Great Saturday

Oh it is so nice to spend a day with my girl! I was overjoyed to sleep in until 6:48 a.m. I looked at the clock and couldn't believe my eyes, the luxury of it all after being back on a work schedule. We had so much fun today. We have just discovered Elmo on TV this week. I never knew how adorable he is. We awoke today to find him doing a special on doctors and STETHESCOPES! Abbey's jaw was hanging open and her eyes fixed in rapture. It was fabulous. After a warm bottle and waffles she got to take a super long bubble bath. We went to Starbucks and mama got a cinnamon dolce latte. To our delight the trash truck came to Starbucks and we got to see them lift the dumpster overhead on the truck. Again Abbey was awestruck. We went to the park and stayed twice as long as normal and were able to meet two Chinese mommies and their kids. They invited us for a playdate and talked to Abbey a little bit in Cantonese, but they also know Mandarin and are happy to help us. It was warm enough (after freezing weather this week) to wear light sweaters and our capri jeans. We came home and played with all the toys that are now new again after being at daycare all week.
Abbey's sign language has really taken off and I love to see her communicating so much. She is working on please, clean, bird, and fish. Her caregiver and I are a little perplexed because now that she knows please we both have a hard time resisting her requests.
Abbey has fallen in love with dogs. She really didn't understand what animals were in books or pictures when I got her. Now that she has been around a real dog named Colby at her daycare, she is hooked. She signs for dogs all the time and has become VERY attached to a little stuffed dog that Johanna got her, as you will see in all the pictures in the post below. She loves to give him kisses and sleeps with him every night. We got to pet a dog named Sadie who was out for a walk today. Abbey's daycare went to the pet store this week too.
We made it through our second week of work somehow. We ate alot of roast beef and potatoes that I had made in the crockpot Sunday. Our single-adopt-china group had advised me to get a crockpot that switches to warm after the cook time ends. It also has a lift out pot (they probably all do now) that you can throw in the fridge and easily wash out. I am going to be using Fix-It & Forget-It Lightly: Healthy Lowfat Recipes for Your Slow-Cooker by Phyllis Pelman Good every week and finding out what we like. I am so blessed that Abbey is such a good eater and sleeper.
This is her first offical coloring page, a doggie of course. Also, we have her first "craft", a kite that she put a few blue crayon marks on. We flew it today at the park and she was so delighted. A little boy tried to tell us it was not really a kite, that it was a paper plate, but we know better.

Oh, and Abbey is 21 months old today!