Abigail and Her Invisible Bedtime Band

Tonight we got a very special treat. After Abby had her bath, both Jason and I were hanging out with her in her room, getting her ready for bed. As I assisted with the dressing, Jason rolled through his play list. When he landed on "1234" by Feist, Abby busted out the air guitar, so I joined in, and noticed that she was playing her guitar like a lefty. When I mentioned that she told me it was the bass guitar - apparently she learned from Paul McCartney.

From there we hit one of her favorites, "Feels So Good". As soon as she heard the opening strains of the song, she "took off" her guitar and turned to the imagined instrument closet behind her - switching it out for a trombone. As I played some sweet trumpet and Abby slid away on her trombone, Dada joined the band by playing some classical guitar.

The three of us spent quite some time playing all sorts of instruments to everything from a super Lawrence Welk polka to "Be True to Your School" by the Beach Boys. At one point Abby even exchanged the accordion she'd been playing for a director's baton (or as she said, "a stick"), and as I played the pretend keyboards, Dada played a lovely trumpet - both of us following our esteemed director. Finally, she put all the "instruments" away and began putting on a pretend outfit - complete with what I can only assume were some pretty sweet dancing shoes, and she broke out some of her best moves.

At this point Jason and I realized that, although we were having fun, things were becoming counterproductive to our efforts to calm her before bedtime. It was time to hang up all the instruments and the dancing shoes and get ready for bed.

I love the fact that she has such a vivid imagination that before she will play the pretend drums she needs to put down her pretend microphone. The best thing though is that no matter where she is, she can always have fun, because she carries the most interesting toys with her at all times - her fancy and her creativity.

Today I played bus driver for Abby and her
pals, "Mary" and "Ladybug Girl". I was instructed
to drive them to school, while at the same time
keeping up a running dialogue of the sights along the way.