You know, life with a toddler is without doubt one of the funniest and best experiences. Yeah, when I decided to become a parent, I will admit I kind of wondered how one really survived the toddler years. I mean look at the rep. Tantrums, moodiness, "MINE", and did I mention tantrums? Sure, all that stuff exists but people forget to talk about the cool and funny stuff. Life with a toddler is truly a lot of fun.

My little toddler is the most amazing creature. Yes, she does have moments of tantrums, moodiness, and "MINE" is definitely the word of each and every day. But hey, who doesn't have those moments? I can name many the adult with the same characteristics. Only they are adults and quite frankly, not as cute. Plus, 98% of the time Abby is just a very happy and incredibly sweet kid.

Abby is learning so much each and every day. And talking, well, mostly non-stop. Some of her key vocabulary words and phrases include:

fick it mommy --> translation: fix it mommy (yeah, that one makes me laugh every time)
bless you mommy --> she says this each and every time I sneeze or blow my nose
Will cookie --> translation: the cookie her little buddy Will brings her every morning to school
eyuh --> translation: ear
doah --> translation: door
hayuh --> translation: hair
that --> translation: what is that?
mine --> needs no translation. The funny thing is everything is "mine"
I do it --> again, no translation needed
MOMMMMYYYYYY --> sweetest sound in the world
no crying baseball --> I taught her to say the "there's no crying in baseball" line from A League of Their Own. It is hilarious!
steppen time --> Current favorite song/dance - Step in Time from Mary Poppins

She says a lot more but those are the things that stand out to me right now.

She loves to help me around the house and has her own little chores. These include putting her dirty clothes in her hamper, bringing in groceries (I rearrange to give her the light bags), handing me "dishes" (tupperware) from her own drawer in the kitchen while I am cooking dinner, and putting away her toys at the end of the day. My little helper.

Abby is a great little sleeper but the last couple of weeks naptime has been a bit of a challenge. Once she finally goes to sleep, she is out for a couple of hours. I think she has begun to realize that while she is asleep she is missing stuff. So far, she is still sleeping well at night and goes to bed without incident. Well, with a couple of exceptions. I have no idea what happened last week but one night every time I tried to leave the room she would screem bloody murder. I even took her to the doctor as a few friends had suggested she might have an ear infection but all was fine and the next night she went to sleep like nothing had ever happened. Who knows what that was about. Maybe just a bad dream.

Then, a few nights ago, I was keeping my friends' kids and they were here during Abby's bedtime. Let's just say she was not going to miss anything that night by going to bed. That was the night she tried to escape from her crib. We all heard this loud "splat" and sure enough, Abby was on the floor. Fortunately a) she was not hurt and b) has not tried it since. I just do not think either one of us is ready to give up that crib just yet. Ok, mostly I am not ready. :-)

As most of you know, Abby and I have just celebrated our one year anniversary as a family. We will call this day (January 21) Family Day. This year we celebrated by going to the park, getting ice cream, and ordering pizza. It was the perfect day. One year ago, my life changed for the absolute better. One year ago, the most serious of judges proclaimed that I was officially mommy to Abigail. I will never forget that moment, or, for that matter, my entire time in Kazakhstan. I was extremely nostalgic all of January. I was then, and will forever be, incredibly grateful to the people who helped my dream to become a mom come true. I really have no idea how they make the perfect match for each family but it is so true. Abby is the perfect kid for me.

Below is the email I sent my other single mom friends on our Family Day. I thought I would post it here too.

One Year Ago - Celebrating our first year as a family
I truly can't believe I am writing a "one year ago" email. It justdoesn't seem possible that it has already been one year. And yet, one year ago today a very stern and serious judge in Uralsk, Kazakhstan officially proclaimed me to be the mommy of the most amazing baby girl in the world. This year with Abby has been the best of my life. My daughter has grown from a sweet and loving baby to a sweet, loving, happy, giggly, and very funny toddler. She has captured the hearts of all my family and friends. I am so incredibly proud of Abby and so incredibly proud to be her mother. I love watching her learn something new every single day. I love watching her figure things out. I love her laugh. I love her hugs and her wet kisses. I love how excited she gets when she eats ice cream. I love to see her dance. I love how she runs to me smiling and yelling "MOMMMMYYY" when I pick her up each day. I love how she "helps"me with household chores. I love that she adores books.

We have had so many firsts this year. So many new things. So many things we have outgrown. Abby long ago gave up the bottle. She no longer fits in the baby carrier and she no longer uses a pacifier. I have been witness to her first kisses, her first day at "school", her first trip to the beach, her first parade, and her first grown up food. She has taught me many things too. How to store the remote in the refrigerator, how to wear spaghetti in your hair, how to love theWiggles, how to sing all the way through Target, how to squeal with delight at the appearance of bananas. It has been an amazing year. I wouldn't trade a second of it for anything in the world. As much as the trip to Kazakhstan itself was a journey, the best one began once we got home.