Today, Abby is 2.5. Boy, has she changed a lot. Motherhood keeps getting better and better. I never knew I had the capacity to love someone this much. I keep rationalizing that it is OK that I haven't put Abby's baby book together because I have this blog. Some rationalization when I hardly tend to this blog much. I truly had no idea how time would become such a precious resource! (And, I have committed to updating the baby book before Abby turns 3, so I still have 6 months....)
We did finally have a belated Christmas in Lubbock with family the last weekend of January. It was very low key, and we did have to suffer through another snow storm. But, thankfully, flights were not cancelled, and we made it to Lubbock. Abby got a lot of great clothes and toys from her cousins, and she loved being the center of
attention.
Abby and Eddie Don
Abby and Cousins
My beautiful nieces are such great role models for Abby (hopefully they will stay that way :) ), and are turning into such lovely young ladies. One of my nieces is a rising tennis star, and the other one is an amazing artist who is taking up golf. I can't wait to play with her soon even though she will probably kick my butt. I so do hate to lose at anything! I had such a great time with my nieces watching the America's Next Top Model marathon with them. I had never watched the show, but we watched a few entire seasons. It offered me ample time to catch up with them and find out what was going on in their lives. I mean just because their Facebook status shows "in a relationship", as their aunt, I needed to know what that really meant for 12 and 13 year old girls. It is just one of those moments where you realize how old you are getting when you can remember holding your nieces in your arms one day, and the next day it seems, they are "in a relationship"!
I showed Abby pictures in magazines of girls with short hair and girls with long hair over an over asking her if she wanted to keep growing her hair or get it cut. She decided she wanted it all cut off, so that is what we did. I love letting her hair grow, but she is so petite, and the hair starts to hide her face too much. She got a little bob haircut that looks adorable and is so low maintenance (great for mom..more sleep in the morning).
Abby went to her first concert - Sesame Street Live.
Wow, almost as good as Chicago or Jersey Boys. Ok. Not really. But, for Abby, I think it was the highlight of her young life SO FAR. She loves Elmo like most kids her age so this was right up her alley. I fully expected that she would get restless 30 minutes in and we would be leaving early, but to my surprise, Abby sat still for the full 2 hour show including intermission!! I could not believe how much this concert captivated her attention. She would not take her eyes off of the stage. We had an absolute blast! She still talks about it a month later and sleeps with her Zoe doll we bought at the concert (for those who are otherwise uniformed about Elmo's possee - Zoe is the pink/orange character who is Elmo's BFF). For more on Zoe - check Wikpedia. I think Zoe ranks up there with Elmo and Abby Cadaby as Abby's favorite Sesame Street characters.
What surprises and delights me so much about Abby right now is her ingenuity and problem solving ability. She is so fascinated with how everything works and how things are put together. She wants to dissect or open up everything to see how it operates. She is becoming fiercely independent when she is trying to master a task. For example, when she is going into the bathroom to use it or brush her teeth for example, she insists on turning on the lights. This means, she goes and finds her stool, puts it down, and then turns the light on. If you do it first, she will turn it off and then return it on again. She insists on doing everything herself. If she can't, she will ask for help, but not without trying every which way she can think of first. What a great quality!! She loves big construction equipment -bulldozers, cranes, etc. AND she is starting to get into princesses too. She told me the new construction near our house that we drive past every day is going to be a big castle that she wants to live in. I told her mommy needs a higher paying job first...
For you Abby, until I can get that baby book updated, at 2.5, you:
- count to ten in English and Spanish (almost)
- sing your ABC's
- are potty trained (except at night)
- use the potty by yourself and don't even want mommy in the room at all. "Mommy, leave" is what you say when you want to be alone to take care of your business.
- love to read - favorite book is Dooby Moo (huh?)
- love to jump on the trampoline and swing from the bars at My Gym
- are frightened by car washes
- love music - favorite song is "Chasing Pavements" by Adelle
- love to dance
- love the color pink
- love to dip food in guacamole, hummus, ranch dip, salsa or ketchup - you don't discriminate against any condiment so it seems
- love fish - halibut and shrimp especially
- love calling people on the phone and saying "hi, how you?"
- are speedy. you can slip out of your car seat and into the driver seat in under 2 seconds flat before mommy even knows what has happened
- love, love love choo choo trains
We did finally have a belated Christmas in Lubbock with family the last weekend of January. It was very low key, and we did have to suffer through another snow storm. But, thankfully, flights were not cancelled, and we made it to Lubbock. Abby got a lot of great clothes and toys from her cousins, and she loved being the center of
attention.
Abby and Eddie Don
Abby and Cousins
My beautiful nieces are such great role models for Abby (hopefully they will stay that way :) ), and are turning into such lovely young ladies. One of my nieces is a rising tennis star, and the other one is an amazing artist who is taking up golf. I can't wait to play with her soon even though she will probably kick my butt. I so do hate to lose at anything! I had such a great time with my nieces watching the America's Next Top Model marathon with them. I had never watched the show, but we watched a few entire seasons. It offered me ample time to catch up with them and find out what was going on in their lives. I mean just because their Facebook status shows "in a relationship", as their aunt, I needed to know what that really meant for 12 and 13 year old girls. It is just one of those moments where you realize how old you are getting when you can remember holding your nieces in your arms one day, and the next day it seems, they are "in a relationship"!
I showed Abby pictures in magazines of girls with short hair and girls with long hair over an over asking her if she wanted to keep growing her hair or get it cut. She decided she wanted it all cut off, so that is what we did. I love letting her hair grow, but she is so petite, and the hair starts to hide her face too much. She got a little bob haircut that looks adorable and is so low maintenance (great for mom..more sleep in the morning).
Abby went to her first concert - Sesame Street Live.
Wow, almost as good as Chicago or Jersey Boys. Ok. Not really. But, for Abby, I think it was the highlight of her young life SO FAR. She loves Elmo like most kids her age so this was right up her alley. I fully expected that she would get restless 30 minutes in and we would be leaving early, but to my surprise, Abby sat still for the full 2 hour show including intermission!! I could not believe how much this concert captivated her attention. She would not take her eyes off of the stage. We had an absolute blast! She still talks about it a month later and sleeps with her Zoe doll we bought at the concert (for those who are otherwise uniformed about Elmo's possee - Zoe is the pink/orange character who is Elmo's BFF). For more on Zoe - check Wikpedia. I think Zoe ranks up there with Elmo and Abby Cadaby as Abby's favorite Sesame Street characters.
What surprises and delights me so much about Abby right now is her ingenuity and problem solving ability. She is so fascinated with how everything works and how things are put together. She wants to dissect or open up everything to see how it operates. She is becoming fiercely independent when she is trying to master a task. For example, when she is going into the bathroom to use it or brush her teeth for example, she insists on turning on the lights. This means, she goes and finds her stool, puts it down, and then turns the light on. If you do it first, she will turn it off and then return it on again. She insists on doing everything herself. If she can't, she will ask for help, but not without trying every which way she can think of first. What a great quality!! She loves big construction equipment -bulldozers, cranes, etc. AND she is starting to get into princesses too. She told me the new construction near our house that we drive past every day is going to be a big castle that she wants to live in. I told her mommy needs a higher paying job first...
For you Abby, until I can get that baby book updated, at 2.5, you:
- count to ten in English and Spanish (almost)
- sing your ABC's
- are potty trained (except at night)
- use the potty by yourself and don't even want mommy in the room at all. "Mommy, leave" is what you say when you want to be alone to take care of your business.
- love to read - favorite book is Dooby Moo (huh?)
- love to jump on the trampoline and swing from the bars at My Gym
- are frightened by car washes
- love music - favorite song is "Chasing Pavements" by Adelle
- love to dance
- love the color pink
- love to dip food in guacamole, hummus, ranch dip, salsa or ketchup - you don't discriminate against any condiment so it seems
- love fish - halibut and shrimp especially
- love calling people on the phone and saying "hi, how you?"
- are speedy. you can slip out of your car seat and into the driver seat in under 2 seconds flat before mommy even knows what has happened
- love, love love choo choo trains
