Abby's Newest Mark of Achievement

Okay, please don't criticize our parenting because of this blog post.  Things happen to toddlers are part of growing up. That being said, I introduce you to Abby's newest "mark" of achievement: The Black Eye:

On Wednesday evening the three of us were playing a fun game of Hide-and-Seek between getting home and dinner time, and in typical fashion, it was an accidental game of H&S.  I came into the kitchen to stop some whining by Abby, then ran up the hall to get away from the situation.  You know, fix things, make people laugh, run away.

Abby and Anny, though, took that to mean that it was time to chase Daddy, who was really just trying to find a little moment to use the potty.  I did the hallway loop, then through the dining room into the bathroom.  Anny and Abby followed, but stopped at the crossroads of our house - the top of the stairs.  Anny went up the hall, I didn't move.  Abby must have spun in place, because the next thing I hear is Anny gasping at the idea that our Abby was falling down the stairs!!

Here cheek got black immediately, so we tried to put ice on it, and forced it on for a couple of minutes.  Then we resorted to our normal calm-down activity - Sesame Street.  She sat quietly and would let us look at it, but not touch it.  Not surprising.  We were concerned about two things - that she damaged her eye or that she broke her orbital bone.  Anny felt around the bone and could not find any concern, but the eye seemed harder.  She was answering the "how many fingers" and "what is this sign" but we could not be sure if she was using her hurt side or the other one.  Finally I just asked "hey Abby, does your eye hurt?"  She's smart enough that she looked at me and said "no, Daddy.  My cheek hurts."  There, our concern was lessened - she could identify it for us.  Phew.

On Thursday morning when getting her dressed, Abby looked at me very seriously and said "Daddy, next time I go down the stairs, I want to go on my feet!"  I looked at Anny and whispered "I guess she is implying 'and not on my face!' when she says that!"

On Friday Abby had a previously scheduled pediatrician appointment and he gladly looked around both the outside and inside of her eye.  He assured us that she is fine, but reminded us that we are very lucky that no more damage was done.  Lucky indeed.

We got lots of questions, and honestly I fear Child Protective Services.  Our kid has a black eye and our excuse is she fell down the stairs?  That's likely, right?  Lucky for us, she's very vocal and can tell everyone herself if they ask!

*You can find the concept for the photo HERE.  Abby would not look sad for me, but instead looked like she would mock someone into actually fighting her!

Abby's Evening Routine

We went out for an evening on Friday and my Aunt Pam watched Abby for us. (Read about our dinner out over at Rob's Blog.) I left her a very detailed evening plan for Abby, and thought I would post it here!

Typical evening for Abby

4-6 -
snack! Probably pretzels and dip or a clementine
general play time, helping with dinner if we're cooking

6 Dinner
we're buying whether it's pizza or Chipotle. We avoid pepperoni, but she's good with onions, ham, pineapple, hamburger, or plain cheese!
if she refuses to eat, there are chicken nuggets (3-4) in the freezer, and pickles in the fridge.

6:50ish Bath Time!
This time is fuzzy toward the later side - if all is well we typically let her play until 7 or so.
Bath time is not about being clean, really, it's about time in the tub playing. Soap requires bravery and screaming, we do it in the shower on Sundays, unless she's really dirty during the week.

after bath Diaper and PJ's!*
We've pulled out a special Elmo diaper. Point that out and you get points in Abby's book! The girl is in love with that Little Red Guy.
PJ's are on the pillow.
More points if you tell her about Signing Time on the agenda.

Signing Time is on the DVR - go with the episode called "My Things"
there is a short clip after the credits. Abby knows this.
There is milk in the fridge - pop it in the warmer about 15 minutes after starting the video**

After Signing Time
She typically will grab one of three things: Gator, Hershey Bear or her Cat.
Turn the music on the dresser on:
The on button is on the front, upper left of the player
The snooze button is the big one on top. hit that once to set the "sleep" function"
Cuddling in the rocker with Milk and her Blanket usually puts her out - but we supplement with a Pacifier, too (extras are in the pocket of the rocker) - total time in rocker... 10 minutes.
Lay her down (usually on her tummy), pat her back a couple times, and then enjoy some TV or Wii time!

*Turns out that Abby noticed the Elmo diaper before Pam did and began to yell "ELMO DIAPER" followed by "SIGNING TIME." Pam seemed a little disappointed that she did not get to play those cards...

**This was the last night of our taper-off-the-evening bottle. It seems to have gone well and Abby has picked up her daytime milk drinking. Very cool.

Abby is very routine oriented, and I think that this list helped everyone to be on the same page and helped Abby to be the "Angel" that she was reported to be. :o)

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:

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.

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!

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....

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!

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 bleach doody 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.

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?!!

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.

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 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.....)

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.

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?