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Saturday, March 27, 2010

Ten Terrific Months...

Ok, so only two more months until we have been at family for a year. I figure since we have been posting on each month, we will keep it up until then. So... over the past month Sylvie has been:

- Working on adding more words to her vocabulary. She now has about 75 words she says independently on her own.

- Discovered a fascination with scissors and her hair, luckily she didn't get close - but she spots scissors anytime they are out on the counter.

- Plays with her bears and babies in the morning while we are getting ready for the day. She takes out her kitchen set and makes breakfast for the bears and babies and feeds them wit her play spoon. She also is intent on diapering her many stuffies, she hasn't been too successful yet with getting the diapers to stay on but she is persistent.

- Loves shoes, boots, sandals - especially Mama's. Throughout the day and evening I think she tries on every shoe in my closet and stomps/shuffles around the house. She has a particular fondness for my DC skate shoes, and loves to untie and pull the laces out.

- She is now using names for her little friends and she also says their name before we can - so we're pretty sure she knows what names are for.

- When we pull out of the driveway to go out, she calls goodbye to each kitty as we are driving away ie. "Bye bye Georgie...bye bye Ally... bye bye Tuffy". She doesn't need any prompting to remember all three anymore. And as we were leaving daycare on Monday, while backing out the driveway she spontaneously called "Bye bye Rino (the hamster)...bye Java (the dog)".

- She gallops. No seriously, she doesn't walk or run through the house - she gallops. It is quite cute to watch her bouncing along.

- She has moved into her "big girl bed". While I loved...LOVED... the crib - her gymnastic skills have been used for both good and evil. It is just a matter of time before she vaults herself over the crib rail and onto the floor. So in an effort to avoid a broken collar bone, arm ect. We moved her to her new big girl bed. We'll let you know how this transition is going...

- Gymnastics is just wrapping up. She can jump like nobody's business on the trampoline and does a mean bum drop. She won't hang on the bars, but hangs on the door handles/counters/sinks everywhere else so it'll come. She also climbs like rockwall in about 30 seconds and pulls her body over top to slide down the other side.

Here's a few pictures from gymnastics class...

The balance beam. Yes I can see she is not actually standing on it here, but she can walk along it now slowly without holding my hand most of the time.

Playing in the school bus. It is one of the stations in their circuit they do.

And her most favorite thing, flopping on the mats.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Spring Flowers

So I helped a friend out today by watching her two little girls for a couple of hours while she was in a meeting. We had a nice time together going for a walk in the sunshine, checking out the ducks in the creek, eating soup and home made bread for lunch.

When my friend came back, she surprised me with some beautiful yellow tulips.

However, I'm not the only one in my house who loves flowers... but that's ok because she's not the culprit in this story.


But within the first ten minutes of the flowers being placed on the table...

Someone... or rather some "kitty" seems to like the flowers a little too much as well. Here's Ally taking a chomp.


Sylvie says "Oh! Tuffy!"


No Sylvie, it isn't funny - you need to scare the kitties away...

And she sends Georgie running.... poor Georgie.



Anyone want to guess how long the buds will last? Will we even get to see them open? Good thing I love my kitties!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Sunday Morning with my Daddy...

Just a girl and her Daddy hangin' out after breakfast on Sunday morning reading the paper...


Discussing newsworthy stories and current events...


Pointing out which car she wants her Daddy to buy for her - and Daddy's falling for it!

Only to have her Mama say, "Not happening."



"No fair Mama...no fair"!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Our baby is Two today!

Remember these pictures from her birthday last year? Cory and I celebrated here, alone at home, thinking and dreaming about our little girl. We had cake and blew out the candle together.




We wanted Sylvie to have a wonderful first birthday, even though we couldn't be there to celebrate with her. We used a business service called Lady Bugs n Love to send a birthday care package to Sylvie.

Sylvie's first birthday cake in China.


Eating cake with all her friends and Ayi's at the Social Welfare Institute.

Trying out her cake, we don't think she looks too impressed, she didn't really like sweets or bread/muffin texture for quite awhile.


Last year on her birthday she was just learning how to walk on her own...
Today however....well maybe not so much a baby anymore! She's already scaling the walls and pulling herself up onto the counter.


Her birthday cake this year...Winnie the Pooh theme

Very much into icing and maybe eating a little cake too.



Opening presents...



Laughing, playing, and being silly with all my friends. Mama and Dada are hoping I lose the shriek soon, it hurts their ears!



Happy Birthday Sylvie!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Nine Months Together...



Sylvie has been with us now for nine months. She will soon be turning two years old! Where does the time go?? Here is a quick bullet list of some of the things we love about her...

• Her giggles…they’re contagious!
• How she chews on her blanket at night while sleeping
• Her adventurous spirit, always exploring and trying new things
• The way she pets and kisses our pet cats so gently
• The concern she shows when another baby or child is crying or fussing.
• Her mischievous “Dr. Evil” grin she gives us when touching something she is
not supposed to
• When she tries to sing along to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little star”
• She can blow her own nose now (perfect for spring colds)
• Her eagle eyes, she can always spot a cat or dog while we are driving

Here is a list of some of Sylvie's favorite things...

Visiting my Daddy at work. The best part - getting a ride on his wheelie chair.


Swinging high and fast...



Making funny faces...


Going to Miss Laura's playgroup and hangin' with my friends...




Running around outside and playing in the spring-like weather.


Thursday, February 18, 2010

Gung Hay Fat Choi!

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!

On Sunday we decided to celebrate CNY with some local Families with Children From China. We met at a local Chinese restaurant and had lunch together, it was a little busy and noisy at first, there were over 90 people in the room! Since it was a lunch, we decided to forego Sylvie's nap time, and she did pretty well considering. She was definitely a little more tired and clingy, but was a trooper and held it together.

The organizers for the event had crayons and tiger coloring sheets for all the kids to color. Sylvie liked coloring, but had to be stopped from coloring all over the table cloths! We visited with friends we don't get to see too often and had a wonderful time.

Meeting up with my friend Miah! Let's hold hands.


I like hanging out with Miah and her sisters. We go to gymnastics together too!


Taking a group picture, I kept wanting to walk away but my friend Miah kept me in line.


Eating crackers with my Daddy while waiting for lunch to be served.
.

Hangin' with my mama, there's a lot of people here. "Don't put me down Mama!"


Wait...there's a window? Did I mention how much I like windows?


Hey guys, come and check this out! Look, I can reach the cord!


Gung Hay Fat Choi from the Drinkwaters!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day

Today at our Music and Art class we had a Valentine's day party! We started by making special hats to wear.

Here I am stamping and putting stickers on!


Ta da! The finished product!


Then we decorated cookies. Hmmm....which smartie do I want to put on?


Have to put it in just the right spot.


Let's take a taste test...hmmmmmm.....


Yummy!


Back off Gavin, get your own cookie! Just kidding... Sylvie just likes to hold her friend's hand all the time ;)


Happy Valentine's Day!