Miss Waitress

 Elsie has really liked helping lately, from sweeping the floor to washing potatoes.  She is also expected to carry her dinner plate to the counter when she is finished eating dinner.  The other night Elsie cleared not only her plate, but also Josie's and my plate (one in each hand).    Brief conversation went like this:

Andy: Well thank you Miss Waitress!

Elsie: I am NOT Miss Waitress I am Miss Elsie Rose Cooper!

Sylvie learns to drive.

Sylvie has discovered our Cozy Coupe, and she thinks it is just about the best thing in the world.  Peeking through the doors, honking the horn, climbing on the seat to look out the rear window...hours of fun.

Let's go driving in my car!

When Daddy pushes me, I go REALLY fast!

Update from Sylvie: "Now that I've been driving for a few days, I am starting to make some choices Mama thinks are a little dangerous, like standing on the seat and driving, or putting a foot on the dashboard, or standing up and looking out the rear window.  I told Mama I would work on making safer choices when she is around." 

Christmas in Pictures (with the Johnsons and Murrays)

Christmas In Pictures (with Grandma RJ and Grandma Dorothy)

Elsie's First Big-Kid Play Date!

"I can go in by myself, Mama, okay?"

All smiles on the way to the Caponi's front door.

Elsie stayed for dinner, and even had an after-dinner cookie tea party before we came to pick her up.  She was sad that she wasn't going to spend the night- I guess our big kid is growing up!

Sylvie Harriet is 10 months!

Health and growth:

Sylvie now weights 16lbs, 6oz (8%) and stretches to 28.25 inches (63%) (for those interested, Elsie weighed 16.8lbs (8%) and stretched to 27.5 inches (35%) at this age).  She wears size 3 diapers (when she uses disposables), and mostly wears 6-12 month clothes and size 2 shoes.

Sylvie still wakes three or four times a night to eat, and consistently takes 1-2 naps a day, totaling about 2 hours. 

December was a tough month for Sylvie.  Sleep was severely impaired by teething and a lingering cold early in the month.  Despite getting the requisite two flu shots this fall, Sylvie came down with the flu after Christmas.  She was put on Tamiflu, only for us to discover (after only three days) that she has the first drug allergy in the family.  Luckily, it helped enough that she recovered quickly and without complication (her doc was worried she was getting pneumonia).  

Communication:

Words Sylvie says: Mama, Dada, mamama (milk)
Signs Sylvie does: good-bye and hello (waving), no (shaking head), "all done", yes (clapping)
Signs and words Sylvie understands: no, "sit down", bounce (jump)

Watch me grow:

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

  

And just for fun, Elsie at 10 months:

10 months

December Miscellany

Mama:  "Elsie, put something on your feet, please."
Elsie: "Mama, that's not what you say!  You are supposed to sing, 'Put your shoes on, Elsie- don't you know you're in the city?' !"

"Mama, are any of these Christmas presents for me?   How about if you give me a Christmas present today? I don't want to play with it before Christmas, I just want to hold it."

All ready for Auntie Kristin and Uncle G's groom's dinner.

"Mama, can you tie this string to Elephant's trunk?  It won't "ouch" him, because elephants are VERY BRAVE."

The exact moment (before going outside) in which Sylvie chose to put a very stinky two-day deposit in her diaper.

"Hey, Mama!  I am going to keep growing and growing and growing and I will get so big I will break down our house!  And then we will have to get someone to come and build our house back up around me!"

Elsie spends a lot of time here, and Sylvie thinks it is pretty funny!

After Daddy came inside when it was 0 outside...
Daddy: "Elsie, can you hold my glasses for me?  They are too foggy to see through right now."
Elsie: "I know what to do!  I will wash them for you!"
Daddy: "No, don't wash them.  They will stop being foggy in a minute, after they warm up."
Elsie: "How about if I just wash them with my tongue?"