Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Ryan's 32nd birthday! He is an amazing dad---Abel Bates will never know how lucky he is! Happy Birthday Ryan!

Brothers!

Ever since we brought Abel home, Wrigley has been very protective of him. When Abel cries, Wrigley immediately runs in to check on him and then comes and makes sure I am on my way to help. He is super gentle with Abel and such a great dog to have around kids! Wrigley used to sleep in our room with us, but we discovered he is now sleeping in Abel's room right in front of his crib. Last night, we decided to take his bed in so he would be more comfortable. Wrigley spent the whole night in there. This morning, as soon as Abel was awake and crying to let me know, Wrigley came into our bedroom and got me. It's really very sweet!

Last weekend, we drove up to Minneapolis to see my cousin, Christiane, and her husband, Joe and my college roommate, Tracey. On Friday night we had a delightful dinner with Christiane and Joe. Christiane is pregnant and due any day now and it was fun telling them about how much fun we are having with Abel. We spent the rest of the weekend with Tracey (who's in the picture). We spent Saturday afternoon at The Mall of America. We mostly concentrated on buying new clothes for Abel as he is growing out of the 0-3 stuff and we have a trip to Florida in April to think about. Seeing as Ryan and I love clothes so much, Abel is going to be seriously stylin'! We had such a great weekend and are very lucky that Abel travels so well!

Beginning Smiles

Abel is just beginning to smile pretty frequently. This is one of my favorite pictures because it's such a sly smile...and he's in a cute outfit sent from Ryan's Aunt Peggy. Abel's absolute favorite place to spend time is turning out to be his changing table. We're not sure if it's because he feels such gratification when he's changed or if it's just because he's getting such important one on one attention. Nevertheless, he's happy as can be smiling, cooing, and laughing with delight. At some point, I'll get a picture of him there!

Harper Ann Thompson

My sister had her baby today at 11:01 am! Harper and Abel will be 10 weeks apart. We can't wait to meet our new niece/cousin and look forward to many fun times with Kerri, Matt, Hannah, Henry, and Harper! Congratulations!

The First American Idol Viewing

Anyone who knows Ryan Flessner knows how obsessed he is with American Idol. While he was feeding Abel tonight, he was preparing him for the season premiere. Feeding time ended just in time for the beginning. Abel didn't make it through the whole two hours (neither did I, I'm here posting instead), but he sure seemed to enjoy it while he lasted!

Swingtime!

Abel LOVES to walk around the house and to just be moving at all times. With a gift certificate to Babies R Us he received for Christmas, we bought him a new swing and he loves it! He'll sit in it for very long periods of time and stare at the bears over his head. He's a great sleeper and falls asleep on his own in his crib. However, in the swing, before long, he's snoozing away! (Please note the new red wall behind him and how the it matches the swing so well:) ) I'm looking forward to when we can take him outside on long walks. We bought him a snowsuit, but it still seems too cold!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

Over the weekend, Ryan's mom and dad came for a visit. They like to come during Ryan's birthday month...being able to visit with Abel is an added bonus for them. We don't really have names for them yet. I think we'll let Abel call them whatever comes out! We had a nice weekend just hanging out watching basketball and football. Ryan's dad helped him hang our bikes in the garage so we have more room to get in and out of the car. He also helped Ryan paint some accent walls to our living room/dining room area. I was craving some color! Ryan's mom baked bread..we LOVE not only the taste, but the way it makes the house smell while it's baking!

Jirafa

We decided that this giraffe was going to be Abel's first favorite toy. Ryan nicknamed him the Spanish name for giraffe, jirafa...rafa for short. Rafa and Abel are becoming fast friends, and we can't wait for Abel to start yanking and pulling on him!

The Beginning

In the spirit of copying good ideas (thanks Christiane and Joe!), we decided to create a blog to help keep friends and family updated on Abel Bates and other things going on in our lives. We'll try to update as much as we can, but times sure do get busy.

Abel is an excellent bather---he enjoys the warm water and cuddling when it's all over! He's beginning to develop quite the personality. Monday (Jan. 8) we celebrated his two month birthday!