What a year! From little to middle and handling it like a PRO :)
She is fiercely independent, focused, and so smart. The perfect mix of sweet and sassy.
More and more she's using her words to express her wants and feelings (instead of whining and crying!) I have to laugh when I hear her yell, "I'm SO MAD AT YOU, AUDREY!!" She'll say, "I'm frustrated!" or "You upset me!" and once we talk it out she's all better. I love seeing her progress! BUT, we REALLY need to work on listening. She will straight up ignore us if she's in the middle of something. If we want her to go anywhere, we have to race her or give her a horseback ride, lol. She loves competition and games.
Her imagination is incredible, and yet so different from Audrey. Audrey has always liked to build and then arrange her toy figurines. Abigail likes to pretend play. Her favorite roles are: Sheriff Cali (she uses my bathrobe tie as a lasso), a puppy dog, random Disney princesses, super hero, Doc McStuffins (Audrey built her a clinic out of several large boxes, lol!)
She likes to read and work on puzzles. She LOVES going to Grandma's house. Lately she's been acting like Anna and Elsa from Frozen. She'll run around and sing the songs and be overdramatic. I love watching her, and joining in, too :) She started soccer and plays with a small group of kids. We are so impressed with how good she is at listening and following directions! We think she's going to be a great student.
I seriously underestimated how amazing she'd be as a big sister. She is so kind and caring and sweet with Annie. She plays with her and talks to her...it just warms my heart. Where Audrey was pretty indifferent towards Abigail, Abigail just loves to be around Annie. Audrey would shy away from being touched by baby Abby. Abigail actually lays on the floor next to Annie and lets her go to town, laughing the whole time! I let her hold Annie and she says, "Oh, Annie, you're getting so BIG!!"
On the flip side, she can be a rotten little sister, lol. She'll still sneak up on Audrey and take something and RUN, hahaha. When they do get along and play together, the mix of creativity and imagination is pretty incredible. I love how they talk to each other. Audrey is very helpful and matter-of-fact. Abigail pretty much goes along with whatever Audrey says. The other day I overheard her say, "FOCUS, AUDREY!" which is something we say to Audrey pretty often, lol. The dynamic between all of the sisters is so fun to watch.
She is pretty much fully potty trained. We can leave the house without fear of an accident :) However, if she gets too distracted at home, she'll have an accident.
It amazes me that after 3 years, I'm still trying to figure her out, to fully understand that she is her own person and she needs a different approach than Audrey. Perfect example: Lately we've been having a hard time at breakfast- she doesn't want any of the choices. I offer her a range of things- Cheerios, cereal bar, yogurt, pancakes, banana, oatmeal, eggs, toast...all to which she says, "No thank you!" She wants ravioli or mac and cheese...ummm, no Ma'am!! Then we both get frustrated. One morning I was venting to Chris about it. He said, "Watch this," and he peeled a banana and gave it to her. She ate it. Happily. Like it was the best thing ever. SERIOUSLY?!? Lesson learned. With Audrey I'm used to talking things out, offering choices and we're all good. With Abigail I need to be more direct. Too many choices is overwhelming.
Three years ago, I clearly remember looking at her sweet face (and being amazed at all her dark hair!) and feeling so relieved that I loved her just as much as I loved Audrey. To this day that is true, my heart has expanded so much since she came along. I've learned to be more patient and tolerant and open minded. I cherish her so much and the rle she plays in our family.
Happy Birthday, Sweet Abigail Mae!
Slideshow:
