Peekaboo and Bedtime

Several weeks ago, we introduced Abby to the intriguing game of "peekaboo." At first she wasn't much interested, but then she slowly began to give cautious smiles to the crazy antics of her parents hiding behind hands or blankets. Soon, she smiled excitedly and was obviously understanding the point behind the game...meanwhile, I still have not come up with the point behind the term "peekaboo" - where in the world did that come from anyway and why is it so universal? But back to Abby... Now, Abby has become such a pro at peekaboo that she decided to play the game herself. Almost anytime that she has a blanket or burp cloth in her hands, she will cover her face up, waiting for the inevitable, "Where's Abby?" (in a sing-song voice, of course). Then she uncovers her face and grins as we say, "Peekaboo!" I am amazed that she caught onto the game so quickly and it's exciting to see her initiate playing it herself. Although, sometimes she'll lay there for quite some time with a blanket over her face (kicking her feet and panting like a dog - no kidding) waiting for her mommy to notice her. At first I was a bit alarmed, thinking that she couldn't get the blanket off her face and that's why she was kicking and breathing hard. But anytime I flip it off before she gets to it herself she's always smiling. I finally realized that she was just plain excited and is just trying to get my attention. It's quite adorable to see, if I do say so myself. =)

I wish I had a picture to include of what happened tonight. We have recently instituted a new bedtime routine (thanks to Dr. Ferber's book, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems, which I will talk more about in another post) that involves our whole family sprawling out on the queen-sized bed in our guest room/Abby's room to change Abby into her pj's, read a few books together, pray and sing "Jesus Loves Me." By the whole family I mean Kevin, myself, Abby and our cat Calvin. Tonight was the first night using the new routine that Kevin couldn't join us since he is on a tug boat in Grays Harbor at the moment. But Calvin faithfully trotted into the room right as I finished putting Abby's pajamas on, just in time for the story. If you're not a cat person, you may not realize how much cats enjoy routine, but Calvin is just as happy as Abby about the new bedtime ritual (a couple nights Calvin has even gone into the room ahead of us around Abby's bedtime, waiting for what he knew would be coming). This time though, instead of lying at the foot of the bed as usual, he climbed right up on my chest. Abby, who was lying next to me with her head against my shoulder, was terribly excited to see the kitty so close (he definitely keeps his distance from her most of the time!) and barely listened to the stories at all. I wish Kevin had been here to capture it on camera. I was almost afraid it would over-excite Abby, but she went down without even a whimper.