Daddy's little dancer

Today I had the great fortune to go to Abbie's Mainly Music class which her mommie has been taking her to for several months. Up until now I've only been able to watch the pictures and videos of how much fun she has there.

Abbie has always loved music, and since she's been able to teeter on her two little legs, she has danced and swayed instinctively to music. It makes me so happy to see how much music (literally) moves her.

So taking advantage of my day off, I went with Abbie and mommie to her class. I didn't mind that I was only one of three guys there in a room full of mommies with their little angels. I was all about seeing my little girl twirl and jump and enjoy herself in one of her favorite activities.

I can tell already that we're going to need to save up for dance lessons! I can't wait to go back with them again.

Who is it? It's the Schwartzman Quartet!

My daughter loves music and dancing, and whenever she hears music, her eyes take on a certain shine of happiness and anticipation. She loves, loves, loves, loves "Jack's Big Music Show", which airs on Noggin.

The show is really very cute, and I truly enjoy watching it with her! In short: Jack, a fun-loving preschooler puppet, escapes each day to his backyard clubhouse, where he and his friends (Mary; his green and purple striped drum playing dog, Mel --"Oh, Melsie Boy!") hang out doing what they love best - making music. The show also features guest appearances and music videos by popular children’s musicians. You simply cannot watch this show and not become an instant fan.

I have always been adverse to the idea of Abbie watching TV. But JBMS is an interactive show, which gets her up dancing, clapping, jumping and singing. Now, when Abbie looks at the TV screen, she starts screaming "SHO!!!! SHO!!!!!!". I'd never have imagined how positive a child’s interaction with TV could be or how amusing.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the show, among which The Schwartzman Quartet, Abbie's and mine favorite part of the show!

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes... knees and toes!

Abbie loves to dance, she really does! She goes absolutely crazy for a few minutes nearly every day, prancing about and dancing to whatever music is playing: classical, pop, rock, opera, muzak and, of course, her favorite toy, Learning Puppy (a.k.a Elliot). If there is no music, she will go and get Elliot, and start pressing its buttons to her favorite tunes, lately "Head Shoulder Knees and Toes" and "One Two Three Four - Count to ten"...

I love to look at her do "her thing" and get her groove on, and she gets to burn a lot of her pent-up energy this way! It's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it :)

Anyway, here she is in some videos I took today, unfortunately the last one is very short because my camera's memory card was full.

Head. Shoulders. Knees. Toes... 'Nough said!!

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.

Rarities and Oddities - Part Une

There is a funky side to little Abigail. She is full of initiatives, which in and of itself is nothing rare. However, Abbie has a way to make every little discovery her own. She will apply her playful personality to all endeavors.

For example: she has created a new motion style. She crawls - on her knees. No hands. Just knees. She scoots along on her knees as if perpetually on a mobile praying spree. Sometimes, her hands are clasped together, which is what gave me the "praying" imagery to begin with. Sometimes she will clap. Occasionally, she will have an index finger in her mouth. But, regardless, she rolls like freight train on those two knees.

Another thing we have noticed is her dancing. The fact that Abigail *does not* need music to dance is endearing to us: we figure she is literally marching to her own drum. But seriously, she loves to dance! And she does it well, too. Generally, she doesn't like to put on a show for strangers, but for mom and dad, she'll groove. She could be totally absorbed by her dolls or her stuffed animals or her cubes, and if there is music, she'll absentmindedly bust a move. We laugh quietly as her little butt moves to an fro, rhythmically, to the beat. If crawling the "normal" way, her butt will shake from side to side, like that of cat's getting ready to jump. I have been following her with a camera trying to immortalize the moment, unsuccessfully. When nothing else is distracting her, she'll dance with all of herself: her arms, hands, legs, head, butt - everything bobbing together as she laughs away. Here are a few clips that we were able to film, but she was aware that there was a camera... so she acted rather demure.

Another oddity: push buttons! Those are Abigail's favorite thing as of late. In the previous post you see Abbie pushing the mirror's button over and over and over again... well, she has an uncanny ability to recognize a button in just about any gadget. Let's not even mention phones, remotes and laptops: those are obsolete by now, although still holding some degree of appeal. I am talking fans, microwaves, clocks, car beepers, what have you. She will zoom in on that button, and press it! Fans turn on, microwaves beep, clock alarms go off in the middle of the night, cars unlock lock unlock lock unlock lock... She also loves to redial the last number on our home phone. And then she puts the call on speaker. All by herself. Luckily, when she has done that, it has been mostly her dad. But if you get a weird call from us, nothing but muffled giggles and squeals, don't hang up: it's Abbie.

Abigail, mind you, has a wild streak. She doesn't like her "baby." This poor doll I got her some time ago is taking so much abuse I am thinking about hiding it away. Abbie has a little stroller that we got for her "baby." We put the "baby" in the stroller, and Abigail will push it around for a walk, or at least, that's the idea. Seven times out of ten, Abigail yanks the "baby" off the stroller, throws it on the floor, and runs it over with the stroller. She'll attempt to run it over several times. Or, a variation, after dumping it on the floor she'll jump on it and bite it on the forehead. If the "baby" is on her swing, she'll do the same thing: yank it off, floor, bite. During the course of the day, after the "baby" has already suffered abuse and is lying abandoned on the floor, she might go back to it and bite it again for good measure. She grabs its head with both hands, looks at it square in the face, opens her mouth wide and slowly, deliberately, chomps down on the forehead.

Ahhh... Abbie, Abbie!

There will more oddities to come, the list is long, and the time is short. I smile as I think of all the weird things that make my Abbie so very mine.