Abigail at 5 months

Oh how time flies.

Even in the midst of sorrow, God gives me so much to be joyful about. Our sweet Abigail Mercy is five months old.

Surely someone has a magic elixir that can slow down time, right? No? Humf.

Here's Abigail at 1 month, 3 months and 4 months (I missed the 2 month mark, remember?)

At five months old Abigail is just the most pleasant, joyful baby.


Her bright eyes captivate me and her fuzzy head has hints of red hair. She is perfectly fine with her older siblings doting all over her, being in her face and making the most screeching noises imaginable. In fact, I think she kind of likes the attention because she usually looks at them with her big indigo colored eyes and laughs. Or makes a funny face.


She's beginning to like her lovey that we so originally named "Quack Quack." Quack Quack goes with us everywhere and Abigail enjoys her (him?) so much.


Of course, I'm not sure if her affections are genuine or driven out of her need to chew on something, anything, as she cuts her second tooth.

Yep, this girl already has 1.5 teeth coming in. She's pretty proud, I think. When Quack Quack isn't around, her fingers work just fine as a chew toy.


I was sure that she'd be an average sized baby, hovering in the 50th percentiles. Instead, she surprised me and was in the 80th percentiles, just like her sister Ella. She's already in 6 - 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. I just love her sweet little leg rolls.


And her drool? It's nearly as sweet as honey fresh from the comb. Nearly.


She's sleeping okay at night, usually waking up 2 times and she still likes to be swaddled. She can roll from her tummy to her back and her back to her tummy.

This past week she perfected the art of sucking her toes.

She's tried bananas, but didn't really care much for them. She still loves to ride in the Moby wrap and now will actually tolerate (and sometimes even fall asleep!) in her car seat.

She's just simply a wonderful, joyful, happy baby and I'm so thankful for the treasure that she is to our family.

Happy 5 months sweet Abigail!


Want a comparison? Here's Ella at 5 months! Boy they look more alike than I thought.

Abigail at 4 months

I'm several days late but I wanted to get Abigail's 4th month on the books. Especially considering I missed her 2nd month altogether!

When she turned 4 months old, we were out of town, busy visiting friends and family. It was a whirlwind vacation trip. (Can you really call that much work vacation? I think not.)

We saw precious friends and family and Abigail did some pretty amazing things while we were gone. Like learning to love this:





We have our first, official thumb sucker. Out of seven kids, you'd have thought we'd have already had one. Luke has managed to ward off any thumb sucking thus far. But now that he has 6 other distractions Abigail has big plans to thwart his no-thumb-sucking record.

She still takes a pacci but her thumb is, by far, her favorite. And, don't tell Luke, but I think it's pretty darn cute.





Abigail got to meet her great-Granny. It's such a privilege for me to see our children with my grandparents. I believe they've left an amazing legacy. They have 15 great-grandchildren. Pretty impressive, huh?

14 of the 15 great grandchildren

Abigail got to meet all of her cousins and she enjoyed being passed around and held by almost everyone.

Of course, her favorite people there were her siblings. Even if it was by force.






Abigail began rolling from her tummy to her back this month and she's just so proud of herself when she does.

She'll nap just about anywhere and still loves being held. And now, she'll even tolerate being held by Luke.







She has started blowing bubbles and she's perfected her frown. Sometimes she does both at the same time.





She's got the most striking eyes and I just cannot keep my lips off of her sweet, chubby cheeks.







She is simply the most delightful baby I've ever seen. Ella was so content at this age and I think Abigail is giving her a run for her money.

I tried moving her to a room with Olivia but between my anxiety and Abigail refusing to sleep without me in the room, I gave up and put the portable crib back beside our bed. She still sleeps swaddled and last night she slept from 11:00pm - 6:50am! Wooo hoooo! But I'm not holding my breath that she will do that again.

We're doing a modified vaccine schedule and yesterday she had shots at her 4 month check up. She's in the 81st percentile for weight and the 77th percentile for height. She's wearing size 3 - 6 month clothes but not for much longer!

She smiles at everyone and rarely meets a stranger. Oh how I love this sweet little girl and I wish, so much, that I could just freeze time and have her stay this age forever!

Thank you Lord for 4 sweet months with our precious Abigail Mercy!





A special thanks to my friend Paige for many of these sweet photos!

Abigail at 3 months old

Well, somehow I totally missed posting about Abigail at 2 months old. I remembered about a week later and then forgot again just as quickly.

Here's Abigail at 1 month if you'd like some perspective.

But what I truly cannot believe is that my baby is already 3 months old. Okay, actually I can. Because y'all, it's been a long 3 months.

Yet at the same time, I'm finding it harder and harder to remember what I did with my time before I was babywearing, nursing, changing, swaddling and snuggling a baby. And I'm having a hard time remembering what it was like to drive somewhere without a baby screaming in the back seat. Yep, she still hates her carseat.

Sorry, that face is just too cute!

At 3 months old, my sweet Abigail Mercy loves, loves to be held. She spends the majority of her day wrapped onto my chest in the Moby wrap or in the arms of Elizabeth - my biggest helper. I'm not sure how I would be managing without my Moby or my oldest daughter.

Unlike Ella at 3 months, Abigail could take or leave being in the mix of the other kids. Don't get me wrong, she enjoys the attention. But as I re-read that post about Ella at 3 months old, I remember her being so break-neck to see everyone and be in the middle of everything. Abigail is not quite the same way. She's perfectly content to sit in the swing and watch from a far (not that she's in the swing often, mind you!) or look at everyone else from her spot, wrapped tightly on my chest.

Her eyes are so blue they're almost indigo. Does that make sense? They're deep and rich and I could just stare at them for hours. Ahem, you know, if I didn't have 6 other people who need my attention.

She's free with her smiles and offers them to complete strangers on the regular, which tickles both me and the sweet ladies in the store who are forever stopping us to oogle over my nearly-auburn haired baby.

She's still got the sweetest little dimple that appears on the right side of her mouth when she smiles. I adore it. Can you see it in the photo above? I just want to pinch it. Gently, of course. ;)

She sleeps pretty well, certainly better than most of our others at this age. Her first stretch of night time sleep varies between 5 - 6 hours, usually starting about 10pm. Then she goes 2 - 3 hours between feedings. Certainly I cannot complain! Now if I would only go to bed at a decent time and enjoy that long stretch of sleep!

I've had to give up dairy since she seems to not sleep as well when I'm eating and drinking dairy products. She's also much more fussy. Good thing my awesome husband found some coconut milk ice cream. It's yummy and I hardly miss dairy at all - except for cheese.

She's snuggly and cuddly and really dislikes being laid down flat on her back for any length of time longer than 5 minutes. I'm not sure how that will work for her ability to roll over! She is easy going, loves her pacifier and sucks on her hands when a pacci cannot be shoved into her mouth quickly enough. She tolerates all the kisses, hugs, pats and the constant invasion of her personal space quite well.

And, I happen to think she's quite possibly the sweetest, most beautiful 3 month old I know! We continue to stand in awe of God's merciful love for us that He would give us another treasure such as Abigail. Happy 3 months sweet baby girl!

Abigail at 1 month

Oh how I wish I'd have known about blogging when Elizabeth and the twins were babies! And how I wish I'd have been more intentional about blogging developments and milestones each month of Aaron and Olivia's infancy.

Nonetheless, with Ella, I posted about her every month. I knew if I didn't, I'd quickly forget all the little things that happen early on in her life. Abigail is no different. So, each month over the next year the plan is to post pictures and milestones of my sweet baby girl. Really, it's less about all of you and more about me being able to look back and actually remember something.

Besides, isn't she a living doll? I'm sure I'm a little partial. :)

At one month old, Abigail Mercy has started losing some of that beautiful, dark auburn hair and now sports the baby-classic style of "receding hair-line/old man hair." But she's still as cute as a button! Her scrawny limbs remind me so much of Ashlee at that age - heck, Ashlee now!

I'm not gonna lie. When she was born and the doctor placed her on my chest, I looked at her and thought  to myself, "Whose kid is this? She doesn't look like us!"

Not that looking like Luke or I constitutes being a member of our family. Clearly. Ahem.

But truly, I expected her to look like a typical Beaver kid with round cheeks, peach fuzzy light hair and maybe a hint of her own flair. When Abigail appeared with dark hair and a face that was more slender than round, I assumed after the shock of birth wore off she'd favor Ashlee. And while she does, I continued to think - in the back of my mind or only around our closest friends - did this baby get switched with our baby at birth because, y'all, I didn't think she looked anything like us!

My Mom sent me a text about a week ago and said she was looking at some of my baby pictures and that, indeed, Abigail comes by her biology honestly. Apparently, we look alike! I dug out a photo of myself as a newborn and it's true, she's mine.

I say all of this in jest, of course, because I knew she was mine all along. Her temperament is uniquely hers, but she also reminds me quite a bit of Ella as a baby. She loves to be cuddled and held and hates her car seat with a fiery passion.

She makes the sweetest baby noises, often grunting, snorting or making other sweet little baby sounds. She hardly ever fully cries (unless she's in her carseat) but rather does this half cry-half squeak thing. She always prefers for someone, anyone really, to be holding her. Often, the spot of baby holder is occupied by one of her oldest 3 siblings. They adore her. All of her older sibling adore her. If I didn't know better, I'd swear she's lost all her hair on the top of her head from kisses, rubs and nuzzles.

She's managed to show us a few intentional smiles and usually really shows off if we makes kissy noises at her. Currently, she has a little, tiny dimple on the right side of her chin that appears only when she grins. I'm praying it stays.

She loves to be swaddled and, perhaps the BEST part of her baby-ness is, SHE TAKES A PACIFIER! Ella refused one altogether and most of the other kids only entertained them for a few weeks. But Abigail seems to really like it. A first for us since Elizabeth was an infant.

She nurses about every 2 hours during the day but does so efficiently, usually in under 10 minutes. She goes about 2.5 hours at night but last night set a new record for 4 GLORIOUS HOURS. She alternates sleeping between her bouncy seat, the swing and in someone's arms.

I try so hard not to compare all of our children to each other, but I think it's natural to when you have multiple children. And while she's similar to her older brothers and sisters in many ways, she's certainly her own little person (as if she didn't prove that enough during my pregnancy). And as I looked back at Ella's 1 month post I realized, again, that maybe Abigail does favor our other kids more than I thought.

One month old, already. It's hard to think it's already went by so quickly and yet, it's becoming harder and harder to remember what life was like without her. Happy 1 month sweet, cuddly Abigail! We love you so much!

Introducing...

Abigail Mercy

Born: Monday, March 5, 2012 at 7:28pm

6 pounds, 13 ounces 20.5 inches long

(photos by Light of Mine Photography)

We are so in love with her and we cannot stop praising God for His blessings. She's tiny but not for long. She likes to eat. A lot. :)

Birth story and details soon!

Floppy, Well Worn, Stretched

Those are never words you really enjoy being used in reference to your body. Much less your uterus.

I went to my OB yesterday to see which way little girl was laying. Last week she was breech (butt down). Yesterday, she was transverse (sideways). The OB shifted her to vertex (head down) and then proceeded to describe my uterus in terms that one would enjoy if it referenced jello or homemade banana pudding or even the consistency of perfectly cooked noodles.

Basically, the OB told me my uterus was like a "well worn pair of jeans...nice and comfy," then "floppy and unstable" and finally, "stretched like a used rubberband."

He blamed the twins. I agree. They have a way of wearing things out quickly.

At this point, the plan is for me to buy a pregnancy belt girdle, catch this girl head down and tighten up my stomach so that she can't move. That should be interesting considering she's spinning around like the hands on a clock.

I go back to the OB on Tuesday where he will check her again to see which way she's laying. I'll be 37.5 weeks by then and he said something about me getting to around 38 weeks, turning her to head down then breaking my water so that I'll go into labor.

The good news is that I most likely won't go 42+ weeks with this pregnancy. The bad news is that it's looking like, once again, I'll be induced. Which bums me out.

But I'll focus on the fact that in the next 2 weeks it's very likely I'll have a sweet little girl to cuddle, nuzzle and sniff.

Home stretch, here I come. LITERALLY.

It's a.....

With Ella, we didn't find out her gender until she was born. It was fun not knowing if she was a he or she for the duration of my pregnancy. There was great fun in finding out if we were having a girl or boy with the 1st words my doctor said upon her delivery.

We found out Elizabeth's gender (our 1st born).

With Lucas and Ashlee, well, finding out that we were having twins was surprise enough so we didn't feel like we needed any more surprises. :)

We didn't even know about Aaron or Olivia until we got the call for them on the days they were born.

So not finding out Ella's gender until her birth was new for us. Exciting even.

With Beaver Baby #7 growing inside me and with each little flutter of kicks, we'd planned not to find out Baby #7's gender until his or her birth as well.

That was until couple weeks ago when Elizabeth asked me why we couldn't find out what Baby #7 was.

"Well," I said, "it's really up to your Dad. I don't care either way if we find out or if we wait. But Daddy likes to wait."

A few days later Elizabeth quietly asks Luke, "Dad? Can I change your mind about something?"

I think Luke panicked at first, wondering what she could be wanting.

"Can we please find out what the baby is? Pretty, pretty please?"

Over the course of the last week Elizabeth has continued to prod steer trick beg persuade Luke into finding out this new baby's gender.

Today, was our "big" ultrasound, the anatomy scan where the option to find out the baby's gender was, well, an option.

In the waiting room, Luke's soft side won out and he looked at Elizabeth and asked her, "Well, do we want to find out what the baby is?"

She was beside herself excited. And so were Lucas and Ashlee.

That is, until the doctor scanned and then announced,

"It looks like it's a GIRL!"

Then all of Lucas' hopes and dreams were crushed when he realized he'd have FIVE sisters and still only ONE brother.

Y'all pray for him. :)

We couldn't be more blessed or pleased.

You sure have your hands full! (Part 1)

She sits strapped into her booster seat, her pudgy little fingers squeezing the handle of her spoon tightly. Applesauce oozes through them as she scoops heaping spoonfuls toward her mouth, inadvertently dipping her dimpled elbow in her bowl.

Half the contents of her spoon dribble down her front while the other half goes partly into her mouth and partly on her chin.

Applesauce is painted all over the table, all over her hair and a thick coat covers the bottom of her bowl.

"Here, Ella, Mommy help," I say, scraping another spoonful from around the sides and bottom of her bowl.

"Naaaaaa-uuuuhh!" she exclaims defiantly. Not because she doesn't want another bite but because she doesn't want me to give it to her.

------

Her big brown eyes stare up at me while she sits on the potty. "Where does the pee-pee go?" I ask, very frustrated. She was potty trained before Aaron yet for some reason, she's reverted to daily accidents.

"In a poddy," she says with a smile. She expels what is left in her bladder and smiles up at me, proudly.

"I di it Mommy! I get a chocky tip Mommy!"

I stroke her face and tell her I'm proud of her and her tiny frame swells with pride. She's more pleased with my adoration than any piece of candy.

Later, she tells me before she has an accident. I make a mental note to praise her more often, even for the trivial things.

-----

I can't blame him for being upset. All they want to play is girly things and he's the odd man out most of the time. I'm eager for Aaron to get a tad older so that they can go play boy things together. He sits with a furrowed brow, upset that they just want to play dolls and he wants to play Toy Story.

"Bubby, have you asked them if you can play with them but not be a girl doll?"

"They don't like me anymore. All they want to play is games I don't like!" He's hurt. I squat down, look him in the eye and say, "Well, maybe you could play a boy game by yourself. Want me to get the blocks so you can build a fort for your army men?"

His face softens. It's not his first choice but it will do. Soon, his sisters are playing blocks with him and the doll incident is all but forgotten. Until tomorrow.

-----

He's whining and crying. Again. It's hard because I feel like that's all he ever does. Whine and cry, whine and cry. I ache to hear real words come out of his mouth. Real 3 year old words.

"Moooooooooommmmmmmm. I anna nodder juuuuuuuuice."

"I'm sorry Bud. You've already had one already. Maybe after nap."

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo...... Moooooooommmmmm I anna nodder juuuuuuuuuuuice!!!"

I crack my neck by leaning my head from shoulder to shoulder. Tension releases.

"Buddy, I've told you. Not now. You've already had one cup."

Wails ensue. Fits progress until he's a flailing snake on the floor.

"Please go to your room if you chose to throw a fit."

Increased crying as he trots down the hall. He cries for over 20 minutes and my patience are pushed to their limit.

-------

"Elizabeth, can you please comb your hair before we leave?"

"Mom! I already did!" she insists.

I glance at her hair which is plied on top of her head with numerous bobby pins and barrettes. On one side, a huge blob of hair hangs out, sliding down the back of her neck onto her shoulders.

"Well, I think you missed a spot. Can I help you?"

"Fine! I'll fix it again." She turns and goes back upstairs, only to return a few minutes later with and equally frazzled hairdo.

I sigh, knowing that if I correct her styling again she'll break down into a puddle of tears and say that I don't think she's pretty.

I decide to save that battle for Sunday morning, when it's important.

-----

Her red hair whips into Ella's face as she shoves her face as close as humanly possible to another person.

"Juggy, juggy, juggy! You a precious girl! Yes.you.are!"

Ella protests and flings her body away, knocking Ashlee's cup over. Water glides across the table and falls onto the floor below, soaking everything around it.

"Ashlee! I've asked you numerous times to please not play with Ella while we are eating. She cannot eat and neither can you. And now, your drink has spilled. Again."

She looks at me with blue-green eyes, full of sorrow.

We clean up her water and everyone resumes their mealtime conversations. Less than 4 minutes later....

"Ella JOY! Ella JOY! Shuggy, shuggy, shuggy! I giddy, giddy, giddy! You love sissy! Yes you do!"

Ella screams, eager for Ashlee to stop squishing her body against hers.

Forks hit the floor and food flies across the table.

"ASHLEE! Please! Stop!"

-----

I've been thinking a lot about how to react to someone who tells us that our hands are full. After writing the above scenarios (all which have happened in past 48 hours) I can't say that I disagree. And with baby number 7 on the way, I can see how our hands will only get fuller.

Yet while their comments carry truth, I'm not really sure how to respond to people's remarks. While there are certainly times when I need a break from my children, and times when my patience is so thin you could blow bubbles through it, I truly cannot say that I'd rather my life be any other way.

I love my kids. I love being their mother. I love that we're a crazy, chaotic wild mess and there's always someone needing something.

I had a sweet, well meaning lady ask/tell me the other day that if I was just going to have the doctor give me a hysterectomy after we had baby number 7.

No lie.

She's a nice lady. I respect her as an elder woman in our church. I just think the thought of 7 kids blows her out of the water. And why shouldn't it?

I mean, it's a lot of kids.


I had great plans to make this a post about my feelings about people telling us our hands are full. But after writing all that is above, I'd like your input. What do you think when people tell you,

"Man! You have your hands full?"

or

"Better you than me!"

or

"If we'd have had our 2nd child first, we'd have stopped! But never seven!"

I want to have an answer to those questions that are glorifying to God, yet also honest and not necessarily canned. I want to make people think about what they are saying and why they are saying them.

Your thoughts?

Tune in for Part 2 sometime early next week as I read your thoughts and continue forming my own.

Happy Friday!