getting so big, she's almost 3 months old and is probably around 14lbs. I'll take her for a weight check at the end of the week. She is eating and sleeping like a champ (slept 11 hrs straight last night!). She's turning out to be the easiest baby I've had so far. She is really sweet and it doesn't take much to make her smile.

Abigail definitely looks like her daddy!






Someone got braces!

We're going to have to

start pureeing Maxwell's food if his teeth keep falling out.

Whenever She's Fussy...

I just put her in the bathtub. Abigail loves baths, thankfully all three of my kiddos have loved taking baths...what's not to like, right? I have a feeling she's going to be a wild thing once she's a little older..or at least on the go a lot. She's constantly straining to try to sit up; she reminds us a lot of Maxwell. I think she'll be happy to be sitting in a Bumbo seat in another month or so...she seems to think she's much older than she is!


Abigail and the ham.


Showing off both of her chins


Soaking in some suds

War Eagle!

Back in July, Hudson and I attended a customer appreciation dinner on behalf of GP. It was at Auburn and as you can see from the picture below, we got to meet Coach Tuberville. Fun times!!!! Obviously there were a lot of people at the dinner who also wanted to chat with the Coach but Hudson had enough time to let him know he was a fellow south Arkansan (is that proper English?) Anyway, they quickly chatted about Crossett and Coach Tuberville remarked that he knew some people years ago that worked at GP Crossett. After their chat, of course, he asked me for some advice on the upcoming football season..I was happy to oblige :) Thanks to my mom for coming up and keeping all three kids!

Melts my heart...

Abigail's smile (the first one I've been able to catch with my camera)

A New Chapter

It seems like only yesterday Olivia was starting her first day of Kindergarten. Now, our oldest two are both in school...all day long! Olivia and Maxwell are enjoying school so far, of course I drill them both with questions as soon as they get home and everything is going great. Olivia has a couple of kids in her class that she already knew and her teacher seems really nice. She's ready for her Enrichment class to start up (maybe next week). Maxwell's buddies from the neighborhood are in his class, it's been nice to know the four of them are all together...hopefully they won't get into too much trouble! :) I've enjoyed the one on one time with Abigail..the house is much quieter...but somehow, I'm managing :)

Found a pack of these at Target...couldn't resist

I'm sure Abigail wishes I had.

Beach 2008

We had a great time at the beach this year. The weather was wonderful, Olivia and Maxwell had a blast playing with their cousins and Abigail did great (with the exception of a couple of tummyaches). Can't wait for next year! Check out Emily's, Meredith's and Amber's blogs for more beach pictures (they should be up soon..hint hint).

Abigail's well baby checkup

What a busy morning, Olivia and Maxwell started school today. Their new school is beautiful, how fun to have a brand new building to start the school year in. I'll post pictures from the beach and the first day of school later today when/if I have more time. Abigail's check-up went very well. At 5 weeks, she weighs 9lbs 10ozs (38th percentile) and is 21 inches (24 percentile). I think she's going to be on the smaller side like Maxwell, but who knows, she may have a huge growth spurt soon. The doctor was really impressed with her neck strength and control and how well she followed with her eyes. I discussed with the doctor how easily she startles, which causes her to be a light sleeper the majority of the time (she also hates her carseat...she'd rather be snuggled up rather than strapped down). She said that this was just a symptom of an immature system and that she should grow out of it. Abigail's little strawberry above her forehead is a hemangioma just like the one Olivia had on her back for 3 or 4 yrs., this should also disappear, just like Olivia's.

Abigail is such a sweet baby, she is on the verge of laughing out loud and has cracked a few smiles here and there. She's sleeping wonderfully, usually going at least 5-7 hrs straight, which makes mommy very happy!!! Pictures to come soon....

What's happening this week.

Maxwell has lost his first tooth! He's a cute little snaggle-tooth. Friday morning he ran into Olivia's head and knocked his front tooth loose. The next day, while he and Hudson were at our neighbor's garden, Maxwell asked Hudson to pull his tooth; such a brave little boy. He was very excited to have the tooth fairy visit him that night. Yesterday we picked up Olivia's new glasses, I think they're pretty cute. She's ready for school to start a week from Monday, hopefully Maxwell will adjust well to going to school all day. Abigail is doing well, she's getting more on a routine and for the last three nights she's slept 6 hrs straight! (Not too bad for a breastfed baby, huh?) We are getting ready to head to the beach tomorrow, it'll be nice to get away before we head back to the real world of school every day!

I think Abigail looks a lot like Olivia in this picture and a little like me too :)


Got Cheeks??


I'm trying to get her use to the travel swing for when we go to the beach, she doesn't seem to mind it!


Our three little blessings!