Merry Tooth-mas

After getting home from our Christmas Eve visits Abby crashed hard and MJ and I got busy prepping for Christmas morning. As always, there was some last minute wrapping (but not much this year), cleaning, and other odds and ends to attend to. But little miss Abby had other plans for Mommy and Daddy...around 11 pm or so she woke a not so happy girl and refused to go back to sleep on her own. So MJ took one for the team and went to bed with our Little Peanut. So, on I went with prepping for breakfast, filling out cards, and other elf like duties (I never realized just how hard Santa's elves have to work to get ready for his arrival!!!). I called it quites about 2 am. That is what I get for being a perfectionist/control freak!!

Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that Abby loves to give herself gifts on big occasions...when we woke up on Christmas morning I decided to check to see if she cut her first tooth overnight since refused to go back to sleep on her own and sure enough the razor like tooth was there just above her gum!! So it is official, my 16 month old daughter has her first tooth! A quick "thank you" to Abby for making it so easy to remember these milestones ;)

Christmas morning was just perfect:

Family photo 2010
Let the opening begin!

Santa gifts first

Abby has the hang of unwrapping!

Play food complete with an apron

cutting board and crackers too

Daddy's girls

Then around 10 am we got a personal visit from Santa!!! We are so very lucky to get these visits, we hope he is able to come every year though we know it can get tricky ;)

Abby was excited to see Santa, but at the same time didn't want to get too close. Here she is checking him out from Grandma's lap.

She was interested in his bag and all the goodies it held

Santa was even nice enough to help with the bows :)

I love this one! You can see the "OOOOOOO" on her face

Puppets!!

What else you got, Santa?

Almost--close--enough--Got it!

I'm not sure if she is checking out Santa or her new tooth here

A new dolly! Abby loves the nose on this one...

Abby showing Santa how to push dolly in her new stroller

Reading a new book with Grandma D

I see you Santa...

After all that hesitation, Abby was sad to see Santa go. She watched him from the window and told him "bye" time and time again.

After our visit from Gramps, Grandma D then Santa, Nana and Papa came over for dinner and we Skyped with Grandmama in Virginia! It was a busy day full of love spent in our Christmas pajamas--perfect if you ask me!

This sums up our feeling at the end of the day: time for bed!

Sixteen Months

Wow! Sixteen already! Lets just say that I am so happy that it is months and not years just yet...that will come all too soon! Abby's stats at this point go something like this: still waiting for her 1st tooth (any day now I think...), 17 lbs 8 to 15 ounces (depending on the day/time), wearing 9-12 month clothes (though some of her 6-9 still fit but I am sick of seeing them and am hoping for a growth spurt soon so I just buy 12 months for $ sake), not really a fan of sleeping (I chalk this up to teething...), loves to dip things in ranch dressing (or anything else for that matter), has mastered our iPhones, and talks nonstop (I will work on a list of words for next months post). Here is our Little Peanut with her buddy:

I don't think they are in the mood for this...

Abby's first candy cane--Yummy!

I bet Peanut would like some...

Time to share!

(I love her little tongue sticking out on this one)

Want some more?I'm gonna curl up and finish this, ok?

Headed home after a visit with Gramps and Grandma D

(munching on some goodies on our way out the door)

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!

Happy Daddy's Day

Well, I hope that Michael had as much fun to day as Abby and I did!! We started the day with a little family "nap" at about 6 a.m. then Daddy opened his gifts in bed. I got MJ a grill set to make sliders and Abby got him tickets to the Tigers game (and we have been working on a little craft for Daddy too but Abby has not been cooperating....). So, after getting ready for the day in almost record time (under 1.5 hrs) we headed to MJ's parents house for a little visit. On our way we realized that we forgot food for Abby in the fridge so we had to make a little pit stop to pick up a little something for her to eat (I refuse to feed Abby a hotdog at this point in her life...Emily I know you understand my issue with this). We had a good but quick visit with Nana and Papa then headed down to the game.

In true Johnson fashion, we got there during the 2nd inning, which was a good thing because our seats did not get any shade until a little later in the game. Abby managed to make friends with the older couple in the seats behind us and with the little girl in front of us. I think she had a good time at her first Tigers game by people watching, drinking mommy's water and sitting with daddy. Here are a few pics of our day:

Family Photo

Checking out the stadium

Taking a little break in the shade

Abby's first Tigers win!!

Making memories

Peanut wouldn't miss a day at the park!

Family time

I love my dad

After a drive home and some dinner we took a ride on our new swing. Abby loved just sitting with daddy.

All in all we had a great day!

P.s. Michael, you never cease to amaze me. It is a true honor to watch you be a Daddy and I am thankful every day for the gift of you (and Abby too). Thank you for loving me and your little girl with all your heart--I couldn't imagine our lives with out you!