My Precious Abby

I think my daughter Abby is among the cutest children to have walked the earth. She has a terrific and engaging personality and she already has a well-developed sense of humor. When she was only about 16 months old, she learned that she could make me laugh by alternately frowning then raising her eyebrows and giggling, then back to frowning, and so on. We still play this game, and I never seem to tire of it.

Lately, she has begun to sing several of her favorite songs, including the "Alphabet Song", Barney's theme song, and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". She also seems partial to "Rain, Rain Go Away". As a side note, I assume that everyone knows by now that the ABC song AND "Twinkle, Twinkle", AND "Baa Baa Black Sheep" have the same tune. Why is that? Was there a shortage of good new melodies for awhile?

One portion of Barney's theme song goes like this (with a sincere apology to those of you who will likely have this stuck in your head for hours):

I love you, you love me

We're a happy family.....

Abby's wonderfully new version is:

I was you, you was me

(Unintelligible)

Another funny new saying for her is "Oh, of course". It sounds especially funny coming from a 23-month old girl:

"Abby, it's time to change your diaper."

"Oh, of course, Daddy. Time to change diaper."

Another fresh development around the Crouch house is Abby's insistence on mixing up characters from different shows and requesting to see them. Rather than bore you with the details of her specific favorite programs, let's just say that it's very much like asking to see Opie with Rhoda, or Gopher with Fonzie, or Gilligan with the Harlem Globetrotters. Wait...that last one actually happened. Maybe they could have used Abby's creative spirit during the recent writers' strike in Hollywood.

We are not without our struggles however, particularly when Abby is tired. She has a new technique to confuse and confound all of us. She will ask for something (anything at all will work for this example). Then, when you get the item, perhaps a drink, or a toy, or a piece of candy, she will immediately reject it:

ABBY: I want pizza.

ME: Okay, Abby. I'll get you some pizza.

ABBY: NO!!! I don't want pizza!

At this point, she typically throws the pizza as far as she can. Sometimes, she will then follow the pizza, pick it up, and launch it again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Today she did this with a wooden piece of train track in the playroom for awhile.

She does seem to have a healthy sense of when she is doing something wrong. If she has something in her hand that she is simply not supposed to have, such as a piece of gum from the trash, or some cat food, or some of Pam's jewelry, or a scalding hot cup of coffee (joking), and you approach her, she will usually throw the item in the opposite direction, perhaps in the hope that you will choose to follow the thing rather than the child. Sometimes, it works. I seem to remember this technique from a self-defense class that I saw somewhere. The instructor mentioned keeping a wad of cash in a money clip to throw in order to distract your attacker.

In honor of Abby turning 23 months old today, I would like to share a song with you that I often sing in my head (and occasionally aloud) on the days when she is sick and/or tired and fussy. In fact, I like to think of the intro portion as "The Toddler Song":

As always, thanks for your time! Have a great week!