13 Months!

~Now that Abby is walking, it seems like she never stops!  Her new favorite activity is to walk around the house, usually carrying an object and dropping it when she finds another object to carry around!  Most desired object include books, remotes, toy cars, and sippy cups.  She is able to move from sitting to standing without difficulty and navigate around obstacles.  She's quite sturdy and can walk lengthy distances without toppling over.  She is also picking up speed!
~Abigail is officially weaned from day time feedings.  She nurses briefly at bedtime, giving a chance for extra snuggles with Mommy!  Instead of nursing before naps, we read a story and sing a few songs.  She puts herself to sleep easily without a peep!
~Abigail loves drinking from sippy cups!  She is also able to drink from straw cups.  She gets very excited when she sees one and will gladly take any cups left around the house.
~She is a great eater!  She is willing to eat new foods and definitely wants what her brothers have.  She is not a huge fan of several fruits.
~Abigail has modified her "more" sign and it is now more similar to the actual sign.  She also continues to sign "all done".  She has added a modified "please" sign, which is rubbing her hands on her arms, rather than rubbing a palm on her chest.
~She easily climbed the flight of stairs from the basement twice in one day!  She hasn't shown much interest in doing it again, although she has climbed the two steps from the garage to the house.
~Mimicking her brothers eating warm food, she frequently blows on a piece of food and/or holds the food out towards us while blowing.
~Abigail loves giving open mouth kisses, giggling after giving her smooch.  She also likes to kiss characters in her books.
~She loves to cover her face with her hands and play Peek A Boo!
~Abigail takes two naps a take at approximately 8:30am and 1:00pm.  It's difficult to know how long she is sleeping because she'll contently and quietly play in her crib for a while.  She stays in her bed for 2-3 hours per nap.
~We suspect that she may be getting her molars soon.  Her gums are quite large and she frequently puts objects in her mouth.
~Her happy, giggly personality continues!  We love the twinkle in her eyes!

She Walks!

We've made the official call--Abigail is walking!  For the past few days, she has taken several consecutive steps.  Then, she started taking even more consecutive steps!  She is very proud of herself! 

Happy 1st Birthday, Abigail!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, MISS ABIGAIL!

~Where has the last year gone?!  Our sweet Abigail is 1!  We celebrated her birthday with a fun ice-cream themed birthday party!  The weather was beautiful, allowing the kids to have fun in the pools and on the swing set.

~While we haven't made the official "call" yet, Abigail is starting to walk!  She has taken up to 8 steps independently several times a day.  She isn't extremely confident, but she is determined and will continue trying.  She appears more confident cruising and will travel around a room, barely resting her hand on furniture or walls along the way. 

~Abigail independently signs "more" and "all done".  However, don't ask her if she's "all done" or wants "more" at the end of a meal, as she'll sign both upon hearing the words!  She waves and blows kisses.  She also nods/shakes her head upon hearing yes/no.  Abigail also likes to continue "singing" while tapping her mouth with her hands.  She'll also give open mouth kisses.

~She will occasionally state "Mo" repeatedly when asking for something.  She has several babbled sounds, pitches and inflections.

~Abigail is doing a great job eating table food!  She wants what her brothers are eating, so don't try to give her anything else! However, it is acceptable to dip her spoon into two bowls -- one with her separate food and one with something they are also eating.  Some current favorites are toast, any meat, french fries/tator tots, pretzels, cereal, green beans, spaghetti, pancakes, apple sauce and yogurt.  We haven't given her whole milk yet, but she's able to drink from a sippy cup and is getting better about drinking from a straw cup, although she wants to tilt it up.  She is able to finger feed herself.

~Abby becomes quite the ham when she notices that we are taking her picture!  She'll flash a beautiful, sometimes cheesy grin!

~She loves peek-a-boo!

~She has such a wonderful personality!  She's a happy, smiley, easy going gal!

Abigail had her 1 year appointment the day after her birthday!  She received a clean bill of health and charmed the doctor with her giggles and grins.  She also received four vaccinations. She wasn't pleased about them, but calmed down quickly.  

Current stats:

29 3/4 inches    72nd percentile

22lbs 13.5oz     88th percentile

18 inch head     72nd percentile

Graduation for Gavin!

Gavin has officially graduated (exited) from Help Me Grow services! 

Help Me Grow services discontinue when children turn three.  In preparation for this transition, families and Help Me Grow providers meet with their residing school district to determine if a student may qualify for preschool services.  At Gavin's transition meeting, we discussed the great progress he has made with his communication skills.  We all agreed that he would not qualify for speech services in preschool.  Just to verify, we met with the SLP for a play date.  She agreed that he has age appropriate language skills, including his vocabulary and articulation skills.  We're so proud of him!  He has many, many words, speaks in phrases, and is intelligible!  We're planning for him to attend preschool in the fall, which should only continue to help his language skills progress!

Graduation for Brennan!

 
Brennan is officially a preschool graduate!  He attended two years at Wee Care Preschool in Fremont, Ohio, attending 3 full days a week.  He absolutely loved school and did a great job! We're so proud of him!

Watch out kindergarten, here comes Brennan!

11 Months Old!

Our sweet Abigail is 11 months old!

~Abby is on the move!  She crawls very quickly and is beginning to cruise along furniture.
~She is able to stand unassisted for several seconds.  Her face lights up with excitement when she's praised for standing!
~Move over baby food, Miss Abigail wants the real stuff!  While she will still eat pureed food with encouragement, she definitely prefers table food.  She's able to feed herself small bites of food, including noodles and grilled cheese.  She does much better with sippy cups and enjoys drinking water from them.  Abigail also likes to get food out of snack cups.
~Abby loves to swing!  She'll smile from ear to ear and giggle when pushed on the baby swing on our backyard swingset.
~In addition to "bye bye", she has also uttered a few sweet "Ma ma's"!  She will, however, consistently imitate her silly big brothers when they blow raspberries.
~Abigail will shake/nod her head when we say "yes" or "no".
~Forget baby toys, Abigail prefers her brothers' toys
~She's showing interest in climbing stairs and has been able to scale a stair or two!
~Abigail has such a wonderful and happy personality! 

She Speaks!

We've made the call as she's doing it at the appropriate times and far too often to be coincidence!

Abigail's first word: Bye bye!

She even accompanies it with an adorable wave!