New words and sounds

Abigail started signing the word, "more" when asking for more food to eat--very exciting! She's even saying the word. It sounds like "more" but she articulates the "r" sound very softly. She's also saying, "ball," the "l" sound also is very soft.

We bought her a stuffed lioness, Nala, from the The Lion King, back in Florida when we saw her eyes light up when seeing and touching her. She still adores her. We've also introduced her to a teddy bear and a stuffed doll--all these pals are referred to as Nala as well. Interesting, isn't it?

One other sound she's been testing out is the blowing kisses sound. When she reaches out for you or you plant a kiss on her, she says, "MMMMMM-wah!"

She's also very interested in the toilet. She loves to crawl into the bathroom, pull herself up and stand, proudly, before the throne. We used to close the bathroom door because of Fink and her escapades, but now it's closed because of our little lady.

Plus, she's showing she understands the concept of, in and out. She takes a ball and puts it in the green jug, and then out:
It's an astonishing thing to watch her blossom right before our eyes.

She also throws her hands up when you ask her, "how big is Abigail?" Her response is,"So big!" So, she's getting the "up" concept, not so much the "down." That's because her whole existence is for Up, Up, Up! Stand up, climb up, reach up, hands up!

If You're Happy and You Know It...

Abigail just started clapping yesterday. And (rightfully) feels it is necessary to clap her hands if you start singing the famous jingle to her:

She also loves saying, "uh-oh" when she drops food or, just because it's fun to say.

But she may love eating macaroni and cheese more than saying, "uh-oh." Maybe.

Abigail has had a huge growth burst. She stands leaning her belly, not her hands, against things; she even will stand not holding onto anything for about half a second. But we know she's testing to see what her body can do. And her gestures--like waving to people when entering an elevator or laughing as a form of entertainment for herself, she's just bigger, and, dare we say, less baby-like and more child-like. Hard to believe but true.

Some other firsts

February is proving to be a time for a lot of firsts:

Abigail brushes her teeth now!

Which she really needed to learn to do since, she tried blackberries today!

She also loves to eat beef, barley and mushroom soup! Yay for all the new things she's trying and discovered again like, avocado and bananas--she took a hiatus from these delectables, but now eats them with vigor. She's also intereacting more with other babies her age--patting tushies, staring and noticing more of her peers.

And, here's a movie of her crawling, a bit. She's a bit camera shy when it comes to crawling, but this movie will give you a little taste of her new found mobility:

Abigail is growing incredibly fast and we're enjoying every moment with her but, also counting down to her first birthday which we're in shock is coming up so soon. Don't you just love her?!

10 months

It's hard to believe but today is Abigail's 10th month of life! Time is just flying now. And so is she. For about a week and a half now (since 2/3), she has been full on crawling. No more commando crawling for her, she's on all fours and scooting fast. It has been amazing to see her GO! Amazing for Fink too.

"Bye, bye," are her first words. She waves and says "bye, bye," when Papa leaves for work. She says "dada," when she's interacting with Daphne often so we're thinking those sounds are intended to mean her. She says "nanana," often as well but we haven't quite figured out what she's trying to tell us yet.

And eating! She loves to eat with her fork--turkey meatballs, rotini, macaroni and cheese, cheddar and swiss, blueberries cut in half, chopped up chicken with tomato sauce, cheerios, edamame, and PEAS! She's always loved pureed peas and now that she's got the real deal, she's quite pleased with herself to shove them in. She also loves to dangle her hand down and have her Dada pal lick (and tickle) it, much to the delight of both of them.

We're all recovering from a bad case of stomach flu (check picture in the previous post--we think it's the cause of the bad tummies). It slowed us down but now we're all basically recuperated. Thank goodness.

Happy 10 months!!

Children's Museum and such

Children's Museum=fun, fun, fun! Abigail loved looking and licking a few tanks there:



She's also very interested in feeding herself. She rarely wants Mama or Papa to do it. She's a hands on kind of girl. She's also an excellent napper (check out that hair!):

So many adventures even though we've been spending a lot of time indoors. She's lifting herself more and more by using drawers, stools, chairs; she's ready to just go up and up!

Back from Florida

Back to the cold! We were just swimming in an outdoor pool only to come back to some bone chilling weather here in Brooklyn! Brrrr!!

We are happy to report that our girl enjoying the pool once again. Guess warm water helps! So, we're on the look out for some warm pools in the neighborhood so we can continue that love of water.

Abigail made some huge leaps and bounds while in Florida. (Oh and the plane rides were fantastic--she's a great traveller!) She walked around a coffee table, she thoroughly enjoyed swinging in a playground, she made a few attempts to crawl rather than scoot on the ground, she warmed up quickly to her grandparents and Grand-Mumsie, and she once again fell asleep on her Papa's chest (that hasn't happened in a LONG while and made the trip for Jonathan), while we walked around the beautiful Captiva island beach.

We came home to find our poor Daphne's eye swollen--it's better now for sure, but she needs a vacation.

Just about 9 months

We celebrated Chanukah again this past weekend in NJ. Abigail now has her Papa's hat from when he was a boy:


Oh, and she is very amused by catalogues:


And is an excellent teacher:

(nice pants, right?!)

Tomorrow she will be 9 months. Yesterday, we went in for her ninth month check-up: she's a happy, healthy, girl (and ready for stage 3 foods; things with a bit more chunks!)

We're so proud of all her accomplishments, and can't wait to see what she'll do next!