M & M

Molly & Mommy
I love it - we're M & M.

An Ode to Her Earthly Father

He's amazing.
He anticipates our needs.
He thinks ahead.
He is calm and level-headed.
He cleans.
He cooks.
He brings me food.
He brings me water.
He changes diapers.
He takes out the trash.
He cuddles.
He holds.
He takes her when I'm tired.
He walks with her when she's crying.
He swaddles.
He does laundry.
He helps with her baths.
He runs errands.
He tells me that I'm a good mom.
He makes me laugh.
He does more than I realize.
He takes care of me.
He takes care of her.
He loves me.
He loves her.
We love him.

My Heart

"I love you. Yes, it's true.
You stole my heart, and I'm gonna steal yours, too!"
-Stole My Heart, Little and Ashley

Meeting Fletcher

Fletcher, our fur covered angel, finally officially met Molly.
A friend asked me, "So, the only question I have...now that you have an actual baby...do you still treat your dog like a child?"
The answer: He has become an outside dog. But he is still our furbaby. We have loved him for almost 6 years - since he became a member of our family.
Meeting Molly, he sniffed her long enough for me to snap the photo. Then he went on with life. Not interested in her. Not threatened by her. Not jealous of her. He is just his sweet self. He loves us, and he wants to eat and go on walks.
He is the best dog on the face of the earth.

Happy Birthday, Brody!

Our one and only nephew turns ONE today!
He is adorable and fun!
We love love love him!

2 Weeks Old

The first week was so amazingly wonderful.
The second week was, too, but with some added stress.
The third week is back to amazingly wonderful.
How does time fly so quickly?
The last five months c r a w l e d by.
The last two weeks have rushed by faster than a blink of an eye.
I consciously say to myself (probably 7,000 times a day), "Enjoy this moment; soak it in. You can never get it back."
I tell her I love her a million times a day.
I kiss her a million times a day.
I can't seem to capture Molly with words.
I've decided the only way I can capture her is the song in my soul.
There are no words, just emotions and feelings...a melody that can't be heard other than in my heart. It melts me, it soothes me, it is so touching it hurts.
I'm amazed every time I see her. She was the little one inside of me all those months. She went on every walk and every outing. She sat through every meal and every TV show. She listened to me sing and talk. She heard my heartbeat. I felt her kick. I felt her move. I felt her hiccup. I heard her heartbeat. I saw her blurry photo on ultrasounds. I loved her immediately from the day we found out I was pregnant. She is mine. She is my favorite. I love her every fiber.
{2 weeks = Tuesday, April 20, 2010}

Meeting the Great-Grandparents

Sunday, my grandparents got to meet Molly! It was unbelievably special and a moment I will cherish forever.

Four generations of ladies...
GiGi Belle, Hayley and Molly, and Grandma Francy

My Doll Baby

We could not love her more.
She is a treasure.

Miss Molly

The Story of Her Name ~

I have loved the name Molly for years and years - since 1996 to be more precise. The same year that Aaron and I started dating.

Back when I was playing soccer for Tabor, my assistant coach's wife had a baby girl. They named her Molly. I absolutely loved the name instantly. Thankfully, Aaron loves the name as much as I do. For 12 years, Aaron and I held our breath every time a family member or close friend had a baby, hoping they wouldn't have a girl named Molly. And, out of the one thousand plus students I have taught, I never had a Molly.

Aaron knew someone named Carrington at work (back in Arizona), and liked her name, but for some reason I never wrote it on our list of future baby names that we've had going since our wedding (or perhaps engagement). Then in January or February I came across it in a baby name book. I showed it to Aaron, he reminded me how he'd mentioned way back that he liked that name, and we pretty much decided it was her middle name then and there.

Molly Carrington Abbott
She melts my heart every moment of every day.

Her Birth Date

I'm in LOVE with her birth date!
April 6, 2010
4/6/10
4+6=10

The Miracle

Molly Carrington Abbott
April 6, 2010
7 pounds 3 ounces
20.5 inches

"Oh, yes, it is a happy day, Mammy. The happiest days are the days when babies come!"
-Melanie, Gone With the Wind

Easter 2009

Awhile back my brother asked Mom if she remembered what he and Brooke did for Easter last year. I chuckled inside because I don't need anyone to remind me what we did for Easter 2009...

While living in Arizona, we would spend Easter with the Bergs (Aaron's aunt/uncle/cousins), any other family living or visiting the vicinity, and his uncle Bob's parents who we affectionately call Grammy and Poppy like their own grandkids do. Most years we would go up to Fountain Hills (where Grammy and Poppy live) for lunch. Last year was no exception, but we did something a bit different - Grammy reserved a pavilion at the park by the famous fountain for a lovely Easter picnic. Unfortunately, there was a strong wind blowing over the lake right in our direction. First of all, the Phoenix area has very little wind unless there is a wind storm (which blows dust everywhere but is over in 10 - 20 minutes) otherwise the area is blissfully calm. Secondly, the park people supposedly turn off the fountain if the wind is over a certain mph. Not this day...the fountain did not turn off even though the wind was blowing quite powerfully. Not so much of a big deal if you were on the other side of the lake...but where we were, the wind was causing the dirty lake/fountain water to blast our food, our faces, and anything else that was in its path. No worries, though, Easter lunch is always yummy even if it has a little extra seasoning...

The part I will never forget though: We were all sitting down eating, and I was at the very end of the table - the short side of a long rectangle table. No one was blocking the wind from me...or my plate. Do you see where this is going? In one split second, too quickly to do anything, the wind grabbed my plate and flung it into my face - a perfect shot. Food was caked to my face and was strewn in my hair. No one could have planned it better. You know those games/shows where people plaster pies into someone's face? This was the WIND doing that to me. I love to laugh, and I laugh a lot, but I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in all my life.

P.S. Grammy made our adorable flip flops that you can see in the first picture. Do I need to point out the famous Fountain Hills' fountain in the second photo? And no, I don't think the guys are mad at me for taking the picture - it was more or less how we all looked dealing with the wind and water issue.

Joking!

Yep, April Fools!
We aren't planning to use Fredette or Casabianca for middle names.
The background of Fred and Casabianca is true, though.

Still no baby...

I think the baby must have wanted a diamond birthstone - really, who wouldn't?

With this extra time on our hands that we didn't know we'd have, we've been rethinking our name choices. None of the names we had originally chosen are family names, but we got to thinking that maybe we should change the middle name options in order to honor family members. The baby will have Aaron's name already (our last name), so we've decided to focus on family names from my side. They are a bit funky, but we have never been scared to do our own thing.

Let's start with the girl:
Fred is a major family name on both sides of my family. My dad's middle name, my grandpa's first name, and it goes back and back and back on my dad's side. My mom's dad's middle name is Alfred. So, we thought it might be cool to use the Fred name, but with a baby girl. So, we're thinking Fredette for her middle name.

For the boy name:
A relative on my mom's side was named Casabianca after a very famous poem. He and his family did not pronounce it as it looks. They chose to pronounce his name: Casabuyankie ("buy" as in, "I'm going to the store to 'buy' eggs.") and ("ankie" as in, "I'm going to sneeze; can you hand me a 'hankie'?" but take off the 'H'). With my love of teaching English and poetry, we thought this was a very fitting middle name if we have a son.

I just wanted to fill you in ahead of time in case I don't have time after the baby is born to explain the middle names.