Quirkiness Part I

As Abigail grows we are fairly certain she is her own human being with her own wants, needs and desires. Until this point, it has been easy to tell her when she is hungry, what she should eat, when she should bathe, play, watch TV, play outside and etc. Lately, she has been reminding us that she doesn't necessary want to do the things we think she should be doing. Part of this includes little quirky habits that we adore.

Thank You
Abby uses what I call a "preemptive" thank you (pronounced "Tank Too")This is usually put in the place of "please". For example, she will hand me her sippy cup if she wants more milk and say "thank you!" Sometimes I find myself doing what she wants simply because it must already be understood that I am doing it!

Jumping
Abby learned how to "jump" from Elmo (shocking I know that she would have learned something from the at least 10 hours of Elmo a week). Abby's jumping consists of her lifting one foot and stomping it down hard and repeatedly. Not only is this absolutely adorable and hysterical, but she has actually gotten me to question myself on this subject.

Adam or I will jump and say "you do it!". She will then do the "Abby jump". We show her how to really jump, and again she does the "Abby jump". She then looks at both Adam and I with such disgust like she is embarrassed by our jumping abilities. Then I start to wonder, "maybe she is right?"

Diet
Since Abby was old enough to sit up to eat, she has employed her own diet scheme to keep her trim and healthy. She does not yet have the vocabulary to tell me the name of her innovation, but I am sure it will be something like "Groovin' Eats" or "Shaky Snacking".

When Abby tastes something she likes, she begins to schimmy. She rocks side to side quickly all the while chewing her food and exclaiming "ynummy!". I think it's the reason she has such great abs!

Monk
Abby has a few Monk-like tendencies. If you have never seen the show, shame on you! You are missing classic TV. If you have, then you will appreciate the following:

1. Head Tick - First, Abby has the head-shoulder tick down pat. I can picture her in my mind walking away from me, lifting her right shoulder up, bringing her head down to the shoulder and then shaking it off.

2. Baby Wipes - She is obsessed with baby wipes. Anytime Monk shakes any one's hand or touches something dirty, he puts out his hand like it is diseased, and repeats "wipe, wipe, wipe wipe" until one is put in his hand so that he can clear himself of germs. Abby does the same thing only she says "ehhh!!!" while reaching for the baby wipes. Sometimes if she falls outside and has to get up, she will use her hands on the ground for balance and then she refuses to move until I clean them off.

3. Cleanliness - Have you seen the episodes where Monk cannot move on with a conversation because of something stupid ....ie...someone's collar is up, all the kids but one in a row have their hands raised and etc. Well, Abby does the same thing. For example, while she is eating if she drops something on the floor, it must be picked up immediately. If I ignore the fallen debris, she points at it while screaming "ehhhh!!!" and refuses to eat any further.

4. Hates Trash/Loves Trash Cans - Did you see the Monk episode where the trash men went on strike and Monk went crazy? Well, Abby constantly is picking up things off the floor that normal 2 year olds would swallow and stick up their nose. Only, instead of swallowing and choking on them, she hands them to me using the aforementioned "preemptive thank you". Also, she once walked up and down the aisles of a DSW Shoe Warehouse collecting all the trash people had left on the floor from the shoe boxes and threw it all out at the ends of the aisles in the trash cans. (at 14 months old).

And with that - we will end this post. I'll do Quirkiness Part II soon :-).

They're Baa-aack!

Wow. It has been forever since I have written. So much has changed...in Abigail, in our lives, in me. But the reason I decided to start writing again is Abigail.

When Abby does something absolutely adorable or bewildering, I tell family and friends. I replay it in my mind and laugh out loud for no reason. I tell myself about how I will relay the story to her when she grows older. But I have realized as time goes on, that those stories are getting lost. Not because they are useless to remember, but because she constantly gives me a new story to tell. It's because of this that I have to start writing again. I want to remember all the idiosyncrasies. I want to remember the joy in the "firsts". I want Abby to look back and see our joy in her "firsts" and know how much fun she had with life (as I am sure she still will be having).

And while we are being honest for the beautiful, perfect, sweet, wonderful future Abigail, I should tell her something. Sometimes I think back about everything I/We have given up to have you. I think about the career I could have had. I think about where I would have been today. How much more money we would have had. How much cleaner the house would be. How many more vacations we would have gone on, movies we would have seen in the theater, romantic dinners we would have had holding hands across the table. How many more times I would have gone out with friends, instead of staying home while you were sick. How we could stay out later than 7:30 at night (your bedtime) or have a whole day planned without worrying about missing your naps. I think about all those things. And then I realize something amazing.

The career I would have had would have meant 60 hour work-weeks with lots of money but no time to spend it. Without you, we would have been in this very same house, but with two empty bedrooms surrounding our own. Without you, I wouldn't stub my toe on your table and chair set, or step on your blocks, or have to clean up your toys every night. I wouldn't have sticky hand prints on my kitchen table, stains on my carpet or pieces of your food absolutely everywhere. I wouldn't have mopped the bathroom floor because you peed on it before I could get you in the tub. I would have seen more sights and places, wasting time before "starting our family". I would have paid more to see horrible movies in the theater rather in my comfy Pj's at home. Without you, I would have spent dinners out having the same conversations while being fairly confident all food and drinks would remain on our plates or in our glasses rather than spending dinners out watching you taste something for the first time, rubbing your tummy and saying "ynummy". Without you, I would have spent nights with friends reminiscing, instead of being there for someone who needed me so desperately. Without you, I wouldn't have learned the power of multi-tasking and taking breaks which coincided with your naps. Without you, life would have been about me, and us (Daddy and I). And how silly that life would have been. It all seems useless now.

So, Abigail, in case you ever wondered if you turned our lives upside-down, I can say unequivocally, yes. You turned our worlds from absolutely useless, to meaningful, powerful and important. You have changed our priorities, taught us to love, taught us to be patient, taught us to be silly.

Thank you. Thank you for taking the thermometer - every single night before bed - and taking the temperature of your toes. Thank you for constantly trying to wear Daddy's shoes everywhere around the house while laughing -every time you do it. Thank you for making me watch ELMO more times than I could stand because I get to watch you love every minute of it. Thank you for being in our lives and for turning them around. Even when we didn't realize they needed to be turned around.


You are the most important thing in our lives and without you, we didn't have life. I can't wait to write about you again. Here's to keeping up with the journal this time.