Abigail Claire at 1 year old!!

Just writing that title sounds crazy to me. In some ways it seems like 5 years ago that Abbey was born, in others it seems like yesterday. This time last year, I was one crazy tired momma, and honestly couldn't really even comprehend the fact that I was blessed with a beautiful daughter - I was purely exhausted and stressed from breastfeeding and trying to get Abbey to sleep!

It's amazing what the 3........

6........

,

and 9 month.....

milestones mean to a baby. 3 months old was a breakthrough for all of us. Abbey finally started sleeping some, and the fun really began! And it seems like at 9 months, she became a little person.

Every day that I look at Abbey, I cannot believe how much she has changed from the day before. It's almost like she grows in her sleep. I even got teary-eyed the other day looking at the video on her monitor and seeing that she was sleeping more like a big girl than like a baby (on her back with her hand behind her head). I think about her all day, can't wait to get home to see her and I am amazed at how many emotions can come from one single day with her - happiness, laughter, frustration (feeding time!), heartache (when she falls or hurts herself) and LOVE. People can tell you over and over, but you will never know what true 100% love is until you have a child.

Ok, I'm going to stop before I lose it! Quick facts about Abbey at 1 year old:

- The sippy cup is a chore. Just when we thought that she was getting used to it, she has gotten bad with it again. She would rather bite it and play with it, than drink from it. And, the darn thing leaks all the time.

- Her favorite foods: peas, macaroni, CHEERIOS!

- Diaper size: 4; clothes: 12 or 18 months

- Her hair is getting long in the back and is getting really blonde

- She loves to mock you when you laugh, she thinks sneezes are hilarious, she has started whining or crying when one of us leaves (heartache!).

- Her favorite toys: cell phones (yes, we have given her a couple of old cell phones to play with), remotes, balls and anything with music.

- When you say "hello", she puts a toy up to her ear, like a phone. When you wave to her, she says "ba-bye" and usually waves to herself.

- Ball = ba, Dog = da, Daddy = dada, Mommy = NOTHING (boo), she also says "Pop", and I think I've figured out that she is trying to say "spoon". She says "poo" in a whisper almost when I'm feeding her.

- She can stand on her own for a really long time now. She will take a couple of steps, figures out what she has done, and falls. We can hold her hand and she will walk all over the place.

- If she could, she would climb the stairs all day long or play on the sofa. She loves to play on the sofa (with us behind her) and fall on the pillows.

- She hates being in one place - she tries her best to move the gate (and is successful sometimes) so that she can be on the go. She doesn't crawl TO us, but AWAY from us, so that we have to chase her -- when she walks, we are going to have a major workout!

- She absolutely loves getting a bath and being outside. She can be screaming bloody murder, you walk outside with her, and she almost instantly stops.

- She has 8 teeth, and I think that one in the back is coming in. She is drooling bigtime and keeps putting her finger back there. Lord knows, I can't put my finger in her mouth to find out, she pitches a hissy fit from you-know-where.

- She loves to scream (I think she likes the echo), loves banging her hands on things and looking at herself in the mirror.

- She is just so darn precious and I could write about her all day long....but will stop now!