Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Going to work
Ildri loves shoes. At least once a day, she asks me to open the closet so she can take all my shoes out and try them on. On this occasion, she put on a pair of my heels and declared that "Ildri go to work".
ABC and 1, 2, 3
Ildri has experienced a learning burst recently, and is doing very well with her numbers, letters and colors. She can count to fifteen or sixteen, but she usually skips six and eight. She usually likes it when Dave and I sing the alphabet song, and particularly enjoys asking Mommy to jump rope and sing. But lately, she's been going through the alphabet on her own. Here's a video of her reciting her ABCs. It's close, but pretty quiet!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Long Lost Mama
Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since October. Let's see, what's happened since then?
Ildri is still a fountain of language. She simply doesn't stop. Her first phrase popped up about a month ago, during a bath. Ildri was playing in the tub while I sat beside her, reading a book. Suddenly I heard her say "I sees you, feet". I looked over, and she had her legs inside her bath toy caddy, with her toes pushed through one of the openings. I couldn't stop laughing. It was one of the cutest utterances I'd ever heard from her. Since then, she's continued to put short phrases together and she's constantly parroting everything David and I say. This morning, I overheard her saying "sit down for breakfast, sweetie" as she was heading to her high chair.
In November, Ildri had a bout of the stomach flu for the first time. It was pretty terrifying for her, and unpleasant for the whole family. Dave came down with the same bug, yet I remained relatively healthy. Perhaps it was because I pretty much stopped eating for a few days. Ildri got through it like a champ, and I'm still amazed at a toddler's ability to be so sick yet still laugh and play throughout the day. The one good outcome of the flu: it was a great time to wean Ildri off her nighttime bottle. We didn't give her the usual big bottle of milk before bed for a few nights, so we decided not to return it to her routine. She asked for her bottle for a couple nights, but that was it. I thought I would miss the cuddling that came with the nighttime bottle, but that was easily replaced with snuggles and books. Now she has dinner with Daddy and Mommy every night, which is great fun! Bye bye, bottles!
November also brought our first family trip to Cleveland to visit Grandpa Bob and Grandma Gert. Admittedly, I was DREADING the long car ride. After some debate, we decided to try to to the bulk of the driving during the night, hoping Ildri would sleep for most of it. Good idea, right? We even mentioned the plan to Ildri several times, letting her know that she would have to go "night-night" in the car when we went to Ohio. We gave it a good shot, but ended up with a screaming toddler and a night in a hotel in Indiana. The visit itself was wonderful, and Ildri loved being with her Grandma and Grandpa in Ohio. She was really into a giant collection of animals that Bob and Gert have amassed over the years.
Sometimes, Ildri says something that Dave and I just can figure out. There was a word she would repeat often in stores or while we were in the car. It sounded like "Grandma's" or "cameras", but that didn't fit contextually. Finally, I realized that she was saying "Christmas"! I don't know how she picked up the word, as we hadn't decorated or talked about Christmas. Still, she was saying it in relation to Christmas lights on houses and trees, and Christmas decorations in stores. Once we realized what her mystery word was, we ran out to get our first Christmas tree. We went a little nuts with all the decorations and lights, but how can you blame us? Children make Christmas magical all over again. Ildri loved the tree, and besides pulling the bows off all the presents, she was very well-behaved with the decorations.
I'll have to finish our holidays in another post - I still need to upload the photos from our camera!
Ildri is still a fountain of language. She simply doesn't stop. Her first phrase popped up about a month ago, during a bath. Ildri was playing in the tub while I sat beside her, reading a book. Suddenly I heard her say "I sees you, feet". I looked over, and she had her legs inside her bath toy caddy, with her toes pushed through one of the openings. I couldn't stop laughing. It was one of the cutest utterances I'd ever heard from her. Since then, she's continued to put short phrases together and she's constantly parroting everything David and I say. This morning, I overheard her saying "sit down for breakfast, sweetie" as she was heading to her high chair.
In November, Ildri had a bout of the stomach flu for the first time. It was pretty terrifying for her, and unpleasant for the whole family. Dave came down with the same bug, yet I remained relatively healthy. Perhaps it was because I pretty much stopped eating for a few days. Ildri got through it like a champ, and I'm still amazed at a toddler's ability to be so sick yet still laugh and play throughout the day. The one good outcome of the flu: it was a great time to wean Ildri off her nighttime bottle. We didn't give her the usual big bottle of milk before bed for a few nights, so we decided not to return it to her routine. She asked for her bottle for a couple nights, but that was it. I thought I would miss the cuddling that came with the nighttime bottle, but that was easily replaced with snuggles and books. Now she has dinner with Daddy and Mommy every night, which is great fun! Bye bye, bottles!
November also brought our first family trip to Cleveland to visit Grandpa Bob and Grandma Gert. Admittedly, I was DREADING the long car ride. After some debate, we decided to try to to the bulk of the driving during the night, hoping Ildri would sleep for most of it. Good idea, right? We even mentioned the plan to Ildri several times, letting her know that she would have to go "night-night" in the car when we went to Ohio. We gave it a good shot, but ended up with a screaming toddler and a night in a hotel in Indiana. The visit itself was wonderful, and Ildri loved being with her Grandma and Grandpa in Ohio. She was really into a giant collection of animals that Bob and Gert have amassed over the years.
Sometimes, Ildri says something that Dave and I just can figure out. There was a word she would repeat often in stores or while we were in the car. It sounded like "Grandma's" or "cameras", but that didn't fit contextually. Finally, I realized that she was saying "Christmas"! I don't know how she picked up the word, as we hadn't decorated or talked about Christmas. Still, she was saying it in relation to Christmas lights on houses and trees, and Christmas decorations in stores. Once we realized what her mystery word was, we ran out to get our first Christmas tree. We went a little nuts with all the decorations and lights, but how can you blame us? Children make Christmas magical all over again. Ildri loved the tree, and besides pulling the bows off all the presents, she was very well-behaved with the decorations.
I'll have to finish our holidays in another post - I still need to upload the photos from our camera!
Monday, October 4, 2010
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!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
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.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Real Birthday
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.
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