Big milestone day in Cayman

Yesterday was a BIG day...Abby got her first tooth! I knew it was coming since there has been a hard little ridge on her gumline for the past 2 weeks and she has really been chewing hard on everything in sight (even grunting as she chewed). I checked her gums in the morning and low and behold, there it was! It really surprised me when I felt that little tooth. I thought "great, she hasn't even been very bothered by it." Well, that changed very quickly. We had a very unsettled afternoon. She was so unhappy and wouldn't take a nap (literally screaming every time I tried to lay her down) but she was so tired. I finally got her to fall asleep about 3:30 but she only slept for 30 min. Grammie took her for a walk on the beach and she managed to make it through the rest of the day just fine. Went to bed about 6:30 and slept all night. So, she definitely wasn't feeling great once that tooth came through but seems to be just fine today. In the grand scheme of things, it could've been much worse so I can't complain. It was so sad to see since she has NEVER been that unhappy in her whole 6 months of life. Poor little sweetie.

It's funny because I was so excited about that tooth and then when I went to bed, I couldn't help but feel a little sad too. Gone is the helpless little baby that I would snuggle in my arms. She's growing and gaining her independence every day. This is exactly what I've heard from all of my friends who are mothers but you just can't understand until it's your child you are watching change right before your eyes. I will enjoy seeing her meet each and every milestone!

She's a swimming fool!

This morning, there was a local instructor teaching a water aerobics class in our pool. My mom did the class while Abby and I hung out and watched. The instructor also teaches swim lessons and after the class, wanted to get us in the water so she could show me a few things to do with Abby. Since we already know Abby likes the water, I was all for it. She had her kick her little legs, "fall" into my arms off the side of the pool and float on her tummy and back. AND, she went under water for the first time! Her eyes couldn't have been wider when she came up but she didn't cough at all so must have kept her mouth closed. Good! She didn't even cry! Later in the afternoon, I took her back in to work on those things and she went under 2 more times. Almost cried but we were able to sidetrack her with our "Yay Abby's" and laughs. I'm so glad she is enjoying the water so much. She starts swim lessons at the Y next week...

Yet another beautiful Cayman day...

Blue skies and sunshine today and since Rian had a game at noon, we hit the beach early. Abby got dressed up in her cute little ballerina swimsuit and off we went!


The water was nice and calm so we took Abby out to float. We spent about a half hour out there! Abby loves it! She didn't even seem to mind the taste of the saltwater as those little hands went in and out of her mouth...



We spent the afternoon inside watching Rian's game (thank goodness our CBS here is the Buffalo feed). What a game! Rian hit a 50 yd field goal with 4 seconds left to send it to overtime! But, we ended up losing...man, that was a tough one to get over...

After the game, we went back down to the beach and Grammie and Abby took a walk while I got to enjoy some "me" time reading my Kindle...ahhhhhh

Grammie arrives!

Abby and I picked Grammie up at the airport about noon today. She flew in on the red-eye through Atlanta so was a bit tired! We hung out in the condo while Abby and Grammie took a little nap and then hit the beach. Here is Abby enjoying her first dip in the warm Caribbean Sea...



Since there were a few waves starting to roll in, we decided to try out Abby's fancy new floatie in the pool...



She pretty much just hung out, quiet as a mouse, sucking on those little hands. As of now, this girl doesn't have too much to say!

We swam for about 30 minutes and decided it was time to get out. Here's my little boo all warm and snuggly with Grammie...

New adventures for Abby

It was a beautiful day today so after her morning nap, I put Abby in her little swimsuit, lubed her up with SPF 50 and we headed down to the beach. She seemed to really enjoy lounging in the sand!


I always love to take a picture of my feet in the sand when I go on vacation so I decided to take one of us together...what adorable little toes!



Next up...swimming! Abby's first time in the pool!



Her little lip started to poke out when I first dipped her in but once she got used to it, she didn't mind it at all. And, even seemed to really enjoy it! I carried her around and then floated her on her tummy and back. She kicked her little legs just a bit but mostly let them float behind her. I sure hope she's a little water baby, like her Mom!

I rented a baby jogger and it was delivered this afternoon so once the clouds started to come in in the late afternoon, we took a walk on the beach. Abby loves her walks at home and this was no different. She didn't make a peep and it was so cute watching her just take it all in.

Abby's 1st trip to Cayman

Abby and I arrived in Cayman this afternoon for 9 days of fun! We took off from Buffalo about 8:30am and she did very well on that flight. Flight #2, however, had a rough start. She didn't get a very long nap on the first flight so was overtired when we left Charlotte. She had a crying/screaming fit as we were pulling away from the gate that felt like it lasted an hour (really only about 10 minutes). She had her eyes closed the entire time so I just held and rocked her hoping she would give in to her exhaustion before the other passengers started rioting. Thankfully, she did once we took off and I was able to place her in her car seat. I just about ordered a glass of wine when the beverage cart came around! ha ha She woke up about an hour in, looked around for a few minutes and then fell back to sleep for the remaining hour. Poor little tired sweetie!

We landed about 1:30 Cayman time (CST right now) and made it quickly through customs. Our good friends were waiting to pick us up...what service! Abby had a bottle and a nice afternoon nap. We went down to the beach about 4:00 and I dipped her little toes into the Caribbean. She spent a good hour quiet as a mouse and taking it all in while I visited with friends. I can tell she already loves it here!

She got a bath and enjoyed her first Cayman sunset in her pjs:



Grammie arrives on Saturday and we can't wait!

Fall's here

Yesterday we took Abby to Yates Park to get some fresh air. It was a beautiful day and the Fall colors were out in full effect. She had on her Halloween shirt so we took a few photos of her in the leaves...