Mayday Mayhem

I'm ready for Disneyland, homies! (Minnie hat courtesy of Cousin Tiffany, Nike bib courtesy of the Greenes.)

When we last left our brave girl Sydney, there was not much to report. However, so much can happen in a small person's life in just a couple of weeks! We have started jotting things down just to remember them for this blog.

I mentioned before how cool it is to say or do something and have her understand. Sydney now complies when asked to close a door or a drawer, gives Ellie her Milkbone ball treat, puts things back, and even puts Mommy's shoes away at the hallway shoe rack. In fact, the other day I found her little red shoes resting on top of Daddy's shoes on the shoe rack. I asked Brian if he had put them there - nope. It was our smart girl who knows where the shoes go when not on the feet.

Sydney knows to kiss owies - Mommy cut her finger and had a bandaid on it, and she repeatedly kissed it. Of course, she also grabbed it roughly and pulled it to her mouth to kiss it, squeezing it and making Mommy say "Owie!" for real, but she means well. She also shares her Cheerios freely with anyone who will take them.

Here she is reading her new "Pat the Bunny" book - a classic. Thanks, Grandma Joe!

She is quite the teaser when she gets a hold of something she shouldn't have, like the TV remote. She will offer it to us and then pull it away and laugh and nonverbally ask us to chase her with it. She also does this when getting dressed or when getting undressed to take a bath - she breaks free sometimes and bolts down the hallway, squealing with glee.

Sydney is now beginning to enjoy brushing her teeth again. She is slowly getting a mouth full of them, but now she will take control of the brush and do it herself.

Here's Sydney having fun exploring the backyard:

Peeking through the knothole at the neighbor dogs.

It is a challenge to get her to stand still for the photo op!

A few fun things Sydney has done with Grandpa Jim:

Played at a local playground.

Went to Klineline Park. And she's off!

Sat on a horse! (No, not Ellie...)

Just chillin' with Grandpa Jim.

Sydney's new word: Up. Actually it comes out as "Bup" but we get it. She will squat down when we say down, and stand back up when we say up. "Up" comes in handy all day long...

Here's our aspiring pianist banging out some tunes.

Finally, here's Sydney balancing on Mommy's lap desk. Peace out, Surfer Girl!

Happy Mother's Day

Technically, this is my (Wendy's) third Mother's Day - First came Ellie the dog, and then last year when Sydney was born (however, of course we didn't know exactly when). But nonetheless, I am happy beyond belief. These past few months have flown by and I still can hardly believe that this little baby girl is my daughter. Life is good!

New hat and sunglasses - ready for Summer!

Not much to update in terms of development and growth, although Sydney is perfecting her animal sounds. She is currently trying to moo like a cow (it comes out more like a "mmm"), and, did you know, lots of animals sound like monkeys? - or at least, they all seem to look like monkeys to her and thus the monkey sound. The movie "Shrek" was just on tonight and she started in with her monkey sound when she saw him.

Here she is horsing around with Daddy.


She also enjoys using a fork - or at least, watching Mommy stab pancakes with the fork while holding onto said fork and bringing the fork to her mouth. And she has recently showed signs of encouragement as she pats us on the shoulder or grabs our arm close to her, pats it and hugs it.

Here's Sydney getting some teething relief from an ice cube.


She gets over-the-top excited whenever she hears music playing on the TV or radio; she bops and boogies in place on the floor, or sways and kicks in her highchair or carseat. She squeals when Ellie approaches her, tries to get away, and yet mostly loves to get her face washed by Ellie's infamous tongue. She is also able to follow simple directions like "take this to Daddy" or "go get your other beads". It is very cool to see this little human being understand and comprehend what we're asking her.

Here's our aspiring Chinese acrobat, balancing some cups on her feet. (She actually placed them on her feet herself and lifted them up!)


Sydney's walking is much faster and is keeping us on our toes. She has officially had three bloody noses, although one happened while sleeping (?). I went into her room to get her up one morning and her nose was encrusted in dried blood, her jammies were bloody, and the crib sheet had a big blood spot. Poor little girl. She paid absolutely no attention to it all so I guess she's okay. Scared me though!
She still gets annoyed when we brush her teeth (fussy is more like it), and she recently displayed high levels of frustration when she couldn't hold all of her crayons in her arms without dropping a few here and there. The plastic cups above also frustrate her when she can't make them fit into one another. Frustration culminates in loud screaming, whining and tossing of objects.

Here's our little peanut in a nice ensemble for the cool Spring days in Vancouver:


And finally, for your viewing pleasure, here's our packrat who somehow managed to find a couple of used, wrapped up diapers to tote around. Ewww! Well, she thought it was funny.

Upside Down

Not a care in the world...with my pants upside down on my head.

Well, faithful blogcheckers, looks like it's been another two weeks since I last posted. Sydney is now 15 months old (or as Brian likes to say, 1.25 years.) Our brave girl is walking like a pro, packing around anything she can hold on to. She is building up speed and agility, escaping from the Mommy-monster with ease and playing in Ellie's water dish before we realize what she's up to. Her world is getting bigger as she grows and explores, and our house is being turned upside down in the process.

First off, as requested, here's a picture of Mommy and Sydney horsing around.

Here they are just chillin'.

And there is something about a little kid squatting that warms my heart.

Some Sydney firsts: having the grass tickle her bare feet, falling upside down off the bed and landing on her head, tasting a pickle and a lemon (no go on both), talking like a monkey on the phone to Grandma and Grandpa Joe, pointing to and feeling her teeth at the mention of "time to brush your teeth." And when asked to "sit down", she will approach, turn around, back up and plant herself down next to us.

She loves her bath and has tried to get into the tub while the water is still running. She would rather do without clothes. She likes to be held and swung around upside down. New "words" she can say are "good girl (gooh guh), "wow", and "whoa". She will blow kisses to you if she sees that you are leaving. She will point to herself if she sees a picture of herself (that sounded a bit like Austin Powers...) More than five or six teeth are coming in at the same time and yet she isn't too fussy about it. She just drools an awful lot!

Here's our "biter biscuit baby":

Here's Sydney donning her green hat from great-Aunt Lil and family (she's fetching Ellie's ball):

This weekend we are dogsitting Sadie and Pepper, who belong to our good friends Chris and Shawna. They take care of Ellie any time we're out of town. Sydney gets along great with the "ruff-ruff-ruff"s. Sadie and Pepper are extremely patient despite Sydney flopping upside down on them and poking at their faces. Ellie is coincidently the only dog around here that continues to knock Sydney down. She just doesn't realize how big she is (Ellie, that is).

Here's Sydney flopping upside down on Sadie.

Here's Sydney with the dogs.

Here's Sydney listening to Pepper's heart. Perhaps a career in veterinary medicine?

Here's Sydney checking on Sadie and Pepper.

Couldn't resist this shot of Ellie and Sadie, who have epic battles and then crash hard. Or is a certain 1.25 year old wearing them out?

This is how Mommy and Daddy feel at the end of the day! And it's a good tired!