Abbey is eight!
While just a scant 17 1/2 months younger than Anne and 16 months older than Maggie, Abbey was my "first" middle child. As such, she possessed some middle child tendencies for awhile (mainly rebelling to obtain attention). Combined with the pouring of tender care into her for her fifth and sixth years of life and a shift in birth order from middle child to second oldest of soon to be five, we have noticed some lovely changes in Abbey.
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| Getting ready for her daddy-daughter date. Hiking and Lapp's for lunch! |
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| Obligatory family picture at the PA Grand Canyon |
The birth of Caroline three years ago revealed a tender heart in Abbey. While I believe the tenderness was always there, it was buried. Abbey is Caroline's go-to sister. Abbey doesn't recognize herself as a mothering type as much as Anne and Maggie and even Caroline who seem to innately have a love for all babies. I think it is what makes the relationship between Caroline and Abbey so special.
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| Did I mention Abbey's love of sweets??? |
At age eight, Abbey loves a good joke. Not necessarily on herself, but on others. Just before her birthday she thought it would be really funny to hide the remote to our TV. Then she left for the weekend. When I finally texted my mom to see where it got to Abbey told us "the crack in the couch". Nearly an hour of searching revealed no remote. It wasn't quite as funny when she got home for the weekend and couldn't watch anything because the remote was still missing. Thankfully a clever Daddy found it in a "secret compartment" in the crack of the couch.
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| New fabric for her sewing kit, along with some fresh buttons and thread! |
Abbey is a brilliant scholar. Though she is loathe to admit it and claims she hates school (or maybe just the teacher ;) ) she is really quite clever. She is working a full grade level ahead in all subjects so will finish third grade at the end of the week. She is particularly good at math. Again, she claims she does not like it, but she really does an excellent job. She also loves reading. She is really fond of adventure type stories. We have been consistently visiting the library every two weeks and that has been a joy to her heart to choose so many books to read in her free time.
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| A book at the cabin. What a life! |
Abbey also has some tremendous upper body strength. She loves doing chin ups on the monkey bars and seeing how many push ups she can do. While we were mulching the flower beds Abbey yelled for us to look at her on the tire swing, only for us to turn and see her climbing the rope and nearly touching the tree branch from which the rope hangs. While I was impressed with her ability it certainly didn't appear to be safe. I was concerned with how she would get down, imagining the horrible rope burn she would get, only to watch her deftly go hand under hand to get back down.
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| At the Barnstormers opening night. |
Abbey loves the outdoors. Whether she is running, riding bike, hiking, or planting flowers, she loves it all.
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| Biking at Silvermine Park. |
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| Taking pictures isn't her favorite thing, but she humors me because she knows it's important to me. She is learning to be selfless and I am so proud to be her mother! |
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| Fun at the Cabin |
She also loves to try to make me emotional and get me to cry. Generally she says things like, "Well, I'm growing up. I'm not your baby anymore. Before you know it I'll be going to college." It is her way of saying she loves me. At least that is what I tell myself.
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| Star Gazing |
Happy 8th birthday, Abbey Frances. And when you're going off to college, I hope I'll still remember your tight hugs, your dirty face after playing hard outside, and your fierce love. Wishing you much joy, my daughter. Thanks for being my best Abbey.
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