Category: Updates about Sylvia

Andrew loves his trike!  You may remember that last spring I was trying to decide whether I should get him a bigger tricycle (he’d outgrown the one he was using) or if I should get him a glider or a bike with training wheels.  I got him the bike with training wheels, and it turns out that he strongly avoided riding it.  “I’ll ride it tomorrow, Mom!”

So mid-summer, I found a big tricycle at a garage sale ($4, baby!), and Andrew’s been zipping up and down the driveway on it all the time.  But now I’ve got a little problem, and her name is…  Let me rephrase.  Sylvia wants to ride the tricycle too.  But it’s too big for her – it’s just too high for her to sit on without probably falling off.  So I would like to get her her own trike.

Here’s where I would like your help.  I thought I was going to get her the kind of trike Andrew had been using, the Radio Flyer Steer and Stroll trike.  I loved being able to push Andrew without having to bend over while walking down the road.  I liked being able to steer him when we were crossing streets.  I like that it has a seat belt because Sylvia is prone to deciding she wants to stop what she’s doing mid-ride, and a seat belt might help her dive off the trike this summer.

Continue reading “Tricycle decisions – assistance requested”

Sylvia turned 18-months-old today!  She’s a year-and-a-half old.  Wow.  I thought about making cupcakes, I mean, any excuse for cupcakes, right?

Continue reading “Half-birthday!”

It may have been caused by almost an hour of this:

[flickr video=3813066932]

I went to the UW Credit Union with Sylvia today (Andrew was at an Aldo Leopold Nature Center class).  My sweet girl was darling and flirtatious for the first 20 minutes.  Then I took her to the bathroom and she wanted to wash her hands (without end), and when I took her away from the sink, she screamed screamed for about 40 minutes.  This video is taken on the drive home*.

Soon after, I felt a searing pain in my temples, I was seeing spots, and I had a strong desire to throw up or go to sleep.  If I’m 70 and seeing a neurologist about brain troubles, I’m pointing the finger at least in part at my sweet daughter’s mind-destroyingly shrill, persistent screeching.

*I don’t condone the filming of videos while driving.  I was desperate.  I pointed the camera at here while I was stopped and held it with one hand while facing forward driving.  Just so you know:)

My little girl’s 17-month birthday is today!  This morning, Andrew and Bryan went fishing at the lake (trying out their new Father’s Day fishing poles), and Sylvie and I played in the yard.  She is getting good at kicking a ball.  She runs up to it, gives it a kick while on the move, and keeps running after it.  Run, run run!  That little girl looks so cute as she dashes about after her brother!

Continue reading “Syliva at 17 months”

We had a bit of undesired excitement this morning.  As Bryan and I were having breakfast and coffee, Andrew and Sylvie were (I thought) playing in Andrew’s room.  Sylvie’s ear-splitting shriek brought me running down the hall where I discovered her finger was closed in the hinge-side of Andrew’s bedroom door.  I opened the door to release her bleeding, dented, munched index finger.  ohhh dear.

Bryan called the doctor’s office while I cleaned and comforted the little miss.  She calmed down after a few minutes and would touch her index fingers together (the sign for “hurt”) and then she’d point concernedly at her left finger.  Her finger had a big, purple dent, and the knuckle was kind of off to the side.  After about an hour (when we were at Urgent Care), it had returned to a normal shape but was very swollen.  My poor, sweet little girl.

Continue reading “First x-ray”

Sylvia is very aware of airplanes these days.  Very aware.  And we have a remarkable number of airplanes pass over our house.  I remember this from when Andrew was her age.  As these little people become able to share information, suddenly they notice – and point out – so many things that I would never have seen.

So every hour or so, Sylvie runs over to me, somewhat anxiously calling, “MaaMAA Maaa MA!”  She is holding her finger to her ear (the sign for “hear”).  She hears an airplane.  She’s excited and a little worried and usually wants to climb on my lap while I share with her that I too hear the airplane.  If we’re outside we look for it.  If we’re inside, we point out the window together.  Once the noise has passed, she climbs down and resumes her activities.

So sweet, so fleeting.  These days of early communication and discovery are really wonderful.