The Climber

It is amazing what just one month will do! With each new step of independence Abby takes she developes a new found curiosity and need to explore. Abby is no longer content to sit, or even walk around, and play. She has developed a love of climbing. It began a few weeks ago. She was in the den playing with some toys and I ran to the kitchen to fix her some juice. Our house is small and you can see every room from every room. I clearly did not give Abby enough credit because in the few short minutes this task took, she had climbed on to the dining room chair and from there on to the top of the dining room table! I didn't even realize she could get in the chair and apparently neither did she. When I walked back in she was sitting on the table waiting for me with the biggest smile. She was so proud and clapped for herself as if she had just won a gold medal. As cute as this all is, it is becoming more and more difficult to keep her on the ground. She climbs on anything in sight. She loves to sit on the end tables. And it takes her seconds to scooch her little hiney up there.

Does this mean I need to strap her in to a harness and carabiner and set her up to scale the house? Stuart - if you're reading, let me know if 16 months old is too early for bouldering and climbing mountains!

With the summer Olympics just around the corner, I feel compelled to start her in gymnastics. Maybe I can live vicariously through her because, you know, I was supposed to be in the 2000 Olympics. Bella Karolyi told me I missed out by mere tenths of a point! Speaking of, I am so excited for August and all the gymnastics. We don't have tivo, dvr, or any other programs but I am thinking we need to install it for the month of August because gymnastics is my absolute favorite! And I don't want to push it on Abby but she seems to enjoy climbing and flipping around right now. I've looked in to some gymboree classes and need to figure out what age bracket to start her in; she's just on the cusp of two different ones and I think that would make a pretty big difference developmentally. I don't know, we'll see. For the time being I'll just let her enjoy herself and try to keep her from climbing the walls. Maybe I'll get her a helmet!

The death of my Melanocyte...

I apologize to those of you who won't find this interesting, especially when it has been quite some time since my last post.

Taken from Wikipedia...
Children born with a certain color may find that it gradually darkens as they grow. Many blond, strawberry blond, light brown, or red haired infants experience this.
A change in hair color typically occurs naturally as people age, usually turning their hair to gray and then white. More than 40 percent of Americans have some gray hair by age 40, but white hairs can appear as early as childhood. The age at which graying begins seems to be almost entirely based on genetics. Sometimes people are born with gray hair because they inherit the trait genetically. Some people use hair dye to disguise the amount of gray in their hair.
Two genes appear to be responsible for the process of graying, Bcl2 and Bcl-w. The change in hair color is caused when melanin ceases to be produced in the hair root and new hairs grow in without pigment. The stem cells at the base of hair follicles are responsible for producing melanocytes, the cells that produce and store pigment in hair and skin. The death of the melanocyte stem cells causes the onset of graying.

John and I decided to take a day off this week. Really, sweet John decided that I needed to get out of Birmingham and relax. We have a lot going on right now, and I promise at some point I will update this blog. But for now I will stick with Monday's trip to the lake. John, Abby and I packed up and headed to his grandparents lake house. John spent much of the day locked in the bunk house studying. Abby and I took a stab at swimming in the lake. The water was warm but dirty and Abby slowly took to it. I don't believe she has ever held on to me that tightly. And by our third visit to the giant bath, Abby relaxed and stopped repeating "all gone" (her way of communicating she was ready to get out!) and pointing to the stairs. Abby exhausted herself running across the lawn, gripping my neck, and climbing the staircase, what felt like a million times. She took two short naps giving me the opportunity to engross myself in a book and slip in and out of a nap or two myself! It was a great day. Abby and I just played together with no chores, errands, or responsibilities. Thank you babe!

But, on to the real reason for the post. We packed up and were on our way home. Abby was so tired she fell asleep before we made it to the main road. I was driving so John was sitting to my right. And then he pointed out the death of my melanocyte. There, standing out against the rest,in their wirey, coarse way, were 3 (not one) grey hairs! It doesn't upset me to be greying, I mean I do think I will probably color it. And let's face it, I knew I would grey early, my entire family did so it's in my genes. I just wasn't expecting it! Needless to say, I pulled all three of them! And yes, I have certainly heard that when you pull one, three more grow back in it's place. But it was an impulsive move. You don't leave your first grey hair. You study it and then scour the rest of your scalp! Now the decision to be made is, when I do move in to coloring my hair, what direction to go? I could stick to my original brown. OR, I could be daring! I could take on new colors and try out new identities!!! This could be fun!