Abigail is (almost) 20 months old!

Hard to believe that our little one is getting closer to two every day! These past few months have brought substantial changes as far her development goes. It's amazing if I think back to just a few months ago and think about how limited she was at doing things on her own, and then watch her do things now! She's transforming from a baby to a full-blown toddler right in front of my eyes.

I haven't really updated specifically about Abigail's new developments in the past few months, and I'm afraid if I don't do it now, I'll forget some of the cute stuff she's doing.

Although I haven't measured or weighed her recently, based on her last measurements I'd guess she's about 32-ish inches and 23.5 pounds now. She just went through a growth spurt where she lost some of that rounded-baby-belly, and because of that, she went back DOWN in pant size. She now wears 12-18 month old shorts, but 18-24 month shirts; she has a long torso! Although she can fit into 18 month old dresses, they are starting to get very short, so really, she needs 24m dresses for the length. Right now, she's in between shoe sizes, a 4 in some and a 5 in others. She wears a size 4 diaper.

This little girl is quite the eater! She'll eat just about anything (except peas - she still hates them!), but she does have a preference as to when she eats them.  For example, she may refuse eggs one day for breakfast, but eat two eggs the next!  Yes, that is right - she often eats TWO eggs for breakfast. 

Her favorite meals:
BREAKFAST:  scrambled (or busted fried) eggs, oatmeal, bananas, pancakes, cereal bars, waffles, yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in, some of Daddy's cereal (she only likes cereal if Daddy is eating it, too!)

LUNCH/DINNER:  peanut butter fingers (that's what Robby calls a half peanut butter sandwich folded over), turkey (heated 10 seconds in microwave) with cheese slices, pizza, rice, beans, cooked carrots, olives, lasagne, spaghetti, baked chicken (with some sort of cheese sauce), baked potato, macaroni and cheese, corn dogs, chicken nuggets (I peel off the skin and give her just the chicken)

She lets us know when she is hungry, because she'll come to us and say "EAT!" And she means now. 

Okay, I can see that I will be able to easily go on forever talking about my sweet darling, so I guess I will just make a list of things that I think are cute!

• She'll say, "Shhh!  Sleepin'," for her babies, Chance, Daddy, a real baby, or anyone else dozing off in her presence.  About two weeks ago, when we were at my parents' house, Robby and I fell asleep in the living room while Abigail was playing, and when my dad walked in, she told him, "Shhh!!!"  Then they just sat there smiling and whispering to each other for about 15 minutes until I woke up!
• When she says "Shhh!" she doesn't put her finger over her lips, instead, she holds her nose!  Cutest thing ever!
• When she hears any type of music - the radio, a commercial, Mommy singing the ABCs, anything - she will start bustin' a move!  This girl is hilarious when she dances, and she loves it!  Just 1.5 years until I can enroll her in dance classes!
• She is a mini-me and loves to do what Mommy is doing!  If I sweep, she wants to sweep; if I dust, she is alongside me with her own dust rag.  She helps separate laundry and put them in the washer/dryer.  She likes to feed Chance.  She LOVES watering the plants/yard.  And yes, if I hug Daddy, she has to hug Daddy, too!  Robby and I really have to watch what we do around her now, because we know that she will probably do it, too!  No foul/rude/mean language, no yelling at other drivers, no yelling at Chance to "Get Down!" or whatever the case may be.  We are on constant surveillance and we don't want our actions to come back and haunt us! 
• Likewise, we are more careful about using our manners, not just when we are out, but with each other, too.  She got please down pretty quickly when she learned it helped her get things, and she's good about saying thank you, but I have yet to hear a you're welcome or sorry or excuse me.
• She loves animals!  Right now, she loves birds.  If ever we need to distract her, we always say, "Hey!  Do you see any birds?" and it works like a charm.  Sometimes we take her to PetCo and let her look at birds and kittens and hamsters and fish.  She loves PetCo, and so far, she hasn't asked to take anything home yet!
• She is starting to be able to entertain herself more now, which is good so I can get a few things done (like update this blog!).  She likes to play with blocks, Little People, and her babies when she's by herself.
• She loves to color and do art projects.  I tell Daddy this is his domain since he is pretty artistic himself.  He loves coloring with her - even though he's had to learn to be patient about the "don't color outside the lines" part.  Right now, he's working on helping her hold the crayons correctly, and I must say, he's doing a good job!
• She plays with her babies and rocks them, feeds them their bottles/juice cups, and covers them with blankies.
• Speaking of blankies, she is very attached to hers!  She calls it her "Dinkie!"
• She's getting better at feeding herself, if I just allow a little mess.  It depends on where we are, as to how much freedom I will give her with feeding herself.  At home, she does it all, and uses a REAL cup (no sippy lid!), but in public, I help her more and she must use a sippy/straw so she minimizes the mess.
• She is becoming more adventurous and confident.  She no longer has to stay RIGHT with Mommy and Daddy all the time.  Now when she sees Nani or Mimi, she runs up to them and gives hugs, but for the most part, everyone else still has a few minutes of warm up time before she will go to them.  After she decides that someone is okay, then they are golden and she will play with them to no end!  The biggest change is that instead of a 20 minute warm up, now it is about 5 minutes! 
• She's showing her independence.  Last Friday, July 2, we went to a Little Gym class.  At the beginning of class, we sat in a big circle, and Abigail and I sat the farthest away from the leader - directly across from her.  The first part of the class is introduction, so the kids say their names and run up to the leader and give a high-five.  I was sure that she wouldn't run all the way across in a room full of people to give a stranger a high-five, but boy was I wrong!  She ran up and gave TWO high fives, then laughed all the way back to me!  She MEGA impressed me and made me realize that the baby "I need Mommy" stage is almost over.  *Bittersweet tear.*
• "Mine!  Mine!  MINE!"  This is her new favorite word.

Although I could go on forever, I will just resign myself to this list and promise to do better at updating so I don't have so much I want to say about this sweet little princess!