Fall is here!

Oh, how I love fall. I love football, a new school year, cooler weather and apples, just to name a few favorites of the season. This fall has brought with it a new job for me, one that allows plenty of time with my daughter, just how I'd hoped it would eventually work out.

Ildri got an autumn treat during a visit from her Grandma Barb, Aunt Kirstin, and cousin Matthew - we stopped by a local apple orchard. We didn't have time to go out and pick apples this time, but Ildri had a lot of fun checking out the pumpkins and gourds. Prior to that outing, we spent a wonderful afternoon playing with the babies and visiting. It's nice to be close enough to family to have a daytime visit. Enjoy the pics!

Words!

It's official: the talking has begun. Her first word was either "cat" or "woof". She says "woof" every time she sees a dog. "Dad" has been a staple in her vocabulary. She says it with relish, and it has many variations, such as "dad-dad" and "dadu". Now, I will admit that I've been a little jealous over all the "dad" talk. But just last weekend, she looked me right in the eyes and said "mama". Clear as day. She's done that one other time this week, and I can't wait until it happens again.

Welcome to Toddlerhood

My house will never be tidy again.

The Real Birthday

Ildri's birthday fell on a weekday, which meant it would just be me and her for most of the day. I figured I'd just play the day by ear, and incorporate some of her favorite activities. We decided to go to the library, which has a toddler play area, and enough books to make Ildri go into overdrive. I'm not kidding - every time we're there, she gets a little overexcited and starts pulling book after book off the shelves with this wild-eyed look. She adores books, so seeing that many in one place gets her heart thumping.

Luckily, her dad was able to get out of work early, so he met us at the library. And after her 2nd nap of the day, we broke in the kiddie pool. She loved it! We have used it almost every day since her birthday.

The day was simple, and consisted of lots of extra hugs, and a ridiculous amount of singing "Happy Birthday". I just took so much delight by relishing in my daughter's first year, in her health and development and joy of all she sees. After she went to bed, it was nice to reflect on my own journey through the first year of parenthood. I can't remember a more challenging and heartwarming year.

What a Party!

Mom, I'll play with the toy once I've read the directions. You can't rush these things.

Looks fun, Dad, but how does it taste?

I must say, I never thought I would have so much fun planning and hosting a baby's birthday party. But it was a blast! We had a farm-themed birthday party, due to Ildri's love of the song "Old MacDonald". The attendees dressed up (Uncles Khyle and Erik, Aunt Kirstin, cousin Matthew, Grandma Barb, Grandpa Bill, and Great-Grandma Jane) in their best farm fashions (they even came up with new names on the drive out), including both babies in their Osh Kosh overalls.

We played games (matching sets of pictures to Ildri's age at the time, and recalling details of her birth), opened gifts and had cake. The adults had a barn cake (butter cake with lemon buttercream), and Ildri had her own low-sugar, healthy cake. She really enjoyed it. She ended up with enough toys to keep her playthings different every day of the week. My two favorite gifts: The Happy Birthday Book by Dr. Seuss (because it makes me think of my Grandpa) and a little smock that my own sister used to wear when she was a toddler.

The best part of the day is that it was simple, and revolved around family. Ildri's schedule stayed intact, which made her time with visitors short, but sweet. She had fun and didn't get overwhelmed, which was my main focus. And since Kirstin, Khyle and Matthew came in the night before, so we got lots of time with a "little" baby! All in all, it was a joyous occasion. I can't wait for her 2nd birthday!

After she opened the Little People farm, she climbed on top of the box and stood up. What a silly girl!

And just for fun, I thought I'd include her first picture ever. I can't believe it's been a year since this magical moment.

Happy Birthday, Little Lady!

My pudding pop is now a year old. I can hardly believe it. It seems that she turned into a little girl almost overnight. She was this little bundle of kicking arms and legs that took in the world with great wonder, and now she's a jabbering, headstrong toddler who can't seem to stop exploring. I could go on and on about what the first anniversary of the birth of my daughter means to me, but I'll spare you the overly sentimental diatribe.

I will share pictures of her birthday party shortly, but for now, just a few recent images of my one-year-old ball of fire.

Rainbows

David dubbed the events of this evening as "one very magical hour". Ildri decided to take a long nap this afternoon, and woke up happy and focused. Due to the rain, we skipped her usual post-nap walk and stayed inside. She sat on the floor, playing with a set of soft blocks. Most of the time we set up the blocks and she knocks them down and then chews on them, but this time she starting stacking her blocks! She had never done this before, and it was no fluke, she kept it up for quite a while. The applause from her Dad and I probably helped spur her along :)

Then one of those precious session of baby laughter. This time, it was spurred by my sneezing. She found it hilarious, so I just kept on doing it until it didn't cause crazy laughter any longer.

After a while, we realized that the sun was out, and David decided to take Ildri outside so she could toddle around. Outside, he spied Ildri's first rainbow - a full arch with all the colors visible, including a second, lighter rainbow above it.

No longer stir-crazy

I can't help but be thrilled everyday that it is warm enough to venture out daily with Ildri. Since we're at one car right now, I don't know how we'd be surviving without our explorations of Coralville. Soon we're getting a lightweight umbrella stroller so we can get on the bus and add to our possibilities, but for now we're enjoying where we can get to on foot.

We tried out the carousel at the mall (they have free rides on Friday), and she hated it. She didn't like sitting on the horse and seemed a little overwhelmed by all the yelling kids, lights and movement. I guess we'll try that one again after a few more months. Or a year.

Next week, Ildri and I are going to try something completely new: we are going swimming! We both have suits, I got swim diapers and a floaty for Ildri, and we're going to give it a shot. There's an indoor pool that's about a ten-minute walk away from our place. I will definitely let you know how she likes it. She loves the tub, so hopefully that will translate to the pool. Wish us luck!

Hooray for spring and babies!

New Cake Pans

For my birthday I received two baking gifts: new bundt pans from my Mom, and "The Cake Bible" cookbook from my sister. Well, it wasn't too long before I had to try them both out. Below you'll see the result - little lemon cakes with a buttermilk lemon glaze.

On a similar note, I think it's time for me to start a separate blog for my adventures in homemade goods (quilts, cleaners, food, toys, etc.). I'll post the address once I get it started.

New Adventures in Food

Ildri is eating more foods now. She still loves apples and avocado puree and prune puree with oatmeal, but we've been experimenting with more solid foods. She loves to share bananas with Mom and Dad, and recently she tried banana pancakes with blueberries and yogurt, and pasta with pureed peas.

For the pancakes, I used a mashed banana to replace the egg, since it's still a little early to start incorporating eggs into her diet. I made a batch of about twelve pancakes and froze most of them. That way I can just pop one in the toaster when she's ready for breakfast. Yum!

Oh, and we gave her a pickle to see what she'd think about it. Well, we didn't get the sour-faced reaction we thought we would. She loved it! When we took it from her she cried until we gave her another one. So funny.

Spring Pictures

Ildri is growing so much. She has taken to walking like a fish to water. I wanted to share some pictures of her in some new cute outfits, most courtesy of Grandma Barb. So cute! She's very hard to get a picture of most times. Once she sees the camera out, she chases me to try and grab it.

Ildri's Quilt

I finally finished Ildri's quilt. It's a basic postage-stamp quilt with curved edges, all flannel (so warm!), and it's quilted with stars done in three colors of thread. This quilt took me months, due to the individual stars, so I used it as a reflective piece. I started to make a wish for my little Ildri with each star I stitched. It was a great exercise, and often resulted in mama tearing up, or reflecting back on my own experience growing up.

Updates

I've been somewhat negligent in updating this blog. I'm going to blame it on two matters: the beautiful weather, and the fact that Ildri has started walking (at nine months!), both of which have definitely changed the dynamic of the day!

Dave's car finally bit the dust, so he takes the Subaru to work every day. This means no more long-distance outings for Ildri and I during her daily adventure period (the three-hour time between her two naps). Instead, we go on walks in her stroller or in her Kelty backpack carrier. She like both modes of transportation, but the backpack carrier is a much greater workout for mama. We have several destinations within reason: the Coral Ridge Mall (has a great play area with lots of kids), a couple of grocery stores, a craft store, and the Coralville Recreation Center and park.

While we're home, Ildri is busy showing me what she can get into (namely most everything), and what I need to move or baby-proof. And what's on the horizon? She wants to climb. She doesn't have it figured out, but her early attempts make me nervous.

Scary Funny

Ildri makes a "ck!" noise a lot lately. It's mostly directed at getting us to look at her (or getting the cats to look at her). We found out that when we act as if this sound scares us, she finds it hilarious. Enjoy the clip.

Play Mats

I've been making play mats for all the new babies cropping up in our family. It's been a really fun project, and since Ildri loves going to the fabric store, it's doubly enjoyable. Images below are from my last two play mats. I'm hoping to get good enough to sell them on Etsy.com, but for right now, I'm just enjoying the process.