Abby is walking. She took her first real steps on October 27th. She had been taking a few quick steps between the wall and furniture, the furniture and me, etc. And, she had been holding on to my clothing as I walked. For almost 2 months, all Abby would do would be to just stand there and when I tried to get her to walk to me, she would just start clapping and looking at me as if I had grown horns. She just showed no real interest other than standing. She would stand. And stand. And stand until she grew roots.
Abby in Her Standing Phase
So, back to the starting walking thing. One day, when I went to pick Abby up from school, I walked into her classroom. I called out her name, and she was about 20 feet away from me sitting at a table eating her late afternoon snack. Her back was to me, but she turned her head when I called her name. Like she had done it a thousand times before, she stood up, scooted her chair back and walked 20 feet over to me and gave me a hug. It was awesome. Plain and simple. It was the most convincing case that Abby is truly a toddler now...for the most part, babyhood is in her rearview mirror (I haven't fully weaned her from the bottle..try as I might..she still likes a bottle in the AM. My rationale is that I want to make sure she gets enough milk every day, and she doesn't have a lot of dairy products at school. I can only really work on this on the weekends..Shh..don't tell anyone she is still taking a bottle ocassionally).
Abby moved out of the infant room at school into the young toddler room at the end of October. Thank goodness. She needed to be moved at least a month earlier, but they really want the kids to be walking before they move them. They made an exception in Abby's case because although her teachers like Ms. Regina, Ms. Russell, and Ms. Patricia LOVED her and told me so all the time (Abby even got her first teacher's comments for her baby book from Ms. Russell about how wonderful she was), Abby was into everything while the rest of the babies were pretty much blobs. Abby had started emptying every kid's dresser in the room (she loves opening drawers and taking out her clothes at home too), and I am sure the teachers got tired of refolding everything, so they decided to move her in with the other young toddlers who are in the 12-18 month age range like Abby. That classroom is way more her speed. There is lots of activity going on at all times. It is constant chaos, but that is what Abby likes. Everytime I pick her up, she is having an absolute ball climbing on things and playing with the other kids. When I drop her off in the morning, she starts smiling when we walk into school. Believe me, it makes me feel so much better each day knowing how much she truly enjoys her day.
A few weeks ago, I dressed her in her Texas Tech outfit (from her uncle Michael, a proud Tech alum) after Tech's huge win over #1 ranked Texas. When I picked Abby up that day from school, she was wearing a different outfit. This happens from time to time when lunchtime is particularly messy. On this day, another child smeared all of his lunch all over Abby. What was funny about it was that his parents were both Texas alums, so he took out his frustration over the outcome of the game on poor little Abby! Not to worry..the teachers said Abby just laughed about it.
Abby All "Teched" Out
Abby had her first haircut. I didn't want to cut her hair because it is so darn cute, but the fact is that it had gotten so long in front, you couldn't see her face. She had school pictures coming up which forced my hand, and she just got a little trim so you could see her beautiful face. She had a meltdown (and she rarely if ever has these) when she got her haircut. Abby cried and cried the entire time.
Thankfully, it was brief, and she forgot about it quickly after I "rewarded" her courage with a Diego phone (Diego of "Go, Diego, Go" fame on Nickelodeon channel is Abby's fave). Like most kids, she is mesmerized by phones, remotes and gadgets. So, this toy was a winner for many reasons.
Thankfully, it was brief, and she forgot about it quickly after I "rewarded" her courage with a Diego phone (Diego of "Go, Diego, Go" fame on Nickelodeon channel is Abby's fave). Like most kids, she is mesmerized by phones, remotes and gadgets. So, this toy was a winner for many reasons.
Abby Talking to Grams About Her Day. Grams is Loud, so Abby Can't Put Phone Near Ear
Abby had her first Halloween. It was pretty uneventful. We had about 10 trick or treaters, but they all came well past Abby's bedtime. Abby goes to bed about 6:30 PM on weekdays because she naps very little at school. Abby enjoys her beauty sleep, that is for sure. She might make it to 7 PM ocassionally, but we didn't go trick or treating because (in no particular order) 1) sleep for her is way more important 2) she can't eat candy yet and 3) mom didn't want to. I did dress her up and take a few pictures. Since Abby loves dogs, I thought she would appreciate a puppy dog costume. Other than the fact that she was sweating profusely because Halloween was a warm day here and the costume was pretty heavy, Abby enjoyed the dressing up. It will be more fun in the years ahead when Abby can decide for herself what she wants to be for Halloween.
Every parent says "they grow up fast". I understand that perfectly. I really am enjoying all the different phases Abby is going through and trying to live in the moment with her as much as possible. Weekends with her are really our time together. She still loves the same things she always has - going to the park especially to get on the swing, playing with dogs, and riding/driving whatever she can. She gets such a focused, determined look on her face if you put her on a car, motorcycle, horse at the mall or Chuck-E-Cheese for example. I have to get her some kind of little car for Hannukah because the sheer joy and excitment you see on her face when she is riding/driving a car is priceless!
On a final, sad note, my father dumped me via voicemail during the Jewish High Holy Days because we had an argument which apparently turned out to be a dealbreaker for him. I tried to work it out with him and every time I called him back, he hung up on me. A few days after the argument, he left me a voicemail on Sunday at work (when he knew I wouldn't be there) and told me he wanted to be "incommunicado" with me for at least 2 years while he evaluated whether or not he wanted to have anything to do with me. Not only was his voicemail hateful and hurtful to me, he said some very derogatory things about my mother who had absolutely nothing to do with the argument whatsover. It was shocking to me how intense his hatred for my mother is even though it has been 30 years since they divorced. I am sad for myself and for Abby that she will never know her grandfather. My father has 3 grandchildren now, and he doesn't know any of them. Abby could never do or say anything to me where I would tell her to take a hike, no matter how much it might hurt at the time. That's a good thing. The day I listened to my father's message I was really down, and when I went to pick Abby up that day from school, she gave me a kiss. It might not seem like much, but almost every time I ask her for a kiss, she shakes her head no. This time, I didn't even ask, she just gave it to me. It is like she knew I needed it. It is amazing how intuitive kids can be sometimes.
Abby had her first Halloween. It was pretty uneventful. We had about 10 trick or treaters, but they all came well past Abby's bedtime. Abby goes to bed about 6:30 PM on weekdays because she naps very little at school. Abby enjoys her beauty sleep, that is for sure. She might make it to 7 PM ocassionally, but we didn't go trick or treating because (in no particular order) 1) sleep for her is way more important 2) she can't eat candy yet and 3) mom didn't want to. I did dress her up and take a few pictures. Since Abby loves dogs, I thought she would appreciate a puppy dog costume. Other than the fact that she was sweating profusely because Halloween was a warm day here and the costume was pretty heavy, Abby enjoyed the dressing up. It will be more fun in the years ahead when Abby can decide for herself what she wants to be for Halloween.
Every parent says "they grow up fast". I understand that perfectly. I really am enjoying all the different phases Abby is going through and trying to live in the moment with her as much as possible. Weekends with her are really our time together. She still loves the same things she always has - going to the park especially to get on the swing, playing with dogs, and riding/driving whatever she can. She gets such a focused, determined look on her face if you put her on a car, motorcycle, horse at the mall or Chuck-E-Cheese for example. I have to get her some kind of little car for Hannukah because the sheer joy and excitment you see on her face when she is riding/driving a car is priceless!
On a final, sad note, my father dumped me via voicemail during the Jewish High Holy Days because we had an argument which apparently turned out to be a dealbreaker for him. I tried to work it out with him and every time I called him back, he hung up on me. A few days after the argument, he left me a voicemail on Sunday at work (when he knew I wouldn't be there) and told me he wanted to be "incommunicado" with me for at least 2 years while he evaluated whether or not he wanted to have anything to do with me. Not only was his voicemail hateful and hurtful to me, he said some very derogatory things about my mother who had absolutely nothing to do with the argument whatsover. It was shocking to me how intense his hatred for my mother is even though it has been 30 years since they divorced. I am sad for myself and for Abby that she will never know her grandfather. My father has 3 grandchildren now, and he doesn't know any of them. Abby could never do or say anything to me where I would tell her to take a hike, no matter how much it might hurt at the time. That's a good thing. The day I listened to my father's message I was really down, and when I went to pick Abby up that day from school, she gave me a kiss. It might not seem like much, but almost every time I ask her for a kiss, she shakes her head no. This time, I didn't even ask, she just gave it to me. It is like she knew I needed it. It is amazing how intuitive kids can be sometimes.
2 comments:
The Halloween picture is adorable! Thanks for sharing, Lisa.
Kelly P.
She has changed so much over the past few months! What a cutie!
- Eli's Mom
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