Our First Family Meal

In an effort to get Abel to be even more interested in food, we pulled him up to the table in his high chair tonight for dinner. He was SO CUTE! First he just hung out, then we decided to give him a spoon to play with (we decided toys at the dinner table was not a good idea). With a little help, the spoon ended up in his mouth---I'd say he's getting very excited about real food!

Ooooooh star!

My brother got this for Abel for Christmas. We just hung it up in his room this week (I know it's March, so?) He's been kind of fussy the past couple of days (we've decided to blame all fussiness on teething and growing). Today, the star caught his attention and mesmerized him for a good 20 minutes while I packed his bag for Florida. He stared at it, laughed at it, swiped at it and scooched his body closer and closer to it during the 20 minutes! Great gift Kevin!

Snoozing!

I took this shot this morning while I was getting ready for work. He's not sleeping with us all night long, but he likes to participate in our snooze alarm time in the mornings and, quite frankly, it's fun to cuddle.

Strong!

Abel is getting so strong! He had his first roll over from stomach to back last week, and is so so so close to going from back to stomach. He was having a blast on his activity mat, so we couldn't help but to snap a couple of pictures (please note the trendy camouflage--it's all the rage!). Then he got tired, and the picture was just too cute to not take!

New Toy!

We pulled out the exercauser last week for him to start playing (it's a new station Peggy!) He LOVES it. He is slowly playing with each toy and beginning to understand what they all do. He'll stay in it for a really long time and not get bored at all. I take it with us all over the house. While Ryan was in Atlanta this week, I managed to make dinner AND eat it while he was hanging out and playing with all the toys!

Cereal!

We are slowly introducing cereal to Abel. At first he wanted nothing to do with the spoon. Now, he's starting to open his mouth in anticipation of the spoon. It's messy and takes a super long time to feed him just a little bit, but it's still really fun!

Grandparent Visit!

Ryan's mom and dad came for a visit last week. They had lots of fun watching Abel for two days. We went on a family date out to dinner on Friday night. Abel made friends will all the other babies at The Great Dane (a local brew pub here in Madison). On Saturday, we went to the outlet malls to shop for Abel Bates. He is ALL SET UP for 6-9 month clothes that he is quickly growing in to. We watched LOTS of basketball all weekend (GO BUTLER!). After a great breakfast at The Original House of Pancakes on Sunday morning, they headed out for their long drive back to Ohio.

Selection Sunday!

Next to American Idol, March Madness is probably Ryan's favorite thing....in fact, I think March Madness might actually beat out American Idol. Ryan anxiously awaited the Selection Sunday show. As soon as it was over, he printed out 3 brackets and we all made our picks. Ryan said the choices out loud. If Abel moved his right arm (with help from his general enthusiasm about his new toy Mortimer the Moose) it was the first choice. If he moved his left arm more, it was the second choice. Ryan's final four is Oregon, Kansas, North Carolina, and Ohio State. My final four is Wisconsin, Pitt, North Carolina, and Ohio State and Abel's final four is Florida, Vanderbilt, Kansas, and Ohio State. All I have to say is, "Go Badgers!"

Winter Walk---At Last!

It FINALLY got warm enough where we felt we could take Abel out for a nice long walk. We bundled him up in his snowsuit, strapped him in his stroller, and took off on a 3 mile walk. He was awesome! He spent the first half of the walk looking around and taking in the sights of Monona and the second half of the walk sleeping. We're looking forward to many many many more of these excursions!

Still the Best of Friends!

Even though he's becoming a favorite chew toy, Abel and Rafa are still the best of friends!

I can chew on this, and this, and this, and this....

For whatever reason, I've really been looking forward to the day when Abel starts grabbing things and chewing on them...and it's started! He's very active and animated with all his toys. We even went out and got a couple of new ones so he'd have some variety! The next thing for me to be excited about is cereal.....I am VERY excited for him to start eating something new!

Abel's First Euchre Game

Ryan and I have been playing Euchre with Peggy and Dave for a very long time. Abel had his first shot at helping out this weekend. He was on Peggy and Dave's team.....and they came back from an 8 - 2 deficit to win the game once he woke up from his nap! Next time, he'll play for the real winners (that would be Ryan and me!)

Visit With Peggy and Dave

After Mom helped out for the week, Dad came up to visit and take her home. It was really fun for them to see Abel since they hadn't seen him since Christmas. He's grown so much and actively talking...Peggy and Dave had LOTS of fun with that! Dad arrived on Sunday and we went on a family date to our favorite pizza place and made a pitstop at Babies R Us. On Monday, I worked (BOO!) and Ryan, Abel, Peggy, and Dave, met me for lunch in Janesville. Monday night, we ate at home and they left really early Tuesday morning. It was a quick visit, but lots of fun!

More Please!

Abel is an awesome eater! We are really looking forward to him moving into cereal and solids....Ryan and I love food so much, we want to share it with him! After he finished his bottle one day this week, this was the position he ended up in. I couldn't resist but to have a picture taken!

Grandma Peggy Bonding Time

Babysitter Bonnie had a conflict on Thursday and Friday of this week, and Ryan was out of town on Monday and Tuesday (his Abel days) so Peggy came to help out. She and Abel have had lots of fun. Peggy has nicknamed his various playing spots "stations" Station number 1 is his activity mat, #2 is his bouncy seat, #3 is his swing, #4 is playing on the couch, and #5 is the Bumbo Seat, which is actually a station that can move from place to place. It's nice to know that there is always someone who can help out....otherwise Abel would have had about 5 different babysitters this week, and I would have had a very hard time coordinating it all while trying to get out of the house by 7AM! Thank you Grandma Peggy!