September Update

With October fast approaching I thought I'd give an update on what we've been up to in September.

Abbey:

• At the beginning of the month Abbey started at a new daycare. Monica keeps the kids busy with fun projects. They've frosted cookies, made their own pizzas and did an out line of their bodies--which they got to paint and color. We love it!
• While Abbey was already talking a lot, in September we saw her verbal abilities improve even more. I've enjoyed talking to her and hearing her talk to her 'babies'. Two of my favorite things she said this month are: "Daddy divin' me cazy!" and "Thanks for sharing with me."
• Not only is Abbey talking more, but it seems like her memory is improving. Now in the mornings I can ask her "What did you do yesterday?" and she will answer: "Kids. Eat. Sleep. Daddy hold you [meaning Eric picks her up from daycare]." Also, while eating breakfast she will tell me "Mommy walk on treadmill. Kids later."
• In September Abbey realized she loves Elmo. And more specifically she loves to watch Elmo on the TV. Last week she woke up from her nap and instead of calling for me to come and get her out of the crib like she normally does I heard her cry out "Elmo!"

Eric:

• After replacing our dishwasher in August, Eric decided to replace our furnace in September. Once he has that finished, he plans to move to the hot water heater. (He needs to get the furnace finished soon--it's getting cold here!)
• At the end of the month Eric will be moved into his new office at work and his commute will be about 7 minutes. I'm jealous!
• Near the middle of the month Eric moved our treadmill out of the 'work out room' and into our downstairs family room so that he could walk on the treadmill and play his XBOX at the same time. Hey, whatever works.

Me:

• In September I started The Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program. It's been a great motivator to me. As of Monday, I'm back to counting calories. (Yuck! But it has to be done.)
• I finished reading The Echo Maker by Richard Powers. In some parts it was fascinating and fun to read, in others it was slow and overwhelmingly boring.
• I found out Abbey likes pancakes, but more importantly, she likes to 'help' me make them. We started enjoying this fun morning mommy/daughter bonding time. (This unfortunately is the extent of my cooking. Yes. I'm a bad mom.)
• Also, Eric started calling me at work at bed time and letting me sing to Abbey before she went to bed. This has made me incredibly happy as I missed our bedtime routine of the three of us reading books together before bed. (I just have to remember to close my office door, otherwise people walk in to hear me singing E-I-E-I-O.)
• Work kept me busy, but I continue to enjoy what I do--even the hard days (like yesterday when I had my first face-to-face involuntary termination [PC for 'firing']).

Time seems to go by so quickly these days! I look forward to October. We have a quick trip to Utah planned, Eric's 31st birthday and trick-or-treating for Abbey.

Be Careful What You Say...

[This was just too funny to put on the sidebar!]

Tonight Eric and I were trying to watch Monk but Abbey was being loud and hyper and was crawling all over me. At one point I stopped the show and told Eric "She's driving me crazy."

Later, while I was trying to read a book to Abbey before she went to bed she started to yell about something Eric was doing. I asked her "What's Daddy doing?" Her response: "Daddy divin' me cazy!"

Needless to say, Eric and I had a really good laugh about that one!

Abbey's First Week

I'm happy to say that some of my fears about moving Abbey to a new daycare have been unfounded. The transition has been almost painless (but not completely of course). Here are just a few things that mean it was the right move and is going to work:

1. Abbey actually takes a nap there. At her other daycare, Abbey rarely actually fell asleep for nap time and often the ladies had to get her out of the crib to keep her from keeping the other kids awake. At Monica's Abbey takes an hour nap. This makes Eric's evenings with Abbey much better!
2. In the mornings Abbey tells me about the previous day (well, as best as a two-year-old can). When asked she tell me "Play with kids." "Eat." and "Sleep." Sounds about right.
3. Yesterday--my day off--Abbey asked repeatedly to see the kids. In the past she's told me "No kids t'day" but not yesterday. In fact she demanded "Kids!" and cried when I told her she could see them on Monday.

Abbey's Haircut

Tonight we had such beautiful weather that after going grocery shopping we took Abbey out to the deck for a treat (low fat ice cream sandwich). Here she shows off her new haircut. While it's not exactly even, the hairdresser did a good job despite Abbey moving around and yanking her hair out of the woman's hand. Earlier today Abbey and I called my mom and dad. So tonight when I was taking pictures I got her to give me a big smile when I told her "Smile for Grandma and Grandpa [Zimmerman]." She was very happy for them to 'see' her (and loved talking to them on the phone).

Abbey's Last Day

Today was Abbey's last day at Tiny Bubbles, the daycare she's gone to since I went back to work in March '07. While it made me a little sad Abbey is completely unaware of the switch (oh, but she won't be on Tuesday!).

Sienna, Rocky, Abbey

Aidan (or Taitan--I get the two mixed up), Raymond (in front), Rocky (in the back), Sienna, and of course my little thumb sucker

Abbey with Ruby, the daycare provider

I'm sure Abbey will miss not only the kids but also Ruby and Michelle (who refused to have her picture taken). (As a thank you we gave them a $25 gift card and then also brought cookies for the kids. They were so thoughtful and bought Abbey a new baby doll.)

Growth Spurt

It seems like lately Abbey's gone through a growth spurt. Her normal picky, eat-very-little appetite is gone. Because I see her every day it's hard to know if she's getting taller, but she is getting heavier. (Ignore the long bangs in her eyes. She's getting a haircut on Friday!) Not only does she seem to be eating like crazy, she also is talking up a storm! She's moved from two word sentences to four or five word sentences (like she just told me: "I'm wiping Mommy's arm. Got sticky on it." [because she just put a sticker on it]) I'm always surprised by how much of what we tell her she actually understands.

Not Quite as Nervous Anymore

So today was a big day for me with regards to Abbey's daycare situation. I called Monica and we spoke for probably 30 minutes. We covered all kinds of things:

• How much she'll charge me each month ($25 less a month then I'm paying now)


• When she's officially opening (the day after Labor Day)


• Potty training (her daughter that is Abbey's age isn't potty trained yet either)


• How many weeks of vacation she'll take each year (This will be new for us because our current daycare always has someone there to cover even if one of them goes on vacation. Now Eric and I will have to plan our vacations around Monica's vacation--which is common when you put a child in an in-home daycare--or find back up daycare for this time.)


• We also set up a time for me to take Abbey over to meet her and her girls.

I also told Abbey's current daycare we were moving her to a new daycare. (I actually got a little emotional about it! It seemed kind of silly but I did--they have been a part of our lives since March '07.) They were more then understanding considering the cost of gas and this made things easier.

I know everything will work out. Who could not love this beautiful little girl?!