12 Months of Abigail

Letters to Abigail: Happy ONE Year!!

Note: This letter was written and these pictures were taken on June 21, 2012. 

Dear Abigail,

One year ago today, you changed my life forever - you made me a mother.

After a short but rough labor, you were born at 11:13 a.m. You weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces and were 21 inches long. You had an instant calm about you and were very alert to meet us. 

As the nurse handed you to me, I realized you were perfect and was completely amazed that your daddy and I made you - you were ours. 

I loved you instantly but I never knew how much that love would grow with each passing day. It's such an amazing love - a mother's love.  

You're an amazing little girl. You are very sweet but also strong and independent. You are curious and smart. You are funny.

You love people - you love to watch them and make them smile at you.You get very excited to meet new people and you love to see friends and family.

You adore your daddy. You think he is the funniest person on earth and you guys share a special bond. Of course, he adores you too and you have him wrapped around your little finger.

You've taught us more in the past year than we can teach you in a lifetime; and you've shown us true happiness and love.

We are so grateful to have you in our lives. We promise to strive every day to be the best parents, and although we may make mistakes, we will always love you. 

Thank you for the best year of our lives. We look forward to watching you grow and develop into a beautiful little girl.

With more love than words can express, 

Mommy & Daddy

Letters to Abigail: Happy Eleven Months!!

Note: This letter was written and these pictures were taken on May 21, 2012. 

Dear Abigail,

You are eleven months old today! Your personality is developing more and more and you are just SO much fun. 

I am so thankful that you are a happy baby. You love to smile and laugh, and you're quite the flirt with people.

You crawl around like crazy and have gotten to be really fast. You aren't walking yet but you manage to get where you want to be with lightening speed.

You cut a few more teeth this month. Before long, you will have a mouth full. You're still in a size 4 diaper and size 12-18 month clothes. You sleep and eat like a champ.

You think your daddy is hysterical. He is the one that keeps you laughing during these photo sessions. You are definitely a daddy's girl!

You do not like to cuddle - you are always on the go! There are too many things for you to see and too many places you have to investigate. 

You weigh about 23 pounds and you're still pretty long for your age.

The sound of your laugh is the best in the world.

I may be biased, but you are truly the best baby I've ever seen. You are so easy to manage and you are such a joy to be around.

You add so much happiness to our lives and we love you more than words can express.

Happy 11 Months, Abigail!! 

Love, 

Mommy & Daddy

Catching Up: May, June and July

The past few months have been some of the most stressful of my life, so pardon my recent social media sabbatical. 

It's not been bad stress...everything is going EXTREMELY well...it just so happens that a bunch of things happened at once, and in order to survive, I had to get back to basics...sleep, bathe, work, eat, repeat. 

So, what's been happening since my last blog?!?!

We celebrated my 1st Mother's Day. 

Abigail is my greatest gift, but Jan spoiled me with a shopping trip to Atlanta. 

We attended Presleigh's 5th Birthday Party 

(which made for 3 weekend trips to Atlanta in a row).

We packed our house and celebrated Memorial Day around the pool. 

We celebrated with my oldest niece, Rayven, as she turned 16! 

She got a car - every 16 year old's DREAM!

Abigail ate a lemon for the first time. 

I celebrated the upcoming arrival of my new niece, Molli Grace. 

Mom and Sisters

 Mom (Bibi) and Grand-daughters

We bought our first family home and moved!   

 

We celebrated Jan's 1st Father's Day. 

 

And attended Dylan's 1st Birthday Party. 

Abigail turned ONE and we celebrated with a big party. 

 I will post more pictures soon.

We found out G2 was a BOY. 

 The secret was hidden in Abigail's smash cake - more to come on this too!

We played.

We celebrated Independence Day. 

I made it halfway with Baby Boy (20 weeks) and we decided on a name.

 We attended Isabelle's baptism.

I think this pretty much catches us up. 

Managing all of these activities and the house move might not have been as stressful if I wasn't pregnant but it is what it is. This pregnancy hasn't been nearly as easy as Abigail's but I finally have my head above water and can somewhat breathe again. 

My TO-DO list is still a mile long considering I have an entire house to decorate and a baby to prepare for but I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel fortunate to be living a life better than I ever dreamed about.

Lots of post to come, so stay tuned!