Abby's Baby Blessing

Erik blessed Abigail in church on Sunday, May 27. He gave a beautiful blessing. All of Erik's dad's family was there: Grandpa and Grandma Heiss, Uncle Karl and Aunt Karen Heiss and their daughter, Kaitlyn. Most of my family also attended the blessing. It was wonderful to have everyone there!Outside the church building with Erik's dad and grandparents

Here's Abigail in the blessing gown that Erik's grandma Heiss brought down with her from Michigan. Erik's great-aunt made it, and his great-grandfather was christened in it over 100 years ago! It was neat to have Abby blessed in it...I'm just glad she didn't spit up on it!

Family Reunion

Abigail has recently met some of her great grandparents! Erik's grandparents, Dick and Nancy Heiss, were the first to meet her. They made a lengthy detour from Charleston down to Atlanta on their way to Michigan back in April. Of course they were smitten with her....although they claim she's all Weiler!

Here's Abigail with Great-grandpa Heiss.
My grandparents, Dick and Nancy Weiler, flew down at the beginning of May to meet little Abigail (and watch my younger brother Seth compete in a state track meet). Erik and I invited them, as well as my parents and two of my siblings and their spouses, over to our condo one night for dinner. We finally got to use the china and silverware we got for our wedding!
Great-grandma Weiler with Abby.
Great grandpa Weiler with Abby.

Million Dollar Smile

I finally managed to grab the camera in time to catch one of Abby's smiles! Is that a million dollar smile, or what, Tracy?! Here's another one below. I got pretty lucky that day...

Cute Moments

Abby loves when Daddy comes home and plays with her. She has finally started smiling when she's awake! Erik is really good at coaxing them out of her.
I realized one day that I have taken nearly all the cute pictures of Abigail, so I'm not in any of them! The only ones I was in were from the first two weeks after Abby was born, when I was bedridden and...not looking my best. So I finally made Erik take a decent picture of me holding her.
Do I look like a mom yet? My doctor told me at my 6-week checkup the other day that I look like I'm 12. Some day I'm sure I'll appreciate that...
Can you tell Erik's tired of my constant picture-taking? (Abby is too, apparently...) I can't help it, though! I have to capture all her cute moments... and she's always having cute moments!

More cute moments with Dad...

This is what happens when Dad's on baby-duty... (No, he's not just averting the camera!)

We've got a pick-pocketer among us!

Caught red-handed! (Don't let the innocent face fool you...)

Misc. Pictures

Check out that BabyBjorn! Erik and I took Abigail for her first walk the other day (Erik wanted to show her that it was daytime...As you can see from the picture, she's a little confused.), and once we got her to wake up, she seemed to enjoy the sunshine.



Parenthood has had a really invigorating effect on Erik and me. These pictures don't do us justice!





Abigail has the sweetest smile I have ever seen. It just doesn't get old! Unfortunately, she seems to smile the most right after her midnight feedings, when I can't exactly jump up and grab the camera. We still haven't really been successful in capturing her full smile, but Erik got pretty close this time...

Nap Time!

L'Anita in her usual position with a gorgeous little girl in her arms. Abigail is doing well in her basic life responsibilities. She eats well every two or three hours... unless we are passed out. She sleeps well too. A little too well it seems. Other than grunting and sucking on her hand, she will lay on her pad on the floor all night without crying. We have recently dared to put her in her own room in a crib and left her to call for food when she wants it. Well, she passed the test and everybody seemed to get more rest when we could sleep without hearing her erratic breathing and we didn't have to wake her to feed when she wasn't ready. Yeah, she has a rough life: eat, sleep, repeat.

We tried to use the baby bouncer but forgot to fasten her in, so she slid down until her feet were hanging off the edge. Abby is pretty good at wiggling around. She is also good at turning her body in funny directions.

Forget the brand new crib in her bedroom! Abby's favorite napping place is Daddy's lap. He uses this as an excuse not to get any studying done these days. ("I can't reach my book!")

Here she's got daddy's finger. She loves to fall asleep on you, especially if you rub her feet!

Our little Abigail is almost three weeks now and is still just as sweet and adorable as ever. Erik and I feel so blessed. She has been eating and sleeping well and is hardly ever fussy. I have to set the alarm clock each night in order to feed her because she doesn't make enough noise to wake me up when she's hungry! The only time I really ever hear her cry is when Erik and I give her a bath.
The picture to the side here was taken just after we bathed her. Erik always does a nice job combing her hair, but as soon as it dries it goes in all different directions. I'm afraid she's doomed to have my hair, which, in my toddler days, was fuzzy and stuck straight up. Oh, well. She still looks adorable.
Erik and I are adjusting well to our new roles and responsibilities. Erik has been absolutely indispensable these last few weeks as I have been recovering. He's changed far more diapers than I have and is constantly running back and forth to fetch the burp cloth I left somewhere or to dig through a pile of unfolded laundry for a clean outfit as I struggle to remove a loaded diaperfrom a squirming baby. He even made me breakfast-in-bed the first week back at home! He has been wonderful, and fatherhood seems to come naturally to him. We feel very fortunate that his surgery team has given him some paternity leave.
As for me, I am feeling great these days. It's wonderful to be up, walking around again and wearing my normal clothes!