Pulling Up

This was Abby's first ride in a red wagon during a visit to Nana Diana's house. She is enjoying herself but hanging on tight as Daddy drives.

The back of Abby's neck is one of her cutest parts. It was the only place I could kiss her when she was brand new because I had a fever blister when she was born. I love this little outfit. It was a great find brand new at a thrift store. While I was taking her picture, she was busy playing with one of the canvas bins where her toys are stored in the living room. This picture shows Abby's skort and (one of) her little brown shoes that Jonathan picked out for her. This outfit is her first grown-up outfit. By that I mean, I would actually consider wearing it if it were my size. Not that I look to a ten-month-old for fashion inspiration. It's just that after super-cute baby wardrobe of sailor suits, shirts that say "sweetie", and outfits covered in bright red cherries, this little ensemble just seemed like something totally different.

Here is one of Abby's first times pulling up at the coffee table. For the first couple days, she would stand there for about 20 minutes as she was unsure how to get done. After a few falls, she learned to let go and land hard on her diapered bottom. Now she usually eases down fairly smoothly.

Standing up at the refrigerator. Abby is so proud of her accomplishments. She became quite obsessed with standing up in her crib. I had to physically lay her back down half a dozen times to get her to take a nap for the first couple days. Luckily the new wore off fairly quickly and we're having less trouble at nap time.Last Sunday we took Abby to a family reunion for my paternal grandmother's family. Back in the 80s, my grandmother hosted this particular reunion at her house. While it was a lot of work for her and my dad, it was a great event for me and my brother. The giant table needed to hold all the food was a trailer backed into my grandmother's carport. Of course, we kids used it as stage for some silly performances during setup time. Anyway, I haven't been a faithful attender of reunions as a young adult, but somehow it seemed like a lot of fun to go and show off Abby this year.

Abby & her proud Papa

Trying out the playground toys with Daddy

Pure excitement, with great-grandmother Su-Su Abby was in a great mood that day. She was showcasing her antics for an appreciative audience. She's been saying "hi", prounced more like "hi-eye". (I guess it's the Southern accent, where's no such thing as a one-syllable word). "Hi" is often accompanied by an adorable whole-arm wave.

The lake and mountains make a great backdrop for a family photo, but Abby blinked. :(

We (yes, we includes Jonathan who is also a sucker for cute Abby clothes) couldn't resist these adorable capri pants and matching shirt back in April when the spring clothes first came out (and weren't on sale yet). They are so cute, but so ill fitting when Abby moves around. Who designs low-rise, skinny leg capris for a baby even if they do have an adjustable waist? Everyone thinks Abby is a boy when she wears this outfit, but I had to have blue to match her eyes back when they were still very blue. They are very slowly changing to a blue/gray/hazel that's tough to describe. My eyes were slow to change too. I'm thinking Abby's eyes will ultimately be hazel, but we'll see.

Thanks to Aunt Pam for this great UGA outfit, which Abby is sporting in honor of opening day for Georgia football and our team's number one ranking. (Unfortunately, that ranking turned out to be very shortlived:( !) She is also sporting her infamous "round mouth" expression, used dozens of times daily to express excitement or interest.

Paw-Print Bloomers

Cooling off with some water from the UGA sippy cup after a hot afternoon stroller ride.
"Reading" (aka destroying) a magazine is a special treat for Abby, allowed occasionally with intense supervision.

Today we went to a birthday party for A.J. and Makenna, Abby's first cousins. It was outdoors at a great park, but it was very hot. Abby is teething (I think), tired because it was way too exciting to nap in the church nursery this morning, and grouchy because she's too hot. I have no actual birthday party pictures because it took all my energy to keep Abby semi-content in the shade.

Here are a couple of older photos to make up for what I missed today.

A.J. and Makenna having fun under our table last Christmas

Cousins celebrating Christmas at our house.
A.J. (4.5), Abby (8 weeks), Makenna (2.5)

I had to retitle this post as I'm surprising myself with how much I have to say about Abby's clothes. Baby clothes are just so cute! I still enjoy picking out Abby's outfits each day. While I'm on the subject, I might as well point out the size 0 Mary Janes (from Nana Diana) and newborn size velvet pants and embroidered shirt ( from Aunt Diane) that Abby wore for the Christmas celebration shown above. It's hard to believe Abby was so tiny just eight months ago. Where has the time gone??