The dance of the turtle and the exotic bird. Yes, this is a relatively new activity that I do each night with Abby. Let me back up a bit. :-) Pretty much every night after dinner, Abby and I go for a walk. We did, that is, until summer hit Atlanta. Many nights lately have either been too hot or too wet. So, we had to find a new form of exercise. We chose to dance. Each night I find some new music that Abby has not yet heard and we dance. It is the funniest sweetest time! Abby laughs and dances and laughs some more. Which, of course, causes me to laugh right along with her as her laugh is pretty infectious. A couple of weeks ago, my mom gave me 2 hats for me to give my dear friends Meredith (8 years old) and Sam (6 years old). Both hats are kind of like visors. One is a turtle and one is an exotic bird. Since I have not seen Meredith or Sam since I got the hats, they have been sitting in my living room. Abby loves carrying them around. Well a few nights ago I put a hat on each of us while we were dancing and that was it. We have a new tradition - dancing while wearing those hats. If anyone were to see this through my window, I'm sure a quick call would be made to a mental outpatient facility as I doubt Abby is visible through the window and it likely looks like I am dancing alone wearing a turtle hat. :-)
So, what music do we dance to? Well, I try to really mix it up. So far Abby's favorites include Etta James, Barry White, the Jackson Five, Green Day, some cool jazz and blues from the 1940s, Black Eyed Peas (yes, she still loves them), Martina McBride, and anything from Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music. My little music girl!
This past weekend was a very full one for us and Abby finally recovered from it just today. We definitely had a lot of fun but I have long since discovered that Abby needs her full 12 hours of sleep at night plus a good long nap in the afternoon (if not a morning nap too). Friday night we met up with several other single moms who had also adopted from Kazakhstan. These are people from a variety of agencies and it was great meeting all the beautiful children. They ranged in age from 10 months to about 7 years old. We also met up with them Sunday morning at the Children's Museum (Imagine It) in downtown Atlanta. We had been to this museum before but this time, being a few months older, Abby absolutely had a blast! She fell asleep before I even got out of the parking lot.
Saturday we went to Athens to celebrate my friend Ginger's daughter's birthdays. Kiersten turns 16 this month and Maya just turned 1. The weather in Georgia that day hit a record for the year. I did not hear the actual temperature but can officially say that it felt like 127 degrees. It was a great party though with lots of good food, good cake, and good people. If you are keeping count, that would be 2 nights in a row where Abby got to bed late. As a result, we spent Sunday afternoon at home. We did not go anywhere after the museum. We had the best afternoon. Abby played and played and I read. I am working on helping her to be able to play by herself some. Right now this is not a popular thing in her mind. I figured out though that if I am in the same room, she is content to play. So we are starting there. I actually prefer to be playing with her but I know this is something she needs to be able to do.
Yesterday when I picked up Abby from daycare, her teacher told me there must have been something in the milk because all the kids had some kind of meltdown that day. Yes, this included Abby. Apparently hers was shortlived. I know this was a leftover from the busy weekend. Today she had a good day!
I have been increasing the number of books we read each night. Abby absolutely loves to be read to which thrills my heart to no end. We are currently up to about 6 or 7 books now. Of course these books are all pretty short but it is cute when I finish each one and Abby says "more!" :-) Makes this mom who loves to read very proud!
So, it has been a great week! Take care and good night from Georgia!
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Six months ago tomorrow, in a court house in cold and snowy Uralsk, Kazakhstan, a very stern and serious judge proclaimed that Abigail Emma Green was officially my daughter. It was the single greatest moment of my life up to that point. I remember not even realizing what the judge had said until Assia and then Olga each gave me a big congratulatory hug. It is so hard for me to believe it has been 6 months. The time has truly flown by. When I look back at pictures from our time in Kazakhstan, I scarcely recognize my now happy, sweet, giggly, music loving girl. And as for me? Well, I now have trouble remembering my life before Abby.
I realize I may sound like the incredibly proud mommy that I am, but this kid is just so amazing. She is funny and sweet and so laid back. I mean she pretty much just rolls with any situation. And yet, she also has quite the stubborn streak. Not a day goes by that she doesn't do something new. Her latest conquests include: "reading" to mommy, climbing, lifting her shirt to show off her tummy (she also likes to lift my shirt to show my tummy, but that is a whole different story!), pointing out where her (or anyone else's) nose, eyes, ears, and mouth are located, repeating just about any word, and playing "catch" with a ball. I love watching her figure out how she is going to do something. You can pretty much see the wheels turning just before she kicks into action. And talk about a memory? If she sees something you can better believe she will remember and likely try it again later.
So, what have we been up to lately? We continue to have a very busy and fun summer. We go swimming, go for walks, visit friends, do lots of reading, and we dance lots to music. Since I last wrote, Abby and I made a trip to Macon, Georgia with my mom to let my aunt, cousin, and cousin's baby meet Abby. Abby had fun meeting her relatives. She is a wonderful little traveler. She will either sleep or entertain herself in the back seat. As long as there is music playing Abby is happy.
Well that weekend turned out to be the weekend of Abby's first (since we have been home) fever. At one point it hit 103.8. Talk about one worried mommy! After a trip to the doctor on Monday, it turned out she had a sore throat. No antibiotics were needed - just had to let this one run its course. Fortunately she was back to her usual happy self by Wednesday. To add insult to injury though, Abby also wound up sharing her bedroom with a hungry mosquito. Poor kid woke up with huge welts all over her. She is a little trooper though and no silly bites would keep her down.
Last weekend we also went to Stone Mountain with Dawn and her son Alec (who was in the same baby house in Uralsk as Abby!) and Gerri and her daughter Corre (also born in Kazakhstan). Aside from Abby's fever spiking while we were there, we had a wonderful time. Abby loves being around other kids and Alec especially has become her buddy. When they arrived at our house that day, Abby's face absolutely lit up when she saw him. They are so cute together.
This past weekend we went to our friend Avery's first birthday party. Avery was also born in Kazakhstan. She is 4 months younger than Abby and was such an adorable birthday girl. Abby had the best time at the party. It was a princess party and Abby got her own princess hat to wear. She even kept it on her head long enough for me to take a picture. Abby is fascinated by hats. She is fascinated by how fast she can take them off her head.
I finally took Abby to get her picture made. My mom has been gently reminding me each week that I needed to do this soon, but this was our first photo session since we have been home. Well, I should say first professional photo session. Abby has been photographed more than most movie stars in the time we have been home. If I put the pictures in a stack and flip them, I'm pretty sure I can make a silent movie of the last 6 months. Anyway, I was incredibly proud of my little girl and the pictures turned out great. I have posted some of the proofs on my yahoo site:
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gayla059/my_photos
The new ones are under a folder called July 2004 Continued.
Pretty much every night that it is not raining or that we don't have plans, we wind up going to my next door neighbor Pete's house. It usually turns out to be a gathering of neighbors including Lourdes and her 21 month old son Francesco (who Abby seems to call CoCo), Pete (who is like a surrogate grandpa to her), Pete's ex-wife Sandy, and Miss Bert (Pete's elderly, precious tenant). It is a lovely gathering of generations and the kids have the best time in Pete's yard. We all sit out there and talk and watch the kids play. It will be sad when the weather gets too cold for us to be out there. It is probably the closest thing to having a front stoop that we can have in this kind of neighborhood.
And so, here we are. Six months later. I am the mother of the sweetest and most beautiful little girl in the world. And loving every second of it.
Take care and good night from Georgia!
I realize I may sound like the incredibly proud mommy that I am, but this kid is just so amazing. She is funny and sweet and so laid back. I mean she pretty much just rolls with any situation. And yet, she also has quite the stubborn streak. Not a day goes by that she doesn't do something new. Her latest conquests include: "reading" to mommy, climbing, lifting her shirt to show off her tummy (she also likes to lift my shirt to show my tummy, but that is a whole different story!), pointing out where her (or anyone else's) nose, eyes, ears, and mouth are located, repeating just about any word, and playing "catch" with a ball. I love watching her figure out how she is going to do something. You can pretty much see the wheels turning just before she kicks into action. And talk about a memory? If she sees something you can better believe she will remember and likely try it again later.
So, what have we been up to lately? We continue to have a very busy and fun summer. We go swimming, go for walks, visit friends, do lots of reading, and we dance lots to music. Since I last wrote, Abby and I made a trip to Macon, Georgia with my mom to let my aunt, cousin, and cousin's baby meet Abby. Abby had fun meeting her relatives. She is a wonderful little traveler. She will either sleep or entertain herself in the back seat. As long as there is music playing Abby is happy.
Well that weekend turned out to be the weekend of Abby's first (since we have been home) fever. At one point it hit 103.8. Talk about one worried mommy! After a trip to the doctor on Monday, it turned out she had a sore throat. No antibiotics were needed - just had to let this one run its course. Fortunately she was back to her usual happy self by Wednesday. To add insult to injury though, Abby also wound up sharing her bedroom with a hungry mosquito. Poor kid woke up with huge welts all over her. She is a little trooper though and no silly bites would keep her down.
Last weekend we also went to Stone Mountain with Dawn and her son Alec (who was in the same baby house in Uralsk as Abby!) and Gerri and her daughter Corre (also born in Kazakhstan). Aside from Abby's fever spiking while we were there, we had a wonderful time. Abby loves being around other kids and Alec especially has become her buddy. When they arrived at our house that day, Abby's face absolutely lit up when she saw him. They are so cute together.
This past weekend we went to our friend Avery's first birthday party. Avery was also born in Kazakhstan. She is 4 months younger than Abby and was such an adorable birthday girl. Abby had the best time at the party. It was a princess party and Abby got her own princess hat to wear. She even kept it on her head long enough for me to take a picture. Abby is fascinated by hats. She is fascinated by how fast she can take them off her head.
I finally took Abby to get her picture made. My mom has been gently reminding me each week that I needed to do this soon, but this was our first photo session since we have been home. Well, I should say first professional photo session. Abby has been photographed more than most movie stars in the time we have been home. If I put the pictures in a stack and flip them, I'm pretty sure I can make a silent movie of the last 6 months. Anyway, I was incredibly proud of my little girl and the pictures turned out great. I have posted some of the proofs on my yahoo site:
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gayla059/my_photos
The new ones are under a folder called July 2004 Continued.
Pretty much every night that it is not raining or that we don't have plans, we wind up going to my next door neighbor Pete's house. It usually turns out to be a gathering of neighbors including Lourdes and her 21 month old son Francesco (who Abby seems to call CoCo), Pete (who is like a surrogate grandpa to her), Pete's ex-wife Sandy, and Miss Bert (Pete's elderly, precious tenant). It is a lovely gathering of generations and the kids have the best time in Pete's yard. We all sit out there and talk and watch the kids play. It will be sad when the weather gets too cold for us to be out there. It is probably the closest thing to having a front stoop that we can have in this kind of neighborhood.
And so, here we are. Six months later. I am the mother of the sweetest and most beautiful little girl in the world. And loving every second of it.
Take care and good night from Georgia!
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
This was Abby's first Fourth of July as an American citizen. Actually, it is one she will likely never remember. And it is definitely one I will never forget. Our plans weren't even that incredible. It was just such a fun weekend with her.
Abby's daycare was closed both Friday and Monday so we had a whole 4 days together. We kept them very full but the best part was just spending time with Abby. On Saturday, we met my mom, grandmother, and our friend Bryan for breakfast. This is a tradition for us. We meet in Cartersville GA as it is roughly halfway between Atlanta and Rome. Abby is already beginning to recognize that when we pull into the Cracker Barrel she will get to see her G.G., Mama Margaret, and Papa Bryan. While we were there, Abby proved once again how very much my daughter she really is. An older lady walked by us with the most bizarre shade of pink/orange hair. I realized I was blatantly staring. I looked down to see Abby was staring at the woman's head just as I was. To really complete the family thing - my mom and grandmother were, yes, also staring. Fortunately the poor woman was much more interested in the goings on of other restaurant patrons and was oblivious to our "glances".
Sunday (the actual Fourth) we started out the day with a trip to the zoo. For those of you who do not live in Atlanta, it has pretty much rained every day for the last month so this was our first time to the zoo in a little while. Sunday, we woke up to a large shock. At first it caused much confusion. What was this bright yellow thing in the sky? Slowly, the memory of the sun began to creep back. I very quickly decided to take full advantage. We had a great time. Did all the usual zoo stuff. Watched animals. Watched even more people. Rode the train. Rode the carrousel. The sweet life.
That night we went to downtown Decatur's Fourth of July parade, concert, and fireworks. Only we didn't so much make it to the fireworks part. When you usually go to bed at 7:00, staying up past 8:00 is a pretty big deal in and of itself. :-) Abby did love the parade and the music though. Oh, and the strawberry ice cream. Can't forget that.
Today when I picked up Abby from daycare, I found her teacher Ms. Kim sitting on the floor, surrounded by 1 year olds. This part is nothing new. When it is raining in the afternoon (as it was AGAIN today), Ms. Kim usually hangs out on the floor with her little ones. Today, however, Ms. Kim was banging a drum and singing/rapping "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to the beat of that drum. All the kids were "dancing". I will never hear The Itsy Bitsy Spider in the same way again. For those of you wondering, this song to rap is quite cool. And extremely catchy. I have been rapping it in my head since we got home.
I'm so proud of my dancing little one. You should see her eat by herself now. I mean she has been using her fingers to eat for quite awhile now but suddenly last week, she really began to figure out that fork thing. She is quite good at stabbing her food with it and even making it to her mouth with the majority of food on the fork. Not bad! Today, she decided the whole plate thing was just inhibiting her, so she dumped all her food on the high chair tray and proceeded to eat it that way - all mixed together. Now as long as she gets most of it in her, I don't care, but I should mention that the food she had so happily mixed together included bananas, green beans, and chicken. Mmmm hmmm. That is what I thought too. But hey, she liked it. Perhaps she is the next culinary genious of the world.
OK, well, one of my still remaining guilty pleasures - The Amazing Race - starts tonight and I still have dishes and clothes and all the usual night time stuff to do before it comes on, so for now I will sign off. Abby's sign off is the blowing of many kisses so I will leave you with that image.
Abby's daycare was closed both Friday and Monday so we had a whole 4 days together. We kept them very full but the best part was just spending time with Abby. On Saturday, we met my mom, grandmother, and our friend Bryan for breakfast. This is a tradition for us. We meet in Cartersville GA as it is roughly halfway between Atlanta and Rome. Abby is already beginning to recognize that when we pull into the Cracker Barrel she will get to see her G.G., Mama Margaret, and Papa Bryan. While we were there, Abby proved once again how very much my daughter she really is. An older lady walked by us with the most bizarre shade of pink/orange hair. I realized I was blatantly staring. I looked down to see Abby was staring at the woman's head just as I was. To really complete the family thing - my mom and grandmother were, yes, also staring. Fortunately the poor woman was much more interested in the goings on of other restaurant patrons and was oblivious to our "glances".
Sunday (the actual Fourth) we started out the day with a trip to the zoo. For those of you who do not live in Atlanta, it has pretty much rained every day for the last month so this was our first time to the zoo in a little while. Sunday, we woke up to a large shock. At first it caused much confusion. What was this bright yellow thing in the sky? Slowly, the memory of the sun began to creep back. I very quickly decided to take full advantage. We had a great time. Did all the usual zoo stuff. Watched animals. Watched even more people. Rode the train. Rode the carrousel. The sweet life.
That night we went to downtown Decatur's Fourth of July parade, concert, and fireworks. Only we didn't so much make it to the fireworks part. When you usually go to bed at 7:00, staying up past 8:00 is a pretty big deal in and of itself. :-) Abby did love the parade and the music though. Oh, and the strawberry ice cream. Can't forget that.
Today when I picked up Abby from daycare, I found her teacher Ms. Kim sitting on the floor, surrounded by 1 year olds. This part is nothing new. When it is raining in the afternoon (as it was AGAIN today), Ms. Kim usually hangs out on the floor with her little ones. Today, however, Ms. Kim was banging a drum and singing/rapping "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to the beat of that drum. All the kids were "dancing". I will never hear The Itsy Bitsy Spider in the same way again. For those of you wondering, this song to rap is quite cool. And extremely catchy. I have been rapping it in my head since we got home.
I'm so proud of my dancing little one. You should see her eat by herself now. I mean she has been using her fingers to eat for quite awhile now but suddenly last week, she really began to figure out that fork thing. She is quite good at stabbing her food with it and even making it to her mouth with the majority of food on the fork. Not bad! Today, she decided the whole plate thing was just inhibiting her, so she dumped all her food on the high chair tray and proceeded to eat it that way - all mixed together. Now as long as she gets most of it in her, I don't care, but I should mention that the food she had so happily mixed together included bananas, green beans, and chicken. Mmmm hmmm. That is what I thought too. But hey, she liked it. Perhaps she is the next culinary genious of the world.
OK, well, one of my still remaining guilty pleasures - The Amazing Race - starts tonight and I still have dishes and clothes and all the usual night time stuff to do before it comes on, so for now I will sign off. Abby's sign off is the blowing of many kisses so I will leave you with that image.