One Year!

Yesterday we threw a party for Sylvia's one-year birthday...we were a little busy, so we didn't post about her birthday until today.

What a year it's been! It was a long year, filled with adjustments, physical changes, tiredness and great effort...but it was also a fast year, filled with unmeasurable joy, laughter, wonder, smiles, growth, amazement and happiness.

Happy birthday, solstice baby!

Family Resemblances

My great-aunt Lillian, not a blood relative; could be me in 30 years. Dig the glasses!

























My dad's cousin Charlotte as a baby; could be Sylvia now!

More Thanksgiving Pics

Granddaddy Love

First of the Thanksgiving visit pics.

Five Things...

...I do daily for a healthy mind.

I've been tagged!

Here goes:

1 - I eat something I want to eat (at least once per day)

2 - I look at the sky

3 - I take a nap (most days)

4 - I think about exercising at a minimum, and on a good day I walk for a long time, or dance, or swim, or kayak

5 - I try to keep up with world affairs; arguably good for the mind but maybe not so good for peace of mind?



Funny how "healthy mind" can be interpreted to mean mental function or well-being.

A Year Ago..

Hard to remember!

Al Fresca

Finally getting around to posting October photos of our fireside dinner!

Family Changes

Here we are, all cleaned up and in our finery for Uncle Josh & Aunt Tobi's wedding last weekend; it was a lovely celebration, and we're happy to have Tobi in our family.

We lost our dear Mackie dog this week; she was 13 1/2 years old, and brought us much joy, love and laughter. She will be sorely missed.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving with my father's family in Georgia next week!

Cell!

Sylvia destroyed Grandpa's cell phone recently, not sure if it was the moisture or the force of the biting that caused its demise. A replacement phone is being kept out of her mouth...probably a good idea for the phone and the baby!

Wedding Bells

Uncle Josh and Aunt Tobi are tying the knot this Saturday; Sylvia will have her first taste of wedding cake!

Rubber Ducky...

...you're the one!

Sitting Pretty

Sylvia seems amused by my choice of dresses for her in this pic; it's a vintage original made by her Grammy for me in 1970!

Speaking of sitting, our friend Kathe babysat for us tonight as we went out (after dark!) to see David Byrne at the Michigan Theater. Delightful. Nice to have good friends who like babies!

Closer

The baby's on her way. Already I love her.
The baby arrives. My heart's dam bursts.
The baby is with us another day. Rockets explode, flowers bloom and I'd be content to hold her tightly 'til I end.

Honorary Relatives

"Aunt" Julie and "Uncle" Stan visited from North Carolina; they are two of my dearest college buddies. So glad they could come meet the baby!

Grammy Loves

Where have we been? Right here, enjoying Grammy's company for the past two weeks.

She sang for Sylvia. She put Sylvia's shoes and socks on, then back on, then back on again. She fed Sylvia. She even changed a couple of diapers. And she brought Sylvia the stuffed animal version of the little bunny from "Goodnight, Moon" so Sylvia knows that real things come from books.

Now Grammy's back home in Florida and we're all missing her!

Fun-damental

Sylvia's favorite toys are books. She delights in opening them, closing them, turning the pages, pointing to images. She recognizes the cadence of a few books that we've been reading to her since she was only a few weeks old, and smiles when we begin. Book reading is the last thing we do before bed, and something we do at least a couple of times during the day.

I can't wait until she's old enough to really make use of the public library; it will be fun to browse for books with her!

In the Pen

We have a Pack-n-Play playpen/port-a-crib that stays in our living room. Sylvia ends up there when we need to do something in another room, usually the kitchen.

Funny how parents develop "things," little requirements that are part of baby care. One of my "things" is that we must put socks on Sylvia if it's even the slightest bit chilly. One of Dan's "things" is that she must be put in the Pack-n-Play pen if we're leaving the room for longer than a minute or so.

I don't feel the need to pen her as urgently as he does, and he doesn't see the need for socks as clearly as I do. But one of us will say, "that's one of my 'things,'" and the other complies. Ah, the art of compromise.

In & Out

Today Sylvia is nine months old...she's been on the outside as long as she was on the inside.

Hard to believe!

Gimme Somma Dem Dim Sum

Enjoying a Chinese treat with Uncle Josh.

You...

...no, you!

Consume Yer Electronics

Sylvia has developed a taste for Grandpa's cell phone; so far she hasn't dialed China.

She does, however, think that all cell phones are now fair game for a good nibble!

Images from Maine

More pics can be seen on my Facebook page; get in touch if you don't know where that is!

On the Move

Sylvia learned how to sit up on her own while on vacation week before last, and just Friday she figured out how to crawl!
It's a whole new ball game now.

Vacation!

Looks like Sylvia really enjoyed Maine...or perhaps the antics of Grandpa!

We're back, more pics to follow.

Plus we just had a visit from her uncles Eli & Craig, and we're in the middle of a visit from great-aunt Susan too.

Stay tuned!

Packing

Where have we been? Right here, just not blogging.

Where are we going? To Bar Harbor, Maine this Wednesday for a week with family and friends. This will be Sylvia's second air trip and first trip to Maine. I can't wait to kayak, hike, eat wild blueberries and lobster...and take a nap every day!

Right Toe, Left Toe, Switcharoo-Thumb!

Eating

After a few less-than-successful attempts at solid food, Sylvia has found a new mouth-delight in jarred organic applesauce with apricots.

This is the first food that she has actually leaned forward with an open mouth for, and she's tried grabbing the spoon too. She has a funny habit of biting on the spoon with each mouthful; we can see scratches on the spoon from her two little bottom teeth.

Now we're committed to feeding her some solid food every day.

Big Girl Things

Sitting up, getting more attached to mama, pulling the peek-a-boo blanket off her face herself, wanting to get down from our laps and sit on the floor, learning words like "doggie," and getting taller/bigger/more kid-like and less baby-like every day.

Buddies

Sylvia attended her first baby party weekend before last; we should have taken a photo of all the high chairs interspersed around the table with the big-people chairs.

It was fun to see the little people interacting!

Sip

Part of trying solid foods has been incorporating a little water into Sylvia's diet. She copped on to sucking the sippy cup right away, but still needs to remember to tilt it back so the water is available!

Yesterday Sylvia came down with her first cold, her first illness ever, and on her seven-month birthday. So far an annoying runny/snotty nose and a little more crankiness. Keep your fingers crossed.

Tooth Eruption

This was a very-hard-to-capture image.

Story Time with Daddy

The last thing Sylvia does before bed is read a book.

Her favorites so far: Is Your Mama a Llama?, The Very Busy Spider, and Goodnight Moon

Daddy's least favorite: Goodnight Moon. He says it doesn't make any sense.