Abigail: 8 Years Old

Abigail turned 8 last month! It is surreal to me that it has been 8 years since we had a newborn at home. God gave Abigail an extra dose of personality, and she is the perfect caboose in our family.

At her yearly checkup on August 18th, Abigail was 47 3/4 inches tall (15th percentile) and weighed 46 pounds (10th percentile). Dr. Dudley said she may just be meant to be petite :) I am so curious to see whether she will have a huge growth spurt one of these years and catch up to her sisters, or if she’ll always be smaller. She is consistently tracking several inches shorter than Brooklyn and Savannah were at the same age. She can wear some clothes that are size 7/8 but is still wearing a lot of size 6 clothes too. It is getting to be a challenge to find shorts that will stay up on her tiny waist but not be too short ;) She is wearing a size 13 or size 1 in most shoes, and she has lost 6 teeth so far. Out of all three girls, Abigail is most into fashion and dressing up. She frequently will change outfits multiple times a day. She got her ears pierced last summer and has finally learned how to change her own earrings, so now she is changing earrings multiple times per day too…haha. She also likes jewelry and using play makeup. Brooklyn and Savannah definitely prefer comfortable clothes over dressing up, so it’s neat that Abigail has her own sense of style! I try to let her wear what she wants (within reason) because she enjoys picking out her outfits so much.

I can tell that Abigail is definitely eating more now than she did a year ago. She has her definite preferences, but I wouldn’t say she is too picky overall. She will actually finish her dinner now more often than not…yay! Some of her favorite foods include peach dumplings, waffles, cucumbers, crackers, and most fruits. Interestingly, she does NOT currently like spaghetti, which I feel like is one of the most kid-friendly dinners. She almost always chooses fruity candy over a baked good if she’s having dessert. She buys her lunch at school about half of the time. At the end of last school year, she ran out of lunch money in her account because she was buying too many ice creams and extra snacks, unbeknownst to us…haha. She wasn’t too happy to have to bring her lunch from home exclusively for the last few weeks of school ;)

Abigail is still our earliest riser and frequently wakes up before her 6:25 am alarm clock on school days. When I have to go in and wake her up for school, I know she’s extra tired. Her bedtime is around 8 pm, although we don’t always hit that target. She has never been attached to any particular stuffed animals or blankets and will sleep with something different each night. She has struggled with nighttime nosebleeds off and on for several years now, so we finally bought a fancy humidifier for her room that seems to help. She is finally NOT falling asleep in the car as often as she used to, although she is still known to take a nap in the car on days when she is extra tired. Maybe she’ll outgrow that by the time she’s in double digits ;)

Abigail just started 2nd grade a few weeks ago and is enjoying school so far. It was a little bit of an adjustment at first because she has a new-to-our-family teacher, Mrs. Stoker, that her big sisters never had. But I think she is settling in now and enjoying it. Abigail seems to be doing well in school and has made some new friends already named Sydney and Charlotte. There are also a couple of girls, Genevieve and Catherine, in her class that she already knew. We are optimistic that it will be a good year! Mrs. Stoker let me know last week that Abigail is a good example and frequently helps other kids who need help. I love to hear that!

Some of Abigail’s favorite activities are soccer, drawing, swimming, reading, arts and crafts, riding her bike, roller skating, and most of all…playing with Willow and Cassie :) She LOVES our new kittens, especially Willow who is a big cuddlebug. Willow has gotten pretty big over the last few months, and it’s funny to watch Abigail try to pick her up and carry her around. Abigail has recently moved up to the 10U age group in soccer and is now playing on a bigger field with goalkeepers and more rules. So far, it’s going well, and she even scored a goal in her second game! She is usually the smallest one out there, but that doesn’t slow her down. It’s fun to watch her play because she always runs hard and tries her best. Travis has been her assistant coach (“Coach T”) for going-on-2 seasons now, which has been extra special. She has also expressed an interest in trying gymnastics/cheerleading/dance, but we haven’t explored any of those to this point. Abigail is a very good reader and is reading beginning chapter books pretty well. Some of her favorite series are Boxcar Children, Magic Puppy, Zoey and Sassafras, and Sophie Mouse. She and I have also been reading the Green Ember together lately, which we have both really enjoyed.

Abigail does a pretty good job of playing alone and entertaining herself, but she also loves to be included in the things that her big sisters are doing. She makes up for her lack of size with her strong personality and is quick to let them know if they’ve done something wrong or hurt her feelings ;) I enjoy watching them playing or working on projects together when they are getting along nicely, which does happen sometimes at least. It’s hard to be the youngest in some ways, which is why I think she has really enjoyed having a younger cousin, Christian. She is very interested in him and can easily entertain him and make him laugh. It’s very sweet to watch her as a big cousin since she has never had the opportunity to be a big sister.

Other things that I want to remember about Abigail at age 8: When she is in a good mood, she is always singing or dancing. She loves to be silly and entertain. I feel like she would do well in theater because she can make very dramatic facial expressions…haha. I guess that’s because she can be very dramatic in general ;) While she can be dramatic and sometimes a little too sensitive, she is also very sweet and thoughtful. She is quick to make cards or beaded bracelets for others or offer to share a piece of candy. She loves to play and have fun and doesn’t seem to worry too much about what others think about her. She enjoys organizing her room and helping me in the kitchen. She cares about doing what’s right, although she does have a sneaky side that I have to watch sometimes ;) She has a big personality for such a small body and keeps us on our toes!

Abigail, we are so glad to be your parents. Keep shining bright!! We love you bunches!