We're still here!

When it's busy around here- the blog doesn't get much attention... Though that's probably not good excuse, because I happen to know someone who has a 2 year old and a new baby and still manages to keep their blog updated!

A few updates:

Abby is still a wonderful, amazing, happy, funny little girl. She makes new discoveries every day, and she's trying to talk more and more. We can understand many of the single words she utters, and we think we're starting to get a phrase here and there. I think she's saying "you/I do it," and "all done/all gone," phrases which she hears frequently.

Way back in January when we had snow- Abby absolutely loved watching Cosette tear around the yard like a crazy dog. She was interested in the snow- but did not enjoy the face-full of it she got while trying to walk in it.














Abby frequently goes to the new park at Southern Village with grandma. On weekends she goes with mom and dad. Here are some shots of her on a beautiful, warm, NC winter day. Note the contrast with the above pics!






Last weekend we tagged along with grandma and Miss Debbie to the new aquatic center in Chapel Hill. This was a hit for Abby as well. She kicked and kicked and splashed and splashed. She also drank quite a bit of pool water. Often, intentionally. Sorry, no pics of that. Too concerned about staying warm! Though you could probably imagine Abby was an adorable little slippery butterball in her froggy bikini.

Abby is now attending weekly music classes. We are so glad we signed her up for this! We know she loves music, and she really enjoys the interactive aspect of this class with the other toddlers. She gets to shake maracas, tambourines, bells, and eggs! She loves to beat drums, clap hands, stomp feet, tippie toe, and make other music using her body. Abby wasn't too thrilled with getting under the parachute at the last class- but neither was her little buddy Owen, who is about the same age. The older kids definitely liked it more.

So many discoveries to make, so little time!!!

PS- We're trying really hard to get a regular babysitter for Abby, so mom and dad can go have a little fun too!

There's No One Like Me

This is a title of a silly little song on one of Abby's CDs. This picture sums it up for her, though. She asked mommy to help, "hap, hap!" her to put on this sock. As a one-year-old, Abigail has really started showing her unique personality- including her opinions, her desires, her likes and her dislikes. For example, Abby likes: Naps, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, fried chicken, her thumb, turkey with gravy, letting Cosette lick her fingers after she eats, mashed potatoes, running around outside, going outside, saying "outside" (sounds something like "ass-haa"), putting her hat and shoes on to go outside, pretzels, Goldfish, apples, grapes, typing on the computer, getting things off the table, slipping on mommy's shoes, playing throw- and try to catch, hording things in her baby stroller and pushing it around, playing "I'm gonna get you," and tackling Cosette. Music deserves a separate adjective. Abby LOVES music. She got her own MP3 player for Christmas. It has 4 buttons: Play, stop, back, and forward. She hasn't quite figured out the intricacies of the music player, but she's learning more every day. If needed, she just asks for "hap! hap!" Abby dislikes: Vegetables (though we have found some fried sweet potatoes and some dried string bean salty-greasy things she likes), getting dressed, not getting mommy or daddy's cel phone while they are talking on it, getting her diaper changed (though learning to tolerate it), sitting in a cart in a grocery store for more than 10 minutes (most of the time), and Cosette eating something that she unintentionally dropped. Abby uses several signs, and uses them well to get what she wants. She recently has started to use "please" which is a nice replacement for the verbal "aaaaaahhhhh!"

More recent pictures posted below.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!

Abby had a rockin' first birthday party. After the party, Abby and her guests attended the Black Friday Beer Festival at her daddy's brewery. Rat Jackson (that's a band) sang her Happy Birthday. She loved it! Here she is dancing to the music with Daddy.



Enjoy the slide show of the party below...

Early Birthday

Abby's grandma, grandpa and cousin from Connecticut came down to celebrate her birthday early. She had a great time playing with cousin Evan. She warms up to kids so much faster than adults. Abby warmed up to grandma and grandpa after a little bit of time- and it was clear that she enjoyed their company as well. She especially enjoyed taking food off of grandpa's plate.





Abby freaked out (in a good way) over a gift from Aunt Sara and cousins Koty and Shyanne: A pink puppy that makes cute sounds and wags its tail and flops it ears when you pull it along. In fact, the other day, she screamed every time I stopped pulling it. I redirected her to use the sign for "more"- 'cause that's the closest one I know for "do it again," and she did it instead of screaming. Now, whenever she wants me to pull it for her again, she signs "more" instead of screeching at an eardrum busting decibel. Baby sign rocks! The picture below is not of that particular incident- but it gives you a good idea of Abby's spiritedness when she is not getting what she wants at the moment.





Some other pictures from the wonderfully beautiful fall days we have been having- and a play date with a fella Abby has known since before they were born. We met Jackson's parents in our Prepared Childbirth class at UNC, and are glad to have kept in touch with them!







Play at the park on a cool day:

Dressing Up and Getting Dirty!

Abby was a sweet little ladybug for her first Halloween.



Her Friend Owen from down the street, who was a strawberry, came over to celebrate.

They did The Monster Mash with Rick

Abby LOVES blueberries. Here are a few shots of her enjoying some the other night. We think they bring out the blue in her eyes...



Abby's a real walker now. She walks most of the time- though she chooses to crawl at times as well. As you can imagine, it's hard to catch her doing anything. Nevertheless, here is an attempt to catch her walking. Please only look at Abby and not the incredibly messy house. A tornado actually did come through our home that day.



By the way- tried to upload this video on Blogger. Didn't work. You Tube is much easier!

Catching Up...

Once again, It's been awhile since the last post. So- it's time to catch up! Since the last post, in September, Abby has started walking. As of today, she can take up to 8 steps on her own. She does not care for having people help her walk. If you try to help her, she buckles her knees and starts crawling. She loves to just stand up- preferably with toys in each hand. Abby eats lots of foods, though her tastes are changing daily. As of now, she likes cheese, blueberry waffles with blueberry sauce (grandma does that), baked apples, grapes, and other fruits that she can gum. She loves cookies, and she signs for them often... especially while she's eating her dinner or lunch. Abby used to like beef and veggie burgers, but has since begun rejecting them. She'll eat chicken- if fried. She continues to enjoy yogurt- the old standby. Oh- and Cheerios. Let's not forget Cheerios. If Abby won't eat anything else, she'll always eat Cheerios. At the top of the totem pole-- we think even above mommy and daddy-- is the bottle. This appears to be the most important thing in her life. Whenever she sees it, she frantically reaches for it and pants as if she may never see it again.

Here are some pictures of a recent trip to the pumpkin patch with our friends Ben, Julie, and Ed. Ben's the older guy kissing Abby. It was a beautiful fall day. The sky was Carolina blue and the air was nice and crisp. Abby picked out her pumpkins, played on the hay mountain, watched the goats, chickens and pigs, and went for a hayride. Wardrobe (hat and sweater), courtesy of Grandma Waddell (nona tutta bella).

First Beach Trip!

Abby experienced her first beach trip last week. Mommy and grandma stayed for the whole time, and daddy needed to leave after a few days to take care of his business. Daddy introduced Abby to the ocean, and she simply loved it! She let the waves splash on her, played in the sand, and ate cheerios (and sand). Here are some photos from her first beach trip.



We also spent some time at the pool. Abby loved the lazy river ride and the kids area- where she could crawl around in the water. This video shows our fearless girl in action.



We went out for some seafood, and found that Abby loves hushpuppies!