Freedom and the Strong-willed Child

I just know that my dad (Victor) is going to love the title of this entry. I remember him mentioning the term "strong-willed" whenever we saw a child who wanted their way no matter what. I'm not saying at this particular time if Sydney falls into this category, but she has displayed moments of the so-called strong will lately.

Here she is a few days ago, being inconsolable for what seemed like hours (more like 10 minutes). She wasn't hungry or tired, her diaper was being changed, and Mom and Dad were giving her attention. Even Ellie was concerned.

Here she is getting a wee taste of freedom in the kitchen. (We are in the process of finding some gates to block her off, but in the meantime have used the coffee table and the high chair to do the trick. Yesterday she stood at the coffee table and cried for about 15 minutes while I was cooking dinner and Brian was in the computer room doing homework.)

Sydney is perfecting her raspberry (thanks, Grandma Joe). Here she is spraying away. We tried to stop her but it's hard to when we're laughing.

And of course, Sydney has to pick the most unopportune times to be fussy, like last night before bathtime, when we could barely hear the dialogue of Adama and the new Cylons as they found Gaius Baltar "Not Guilty" on Battlestar Galactica over her crying. Geez, baby, how insensitive!

Speaking of bathtime, here's our nudie cutie checking out the water temperature:

And finally, here's the getting-stronger-willed-every-day Sydney after her bath:

How can something so sweet make such a fuss?

Baby Steps to Independence

Our brave girl Sydney has been making her shoes squeak! We actually think the squeakiness might be helping her take steps, because she likes to hear them and she has to lift up her feet and put them down to get the squeak. For those of you who don't know, we got Sydney some shoes in China that have squeakers in the heels (removeable if you can't handle hearing the squeak). These shoes were for sale in little shops all around our hotel in Guangzhou, and are very popular with adopting families. We are considering asking some other waiting couples if they'll pick up a few more pairs for Sydney when they go pick up their daughters, because they're actually very well-made shoes.

So she can really move around the ottoman, and then she'll sometimes rotate herself over to the couch, and make her way along the couch and recliner. She has also walked down the hallway while holding the wall. Here she is clinging to the wall. Please excuse the dirt on the wall left by Ellie, who sometimes likes to rub against it. Hey, I never said I kept a clean house!

She can still take steps on her own between us, and the distance is widening! Often we'll catch her just standing there, without holding on to anything (except maybe a sock or the current object of focus) to support herself. She has discovered her third "hand" - her mouth - to carry things. She'll also bail herself out and get down and crawl to where she wants to go, and then eventually sits up and stands on her own. We're glad that she is getting better at falling - catching herself with her hands.

Sydney has also begun to form actual words and sounds when asked. She can repeat Baba (Chinese for dad) and sometimes Mama if the mood strikes, although most of the time when I say "Mama" to her, she responds with "Baba," much to the delight of Brian. She will also tell you what the kitty-cat says, and believe me when I say that it sounds like a real cat!

Here's Sydney walking down the hallway in her flip-flops from Hawaii, courtesy of her "Auntie" Susan from Spokane.

She has tried using a spoon on her own, although we put the food on the spoon for her. She knows where it goes once there's something edible on it. Note the little pinky finger being held in the most dainty of positions.

Last Saturday we visited our friends Chris and Shawna, and Sydney got to meet Shawna's 91-year old grandmother who is temporarily staying with them. Sydney liked Grama Edna's watch on the chain.

Yesterday we did some yardwork, so we put Sydney in her playpen for only the second time. (The first time, she was at our friends' house for Pinochle night and was sleeping in it.) Here she is waving from it on our back deck. (Waving and clapping are easily coaxed from Sydney.) Note the sock in the mouth.

And finally, here is the sleepy Sydney picture of the day:

Good night and sweet dreams in food land!

Sleeping Beauty

I got this idea from my friend Susan in Spokane, who took pictures of her son sleeping. There really is nothing sweeter or more peaceful than a sleeping baby. These were taken throughout the past two months.

Here's Sydney after giving up trying to crawl, about a month ago.

Here's Sydney after playing with a piece of newspaper ad. It got quiet all of a sudden and I looked down from the recliner and saw her.

Sydney was playing with the beads and the dog until she fell asleep.

This is the quilt given to us by some of the Shahala Middle School staff and students. Some of the pieces of fabric have special meaning, such as part of their own baby blankets or clothing.

This was today, after our walk in the rain.

More sleepy Sydney coming to a blog near you!

March Madness begins

Hello out there, all you faithful blog-checker-outers. As we mentioned a few days ago, Sydney is now on the real verge of becoming completely mobile. She continues to get stronger and smarter every day! Some things to report:

Sydney spends much more quality time on her tummy. Two months ago, she would have wailed and whined in this position. Just look at her now:

She is now able to sit up from a lying-down position and vice-versa. She crawls like Darth Vader in Episode III (right after Obi-wan cuts off Darth's legs and arm in the burning hot scenario). Sydney: "I want that Milkbone ball! Aaahh!"

She imitates all kinds of seemingly useless but fun noises and gestures, such as moving her fingers up and down over her lips while saying bubba. Her head-shake is also very impressive - kinda reminds us of an old blues singer getting down. Actually, just tonight at Grammy's birthday dinner at Red Robin, she showed us her baby signs for "Eat" and "milk". Needless to say, Wendy was surprised but proud that Sydney has been watching and paying attention to her teachings, considering that Wendy doesn't consistently show her the signs.

Here's Sydney sucking applesauce through a straw.

We visited Aunt Marlys in her brand-new house, and Sydney walked around a bit in her squeaky shoes, sometimes doing the Klingon:

And finally, here's a shot of Sydney after rolling over to the pile of pillows and finding her giant Minnie (oxymoron?). Takedown, Minnie, 2 points!

Today's random Sydney food thought: she tried strawberry yogurt for breakfast and - gasp - liked it. (Surprised? But it wasn't peaches.)