Abigail Decides: Cribs Are SO Last Week

This week, for seemingly no reason at all apparent to us, Abigail has decided that she is too grown up for her crib. Abigail loves to play hard and loves to go to sleep for nap and at the end of the day. Sometimes even asks to go to sleep.

But no longer in her crib.

She informed me of this decision Sunday night. After reading together for a while, I tried to lift her and put her into her crib but she slid out of my lap, laid on the floor and said "Abigail no crib. Abigail sleep down floor." I asked her if she was sure and she nodded vigorously and said "yes" and curled up with her beloved Blankie on the floor as if to show me she was serious. I asked her if she wanted her other blankets on the floor, and she did. When I leaned over her and kissed her, she got a huge smile, obviously very proud that she was allowed to sleep on the floor.

From downstairs, I heard Abigail kick the floor a few times, an old habit of hers to put herself to sleep when she is excited. Then she slept all night on the floor. She hardly moved a muscle. (I know this because I checked on her nearly every hour all night to make sure she was okay!)

At 5:30, we heard a happy "bunny awake" yell from her room. When I went to greet her, she was grinning like the cat that caught the canary, obviously pleased with herself for sleeping on the floor all night.

We ordered a toddler bed for her, which will arrive in a few days. I told Abigail today that she was going to get her own bed and she could be all done with her crib. She was super excited at this news and said "bye bye" to her crib, although I explained again that she wouldn't get her own bed for 3 days and she helped me count to 3 for good measure.

When Larry got home tonight, he went into Abigail's room and saw her asleep on her mattress on the floor. He asked what was going on and I told him that she won't go in her crib, and after a half-hearted bid for sleeping in our "big bed", Abigail wanted her mattress on the floor.

Larry said "It is amazing that she makes decisions all on her own."

I replied "I suppose we better get used to that!"

(I only wish her desire to use the potty all the time for all purposes would happen as quickly and suddenly as this recent bid for grown up things!!)

Growing Up In One Day

We just enjoyed a 4 day visit from Abigail's Grandma Kathleen, who spent Thanksgiving with us. I am certainly lucky to have a wonderful mother-in-law and Abigail is fortunate to have her as a Grandma.

Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, was a big one for Abigail.

Even though she woke up at 5 o'clock, she checked her "sleeping bunny" alarm clock and realized it was not time to get up yet. So for 25 minutes she sang and told stories to herself. It was sweet to listen to from our bedroom across the hall. After 25 minutes, she got frustrated (no wonder- 25 minutes must be an eternity to a 24 month old!) so Larry waited with her until the bunny "woke up". She excitedly yelled "bunny awake!" and knew she could begin her day. This was the most successful she has been at getting up at the "right" time. (I cannot believe that 5:30 is now an acceptable and regular wake up time for us!)

She also used the potty in the morning and got to wear Elmo underpants until almost lunch time and didn't have any accidents.

She also ate cereal and milk, from a bowl, with a spoon, all by herself and learned to drink the milk out of the bowl without spilling it.

Abigail rounded out the afternoon with another trip to the potty and more time in underpants!

We are so proud of our girl!

May 14: 3 weeks since last post

Lame reasons that it has been 3 weeks since my last post:

1. The weather has been too good outside.

2. Our computer needed a new OS installed and that wiped it out for almost a week.

3. I asked Larry to do a "Guest Post" for mother's day, and he said "no."

Here's what has been happening:

Easter happened. Abigail was cute, but didn't understand why there were plastic eggs all over the yard, and why no one would help her clean them up!

Full-blown summer weather began. Abigail love love loves the pool and any water related activities.

Lar and I shower Abigail with attention for hours every day. With our work schedules right now, the longest she is ever in day care is until 3:00. I would pay

money to have this wonderful of a schedule again next year. It actually makes me very upset to think that I might have to "work" until 4, not get her home until almost 5 and have only 3 hours of time with her per day. That just isn't enough. As it is now, we usually have time for an afternoon outing every day. This is the way it should be: parents can work at a job, do it efficiently and leave when done, and then raise their kid. Below is a pic of Larry showing Abigail a crab in the marsh during low tide.

Finally, Abigail had her 18 month check up. She is still growing, but not at the catching-up rate she was when we first brought her home. She is a little string bean though, at 32.25 inches, 21 pounds and looks adorable in skirts and dresses.

First and Second Day of Day Care

Monday was Abigail's first day of day care. She is at a great place that we love. She eats a little breakfast at home, then a little more there. They learn about a theme each week (this week was fish-themed), have lunch together, and then all the kids lie down on a mini cot and take a 1-2 hour nap. After that, we pick her up.

On her second day, she impressed her teachers by eating all of her peas with a spoon all by herself at lunch. She loves the swing outside (no surprise), she loves to blow kisses to her teachers (no surprise), she loves her green blanket (no surprise) and she is patient enough to wait quietly while the other kids get their pudding snack first (big, huge surprise!).

Abigail "fits in" here

We have been home almost 2 months. Abigail is adjusting to life here, just as we are adjusting to having her here. Our focus now is all on her: not on all of the extracurricular things we used to sponsor at school, not on each other, certainly not on ourselves. But this is where we are and where we want to be in our lives.

I was just thinking of Christmas a little over a year ago, which was Christmas 2009. It was the first Christmas after Lar's dad had died and his mom was spending the holiday with my family in the snowy north. I remember one evening when Lar and I made the announcement "We are going to apply to adopt a Chinese baby with special needs." There was stunned silence for a few beats, our parents realized we weren't joking, and my mother ran for the Manischewitz and

glasses.

On paper Abigail might have a special need, and of course, we don't know if her cleft repair will have an affect on how she speaks. But this wonderful, happy, creative, thoughtful, beautiful, loving, amazing little girl is anything but a "special needs" kid. Although people always tell us what a lucky little girl she is, we know we are the lucky ones, to be allowed to raise this girl, our daughter.

Thing are so blissfully ordinary now. We take walks. We go to playgrounds and parks. We snuggle under blankets and read books. We adults never stay up late anymore. But at the same time, it is everything but ordinary. We get to see the whole wide world all over again through her eyes and it is astonishing, fascinating, and wonderful.

For example, this weekend, Abigail took her

maiden voyage in her new wagon (funded mostly by Jim & Steph). Just a girl and her dog. Having a nice evening ride in a wagon. In a beautiful neighborhood. On a warm spring evening.

Today, Abigail took a ride in her wagon to the duck pond. She was supposed to be taking stale pretzels for the ducks to eat. But most of the pretzels did not make it to the duck pond.

Abigail had very little regard for the ducks. We found out anyhow that ducks do not like stale pretzels anyhow.

A beautiful weekend

We live far from our families. We sweat all summer. The people in our city are scary-bad drivers. But during the winter, it is nice that we have 70 degree weekends while our families are facing 2-foot snows and ice storms. This weekend was really a turning point in our relationship with Abigail. Almost suddenly, she became less needy. She needed to be held less, she let go of us and ran and played hard and was a toddler and not a baby. She ate voraciously and slept soundly. We completely enjoyed every moment of parenthood this weekend. We went to the 700 acre county park a mile from our house and played on the playground there, took walks in the marsh and scrub forests, went on the floating docks and fishing piers. Abigail toddled up to elderly strangers and gave them unprompted hugs, melting one grandmother's heart. We look forward to more times with Abigail like this weekend.