I can't get enough of this kid!!

Here is Abby before the roll...

And here is Abby mid roll!

How can you not love a face like that!!

Jason just walked upstairs after a long day at work. She sure does love her dad and lights up anytime he walks in the room!

Well it seems like we are extremely busy! Last weekend Eric, Lauren and Hunter came to town and it was so much fun. We really wish we lived closer to family (I know, I say that all the time)

Jason and I got new callings at church. We are now the Young Single Adult Fellowship couple. I honestly didn't know we had any single adults in our ward but they gave us the list and there are 18. It is our job to get to know them all, teach them Sunday School if they are at church and also have activities for them.

In other news I am going to start making monthly goals to improve my health. Goal for this month: no soda! Actually, i'm not a huge soda fan but since it is always in the house I find myself indulging but I always feel like I need a glass of water afterwards. If I could get Jason to go for it, we just wouldn't buy any anymore but I highly doubt that will happen. I think I can accomplish this goal. When I was younger I actually went an entire year with no caffeinated beverages. My downfall was when I went on a road trip with a friend and he bought me a Dr. Pepper, my soda of choice if I am drinking soda.

Also, our little baby will be 6 months old on Monday, I can't believe it has been 6 months already. We love you all and will write more later!

Pictures, pictures, pictures!!

Abby had lots of fun playing with her cousin Hunter who was in town last weekend. Cute story, Abby has a piglet doll that I will play around with her. Sometimes I pretend like piglet is giving her kisses on the cheek. Hunter saw me do this. Later on when Abby was crying, Hunter brought over the doll and gave Abby "Piglet kisses"
Abby is already drinking her dad's favorite beverage, JUST KIDDING!!! I just saw this shot and thought it would be funny to get her and the Pepsi in the fram. If I have my way this kid won't have soda until she is at least 13, if ever :)

What a personality!

Jason's hat doesn't quite fit her yet!

Just the Facts

So after talking to my sister in law who was visitng last weekend and fielding questions from others over the past few weeks, I realize that many people may realize that Abby has MCAD but do not know what that means. Besides the Grandmas, there are only a handful of people that know many of the details so I thought I would share some of the facts that I know (I am sure there is so much more I don't know but will hopefully learn)
1. It is autosomal recessive. Those of you who do not remember genetics from school, autosomal means that it affects both boys and girls. Recessive means that in order for a child to have it, they get the faulty gene from both parents. Both Jason and I are carriers.
2. Since both of us are carriers, all of our children have a 25% chance of having MCAD, a 50% of being a carrier and a 25% chance of being completely unaffected. We could possibly have 3 more kids, all fine or all have MCAD or any mixture of kids with MCAD and without.
3. Since both of us are carriers, that means there is also a chance that any one of our siblings could also be carriers. The geneticist made sure that all siblings currently live in states that test newborns for MCAD. (Rachel, i'm not sure about Missouri but you guys are moving to Florida before you will have a kid and they do test) The test normally takes a week to get results.
4. It is estimated that one in 50 people with a Northern European heritage is a carrier. Other ethnicities can also be carriers but the percentage isn't as high.
5. The genetic counselor did some math. Abby has a 1% chance of also having an MCAD child.
6. MCAD makes it so her body doesn't properly produce the enzyme to break down medium chain fats for energy so she will mostly rely on carbohydrates for energy.
7. She DOES NOT have a compromised immune system, however if she does get sick with a high fever, vomiting or diarrhea she won't be able to use her fat stores for energy needed to get through the illness thus needing a Dextrose 10 IV.
8. As long as she is fueled properly through food, she is a normal child and can do the things normal children (and adults later in life) can do. Playtime may mean more snacks and longer resting time but she can still play. Some MCAD kids even play sports.
9. When Abby was a newborn she could not go any longer that 3 hours without eating. At this time, she can technically go 8 hours at night without food but still needs to eat frequently during the day. We choose to go 4 hours because there have been cases where a child goes to bed fine, spikes a fever in the middle of the night and become hypoglycemic before morning with bad results.
10. She will eventually be able to go 12 hours at night when well but still need to eat frequent meals throughout the day (5 or 6 small meals or 3 meals and 2 or 3 snacks). When ill, she will most likely need to eat every few hours during the night as well.
11. And the best fact of all!! Children with MCAD who are diagnosed at birth and get proper treatment can live a full, healthy life and do pretty much anything they want!
(Some exceptions, Jason and his brother were talking about Philmont Scout Camp the other day and how fun it was for them. Unfortunately, if we have a boy who has MCAD that type of trip would most likely not be possible. Jason said pretty much all the food they are served there is very high fat. That gives normal boys energy but not MCAD boys)
So sorry for the lesson but I figured I might as well share some of the facts I know since I frequently get questions.

Hooray!!

Can I just say how happy I am?? After 3 weeks of teething crankiness, Abby is back to her cheerful self with 2 new teeth! Now to just get her to take a bottle again :)

Looking for some healthy recipes???

So I just wanted to point everyone to the blog www.healthykitchens.blogspot.com. I just found out about this blog today, checked it out and I am super excited!! It is written by a woman who also has an MCAD child. This helps me out immensely because while I have been working on figuring out healthy recipes and meal plans for when Abby gets older, it is really hard. All of the recipes are heart healthy, the type of diet that Abby needs to eat (incidentally, I was talking to the dietitian at the geneticists office today about starting Abby on solid foods and she reiterated that this is the type of diet that we should all be eating, she has me convinced! Imagine how much healthier Americans would be if they followed this as well as the decrease in the amount spent on medical care). So if you are looking for some healthy recipes or wonder what types of foods you can make Abby when she gets older, check it out!

I am thankful for...

So I have been thinking about family traditions I want to start and one I came up with is to make a list all year long of things we are thankful for and share it on Thanksgiving. Problem is, now I have all these things I am thankful for and I am just bursting at the seams to share them. So here goes. I am thankful for...
* the Savior and the Atonement.
* the Gospel.
* the Temple and the ability we have to be sealed together as a family forever.
* our wonderful families!
* my amazing husband and our beautiful daughter.
* this wonderful country that we live in.
* the fact that Abby got proper medical treatment in the NICU even before we knew what was wrong (some families I have learned have not been so lucky, receiving the wrong type of IV with awful consequences). I am thankful for this every single moment of every single day!!
* Deb Gould. It is her and her husband who started the FOD support group which has helped me immensely with Abby's diagnosis. It is also because of her and early members of the group that states are now starting to do Expanded Newborn Screening.
* family, friends and neighbors who have either loaned or given us items for Abby to use. Without them we would probably be in a lot more debt!
* Sunshine!!
* air conditioners and ceiling fans.
* my friend Beth who is my walking buddy! I am finally starting to get back in shape and enjoying it because of her!
* that fresh produce is cheap and plentiful here in Utah! (I got blueberries yesterday for 99 cents a pint!)
Okay, I could go on and on but I have to save something for Thanksgiving. This reminds me of when I was in my early 20's. I used to keep a things I was thankful for journal and I was able to fill the entire thing. Granted some entries were "I am thankful for Popsicles" but it is amazing how much my daily attitude changes when I try to think of all the things I am thankful for. I challenge all of you to stop and think of all the things you are thankful for. I know, you weren't expecting homework from my blog but hop to it!!

What a cutie!!

This is a very blurry picture but I had to put it on, this is the first time I have ever seen Abby so focused on a toy and how it moves!

Abby has found her feet and boy does she love them!

She is also enjoying spending time in her exersaucer!

She is such a fun kid!

I forgot to add in the post about her teething that along with that she is doing a really funny thing. She sticks out her tongue a lot and moves it around. It looks like she has found her tooth and is trying to figure out what it is. She is definitely entertaining!

It's official!!

Abby is getting teeth!! I was getting sick of putting the blame on teething every time Abby was unexplicably cranky or sad. All of those times I really thought she was teething. After awhile I started to feel quite silly. Well for the last week and a half Abby has been the saddest baby you ever did see. It broke my heart because she would even whimper in her sleep. Well yesterday she chewed on my finger and I felt it, a tooth poking it's way through the gums!! It's broken through the gum but it really isn't that visible unless you look hard. As soon as it really comes in then I will post a picture.

Dedicated to the One I Love!

Last Monday, Jason and I celebrated 3 years of marriage ( I still tease him though that it could have been 4 or 5 if he had proposed earlier). I am sure that most married women feel this way but I really did marry the most wonderful man! I always thought it sounded really cheesy when other people said this but I knew right from the start that I was going to marry Jason. I knew after one evening when we first met and we had the most wonderful conversation. Looking back now, I can't even remember what we talked about but I do remember that I just loved talking to him and felt like I could for hours! I love Jason for so many reasons, among them are that he is smart, funny, kind and always willing to serve others. I also love him because he is such a great father. Life has definitely thrown us some curve balls but there is no one I would rather have beside me through it all than him.

Happy 4th of July!!!

So our 4th of July wasn't too exciting but I couldn't resist dressing Abby up for church. I don't know what I am going to do if I have a boy next, dressing girls up is so much fun!!

Allright, I am not the most photogenic person but Abby is so stinkin' cute in this picture, I had to put it on!!

Mindy, thanks for sharing the idea of taking pictures this way, it is fun to have a different pose.

Abby loves to fly (and drool if you can't see it in the picture). This is about the only arm exercise I get but I do it several times a day so you would think my arms would look better than they do. By the way, the combination of drool and flying is very risky for the parent!

Yep, this kid is pretty cute!!

So our 4th of July wasn't too bad. I had to work during the day or else we probably would have invited some people over for grillin' time. We grilled some delish tri-tip and corn and watched a movie. I really wish they had some fire works closer to our house because we didn't really feel like fighting the traffic to go to another town to watch them, especially with a little baby. I also wish we lived closer to some family. I want Abby to have the experience of spending holidays with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It seems like every holiday since she has been born, Jason and I have that feeling inside that we need to see if there is some way we could move closer to Chico. Hopefully in a couple of years it can happen. We also hope that as Abby gets older, we will feel better about traveling across the country with her to visit the Joseph side of the family. It is just so hard right now to risk all those hours traveling on an air plane and not be able to get proper medical attention if she won't eat (right now, it is really hard to get her to eat if we aren't at home so we are pretty much home bodies right now or don't travel too far, she definitely likes to be in her comfort zone).

Something else I thought about this 4th of July is how much I want to impress upon Abby and our future children as they grow up the importance and meaning of holidays. It seems like in todays society, holidays are usually just seen as an excuse to party and eat but each one has a special meaning. We are going to have to figure out a way to start some traditions for each holiday that will teach our kids about their importance. Well that is it for now. We love you all and we will write more later.

Abby is 5 months old!!!

Abby turned 5 months old last friday, hooray!! As you can see, she definately is a wiggler.

She loves play time!

And she is finally liking tummy time!

This is a rare picture, usually she would rather chew on her toys than play with them. She is such a silly kid!

She also loves to play peek-a-boo! Whenever I am folding laundry I will cover her up with a piece of laundry then pull it away, she always gets a huge smile from that!

She is also going through a phase right now where she loves to hear herself! Usually when she is sitting in her swing or when she wakes up and is still laying in her bassinet, you can hear her either blowing raspberries or a constant stream of "aaahaahaaaahhhh". She thinks it is hilarious if you make the same noises back at her. It is so fun when she laughs.

Another unfortunate phase lately is that she isn't sleeping like she was. It used to be that she would fall asleep at 9:30 and sleep straight till 6:00, she would even sleep while I fed her. The last few nights though she has been waking up at various times of the night, not crying but she wiggles around a lot and coos as well. It's not too bad though, usually she will fall back to sleep pretty fast.

I still can't believe it has been 5 months. It is amazing to think back to when she was first born and to see how much she has grown and developed. I can't wait to see how much she will grow and develop in the coming months and years!

Am I CRAZY or do all mom's with babies have nights like this??

Here is how the average night goes for us here in the Albert household.

Between 9:30 and 10:00: Feed Abby and put her down to sleep.
Between 10:00 and 10:30: Do my night rituals and go to sleep myself.
Around 12:30: Wake up freaking out because I think I slept through my alarm (I have to set an alarm to feed Abby since she can't miss a feeding) only to look at the clock and realize that I have another hour.
1:30: My alarm goes off, time to feed Abby. Didn't I just feed her though? Then I realize it was just a dream and she really does need to eat.
Sometime before her next feeding, wake up with another freak out. Did I fall asleep while feeding her last time and she is lost somewhere in the sheets and blanket?
4:30: Alarm goes off again, time to feed her again.
6:00: Jason's alarm goes off, time for him to go to work. Just have to get Abby to fall back asleep now for at least another hour.

That is the average night. Sometimes not as dramatic, sometimes more. For example, some times I wake up, look over at her and think something awful has happened to her face and then I realize it is just a bad combination of a dark room, my awful vision (I really need Lasik or those contacts you can wear while you sleep) and the fact that Abby has turned her head to face the other direction so I am in fact looking at her ear instead of her eye. Last night was extra weird. We watched one of the Harry Potter movies before going to bed (I quite often dream about things I read or watch). I had a dream that Abby's baby wash cloths were magic (I know, so weird) and there were a bunch of house elves who were trying to kidnap Abby and take her away. I jumped up in bed and tried to wake up Jason. Luckily I was unsuccessful because I soon realized how ridiculous that dream was and went back to sleep. So am I crazy or do other mom's have nights like this??