Abby's 1st Birthday Party

We had Abby's second, 1st Birthday Party this past Saturday and it was lots of fun!  Abby go to play with lots of her friends and learn how to share.  I took lots of pictures of all the babies playing that I thought I was going to post but none of them were really good because no one is looking at the camera and it just looks like chaos!  I guess that's how it goes.  How anticlimactic since I've been saying I would post pictures for so long now.  :P  Sorry!  But here are a few notable birthday pictures.

Abby in her birthday dress after her bath and before her party guests arrived.

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, dear Abby!

Happy Birthday to you!

That's about as messy as we got (or I could take!).

Aunt Meredith made the delicious vanilla buttermilk cupcakes filled with strawberry jam topped with Mexican vanilla buttercream frosting.  Yum - thanks Meredith!  And I had fun making the cupcake toppers (with Mere's help).  You'll be seeing more of those from now on!

Thank you everyone for making Abby's 1st birthday so memorable!  It was fun to catch up with old friends and see so many happy babies.  :)   

Tooth #3 and Going to the Park

Abby is 12 months and 4 days old when her third tooth decided to make an appearance.  :)  It's the top right buck tooth and unlike the previous 2 teeth that came in, Abby was fussy today and I should have known.  But I like the fussy because 'fussy = more cuddles!'  My favorite!

I know I'm going out of order (haven't posted party pics yet but....).....

The weather was absolutely gorgeous here in Houston so I packed Abby up and took her to the park for the first time since she's been able to walk.  I must admit, since it was just the 2 of us, I was a little apprehensive because I also wanted to take pictures but everything went really well.  :)  She liked sliding down the slide the best and just being able to walk around and explore her surroundings.  She's such a cautious baby - carefully watching the floor as she took each step and holding her hands out for balance.

One Year Well Check

We just got back from the doctor's office and Abby is 29.5" tall and 22 lbs. and 7 oz.  Both in the 60% range so she's slowing down a bit.  :)  That's our Xiao Xiao!  So she's grown 1.25" and gained 2 lbs. and 4 oz. since her 9 month well check.  But her head measured 48 cm which is in the 97%!!  Haha!  She takes after her Jo Jo - heehee!  :)  Can't post without a picture so this one is just before her party guests arrived.  Will post party pictures next....stay tuned!

What did we do on her birthday, you ask?

On Friday, Ruby A Yi came over around noon to spend some time with her favorite niece and for the cousins to hang out.  :)  We skyped with Janice A Yi all the way in Chicago and Ruby got to "meet" Aaron for the first time! 

Then we just hung out and played for a while.  The second pic is just a typical Abby face.  :)

Then Lao Yie stopped by after work to wish Abby a Happy Birthday and squeeze in some quality family time.  She loves following the little alligator around. 

This is just a picture of me and my lovely baby!  :)  As you can see, my stupid new growth hair looks like bangs now.  Ugh - grow faster so I can tuck you BEHIND my ears again!

That evening when Daddy got home, Abby got to open up her birthday gifts and she did such a great job! 

She got her own dump truck!  She loves the little boulder which she calls "ball" all the time.  :)

We realized Abby doesn't have a plush ball to play with and those seem to be her favorite so now she has an Astros ball!

Abby also got a Tap n' Turn bench and she's figured out how to use the hammer now.  I seem to remember playing or even having one when we were little but I'm not sure so I need to call on my siblings to help me remember.  Did we have one or did someone else have it?  Because I distinctly remember playing with this and really loving it.  Anyhow....

 

And lastly, Xiao Xiao got some Mega Blocks!  Don't be fooled, Daddy, and not Abby, built the structure you see. 

Daddy also built this robot for Abby.  As you can see, she's still fascinated with the "ball" (that's what she is saying).

And Daddy also built this tower.  I'm starting to think that Daddy got this gift for himself....  :P

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, ABBY!!!

Can it be??  Our little baby is already 1 year old?  I suppose time really does fly when you are having fun.  At this time last year, I was already being induced and we just couldn't wait to meet our little daughter and find out who/what she looked like!  Abby, if you ever read this in the future, we love you so very much and you have brought so much joy to our lives in the past year (and even when you were in mommy's tummy!).  Thank you for being such a sweet little girl and we can't wait to see what the next year will bring.  Mwa and mwa!  :{}  :{}

For my own benefit, I'm going to jot down some noteable 1 year milestones:

1. Abby still only has her 2 bottom teeth.  :)
2. She is wearing 12-18 and sometimes 18-24 month clothes and size 4 shoes.
3. She started walking at 11.5 months old.
4. She has a 15-20 word vocabulary in both English and Chinese ("hua" seems to be her favorite word).  :)
5. She loves watching Ni Hao Kai Lan.
6. I was going to record her favorite thing to eat but she eats any and everything in sight.
7. Her favorite toy du jour is her purple bunny (given to her by Grandma & Grandpa for Easter).

This picture was taken 3 days ago (don't have a birthday picture yet since she's still sleeping) of Abby in her new red wagon!  She just loves going for rides around the neigborhood.  :)

Video of Abby walking!

Abby has been walking for a couple of weeks now and I FINALLY got a good, short video of her in action.  Enjoy! 

Happy 1st Birthday, Abby!

Abby's real birthday isn't until April 23 but we had a family birthday party this past Saturday and it was sooo much fun!  :) 

We got her some balloons and she just LOVED it!  She played so much she eventually got static in her hair.  :)

Abby still remembered how to open gifts from Christmas and she got lots of fun new toys!  Thank you everyone!  :)

 

We took the wagon out for a test drive and Abby REALLY loved it!!

Grandma made a little heart shaped cake for Abby and she ate it up!  Those that know me know that I have slight OCD tendancies so watching her grab the cake, squish it between her fingers and shove it in her mouth was such a challenge but we all survived.  :P  Happy Birthday Abby!  Mommy and Daddy love you very, very much!