Terry Pearson’s Blog

Well, it finally happened, our little baby has turned one year old! It seems like just the other day that Jessica and I were creating videos for her a few hours before her birth.

During the past year, Abigail has grown and changed so much. I cannot begin to describe just how proud I am of her each and every day.

At first, we were thrilled when she gave us a smile, or stuck out her tongue, or even scooted up toward our faces.

It seems so recent and yet so long ago that she first held her bottle, or said her first words. Now she talks, gives hugs and kisses, and waves to everyone (and everything) in sight. She even takes a few steps.

Even more amazing is that in the next 17 years she will learn to walk without any help, learn read, learn to ride a bike, learn to drive, and even graduate from High School (In 2026).

Jessica and I look forward to every moment of it. Although, we hope it does not go too fast.

It’s one of the great paradoxes of life. You always want your child to learn something new, to gain strength, knowledge, and wisdom, and to take that next step. But, taking the next step means they leave behind the previous steps.

For the child, this is growth, but for the parent it is the last time something happens. There will be the last time you help your child roll over, or the last time your child needs a hand walking. There will be a last bottle, a last diaper change, and eventually a last day of school. Someday, you will even go to their wedding.

All these are wonderful things, and great steps, but there is something wonderful about helping your child through each one of these changes.

As you and your child work on the process of growing up, it builds a deep love and bond between the two of you. As they mature, this love grows into a fellowship, a friendship, and a strong bond.

I think that being a dad helps me truly understand what it means in 1 John 3:1 where it says “See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are!” Now that I understand the deep love that a parent has for their child, I can better appreciate the awesomeness of this statement!

Happy Birthday Abigail. You are, and always will be, loved!

Cross-posted on JessicaDPearson.com and AbigailPearson.com

Abigail turned nine months old yesterday. We are very excited that she is growing so fast.

The last three months have brought many exciting changes in her life, including:

• New Daycare – She began going to a daycare in Eagan, and she loves it. There are two other kids that are close to her age and she adores them. One of them is older and one is younger. Everyday she comes home with a smile on her face (As a side note, she often also comes home with dirty clothes from some pretty amazing diaper blowouts!).
• Solid foods – Not too long ago, Abigail had barely eaten solid foods. Three months ago, solid foods were somewhat of a novelty for her. Now, she has three meals a day that are solids. She loves the pasta baby foods like “Lasagna in meat sauce.” She is also a big fan of Pizza crust (she shares with her daddy), Pancakes, Kix, and Crackers.
• Crawling – Yep, that’s right. She is now moving around the house. She began crawling like a normal crawl on Wednesday, February 4th. Before that, she opted for the “scoot and roll method.”
• Church Nursery – Abigail is now spending Sunday morning in the church nursery. Now that she is becoming mobile, this is a great location for her.
• Weekend away from mommy and daddy – She got to spend a whole weekend with her grandma (Kathy Pearson) while her mom and dad went up to Two Harbors. This was the first time that both of us were gone overnight from her. She did great.

In case you were wondering, this video will explain all the ins and outs of a typical child birth. Courtesy of Monty Python:

Well, it’s official. Jessica and I are the very proud new parents of a baby girl!

The baby’s name is Abigail Ellen Pearson. She was born at 2:12 pm on May 6, 2008. Abigail measured at 20.75 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 6.4 ounces.

At first, she was only happy if she was being held. But now that we have acclimated her to the idea of sleeping in the bassinet, she seems much happier.

I noticed that Abigail is able to distinguish voices and sounds. She is even able to see you make faces at her. Yesterday, I copied the sounds she was making when crying, and she stopped and listened. Then she did it again, and I copied. She smiled a big smile for me. I think she thought it was funny. Today, Jessica stuck her tongue out at Abigail, and the baby responded by sticking her tongue back at Jessica!