No Longer an Infant

Abby's second year is off to a...hummm...uneventful/sassy start. We haven't done much other than regroup ourselves after the big party and a bought of the fever and sore throats. Even so, Abby continues to blossom into her own little person!

In the last few weeks it is amazing just how much she is starting to understand. You can tell her to "take the ball to Daddy" and she will go across the room, pick up the ball and take it to Daddy! Or, when you tell her it is time for a nap or "night, night" she heads to the stairs so she can go to her room. She loves to "clean up" and "help" when asked, to play hide and seek or pretend to cook in her kitchen. She has become quite the little monkey too! She loves to climb up and down the stairs, well on pretty much anything she can find. Abby has turned in to a little Lovebug too! She loves to give hugs and kisses, she will come from across the room and lay her head on you and start to pat your back or leg while giving a little "ahhhhh". It is to funny and oh-so-cute!

Her vocabulary is growing too! Her new words are ball, bear, banana, teddy, shoe, sock, nose (points to it), book (and signing it too), cheese (she signs it and requests it first thing in the morning...)Os (as in Cheerios, she is signing this too). I think that is about it. She loves music, so much so, we were playing the piano the other day and she started singing her own little song! This girl is a TALKER!!!!

Her sass has blossomed as well! She has started to throw herself on the floor when she gets mad or tries pushing out of her highchair with all her might when she doesn't get what she wants to eat. Her latest has been fighting to go to bed at night...yet again! This seems to be an issue EVERY time she get the least bit sick. After getting her back to health, it seems to take four nights of retaining (a.k.a. 45-90 minutes of crying and screaming in her crib) to get her back to going to sleep on her own. It never gets easier for us, each time it like tourer for all of us. But, tonight was a good night--it was the first night in almost two weeks that she went to bed without crying--Thank the Lord!!

Walking

As was stated last night: Abby passed out before we could get through the birthday festivities! And so, the fun continued this morning! First thing we did was eat some breakfast, then the following took place:

Once she dug into the cake, she really enjoyed herself! I hope that she has this much fun on Saturday too :)

In other news: We have a walker!!!! Although the journey to walking started months ago with pulling up, it feels as though it was just yesterday that she started her life as a vertical being! Here is a little video of this month's hard work:

I guess walking was her birthday present to herself!

T minus 13 Days

Ladies and gentlemen, we have steps!!!!!! I am completely amazed at just how fast this is happening, but I also kind of knew it wouldn't take much after she decided that she wanted to walk. All day today Abby moved about the house with speed and a lack of fear. It was as if she owned the place (well, she kind of does but that is a given). She grew more and more confident in her diving steps and seemed to be covering greater distances with them.



Abby was in rare form for most of the afternoon, probably because she pretty much refused to sleep for more than 20 minutes at any given time. So, off to Gramps and Grandma D's we went (it is about a 40 minute drive and Mommy was hoping that she would sleep for most of that)! Gramps did his best to entertain Abby...he even busted out a little Mario Kart on the Wii. Too funny :) Afterwards, Abby decided to warm up her walking skills with a lot of cruising and standing. She stood for a long, long time a couple of times...we found that as long as she had something in her had to distract her she would stand. Then after dinner, she really got moving!



Here is how it went: Gramps was sitting on one side of the living room and I was on the other. Abby was over with Gramps playing with her pinwheel (I think it was) and I asked her to share it with Mommy. At first she just held it out then I asked her to "come here". She slowly took one small step away from Gramps, then another. Now she was past her reach of Gramps but not yet within my reach. She paused at this point but then continued. Next came step three and then step four!!! That's right, four steps in a row! There was no denying this one or explaining it away :)



I wish I could say that I have it on video, but you know---Murphy's law! I have been trying for the past few days to get Abby's diving steps on video, but have not had much luck due to the baby that resides inside the camera. (Let me help you: I let Abby watch some of the video of her on the camera a few times and now whenever she hears the camera turn on she gets excited and wants to see the baby.) I continued to try today at Gramps' house this evening, but had given up right before dinner...we tried go get a repeat, but you know that that NEVER happens! I promise to post walking video as soon as I get some. This will have to do for now!!!

T minus 15 Days

Today was another sad day in the countdown to Abby turning one...we officially eliminated the morning nursing session :( If you haven't been keeping track, that means that we are down to one nursing a day. That is a far cry from the 10-12 feedings we were doing just over a year ago when we brought her home. My, how she has grown! I am a bit worried because she only had 7 ounces of formula and the evening nursing (plus solid food too of coarse), it just doesn't seem like enough liquid for a day. Oh well, I'm sure she will catch on to the new game plan soon enough.

In other news, I have been in denial for awhile now but can no longer live there. I thought I have seen Abby move from place A to B without holding on--kind of stepping but kind of diving at the same time--but refused to believe it. The other day my dad told me he thought he saw the same thing...I refused to believe this as well. But today I watched her dive from the end of the coffee table to the end of the couch, which is a good three feet. Might this be the first signs of her coming steps??? I tried to get it on video, but she knows that she can see "the baby" on the camera and comes trucking right over. I have to be super stealthy now days. I will try to get it on tape soon :)

T minus 16 Days

Silly little Abby always manages to amaze me and make me smile! Last week my Dad and sister spent the day watching Abby while I did some work around the house. Towards the end of the day Gramps and Abby had a little computer time. Gramps, being the resourceful fella that he is, found Plum-Vision--and Abby LOVED it! So much so, that it is now one of our "Favorites" (hey, a mom has to do what a mom has to do in order to get a call in or the dishwasher unloaded). One of the scenes is about the wind blowing and it shows kids blowing and the wind moving things. Much to my amazement, Abby started to blow too. I thought it was a fluke at first, but the last few days I have seen Abby blowing from time to time. Then today when I started Plum-Vision, Abby blew and blew and blew. It is funny because she gets so excited when the music starts, I just laugh! So, with this new skill I am working on getting her to blow on cue (which seems to be working just fine) so that maybe, just maybe, she will be able to blow out her own birthday candles. Wish me luck!

Skill building did not stop there today! At snack time Abby and I had some watermelon and cheese. For some of you, this may seem like a strange combo, but really it is not bad. Abby LOVES cheese and gets oh-so-excited when she see it. Funny! So, I figured that we should make "cheese" our next sign. Usually, it takes a week or so of heavy use for Abby to pick up a sign. But not today! Abby was signing "cheese" by the end of snack! Either it is her LOVE of cheese or her sheer brilliance...hummm. Well, we will see if "cheese" sticks around for lunch or snack tomorrow.

Later, we went to Nana and Papa's to wish them a happy homecoming. Mark and the girls were there too, Abby had fun playing with them two days in a row! Thank you Nana and Papa for the gifts, especially the Eskimo doll and duck whistle (Michael truly enjoyed the whistle!!). Here are just a few pictures of the fun had by all.

Julia mastered the Duck Whistle right away

Gracie took a little longer, but had it down too

Abby on there hand, not so much...

That's ok, there is always love from Nana!!

Eleven Months

I....don't...want.....to.......say......it..........


But I guess I will have to at some point anyway. Here it goes: Abby is 11 months old. I can't believe that in 28 days she will be a one year old little girl. Please, say it ain't so!! It is hard to think that my days of having an "infant" are soon over (for the time being anyway) and we and staring down the through of toddlerhood!

In the last few weeks Abby has started to blossom into a little girl who loves to: answer her phone with a big "ello", wave "hi" to anyone that will watch, blow you kisses if you perused her enough, scream at and chase the cats for fun, dance any time music comes on, cruise around the house with little regard for obstacles, "walk" anywhere a pair of guiding hands will take her, eat pretty much anything that you put in front of her (especially spicy veggie patties, blueberries, grapes, cheese and yogurt (which she calls "baby" because of the picture of a baby on the package)) and protest anytime she thinks she is going to go to bed. Yes, I am starting to think that my little girl is a stubborn and sassy as I am...I'm in BIG trouble!

Abby is still a toothless, little Peanut! She is about 16 pounds and I don't think she has grown much since she is still in her 6-9 month clothes. And as for teeth...who knows! She has had a finger in her mouth at all time for the last two weeks or so...seems to be a bit more cranky too but we did cut out the afternoon nursing so I'm not sure which one is the cause! I guess we will just have to wait and see :

Abby waving hi to the bikers riding by:

Abby's big girl piggies:

Abby love to share, as long as you give it right back

Too cute for words

Abby loves her Peanut and cruising with one hand!

Balance is not much of an issue these days

I think Abby will be walking soon. She will stand for 10 seconds or so if she doesn't realize it, has taken to pushing her walking toys around the house and a somewhat fast pace, is moving from the coffee table to the couch while standing and will walk with you while holding on to one finger. I think all it will take is a little desire on her part and off she will go. Stay tuned!

Forward Movement!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a crawler!!!

We knew this was coming sooner or later...Abby has been up on all four for awhile now and just needed to figure out what to do to move forward. Yesterday she made her first forward movement and today she seemed to be becoming an old pro at it:

Crawling is not the only new skill that Abby has developed this week. Abby signed her first sign today while playing on the floor with me and her Aunt Wendy. Abby clearly signed "milk" then tried helping herself to the stash. Wendy and I laughed and agreed that she wasn't waving bye-bye that time.

Swim class brought another first today too. Abby has really warmed up to swimming, she only cried for a minute or two then started splashing away. When the time came for the little swimmers to go under water, Michael decided that today would be a good day to try. He had Abby jump from the edge of the pool into the water and...woosh, under she went. When she popped up she looked at Michael with wide eyes at first, not too sure of what just happened, then finally burst into tears. No worries, she was quickly distracted by the other swimmers and stopped crying.

Abby never ceases to amaze me and weeks like this just make me smile! I love being a mom and experiencing these things with my daughter!

Nine Months

Nine months have passed oh-so-quickly!! Abby is not growing a whole lot physically--she is still able to wear her 6 month Carters clothing but I'm putting her in her 9 month stuff because I am SO VERY SICK of her 6 month stuff--but her repertoire of skills are almost multiplying by the day! Here's what is new in the last 30 days: She is clearly waving "bye-bye" with out a doubt, pulling up on things without assistance, has graduated real/table food, is pushing up onto all four and rocking...crawling is in our near future, she has been healthy for more than 2 weeks for the first time since Christmas which also meas that she is sleeping through the night again (Sooooo happy about that!), has developed what we call a "scrunchy" face and took her fist swim class.

Pulling up to her favorite toy:

Almost there....


Standing tall!

Squirmy-worm:

Just has to coordinate movement now:

Determined:

Making it hard for Mommy to get a good picture:

The world must feel better without socks...

Break time:

Just practicing...

Got a good one, finally!!

Abby and Peanut at 9 months

Ain"t Taking This Lying Down

Well, when I went in to get Abby from her morning nap she wasn't in her normal position: on her belly, pushing up on her hands. This time she was chilling in a sitting position. It was a bit surprising, but not the first time she managed to get into this position. I grinned and scooped her up, enjoying this moment because I know moments like this will be gone much too soon.

Then came the end of her afternoon nap. I let her hangout in her crib for a few minutes before I went in to get her (I had to get the laundry switched and a few items put away before play time could begin). She was talking up a storm...I guess her conversation with her Glow Worm was a good one because I was able to get the entire load folded with out an insistent grunt, cry or scream. Then she got quite...hummm. I walked in and found her STANDING and smiling as to say "look what I can do Mom!". All I could think was "Wow, two first in one day. I wonder what the rest of the week will bring!". With Abby pushing up to all fours and rocking back and forth, I'm sure crawling is on its way sooner than later!

Drop It...

I did not realize that this day would come so soon...but just yesterday I put Abby in her crib while I opened a few window around the house only to come back into the room to see her with both hand on the crib side and her butt in the air! Scary! So when Michael got home today we dropped her crib to the lowest setting. I guess I was living in my own little world in thinking (or not thinking I guess) that her crib wouldn't have to be lowered until her first b-day or so...First time motherhood is funny like that!

This Just In...

Just this very minute Abby rolled from her back to her front for the very first time! Well the first time that either Mommy or Daddy saw it happen...she did it with such ease I would have to guess that she has done this more than once in her crib or on the floor while I unload the dishwasher or fold a load of laundry upstairs.

Oh, there she goes again! Since starting this post she has managed to roll herself over to the T.V. stand and is playing with the doors...funny, I have been wanting her to roll from back to front for MONTHS now, but I'm not quite sure why not that our days of immobility are over!

Looks like it is time to start thinking about baby proofing the house as crawling is next!

Here is a little video of her third official roll from her back to her belly, enjoy!

Bigger and Better

Big changes have come to the Johnson household since getting back from a little vaca. in Florida:

Abby is now eating cereal (the video is a little long, sorry)...

Abby is sleeping unburritoed...

Abby is using the next size binky... which is the last size they make. This makes me a bit sad for some reason. I guess I better stock up on then when I find them on sale!

It's Back!

Abby has remastered the skill of rolling from front to back and Mommy is so very happy for that! I was starting to wonder if she would ever remember how to roll. I have been trying to trick her into rolling from back to front by holding toys just out of reach but she doesn't seem interested just yet. In due time my friend, in due time. I guess I should enjoy her lack of mobility while it lasts....

One Arm Out

Though I knew the day would come when Abby would not want to be burritoed anymore I was hoping it was a few more weeks (months actually) down the road. I give most of the credit for Abby's ability to fall asleep fast to The Miracle Blanket (read an earlier post of mine here) and like to think that her consistent 2 hour naps are in part due to TMB. But, for the last week and a half she has been protesting the burrito. She has been wiggling and squirming more that usual when I burrito her AND as I snuggle her for 3 or so minutes.

So, the process of getting Abby used to burritoless sleep has begun--much to our dismay. The last two night I have been leaving her left arm out of the inside flap and only tucking it in on the last wraparound of the outer long flap. This has resulted in a little less squirming. For her first nap today I went for it and left her left arm completely out...I didn't expect her to sleep long because she usually twitches and/or hits herself with a flailing arm and wakes herself up. But much to my delight Abby slept for 1 hour and 3 minutes w/o waking! I did the usual paci plug at that point and she slept for another 20 or so minutes.

Not too bad considering she has been taking about an hour morning nap for the last 2 weeks (then getting up for an hour and then taking another 1-2 hour nap). At this point I'm going to consider this a good start to the burrito-free sleep!

Five Months Old

Abby turned 5 months today and I can't believe how fast her little life is flying by! In less than one month, she will be 1/2 of a year old....how is this so? I guess I will deal with that when the time comes.

Here is Abby and Peanut on her 5 month birthday:

That's right--Abby learned to sit up this past month as well as finding the letter "B". Here is a little video of her new skills:

Other accomplishments of this past month that I did not get a chance to blog about:

*Laughing out loud--I came home for work and Abby and Gramps greeted me at the door. Abby gave me a big smile along with a verbalized laugh!! Usually she would just give a "huh" and a smile, but this time it was a full laugh!

*Her second cold/case of the Snarphs--Christmas Eve came with the gift of a cold, the snarphs, and cough. The cough has managed to hang around and now we think it is part of the teething process

*Digression--her great sleep habits have gone by the wayside due to the cough as has her ability to roll over...so sad!!! She is back to her newborn schedule of feeding every 2/12 to 3 1/2 hours because her cough wakes her up and then she realizes that she is hungry and won't go back to sleep w/o feeding (and sometimes coughing til she pukes). During all of this, we laid off of tummy time due to the drainage and she has since forgot how to roll over. Oh well, it will come back sooner than later.

Little Jumper

We first put Abby in her jumper in late November and not much happened. Actually, she was still so wobbly in the seat that we had to pad her with little blankets so that she wouldn't flop around too much. Needless to say, she didn't jump at that point. Partially because her little legs were too short and uncoordinated, but mostly because she still had to learn what to do. Really, it was just for a change of scenery at that point.

It is amazing how fast babies learn! We found the prefect box to put under her feet so she didn't just dangle there and slowly she caught on to the fun that could be had. The last two weeks have been filled with jumping and talking. Here is a little video from January 2nd, one of her first times of really jumping:

For Christmas Grandma D got Abby a walker that looks like a car--a pink convertable actually--and doubles as a jumper as well. She loves to sit in that and honk the horn. I'm sure it won't be long before she is crusing around the house in that!