Abby will be 20 months old next week. We celebrated her "Gotcha Day" on March 28th in unremarable fashion. Gotcha Day is celebrated by some in the adoption community as the day your child becomes permanently part of your family or permanently in your care. March 28th, 2008 was the day Abby transitioned from foster care in Guatemala to my care on the pick up visit and it was the day of her visa appointment at the US Embassy in Guatemala. This year, it was a typical Saturday for us - playing and shoppping - but I did spend some time on that day as well as the days before and after in a very reflective mode. In some ways, it feels like just yesterday that we went to Guatemala, and in other ways, I do feel like I have a years worth of memories. One thing I know for sure, my life WA (With Abby) is fantastic. Abby is the most loving little girl with a contagious smile only matched by her curiosity and intelligence.
She wears me out physically because she never stops. Not for a second. She still only has two speeds for the most part - full throttle or in park/asleep - not much in between. She challenges me to keep up with her to the point of exhaustion, but then she rewards me by being the best child ever when it comes to bedtime. She still routinely goes to bed at 6:30PM or 7 every night at her request, not mine (ok, sometimes I enjoy that I get to relax I bit and watch crap reality tv), but I think her bedtime behavior is quite unbelievable.
This is our typical evening exchange regarding bedtime:
Mom: "Abby, are you ready to go night-night?"
Abby: Nods yes and/or walks over to the stairwell by the gate to go upstairs to her bedroom.
Mom: Places Abby in crib and says "Lie down on the pillow, honey" and covers her with her fave blanky.
Abby: Waves her hand bye bye or says "bye", and turns her her head toward the wall.
It is like clockwork most of the time. Not a cry or peep when she is ready for bed. This kid plays hard and sleeps hard. Even when she is sick, she rarely makes any fuss at bedtime. I know this can't always be this easy.
Abby did stay up late with her cousins over Easter weekend when they were in town for a short visit. They stayed up late texting and talking about boys just like at any good slumber party.
Morning After The Slumber Party
As usual, Abby was thrilled to see them and has really started to bond with them. My family has been great about coming to see her every few months, and so Abby knows them and responds to them well. My nieces are incredible with her, and it just warms my heart to see them interact despite the age difference of 10+ years. They went on the carousel with her which Abby loved and they even came to Abby's Sunday morning music class with us. Abby's music teacher commented on how great Ashtyn, my older niece, was with young children in the class. It is quite obvious that Ashtyn is a natural, and Abby gets to reap the rewards.
Abby and Ashtyn on Carousel
They brought their dog, Murphy, with them, and although Abby's obsession with dogs has waned, she still loves being around them. Abby walked Murphy by herself while she was riding in her car and just around the neighborhood. She took her dog walking job quite seriously and never let go of the leash. She was a natural! Abby is so gentle around animals and very intuitive about them.
