A Few Recent Observations...

1. Babies change so rapidly! It seems like just yesterday that Abby was just this little baby who relied on us for everything, but how quickly that changes. When she was an infant, it felt like forever until she was going to be able to hold her head up, roll over, sit up, you name it. But one day, she meets one of those milestones, and there is no turning back! I used to get so caught up in what Abby was going to do next that I forgot to really enjoy the "now." No longer will she stay where I put her (unlike the picture below, taken a few months ago.) No longer does she gladly accept what I offer her. She likes to choose which books to read, what toys to play with, thank-you-very-much! (see picture below) And no longer is she this little baby. She definitely has a mind of her own, and it's so exciting to see her curious, fun, happy personality come through!

2. Babies want to touch/put their mouths on things that I never would even think of. I have seen Abby lick the floor, the couch, her shoes (she LOVES to put her nice shiny church shoes in her mouth!), the coffee table, my face, the stairs, you name it. Thank goodness for Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface spray!

Abby back in January

3. It's no fun when babies are teething. They really do need some TLC.

4. Babies love animals. Abby is absolutely fascinated by our miniature dachshunds, Millie and Winnie. The two of them have become quite the distraction. If she is taking a bottle, and one of them enters the room, forget eating! She immediately wiggles herself into an upright position and watches them, eyes glued to their next move. I'm pretty sure Abby's less intake of formula is directly and solely related to our two dogs!

4. 9 1/2 months olds are wiggle worms! I kid you not, it took Matt and me close to five minutes to get Abby's pajama pants on her last night. That's with two of us trying! I thought I had found success at around minute two, but I managed to put one leg in the wrong pant leg. Matt then responded, "Come on, Aggie!" But, I will gladly say that he had no easier time than I did. :) We both just found humor in the situation. It is so easy to get frustrated about little things like that, but at that moment, we just looked at it in a different way. I think we both came to love Abby a little bit more because of her stubborness. I mean, who REALLY wants a baby who will stay still for that long?? Half the fun is the challenge, right?

Finally got the PJs on!

5. You can't take your eyes off of a baby for too long. If you do, when you turn around, you might see this...

...or this...

6. This blogging thing is way more fun than mopping or dusting! :)

Here's hoping you all have a great day! We're planning on staying in and staying warm! It already sleeted here this morning. They're saying we're supposed to get anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of snow. Who knows if that's true, but one thing is for sure: it is certainly typical Texas weather! I wore a t-shirt and shorts yesterday afternoon! Go figure! :)

Two Firsts: Snow and Up, Up You Go!

Abby experienced two firsts in the past 24 hours: her first snowfall and her first climbing of the stairs! Yikes!

Those of you who live around here know that last night's snowfall was gorgeous! It hasn't snowed here like that in a couple of years. The one time it actually snows, it came as a bit of a surprise. Normally the local weathermen are scaring us with their discussions of "Artic Blasts", hyping up a huge weather event that usually just turns out to be a couple of puddles on the ground and a pellet or two of ice! I didn't realize that we were going to get a couple of inches of snow. While I would have loved to have taken Abby's picture out in the snow, two reasons prevented me from doing so:

1. She woke up with a runny nose.
2. (Most importantly!) She can't walk yet. And crawling in the snow doesn't strike me as a very intelligent thing to have a baby do! :)
We'll just look forward to next winter and building a snowman.

Here she is peeking out the back door this morning, looking at the snow.

Last night

This morning


She also took it upon herself to climb up the first two steps on the staircase this morning. Matt and I came very close to purchasing a gate at Babies R Us on Sunday. I think we'll be buying one this week!

Thinking about it last night
Climbing to the second step this morning

Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday.

What a Poser!

OK, so Abby started doing her "Too Cool" Abby pose several months ago, hamming it up for whoever was giving her attention, as shown here in December:

We thought it was hilarious. Here's her at it again...only now she's doing it for herself!

Fun with Friends

Saturday was such a nice, warm day here, and it was (finally!) time to bust out some new spring clothes.
Abby loves her handmade rocking horse that the Harstads gave her. (Thank you, Cheryl!) And Abby also loves her Auntie Em. She is so very blessed to have such a wonderful aunt!

I love this picture! Abby's pal Ellie loves touching Abby, but Abby wasn't having any of it Saturday night. All she wanted was a hug, Abby!!!! She can be a bit dramatic, like her mother! ha.

Recent pics

Happy baby

Here are some recent pics of Abby on a playdate at the mall. She loved crawling around, pulling herself up onto everything! In other news, she FINALLY has a tooth starting to come in. I swear I thought she was getting teeth five months ago! I blamed everything on teething: fussiness, drooling, putting everything into her mouth, etc. I'll know next time for the next child. Ha. :)

Tipping the Scales