I've also been taking a bunch of pictures, all with future blog posts in mind. So, tonight, I had to decide just which ones I wanted to use and what exactly I want to say about them.
I feel like the theme of the day, though, has been my amazement at the huge developmental changes I've seen in both of my kids over the course of the last couple of days- Abby, especially. And I think that all of my photos actually have captured those moments in which I realized that my babies were growing and changing. So prepare for a long post, and lots of pictures.
Yesterday, Tom and I were both noticing the frequency and accuracy with which Michael has begun to grab at objects nearby. I snapped these shots in an attempt to capture him ensnaring and munching on "Space Monkey.
By the time I got down on his level, he appeared to have lost interest, but I got some cute pictures anyway.
Later that afternoon, I brought a clean load of the kids' laundry out to fold, and Abby wandered by, struck by the sudden urge to dress herself. She was very excited I as I helped her to pull up her shorts standing up, and pull a new onesie over her head (on top of one that she was already wearing). Then, she insisted on on wearing an old coat that hadn't fit her in forever, but I finally got around to washing before storing away. Here are a couple of shots of my little fashionista. Definitely a unique style.
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| "It's all about zee layers, Dahlink!" |
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| She appears to be strutting her stuff, but in reality she could barely move her arms in that jacket... |
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| ...and here she is trying to put a sock on all by herself. |
I think today had me feeling the most amazed that I've been in awhile, though. I brought out a little toy basket with cut-outs for different shapes, and colorful blocks that fit into the shapes. She's had it for awhile, but was too young to really play with it the way it was intended to be used. And she hasn't seen it for weeks, because it got set aside in the move. But I've seen her trying to fit various sized objects into different-sized openings around the playroom, and I thought she might be ready to be shown how it worked.
I carefully explained how each shape looks like its opening, and showed her how each was supposed to fit. I'm fairly certain that she either figured it out right away or knew the concept already, as she could point to and name both the circle block and the circle opening, yet she insisted on trying to fit the wrong shapes into the wrong holes. It occurred to me that my little genius was probably just taking some time to try and figure out exactly why the other shapes didn't fit, and how that problem might be remedied.
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| Trying to cram a square peg in a round hole. |
Or maybe I'm suffering from "Over-proud Parent Syndrome." I still say she's a little genius, though.
Tonight at bedtime, she was acting like such a little kid (as opposed to the little baby that she's been most of her life to-date). We got to the end of her Elmo bedtime book, which contains four stories, and even though I'd read through most of each one (she tends to flip pages forward when she gets bored), she insisted on trying to flip pages back from the end when I'd finished the last line, trying to extend her story time. I was simultaneously impressed at her scheming, and completely moved by her desire to have more time with me, but I had to explain to her that we couldn't read stories all night long. We came to a compromise. I told her that I was done with the Elmo stories, but we could read "Bedtime for Biscuit," which is very short, and then we would go to bed. She tearfully accepted my offer, and I was ready for more resistance when that story was finished, but she was very sweet and compliant, and off to the crib we went.
I was so filled with love for her as I took one last look and said goodnight. My sweet little monkey.
