Abi the great communicator, part 2

Abi is really getting good at communicating:

• Every morning, Daddy comes to change her diaper as soon as she wakes up.  Nowadays, Abi points to Daddy as soon as he walks in, indicating that she wants him to come closer.  She then lifts her arms as he approaches the crib to tell him that he should pick her up.  Finally, when he picks her up, she points to the changing pad so that Daddy knows where to take her.  She just wants to make sure that he gets it right.
• Abi stands by the see-through storm door as Daddy gets into the car in the morning.  She waves to him as he drives off.  When he returns, she gives him a “where have you been?” look.
• Abi now points to her crib when she gets very sleep . . . she knows where she wants to go.

Proto-Abi

Phew

I think I finally got through my pile of photos-to-be-posted.

Abi goes swimming

She didn’t like being on her back until Daddy put a ducky on her tummy.  She finally got a “good” from the instructor – – poor baby.

Abi plays with dirt

She’s getting good at standing

Abi enjoys the slide

We have something like at least 6 playgrounds within a ten minute walk of our house, and we are looking forward to exploring each of them this summer.

Abi eats again

She will only hand-feed herself special cookies.  We tried giving her turkey cold-cuts.  She’ll bite into it, let it fall on her chest, and then tries to reach it with her mouth and no hands.

Abi’s year physical

Abi had another physical.  She is average length and weighs 18.5 pounds (she was born 7 pounds 3 ounces).  She grew 2 inches over the last three months.  All is going well.

Abi masters the sippy cup

Daddy also reports that Abi is getting passive aggressive with it.  Mommy went to take a shower, and Abi cried “ma ma ma” outside the bathroom door.  Eventually, she gave up, took a chug of formula from her sippy cup and then spit it out onto her shirt.  She then again spit out another mouthful, and then tried to rub her shirt over the sofa.  That’ll teach Mommy not to shower!

Abi was so happy

that Grandma & Grandpa came to visit for her birthday party.  Here are a few pictures.

Abi is mean

She gestures for Daddy to come to her and give her a hug, and then pulls his hair when he approaches.  She also likes hitting his head with her sippy cup.

Abi goes on the slide

Abi did not enjoy anything at the park except the slide.  She certainly has some stranger anxiety and novel-situation anxiety, but it could be worse.  We’ll return to the same park again soon, and she’ll probably be more comfortable there.  Fortunately, there are at least 5 playgrounds within a short walking distance from our house, and probably at least twice as many within a mile radius.  Pictures coming soon.

Abi likes black beans

But only if they are hand-fed to her.

Saying “goodbye”

Daddy had to take a business trip this week.  Here, he waits for his company’s car to pick him up and take him to the airport.  Daddy was sad to go.

Abi wanted to make sure that Daddy looked great in his meetings.  She ultimately gave his teeth the “A-ok”.

Last minute dental work

Abi admires her outfit

"Who's that cute baby in the mirror?"

Music

Early morning xylophone

Feeding time

"Feed me! Hurry!"

"Finally! I can't believe how long it takes to get some service here."

Abi’s phone

Is anyone there?

Abi will conquer finger food!

Abi refuses to feed herself (though she will put food in Mommy’s & Daddy’s mouths, and also hand them food that she wants put in her own mouth).  Abi made some progress this week in feeding herself.  She managed to get a piece of food into her mouth, but did not close her mouth or try to chew the food.  A few days later, at the gym, she put a toy in her mouth.  (Unlike most babies, she reliably  only puts Tivo remote controls in her mouth, and for this reason has not figured out how to feed herself.)

Almost feeding herself