Abigail's Books

Yesterday I came across the picture above while catching up on my Facebook friends.  It's a stack of books that someone received as a gift for her baby shower (great gift!).  The collection contains a few that Abigail loves, but many that we've never read.  Of course, we will not ever own every child book in existence, but it made me think about what we have and would like to get, so I took inventory!

Bedroom books 

Living Room books

Books in our room (these have dwindled as she only wants to play on the bed when in our room)

Here's a list of all of Abigail's books, sorted into categories by how much she likes to read them:

Abigail’s Books

Loves (or loved)

The Very Hungry Catepillar by Eric Carle

I’ll See You in the Morning by Mike Holley and Mique Moriuchi

You Are My I Love You by Cusimano/Ichikawa

Mama How Long Will You Love Me? By Anna Piguataro

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems

Pinkalicious School Rules! By Victoria Kann

How Do I Love You? by Marion Dane Bauer and Caroline Jayne Church

I Love You Through and Through by Marion Dane Bauer and Caroline Jayne Church

Mommy’s Best Kisses by Margaret Anastas

The Tickle Tree by Chae Strathie and Poly Bernatene

Old Hat New Hat by Stan & Jan Berenstain

On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

There’s A Wocket In My Pocket by Dr. Seuss

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins

How the Trollusk Got His Hat by Mercer Mayer

Herbert the Timid Dragon by Mercer Mayer

Fluffy Scruffy (a soft spot book)

A Cuddle For Little Duck by Freedman/Pedler

Guess How Much I Love You by McBratney/Jeram

Baby Giggles by Rachael Hale

Baby Colors by Rachael Hale

When the Elephant Walks by Kasza

Where is Baby’s Belly Button by Karen Katz

Who’s Your Dady? by Diane Muldrow

Where’s My Sweetie Pie? by Ed Emberley

You Are My Sunshine by Caroline Jayne Church

The More We Get Together by Caroline Jayne Church

A Little Book of Shapes (Peaceable Kingdom)

First 100 Words (bright baby)

Colors and ABC Numbers (bright baby)

Sesame Street Colors! Bath Time Bubble Book

Ocean (soft shapes foam book)

Look by Dwell Studios

Likes (or liked)

Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman

Inside Outside Upside Down by Stan & Jan Berenstain

The Big Balloon Race by Coerr/Croll

Dr. Seuss’s ABC An Amazing Alphabet Book!

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

Koala Kid (a soft spot book)

Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Just Grandma and Me by Mercer Mayer

The New Baby by Mercer Mayer (no, we’re not having a new baby)

Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer

In My Den by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich

In My Flower by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich

In My Nest by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich

In My Pond by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich

In My Meadow by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich

In My Tree by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich

Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems

Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcake by Jane OConnor

The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein

Not interested

Me and My Dad! By Alison Ritchie

Me and My Mom! By Alison Ritchie

Little Football (The Little Sports series from Sleeping Bear Press)

One Fish Two Fish by Dr. Seuss

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

Frog Goes to Dinner by Mercer Mayer

Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo by Mercer Mayer

When I Get Bigger by Mercer Mayer

Sleep is For Everyone by Showers/Watson

Of Thee I Sing A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

A Light In The Attic by Shel Silverstein

What Makes it Go? What Makes it Work? What Makes it Fly? What Makes it Float? By Joe Kaufman

Sails Rails and Wings by Seymour Keit

I could say something specific about every single book on the list--why I think she enjoys the book, or doesn't, a memory that comes to mind.  A few are old books from Jake's childhood, and they are in amazing shape (I'm reluctant to tape them like I do the other books when she causes little [or big] tears while turning the pages--how did his parents keep them so nice!).      Each of the "love" books had a glory time, when it was the book to read, but only a few have been popular from infancy into toddlerhood (Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb might be her all time favorite).  Many, many, many of them were gifts.  Thank you to all who contributed to my little one's literary beginning.  It makes me smile every single time she brings me a book from across the house, insists I sit on the floor, does an about-face and sits down in my lap.  It's certainly worth all the repetition.  

I would love to hear suggestions of books you or your kids love.

The books 10 minutes after I organized them for the photo

P.S.  I'm trying to get a great picture of Abigail looking at our tree this year.  She loves it, says wow every time I turn it on, and spends a lot of time touching ornaments and lights.  I put all the zoo animals and non-breakables that I own down low, along with some bells and ribbons.  She can't get enough of the tree.  That's my girl!

Wearing daddy's hat and playing with her  belly button 

 

The start of holiday fun

This year the holidays didn't really sneak up on me.  Jake's cousins, Barry and Phyllis, made plans to come visit his father for his birthday and Thanksgiving months ago, so I knew I was going to be cooking for eight on Thanksgiving day and travelling to Riverside the next day for a celebration with my family.  Everything turned out great at both events.  It's so interesting and fun to watch Abigail experience holiday fun this year!  

She loved Jake's cousin Phyllis and generally had a good time with all the people in the house.

Here she is looking out the window before anyone arrived, wearing her little Thanksgiving outfit, which is one of the benefits of having a toddler instead of an infant--dresses are just adorable on little walking people.

In Riverside we had an open-topped bouncy house for the kids which featured a bouncy slide, lots of pillars and blown up trees to bang up against, and of course bouncy house balls which were definitely used as weapons throughout the day.  I think the adults probably enjoyed it more than the children!  I came home with burns on my elbows and knees from way too much fun.

Here Abigail is oblivious to the fact that she was in the line of fire.

Despite the multitude of things that I truly enjoy giving thanks for, I have always viewed Thanksgiving as the beginning of Christmas (my favorite time of year!).  What makes Christmas so special?  I think it's different for everyone.  I love the lights, trees, warm fires, cider, cookies, and especially the focus on family.  I love making lists of all the people I love and deciding what I can carefully wrap in a pretty box and present to them as a token of my love.  I love singing carols and carving out time to spend with friends.  I love Christmas, even though I don't really care if it's spelled with a capitol C.    I was raised in a Catholic family where we sang O Come O Come Emmanuel every evening before dinner while lighting the advent wreath.  I remember going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve and being allowed to open one gift before going to bed, since it was technically Christmas day when we returned from church, then sleeping for 4 hours and sneaking into the living room with my sister to check out the presents under the tree.  After which we would run back to bed and pretend to be asleep so that my father and grandfather could come and carry our sleepy little bodies out to all the Christmas fun.  I hope that I can build memories like these for my daughter, despite the fact that we won't be attending mass.  I hope to instill in her a love of Christmas as a time to reflect, spend time with family, enjoy the sweetness of life, help others see the good in you, and eat a lot of sugar!

My favorite part of our outdoor decorations is my liquid amber, with falling leaves, lights and ornaments--it's beautiful.

Abigail fell asleep holding these jingle bells that she found the day I took out the Christmas boxes--she's off to a good start

 The first thing that I always do to prepare for Christmas is spend one day acquiring and decorating a tree with my dad....here are some pictures from that day.  It's an extra special tradition that really captures the essence of the holiday for me--the fact that it occurs at the very beginning is a bonus, because then I get to enjoy it for the month ahead.

In full stride RUNNING down the hill the morning of tree day

Sitting on the tree tarp, ready for action

Climbing up the step stool behind me

Me and my Papa

My sweet little family

Leaning back to get a better view

This is what Abigail does when I ask her to smile at the camera...

Sending my love to all my friends and family this holiday season....with plenty of laughter and good cheer to come!

The Pappy

This picture was taken on November 23, 2010--my father-in-law's 82nd birthday.  While Gerald Wiener is known in Brooklyn, Baltimore, Florida, New Orleans and La Jolla as a smart, funny, interesting man, with influence, mentoring insight, a history of accomplishment in psychology, great sailing skills, and a keen political mind, in our house he is simply Pappy.  If you ask Abigail "where's the Pappy" she will either point at him or point at his house, which is situated directly behind ours.  Every time they meet, Jerry asks for a "noogie" from Abigail--we lean in and as their foreheads meet they both rub heads together lovingly.  My little 15 month-old has never refused to grant Pappy this request.  They understand one another.  He adores her completely, always asks how she is before talking about any other thing, laughs heartily when she does something new, and proclaims that seeing her is the highlight of each day.  She is extremely patient whenever we are helping Pappy do something or go somewhere, much more so than if she were doing the same task with me alone.

As of late Jerry has not been well, and our family faces the challenge of taking care of two completely dependent individuals, young and old.  The parallels are abundant, though the nature of care may vary, and I find myself wondering if they are so good together because they know how much they have in common.  His face lights up when he sees her and she giggles when he laughs out loud.  With his birthday and Thanksgiving fast approaching I am grateful for my relationship with Jerry, in addition to the one he shares with my child.  He considers me his daughter, takes comfort in my presence, and values me as an individual.  He never talks to Jake without asking about me, which is saying a lot since they usually speak at least three times a day.

Happy Thanksgiving, Jerry.  I hope you feel the love surrounding you and bask in its warmth.

Where did October go?

Since it's been over a month since I last posted I decided to tell a few stories in pictures, with a promise to be better about writing in the future, since there's so much to say.  One little story that wasn't pictured:  Yesterday it rained all day, so we were cooped up in the house, with Abigail standing at the back doors pointing at her new play house outside.  At one point she was eating blueberries out of the plastic box while sitting in a high chair.  I was making cookie dough.  When I turned the mixer on she starting pointing and talking excitedly, since she wanted to see the mixing.  I asked her if she wanted to come up and see the creaming of the butter and sugar.  She nodded her big nod, with her head all the way back and then chin to chest, as she closed the box of blueberries and put it under her arm.  She wasn't done eating just yet, but wasn't about to miss the action.  Funny baby.

Mondays are VERY exciting--trash day!  Both the driver and the trash can mover wave to Abigail every time.

Abigail loves her babies and animals, though she never wants any of them to wear clothes.

Weather permitting we head down to the beach every day around 4 pm , usually with a baby doll for company and a snack on the way

We just bring one bucket or shovel--she doesn't need anything but the sand  to entertain her.

Here she is pouring an entire bucket of sand on her face, which is what she does with sand or water any time she gets the chance--right onto her face.

Always exploring

We went to a pumpkin patch in Redlands with my family.  Here's Abigail with Grandma, Grandpa and Vinny

She touched this goat's tail and it flicked back and forth.  Otherwise, she was mostly interested in the straw.

More Abigail and Vinny--three weeks apart

My little pumpkin.  Last year I laid her down on the ground and surrounded her with pumpkins and she laughed and giggled.  This year she barely stopped long enough for me to get a shot with a pumpkin in the same frame.

Peanut butter and blueberry jam look good on her.

Jerry (aka Pappy) and Abigail do a little head rub (he says noogie, noogie, noogie).  This occurs about three times a day.  She's his little sunshine.

Going down the slide with her friend!

Kissing daddy through the glass of the french doors.

Then kissing him around the edge.  They did this for about 5 minutes.  Jake was giddy over it and probably would have continued for hours on end.

Halloween kid party through a mommy group that I joined

She looks like she's going for the candy, but she actually hugged the neighbor....

and kissed the neighbor down the street.

Reacting to Halloween decorations at a particularly cool house

Making the same faces

Still making the same faces...so funny.

Thinking about handing out candy

She was throwing candy all over the floor

Then she started trying to eat it through the wrapper

She was visited by her friend Niko who was a homemade fish for Halloween

He wanted to vacuum, but she was trying to convince him to read a book

Spooning with her baby doll--monitor view

Loves her slide in the front yard

First time walking into her new house

Checking out the tool bench with her bed hair.  It was like Christmas morning!

Don't you know that tools go through the mailbox?

Pointing at Grandpa in the family photo

Trying to take the eye off a very old friend of mine.  I think Abigail can sense the love in old toys, because she certainly doesn't care how they look!