Crawling!

2 weeks from today......Sweet Abigail will be ONE year old!

Yep! She is off and crawling. Funny story....I went up to our adoption agency last Friday and I put her on the carpet for a second to pick something up and let her scoot around a minute. One of the social workers was sitting in the chair talking to Abigail and all of the sudden........she started crawling like a pro! For several weeks she had been trying but not quite getting her legs and arms to cooperate and just like that she put it all together. Of course when I looked down at her I started screaming and saying "yipee! she did it!". I told them that that was her first time to crawl. How crazy is it that she chose right there in the adoption office to crawl for the first time! :) I am sorry that Jerry missed it though. He was busy at work but we showed him as soon as he got home that evening. What a cutie!
So now she is crawling and getting into everything! My life has definitely changed in these last few days. Just yesterday she was playing in her room while I put her clothes away and I look down and she is "stuck" in her little rocking chair. Her little legs were tangled up in the bottom of it. How did she do that so fast? I don't know but wow! She was fine; no tears.

Another first: Her first bandaid was placed on her knee. Poor baby, she scratched it on her playpen. She didn't even cry! We found a drop of blood in the playpen and went searching for the source. Ugh! I know she will have the need for bandaids in the future but still it was very hard to see.
The final preparations are almost complete for her first birthday party here in town. (We will have another party in Boerne for the rest of the family.) Yep, 2 birthday parties! The evites are out and the written invites are almost completed. It has been fun planning but it is hard to not go overboard. I have to keep telling myself that she is one year old and the party is mainly for us parents. She won't remember it but I want to make it special. Stay tuned for pictures.... 2 more weeks!

Since our last blog: went to the SA zoo with Mimi, visited and met more family members, had our picture taken for the local newspaper (see attached picture), more teeth, crawling, wearing big girl shoes (really, really tiny shoes), chatter, chatter, chatter...

Plans for October:
my birthday...going to the rodeo!
Abigail's birthday....1 year photo shoot, 2 birthday parties complete with a crown and pink tutu, 1st rodeo, go to church picnic, go to Hope Gala for our adoption agency where we will be a featured family. So many plans...We are so blessed.

Here is something I wanted to share. Our agency asked that we share a few words about our adoption for the Hope Gala. They will post this with our picture at the event.
***Last October 14th God answered our prayers for a child. We thank God every day for our precious gift. It is in Abigail's eyes that we see God's faithfulness and it in her smile that we see His love.***

Blessings until next time,
Jenny

FYI:To read the entire article that was in the newspaper go to http://www.wacotrib.com and click on the October edition of Waco Today. Scroll down until you see our picture and click on the article.

I love my little girl!

It is amazing to see all the little developments Abigail has EVERY day. She is constantly talking and chattering. She understands so many things now. I am in awe of her every day. Here are a few things she has been up to.
She can.....
say thank you. (kinda)
ask for "more, please"
go from sitting to arm crawl and back to sitting
give the best wet kisses ever!
feed the puppies....from her highchair...ugh!
repeat sounds that we make
play the drums (thanks Mimi & Granddaddy.. :)
say "chicken" when we say "Do you like chicken?"
pull up in her crib and up on her toy box
wave at everyone as she enters a room
stop someone in their tracks to say hi and smile

that is all i can think about right now. All of these things are amazing and I am constantly thanking God every day for this precious child.

Abigail, you brighten my day, every day. You make me smile every time I see you and I miss you every night while I sleep. You are beautiful inside and out. Your little smile and sweet wave brightens so many people's day. Whether it is at the gym or at the grocery store...you make people smile. I love you so much and am so thankful that God chose ME to be your mommy.

***Jenny***

Daddy's Little Girl

How cute are these photos? Yes that is little Abigail on her first makeshift pair of water skis, well in the garage on two small pieces of wood but I'm lovin' it.

She is amazing and has started giving kisses. It is so cute cause she leans in and half the time kisses and the other half tries to bite your lips. And let me tell you those three bottom teeth are pretty sharp.

I've skied with Abigail three times now and we never seem to have a camera ready when we do. One of the days though we will get pictures of that to post.

'til next time,

Jerry

September....really?

Oh, how the time flies! I can not believe it is September and our little girl will be ONE YEAR old very soon. In fact, on my "to-do" list this week I have to plan her birthday party and get all the invites out. Wow! It has just flown by.

We are having a great time with this little angel. She does so many new things every day.

*She pulled up on the side of the crib about a week ago.

*Her favorite word is....not mama (unless she is hungry)...not dada (unless she wants to play) no...it is DOG! heehee...except she says it like....dawg with her little lips in the shape of an O. Pretty hilarious!

*She army crawls everywhere.

*She loves to stand up (with our assistance of course)

*The girl loves, loves, loves...to eat! Pretty much anything you put in front of her in small bits she will eat. In fact, if you don't feed her fast enough she will let you know about it. We are working on her patience and manners too. :)

*She loves to play in the water: bath, lake, swimming pool, wherever! That has been so much fun this summer.

*She has 3 teeth and the two incisors on top are coming in any day now. Yep, not the top front but the ones on the sides. umm..yep..too funny.

We had an eventful week this past week. Abigail and I got a group together to volunteer for our adoption agencies fundraiser in October. We were in charge of putting the invitations together. Six of our friends showed up to help us. It always amazes me how people come together to help. Wow...how God puts us together in each others lives.

Abigail will be one of the stars in this years fundraiser/celebration. All the sweet babies that were adopted last year will be announced at this years event. We will definitely be shopping for a new dress for the occasion. :) The 3 of us were also photographed for our local Waco Today Magazine and will tell a short story of our adoption. For more information on the Generations Adoption Fundraiser...Hope Gala..you can visit their website. The link is on our blog page.

In celebration of labor day, my parents and grandparents came up for a visit. It was a great time. Abigail is such a blessing and it is always a reminder of how blessed we are when we see her interact with her grandparents. So much laughter and so many smiles!

Another day is passed and i am so thankful for the gift God has given us. So tuned for more updates and hopefully videos!

To God alone be the glory,

Jenny