Week 10 First Time Eating Out!

Our little girl is turning into a toddler! She now runs away and hides whenever I: a) fix her hair; b) put on her jacket; c) put on her jacket; d) all of the above and more. Correct answer: d. But she's still a cuddle bunny so I guess we'll keep her.

Posted are some pictures of her at snack time at ECFE class, supper at McDonald's, her first fancy meal lunch at a restaurant with the extended family, and trick-or-treating at the General Mill's Fall Festival.

More words this week: hug, cookie, cracker, hi, and others that I'm forgetting right now.

Also, big news---in two weeks Gia has her first skills test in swimming class to see if she can move onto the next level. I, and all the other mothers in the class, couldn't hold back our snorts when this was announced. Give us a break....these kids are 8 months old to 2 years old--a test?? We all agreed that staying in the same level would be just fine. We'll let you know how it goes. Gia hates doing the back float. It just could be her Achilles heel.

Week 9

Sorry for the delay in posting. While I have lots to tell you, I have little in the way of photos. You have no idea how hard it is to get a photo of a toddler. In the event that you've forgotten what a toddler is, the definition is "a little human in constant motion." Blurred pictures are the norm, and forget about trying to get her to smile or even look at the camera. So posted are our best attempts--don't laugh.

The words are coming fast and furious. Though I haven't counted I would say we're up to 20+ words. Some of her newer words are airplane, puppy, kitty, ice, nose, ear, eye, elbow, cracker, car, oh-oh (as in woops, mommy made a mistake), banana, bird, duck, quack quack---mostly nouns. No verbs yet.

She has mastered the art of saying no and shaking her head no, to everything we say, albeit to her benefit or not. And she's in constant motion--did I mention that? On a daily basis she empties the tupperware cupboard, napkin cupboard, towel drawer, spoon drawer, utensil drawer, pen drawer, and garbage. And I pretty much let her because usually during these times I'm trying to prepare some new nutritious, tasty meal that she most likely won't eat. Eating has become less important to her and though I wouldn't call her a picky eater, she definitely has her preferences--sweet or salty carbs. So unless it's graham crackers, cake, chips, pasta, or bread, I'll probably only get a bite or two down her bird mouth (hence her learning the word bird). In all fairness, I would add that she loves dairy products--milk, cheese, and oh yeah, YOGURT!! When all else fails, pull out the yogurt--any brand, any flavor, she's not choosey.

The big news for the week is that she got caught up on her immunizations (5 shots--ouch), and, drumroll, she used the potty for Grandma Schryver and myself--twice with a deposit. Not sure I'm ready to potty train her, but she seems interested so I thought I'd give it a try. We've had a lot of false alarms, but the little bit of progress she made was fun.

We also picked out a daycare---might I add, the Taj Mahal of daycare. A brand new Kinderberry Care was built near our home and we toured it last week. It's a beautiful center and Gia seemed to be okay with it. Her teachers seemed very calm and friendly, and the curriculum (what? she's not even 2 years old!) is awesome. So we think we'll be signing up soon, though if you see Rob and I in a soupline, donating plasma, or recycling an unusually large amount of aluminum cans, you'll know it's all meant for the new "curriculum." Feel free to donate to the cause.

That's all for now.

Week 8 Milestones

Week 8! That means two months! Well, big news this week. Rob was able to transfer her to her crib for sleeping at night. This now means we have some privacy at night. I was pretty impressed that he was able to get this done in one week.

We also got our first cold last week--both Gia and I. She did remarkably well, whereas I spent 4 days in bed. Yeah---pretty bad stuff. I would say her cold was mostly cosmetic--snot running out of her nose constantly. She might have been more sick, but great parents that we are, we missed it.

Well, gotta run. Crying toddler. That is the story of our lives. How to keep a toddler entertained.....

Week 7 MileStones

Last Saturday night Rob, Gia and I attended a wedding. Gia did well even with the 300 guests and she was out until 8:30 pm!! (gasp) You'll find our family picture attached.

Words are starting to come now. Daddy, mamma, puppy, Quinn (pronounced "wiiin"), ice, airplane, hug, cacka (for a poopy diaper), okay, up....and a few more. The words aren't always crystal clear, but they're coming. She's so happy when she says a word we recognize---she smiles with satisfaction from ear to ear, so much so that I think her face is going to burst. We're happy with this too because it will make communicating a little easier.

I've been asked a lot how the attachment is going with Rob. It's right on par with biological families, meaning, she still prefers her mama, but she certainly will play with, hug, kiss, and go to Daddy. Rob's been doing weekend shifts to give me some relief and to help the two of them bond. So I think in all actuality, they are probably more bonded than a few biological parents where the mother does the sole parenting. Needless to say, this is a great relief for me.

Thursday we attended a shower for Gia hosted by my manager at work (thanks Indra!). It was very enjoyable, and of course everyone appropriately oo'ed and ah'ed. Up until Thursday, Gia would not go to new people at all (this is a good thing---called "stranger danger"). However, my colleague Ivette cracked the code and became the first new person Gia went to without reservation. What's the secret? Hmmm, Ivette gave Gia her cell phone---complete and full rights to all buttons---no holds bar. A shiny, flashy thing blinded my daughter and caused her to abandon all hesitation. A mama just can't compete!

Feel free to drop a line or post a comment!

Week 6 Mile Stones

Actually, week 6 was pretty rough--for me anyway. I had a migraine and wasn't able to care for Gia Saturday through Wednesday, but between the Grandma's and Rob, Gia was well looked after. Never fear, the Grandma's are here. Might I add, Grandma's are a good invention.

However, that created the major milestone of her feeling more comfortable away from me. She did well with the G's, and did well with Rob, so we think Gia is learning to feel more secure with her immediate family.

The tutu--well, I just couldn't resist buying it. It was on sale, and oh soo cute, oh soo girlie. Enjoy!