Princess Abigail

We just took Abby to her last doctor's appointment.
Of her first year, that is.

Secretly, I have been counting down to these wellness checkups. Harsh as it may seem, bottom line is, she is almost finished with her first year.

Besides being 30 inches tall and weighs only 20 lbs (I said "only" because her brother weighed so much more when he was at her age), she is hardly that tiny pea she was when I first met her. Rambunctious and not a bit meek, her adventurous side comes out when she tries to perfect the act of crawling, even walking. Not that she is walking, but she tries. She even tries to climb into her walker from the floor up. She is not at all content when she is on the floor, at one spot. She has the need to explore and to taste every square inch of her home. She is also independent.....

.....in her own comfort zone, that is.

As soon as she leaves her comfort zone, she becomes a whole different being. She becomes a princess, who whines at anything, and cries to everyone. Princess Abigail does not like strangers, nor does she enjoy being in strange places. She is like that princess who could feel the tiny pea underneath those 20 mattresses in that oh-so-familiar fairytale story. She is not so independent anymore when she realizes Mommy and Daddy are not within reach. She will shed tears until someone, anyone, picks her up in her loving arms and reassures her that she is loved.

But Princess Abigail can be a tough cookie, as well. Her older brother trains her to be. She has been pushed, shoved, landed on, by a 34-lb creature named Caleb. She has shamelessly taken away her brother's food from his hands, and made her brother cry by innocently(and accidentally) slapping him on the face while he was having a diaper change. But they love each other; their love for each other is deep. While he makes sure she is physically safe at all times, she will smile at him from ear to ear, even when he falls on top of her in the morning from climbing into her crib.

Princess Abigail--it's a joy to have her here with us.