Letters to Sylvie: December 2014

Dear Sylvie,

These last couple of months have been quite the wild ride. You've grown up so much it's almost hard to believe. I thought this time I'd just tell you about a few of the things you say and do that make me laugh and on the flip side, make me want to tear my hair out.

You are getting to be quite a chatterbox. You are progressively speaking more in sentences than in one or two word phrases. You have to know where everybody is at all times and what they're doing, especially when you first wake up. Usually the first words out of your mouth are:

"Where Mama/Daddy go?"  or "Mama/Daddy go work in black car?"

Wearing Daddy's head and wrist bands for his Halloween costume. It looked like you were ready to kick some butt at dodge ball!

You also constantly ask what we're doing and want to participate. I'm sure this is why you're so interested in tying flies as Daddy is always sitting at his fly tying bench. He set you up with your own little vice and giant hook to tie on and you're actually getting really good. You love to sit there and tie your own fly and dictate what you're doing – "wrap it, wrap it..." It's the cutest thing ever.

You have several things that you really love. One of them is your "Big Bear". He goes with you EVERYWHERE. He's constantly tucked under your arm, occasionally wearing one of your shirts, and is frequently squeezed with such vehemence as to emit a grunt out of you. You love him so much.

We finally turned your car seat to face forward and you LOVE it!

A rare day on which you let me do your hair.

I cannot believe how much you pick up on. We have to be careful not to give you too much leeway with things or you will exploit the hell out of whatever we do. For instance, if you happen upon something that has bought you more time before taking a nap, you'll invoke it each time before we put you to bed. You will always say you're hungry or want a "pouch" (fruit pouch you get for snacks). There are some times where I think you might be legitimately hungry and the mother in me just can't bear to put you to bed without a snack, just in case. Other times I know you're so full you're about ready to pop and I call your bluff. One time Daddy put you to bed and you played around for a quite a while so he figured you weren't quite tired enough yet. So, he took you downstairs to watch football (you call it "fatball") for a while. So, now you frequently ask if you can "Watch fatball with Daddy?" when he puts you down for a nap. Very clever. You already know so many of our weak spots.

You LOVE to paint!

While you are generally very well behaved, you have begun the tantrum stage. Usually the tantrums come and go. You'll be an angel for a week or two and then have a few days in a row where I could swear your soul has been replaced with one of the Devil's imps. You'll be just fine one minute and then BAM something (sometimes we have no idea what) will set you off into a blind fury of screaming and crying and general irrationality. No amount of calm reasoning or threats will dissuade you in the slightest and I think "WHERE HAS MY SWEET LITTLE GIRL GONE?"

For instance, one day you wanted some grapes I was cutting up. So I thought I'd be nice and cut up a few and put them in a bowl for you. BUT NO. This would not do. You had to have TWO grapes in your hand right that moment and would not calm down until I removed them from the bowl and handed them to you. Of course 2 minutes later you came back looking for more grapes and I handed you the bowl full of grapes you'd previously shunned without incident. There is no knowing what is happening in that little mind of yours.

You wanted me to take your picture with Big Bear in your hood and asked me when you saw it why I was in the picture. Turns out you're 15, not 2 1/2 like I thought.

You are all about playing outside. It's the first thing you want to do every morning when you get up. This is getting a little harder to do as it gets cold and dark outside, but you still enjoy it just as much as you did during the warmer months. We got you a pair of rain boots and a full-body slicker for our trip to Oregon in a month and you especially love your boots. You want to wear them ALL THE TIME.

One of your common phrases is, "Oh yeah, I do!" This doesn't always make complete sense as you will use it for questions such as "Did you eat all your breakfast today?" or "Did Daddy take you to the park?" Daddy and I have taken to using this phrase as well. It'll be a wonder if you are ever able to determine correct speech patterns.

A rare occasion on which you let me try something new with your hair. 

Just a short incident that happened one weekend – Daddy and I were sitting in your room with you and you were scuttling about playing with toys or whatnot. At one point you decided to leave the room for some purpose and as you opened the door to leave you said, "Don't worry, I'll be right back." Daddy and I just looked at each other and laughed in wonder at your grown-up sounding sentence. You really do listen to everything we say.

You LOVE to go get donuts and watch them being made.

 This year you are really loving the Christmas season. You LOVE Christmas lights and point them out wherever we go. We put our Christmas tree up just before Thanksgiving and it is your favorite thing. You call it your "Trismas Tree" and ask every morning if Christmas is still here. We also got a little nativity set for you to play with which you took to immediately. Not too long after it was out of the package, you sent "Baby Zeesus" on a bus ride to the park with the Angel. I have a feeling you are going to be very upset when we have to put Christmas away in another month.

Helping Daddy put the star on the Christmas tree.

Baby Jesus on a bus to the park.

As far as physical milestones go, you are very good at opening and closing doors. You also frequently lock doors, but have figured out with a small amount of coaching how to open them. You love to jump off of things and practice running as fast as you can. You are getting really good at going up and down stairs standing up, though we still try to hold your hand as you aren't super reliable yet. You're very good at drinking out of a regular cup and eating with a fork or spoon. Half of the time I forget to put a bib on you because you're such a clean eater. We have not tried potty training again yet, but I think we're going to try again after Christmas to see if you're ready. You love to flush the potty and you're getting much better at pulling down your pants/removing your clothing.

Here are just a few of your random likes/dislikes:

Likes

Movies (esp. Annie, Despicable Me ("Me"), Finding Nemo, and Toy Story)
Sugary Cereal (esp. Trix ("Balls" and Fruit Loops)
Candy (esp. suckers)
Rain Boots
Your pink phone (Mommy's old smartphone that you play songs on)
Wearing multiple shirts
Vegetables
Playgrounds/Parks
Scrambled Eggs (usually)
Licking the beaters
Helping mama cook/bake
Tying flies
Coloring & Painting
Pizza crust (you eat that end first when we get pizza)
Opening & Closing Doors
Jumping/playing on beds
Green yogurt (lime flavor)
Soda & Juice
Taking your vitamin ("man")
Shrimp

Eating your pizza crust-first.

Dislikes

Meat (you'll rarely eat it)
Potatoes (unless they're fries)
Getting your teeth or hair brushed
Putting on pants
Getting your diaper changed
Trying new foods

Turns out it was hard for me to think of things you don't like. You're generally so easy going and love to play and explore new things. It's a rare occasion you're sad or grumpy for any length of time. You're so fun and full of life and your Daddy and I just love watching you grow and experience things. We enjoy you more and more each day and are so happy to have you in our lives. You're our little ray of sunshine.

I love you Huggie Buggie!

Love, Mama

Letters to Sylvie: September 2014

Dear Sylvie,

Things have been a little crazy around here lately and I haven't been quite as diligent in writing about you and your milestones. That's not to say there is a lack of things to talk about, however.

Hanging out with Daddy

I honestly can't believe how much you have progressed in the last couple of months, especially with your language skills. You're like a little sponge – constantly listening to everything around you and repeating what you hear. I can actually understand a lot of what you say, as basic as your language is. You're beginning to put together multi-word sentences and can tell me little events that happened during the day, or details about something you see. You know all your colors and love to point to things at random and tell me what color they are. Grandma & Grandpa Hanson came to visit recently and even a couple of weeks after they'd been here, you kept talking about "Grandma & Grandpa's red car." You love to look out the window and name the colors of all the cars on the street.

Helping Mommy make cookies. You love to help in the kitchen!

You are very good at your letters. You don't repeat the alphabet, but you can identify about 80% of the letters. You love to point out the letters on signs and tell me what they are. You're also starting to get a handle on counting and numbers. Usually when I ask you how old you are you'll say "2!" and hold up your fingers to show me (even though you have a hard time with that part and it usually looks like a 3). You know what "one" and "two" are and can count to two. The other day while we were sitting at the dinner table you tooted twice and correctly said, "TWO TOOTS!" My favorite thing lately is instead of saying "one, two, three" before you do something you say "two, nine, ten!" I have to make a concerted effort not to encourage the adorable, but incorrect counting.

Out getting donuts on a Saturday morning.

Your new "hat"

You have recently started saying "OK" instead of "yes." These terms are not always interchangeable. For instance, you will say something like "Play outside?" and I'll repeat "You want to play outside?" just to make sure I've heard you correctly. Then you'll enthusiastically say "Oh OK!" as if I just presented you with this great idea that you are now agreeing to.

Having a blast playing in the Ogden River

While you have always being outdoors, over the last few months you have become quite the little adventurer. Your daddy will frequently take you out in the morning to various places like Antelope Island, walking along different places on the Weber River, or to the park to feed ducks. Recently we went for a hike up by Snowbasin. You hiked the whole way up, picking up small rocks and "jumping" off the bigger ones, and refused to be carried at all. You were also very interested in seeing deer. You chattered the whole time asking "Where did the deer go?" and looking all around. At one point you claimed you saw one.

Hiking up to Green Pond at Snowbasin

You have a handful of favorite things right now. Daniel Tiger is out and Disney movies are in. More specifically "Nemo" and "Miyama"(Llama) aka "The Emperors New Groove." While you watch your movies you like to have "Tohwn" (popcorn) or chips. Even better is when I let you watch movies with me in my bed (on the Kindle). Sometimes I'll get you a little bowl of grapes instead of popcorn or chips. Maybe I should even switch to broccoli. You will tune out and watch your show and mindlessly eat everything in your bowl.

You and your cute cousin Liam at the fair.

Milking the cow with Soren & Liam

Speaking of favorite foods, you have a handful of items that you would eat at any time. Your most recent find is Trix cereal which you call "balls." You will now eat cereal with milk (woohoo!) and it's the cutest to hear you ask for your "balls with moot." You also love corn and tomatoes. You will easily eat a whole ear of corn by yourself. And you love to eat the little yellow grape tomatoes from the garden. You also like the larger red tomatoes in the garden as well, especially when you get to pick them. The other day you picked a nice red one and immediately started eating it like an apple. It was the cutest thing ever to see you tottering around the yard munching on your tomato. Did I mention you call tomatoes "toes"? Adorable. Oh and how could I forget about fries and juice? It's kind of a tradition to go out once a week and get McDonald's. Once when I took you there after we went to the park we got an ice cream cone too. So now whenever we're driving around running errands you think it's fries, juice, and ice cream time. Sometimes you're right!

Chomping on corn at the Idaho Fair

Eating your favorite... tomatoes!

Your biggest accomplishment as of late is your mastery of the swing set. You will finally go down the slide all by yourself. You go down the slide and climb up the slide. You always look so proud of yourself. Heck you'll even go down some of the slides at the park by yourself! And all of a sudden you love to swing. You used to hate it and wouldn't last more than 30 seconds, if you'd even get on it at all. Now you'll swing for an hour if we let you, especially if you're playing "swing ball" with Daddy. This is where you hold a ball and then throw it in a way that Daddy can't catch it. I am not good at swing ball. Daddy claims he can catch just about everything you throw. You think it's so funny and will giggle and laugh like it's the funniest thing you've ever seen.

Showing off your slide skills.

Daddy or I will occasionally tell you about the baby in my belly, just to prep you a little and keep you in the loop. One time Daddy asked you if it was going to be a brother or sister and you told him it was a brother. So I asked you on a separate occasion if there was a boy or a girl in there and you said it was a boy. We'll see in a few weeks whether you're right! I think you're going to be a great big sister.

Sylvie your Daddy and I love you so much. You are just the sweetest little girl. You're always so fun to be around and your laughs and crazy antics make me want to constantly smother you in hugs and kisses. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter.

I love you Sylvie Sue!

Love, Mama

Letters to Sylvie: 2 Years!

Dear Sylvie,

Well, you made it! You are officially 2 years old! I think you've known there was a big milestone coming up because you have been learning and doing so many new things.

Climbing on the rocks at the park. You love to go there to feed the ducks.

You are becoming quite the little chatterbox. I can't believe how many words you can say now compared to a couple of months ago. You'll generally try to say just about any word, though you still look at me like I'm crazy when I try to get you to say large words like "hippopotamus." You finally refer to me as "Mama." When you get excited you point to all the things and say "Mama Dada Mama Dada Mama Mama Mama!!" Your newest words are grandpa & grandma, though they both sound like "Papa." Every old man we see is now Papa. You can also say duck, peas, pool, home, meow (for cat), again, sauce, ball, all done, shoes, tall, popcorn, Nemo, down, blue, car, ah oh, mess, poop, yes, yeah, & no. I'm sure there are more. There are a lot of things you can identify but can't say the word for. You know all your animals, colors, and body parts. You also make up signs for different things, the most common being "thirsty" and "hungry". You'll point to your tongue for thirsty and pat your chest when you're hungry. You now use these signals when it's time for bed to try and stall the inevitable. Sometimes it actually works!

Wearing two of your favorite things – your shades and your robe.

You have a great sense of humor. I don't know how you can identify jokes at this young age but you do. One day I was naming off a list of things trying to figure out what you wanted to eat. You were answering 'no' to all my suggestions so I asked you if you wanted a "kick in the bum." You immediately smiled with delight at such a prospect. I now routinely ask you if you want a kick in the bum just to get a smile out of you. You also show embarrassment at your father's crazy antics. He'll sing a song using a weird voice and you'll look at him and shake your head and say "Daadaa". I'm going to give you a hint here and tell you that giving Daddy a reaction to his antics will only encourage him.

Farmer Sylvie out harvesting your peas. It's the first thing you ask for when you get up.

Although we haven't started the potty training process yet, you are slowly becoming more interested in the idea. You'll sit on your potty while Mom or Daddy is in the bathroom and once I caught you just in time and got you to poop in the potty! More of a fluke than anything but it's a start! You really hate getting your diaper changed so I think you'll be much happier when you can wear your big girl panties.

You've taken to removing your pants while you're sitting on the potty and putting them on your head as a nice hat.

You're getting much better with your physical coordination. You can climb up the ladder on your little slide, screw lids on & off, drink out of a regular cup, climb up into your high chair, and you can walk pretty long distances. You are also getting much better at doing puzzles. You got a new farm animal puzzle for your birthday and I left you to put it together one day on your own. It took you about 10 minutes to finish but you ran into the kitchen to tell me you were done so I could come see your work. You were very proud of yourself. Since then you have gotten much faster and have a couple other puzzles you can do as well.

This year we had your birthday a little early so we could have more family members there. You had a Daniel Tiger theme because you LOVE Daniel Tiger. You watch it every day. Grandpa Fred & Grandma Denise and the Westons came for the party. We had pizza and Daniel Tiger cupcakes. You didn't quite get the blowing out the candle thing, but you did eat some of your cake this year! You really seemed to like your party this year and had a lot of fun. Actually you kind of had 2 parties. Your cousin Luke is just a week older than you so we had a double party during our Hanson family reunion down in Cedar City. You got to hit a pinata and play with all your cousins. Luke was very nice to share his party with you.

Eating your Daniel Tiger birthday cupcake. You wouldn't touch it with your hands.

Looking at the cute play food your Auntie Annie made you for your birthday.

Testing out your new pink bike.

Your Daniel Tiger party decorations.

Whacking the pinata at your cousin Luke's birthday party.

In general, you continue to be very obedient and helpful. You can put away all the clean silverware from the dishwasher into their correct places in the drawer and you will always help put away your books and toys where they go. Your little basket full of board books is usually pretty immaculate with all the spines facing out. You are also really good at putting your laundry away. You know right where your shirts and socks go and love to help Mommy by putting them in their place. I definitely think you got your Dad's cleanliness genes. The other day I was making something in the kitchen and you got very quiet playing in the living room. I called to you and didn't get an answer for a couple seconds so I went to investigate. Suddenly I heard your little feet pattering towards me and as you burst into the kitchen, you furiously started "cleaning" things with a ragged looking napkin you'd found. You cleaned EVERYTHING – the chairs, the window, the stools, the fridge, even the pedal on the trashcan. It was so dang adorable. Then, when you were all done I figured I'd take advantage of your cleaning spree and gave you the Swiffer broom to push around. You thought it was fun so that makes it OK (you threw a fit the other day when I wouldn't let you have a turn because you were being grabby and not asking nicely). Along those lines, we've started small punishments when you don't behave. Usually all it takes is a threat for you to go stand in the corner and you'll do what you're asked, though we have had to enforce the dreaded corner a couple of times.

You during your cleaning spree.

Cleaning up the "mess" on the floor.

Sylvie you bring so much joy into our lives. The hugs and the giggles and the sweetness make my heart feel like bursting. Every day I love you more and more and I love to see you grow and learn and become your own little person. It's crazy for me to think that one day you'll be all grown up. Hopefully by then you'll wear more clothing when you go outside. But for now, I'll soak up all your babyness for as long as I can. I sure love you Huggie Buggie.

Love, Mama

Letters to Sylvie: 21 Months

Dear Sylvie,

I can't believe two more months have gone by. Soon enough you'll be TWO!

I always marvel at the things you pick up on your own. You'll start to do one thing or another and I'll wonder where you came up with it. You've become more amenable to sitting down to watch a movie and depending on your mood you'll usually watch for 30 minutes or so. We've been starting in on the Disney movies which you seem to really like. One evening we made some popcorn and gathered on the couch to watch Cinderella. You sat there on the couch with Daddy and me and watched the movie while blindly reaching for  popcorn in the bowl. It was like you'd done it a million times! So funny.

Having fun in the photo booth. The dynamics in the last pic kill me. 

At the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum... You loved it!

Your first ice cream cone (which was promptly devoured)

We recently put in a big sandbox for you and you love to sit out there and play with your buckets and shovels. The other day I was playing with you and made a sand castle out of one of your molds. When I lifted the mold off to reveal the sand castle underneath, your eyes went huge with amazement and awe at this "magic" I'd just performed.

Playing in your sandbox

A couple months ago on a rainy day I gave you some dry beans to play with. Since then you play with them almost every day and enjoy putting them in your pots and pans. You pretend to feed them to the kitty or your teddy bear or Mom and Daddy. We give you different reactions each time you feed them to us, one of which is telling you the beans need more salt. You've started to mime adding salt to the beans and it's the cutest thing ever. You also pretend to eat things as well. Which doesn't work out so well when I want you to actually taste your food, not pretend to taste it!

You're getting big enough now that you can play on playgrounds and walk a bit during our walks. Whenever we walk on a path you constantly stop to investigate rocks and sticks (both of which you'll hand to Mommy or Daddy to carry). You do your penguin walk or your little shuffley walk or run as fast as you can. You can actually walk pretty far now without getting tired. When we go to the playground you mainly like the slides. It usually takes you a little while to go up and down the stairs though because you have to brush off all the wood chips or rocks you find there before moving up to the next step. You're not quite big enough to go down the slides yourself so you sit on my lap or I hold your hands. You always get so excited when you see the playground and I think you get a little frustrated when you see bigger kids running around and climbing things that you can't. All in due time.

Playing with giant abacus at the park.

You are getting to be quite the good little helper. You help put away your clothes into their drawers when I do the laundry and you empty your forks and spoons out of the dishwasher and put them in their spot in the drawer when Daddy does the dishes. When he empties the garbage cans you'll go put the bathroom trash can back in its place. You're pretty consistent at putting things away when we ask you to, or fetching one object or another if we need it.

First trip to the zoo. You loved this little otter as well as the giraffes.

Showing off your little top-notches.

You're still not talking too much (at least that we can understand), but you are picking up a few words here and there. You say Mama and Dada (though Mama isn't necessarily directed at me), up and down, this, and right there. You have a lot more signs and actions you make. You will do a fish gulping noise when you see or hear mention of a fish, you'll flap your arms like a chicken, make the little chick "cheap" movement with your hands, point to your ear when you hear a loud noise like an airplane or truck (I've never realized how many planes fly over our house), and raise your hands above your head for something big. You did this when you saw the giraffe at the zoo. You definitely have a way of getting your point across.

You love to smell the flowers in the yard.

 Grandma Denise sharing her potato chips with you at the weenie roast. She knows how to win you over!

Sylvie I am just amazed everyday at what a good little girl you are. You're so smart and sweet and happy, and it's unbelievably fun to watch you grow and learn. You are a bright light in our lives and we're so happy to have you.

Love, Mommy

Letters to Sylvie: 19 Months

Dear Sylvie,

Over the last couple of months you have really grown up! You can do so many things and are becoming so independent. It seems you pick up on something new everyday. Your coordination is getting remarkably better.

You can eat very well with a spoon or fork now and you can drink out of a straw. The types of foods you can eat are slowly increasing as you've finally sprouted four molars! Yeah for real teeth! As you get more and more used to eating by yourself, you are wanting more independence and don't like as much help. You'll allow us to cut up your daily pancakes for you, but other foods such as quesadillas and sandwiches have to be to left whole. Cutting things up is for babies! Your daddy and I were a little too proud the other day when you ate a small slice of pizza.

Your favorite food is definitely yogurt!

Along the food lines... you are officially and completely weaned. You were technically done just after Christmas. I was determined to stop getting up with you at night so I used the time over the holidays when your dad was home to make the transition. We went to visit your Grandma and Grandpa Hanson up in Idaho around the New Year and I put you to bed at your normal time of 8:00 pm. Two hours later, just as I got into bed, you woke up and started crying. Not wanting to get up out of my warm bed, I spoke into the baby monitor and said, "Sylvie, go to sleep." I was amazed when you immediately stopped crying and went to sleep. This happened a couple more times during the night and every time I told you to go back to sleep you did. I never had to get up with you again after that and you currently sleep for 12 hours solid during the night. Woohoo! I was very glad the process ended up being much easier than anticipated for both of us.

You have so many cute things you do every day. Lately you are loving the teddy bear your Uncle Scott & Aunt Amanda got you for Christmas. You carry it around and hug it and take it to bed with you. It's super adorable. You generally like to carry things around or move them from place to place, even more so if you can sit on said objects. You'll sit on anything that is just your height. Your very favorite thing is the little wood stool your Great Grandpa Warnes made for you. Second in line is your pink potty chair (which you're still just getting used to and not actually using), followed by 12 packs of soda and stairs. You've started to practice walking backwards and sometimes combine this with sitting on things. You'll squat down and slowly back up until your bum hits your selected chair. Cracks me up! You've also figured out how to use your stool to climb up on things. You're not too crazy yet... just climbing up on the couches, but I'm sure you'll figure out how to get into more trouble soon.

You and your teddy bear

Sitting on your "Coke bench"

You are getting very good at mimicking me & Daddy. If we put our coats on, you have to put your coat on. If I don't wear gloves, you don't want gloves. I've been counting your fingers and toes when I get you undressed and you've started to "count" as well. But you don't actually say numbers, you just copy the intonation of my voice and say "eh, eh, eh, eh, EH!" Ha ha, it's a start I guess!

Daddy said you picked out this outfit yourself

For the longest time you didn't like to be snuggled in blankets. Whenever I'd try to put a blanket over you you'd immediately pull it off. Lately though you've completely changed your mind. Whenever you're in your carseat you have to have a blanket tucked over your bottom half otherwise you'll squawk and fuss the entire ride. You also have to have the fuzzy owl blanket Grandma Denise made you for Christmas covering you when we read books in the rocking chair. It's so fun to snuggle you.

Being consoled by snacks after Mommy cut your hair

One more thing I'll mention is your toys and organization. You love to play with your big Lego blocks and the picnic basket you got for Christmas. You are very good at putting the blocks together and building towers or putting the picnic food onto the plates and pretending to eat. I'm not sure how you know, but you are very aware which toys belong where. You never mix the Legos with your picnic basket stuff and you are very good at putting them away where they go. Daddy said yesterday you built a tower with the Legos then when you were finished, you pulled all the blocks apart and put them away in the Lego bag. Everything has a place and you know right where to put it. This comes in very handy when you help me with the laundry. You really are a great little helper!

Your first time coloring

Sylvie, you are always such a joy to be around. I have so much fun playing with you and being around you. You are constantly smiling and laughing and are just the happiest little girl. You are so smart and full of energy and I can't help but be happy when I'm around you. I sure love being your mommy.

Love, Mama

Letters to Sylvie: From Daddy *Special Edition*

Hey Sylvie! It's Daddy.  Mom has written you a bunch of letters and it's about time I write you one too.

Today is Friday, Jan 3, 2014 and I just put you down for your midday nap.  I hear you fussing a little on the monitor but I know you'll settle down very soon and take a good 2 - 3 hour nap just like you do everyday.  You are a good little napper.  In fact... sounds like you've drifted off to sleep already!

This morning you woke up at 7:30.  I jumped out of bed, got dressed, splashed some water on my face and got ready to go in and get you.  But before I open your door, I paused for a moment as I always do and say to myself, "Be a good Dad today.  Be patient.  Be attentive.  Remember you'll never have this day again with your sweet little daughter so make it count."

I turn the knob and walk into the darkness.  From the hallway light I can see you standing there in your baby blue sleep sack, hands on the crib railing as always.  You always seem happy to see me.  I scoop you up and we go through our waking up rounds.  First we walk around to the living room and open the blinds to see what kind of day it is.  Then we do the same to the small curtains above the sink in the kitchen and the big curtains in front of the sliding glass door.  If it doesn't look too frigid outside, we step out onto the back step and I let you jingle the wind chime.  Lol... you always seem to get a kick out of that and so do I.  Then it's back to your room to get you changed out of your dirty diaper and pj's and into your clean diaper and regular clothes.  Lately you've taken to throwing your hands over your eyes in dramatic fashion when I click on the lamp.  Also, you rarely let me get you fully dressed on your changing pad anymore... too wiggly!  So we usually finish getting dressed in the rocking chair.  You're also starting to show some preferences for what you want to wear.   Yesterday you INSISTED on the white shoes over your usual black shoes with the skulls and crossbones, for example.  

Once fully dressed, I set you on your feet, give you a little pat on the butt and say, "Go play!"  And off you go. Though lately you've been going straight to your book bin and dragging out a volume or two for us to read.  So read we do.  I pull you up on my lap in the big white rocking chair and we power through a few books.  You rarely let me read every word or even every page - though occasionally you do.  Mostly we like to point things out on the pages, especially little birdies.  You are especially good at pointing out the birdies.  Once you tire of that... its breakfast time!

You have finally started sleeping all the way through the night!  No nursing from Mommy or anything.  And so when you wake up, you wake up with a good appetite which always makes me happy.  I love to see you eat with a little gusto!  Every morning I make you either pancakes or waffles from the mixes that your Mom makes from scratch and always keeps on hand.  That is your breakfast staple and you'll always eat them - with maple syrup of course.  You used to also love eggs but lately you turn your nose up at the them and prefer mandarin oranges instead.  You are generally a pretty good eater though and I imagine you'll eventually come around to eggs again.  

After breakfast, I let you go play while I clean up the kitchen.  However, your play frequently consists of helping me with the dishes.  You especially like unloading the dishwasher.  Believe it or not, you are actually becoming a real helper.  I have you focus on taking out your colorful plastic spoons and putting them in the right spot in the silverware drawer.  And you will actually do it. Though you then like to unload those same spoons and carry them off somewhere else.  Today you decided to pile them up under the Christmas tree.  Later, when I pointed to the empty spot in the silverware drawer and said, "Could you go get your spoons and put them here?", you actually did it!  Of course I had to text your mom and tell her about what a genius her daughter was.  She agreed.

We've been going out for walks lately and today you made your desire to go for a walk crystal clear by carrying my shoes over to me.  (Lol... I had been sitting in the chair, sipping my coffee and watching you build with your blocks.)  So we put on our jackets and hats and out we went.  You need no help going down the stairs in the garage and you'll rarely even hold my hand these days.  You can walk pretty darn well on your own and so I let you go.  We usually mill around in the driveway for a bit then walk up to the corner.  Along the way you check out the frost - It's cold! - and you've learned the hard way about being careful on the ice.  (A couple slips and falls were all it took.)  In fact, there's one spot where there's about an inch drop off in the sidewalk but there's also some ice and you've taken to getting down on hands and knees and crawling over that spot.  Lol... I guess it's safe to say you got the cautious gene.  But anyway... we walk up to the corner and even head down the street for a ways.  You like to watch the cars go by and are interested in everything.  Birds flying by, dogs barking, neighbors waving at us.  And even the littlest things like unusual texture on sidewalk or chunks of ice from peoples shoveling efforts.  Eventually we mill back to the house and head into the backyard.  There's too much snow to do much but you walk on the areas I've shoveled off on the porch, go up and down the steps a few times, and then we finally head back into the warm house.

Today I whipped up a batch of suet to feed the neighborhood birds.  You are never satisfied until I lift you up and let you have a look at what's going on up on the counter - usually when some kind of cooking is going on.  I explain about making the suet and feeding the birds and it's almost like you understand.  After that you pretty well entertain yourself.  Your Grandma and Grandpa Hanson frequently comment on how well you entertain yourself - especially for an only child who always has at least one parent pretty much hovering over her at all times.  I keep an ear out for you and check on you every once in a while.  At one point I give you a chunk of bread - actually a half of a 'hush puppy' your Mom made the other night.  You carry it around for a long time, nibbling on it bit by bit until it's gone.  You manage to get into Mom's bathroom cabinet.  I separate you from the various hair products you're proudly grasping and you only put up a mild protest.  Then you get into the recycling. I let you play with the two empty Coke cans you discover there.  You like the crinkling sounds they make and they are fun to stack up and carry around.  I have visions of you cutting yourself and having to explain to your Mom but it never happens.  For better or for worse, I like to give you as much slack as I can and try not to interfere too much with your explorations.  

Another thing you really like is music.  Everyday you point at the radio at some point and indicate that I should turn it on.  We mostly listen to the Classic Rock station.  You like to bob your head and otherwise move to the music.  You like most everything they play but the song that made you light up the very most so far was 'Abacaba' by Genesis.  You completely loved that one!  

You start to show signs of getting hungry again so I feed you spoonfuls of yogurt as you come and go.  You eat about 1/3 of the container.  Then I pull out your favorite food of late - peas!  You get mad when I put the frozen peas in the microwave.  I hand you a clump of frozen peas from the package then point to the microwave and try to explain about the magic of cooking.  Again, you kind of seem to get it.  Then it's into your high chair where you scarf down most of your peas.  The remainder get scarfed up by your Dad. 

You seem ready for your nap but I glance at the clock and it's still a little early so we go build with your large, Lego-style blocks for awhile.  Mostly I feed you pieces while you mash them together into various abstract shapes.  You just got the blocks for Christmas but already you are much better at mashing them together.

Finally, it's nap time.  You protest mildly as I carry you into your room, change your diaper, and get you back into your pj's and sleep sack.  Then I sing/hum you a few rounds of 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', 'Row Row Row Your Boat', and 'Give Said the Little Stream'.  My humble musical efforts always seem to mellow you out - or maybe you just fake like you're sleepy so I'll stop.  Lol... either way works, I guess. In the darkened room with the fan blowing and the humidifier humming, I lay you down for your nap then head out and quietly close the door.  Every morning we spend together is pretty much like this.  :-) 

You and your Mom mean the world to me Sylvie and nothing makes me happier than having us all together as a little family.    

All my love,

Daddy            

Letters to Sylvie: 17 Months

Dear Sylvie,

You've been changing so much this last month I decided I needed to write you another letter. How is it possible for you to have grown SO MUCH? It really is astounding to me how quickly you learn and grow. You're like a big sponge with appendages, toddling around.

Speaking of toddling around, you're a professional walker now. One day you woke up an hour early and just decided that was the day you were going to start walking. And that was it! It's still so weird for me to see you walk because it was such a fast transition! But I love to see you stumbling around the house. You love to wear your shoes now (they help you walk much better than just bare feet) and like to sit in your big chair while I put them on.

Walking like a champ!

Your daddy and I are constantly amazed at the little things you pick up. You were taking a bath one day and I asked you where the clock was and you pointed to the silver clock hanging up on the wall. I praised you and said, "Yeah, that's the clock! Good job!" Then you said "aghsshuck" which I deemed your version of clock. It was a bit of a throaty, complicated version of clock, almost German sounding, but it clearly ended in a "ck" sound. After your bath I took you downstairs and told your dad what you'd done. Your daddy said, "How does she know what a clock is?" I repeated the words from one of your favorite bedtime stories, "Goodnight clocks and goodnight socks." Sure enough you had been paying attention and soaked up little bits of information your dad and I were completely oblivious to. You then repeated your verbalized clock sound of "aghsshuck" and Daddy was floored. You really are learning to talk!

Practicing drinking out of a cup and laughing at Daddy's beautiful singing!

You've never been big on the t.v. and still rarely pay attention it. However, you do enjoy our nightly ritual of sharing a Ding Dong and watching an episode of Spongebob Squarepants before heading off to bed. You like the first part of the show the best where the framed talking pirate picture comes on and gruffly says, "Are you ready kids?!" Then you dance excitedly for the rest of the opening theme and anytime throughout the show when they play music. Other than that you don't pay much attention to it and would rather pull the books off the bookshelf or run away from Mommy squealing and flop around on the couch pillows on the floor. I don't think there has ever been a more adorable child.

Playing under the Christmas tree with the kitty.

You're really getting into music and especially like to listen to Christmas music. Daddy put a radio in the kitchen to listen to his football games, but turns it to Christmas music during the day. As soon as you walk in there you point at the radio so we can turn it on. You are always swaying your head or bobbing up and down to the music. You have also started clapping your hands when I sing "If you're happy and you know it." Sometimes you'll even stomp your feet which is too adorable for words.

With the cold weather in full swing, you've gotten used to putting on your little coat and hat when we go outside. Your favorite warm hat looks like a penguin wearing puffy pink earmuffs. You LOVE to wear it and sometimes ask us to put it on you when you're playing around in the house. You routinely wear it when we go grocery shopping and without fail, several strangers will comment on how cute you are in your hat.

Captain Penguin, ready for bed! This also shows your new skill of stacking your cups into a tower.

I don't know if you really like things to be clean or if you're just interested in the things you find, but you are constantly picking up nearly invisible specs of dirt off the floor. You will then come and hand them to me or Daddy as if you are hinting that we need to step up our cleaning practices. Your favorite toys right now are the pine cones I put out for Christmas decoration. You gather them up and put them in a bowl or place them in different spots to suit your tastes. Because of all the moving and such, the pine cones drop a bit of debris here and there. One evening I was in the kitchen making dinner when you came up and held out a small pine cone scale you'd found on the floor. I told you to put it in the trash can and you immediately lifted the lid and dropped the refuse inside. I'm hoping to get you started on the vacuuming next week.

Playing with pine cones and Mommy's scarf

It's taken you a while to get into climbing on things, but lately you've been loving it! You climb all over the big green couch, you climb onto the rocking chair in your room, you climb into Daddy's Adirondack chair in the office and you always seem thoroughly proud of yourself for your accomplishments. You've also started carrying your little step stool around with you and I'm sure you're going to get into something very soon.

Pointing to your bellybutton!

As usual I could go on and on, but that's what you've been up to lately. You are such a fun, smart, happy little girl. Whenever I see you my heart just fills with the most indescribable joy. I sure enjoy being your mommy.

I love you Huggy Bug,

Love, Mama