Highlights of Month 5

Wow - already 5 months! The time does go by quickly. Abigail is very interactive - and active! - now, which is fun. In the past month, her movements have gotten very deliberate: she sees something, decides she wants to grab it, and then does! She also reached another big milestone this month and started sitting up on her own. She is getting more stable each day, though we still put the Boppy pillow behind et in case she topples over.

Celebrating the arrival of fall by sporting her flare jeans and fancy sweater that my coworker Jeanne made for her!

That smile was for Uncle Matt

And here is an awesome video and photos of Abigail in her new favorite toy!

We had a nice trip out to Boston over labor day weekend. Claude was the best man in a wedding and we made a trip out of it so my family and family friends could meet Abigail. It was exhausting but wonderful to see everyone! Look for a separate post for that trip with more photos!

The end of summer in Minnesota would not be complete without a trip to the Great Minnesota Get-Together (aka the state fair for you non-Minnesotans). But what with all the talk about the swine flu, we decided not to take Abigail. I still took the day off so Claude and Christine could go during the day and I got to stay home with Abigail. Then Claude and I had an afternoon date with an attorney to sign our wills (what a date, huh?) and then had a real date in the evening at the fair. Turns out everyone had more fun that way, so thanks swine flu!

Classic

In the butterfly house

Abigail enjoying the prizes Daddy won for her at the fair!

This light stick has become our go-to fussy time fixer - she is entranced!

We tried to sneak in a few more fun activities with Grandma Christine before she has to leave to go home to her kids and husband. She took a solo trip out to DC for a week to visit her sister. We went apple picking, took her to the zoo, and out for dinner. We are sad to say goodbye, but we have many memories from her time here, not to mention a deep freeze stocked to the brim with Cameroonian food we can just reheat!

On her way out to DC

Close, Abigail, but you are supposed to eat the apples not the leaves!

Keeping the baby warm while Daddy and Grandma play bean bag toss!

Fun games at the apple orchard

Grandma Christine's departure was bittersweet in that it marked Grandma Rae's arrival!

We also started the school year - Claude back to class for his final semester of the Masters program and all of us started an ECFE (early childhood and family education) class on Thursday evenings. I hadn't heard of this growing up, but lots of parents I talked to really recommended it. It's a class through the St Paul public schools for birth through pre-K where there is structured play time with your child an also parent class time. We are going to be in a class for 6-12 month olds, so hopefully it will be a good way to meet other parents and families in our neighborhood!

Finally, we ended month 5 with Abigail's dedication at church. It was a very nice service and we were happy to get to share the special time with our church and non-church friends!