Abby Lila is 2 years old!
We are so very blessed by this bright, talkative, happy, sweet, funny little girl! There's so much to say about Abby at 2...
Abby is incredibly talkative! At her 2-year well-check with the pediatrician, one of the standard developmental questions was, "Can she put together 2-3 word sentences?" I laughed and said, "Well, on the way here she said to me, "Mommy, c'you put my window up, I'm cold." Does that count?" Her doctor laughed, looked at Eli, and said "Sounds like somebody's older brother is a good teacher!" Her vocabulary is both impressive and amusing...the other day I set up her pack-and-play so that she could take a nap in a home we were visiting. When she saw it she said, "I get to sweep in der? Cool!"
Abby is already developing a sense of humor, thanks to Eli. He has recently started telling Knock-Knock jokes, and Abby has followed suit. Yesterday as I was buckling her into the carseat she told this one:
We are so very blessed by this bright, talkative, happy, sweet, funny little girl! There's so much to say about Abby at 2...
Abby is incredibly talkative! At her 2-year well-check with the pediatrician, one of the standard developmental questions was, "Can she put together 2-3 word sentences?" I laughed and said, "Well, on the way here she said to me, "Mommy, c'you put my window up, I'm cold." Does that count?" Her doctor laughed, looked at Eli, and said "Sounds like somebody's older brother is a good teacher!" Her vocabulary is both impressive and amusing...the other day I set up her pack-and-play so that she could take a nap in a home we were visiting. When she saw it she said, "I get to sweep in der? Cool!"
Abby is already developing a sense of humor, thanks to Eli. He has recently started telling Knock-Knock jokes, and Abby has followed suit. Yesterday as I was buckling her into the carseat she told this one:A: Knock, knock
Me: Who's there?
A: Banana
Me: Banana who?
A: Banana milk!! (After which she erupted in a fit of giggles!)
She also likes to re-visit April Fool's Day pretty much daily (also, thanks to Eli) with such "tricks" as: "Mommy, you're a cup! April Fool's!" (more giggles) "Mommy, I trick you!" She seriously cracks me up! She also loves to play games of peek-a-boo, hide and seek, and duck, duck, goose.
Abby is a fabulous combination of girly and tough. She loves to dress up in her princess dresses, tutus, and bracelets, but also won't hesitate to pick up a spider or worm in the yard! She loves to carry purses, often one on each arm, but she'll gladly drop them for a good tackle. She is also seldom without a phone, and it's such a blast to listen to her "conversations" with Pa, Eli, Daddy, and Mommy. Abby also loves clothes and shoes. She selected her own Easter dress this year, and insisted on wearing it for these portraits. She loves choosing her outfit each day, as well as a coordinating bow or hair tie (though I use the word "coordinating" loosely)!
While Abby still often clings to her Lovey and Mommy, especially when tired or sad, she also has an independent streak. We hear "I do it all by myself" several times daily, and we've stopped being surprised by the things she is able to do. Abby is always very proud of her accomplishments, shouting "Yay, Abby!", clapping for herself, and giving high-fives. 
Abby loves to run (she runs pretty much everywhere), and her former-running-coach Daddy says she has good form! :) She also seems to have a good throwing arm, and the jury's still out on whether she's a righty or a lefty. Abby loves to jump, climb, and dance...but she also seems to have equal interest in artsy activities like coloring, painting, and "doing stickers." Abigail absolutely loves music - whether she's playing it, listening to it, singing it, or dancing to it! The second music begins to play, Abby gets her groove on - and if the song has lyrics, Abby is quick to sing along (whether she gets the words right or not!). She often sings songs to us, to herself, and to her babies...her favorite is Be Thou My Vision.
There really isn't much that Abby doesn't enjoy (except not getting her own way, and time-outs!). She's equally happy playing with her babies or Eli's cars; jumping on the trampoline or reading quietly; playing dress-up or building with legos. Her flexibility applies to eating as well...she'll try just about anything, and I think the only thing she's ever strongly proclaimed a dislike for is avocados - one of the many differences between Abby and Eli! A few days ago she and I made chocolate chip cookies together and I got her to stop eating the chocolate chips by offering her grape tomatoes instead! "Matoes" are probably Abby's favorite thing to eat.
Our sweet little lady certainly has a spunky side as well. During a recent playdate Abby began to wail (yes, wail) over the fact that another child was wearing the hat Abby wanted. My friend laughed and said, "Wow, she's passionate!" Passionate was a very gracious word for her to use! :) I just hope that passion manifests itself in healthy ways as she grows!
All said, we adore this precious, beautiful, sweet, smart, funny, passionate little girl with whom God has so abundantly blessed our family. Ryan and I are so blessed not only by our daughter, but also by the relationship between our children. Eli adores his sister, and she him. Eli often tells us that he loves her the most, and recently hung a photo of her on his headboard so that he could see her even at night! Abby is equally enamored with her brother, following and mimicking his nearly every move and word. It has been a wonderful, adventurous two years, and we are so excited to see what is yet to come.
Abby is a fabulous combination of girly and tough. She loves to dress up in her princess dresses, tutus, and bracelets, but also won't hesitate to pick up a spider or worm in the yard! She loves to carry purses, often one on each arm, but she'll gladly drop them for a good tackle. She is also seldom without a phone, and it's such a blast to listen to her "conversations" with Pa, Eli, Daddy, and Mommy. Abby also loves clothes and shoes. She selected her own Easter dress this year, and insisted on wearing it for these portraits. She loves choosing her outfit each day, as well as a coordinating bow or hair tie (though I use the word "coordinating" loosely)!
While Abby still often clings to her Lovey and Mommy, especially when tired or sad, she also has an independent streak. We hear "I do it all by myself" several times daily, and we've stopped being surprised by the things she is able to do. Abby is always very proud of her accomplishments, shouting "Yay, Abby!", clapping for herself, and giving high-fives. 
Abby loves to run (she runs pretty much everywhere), and her former-running-coach Daddy says she has good form! :) She also seems to have a good throwing arm, and the jury's still out on whether she's a righty or a lefty. Abby loves to jump, climb, and dance...but she also seems to have equal interest in artsy activities like coloring, painting, and "doing stickers." Abigail absolutely loves music - whether she's playing it, listening to it, singing it, or dancing to it! The second music begins to play, Abby gets her groove on - and if the song has lyrics, Abby is quick to sing along (whether she gets the words right or not!). She often sings songs to us, to herself, and to her babies...her favorite is Be Thou My Vision.
There really isn't much that Abby doesn't enjoy (except not getting her own way, and time-outs!). She's equally happy playing with her babies or Eli's cars; jumping on the trampoline or reading quietly; playing dress-up or building with legos. Her flexibility applies to eating as well...she'll try just about anything, and I think the only thing she's ever strongly proclaimed a dislike for is avocados - one of the many differences between Abby and Eli! A few days ago she and I made chocolate chip cookies together and I got her to stop eating the chocolate chips by offering her grape tomatoes instead! "Matoes" are probably Abby's favorite thing to eat.
Our sweet little lady certainly has a spunky side as well. During a recent playdate Abby began to wail (yes, wail) over the fact that another child was wearing the hat Abby wanted. My friend laughed and said, "Wow, she's passionate!" Passionate was a very gracious word for her to use! :) I just hope that passion manifests itself in healthy ways as she grows!
All said, we adore this precious, beautiful, sweet, smart, funny, passionate little girl with whom God has so abundantly blessed our family. Ryan and I are so blessed not only by our daughter, but also by the relationship between our children. Eli adores his sister, and she him. Eli often tells us that he loves her the most, and recently hung a photo of her on his headboard so that he could see her even at night! Abby is equally enamored with her brother, following and mimicking his nearly every move and word. It has been a wonderful, adventurous two years, and we are so excited to see what is yet to come.
Happy Birthday, Abigail!
Thank you so much to my dear friend, Kate, for these beautiful photos of my precious little girl; I treasure them! And here's a little look back at Abby last year.
After choosing the animal she wanted to create (a cute brown puppy) Abby was guided through the adorable Build-a-Bear process... She was asked how squishy she wanted her pup, and the attendant had to take quite a bit of stuffing out to make the puppy squishy enough to meet Abby's approval! After Abby chose a little satin heart for her puppy she was asked to kiss it to fill it with love, rub it on her cheek to give her puppy laughter, jump so that her puppy could dance...
and then gently place her puppy's heart inside before it was sewn up.
The she took her little dog over to the (pretend) bathtub to get nice and clean...
After bath time Abby headed to the computer station to fill out the info for her puppy's birth certificate. This included giving her little friend a name; Abby thought "Cupcake" was appropriate for her birthday! Abby really like using the computer!
Then Abby picked out some clothes for Cupcake.
Introducing Abigail's new friend, Cupcake!
Abby was excited to take Cupcake home in her special box...
But not before we finished our date with a real birthday cupcake!
Finally, we headed home for Abby to open her family gifts and enjoy a birthday cinnamon roll (Great Grandma's specialty)!
And of course, the much-anticipated egg hunt!
Time to check out the goodies...
Needless to say, they didn't eat much breakfast!
All dressed up and ready to go worship the risen Lord!
After a wonderfully uplifting celebration of the resurrection our little family headed to a little cafe for some treats. 
and such a handsome little man!
Okay, this one totally doesn't deserve to be in here, but I just have to show off the beautiful mocha I enjoyed! Talk about dessert in a cup! :)
We had lots of fun ladybug-themed decorations...
and one very happy ladybug-garbed birthday girl.
And of course we had to have lots of yummy ladybug-adorned cupcakes!
...which were thoroughly enjoyed by our little lady.
And so was Abby, though I think she was more worried than impressed! :)
We then got to board the train that wasn't running and take turns "driving" it. Needless to say, Eli thought this was pretty spectacular!
Again, Abby wasn't quite as impressed. I'm pretty sure she only wanted to sit in the driver's seat so that she didn't miss out on something Eli was doing!