Christmas

We had a really nice Christmas this year. I baked (or attempted to bake) in the morning on Christmas Eve. Then we took some goodies with us and took Abby to see Grammie. We then had dinner at Panda Express. After Abby went to bed Marc and I watched The Polar Express, which we have made a Christmas Eve tradition. I can't wait until Abby is old enough to take interest in it and watch it with us!

Christmas morning we got up and opened presents before breakfast. After Abby's nap we headed out to my sister's house. It is a very long drive (usually about an hour and 15 minute drive). It was pouring rain the whole way there. Lynette and Dan cooked a very yummy dinner and Abby got to play with her cousins. The ride home was a little rough because Abby was tired and she HATES being in the car. She pretty much lost it about 20 minutes into the drive home, but I jumped into the backseat with her and was able to keep her calm for the rest of the ride home.

It was a great couple days. It was sad to see the decorations start coming down today!

Highlights of Abby's Day

Hanging out in my jammies still

Getting into stuff as usual

BUSTED!!!

Finding leftovers from breakfast

BUSTED AGAIN!!


Checking out Layla's home



Pulling on mom's legs to be picked up (happens quite frequently these days)

Trying to look so sweet that Mom won't be able to resist picking me up

Pretty Christmas Dresses

My Mom got Abby the cutest Christmas dresses. I had to share pictures of them since she won't get much wear out of them (she grows way too fast!).

One Year Stats

Abby went to the Dr. yesterday for her 12 month check up. It went well. We went to a new Dr. and I like her a lot better than the Dr. we had been going to before. Abby got 3 shots...MMR, Chickenpox Vaccine, and a Flu Shot. She screamed as soon as the first shot touched her leg. I was able to calm her down quickly afterwards though. All I had to do was give her my cell phone. lol. She loves it.
She weighs 25 lbs 10 oz (96th percentile), is 31 inches tall (93rd percentile) and her head circumference in 45 1/2 cm (64th percentile). She hasn't gained or grown much since her 9 month check up. I suspect her weight gain slowed a lot because she is so active now. It is also nice to know she won't have an abnormally large head! :)
She is cruising the furniture pretty well now and pulls to standing on everything (including my legs). She likes to point a lot and has recently started waving bye bye. She is also doing the sign for more but I am still not sure if she is associating it with getting more food or not because she does it at random times. She still has not said her first word but she has many conversations with herself that I cannot understand. Hopefully she will be walking in the next couple months because my back could really use a break from carrying her everywhere!

Abby's 1 Year Pictures

We had Abby's 1 year pictures taken a couple weeks ago. They turned out really cute. We took them at 8am and it was extremely cold and windy. Abby was a real trooper. She did great and never complained. I couldn't pick just a couple to post so I am posting a slideshow. The pictures were taken by a friend of mine from high school. She does beautiful photography. Her portfolio is posted on her blog. I highly recommend her! http://www.photosbynatalie.blogspot.com

Lunch with Auntie Brenda

My brother's wife, Brenda, comes in to town every now and then for her job. We were lucky enough to meet up with her for lunch. It was great to see her as always. Abby was full of smiles for her throughout lunch and kept waving to her across the table. I couldn't get a big smile out of her for the picture but it still turned out great!

Party at 3:30am

The night before last I was woken at 3:30am by the sounds of a 1 year old who was ready to party. She was in her room just yapping away. Not sure what she was discussing or who she was discussing it with but it seemed to be interesting. I rolled over and turned on the monitor of the video monitor. She was standing in her crib just chatting away, chewing on and hitting the railing of her crib. Even in the middle of the night I could not help but smile and chuckle a little. I mean what a good baby... awake in the middle of the night and happy as can be. Not sure how long she was up because I fell back to sleep fairly quickly. Two more teeth have cut though her gums in the last 2 days so that may have had something to do with her late night party. I just LOVE my little Muffin!

1st Birthday Pictures

Here are some of my favorite pictures from yesterday...

This is Abby's present from Mommy and Daddy...

Abby is helping me put it together :)

Here she is enjoying all our hard work

The cake I made for her

Enjoying her cake

Happy Birthday Muffin!

Today my little princess celebrated her first birthday. Wow, what an amazing year it has been. I am in shock that it has already been a year since we were given the most amazing gift of life. I have to admit that the thought crossed my mind more than once that there was no way I was ever going to make it through the first year. Somehow I survived :). Somehow I made it though the postpartum recovery after giving birth to a 9 lb baby, sleepless nights, gas, reflux, 3pm-10pm fussy time, 30 minute naps, numerous medical scares, refusal/inability to take a bottle after 5 weeks, etc. The best part is that it was all worth it. I can't even begin to describe how amazing the feeling is that I get every time Abby smiles or I hear that soooo cute hysterical giggle. Do I sometimes miss the freedom of my life before I was Mommy? Absolutely! Would I change a thing? Not a chance! I love that little girl more than words could ever describe. I always heard people say that you can't describe the love you have for your child and that you have to be a parent to "get it"! Well, it is so true. It is the hardest and most stressful job I will ever have. Being responsible for another human being's well being is intense, but wonderful. I love you so much Abigail and look forward to being your Mommy for the rest of my life. I can't wait to see what fun the next year brings!

1st Birthday Present

Abby will be one on Sunday! Last week she got her first birthday present in the mail from Auntie Heidi and Uncle Tony. They sent 3 VERY cute dresses from Children's Place and a way cute pair of tights. Thanks Heidi and Tony!!!

Hitting the Trails

We took Abby out hiking a few mornings the week of Thanksgiving. At first she is not sure what to think about being in the backpack and whines a bit but then she is fine. Marc and I have always really enjoyed hiking (okay I only enjoy it when I am in really good shape). Anyway, we used to do a lot of hiking, especially when we first started dating, so it was nice to get out there and see some resemblance of what life used to be like pre-baby! We had lots of fun. Big thanks to Chad and Terese for the backpack!