11 Months...

When I said that I needed to take a picture of Abby, Preston wanted to hold her and be in the picture.  Abby wasn't interested in smiling at all, but played along.

Only 1 more month until our baby girl turns 1, what?!?  Crazy, but love it at the same time.  Abby Jean is growing up and showing her personality more and more and learning new things, so fun to watch.  Everyone loves this baby girl and I simply can't get enough of her.  Here's what she's up to:

- Started clapping a month ago and now has mastered it.  Starting waving a week ago.  It's a sideways wave that's pretty cute.  She couldn't stop waving at her Aunt Angie last weekend which was pretty cute.
- Zero desire to stand on her own or walk.  She always pulls herself to standing but if you try to make her balance she only does it for a second before getting down to crawl.  Preston was walking at this point so we were curious to see what she'd be doing.  No rush though!
- Getting more expressive with her sounds and faces.  Lots of smiles and giggles of course!
- LOVES to play with her brother!  He loves to play with her too, although his idea of playing is dragging her around, pulling her, or rolling her over.  We have to watch him and tell him to stop but she just giggles and giggles.  I think she was built extra tough to live with Preston.
- Still nurses, woohoo!  I had to stop nursing P at 10 and a half months because I just wasn't making enough milk so I was worried about that happening again.  I don't make very much and she isn't crazy about nursing very much but we're still doing it.  She eats great and sleeps great so I figure if she was in need of more nourishment from me, she'd let me know.  We're just on the final push until we can start cow's milk.  Just happy we're not having to buy formula!
- Is really no good at sippy cups.  Since she never took a bottle (and we gave up trying) she's never had to learn how to hold a bottle by herself, which now means she doesn't know how to hold a sippy cup.  We've tried a few different cups and nothing has super clicked so we'll just keep practicing.  Spoiled little girl!
- Still gets swaddled.  I know she's old for it but she still likes it and settles down easier with it.  Plus with the cold winter and her room that gets pretty chilly, I felt good about swaddling as apposed to a loose blanket (we use the sleep sack that has the attached swaddling part).  I figure there are worse things she could be attached to.
- Is really content to crawl around and play on her own most of the time.  Both of my kids have been independent as babies and haven't needed to be held all the time... nice for the mommy!
- Has never liked to be rocked in a rocking chair.  She prefers me to just stand and rock her or bounce her.  Our rocking chair rarely gets used.
- Tried to put her hair in pigtails without bangs... not a good look for her.  Her forehead is too big so we'll be sticking with the bangs for now.

Abby really is a joy and adds so much to our family.  Can't imagine life without her, that's for sure.  Everyday I feel blessed that I can be her mom (and Preston's mom too, of course).  I really love my job!