Figuring us out

I'm sure in her head Abby is sizing all of us up & down. She is figuring out how Thomas, Daddy and Mommy act, react and handle the daily situations in the house... especially the ones involving her. She knows full and well that Thomas loves to make her laugh, show & teach her all kinds of things. She watches him like a hawk & then is determined to move in on his space to try her hand at whatever it is he is doing. She has also figured out that certain toys of his are "his" and he doesn't want her to play with them... which intrigues her all the more. She can't wait to see his smile in the morning, she laughs and giggles when he does and she begins to cry when he does. She takes most of her cues from him. Apparently her big brother matters to her.

Abbigail has also figured out her Daddy. Remember, when he returned in the middle of April, she didn't know him. Yes, we had done Skype, posted pictures of him & her in her room so he was always visible, and of course we talked about Daddy. But the truth of the matter is Daddy left when she was 3 weeks old and came home when she was 8.5 months old... this was a something quite new. Since Daddy's homecoming, she has become quite the Daddy's girl. She knows his voice. Not just the voice, but rather the tone, if he is talking with her or someone else in the room, and if he is upset or happy. She laughs & giggles at the feel of his wiskers on his face, she loves to climb on him and snuggle into his arms. At first, she followed hesitantly behind Thomas when it came to Daddy; now, she is crawling & walking to him just to have his attention & love.

Abbigail spends the most time with me. She naturally feels the most comfortable with me simply because of the nature of our relationship. She knows when I am using my "firm mommy" voice or my lovey voice. She knows what to do to be scooped up from the ground and she also knows when I'm calling her bluff because she is faking with the drama cry & whine. We "talk" all of the time... more and more it is becoming a two way streak with her babbling a lot more. She knows that I'm 95% of the time going to be the one to see her 1st in the AM, pick her up from daycare in the afternoons (when school is going on) and she knows that I'm going to be the one giving her a bath. She knows me well. She knows the best cry to use, the smile that melts my heart and the laugh I'm hoping to hear from her.