Austin Children's Museum

Matt and I took Abby to her first museum outing on Sunday and it was so much fun! We went downtown to the Austin Children's Museum. It's not a big place, but there were tons of kids and Abby loves watching them all play. She was so relaxed and just taking it all in. She even played with a few of the toys...unless she got stuck watching her Daddy. ;)

Rocking the bongo drums!

Loving the tambourine!

What do I do with this stick??

Daddy playing with the tractor claw game...

And making Abby sit and watch. :)

Standing and cruising and into EVERYTHING!

Abby vs. Shelby

Today we learned to always check the cat gate in the entrance of Abby's playroom at the front of our house. :)

Abby was doing her normal playing at the gate...standing and shaking it. Then she got quiet and we found her on the OTHER side of the gate. She obviously crawled through the cat door. And she was quite proud of herself. Smart girl.

8 Months Old!

Can you believe it - it's been 8 months! Abby is a girl on the move now. Gone are the days of sweet cuddles from a little newborn. IF you can get her to sit on your lap, it's only because you must have a really cool toy she's interested in. :) She's so busy. Crawling, pulling herself up to stand, getting into EVERYTHING. Her Miss Priss personality is also shining through. If you take something from her that she really wants (usually some sort of paper), she will let you know how displeased she is!

She is also a solid eating champ. I was so nervous about the fact that she just wasn't into food. But she's definitely getting the hang of it now. And so far there isn't anything she doesn't like. Peas - check! Spinach - check! Carrots - check! She likes all her veggies and she of course loves all fruits.

Here is her 8 month photo shoot!!

Something is missing

I wasn't sure how I wanted to write this post, but I knew I wanted to document it for Abby since I will be printing this blog for her to read one day.

My Grandma, Abby's Great-Grandma passed away this past Saturday, July 3. I can't believe it's already been a week. I feel like something is missing and I guess it's just the idea that she's not there and won't be when we go back to visit.

But the most amazing thing happened. None of us knew why Grandma was holding on & why she wouldn't let go. When I got to Ennis on Wednesday, she knew I was there and we got to talk just a few words. By that night, she had slowly declined and it was apparent that she most likely wasn't going to get better. But she held on. Thursday, Friday, Saturday morning all past. She was still holding on and waiting. And then we knew. She was waiting for Abby. She had known this whole time that Abby wasn't there yet, and she also knew she was coming on Saturday. 1.5 hours after Abby arrived, Grandma passed. Even through her illness, her love for Abby was obvious. I had several people approach me at the nursing home, then the visitation, then at Grandpa's house, then finally at the funeral. They all wanted to tell me something special Grandma had told them about Abby. And how she always showed her pictures to whoever was visiting. I wish more than anything that they had more time together. But at least we still have our memories, and can share them with her as she grows up.

And here is a sweet picture of her outfit she wore to the funeral. Pink frilly roses - she was so pretty, just like her Great Grandma.

One more video

Because she is just THAT cute.

Funniest. Laugh. Ever.

I could listen to this laugh for hours.

Bookworm

Abby loves books. And she found a whole shelf of them this weekend and decided she would try to read every one of them. I think she was especially fond of the Steinbeck.

Beautiful day in Austin, TX

Matt and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day on Sunday so we took Abby on her first outing to The Oasis. It's amazing how much better the lake looks now that there is water in it!

Pears - the yummiest fruit

We've had a bit of success lately in the solids department. Abby has started eating a couple tablespoons of different fruits and vegetables (and a Mum Mum and popsicle every now and then) two or three times a day, and isn't throwing near as big of a fit about it. Even her teachers are so proud of her, and they love to tell me every day how good she's doing. She should be eating way more than that - but hey, we'll take what we can get!

And we have all come to realize her most favorite food so far is pears. She loves them and never refuses them. So today we cut up a fresh pear and put a big chunk in her mesh feeder...and sure enough, she loved it!

Make sure your volume is on - you can hear her going to town!