21 Things About Abby (Part 2)

As promised I will continue the list I started last night. Here are things 8 through 14 about Abby.

Speaking of The Wiggles....When Abby was 2 we took her
to her first concert. I have to say, they were the best concert
seats I've ever had!

8. If you want Abby to do something - put it in song. - I don't know if it was because she heard a lot of music while in the womb, but Abby has always had an affinity with music. From very early on we noticed how she zeroed in on any type of music that was playing, and once she discovered The Wiggles it was all over. We noticed something else, if we wanted Abby to do something, she would follow our directions if we put the request in song. I can't tell you how many silly songs I made up about things like washing her hands, putting on her coat, going to bed, and any other list of mundane tasks. We passed this tip on to her teachers as well and because they were lovely people (and smart as tacks) they used this trick as well. Luckily, we are past that stage, but that's not to say that we won't do the occasional conga line to the tub when the occasion calls for it - or just because it's fun, for that matter!

9. Abby's Playlist - Speaking of music....Abby has inherited her father's eclectic taste in music. If you asked me a "type" of music that she likes, I wouldn't be able to tell you - she likes them all. Here is a list of the latest favorites - the ones she's asked for in the last month or so.

• "Have You Never Been Mellow" - by Olivia Newton John
• "Clancy Lowered the Boom" - by Bing Crosby
• "I Like to Move It, Move It" - by Prince Julian (from Madagascar)
• "Circle Dance" - by Bonnie Raitt
• "Quando, Quando, Quando" - by Michael Bublé
• "Do You Know the Way to San José" - by Dionne Warwick
• "You Should Be Dancing" - by The Bee Gees
• "It's A Hard-knock Life" - by The Cast of Annie

Yup, Abby is not picky when it comes to music - she loves it all.

10. What's in a name? - We thought long and hard about names. We are both rather traditional people and therefore we wanted names that fit who we were. If Abby had been a boy (which I was convinced she was) she would have been graced with the moniker, Philip Harrison, but since she was a girl we went with Abigail Elizabeth. It's a mouthful, but I liked how it sounded, and so did Jason. I liked it even more when we discovered what "Abigail" means. Abigail is a Hebrew name which means "Father is rejoicing" or "Father's joy", and if ever a child fit that description it is Abby. She certainly is her earthly father's joy, and I suspect a joy to her Heavenly Father as well.

As a side note, my parents gave me the name Elizabeth, but as I was growing up they shortened it to "Beth". Me being me, always thought that "Beth" was just not impressive enough a name, but once you are called something for the majority of your life, it's hard to escape that. When I went off to college I decided it was time for a change - my parents named me "Elizabeth" and that's what I wanted to be called. I got several eye-rolls from some family members (and my brother-in-law still has a hard time with it - my name to him is "Beth-I-mean-Elizabeth"), but eventually everyone toed the line. I vowed early on that I would name my child what I wanted them to be called, that I would never shorten their name. Needless to say we only call Abby "Abigail" when she's in trouble - so much for my stance on nicknames.

Abby mid-"more" sign.

11. Everything can be rewound - This may be one that applies to other children of this generation, but Abby thinks that absolutely everything can be rewound. Whether it is a TV show (because of the DVR), a song, or a movie, she thinks that it is no problem at all to just rewind a favorite scene so she can enjoy it again. One of her favorite words is, "more" and before she could say it, she would sign it. This is generally not a problem - unless we are listening to music on the radio. She just doesn't understand that I can't get a great song to play again.

12. "Please" truly is a magic word,  and Mom is a liar - Abby has come to the conclusion that when she asks for something it should be no problem for Mom to get it for her - this is especially true when it comes to food. All Mom has to do is go to the kitchen and get it - right? There are many times when she will request a certain meal or snack and unfortunately we don't have what she wants. I will tell her this and try to steer her towards something we do have, but she will just say, "Please! Please Mama!", as if by saying please that will make it appear. When that doesn't work she will by-pass me and go to look for herself, because obviously Mom is trying to hid it, or doesn't know what she is talking about.

13. Abby has never met a stranger - Of the three of us Abby is by far the most social. Pure and simple Abby loves people. Whenever we go out she has to greet everyone we pass by, and sometimes those greetings involve hugs. At first I tried to squash that, but then I took a step back and saw how it affected the people she talked to. They smiled, they waved back, and you could see that Abby's joy had washed over them - how could I stop that? What happens when we are out and about, but no one is around? Well, she simply brings along pretend friends to talk with, or she'll greet and say good-bye to things. We've said "hello" to doors and stores, and "good-bye" to shopping carts and cars before.

Now really....you can't tell me a "hello" from this little
darling wouldn't brighten your day!

14. Play it again, Sam - Sleep has always been a bit of a challenge for Abby, we've tried and given up on so many things, but one thing we stuck with was playing music at night. In fact, we found a great CD of children's lullabies when Abby was about 2. She has been listening to that same CD every night since then. That CD has even outlasted two CD players. Last year, in fear that the CD might eventually get ruined (or just give up from fatigue), I saved it to our digital library. She now listens to the songs on an iPod each night. It has become a good "cue" to her that it is time for her to sleep. Also, since it just has music and no words, it gave us the opportunity to make up our own. She firmly believes that the true lyrics to "Brahms' Lullaby" are, "Lullaby, and good night. Go to sleep little Abby...."

Tomorrow I will finish the list, and try not to be so wordy!