I had always heard that once you have kids, time speeds up. I am here to tell you this is absolutely, unequivocally true. Now our first few weeks home, I might have put up a big of an argument. Not because time went slow but because Abby was not changing as fast she is now. But as I sit here looking back at the last time I posted, I know time has gone into a kind of warp mode. I know this by watching Abby. My little baby has been replaced with an adorable, funny and happy toddler. I can almost see her growing and learning before my eyes. Part of me wants to just slow down the time but most of me loves watching her pure joy when she figures out something new.
So what is new? Well, Abby had her first complete haircut. I say "complete" as the last attempt ended in only half her hair being cut. This time took a team of 3 but the result was quite adorable. I have discovered her hair does grow as fast as mine (which is indeed very fast) so we will likely be back for another hair cut very soon.
A few weeks ago we attended Sesame Street Live with Avery (and her mommy Kris) and Alec (and his mommy Dawn). Abby really adores Alec and Avery and was so excited to see both of them. As for seeing the dancing Elmo, Oscar, Big Bird and company, well, she was pretty scared for the first 10 minutes or so. She definitely had a death grip on me but managed to still watch the show over my shoulder. That's all it took though - 10 minutes - and then she joined the clapping and dancing. I have discovered this is Abby's approach to anything new. She is very reserved around situations in which she does not feel comfortable, but usually after a few minutes she will jump right in. I love this about her.
Last week I had a work meeting here in Atlanta. Since we had evening activities, Abby had babysitters for 2 nights in a row. She cried each night when I left but ultimately did fine both nights. I think we were both extremely happy to get back our normal routine though. I really missed her that week since for 3 days I mostly saw her when I was taking her to/from daycare. It made me appreciate all the more that I normally work from home and get to spend more time with her since I don't have to spend time in traffic going to the office.
Abby continues to be obsessed with The Wiggles. This is very funny to me since Abby watches a grand total of maybe 30 minutes of tv a day. She will carry around the DVD case like a security blanket. She will yell out "GIGGLES" (how she calls them) and if we do watch them, she will dance right along with them. I must admit that "Do the Monkey" and "Hot Potato Cold Spaghetti" have grown on me.
Let's see - other favorites this week include: bubbles, Wiggles, playing in the dirt, sliding, our 2 year old neighbor Francesco (or CoCo as she calls him), knocking over mommy's block masterpieces, and dancing. Favorite music right now includes anything on the Blue Disney CD (especially The Tiki Room), the soundtrack from Chicago, her Kazakhstan CD (also still my favorite - this one really gets her clapping!), and Van Morrison.
Abby is talking up a storm. She can and will repeat just about anything and has also gotten very good at announcing things without prompting. There is not a dog in a 5 block area that will go by without her shouting "Doggie!!". Same goes for any baby. And the "baby" can be any child up to and including about 5 years of age.
For the last 2 weeks Abby has stayed in her new classroom all day long (without venturing back to Ms. Kim's room as she was doing). Her new teacher Ms. Cheryl keeps the kids very busy with lots of art, music, and reading. This week is "Chicken Week". Heh. I love theme weeks.
So, it has been a busy and fun few weeks. I have new pictures and promise to post them in the next day or so. Good night from Atlanta.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
So finally, a new update. I have no real excuse other than a very busy summer and a beautiful, busy 17 month old. Actually, this week Abby will turn 18 months old. Yeah, she will be driving soon. I don't want to even think about that.
We have had a lot of firsts since my last post. Abby's first post Kazakhstan flights, first "promotion" to a new class at daycare, first real (as in mommy had to pay) babysitter, first trip to the Natural History Museum, first naked swimming party. Not a bad list actually.
Let's see, where to start. At the beginning of August, Abby and I flew to Fort Myers, Florida (and then drove to Naples) to visit my brother and his family. I must admit that I was pretty much expecting anything for the 2 flights. I had not gotten her a seat because at the time I made the reservations my mom had planned to go with us. Unfortunately she had to change her plans. Now, keep in mind that Abby and I flew (by ourselves) from Almaty, Kazakhstan, to Frankfurt, Germany and then on to Atlanta. Basically over 24 hours straight travel. And yet, at the time, Abby was only 10 months old. The flight to Fort Myers was only 1.5 hours. As we approached the gate at the airport, I could see the instant rolling of eyes and hear the silent prayers that people would not be sitting next to us. Back when my job required that I travel 3 weeks out of each month for work, I was that person. I used to dread sitting next to The Toddler. It was nothing personal. Toddlers simply don't take well to confinement or hurt ears and well, flying allows for both.
I was so proud of Abby though. On the way down, Abby sat in my lap and we read books for about 30 minutes when she fell asleep and did not wake up until we landed. No way did I expect the same for the return trip but my little seasoned traveler fell asleep as we took off for Atlanta and did not wake up until we landed. It was wonderful.
Our time in Naples was fun. We went to the beach where Abby consumed as much sand as she could. Her cousins adore her (and she them). We were also there just 1 week before Hurricane Charley hit. Thankfully, they had no major damage.
Right after we returned from Florida, Abby was moved up to the next class at daycare. She is now the youngest in the class. Her first week was definitely a transition. Abby loves her first teacher, Ms. Kim and was not happy one little bit about leaving her classroom. In addition, 2 of her first 4 days, I arrived to find she had been in time out for "fighting". Before I had to worry if I was raising a little bruiser, the teachers told me that it is totally normal for kids to do this when moving up. Fortunately, the fighting stopped after another day or 2 and several times since I have arrived to find Abby hugging and/or kissing other kids.
I also arrive every single day to find that Abby has managed to get herself back to Ms. Kim's room. Her new teacher just points to Ms. Kim's class and says "she is back there". Ms. Kim also told me that whenever she goes to the bathroom (the teacher's bathroom is in Abby's new classroom), it never fails that she hears a loud knocking on the door and it is always Abby. Pretty funny.
Abby is getting pretty good at things like naming animal sounds. She can quite confidently tell you that a cow says "moo", a sheep says "baa" and a cat says "meow", (to name a few), but my personal favorite is the pig. If you ask her what a pig says, she will proudly answer "la la la". Before you wonder if we have a bizarre form of pigs here in Atlanta, I will say that Abby has a favorite book called Moo Baa La La La. It quite frankly states that "3 singing pigs say la la la" and this is what Abby remembers. Now it does correctly say later "no, no, that isn't right, the pigs say oink all day and night", but for Abby, the pig says "la la la". :-)
Abby still loves to dance (still the most precious thing in the world). Her current favorite songs are Funky Town, ABC (Jackson 5 version), Dancing Queen (yeah, not sure where her disco craze has originated from), anything by Black Eyed Peas, No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley), and her total favorite is A Little Less Conversation (Elvis). She shakes her hips and everything. It is priceless.
So, I still have lots of catching up to do here but for the moment, that is a little update into the goings on of one amazing Abigail Green. Take care and good night from Atlanta!
We have had a lot of firsts since my last post. Abby's first post Kazakhstan flights, first "promotion" to a new class at daycare, first real (as in mommy had to pay) babysitter, first trip to the Natural History Museum, first naked swimming party. Not a bad list actually.
Let's see, where to start. At the beginning of August, Abby and I flew to Fort Myers, Florida (and then drove to Naples) to visit my brother and his family. I must admit that I was pretty much expecting anything for the 2 flights. I had not gotten her a seat because at the time I made the reservations my mom had planned to go with us. Unfortunately she had to change her plans. Now, keep in mind that Abby and I flew (by ourselves) from Almaty, Kazakhstan, to Frankfurt, Germany and then on to Atlanta. Basically over 24 hours straight travel. And yet, at the time, Abby was only 10 months old. The flight to Fort Myers was only 1.5 hours. As we approached the gate at the airport, I could see the instant rolling of eyes and hear the silent prayers that people would not be sitting next to us. Back when my job required that I travel 3 weeks out of each month for work, I was that person. I used to dread sitting next to The Toddler. It was nothing personal. Toddlers simply don't take well to confinement or hurt ears and well, flying allows for both.
I was so proud of Abby though. On the way down, Abby sat in my lap and we read books for about 30 minutes when she fell asleep and did not wake up until we landed. No way did I expect the same for the return trip but my little seasoned traveler fell asleep as we took off for Atlanta and did not wake up until we landed. It was wonderful.
Our time in Naples was fun. We went to the beach where Abby consumed as much sand as she could. Her cousins adore her (and she them). We were also there just 1 week before Hurricane Charley hit. Thankfully, they had no major damage.
Right after we returned from Florida, Abby was moved up to the next class at daycare. She is now the youngest in the class. Her first week was definitely a transition. Abby loves her first teacher, Ms. Kim and was not happy one little bit about leaving her classroom. In addition, 2 of her first 4 days, I arrived to find she had been in time out for "fighting". Before I had to worry if I was raising a little bruiser, the teachers told me that it is totally normal for kids to do this when moving up. Fortunately, the fighting stopped after another day or 2 and several times since I have arrived to find Abby hugging and/or kissing other kids.
I also arrive every single day to find that Abby has managed to get herself back to Ms. Kim's room. Her new teacher just points to Ms. Kim's class and says "she is back there". Ms. Kim also told me that whenever she goes to the bathroom (the teacher's bathroom is in Abby's new classroom), it never fails that she hears a loud knocking on the door and it is always Abby. Pretty funny.
Abby is getting pretty good at things like naming animal sounds. She can quite confidently tell you that a cow says "moo", a sheep says "baa" and a cat says "meow", (to name a few), but my personal favorite is the pig. If you ask her what a pig says, she will proudly answer "la la la". Before you wonder if we have a bizarre form of pigs here in Atlanta, I will say that Abby has a favorite book called Moo Baa La La La. It quite frankly states that "3 singing pigs say la la la" and this is what Abby remembers. Now it does correctly say later "no, no, that isn't right, the pigs say oink all day and night", but for Abby, the pig says "la la la". :-)
Abby still loves to dance (still the most precious thing in the world). Her current favorite songs are Funky Town, ABC (Jackson 5 version), Dancing Queen (yeah, not sure where her disco craze has originated from), anything by Black Eyed Peas, No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley), and her total favorite is A Little Less Conversation (Elvis). She shakes her hips and everything. It is priceless.
So, I still have lots of catching up to do here but for the moment, that is a little update into the goings on of one amazing Abigail Green. Take care and good night from Atlanta!