Christmas 2012

It was fun to have the girls with us for the Christmas Eve service this year.  Hannah has come with us every year, so we thought we'd try with Abigail too.  Our church has childcare for kids under 5, but the service is pretty family friendly. They both did really well...minimal wiggling a talking.  The service is mostly music which they both loved!  We talked to Hannah beforehand about being quiet and sitting still.  I brought paper and crayons but she was happy to hold her stuffed monkey.

We enjoyed spending Christmas Day with my parents and sister.  The day began by meeting for our traditional IHOP breakfast.  YUMMY!  Then we went back to my parents house so Abigail could nap while we opened gifts.  Sweet girl was still sound asleep when I went to wake her up...she even slept through opening the window shade and my mom taking a picture.  LOVE this photo though!!



Hannah definitely understood more about Christmas this year.  Nathan and I have chosen not to do the whole Santa thing, but she was super excited about opening presents.  She was even excited about passing out presents to everyone else.  The girls big gift this year was a play kitchen.  More on this in Hannah's post next month.  =) Abigail mostly got books and clothes, but she plays with all of Hannah's toys too.


We woke up to pouring rain Christmas morning, but by 1:30 or so it turned to snow.  They snow fell for several hours and was so pretty to watch.  After the girls naps we went out to play for a few minutes.  I didn't come prepared for snow so none of us were dressed warm enough.  G-Pa built a little snowman and put him on a plate for Hannah to hold.



All in all it was a really fun day.  We feel very blessed to be able to spend time with family and have them spoil our girls!

Three Years Old

Can't believe it's been 3 years since Hannah was born.  My little tiny baby has turned into a big girl.

Hannah's latest pretend play activity is taking pictures.  My mom bought herself a necklace with a camera charm.  She showed it to Hannah and let her wear it for a few minutes.  Hannah immediately put it up to her eye and said "Smile, say cheese puff."  My mom gave her a little toy plastic camera to take home with her and she has had the greatest time.  You can tell she pays attention when we take her picture because she would bring me her camera and tell me to look at her focused one, she moved the toys to better light and went to change her lens.  Too cute to watch!

Speaking of taking photos.  Hannah is getting better about following directions and looking, standing, or doing what we ask her.  Of course as with any three year old, she must be in a cooperative mood!  And she doesn't last long before she says she is all done.  But we have actually gotten some really cute photos with natural smiles.  This is one of my recent favorites and I love Miss Abigail in the background.


Hannah was very exited to 'wake up' the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving.  We told her last January when we put up the tree that it was going to take a VERY long nap.  =)  I decorated the big tree during the girls nap.  Nathan and I both had small trees that we used in our apartments before we got married.  They have been sitting in the attic since we bought our house.  We decided to bring one small tree out this year to put up in Hannah's room. She couldn't quite hang the ornaments independently. So, I laid them out, she picked one, and told me which branch to hang it on.  We placed the decorated tree on top of her dresser (out of Abigail's reach) and turn the lights on whenever Hannah is awake.  Abigail has done surprisingly well with our big tree.  She has only pulled off one or two ornaments and hasn't tried to pull up on it.

I think I would officially call Hannah potty trained!!!! We hardly ever have accidents and we recently started napping in panties.  She still sleeps in a pull-up at night, but Hannah almost always wakes up dry.   Such a big girl!

 Monkey has been busy this year taking his monthly picture with Abigail.  Hannah was excited to take her picture this time and asked for balloons.  She had SO much fun with them!  Hannah's favorite place to go eat is Chick-fil-a, so we are taking her there for dinner tonight.  Then we're doing our family celebration Friday night so Aunt Kara and G-Pa can join us.  Hannah is at such a fun age, this should be a fun birthday!

Eleven Months

This post is a little late because we didn't have time to take our monkey photo last week.

 Abigail started pulling up to a standing position a few weeks ago.  She is very excited that she can reach more things.  She also loves to get one small toy in each hand and carry them all over the house.  She even pulls up with things in her hands.  And she gets MAD when you take them away.  Silly girl!  She is not trying to walk yet, but I predict it won't be long. 

I am still trying to teach Abigail sign language, but she seems more interested in talking.  She says "mo-wah" when eating and signing "more."  She can say dada, mama, ba (ball), and gwa gwa (duck).  She still signs "all done" and sometimes say ah da.  She also just started signing "water."  It's so fun to watch her begin to communicate.  =)
 

Poor baby STILL doesn't have any teeth.  It seems like her gums have been swollen forever.  You can definitely feel a bump on her bottom gums, but nothings has poked through yet.  Abigail also has a runny nose and cough with I think are teething related.  She doesn't always feel her best, but she usually tries to be happy.  And she LOVES bath time!

Thirty Five Months

As I mentioned in Abigail's post, we took both girls some fall festivals.  Hannah was able to walk around and put candy in her bag last year, but she didn't really get what was going on.  This year she helped me pick out her costume and couldn't wait to try it on and have Grammy take her picture.  She had seen pictures of last years festival and wanted to know when she could ride the pony.  She also knows what candy is now...so Nathan had to share her haul.  =O  She seemed to have lots of fun!  Nathan also walked with her around the block on Halloween and let her trick or treat at a few houses. Then she helped pass out candy to the whopping 15 kids that came to our house. 






I got inspired a few weeks ago to do more arts/crafts/learning activities with Hannah while Abigail is napping.  Since we aren't ready to put her in preschool or Mother Day Out yet.  We now have a box of craft items (pom poms, craft sticks, googly eyes, etc).  It's not something I plan to do every day or even every week, but the former teacher in me loves to make stuff and I think Hannah will too.  We are still working on lower case letters so I've made a few games where you pair and match the lower case letter to the capital one.  She asks to play them often so I guess she thinks they are fun.  I also plan to do some tracing and beginning handwriting practice with her as well.

We also made play-dough with Grammy a few week ago.  Hannah enjoyed helping pour in ingredients.  Her favorite thing is to use the cookie cutters on the dough.  She has a whole table full of shapes when she's done.



Hannah is famous for not finishing her sentences when she's asking a question, for example "Hannah's going to have....." So we've been trying to teach her to ask correctly (What are we going to have for dinner?).  She is very inquisitive so she has also started telling us she doesn't know what things mean or what they are, especially words from books.  Just in the last few days I've explained:  brilliant, fantastic, and amused.  I also took the girls with me to vote and tried to explain what voting is.  Love watching her little brain work!

One more Halloween story before I close.  When we went to see the pumpkins at the Arboretum, Hannah really enjoyed the pumpkins decorated like animals.  My mom decide to buy her one, Hannah picked the kitty.  Turned out to be a kit with eyes, ears, and nose.  We enjoyed having the kitty pumpkin in our house and saved the kit to decorate with again next year.  =)  And Hannah can tell you that pumpkins with faces are called jack-o-lanterns (very slow and enunciated)!

Ten Months

As Abigail is getting bigger, it's fun to watch how her personality differs from Hannah.  When Hannah was little she had to be in the same room as us.  Abigail likes to be close to a certain extent as well.  But, lately she has started crawling in the playroom and playing by herself.  She will play for quite a while before she starts to complain.  Of course I can see into the playroom from the living room, but that's something Hannah never would have done.  Hannah was also terrified of the vacuum cleaner and Abigail thinks it a toy.  She follows me around from room to room like a puppy dog.  =)  And she babbles to herself while she plays.  Wish I understood her language!

Abigail has started signing "more" and "all done."  She still LOVES to eat and starts asking for "more" before she chews the food in her mouth.  Silly girl!  She can also lift her arms up if you say "SO BIG!"  I've shown her the signs for a few other things, but she hasn't signed any of them yet.  Hannah was just over a year before she started picking up lots of new signs.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this photo my mom took.  She's wanted to put Abigail in her vintage coke box for a while and we finally had time to do it.  Abigail loves to play with plastic bottles, but she usually just gets and empty one.  We gave her a full bottle of coke and it was too heavy for her to pick up and chew on.  You can't see it, but she's rolling it around in the box.  LOL!

We took both girls to 2 fall festival/trunk or treat events over the last few weeks.  One at our church and another at a local church not far from our house.  Abigail looked SUPER cute in her costume, but wasn't sure what to make of the event itself.  She happily rode in the stroller and looked at all the people.  And she danced to the music too!  My parents and sister got to join us at one festival which was fun.  Abigail liked the buttons on Aunt Kara's coat.  =)


 

 Abigail is really enjoying getting to eat finger foods.  She loves cheerios, rice puffs, and bread.  She also eats small pieces of cheese, but they are harder to pick up.  She seems to enjoy yogurt as well.  I think that's all the new foods we've tried lately.

This month's monkey photo actually wasn't impossible to take.  LOVE this hat.  You may remember it from Abigail's newborn photo session.  We actually have it in two sizes because it's so cute!

Thirty-Four Months

 Hannah's pretend play is so much fun to watch.  She takes care of all her toys and has conversations with them.  Nathan gave her an old computer keyboard, she will type and say she is taking a survey.  Nathan belongs to several on-line survey companies and takes many surveys. =)  She will also sit at the kitchen table and say she is doing her bible study (just like mommy and daddy).  I mentioned a few months ago we thought Hannah had an imaginary friend named Bunny.  He is definitely real to her!  She talks about him and to him ALL day long.  He goes everywhere Hannah goes and often wears the same clothes and eats the same food.  She also tells Bunny about her day and sings him songs.  Hannah is not lacking in imagination!

 

Hannah still LOVES learning.  She's known all her capital letters for several months and we are beginning to work on lower case letters.  She also desperately wants to spell her name.  I think the double sets of letters confuse her.  If we get out magnetic letters or are typing on the computer she can consistently spell HAN and then adds lots more N's, and H's.  She also wants to spell Bunny which usually comes out BNNNNNY.  Hannah can also write a capital H and draw a fairly recognizable happy face.

Hannah got a mild tummy bug a few weeks ago.  Thankfully the actual sick part was very short lived.  She was tired and didn't have much of an appetite for about a week though.  Poor child that doesn't like being dirty was NOT pleased when she got sick.  Abigail and I stayed healthy, but Hannah did share with Nathan. 

Hannah is starting to assert her independence more and more.  She has an opinion and is making it known!  We have had lots of whining and crying lately and Hannah has spent time in her room.  Not only do Nathan and I not want to give in to her temper fits, but Abigail is so sensitive that she starts crying right along with Hannah.  We tell Hannah she has to stay in her room until she is ready to be happy and then she can come out.  I honestly think she likes being able to let out her frustration because every so often she will ask to go to her room.



We are also struggling to keep Hannah in her bed an nap and bedtime.  She did great when we first switched to her toddler bed, but now not so much.  The problem isn't that she comes out of her room, she just gets out of bed and lays on the floor by the door and talks, sings, etc.  At first it was just for a few minutes then she would go back to bed and sleep.  Now, she'll play for hours....which results in no nap and then she's quite grumpy the rest of the day.  So we started something new the other day.  We do our normal bed/nap routine (story, kiss, turn out light, pray) then close her door.  Nathan and I will wait in the hall outside her room and listen for her to get out of bed....which is usually within 30 seconds.  =(  If she gets up we walk her back to bed with out talking to her, leave the door open, and sit outside her room long enough for her to lay still and go to sleep (usually 10-20 mins, but an hour the other day).  Hopefully this will create a good sleep pattern and we won't have to sit in the hall forever.

Hannah and I both got flu shots yesterday while we were at the doctor for Abigail's check up.  We had talked about how we were going to get shots and we didn't need to cry.  I went first and then it was Hannah's turn.  They laid her on the table, scooted down her pants and had me hold her hands.  She just laid there and didn't even flinch.  There were no tears either.  I was very proud of her and I think the nurse was super impressed!

9 Month Doctor Visit

Abigail went to the doctor this morning.  She has slowed down a little in her growth, just like Hannah did at her age.  She weighs 15 lbs 15 oz and is 29 inches long.  The doctor wasn't overly concerned since Hannah did the same thing and her weight was back up to the 75th percentile by age two. Abigail also got 2 shots...one if which was the flu shot.  Thankfully she calmed down quickly as soon as I picked her up.

Last week we let Abigail chase some cheerios around her tray.  She seems to like them and if I only give her one at a time they almost all end up in her mouth.  =)  She still doesn't have any teeth, but sadly her nose is runny and her gums are swollen again.  I wish those teeth would just break through.

We took Abigail's monkey photo today.  She was not interested in sitting still.....crawling was much more fun!

Nine Months

Abigail is still having fun crawling all over the house.  Mostly chasing after Hannah and trying to get in to things she isn't supposed to.  =)  She has also figured out how to pull up onto her knees.  She especially enjoys pulling up on the couch if Hannah is sitting there.  Abigail will smile at Hannah, then Hannah bends down to look at Abigail, and Abigail giggles.  So so sweet!  She LOVES her big sister!

We stopped swaddling Abigail for her naps several months ago.  She still sleeps with her legs wrapped in a blanket at night though.  Mostly because they get cold. We'll take the blanket away once it gets cooler and she starts sleeping in footie pajamas. Anyway, I get out the swaddle blanket and lay it on the floor in the living room when it's time to put Abigail to sleep at night.  She hears the Velcro and gets all excited and crawls to the blanket.  Super cute to watch!

Abigail is starting to learn to give kisses.  If you say "Can I have a kiss?"  She will open her mouth, stick out her tongue, and lean towards your face.  This results is a very slobbery lick.  =-)  She is also "dancing" to music.  Hannah didn't start doing this until 10 months, but in all fairness we didn't listen to music that often.  We started listening to Pandora (internet radio) about a year and a half ago.  Hannah loves their children's station and asks to listen all the time.  So not only is music on in the house now for Abigail to dance to, but she heard it while she was in my tummy too. 

We went to the Dallas Arboretum this morning to take pictures with the pumpkins, so no monkey photo yet.  Abigail goes to the doctor next week for her 9 month check up too.  I'll do another post next week with a doctor's report and the monkey photo.  For now enjoy these sweet pictures!

Say a Little Prayer

We are trying to teach Hannah that you can pray anytime, not just before you eat.  We talked to her about how we can tell God about what we are thankful for and if we are sad or anything else we are feeling.  She didn't have a very long nap today so she was a little grumpy.  Then she was playing with her rocking chair and bumped her knee which eventually led to a full blowing crying melt down.  We gave her hugs and kisses and attempted to try and calm her down.  It wasn't working so we sent her to her room to cry until she was was ready to come out and be happy.  We've done this before so she cried for few minutes and then came out.  We asked her if she wanted to pray and tell God that she was sad.  So her prayer went something like this:

Dear God,
I was sad because I fell and bumped my knee.  Then I cried and had to go to my room.  Then I came out and we dried my tears.  In Jesus name I pray.  Amen

SO SWEET!

Thirty Three Months

Hannah is looking and acting more and more like a big girl.  She is definitely growing up!  She has recently started helping with a few chores.  She likes to hand me pillows when I make the bed and when we empty the dishwasher she stacks the plastic bowls and puts them in the cabinet.  Nathan brought her bathroom stool over to the silverware drawer the other day and she put away all the forks and spoons too.  She thinks it's very fun!



We also converted her crib to a toddler bed a few weeks ago.  For those that don't know what a toddler bed is...it's basically a day bed with a short rail that goes across half of the front.  Leaving an opening on the other front half so the child can climb in and out independently.  Hannah is very good about staying in her room when she is supposed to be sleeping, but we have had a few talks about not getting out of bed to play with our toys.  I don't think she realizes that we can hear her making noise even though the door is closed.  LOL!  Our biggest motivation in converting her bed was so Hannah could come out and tell us if she needed to go potty.  She will often wake up in the morning or after a nap before I go get her....usually because I am nursing Abigail.  She's so good about telling us if she needs to go potty while she's awake, but obviously couldn't come get us when she was stuck in her crib.  Even though we tell her every day she can open her door and come get us if she needs to go, she has yet to actually do it.  She will occasionally knock on her door...but that may just be part of her playing.  I'm sure she'll figure it out soon.  And I'm thankful she is good about staying in her room even if she's not sleeping so mommy still have quite time while Abigail is napping!

Since Abigail has started crawling she has become even more interested in what Hannah is doing and playing with.  For the most part Hannah is very good about sharing her toys, however she will try to give Abigail some other toy so she can play with the one she wants.  =0  Hannah is also learning to put certain toys away or put them up high where Abigail can't reach them.  She really is a sweet big sister though.  She was playing on her swing in the backyard last night and made sure we gave Abigail a turn.

Eight Months

Thought I'd start with monkey photo this time.  Sweet girl is almost as tall as monkey is.  Not very smiley this month, but she is definitely showing some personality in this photo.  =)

 "Little missy" took off about 2 weeks after I wrote last month's post.  She is thoroughly enjoying her new freedom.  She loves crawling all over the floor, exploring, and trying to get whatever Hannah is playing with.  We do have 2 small steps in our house, one down into the living room and another into the play room, and she those can frustrate her.  She can actually go up the step sometimes if she has the right motivation, but she has no idea how to get down. =} She seems more determined than Hannah was.  If Hannah wanted to play with a cord or the TV she was usually pretty easy to distract.  I have to chase and redirect Abigail MANY times before she will decide to play with something else.  Sill girl!
 



Abigail still loves to eat.  She is now eating 3 solid meals of two ounces every day in addition to nursing 4 times.  The new foods we tried this month were:  bananas, pears, apples, peaches, and green beans (not a fan).  Interesting fact:  Hannah never liked pureed green beans either.  However, Hannah LOVES to pick them up and eat them now.  I will probably hold off giving them to Abigail again until she has teeth to chew with.  We have also let Abigail chase a few rice puffs around her tray.  She seems to like them, but has a hard time picking them up.  We'll introduce more finger foods next month.

Still no teeth!  Abigail has days where she is super grumpy and will refuse solid food.  Very unlike her.  I think her gums are swollen and they hurt, even though no teeth have broken through.  Hopefully they come in soon, so she can feel better.  She is usually a very happy girl.  And sometimes she poses for the camera!



Nathan and I plan to teach Abigail sign language just like we did with Hannah.  It was so nice to be able to communicate and once Hannah started talking her vocabulary took off because she knew so many words.  I have just started introducing a few signs to Abigail.  We'll see how long it takes her to pick up words.  Hannah of course loves to copy me.  She hardly ever signs now, but will still use "please" occasionally.

Hannah Logic

I know I just posted an update on Hannah yesterday, but we've had some really cute conversations recently.

Hannah:  When I grow up I'm going to have a beard.
Me:  Well, that might be hard because usually boys have beards not girls.  Why do you want a beard?
Hannah:  Because Daddy gives me one in the bathtub (with bubbles).

Hannah has a stool she uses to help her get on to the potty.  The other day she fell off.  She heard me tell Nathan that she lost her balance and fell off the stool.  So the next day she told my mom that she fell off the stool and bumped her balance.  =)

She was playing with her ducks today and told me that her ducky had something in his feelings.  I asked her what.  And she said I don't know what feeling are, but we talked about them at church.

Her little mind is always trying to figure things out.  Hope these stories made you smile!

Thirty Two Months

Hannah is such a sweet big sister.  She has always given hugs, kisses, and brought Abigail toys to play with. She has recently started reading her books to Abigail.  Hannah has most of her books memorized so she knows all the words.  Love that she loves books.  =)



I've started telling people that Hannah talks in paragraphs and not sentences.  Unless she is sleeping then she is talking.  Hmm.. like mother like daughter my mom would say.  =)  She has entire conversations with herself and her toys.  Her pretend play is so fun to watch.  She puts on my shoes, gets her purse and takes her toys to Target, the grocery store, and the park.  She pushes them in a pretend stroller, rocks them in the rocking chair, wraps them in blankets, and feeds them.

Nathan and I think she may have an imaginary friend.  His description is constantly changing so we're not sure. But she talks about bunny all the time.  She tells me about things that she and bunny do together.  Bunny just recently starting riding in the car with us and Hannah insists on buckling him in his imaginary car seat.  It will be interesting to watch this "relationship" develop.  She definitely has an imagination which is good.

It's fun to watch Hannah get more independent.  As long as we are close by and she can come talk to us or ask for help ,she will play alone for quite a while.  Nice for mommy!  In the past she wasn't always happy about picking up certain foods or would get frustrated when feeding herself with a spoon.  She now eats almost all of her food completely by herself.  Although if she's picking up food, she must have a napkin to wipe her fingers.  Still doesn't like to be dirty.  =)

Potty training is going well.  We still have occasional accidents and haven't totally mastered pooping in the potty yet.  We wear big girl panties at home and have just recently started leaving the house without wearing pull ups.  We have also transitioned from her little potty to the potty seat that sits on the regular toilet.  I'm very proud of the progress she has made.

I know I have posted before about the CD's we listen to that are Bible verses.  Hannah is singing along with more and more of the words.  And she has 2 verses completely memorized:  Psalm 136:1 and Matthew 12:34.  She can say them to you without the music.  It makes me SO happy that she is hiding the Word in her little heart!!!

Seven Months

Abigail desperately wants to go somewhere, but just hasn't figured it out yet.  She can lift up all the way on her toes, but is still working on getting up onto her knees.  She scoots around in a circle on her tummy very quickly.  I predict she will crawl before Hannah did (who was 9 months).  Abigail is doing really well on her sitting though.  She can sit for at least 20 minutes before she topples over.

It's really interesting to watch the differences in the girls' personalities.  Hannah LOVES food now, but when she was little, she wasn't excited even though she did eat.  Abigail on the other hand has ALWAYS loved her food.  She makes "mmm" "umm" "num" and other enjoyment noises while nursing and eating solid food.  =)  She is still enjoying cereal, but really likes her veggies.  We've tried sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and peas.  In case you were wondering I have decided to make my own baby food again like I did with Hannah.  Most foods are not that hard and it saves SO much money.  There are a few things like pears that are more difficult to make really smooth, so I will probably buy those.



Now that she is eating more solid food we adjusted her schedule slightly.  She is now awake for 2 hours and then naps for 2 hours.  That means nursing every 4 hours instead of every 3 and two long naps.  She will also go down for a shot nap during the dinner hour as long as we are home.  And she still sleeps about 10 hours at night.  =)  No teeth yet, but she's had a slight runny nose and her bottom gums seem swollen.  We still get lots of smiles and giggles from Abigail.  And here's one of her new favorite faces.



Abigail may also be more active than Hannah.  When playing on her tummy she kicks her legs when she gets excited and if she's sitting up she flaps her arms.  Hannah loves to jump and run now but she was very laid back when she was younger.  Abigail's newest trick is growling.  She puts a toy in her mouth, chews on it, and makes growling noises.  Not sure why she's making that noise, but it's funny to watch.  She still "talks" all the time too.  Her favorite happy playing sound is "da da da" and then when she gets frustrated she starts saying "ma ma ma."  Wonder if it's her way of trying to get my attention.

Last but not least...a monkey photo!  =)

Six Month Photo

Just realized I never posted Abigail's monkey photo from last month.  We only took it a week late and bad mommy forgot to post.  OOOPPS!  New photos and post coming in the next few days.

Since Abigail was officially 6 months on July 5, we decided to go with a patriotic theme.  =)  Enjoy some funny outtakes too.

Thirty One Months

We started potty training this month.  It's been a long process, but I think we're starting to make progress.  She's finally telling us on a consistent basis that she needs to go potty.  We are still using pull ups, but will switch to big girl panties in the next week.  I'm very proud of her!

I know all children are little parrots and repeat everything they hear.  As a parent, it makes you aware of what you say.  In Hannah's conversation she says actually, apparently, definitely, and exactly.  Hannah also hears me ask Nathan how his day at work was when he gets home, so her new favorite phrase is "How's your work?"  And she will ask you many times in a row!

Hannah enjoys playing what she calls the "hiding game".  We will hide one of her stuffed animals and she will have to go find it.  Of course her toys "hide" in places like on top of the bed, or in front of the TV.  She just recently started hiding her toy for us to find.  I think she likes this even more.  She will follow us around while we are looking and giggle as we get close to the hiding place.  And if we don't find the toy fast enough then she will go find it for you.  She had found some creative hiding places for her toys and we've had to talk about not hiding inside drawers and trashcans.  =)  I love that such a simple game is so much fun!

We've gone swimming twice this summer.  This is Hannah's first year to use floaties, so between that and Hannah's cautious personality we are still getting used to the water.  She is starting to play more independently.  And she actually put her head in the water twice.

Hannah is such a good big sister.  She is starting to ask more often to hold Abigail.  Now that Abigail is almost sitting up, we tried for some sister photos.  The first one is just plain funny!  Hannah was actually being very sweet, but didn't realize her hand was right under Abigail's neck. And  it didn't help that Abigail was tired.
 


 

Six Months

My baby isn't a little baby anymore!  She smiles, laughs, rolls over, "talks," and grabs things.  She still LOVES to cuddle though.  She has recently started playing for 10-15 minutes independently on her tummy.  She also likes to sit in her Bumbo chair and we just tried the exersaucer the other day.



Abigail is starting to make more and more sounds.  She can say: ah, oh, ee, ya, ga, da da da, and ba, ba, ba.  I've heard the occasional "ma," but it's not consistent yet.  =)  She does love to talk and be talked to.  She flashes you BIG grins when you talk to her.  She really enjoys watching Hannah too.  They are going to have so much fun playing together as they get bigger.

Abigail is in the grabby stage.  If she can see it, she will try and reach it.  Of course anything she gets immediately goes into her mouth.  Hannah is learning not to put her toys right next to Abigail if she doesn't want her to touch them. Abigail still can't quite sit up independently, but has made lots of progress in the last month.



Abigail has made lots of progress in her sleeping as well.  It was a gradual process that involved crying, but now we lay her in her bed and she goes to sleep all by herself.  She also no longer sleeps fully swaddled.  She still likes having her legs wrapped, but loves being able to use her arms and more importantly suck her thumb.  She sleeps just like Hannah, on her tummy with her thumb in her mouth.  Cuteness!

We tried cereal for the first time yesterday and she was too cute.  Once she stopped flapping her arms, she grabbed onto the spoon and "helped" put it in her mouth.  She was very excited about chewing on the spoon and seemed to like the cereal as well.  =)  No funny "what is this?" faces like Hannah gave.  Pictures coming soon.

Abigail went to the doctor this morning and she is growing.  She is 14 lbs 9 oz and 28 1/4 inches long.  She slowed down a little on her weight, but is off the charts on her height (97th percentile).  In fact, she is only about and inch away from outgrowing her infant car seat.  We like Hannah' convertible car seat, so we will get another one for Abigail.  It will face backwards up to 40 lbs and forward up to 65 lbs.  So it should last us for several years!

No monkey photo yet either.  My parents are remodeling their house this summer and have spent the few weeks furiously packing their stuff to send to storage.  Demo starts tomorrow and things should slow down.  I'll post this month's photo soon.

30 months

Can't believe that Hannah is already 2 1/2.  Where did the time go?  She keeps us entertained with stories and songs and questions.  She talks just about all the time, unless she's asleep.  =)  She is a little parrot and will repeat anything you say.  She almost always says things correctly, so I love the few things she mispronounces.  My favorites are: lasterday, yesterweek, and askuly (actually).

I can't really think of much else new to talk about so enjoy a few recent pictures.

Something about her hands behind her back in this photo makes her look very grown up.  She's not my baby anymore.  =(