Abby Kate is 18 Months!! (And other pictures :)

Hello all!! Quick post today to share our most recent pictures and activities. We are slowly getting back into our routine after the 2 week illness that invaded our house. I am finishing up last minute chores to prepare for Baby Elizabeth - the last load of baby things is in the washing machine as we speak! After I pack some hospital bags, I think I will be as prepared as I can be! We are very excited, and getting more ready by the day to meet the newest addition to our family :) The above pictures is Cline and Christa at the Beauty and the Beast play. This was right in the middle of the sickness - I thought Christa was better, because she was playful and fever-free for 2 days, but ended up with more fevers and less energy as the week went on. She had a good time with her daddy on this day, though!

This was taken on Abby Kate's 18 month birthday (March 2). The weather has been gorgeous lately, so we enjoyed a few minutes outside before naps!

Happy 18-month birthday, Abby Kate!! You are as cute as can be, and think you're 5 years old!

I'm not a big "pregnant picture" person, but here is a belly shot from this week. In fact, I have very few pictures of myself when I'm pregnant, and no staged, sweet pictures of the girls kissing my belly and other cute things. But here is this one, and I'll try to get one more right before she is born.

Me and my 3 girls!!

At 18 months, Abby Kate is repeating almost any word. Her favorite phrase is, "Help Me," and she loves the book, "Fanc Nanc" (Fancy Nancy). She loves to go over animal noises and body parts, and Cline swears she counted to 5 twice the other day. She likes to talk about letters, and watch movies. She loves Bob and Larry from Veggie Tales, and will often point to the DVD player in the car and say, "movie, movie," like a broken record until we turn one on. She definitely knows how to communicate her wishes and adores her big sister. She lights up when I tell her we can go wake Christa up from a nap, and can navigate the stairs quite well for herself. She loves to run and waves her arms around with a big smile whenever she has a chance to move as fast as she wants. She's becoming a pickier eater, but will still eat some fruits and veggies, which is more than Christa would do at this age! Her sleeping habits have improved greatly over the last few months!! We've been doing a little more of a schedule, and I've been trying to have a consistent naptime and bedtime for the girls. While I'm not rigid about this schedule, I do try to stay in a 30 minute ball-park, and it really seems to be helping. Abby Kate threw up in her bed while she was sick, so I removed all of her bedding, including her bumper pad to wash it. I decided not to put the bumper back in, so that it would be clean for baby Elizabeth, and Abby Kate doesn't really need it anymore. She slept horribly for 2 nights, waking up crazy early, or in the middle of the night for hours, so I replaced the bumper pads just to see if that made a difference. She's been sleeping for 12 hours at night since!! I guess she likes the softness of the bedding!
Well, Christa has been patiently waiting for me to play with her. We're off to play ponies in the nursery for a little while. Have a great day!