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!