We just got back from over a week out in CA for Tony/Heidi's wedding. We saw tons of people, got to show off Egg to our SF friends, and came back exhasted. At least I was. It was a blast but I can completely understand why people like to take vacations and stay in one place. We stayed with Barry/Promita/Niku. Egg loved playing with Niku. they had a great time even though Niku is talking and Egg has a limited set of words.

And talking about talking, here are some of the funny things she says:

Booch - book
Nuchk - nuts
Snackk - snack (she loves to say works ending in K)
Nanas - banana

Knows her animal sounds: cow, lion, sheep, does panting for dog, usually says "no-eee" for cat, and opens and closes her mouth for fish

she's been putting words together for a couple months: "no outside!" when she didn't want to go out on Skot/Darla's roofdeck, and last night she said "no booch. Daddy!" when she didn't want me to read to her and she wanted D to play instead

Egg's last breastfeeding was July 19 at 3:30 am - she was almost 16 months old. We had a tough time weaning her and she had some pretty sad mornings when she woke up and didn't get her boob food with Mommy :(

But I tried to keep her really busy the minute she woke up - gave her bananas and raisins, let her play with Noe, brought out playdough, crayons, and basically did everything I could to distract her. And Danny put her to bed so she wouldn't miss it at night. We had to use a pacifier for a couple of nights to soothe her. no biggie.

She missed her feedings for about 2 weeks, but she's perfectly fine now. I can even rock her in the glider (formally used almost exclusively for feedings) and read her stories without fearing that she expects to be fed.

I'm sure there are some lessons here and ways to do things differently next time to make weaning easier, but all is well that ends well. And we're all doing just fine

Nothing much to report here.  Funny vocabulary modification going on--Elizabeth is now saying "Mumeeeee" with a sharp accent on the "eeee".  It's pretty cute.  Though sometimes she says it for other things than wanting Mommy.

Eggy had her 15 month appt with Dr. Landis on Monday, July 12.  She weighs 22 lbs 4 oz, is 31 inches tall, and her head circumference is 45.5 cm.  Tooth check: front four top and bottom and all four large molars.  Next coming in are her canines - I guess those will help her eat dog food?  She seems to bite on her fingers now and then which leads me to believe those teeth will cut soon.
 
This a.m. when we were in the kitchen I asked Elizabeth is she wanted to "go upstairs?"  She immediately put down the plastic containers she was playing with and ran over to the stair case.  Things like that show a different level of development--for example she can point out specific items on a page in a book (banana, dog, horse, etc.) and at this point pretty much knows her entire body, from hands, head, hair, feet, nose, eyes, to belly button, diaper, shoe, etc.*  But asking her a question such as "do you want to go upstairs?" is a different level of understanding that she can comprehend.  Another example that Linea just reminded me of is "We are going to the park, get your shoes."
 
These days she can do puzzles with irregular shapes, brushes her teeth, "talks" on the phone, brushes her and our hair, and soon with get a little potty so she can share the experience with us since she is showing an interest.
 
Of course there are some issues: when she has something you don't want her to have and try to take it away, there is usually crying.  Also, she hates it when you wipe her hands and face after a meal.  That's the breaks kid!

Other items:  She likes to dance with music - usually by circling; we chase each other around the living room; and one of our best used tactics to distract her when mommy leaves in the morning is to play "Grovercise" - where Grover does a bunch of actions that Elizabeth repeats.

* Here is a list of known vocabulary:

• all dah (all done)
• daw (dog)
• nohw (nose)
• nouh (Noe)
• no (no)
• mama
• bada
• bubah (bubble)
• bah (ball)
• more - uses finger to point to item then herself
• hiiiiiiiy (hi)
• high da (hi there)

I'm sure there are a couple missing!  Doc says at this stage they usually have 5 words and at 18 months should have 10 words.

 

I know these posts aren't the most interesting to read but it does help us capture some neat developments... so here goes!

Elizabeth helps clean herself with a wipe when we change the diaper, she likes to say Hi, Noh (for Nose), and loves to point to her nose, bellybutton, etc and also other items. Grandma Joan opened a picture book and asked Elizabeth where the banana was and she pointed right to it.

Last night before bed time we did some vocabulary. Linea and I would try to locate items in her room that she might recognize and we'd then ask Elizabeth "Where is the XXX"? I'd say she correctly pointed to or looked at most of the items, including the "kitty book", "bunny", "nose", "mommy", "daddy", "window", "crib", and so forth - we estimated she was familiar with about 25 words and are guessing there are many more beyond that!

She calls "Noe" the cat "No"...

Eggie likes to blow bubbles in the bathtub. She says "bubbles" and then we put the little bubble ring in front of her mouth and she blows her own bubbles! Of course now trying to get her to "blow" from her nose is more difficult!!!

Baby girl is happy to be on her feet. No stopping her now.

She points to her (and others) nose and bellybutton. She says "bubbles" when we blow them in the tub. She is saying "no" and "yes" more.

On Friday, May 21 Elizabeth took her first real steps without help... This is the day she offically walked. Once she started she didn't want to stop! She has never cried from falling down... she just gets back up and tries again. And she's talking a lot - almost real words besides the normal mommas and dadas...

Also, yesterday, May 24, Elizabeth's new cousin Mason was born. He is really a special little baby--and very cute to boot! Elizabeth had a lot of fun playing with her cousin Xander in the maternity room...

Lastly, she recently had her 1 year evaluation at daycare--she got a special report--basically the teachers said there is no improvement necessary in any category. She is really a good student and developing nicely.

Mothers Day on a launch in Marblehead Harbor.  That is her underneath the giant orange vest!

Elizabeth's Home Page - I set this up for her a while ago - please visit and write her an email! Recent events include getting conjunctivitis - her eyes were a gooey mess... and this a.m. she said "bottle"...

Elizabeth took her first steps on April 25, 2004! At 13 mos and 4 days

Elizabeth's Buddies

Egg is a popular kid and already has a bunch of of friends.


Maya Baranoff

Cora Skidmore

Colleen Whittaker

Lucy Coletta - Egg and Lucy don't share common days at CV, but Lucy's folks are moving into our neighborhood and the kids spent Easter 2004 dining on eggs and fruit and swinging in the park.

And of course, her cousins Xander and Helena

Big news: the Egg is free standing!

She almost does it unintentionally. She'll be focusing in on something else, like taking spoons out of the dishwasher, then all of a sudden realize that she's standing up without support. And last night she stood up from a sitting position.

Elizabeth is developing her own special language. She says some English words like mama, dada, all done (ah dah), and hi there (hi dah) --very cute.

Even more charming is her own unique language that sounds something like "pishwa shwa-shwa pishwa". And she chuckles to herself in between phrases.

Egg's 1 year check up with Dr Landis

weight 19 lb 11 oz
height 28.5 inches
head 44.5 cm

She's doing great -- very healthy. Her weight and height are in the 50th percentile, meaning that half the kids are taller/heavier and half are shorter/lighter. Of course, her brains, personality, and looks are in the 1000th percentile!

Dr Landis have her the ok to eat everything except for nuts. And speaking of food. Egg is officially drinking cows milk. I'm still nursing her mornings and evenings, but she'll drink cows milk during the day. She only drank a total of about 6 bottles of formula during the transition.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIZABETH!

We had a big party for Egg's 1st birthday yesterday. Lots of family, including Grandma Joan and both Grandpa Fred and Herb, and lots of friends. I made Egg a special two-layer vanilla cake with lemon buttercream icing -- covered in purple, pink, green, and yellow flowers. She loved it! ate an entire piece on her own.

Egg had a blast chasing Xander and playing with Colleen Whittaker. She made it through the entire party and didn't zonk out for a nap until the giant pile of gifts where opened.

Guest list: Joan & Fred, Herb, Kris/Scott & Xander, Wendy & Marty, Lois & Dave Ardito, Karen/Tom & Lucas, Charlie/Kathy & Colleen.

The Egg's latest is climbing the stairs. She loves it! We stand behind her just in case, but she motors up the whole flight in about 2 minutes.

Her other recent favorite is helping Danny unload the dishwasher. She pulls herself up to the open dishwasher door and hands him silverware one by one. Then she leans into the door to prop herself up and grabs dinner plates with both hands. You should see her little face --all twisted up as she struggles to lift up the heavy plates.

And today Danny said she crawled into her bedroom and closed the door. He peeked in there and found her sitting quietly reading her nursery rhyme book.

We had a fantastic 4-day weekend last week and I want to record a few highlights.

Saturday - Egg and I (L) drove into the alewife station and took the T into Harvard Square. The two of us had a blast strolling around doing errands (clogs for Mom, Robeez shoes for E). And I was psyched to learn that you can roll a stroller right into the restroom at Peets -- well, at least the women's room. Killer coffee and a stroller-friendly restroom, what a combo.

Sunday - We all went to Maya Barnoff's 1st birthday party. We ate pizza and I split a giant piece of carror cake with E. she loved it. I probably let her eat too much of it becuase it took me an hour to get her down for an afternoon nap. oh well, live and learn. the other hit that day was the puple balloon she got at the party. She clutched it for about 2 hours straight that evening -- even held it with one hand while she ate with the other.

Monday - can't remember what we did

Tuesday - warmed up to a balmy 30 and we went for a walk. I love the hot pocket, keeps her toasty in the jogger.

The other big event that weekend was the much anticipated car seat turn around. Car trips are a whole new experience now that the Egg is facing forward. much much better.

Elizabeth is officially crawling. Not just once in a while, but all the time now. Her launch pad is usually the dining room. In the old days she'd play peacefully in there while we did stuff in the kitchen. Those days are long gone. From the dining room she'll zip into the kitchen and of course head straight for the un-baby-proofed areas like a low drawer that has sharp pointy things. Or somethings she heads northeast through the living room and into her play room. she's very pleased with herself. But the destination that always calls to her is Noe the cat. I think Noe loves the attention, but is a little nervous. This once helpless, stationery little baby is now coming at her at full steam.

Even now that she's on the move, she still prefers company to being alone. She loves games --all kinds of games: peek-a-boo, pulling tissues out of the box, and rolling a ball back and forth with you. She's mastered the little kitchen and puts the food cubes in the holes, then pushes a button to make them come out the other side. This game is designed for 2-yr olds so Egg is clearly ahead of the pack.

I am typing this as Egg crawls all over me so will keep it short. Today is the first day I have proof that she crawls. She actually crawled in her diapers this a.m. across the rug in her room to reach a toy. I was very pleased to say the least. I think in a couple more weeks she'll have the crawling thing down. Also Linea claims that Egg said "Ma Ma" to her a couple days ago... I have no reason to doubt, yet I would like to see (hear) the real deal.

Happy New Year -
It's one day into 2004 and already Elizabeth has surprised us with a couple of new tricks:
1) she shares now - she put a piece of cracker into my mouth so I could have a taste
2) only minutes later she was spotted, doing what Linea called "the military style" crawl... she was inching along under the dining room table with her elbows in order to get a toy... I was very happy to see that!
3) She likes to say "Uh Oh!"