Favorite Things

Abby is now old enough to have developed a few favorite things. She has a favorite blanket that she likes to hold as I sing to her before naps and bedtimes, sleep with, and hold while we nurse after her naps. When she wakes up, she stands in her crib, holding her blanket so that we'll be sure to let her take it with her for awhile. One thing that is really cute is that for the last several days she's sort of hummed along as I sing "Jesus Loves Me" to her. So sweet!

She also has a favorite food that we discovered quite by accident. My mom and I were in Costco the other day and they had lots of samples they were giving out, but none that Abby could eat. Finally, the last one we came to was samples of canned Del Monte grapefruit. My mom and I each grabbed one and I let Abby have a taste. She was instantly hooked and gobbled the rest of mine down and my mom's too. We went back one more time, and she gobbled two more samples down (including drinking the juice leftover in the cup). She then threw a fit because she wanted more, and of course did not understand that samples are not all-you-can-eat. Later, I realized that the canned grapefruit was packed in syrup and I wondered if it was the sugar that Abby liked so much (we don't let her eat sugary things, minus natural fruit of course). So I bought a grapefruit at the grocery a couple days later to try out on her. Kevin was there for the first bite and we thought for sure that she would wrinkle up her face at the sour taste of the grapefruit. But she didn't. She swallowed and immediately "asked" for more. She downed half the grapefruit and drank the juice that I squeezed out of it...and wanted more. But I wanted to save the other half for another meal for her. She got pretty upset actually. I've never seen her want a certain food so badly. I think it's safe to say that grapefruit is her favorite food now. =)

Cheerios are by far her favorite snack. She's figured out that they come in the big yellow box and that we keep it in the pantry. Several times, from her high chair across the kitchen, she's pointed to the pantry, going "Uh, uh, uh..." meaning, "Bring me some cheerios!"

I want to share a couple more things that aren't really favorite things, but I don't want to forget that she does them. First is that for several weeks now she will often pat the person holding her on the shoulder just like we pat her on the back. It is so adorable to watch. It is amazing the stuff she picks up on. Obviously she knows that it is a loving gesture that makes her feel comforted, so she wants to do the same thing back to us. Second, she is very intrigued by lights now and points over and over again at the lights on the ceiling, saying "Ttt, ttt, ttt." I guess we'll fill in the "L-I-G-H" part later. =) Third, when we go on walks now she is very aware of the sound of the birds chirping in the trees and will often imitate them in her own way. Finally, my mom took her grocery shopping this morning (a rare opportunity for me to have some alone time at home!) and said that when they went down the aisle with baby food, Abby got all excited and pointed at the Gerber Infant Cereal boxes on the top shelf, obviously recognizing them as the cereal box that she eats from. I'm amazed that she recognized them out of all the other hundreds of products on the shelves!