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!