Back to normal, sort of...

Dear Abigail,

Well, you are recovering. You still have lots of spots on you, but by Thursday, we were both ready to get you out of the house. You did not leave the house for 11 straight days, besides the quick trip to the doctor just to be shushed out of there because everyone was so scared of us. The doc said Thursday was the earliest we could get out, so Thursday it was, and boy did mommy run you to death!!! We started off with lunch with Daddy!! We thought we were going somewhere kind of casual but when we walked in, it was a pretty nice place, that's code for lots of adults and not a lot of chicken pox babies, but you did fantastic for your first day back out into the world. I tried to dress you in sleeves and pants, but I really don't think it mattered too much. Here's you and Daddy after lunch:

After lunch, we went to TJ Maxx, then the stationery store, then this other cutesy store and some where else. Then I took you home and you napped really good but don't worry, I got you back out - it was off to Target. Mommy don't play around. All in all, your first day back out was good, exhausting, but good! And it doesn't stop there!

Friday, we went to Mexican with the group and for some reason, a Cha-cha band was walking around singing to the different tables. Who knows, but nonetheless, you LOVED them. You danced and danced and danced the whole time. That was the best you've been at Mexican in a while, oh, other than the poopy - which you have never done at Mexican because I realized they do not have a changing table. So I guess I can't complain, since it was teh first time to happen. Anyway, here's you dancing (I think, if I can learn to upload videos that is...)

After Mexican, we all went to Uncle Jaybee and Aunt Steph's house. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about putting you to bed over there then waking you up hours later and trying to get you back to sleep, BUT, as usual, you made Mommy look silly! You didn't have any trouble going to sleep, and then when we woke you up, you cried for just a second until Daddy starting singing "The Wheels on the Bus." For some reason, your bus has monkeys on it. I questioned it, but daddy says your bus has them and that's that. So, you went back to sleep in the car and slept right through putting the sleep sak on! WAHOO - i'm so happy you are so flexible!!!

Saturday was a wee bit busy for Mommy, but you and Daddy got to play a lot together. Then me and you met Auntie Amy for lunch, and, drum roll please... you went home with Auntie Amy!!!! She let you spend the night with her and everything. She's the bestest and she says she even taught you where your knee was! She thinks she taught you where your toes are, but we know Mimi taught you that several weeks ago, but don't tell Auntie Amy. Mommy and Daddy really enjoyed you spending the night with her!! Your cousin Caroline was so good with you, she even let you sleep in her room. Here's some pics Auntie Amy got....

This is you playing with the boys, or at least playing with their toys...

Here's you at the pool party that Auntie Amy wasn't supposed to take you to, but she did anyways. She says she kept you covered up. Please blame her if you have any scars!!

Here's you doing something with Harrison. I have a bad feeling that's you playing with the dog's blanket, but I am scared to ask...Harrison seems to be enjoying it though!

Here's princess Caroline teaching you how to put your shoes on!

As you can see, you had a fun fun time with Auntie Amy and the gang. I finally got you back in my hands Sunday afternoon, and just in time to go to the concert at the park (Carton Plantation, that is). It was Beatles night!! The whole gang plus Auntie Amy and her gang went!! That's a lot of folk. We had a lot of fun and me and you and Caroline danced a whole lot. You played with Ellie and Ryan a lot too. You, and Ellie and Caroline all wore matching outfits - you were all three precious! Here are a few pics:

It got really humid for some crazy odd reason - oh yeah, we're in the south, in July... anyway, it got hot, so Mommy let you walk around in your bloomers, despite the dreaded pox scaring everyone off. You still looked cute as a button...

The biggest excitement of the night was you learning how to climb into a folding chair. You were just roaming around the chairs and then all of a sudden, you were up in one. You little monkey - are you going to be our rock climber. Just be careful, that's all I ask. Here's a video of you doing - you are so proud of yourself, and you are looking to make sure everyone else is too - which we were, despite the fear you brought to us!

All in all baby girl, a fun fun fun weekend all around! We got you home pretty late last night, but you did the transition from the car to bed like a professional! You slept real late this morning though, and Ms. Lee couldn't figure out why you were constantly trying to climb onto the couch and chairs!!!! Wait till she sees the video! Love you baby girl! Those pox are slowly and surely going away - OH - and i think we're in the clear. As of Sunday, no pox for Ellie, Jacob, Ryan or baby Cater Ann!! WAHOOOOOO!!! we still have our friends!! Love you!

Chicken Pox

Dear Abigail, oh baby, I am so sorry. I don't know who did it to you, but I will personally put him in timeout if I ever find him!! So here's your story... Life was going along normally last week, then Tuesday morning, you woke up with a bump on your eye. To me, it looked like an ole bug had bitten you, right on your eyebrow. It was pretty red already, and made mommy a little nervous, but what could I have done at that point, right... So, Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Lee pointed out that she had seen a couple spots on your tush, but thought it might be the beginning of a diaper rash, so we just planned on watching it. Well, Wednesday morning, you still had that little bump, as seen here:

But then when I got home that afternoon, Ms. Lee said she saw a couple more spots on your back. My first thoughts were that dern rash that you had on SAturday was striking again! I called your doctor, just to be sure and while I was awaiting her phone call back, Mimi informed me that it was the chicken pox!!! and that was just from me describing it to her over the phone. I thought, no way, Mimi's overreacting (she has a tendency to be a wee bit dramatic, but we love her all the same), but then the doc called back, asked me to take your temp, and the 102 confirmed it for sure - you had the pox!!!! Here's a few pics that first night of realizing you had them (Wednesday night):

So Thursday morning we went to the doctor to confirm, and well, they were not too thrilled to see us. Very nice, just rushed us back to the back and shut us in the back room. Ms. Nurse didn't even weigh you! The doc said yep, it's the pox and to keep you away from anyone for 5 days! UH OH!! I informed her you were quite the social bug, and she immediately had me call all the parents to warn them. Maybe you don't remember, but you can read your previous blog if you need a recap - to sum it up, we very well could have infected Ellie, Jacob, Ryan, itty bitty Cater Ann and about 5+ other kiddos at the bbq on Saturday night. Mommy is still waiting anxiously to hear about one of them running a fever... So Thursday and Friday were kind of rough for Mommy. More pox started showing up, and it was clear you weren't feeling good. You knew to scratch your head, but that was about it. I had to cut your nails really short, which i'm not good at in the first place, so that made me a little on the edge! Here's some pics from Thursday, as you can see, they are getting progressively worse...

We bathed you in the oatmeal, and that seemed to help you a lot. But Thursday night you had a real bad night. For some reason, you woke up at 12:30 and did not go back to sleep until after 2:30. I don't know exactly because I had given up on the clock. I do know that you ended up falling asleep in your stroller, old school style. You were just feeling awful. You started running a real high fever on Friday and that just worried me to death. Thankfully, Mimi came up on Saturday. She was shocked, to say the least! And I was exhausted. You were super cranky, understandably so, and I could not get that fever down. You weren't taking your normal good naps, and it was just not good news. Saturday came and went, but Mimi did teach you a song. Row Row Row your boat - you do it - well you say Row Row Row!! Of course, the second I got the video camera out you wouldn't do it, but whatever, you were sick so I let it go. Oh, and I also let you watch lots of Elmo, and Mimi loves for you to watch Sid the science Kid. Once again because you were sick!! Here are a few pics from Friday and Saturday

Friday:

And then the worse day... Saturday:

Sunday we finally started seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. You started acting, eating, and feeling a lot better. You still looked rough, but no new pox! That was exciting. Now, we're just on the downhill slope. Mimi stayed all day Sunday and Monday, so that helped too. By Monday, you were acting like nothing was the matter, but bless your heart, those silly pox were still all over you. I think we've made it through the rough part baby girl, and besides a couple sleepless nights, a couple tears, a couple worried parents and grandparents, not too bad, not too bad at all - HA!!! I am hoping all our friends don't get it. Two silver linings though, at least we can go play with them, and at least you don't have to get a shot now!!! I'm still going to punish that person who gave it to you!!! I love you, and mommy and daddy and mimi and Ms. Lee are all taking real good care of you while you don't feel your best and we're trying our best not get let you have any scares, well, maybe one on your tush or something, just to be cute :) Hope you feel better soon, i'll keep you posted on the gang and if they get anything - we should know within the next couple days... LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU POXY LADY!

Weekend at home - the Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Dear Abigail,

We actually spent the weekend at home for a change; however, it was just as eventful as ever! Friday started off with quite the adventure for Mommy. Both Uncle Jaybee & Aunt Steph had to work, so Ellie came and played with us for a couple hours!! I was a little nervous at first, but you 2 are just far enough apart where and just close enough together where I could handle it. Thankfully you can crawl around and follow me everywhere, and thankfully Ellie is perfectly content sitting in her bouncy seat while I fiddle with you!! So it wasn't too bad. You both went down for your naps at 10, a little later for you but you loved playing with Ellie. Both of you went right to sleep, so Mommy had a few minutes to even clean herself up!! Yay for you two!! You were so funny with Ellie - you just thought she was so cool. You kept giving me these looks like "wow, Mom, this new toy you brought me is awesome." Then you'd get so excited you'd start poking her, or worse... One time I looked up and you were smacking her on the head as hard & fast as your little hand could go!! I screamed, which made the situation 100 times worse, then I promised Ellie she could do it back to you one day. Everyone was happy after a little TLC, and a paci! Here's a couple pics of the 2 of you, but it was REALLY hard to get these. Only because I, seriously, had to watch you constantly. You just loved touching her, oh, and taking her paci. Oh, and one time you took her bottle, which probably tasted a bit funny to you because it's not the 'formula' you are used to! I grabbed it quickly though, so I think you will survive!

I think you were teaching her how to read. That was very sweet of you. And she was very interested.

I was very proud of this shot, thank you very much. It took a lot of effort (and very strange animal noises) to get the 2 of you to look at the same time. And don't complain about no smiles, I did not have it in me!

This is an example of how excited you would get (i.e. hands would fly everywhere!)

So not only did Ellie come visit us on Friday, but Ms. Kristin and Jacob stopped by for some lunch and a little play date! It has been a long time since Jacob has played with you, and we both were so happy to see them! I know you won't remember, so I'll put this in here... Jacob had just started learning how to go to sleep like a big boy - like you, you know, how we put you in the crib and you just magically go to sleep. Well, Ms. Kristin had just started Jacob on the same bedtime routine, and it just so happen to be his nap time when he was at our house. We, being the southern hospitable young ladies we are, offered your crib for him to rest his head in. You weren't scheduled for another nap until 2 or 2:30 (that would have been 2 and 1/2 hours from when Ms. Kristin put him down). She told us there was nothing to worry about because his naps were 45 minutes, maybe an hour if we were lucky. Well... the second she said that I should have known. Do you know that that boy slept until 2:30 AND Ms. Kristin had to go wake him up!!! It was the craziest thing. We couldn't have been happy for him, OR Ms. Kristin. Also, and don't tell Jacob 10 years from now, or any of his guy friends, but he needed a sleep sak because your daddy keeps it on like 40 below in this house, so Jacob had your cute PINK lady bug sleep sak on. he looked so cute in your pink crib with the sak on!! I would have taken a picture, but the second he was awoken, I slipped you in the sak and put you right in the bed. After that long day, you were ready for that nap!!! So all in all, you and Jacob didn't get to play too much, but that's okay - I'm happy we were apart of the longest nap in history :)

Friday night, we went to our usual Mexican and you behaved, although your boy Ryan sure does eat a lot better than you!!! Your attention span, well, is apparently like your mammas! although I am pretty sure I have never had issues with eating. Anyway, everyone came over after Mexican to our house and you kiddos were perfect. Every one of you went straight to bed and didn't wake up at all - and they stayed late!!! Well, Ryan may have woke up, BUT, in his defense, we had him sleeping in the laundry room, and, well, I may have gotten a little loud - like when we beat Sarah at trivia, I mean I beat Sarah at trivia :) One day you, too, will be a trivia junkie - it's in your blood.

SO... pretty eventful, huh - and it's just Friday. So that was the good.

Saturday morning you decided to sleep until 8. EIGHT!!! what?! Seriously, did you read your mommy and daddy's mind? I would have paid you a million dollars (that's a lot) to have slept to 8 that morning. You rock. So that was still the 'good.' Then... we all ate breakfast together that morning, kind of unusual, but it was Saturday. You had your typical cereal, and you also had apples & apricots. You've had it before, maybe not often, but before nonetheless. Well, you weren't being just hunky doory during breakfast and kept rubbing your eyes - but I assumed it was because you were tired. One of the time you rubbed your eyes, you got food everywhere, so I decided it was quitting time so I went and washed your face off. When I turned back around to you, your face was all blotchy, or well, right above your eyes. First thought was, oh, you just are rubbing them. But then... the bad struck. It was like someone turned on a switch - your whole face broke out in a bad bad rash. Little raised up bumps were popping up all over adn your face turned beat red, very very blotchy. I, of course, freaked out and ripped your shirt off and sure enough it was all over your little arms - bumps and blotchy and all. FREAKED OUT. My first reaction was to call 911, but I decided I needed to calm down a bit, and your dad decided that wasn't the best first option either. Then i thought, well I'm calling Aunt Steph, she's a nurse, a nurse anethistats at that (yeah, i can't say it or spell it) she knows everything. but Daddy made me call the actual doctor first. She didn't answer, so then I called Aunt Steph. She told me to get you some Benadryl - low and behold, that's what the doc said too when she finally called back! AND, it worked. Along with a 2 hour nap! You did wake up a little droggy, but the rash cleared up, and mommy's heart rate slowed. We still don't know what it was. Like i said, you had all that food before. But I'm keeping my eye on you sweetie - I'll never serve you another apricot if that's what it takes!

Saturday afternoon we went to some of daddy's friends house for a bbq and there were so many kids for you to play with. in just another year you will be running around with all of them! We can't wait.

On Sunday, we put together your new furniture for your playroom. It's supposed to be your birthday present, but I couldn't wait. So act surprise when you see it on your birthday! I shouldn't say 'we' - daddy really did all the work. But mommy played with you the whole time - which brings me to the ugly...

Member how I said you loved jumping on the chair and jumping OFF the chair. I knew our time would eventually come, dear girl. We were playing. I was picking you up and putting you over my head onto the chair. You get so excited, I should have known. Anyway, you jumped and all of a sudden i had this bad bad bad pain on my head, which was caused by something of yours. I wasn't sure if it was your head, or your mouth or what. I just know it hurt me, so I KNEW it hurt you. I couldn't tell where you were hurting though, so I just walked you around, trying to calm you down. I went and got Glowy, she seems to always help, and she did a little. But then, that's when I saw the Ugly. You were bleeding. I didn't know where, I just saw blood. On your shirt, coming out your mouth, on the paci I kept trying to get you to take thinking it might calm you down. I panicked - again. Daddy, thankfully walked in from outside right about that time and sat you down. We still couldn't find where you were bleeding, but we cleaned you up and the bleeding stopped. You didn't cry too long, given there was blood and all. Mommy, on the other hand, was a bit, well, frazzeled. But then I saw you smiling and playing with daddy, so all was well. I still think Daddy is secretly mad at me for making you bleed - he hasn't said anything, but i know him. He gets upset when Kitty has a little limp, so when his baby girl has blood - well... I'm sorry - you love playing on that chair though. I guess I could put you in a bubble??

Once we got you cleaned up, we put you in Daddy's favorite outfit and went to buy a lawn mower!

Quite the weekend little lady. this is what we get for staying home!!!! Don't worry, you're goign to Papa Robs and Mimi's this week/weekend!!!! Should have known, huh!! I love you, and I am so sorry about the teeth. We had such a fun weekend with just you and us - our little family!! Thanks for making us such blessed parents baby girl. Love you lots.

Fourth of July

Dear Abigail,

We just got back from one of many, many, many fun fourth of July weekends! It was a long week, but I think we all enjoyed it at some point or another. Mimi started off the week by taking you back to Memphis with her, leaving me and Daddy with, yet again, more free time! If we ever complain about not having any alone time, or time to ourselves, just read this to me! So Mimi took you home on Tuesday, after she visited with you (i.e. babysat you while Mommy and Daddy went to the concert in Franklin, which, btw, we will probably take you to next time, but decided not to this time because, well, the Friday before at Mexican you were a little out of control when it was past your bedtime, but I think you will do fine at the park - okay, back to Mimi) - so Mimi and Kateland came up and played with you then decided to take you back home with them! From what Mimi told me, all you did was swim swim swim. Emery and Sarah were in town at Mammaws, so you played a lot with them in the pool, and of course Emily. Mommy made it in Wednesday night just in time to see you go to bed, but I was so happy to see that pretty face. You even have walked a little more, and you got to show off a little. Thursday, me, you and Mimi spent the day shopping!! I was searching for things for your playroom and birthday party - Mimi's always got a good eye for that stuff. Then, yes, Mimi babysat you again while Mommy went to yet another concert. I am really not that cool of a mom who goes to concerts all the time. This concert was New Kids on the Block. I hope you have a special band/group that you love growing up AND, more importantly, I hope you have the memories with special friends while listening to that band while growing up. Mommy got to go with a dear, dear friend, that I have known all the way back to the 5th grade!!! It was fun, and i'm sure Mimi didn't mind watching you again.

Friday was Lynnie and Lizzy's birthday, so what did we do - we swam! You really liked playing with Uncle Bubba's hat a lot! and he like swinging with you a whole lot, too....

Then we ate some cake and ice cream, or well, I did, and you napped!! Emery ate some too!!

Friday night was low key because we had to get ready for the Tramel Family reunion. You never got to meet Great-grandmother Tramel (she would be your Great-great-grandmother, but nonetheless) BUT, she had 10 babies, and one of them was mammaw. So all mammaws brothers and sisters and their kids and their kids and their kids all got together in the park on Saturday. It was great seeing everyone, and letting them meet you.

You and Clara Lee looked absolutely adorable in your matching outfits:

Here's us all together. Mimi couldn't convince us to get on our hands and knees again (like at the beach):

You had fun playing with Aunt Gina and Clara Lee and even Pic-pic played with you a little bit while Mommy & Daddy played corn hole.

You even learned how to play corn hole!! You were so good at it, and loved playing it too. I've never seen your daddy so proud.

Then of course, you got super tired, as we all did. So you rested...but then it was time to cool off at the pool. The reunion was over, but we all headed to Mammaws to take a dip before the big fireworks. You, as usual, loved the water, loved your little pool, and loved the company.

and no, we didn't make you wear a bathing suit. I think we were all just so exhausted!! We also couldn't keep our eyes off you. You were all about the pool, even the big pool. I had you on the side and you just kept reaching in, trying to touch the water. You almost fell in, but thankfully you've got a quick thinking mama! or really just a mama who was keepin' her eye on you!!

After swimming, we all headed to Mimi's to watch the fireworks. Well, except you and Clara Lee. We were so worried about you waking up. You see, the fireworks didn't start till 9, so you had been asleep for a long time BUT, the fireworks are literally in Mimi's back yard, right above the room you sleep in!!! Somehow, you made it through, not even a peep. Pretty amazing, especially with all the traffic in and out of that house. Clara Lee, too. You guys must have had way too much fun!!! All in all, a good 4th baby girl. Like I said, I see many more memories over the years. Can't wait for you to spell your name with a sparkler (with an adult standing near by that is :) LOVE YOU!!!!! We're home for a few days, so enjoy it. Miss Lee missed you so much and is so impressed with how much you are walking. She is so impressed with you, as we all are. Love love love.