4 Months

I'm determined to do Abby's 4 month post so that I can actually be on time for her 5 month one... which is approaching quickly!  Abby turned 4 months on August 24.  It was a very big month for her!

• She spent most of the month traveling.  We went to a family reunion at Whidbey Island (near Seattle) with my immediate family.  We first drove to Boise and she slept the entire time.  Then we rode with my parents up to Whidbey Island.  She did so well!  We really only had to stop for diaper changes and I just pumped a bottle for her every few hours.  It worked great and she only fussed the last half hour.  Had we not had slow traffic in Seattle, she would have been just fine.
• She met her cousin Ellen, who is three weeks older than her, for the first time.  She also met her cousin Heath, who is six weeks younger then her.  It was so fun to have three little babies around.  She also met my brothers and my sisters-in-law.
• She went on a hike, rode on a fairy to the San Juan Islands, went to the Experience Music Project museum in Seattle, rode on the monorail, went to a drive in movie, and did lots of other fun things.
• She went swimming for the first time in McCall.  She didn't smile about it, but didn't cry either.  
• She rode on her first airplane ride from Boise to SLC.  Her dad picked us up from the airport (who she hadn't seen for 10 days) and she just smiled and smiled at him.
• She rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time.  She wasn't too happy when she did it, so she doesn't try a whole lot anymore. We have a video of her attempting, but not making it.  It is long, but still cute.
• She loves to go outside and just look around at everything.
• She discovered her voice and started to really jabber.  We have a video here.
• She loves to look at and grab her toys and books.
• She is still in the 25th percentile for weight and height.  She is very proportional and petite.  She weighed 12 lbs 10 oz. and was 23.5 inches long.  The doctor says she is very strong and doing great on her communication  and motor skills.  

Here she is!

Abby and Heath

Tonja, Ellen, Abby, and me

What an attitude!

So cute when she sleeps

happy!

I love this picture.  Abby is looking at me and Heath is looking at Emily.  It cracks me up every time.

sweet little face

Three babies! Heath, Ellen & Abby

Emily took some photos of us and I love them.

us again

Chillin while we ate outside.  She loved it.

Happy to be in McCall

watching everyone play tennis

I can't get over this one.

This was the day she rolled over.

I love this one... the colors, her sweet face, so cute.

bathing beauty

Graduation

I graduated with my master's degree!  I am officially done and it feels fabulous.  I defended my thesis on July 19 and passed!  Landon, Abby, my parents, and my sister all came to support me since they were in town for Abby's blessing.  It was not a fun experience, but I'm glad I made it through.  I did have to make some changes to my thesis, but I ended up finishing everything.  I was literally working up till the last minute getting everything straightened out with submitting my thesis electronically.  That whole experience was a bit of a nightmare, but I made it!  I don't get my diploma until December with the way all the deadlines work, but I was able to walk in August gradutation... about 2 and a half hours after submitting everything with my thesis!  Hooray for graduating!

Abby and me

Abby pulling and trying to eat my hair

our family

my bat wings

my hood and bat wings

my mom and dad

Will came too- love his pose in this one

cute sleepy girl

 

Abby's blessing day

Abigail was blessed by her dad on July 18.  It was a beautiful blessing.  He even remembered her name and didn't play his favorite joke of saying "Amelia Estevez Pratt" instead of her real name... thank goodness.  Here are a few pictures from her special day.

our family

Abby's headshot

showing off the lovely dress

showing off the famous belly

she wore this baby ring that belongs to my mom and that I also wore for my blessing day

I love this sweet face 

I just love it when this happens

the other blog

I have another blog that I started almost two years ago.  I admit, I was not a faithful blogger and tossed it aside once I started my thesis project and found out I was pregnant with Abigail.  BUT... I have started it back up and have lots of fun ideas for it.  Go check it out here and feel free to give me any suggestions you may have!

3 Months

Abby turned 3 months old on July 24th.  Here is a list of the things she started doing from 2 months to 3 months.

• She loves to kick her little legs like crazy, especially in the evening before bed.  We would say she needed to go for her run before going to sleep for the night.  Which brings me to her next trick...
• She sleeps all through the night!  She usually goes to sleep around 10 and wakes up around 7.  
• She continues to be more alert every day.  She is starting to really like holding toys and looking at books.  She even tries to hold books and turn the pages.  She is a very smart girl!
• She loves to stick out her tongue.  
• She is still a great car sleeper and likes to go for walks.  She loves to look up at trees and even smiles at them sometimes.
• She was blessed by her daddy on July 18th.  Both sets of grandparents were able to come as well as her great grandparents that live close by.  Four of her aunts and one uncle came.  And she met her McDonald cousins for the first time.
• She is still a happy baby that we love and adore more than we ever thought possible. 

Here are some cute pictures from her third month.

wearing one of her mom's dresses

a nice little pose

Abby with her great grandparents

with Great Grandpa Moss

poor little girl

"I hold Abby now."- Jack

Cousin Allie

Cousin Audrey

a good look

 Don't we have the sweetest little girl?  We just love her!

Catching up

The past two months have been jam packed with so many events, we are just now starting to catch up on life. Instead of doing a HUGE post, I'll try to separate things out a bit and do a post every couple days or so. That seems easier with organizing pics and so forth. I won't just leave you with this lame post though, here is a fun pic to see how Abby has changed.

4th of July and Thesis Fun!

My study ended mid June, which gave me about 10 days to write up my thesis in order to make the deadline I needed to make. The writing actually wasn't as stressful as I anticipated. Of course, Abby was a great baby and let me get a lot done during her naps. And then once Landon came home, he helped out a lot. I think it actually worked well to have to take breaks while writing to feed Abby or just hold her for a bit. The most frustrating things occurred with the silly little details no one ever told me about; getting everyone and their dog's signatures, applying for graduation, getting a new ecclesiastical endorsement, petitioning for credits because I forgot to sign up for them (oops!), etc. However, everything worked out and I'm officially scheduled to defend my thesis on July 19! I'm so excited and the end really is in sight now! You will soon be able to call me "Master Pratt." In addition, an abstract I submitted got accepted to the National Obesity Conference. So Landon, Abby and I are going to trek down to San Diego in October to present it and hopefully have some fun while we are there. I think it will be a great way to end my "career" as a student.

4th of July was a little funny this year since it was on a Sunday. They did the fireworks on Saturday here, and then Sunday just seemed like a normal Sunday. It was still fun though. We took Abby to watch the fireworks since they fire them off right outside our door. Abby looked at them for a while, didn't cry but didn't really have much expression either, and then she fell asleep during the finale... funny kid. Here are some pictures of us.

Getting ready for the fireworks to start.
See, she was definitely watching them. Who knows what she thought about them.