Ho! Ho! Ho!

Last night, AB got to meet Santa for the first time. She and I met Daddy at Easton and waited patiently in line to meet the big guy...not really knowing how AB would react. The family in front of us had a six year old screaming her head off! She was not going to be sitting on the fat man's lap...no way! Santa shook a stern finger at the little girl and said "Ok, but no candy for you!" This made me a bit more nervous about AB's possible reaction to Santa because apparently Santa had already had a very, very long day. I don't know why I worried. AB didn't even squirm. She was perfectly content on Santa's lap. She even smiled for the 6' 1/2" foot elf who asked her to smile! It was a lot of fun. Just the start to many wonderful memories to come! Merry Christmas to all!

FIRST STEPS!!!

On Saturday AB took eight steps all by herself. Last night she stood up from a sitting position without using a thing to pull herself up...So tonight I had the camera charged and ready to go. Above is a video of AB taking her first timid steps. My first reaction has been pure excitement because Annabelle is thrilled to be moving around on her own...after watching this video I am touched in a profound way. These are her very first steps. She is so nervous to take them on her own but with such determination she takes a leap of faith and goes for it! Sometimes she makes it all the way to my arms and sometimes she falls...isn't that life? Her life will be full of first steps...Sometimes she'll achieve her goals...Sometimes she'll fall but she can always be certain that her Mommy and Daddy will be there to cheer her on and pick her up along the way. As I wipe away my tears and blow my nose I'll say, love to all-good night!

AB's First Halloween

Annabelle had a wonderful time celebrating her first Halloween. She was a good sport while mommy went crazy with the camera! AB was the cutest little pumpkin!! We walked around the block with her in her wagon before trick or treating began. Ms. Connie gave our little pumpkin a treat bag of multi grain Cheerios! One of AB's favs. Mommy and Daddy stayed home after that and passed out candy while Grandpa and Yaya took AB in her wagon all around the neighborhood! I've included a slide show above! The other little outfit with cat eyes came from the Thompsons. She wore her black cat Halloween outfit during the day and then turned into a pumpkin Halloween night.

Busy, Busy, Busy

September and October seem like a huge blur! We have been crazy busy! AB has been a busy bee as well. She has grown so much in the last few weeks. She is crawling EVERYWHERE and pulling up on EVERYTHING. Her favorite thing to do right now is to let go of whatever she's pulled up on so that she can balance on her own. She has flirted with the idea of taking a step but she gets a bit nervous and just giggles and grabs back onto whatever she was holding before. She crawls up the stairs! All of them- and then heads straight for her room to play. We will be so thankful to get some baby gates up to block all of the stairways in the house! Mom and Ted are coming over tomorrow to help us install them. AB has some teeth coming in as well. One on top has already come through the gums...Then she's got at least one on the bottom and the other on the top ready to come through. :) She has been such a trooper. I was dreading the 'teething phase' but honestly she's been wonderful. I think it helps that her teeth have taken this long to come in. I have included some pictures of AB in her wagon. We took our first ride today. She LOVED it! In fact when we got back to the house and I tried to take her out she started to cry! We went a few more times around the block. We had to practice because we want to use our wagon for trick or treating. :) I'll be sure to post pics of AB in her Halloween costume. Hope everyone is well. Love to all!

Also very fun is AB watching one of her favorite Daytime Dramas! She just can't seem to get enough of the GH theme song!

Daddy Is Pumped!

I'm not sure how many of you were aware of the bet that Nick and I had made when Annabelle was still in Mommy's belly, but Mommy has officially lost the first round! Nick is an avid Steelers fan and I am a huge Browns fan. Because we have a difference of opinion on the matter we told all family that they could buy Buckeye apparel for AB but no NFL garb. Here is the breakdown of the bet... The Browns and Steelers play twice a year. If the Steelers beat the Browns (as they did) poor Mommy has to buy AB a Steelers outfit for her to sport for the rest of the football season and vice versa if the Browns can pull off a win against the Steelers. Tonight is the first night AB has had the opportunity to wear her Steelers outfit. Even I have to admit she is too cute!! I just love to see her in football gear!

8 Months 2 Weeks

It's so wonderful being back in business! I have posted our family photos and a video I made of AB showing off her newly found skills. SHE DOES NOT STOP MOVING!!! She was never a docile baby by any means and now that she knows how to get around and pull up it is non-stop! Mommy and Daddy are chasing and play all day long. It has been so much fun watching her confidence grow. The first few time she accomplished 'pulling up' all by herself her face lit up with the biggest smile. She looked a me seeming to say "Did you see that Mom? I am so awesome!" Juggling work, masters and home seems to be manageable most days. I may not be getting the same amount of sleep but who really needs that? :) Annabelle continues to love her babysitter Ms. Connie. I feel relieved for this. I wouldn't want her to miss me even for a minute while I'm gone. (although I miss her terribly) I want her to have that socialization withothers...she really seems to enjoy it.

Enjoy the slideshow and video! Love to all!

Annabelle's Baptism

On August 30th Annabelle Marie Montgomery was baptised. It was an absolutely perfect day. So many family members were able to attend. Grandma and Grandpa Newman came from South Carolina, Aunty Heather and Uncle Scotty from Baltimore, Aunt Kathy from York, Great Grandma and Grandpa Newman, Uncle Sean, Nana and Pap, Mimzey and Dano, Great Grams, Great Aunt Patti and cousin Maria, and Great Aunt Sue and cousin Kara. Gene and Marty Marine were so kind to send the afternoon with us at Mimzey and Dano's house at Indian Lake. Gene performed the baptism. We all gathered outside with the lake behind us while Annabelle was saved. Gene and Marty surprised us with a very special gift. While visiting the holy land Gene and Marty gathered water from the Jordan River and brought it home with them. Gene used this water to baptise Annabelle Marie! It is a day Nick and I will never forget and one we can't wait to tell Annabelle all about when she gets older. Here are a few shots! I have some other great news! We have a new computer!!! I will now be able to blog more often (like I used to!) Sorry for the poor effort these past few months. I promise to do better. I am back to school which is fine... I have a great class which helps. I have also started my masters program...YIKES! I have just finished my first week and I must say I'm a bit out of practice...this morning I asked Nick, "How do I site references again? What is APA?" I'll get back into the swing of things soon! Love to all!

Seven Months!!

Well our computer troubles continue...they are almost solved and I don't want to bore you with all the details. We'll be back in business soon. Even without a computer I couldn't let a month of AB's life go undocumented so here we go! There is a new slide show of pictures of our little peanut at seven months old. She is so much fun!!! Lots of smiles and laughs which warm Mommy and Daddy's hearts. She has begun reaching for people to be held which is so sweet. She is also doing some pretty mean commando crawling! Uncle Scotty you would be so proud! I'm going to try to upload a video of her in action if I can. This past month has been a whirlwind. We spent a few weekends at the lake, we went to the zoo TWICE and we traveled to South Carolina to visit Grandpa Newman and Yaya. Whew! The first time we went to the zoo was for Nick's company's family day. We had fun. It was a really hot day and AB got tired fast. She fell fast asleep in her stroller but not before touching a snake with daddy (Aunty Heather don't look.) Our second trip to the zoo was with Nana, Uncle Sean and Kailyn. This was a very fun day. It was cloudy and not as hot which was absolutely perfect. We got to see so many animals and Annabelle and Kailyn loved watching. It was one of those summer memories I will never forget. It really was a perfect zoo day! At the very end of July we drove down to SC to visit. We decided to drive through the night so AB could sleep. We had no expectations for the trip but even if I had...AB would have blown them out of the park. She was amazing! She slept the WHOLE TIME. I couldn't believe it. She was absolutely perfect on the way there and on the way back! The trip was really great but too fast. We got to visit with Grandpa, Yaya and Uncle Jason a lot. We even got to see some great friends who hadn't yet met AB Marie. I was glad we got to visit with so many friends. We would have been able to visit with some more friends but I came down with a stomach bug and spent a whole day in bed, missing our lunch date with some of my friends from school. We were disappointed but it won't be the last time we get to visit so we'll get together with them again soon. Since we've been home I've been working on my classroom...which means school is just around the corner. I am not quite ready for my summer with AB to be over. She is everything and more to me. Being a working mom is harder than I ever could have imagined. I'm a little emotional just typing about it. Annabelle will be staying with Miss Connie this year. She is another neighbor with lot of nanny experience. She is very excited to have Annabelle. Annabelle is excited to spend time with their family dog Abby (she lights up whenever she sees Abby!) Well this was quite the read! I don't have any 'official' measurements to update but Nick got on the scale with Annabelle and we think she's over 15lbs! This last pic is of Nick and me at the Reds game Annabelle treated Daddy to for his Father's Day gift. She and Daddy have spent a lot of time watching baseball together. She got him tickets so he could get to the park this year. Nick can't wait to be able to take Annabelle to her first game soon. It was a lot of fun. Thank you Annabelle! Love to all!!!!

The Crash

Well for the avid AB fans who check the blog often you've noticed we haven't been updating lately. The Montgomery Family ran into a bit of computer trouble. Big storms blew through Pickerington one early morning. We were actually in the basement with the baby due to a tornado warning! It was quite a night. During the booming and banging there was one sound that no one wants to hear... a POP! This sound means something in your house has just imploded. In our case, it was our computer. Not just the computer but the entire Internet line as well. We are working through the problem and are looking forward to our new computer's arrival at the end of the month! I promise we'll get lots of pictures posted as soon as it arrives!
OH I almost forgot to mention!! Because our computer went down our home phone is down as well (we use vonage.) Please call us on our cell phones. Thanks!

Party Animal

AB Marie is six months old! She celebrated her 1/2 birthday on the 4th of July. She is really turning into quite the character! It's all happening so fast...soon she'll be crawling. We spent the weekend at Mimzey and Dano's house on the lake. We have gone on boat rides played with bubbles and we even threw a big party! AB has done a lot better meeting new people. For a while it was a little scary being in big crowds but she isn't effected by that anymore. She was passed around like a little football and loved every minute. I have some pics from the 4th of July party...there were so many cute ones that I decided to make a slide show (top of the page.) Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

Summer Fun

AB and I have been having a great time. AB is at such a fun age! She enjoys doing so many things. Even trips to Giant Eagle get her so excited! We now have friends there who come up and say hi to her. One lady in particular loves when Annabelle comes into the store. She knows Annabelle's name and just eats up her little grins. We have been swimming in her baby pool, going for rides in the stroller and even going for rides in her big stroller while I get some much needed exercise by pushing her on my Rollerblades. We are looking forward to being at the lake this July (a lot) going on boat rides and swimming in her baby pool. I look forward to those things but then again I don't want them to come too fast...I want this summer to be slow and easy. Each day is more fun than the last. I love being a mommy. Just some little updates for those who are interested in this stuff. AB is sleeping through the night! It took just a tad bit of training (more for me than her.) Now, she does it with ease. Last night in fact, she slept for 11 hours!!!! AB is doing other big girl things like eating solids. She eat fruit for breakfast, sweet potatoes (her fave) for lunch and then some other veggie like green beans, peas or carrots for dinner. When we go to the doctor in July for her six month check up we're hoping to get to try some meats and yogurts. She does such a great job in her high chair and really loves her solid foods. It was such an easy transition for her. It made weaning her from nursing so much easier! She still gets most of her nutrition through her bottles which she has with her meals. AB has not had to go to the doctor for anything other than wellness checks (and shots of course.) We feel so very fortunate to have such and healthy, happy baby. Hope you all are enjoying summer as much as we are.

Daddy's Big Day

Daddy's first Father's Day was a lot of fun. AB Marie made him his favorite for breakfast in bed...Pretty easy for Mommy (Coco Pebbles are easy to pour!) After he finished his yummy breakfast he got to open his cards. AB chose a card at the store that plays a song. She loves it! We almost wore out the battery before Daddy got to open it. When he did she look over at him and gave him the biggest smile! Apparently AB really likes the song "Macho, Macho Man." After Daddy thanked Annabelle for his gift we spent the day relaxing. We played outside in the grass and went for a stroll. It was a very fun, relaxing day.

Summer...At Last!

Mommy has been waiting for this day...well since she had to go back to work. It is summer at last! AB Marie just turned five months old on June 4th. Time has FLOWN by. I have posted a new video of AB's newest trick. There is also a new slide show at the top of the page.

ENJOY and happy summer!!!

Big Big Weekend

AB Marie had a HUGE weekend! She spent the night at Great Grandma and Grandpa Newman's, went to the park with her cousin Kailyn. Went to two picnics on Sunday, spent the night at Mimzey and Dano's and then went on her very first boat ride on Monday! It makes mom tired just thinking about all of the fun we had. I of course have some pics to share. The first two are Great Grandma and Grandpa Newman with two of their sweet great granddaughters. We had a lot of fun visiting with them. We took the girls up to the park to play. AB swang with mommy and GGrandma Newman. She really enjoyed watching her older cousin play too! The other pictures I've posted are of the boat ride. ENJOY!

Grandma and the two girls!

Daddy and his boating buddy!

Totally exhausted!

The Rainbow Bridge

This was given to me by a few people... It is beautiful and I wanted to share it.

Again thank you- for all of your thoughts and prayers. Macy was certainly loved by many people.

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. They animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...

Our Macy Mae

Yesterday was a tough day for our family. Our lovely golden, Macy Mae passed away suddenly. She had a cancerous tumor that irrupted in her abdomen (one we had no idea existed.) She wasn't in a lot of pain because we acted quickly. For those who have known her you know she was the sweetest girl and the best 'first baby' we could have ever hoped to have. She spent her last minutes comforting her Mommy and Daddy while they said good-bye (so sweet and selfless.) In those moments she was far more concerned with our feelings than her own aliment. She wagged her tail and gave us kisses and smiled when we talked to her. Very sad. Nick and I, and now Annabelle have always treated Macy more like a baby than a doggy. She was a special girl and a best friend. We will miss her terribly. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers at this time. It's going to be quit an adjustment... We Love you Mace

Four Months Old!!!

We had our four month appointment on Friday! Annabelle is doing great. Dr. Stevens was impressed with her neck and back strength and loved her disposition, saying "what a calm sweet girl we have here!" Annabelle weighed 11lbs 13oz and grew another inch. She is in the 15% for weight and the 70% for length, making her a lean mean (no sweet) baby machine! Dr. Stevens also gave us the go ahead for adding solids to one of her feedings. Last night we did peas and they were a HUGE success! It was only the second time we had tried eating with a spoon and I was amazed at how well she did. She loved the peas so much she got a bit impatient between bites. Starting solids is a slow process. You have to do veggies (green to orange) one at a time to be sure there are no allergies (one kind per week) and then you can do fruits. I have posted a pic of AB Marie after enjoying her peas! Another fun thing Annabelle is doing this week is sucking her thumb (Daddy was a big time thumb sucker so we knew it was probably going to happen...) As you can see by the pick she does it very well. Mommy doesn't complain. It means AB can put herself back to sleep which is a wonderful thing. Speaking of sleep...we made it through one whole night, Monday...not since but it's a good sign!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL MOMMIES!

(I love being apart of your club (The Mommy Club!)

Busy, Busy Bee

The weeks are flying by and for one teacher mommy and that is great news! The count down is on...only 40 days until I'm with Annabelle each and every day! I feel like I've regressed to age eight! I have summer break fever in a bad way!! Not to worry though I'm still working hard at educating our youth...I'm just leaving school each day with a spring in my step! I can only describe the anticipation of seeing AB Marie as the feeling you get when you wake up on Christmas morning...so excited, so over joyed. This is the feeling I have each and every day! Being a parent is just so great! You think it can't get any better and then the next day comes and it does. This week, AB Marie got to see a lot of family. She also got to spend a lot of her time outside due to this beautiful spring we're having. She is getting so big!!! I have posted some pics so you can see for yourself. AB has officially found her hands and loves to suck on them ALL THE TIME!!! Very funny and very slobbery!

All Smiles!

We have had so much fun with Miss Annabelle! She is starting to really show a lot of personality. She is smiling at anyone who will greet her and she giggles at the silliest things! We have always known that AB Marie (this is what mommy has been calling baby most recently) loves to move and be moved about quite a bit. Basically, if AB Marie is awake she would prefer to be on the move. But this week, she's taking this moving to a new level. When Daddy does the very exciting tossing the baby routine she just laughs and laughs! (Funny, because tossing baby routine normally makes the Mommies look away in fear!) There are a number of "rough housing" motions that just really get her excited! It is the funniest thing! There is no doubt in my mind that little miss will be on the roller coasters as soon as she's tall enough to ride. I also envision her in a few years wrestling with her daddy every night. I sure do have fantastic memories of this with my daddy! I've included some cute bath time photo and another from last week! Love to all!

Little Peanut

We went to the doctor to have Annabelle weighed... It was the cutest thing. We all feel like she's grown so much and is getting so heavy but the nurse thought otherwise...When I put Annabelle on the scale she said, "Oh what a teenyweeny little peanut!" Not to worry though Annabelle isn't too teenyweeny she's growing at a good rate. When you start out so small you can only do so much! She clocked in at a massive 10 pounds 3 ounces and is measuring 23 and 1/2 inches long. Very good progress! It's a little over a pound each month as well as an inch each month! I have included a picture of Annabelle after our first family walk. She is in a 3 to 6 month little coat which, she of course is swimming in. A big floppy coat had nothing on the rare, beautiful spring day we were able to enjoy. We had a lot of fun. I am also posting a video of Annabelle telling me about her day. I had just gotten her home from the babysitter and was going to put her down for a nap when she began telling me the greatest story. I couldn't resist capturing it. You can hear Mommy sniffling in the background. I get a little emotional after being away all day. Especially when I'm greeted by the sweetest little tale I'd heard in quite a while.

Spring Break is Here!

We are on Spring Break this week and I couldn't be happier. It is following a very BIG Easter weekend of traveling. On Good Friday, we traveled to Mimzey and Dano's house at the lake and visited with Great Grams and Aunt Kathy. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing. I love for Annabelle to get out and see other faces besides mine and Nick's. She really enjoyed the attention. She is smiling so much and cooing! Saturday morning Dano, Mimzey and Mommy were treated to a very long story. Annabelle was talking away! Saturday afternoon we drove to Springfield and stayed with Nana and Ted. Nana had the calming touch. Annabelle would just sit in her lap and look around, completely content. There is a pic of Nana reading Annabelle a story. Sunday was our busiest day. We met Grandpa Newman, Yaya, Great Grandma Patti, Great Grandpa Ken, Uncle Sean, Cousin Kailyn, Uncle Levi, Aunt Jenni, and Cousin Maci in Urbana for Easter brunch. It was quite a corner! All of those folks and three babies under one year of age. It was a lot of fun to watch the babies check each other out. They will have so much fun as they grow being so close in age. One year, six months and three months! After brunch, we drove to Kenton to Great Gram's house. There we got to visit: Mimzey, Aunt Kathy, Cousin Trisha, Cousin Tim, Cousin Maria, Uncle Bill and Aunt Patti. Annabelle soaked up all the attention -loving every minute! There is a picture of she and Maria playing on the floor. Maria even got to change a diaper (babysitter in training!) By the time we got home Sunday night at around 8pm we were pooped! It was a wonderful weekend but I'm sure glad to have this week to rest before heading back to work on Monday. Hope everyone one had as blessed an Easter Weekend as we did! XOXOXOO

10 Weeks Old

Another Week Down...

I'm feeling better about being a working mom. Keep in mind as I say this... We had a snow day on Monday which made it easier. Annabelle got into a schedule only getting up once in the night and then snoozing until 5:30 which worked out perfect because I could feed her once more before taking her to the sitter. Annabelle is doing very well at the sitter's. Erika and Mark have two children. A son in second grade and a daughter who has just started half day kindergarten. They both seem to enjoy Annabelle being at their house. They have both gotten to hold her, feed her and play with her. They are ready with stories for me as soon as I walk in the door at 4pm. This week is another four day week and then begins spring break!!!! Annabelle will be three months old that Friday during spring break! I can't believe it! Nick and I have had so much fun with her. Her little personality is starting to come through. She is smiling a TON and really reacts to the people she knows well. We've learned her cries... A few weeks ago when we'd go running into her room because she cried a bit during a nap we've now learned that she'll just fuss a bit sometimes throughout her naps and then she'll fall back asleep. Kinda crying in her sleep. Very funny. She's as active as ever. When she's laying on her back she's moving all of those little limbs around kicking and swinging those arms about. When she's on a tummy pillow she is now pushing herself with her legs and feet up and over the pillow. Strong little pumpkin!!! I have included some photos from the past week. She has a few St. Patrick's Day outfits so we decided to start wearing them today and finish them on Monday! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We Did It!

We made it through the first week of Mommy back at work. The weekend before I went back to school I think I probably cried each and every time I stopped moving and started thinking about what Monday was to bring. As you can imagine sleep didn't come easy Sunday night. But, no matter how much I willed Monday morning to stay away it came just the same and I had to say good-bye for the day. It was very hard BUT as everyone told me...it did get easier with each passing day. I would hold back the tears on the way to school and each time someone asked me if it was hard to leave her at home... I stayed busy and then like magic it was 3:00 and I was preparing my class to leave for home. The drive home from work, when you know there is a sweet little baby awaiting, is such a fun time. I am just so excited to walk in the door and see my little pumpkin. I can only say through this experience that I am so glad to have chosen teaching as my profession! I have spring break in one week and four days and then after that I work for 8 more weeks and then I have summer break!!!! It really is the mother's profession. I would also like to say bravo to all of the stay at home moms reading...YOUR JOB IS SO HARD! My first day back, during guided reading, I looked around my classroom. I had three students working hard with me and the rest of my class was working silently at their desks. I thought to myself, "wow, this is like a mini vacation!" Teaching is far easier than being a stay at home mom. Still knowing this I think if I could I'd love to be the stay at home mommy. I had one, and let me tell you it is so wonderful. Hopefully in a few years I'll be able to do just that.
I am including some pictures of Miss Annabelle on her Daddy's birthday. Yes, Nick turned the big 28! We had such a fun relaxing day at home. Annabelle got all dressed up for the occasion and I must say was the cutest little baby. We of course had a photo shoot in her little dress. The other photos are from the same weekend. She was having so much fun sitting in her car seat and staring at the fan in the living room. Mr. Fan, as I like to call him, is one of Annabelle's best friends. She lights up at the sight of him...and when you turn him on... Watch out! We're talking hours of entertainment (a ceiling fan!!!! Who knew it was so easy and inexpensive!) Hope everyone in Ohio is staying cozy today during this blizzard (I wish I were kidding but there is actually a blizzard happening outside right now...) Those of you down south...please send us up some sunny nice weather!