Happy Birthday Abigail!

We had a great time celebrating Abigail's birthday with her by having a little party at our house with some family and friends.  Abigail of course did not know why we were having all this commotion, but enjoyed the attention, the paper-ripping, and the dessert!

Here are some highlights:

Abigail liked eating pizza and salad while wandering around on the patio.

When it was time for presents, Abigail was pretty interested in the paper and removing it but unsure about what to do with all the toys.

Eventually, with some encouragement, she was able to start exploring all the great gifts she got.

Then it was time for brownies and singing!  Abigail was interested in the idea of the candle on the brownies but more excited about eating them!

We ended up with a happy, chocolate covered birthday girl!

 

We were so thankful to everyone who came to help us celebrate and make Abigail's birthday party so much fun. We are excited to help her explore her new toys and books, but are more thankful for all the love and support we have received over the past year.  

Bouncing balls

While we were in Phoenix over Thanskgiving, Abigail got a few great early birthday presents from my brother and sister-in-law.  The gifts were all awesome, and included a ball popper toy that has become one of Abigail's current favorite things.

Here she is checking it out right after she got it:

At first she was not quite sure what to make of it, but she quickly figured out how to turn it on, put the balls in and take them out, and even retrieve them when they bounce out of the top. 

Here she is in action with her new toy:

November rewind: Thanksgiving

We had a blast celebrating thanksgiving with my side of the family in Phoenix this year.  It was Abigail's first thanksgiving on the outside with us and we enjoyed the food and company. Abigail particularly liked the puppy dog, Maggie, and having so many people to follow her every move and help her wander around and explore.

Here are some photo highlights:
First bites of thanksgiving dinner (which Abigail loved)

 exploring:

 stalking maggie the puppy

and playing with some of her favorite people

She had fun with other family members too but I wasn't great about getting pictures with everyone. Her sleep was a little rocky so it made for one tired mama, but we all had fun in the end so it was worth it!

November Rewind: Phoenix weekend

Time has been flying and the blog has been neglected so it is time to catch up on some of our favorite November happenings.  It was a good month so we will try to hit the highlights in our next few posts.

First up: we went up to Phoenix the second weekend in November to celebrate Abigail's baby cousin Laura's baptism.  The baptism was in the evening so we had a nice chance to relax and enjoy the weather at Grandma Mary and Grandpa Tom's before heading to church.

Abigail was very interested in the animals that live there:

Abigail also really enjoyed the big toy at the house and we had so much fun exploring with her:

Later, we all enjoyed the baptism at the church although Abigail mostly liked walking around in the space at the back:

I didn't get a photo of the baptism itself but here is an only slightly blurry shot of Abigail and Laura at the party the next day.

We all had a really good time and Abigail even slept well away from home!

Happy 1st Birthday Abigail!

Abigail is one year old today!

It is hard to believe that a year ago at this time we were heading to the hospital, nervous and excited for the challenge of labor and delivery and for meeting our little girl!

And it is hard to believe that tiny, swaddled baby is now this active, walking, talking kid, 366 days later:

While it seems like Abigail has been in our lives for such a long time, it also feels like this year has flown by. We have had plenty to keep us busy and so much to laugh about, and we have had such a great time experiencing the world anew through Abigail's eyes!

We can't wait to see what the next year brings with our little sunshine!