No Power

So, in my last post I declared our love of snow and our desire for our power to stay on. Well, we still love snow, but the power DID NOT stay on. We lost electricity during the storm around 11:00 a.m. Our little house did really well and held in the heat great. David shoveled the drive-way in case the power didn't come back on and we had to find a new place to sleep, and I just worked on keeping Abigail warm and comfy. We made lunch, cleaned up, and tried to will the power back on. It didn't work and it really started to get chilly in the house around 4:00. David got us a fire going and Jay and Katherine Thorpe graciously agreed to let us come and spend the night if we needed to. We waited it out until dinner and by that time is was COLD and dark. By the fire is was warm, but if you stepped away it was chilly in the house. As much as we didn't want to pack up all of our gear, we knew we needed a plan.

So we got a pizza, ate in front of the fire in the dark, then packed up what we could to head to Jay and Katherine's. We left Deuce and Sooie in the basement and put our perishables outside so they wouldn't go bad. We were quite thankful to get to Jay and Katherine's and have lights and heat. We gave Abigail her night bottle and put her down and then David made one more trip to the house to check on things and let Deuce go to the bathroom.

Wednesday morning Katherine made us a nice big breakfast and we were so thankful they didn't lose power as well. David had to go to work, so I stayed at Katherine's until our neighbor Joann called and told me that the power came back on (around noon). I hope I never take electricity for granted again.



Abigail even got to nap on a big girl bed. :)



Jay and Katherine, thank y'all so much for putting us up for the night and feeding us. We are so thankful for friends like y'all. :)

As a side note, we still declare our love of snow. We just also love electricity.

10 inches, 10 hours & 10+ MORE inches!

We've really been hit with some winter weather in Kansas City in the past week. As a general rule, we love snow. Love the way it looks, love to be snowed in, and love to watch it come down etc. We love to burn fires, stay in and drink hot chocolate. This being our last winter in Kansas City, we were really hoping to enjoy lots of snow before we moved back down to minimal snow land. We thought this winter was going to disappoint, being that it's almost March, but surprise!...TONS of snow! So last week we got about 10 inches at our house and loved it. David had two days off of work and we snuggled up inside and enjoyed every second of it. Abigail even got to go out in it for just a second.



The other part of the title of this blog post, "10 hours," has to do with Abigail. As I said in her three month post, I really wanted to get to the point when we started her last bottle at 8:30, and then she was asleep by 9:00. In the last week, we made it to that goal! She is now sleeping 10 hours at night and I'm thrilled. Also in the last week, she has really been more focused about grabbing things. You can tell that when she has something in her hand, she's aware of it, looking at it, and thinking about it. Also, on Saturday night, February 23, she laughed out loud. She been making lots of sounds and showing her pleasure etc, but this one was different. It was kind of like a belly laugh and sounded like a little kid. David and I were both there and she did it right as he pulled her out of the bathtub and laid her on the towel that I was holding. We couldn't believe it. I apologize if you're reading this blog and don't truly care if Abigail belly laughed, if that's the case, just skip to the next snow pictures. :)

Last night more snow came in. We still had 4-6 inches in our yard that hadn't melted from the last snow and this just piled right on top of it. We have a couple limbs down and our power has flickered once but came back on thankfully. We're expected more light snow in the day today, but the snow total is staggering. David has been out and it comes up to his knees. We measured and have about 16 inches out in the front. So, we're loving the snow still and Kansas City winter is sending us back to Little Rock with a bang! However, we would prefer to keep our power. Snow is a lot more fun with electricity. :)

3 Months!

I'm only a couple of days late on this this post, but on Tuesday our little girl turned 3 months old! I can't believe how fast time has passed, but at the same time it feels like we've had her with us forever. Abigail's third month was a big one! I feel like she really had a lot of firsts this month and it's been so fun to watch her grow and discover things. On Tuesday, the actual day, I took her up to the Mommy and Me Boutique at Shawnee Mission. My nurse in the hospital had told me that they have a scale that you can use any time to weigh your child whenever you're curious. Well, I was curious, so we trotted on up there. I left Abigail's diaper and shirt on for the weigh in (I didn't feel like she should totally strip) and she weighed a little over 12 pounds! Since she had clothes on, I'm going with 12 even as the official 3 month, give or take a few ounces. :) I don't know how long she is, although I suppose I could try and measure her. I tried to get a good three month picture, but this girl is constantly moving, so it's a little hard to catch her in a still moment, plus smile. Here's what I came up with.



After so many pictures, she proceeded to remove the sticker herself and put it in her mouth, so I knew we were done.



Here are some things I want to remember from this month...

1. She's on a great schedule and has about an hour of awake time after each feeding before she goes down for another nap.
2. She eats 6 times a day, and the last one comes from Daddy from a bottle that I've pumped the night before.
3. I THINK she eats between 4 and 5 ounces at each feeding, because that's what I can easily pump each night.
4. Abigail is really working her hands these days. She hold them on her chest and plays with her own fingers...I love it and think it's so cute.
5. DROOL. Lots of it this month.
6. To say she has discovered her voice is an understatement. She loves to hear herself scream and does it regularly and then will just smile like she's so proud.
7. She HATES tummy time, so I've gotten creative with ways for her to practice holding her head up. We spend lots of time on the couch sitting together, in her bumbo, and even in her excersaucer.
8. The only sign of rolling over we have seen is her turning onto her side from her back. She was turning to try and look at the TV. How's that for motivation to roll over? Like mother like daughter. (I loved that she rolled to her side, but promptly turned the TV off)
9. She is just generally a happy baby and is now usually asleep by 9:30. Our goal is to start her last bottle at 8:30 each night, so we're just thirty minutes behind that goal (she starts her last bottle now at 9:00).
10. She sleep through the night until I get her up at 7:00. Yes, I get her up. #1-I'm breastfeeding and HAVE to get her up. #2 I like the predictability it gives the day. #3 It leaves me the ability to play with her bed time without changing the whole schedule of the day.

We love her to pieces and can't get enough. I almost want time to slow down because she's so fun right now, but can't wait to see what's next.

We are actually both home today on this Thursday because we're snowed in with almost a foot of snow! David is out shoveling right now, but we've got a fire going and it's nice and toasty in the house.

Road Trip!

This past weekend we traveled to Little Rock to meet with some dentists for after David's residency is over in June. We'll have an update on that to post in the next couple of weeks. But we had a great time being with family and driving around Little Rock with new eyes. It's totally different to look at the town you grew up in as an adult when you're thinking about where you would want to raise your own kids and where to buy a house. We left Abigail with her Gram and Grandpa and had a great time driving around and discussing our options. We have loved living in Kansas City, but we're also excited about getting back to Little Rock.

Last week I took a couple of pictures of Abigail playing on her play mat that I thought I might share.



The drive to Little Rock on Thursday went really well and we made it with no incidents. Abigail ate at a couple gas stations and even practiced her driving. :)

Valentine's day outfit...

Abigail's Baby Dedication

This was a very special weekend for us! It was baby dedication Sunday at LBC and we were able to participate and dedicate Abigail. For anyone who might not know...it's more about the parents than the baby. It is essentially the pastor presenting the baby to church and asking the parents to commit to raise that child in the Lord, discipline them in love, point them toward Christ, and love each other in order to show them what a marriage is supposed to be like. Then Mary prays for the women and Pastor Steve prays for the men. Mom, Dad, Mike, Kathy and Ben all came to town for the occasion. Mom and Dad came on Friday afternoon and we were able to hang out and enjoy a wonderful dinner together at this place called Carmen's Cafe in Brookside. It was absolutely delicious and it was nice to go out for a nice dinner. We would definitely recommend that place if you're looking for a nice night out.

On Saturday Mom and Dad came to the house to spend time with Abigail (and us of course, although we are totally secondary now).











Someone finally gave Deuce some love.



Mike and Kathy and Ben got here right around lunch time, so we headed down to the Plaza to eat lunch at Ingredient. After coming back to the house and an outfit change for Abigail, due to spit-up, Abigail took a nap and we took a walk. It was a little bit colder than we first imagined though. When Abigail woke up she was showered with love yet again. We went to dinner at one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants, "Dos Reales." Yum. By the time we got done with dinner, it was about time for Abigail's bath and bed-time bottle, so everyone got some last snuggles in and headed to their hotels.

It seems that all babies love Dad, but Abigail literally smiles every time her Pops smiles at her. I think it's because he's not worried about looking silly and will do anything to get that smile.









Look at those blue eyes!



Here are some pictures from the morning. It was pretty surreal to actually participate in a baby dedication after all the ones that we have watched over the years growing up at IBC and now at LBC. Abigail is wearing a dress that my Mom MADE her. She made it from scratch and it fit Abigail wonderfully.













It was a really nice weekend and we are reminded of what a gift and responsibility we have been given with Abigail. It is our prayer that she will come to know the Lord early in life and that the Lord will grow a faith in her that will guide her throughout her life. We pray we will set the example of a Christian marriage and I pray that I will show her the image of a respectful and loving wife. LBC gave us a "faith book" for Abigail and a baby New Testament. The faith book is something we can use and write in to mark the spiritual milestones of Abigail's life. She can write in it as well and we hope to use it as a tool to make her future commitment to Christ even more real in her life. We're thankful for a church family that comes alongside us to lift us up in prayer and give us guidance and resources as parents. We love you Abigail Jane Rainwater!