October 2009

The Going-Ons of Abigail Connor
In case you were wondering about my day-to-day activities and habits, here is an update.

I still love to color. I color with crayons now and in general, can be trusted not to color on furniture or walls. Mommy made me a binder with scrap paper and a special holder for crayons, and I love to sit on my picnic table and color. I also have some of my stickers (return address labels that Mommy gets in the mail) in the binder and stick them on papers sometimes too. I am also rather trustworthy with stickers, as I like to stick them on paper (versus furniture or walls).

I point out activities and cause and effect relationships. I keep track of Bella’s activities and tell MommyDaddy about them. “Bella sleepin’” or “Bella runnin.” I am learning about how things work, like what happens when I throw a decorative gourd (instead of a ball) and it breaks. Then after Mommy tells me that it’s broken, I say “Mommy fix it” over and over again until Mommy fixes it. Luckily, Mommy is good at fixing things.

I am very particular about my routines. I get a bath every other night. I could not tell you for sure the frequency of the bath, but if you asked Mommy, that is what she would tell you. I am okay that I don’t get a bath every night, I do not put up a fuss when we go into the bathroom and head to the sink, not to the tub. I want lots and lots of bubbles in my bath. I like to pour the bubbles into the bath, which is something that the people at Johnson & Johnson probably like, because I am not as specific where I pour the bubbles. Sometimes they go into the tub, sometimes not. We still use a plastic tub inside the big tub (of course, another thing that Kim and Jenna gave us), one to save water and two, because I fit just right. I have 3 plastic balls with a hoop that sticks to the side of the wall. I also have a blue plastic cup, with two plastic ducks, one big and one small. In this cup is also a slowing disintegrating piece of soap that I love to drop in the water and ask Mommy to find. I pull the balls down from the bathtub ledge and throw them in the water to see them splash. I lay my head back these days because this allows me to keep as much of my body under water as possible. I don’t like water in my eyes, so I put a washcloth over my face while Mommy uses the sprayer to wet and rinse my hair.

Every night, whether I get a bath or not, I floss and brush my teeth. Daddy brought home some really great Disney flossers which have different shapes can colors and come in individually wrapped packages that I like to open. Mommy and I count as she flosses between each of my teeth. We count to 8 on the bottom and 7 on the top. Soon, though, we will count 9 on the bottom because I am getting another molar as we speak (or write, but you know what I mean). I am learning how to spit, although I would say that I have not mastered the skill just yet. I actually am good at spitting, especially food that I do not like, but it is a different thing to get toothpaste (that I like) in my mouth with a brush, then be asked to spit it out without swallowing it. Mommy has a toothbrush in my bathroom so she brushes when I do and shows me how to spit. If she forgets that she is supposed to brush, I yank the brush out of the cup (it is dual-purpose because we keep the brushes in there and I like to drink out of it too) and say “Mommy brush too.”

My bedtime routine has changed a little bit in the last couple of months. I used to sit on the rocking chair or stool (it changed every night) and Mommy or Daddy would read me a book. Now, I love to play with the plastic beach ball Terra, Julie and Deena got for me at the volleyball tournament. I still must have my sound machine (that JJ gave me), my nightlight and my “fan” (the humidifier since I have this cough and it’s winter and not humid outside).

We all have to sit on the floor, and sometimes I sit on the beach ball (because I have watched MommyDaddy exercise using their exercise ball, this seems normal to me). Sometimes we throw the ball too. We count because if we didn’t, I would play all night long. And if you know anything about being two years old, you know that we do not like having activities change abruptly, so we need some pre-warning (like counting).

After the activities in my room, I now like to climb into my bed (crib) by myself. I still need a bit of help but I can’t just be lifted into bed, I am too big of a girl for that. After that, since it’s getting cold, I get all of my covers pulled up (the blanket that Aunt Sarah made me on the bottom, then the sheet that Nana made me in the middle, then the blanket that was Mommy’s on the top). Because Mommy was worried that I would get cold in the night (she worries about this because many times she comes in to check on me and I am cuddled in a ball with no sheets or blankets on top of me), she has showed me how to pull up the blankets by myself. I practice this now every night.

Next I need to dip my paci into my water cup (with ice, please), then I try to sneak a drink of the water without the lid on. I don’t want the lid on cups, because I don’t have them at school. Mommy is much more liberal in taking the lids off than Daddy, but she also cleans up more messes.

Anyway, after that we say my prayer. It’s the same one every night. “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Watch me through the starry night and wake me when the sun shines bright.” Then we say “God bless…. And list the many people that I love in my life.” After that, I ask for more water, sometimes get another kiss from Mommy, ask where Daddy went (he usually leaves the room first), then just as Mommy gets to the door, ask for more water. She usually comes back a few times, then says, this is the last time, and she closes the door.

I mimic what people say, and pretty well if I don’t say so myself. Be careful what you say around me, I will probably say it too. If you whisper something, I will whisper it too. I understand nuance of intonation and expressions. If you want to tell a secret, I will welcome it.