Nov. 21: I’ve been intending to post about some of the adorable things Sylvia has been doing, but she hasn’t been napping for much over a half hour recently. That doesn’t give a mom much time to be on the computer:) And it kinda makes for a grouchy, over-tired baby. But enough of that! She’s so sweet, so adorable, and growing so fast! Here are some of the cute things that Sylvia has been doing these days that make us smile and melt our hearts.
- Sharing food: In the last week, Sylvia has discovered the great fun of sharing her food. She offers up a bit of cracker or mushed fruit or whatever happens to be on her tray. If I lean in and nibble at it, saying, “Mmmmm!!! So goooood!” she grins hugely, gets all squirmy, and chuckles with delight. Then my insides get all mushy because Sylvia’s chuckle is just so life-affirming:)
- Sylvia has had a soft pink blanket-dog that she’s been sleeping with since she was tiny. When she was really little, she loved to have it draped over her face while she slept (she wasn’t so in to the SIDS recommendations of avoiding soft items in the crib). In recent weeks, “poodle nose” has gone from being something we hand her to help her fall asleep to becoming something she is really attached to. She grabs for it when she wakes up, its familiar presence helps her fall asleep, and these days when she wakes up happy (a rarity), she holds up Poodle Nose to me to greet. It’s like, “Hey, Mom, give Poodle Nose a kiss too!” Andrew never really developed an affection for a toy, so this is kind of fun and new for me!
- Tubby time is Sylvia’s favorite part of the day. She loves it. She vibrates with excitement. When I took a shower this morning, she spent the whole time screeching at me and trying to work her way through the shower curtain so she could get in too.
When we say that it’s tubby time, she crawls after us into the bathroom. Then she pulls herself up on the edge of the tub and talks animatedly about how she can’t wait to get in the water. Bryan discovered that undressing her while she’s standing there means that there is no crying, and it’s so cute the way that she helps us take her clothes off. This little 9-month-old girl is stepping out out of her pants when we pull them down. Seeing her tiny little feel pull up out of the pant legs, one after the other, is so very very adorable. I took a video:)
When she’s in the tub, much laughter and splashing ensues. Especially if Big Brother joins her. She loves those nights. She hasn’t ever minded getting water on her face, and she’s blowing bubbles in the water all on her own. It makes her quite happy.
These days, we get her in her PJs, read her two stories, and nurse her before laying her down for bed. For the most part, she goes right to sleep. - No description of Sylvia’s activities would be complete without mentioning The Screech. It’s loud. And she does it a lot. A Lot. It’s like a police whistle. Piercing. Sustained. Numbing all other thought. I believe that it’s decreasing in its frequency. At this point she mostly screeches during meals (when she wants more, is all done, isn’t thrilled with the menu or the service or the ambiance) or when Andrew is preventing her from doing something she wants.
- I’m a little worried about our plane trip next week. Andrew was such a mellow, well, person. So travel with him has been pretty easy. There were times developmentally when he’s been harder or easier, but in general, you show him books, feed him, or bring a few toys and he is all set. With Sylvia, I’m thinking…not so much… She really isn’t too into toys. Books make her mad. What she likes to do is interact with people, crawl around, pull things out (that’s a really big developmental stage she’s in right now), interact with people, crawl around, etc. I’m hoping that peek-a-boo can entertain her for a long time. She LOVES that game. Hoping that we don’t end up with a lot of screeching. And/or that the “fasten seatbelt” sign is not illuminated for a good stretch of the flight. As we learned on our train trip, she really enjoys having me walk her up and down the aisle.
On the other hand, if she doesn’t do well, that’s fine too. It’s not that long of a flight!
So that’s a snapshot of some of Sylvia’s activities these days. I can’t wait to go to Texas to share her fun-ness with Bryan’s family!