Jump Jump

Abby has learned to jump and it is funny! You don't realize how difficult it is to teach someone how to jump until you try to verbalize it. But, she is learning and prefers to jump in front of the dishwasher where she can watch herself.

New Wheels

Remember when we bought this to help Abby walk? That was 9 months ago! Since we have a full time walker, we converted it back to a car and Abby showed interest in it again. After bending over and giving her 20 rides up and down like this, we decided to make another purchase.

Check out Abby's new wheels. This purchase was all about our own comfort and not hers. Bending over and running up and down was killing us both. Parenting a toddler in your mid-30s is tough on the body ;0

Guess what? She hates it! So far, she has played in the hood and played with the buckle, but screams no the moment you try and push it. I'm sure she'll love it eventually because the rides on the old car are over! ha!

Chillin' at the Mall

There will come a day when Abby wants to just be dropped off at the mall and not see us until the parking lot hours later. I dread that day, so we cherish fun family time at the mall and love that they installed a new carousel! We bought 3 rides for $5 and I did the first time with her. It honestly went fast in my mind and I made Marcus do the next two. I was seriously dizzy! Then, we let Abby roam the fun playground. Going there about once a month we've really been able to see her progress at this playground. She has played with the baby toys, crawled, talked with a boy in his car, learned to slide on her own, walked and now this! She got into the rocket ship on her own!
Daddy normally hovers over her in settings like this.

Ta-Da! I did it!

Daddy was definetely not hovering this time :)

Way to go Abby!

Walking Update

When I got back from Las Vegas, Abby and I spent the afternoon at the mall play court. It is ideal for using up energy when it is hot outside! She walked really well on the padded floor. She can totally walk, but elects to crawl. We are getting closer and closer!

Dancing Machine

As promised, here is Abby dancing to the rhythm and sounds of the washing machine! I was hoping to get her walking on the same video, but not without the assistance of the wall.

In case you are wondering, her shirt says BARF VADER. ha! And yes, I sound like a fool.

Independent Sliding

This sweet girl and I spent a little time at the mall playground to avoid the heat! She loves the mini playground inside the local mall and has finally maneuvered the stairs and the slide by herself. She would climb up the stairs very slowly and was kind enough to wait her turn numerous times as other kids would jump up and in front of her.

Once she hit the slide, she was all smiles!

She would sometimes go down on her belly and sometimes on her knees to control her speed better!

Afterward, she would crawl back and she was up at it again!

It was a great workout and helped her go to bed 30 minutes earlier that night!

She also got took a knee to her forehead just after these were taken by a boy about 8 years old that was running and she was sitting at the base of the slide. Her head and his knee collided. She cried and he got scared. He ran over to his parents who made him apologize. Good thing helicopter Daddy wasn't there. That poor boy would be mowing our lawn for the entire summer!

Walk this Way!

Pink Barbie garden tools rock!
















Look at how excited she is... about dirt! Seriously? I get the play outside in dirt child? I didn't see this coming!


Something about being on the front yard brings out the walker in Abby. She has taken more steps on the lawn that in the house.






















We were very impressed by her going from sitting to standing without holding onto anything. This was her first time to do this. We are so close!


















So, we decided to practice at home last night before dinner and capture her walking.

School Egg Hunt

Marcus visited Abby at school this morning to partake in her class' Easter Egg Hunt. She didn't understand why he was there early and refusing to pick her up! Once she got outside, she found one egg, opened it up and spent the remainder of the time checking it out. Marcus brought her a few more eggs.

But, the egg hunt isn't the big news of the day.... Abby took a few steps to me when I picked her up today! I immediately came home and tried to capture it on video. No such luck. Notice the cool walker and the push vacuum she is SITTING next to! ha! I'll have a walking video soon! Tomorrow is our church friends' egg hunt!

I'm Getting Closer

Abby's teachers at school are just wonderful! We are able to give them goals for Abby and they update us on how they worked on them regularly. Abby is getting close to moving into the next class and we'd really like her walking in that class. She would be the youngest and they are all walking. I think it is safer for her to be with the wobbly walkers if she doesn't have 10 little fingers on the floor! Today they told me she had been walking around the classroom on a toy like this. So, we put it in front of her tonight and she walked the length of the living room. Last time we tried this toy she would put her weight on it causing it to push forward and she didn't know to move her legs to stay upright.
We're told we'll have a walker by the end of the month! I am excited to see her grow and develop and ready for her to come home without brown knees everyday! ha!

Standing Tall

We had to drop Abby's bed to the next setting this weekend since she learned to stand all the way up! Until now, she had gotten onto her knees only.Saturday morning, I went to get her about 5:45 and she was ready for me and looking so proud to show me what she could do.
It is truly like a light switch came on, she has pulled up and stood using the coffee table, end table, fireplace, and her toy basket. I guess the next step is "cruising" when she walks while holding onto another object.

Abby's New Wheels

I have seen this Playskool toy on numerous other blogs and when my friend Meg blogged about it with a $5 off coupon, I rushed to Wal-Mart to pick it up. Look at how proud she is- I love that smile and hope that she always feel confident in herself and her abilities.Abby is pulling up on lots of things and sits very stable now, so it was the perfect ride and walker for this stage. While sitting on it, she enjoyed checking out the spinners, lifting the hood, and shifting gears.
I think it exhausted her- she wanted up after a few minutes.

It does roll, making it a ride for her, but she wasn't too happy with it moving. I think it'll take a little more time before she can ride happy.

The blue part she is sitting on will also lift up and lock in place. This allow Abby to hold the yellow handle and push the toy as she learns to walk. She wasn't ready for that yet. She would stand holding the handle and put her weight on it which pushed it forward and she didn't know to move her feet to prevent herself from face planting.

Hello Kitty

... somebody is getting faster and thus closer and closer!

On Two Feet

Abby stood up for a LONG time looking out the living room window. I think she partially enjoyed it and partially stayed because she had no idea how to get out of the position. She started with her hands on the windowsill and very tentatively moved one at a time onto the window.
She looked at us like what is this and what do I do now?


My big girl! I love it!

These windows are about 1 foot off the ground, so they are just perfect for her. I am certain we'll spend a lot more time right here before Abby learns to walk.

Pictures at the Mall

Saturday morning Abby got all dressed up in her best Texas Tech gear to take pictures with our friend David, Blythe, and Michael. As Texas Tech alumni, we all dressed our kids up for some football season pictures. What fun- 4 kids under the age of 6 trying to be still, look at the camera, smile, stop playing with the football, hide your gum, fix your hair, etc.
Luckily, the Picture People photographer was able to capture a couple of good ones for us. While waiting to see our pictures Abby played for the first time in the soft playground inside the mall. She had fun crawling, moving beads around, seeing herself in the mirror, and trying to stand on the soft furniture.

After our photo session, we met up with some friends for the Texas OU and the Nebraska Texas Tech football games. It was a great day of fun, football, food and friends!

Pulling Up

Look at what I can do- I can pull up on the ottoman and see what Momma is doing!Abby also enjoys pulling up on the coffee table, the fireplace and her toy box!
With all this mobility, I am happy to report Marcus has completed the safety measures and all kitchen and bathroom cabinets have safety latches installed. We also placed a cushion around the fireplace and the coffee table as you can see above.

Can you see what I see?

Be very quiet- I don't think she sees me.

I Like to Move It Move It

Here are a few still images of our CRAWLING baby girl! If you sit her on the floor now and put a toy (or a cat) out of her reach, she'll go for it.
I would clap for her as she was crawling and she'd stop and clap for herself!

Then, she'd get right back at it.

So, at 8 months and 2 weeks, Abby Lu is a crawler!

Baby Shower for Lori

Saturday afternoon I attended a baby shower for a cousin of mine that I have not seen in 10 plus years! Lori's Mom and my Mom are cousins and they live in San Antonio area. She is expecting a soon-to-be very spoiled little girl in November. It was wonderful to see her family and celebrate such an exciting time with her. In the cousins picture below is Lori's son Brandon (standing behind her). He is 13 and gave her an umbrella stroller with the funniest and most heartwarming card. It read: "I hope we can handle this baby together." How sweet is that! Gotta love a teenage boy who wants to help his mother.
During the baby shower, my sweet princess who is metling down in the picture above decided to crawl for real. She did it across the room in front of everyone while we were all sitting in a circle and Lori was opening presents. It was lovely to see and difficult to celebrate in the midst of someone else's moment. I captured video discreetly, but it is awful. I'll be certain to catch her doing it at home this week for everyone to see.

Almost

Look what we ALMOST caught Abby doing tonight.... the cat is not safe for much longer!

Where did my video go?

Looking at this picture can you guess where Abby started?

Her school was closed yesterday, so I worked from home in the morning while Marcus had a conference call and then Marcus took off and he watched her the remainder of the day. While I was working I put on her video and set her up on her blanket with toys. I sat in the formal dining room and started working. I look up and saw this. She was upset that she couldn't see her video!

She isn't crawling yet, but when she gets on her belly she pushes her upper body up and because she doesn't use her legs she ends up using her arms to push herself backward.

We also discovered yesterday that she can go from lying down to sitting up on her own. Marcus put her down in her crib for her nap and when he went to check on her, he found her sitting up and smiling at him.

It is nice to see all those vegetables she is eating are making her strong!