Growing Pains

My kids are very different from each other. It's funny how every parent notices how different their kids are (even if they come from the same gene pool). Of course, like all siblings, Abby and Ethan do have many similarities. But sometimes the differences are rather pronounced, like in their growing patterns.

Ethan is a steady grower, in all ways. He grows in weight and height at a regular rate. He learns new things at a steady pace, multi-tasking between different types of skills and knowledges. Intellectually, he builds upon his knowledge every day. His routines are pretty much the same, day to day.

Abby, on the other hand, defines "growth spurt." She will suddenly shoot up an inch (or a pound), and the pants that were just worn yesterday are now "floods." She will appear to be "stuck" at a stage of development, and then will suddenly demonstrate 10 new skills at once. There are always cues that a new spurt is about to happen. If it is physical, she will suddenly become ravenous for a couple days, followed by a couple days of extra sleep. If it is intellectual, it affects her sleep patterns. For about a year and a half now, Abby has been going through periods where she will wake in the night. And when I say "wake," I mean that she is wide awake, ready to play. In the darkness of her room, she chatters incessantly to her stuffed animals, "reads" books to herself, and ocassionally calls out to her brother, all the while Mark and I are glancing bleary-eyed at the alarm clocks next to our bed. Is it really only 2 a.m.? For the last 2 or 3 weeks, we have had many a night like this. We knew what question to ask: what amazing new things will Abby start doing?

Abby's verbal skills have taken off this last week. Her pronunciation is not the best (she is only 2-1/2 now), but she is stringing together so many thoughts that it makes our heads spin. She can carry on a full conversation with 2 and 3 word sentences, which she was nowhere near doing just 2 months ago. Today, on the way home from church, Abby made up her first story for us, complete with crisis, climax and denouement. *Smile* I'm so proud. If anyone knows a good publisher, let me know. ;)

"The Puppy and the Snake" by Abigail

As told by Abby: "Story, puppy and snake. 'Ikes! puppy! Oh no! Snake scary*! Don' worry, puppy. Snake home. Good story**."

Translation: "This is a story about a puppy and a snake. Yikes, puppy! Oh no! That snake is scary! But don't worry, puppy. The snake goes home. This was a good story."

*"Scary" is always pronounced "scaaaaary" with doom in her voice - absolutely hilarious.
**We always mention "good story" at the end of a book. Our little mimic strikes again!