13 Months

I'm not sure where the time went, but our cutie is already thirteen months! She is doing great these days. She is saying a few more words, although nothing very consistently. She can say mama, dada, cat, out, all done, and I did it (or at least we both swear that's what it sounds like she is saying!). She is signing more these days too and can wave hi and bye, in addition to signing all done, more, milk, bath, and her version of help, which has become incredibly useful because it really reduces her frustration level. It is so nice to see her signing for help instead of whining and getting upset. I really want to work on more signs with her soon too, because verbally she isn't ready to speak the words but she understands SO much. She follows many requests easily and it still takes my breath away when I watch her learn something new! Just tonight she put some pieces in a puzzle that she's never done before and I was just so proud! I'm wanting to soak up all of these moments even more nowadays because I know that my time alone with just her is limited. Abby is babbling a ton these days, and has very long conversations with herself where it seems like she is narrating everything she does. It's interesting and hilarious at the same time. I wish I knew what she's saying, and yet I know the day will come soon enough when we won't be able to get her to stop talking! :) She's still not walking, but she is finally getting brave enough to let go and stand alone, so that's a huge step in the right direction! I'm really hoping that walking isn't too far off, because as I get further along I won't want to carry her as much as I do these days. I've been trying to carry her less and make her crawl or wall-walk to follow me around. Sometimes she'll oblige and other times she will pitch a fit, but it's helping her understand that she needs to get around on her own more. We put a removable gate at the bottom of the stairs and that has really helped put my mind at ease. Now she can roam the whole first floor, and then we also have the family room gated off as a playroom for her, so I can close that gate if I need to run upstairs or to the basement. So far it's working out! I think that's all on the uldate front for now. Here are some recent pics!