So Much Stuff

This post is almost two weeks overdue. I wanted to write it the Sunday right after the trip to the beach. But things have come up, it's gotten busy and...blah.

Anyway, I apologize once again for the long delay between updates. I have a lot to report and I'll apologize in advance because I'm sure I'll forget something along the way. Feel free to ask questions in the comments if you want to know or think I forgot something. I will answer as I can.

Each year one of the doctors that works in Anne's lab invites co-workers to two parties. One is a Christmas party. I haven't been to that one in two years since it is an adult party and I get to baby-sit. The other one is in the summer and is at his house on Hayden Lake.

This year he had it a little early (he usually has it in August). But it was a welcome relief since it came right in the middle of our two-week long 100-degree-plus weather.

Sydney enjoys the water and had a good time. She wasn't scared of the boat-wake waves when they came up like she was last year. In the past year she has gotten to really enjoy baths and Anne takes her to a baby swimming class every Thursday (for about a month now).

As much as she disliked the life jacket the first time we put it on her (at home to get it adjusted) she was fine with it at the lake. And she really liked the boat ride. Especially after we got going and the wind blew on her.



Sydney and Mommy played at the water's edge for a little while. Then Mommy went out on the boat and got pulled around on an inner tube so Daddy got to play with Sydney at the water's edge.

Notice the rocks in that picture (they're the whole beach)? Sydney really liked playing with them. She would move them around and make her own little piles as she sat at the edge of the water. Eventually she turned to Daddy and handed him one rock.

Then another. And another.

Daddy had a handful of rocks before long.

When she turned away I would put the rocks down and she would start over. One rock right after another went into my upturned hand.

After a little while the sun crept around so we weren't in the shade anymore. So we moved about ten feet down the beach. Sydney picked up where she left off and kept putting rocks in my hand. Except these rocks were bigger, heavier and didn't stack in my hand as well.

The larger ones I started tossing out into the water so they wouldn't be within reach for Sydney to give back to me. Sydney was fascinated by the KER-PLOP of the rock. She watched me throw another one. Then she started throwing rocks in the water.

No more rocks got handed to Daddy.

When Mommy got back we moved a little bit back from the water. There was still a little shade back there, but not for long.

We put a towel down and put Sydney on it. She still found the rocks, though.



Sydney spent the rest of the day piling up rocks (notice the ones in the chair behind her). At least until we climbed the hill to the house for dinner. She had fun, though.

And for anyone wondering, we did have a bathing suit for her. But it was so hot we decided to just leave her in her swim diaper. She was slathered in sunscreen and only had one little splotch on her check under her left eye that apparently got missed and was a little red. But it faded (didn't peel) in a couple days.

Sydney is now using a fork fairly well when she eats.



She can't get the food onto the fork very well. She jabs at the plate/bowl and gets lucky sometimes. Usually we have to stab the food for her. But once it's on there she knows how to get it in her mouth. She still likes eating with her hands just fine.

Sydney still pulls herself up on the sofa. Or her toy chest, as the case may be.



She is walking.

On her knees.

If she wants to be upward and mobile she will scoot around on her knees. (Especially helpful if she's trying to move around with a toy in her hands.) On her feet, though, she still isn't really trying to walk. She still has a tendency to be on her toes or the tops of her feet. (See the picture.)

Sydney still is not speaking a lot. At least not any English words that we can understand. She does do a lot of her babble.

She does understand us pretty well, though. She can shake and nod her head to answer questions. She can answer if she's hungry. Or full. If she's tired and ready for a nap.

I haven't tried if she needs a diaper change yet. I'll need to do that.

She can (usually) point out several body parts. Head, ears, nose, eyes, tummy and toes are her best. She knows mouth and hands less frequently.

She will give us a kiss on the cheek almost on request. Sometimes even when we haven't asked.

She knows dog and no well. While she can nod yes she doesn't know it to say it (or at least not that she's admitting). She might know thank you, but I doubt it. I've only heard it once and I think that was in repeating it after I said it a bunch of times to her.

As I pick up her breakfast plate she will hand me her fork and sippy cup. Then she will pick up the pieces of food from her tray and place them on the plate. With each one I say thank you. As I turned to the sink one day she said, "ank oo." But, again, that's the only time I heard her say it.

Last weekend when we were feeding her she decided not to eat much of her food. She apparently didn't like it. Asking if she was hungry got yes nods. Asking if she wanted more (and offering a fork of the food) got no shakes. One time she babbled a short sentence in her babble talk. Since that wasn't the yes or no answer Mommy asked her again. She then babbled the exact same thing again. Same sounds, same inflections, same everything. I was amazed. She was obviously communicating, just not in the same language.

She loves throwing either of her balls around. In swim class one week they got to throw a ball in the water and since then she throws hers all the time. She would kind of fling them at us before and roll them across the floor. But now she likes to throw them up into the air.

There's probably something I'm forgetting to mention here, but I'll be darned if I can remember it at 12:30 at night.