12 month stats

This is almost a month overdue, but I need to record her stats so I don't forget them. At Abigail's one year checkup she was 16 lbs 14 oz and 28 1/4 inches tall. Abby is still in the first percentile, but she is staying on her growth curve. The doctor suggested we give her vitamins, since she is a picky eater. We are always trying new food with her to see how she likes them. She has days when she eats a lot and other days when she doesn't want to do much with food. She would rather play. Abigail has discovered playing with her food is a lot of fun. Once she starts playing in it, rubbing it all over, and throwing it on the floor; we end meal time. :) Life has become more fun as we have a toddler in the house. Here are some facts about her development and daily life.

*wearing size 2-3 Swaddler diapers

*wearing size 6-9 month clothes. (Some 9 month clothes fit her now!)

*loves to walk, takes some steps on her own (Today she took 21 in a row, unassisted.)

*enjoys opening and closing drawers and doors (She has smashed her fingers several times.)

*still takes a bath in the little blow up bath inside the big bathtub

*organic waffles, cream cheese toast, and mushrooms are new favorites on her menu

*loves to play with mama's keys

*sings and baby talks all the time

*says: mama, dada, hi, bye, barks like a dog

*waves, shakes her head no, claps, loves to pick up tiny pieces of anything on the floor

*gives kisses

*doesn't like sand, grass, or bubbles very much

*likes eggs one day and not the next

*loves to read books

*enjoys her new toys from her birthday

*Jeffrey, her stuffed giraffe, has become her new lovey

*has six teeth (She doesn't enjoy us brushing them.)

*loves to push her stroller

*doesn't like whole milk (She lets it fall out of her mouth.)

*still nursing

*pulls bows out of her hair

*still sits facing the back of the car since she is not 20 lbs (She doesn't like car rides as much as she used to. I am ready to turn her around.)

*only sucks her thumb when she sleeps and she does

n't do it as much as she used to

*has completely mastered all sippy and straw cups

*loves to climb out of her highchair, exersaucer, and car seat when I unbuckle her

*loves tickles

*smiley all day long (even when we are out in public)

*takes one good nap a day and sleeps for 12 hours at night

*loves the dogs (learned how to unlatch Noah's crate)

*discovered toilet paper

*enjoys riding in the stroller while mommy exercises(walks) with her friends

*points and grunts when she wants things

*we continue to use sign language with her

Pushing her stroller in downtown Fullerton Jeffrey and I are waiting for dada to get home.

See my cute curly ponytail!

Smiley bath time! Look at all my teeth!! Eating ice cream for the first time!

Yummy Cold Stone!

Our Little Cupcake Turned One!

What a fun few weeks it has been! Preparing for Abigail's first birthday was a blast, and a little stressful at times! :)I had fun being creative with invitations and decorations. I chose cupcakes for the theme in pinks and purples. I made the invitations after viewing many paper crafting ideas on-line. I took what I liked and made my own design. Another idea I adapted was making large cupcake centerpieces out of terra cotta pots. I bought six inch pots with eight inch water trays. After painting the pots purple and the trays white, I inverted the trays and hot-glued them on top. I painted and glued two spools to represent a candle on each pot. I shaped a gold sparkly pipe cleaner to look like the flame of the candle. The one I found on-line was just painted. I wanted puffy cupcakes, so I took square pieces of tissue paper and glued them in points to the top of the pots. This took forever! It reminded me of the pinata I made in eighth grade. I made a huge snowman for my Spanish class. It took me sixteen hours to glue all that tissue on! Thankfully, this did not take that long. My mom made all real edible cupcakes. They tasted as good as they looked! Before we ate our cupcakes, we enjoyed chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, veggies, potato salad, citrus fluff salad, chips and dip, string cheese, and goldfish crackers. We spent Abigail's birthday, May 21, at the LA Zoo and had her cupcake celebration on Saturday with family and friends at Tri-City Park. I can't believe my little girl is one. Time really does fly! I am so blessed to have a baby, who is now a toddler! God is so good to us. We are so blessed and thankful for her good health, sharp mind, and joyful spirit! :)

Growing up SO Fast

It seems like Abigail has suddenly had a growth spurt physically and developmentally. She now has five teeth! My baby is already transitioning into toddlerhood. Her personality is emerging and it is so much fun to see the little girl she is becoming. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks. She has already taken a few steps on her own. We took her down to Laguna last weekend. She was not impressed with the sand. :( She started crying every time we tried to let her touch it. Other than the sand incident, we had a great day spending time as a family.

Catching up and 11 Month Stats

I am finally getting around to writing again on my blog. Yay! The last month has been a bit crazy around here. David has been working insane hours, our refrigerator broke, a sink overflowed, and our dog, Macy, got another ear infection. Thankfully, David's work has slowed down a bit. He actually had dinner with the family a few nights this week. :) With a lot research on the internet and some prayer, I was able to fix our refrigerator. Wow, even I surprised myself. David fixed the sink and our dog just finished her round of antibiotics. Abigail and I have missed having David around, and it makes me even more thankful for the partnership and loving family we have. God has given us so much. I am extremely proud of my husband and his dedication to do an awesome job even though he was working countless hours with little to no sleep. What a great guy! I am so blessed!

Abigail has been growing up so fast. She is getting bigger and more independent.We made our monthly trip to the Wellness Center for her weight check and she is now 16 lbs 1 oz. This is still below the 3rd percentile, but after our last visit to the doctor, we were told not to worry, and to keep doing what we are doing. She will be checked out again at her one year checkup. As long as she continues to grow, we should not be concerned. We have been creative in the food department, offering her a variety of options for meal time to see what she favors. Our most recent additions to her menu are homemade smoothie pops, tofu, black beans, and garbanzo beans. I had never tried tofu before. The texture is interesting. It is a good source of protein and an easy finger food to prepare. I am so thankful for the incredible source the internet has been for helping me find good recipes and ideas for preparing healthy options for our little one. 95% of the food Abigail eats is organic. I have read so much about the importance of giving her the best food without all the chemicals and pesticides. Little bodies are so sensitive to these harmful elements. After learning about this, David and I are eating more organic food as well. About 50% of our refrigerator is filled with organic goodness. Organic food is more expensive, but I try to find it on sale. There are many frozen options as well. Trader Joes and Vons have quite a few organic foods that don't break the bank. I picked up a discounted book at Border's the other day and devoured it quickly. It is called Green Babies, Sage Moms:The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby. I learned so much reading this book. In an effort to be more green, I have also changed some of my cleaning supplies. I now use vinegar and baking soda to clean. A great website called vinegartips.com has over 1,000 ways to use vinegar in your home from cleaning to gardening. :)

Back to Abigail's development! Here are some size facts and fun, quirky things she is doing these days.
*wears 6 month clothes, some 6-9 month clothes fit, but pants/shorts must be six months
*wears size 2 diapers
*clicks her tongue (especially to music)
*bobs her head and moves her body and arms to music
*if you sing out one note she will copy you, if you change your tone or do a scale she breaks up her notes as well
*stands on her own
*so close to walking independently
*walks her stroller around
*cruises on furniture
*still sucks her thumb to sleep at night
*likes to climb
*still in love with our dogs, laughs and squeals when they are close to her
*eats avocado almost every day
*enjoys eating scrambled egg yokes for breakfast
*when she nurses during the day, she holds her foot and extends her leg in the air :) (strange child)
*laughs saying,"ha-ha" after other people laugh
*says,"mama" all the time
*says, "baba" for her big lamb
*got her second tooth on April 21
*waves when you say, "bye-bye"
*loves the park and enjoys watching other children
*likes the swing and to go down the slide with mommy
*puts her baby or her bear in her stroller before she takes them for a spin
*loves books
*likes to pull all of her books off of her bookshelf and then explore her favorites
*loves her book about colors, I have it memorized!
*started taking bows out of her hair
*shy in new situations
*goes to the nursery at church with no problems now
*plays with her door to her bedroom
*likes to play her homemade drums of tupperware with spatulas and wisks
*likes mirrors
*loves peek-a-boo
*good sleeper
* very ticklish
*bites when she is teething
*loves ice and ice water
I can't believe she is almost a year old. The time has flown! :)

Happy Easter!

Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
John 1:29

Tanaka Farms

Abigail and I went to Tanaka Farms in Irvine last week with my MOPS group. The day was beautiful, perfect weather with blue skies and a nice breeze. It was so much fun. We went on a strawberry picking tour. A tractor pulling two open-air trailers took us around the farm. Our tour guide explained the history of the farm and the importance of eating certain fruits and vegetables. During our tour, the tractor would stop and the driver picked food that we all passed around to eat. The organic food was delicious. We tried romaine lettuce, cilantro, radishes, carrots, snap peas, and strawberries, of course. Abigail loved the carrot I gave her. She is working on her second bottom tooth and it was a great natural teething stick. When we arrived at the strawberry fields, everyone exited the trailers and received baskets to fill with plump, juicy strawberries. Abigail and I didn't pay extra to pick strawberries, but we had fun watching the older children pick some. Several children were eating as many as they were picking. Their smiles and hands were covered with red stains. We shared some baby wipes with our sticky friends. :) At the end of our tour, we stopped at the produce stand to buy a small basket of strawberries, a bundle of carrots, and salsa. Salsa? I had heard that the salsa they sold was awesome. So I asked which kind was the most popular and purchased that. We had chicken enchiladas for dinner that night and David is hooked. The salsa is amazing. I am glad the salsa worked out since I ate the chocolate covered strawberry I bought him on the way home. Whoops! Abigail did so well on the tour and we both had such a good time. I look forward to going back next year, when she will be able to pick the strawberries herself. :)

Abigail: Father's Joy

Abigail's name is Hebrew for father's joy, father in rejoicing, or fountain of joy. I know she brings joy to her father and I, but I pray that she will bring and reflect God's joy to others. Here are some fun moments with our little peanut.

Playing with her music table from Grandma Trisha and Grandpa ScottDrinking and learning how a straw worksFamily pic at Griffin's 1st birthday partyShopping at TargetPlay date at the park with AmberSwinging at the parkWhere is Abigail?

Walking with her Stroll Along Walker (giving Dotty a ride)At lunch with Hannah in beautiful shades of purple