messy abby

my girls are similar in some ways, but completely opposite in many others.

when ellie was in her first year, she measured in the 50th percentile for height and under 5th for weight. abby measured at the 75th-90th percentile for height and 50th for weight. ellie quit napping before her first birthday (at least she goes for a quiet time now). abby needs her nap, and while there is only one (she just won't fall asleep in the morning), it is usually 3 hours. ellie has a list of 22 items she will eat (peanut butter, jam, and bread are 3 items). she also likes processed food more than my cooking. abby will try nearly anything, eats most things, and does not like things from a can or box as much as she likes her mama's meals.

ellie does not like to get messy inside the house (outside is a different story). when painting, she wants me to wipe her hands whenever paint gets on them. when a clothing item gets dirty from life's activities, she changes out of the dirty item. and when eating, she prefers an adult to help her so as to not get messy.

abby is a different story. she loves to get messy- especially when eating. she eats better when we put the plate on her highchair and hand her the fork. and she does not mind getting the food all over her hands, face, and hair. rinsing abby off after a meal usually consists of rinsing her hands, mouth & cheeks, and taking the sprayer and rinsing out her hair. it is like a beauty parlor multiple times a day.

 i love that i just wrote how abby doesn't like processed food and here she is eating it. i swear, this doesn't happen very often.

 sad story. we purchased our new home (you know that feeling when you see your hard-earned money that you have watched slowly build disappear- for a great reason, but gone none the less). two months later, my car's tires are so bald the auto shop guy told me they were illegal. bought new tires. same month, our laptop finally died (we had multiple difficulties with it). so, i didn't use my camera for fear of losing those photos that had been saved on the now dead laptop but not the external hard drive (i had filled my memory card).
then, on abby's first birthday party, we check the tape in our video camera to see how much space is left. it needs a new tape. we are out of tapes, so todd runs to walmart and picks up a pack. we load the new tape and the door to hold the tape in won't close. seriously. todd checks online and apparently this type of thing happens more often than one might think. i am panicking. we don't have a camera or a video camera for our daughter's first birthday party. we quickly call family to bring their camera equipment to cover us. sad ending: we missed recording abby's birthday and first steps.
happy news. we decorated cookies for family home evening the other night. abby went to town on it. as i photograph it, todd says, "i think this almost makes up for her birthday cake."

and while my girls are different in so many ways, i couldn't love both of them any more than i already do!!!