Sears portraits

We got some photos taken this month at Sears (and bought the CD and copyrights to have access to the photos!) of Abigail as well as some family photos. Enjoy!

Monthly Photos - 3 months

Wow how time goes by quickly! Here is the 3 month shot with the previous ones for comparison - sorry we're not very good at making sure the angle is the same everytime!

Breakfast with Abigail

Abigail is a kid who loves to be carried. She is most content when being held in our arms or in one of our carriers. And for the most part, we love to carry her. It just makes doing everyday things a little more challenging - like eating. We often cover her head with a burp cloth when she's in the carrier and asleep but she likes to look around when she's awake. So sometimes there is a casualty and some food drops on her! What I love best with this photo is that he had dropped a couple drops on her nose, so I went to get the camera and as I turned it on, another drop fell on her head and I caught this awesome candid shot! She doesn't seem to mind sharing breakfast with daddy!

Grandma Christine is here!

Thank you for all of your support and encouragement! Grandma Christine has arrived and is, of course, thrilled to get to hold Abigail. It has been fun to show her around our cities and see things through the eyes of someone seeing them for the first time. Although Claude was frustrated with her on the way home from the airport. He kept pointing out how wide the road was and the tall buildings - and all she had eyes for was Abigail in her carseat! He was pointing those things out as she was cooing at Abigail!

And everyone here was excited to see all the fun things Christine brought from Cameroon - to each his or her own! Claude got about 100 chocolate bars from Cameroon and Kate and Abigail both got bracelets!

Grandma Christine also brought some of the diapers that they use for babies in Cameroon (cloth diapers with a plastic tie-on cover), so she was showing me how to put them on.

And of course, everyone - including Abigail got the all-important Eto'o soccer jersey!

Good news!

Grandma Christine got the visa to come to visit Abigail! We are so so excited to see her and for her to get to hold Abigail, and thankful for the enormous support and encouragement we have received during the process. Thank you!

This was Abigail's reaction when Claude told her the news!

Wait, really, Dad?

This is great!

I am so excited to see Grandma Christine!

Hey Mom, did you hear the news?

(Ok, so she's just generally smiley and happy in the morning, but if she could understand, I'm sure that would have been her reaction anyway!)

Back to work already!

When Abigail was first born and people would ask how long I was taking off work, I would confidently say that I was taking my full 12 weeks and didn't have to go back until July, which seemed like forever away. Somehow, of course, those 12 weeks flew by at lightening speed and it is already July and I am already back to work.

Luckily for me, at least initially, I don't have to worry about getting both Abigail and I out the door in the morning and I can leave her in the very capable hands of her daddy, which is a huge blessing. We are so grateful that Claude got an internship for the summer and even more grateful that it is very flexible and allows him to work from home and work in the evenings, so he is able to take care of Abigail while I am at work. And that had made this transition MUCH easier on me. Plus, it helps that I really enjoy my job and have coworkers and a boss who are very supportive.

Road Trip - Part 2

That evening we headed to Keesha's to visit, drive the Mustang and play a bit of soccer!

Friday morning, it rained, which was a big deal since it had been so dry. We assumed there must be farmers dancing somewhere, but we decided to just sit in the garage and watch the storm rather than try to find them.

Then it cleared up and we spent the afternoon at Bruce and Gloria's. Claude got to drive the Corvette and the boat, and Nancy and I got to ski (and yes, I was still able to get up!).

Then off to Madison to see friends. Abigail was not quite so pleasant during this drive, but we made it alright.  We got to see Pete and Helyn before they headed to Chicago, and enjoyed a relaxing weekend with Christy and Sergei.

It was great to see everyone - thank you for your hospitality!