Reminiscing

Somehow this afternoon, as Abby and I were enjoying some serious giggle time, we got to talking about things she did when she was a baby. It had started out as a ploy on my part to get her to sit still for a bit, but soon we both became involved in the stories. She laid next to me, with her chin propped up on her hands, waiting to hear story after story about what a funny baby she had been. Here are a few of the stories that really got her laughing.

Bath-time Baby - Like many little ones Abby has had her share of sink baths. At home here we had a baby tub that we would put in our bigger tub, but at Nana and Papa's there was just the sink - the small divided sink. There are times, even now, when I'm over there washing my hands or doing dishes and I marvel at the fact that Abby used to have baths in that sink. It just goes to show how little she was. When I told her that she would take baths in the sink she laughed like I was telling her a joke. She laughed even more when I told her how we would lay her out on the counter afterwards so we could dry her off and she could get tickles from Nana. 

Nommy-Nommy-Noses - There seemed to be something about the Valente Men's noses that Abby loved as a baby. I think she was just trying to give kisses, but in her enthusiasm she would latch on to Jason's and his dad's noses. I don't recall her doing this with anyone else - just them. It was always so funny. When I told Abby about it today I think she said something like, "Ewww, Gross!" and then tried to go after my nose while laughing. The stinker!

Privacy Please! - When we set up Abby's room we made sure to put her crib against an inside wall - thinking that it would be warmer when winter came. It was indeed warmer, but it also put her right next to the light switch - and the door. In the beginning this wasn't a problem, but as she grew, and got more curious I would often times find her playing with the light when she should have been taking a nap. There was one day, however when apparently the light was just too boring, because she moved on to playing with the door handle - the door handle that had a lock on it. As you've probably guessed, she ended up locking herself in her room. As I panicked on the outside, she was still enjoying whatever she was doing on the inside. Jason ran to get the screwdriver, but the way things were situated, we couldn't get the handle off. That's when he had a great idea - the windows. He was able to go to the room next to hers, climb out onto the roof of our sunroom (since Abby's room is on the second story) and climb through her room. God was looking out for us that day because Jason had recently been out on the roof cleaning it off and therefore Abby's window wasn't locked. I listened closely and heard Abby's surprise as Dada came climbing through her window. We promptly removed the lock on her doorknob - and since winter was over, moved her crib to the other wall - just to be safe!

Papa's Watching Abby, Right? - There have been times (usually when Nana and I are getting our hair done) when Papa has pulled "Solo Abby Duty". They have a wonderful time, and Abby loves to hang with Papa, but there have been a couple of times when Abby has pulled one on the poor guy when he was least expecting it. The first time was when she zipped into the bathroom and, once again, found the lock on the door. The poor guy was sweating bullets as Abby laughed uproariously on the other side. He could only imagine what she was getting into, and I can only imagine how he was hoping that this wasn't the moment that we chose to get home. I'm sure it felt much longer than it actually was, but soon enough Abby was able to turn the knob and come out. The other time that Abby got Papa into trouble was much funnier. I have to give him props. He was playing right along with her when they were upstairs and she told him that it was bedtime. She lovingly tucked him in, kissed his forehead, and said, "Good night, Papa." Now, when we play this game we usually start some obnoxious snoring and she tells us to wake up, but this time the kid had other plans. See, Papa ended up dozing off (an afternoon with Abby is exhausting - I totally get it), because suddenly a loud crash brought him wide awake. He looked over to see that Abby had gotten into Nana's jewelry box, and had inadvertently knocked it to the floor. She knew she was in for it, because she immediately turned on the charm, looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and said, "Sorry, Papa."

Sock It To Him - Before long Jason heard us laughing and he wanted to know what was going on. We reminded him of some of the stories and he laughed too. He also told Abby one that we are sure she never would remember. Each night, when I was pregnant with Abby, Jason would make sure that he talked to the baby. He wanted to be certain she knew his voice, as well as mine. One night we were laying down and he was talking away, with his head on my tummy. He then decided to get a reaction out of her, and so he gently pressed his finger to the baby. We waited a moment and that's when it happened - she socked him. We got a reaction all right. Abby either kicked him or sent him a nice big wallop to the side of the face, because he (and I) certainly felt it. It goes to show that she had her "frisky" personality right from the beginning. Abby thought this one was particularly funny.

Abby wanted to hear more and more stories of when she was a baby, and we had a great time reminiscing. It was fun to think back on all the mischief she got into - when she could barely get around. What a funny bunny!