Abbey is Ten!

In April, Abbey turned ten! I now have two kids in double-digits!

It's always hard to believe that your once little baby is getting so big, so full of life and personality. She's making her own decisions and sticking with them. Well, that's nothing new. Even as a little girl she could be quite stubborn. Abbey is such a fun girl to be around. She may come off as shy before you get to know her, then she'll knock you down in surprise at her (sometimes dark) humor.

Typical Abbey humor

Abbey doesn't usually want people to know it, but she's actually very tender-hearted. She may not cry during Little House on the Prairie like her mom does, but it's not uncommon to see her helping Caroline or Ruth with whatever they need. She is usually quite resistant to change but was the most eager for us to adopt a second time. She has the amazing ability to get along well with all of her siblings. It is rare to see her lose her temper at any of her siblings. It's not uncommon to see her get frustrated with herself. Abbey holds herself to extremely high standards and wrestles with being a perfectionist. We are continuing to work through this with her with gentleness and care, reminding her that none of us are perfect and all we ask is that she does her best.

Close in age sisters are so fun! 16 months apart!

Since turning ten is extra-special, we planned a little birthday party for Abbey. She isn't the kind of girl who likes to be around a lot of people or even have tons of friends. She has a couple of dear friends that she wanted to have over (after initially saying she didn't want any people to come over). We had a lovely day during which I only took one photo. Oops.

She had a Lego Friends themed party, complete with a “lego” pinata, a game where the winners took home Legos, and a Lego cake. It was all rather simple but fun and perfectly suited to Abbey. She had fun but was ready for the party to end when it did. She spent her afternoon reading quietly to herself.

For her birthday celebration with Trent she went to Outback to eat. We have started a tradition of eating there when we go to the beach, so for a special tenth birthday treat, that's where she went. She loves the bread and butter they give, but mostly she wanted the Thunder From Down Under dessert. She has the biggest sweet tooth.

Two hands!

Afterward she went to Longwood Gardens. She had a great day. Abbey liked when there was a boy with a stick near a pond who wanted to poke at a dead fish. She related to me that when the boy asked if he should try to get the fish daddy wanted to tell him “yes” but didn't know where the boy's mom was at so decided against it.

Our kids end up with a week or more worth of celebrations. She also celebrated at Grandpa and Grandma Hess's and then later spent a weekend at Mema's house where she sewed a cute stuffed puppy.

Abbey loves animals. While she says she doesn't like it, I think she's genuinely enjoying having a lamb to care for as her 4-H project. More than anything, I think she's nervous to show her sheep at the fair in front of people. She really doesn't like to be the center of attention or on stage or anything. She can, and does, overcome her fear with such outward ease that you never know until you talk to her later that she was feeling sick to her stomach. We are hoping she will out grow this fear with practice.

It's a real joy to have Abigail Frances as my daughter. It's surprising that she was so challenging to parent when she was small because she brings so much joy and laughter to our home now. I'm amazed at her tenacity and dedication to see a task completed. She will put off having an ice pop until her chores are complete. She has committed to reading the entire Bible in a year and has stuck to it.

Abbey, happy tenth birthday. We love you, sweetheart!