9 Months!

 Little Miss Abigail is 9 months old! 

~This was a huge month for motor milestones!  She continued to improve her rolling skills.  Then, she mastered going from her belly to sitting.  Next, she quickly figured out how to crawl!  She loves being able to get around on her own.  She's doing a great job crawling on hard surfaces instead of slipping.  She moves the fastest for electronics, puzzle pieces, her brothers' small toys, and Mommy upon her return from work.
~Abigail has decided that baby food isn't so bad after all!  She's much neater when she eats compared to when she would raspberry most bites!  She absolutely loves Cheerios!  She gets very excited when she is offered them.  She does a great job picking one up and feeding herself.  We're working on sippy cups with water.  She gets excited about getting the water, causing most of it to spill out of her mouth.
~She has a hilarious cheesy grin!  She has great facial expressions!
~Abby continues to make improvements with sleeping.  It seems as though she flipped a switch to improved overnight sleeping when we switched the calendar to March! She barely woke up overnight this month!  We're hoping this continues.  She's also making great improvements in naps. We're thinking the trick is the timing of putting her in her bed.  She does best when she's sleepy/sleeping after nursing, but not completely out.  If she's too fast asleep and wakes up during the transfer to her bed, she seems to think that nap time is over.
~Brennan and Gavin adore their baby sister.  They love to make her laugh and smile.  They also enjoy giving her kisses and hugs and talking to her.  It was neat to watch them as we were encouraging Abby to crawl.  Brennan would cheer her on enthusiastically.  Gavin, attempting to help his baby sister, would simply grab the item(s) of encouragement and take it to her rather than making her crawl to retrieve it.
~We switched Abigail from her infant seat to a convertible car seat this evening. We tried to stretch the infant seat, with its warm fleece cover, as far through the cold weather as we could!
~She's growing so quickly!  We recently brought out some of the 18 months clothes! Her 9 month appointment isn't until later in the month, so we don't have her current stats yet.
~Abigail is such a happy, sweet girl! Her smile not only lights up her face but the entire room!
~We are frequently asked if she goes by Abby or Abigail.  We call her both.  She is also called several nick names: Abbers, Abba-Gabba, Abigails, Abi-girl, Aba-dabas...

8 Months!

 Our sweet Abigail is 8 months old!

~Abby has mastered the art of rolling!  She rolls in one fluid motion and with ease.  She also pushes herself up onto her knees or toes, causing her to scoot backwards.  Gone are the days of staying put in one spot!  We suspect that crawling isn't too far away!
~While she's made great improvements in napping in her bed, we had some regression in overnight sleeping.  More often than not, she woke up overnight or early in the morning this month.  It may have been a combination of her first cold which made her congested, or another tooth,  or traveling, or reaching new milestones, or a combination of several variables. 
~Abigail cut her third tooth!  Her beautiful smile proudly shows off her three bottom teeth!
~Overall, Abby has been a bit indifferent about baby food.  She gets a lunch and dinner and doesn't consume much. Instead, she likes to gently spit it back of of her mouth repeatedly.  After successfully eating a rice rusk, including biting off and "chewing" pieces, we decided to introduce small amounts of finger food to see if she was more successful in eating it.  She's had small bits of toast, green beans, and bananas.  She seemed to do well!  Towards the end of the month, she started eating pureed food more successfully, so we'll continue a combination of finger food and pureed food for now.
~In addition to her rolling, Abigail is starting to attempt to pull herself up on things.  For example, when put in Gavin's bed, she attempts to pull herself up to the top of his bed rail to mouth it.  Consequently, her crib mattress has been lowered a notch!
~She's adding new sounds to her gabbing, including "ma-ma", which is Mommy's current favorite.
~Abigail shakes her head back and forth.  While very likely not in response to a question, it's fun to incorporate it into our conversations!  "Are you ready to _____?" ::Abby shakes her head::
~We love her giggles!  She has quite the infectious belly laugh!