Abby loves to sing as much as she loves to dance. Okay, sort of. Here are two songs that we've learned at Sunday School. These songs have saved us on more than one occasion! At least twice she has been having a meltdown and we'll pull out "Twinkle Twinkle" and it brings her back down to a calm and sensible level!
Please enjoy:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
And also enjoy "If You're Happy and You Know It!"
If You're Happy and You Know It.... from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Thanksgiving Weekend - Abby Style!
Thanksgiving weekend was one of fun and adventure for Abby!
On Wednesday we went to the turkey farm to pick up a fresh turkey, or two, and also took some time to explore. We saw cows and cats of all ages and sizes. Abby was fascinated by all of it!
On Thursday Rob's dad and step-mom made the drive up from Florida, so we got to spend some time with them before dinner.
At dinner there was quite a houseful of people. I think we counted 12 around the table, and four dogs. Abby at lots of cranberries and stuffing, but was not interested in much else.
On Friday we did a little shopping, and finished decorating the house for Christmas! Since we'll be in Saint Louis for Christmas, we put up a fake tree. It is already decorated and Abby loves it. It has come at the right time as we are working on identifying colors and the lights are much more interesting than crayons!
On Saturday we raked the front and back yards - and Abby tried to help. It was adorable and I wish I had gotten pictures, but I did not. This year we are composting our leaves, so it was especially fun for her to throw handfuls of leaves over the fence!
What did you do for the big weekend?
On Wednesday we went to the turkey farm to pick up a fresh turkey, or two, and also took some time to explore. We saw cows and cats of all ages and sizes. Abby was fascinated by all of it!
On Thursday Rob's dad and step-mom made the drive up from Florida, so we got to spend some time with them before dinner.
At dinner there was quite a houseful of people. I think we counted 12 around the table, and four dogs. Abby at lots of cranberries and stuffing, but was not interested in much else.
On Friday we did a little shopping, and finished decorating the house for Christmas! Since we'll be in Saint Louis for Christmas, we put up a fake tree. It is already decorated and Abby loves it. It has come at the right time as we are working on identifying colors and the lights are much more interesting than crayons!
On Saturday we raked the front and back yards - and Abby tried to help. It was adorable and I wish I had gotten pictures, but I did not. This year we are composting our leaves, so it was especially fun for her to throw handfuls of leaves over the fence!
What did you do for the big weekend?
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving
It's almost impossible to remember that last year our little girl looked like this on Thanksgiving:
She BEGAN eating rice cereal, her first "solid" food on Thanksgiving last year.
This year will look much more like this:
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
She BEGAN eating rice cereal, her first "solid" food on Thanksgiving last year.
This year will look much more like this:
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Apache!
Abby is always learning, and this morning she needed to release some energy. Is there any better way to do that than dancing? No. To that end, I taught her the Apache, to the song Apache by The Sugar Hill Gang.
I apologize for the shaky shot, but I was still prompting on when to do what.
Here's Abby:
Abby's Apache! from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
Here's the "original" from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air:
I apologize for the shaky shot, but I was still prompting on when to do what.
Here's Abby:
Abby's Apache! from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
Here's the "original" from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air:
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Six Weeks Late..
I don't really read the articles on ParentDish these days. Too busy living the life to read about it, or something like that.
Anyway, my favorite picture of Abby was chosen as the Image of the Day back in September. How cool is that?!
http://www.parentdish.com/2008/09/24/image-of-the-day-raise-your-hands-in-the-air/
Anyway, my favorite picture of Abby was chosen as the Image of the Day back in September. How cool is that?!
http://www.parentdish.com/2008/09/24/image-of-the-day-raise-your-hands-in-the-air/
Friday, November 07, 2008
Teething - Again
We think Abby is breaking in her two year molars. She's running a fairly constant fever, she's cranky and she's not sleeping well. Hoepfully this means that we will not have too many more teeth to break through for a while....right?
Also - I entered a picture of Abby into a contest on one of my Flickr groups, and it won! The theme was "Trick or Treat" and here is the shot:
Here is a new top-five picture from last weekend. I called it "Eyes Piercing the Fog"
Also - I entered a picture of Abby into a contest on one of my Flickr groups, and it won! The theme was "Trick or Treat" and here is the shot:
Here is a new top-five picture from last weekend. I called it "Eyes Piercing the Fog"
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Happy Halloween!
(Click on any photo to see a larger version)
At Abby's school yesterday they had a costume parade, and played with bubbles:
Here she is leading the charge for more fun!
I made a flower to go with the costume at dinner. It did not last long once she figured out people were giving her food!
We only visited five or six houses, all of folks that we wanted to say "hi" to anyway. In spite of that, she got a bag FULL of food! Here she is checking out her haul!
Upon closer investigation, she dumped the bag and picked out a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup (my favorite, too). We did NOT let her eat it right before bed time, I promise. (And for the record, I didn't eat it either!)
Here is my favorite shot from the night. I like it for several reasons, but mostly because she was just so blissfully happy to dig into a big container of sugar. I'm sure she would have, if we let her.
Now the big question is whether or not to let her have some candy. She's had a few pieces of candy over her short life (Thanks Amy!) but typically chocolate winds her up. We'll probably have some with breakfast and keep it at that!
Happy Halloween!
(Or, at this point, All Saints Day!)
At Abby's school yesterday they had a costume parade, and played with bubbles:
Here she is leading the charge for more fun!
I made a flower to go with the costume at dinner. It did not last long once she figured out people were giving her food!
We only visited five or six houses, all of folks that we wanted to say "hi" to anyway. In spite of that, she got a bag FULL of food! Here she is checking out her haul!
Upon closer investigation, she dumped the bag and picked out a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup (my favorite, too). We did NOT let her eat it right before bed time, I promise. (And for the record, I didn't eat it either!)
Here is my favorite shot from the night. I like it for several reasons, but mostly because she was just so blissfully happy to dig into a big container of sugar. I'm sure she would have, if we let her.
Now the big question is whether or not to let her have some candy. She's had a few pieces of candy over her short life (Thanks Amy!) but typically chocolate winds her up. We'll probably have some with breakfast and keep it at that!
Happy Halloween!
(Or, at this point, All Saints Day!)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Me and My Shadow
Last week Abby noticed something on the wall. I assumed that she found a dirty spot from a spill or a dog toy or something. Instead, it was her own shadow!
She "followed" the shadow along the wall, and got a little concerned when she walked toward the hallway and it disappeared. It was adorable! I tried to get video of it, but as usual she stopped doing it when I was prepared for it!
Instead of posting such a cute video, here is a cute picture of both Abby and her shadow.
She "followed" the shadow along the wall, and got a little concerned when she walked toward the hallway and it disappeared. It was adorable! I tried to get video of it, but as usual she stopped doing it when I was prepared for it!
Instead of posting such a cute video, here is a cute picture of both Abby and her shadow.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Abby's Big Bump
(a gentle nudge from Carol reminded me that I haven't updated Abby's blog in weeks - sorry! Remember that you can keep up with a picture a day at http://www.flickr.com/photos/armonroe)
For example about the wonder of posting a picture-a-day is that you would have seen this "pretty" bump over the weekend instead of waiting for today:
To start - she's fine. She was almost immediately fine. But here's what happened:
We went up to Clark's Elliok Farm which is a petting zoo, Enchanted Forest, playground and working farm. I think they even had a corn maze, but Abby's too young to enjoy such a treat.
This was our first organized trip of the year for our Church's Parents of Young Children group and we were meeting three other families. We made a decision to arrive a bit early just in case one of the families got there early. After killing time in the car and having some animal crackers, we made our way inside to play on their big playground.
They have an awesome pirate ship with a plank, fire pole, and a really fun, really fast slide. She went down the slide a few times with no problems. I put her up on the other side of the ship to let her have a little more fun, and while she was trying to get to Anny on the other side she tripped over her own feet and landed face first into a corner of the wood. Not good.
I have never seen a bruise swell that much that fast! I sent Anny over to get ice while Abby wimpered a little in my arms. To be honest, it pained Abby more to be pinned down and have ice applied than it did to get such a bump! We probably would have taken her to the hospital had it not been for the voice of experience around us saying that they had seen the same thing. I'm glad we decided to stay.
She was fine within a few minutes and we made our way around the farm to see a lot of animals and attractions. It was a perfect fall day - warm in the sun but still a nice bit of chill in the air. Everyone had a great time and we got to hear about a couple of other petting-farm type of places that are a little closer to home. We might get to another one before it get's too cold!
Abby even tried to pick her own pumpkin!
For example about the wonder of posting a picture-a-day is that you would have seen this "pretty" bump over the weekend instead of waiting for today:
To start - she's fine. She was almost immediately fine. But here's what happened:
We went up to Clark's Elliok Farm which is a petting zoo, Enchanted Forest, playground and working farm. I think they even had a corn maze, but Abby's too young to enjoy such a treat.
This was our first organized trip of the year for our Church's Parents of Young Children group and we were meeting three other families. We made a decision to arrive a bit early just in case one of the families got there early. After killing time in the car and having some animal crackers, we made our way inside to play on their big playground.
They have an awesome pirate ship with a plank, fire pole, and a really fun, really fast slide. She went down the slide a few times with no problems. I put her up on the other side of the ship to let her have a little more fun, and while she was trying to get to Anny on the other side she tripped over her own feet and landed face first into a corner of the wood. Not good.
I have never seen a bruise swell that much that fast! I sent Anny over to get ice while Abby wimpered a little in my arms. To be honest, it pained Abby more to be pinned down and have ice applied than it did to get such a bump! We probably would have taken her to the hospital had it not been for the voice of experience around us saying that they had seen the same thing. I'm glad we decided to stay.
She was fine within a few minutes and we made our way around the farm to see a lot of animals and attractions. It was a perfect fall day - warm in the sun but still a nice bit of chill in the air. Everyone had a great time and we got to hear about a couple of other petting-farm type of places that are a little closer to home. We might get to another one before it get's too cold!
Abby even tried to pick her own pumpkin!
Friday, October 03, 2008
Back to the Teething
We had a few nights of peaceful slumber - but then we discovered two more molars coming in on the bottom. Bad sign. Abby does not do well with teething. It's hard for us because when she does not sleep, we do not sleep. Often when she wakes up, she's in such pain that she wakes up screaming. Very few things will soothe her, so she get's a lot of extra cuddle time.
When she's awake enough to provide some real relief she has two things that work - and neither are teethers approved by any company. We've discovered that she has no use for the teething rings that you can buy in the store. What works for us is frozen banana spears and frozen blueberries. The real key for us is to balance the two because of what each does to Abby's digestion. (I'll let you take that and run with it)
The real problem with the timing is that we had finally gotten into a good routine for sleeping overnight. That's not to say that she didn't wake up at all, but when she woke up it was momentary and she got herself back to sleep. There were literally two nights where all three of us slept through the night. It was bliss. We know that this too shall pass, but it's hard to keep that in mind at 2:30 in the morning!
So - if you see us around and we look like we're dead tired and dragging one foot behind the other - know that all is well in our house, but we're just a bit tired.
When she's awake enough to provide some real relief she has two things that work - and neither are teethers approved by any company. We've discovered that she has no use for the teething rings that you can buy in the store. What works for us is frozen banana spears and frozen blueberries. The real key for us is to balance the two because of what each does to Abby's digestion. (I'll let you take that and run with it)
The real problem with the timing is that we had finally gotten into a good routine for sleeping overnight. That's not to say that she didn't wake up at all, but when she woke up it was momentary and she got herself back to sleep. There were literally two nights where all three of us slept through the night. It was bliss. We know that this too shall pass, but it's hard to keep that in mind at 2:30 in the morning!
So - if you see us around and we look like we're dead tired and dragging one foot behind the other - know that all is well in our house, but we're just a bit tired.
Monday, September 22, 2008
More on Communication
We had dinner with friends last night whose son is two month younger than Abby. He's a cutie and has a great smile. What struck me is that he's doing the exact same things as Abby was - learning to walk, reverting a little in speech - but Anny and I have completely forgotten about that stage. It's a bit weird, really, since it was not long ago.
We got to talking about signing. They are actively trying to increase his vocabulary through signing, while we are kind of letting it plateau at where we have gotten, with a hope that soon enough she will begin to use her speech. I am not so sure that we should be pulling back now!
One morning last week I discovered Signing Time on our local PBS station. It's a well done, very informative half-hour of sign language learning. Each episode has a theme. So far Abby and I have watched Colors and Rooms of the House. Very cool. It's easier for ME to learn through seeing it in action than it is to figure out what the still images in a book are trying to say.
The third reason that I think we should really keep on teaching Abby signs is that she is coming up with them on her own, and often they're the ASL standard signs! In addition to the signs I told you last week that she knows, over the last week or two she has shown us:
Open - as in - I know my teacake is in here, please open it
Sunscreen - rubbing her arms before we go outside
Hat - thanks to school, Abby knows she needs a hat to go outside
Peanut Butter - okay, this one is a bit out of the norm. She grabs a spoon, points to the cabinet and licks her lips. It's adorable.
I'm sure that there are others she has done that we are totally missing. It's adorable and we're glad that we have done this since we can ask her why she's crying or upset and she can tell us if she's hungry or thirsty, rather than just scream on the floor.
We got to talking about signing. They are actively trying to increase his vocabulary through signing, while we are kind of letting it plateau at where we have gotten, with a hope that soon enough she will begin to use her speech. I am not so sure that we should be pulling back now!
One morning last week I discovered Signing Time on our local PBS station. It's a well done, very informative half-hour of sign language learning. Each episode has a theme. So far Abby and I have watched Colors and Rooms of the House. Very cool. It's easier for ME to learn through seeing it in action than it is to figure out what the still images in a book are trying to say.
The third reason that I think we should really keep on teaching Abby signs is that she is coming up with them on her own, and often they're the ASL standard signs! In addition to the signs I told you last week that she knows, over the last week or two she has shown us:
Open - as in - I know my teacake is in here, please open it
Sunscreen - rubbing her arms before we go outside
Hat - thanks to school, Abby knows she needs a hat to go outside
Peanut Butter - okay, this one is a bit out of the norm. She grabs a spoon, points to the cabinet and licks her lips. It's adorable.
I'm sure that there are others she has done that we are totally missing. It's adorable and we're glad that we have done this since we can ask her why she's crying or upset and she can tell us if she's hungry or thirsty, rather than just scream on the floor.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Our Little Big Girl
15 Month Checkup Stats:
24 pounds
31.5 inches
Thist means that her height is in about the 76th percentile and her weight is in the 50th percentil. She's getting taller and thinner!
One weird comment from the doctor is that he said "I can tell she is a smart one by the way she follows my light." That was really cool to hear. He asked how many words she said and was happy to hear that she has about 18 "words." (In quotes because "bau" counts for book and ball")
She had an MMR vaccination and a Flu Shot. Since she didn't get one last year, she has to have another one in 4 weeks. She was a trooper and as soon as things were done (and needles out) we told her we were done and could put her shoes on. She stopped crying almost immediately and was ready to roll.
We asked about the need for vitamins, and the doctor said that it would probably be a good idea, so Anny stopped on the way home to get some. We'll start that going this evening. Hopefully giving Abby and I will take ours together, mostly so that I remember to start taking mine on a regular basis...
She's such a big little girl. We're so happy to have her in our lives. I'm looking forward to the next 15 months with such excitement about what she will do next!
24 pounds
31.5 inches
Thist means that her height is in about the 76th percentile and her weight is in the 50th percentil. She's getting taller and thinner!
One weird comment from the doctor is that he said "I can tell she is a smart one by the way she follows my light." That was really cool to hear. He asked how many words she said and was happy to hear that she has about 18 "words." (In quotes because "bau" counts for book and ball")
She had an MMR vaccination and a Flu Shot. Since she didn't get one last year, she has to have another one in 4 weeks. She was a trooper and as soon as things were done (and needles out) we told her we were done and could put her shoes on. She stopped crying almost immediately and was ready to roll.
We asked about the need for vitamins, and the doctor said that it would probably be a good idea, so Anny stopped on the way home to get some. We'll start that going this evening. Hopefully giving Abby and I will take ours together, mostly so that I remember to start taking mine on a regular basis...
She's such a big little girl. We're so happy to have her in our lives. I'm looking forward to the next 15 months with such excitement about what she will do next!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Come Out Come Out Wherever You Are
We were cleaning up the bedrooms downstairs for some family in town tonight, and Abby discovered the "secret hiding place" under the stairs. She did this for much longer than this video shows!
Please try to ignore the terrible sound of my voice...
Discovery of the Doors from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
Please try to ignore the terrible sound of my voice...
Discovery of the Doors from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Update: Signing!
We have decided that Abby knows all of the signs she needs to know. I admit that it was hard at the beginning, and frustrating a few months in, but once signing became a daily event, she got it and we got rewarded!
Abby can sign:
More
Milk
Food
Help
Please
THAT! (self-taught, and typically relates to food)
Wash Hands (self-taught as well!)
We have decided that we can communicate with her well, and she can communicate back to us just as well, so we are not going to teach her more signs. If she creates some, we will go with them, but her speech seems to be moving along nicely and I would guess that she's one of those children that will not be quiet once she can speak!
I did get down on another one of those things she used to do but has dropped. If you recall (here) Anny was not happy when Abby would only say "mama" when it was in a tearful "mamaamamaamaa" and it was not associated with good times. Now Abby loves to use "mama" and uses it appropriately! The thing she dropped?
Dada.
Abby can sign:
More
Milk
Food
Help
Please
THAT! (self-taught, and typically relates to food)
Wash Hands (self-taught as well!)
We have decided that we can communicate with her well, and she can communicate back to us just as well, so we are not going to teach her more signs. If she creates some, we will go with them, but her speech seems to be moving along nicely and I would guess that she's one of those children that will not be quiet once she can speak!
I did get down on another one of those things she used to do but has dropped. If you recall (here) Anny was not happy when Abby would only say "mama" when it was in a tearful "mamaamamaamaa" and it was not associated with good times. Now Abby loves to use "mama" and uses it appropriately! The thing she dropped?
Dada.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
A Video for You
We took Abby to see the sun rise at the beach over Labor Day weekend. Okay, she woke up at 4:30 and we needed to get out of the house before she woke folks up. Pictures are on the photo pages (see right for links) but here is a short video of her screaming at the ocean, which was adorable:
Abby at the Ocean from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
Abby at the Ocean from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Two Day Shoes
Three is a dilemna when you have a child that truly requires patience and timing. Shoes.
Now that Abby can walk, shoes are not only important, but essential. It was not that long ago that they were simply a fashion statement... merely a foot covering. Now that she has the ability to use the bottom of her feet for more than tickling the right shoe at the right time has become a game.
In the last month Abby has grown out of five pairs of shoes. One she had worn for a month prior. One we got on July 3 and she is wearing for the last time today.
One pair, though, she wore twice. TWO TIMES. $42 for less than 24 hours of wear time. ARGH!
We got a pair of the Robeez Tredz* when they first came out, but knew that they were too big. Every other week or so I've checked to see if they fit, but they never did. Until last Saturday afternoon. Success! The shoes fit! "She should wear them Sunday" I said, and so she did.
"They're adorable, she should wear them everyday" I said.
And she did.
Until Monday afternoon.
You see, Abby has very chubby feet. They're better now than they used to be. At least they are no longer as fat as they are long! I noticed that her chubby feet were a bit constricted on Sunday when we took her shoes off, but she seemed okay with it, so we thought they were good.
On Monday at school she apparently just gave up walking about halfway through the day because her feet hurt so much. Poor kid. She tried to rip her shoes off of her feet, so they took them off for her. Luckily we had sent some socks with grippy feet, because that's how she got around the rest of the day.
TWO. DAY. SHOES. This might get expensive over the years...
Lucky for her we have a few pairs ready to go, including three that fit right now. That does mean, though, that we will be buying shoes this weekend in several sizes. (Outlet shopping ROCKS!)
*We are hoping to find a pair of Tredz this weekend that are more shoe than sandal. The linked shoe is the one Abby wore for two days. It is in no way a reflection on their shoes, simply a reflection on her feet.
Now that Abby can walk, shoes are not only important, but essential. It was not that long ago that they were simply a fashion statement... merely a foot covering. Now that she has the ability to use the bottom of her feet for more than tickling the right shoe at the right time has become a game.
In the last month Abby has grown out of five pairs of shoes. One she had worn for a month prior. One we got on July 3 and she is wearing for the last time today.
One pair, though, she wore twice. TWO TIMES. $42 for less than 24 hours of wear time. ARGH!
We got a pair of the Robeez Tredz* when they first came out, but knew that they were too big. Every other week or so I've checked to see if they fit, but they never did. Until last Saturday afternoon. Success! The shoes fit! "She should wear them Sunday" I said, and so she did.
"They're adorable, she should wear them everyday" I said.
And she did.
Until Monday afternoon.
You see, Abby has very chubby feet. They're better now than they used to be. At least they are no longer as fat as they are long! I noticed that her chubby feet were a bit constricted on Sunday when we took her shoes off, but she seemed okay with it, so we thought they were good.
On Monday at school she apparently just gave up walking about halfway through the day because her feet hurt so much. Poor kid. She tried to rip her shoes off of her feet, so they took them off for her. Luckily we had sent some socks with grippy feet, because that's how she got around the rest of the day.
TWO. DAY. SHOES. This might get expensive over the years...
Lucky for her we have a few pairs ready to go, including three that fit right now. That does mean, though, that we will be buying shoes this weekend in several sizes. (Outlet shopping ROCKS!)
*We are hoping to find a pair of Tredz this weekend that are more shoe than sandal. The linked shoe is the one Abby wore for two days. It is in no way a reflection on their shoes, simply a reflection on her feet.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Finally Done! All of Abby's Olympic Pictures!!
Friends -
A lot of the reason I have not been blogging is that I've been taking pictures. LOTS of pictures. Here is the Olympic Project we did with Abby over the last couple of weeks! (you can see each picture larger by clicking on the links below)
A lot of the reason I have not been blogging is that I've been taking pictures. LOTS of pictures. Here is the Olympic Project we did with Abby over the last couple of weeks! (you can see each picture larger by clicking on the links below)
1. 59/365 Olympic Rings, 2. 60/365 Wrestling, 3. 61/365 Fencing with the Hippo, 4. 62/365 Tennis Time, 5. 63/365 Slightly off the Pitch, 6. 64/365 Up for a Dunk!, 7. 65/365 *Field* Hockey, 8. 66/365 Paddle Time, 9. 68/365 Carry a Big Stick, 10. 67/365 Solo Polo, 11. 70/365 I'm Gonna Knock You Out!, 12. 71/365 High Jump, 13. 72/365 I Got Rhythym, 14. 73/365 Judo...KICK!, 15. 74/365 Ready. SET!, 16. 75/365 Abby Wins Gold!!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Back To School!
Abby and Anny headed back to school today. I realize that it's been a while since this site was updated, so here are some quick hits:
She's adorable.
I promise more regular updates....
PS - Still updating with Olympic pictures, but today there is a picture of Anny and Abby leaving for school. All are available HERE.
- Had a lovely time with aunt Michelle in town last week!
- We took Abby to her first petting farm...and she was AWESOME about the whole thing! She did try to eat some of the feed, though.
- Abby did another study at the University, this time studying how toddlers react to the actions of others.
- We went to a birthday party for one of Abby's friends. He just turned one and everyone had a great time.
She's adorable.
I promise more regular updates....
PS - Still updating with Olympic pictures, but today there is a picture of Anny and Abby leaving for school. All are available HERE.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Our Little Project
During the Olympics we are taking pictures of Abby participating in some of the Games. They will be posted in the Flickr set Abby Olympics. It's accessible HERE.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Linguistics Study, Etc.
The Infant Study was actually last Friday... but of course, we had a very busy weekend so here's everything in one post.
Abby hasn't done one of the Linguistic Studies before (obviously if they are studying language and hers is just developing - she did do some Speech and Hearing tests early on). I filled out a survey before we came about all the words she could SAY. Which meant I had to distinguish what she was actually say from what she could sign. This was harder than I realized because I have become tuned into her language.
The first part of the study she watched a video (as usual, I was asked to close my eyes), but I could hear the narrator identify two similar animals (a mouse with a yellow hat and a mouse with a red scarf) and then another character was introduced and an interaction took place ("see the mouse with the yellow hat hug the dog"). She was video taped so they could track where she was looking the whole time.
The second part was more annoying. I had to wear head phones (given the option of listening to Aretha Franklin, The Beach Boys, or The Beatles - I chose The Beatles). A light would start flashing on one side of the room, when Abby turned towards it a recording of nonsense syllables would begin and play until she looked away. Then the light would flash on the opposite side of the room and again say nonsense syllables when she looked at it. Abby did not enjoy this very much - and since I was simultaneously listening to The Beatles and nonsense syllables, I didn't either.
On Saturday, we went to hear the Dangertones which is the band of a friend of a friend. They played at a marina on Maryland's Eastern shore near Chestertown. Despite traffic, the drive was pretty nice - it reminds me that not everyone lives in the suburb of a large city.
On Sunday, we visited our last church, Manassas Presbyterian and got to have lunch with some good friends. Abby does not nap when there are people to interact with, so it was a very long morning for her. Because a lot of the youth that Rob had worked with at MPC were on their summer trip, we will probably make another visit in the Fall.
Yesterday, Abby slept - a lot. And I did laundry - a lot.
Make sure to check out all the awesome pictures of our weekend.
Abby hasn't done one of the Linguistic Studies before (obviously if they are studying language and hers is just developing - she did do some Speech and Hearing tests early on). I filled out a survey before we came about all the words she could SAY. Which meant I had to distinguish what she was actually say from what she could sign. This was harder than I realized because I have become tuned into her language.
The first part of the study she watched a video (as usual, I was asked to close my eyes), but I could hear the narrator identify two similar animals (a mouse with a yellow hat and a mouse with a red scarf) and then another character was introduced and an interaction took place ("see the mouse with the yellow hat hug the dog"). She was video taped so they could track where she was looking the whole time.
The second part was more annoying. I had to wear head phones (given the option of listening to Aretha Franklin, The Beach Boys, or The Beatles - I chose The Beatles). A light would start flashing on one side of the room, when Abby turned towards it a recording of nonsense syllables would begin and play until she looked away. Then the light would flash on the opposite side of the room and again say nonsense syllables when she looked at it. Abby did not enjoy this very much - and since I was simultaneously listening to The Beatles and nonsense syllables, I didn't either.
On Saturday, we went to hear the Dangertones which is the band of a friend of a friend. They played at a marina on Maryland's Eastern shore near Chestertown. Despite traffic, the drive was pretty nice - it reminds me that not everyone lives in the suburb of a large city.
On Sunday, we visited our last church, Manassas Presbyterian and got to have lunch with some good friends. Abby does not nap when there are people to interact with, so it was a very long morning for her. Because a lot of the youth that Rob had worked with at MPC were on their summer trip, we will probably make another visit in the Fall.
Yesterday, Abby slept - a lot. And I did laundry - a lot.
Make sure to check out all the awesome pictures of our weekend.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Our Trip to St Louis, V1
Friends, I have been negligent in my blogging again, but have all intentions of making it up over the next few days! I refuse to do a step-by-step of our trip to see the family in St Louis, but I will touch on highlights. I think I will break it into categories:
1 - OUR Kiddo
2 - The Kiddos Together
3 - Parents
Today is dedicated to OUR Kiddo!
We decided to fly out late on Thursday and return mid-day Monday, mostly for Abby's sake. We ended up doing a LOT of walking around the airport, and stopped for some dinner. It was actually an ideal place for her to practice walking great distances while safely in the sight of her parents.
Once we got on the plane we grabbed two as close to the front as we could that were together. Ended up sitting next to a very nice woman who slept for most of the trip. It's always awkward to be the person bringing a baby/child onto a plane. I am always looking over my shoulder, wanting to apologize in advance. Turns out that on the flight out, we didn't have to apologize for much! Abby was a little fussy because she was being cramped, but went to sleep before we were out of Maryland airspace and slept until after we landed.
Once we landed, though, things changed. I can imagine that it's a little intimidating, though, to fall asleep in a cramped plane and wake up to a big cousin poking your leg! Abby was a trooper, and then she really woke up. And stayed up. For many hours. New Rule: Do not let Abby nap at 5:30, even if it's on a plane.
Over the weekend she was great with her cousins, but that's for the next post. :o) (Yes, just to build anticipation...)
On Monday we flew back, this time planning on landing before dinner, so that we could try to get Abby back into her "normal" of the Eastern time zone. She fell asleep between lunch and the airport. We let her sleep as long as she wanted to, which was pretty amazing. We checked in, still asleep. We got through security, including a very thorough check of both Anny and Abby because the buckles on her overalls set off the metal detector. Still asleep. She finally woke up when we found a place to sit down.
She was great in the airport again. I think that she has some extroversion in her system. Abby knows how to work a room already, and she sure did work the airport! I think she went out of her way to make eye contact with everyone at Gate 4. It's really neat to see people gabbing on their cell phones, irate about something at the office just stop and smile. The scary thing is that it looks like she understands that, so she will work to make that happen. Very cute.
On the plane we managed to get the inside seats on the front row, sitting next to a woman who had just met her 7 month old grandson for the first time. It was a great situation for us. Whenever Abby was on the floor our "friend" would put her leg out so that Abby could not get to the aisle. Brilliant. Abby also began the flight on a good note with the flight attendant by clapping for him whenever he was on the loudspeaker. It was even cuter when they welcomed "ladies, gentlemen, and Abby to flight...." She heard her name again, so she got excited again.
We tried to occupy her, and had success at it. It helped us that we didn't play all of our cards at once. We started with her book. Moved on to playing with a water bottle. Then snacks came. Then she pooped, so it was a lot of fun to distract until we got through the (very light) turbulence. After a clean diaper I showed her the clouds out the window, and when that got old I showed her that the windows could be closed. We had two windows, so it was twice the fun!
Abby fell asleep during the descent, but we knew better than to let her sleep this time! As soon as we got to the carpet inside BWI I began to gently wake her up. By the time we got to the baggage carousel she was awake and chipper again, walking all over the place with Mama. When my brother and his wife got there, Abby was in even more heaven. (They were life and money savers by picking us up from the airport, so we bought them dinner.)
GREAT trip from Abby's perspective. I'm looking forward to our next trip out, which will be at Christmas time.
Next post will be about all three of the girls. If you're itching for pictures, check them out HERE!
1 - OUR Kiddo
2 - The Kiddos Together
3 - Parents
Today is dedicated to OUR Kiddo!
We decided to fly out late on Thursday and return mid-day Monday, mostly for Abby's sake. We ended up doing a LOT of walking around the airport, and stopped for some dinner. It was actually an ideal place for her to practice walking great distances while safely in the sight of her parents.
Once we got on the plane we grabbed two as close to the front as we could that were together. Ended up sitting next to a very nice woman who slept for most of the trip. It's always awkward to be the person bringing a baby/child onto a plane. I am always looking over my shoulder, wanting to apologize in advance. Turns out that on the flight out, we didn't have to apologize for much! Abby was a little fussy because she was being cramped, but went to sleep before we were out of Maryland airspace and slept until after we landed.
Once we landed, though, things changed. I can imagine that it's a little intimidating, though, to fall asleep in a cramped plane and wake up to a big cousin poking your leg! Abby was a trooper, and then she really woke up. And stayed up. For many hours. New Rule: Do not let Abby nap at 5:30, even if it's on a plane.
Over the weekend she was great with her cousins, but that's for the next post. :o) (Yes, just to build anticipation...)
On Monday we flew back, this time planning on landing before dinner, so that we could try to get Abby back into her "normal" of the Eastern time zone. She fell asleep between lunch and the airport. We let her sleep as long as she wanted to, which was pretty amazing. We checked in, still asleep. We got through security, including a very thorough check of both Anny and Abby because the buckles on her overalls set off the metal detector. Still asleep. She finally woke up when we found a place to sit down.
She was great in the airport again. I think that she has some extroversion in her system. Abby knows how to work a room already, and she sure did work the airport! I think she went out of her way to make eye contact with everyone at Gate 4. It's really neat to see people gabbing on their cell phones, irate about something at the office just stop and smile. The scary thing is that it looks like she understands that, so she will work to make that happen. Very cute.
On the plane we managed to get the inside seats on the front row, sitting next to a woman who had just met her 7 month old grandson for the first time. It was a great situation for us. Whenever Abby was on the floor our "friend" would put her leg out so that Abby could not get to the aisle. Brilliant. Abby also began the flight on a good note with the flight attendant by clapping for him whenever he was on the loudspeaker. It was even cuter when they welcomed "ladies, gentlemen, and Abby to flight...." She heard her name again, so she got excited again.
We tried to occupy her, and had success at it. It helped us that we didn't play all of our cards at once. We started with her book. Moved on to playing with a water bottle. Then snacks came. Then she pooped, so it was a lot of fun to distract until we got through the (very light) turbulence. After a clean diaper I showed her the clouds out the window, and when that got old I showed her that the windows could be closed. We had two windows, so it was twice the fun!
Abby fell asleep during the descent, but we knew better than to let her sleep this time! As soon as we got to the carpet inside BWI I began to gently wake her up. By the time we got to the baggage carousel she was awake and chipper again, walking all over the place with Mama. When my brother and his wife got there, Abby was in even more heaven. (They were life and money savers by picking us up from the airport, so we bought them dinner.)
GREAT trip from Abby's perspective. I'm looking forward to our next trip out, which will be at Christmas time.
Next post will be about all three of the girls. If you're itching for pictures, check them out HERE!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Some Attention on Dad Labs!
Umm.... My daughter is going to be very unhappy with me one day. At least it is MY name mentioned, and not hers...
(Warning - very Poopy conversation. Both gross and funny. Do not watch while dining!)
Watch more hillarious parenting over at DadLabs.com!
(Warning - very Poopy conversation. Both gross and funny. Do not watch while dining!)
Watch more hillarious parenting over at DadLabs.com!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Nana & Grampa's Visit
Abby's Nana and Grampa have just spent a few days with us. Since they live in Casper, Wyoming (insert joke here about more cattle than people in the state of Wyoming), this is the first time they have made the 2000 mile drive although they have made several visits by plane. The excuse for the trip was that Grampa had built a toy "box" which is too big to ship or carry on a plane! And they took the time to tour a few of the Great Lakes along the way.
In the time they were here, Abby went from taking a few occasional steps by herself to walking all over the house alone. She still takes advantage of an adult's finger for an extended walk-about-the-house, but we officially have a toddler.
In the time they were here, Abby went from taking a few occasional steps by herself to walking all over the house alone. She still takes advantage of an adult's finger for an extended walk-about-the-house, but we officially have a toddler.
We visited the Baltimore Aquarium, saw the Capitals Hockey team practice, and had lunch with Great Aunt Jackie and Great Uncle Bill. Most importantly Abby played with Nana and Grampa - a lot - I only wish we had taken pictures so I could put them here.
On Thursday we fly to St. Louis where we will meet up with Nana and Grampa at Uncle Paul and Aunt Sarahlynn's house - it made their departure this morning a little easier. We can't wait to swing in Cousin Ellie and Cousin Ada's swings and visit the Magic House. Maybe we'll take pictures so I can post them...
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Balls in the Bucket and Clear Plastic Boxes
Monday was our latest UMD Infant Study. There was a little bit of a mix up about which tests Abby had completed, but they figured it out and we got down to work.
The first study used an infrared eye tracker while Abby watched a short video. The video was shown nine times - each time a candy-machine-claw picked up a grey ball and dropped it in a bucket, then a red ball and dropped it in the bucket, and then a blue ball and dropped it in the bucket - NINE times. Afterwards, the researcher showed me what the computer tracked her eyes doing - as she watched the video, she started anticipating where the claw was going next!
The second study was more simple - a researcher placed a small colored plastic block (alternating square, round, triangle) in a CLEAR plastic box. She opened the box, took the block out, and then set the box on one side of the board and the block on the opposite. She pushed the board towards Abby and then we waited for Abby to grab either the block or the box. The first couple times, Abby just waited patiently for the researcher to do something else. When the researcher removed the box and block without further demonstration, Abby finally began grabbing the block because obviously, there was nothing fun to play with left in the CLEAR plastic box.
I often wonder how other infants do in the same study - but I may have to wait several years before any of these results get published. To me, Abby is amazingly intelligent!
The first study used an infrared eye tracker while Abby watched a short video. The video was shown nine times - each time a candy-machine-claw picked up a grey ball and dropped it in a bucket, then a red ball and dropped it in the bucket, and then a blue ball and dropped it in the bucket - NINE times. Afterwards, the researcher showed me what the computer tracked her eyes doing - as she watched the video, she started anticipating where the claw was going next!
The second study was more simple - a researcher placed a small colored plastic block (alternating square, round, triangle) in a CLEAR plastic box. She opened the box, took the block out, and then set the box on one side of the board and the block on the opposite. She pushed the board towards Abby and then we waited for Abby to grab either the block or the box. The first couple times, Abby just waited patiently for the researcher to do something else. When the researcher removed the box and block without further demonstration, Abby finally began grabbing the block because obviously, there was nothing fun to play with left in the CLEAR plastic box.
I often wonder how other infants do in the same study - but I may have to wait several years before any of these results get published. To me, Abby is amazingly intelligent!
Fun With Friends
Since Steph did such a great job describing our fun at Fort McHenry, here's her blog about it:
Monday, July 07, 2008
Abby's Project 365
Anny asked me yesterday, very honestly:
"Do you just sit around and think this stuff up all day?"
She knows better! I was with her all day! There was very little "just sitting around" on Saturday when we helped to host a surprise birthday party for our friend Charlene. We did the farmers market, breakfast, and some cleaning house before leaving at 10:30 ish to get to their house. The only time for thinking was in the car, when we were talking.
(insert joke about Rob choosing between thinking and talking, and rarely doing both at the same time.)
So, what was she so baffled about? A picture concept in my head*.
As I've taken up the Project 365 Challenge over on our Flickr account (HERE). Project 365 is where you take a picture a day for a year. In our case, we're taking our 365 days of pictures of Abby. We have missed a couple of days already, but have made up for it in other days. Our project is the 365 days between Abby's First Birthday and her Second.
The real reason that I began the project is that I want to take better pictures of Abby, not just more pictures. (If I kept all of the pictures that I have taken in the last 13 months, there would be no room for any more on the three computers in our house) I was tired of taking the same picture over and over. Right now, Abby is still gaining toys like it's going out of style, but she's also gaining personality and style.
I've got a ton of ideas from other people, and scenes that are in my head for pictures of Abby. She's always game for a camera and I'm always game to take pictures. We're perfect for each other.
Feel free to pop by Abby's Project 365 anytime. I'll link to it on the sidebar starting today.
*The particular picture-idea I had just come up with was using all of her foam bath-time letters for a picture of "alphabet soup." I'll do it one evening when I think about it. My proble is that I think of them at odd times when I can't follow through....
"Do you just sit around and think this stuff up all day?"
She knows better! I was with her all day! There was very little "just sitting around" on Saturday when we helped to host a surprise birthday party for our friend Charlene. We did the farmers market, breakfast, and some cleaning house before leaving at 10:30 ish to get to their house. The only time for thinking was in the car, when we were talking.
(insert joke about Rob choosing between thinking and talking, and rarely doing both at the same time.)
So, what was she so baffled about? A picture concept in my head*.
As I've taken up the Project 365 Challenge over on our Flickr account (HERE). Project 365 is where you take a picture a day for a year. In our case, we're taking our 365 days of pictures of Abby. We have missed a couple of days already, but have made up for it in other days. Our project is the 365 days between Abby's First Birthday and her Second.
The real reason that I began the project is that I want to take better pictures of Abby, not just more pictures. (If I kept all of the pictures that I have taken in the last 13 months, there would be no room for any more on the three computers in our house) I was tired of taking the same picture over and over. Right now, Abby is still gaining toys like it's going out of style, but she's also gaining personality and style.
I've got a ton of ideas from other people, and scenes that are in my head for pictures of Abby. She's always game for a camera and I'm always game to take pictures. We're perfect for each other.
Feel free to pop by Abby's Project 365 anytime. I'll link to it on the sidebar starting today.
*The particular picture-idea I had just come up with was using all of her foam bath-time letters for a picture of "alphabet soup." I'll do it one evening when I think about it. My proble is that I think of them at odd times when I can't follow through....
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
"Dog"
As we were making our way back to the car (up a very steep hill, I might add) this morning after stroller strides, there was a deer next to the road in the woods. So I stopped and pointed it out to Abby and said "Deer." She replied, "Dog" as another deer came across the road. I realized that Abby has had limited experience with live animals - hopefully, we'll make it to a petting zoo this summer and change that.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Stroller Strides
Sometime early in the year I read or heard about these fitness classes, Stroller Strides, and found that we do have some offered nearby. So near the end of the school year, I contacted the instructors for more information and finally, last Thursday, Abby and I attended our free first class.
Abby loved watching me sweat and I haven't had sore muscles like this since college. They offered a special for teachers, so I signed up right away. Here's to being a buff mama by the end of summer!
Abby loved watching me sweat and I haven't had sore muscles like this since college. They offered a special for teachers, so I signed up right away. Here's to being a buff mama by the end of summer!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Quick Post
Quick post on two things that have happened in the last couple of days, some good, some bad:
Good:
Abby got up the gusto to do some more walking on her own. She made a game out of it and got really excited. Very cute.
Anny and Abby went up to Baltimore with a friend and had a great time! (I don't know if Anny will post about it, but Stephanie did HERE.)
The Not-So-Good:
Abby pooped in the tub. It was funny, and my brother and S-I-L were over which kind of made it funnier. Lucky for us it was at the end of her bath, so I scooped her out and Anny got bleachdoody duty.
The Just Plain Bad:
As I've mentioned, Abby is still co-sleeping with us. We're working toward transitioning her to her own crib again by the end of summer, but we're not there yet. Until last night, we have had no problems outside of her twisting and kicking me in my sleep. Last night, though, was bad. Abby sleeps in between us. Last night she got fussy and ended up on my side of the bed at some point. (You can see where this is going) At 1:00 on the dot, I was awakened by BOOM and crying.
Yep, Father-of-the-year candidate Rob Monroe let his only child fall out of bed in the middle of the night. But I think I'll stop writing that speech now.
She was fine and went right back to sleep. Between us.
Tonight we pick up the efforts to get her into her own,caged protected bed.
Good:
Abby got up the gusto to do some more walking on her own. She made a game out of it and got really excited. Very cute.
Anny and Abby went up to Baltimore with a friend and had a great time! (I don't know if Anny will post about it, but Stephanie did HERE.)
The Not-So-Good:
Abby pooped in the tub. It was funny, and my brother and S-I-L were over which kind of made it funnier. Lucky for us it was at the end of her bath, so I scooped her out and Anny got bleach
The Just Plain Bad:
As I've mentioned, Abby is still co-sleeping with us. We're working toward transitioning her to her own crib again by the end of summer, but we're not there yet. Until last night, we have had no problems outside of her twisting and kicking me in my sleep. Last night, though, was bad. Abby sleeps in between us. Last night she got fussy and ended up on my side of the bed at some point. (You can see where this is going) At 1:00 on the dot, I was awakened by BOOM and crying.
Yep, Father-of-the-year candidate Rob Monroe let his only child fall out of bed in the middle of the night. But I think I'll stop writing that speech now.
She was fine and went right back to sleep. Between us.
Tonight we pick up the efforts to get her into her own,
Friday, June 20, 2008
Abby Getting Some Web Attention!
We put the best-of-the-best pictures up on our Flickr page (HERE) and on occasion I tag a couple to the ParentDish group. Well, turns out they really liked on this week!
Click HERE for the ParentDish post of our little girl! Since she was chosen for a picture-of-the-day she is eligible for the picture-of-the-month!
Click HERE for the ParentDish post of our little girl! Since she was chosen for a picture-of-the-day she is eligible for the picture-of-the-month!
12 Month Check-Up
For starters, I love that it's called a "well baby visit" rahter than check-up these days. Anyway.
On Wednesday we had Abby's 12 month well-baby visit! Here are the vitals:
Weight: 23 pounds (70th Percentile)
Height: 29.5 inches (77th percentile)
That means she is a big girl, but proportionally big. (good thing)
She got three follow-up shots. That went over better this time than before, mostly because rather than trying to comfort her solely by rocking and cuddling with her, we said and signed "all done" and she quieted down immediately. She was even calm enough that she gave the pediatrician a hug on the way out the door.
Very cute.
So, she's officially a toddler and has been given the green light to new foods like nuts, milk and strawberries. Food issues are the one thing that I was all "first time parent" about, but now that is over!
On Wednesday we had Abby's 12 month well-baby visit! Here are the vitals:
Weight: 23 pounds (70th Percentile)
Height: 29.5 inches (77th percentile)
That means she is a big girl, but proportionally big. (good thing)
She got three follow-up shots. That went over better this time than before, mostly because rather than trying to comfort her solely by rocking and cuddling with her, we said and signed "all done" and she quieted down immediately. She was even calm enough that she gave the pediatrician a hug on the way out the door.
Very cute.
So, she's officially a toddler and has been given the green light to new foods like nuts, milk and strawberries. Food issues are the one thing that I was all "first time parent" about, but now that is over!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Abby's First Birthday Party!
Saturday was Abby's big day, in more ways than we could have thought! We had a really good turnout for her birthday party, but her day started way before 2:00.
When Abby first woke up it was way too early - 5 am. I swooped her up and rocked her back to sleep for the next hour and a half so that we had a bit of a head start on sleep for the day. We headed off to the Farmer's Market where she was the center of attention in her new Red Wagon!
On the way home from the grocery store she fell back asleep, it was about 9:15 by then. Instead of letting her get a 30 minute nap in her crib, I once again rocked her to the tune of another hour. All of this forced/extra sleep was in anticipation of an afternoon of missed naps and great excitement. Turns our our gamble was worth it!
Abby was showered with gifts and attention and loved every minute of it! She got to play with her friends Evan and Luke and had one more trick up her sleeve for the day......
Once about half of the crowd had left Abby WALKED!!!! Anny was in a chair and I was on the couch and Abby went back and forth with no help several times! Yes, all apologies to my wife, but Abby is the kind of child to wait for a crowd to blow our minds!
There are no pictures or video of the walking, but there are plenty of the party and day. Here's a slide show of the day:
When Abby first woke up it was way too early - 5 am. I swooped her up and rocked her back to sleep for the next hour and a half so that we had a bit of a head start on sleep for the day. We headed off to the Farmer's Market where she was the center of attention in her new Red Wagon!
On the way home from the grocery store she fell back asleep, it was about 9:15 by then. Instead of letting her get a 30 minute nap in her crib, I once again rocked her to the tune of another hour. All of this forced/extra sleep was in anticipation of an afternoon of missed naps and great excitement. Turns our our gamble was worth it!
Abby was showered with gifts and attention and loved every minute of it! She got to play with her friends Evan and Luke and had one more trick up her sleeve for the day......
Once about half of the crowd had left Abby WALKED!!!! Anny was in a chair and I was on the couch and Abby went back and forth with no help several times! Yes, all apologies to my wife, but Abby is the kind of child to wait for a crowd to blow our minds!
There are no pictures or video of the walking, but there are plenty of the party and day. Here's a slide show of the day:
Friday, June 13, 2008
Birthday Review of The Day
Yesterday was Abby's First Birthday! We played things a little lower key because her party is not until Saturday. We did not do cake, though there is a rumor that mom and dad broke out Samoa's from the freezer after Abby was in bed.
Abby woke up extra early, beating out my pre-planned wake up alarm of the song "It's Your Birthday" by Justin Roberts. (If you have iTunes, you can hear a sample HERE). I had the alarm set about five minutes before our normal alarm. Abby woke up about a half hour early! I still managed to get the iPod going and we sang to her to open her day.
At school they celebrated, too. Anny got to go, but since I left early on Wednesday for the end-o-year party, I didn't hop over. Anyway, Anny said that Abby soaked it all in. Loved the attention and the special party hat. We sent fruit cups and they were a huge hit! One of the babies had never had grapes and she went crazy over them.
Before dinner, Abby "helped" me put together her new Radio Flyer Wagon! By "helped" me I mean that she spun the tires and waved a screwdriver at it. Once it was all put together, she got in and played by herself, opening and closing the seats and playing with the canopy cover, for quite a while. See picture:
For dinner Anny and I had burgers, but Abby had peas, burger and leftover fruit from earlier. Absolute heaven. No, we did not give her a cup cake or any sugary goodness.
Abby went to bed a little late after opening gifts and cards that have arrived already. The big party is Saturday, so I should have some more pictures up soon!
Abby woke up extra early, beating out my pre-planned wake up alarm of the song "It's Your Birthday" by Justin Roberts. (If you have iTunes, you can hear a sample HERE). I had the alarm set about five minutes before our normal alarm. Abby woke up about a half hour early! I still managed to get the iPod going and we sang to her to open her day.
At school they celebrated, too. Anny got to go, but since I left early on Wednesday for the end-o-year party, I didn't hop over. Anyway, Anny said that Abby soaked it all in. Loved the attention and the special party hat. We sent fruit cups and they were a huge hit! One of the babies had never had grapes and she went crazy over them.
Before dinner, Abby "helped" me put together her new Radio Flyer Wagon! By "helped" me I mean that she spun the tires and waved a screwdriver at it. Once it was all put together, she got in and played by herself, opening and closing the seats and playing with the canopy cover, for quite a while. See picture:
 |
| From June 2008 |
Abby went to bed a little late after opening gifts and cards that have arrived already. The big party is Saturday, so I should have some more pictures up soon!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
12 Months of Pics
Lots of looking back right now while looking forward. These are 13 pictures from our Flickr account. This is where I plan to post one picture a day for the next year.
(It's a movement called Project 365. I'm mostly hoping that it will encourage me to be more regular with picture-taking and get some more creative pictures)
(and I'm posting directly from Flickr, so it is a bit of an experiment here...)
12 Months of Pics
Originally uploaded by armonroe
First First Birthday Post (Updated!)
This is the first of what will probably be several posts today! Happy Birthday Little Girl!
First Birthday Faces from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
I didn't add music becuase it's really short and that would be a bit weird. For the next year I plan to take a picture every day so hopefully next year's faces video will be longer and have other features. For now, enjoy!
Here is a picture that blends two. On the left is a picture from June of 2007, on the right is a picture from (late) May of 2008. You can easily see how big she is with these two!
First Birthday Faces from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.
I didn't add music becuase it's really short and that would be a bit weird. For the next year I plan to take a picture every day so hopefully next year's faces video will be longer and have other features. For now, enjoy!
Here is a picture that blends two. On the left is a picture from June of 2007, on the right is a picture from (late) May of 2008. You can easily see how big she is with these two!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
A Fun Filled Week has Begun!
Abby's birthday has been celebrated once already, and the festivities will not end for a while!
There is a group of good people from our church that go to the local Wendy's each Sunday following worship. (Sorry, Sarahlynn. Wendy's really is an every-week occurrence for us! You should see what they've done to the Frosty!) Since we're not sure what's happening next Sunday, Abby had her first "Happy Birthday" sung to her following lunch last week. I can attest that there is something really cool about having a choir (like, real choir) of people singing such a song, in harmony, to your kid. Very cool.
On Wednesday we will go to Abby's school to celebrate in the classroom's end-of-year party. It sounds like all of the parents and teachers will be there, so that will be kind of cool. The flyer said there will be "happy hour types of food" so I'm hoping for some chicken wings. Not really. We will celebrate the growth that the children have made, and present the teachers with a little something.
Thursday is Abby's big day! We don't have anything planned except a dinner at home and opening gifts that are from far away places that needed to be shipped. Some came wrapped, but some did not. It looks like I have some constructing to do! YAY!
For school we have decided to send fruit cups for each child because there will be so much sugar on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Hopefully it will go over well. Who are we kidding? If it does not go over well, the children will deal with it anyway!
Friday is Abby S's birthday. (One of the three Abigail's out of three children under 1!) There will be more school celebrating, but we're taking it easy at our house! We are hoping to have dinner out with some folks as a pre-party party.
Saturday is the Big Birthday Party! We're not sticking with a theme or inviting many people. Okay, we invited many people only because we have lots of family around here. Last month I had planned on cleaning once for two parties, but in between said parties I have created quite the mess. I think I'll be cleaning the house tonight to make room for all of the people coming over!
The real thing that is crazy to me is that when all is said and done Abby will have no idea that it's happened. I might as well enjoy the ride, right?!!
There is a group of good people from our church that go to the local Wendy's each Sunday following worship. (Sorry, Sarahlynn. Wendy's really is an every-week occurrence for us! You should see what they've done to the Frosty!) Since we're not sure what's happening next Sunday, Abby had her first "Happy Birthday" sung to her following lunch last week. I can attest that there is something really cool about having a choir (like, real choir) of people singing such a song, in harmony, to your kid. Very cool.
On Wednesday we will go to Abby's school to celebrate in the classroom's end-of-year party. It sounds like all of the parents and teachers will be there, so that will be kind of cool. The flyer said there will be "happy hour types of food" so I'm hoping for some chicken wings. Not really. We will celebrate the growth that the children have made, and present the teachers with a little something.
Thursday is Abby's big day! We don't have anything planned except a dinner at home and opening gifts that are from far away places that needed to be shipped. Some came wrapped, but some did not. It looks like I have some constructing to do! YAY!
For school we have decided to send fruit cups for each child because there will be so much sugar on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Hopefully it will go over well. Who are we kidding? If it does not go over well, the children will deal with it anyway!
Friday is Abby S's birthday. (One of the three Abigail's out of three children under 1!) There will be more school celebrating, but we're taking it easy at our house! We are hoping to have dinner out with some folks as a pre-party party.
Saturday is the Big Birthday Party! We're not sticking with a theme or inviting many people. Okay, we invited many people only because we have lots of family around here. Last month I had planned on cleaning once for two parties, but in between said parties I have created quite the mess. I think I'll be cleaning the house tonight to make room for all of the people coming over!
The real thing that is crazy to me is that when all is said and done Abby will have no idea that it's happened. I might as well enjoy the ride, right?!!
Friday, June 06, 2008
MAMAMAMAMAMAMA
She's actually saying "Mama" at Anny these days. Dadada has been around for a while, and sometimes she even refers to me in the same manner, but often it's just babble. That's cool!
Anny is especially happy at the current "mamama" use. For several weeks the only time that "mamama" was uttered was in a crying fit. It sounded much like:
crywahcrymamamamacrywahcrymama
It would seem that Anny took this to mean that Abby associated "mama" with crying, and only crying. Not just minor I-fell-and-bumped-my-bottom crying, but the outright my-teeth-are-coming-in cry or I'm-so-tired-that-I-can-not-sleep cry or the popular the-dog-bit-my-toes crying. (that has not happened, for the record, but sometimes it would seem that the biting was taking place!)
I guess I can see how that would be distressing if I was the parent being cried about. I have to admit that the first couple of times I heard it I laughed out loud. It's funny, right? Seems that it is not as funny as I thought it was.
Now she has moved away from the scream "mamama" and is using it as regular babble and aimed at Anny too, so all is peaceful.
Anny is especially happy at the current "mamama" use. For several weeks the only time that "mamama" was uttered was in a crying fit. It sounded much like:
crywahcrymamamamacrywahcrymama
It would seem that Anny took this to mean that Abby associated "mama" with crying, and only crying. Not just minor I-fell-and-bumped-my-bottom crying, but the outright my-teeth-are-coming-in cry or I'm-so-tired-that-I-can-not-sleep cry or the popular the-dog-bit-my-toes crying. (that has not happened, for the record, but sometimes it would seem that the biting was taking place!)
I guess I can see how that would be distressing if I was the parent being cried about. I have to admit that the first couple of times I heard it I laughed out loud. It's funny, right? Seems that it is not as funny as I thought it was.
Now she has moved away from the scream "mamama" and is using it as regular babble and aimed at Anny too, so all is peaceful.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Ignoring Advice from the Pro
Everyone has advice. I think that is why I blog, I love to hear what other people think, and hope that once in a while I have something valuable to add.
There is only one person that I have typically used as the base line for decisions regarding Abby: her pediatrician. He has a wealth of experience over his years. He was the pediatrician for our best friend Charlene, however many years ago that was. (Let's just say I'm hitting a multiple of ten this year, and she's about six months older than I am....)
He has put our minds at ease when there has been a cough or an unexplained fever. The butt rash? Yep, he solved that in a couple of days of some magic cream.
But when the we agreed with Abby's teachers about her feeding patterns, we threw the doctor's advice to the wind!
We were given a very detailed plan for when to introduce foods, including specific fruits allowed and others that were not. This is a very useful guide we decided, but could not follow it closely at all. Actually, the rash refered to above was probably the cause of starting sweet potatoes before her little system was ready. Lesson learned.
When we had our parent-teacher conference earlier this year we were told just how much Abby was reaching for food, and probably ready to jump onto the finger-foods train. We began small, of course, but this was WAY ahead of the schedule provided by our doctor.
We looked the other day to check on the milk status (I'm hesitant about four things: milk, nuts, strawberries and pork) and noticed that at 11 and a half months we should begin to introduce solid foods like finger foods. Wow. At about 11 months Abby was pretty much done with puree's and moved onto table food completely. Now we are basically cutting food from our plates and givign it to her from there.
I hate to say our baby is advanced, because I believe that all babies get to certain things at certain times. We have several friends with older babies that will not touch a piece of food if it's not from a jar (purees), but Abby sure has moved on from that.
And it's saved us time, money and energy.
There is only one person that I have typically used as the base line for decisions regarding Abby: her pediatrician. He has a wealth of experience over his years. He was the pediatrician for our best friend Charlene, however many years ago that was. (Let's just say I'm hitting a multiple of ten this year, and she's about six months older than I am....)
He has put our minds at ease when there has been a cough or an unexplained fever. The butt rash? Yep, he solved that in a couple of days of some magic cream.
But when the we agreed with Abby's teachers about her feeding patterns, we threw the doctor's advice to the wind!
We were given a very detailed plan for when to introduce foods, including specific fruits allowed and others that were not. This is a very useful guide we decided, but could not follow it closely at all. Actually, the rash refered to above was probably the cause of starting sweet potatoes before her little system was ready. Lesson learned.
When we had our parent-teacher conference earlier this year we were told just how much Abby was reaching for food, and probably ready to jump onto the finger-foods train. We began small, of course, but this was WAY ahead of the schedule provided by our doctor.
We looked the other day to check on the milk status (I'm hesitant about four things: milk, nuts, strawberries and pork) and noticed that at 11 and a half months we should begin to introduce solid foods like finger foods. Wow. At about 11 months Abby was pretty much done with puree's and moved onto table food completely. Now we are basically cutting food from our plates and givign it to her from there.
I hate to say our baby is advanced, because I believe that all babies get to certain things at certain times. We have several friends with older babies that will not touch a piece of food if it's not from a jar (purees), but Abby sure has moved on from that.
And it's saved us time, money and energy.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Pushing Too Hard?
I'm trying to be the best dad that I can be, you know that, right? I just want to be sure that you do.
I think that my silly expectations are impeding Abby's growth already. I remember in the weeks before Abby crawled I began to get excited about the fact that shew as not yet there. So very close, but she could just not get it. I tried and tried, holding her little belly up and moving her knees for her. Turns out that she got it when she was darned well ready.
Now we are at the stage where she is So ready to walk, and I think I'm doing it again. She will walk for a mile as long as there is something to hold on to. It could be a finger, a chair or even just the lightest touch of her hand on a pant leg. She has a push-behind walker toy here, and uses the one at church. She can practically run with those things.
I have to try really hard not to make her stand up and practically push her, in a literal sense, to take a few steps. I know that I'm asking for more trouble than it's worth by thinking that she should be walking, but it's just that she's SO close that it seems obvious that she should be walking today. Or yesterday.
One of the other Abigail's at school has already taken a few steps, and I think that I'm wanting our Abby to be as competitive. I know that I should not push that on her. Right?
Am I crazy for giving a little push? I try not to be obsessive about it, but I can just see it so clearly.
I think that my silly expectations are impeding Abby's growth already. I remember in the weeks before Abby crawled I began to get excited about the fact that shew as not yet there. So very close, but she could just not get it. I tried and tried, holding her little belly up and moving her knees for her. Turns out that she got it when she was darned well ready.
Now we are at the stage where she is So ready to walk, and I think I'm doing it again. She will walk for a mile as long as there is something to hold on to. It could be a finger, a chair or even just the lightest touch of her hand on a pant leg. She has a push-behind walker toy here, and uses the one at church. She can practically run with those things.
I have to try really hard not to make her stand up and practically push her, in a literal sense, to take a few steps. I know that I'm asking for more trouble than it's worth by thinking that she should be walking, but it's just that she's SO close that it seems obvious that she should be walking today. Or yesterday.
One of the other Abigail's at school has already taken a few steps, and I think that I'm wanting our Abby to be as competitive. I know that I should not push that on her. Right?
Am I crazy for giving a little push? I try not to be obsessive about it, but I can just see it so clearly.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
I Will NOT Apologize
I know that posting is scarce on this blog, and it's with good reason:
Abby is awesome!
I can not tell you how happy we are to have her in our life.
So, what's new with Abby?
She can squat and stand, and go between the two, without holding onto something!
Her vocabulary is not yet into words, but she sure is loud and emphatic. Over the weekend it was really fun to have her growling at customers at Target.
She is more gentle on the dog than on her parents sometimes. Okay, a lot of times.
She has learned lots of signs, and can be helpful in telling us what she wants. Our favorite right now is "Bath" because she gets super-excited. "Please" is downright adorable.
We have taken pictures, and I hope to get them off of the camera today or tomorrow.
Cute story from this weekend:
On Sunday we went to church in the morning, and she fell asleep in Anny's arms. By the time she woke up, she ended up sleeping for two full hours. Not the norm for her morning nap. She did not show any signs of being tired as we went shopping for plants to put in the garden we're working on. (pictures of that soon, too)
Turns out that she fell asleep between the garden center and Potbelly's, a total of maybe two miles. We picked her up, assuming that she would bounce right up like normal. We were wrong. Anny went to the counter to order, while I sat Abby on my lap while she woke up a little more. But she didn't! She folded over in half, face on feet, completely asleep. A-dorable.
(A couple of minutes later she popped right up, bright eyed and ready for her black beans and Cheerios's dinner. She did go to bed a little early that evening.....)
Abby is awesome!
I can not tell you how happy we are to have her in our life.
So, what's new with Abby?
She can squat and stand, and go between the two, without holding onto something!
Her vocabulary is not yet into words, but she sure is loud and emphatic. Over the weekend it was really fun to have her growling at customers at Target.
She is more gentle on the dog than on her parents sometimes. Okay, a lot of times.
She has learned lots of signs, and can be helpful in telling us what she wants. Our favorite right now is "Bath" because she gets super-excited. "Please" is downright adorable.
We have taken pictures, and I hope to get them off of the camera today or tomorrow.
Cute story from this weekend:
On Sunday we went to church in the morning, and she fell asleep in Anny's arms. By the time she woke up, she ended up sleeping for two full hours. Not the norm for her morning nap. She did not show any signs of being tired as we went shopping for plants to put in the garden we're working on. (pictures of that soon, too)
Turns out that she fell asleep between the garden center and Potbelly's, a total of maybe two miles. We picked her up, assuming that she would bounce right up like normal. We were wrong. Anny went to the counter to order, while I sat Abby on my lap while she woke up a little more. But she didn't! She folded over in half, face on feet, completely asleep. A-dorable.
(A couple of minutes later she popped right up, bright eyed and ready for her black beans and Cheerios's dinner. She did go to bed a little early that evening.....)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Surprising Great Gramps for his Birthday!
Last Friday we made an overnight trip to surprise my grandfather for his 76th birthday! (I thought it was 75, but was corrected over the weekend.)
Things did start on a sour note Friday when I got a call from Abby's daycare that she had a fever and was just not being herself. I was at work, but hopped in the car and headed off immediately. When I got her home I gave her Tylenol and a cold bottle (of milk, not beer!) and took some of her clothes off. She cooled down within a few minutes and played happily for the next hour and a half until Anny got home.
We decided that Abby would be fine, especially if she took a nap. A two and a half hour car ride should do the trick - and it did!
Since this was a surprise visit, I decided to skip our normal "halfway there" call. When we did arrive, I just let our dog in through the front door. The thought behind this was that if his dog went crazy with barking, she would do it at Rusty (our dog) not at Abby, which could have presented a problem. It worked perfectly.
We arrived early enough to take Gramps and Grammy (HIS mother!) out for a proper birthday dinner. He had planned on soup from a can, which is not acceptable in my book! Two of my aunts arrived later in the evening, after we had gone to bed.
Saturday we went to one of Gramps' breakfast hang outsThe Kannery. Amazing breakfast sandwich! Abby was still not at 100%, but we decided that since we were so close to the shops, we would take a look at the sidewalk sales going on. Good idea! Abby fell asleep pretty quickly, so we got a walk, she got sleep and everyone was happy.
We were also too close to the beach to pass it up, so we took Abby down to the water. She was not really awake yet, but we did grab some pictures. I wish that she would have been feeling better so we could have gone back. The water was still freezing, so we'll have to go back for a day this summer and do the beach trip right.
From May 2008
We had a good time and Gramps was truly flattered. He was so giddy that he called on Sunday to thank us for our surprise trip.
This weekend will be different. Lots of hanging around the house and cleaning. Probably another test run with the Cupcake Cake. More on that next week, hopefully with pictures!
Things did start on a sour note Friday when I got a call from Abby's daycare that she had a fever and was just not being herself. I was at work, but hopped in the car and headed off immediately. When I got her home I gave her Tylenol and a cold bottle (of milk, not beer!) and took some of her clothes off. She cooled down within a few minutes and played happily for the next hour and a half until Anny got home.
We decided that Abby would be fine, especially if she took a nap. A two and a half hour car ride should do the trick - and it did!
Since this was a surprise visit, I decided to skip our normal "halfway there" call. When we did arrive, I just let our dog in through the front door. The thought behind this was that if his dog went crazy with barking, she would do it at Rusty (our dog) not at Abby, which could have presented a problem. It worked perfectly.
We arrived early enough to take Gramps and Grammy (HIS mother!) out for a proper birthday dinner. He had planned on soup from a can, which is not acceptable in my book! Two of my aunts arrived later in the evening, after we had gone to bed.
Saturday we went to one of Gramps' breakfast hang outsThe Kannery. Amazing breakfast sandwich! Abby was still not at 100%, but we decided that since we were so close to the shops, we would take a look at the sidewalk sales going on. Good idea! Abby fell asleep pretty quickly, so we got a walk, she got sleep and everyone was happy.
We were also too close to the beach to pass it up, so we took Abby down to the water. She was not really awake yet, but we did grab some pictures. I wish that she would have been feeling better so we could have gone back. The water was still freezing, so we'll have to go back for a day this summer and do the beach trip right.
We had a good time and Gramps was truly flattered. He was so giddy that he called on Sunday to thank us for our surprise trip.
This weekend will be different. Lots of hanging around the house and cleaning. Probably another test run with the Cupcake Cake. More on that next week, hopefully with pictures!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Abby Monroe: Omnivore!
Remember when we thought it was great news that Abby had begun to eat rice cereal? Wow, we were young and stupid, and it was just a few months ago!
We neatly introduced fruits and vegetables in puree form after rice cereal. Some of them went over well (apples), some took some time (peaches), and some caused such a gag reflex that we have not tried them again (asparagus). I waited too long, but did end up making some of our own purees for Abby. Incredibly easy, and TONS cheaper than buying the packaged stuff.
We were really excited when Abby picked up on black beans from Chipotle! A year earlier I had given sideways looks to our friend April and Eric when their son was eating the same thing, but it's a wonderful addition to the food selection!
She also turned up her nose and tried to squirm away from pureed chicken. I probably would have too, it looked and smelled gross, but our "schedule" had us introducing chicken at nine months. We tried on occasion to get her to eat meat again for about two weeks, and then just gave up.
Last week, though, something clicked. Abby is a HUGE fan of small chunks of meat. She had some of Anny's chicken tenders when we were out to dinner one night (no fried parts, just meat) and we got a bit excited. Could it be..... progress in our family eating routine? Yep!
On Monday night we had a dream meal: cook one dish and share it between the three of us! We had chicken "stir fried" with zucchini and were able to just put food straight from our plate onto her tray! Wednesday she was cautious with roast beef, but quickly decided that she liked it.
Hooray for progress and hooray for being able to share a meal together, without Cheerio's!!
We neatly introduced fruits and vegetables in puree form after rice cereal. Some of them went over well (apples), some took some time (peaches), and some caused such a gag reflex that we have not tried them again (asparagus). I waited too long, but did end up making some of our own purees for Abby. Incredibly easy, and TONS cheaper than buying the packaged stuff.
We were really excited when Abby picked up on black beans from Chipotle! A year earlier I had given sideways looks to our friend April and Eric when their son was eating the same thing, but it's a wonderful addition to the food selection!
She also turned up her nose and tried to squirm away from pureed chicken. I probably would have too, it looked and smelled gross, but our "schedule" had us introducing chicken at nine months. We tried on occasion to get her to eat meat again for about two weeks, and then just gave up.
Last week, though, something clicked. Abby is a HUGE fan of small chunks of meat. She had some of Anny's chicken tenders when we were out to dinner one night (no fried parts, just meat) and we got a bit excited. Could it be..... progress in our family eating routine? Yep!
On Monday night we had a dream meal: cook one dish and share it between the three of us! We had chicken "stir fried" with zucchini and were able to just put food straight from our plate onto her tray! Wednesday she was cautious with roast beef, but quickly decided that she liked it.
Hooray for progress and hooray for being able to share a meal together, without Cheerio's!!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Trip to the Zoo!
We took a trip to the National Zoo on Saturday! We were supposed to meet up with other parents from our church, but it just did not work out right. Luckily our church intern, Erin, rode the metro with us, so we had that connection early on. We had misty rain in the morning, but after lunch the sun broke through and it became a wonderful day.
Abby was excited as soon as we walked in to Amazonia, the zoo's indoor rainforest. When you walk in you are greeted immediately with a pond of rays and other fish. We let her stand and look at them while we waited for others to join us, and she just stared in amazement. Then we moved over to the massive tanks, with all sorts of large fish and turtles. Upstairs you can see into the tanks from a different perspective, which is cool. They also have animals like monkeys and birds that roam free. It was early in the day and we did not see any monkeys and only a few birds.
She was okay with that, since she reall just wanted to see more of the fish. Here she is looking down on the ray-pond:
So, when she finally woke up we were all the way back up to the top of the zoo. If you've never been to the National Zoo you don't know of the slope. It's tedious. We managed, mostly by stopping to stare at animals just a little longer than we probably would have.
She was awake to see the Sloth Bear. She was amazed to see it go back and forth, right in front of her! She was standing, hands and face on the glass, for the longest time. Very cute.
I tried to get her to look at the bear through the blue binoculars (?). She liked playing with them, but did not understand to look through them.
Abby was excited as soon as we walked in to Amazonia, the zoo's indoor rainforest. When you walk in you are greeted immediately with a pond of rays and other fish. We let her stand and look at them while we waited for others to join us, and she just stared in amazement. Then we moved over to the massive tanks, with all sorts of large fish and turtles. Upstairs you can see into the tanks from a different perspective, which is cool. They also have animals like monkeys and birds that roam free. It was early in the day and we did not see any monkeys and only a few birds.
She was okay with that, since she reall just wanted to see more of the fish. Here she is looking down on the ray-pond:
So, when she finally woke up we were all the way back up to the top of the zoo. If you've never been to the National Zoo you don't know of the slope. It's tedious. We managed, mostly by stopping to stare at animals just a little longer than we probably would have.
She was awake to see the Sloth Bear. She was amazed to see it go back and forth, right in front of her! She was standing, hands and face on the glass, for the longest time. Very cute.
I tried to get her to look at the bear through the blue binoculars (?). She liked playing with them, but did not understand to look through them.
From May 2008
It was a great day, and I wish that I had not messed things up as far as coordination. We'll be going to the Baltimore Zoo sometime, and hopefully back to DC this summer.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
First *Real* Blood Draw
**This story can not be told without being graphic. Don't read if you don't want to hear about blood and how to get it. Remember, you're reading it - I was there.**
On Saturday we had to have Abby's 9 month bloodwork done. Yes, she will be 11 months old on Monday, so you can figure out that we have been putting this off for a while. For her 9 month visit they wanted to have her tested for Iron and have a CBC done. To test for these things you need a blood sample.
When Abby was younger and had to have blood drawn the pediatrician just did it in his office with a dab or two of blood from her heel. She cried, but not too badly. I don't know if it was the tests being done or the fact that she's older now, but the easy method is over.
We arrived right on time for our 7:20 am apointment at our neighborhood facility and were taken quickly to do the standard paperwork and were led back to the cutest room in the joint. Definately the one to have your blood drawn in if you're easily distracted by Mickey and Friends posters on the walls.
All of that went smoothly. Then the smooth stopped.
The Quest technician showed me how she wanted Abby to be held, and so I did just as instructed. First she tied Abby's left arm to look for a good vein, then her right. Neither looked fruitful, but she decided to try the left arm anyway.
What I can not describe well enough is the squirminess that I was trying to stifle in my arms. Abby loves to be held, but she could tell something was going to happen that she was not going to like. She was screaming from the time that the Tech touched her until we were up and walking out the door.
Back to the blood. The Tech cleaned abbys pudgy little arm and went for blood. I swear to you, she could not find it. I watched and she really tried, but Abby's little veins counted each drop of blood as valuable. At this point Abby is screaming, I'm agitated and the Tech is annoyed. She called in and older (more experienced?) woman to look for better veins. No such luck.
(begins getting more graphic HERE! You've been warned.)
She then prepped Abby's little finger for a finger stick. This is where they prick the tip of someone's finger (this can be done on the young, old and in between) and manually squeeze blood from the finger. She had three tiny vials to collect the forced blood into.
Abby was screaming above and beyond anything in her normal range. I wish it was easier to explain to her, but it's not. There is no way to prep a ten month old for something like that. It was not the best experience, and I really expected her to fall asleep on the way home, but she fussed a little and tried to eat the bandaid on her finger, but was actually okay with things by the time we got to the farmers market.
I know that we will have to do this again and again as the gets older, but I think we will be more diligent in finding someone that is better at dealing with babies and children next time, rather than going with the local one.
On Saturday we had to have Abby's 9 month bloodwork done. Yes, she will be 11 months old on Monday, so you can figure out that we have been putting this off for a while. For her 9 month visit they wanted to have her tested for Iron and have a CBC done. To test for these things you need a blood sample.
When Abby was younger and had to have blood drawn the pediatrician just did it in his office with a dab or two of blood from her heel. She cried, but not too badly. I don't know if it was the tests being done or the fact that she's older now, but the easy method is over.
We arrived right on time for our 7:20 am apointment at our neighborhood facility and were taken quickly to do the standard paperwork and were led back to the cutest room in the joint. Definately the one to have your blood drawn in if you're easily distracted by Mickey and Friends posters on the walls.
All of that went smoothly. Then the smooth stopped.
The Quest technician showed me how she wanted Abby to be held, and so I did just as instructed. First she tied Abby's left arm to look for a good vein, then her right. Neither looked fruitful, but she decided to try the left arm anyway.
What I can not describe well enough is the squirminess that I was trying to stifle in my arms. Abby loves to be held, but she could tell something was going to happen that she was not going to like. She was screaming from the time that the Tech touched her until we were up and walking out the door.
Back to the blood. The Tech cleaned abbys pudgy little arm and went for blood. I swear to you, she could not find it. I watched and she really tried, but Abby's little veins counted each drop of blood as valuable. At this point Abby is screaming, I'm agitated and the Tech is annoyed. She called in and older (more experienced?) woman to look for better veins. No such luck.
(begins getting more graphic HERE! You've been warned.)
She then prepped Abby's little finger for a finger stick. This is where they prick the tip of someone's finger (this can be done on the young, old and in between) and manually squeeze blood from the finger. She had three tiny vials to collect the forced blood into.
Abby was screaming above and beyond anything in her normal range. I wish it was easier to explain to her, but it's not. There is no way to prep a ten month old for something like that. It was not the best experience, and I really expected her to fall asleep on the way home, but she fussed a little and tried to eat the bandaid on her finger, but was actually okay with things by the time we got to the farmers market.
I know that we will have to do this again and again as the gets older, but I think we will be more diligent in finding someone that is better at dealing with babies and children next time, rather than going with the local one.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
If Only There Were Instructions
We learned an important rule when out to dinner on Friday. Now, I really should have learned this rule in August of 2004 when the exact same lesson was learned by Paul, and in the same manner.
The Rule Is: Taste an item of food before giving it to your infant, especially in a restaurant.
Setting the scene:
Chili's on a Friday night. We've read that steamed broccoli is good for the digestive system, especially in a baby that is, let's say, having issues with that. I saw steamed broccoli on the menu, and ordered some just to give to Abby. Win-win scenario is that it gets steamed for her eating, and I don't have to do the steaming!
The Issue:
It would appear that "steamed" means "steamed in garlic and butter" at Chili's.
The Rule Being Broken:
I received my broccoli and promptly cut small pieces to give to Abby. After cutting enough to keep her occupied for a while, I licked the "extra water" off of my fingers from the cutting. I noticed then that there was a heavy taste of the garlic and butter. Too much for me, but I will tell you, Abby sure loved it.
It could have been worse, and she really did tear through that stuff. We think that any effects of shocking Abby's system with so much goodness has passed, and that's good.
Bottom Line:
Don't feed your child something in a restaurant without having tasted it yourself.
Guess I've got a lot to learn.
The Rule Is: Taste an item of food before giving it to your infant, especially in a restaurant.
Setting the scene:
Chili's on a Friday night. We've read that steamed broccoli is good for the digestive system, especially in a baby that is, let's say, having issues with that. I saw steamed broccoli on the menu, and ordered some just to give to Abby. Win-win scenario is that it gets steamed for her eating, and I don't have to do the steaming!
The Issue:
It would appear that "steamed" means "steamed in garlic and butter" at Chili's.
The Rule Being Broken:
I received my broccoli and promptly cut small pieces to give to Abby. After cutting enough to keep her occupied for a while, I licked the "extra water" off of my fingers from the cutting. I noticed then that there was a heavy taste of the garlic and butter. Too much for me, but I will tell you, Abby sure loved it.
It could have been worse, and she really did tear through that stuff. We think that any effects of shocking Abby's system with so much goodness has passed, and that's good.
Bottom Line:
Don't feed your child something in a restaurant without having tasted it yourself.
Guess I've got a lot to learn.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Daddy Daughter Time
Anny went to a ceremony for one of her teacher friends so Abby and I got to hang out for the evening. It was pretty cool. I have to say, I really like this kid!
Aside from the normal afternoon/evening stuff (food, bath, bottle, bed) I decided to take Abby to Greenbelt Lake. We had her on the swings there once and she loved it, so I figured I could get some great photo's out of it. I was right!
Since we haven't done one recently, I'll open this up as a caption contest! What do you think Abby would have been saying, if she could talk?
Aside from the normal afternoon/evening stuff (food, bath, bottle, bed) I decided to take Abby to Greenbelt Lake. We had her on the swings there once and she loved it, so I figured I could get some great photo's out of it. I was right!
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| From May 2008 |
Since we haven't done one recently, I'll open this up as a caption contest! What do you think Abby would have been saying, if she could talk?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Six Random Things (Meme)
Many thanks to Aunt Sarahlynn from Yeah, But Houdini Didn't have Hips for tagging me.
Sarahlynn asked specifically that Abby do this meme, as I have just done a much bigger one on my blog here. The responses are written in first person AS Abby.
This is a familiar one that goes like this:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.
Six Bits of Abby:
1 - Whether my parents admit it or not, I'm a co-sleeper. I might go to bed at night in my crib, but there's nothing nicer than waking up between mommy and daddy.
2 - My top two teeth are coming in! I've even begun to use them in conjunction with my bottom teeth to bite cheerio's in half.
3 - I have a slight rash reaction to sweet potatoes. Though my parents know this, they continue to give me sweet potatoes from time to time. They say that they are "testing it again." I think they just like to take care of diaper rash.
4 - I have learned to stand on my own in the last few days! I am convinced that I can walk before my first birthday. I only have six weeks to go.
5 - My favorite band is Trout Fishing in America. I really dig their music. My favorite song is 18 Wheels on a Big Rig. I like lots of other music, too.
6 - Beginning on my birthday I'm going to start one of those Project 365 things on Flickr. I'm too young to know that, as a Monroe, you're supposed to avoid camera time. They have a Project 365 pool just for kids, so I'll join that. (My cutest pictures are on Flickr already!)
Now I'm supposed to tage 6 of you. I don't tag folks often, but I'll give it a go:
1 - Chase or Steph at NeurosesGalore
2 - Amy at PrettyBabies
3 - Noah (or Natalie) at GrowingACritter
....Oh, I hate tagging people. So, to everyone who is interested but hasn't done who hasn't done it yet: have at it! And let me know that you did.
Sarahlynn asked specifically that Abby do this meme, as I have just done a much bigger one on my blog here. The responses are written in first person AS Abby.
This is a familiar one that goes like this:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.
Six Bits of Abby:
1 - Whether my parents admit it or not, I'm a co-sleeper. I might go to bed at night in my crib, but there's nothing nicer than waking up between mommy and daddy.
2 - My top two teeth are coming in! I've even begun to use them in conjunction with my bottom teeth to bite cheerio's in half.
3 - I have a slight rash reaction to sweet potatoes. Though my parents know this, they continue to give me sweet potatoes from time to time. They say that they are "testing it again." I think they just like to take care of diaper rash.
4 - I have learned to stand on my own in the last few days! I am convinced that I can walk before my first birthday. I only have six weeks to go.
5 - My favorite band is Trout Fishing in America. I really dig their music. My favorite song is 18 Wheels on a Big Rig. I like lots of other music, too.
6 - Beginning on my birthday I'm going to start one of those Project 365 things on Flickr. I'm too young to know that, as a Monroe, you're supposed to avoid camera time. They have a Project 365 pool just for kids, so I'll join that. (My cutest pictures are on Flickr already!)
Now I'm supposed to tage 6 of you. I don't tag folks often, but I'll give it a go:
1 - Chase or Steph at NeurosesGalore
2 - Amy at PrettyBabies
3 - Noah (or Natalie) at GrowingACritter
....Oh, I hate tagging people. So, to everyone who is interested but hasn't done who hasn't done it yet: have at it! And let me know that you did.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Attention span is huge!
Our latest trip to UMD for an Infant Study:
We arrived a little late and Abby was hungry, so I wasn't sure that she would be ready for a tedious, repetitive study. But we took a few minutes for Abby to enjoy her bottle while I filled out the prerequisite paperwork.
The activity began with two toys in front of a researcher. She got Abby's attention and then used an L-shaped hook to pull the rainbow colored ball towards her. The person behind the video camera then waited until Abby looked away from the toy for a minimum of two seconds - testing her attention span.
Abby has a HUGE attention span - definitely longer than mine! It seemed like we waited forever for her to look away and then they repeated the activity over and over again trying to reduce her attention span. We must have watched that girl pull the rainbow ball towards herself two dozen times and each time it was at least a full minute before Abby looked away. Most of my high school students don't have attention spans like this!
To finish, the researcher switched the two objects and then, instead of pulling the rainbow ball towards herself, she looked at it and they noted which direction Abby looked and for how long. If she's studying a researcher's simple action with this much attention, imagine the intensity she uses to study everything Rob and I do!
I can't decide if this concerns me or impresses me more.
We arrived a little late and Abby was hungry, so I wasn't sure that she would be ready for a tedious, repetitive study. But we took a few minutes for Abby to enjoy her bottle while I filled out the prerequisite paperwork.
The activity began with two toys in front of a researcher. She got Abby's attention and then used an L-shaped hook to pull the rainbow colored ball towards her. The person behind the video camera then waited until Abby looked away from the toy for a minimum of two seconds - testing her attention span.
Abby has a HUGE attention span - definitely longer than mine! It seemed like we waited forever for her to look away and then they repeated the activity over and over again trying to reduce her attention span. We must have watched that girl pull the rainbow ball towards herself two dozen times and each time it was at least a full minute before Abby looked away. Most of my high school students don't have attention spans like this!
To finish, the researcher switched the two objects and then, instead of pulling the rainbow ball towards herself, she looked at it and they noted which direction Abby looked and for how long. If she's studying a researcher's simple action with this much attention, imagine the intensity she uses to study everything Rob and I do!
I can't decide if this concerns me or impresses me more.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
New Header
Did you notice it? No? Just look up! It was my idea for a party invite, but it's way too wide for that purpose.
Real post later.
Real post later.
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Nursery Is Done
Okay - the nursery has been finished for months, but my friend Amy at PrettyBabies brought it back to my attention that I have not posted the final photos! Shame on me.
Here is a tour around her very small piece of the world:
We got the crib at Babies R Us. The plastic bin on the right is full of clothes that are too big. It's easiest to keep track of where things are this way. On the tub is the cow humidifier. We had one before this, but it got gross so we had to get rid of it. Hanging over her crib is the cross she received for her baptism.
Abby's dresser has been in my family for a while. There is a matching dresser somewhere in Maryland, though I'm not sure where. On the corner is clothes that are too small. We gather a few at a time and bag them to be stored for (ahem) later use.
In the circles are two sets of animals. When we decided on the theme of a farm we knew that we wanted family members to help. Since it is not feasible for everyone to come here to help, we bought cut out animals (from the craft store) and mailed them out. When they came back, the animals varied so much - orange lambs and purple ducks. Very fun, and everyone really did have a hand in it.
Abby's closet and the top of her bookcase. She has another bookcase that is much more full, and other books spread across the living room. We have a bunch of springy dresses that we are looking forwrad to putting Abby in!
The changing table was made by Gramps when my cousin Jon was born, 20 years ago this month. The top has the standard changing pad. The middle shelf has a a diaper warmer on the left, and creams and such on the right. Diaper warmer is essential when using cloth wipes. The (empty) basket on the right of the bottom shelf is where the diapers go. They are in the dryer right now....
We found this cow rug on sale this weekend. It's adorable, and the colors are perfect for our room. I like this picture almost as much as I like the carpet itself. Oh yeah, the floor! Under the cow rug is our rubber floor! We bought a reversible floor that is designed for play rooms. We hoped to use blue and green in the middle and the gray side for the outside, but we found out later that it's one way or the other.
So - that's Abby's room. She's about ready to head in there for the night. Hopefully....
Here is a tour around her very small piece of the world:
We got the crib at Babies R Us. The plastic bin on the right is full of clothes that are too big. It's easiest to keep track of where things are this way. On the tub is the cow humidifier. We had one before this, but it got gross so we had to get rid of it. Hanging over her crib is the cross she received for her baptism.
Abby's dresser has been in my family for a while. There is a matching dresser somewhere in Maryland, though I'm not sure where. On the corner is clothes that are too small. We gather a few at a time and bag them to be stored for (ahem) later use.
In the circles are two sets of animals. When we decided on the theme of a farm we knew that we wanted family members to help. Since it is not feasible for everyone to come here to help, we bought cut out animals (from the craft store) and mailed them out. When they came back, the animals varied so much - orange lambs and purple ducks. Very fun, and everyone really did have a hand in it.
Abby's closet and the top of her bookcase. She has another bookcase that is much more full, and other books spread across the living room. We have a bunch of springy dresses that we are looking forwrad to putting Abby in!
The changing table was made by Gramps when my cousin Jon was born, 20 years ago this month. The top has the standard changing pad. The middle shelf has a a diaper warmer on the left, and creams and such on the right. Diaper warmer is essential when using cloth wipes. The (empty) basket on the right of the bottom shelf is where the diapers go. They are in the dryer right now....
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| From April 2008 |
We found this cow rug on sale this weekend. It's adorable, and the colors are perfect for our room. I like this picture almost as much as I like the carpet itself. Oh yeah, the floor! Under the cow rug is our rubber floor! We bought a reversible floor that is designed for play rooms. We hoped to use blue and green in the middle and the gray side for the outside, but we found out later that it's one way or the other.
So - that's Abby's room. She's about ready to head in there for the night. Hopefully....
Some Brief Updates
On the Food front:
We tried egg yolk yesterday. That did not go over great, but she didn't gag like she did on Asparagus.
Her top two front teeth are through the gums, but barely. This creates many screaming fits.
On the Signing front:
Abby has picked up "Milk" and "Food" a few weeks ago. She now knows what each means, and is very adamant about being sure she gets what she's after.
We started giving her baths three weeks ago. We found it easier before that to pull her into the shower with one of us, but have decided that a bath fits better into a standard routine. Two weeks ago we found the sign for "Bath" and began using it. After one week, she has gotten that one down too!
On the Mobility front:
She has mastered crawling - and sometimes crawls too fast for the dog to get away!
She has mastered pulling herself up onto furniture and railings.
She is beginning to "cruise" things too. Last night it was a chair at Jae and Nadia's house. I think we're close to walking
On the Cute Picture front:
We tried egg yolk yesterday. That did not go over great, but she didn't gag like she did on Asparagus.
Her top two front teeth are through the gums, but barely. This creates many screaming fits.
On the Signing front:
Abby has picked up "Milk" and "Food" a few weeks ago. She now knows what each means, and is very adamant about being sure she gets what she's after.
We started giving her baths three weeks ago. We found it easier before that to pull her into the shower with one of us, but have decided that a bath fits better into a standard routine. Two weeks ago we found the sign for "Bath" and began using it. After one week, she has gotten that one down too!
On the Mobility front:
She has mastered crawling - and sometimes crawls too fast for the dog to get away!
She has mastered pulling herself up onto furniture and railings.
She is beginning to "cruise" things too. Last night it was a chair at Jae and Nadia's house. I think we're close to walking
On the Cute Picture front:
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
No Sleep and No TV Make Homer Something Something
Continuing Teething.....
On Sunday night we had one of those nights that we like to pretend never happen. Abby was tired when we got home from a gathering at church, so she ate and went to sleep without much coaxing at all. Even skipped the nightly bath/shower and did not notice.
She slept pretty soundly. Until 2:30 that is. Something happened at 2:30 that triggered play-time in Abby's mind. At first I tried all of the normal stuff: diaper, clean sinuses (Nose Sucking), 6 ounce bottle and rocking. Nothing would work, so I gave up and plopped her on the floor. She very much enjoyed playing on the floor for the next hour and a half!
Last night, though, we had sweet redemption. After going to sleep at an incredibly early 6:30, Abby slept in her crib until about 4:00. She coughed herself awake, so I picked her up and brought her into bed with us. I gave her some water to wet her throat, and she took a few swigs and went back to sleep. Until 5:45!
Here's hoping we get another one of those tonight.....
(For all of you that are mad at me for not posting pictures in April, please accept my apologies. I honestly have not even taken any, which I know makes me a bad dad. Trust me that she is still being cute. The problem is that she's so cute that I tend to play with her instead of make her pose for pictures.....)
On Sunday night we had one of those nights that we like to pretend never happen. Abby was tired when we got home from a gathering at church, so she ate and went to sleep without much coaxing at all. Even skipped the nightly bath/shower and did not notice.
She slept pretty soundly. Until 2:30 that is. Something happened at 2:30 that triggered play-time in Abby's mind. At first I tried all of the normal stuff: diaper, clean sinuses (Nose Sucking), 6 ounce bottle and rocking. Nothing would work, so I gave up and plopped her on the floor. She very much enjoyed playing on the floor for the next hour and a half!
Last night, though, we had sweet redemption. After going to sleep at an incredibly early 6:30, Abby slept in her crib until about 4:00. She coughed herself awake, so I picked her up and brought her into bed with us. I gave her some water to wet her throat, and she took a few swigs and went back to sleep. Until 5:45!
Here's hoping we get another one of those tonight.....
(For all of you that are mad at me for not posting pictures in April, please accept my apologies. I honestly have not even taken any, which I know makes me a bad dad. Trust me that she is still being cute. The problem is that she's so cute that I tend to play with her instead of make her pose for pictures.....)
Monday, April 07, 2008
Yummy Yummy, What's that in Your Tummy?
It's........
Dog Food!
I'm sure that I'm a bad father for putting this on the internet, but Abby got her first taste of dog food on Saturday. We always assume that Rusty (dog) finishes his food, mostly because he's begging for more within seconds. Abby enjoys the sound of her fingernails on the metal dish.
We heard fingernails in the dish and happiness.
Then we hear nothing. Calm.
Calm seems to breed worry at this stage (for the rest of her existence?)
Anny got up from the living room to see Abby chewing on something....something from Rusty's bowl.
By the time we got to her she had swallowed.
Just.
Gross.
Dog Food!
I'm sure that I'm a bad father for putting this on the internet, but Abby got her first taste of dog food on Saturday. We always assume that Rusty (dog) finishes his food, mostly because he's begging for more within seconds. Abby enjoys the sound of her fingernails on the metal dish.
We heard fingernails in the dish and happiness.
Then we hear nothing. Calm.
Calm seems to breed worry at this stage (for the rest of her existence?)
Anny got up from the living room to see Abby chewing on something....something from Rusty's bowl.
By the time we got to her she had swallowed.
Just.
Gross.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Almost Two More Teeth!
Changing her diaper the other day, Rob noticed two budding teeth in Abby's upper gums. That explains some recent fussiness and makes me a lot more sympathetic to her inability to sleep soundly.
Our pediatrician assured us that the incisors are relatively sharp and so they break through the gums with less pain and more ease than molars which are wider and more dull. If this is true, I am not looking forward to molar teething...
Meanwhile, at my last dental cleaning, they found a cavity in my incisor. When I went in a couple weeks ago to have it taken care of, the dentist took an X-ray and explained that I would need a root canal. He gave me a shot of Novocain and came back 20 minutes later to start drilling. When I nearly jumped out of the chair, he gave me another shot. He came back another 20 minutes later and began drilling again, but no way! The nerve pain was horrible! So I have a referral to an endodontist next week who will hopefully have enough drugs to deaden all the nerves.
I can only give Abby Orajel and Tylenol for her teething, but I certainly empathize with her pain. Anyone else ever identify with what your child is going through so specifically?
Our pediatrician assured us that the incisors are relatively sharp and so they break through the gums with less pain and more ease than molars which are wider and more dull. If this is true, I am not looking forward to molar teething...
Meanwhile, at my last dental cleaning, they found a cavity in my incisor. When I went in a couple weeks ago to have it taken care of, the dentist took an X-ray and explained that I would need a root canal. He gave me a shot of Novocain and came back 20 minutes later to start drilling. When I nearly jumped out of the chair, he gave me another shot. He came back another 20 minutes later and began drilling again, but no way! The nerve pain was horrible! So I have a referral to an endodontist next week who will hopefully have enough drugs to deaden all the nerves.
I can only give Abby Orajel and Tylenol for her teething, but I certainly empathize with her pain. Anyone else ever identify with what your child is going through so specifically?
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Scared of the "New Guy" in the House
Today Anny and I cut my hair while Abby was napping. She went to sleep and daddy had a thick head of hair, woke up to buzzed-down daddy.
When she woked up from her nap, I went to pick her up. She was wailing, not just the normal wimpery cry. I got her to the chair to comfort her a bit, and she wailed even louder. I thought maybe she was wet, but that was not it. She had just eaten before her nap, so hunger was not the issue. Anny came to see if she could be helpful, and Abby got quiet immediately.
She was scared of me. She saw me as a stranger in the house, not to be trusted. Not a good feeling for either of us, I can promise you that. I'm used to hearing her cry, she is a baby after all. That scream of terror, though. Wow.
We calmed her down and within a few minutes she was okay with hbeing around me again. Phew!
For your fun, here is a picture from earlier today. She is playing with a duck that sings about wanting to be the Easter Bunny. It's silly and cute in person. You'll have to settle for a picture!
When she woked up from her nap, I went to pick her up. She was wailing, not just the normal wimpery cry. I got her to the chair to comfort her a bit, and she wailed even louder. I thought maybe she was wet, but that was not it. She had just eaten before her nap, so hunger was not the issue. Anny came to see if she could be helpful, and Abby got quiet immediately.
She was scared of me. She saw me as a stranger in the house, not to be trusted. Not a good feeling for either of us, I can promise you that. I'm used to hearing her cry, she is a baby after all. That scream of terror, though. Wow.
We calmed her down and within a few minutes she was okay with hbeing around me again. Phew!
For your fun, here is a picture from earlier today. She is playing with a duck that sings about wanting to be the Easter Bunny. It's silly and cute in person. You'll have to settle for a picture!
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| From March 2008 |
Thursday, March 20, 2008
9 Month Stats & Easter
27 1/2 inches long (or tall if she's standing with help!)
20 lbs. (still, probably because she's crawling so much and pulling up on things)
Except for the-cough-that-won't-go-away, she is healthy and happy. No shots this time, but we do have to take her for blood tests (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!)
On another note, I'm remembering Easter last year (needless to say it was a couple weeks later, but it is what triggered memories). Rob convinced me to to let him paint my very big and still growing belly as an Easter egg. This year we have the cutest Easter dress picked out and will surely have photos up next week of adorable Abby!
So many changes and happiness in the last year!
20 lbs. (still, probably because she's crawling so much and pulling up on things)
Except for the-cough-that-won't-go-away, she is healthy and happy. No shots this time, but we do have to take her for blood tests (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!)
On another note, I'm remembering Easter last year (needless to say it was a couple weeks later, but it is what triggered memories). Rob convinced me to to let him paint my very big and still growing belly as an Easter egg. This year we have the cutest Easter dress picked out and will surely have photos up next week of adorable Abby!
So many changes and happiness in the last year!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Fearless or Reckless?
As an update to "How does she know?", when I fed Rusty this afternoon. Abby watched him drink from his bowl and tried to splash in the water. I picked her up and set her down away from his food. Then I made the mistake of turning around to get her medicine for the cough that won't go away. When I walked over to give it to her, she had grabbed a hand full of dog food and had one piece in her mouth!!
I'm glad Rusty isn't so intimidated that he snapped at her but I'm also surprised that she was so bold as to take it right out of his bowl while he was eating it.
I'm glad Rusty isn't so intimidated that he snapped at her but I'm also surprised that she was so bold as to take it right out of his bowl while he was eating it.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Baby Food Warning!!
When introducing new fruits and vegetables to your baby......
Never follow Carrots with Prunes.
Follow up joke:
What's grosser than gross?
You guess!
Never follow Carrots with Prunes.
Follow up joke:
What's grosser than gross?
You guess!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
How Does She Know?
How does she know where the dog's water is?
How does she know where the swiffer is?
How does she know where where the dust bunnies hide?
How does she know where to grab the dog's tail so that he can drag her around?
Okay, that last one was hillarious to see!
I refuse to believe that any place can be baby-proofed, and I believe that now more than ever. You can do your best to make sure that things are less hazardous, but unless we put her in a rubber room with plush toys, she will find something to get into!
So, we have already baby-protected 90% of the living room. Now that she can crawl, she's no longer interested in the living room, she has moved on to the kitchen. Yesterday we bought the latches for the cabinets, but only after deciding which ones to lock. We both believe that exploration is the key to learning and that we can not and should not lock everything away.
In our continued baby-protection process, I'm curious to hear what other parents have forgotten until your child brought it to your attention. (i.e. the dog food)
Also - what did you do with your dog food? Right now I'm thinking that we will just put his bowl down for food time and pick it up off of the floor when he's done.
Please leave a comment!
How does she know where the swiffer is?
How does she know where where the dust bunnies hide?
How does she know where to grab the dog's tail so that he can drag her around?
Okay, that last one was hillarious to see!
I refuse to believe that any place can be baby-proofed, and I believe that now more than ever. You can do your best to make sure that things are less hazardous, but unless we put her in a rubber room with plush toys, she will find something to get into!
So, we have already baby-protected 90% of the living room. Now that she can crawl, she's no longer interested in the living room, she has moved on to the kitchen. Yesterday we bought the latches for the cabinets, but only after deciding which ones to lock. We both believe that exploration is the key to learning and that we can not and should not lock everything away.
In our continued baby-protection process, I'm curious to hear what other parents have forgotten until your child brought it to your attention. (i.e. the dog food)
Also - what did you do with your dog food? Right now I'm thinking that we will just put his bowl down for food time and pick it up off of the floor when he's done.
Please leave a comment!
Friday, March 07, 2008
More Crawling = More Crying
As mentioned earlier this week, Abby is officially a crawler. This has brought about some good things, and some things we are learning to deal with, too.
One great thing is that Abby can come to one of us when she wants to be picked up, rather than just sit and whine. If she wants to sit just to whine, that's okay. If she wants to be picked up, she has to make the effort.
We are getting used to more bumps and bruises, and more actual tears. I absolutely love her pouty face, so I'm actually okay with an occasional head knock.
She learned quickly to be mobile off of the carpet, where the real fun is. She's smashed her face on the floor several times, the TV cabinet once, and got a good one from the changing table on Sunday right before church. Yeah, Anny was already there so I walk in with a baby that looks all abused. Real fun like.
This morning I put her on the kitchen floor so that I could grab her coat. In the two seconds I was in the hall, she took a look around, and somehow picked the dog dish as a target! How do they know immediately where the water (i.e. drowning hazard) and dog food go? I dragged her back to the middle of the floor from there pretty quickly.
One great thing is that Abby can come to one of us when she wants to be picked up, rather than just sit and whine. If she wants to sit just to whine, that's okay. If she wants to be picked up, she has to make the effort.
We are getting used to more bumps and bruises, and more actual tears. I absolutely love her pouty face, so I'm actually okay with an occasional head knock.
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| More Photos Here |
She learned quickly to be mobile off of the carpet, where the real fun is. She's smashed her face on the floor several times, the TV cabinet once, and got a good one from the changing table on Sunday right before church. Yeah, Anny was already there so I walk in with a baby that looks all abused. Real fun like.
This morning I put her on the kitchen floor so that I could grab her coat. In the two seconds I was in the hall, she took a look around, and somehow picked the dog dish as a target! How do they know immediately where the water (i.e. drowning hazard) and dog food go? I dragged her back to the middle of the floor from there pretty quickly.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Observations From a Walk
It's 6:00 and 66 degrees (Fahrenheit, that is) outside. Needless to say, today is a great day for a walk around the lake! In our area there are at least a half dozen nice places to walk, including one right here in town. (Funny that it has its' own Wiki page!)
Anny, unfortunately, had a dentist appointment this afternoon, so Abby and I took off. I thought I would share some observations from our little jaunt:
What did you do with the nice weather?
How long can I get away with telling Abby that Geese are Ducks? They look similar, sound the same, and there is no way she will know the difference for a long time. Am I a bad dad for telling her they are ducks?
Anny, unfortunately, had a dentist appointment this afternoon, so Abby and I took off. I thought I would share some observations from our little jaunt:
- First, I am out of shape. Anny has been much better during the cold weather about walking at school. I don't have the opportunity, though, and by the time I get home I just want to chill with Abby.
- Fishing is what can bridge all of our differences! I saw people of four different races with lines in the water today.
- It's windy on the lakes this time of year.
- I'm convinced that all businesses should be required to close two hours early for the first five 70 degree days. Talk about boosting morale! (I did not get to leave early, but it would have been nice.)
- Walking the lake loop is more fun with a friend. More specifically, a friend that can talk. Abby is fun and all, but I missed having Anny around. I'm such a sap.
What did you do with the nice weather?
How long can I get away with telling Abby that Geese are Ducks? They look similar, sound the same, and there is no way she will know the difference for a long time. Am I a bad dad for telling her they are ducks?
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