Happy 2 month Birthday, Abigail!

Tomorrow is Abby's 2-month birthday! She is such a strong, pleasant little baby girl, we are absolutely enjoying life with her! Now I understand what everyone means when they say "it goes so quickly..." We are treasuring every moment.

Last night we officially started "sleep training." Although she has been sleeping in her crib in her own room for the past 3 weeks, last night was the first night we put her down before 7:30 p.m. It's hard to believe, but she slept for 6 hours before waking to eat again! Hopefully this pattern will continue on a regular basis!

God has blessed us with a very happy baby - in the mornings she's wide awake and busy cooing. She really only gets fussy when she's hungry, needs to be held or changed, or wants her paci. When she is upset and wants her pacifier instead of milk she uses a cry that sounds like a mad scream (although it's pretty funny to us!). She's so big - not pudgy (only a little in her legs), but rather is tall and already wearing 3-6 month clothing at 2 months of age.

Here are some pictures of her in a little Easter outfit (the bloomers say "Sweet buns") and a couple videos; one is her watching Grandma Debby eat ice cream (it's almost as if she's trying to tell us she wants some!), and a second of her cooing. Enjoy!

Precious.


Storytime: "And then what happened!??"

Enjoying time outside with Grandma and Grandpa.

Does Abigail want ice cream?

Abby cooing the morning of St. Patrick's Day

Grandparents' visits

Ready for Easter Sunday!

Checking out Grandma Laurie.

My mom and her two precious grandbabies - Soren and Abigail.

Enjoying (??) tummy time...

After dinner at the Gristmill in Gruene, TX

Precious!!

"Beginner's" tummy time...

"I'm a McCutie" -- I mean, a McGinnis.

Smiley showing off her stuff for Grandma Laurie!

Hi everyone, so sorry it's taken me so long to post an update! Grandma Laurie was here last week and we had a great time showing her around San Antonio. Brian and I had an even better time taking a few naps here and there! It was an incredible blessing to have her here with us for a week and we are so grateful that she was able to come and visit us. Brian's parents are scheduled to arrive Friday afternoon and will be here for a week and we are excited for them to meet Abigail.

Little Miss Abigail is already 5.5 weeks old - hard to believe! I imagine that she weighs well over 10# and has already had a few growth spurts - she's filling out 3-month clothing, mostly lengthwise. It looks like she might be tall like Brian. She definitely has facial features from each of her grandparents: Glenn's forehead; Debby's deeply-set eyes, lips and nose; Dale's cheekbones and cheeks; Laurie's chin. Her brown hair has fallen out on top only, and she now has what I've been referring to as "old man hair" - thick and long in back, bald on top, thinning at the sides. No worries - I'll take all necessary precautions to prevent a baby mullet.

Abigail is already starting to grab at things, athough it is hard to tell if it's accidental or intentional. One of her latest nicknames is Smiley, although it really only applies in the morning and occasionally in the middle of the night. She's cooing and becoming quite responsive - very wide-eyed and alert with great head control. I'll try to update this again before an entire month passes again!

Trailer for new novel Glaen

Hi everyone! Our recently-retired pastor just published a wonderful novel on relationships. I'm not finished with the book yet (just started it a couple of hours ago), but will be in a few hours. Anyway, my point is that it is a helpful book if you want to really examine relationships. Here's a link to the trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVOgbqeX84w Enjoy!!! :-)

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.