Abigael-ism

So we sat down to our nightly ritual of "what is Abigael not going to eat tonight?" It was a lazy evening and we splurged on take-out from Red Mill Burgers. For a change of pace, I was able to mostly enjoy my meal while Abigael picked the sesame seeds off of her burger. Occasionally I pleaded with her to take a bite of burger or french fry (jeesh, what kid won't eat fries?!) Finally, her attention span disappeared with my patience. I took her plate away and we talked while I finished eating. As a last resort (I know, she'll eat when she's hungry, but it still bugs me), I asked if she would like something different to eat.

Abigael: "Yes. Sand-mich."

Me: Eyeroll. Hello...a hamburger IS a sandwich. "OK, honey. What kind of sandwich would you like?"

Abigael: "Hmmmm.....a birthday sand-mich."

Me: "Honey, it's not your birthday. Are you sure you don't want your hamburger sandwich?"

Abigael: Determined furrow in her brow. "Birthday sand-mich!"

Me: "Alright, I give up. What is on a birthday sandwich?"


Abigael: Big grin. "Birthday Cake!!"

Busy, busy

Sorry I haven't posted recently. Between Brandon's surgery, a busy work schedule and a tornado named Abigael, I've just been too distracted and tired. Not to mention my laptop was kidnapped and is being held hostage by Brandon (along with the couch). If you haven't already, head over to Brandon's blog for the latest on his leg saga. Prayfully this surgery will be the last and we all can start to work back towards a normal life.

In the meantime, look at this big girl!

The Zoo

No, I don't mean our house this time...

I still think it is so cool that we live only 15 minutes from Woodland Park Zoo, one of the best urban zoos is the country. For the price of an annual pass that pays for itself in just three family visits, we get unlimited access to all the jaguars,



elephants


and monkeys we can stand.



Since it's already paid for, it's the perfect short outing for a two year old bouncing off the walls. Apparantly, waking up a 5am for several days in a row doesn't do much to diminish her energy level.
Abigael and I went Saturday morning for a couple of hours, while Brandon went for a much deserved bike ride. I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time there this summer. We left at naptime to screeches of "See monkeys! See baby jaguar! See elephants! Seeeee Zooooo!"

It's a Parade!

After five years in Seattle, we finally made it to the Fremont Parade. It's billed as a celebration of the Summer Solstice. But to everyone outside of that community, we think of it as an excuse for hippies treehuggers free-thinkers to dress up or not dress, whichever the case may be. Anyway, it's one of those things I think you need to see at least once, like Mardi Gras, Hollywood and Las Vegas, even it doesn't compare with your expectations. As it turns out, we had a great time. About 10:30am, Brandon hooked up the sidecar to his bike, we dusted off Christie's bike and the three of us headed out towards Fremont. It's a pretty short ride, only about 3.5 miles. We arrived in plenty of time to lock up and find a good place on the route to watch. Fremont is a small, artsy neighborhood of Seattle, so we didn't have to walk far to find a spot near the beginning of the parade. It started at noon and did not fail to entertain. First on the agenda were the famous nude cyclists. It's not as nearly as bad as it sounds. There were about 100 cyclists of all shapes and sizes, covered in body paint and costumes, riding en masse down the center of the street. It was a perfect showcase for the beauty of the human body and the ultimate transportation device.
What followed was an assortment of floats, bands, and dancers, all celebrating their vision of the yearly cycle of rebirth. I can't say that I agreed with, or even understood, all of the statements being enacted, but it was a blast to watch. Abigael seemed to enjoy the spectacle too. She waved, cheered and danced from the safe confines of Mommy and Daddy's laps. I think our favorites were the kids on unicycles and the belly dancers.

It was so refreshing to see a parade that reflected personality of the neighborhood and wasn't just a showcase for the town's newest firetruck and beauty queen.
Afterwards, we rode home via the Ballard Locks, which is always a treat. Abigael missed this as she passed out in the bike trailer about 10 minutes in the ride. It was a good day.

Track Daddy

Yeah! Brandon finally made a post on his blog! He seems to have covered all the high points, so I get a free pass today! Head on over and read the latest news!

Doctor Who?

Oh no! I just made a horrible mistake!...

If you haven't checked it out yet, you simply must. Friday nights, the Sci-fi channel is running the new Doctor Who series from the BBC. All I can say is "Fantastic!"
For us Gen Xer's here in the States, all we know is the cheesy, cardboard set Doctor Who of the 70's, syndicated on PBS. Now I consider myself a decent geek, but little did I know that this show is like the British Star Trek, it's been around forever. Well, welcome to the 21st century Doctor. For the newest incarnation, take the original premise, fast-forward to present-day London, update the special effects and the clothes, yet still keep that campy feel, and you've got the makings of show worthy enough to air the same night as Battlestar Galactica.
I should have shared this show long ago, as the first season is almost finished (keep an eye out for Sci-fi all-day marathons), but this is like that secret pleasure you don't want to get cheapened by popularity. However, now I find myself with only Brandon to pick apart the details and marvel in the uniqueness of the show. So, if you have the opportunity, check it out. For a first season, the storyline has evolved quite nicely, not to mention the character attachment and the sharp dialog will have you hooked.

Anyway, back my mistake...I decided to check out the official BBC website to see how far along the second season is (about halfway thru) and I saw a horrible spoiler. *gasp* NOOOOO! Howww could theyyy...!!!!?...*sob*...

Zak's post

Just a quick update on one of our four-legged family members...
Well, a few days and a few (many) bucks later, he seems to be doing much better. Turns out it was probably just plain old diarrhea, most likely from eating an old rawhide. He's not quite back to normal with his diet, and he's still taking some antibiotics (just in case), but he'll be just fine.
But...in the course of all the tests we did find out that it may not be entirely our fault that he's fat. For some reason, the doctor decided to run a test on his thyroid function. Guess what? We have a hypothyroid dog. Go figure....for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the condition I'll fill you in, as I am intimately familiar with it.
In short, the thyroid gland isn't working properly and doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone. It can start out of the blue or be triggered by stress, but usually there is a predisposition. There can be several causes for this, but the result is the same. Without enough thyroid hormone, almost every system in the body is affected. The metabolism slows down, the brain getting foggy, and depression sets in. A drastic personality change can occur and it's no fun for anyone. We've been saying for a few months that Zak seems to be getting worse and worse about listening to us, maybe this is the reason for that too.
Anyway, he'll have to start taking medication and it'll probably take a while to get the dose dialed in. Medically, he'll be just fine. Good thing he doesn't mind taking pills because he'll be talking them everyday from now on. Me and the dog...

Say that again...?

This is too good to pass up...

Email from my mom yesterday:

"Hi Babe, remember how I complained about the squirrels and rabbits running rampant over the yard. Well, now we have a chicken sitting on a nest of 12 eggs.."

WHAT?! Did she say a CHICKEN is living in their yard?! OK, I know I'm from the South, but I swear it's really not like that. For those of you who don't know where my childhood home in Hope Mills is, it's not exactly surrounded by farms and is on a pretty busy road.

I haven't gotten the whole story yet, but evidentially this chicken found a really good reason to cross the road!

Pouring rain

Why does it cost more to take your dog to the doctor than yourself? I'm not going to say how much, but it's enough to give you some sticker shock. Poor Zak has had an upset stomach for the past couple of days that doesn't seem to be getting any better. (Translation: we have to take him on several more walks a day to try to keep him from messing up the floor.) Brandon broke down and took him to the vet this morning. The doc was also concerned about his bladder problem (he leaks.) So, we get to run a whole battery of tests. Hopefully he's just got an infection or bug, but with our luck probably not.

It also looks like the whole family has been impacted by Brandon's leg problems. Before the accident, Brandon was really good about making sure Zak got some good exercise several times a week. This is one area I haven't been picking up the slack. Needless to say, the scale at the vet revealed that the dog has put on some pounds over the past few months. With his bad legs, he has to be uncomfortable. Maybe making an effort to get him out for more walks will motivate me to get off my butt in the evenings.

Anyway, when it rains it pours...we also had to put new tires on the Honda this weekend after a bad front end alignment after we replaced the steering column after the car was stolen out of our driveway last fall.

Winding down the weekend

Second day with no nap. yippee.

Not for lack of trying though. She was in her crib for over on hour. I guess it could be worse, at least we didn't have any meltdowns. But, oh my gosh, talk about clingy, from morning till evening, it's been "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"
I'm flattered, but I'm ready to go back to work to rest.


Wishful thinking...

Night Out

What a great night out!
One of the traveling Cirque du Soleil shows has set up camp (or more specifically - tent) at Marymoor Park right beside the Velodrome. We'd seen the shows on TV and heard great things about it, so we splurged and decided to have a night out for the adults. A little pricey but we were able to get a discount.
So, Thursday evening Aunt Mary and Uncle Wayne graciously agreed to watch Abigael for a few hours. We dropped her off and raced over to catch the 4:00 show. Unfortunately, traffic was against us and we missed the first few minutes of the show. No matter, it was Fabulous! If you're not famliar with Cirque du Soleil, it's a circus, but not like the circus we grew up seeing. No animals, just fantastic gymnasts, acrobats, and performers. The show is in a tent that holds maybe 1,000 people, so there wasn't a bad seat in the place. We were off to the side but only about 8 rows back. The show was called Varekai and was just beautiful. In brief, it was set in an enchanted forest with bizarre creatures. The show consisted of several skits, ranging from high flying acts to intricate dances to gymnastic shows to hilarious slapstick. It was the most enjoyable two hours we've spent in a long time. If you ever have the chance, I would definitely recommend that you check out one of their shows. It was worth the money for a unique, enjoyable night out.

Bedtime

This is how we wind down for bedtime...?






Warning: the video is a little long

(Can you tell I've found a cool new toy with the videos?)

Baseball!

Go Team!
I was lucky enough to score a couple of tickets at work to last night's Mariners game. So we made it Family Night for Brandon, Abigael and I. We had great seats, row 16 lower level, just past 3rd base. It was a warm, clear night and the roof was open.


Abigael had a great time and was such a good girl. It was so fun to watch her cheer, clap and dance. During the 8th inning, they even played a little montage of music for all the kids to jump up and down to get some energy out.























All in all it was a great night. Fun, family and the Mariners won!

Perfectly Average

We took Abigael to the doctor this afternoon for her 2-year-old check up. Not that we had any doubt, but it went just fine. We absolutely love Dr. Gromko. She's so great with Abigael and always takes the time to talk to us and found out how things are going in our lives.
Anyway, Abigael is right on target with all of the milestones for her age. Actually I was just looking at a small milestone chart on BabyCenter and she seems to be exceling at some things. Well, that's just because she's the smartest kid ever.
As the title suggests, her height and weight were perfectly average. She's right at the 50th percentile for both (26 1/2 lbs and 33 1/2 inches tall.) I guess that should put our minds at rest about how little she eats. No, it's still going to bug me.
We're so proud of her and the big girl she's become. It still feels like a miracle that she's gone from this...




to this!

New Trick

Abigael has learned how to snap her fingers. Or at least her version of it...



This has got to be the cutest things I have ever seen.

A Day at the Beach

Tuesday was the first hot day of the year, so we took an outing to Golden Gardens Park here in Seattle. It has a great little beach right on the Sound.
This is one tough kid. It may be 80 degrees outside, but Puget Sound in May isn't exactly what I would call warm. She had a blast.

Happy Birthday 2 You!

Happy 2nd Birthday Abigael!
This is a little late but I wanted to briefly record this priceless milestone.
It has definitely been the whirlwind weekend as family and friends descended to help celebrate the happy occasion. Christie's parents and grandmother arrived Thursday from North Carolina. Brandon's parents, sister Gabbie and, niece and nephew, Emma and Matthew, came into town from Los Angeles on Friday.
The big birthday party was on Saturday. The orginal intention was just a small gathering of family and a few of Abigael's friends. Either our apartment is a lot smaller than I realized or she actually has a lot of friends. I'm voting for friends. We ended up with fourteen adults and seven kids packed into our living room. What a great time!



Yes, we had to have another cake on her "real birthday" so I could get this picture....



Thank you to everyone for being a part of our lives and this special day!

No Fear

The girl never ceases to amaze me with her boundless energy and "don't quit" mentality. As Friday was my day-off from work, it was family day. We spent the morning hanging around the house and cleaning a little bit. Around 10:30am, Brandon, Abigael and I loaded up the car to run a few errands and then go to Greenlake to enjoy the beautiful weather. The park has an awesome playground for the little kids, complete with plenty of slides, swings and sand. As soon as she saw it, Abigael made a beeline for the small slide apparatus. Inside of thirty seconds she had scaled the platform, climbed the steps and flung herself down the slide. This was repeated without incident at least 23 more times.


Next she invited herself to play in the sand with some other kids. "It's not a problem that I just jump right in, is it?"

Next on the agenda was the giant jungle gym. You know the kind, multiple appendages of slides and poles and stairs strung together with hyperactive ants (kids) scrambling all around. She made it up the stairs and across the swinging bridge but was turned back at the tall slide. No, she wasn't scared. Mom and Dad just decided the plastic was too hot for her skirted legs.

Final stop for the day was the merry-go-round. This is where her spunk earned my full appreciation.
There were four or five other kids already on the merry-go-round when she climbed aboard. It wasn't going super fast, but fast enough that it paid to hold on. For a couple of minutes, she copied the other kids and clung to the pole where she stood. However, it didn't take long for her adventurous streak to take over. Before we could blink, she was running back and forth across the merry-go-round. While it was still turning! If you don't remember the dynamics of this from your youth, just recall your basic physics lesson: Objects in motion tend to stay in motion until another force acts upon them. She looked like a tipsy sailor trapped inside of a pinball game as she moved across from pole to pole. The older kids around her stayed tight to their spot as they watched her totter around. Their parents looked on in awe and laughed. Her determination to make her way across to her Daddy, only to miraculously find herself back where she started, was the funniest sight I've seen in a long time.

All too soon playtime was over and we made our way back home for naptime. Thank you Abigael, for giving us a small glimpse into the confident, fun-loving woman you're destined to become. It's going to be a rough and challenging road, but I'm going to enjoy every second of it.

Nap time

2:15 Put Abigael down for a nap. Today we're trying using a bed rail instead the crib side. She has a sippy cup of chocolate milk.

2:20 Click click click. The sound of little hands trying to turn the door knob (the milk must be gone). Then silence.

2:21 Tap Tap Tap. The sound of a little hand knocking on her bedroom door. Shoot. She's still quiet, so I'm faintly hopeful that she'll go back to bed. I go to get the baby monitor.

2:22 - 2:26 Various little kid sounds eminate from the monitor. A drawer opening, jumping on the mattress, knocking on the door...all peppered with the occasional "Mama."

2:28 I quietly go into her room and tuck her back into bed. She looks sleepy and says "ok."

2:29 Click click click. Knock knock knock. "Mama!" Shoot.

2:32 I give up. I quietly go back into her room and tuck her back into bed. I remove the bedrail and put the crib side back on. She looks sleepy. "Night night."

2:32:30 The crying commences. I'm such a heel.

2:37 Still crying (i.e. yelling). Poor baby. I'm still a heel.

2:41 The crying has stopped, replaced with the sound of jumping and rustling in the bed. Whew! Hopefully, it won't be long...

2:45 I think we're still doing ok. She's talking to herself a little bit, but still fairly quiet. "Abigael's pillow." Moan, jump, moan.

2:50 I think we've done it. I haven't heard anything for a minute or so. Sleep tight, baby girl.

Oh well...we'll try again another day. Surely she won't have to sleep in a crib till she's grown, will she....?

Self-Portrait

We have a budding photographer on our hands: