Happy Birthday Abby!

Abby is walking, talking and excited about exploring everything in her world as she leaves her baby status behind.

This was all too evident to me last week, when I attempted to carry Abby,while Benjamin played at Jump and Jacks. She was not having any of that, and wanted to climb and play too. It was at that point that she also decided to walk, rather than scoot everywhere.

She also wants to run around when we are at Kings Island. This is going to be a challenge, since she can’t ride any of the rides.

We have so many adorable photos of Abby from the past two weeks, I don’t even know where to begin. This is one of my favorites. Abby is very much a Mommy’s and Daddy’s girl. She likes to stay close to either of us when in a crowd.

We had Abby dedicated at The River Church on Mother’s Day. It was such a tough day, but it is nice to have this special memory. We want our precious baby girl to grow into a young woman who loves Jesus. Someday, it is our prayer that she will choose to be baptized as a symbol and declaration of her faith.

Abby has SUCH a personality. Already, she shows signs that she is going to give us a run for our money. But, I just know we are going to love (ALMOST) every minute of it.

We will be taking Abby to the doctor on Thursday to find out all her “stats,” and I will give more updates on what she is up to at that time.

Abby’s Birthday Party

We celebrated Abby’s birthday two weekends early, and it was so fun to see family and friends, watch Abby get excited about her presents and enjoy those special “firsts,” like tasting cake.

Abby wasn’t so fond of cake, so Benjamin decided to eat her cupcake for her.

But, then she kind of changed her mind.

We got a quick family photo, and then Abby went down for a short nap.

She got her second wind in time to open presents, and play. It was such a special day!

 

Potty Trained

For those of you who were wondering about the potty training…

We did it!!!!!

Benjamin is officially potty trained, and all it took was finding the right motivation. Here he is with his potty chart. He earned enough stickers (days without accidents) to go to Kings Island. He was so excited, he ran/skipped all the way to the gate.

He wanted to ride the Pumpkin Coaster first.

Then, it was a free-for-all. But, he definitely was excited about the cars. At the Bumper Cars, I overheard him exclaiming to each child who drove past, “I’m a big boy!”

He was a little nervous about the drop tower, but he tried it!

We ended our short visit at the Eiffel Tower. Benjamin left without complaining, because he knew we needed to get Abby back for her nap. We were so proud of him, and his behavior! We promised to go back next Friday when it is open again.

Warm weather here to stay

Spring finally decided to stay, it seems. We have been outside as much as possible!

We take lots of walks, and often we go play in the evenings with a little boy down the street. Walks often lead to scrapes and cuts, though. So, we have gotten out the Band-Aids more than once in the last week.

Benjamin and Abby love the constant activity. They are playing so nicely together (when they aren’t squabbling). But, truly, they are having so much fun. Abby, especially, gets a kick out of everything Benjamin does. And, she tries to copy everything he does…

Last weekend, Grandpa Hilty came to visit. That gave me a chance to work on landscaping, and have some help/advice.

We planted a Japanese maple tree, some ground cover and a bush on the corner. It is a big improvement!

11 months

Time is flying by way too quickly for me! I just can’t get enough of sweet Abby Mae!

As you can see, Abby has mastered the ability to stand, squat and stand some more. She shakes her arms and dances in place. But, despite predictions that she would be an early walker, she still only takes two steps before dropping to the ground to scoot.

Abby is a little dare devil, and anything Benjamin does, she wants to do too! And I mean everything!

So, this week, I have had to spend a lot of time prying her away from the toilet. Her knew fascination stems from all the time Benjamin has been spending there. My biggest fear is that she will try to climb in it…and also that she might teeth on it. EWW

Abby is becoming quite chatty. She loves to talk and talk and talk in a sweet, or sometimes very loud, voice. Her clearest words that she says are, “all done,” “car,” “hi,” “Mama,” and “Dada.” I would add “Daisy” to the list, but I need to see if she will repeat it in Daisy’s presence next weekend to make it really count. We are working on “Papa” and “B” at the moment.

Abby loves her brother, even if at times they are at each other’s throats…

Benjamin took an interest in feeding Abby recently. She happily complies if she is hungry enough. Though, lately, she hasn’t wanted baby food very often.

In fact, this week, she hasn’t wanted any food really. I thought she had an ear infection, but it turns out she is just a REALLY cranky and pitiful teether. She has her eight front teeth, and her two top molars are wrecking havoc on our lives at the moment. I had to wrap her crib with fabric, because Abby gnawed/gouged the paint and wood from an entire side. Every time I got her from her bed, her mouth was covered in white paint chips.

Despite the pitiful complaints of teeth pain, Abby is such a happy girl.

She loves to get into trouble, and one of her favorite pastimes is digging through bags and boxes. The bigger the mess, the happier she is!

Abby is about 20 pounds now, and she is wearing 12- to 18-month clothes. Her hair is getting really curly in the back, and while it seems to grow like crazy, her feet are still itty bitty. We bumped her up to a 6-12 month shoe, but it is still pretty big on her.

Abby loves bath time, especially with Benjamin. She plays with all the bath toys, and when she is not eating all the bubbles, she gleefully pulls Benjamin’s hair.

Abby loves her Dada. He dotes on her, and they love to play.

She also loves cars, trucks and trains. She pushes them across the floor and under tables. She especially loves her Cozy Coupe car, which she climbs in and out of all day long.

Playing outside is a new favorite pastime, and Abby keeps me on my toes!

While Abby isn’t fond of letting many people hold her, she occasionally grants temporary permission to a few special people. 

I can’t say enough about this precious baby girl! We are looking forward to celebrating her first birthday at her party (a little early) on May 5.