Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Graduation Pictures (Finally)

I finally got around to uploading the pictures from our trip off my camera. The rest of the pictures will be on flickr.

(from left to right) Jessica, my mom, and Jennifer.


Aunt Eli, Mom with cranky Abby, and aunt Josephine.


The graduates. Jennifer and Jessica.


Abby (sitting pretty while we waited to get in to the stadium), and my aunt Eli, who was itching to get a picture with Abby.


Aunt Jose, Jennifer, and Jessica.

Transitions

Abby suddenly dropped her second nap over the weekend. Until now, she'd nap for about 1.5 hours in the morning, then a couple hours in the afternoon. She'd also sleep about 10-11 hours at night. Late last week, she flip-flopped and started sleeping longer in the mornings, which pushed back her afternoon naps. Saturday, she slept for 2.5 hours in the morning, so when the 3-ish hour mark came around (the time she used to go between naps), it was too late in the day. We did try to put her down on Sunday, but she wasn't having it anyway. Instead, we've been putting her down around 7:15-ish instead of the usual 7:45-8:00. One benefit to one-nap days is that she's been sleeping in in the mornings! She'd been waking up around 6-6:30 (and it had been getting earlier and earlier), but now she hasn't been waking up until 7:15!

I'd been dreading losing that second nap. We had such a great routine going that I hated to mess it up. The only time I can get anything done during the day is during naps. How was I going to be able to shower and still have time for everything else?! It turns out it hasn't been that bad. She had me programmed to wake up early, so I'm still waking up around 6. When I finally lay in bed any longer, I've been getting up and showering. By the time I'm done, she's up. This gives me her one nap to clean the house since I'm on "summer vacation" from school this week (and read for pleasure. Something I never seem to get to do anymore).

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

18 Months

Abby is now and even 25lbs. and is 34.25" long. She's in the 75th percentile for weight, and she's still off the charts for height. She's also off the charts for head circumference! The doctor wasn't too concerned about it, though, since she's so tall.

Last night, I jotted down all the words Abby knows to get ready for her appointment today. She's up to 19! The paperwork they gave me today said that most babies know about 10-12 words at her age. And to think I was worried about her speech a month ago. Her doctor was also impressed at how well she babbled and talked with her hands. She's very expressive. Here's her list of words:

1. Hi
2. Bye-Bye (Da Da)
3. Vacuum (tacn)
4. Window (neno)
5. Light (Li)
6. Grandma (nena)
7. Daddy/Mama (Da)
8. Feet (tee)
9. Cheese (shesh)
10. Teeth (tee)
11. Keys (zzzzzzss) it’s always followed by car
12. Car (Ca)
13. Nose (Na)
14. Elmo (Lalala)
15. Thank You (tatu)
16. Shoes (shees)
17. Dog
18. Duck
19. Uh-Oh

Notice the word that's missing from that list? MAMA!!! She still calls me Da.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

We got home Sunday afternoon, but I've been to tired/busy to post. One thing I forgot to mention when Abby was sick last week is that she cut her first molar, so that's why she was under the weather. We have her first doctor's appointment here tomorrow and I can't wait to find out how big she's gotten.

We had a great time in California with my family. Abby's in the middle of a word explosion right now, so she's constantly picking up new words. While in California, she learned to say "Grandma" although it comes out "Nena."

The graduation went off without a hitch, and my sisters are now officially high school graduates. Sniff! I can't believe they're grown up already. After, we went to dinner at Coco's (they were the only ones without a wait), and poor Abby was nodding off in her high chair. It was after 11:30pm by the time we got back home, so she crashed as soon as she was in the carseat. She was so tired that she never woke up when I got her out, changed her poopy diaper, and got her dressed in pajamas! That has never happened.

Abby also had her first playdate out there. I got together with a girl I went to high school with (who's name is also Brandi) who has a son a day older than Abby. She actually has 3 kids: a 9-year-old girl, an almost 3-year-old girl, and the 18-month-old boy. Abby walked in like she owned the place and immediately took to the younger kids. They all had so much fun together! Abby kept hugging both kids, and when it was time to leave she wrapped her arms around the boy andwouldn't let go. It was adorable! She usually only hugs Damon and me and won't go to other people.

We also spent the night in Puerto Nuevo in Baja California. We spent most of the afternoon at the pool which Abby loved. After, we did some shopping while Abby was crashed in her stroller. At dinner, she got to try pineapple juice which she loved (but she won't eat pineapples!), and she ate quite a bit of my carne asada (steak), rice (but she wouldn't touch the beans), and almost 1.5 shrimp. She had her first taste of shrimp when Jake and Rita were here, but she only ate a couple bites then. This time, she couldn't get enough of it. Oh, she also ate a slice of cucumber and a green onion (although she mostly "brushed her teeth" with the onion). She behaved beautifully the entire way there and back, about 3 hours each way.

The flight to California was as uneventful as can be with a toddler. We got to the airport 2 hours early, but by the time we finally made it to the gate we only had about 10-15 minutes before they started boarding! Every middle seat on the plane was empty too, so we had room to spread out. The only problem was during landing when I had to put her back on my lap. She wanted to keep playing in the seat next to me, so she became fussy. It was nothing like the flight home, though. She was pretty moody while she was running around the gate for a couple hours before we boarded. I constantly had to chase her away from behind the gate counter. I kept thinking that airport security was going to swoop down on us anytime and haul us away for being back there! The flight home was full and we were in the very last row. She became extremely fussy when our row filled up so she had to sit in my lap. I had such a hard time keeping her from kicking and pushing the seat in front of us. I was about to cry thinking that this was going to be the nightmare flight I've always feared. I had visions of her being like that the whole way home. Thankfully, she had played so hard at the gate that she fell asleep right before takeoff and didn't wake up until the guy next to me was getting off the plane!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

She's Fine

Abby never did get a full-blown cold, she was just really congested and didn't feel well. The worst of it only lasted a couple days, but her nose is still a little runny. I've been super busy trying to get everything ready for our trip to California. We leave tomorrow and will be back on Sunday. That's why I haven't been able to post.

P.S. Abby hasn't gotten in behind the tv once since I put her in time out.

Tuesday, June 6, 2006

Abby's Sick Again

It started with a runny nose yesterday morning, and she's gotten worse since. It's not bad enough to take her to the doctor, but we feel awful because she looks miserable at times. For the most part, she's not letting it slow her down. Occasionally, though, she looks absolutely miserable. Her poor nose is red and raw from the constant blowing. She woke up from her second nap this afternoon with maybe a headache. She woke up crying, which isn't all that unusual from a nap, but she kept squinting her eyes shut and rubbing them for a little while after she was up. Like the light was hurting her. She bawled the entire time I changed her diaper because her head hurt. After a few minutes she was better and back to running around like crazy. It hasn't slowed her down too much.

I even had to put her in time out today. I felt like the worst parent in the world putting my sick child in time out. We've only had to resort to time out a few times, but it's worked every time. She recently discovered that she can fit behind the tv and play with the cords and stuff back there. It usually just takes one or two warnings before she moves on to something else. Today, though, she kept going back there, so I got down to her level and told her she wasn't allowed back there, and if she did it again she'd be going into time out. She went right back there, so I had to follow through. It was horrible! But she never went back there again today.