Catchin' Up

It's only been almost two months since I last blogged.... and only 3, 4, something months since I updated about Abi Kate. I have this little five year journal for her that has space to write one line a day about their progress--one thing a day for five years. During her first year, I did so great. And then, I stopped doing so great.....and I feel sure that in five years I will want to punch myself in the face for doing the worst job ever in recording these moments... So here's what we've been doing in this long absence...

We've been Zoo-ing with friends...

Finding & playing with the most inappropriate things 

(at this point there was an entire trail of a variety of feminine products from our living room to our back bathroom... Have no fear, if you spontaneously start anywhere in our house, we've got you covered.)

Juicin' with Daddy-- 

Every night when he walks in she immediately runs to the cabinet where we keep the juicer and says, "Want juice!" I've never seen a kid crave juiced collard greens like her... keep it up sister, you're 18 steps ahead of your Momma. 

Pumpkin Patchin'-

Here she said, "Cow want treat?? Cow shew shew! Cow stink!"

 "I wash pig" 

 Digging for potatoes

Can I please reiterate how much HARDER it is to take a picture of a running toddler? Seriously, we got almost zero quality pics of her smiling. So brutal. 

 Save me!

 Yes, she took a bite out of her pumpkin. I believe, "I no like" followed that bite.

Just plain growin' up--

A week or two ago she stopped calling Tommy "Dada" and started calling him "Daddy" (actually "Da-ee") She's called us Momma and Dada for so long that it just didn't occur to me that she'd eventually stop that... Sad face. 

And basically one word to sum up the last few months of toddlerhood-- Whew. Her first year was definitely light years easier than this year has been, but she also does so many things that are intentional and fun now that it all balances. She keeps us busy and makes us laugh. She started saying her first sentences at the end of 17 months/beginning of 18 months, and for a while they all revolved around one subject-- the dogs. She LOVES the dogs. (Thank the Lord because they have earned themselves a place on my "black list" at the moment.) She still prefers to speak in mostly short phrases instead of complete sentences. And we definitely need to work on girlfriend's grammar and use of possessives ;) ex. "This is Nora tail." or  "Layla is dink water."  But it's still sweet to hear her have complete thoughts. 

She started expressing interest in letters about a month ago, so I sat down with a few of my tactile foam letters just to play and give her some experience (thank you, Kindergarten materials). I was all excited with child development ideas in place and feeling like I was about to play the teacher role again....She already knew half of the letters in the alphabet. It felt kinda like a slap in the face- like, "Momma, please. Your observation skills are as good as your documenting skills. Next." And even worse, I'm pretty sure I have "Super Why" to credit for this knowledge. Sheesh...  

And just to leave you with a nice, embarrassing story (because the last one wasn't enough, obviously)... Abi Kate has had this affinity for finding the most inappropriate things to play with (as shown earlier) since she was about 14 months old. She also finds things that we didn't even know existed inside our house. I have found all manner of things on our living room floor, right out in the open for company to view, things that you'd prefer them NOT to encounter when they walk in-- you know, like a stack of condoms or a pregnancy test. This past Sunday, we were running late, as usual. I ran on into Kid's Worship to help lead and Tommy took Abi Kate to the nursery. Right before dropping her off, he happened to look in her diaper bag and noticed a bottle of something-- namely a bottle of 4 year old KY, and NOT the kind that would make you think "Oh that's just for boo boos or thermometers". Abi Kate LOVES carrying bags around the house and tossing things into them...And of all the bags and all the objects, these were her choices?!  Dear Lord, I'm SO glad he saw it before the nursery workers did. Can you imagine?!? So basically, he walked around with a bottle of lubricant in his pocket all during worship. And during Sunday School, I opened up my  purse and found a condom. Nice, Abi. Obviously, no one should examine the contents of our bags or they'd think Tommy and I can't stay off each other-- even at church. Clearly, we need to double up on the baby-proofing in this house... and we need to throw stuff away (like the 4 year old bottle of lube). I hope you're laughing and you're welcome. 

She's growing up and we're just trying to keep up... that's what we've been doing. :)