With a little help from her friends...

Abbie has had a few intense days in the past week. First, I took her to a Mainly Music class on Friday morning, and she and four other little friends had a blast dancing, clapping their hands and playing with each other. I have to admit: I had fun too. The class was cute, perfect for young kids who have so much pent-up energy. Since there were so many people singing I was able to sing all the songs out loud without scaring anyone, which is a plus. Abbie had an absolute blast, as can be seen from these pictures:



On Monday, we went with our playgroup to Van Dyck park, where Abbie spent two hours of steady fun. She played in the sand box for the very first time: this germophobe and mysophobic mom had to surrender - after all, I'm going to have to get used to it sooner or later, even though the very thought makes me cringe. Anyway, besides my constant wiping her hands and clothes off, I did pretty well. Abbie took her usual circumspect approach: slowly touching the sand, feeling it between her fingers, then sitting on it, and finally trying to figure out how to play with it. I love this aspect of Abbie's personality: the fact that she won't jump into anything head on, but rather prudently assesses any situation first and foremost. She is much wiser than I am, as it turns out!


While at the park Abbie made friends with a little 8-year-old, Isabella, who just would not leave her side and who apparently was there with her mom and brother. Isabella asked me if she could hold Abbie, and as soon as I said "Yes, but be caref...." she took off with Abigail to play near the benches. She showed Abigail some ladybugs, the trees, and a few other critters I was not too impressed with. I thought the whole thing was cute, so I let them have their fun: Abbie loved it, she grinned the whole time and didn't seem bothered in the least. After a while, I felt the familiar "I miss my baby" feeling, and went to retrieve Abigail. I took Abbie to the swings (with Isabella trotting right behind us), to meet her other little buddies. Isabella insisted I'd let her play with and hold Abbie again, and since I was chatting with other moms, I let her, keeping an eye on them. But, in a second, they disappeared behind the climbing wall, and when I got closer, Isabella was carrying Abbie to the top of the slide. I just about fainted. I said: "no no no, what are guys doing?", Isabella said "Oh I am just going to ride the slide with Abigail!". I guess I could have let her, but I snatched my kid and told Isabella "sorry, she is not used to it!" I felt the biggest knot at the pit of my stomach, and also felt bad for Isabella: she was so sweet, did not mean any harm, and was totally enamored with my little baby.



At any rate, besides that little scare, Abbie and I had a great time. She made new friends and met up with some old friends, including a little baby, Camden, only three months old, whom Abigail took a instant liking to. She kept on looking at Camden, and touching her little fists with her index finger.



And finally, Abbie met Fred. Fred the dog. As soon as Abbie saw this big, furry pup she ran to him and started to squeal in delight: she adores dogs. I don't know why, because Shelby doesn't give her the time of day. But regardless of her home experiences, Abbie is always happy and excited to see furry friends. So she spent the longest time petting Fred, and hugging him around the neck. I pretty much had to pry her off of him when I noticed that Fred's owner was wanting to leave. Abbie cried.


All in all, with a little help from all her friends, Abigail is having the time of her life. And so am I.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Abigail has started to develop some very identifiable likes and dislikes when it comes to food. In general, she is a very good eater, I have no cause for complaints. Regardless, there are some things that will come out of her mouth as fast as I try to stick them in. Such dreadful food items include carrots, most red meats, sweet potatoes, raw apples.

On the other hand, Abbie simply loves avocados, fish, chicken, kiwis, mangos, bananas, cherries, tomatoes, leeks, cheese (any kind), toast, spinach, yogurt, peas and more. She could literally eat large quantities of any of these items. She will tolerate (to a certain extend) broccoli, asparagus, some types of red meat and cereal.

What's funny about her taste in food is that she likes things I would never in a million years have thought she'd eat. For example, she loves pesto pasta, and cilantro rice. Just preys upon them voraciously. And another thing... the triple berry juice. Nothing compares to the berry juice that I prepare for her at dinner time. I am starting to consider it a big mistake, because in the last two days she would have nothing at all for dinner except for her berry juice. Also, she will only drink it from a regular glass, which is not a problem per se since she is very good at it, but naturally adds to "The Berry Juice Experience." It started out as something that I prepared for myself, and let her have a taste of. I was hesitant, in case of allergic reactions. But it went well. More so, it was love at first tastebud. I thought: "what a fast and convenient way to get her to eat so many types of fruit!" Yeah, right? Little did I know that she would, at dinner time, arbitrarily spit everything out while pointing at the juice. We tried hiding it from her until she has eaten something, but the trick doesn't work. The kid is ahead of us every step of the way: Abbie knows the juice is somewhere - she heard the blender go off. And she knows we'll eventually cave in. The whole Berry Juice Experience comes with soundtrack and special effects: a chorus of "mmmmmmmm!" will emanate from Abigail, as she drinks it and smacks her lips.

I wonder if it would be possible for anyone to live exclusively off of berries and milk? I better start researching this.

Abbie the Social Butterfly

So many social engagements, so little time.

Miss Abigail has been a busy girl lately, meeting friends at all hours of the day, as long as it is between 2 pm and 5 pm (a girl needs her beauty nap!). On Sunday, she met a few good friends at Burke Lake. I wanted to take her on the Choo-Choo train, but time went by fast! Miss Chatterbox played with her friends, and walked and ran all over the park with Da-dee. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather, and she had so much fun. I love to see that grin on her face, the "I'm-having-fun" grin, it makes it all worthwhile.

Today, she went to visit Julia and David, and had a grand ole time again. She really likes being in their company. She kept on looking at Julia, studying every move she made. Abigail is truly fascinated by the "big baby". She and David loved to play "I-want-what-you-have" and "What's-mine-is-mine-and-what's-yours-is-mine", and without too much drama they took toys away from each other. I am trying to teach Abigail the meaning of "sharing" any chance I get, it's never too late to lay the foundation for good manners, right? Later on, Bridget, Aidan and JP joined us as well. Bridget took a shining to me, and was always close by and demanding my attention, so Abbie came by a couple of times, hugged me tight and put her head on me with a few vocal exclamations - to set the record straight about whose mother I am. That was so cute :) My baby is jealous!!! :)

I have noticed that she is becoming more possessive, and likes to get involved in whatever the kid next to her is doing. So, I'm teaching her that when another kid is playing with a toy, she has to wait her turn, which is not an easy concept for her to grasp, understandably. But I think, in time, she'll be able to learn to exercise some patience.

Anyway, today was a blast, for me as well. We love the calm and welcoming atmosphere at Julia's and David's. Abbie cried when I took her to the car: she did not want to leave. Looking forward to more playdates with them, and to Clemyjontri Park on Thursday with other little friends! Her dance card is filling up quickly.

Demystifying the Laptop

I gave up. I let Abbie take full control of the laptop. Since she was a tiny little thing, Abigail has always shown a certain keen interest for my laptop. When she was much smaller, she used to stare at it and reach for it, and even when she was yet incapable of rolling over, she'd try her darndest to get her tiny hands on it.

One thing I believe catches her attention is her own picture: I always had pictures of Abigail as my wallpaper. But the laptop allure goes beyond that, far beyond that. It's a mystical attraction, a total eclipse of the heart. Abbie is in love with it: so many buttons to press, so many noises and beeps, a nice thick electrical cord, all these different lights and colors, and her picture smack in the center of it all. How can anyone resist that! Come on!

Whatever the reason, I can never, ever, get my laptop without her dropping whatever she is doing to come see the magical, much coveted item. So, I decided to let her figure out for herself how much fun a laptop can really be. Right.

She happily slammed the keys, tried to bend the screen down, and had the greatest of times. She talked to it, much like I do sometimes when it doesn't do what I want it to do. She attempted to lick or chew the screen, and even used the laptop as a chair. To her, it was a dream come true.

Abbie played with my laptop for quite some time. She closed it, and then demanded that I open it again. Here is a video with a few excerpts. In the end it all got old - Abigail up and left, zeroing in on other toys, leaving the laptop behind, never to look for it again.

Finally.

12 month check-up and Stats

Today little Abbie went through her occasional torture at the pediatrician's. She was not cooperative, not in the least: she just won't stay put, ever, but would rather run around and explore, so she gave the doctor a good run for the money. That's my girl :)

Overall: she is doing very well and is "very proportionate" for her age, her diet is good, and she seems healthy inside out. Her development is "right on track", too, which is always a relief to hear. The doctor wanted to see Abbie walk, and said that she is walking very well. Abbie's teeth look great and are coming in straight. The funny anecdote: the doctor said that Abigail has "pretty hair" and commented about how much she "talks" - "chatterbox" is the word she used! I thought: "If you only knew...! It never ends"
Here are Abbie's stats:

Weight: 23 lbs
Height: 32 inches

Then, it was time for her shots... Unlike the last time we went to the doctor's, this time they gave her her shots in the thighs, rather than the arm... She bawled, how could she not, and went from smily and happy to crying in two seconds flat. She got over it quickly, though. Poor little thing, my heart aches.

At any rate, I am glad it's over, at least for now. I dread these experiences for her sake, now all I need a valium, and things will be better!

Abbie on the road - and other changes!

I have so many things to write about lately, I literally need to jot them down on paper to remember them all. The fact that I continually lose my notes, though, is of no help whatsoever. I don't want to forget a thing and I want Abigail to know all the minutiae and little stories of when she was growing up. So I'll make an effort tonight to write on this blog some of the latest itty-bitty adventures.

First: Abbie has made new friends. David and Julia are especially noteworthy, because Julia is 3 years old, the first "grown-up kid" that she has befriended. David is one year old, only four days older than Abbie. And both Julia and David 's mom is Italian. I am excited when I think about future play-dates in Italian! I have to admit that I've not been teaching Abigail Italian on a consistent basis. It's a shame. Besides the fact that my family will KILL me next time they see us, it's mostly a waste of a wonderful learning opportunity. I am not, in the least, proud of myself for that. Speaking my own language here makes me feel odd for a variety of reasons. So, I generally abstain. But my new Italian friend and her kids will hopefully be a breakthrough! We have play dates scheduled with other Italian speaking moms and kids. I can't wait. This will be wonderful for my little girl - and for me. I need good, authentic and deep friendships too! I have given up, especially lately, on a lot of relationships that started on a very promising note just to turn out to be the usual superficial nothing-of-value. But the search for solid human relationships is still on, as hard as it is at times, and regardless of any and all disappointments.

But I digress...

Something else of recent date, a turning point in Abbie's path to world-discovery: her newly acquired ability to walk. Now that she can, it's all she is interested in! Can't stop her! Today, for example, I took her to our favorite park, Van Dyck, and as soon as I sat her on the swings she started to cry pointing to the floor: she wanted down. She is obsessed, seems like, with walking and running as much as she can to make up for the past 12 months! She walked here, there and everywhere. She interacted with anyone who'd give her the time of day but, mostly, she rushed from one place to the next. I got exhausted following her around, but she sure didn't. Never stopped, never faltered for an hour. Then we went to Wegmans, and as soon as we got out she wanted to get down and walk. She did, all the way to the car. She's still "crawlking", especially at home: interchanging crawling with walking, but there is a lot more of the latter being done.

Thirdly: She is also understanding the meaning on "getting dressed": she has finally stopped fighting me every step of the way. Today she grabbed a shoe I was holding and tried to put it on. Failed miserably, but it was so cute, I was mesmerized that she even tried! She has also learned to groom herself. Sometimes she doesn't use the right side of the brush, but she still rubs it on her head.

And then... and it pains me to say it: 'That Baby in the Mirror' has lost its allure and no longer captivates Abigail's attention as much... I am sad to see that go. It has been such a fun part of her play.

I have already mentioned that she is a chatter-box. Lately, my name has changed from Ahta' (which I loved) to Yaya. Don't ask me how the transformation occurred. Maybe it's just a softer way of saying ahta'... Her daddy is no longer Iaidada, but "Da-dee". She is trying to talk, and has specific names for things and activities, but I am not always in the loop about what she means with her babblings. I really enjoy hearing her lovely musings.

Lastly, for lack of time, she has learned to "feed" me. And she is rather smart about it, too: she only feeds me what she doesn't want to eat. Here is how it generally plays out: I am feeding her lunch, or dinner. I try to give her a little bit of everything - meat, or fish, or poultry, veggies, and fruit. She'll feed herself, and then she'll stretch out her hand toward me, with the biggest grin on her little face and the funniest look in her eyes: "eat, mom, eat" - I can hear her say. So I open my mouth, and she drops in her special treat. She loves to do that. It makes her day on several levels: she gets away (not always!) with not eating what she doesn't want, and, too, she makes a game out of it.

Well, I am done writing for tonight. But I know I am, by far, not done marveling at my little girl, at how wonderful she is, at how much I truly love her.

Astronaut Abbie... or is it "Darthie Vader"?

Abbie has a new game: breathing inside the bucket. She has a couple of toy buckets, one green and one clear plastic. She especially likes the clear one for the purposes of playing the Astronaut Game: breathing and blowing inside the bucket. She loves to "talk" into it, to breath into it and to listen to the "echo effect" - she thinks it's the funniest of things!

It reminds me of astronauts, with their big, glassy helmets. She has tried, too, to stick her entire head inside the bucket for a fuller effect, but quickly realized that the bucket would simply sit on top of her head. So, instead of a stereo surround sound effect, she is rather content with the monaural audio she is able to reproduce. Bless her heart! She'll emit cute, chirpy sounds, and then breath in and out, slowly, in and out, while her face is buried in her makeshift helmet - all the while looking around through the bucket.

There are a few variations to the Astronaut Game: blowing air into an empty shampoo bottle, or into a drinking glass. The common thread here is the breathing: controlled, slow, in and out, in and out, in and out... She sounds just like - what's his bucket... that weird fellow in Star Wars, with the big black helmet and the breathing impairment. Ah, Darth Vader.

I have to admit that her Darthie Vader persona is right on the money. Must be in her father's genetic code.

[I was only able to capture a few seconds of her new game on video. By the time I got the camera, it had already gotten old for the hour :)]

Laundry and the Peekaboo Game

Today Abigail was a riot. She was into everything, playing with everything, inventing new games and turning whatever she could get her hands on into personal toys.

I was doing a couple batches of laundry. I set the load of whites on the floor waiting for the first load to be done and, naturally, Abbie started playing with the clothes. She climbed on the pile to reach some picture frames. She attempted to stick one of the shirts back in the laundry basket she saw me take it out of (which has a lid, however, so Abigail just abandoned the shirt draped over the basket). She tried to put on one of her daddy's T-Shirts. She put towels or shirts over her head and eyes and pulled them off laughing, chatting and pointing toward us. Christopher and I decided that she may be trying to engage us in a peekaboo session. Of course we gave in right away, and we all played together for a while.

She had so much fun, as did we just watching her laugh. Unfortunately, I was only able to capture the tail-end of the landry game on video. I need a camera in every corner of the house...

It must be said, though: in the end, she left the pile of dirty clothes on the floor to go get her favorite toy of all - me! :)

Baby Moses

To the long list of Abbie's nicknames, we have recently added a another one: "Baby Moses".

In fact, no name could be a better fit for Abigail's new favorite activity: getting into the basket. There is a soft wicker basket in the corner of her bedroom by her crib with some of her stuffed animals: Puppy, Poopie, Snoopy and a very old beat-up doll that used to belong to my mother when she was a baby, Bambolina. Well, Abigail loves to get in with them: she spent a few minutes studying how to get in without it tipping over.

First, she rearranged the stuffed animals around the basket so that she could be in the center. Then, she carefully raised her leg and put it in the middle of the basket - then did the same with the other. Abbie slowly lowered herself in. With a big grin, she sat down amongst her buddies. But Abigail soon found out that, for her own comfort, Puppy, Poopie and Snoopy needed to go. So out they went, while she sat further down in the basket with Bambolina and stretched out. She held the doll, but mostly just sat there, smiling, cooing, talking, touching the wall, content, happy. She has created her own little niche with her favorite soft animals around her to keep her company.

I expect to find her there often.