Little Miss Abigail had her two-week checkup today! Happy 2-week birthday, Abigail! She is officially 21" long (vs. 20.75 @ birth) and 8# 8 oz. (vs. 8# 4 oz at birth). Yay! This also means that Brian and I have successfully undergone the first two weeks without messing up too much (aside from the carpet in front of the changing table which has already born the brunt of a large mess which had some distance on it!).

It's hard to imagine how quickly Abigail has already grown; we are enjoying every single minute - even the long, seemingly endless sleepless nights when little Abby doesn't want to sleep, nor eat, but only wants to stay wide awake, taking in the awe and wonder of her fresh new world. After losing Soren we now are joyous to experience life in abundance, to the fullest, with a much deeper appreciation than one cannot experience unless they too have also lost a child. God's provision in this season of blessing has been abundant, perfectly-placed, and perfectly-timed. Although I (Kristin) am still working through the emotional turmoil and flashbacks that happen [understandably] right now, I am so grateful that I cannot compare Abigail to Soren. She is so completely and utterly different from him in every way...except for the Dannewitz head, that is! I wonder if any of our children [knock on wood!] will have a head shaped like Brian's...(mom & dad, you must be laughing at this right now!)

It is indescribably comforting to look back on all of the times and ways in which God completely provided exactly what we've needed as we've needed it. I hope that each of you take some time for this sort of reflection, as it will undoubtedly lead you to an increased sense of peace, comfort, assurance, and satisfaction in your life.

After Bathtime

Baby mania

After the dreaded bathtime, in a layette that Daddy picked out just for Abigail!

Can we say "Daddy's little girl?"

This is one of my (Kristin's) favorites!

Here's some more video for anyone who would like to see Abby in action.

Miss Abigail Grace McGinnis entered this world on Monday, January 18, 2010, at 10:22 a.m. She weighed 8# 4oz. and was 20.75" long! What a beautiful, precious, perfect full-term baby. We are so happy to have her here! She's doing well and so are Brian and I, although it is taking a bit more effort than we imagined to adjust to getting so little sleep! We're posting a couple of videos; obviously one is of Abigail's entrance; the second is of her getting a bath at home, while she was hungry. Bad combination. I'll try to avoid that mistake in the future! Enjoy the pictures!

Abigail's first moments

Waiting on Baby...

And so, at 39 weeks and 1 day gestation, the wait for Abigail Grace's arrival continues. If she doesn't decide to attempt an entrance before this coming Sunday (and it's highly unlikely that she will, according to the lack of progression to this point), I'll head into the hospital Sunday evening to begin the induction process. We certainly hope that the induction will be successful, as there is a chance it may not work. Regardless, we are certainly looking forward to meeting our little girl next week!

The past few weeks have been very enjoyable - it was nice spending Christmas alone, just the two of us, for the first time in three and a half years of marriage. Brian made the most of his Christmas break and did several projects around the house, which I really appreciated! He built a great dog run in our backyard, installed an entire wall of shelving in the garage, and installed a pantry rack on the backside of our pantry door for me. He's also been dutifuly continuing his self-study and improvement (something I really admire about him, and which really inspires me!), and continues to faithfully learn Spanish with the Rosetta Stone program.

I (Kristin), on the other hand, have been rather, well, slow and lethargic, hormonal, tired, uncomfortable, and just not myself. I cannot wait to be finished with this pregnancy. All of the aches and pains of the last trimester have come to a head, and I am now simply looking at the light at the end of the tunnel to keep myself going! ;-) It's probably not as bad as it seems, but I doubt that anyone could convince me otherwise at this point. I've done everything, and I mean everything (save drinking castor oil, which I will not do), to try and bring on labor. Not even an hour of walking every day is helping!!! Thus I defer to the opening paragraph.

The other "excitement" in our lives over the past two weeks has been that provided by our vizsla, Gunner. He tore a 1" gash into his left ear just about two weeks ago (how it happened we have no idea) and we ended up making a late-night trip to the pet emergency room in one of the towns north of us. After 4 hours and a couple hundred dollars later (only a couple hundred, since we didn't have them stitch it for 500 dollars), we returned home with a sad dog who looked quite embarassed of his appearance. Brian and I laughed so hard on the way home (b/c of how Gunner looked in the back of the truck) that we had to pull over - I think we were both crying, and I was laughing so hard I made myself sick (or maybe that was just all-day-morning sickness?)! Priceless. I'll put a picture in this post of what he looked like then. Now his bandages are gone but he still has to wear the hood and remain contained in his kennel for the majority of the day so he doesn't split his ear open again (by shaking his ears/head). I feel like I could be a vet tech by the time this is over (although I wouldn't want to be!!).


More news next week after Abby's birth. Have a great week everyone!