Wordless Wednesday: Super Girl Flying

Bleeding Heart, for Grover

In the past 2 weeks, Abigail has discovered Elmo. Er, "Melmo." She now thinks the purpose of the TV is to play Elmo's World videos and the purpose of the computer is to play YouTube clips of Elmo and his guests singing songs. She has noticed for the first time since January that she has an Elmo doll in her toy box, an Elmo in her bathtub, an Elmo book, an Elmo cell-phone and Elmo on all of her diapers. She swings in her red swing with Elmo. She holds him while watching his videos and dancing along. She says "Bye bye Melmo" when she has to leave him to do something. Her favorite new game she made up is to hide him, pretend she doesn't know where he is, walk around calling his name, and then "discover" him, shrieking and yelling "there he is!" while going crazy with delight.

Then she discovered his companion, Grover. He has quickly joined in the fun. She loves them both.

Tonight, after we read 4 books and I laid her in her crib with kisses and "night night" 's and her blanket and her Elmo, I crept out of her room. It was her first night to sleep that she was put to sleep with anything in her crib besides her blanket. A few minutes later, I heard her crying. That is very unusual because she either falls asleep, or entertains herself with giggling and singing until she falls asleep. So I went back into her room and scooped her up into my arms and she was crying and saying something. I rocked her and tried to figure it out. I realized she was saying "Bye bye Grover Grover" over and over while crying and whimpering. I quickly grabbed her Grover doll off of a nearby chair and handed him to her and she squealed with delight at having her friend back, at being understood. I laid her back in her crib where she nestled her two best friends to her chest and fell asleep.

Larry and I are SO in love with this child. How perfectly precious and amazing and clever is she?

Wordless Wednesday- New Family Picture

Happy Baba's Day

Happy Baba's Day. Today we celebrate what makes fathers be dads.

I grew up with pretty much the best dad ever. As an adult, I am even closer to my dad and love him to pieces and hope that Abigail and Larry have the same kind of close relationship someday.

For now, Larry is the best Baba that Abigail could ask for.

He is almost always the person to hear her calls in the morning and get her out of her crib.

He starts her day with a dry diaper, a hot cup of milk, and some cuddling/reading/playtime.

He makes her a hot breakfast every morning.

He took 3 months off of work to take care of her.

He allows her to use his ipod to watch her favorite farm animals video.

He teaches her to sing and encourages her to explore playing the piano (with her hands, feet, butt...)

He pushes her in her swing when it is 95 degrees outside just because she said "please"

He pushes her in the jogging stroller so that she can enjoy being outside when he runs.

When we are eating a meal, he will give her his food if she already ate all of hers and wants more.

He makes her laugh a hundred times per day.

He isn't afraid to get on the floor and play with her.
Before he goes to bed at night, he sneaks into her room to watch her sleep.

She has him wrapped around her little fingers and he adores her completely!

Larry is an amazing father and I can't imagine not having him on my team for this run as parents!

First Pigtails!!!

Second Week of Summer Break

Abigail loved the Gulf Breeze Zoo. It has a petting area and also a small area of regular zoo animals such as tigers and various monkeys and safari animals. It is pitiful compared to the natural habitat of the Pittsburgh Zoo, but Abigail loved it so much that we took her there 2 days in a row! The first day she wanted to be carried the whole time (I didn't mind obliging her!) but the second day she was old hat at this adventure and bravely led the way!

Lar and I were both really surprised at how much she really seemed to get out of the experience. She talked more than usual, tried to say the names of all the animals, and made their sounds (I hope to have a very adorable tiger roar video posted by the end of the week). When the monkeys were swinging back and forth on their ropes, she kept telling them "more please" and as we left each animal to go to the next one, she would say "bye bye monkeys" or "bye bye emus", blow them kisses and eagerly look to see what was next. Her favorite animals were the water buffalo (she kept mooing at it), the monkeys, and the goats.

This little kid just soaks up information and is always eager to learn more. She is so amazing. I wish that older kids and grown ups could all be as eager to learn as she is: our country would be a very different place if that was possible!

Wordless Wednesday - First week of Summer Break!!

Abigail LOVES the "grocery store" at the Children's Museum.

After a morning of wave jumping with Baba, it was snack time on the beach.