Talkin'

Some of my favorite things Abbie is saying right now...

"I yike it" (yike = like)

"No, I don't yike it"

"I crazy, Mamma"

"Uncle B's silly"

"Hokie Pokie turn yourself around!"

"Rock a bye-baby, on the tree-pop" (top)

"Mamma, I go potty on the frog"

"I want make up, Mamma"

She comes out with some pretty funny stuff and lately is repeating everything we say!

Hope you all had a great Christmas. Here are some pics from ours!

Some days I wish...

That we could sell our house and move into a smaller place that we could afford without my income and I could stay home and raise our children (child right now, but yes, we want more) and life might be tough sometimes but we’d make it, right?

That’s how I felt today. My sweet little girl is on day 3 of some kind of yucky stomach bug and I just wanted to be there with her and hold her and let her know that it will be ok. I was able to stay home with her yesterday and it was wonderful but today, even though I knew she was in the very capable hands of her Daddy, I experienced being torn (not the first time) with working and staying home and the balance of it all. Sigh. Now I know what you might be thinking - it is what it is, and sometimes you get in a situation and you just have to be patient. And didn’t I have the chance to do just that a few months ago when I was let go from my job? Well, yea, but if we wanted to keep our home, I had to go back. Things might never be what I want. And honestly, sometimes I don’t know if I want to stay home full time. I do know that I’d like to have the option, to have some flexibility, and to say, at anytime, ok, I’m going home now to be with my kids. Life is unpredictable though and times are tough and who knows what could happen tomorrow. I know that I don’t want to look back on these times and wish I had done something different. I know that I truly must be content in whatever circumstances I am given. But more and more, I have the longing to be home and do what I think is the hardest job of them all.

BIG Sigh….

** I want to be sure you all know that I use this blog as an outlet for my thoughts, and not to have a pity party for myself and have whoever feeling sorry for me. I really don't want that. But I know there are others out there who share these same feelings with me. **

Is she not the sweetest thing you've ever seen??

Catching Up!

I have no idea what to blog about right now, mainly because it’s December and this time of year is just so crazy sometimes. If I had some extra vacation days like I usually do then I’d be good, I think. Maybe not. But I can’t complain. Things are going great and the biggest news of all is that Abbie is STILL SLEEPING fabulously! If you just read my blog and aren’t on Facebook, you may not even know that at all. But this has been going on for well over a week. So what finally made Abbie start sleeping through the night, you ask? Well, it took a little fussing on her part, and a little of me just holding my breath and telling myself that she was FINE. Literally, the kid would just yell, not even cry, Momma, Momma, over and over. The first night or two it might have been 5 minutes, but after that it was done. Now she goes right to sleep the second I leave the room, and she might wake up once a night for about 15 seconds. It’s way too short to count, I know that. She goes to sleep around 8, sometimes a few minutes before, and she has been gradually sleeping later and later. At first it was 5am. EARLY. Then it was 5:30. A little better. And this morning it was almost 6. Now that is more like it. 6 I can handle. Because during the week we like to spend time with the little peanut in the mornings before work. Phew. And I didn’t know what I was going to blog about. So anyways, that’s the big news. This weekend we are headed to Pigeon Forge to celebrate Christmas with some of my family, and we are very excited. Should be interesting to see how Abbie sleeps there, in a pack and play, with us in the same room, but maybe she’ll do ok.

Pictures have been few and far between, mainly because ever since I installed Norton 360 (antivirus software) on our computer, it won’t recognize my camera, and now even though I uninstalled it, it still won’t recognize it. So the only way for me to upload pics is with my SD card, which has way too many pictures on it. I’ve got to figure something out. But here are some recent family pics we had done w/ Sunday Grant – love her, go to her site - http://sundaygrantphotography.blogspot.com/ - if you want to see more of her work. I hope you are all having a fabulous Christmas season!!

Giving Thanks

Today, I am thankful.

I am thankful for a God who loves me no matter what I do, where I’ve been, or what I’m going to do. I put Him first here not because it’s always the way I live my life, unfortunately, but to remind me that He’s supposed to be first. I am thankful that He forgives me for being the sinner that I am, and that I am saved by His grace each and every day.

I am thankful for a husband who is not just my husband. He is my best friend on this earth, and he knows me better than anyone else. He may not like me all the time, but I know he loves me and I think we have a pretty good life together.

I am thankful for a daughter who lights up my life like I never imagined. Who keeps us laughing and challenges us in so many ways. Who makes us want to be better.

I am thankful for the rest of my family. Sure, there are some that I wish were in my life that aren’t, but I certainly am grateful for the ones that are around and that I can count on and that can love on my child.

I am thankful for a good job in these hard economic times. I am thankful for good health, good friends, near and far, and for a nice place to call home. I am thankful for my sweet dog, Brandy, and her loving temperament.

I could go on and on, and for that, I am thankful.

Letter From Mom

Dearest Abbie,

I never knew…

That sleeping in now means 7am instead of 10am on Saturdays.

That I would have an instant connection with other moms, suddenly understanding the challenges and joys that go along with having children. And that hearing stories of children who are sick would make me so sad, yet thankful that God has given you good health.

I never knew…

That I would look at other children at stores or restaurants who were misbehaving, and rather than get annoyed or have disapproving thoughts, I’d think to myself, maybe they had a rough night, didn’t get a nap, or are not feeling well.

I never knew…

That I’d be trying to avoid work-related travel and late meetings at all costs so I’d be able to spend more time with you.

I never knew…

That I’d be going around singing Nickelodeon or Elmo songs in my head, even when you weren’t around.

That a Friday night at home with you would be so much more fun than a night out.

I never knew…

That whether we have one more, two more, or no more, I would feel so blessed and thankful that God picked you out, especially for your Daddy and I!

Happy 18 months sweet girl. You have brought so much joy into our lives that I never knew before….

Mom

Good week

I had this last week off, so today is my final day of freedom before heading back to work. It's been a good one overall, but very difficult at times as I had a head cold and Abbie is cutting so many teeth I lost count. She is not sleeping well AT ALL, like it's worse than when she was 2 weeks old, so it's been tough. Thankfully I had family in who helped me tremendously and tended to her in the early morning while I caught up on some sleep. I am really praying this is over soon. I am over teething, I'm sure she is over teething, and I think Wes wants his wife back, instead of the small devil I turn into sometimes when I get just a couple hours of snooze time! But it's been good. We had some professional pics done Wednesday - I will share them as soon as I get the DVD (they turned out fabulous!) and then we celebrated Halloween yesterday and Abbie was the cutest ladybug I've ever seen. She has really started forming sentences this last week too. It completely amazes me to see this little tiny girl talk the way she does! She says "bye-bye Brandy, see you tomorrow", for instance. I mean, really?? And my new favorite is when she tastes something, she says "I like it!!". It sounds like "I yike it!" but it's so darn cute. She counts to ten all the time now, and when she says "ten" she says "YEA Abbie!" because that is what I always do when she is done. Also this week she has become completely attached to her baby doll and blanket, and drags them around everywhere with her, talks to her baby, rocks her, tells her to sleep, etc. She has quite the imagination. When she wants something, she says "uh-huh" and nods real eagerly. Like she will say "Mama, cookie, uh-huh??" and nod like a hundred times. Cracks me up. So if anyone has any advice on teething other than Motrin and teething tablets, I'd love to know. I have read mixed reviews on Orajel, it just seems so temporary. She is cutting her molars and I think her cuspids are on their way in too. Hopefully next time I post this will be done....maybe??!!

Way...Too....Fast....

Lately, I have found myself saying these phrases to people around me:

She is growing up SOO fast!

It seems like she does something different every day!

She comes up with the funniest things to say!

I love this age!

Here are a few examples - Last night, as I was rocking Abbie to sleep she popped up, looked at me (I had my eyes closed because I typically get tired way before her) and she said "Mama, wake up". It was so funny, I have no clue where she got that from, because God knows we have never said "wake up" to her. We've never had to!!

Tonight at the Outback, we were leaving and Wes got her out of the high chair, and the next thing we knew she had her shirt off, and her belly was just hanging out. Never done that before.

And this week she learned how to OPEN the doors in our house. Craziness.

So in short, there is never a dull moment in our house. Wes and I constantly find ourselves laughing out loud at her and she just brings so much joy into our lives. I did miss her 17-month update on the 13th, yep, one more month and she'll be halfway through ANOTHER year!

We love her.

Early Morning Update

Greetings! It's Sunday morning, and Abbie and I are the only ones up. It's still dark outside, meaning she woke up WAAYYY too early, but such is the norm these days. She is sleeping better overall though, which is a good thing.

I just wanted to post a quick update to say that things are going good around here. I really like my new position w/ Eaton, and more importantly Abbie has adjusted well to being back at Pam's. I did quickly forget how hard it is to do things in the evenings, like um, make dinner for instance, but I just bought a Slow Cooker cookbook yesterday so I plan on using it all winter! Let's see, what else. Oh, October has brought my 32nd bday already, which ended up being a great one(see Wes and I before my bday dinner above) and then some of my family from VA came in. Then at the end of this month, my family from Florida is coming up for a week! Oh, and I purchased Abbie's Halloween costume already too. It is the CUTEST ladybug (or bebug, as she says) costumer you've ever seen. Yay for Cracker Barrel. Lastly, stay tuned for some professional pictures coming soon! Well, that might be a little premature, but we are having them done the last week of October. Here is my little ballerina...

Hard

Hard. That's what this week will be for me, no doubt. See, in case you haven't heard, I am entering the outside working world again, starting Thursday. In some small ways, I am excited, partially because I knew I would have to do it sometime, and partially because job hunting sucks. Sorry, it just does. So anyways, notice I say "small" ways. Because in every other possible way, I want to stay home with Abbie and raise her and be here with her all the time. But one thing I do know is this - when I am working outside the home, I do not take the time with her for granted. I do not lose patience with her nearly as easily, and I truly do cherish each minute. Please know that I am not saying this about other Mom's, I am speaking of myself here. So in that way, maybe it's not all bad. I still really believe that for me a mix of outside work and being at home is ideal, but as I've said before, we aren't quite there yet. So for now, I will be content with the situation given to me, because as a friend reminded me this morning, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. For now, I will be satisfied.

And on a lighter note, I MUST get some drawer locks today. As I was writing this post, Abbie has retrieved a lighter, some neosporin lip balm, and as I type this she has matches in her hands. (She is in Wes's fishing desk). Gotta run!!

A little bit of this and that

Do you ever write blogs in your head? Like have one planned out, title, pictures, and everything, and then just never get around to it? Well, that's what I've been doing for weeks now, and of course now that I am getting around to it, I don't have anything planned to write! Oh well.

I feel like the past few weeks have flown by. The three of us took a trip to San Antonio to meet up with some friends from Salt Lake City, and then Labor Day Abbie and I flew down to FL to stay with my family. Both trips were wonderful and a nice escape from reality. I'll share some pictures below. As we already knew, Abbie is obsessed w/ water so our FL trip was right up her alley, with the beach, the pool, and the splash park. She absolutely loved it!

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since we moved back to NC. These friends in the picture above were the ones that got us through some hard times out there, when we felt lonely and homesick (me especially) and we did things with them on a regular basis. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you'll recognize them!

It's been two months today that I have been out of work. I am enjoying being at home w/ Abbie more than I can express. I really truly love it. Of course, it's the hardest thing I've ever done, but I feel like whatever time I get to spend with her is worth it when all is said and done. I promise you that if I thought we could work it out where we wouldn't have to sell everything we own and have me not go back to work, we would!

I don't know if it's her age or not, but I really enjoy my days with her, but the nights are what is hard. She fights going to sleep like crazy sometimes, and the fact that she has TONS of teeth coming in AND a sinus infection right now probably aren't helping. But man, my patience has truly been tested with that lately. Oh, and one last thing, if anyone has any words of advice on weaning a 16-month old, could you leave it in the comments? I really think I am ready. I really don't think Abbie is. It might be tough. Do you think it's worth it? Or should I just wait til she is done? I mean, I don't want to nurse her til she is 4, ya know? I just am not sure what to do right now.

Abbie-isms

Doesn't this picture just crack you up?????????

So since I posted last, I realized there are SO many more things Abbie is doing, and that you were probably dying to know about all of them, so here is another list:

- She says "I'm sorry" all the time now. If she hurts herself, or if Brandy steps on her toe or anything like that, she says it. It is very cute.

- She gives you five, then says up high, lifts her hand, then down low, and lowers it. No clue where she learned this!

- She likes to flip the light switches and says up, down when she does it.

- Oh, this one is funny. I think I mentioned before that she talks in the 3rd person a lot. So she was saying "I love you Abbie" there for a while. Well now, she says "I love you Elmo" when she hugs Wes or I. So it's like she is saying it to us, but Elmo is at the end.

- Brace yourselves for this one...She counted to ten this morning! I heard her in her room, and she was reading a book and there she went. She'd probably never do it when I asked her, but I heard her count to 6 yesterday, and this morning it was ten!

- Now when she gets the cell phone, she holds it to her ear, and says Hello, Hey! just like we do when we answer the phone.

I seriously can't believe the things she picks up on. She is like a little sponge!

I am going on a month and a half of being home with her, and I have to say it was a little hard getting adjusted but I think I am getting there! I am enjoying it much more now that I feel like we have a little routine going. Still job hunting. No bites yet, so we will see. I am taking her to Pam's once a week though, which is nice because it gives me a little break and gives her a chance to interact with other kids and not forget Pam!

I swear I take less pictures of her now that I am at home, but seriously, I cannot get her to sit still! I literally have to chase her to get her picture nowadays. Here are a few recent ones- she rode on the lawnmower yesterday w/ Wes and I have not seen her so giddy in a long time. She loved it!

Fifteen

Abbie is 15 months! Here is what she is up to these days:

She is becoming quite the little monkey. She likes to climb on things, countertops, chairs, her changing table, etc. Basically if we are holding her she lunges for whatever is around to climb on. We are going to have our hands full with this, I am afraid. One of her favorite games is for us to chase her. She says "I'll get you" and then starts running. It's something Wes started and she just loves it.

She is so smart, it just amazes us. She identifies everything, and can follow commands and do things we ask her to do. She knows what everything around the house is, and likes to tell us.

She loves water and has learned to flush the toilet, and turn the water in the tub on. She will go in our bathroom and do this and play in it. I know, what a waste of water, but you know, sometimes it's worth it to keep her occupied for a little while! And I cannot keep Brandy's water down, or else she will play in it or try to drink it. Yea, as you have probably noticed by now, I am not really concerned about germs! She is so healthy and I just think a few germs here and there are ok!

She has such a mind of her own, and definitely knows what she wants. If she gets it in her head she wants something, and she can't have it (like the cord from the iron, for example) she will keep going back to it. After a couple days of this, and us telling her no and pulling her away, she finally gets it now, but she can be very stubborn.

She loves her baby, Abby Cadabby, whom she affectionately calls "Abby-Dabby Doo". We aren't sure how she came up with that, but that is her name. She gives her the bottle, rocks her, puts her in the Boppy, and even gives her baths in the toilet sometimes. ( :

Being at home with her for the last month has been great, but my patience has been tested a lot the last few days with her refusal of naps! Thankfully today she is taking one, but she fights it now and I am getting scared that she might just flat out refuse more and more. We'll see.

I found out yesterday that the opportunity w/ Eaton is not going to work out. I could vent, bad mouth, do things like that, but I won't. I don't know what the future holds, and that is certainly difficult to stomach, but God has His hand in this and He will take care of us - that is my belief, because I have no other hope but in Him.

Oh yea, one more thing. In my last post I mentioned CORE4, the weight loss program I started. Well, it's been a week, and already my clothes are looser, no joke! And I have only been to the gym once, and am still eating ice cream and cookies. Amazing! If you clicked on the link last time, do it again, because they have just launched an awesome new website with a lot more information out there, sort of like a facebook. Pretty cool. Here is the direct link.

www.irepcni.com/sledford

And here is Abbie with our neighbor, David, on the John Deere!!

Picture-less Tuesday

I just made that up. You've heard of Wordless Wednesday, all you blog readers? Well, I don't have any pictures of Abbie to share. I did go to the lake with some girlfriends this weekend, and it was fabulous, but I know most of you come here to see Abbie! She had pink eye last week, and then my camera battery died. But I just wanted to update everyone on my job situation. I am still waiting. I really should know something Thursday or Friday, so as soon as I find out what's going on I will post. Good or bad, I promise. Other than that, I can't believe I am going on one month of not working. It has flown by, and I am not even sure what I do every day! Oh, and also you may have noticed the little gadget at the top of my blog about weight loss. Well, check it out if you want. I just started this program. It's called CORE4, and my friend Lynette introduced me to it. Wes is doing it along with me. It's for people who want to lose any amount of weight - 5lbs, 25 lbs, etc. It has 4 parts that work together to get you lean. And the more you exercise and the better you eat the quicker you will see results, but it's not completely necessary that you stick to a really strict diet. After all, diets fail, right?! So anyways, I hope you will check it out, and please let me know if you are interested!! Abbie will be 15 months this week too, so I promise to post later about her. Bye!

Lil' Update

I can't remember if I did a 14-month update for Abbie or not, but either way, we are definitely due for one, and a Wes update too! So I'll start w/ him.

He started a new job with Grainger two weeks ago - actually, the Monday before I got laid off, (which was Wednesday).Ironic, huh? So anyways, we are so excited about this new opportunity and so far, the position is definitely turning out to be everything we hoped it would. He is doing outside sales, and if you know Wes, well, he can sell ice to an eskimo, so there will be no problems there. In fact, his boss has informed him that he has already exceeded his quota in less than a week! He is on a team of about 10 people, and his territory is out of Greenville, but they have given him some accounts up our way so he doesn't have to drive that far all the time. Because of the direction my career has taken me over the last few years, we really wanted to focus on Wes for a while and see where his career leads, so we finally feel like this could be that time. And it's exciting!

As for Abbie, well, she is doing just great. She will be 15 months on August 13th, but at 14 months and some change, here is what she is up to:

RUNNING everywhere. She really doesn't sit still that much. However she has started liking Nogin (fave shows are Blues Clues and WowWow Wubsy!) And she likes to sit with her baby (Abby Cadabby) and give her the bottle. She calls her Abby Dabby Doo, and runs around going "bottle" and then gives it to her. It's very sweet.

She also is beginning to enjoy coloring - but I probably should hold off just a little more because she still likes to eat the crayons.

She has 6 teeth - 4 on bottom, 2 on top. You can see where there are so many more about to pop through.

Is truly talking so well - She likes to talk in the 3rd person - kinda funny - but she says "Bless you Abbie", "Sit down Abbie", "I love you, Abbie", etc. It SO stinkin cute. I guess because she hears us say this, that is how she says it too.

Her newest phrase is "Back in there". Like if she takes something out of where it belongs, she will say "Back in there" and want me to put it back.

She is not a big breakfast eater. But she loves blueberries and strawberries and toast.

I still don't know if she has hit the 20 lb mark - she is probably getting close, but she definitely seems to be getting taller. And her hair is crazy!! It is getting longer and curlier and looks like mine when she wakes up. Yikes.

As for me, I should know some more stuff regarding a new job soon - of course I am really loving all the time I get to be with Abbie, so I don't have any complaints. But I will keep everyone posted on what is happening with that when I know more! Thanks for all your encouragement and support.

Oh, and one last thing - Stellan is doing much better the last few days, thankfully! He has not had as much SVT (the condition that causes his heart to beat rapidly). He doesn't seem to be in as serious condition as he was in my last post. So that is a huge relief. But keep checking his blog - it is constantly being updated.

These last two pics demonstrate Abbie's newest "cheese" grin. Gotta love it!

Hey there

Tonight I am humbled. I spent an hour trying to get Abbie to go to sleep, and was losing my patience with her. Finally she went, but I came out of her room frustrated. Until. I went online. And saw that a former co-worker of mine passed yesterday after a long battle with cancer. And checked Stellan's blog, only to read that he is not doing well again and this courageous baby and his family are not sure what's going to happen to him tonight, tomorrow, a week from now. I feel like I've been kicked in the gut. I thought my problems of not getting Abbie to sleep in a timely manner were bad, hopeless, whatever. Seriously. My problems do not compare to what else is going on in other's lives tonight, the lives of people I know personally and people I know through the blogger world. I pray for all the families out there that are suffering tonight, that have lost loved ones, or who don't know how long their's will be here on earth. Thanks for listening.

A Few Words

It's funny how life is. You are going along, day to day, nothing new, almost thinking things are pretty boring (other than chasing a 14-month old around all the time) and WHAM! things change with a few simple words. In a conference room. It almost feels like a break-up to me. Someone I have been with for nearly 8 years. The door is shut...for now. Of course, as doors shut, others open, because God is good like that. So now it's time to refocus, see where this new direction leads. In the meantime, I have this little girl named Abbie to love on more, and that is just fine with me!!
Stay tuned.

If you aren't on Facebook....

Then you will enjoy seeing these pictures for the first time!
Funny story that happened tonight - Wes and I were in the kitchen, and he was hugging me, and Abbie was in her high chair. I could see her over his shoulder, and she was just staring, and then all of a sudden she yelled out " I love you!!" It had to be the cutest thing ever.

Two things I have learned this summer...

1) That one piece bathing suits for Abbie are very cute and modest, but don’t work so well when we are trying to change from regular diapers to swim diapers quickly, because we have to take the whole suit off, rather than if she had a two-piece on, we could just do the bottoms…which leads me to my next lesson of…

2) Swim diapers are not meant for wearing long after swimming….Uncle Brett could speak for this one …he got peed on by Miss Abbie in Hilton Head when I left the swim diaper on too long….

So yesterday I purchased a darling 2-piece suit from Children’s Place for only $7.99! We are headed to Murphy which means lots of lake time so I will post more pics next week.

Hope you all have a happy 4th!!

ALMOST double digits!!

Yesterday was Wes and I’s 9th wedding anniversary!! Yep, 9 years ago we were celebrating with everyone at Little Brasstown Baptist Church, then the Gathering of Angels reception site, near Murphy, NC. What a fabulous day that was!!

Now here we are, still married and I think we have done pretty well for ourselves!! It hasn’t always been easy, but Wes has been a wonderful partner, friend, and now father, and there is no one else I would rather have by my side than him. I love you sweetheart!!

Lately...

Ever since we have been back from the beach, I feel like our life has been SO busy! We had my family up for Memorial Day weekend, which I realized I haven’t even posted any pictures of, and then we have been taking advantage of the long summer days by going on the lake as much as possible. When I say “the lake” – it’s not like we have one in town to go to, so it’s more like about an hour or so drive to Lake Keowee, which we have realized is the closest. And this weekend we went to Wes’s parents, so we were on Hiwassee Lake. It is wonderful to be able to enjoy our boat again…it makes me feel a little better about the payment we make on it each month… a little better.

In Abbie news, she hit the 13-month mark on Saturday. And I haven’t even posted her stats from her 1-year check up – which were 18 lbs 14 oz, and 27” long. OK, I have a confession - I am totally guessing on the length. I mean, it sounds right, but I lost the paper so don't quote me on that one. Anyways, I digress. Dr. Morgan said she was talking and annunciating like a 2-year old. Yep. She is a smart one, that child of MINE (oh yea, and Wes’s)!! I counted at least 45 words that she says the other day!! She is practically running everywhere now, and is just doing all kinds of new things. She can also help me count to ten – I started doing this to distract her when I was changing her diaper. But she won’t say one – I say one, she says two, I say three, she says five and so on!! I am trying to teach her to say how old she is, but every time I say one, she says two – you get the picture! Also her newest thing is to put the cell phone up to her ear and say hello. It’s so cute. She can say nose, ears, mouth, eyes, and hair and point to them all. Let’s see, what else? Oh yea, teeth. She has four on the bottom now, and her top two are finally coming in. She has one poked through and I can see the other one. I am hoping to have a little break from this soon, because her sleeping is being affected. And I swear it messes up her stomach too. She did sleep through the night Thursday and Friday, but she is like a little rooster, sometimes waking up at 5am!!! I seriously PRAY all the time that she will start sleeping just a little later!! Someone told me that by the time they go to school you are having to drag them out of bed – well, right now I am looking forward to that, because I don’t even have to set an alarm clock to get up for work in the mornings!

Well, I have written enough. Here are some pictures over the last few weeks…

Kissy Kissy

So apparently since Abbie is now 1, she thinks she should have a boyfriend or something. Mrs. Pam, her fabulous sitter, tells Wes and me that Abbie and Nash, another precious one-year old, kiss all day long. Friday morning when Wes dropped her off, Nash was there, and gave Abbie a very sweet smile, and Abbie proceeded to get out of Wes’s arms and hobble over to Nash so she could kiss him. Now I haven’t seen this first hand, but she has been opening her mouth lately when she kisses me, so I assume that is what she is doing to Nash too. Oh well. At least she’s not kissing Emily or Addison, the other girls there, right??!! She definitely takes after her Daddy. Mommy never behaved like this….

Turning ONE!!

Well, it has come and gone. Abbie's birthday, that is. We are now the proud parents of a one-year old! Hard to believe! I can't even begin to write all the things we are experiencing and the emotions and on and on. I have been actually avoiding blogging for a few days because I felt so overwhelmed with what to say! But I will try not to drag this out too much. We had a fabulous week in Hilton Head Island, SC. It really was an enjoyable vacation, our resort was very nice and kid friendly, the weather held out for the most part, and overall Abbie did really well. Our days consisted of bike riding, walking on the beach, going to the pool, then napping in the afternoon. At night we either grilled or went out to eat. Wes went fishing most days - they didn't catch much except shark, but he seemed to have fun anyways. It was just a great week with family, and the break we needed from the daily grind. Oh, and Abbie LOVES the pool. She would stick her face right in the water, go in the fountains, she was just full speed ahead! She would play all morning if we let her, then crash for several hours in the afternoon!

So on to her birthday - she turned 1 on Wednesday. We got her a cake, and celebrated in the afternoon by singing to her and opening presents. She LOVED the cake but I think the sugar high got to her a little bit. I think next time I will just give her smaller piece!

What she is up to these days:

Taking several steps!! Yes, I have a video too, I will try to post it if not in this one but in the next. The video was literally almost the first time she had ever even stood up all by herself, and then she started taking steps. It was crazy. But tonight she walked all the way across her room and into the bathroom. She was SOOOO cute - she had this big smile on her face and she was saying GO GO GO!!

Talking like such a big girl! She has so many words. I swear she is so smart. I am sure I will miss a few, but she says Abbie Go, Gotta Go, Please, Thank You, Bless You (when someone sneezes), Bye-Bye, Hi, Night-Night, No, Yes, Nurse, Eyes, Ears, Nose, I think I could go on but I won't bore you!! ( :

She has two teeth and eats "adult food" - three meals a day, with an afternoon snack. She is completely off the bottle, drinks whole milk out of a sippy cup during the day, then nurses in the morning and the evenings.

She is sleeping SO much better all of a sudden! Since my last post she has done so well. What a difference good sleep makes for the both of us. I still wake up some nights and go check on her, or find myself waiting for her to wake up, but I guess after one year of not sleeping a full night that can be expected!

She loves to look at her books, play with her baby dolls, push her stroller or car around. She loves hats, sunglasses, and other things she can't always have.

We also just switched her to a forward facing car seat! It's like a whole new world for her. We have the DVD player set up in Wes's truck, and she is now obsessed w/ Elmo!

So anyways, I wanted this to be a shorter post, but it's a novel. Sorry, but this is a big deal! Wes and I are so very blessed to have Abbie and we find her nothing short of WONDERFUL. I can't imagine our lives without her now. It's amazing how much we have gone through this year, but it's been the best experience of our lives!