Bama Mama: Happy 8th Birthday, Abby! {Part 1}

I can't believe my "baby" is 8 years old today!!! She has been looking forward to this day/weekend for months, for so many reasons. Nanny & Poppy are in town, and her "night on the town" birthday party is Sunday.

I was telling a friend the other day how I *always* wanted to be a mom to 3 boys. Of course this was back when I was 21 and 3 kids seemed like a piece of cake. Clearly, we are stopping at 2 kids :) But I really wanted boys....I was a tomboy, I knew boy stuff, I was born to be a boy mom.

And then Abby came along.........

She came into this world a month early, making quite the entrance. I never knew how badly I wanted (or needed!) a daughter until I met her. Words can't describe how I feel about her!! :) We bump heads often - and I know that will increase as she gets older - but our family would not be the same without her big heart and even bigger personality.

In honor of Abby's 8th birthday, here are 8 things about Abby you might not know....

Abby is into anything having to do with music…..she sings constantly, and is forever dancing and drumming a beat. She has been taking both lyrical & ballet classes since September and is doing SO well! After dinner every night, she is in the playroom with the ipod on, making up new choreography. She is really talented! And her newest obsession is drumming. She even asked for a drum set for her bday. She loves singing in the school choir, singing in the car, singing while she's doing homework, singing in the craft room, singing in the shower.....you get the point. She is always singing :)

She and our next door neighbor Kate have a craft business called Crafts Plus. Every weekend and free weeknight we have, they are creating new crafts and things to sell. This past weekend, they made fliers and delivered them around the neighborhood. They had a sale from 2-4 on Sat/Sun and Abby alone made $12! She loves setting up shop in the driveway and making a "pretty display" on the table of all the items they are selling. I have no idea where she gets that from :)

Also with Kate, Abby loves playing at the Secret Hangout. This is something they discovered this summer, with a few of the neighborhood boys. There is any empty lot 3 houses down from us, and on the side of the lot is a mini forest. The girls have collected "treasures" (read: trash) that neighbors leave on the curb, and have built a whole hangout from wooden stumps, old tables, broken chairs, old glass bottles etc. Every day they find a new treasure and add it to this fort in the trees. A fence borders the left side of the Secret Hangout, so they've even hung decorations and old lights. She literally can disappear for hours when she's there.

Abby LOVES food (a girl after my own heart)! Especially carbs. If you ask her her fave foods, she will say salt, butter, and cheese. In that order. She told a fellow mom this at a sleepover and I was mortified. I swear she eats/likes healthy foods too! But her all time fave is her Daddy’s grits. A Bagel sausage sandwich is another recent favorite that she invented. Oh and don't get me started on bread with dipping oil. She wants the whole plate of oil for herself!

Like I mentioned earlier, I have been a tomboy most of my life. Imagine my surprise when my daughter turns out to be the girliest girl and these days, quite the fashionista! She has already entered the world of "tween" clothes, though a bit early. She wants to wear tunics, rockstar leggings, a long necklace, and her boots constantly. She is a little girl no more! She is very into picking out her own outfits, and loves a good accessory like necklaces and cross-body bags. And no more bows for her! She is into headbands now, because "bows are for babies." She is growing up too fast!

Abby loves her family & friends something fierce. But especially Nate! She dotes on him daily….she always wants to be around him (which is becoming a problem because the feelings are not always reciprocated), and loves to “prepare” his dessert every night. When he’s crying because he’s hurt or in trouble, she always finds a way to make him feel better….whether that’s getting an ice pack or bandaid, or taking him his favorite Monkey to comfort him, or sitting with him while he’s upset. She adores him like no other. I hope they are always close!

Abby is a professional card maker. Not just for birthdays and holidays, but 365 days a year. She does not need an occasion to make a card for someone! And lucky me, I'm usually the recipient :) Not a day goes by where I don't receive a short note or card with a drawing saying "I love you the most!" or "You're my favorite!" She know how to make a girl feels special.

Abby is obsessed with her cousins (Anderson 5, Gibson 2, Otis 10 months, and Charlie Kate 3 months). We don't see them often since they all live in North Carolina, and Abby misses them soooo much! She hasn’t played with dolls in 3-4 years, but this year, that makes up a good bit of her Christmas list. She just wants to be a little mommy to all of her baby cousins!!

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Now for a stroll down memory lane...