baby play date

Here are some of Abby's new baby friends. I get together with a group of new moms on Tuesdays at 10:00. Abby and Maya (far left, pink outfit) are the oldest at 6 and 1/2 months. All of the other babies are 2 or 4 months old. Axel (bottom right in the orange and white stripes) is 4 months old and is rather big for his age, so his mom and I decided that he and Abigail would make a good couple. :) The other little boy in orange is Connor and the girl in blue next to Abby is Kadence. Abby kept reaching for Kadence's arm and putting it in her mouth. Our little girl loves making new friends!

birthday girl

I turned 33 yesterday! I have always been a big fan of birthdays -- my own and everyone else's -- but for some reason I was a little grumpy about this year's. I'm not sure why because it wasn't like it was a significant year or anything. And this was my first birthday as a mommy so that is very special on its own. 

My dad used to make my sister and I birthday pancakes every year, which is a tradition I'd like to continue with Abigail. However old we were, that is how many pancakes he would make. So as we got older and older the pancakes got smaller and smaller and we would have a big pile of them on the plate. Betty (my mother-in-law) knew about this tradition and she made the two of us pancakes for breakfast. So thoughtful and sweet. 

I spent the afternoon at Polk State listening to my horn students' juries. They did pretty well overall, although one of them hacked through his scales pretty terribly. I suppose I can empathize as I remember struggling with some scales during my own undergrad juries.

When I got home there was a cheery bouquet of flowers sitting on the front porch from my sweet friend Halle. I love the little birds perched in the arrangement!

Robert and Betty made a delicious birthday dinner and a red wine velvet cake for dessert. The recipe came from my new smitten kitchen cookbook and it used TWO CUPS of red wine. That's my kind of cake. Robert did a great job but I didn't get a picture so I'll steal yet another image from the internet.

After dinner I sat down to open some packages that came in the mail several days ago. It's a really big deal that I didn't open the boxes days ago because I have always had the hardest time waiting to open gifts. When I was a little girl my parents would have to hide my gifts from me because I knew how to slide a letter opener under the tape, unwrap the gifts, and wrap them back up. Sneaky little girl. I suppose it's time I grew up and learned some patience. :) My sister Bethany mailed me a beautiful black-and-white-swirly-pattern! blanket and the cutest flamingo scarf. It's subtle, no?

My dearest friend, Marci, mailed me a copy of her family's cookbook that she designed and created herself. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful and sentimental this cookbook is. Her mom also made me a black-and-white-swirly-pattern! cover for my Kitchenaid mixer. To top off the gifts, my mother and father-in-law gave me a bunch of my favorite chocolates from the beloved Nifty Nut House in Wichita and a fun yellow Wichita State t-shirt that I will proudly wear. Such thoughtful gifts!

Thanks, also, to my friends and family who read this blog who sent me birthday cards and messages or sang happy birthday over my voice mail! xoxo! Until next year...

first tooth!

This morning we discovered that Abigail has her first tooth! The very top of her bottom right tooth is showing and it looks like the bottom left tooth will follow soon. Sorry, i'ts pretty impossible to get a picture. I guess this means she's ready to eat a steak now. ;)

I'm spending the day playing a gig and then Grandma Zajkowski flies in late tonight. We are so excited to see her!

making new friends

Robert was in North Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday leading some kind of training session for work. Abigail and I definitely missed him.  Lately I've been on a hunt to find fun activities to keep me and Abby busy when Robert deploys in July. That month keeps looming closer and closer and I'm trying my best to have a positive attitude about it. So...on Wednesdays we go to the library for story/music time. The first couple of times we went I felt a little left out because it seemed like most of the moms already knew each other. Then, voila! This week we saw Megan and Avery from one of our other play groups and Abby and Avery sat side by side on the blanket together. On Thursdays and Fridays we go to a new moms group and baby play time at Baby Bungalow and that got us connected with a Tampa Bay Moms Meetup Group that hosts all kinds of get togethers throughout the week. So we're doing our best to make new friends. I'd like for Abby to have the opportunity to play with other babies several times a week. I'm also looking into signing her up for a music class or maybe even a baby swim class over the summer. 

After listening to juries on Monday, I'm done with my Polk State teaching for the semester (hooray!) so we can go to Wee Play at our church on Monday mornings. We also made friends with Mike, Nikki & baby Emma right down the street and we often meet up with them for our evening walk. Emma is very vocal and chatty during the walks but it's still always quiet, serious time for Abby when she's in her stroller. :) 

Robert was happy to get home from work last night so that he could catch up with his little girl. I think they kind of like each other. 

6 month measurements

Abigail was one tough cookie at her pediatrician appointment this morning. She is still growing great.

Weight: 20 lb. 12 oz. (just shy of 3 pounds gained in 2 months)
Height: 28'' (2'' in 2 months)
Head circumference: 17 3/4'' (3/4'' bigger)

Check out her growth charts. It's hard to see since it's so small, but Abby is the black line on top and the green line below that is the 95th percentile. She's officially off the charts. Such a big girl!

Here's her weight over 6 months:

And here's her height over 6 months:

Amy Jo's Visit

Sometimes a single day has the capacity to impact the entire course of your life. One of those days for me was Mother's Day 1998. I was about to graduate from high school and my parents and I made the drive to Wichita, Kansas to hear the horn studio recital at Wichita State University. From this trip, I decided that:

1. I would be attending Wichita State in the Fall, and
2. I was going to marry Robert Zajkowski.

I announced the latter to my parents immediately following the horn recital while we had dinner at the Applebee's on Rock Road. 

Fast forward almost 15 years (!!!) later. Our horn professor from Wichita State, Amy Jo, was in Tampa this past week subbing with the orchestra and we were able to get together with her 3 different times. We had  SO much fun! Amy Jo was super sweet and offered to babysit Abigail for us on Friday night so that Robert and I could go out on a date. We've been meaning to try a restaurant on Harbour Island -- Cafe Dufrain --  so we headed there. We had a lovely meal and evening. (Surprisingly, I didn't take any pictures of the food. Our favorite was an appetizer of kind of a deconstructed French onion soup: dumplings filled with onion, broth, and cheese that you dipped into crouton crumbles. Very creative and tasty.)

While we wined and dined, Amy Jo and Abby were partying it up back at the house. Amy Jo documented the evening. 

They practiced horn:

They enjoyed a beer. (Ha!)

They felt a little guilty about the beer and went to read Baby's First Bible.

They read some Eric Carle books.

They fixed their hair and got all dolled up.

They did a little baby yoga.

And then, sadly, it was bed time. Amy Jo says Cora is "playing the cello." Too funny!

As you might imagine, Amy Jo was pretty worn out.

Amy Jo is definitely Abby's new BFF. We were able to get together one last time today before she flew back home. We went for a walk along the St. Pete pier and checked out the pelicans.

It's a very special thing when your teacher becomes your friend. As a student, I was in complete awe of Amy Jo as a horn player. She has inspired me from that first meeting in May 1998 to today. Occasionally I hear myself speaking her words when I am teaching my own students. I continue to be in awe of her as a musician, but now I find myself admiring her perhaps even more for the wonderful mother and kind person that she is.

Thanks for the super fun visit, Amy Jo, and we hope to see you again soon! 

6 months old

Happy 6 months, Abigail! Half a year already? Wow, how the time flies. We'll post Abby's measurements after her pediatrician appointment on Tuesday. Thanks for all of the smiles you bring us, baby girl!

I love this one!

Well, so much for the monthly stickers.

Robert took these 2 close ups.

We love you so much, sweet little girl!