Photos: Movin' Out and Family Visits

So, it's been a mere two months since the last update, rather than three. Sylvia's verbal abilities continue to take off. She's starting to really chat, not only with us, but also to herself. She listens attentively to everything we say, and especially if we are talking about something that happened to her, she will chime in. Now we can ask her questions about what she has done and seen, and she'll really narrate recent events.

Just yesterday, she went on a walk with Kevin. We asked, "What did you see on your walk, Sylvia?" "We saw flowers!" she said. "What else?" we asked. "More flowers!" OK, so it took a little prompting, but then she said that they saw trees and hummingbirds, too.

She continues to talk in her sleep, often with humorous results. (One night, she simply said, "No! No! No! No!" Kevin and I looked at each other and shook our heads: typical.) She has also taken to whispering to herself in the mornings. She will wake up around 7 a.m., but lie in the crib whispering for 20 to 30 minutes oftentimes. We can't usually make out what she's saying (because we are mostly asleep ourselves), but she'll say things like, "There's Daddy over there. He's sleeping." We also think she talks about — and possibly to — her various crib companions (currently, up to four: Luna, Pig, Kitty Cat, and Starfish).

We have told Sylvia about the baby growing in Mama's tummy. She's slowing absorbing this information, but she's not exactly clear on what this means. For example: "Mama has a baby in her tummy and Daddy has a kitty cat in his tummy and Sylvia has a kitty cat in her tummy!" Ah, wishful thinking! She has also said, "Want to see the baby," which makes it difficult to explain that she will have to wait a LONG time to see the baby. And every once in a while, she wants to give the baby a kiss and will kiss me on the belly. Considering this girl loves to give huggies but hardly ever wants to give kissies, this is a big deal.

Another result of telling her this news is that she has become even more engaged in care-taking activities. Luna still gets her diaper changed sometimes, but Sylvia has become particularly interested in making beds and pillows for her "friends" and putting them down for naps and night-night. She will also pick them up and rock them in her arms.

On the theme of living things having babies, one of Sylvia's musical obsessions right now is an Indigo Girls song on one of her children's CDs called "Wild Wild Party in the Loquat Tree." In one verse, they sing that every loquat has a seed that can become a new baby loquat tree. We also talked about seeds one day as Sylvia handled (and tried to bite into) an avocado pit. Today, while listening to the song, she said, "You put the seed in the grass. And it makes a new tree."

Other things remain consistent. Luckily, Sylvia continues to be a bold eater. Her latest taste sensation is artichokes. Thanks in large part to my dad's fantastic dijon dipping sauce, she delights in every aspect of eating them. Last night, she graduated to taking each leaf and dipping it daintily in sauce before scraping the flesh off with her (still only two) top front teeth. Periodically, she exclaimed, "It's getting smaller!" When we had peeled off all the leaves, she said, "There's the fuzzy part!" (You can tell she usually speaks in exclamations.) We have explained to her that the fuzzy part becomes a flower, and Kevin showed her photos of artichoke flowers. Then we parceled out the heart. (Apparently, Kevin's parents told them that only the leaves were good to eat, but the heart tasted yucky! This may be a family joke.)

Another consistency is Sylvia's volatile temperament. A mother of a 7-month old asked me yesterday, "Is it true what they say about the Terrible Twos?" I had to inform her that, in our family at least, it was true, all of it. And forget the theory about kids who can talk and communicate more tantrum less. For us, this simply means that Sylvia is extra indignant when she knows she has stated clearly what she wants and we do not comply. She enjoys being empowered by choices ("What shirt do you want to wear today?") but doesn't always like to knuckle down to make them. Everything can be a stage for conflict: what song to listen to on the CD, which panties to wear, tooth-brushing (ugh, tooth-brushing!), what snack to have (woe to the parent who does not have coconut when the coconut-mood strikes our daughter).... I did feel a thrill of triumph when I successfully headed off a meltdown today. She wanted to "listen to the Tree Song" right when we had arrived at RIE class. Through careful repetition, I made it clear that we could go to RIE class and listen to the Tree Song the moment we got back in the car. "OK," she said. Whew, crisis averted!

Anyway, without further ado, onto the photos! We start at the beginning of March. Here's a nature/nurture question: Is there a gene for liking hats? I can trace a hat-preference from Sylvia back to her Great-Grandma Sylvia. Here is the little namesake modeling an ice-cream sundae hat that was a gift from Grandma Fran (who is a carrier of the ice cream gene). I love the fact that when we ask Sylvia what is on top (a bright red cherry, which isn't visible in the photo), she says, "A tomato!" (Another preferred vegetable: heirloom cherry tomatoes from the Farmer's Market.)


Grandad Scott arrived on March 5 for a visit with granddaughter #1. Sylvia happily settled into the routine of constant attention:


We went to brunch at our favorite Pain Quotidien, which not only offers delectable food, but also a fountain that infallibly entertains our restless toddler:


We always bring Sylvia's usual breakfast of oatmeal and banana, but she also indulges in pieces of Mama's prosciutto. I don't really get tired of hearing her say "More prosciutto, please."


Another advantage of this place is that it's dog-friendly, and most owners enjoy Sylvia's curiosity about their pets. She is still intimidated by dogs, but she's slowly getting bolder about petting them. And who can resist the fuzz on this guy? (Incidentally, on this visit Sylvia attracted the attention of regular celebrity patron, Tommy Chong, and his wife.)


I managed to catch a daddy-daughter portrait:


Sylvia was curious about my lemonade. So curious that she wanted to try the lemon, too. "It's sour," she observed. That didn't stop her from tasting it a few times.


One of Granddad's gifts was a pink pig that grunts when you squeeze it. Sylvia has really been taken with her new friend. An indication of the depth of her sentiment, she always chooses Pig first to envelope in the SwaddleKeeper and rock in her arms. In fact, I'm not sure if Sylvia is going to willingly give up the SwaddleKeeper when Sprout is finally born. Kevin and I also think that "You want to swaddle the pig" is one of the cutest things our daughter has ever said.


Sylvia still loves berries:


One of the major excitements — and challenges — of March was finding a new place to live and moving. After much intensive searching, we found a place that fit our criteria: On a ground floor, larger than our condo, hardwood floors throughout, and, mostly importantly, a washer and dryer in the unit!

We weren't sure how Sylvia would handle the moving process. For the most part, she thought it was a blast. After all, she had a ton of cardboard boxes to play with, she thought that unpacking boxes that we had packed was endlessly entertaining, and the taped-up boxes made for excellent climbing structures. One evening, from the kitchen, I heard her say, "That's not safe." I peeked around the corner and saw her happily perched atop a tower of three boxes. It's so nice when she tells me that she's doing something she isn't supposed to!


Grandma Fran and Grandpa Mark helped to distract her so we could actually get some packing done:


And here's the new place! Sylvia definitely went through a period of disorientation, but now that we've been here over a month, she is settling into the idea that yes, this is our home now. As we unpacked her things and she was reunited with her prized possessions, she felt more relaxed and settled. "The penguin is here! The books are here! That's OUR vacuum cleaner!"

After we moved in, it took her a long time to get back to playing with her toys because, as Kevin put it, the new house was a big, new toy for her to play with. She is particularly thrilled that she can now hang out in our outdoor area (although, alas, it isn't fenced and so she needs supervision).


Another aspect of the house that she finds thrilling: The mail slot. Here's the game: Open the slot, yell "Mamaaaaaa!" and wait for Mama to yell "Sylvia!" or "Baby girl!" or "Boo bear!" back. Then run to the front door, where Mama is waiting to yell "Boo!" Repeat ad infinitum. (This is why I insist that Sylvia call me "Mama" rather than "Mommy." Somehow, hearing her yell "Mamaaaaaaa!" is more tolerable than hearing her yell "Mommeeeeeee!")


Sylvia is becoming acquainted with the fauna of the yard. We have hummingbirds that visit the flowers regularly, plus she finds snails and roly-poly bugs in the grass. For a while, every time she came home she would say, "Want to find the snail!" (You can also see my 5-month pregnant belly in this photo.)


Nature girl enjoying the pleasures of sun and a dandelion:


After Kevin picks Sylvia up from day care, instead of wanting to escape the car where she has just spent 30 minutes of her time, she has wanted to climb around in it. She finally discovered the fun to be had in the driver's seat, a game Mama does not entirely approve of.


A pensive moment:


Grandpa visiting at the new place:


Another advantage of the new place is a greater abundance of rainbows! Kevin found the perfect window to hang our crystal prism, and now Sylvia gets more rainbows for a longer part of the day.


Grandmas Pat and Sue arrived for a visit to the new place, just slightly in advance of Easter.


They brought Sylvia an Easter basket:


One of the items they included was a pair of bunny ears. It's hard to tell who got the most enjoyment out of the gift, Grandma Sue...


... Grandma Pat ...


... or Penguin.


Sylvia definitely enjoyed the bubbles, always a winner:


We took a little walk around the neighborhood. Here's Sylvia starring in some kind of movie from the 1940s:


We went up the neighbors' walk to check out their lemon tree:


Portrait with Grandmas in front of the new place:


Sylvia has yogurt every morning and has taken to drinking some of it from the bowl. Consequently, she has learned the word "mustache." We had to photograph this one, a spot-on Dalí:


And finally, to close, here's another mama-baby portrait, the two of us in pigtails: