Abby Turns Five!

On Sunday our little girl turned five! It's hard to believe! She enjoyed her day and expected all sorts of special privileges which kept the rest of us on our toes. I think it was Julie who used the term, "birthday diva", and that was certainly what we had on June 11th!

Abby is such a fun girl. You can never be sure what might come out of her mouth. She's started producing and starring in her own plays--very LONG productions that feature a character named "Jimmy". Jimmy seems to be a bit of a redneck and she cracked us all up the other night when in her play she said with a southern drawl, "Jimmy, I think you gotta' come kill somethin'!"

Abby has always loved blankies. No matter how hot it may be outside, she is always huddled in several blankets every night. One morning the kids found her like this. They swear that they didn't do this turban look, that she was just like that!

One of the things we love about Abby is that despite her fireball personality, she is also so snuggly and loving. I'll never forget how amazingly patient she was with her 3 times a week blood tests during her ITP episodes. We're so thankful that she's such a healthy little gal.

Adam and Madeline always need Abby for some activity. Abby isn't always game, but thankfully she can often be persuaded. Here, Abby is Adam's model for some trick photography.

Abby has grown up so much in the last few months. Six months ago, I couldn't even imagine her going to kindergarten in the fall, but now, she seems more than ready. She's gone from sounding out words, to reading quite fluently. She gets very frustrated with her little speech impediment that keeps her from saying the "ch" sound correctly. It comes out as "sh" and when she reads a word like "chair" as "share" and the big kids correct her, she gets furious. "Those sounds are the SAME!"

Abby will be a wonderful big sister. She has very much been the baby of the family up until now, so I'm sure there will be a bit of an adjustment, but I think Abby will love having someone younger than her.

One issue will be sleeping arrangements. Abby has never needed much sleep and can often be heard singing in her room at midnight. We've told her that will have to change when she shares a room with her baby sister. She claims that when Maya comes home she'll only sing lullabies!

Happy birthday Abby, we love you!