Outdoor Spring Fun

Elsie flying her owl kite all by herself.

Sylvie deciding she is big enough to climb the ladder at the playground.

Sylvie enjoying a picnic in the grass.

Sylvie and Henry "driving" a spaceship.

Sylvie grabbing some ice cream on a hot night.

Grilling with friends!

Easter

We headed to Iowa to celebrate with Andy's family on Saturday.

The kids' favorite game was "Throw things over the baby gate and down the stairs."  Even Sylvie got in on the action.

The brave egg hunters (Sylvie and Augie decided to sleep through the festivities).

Big kids chasing bubbles.

Back home in Madison, Sunday morning...

We finished out the weekend with a Easter morning egg hunt of our own.

Sylvie was confused..."Wait, WHO put WHAT in our yard?"

And distracted..."Ball!!!"

"This is kind of a silly game, guys."

"Next year, try not to leave so much stuff on the lawn for Elsie and I to pick up.  Sheesh."

And....Elsie showing off our hand-made eggs filled with little animals (and a few jelly beans).

May Miscellany

Elsie's description of her day at school:
"The sun got all crazy and moved like this (waving arms) so we got to go outside!"

(yep, it was a fire drill with flashing lights)

***

"Mama!  How come all M&Ms have 'E's' on them?  Are they 'E's' for Elsie???"

***

"Mama, you may not know who I am.  I am the fairy that is a Super Fairy Ballerina and I go around and when people forget to buckle, I buckle them so that everyone stays safe in the car.  That is who I am."

***

 "Mama, don't forget to get the picture of me and my dolls out of the computer so that I can show it to Ms. Kerri.  I want in in my hands, so I can hold it, not in the computer."

***

"Best. Doughnut.  EVER."

* Bonus quote, because I am still laughing a week later:

Our dear friends were visiting the Museum of Natural History in Washington.  Their daughters, 1.5 and 3, didn't quite understand the stuffed animals on exhibit, and kept tapping on the glass partitions, saying, "Baby animals, look at me!  Hello animals!".  After much explaining about extinction and taxidermy, they thought that there was some level of understanding.  When they got home, Auntie asked the girls where they had been.  Their answer?  "We went to see the animals at the ZOO!"  Parenting fail.

Spring Miscellany

Elsie sporting her Fairy duds at a Rainbow Sparkle Fairy party at the library.

 ***

Elsie: "It's so nice out!  We should walk to school today!"
Mama: "I think it is a little bit too far for us to walk."
Elsie: "Well, Mama, I can run and you can skip!  Then it won't be too far!"

***

Elsie won a plate of cupcakes on the Cake Walk at the Spring Fling!

Sylvie "competed" too...she had no idea what was going on, but she loved walking on the pictures, listening to the dance music, and stopping when all the big kids stopped!

***

Other funny things:
Elsie giving a baby horse "mama milk" by nursing it on a very well-endowed stallion.
Elsie farting loudly and Sylvie bursting into laughter.

***

Elsie and Sylvie showing off their findings at the library egg hunt.  Best moment:  Elsie seeing a gold-covered chocolate coin and yelling out, "Mama, I found a gold doubloon!"

***

 

Elsie's response when Daddy tells her he has to work late and won't be coming home to have a pizza-and-movie dinner party with us:

"Well, I can just put Daddy's pizza in the mailbox and when Char (mail deliverer) comes I could say, 'Would you please deliver this to my Daddy at work?'  and then you could have pizza like I am having!  That will work!"

So this happened...

Taking care of Lexi.

 Recently the girls were given the job of taking care of their cousin, Lexi Rabbit, for a weekend.

Elsie and Lexi had a great partnership, in which Lexi allowed herself to be petted just long enough for Elsie to get settled on the ground before she ran off again.

Sylvie, on the other hand, seems to be something of a bunny whisperer (or perhaps Lexi thought she was a bunny in that fuzzy white sweater?).  Whatever the reason, Lexi liked to follow Sylvie around the room, and calmly submitted to all types of toddler petting with no complaints.

Sylvie's first birthday!

Elsie made Sylvie a birthday banner.

It didn't start 'til Daddy came home with the cake and pizzas!

Playing with Annie (the hat didn't last long).

Partying with Auntie Kristin.

Yummy cake!

You guys sure this is for eating?

Look, guys...we're gonna need more cake.  Lots more cake...

Playing with new jewelry from Huck and Lily.

Pictures from Sylvie's first year.

There were a few tears...but only because Sylvie walked behind the table and got stuck.

Five minutes left in the party, and we found Sylvie had shut herself in the bathroom with her milk bottle.  I guess she needed some alone time after such a wild party...or she was embarrassed of her frosting-encrusted hair-do!

February Miscellany

While sitting on the potty:
Mama: "Elsie, are you finished pooping yet?"
Elsie:  "No.  More poopers are coming.  Go, boona, go!  Go, boona, go!  You can do it!

Daddy:  "Elsie, why are you out of bed?  What's wrong?"
Elsie:  "Daddy, you know what's wrong!  Can't you see that I am wiggling?"

***

Watching Olympic figure skater Gracie Gold perform a triple-triple combination:
"Mama, I don't think she is making safe choices!"

"Daddy"

Discussing possible Night Time Monster Encounters with Daddy before bed:
"If it is a STINKY monster, but it is also a NICE monster, then I can just make the monster take a bath so it won't be stinky any more!"

***

Valentine's Day candy means that Elsie has been introduced to the concept that she sometimes gets dessert when she finishes dinner.  After finishing a giant monster cookie at the coffee shop with Miss Heather:
"Mama, since I finished my whole cookie, now do I get to pick out a treat?"

Sylvie Harriet is ONE!

Mama, this is funny!

...but Olivia Pig and I need to go now...

Health and growth:

Sylvie now weights 17.0 lbs (3%) and stretches to 29.75 inches (70%) (for those interested, Elsie weighed 17lbs, 4oz (3%) and stretched to 28.5 inches (25%) at this age).  She wears size 3 diapers (when she uses disposables), 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. 

Sylvie has 6 teeth, and we suspect her one-year molars are on their way. 

Sylvie started walking a week before her birthday.  She'd been toying with the idea for months, but aside from a few steps here or there, she was perfectly happy to (speedily) crawl around.  The big change started with a Friday play date with 20-month-old Junia, during which Sylvie seemed quite interested in this "big but not so big" kid and how she moved around.  Over the next two days, she practiced scooting along furniture, then taking a few steps on her own all the time.  By Sunday night, Sylvie was successfully standing up, walking, and sitting down again whenever she wanted to.  What a big girl!  Turns out all she needed was the proper motivation!

Other things our big (little!) girl enjoys these days:
-knocking over towers
-dancing to toys that play music
-pulling books off of book shelves
-bath time and water play
-mimicking anything Elsie does
-exploring kitchen cabinets
-hugging stuffed animals

Communication:

Words Sylvie says: Ma (mama), Da (Daddy), mamama (milk), ja (yes)
Signs Sylvie does: good-bye and hello (waving), "all done", yes (clapping), "high 5", eat
Signs and words Sylvie understands: no, "sit down", bounce (jump), dance

Watch me grow:

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

And just for fun, Elsie at one: