Thirteen Months

Sweet Abigail is doing new things all the time, trying to imitate Hannah.  =)  If you give her a hair brush she will hold it up to her head and try to "help."  She also holds a pretend phone up to her head, near her ear
(and backwards).  If you say "hello,"  she will give you a big grin.

She's not walking yet, but I I'd call her a stander.  She pulls up and lets go, looks proud and then sits back down.  She usually pushes off of something or someone, but only with one hand.  Every once in a while she'll stand up without holding on to anything, but it's not her preferred method yet.  =)  She's tried a few new foods, but not many since she still only has one tooth.  We've had blueberries, sandwich (torn in very small pieces), Kix cereal, and peas that are not pureed.

 

Abigail is much more interested in talking than in signing.  She "talks" while she plays and looks at books.  Most of what she says is Abigail speak, but I will catch real words occasionally. She has started signing "milk" and will put her hands on her chest if you say "please."  Her new real words are kitty and bye bye (along with a wave).  She will also sometimes say "aaaa bi g" like she's trying to say her name.  She also knows that monkey says ah ah and cow says moo, but won't always perform if you hold one up.  =) Nathan has always given both girls bubble beards in the bathtub.  Hannah now tries to give herself or her toy beards after we finish washing her.  Abigail has now started patting her cheeks and saying "bu bu."  Super cute!

She still loves music and dances right along.  She LOVES patty cake and wants to play over and over and over.  She also likes 'If You're Happy and You Know It' and will clap, throw her hands in the air for hurray and put her hands on her face.  Really cute to watch!  And sweet Abigail ADORES her big sister.  She follows Hannah everywhere and wants to play with and do whatever Hannah does.  Love this sweet moment my mom caught!



We did finally get some sunny weather to do smash cake pictures with Abigail.  I really thought she would enjoy this because she LOVES to eat and wants to get into and touch everything.  My mom and I spent a LONG time setting up the background, got Abigail looking cute in a big bow and bloomers and set her down in front of the cake.  She eyed it suspiciously, crawled up, and grabbed a fist full of frosting.  She shook her hand and was very upset when the frosting wouldn't come off.  She tried to crawl towards me and then started crying.  I kept picking her up and putting her next to cake, but she would have nothing to do with it.  After about 15 minutes of mostly crying we gave up, threw her in the bathtub and gave her a big hug.  Got some cute pictures, though not at all what I was expecting.  And happy to report that she still plays happily and isn't afraid of my mom, the camera, or food.  Don't think we traumatized her. =0

 

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!

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!

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.

Eighteen Months

We officially have a walker! She finally gained the confidence about 3 weeks ago to walk unassisted for more than a few steps. She likes to be close to mommy and daddy though so she won't go into another room unless we follow her. She will follow us where ever we go. =)


Hannah is saying lots of new words: ha ha (donkey), haow (hello), grr (bear), yeah, Bob (the tomato from Veggie Tales) and she tried to say "up" today. She will also make a "k k k" sound for my sister Kara, and "t t t" for Tommy (Nathan's mom's husband). Hannah has even learned a few new signs: walrus, keys, yes, blanket, swimming, help, window, and medicine. She tries to help brush her hair and her teeth. She knows what Kleenex is and will help blow her nose.

Hannah asks to listen to music all day long. She can do motions to "Wheels on the Bus, Happy and you Know it, Itsy Bitsy Spider, This Little Light of Mine, Shake your Sillies Out, and a few others I can't remember. She also knows that a piano can play music and likes to play at Grammy's house.

We went to the doctor this morning and they were very pleased with how she is doing. She is 22 pounds 10 oz (20th percentile) and 32 inches (60th percentile). She jumped up on the weight chart which made everyone happy. She got 2 shots, but calmed down very quickly. Hannah has 8 teeth now and is working on a molar.

It's been super HOT here lately. Thankfully Grammy and G-Pa have a pool and the water is warm enough to swim. Hannah cried a little the first time we went swimming this year, but not for long. We taught her the sign for swimming and she can tell you what it is and that she swims with duck and fish. We've gotten in the pool two other times and she's had lots of fun splashing and playing with her toys. =)

That's all I can think of right now. One more cute photo before I go. =)

Seventeen Months

Hannah is still not officially walking, but she is very close. She loves to walk back and forth from my lap to Nathan's lap. She can take 10 or 12 steps in a row. =) She just doesn't realize she can walk anywhere she wants yet. She is saying a few new words: ba ba (sheep), hoo hoo (owl), and eow (cat). To continue with the animal sound theme the snake says "sss" and if you ask about a lizard she will stick her tongue in and out of her mouth. Too cute! She continues to learn new signs as well: work, apple, cow, banana, pillow, tree, yogurt, Grammy, G-Pa, hippo, ball, bee, bunny, and phone. We just love our sweet little girl! She is SUCH a good baby and so happy. We could not be more blessed!!

Here's a few of my favorite photos:

Sixteen Months

I thought I'd start off this post with a few funny stories. Hannah has always enjoyed eating yogurt (organic Yo-Baby). Once she learned the sign for "baby" she would point to the picture of the baby on the yogurt container and sign "baby." A few weeks ago she was having yogurt for dinner and we weren't feeding her fast enough. So she signed "please" and we said please what. Then she signed "please more baby." Apparently since there is a baby on the container of yogurt that must be what she's eating. =) We've tried to tell her that she's EATING yogurt even though there is a PICTURE of a baby. Sill girl! Nathan thinks it's hilarious and wants to encourage her "cannibalistic" behavior.

Hannah can tell you that a dog says "oof" and a monkey says "ah ah". However if you ask her what the cat says she will make a purring noise instead of "meow." We were playing with her stuffed cat and I made meowing noises and then I put it on her lap and pet the cat's head. Then I told her when kitties are happy they purr and made purring noises. She does know that a cat meows because if she hears that sound she will sign "cat"...and then make purring noises. =)

We're continuing to work on identifying body parts. Hannah's known head, foot, tummy, ear, and nose for months. She finally figured out where her eyes are this week. Although she has a hard time pointing without poking herself in the eye! She can also find those same body parts on her stuffed toys too. She LOVES to look at pictures of herself (and other family). Most of the time she can point to all the people in our family.

Still not walking and no new verbal words. Here's the new signs she learned: sheep, bird, turtle, bug, mouse, bath, caterpillar, elephant, train, pig, and ice cream. She continues to babble and cruise around the furniture. She is getting more confident in her assisted walking, she's just not ready to let go yet.

Can't post and not include pictures! Here's a few of my recent favorites:

Fifteen Months

This post is a few days late, but Hannah had her check up this morning so I decided to wait. The doctor was pleased with her weight gain, although she's still on the small side. Also got 3 shots today. Poor baby! =(

Weight: 19 pounds 12 ounces (5th percentile)
Height: 30 inches (50th percentile)

Hannah is finally cruising around the furniture and will take steps if you hold her hands. We have one of those cars that converts into a walker, but she isn't interested in doing anything but play with the toys on the front.

She crawls all over the house and loves to play "find mommy or daddy." She brings her toys to us and LOVES to give them hugs. =) A 5th tooth finally popped through and I think she's working on another one.

Still not really saying more words thought, but the doctor says it's still early. She'll tell you a monkey says "ah ah" and the doggy says "oof." She continues to learn more signs every week and will continue pointing at something until you tell her what it is. Here's the new signs she's learned since last month: book, pretty, toothbrush, duck, swing, music, giraffe, bread, penguin, dog, mommy, baby, chair, whale, diaper, car, tray, pancake, flower, and sandwich. During meal times she will put two signs together and ask for "more please", or "please milk."

Since the weather is beginning to warm up we've had a few fun outings. We went to the Dallas Arboretum with Grammy. We drove to Arkansas for the weekend to visit Nathan's family, and we went to the park with Grammy and Aunt Kara to see ducks.

Fourteen Months

Hannah is at such a fun age. It seems like she's learning something new all the time. She is developing quite the personality. =) She finally figured out how to pull up, but isn't cruising yet. She'll take a few steps if she's really motivated to get something though. Once she started pulling up it took her about 2 weeks to figure out how to get back down. She is a super speedy crawler and now ventures into other rooms. Thankfully she usually stays in the room we are in, but will follow us if we leave.


Hannah also said her first word about a week ago..."uh oh." She enjoys dropping and knocking things over so she can show off her word. She says "ma ma ma" all the time, but hasn't connected it to me yet. In fact she seems to think I'm just a fixture that is always there. =) Of course, she asks for Nathan (via sign language) multiple times a day. Already a daddy's girl!

Speaking of sign language. She has caught on very well and learns a few new signs every week. She doesn't always to the sign correctly due to limited fine motor skills. But once she learns her version of a sign, she is consistent in the way she does them. Here's a list of what she knows: bye bye, more, all done, milk, water, cheerios, light, fish, monkey, daddy, play, please, thank you, doll, bear, cat, and I love you. Here's a photo of her flashing Grammy an "I love you." This is by far my favorite sign, she will respond if you say I love you to her, but also does it spontaneously. SO SWEET!

Thirteen Months

December was such a busy month and I was behind so readers get to enjoy two posts this week. That said, I can't believe another month has gone by. =)

My grandma turned 95 at the end of December. I had not seen her since college and she'd never met Nathan or Hannah. So we decided to take a trip to Tucson, AZ. The original plan was to fly, but airfare was expensive. So, my parents (and sister) rented a car and we all piled in for the two day drive. We were supposed to rent a suburban but there was a miscommunication with the rental company and we ended up with a Tahoe. That means 5 adults, a baby, and all our stuff had to fit in the car. Needless to say it was crowded. =}

My grandma on her birthday

It was a fun trip and Hannah did really well. The only thing she had trouble with was napping in the car. She is used to sleeping on her tummy in a quiet dark room so I'm guessing that was the problem. It was really great to see a lot of my family and to introduce them all the Nathan and Hannah. We were even able to meet Nathan's aunt for lunch in New Mexico on the way there.

Lots of my mom's family

Nathan's aunt and her husband
We saw lots of my dad's family too, but no group photos. Not sure when I'll subject Hannah to such a long drive (thankfully AR is only 4 hours away), but I'm glad we were able to take this trip.

We went back to the doctor for Hannah's weight check yesterday and everyone was pleased with her weight gain. She's now just over 18lbs and 29 3/4 inches. That means she gained 2 1/2 pounds and grew 1 1/2 inches in the last month. Go Hannah! She loves milk and peanut butter and doesn't seem to be allergic to either. YEAH!

It is so fun watching Hannah learn new things! She still doesn't say actually words (though she babbles all day), but she does know a few words in sign language. We started signing "more" at 6 months when we introduced food. It took a while for her to pick it up, but now she knows "more", "all done", "milk" and we're working on "water". It's nice that she can tell us what she wants instead of crying. Hannah can also point to her head and belly if you ask her where they are. We're working on foot and ear but don't have it just yet. She is also beginning to do motions to songs ie: clap your hands, wash the spider out, etc. She waves bye bye to people and even to her toys (some of the electronic ones say bye when you turn them off). Too cute!

That's all I can think of to write now. I'll update again in February unless something big happens before then.