Abby’s Saturday // Two Hundred And Thirty-Eight

Highlight of the Week

It’s been another week of laying low for our family. Braelynn has steadily (but slowly) been improving every day. She still has a lingering cough, it just won’t let go! And, I know, coughs are rough like that – they like to hang on! But she’s definitely been improving though, so that’s all we can ask. She’s back to her usual running, jumping, playing, eating, talking self (just a version that coughs every once in a while) – and I’m so thankful to have her back.
Thankfully, no one else has gotten sick (thank the Lord)!

Yes, This Happened

• Derrick & I went out to dinner for Valentine’s Day last night – it was our very first time out to dinner since Leander was born (and our first time, as parents of two, out by ourselves). We both laughed at how different the experience was from the first time we went out to dinner after Braelynn was born. Leaving her for the first time to go out to dinner was such a heart-wrenching experience. I don’t know if we were even gone for a full hour – we rushed back home so fast! But since we’ve already been over the “leaving a baby for the first time” hump – last night we took our time, enjoyed our food, and spent time talking – without being interrupted by two kiddos. It was delightful.
• I started laying Leander in his crib to nap this week. Up to this point, he’s napped either in my arms or in his swing, but I feel like he’s really ready to get on a schedule. It’s gone pretty well – still a work in progress of course, but he’s doing great (he’s napping in his crib as I type this out!) I broke out the video monitor system I bought before he was born & it’s been fabulous to be downstairs & not only be able to hear him, but see him too. Fingers crossed that he continues doing well!! A nap schedule would be absolutely incredible and mean that I would have time again to get things done! (Believe it or not, I do love my business & I need time in order to run it!)
• The Shoot And Share Photo Contest is officially up & running! It goes for pretty much the entire month of February every year & it’s so addicting! This is the 6th year in a row that I’ve participated, and even though I haven’t had quite as much time as in year’s past to vote, it’s still been a lot of fun (mostly to keep me busy while nursing – especially in the middle of the night!) If you aren’t sure what the Shoot And Share Photo Contest is, in a nutshell, it’s a totally free & fair photo contest. It’s completely anonymous. Photographers can enter up to 50 images across 25 various categories and then anyone from around the world can vote! The voting is simple: you are shown 4 images from a certain category, you click on the one you love the most out of those 4, and then another set of 4 will come up to vote on. The Contest runs through 12 rounds (basically every 2 days we enter a new round) and with each round, a number of images are eliminated, until we’re left with the very best of the very best. Like I said, anyone can hop on and vote! So, if you’d like to check it out, here is the link! https://contest.shootandshare.com/ I entered 50 images again, but with almost 600,000 images submitted to the contest, the likelihood of finding one of my 50 images is slim-to-none (that doesn’t mean I stop looking though!). Just beware, it’s extremely addicting, and once you go down the rabbit hole, it can be really hard to get out!
• Leander is growing like a crazy weed – I had to pull out the next size clothes already!! I was still squeezing the little chunk into 0-3 & 3-month sized things, but pulled out the 3-6 & 6-month stash I have! I can’t believe he already fits into some of the 6-month size outfits!! Most of the 6-month size things are still a bit big, but the 6-month sleepers fit him really well – how is that even possible?! I’m not ready for this!

Feeling Blessed

We had a string of super beautiful days this week – with the sun shining & blue skies – and temperatures got up into the mid-60’s! It’s always so funny to me how after coming thru winter, 60º feels so warm, but after coming thru summer, 60º in the fall feels chilly. Standing in the sun though, it felt so deliciously warm. I opened all of the windows in our house (to get rid of all the sick-air) and we spent as much time outside as we possibly could (soaking up all the Vitamin D). It was so refreshing!
Unfortunately, winter has since returned, so we’re confined back to the house again.
Spring is coming though & I can’t be more excited!!