Abigail

It has been a long time since we have done individualized posts for each child, so I thought it would be a nice thing to do in the week leading up to their 2nd birthday. They have all grown and changed so much in the past year and their personalities are all so different.

Here are some words that describe Abby:
Sweet
Generous
Goofy


Laid-back


Empathic
Thoughtful
Sensitive


Helpful
Happy


Loves to play in the dirt


Can put on her own socks and shoes (sometimes)

Loves singing



Abby seems to have a real gift for understanding others' emotions and needs. She often brings items to her siblings without them asking, and she shares so willingly. The downside to her generous nature is that the other two often steal things from her, and rather than protest, she just goes and finds something else to do. Jason and I find ourselves secretly cheering when she fights back, or when she steals something from someone else. We want to make sure she's assertive enough about her own needs, but she also needs to follow the "no stealing" rule. Tough balance.

Abby was often the first to reach the more "social" milestones, such as clapping and waving bye-bye. Last week, she was the first to say "I love you". It was pretty amazing. We had been reading a book with the phrase "I love you" in it, and she kept repeating it randomly. Jason talked with her about what the phrase means, and one day, while Jason was changing her diaper, she looked up at him and said "I love you" without any prompting. We both got a little teary, and then I said "what about me??" and she looked at me and said "I love you" again. She hasn't said it spontaneously since then, but it was pretty awesome when it happened.

All the kids are starting to learn their letters, numbers, and colors. Here's a cute video of Abby counting:


We love our sweet Baby A!