adventures of pancake a.

fireworks & a rainbow

2010-07-19T00:37:00.000-07:00

we had a great weekend with you, pancake. friday night we took you to round rock's rainchecked fireworks display, this time without hattie, which made everything more copacetic. we arrived at the festival, looked at the ponies, picked out some dinner (bbq sandwiches and a lemonade mm!) and sat down on our blanket to enjoy the pre-fireworks music. after we ate, your dad got up to get a drink refill and a funnel cake. the whole time he was gone you "marched" around our blanket over and over, getting so dizzy you would wobble to a stop in my arms and only stopping to clap when the orchestra finished a song.dad came back just before the fireworks began (long funnel cake line) and the three of us, at your request, laid down to watch the display. at first you were nervous but dad coaxed the firework colors out of you "red! purple! gow!" (gold) and before long you were upright and loving every second, the funnel cake didn't hurt, either. it was a GREAT night with i have to say, perfect summer evening weather. we took our time walking back to the car and bought you a rainbow glow stick/ring with our last $2. i hope i'll never forget the silhouette of you and dad in the dark field together, you haphazardly racing forward and him happy to keep up.

MAYbe best of all, since i'm so photo-happy, we left the camera home since we already had official "fourth of july" photos. this means this memory is just our to keep, exactly as we felt it. i know thats a good way to live every now and then, too :)

saturday was fun, we hit the austin vintage guitar places so dad could window shop. we made use of KFC coupons and ate dinner for just 3 dollars.

today, sunday, we hung out around the house and straightened up. we found a mouse in the glue trap i'd put out (instantly changed my mind about using those traps, too) who luckily didn't get too stuck due to a melted crayon that had also landed in the goo. your dad and i instantly knew we needed to try to set it free, so into a box the lil' mouse went. i held out a shot glass of water and it propped up on it's hind legs (the only part stuck in glue) and took adorable sniffy sips. dad held you so you could watch. i grabbed some gloves and vegetable oil and off we went to a nearby field where i easily released his little feet with oil and q-tips and off he hobbled into the thicket and up a tree. you repeated dad's praises of mom for setting the mouse free, and he told you all about the nice creek nearby for the mouse to drink from. here's to you little mouse! may you survive your first of hopefully many nights in the wilderness and promptly regain full use of your feet.

after the squeak fiasco, we got cleaned up and headed to redbud island for an evening hattie-swim. we drove through a thick rain en route, but by the time we arrived the west side of austin was clear and i pointed out a large rainbow in the sky. you looked and looked, but couldn't see it. we moved locations and i kept pointing. you borrowed my sunglasses but still "i can't see it!" finally i pointed in JUST the right spot a and a big grin filled your face. "I SEE A RAINBOW!"

your very first rainbow :)

i blinked. it's july.

2010-07-15T22:18:00.001-07:00

since may we have had some wonderful visitors. aunt heather z., grammie, grandpa and just last week or so, grandaddy.

in late may i made a few notes of pancake quotes they were as follows:

"thank you mom and daddy!" (chicken & mac)
"no. i'm not blowing bubbles in my milk :) not YET!"
"dad, are you drinking beers? [yes] i like to drink beers TOO!"

if one would say your speech blossomed when you were 18 months old, then over the past month (you are about to wrap up your 21st month) i would say your speech has transformed into actual conversation. nowadays when you thank us for say, mac & cheese, you also ramble elegantly on your opinions of said mac & cheese and how much you would like to eat it again in the future. your exclamations are often followed with a "because". "i love macaroni and cheese because it is tasty in my belly! tot wants macaroni and cheese too!" is a good example of one of your simple expressions.

you are so so affectionate and vocal with your gratefulness. "thank you mommy, thank you daddy, i love you so much!" "it's going to be so much fun, i can't wait!" this week your little "mmm" sound air kisses turned into a tiny pucker sound, and you actually make cheek contact often.

i can hardly think of a household object you don't know the name of. you understand and can say that you are a cheese connoisseur. your little face screws up in the cutest way as you work out "accident" - "i'm sorry stompy, it was an accident, i didn't mean to!"

you have also continued to sleep regularly since 18 months and i am ever so grateful. this week your two top eye teeth are coming in, which will complete your top teeth leaving you in need of 4 on either side of the bottom.

your play skills have also taken a turn this week. i notice you really playing with your animals and "little people", their conversation skills have developed with your own. "hello raccoon! would you like to eat some popcorns?" "thank you i love some!" "would you like to buy some strawberries?" here is five dollars. yummy!"

you are slowly overcoming your adverse reaction to slides, which you so loved early on in mobility. you are hesitant to take big physical moves (such as walking across the bridge at a playground) but once you do, you want to do so over and over.

we have started a tradeoff with silas and his mom for a few hours each week, and you are getting very attached to little silas. "'member silas? he funny. and heather? 'member silas - he hugs the flower?" today in fact, you started to cry and kept insisting you wanted to see silas. luckily we will be getting together with him and his family sat. morning.

in other news, we have some exciting changes coming up. more on that soon!

oh and we seriously tried potty training for a day and i decided that neither you nor i were ready for it. you still aren't telling us before you go in your diaper, so i guess those kai lan underwears will just have to sit in their drawer a little longer :)

Milestones this week, you read your first word.

2010-05-18T10:46:00.001-07:00

20 Months
Yesterday pancake, you mastered drinking from a glass! we started a day or two earlier, but you pretty much figured it out in one day. you hardly have spills and would love to run around with the glass, but we ask you to sit in your highchair.

This past Saturday after lots of excitement from the prior week's library find, Big Girl Potty, we got you your first toddler toilet! I have a hard time committing to the word "potty" in public, although of course we use it in private. Dad won a Target gift certificate at work, so it was courtesy of Apple ;) You were very excited to be a big girl like Ashley in the book, and love sitting on it and trying it out.

You continue to sleep really well. You have been getting several of your molars but at most you wake briefly in the night and go back to sleep after a minute. For at least three months now, you have been sleeping consistantly almost 12 hours at night and a 1.5 hour nap. You play for an hour or so with your "friends" in your crib before falling asleep at naptime. Sometimes you get fussy just before falling asleep and throw them all overboard.

Your knitted cat Tot has become even more imperative this past month. I won't say you're completely dependent on him/her, but you ask for Tot everywhere you go, and we better have him [?] if we're out during a crisis. Its definitely time to get some backups.

On Saturday we also found a great deal on the sand/water table I'd wanted for you, previously opened and missing the umbrella. Our backyard has plenty of shade so we were happy to find the discount! You are having so much fun with it. Saturday morning I had done a lot of gardening (mainly weeding) and we had the backyard mowed and edged so it looks great again and is a relaxing place for us all to hang out. You play with some of your Little People out there, and took to calling a blond boy "Ian". We didn't know how you came up with it until we realized Ian is the name of the brother pig in the Olivia series. Grammie gave you the first Olivia book while she was here, and you love to look at the pictures and point out "yo-yo", "bathing suit", "meatballs", etc. You really like Ian his newly named friend Emily (I helped with that one), and Farmer Girl.

Oh and when you try to say bathing suit you say "bathing soup" which in your teeny voice is super adorable.

As far as speaking, I can't even begin to sum up everything you say. You know the name of so many things and you string together complicated sentences, properly conjugating and switching many pronouns and tenses. Most of your sentences are 4-5 words long, but you will often use 7 words at a time. You know and effortlessly use extraneous words like knob. Last month when Grammie was here, she was watching you and remarked "She is so amazing". You looked at Grammie and said "Yes... I am!" I don't know much about grammer development but that to me seems like a big concept to grasp (albeit a little self centered ;) Here is a good example of your daily ramblings:
Just now you looked out the window in surprise and said "Oh! i see a see-earl [squirrel] - let's chase it! It ran away. It went to get grape."

Yesterday we used your magnetic letters to practice the word MILK. There was a segment on "World World" about it, and we practiced putting the letters together afterwards. Last night before bed, I showed you a Milk Campaign magazine ad and asked you what the word was. You looked for a second and said "Milk!" which I guess is you reading, right? So your very first word was milk.

You are very good at saying thank you and you're welcome, but you have recently developed an aversion to saying the word please at the right time, even though you are very capable and understand it. You say "I don't like it" when we prompt you. We're working on that one.

On a more grateful note, Saturday night you, Dad and I watched Mamma Mia on HBO. It's not my type of movie but was made more enjoyable by your singing and dancing. After a while you climbed on the couch, hugged Dad and said "I love you Dad". Then you climbed over to me and said "I love you Mommy". A moment later you put your arms around my neck and began to repeat "Thank you so much Mommy. Thank you so much Mommy" while you nuzzled into my shoulders. It was killer.

Happy Mother's Day Grandma! We love you so very much.

2010-05-09T01:47:00.000-07:00

books by the window

2010-04-29T12:16:00.001-07:00

ever since she gave it to you, you have loved "a snowy day" from aunt grace.

song time

2010-03-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

this week you have really become interested in nursery rhymes and songs. you love pat a cake and row row row your boat and itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle.

unrelated, here is video of you outside:

NX35

2010-03-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the Denton Texas NX35 music festival. We drove down and spent time with Eric & Carlene, Heather, Andy, Brent & Adam. It was a really great time, you couldn't stay up for Dad's set but you made it through over half of the INCREDIBLE Flaming Lips set. I remarked at the time "Its like seeing Yo Gabba Gabba live" and it turns out I was extra right, in addition to the giant balloon/balls, confetti, and dancing sun/stars the chorus people were apparently dressed in DJ Lance Rock orange jumpsuits. You loved it. Somewhere I saved the piece of confetti you grasped as they all slowly spiraled down around you. It took at least 20 minutes for all the confetti to land, it was beautiful. You loved the hula-hoopers nearby and stayed cozy in the carrier with dad for a good 40 minutes.

We left before the show ended, Minorcan needed to get setup for their own show. Dad took us back to our fancy courtyard mariott and I got us an overpriced yogurt strawberries & granola snack and we retreated to our hotelroom, your third ever. I read to you from the book we'd gotten that day, "Lets Make Rabbits", got you all calm and put you in your pack&play where you promptly screamed your head off. I had no choice but to take you out right away, I turned off all the lights in the hotel room turned the TV onto "The Cutting Edge" (i was too wound to sleep myself) and let you toss around on my bed until eventually, after an hour, you curled up and fell asleep. your first non-crib sleep since you were a newborn. I stayed conscious enough to wake anytime you moved to ensure you weren't about to fall off the bed. we aren't going to make a habit out of it, but i had a pretty good time snuggling with you :)

(ready to go home)

the last two pictures are by carlene jean death machine, 2010.

firehouse subs

2010-03-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

sneezing, chocolate and a brown crayon.

2010-03-02T14:37:00.001-08:00

From 1:45 to 2:00 she appears to be a bit possessed.

favorite book at 17 months and 1 week

2010-02-28T22:08:00.000-08:00

(why haven't i been doing this all along?)

your very favorite book right now is SALLY AND THE SOMETHING by george o'connor. i picked it up at half price books last week knowing your dad would read it perfectly. he does. you spend a good 40% of your day saying "BLAAHHH!" with your tongue hanging out of your mouth, just like dad does. you LOVE love this book. you love the bicycle, the frogs, the bird and squirrel, and most of all you love sally and her friend the monster, who is not at all boring. your love of this book inspired us to show you "monsters, inc" the other night, which you also enjoyed while playing with your dollhouse. i hope you always see the funny in monsters, pancake!

17 months

2010-02-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

More thoughts of your recent activities:

This past week when you fuss for a minute and Dad and I don't respond, you will look down at the floor, sniffle, and say "SAAAaaadddd." Talk about guilt trip!

Play Video Below

texas snow! from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

We woke up this morning to Central Texas snow. Everywhere, and covering everything! Ok not the roads, but absolutely everything else. We'd had a late night, so you and I slept nice and long and when I woke up and remembered the forecast, I rushed into your room and pulled open the blinds. "Look out the window - SNOW!"
I brought you to the window and you said "Snewflkes!" and I said "YES, YES! SNOWFLAKES!" both of us with wide smiles and you looked at me and said "Pancakes!" and I nodded a bit less assuredly and said "Isn't the snow pretty? SNOWFLAKES." you held my gaze steadily and said "Pancakes."
I let that sit for a moment and then asked "Do you want Pancakes for breakfast?" and you said "YEAHHHH!!!"

The New Face of Independent Thought

This is probably the best example of my ineptitude to comprehend your burgeoning independent thought. You have never asked for a breakfast item out of the blue, and it has been a while since your last pancake. The other day, after weeks of eating organic blueberries (least expensive this time of year), you spun in a circle and asked "Strawberries?" You did this a couple more times before your dad came home from work. After we'd all eaten dinner you walked into the kitchen and asked "Strawberries?" I asked Dad if he'd mentioned strawberries around you and then said to him "I wonder where she saw strawberries?" and Dad said "...Maybe she just wants strawberries." I can't explain what exactly made me thick as a goal post on this, but of course he was right, you just wanted strawberries. You hadn't seen them in the fridge, or read a book about them, or seen them on a fabric swatch. You just got an urge for them, the way I get an urge to watch "Sliding Doors", or have an egg sandwich. You really are a beautiful little person, and for all the credit I give you, and all the marveling I do about your intelligence to other people, It was really hard for me to come to terms with the fact that we have raised you thus far and sometimes you just WANT what you want.

Anyway back to the snow, I threw layers over your pjs and rushed you outside. You had fun until hattie ate your mini snowman (but looked adorable doing so, I might add, her little paws dusting up the clumpy snow). We came inside and I finally made you your pancake. (Shout out to BATTER BLASTER, a product I've loved but just realized what a secret weapon it can be to an purposely microwave-less and organically-minded mom)

After your pancakes, blueberries and cheese we went back out to the snow and had fun making a snowman until I realized just how vital gloves are to the snow-packing process. One can really only go thirty seconds to a minute on a snowball until your fingers want to cry out in pain. Being little baby fingers, yours have even less tolerance, so I have to admit our snowman was more than a little hurried. And you really wanted to eat the carrot nose. AND you started crying for "Calliou!" a show I had just exposed you to while dressing you for cold, and then callously tore you away from to go galavanting in cold ice pain. The one giggle I got from you as I stuck a stick to the snow for a mouth was happiness enough, and back we went into the warm world of pancakes and cartoons. I scooped up a handful of "clean" tree snow to bring back into the house and make Snow-in-a-Bowl which I did, guessing at my Mom's recipe, and you scarfed it down, happy as a clam again. Next time I'll make sure i've got some proper snow-fun-time clothes for you, I promise... but honestly, yesterday we thought winter was over! I wore a t shirt!

Proof of Yesterday's Sunshine:

catching up thoughts

2010-02-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

Kiss From Grammie

You had a great time mid-Feb during Grammie's visit. You had your first night away from Mom and Dad, who stayed at a fancy hotel and had fun all the while missing you very much. You and Grammie did a ton of fun things and she taught you to ask "Kiss it?" when you get a boo-boo and she was happy to comply with many kisses. You showed Grammie all your dance moves and she taught you to tap your foot.

After Grammie's visit (more on that to come, its a lot to get out) and your enthusiastic response to the simple wooden starter dollhouse and Calico Critters on display at the toy store, I decided to forego the standard Fisher Price Little People plastic dollhouse. This decision was tough because I wanted to spend the same or less than the FP house, I wanted something with lots of empty space for your chubby hands to get in the rooms and play, and it had to be very, very simple and age appropriate. I found a major steal in the Ryan's Room (a division of Small World Toys) "It's 2 Cute" wooden toddler dollhouse, discontinued at TuesdayMorning.com for LESS than most places sell the FP, but originally $149. Lucky us! It arrived in two days and you loved it right away. That first night Dad and I gave it to you, I think you played with it for two hours straight, and another three the following morning.

It comes with just enough very basic block furniture and is intended for 2+. So far I'm satisfied with the decision. You'll get to practice giving your dolls a bath and using the toilet just like the fisher Price dollhouse, but there is much more room for free play. It should last you a couple years until you're ready for something more detail-oriented... or whenever it is that kids get there developmentally. Without the household sounds (like a toilet flushing) it may take you longer to get engaged in dollhouse role-play, but I'm betting you will come around eventually. Video Below:

dollhouse from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.
While dad is at work you carry around the little wooden Dad doll and say "Hug Dad". Pretty much the cutest thing ever.

We've been listening to Dad's new album (Minorcan - Keep At Hand available now on itunes and bloodonthevinyl.com!) in the car and when I go to get you out of your seat you say "Dad... .... singing". You're very good at present tenses and all the time say things like "Plane... Flying ... Sound." When you hear an airplane soar by.

a year ago this week

2010-02-22T22:44:00.001-08:00

you tried your first bite of solid food! its amazing to think how far you've come.

and here you are on valentine's day, eating a gummy star:

so pancake, i've fallen very behind updating your blog and i don't quite know how to catch up. here are a few happy thoughts from recent events, and expect more to come:

while grammie was visiting i made monkey bread for the first time and it was a mouth watering success. grammie, dad, you and myself all loved it, and altho you may think it's a weird mention for a baby blog, i hope to serve it up every christmas morning for the rest of your life so i thought the first taste deserved note. 2/15/10

on 2/20/10 we took you to the new location of sandy's shoes, otherwise known as austin's own geppetto-run toy/shoe store. over the last 17 months daniel has been your only shoe salesman and although i have to admit he's more austin hippy than renaissance wood-smith, he's kindly and knowledgeable and i prefer to think of him in old-world terms. ANYWAY it was a busy Saturday but we eventually walked out with your first sneakers! we'd spent that morning at the dog park and it was apparent your soft-soled shoes no longer fill your mountain climbing needs. you do not... and i mean do NOT like having your foot measured or strangers putting new shoes on your feet. it took a very obnoxious wall-eyed stuffed monkey to calm you down. you sure look cute though!

that night your dad and i took you for your first lobster dinner. i can't say you ate much more than the cheddar bay biscuits, but it was a really great night for your parents. both of us agreed our highly anticipated jaunt to red lobster (it's lobsterfest, of course) felt like a REAL official family outing. waiting to be seated, showing you the lobster tank, hearing you peel into laughter over the big-eyed lobster illustration on your kids' menu... it just felt like the most traditional family moment we've had with your personality in full-bloom, and it was FUN. as i'm sure you've grown accustomed, strangers gawked all over your cuteness while you played in the track-lit stones out front, ran with abandon into a table-corner trying to get to the lobster tank (dad made it better), and sat happily in your highchair eating tastes of my dinner and ignoring your own. the highlight may have been our waiter pulling two lobsters from the tank before your eyes. one of them was ferocious and rightly deserved a few more minutes of life - he curled back his tail and pinched his claws and i swear he actually hissed. you squealed and clapped at all this and cracked up when he sank back to the bottom of the tank. it was great fun, thanks for showing us such a good time.

New Camera!

2010-02-03T14:32:00.001-08:00

Our new family camera arrived today from Grandaddy. A Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 and it is wonderful! It shoots great video as well as photos, so we're in for a new memory-capturing experience.

Here are some recent milestones:

today you pointed to our uncarved and surprisingly solid, overturned halloween pumpkin and said "pumpkin! us-ide down"! which i think is a pretty big sentence for someone so little.

we got HD cable a couple weeks ago and you like to watch the pajanimals "La-La-Lullabye" song. On Jan 31st you went from singing just one line of a song (until now you would just repeat "Frossssty", or "Lal'bye" over and over) to singing the next lines too. And now if we prompt you with "La-la-lullaby" you'll finish and say "sing, sing sing m'self/lal'bye".

Along the same lines you love the Yo Gabba Gabba "Wiggle" song. you run around the livingroom singing "Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle STOP" (at which point you freeze), then "Hold STILL....!" we can prompt you to finish this song, too.

We had a great two weeks with visits from Joe & Kelly, Don, Aunt Heather and John Miller! Thank you lovely guests, you are very missed.

new camera! from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009 first sight from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

Uncle Justin's Visit

2009-12-09T22:33:00.000-08:00

Last night while I put Christmas lights on the tree, Ryan and Justin made Pecan Pie with some of the delicious pecans sent to us from Grandma Erwin & Pop. Justin sat down on the couch to eat his slice, and Sylvie leveraged a cushion on the floor, wiggling and pulling herself all the way onto the couch and into Justin's lap. The following is a transcript of her pie-related opinions:

pah [pie]

pah

num

nummy

yummy

yum

down?

She ends most "ups" with "down?", it's a siren-y sing-song, reminding me of those long car alarm spiels. Oh and yes, Justin shared his pie.

Time

2009-12-09T22:23:00.000-08:00

In honor of the Minorcan show that was too cold for us to attend, Sylvie and I ate homade sugar cookies tonight on the kitchen rug. When she smooshed the last cookie half into her mouth she stood up with a (crumb-filled) devilish grin, said "bye-bye" and waved to me as she walked into the livingroom, obviously through with the whole "special daughter-mom cookie moment." I laughed uncontrollably for a good minute and hoped she wasn't getting into the tree.

Snow Day

2009-12-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

We had a few snowflakes yesterday afternoon and I caught this picture of Sylvie with my cellphone camera. She loved it! On a side note, Justin arrived in Austin last night to stay with us for a week, we're going to have so much fun! While he and Ryan were talking last night, Sylvie walked to me, hugged my knee and said "Love" with a smile. So sweet :)

New Express Train From Austin to the North Pole in 1.25 Hours!

2009-11-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how they do it, but all that Christmas Magic is pretty cool. After a wonderful visit from Warren and Diana, Ryan, Pancake and I boarded the North Pole Flyer Train with our friends Heather, Andy and Silas on Saturday night. We had a great time eating gingerbread men, drinking cocoa and watching the scenery go by out the open window of our vintage train car. Our car was the last to be visited by Santa with typical "baby on santa's lap" results... but in the video below you can see how patiently and politely Pancake was awaiting his arrival. She and little Silas were absolutely adorable, and I think they both had a fun time. Sylvie liked "chugga-chugga-ing" and Silas was all about pulling the imaginary engine whistle. Sylvie started to loose it at the end, but Silas maintained his composure the whole time! You can see from the pictures he is interested, but a little concerned by Sylvie's well-meaning sentiments towards him. It was a fun time for us parents too, you can get caught up on a lot of conversation en route to the North Pole.

Thank you Heather and Andy for the pictures!!! There are a few more on the flickr site, here : FLICKR

VIDEO

pancake tired but excited to see santa on our train ride to the north pole from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

Grandaddy and Di-Di Visit for Thanksgiving :)

2009-11-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

We had a great time with family and friends this Thanksgiving. We introduced Warren and Diana to the movie Elf, and the four of us survived Central Market on Thanksgiving Eve while Ryan was at work. Paula and Ronnie came for the big bird meal and we couldn't have asked for a nicer time. We feel very lucky to have such great family and friends!

Kisses from Grandaddy!

Really happy to see Di-Di again

A beautiful hand-made gift from Aunt DJ and Grandaddy!

Table

First Pie - Paula's Family Chocolate Pie MMMMM

Reading Golden Books in the kitchen with Paula After dinner

Playing with my old doll and saying Sock and Hug

2009-11-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

playing with her inherited doll, sarah. she says hug & sock really well towards the end from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

World's First Ever Camera-Shy Baby

2009-11-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

Ok, maybe not the first EVER, but in these two videos you can hear faintly what she often says with conviction!

chair talk after lunch rush from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

Here I'm mainly trying to get her to say her new word, Soap.

night talk from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

Guilt post; pretty pictures

2009-11-10T00:03:00.001-08:00

I have no time to write, so instead I'll post some photo fun! I've been messing around with photoshop actions and these are some from http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/. More soon, I hope!

First Steps of a Little Lady.

2009-11-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

Third "first steps" caught on video from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

walks to dad from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

Libration

2009-10-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Pancake, you love your birthday wagon from Grammie, it's been very freeing for you. You're able to ride along with us while sitting straight up and eating snacks. Since you're so big on the upright thing, it's really been a godsend for walks. Yay!

On a side note, you stood for Dad on Monday in the garage, and tonight you stood for me too! You wobble for a second, then kind of settle into an upper leg bounce.

We had a very busy day today, we met with playgroup and "toured" the Amy's Ice Cream factory, you napped and then we got up for a doctor's appt. We then ran a couple errands and ended up at the grocery store. People in the store were especially sweet to you today and you smiled a lot. You're still very reserved at playgroup... you concentrate very hard and seem to intensely take-in all the kids and all the cool things they are able to do. It's strange to me that one day that will change, that you will be accustomed to being around other kids and not bat an eyelash. Even though we're nowhere near having another child I've been thinking a lot about whether we'll want to give you a sibling one of these days. It seems like an inconceivable decision to make, but I watch the other children with their siblings and wonder how things will turn out for you and us, brother or sister-wise.

Today I encountered one of i'm sure millions to come of moral parenting issues. You and I came to a stop at an intersection that like most intersections in Austin, was the pan-handling territory of a particularly nice looking gentleman. I smiled at him, because it felt appropriate. I never quite know how to handle eye-contact with people who are panhandling, which I'm sure is how everyone, including the panhandler, feels. I act on a case-by-case basis. Anyway, I smiled at this particular guy. He moved on, standing just behind my car seat. I could see you in the baby mirror, you were watching him intently but I'm not sure if he had seen you. I said "You can say HI sylvie", and waited to see how you would react. You scrunched your little face a bit and then held out your (currently) coveted Golden Book. It was innocent, I'm not claiming it was an act of blind social equality, but it was beautiful all the same. I know that as you grow older we'll have to teach you to be cautious and to stay away from strangers... BUT I really enjoyed this one moment, knowing you were safe and being proud for you to offer your book to this completely strange man. Chance encounters have always seemed to me to be the lifeblood of humanity... but thats a little too much to get into on a baby blog! SPEAKING of chance encounters...

I'd like to end this post with a story told to me last week in the grocery store that I haven't been able to shake from my brain. You and I were in the produce section, and a very pretty woman in her late 60's approached me and complimented you on your beauty and bird observation skills (a small brown bird was loose inside the grocery store and you were following it's every move). her hair was shoulder length and wavy grey-ish brown, and I now feel like it was held back with a scarf but she may have just been that type of woman. After chatting for a minute she told me that your hair was just a shade darker than her youngest son's when he was your age, and how he, too loved nature. Anyway, her story:

This woman and her three sons lived in Iraq during her husband's military service in the Middle East. Apparently it was a very cold first winter in Iraq, and her two-year-old son had been hearing stories of Massachusetts snow from his two older brothers, but had never seen it himself. The woman awoke one morning to falling snow covering the sand, and knew she had to pick and choose her words to the boys carefully. She woke them up, and said, "before I tell you what I'm about to tell you, you must put on your warm pants and shoes." They began to comply until the youngest, with his shoes half on realized "SNOW!" and tore down the stairs, loosing his shoes along the way. The two older boys did as they'd been told, and when they and the woman got downstairs she saw her two-year old son standing in the doorway, illuminated by the reflections of sand and snow, still in his PJs, with his arms and face raised to the sky. She told us this story, and explained that it was her very favorite memory and how beautiful the moment had been. She also mentioned that she'd always wished she were an artist and could paint that moment... but personally, I think it may be perfect kept just the way it is :)

still no camera...

2009-10-08T02:05:00.000-07:00

but this sketch should fill you in on our life the past two days! i call it "Not Quite Walking"!

Tardy

2009-10-06T22:47:00.001-07:00

Well Pancake, I'm behind on your one-year-old post. It is slowly being composed in my head, and I suspect will make it's debut soon. Today was a busy day for you. Not because it was filled to the brim with activities, but because you spent the day busying your mind and body.

From the start this morning, there was a difference in you, a tendency toward trying to walk instead of crawl. Ever since receiving the Fisher Price Learning Home you've clung to it like a monkey. It is the first place you like to be in the morning, and your home-base for the rest of the day; it has already paid for itself ten-fold. This morning, while hanging off it's side, you decided to go after another toy. Your little mind was going a mile a minute, and you hesitated where normally you would just drop down to your knees and crawl. with one hand firmly on the Learning Home you took a step away and reached toward your toy for several seconds. This isn't a monumental move, but it was mentally a big change for you. You looked at me to help, and I happily took your little hand and we "walked" to the desired toy.

The rest of the day was more of the same, you wanted to "walk", assisted, to everything. It was your first reaction, which I've never seen before. When I wasn't immediately available you actually threw your first temper tantrum, you got down on your belly with arms and legs stiff at your side the way you would before you could crawl, and screamed until i distracted you.

Yesterday was your year check up, and all is well. You've gained weight and height. Your pediatrician pointed out another tooth about to pop, right next to the front right tooth that has been slowly but surely making it's way. Your teeth take forever! You have three top teeth poking through right now, and it was another big factor in your mental busy-ness today, the pain is really getting to you. We took a break today to go to the drug store for highland teething tablets. I can't tell that they work any, but they distract you from the pain when I pop em in your mouth and that's probably half the battle. After the drug store we stopped by the library where you had fun playing with a family of older kids, specifically a boy who I would guess was 11. He had two little sisters and was obviously very practiced at baby entertaining, it was really cute. He tried to coax you into walking across the library's big soft rug with his little sister's stuffed frog and toy car, you had a great time.

Last night you became very vocal about your love for the Dora the Explorer backpack Grandma gave you. When you see it, or think about seeing it, you yell "DORRRA!" In an adorably stilted way that I could never capture in type. It's closest to saying "Toro" to a bull. You accidentally roll your R's giving it the perfect spanish pronunciation.

Our friend Adam came over to practice music with your Dad tonight, you danced in your highchair to what you could hear coming from the garage. You were fascinated when you saw them play.

It was a really great day with you, and I enjoyed holding your hand to help you build those muscles by walking. You hardly put any weight on me, I can tell that soon you will physically be able to walk yourself if you decide to. I've looked forward to that moment, but today was the first time I caught a glimpse of how I will feel...

I have misplaced the camera charger and have not taken any pictures since your birthday, crazy! I'll remedy that soon.

Baby loves Dolly

2009-09-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Pancake is Dolly Parton's littlest fan. I'm not quite sure whats-up with the "Arm Dance", it kind of looks like a broken Sprinkler move :)

baby loves dolly from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

Baby Vs. Battery Operated Dog

2009-09-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

We picked this classic toy up at a Cracker Barrel in a desperate attempt to entertain the baby the last day of our road trip. We didn't have a screwdriver on the road, so it finally came to life Tuesday night. I love it when both of her feet get twirling :)

baby vs battery operated dog from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

we're here! we made it!

2009-08-30T21:22:00.002-07:00

The family has officially been home for a week and one day. We are adjusting as well as expected considering we left a storybook local filled with loving family and nights as cool as 55 degrees... and came back to 102 degrees+ temperatures, no family and work. All that aside, it really is great to be back to the life we've made for ourselves, great friends and Interior Mexican tacos. Hattie-Dog took it the hardest, at GG and Pop's house in Waynesville she had her own pond in the mountains and was surrounded by some of the dog-lovingest people you could meet. She honestly moped for three days and hardly touched her food.

There were so many great moments during our almost 3 week long trip to Jacksonville, FL and up through NC, I'm really at a loss of where to begin, blog-wise. For the most part I think I'm going to have to refer to the "Sylvie's First Trip Photo Album" I really hope to make soon, so Sylvie, if one day you're reading this entry, check that out for details. If you can't find it, I may never have gotten around to making a physical copy, so go ahead and check the Flickr page, I'm sure I'll manage to get pictures there soon!

I'm putting up one picture tonight, but the thoughts on my mind tonight are of little Pancake herself, and how absolutely amazing she has become. At 11.25 months she is truly becoming a little person. Her eyebrows express a range of emotion as varied as a rainbow. The other day I caught her watching as I rubbed lotion on my hands. She copied my hand movements so precisely! I gave her a little dab of lotion and she promptly rubbed in into her own palm using every direction, just like I do. She is showing more and more of a tendency towards standing alone and walking, which is fascinating to watch. She just had a check-up at the doctor, and is on the small side - 25% in weight and 25% percent in height but 75% in head size! She has her daddy's smart noggin.

Today we did our grocery shopping at Central Market (always a madhouse on Sundays, but still fun). She was very tired after playing on CM's playground and shopping. I was so excited at the playground to see that Pancake remembered her lesson from Granddad Jeff - she turned around backwards to go down the jungle gym steps! We played for a while and then went for groceries... by the time Dad got his luncheon meat she had almost lost all composure. I took her to the bathroom to nurse (still BF, hooray!), and when we came out and found Dad, she wrapped her little arm around my neck, which she has never done before! I made funny little sounds in her ear, and she hugged my neck harder and giggled into my face! I was able to keep this interaction going for at least 15 minutes, it was absolutely wonderful and completely out of the ordinary. She would laugh out loud and kick her legs and hug me harder - so much fun! That much fun apparently comes at a high cost... shortly after all the kicking and cuddling and laughing she threw up all over herself. Editor's Note: For any concerned folk out there, she is fine now and had a great evening playing with Dad.

I'll add more as I think of it, but she is just the sweetest most amazing little girl. Here's a quick video from Thursday, I made Alsatian Onion Pie and we had a rainshower. Rain is so rare here I stopped the baking, threw open the kitchen window and we enjoyed the sound! FYI, she's rubbing avocado into her hands like she does lotion. uh oh.

do cloth flowers on a bib smell as sweet?

2009-07-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

Video from around the house- Dad comes home for lunch at the end.

other people's babies fall asleep on, say, the couch sometimes.

2009-07-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

you however pancake, do not. from day one, you wanted to spread your limbs and get around all on your own, you didn't cuddle much and never fell asleep unless it was absolutely necessary. now that you can crawl (or push your wagon) to where you'd like, you are much happier! i sense more peace in you than before. sometimes now, if i'm holding you while you're munching on a piece of banana or holding your dolly, you'll lean into me and cuddle a bit. those brief seconds are some of my all-time favorite life moments!

other great moments lately have been between you and dad, he has finally stopped being "second in command" in your eyes. you and he have had some good time to bond lately, and it has made all the difference. when i tell you we're going home to see dad or when he walks in the front door -- your eyes get big, your mouth goes agape and then you laugh out loud. these past few days your speech almost exclusively alternates between "duck duck duck" and "dad dad dad". oh - and "het het het" (hattie).

these are the words you can say and understand:
mama
dog
dada (lately dad)
light
hattie
duck
cat
hattie-dog (she's said "attie-doc" three times, i think that counts
book
nana
dolly
hi
hey
yeah
wawa
lilla (which is "little gorilla", one of her favorite books)

you also do a swell imitation of one of hattie's resounding barks.

you quickly became a mad woman with your push-wagon, and love speed walking with it. you love trying to climb things you shouldn't, and often we find you playing at aunt dj's keyboard, standing on one leg with the other extended out in the air. yesterday you clapped, officially, and you have done so off and on today as well. it's really cute and you become very proud of yourself. i can only imagine how exciting it is to pull your duck's string to get the "quack quack" noise, get proud of yourself for doing so, clap with pride, and then get even MORE proud of yourself for clapping! big stuff here.

checking for sodium lauryl sulfate

guess it's ok

New Push Wagon!

2009-07-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

Grandma sent pancake this adorable wagon off her wish list - i knew she was VERY ready for this type of toy! She has been pushing the keyboard Aunt DJ sent all around the house (on her knees, while she plays, it's cute) for the past week. I figured she could push itthe wagon on her knees until she was comfortable enough to stand at it - well check this out! this is in three parts, you can see Pancake explore her new toy for the first time :)

baby yanks chain

2009-07-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

ryan taught her to pull the string :) she says duck, too. ducks (both real and toy) are her current favorite thing.

events

2009-06-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Pancake, you have had a busy day. When you woke up from your first nap, you actually sat pleasantly in your highchair and ate a whole package of peas! towards the end of the meal, you looked up at Hattie-Dog standing at the side door, and said (loudly, I might add) "ATTIE... ... DOC!" Now, the other day you said "Hattie" which I thought was cool, but this is TWO whole words! Together! And you came pretty darn close to saying Hattie-Dog perfectly so GOOD JOB!

Tonight we had our first enjoyable meal as a family around the table. Dad and I ate our meals with your highchair in-between us, and I fed you bite size finger food which you ate ALL of. Most importantly, you stayed entertained our whole meal (normally you cry the whole time we eat and one of us ends up holding you) while feeding yourself. I am pretty sure baby food is just about out the window, its too much of a hassle! Next time your Dad and I are going to try to remember what it is like to eat sloooowwwwllly and maybe not scarf everything down in 5 seconds. Wouldn't that be fun? Here was tonight's menu:

A small handful of organic blueberries, cut into half so you could taste them immediately.
Two large banana chunks which you eat like candybars.
Bits of vegetarian "Quorn" chicken patties
Half a piece of toast torn into bite-size pieces
Cubes of organic Monterey Jack Cheese - your absolute favorite!

I was especially proud that you returned for more blueberries after you had cheese. Good girl.

On a sad note, A music icon from my generation died today. Michael Jackson was a very talented man who worked with some of the very best industry people to make just about the best recordings of my early childhood. He was a strange man who no one will ever fully understand, but he left behind some terrific tunes that undoubtedly you will hear throughout your lifetime. I had this memory earlier:

I was three and hanging out with the next door neighbor, Kimberly who was five. She asked me if I had any crushes, I shook my head no. "you don't have a crush on Michael Jackson?" she asked. A vague memory of a man illuminated in foggy darkness came to mind. "no..." I said. She then made me follow her from her front steps to her livingroom where she momentarily fiddled with the tape player, and I heard the opening beats of Billie Jean for the very first time. We listened to the song all the way through once, and then quietly we rewound the cassette and listened to it again and again and again.

Tornado! Pox!

2009-06-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, it really wasn't all that dramatic, and the "Pox" was really Roseola which is a common infant virus. But the two combined made for an interesting night!

About two weeks ago, after a fun video chat with Pancake's family, I took her to the pediatrician for her scheduled vaccination appointment. I knew she was running a low fever which I thought was from teething, but I was very surprised when they took her fever seriously and turned her down for the vaccination. Home we went, where Pancake proceeded to get fussier and more and more HOT. I took her temp around 7pm and it was 103.5! We phoned the on-call nurse, was told us to wait it out and apply tylenol, and we did what we could to make little P more comfortable.

We had been watching a storm roll in on the news, but were very surprise when they issued a tornado warning for central austin - which NEVER gets the tornado action of it's surrounding towns. Sure enough, after a few minutes, someone had spotted a funnel just a few streets past our neighborhood! Ryan, sick Pancake, Hattie-dog and I all holed up in the master bathroom and put our mattress over the door... now that baby is here I've found that I almost always weigh on the side of precaution. We stood in the bathroom (dog on leash - quiet, sick baby in arm - amazingly quiet) for an hour until the storm passed (two other twister sightings, all around us). We put the bed back together and put P down for the night with a little dose of tylenol.

The next day, her fever was back so away we went to the pediatrician! They did a foot prick blood test and a nose swab which both came back a little unusual, and since she didn't have any symptoms other than high fever, we all began to get worried. They ended up taking blood big-girl style :( and then took a urine sample with a CATHETER while I held her down, poor baby! It was rough on everyone involved. Afterwards I said "well, at least she'll nap well today" and the nurse said "yeah, I need to go home early and take a nap myself!" She received one more shot - a dose of antibiotics in case she had a bacterial infection, and two straight hours of attention after she arrived, we went home. NOT a fun day for Mom.

So, long story short, Pancake had the fever for two more days, we got the results back of the blood and urine tests (negative), and on the fourth day she broke out in a rash all over her torso. I don't have an official diagnosis but it was textbook Roseola rash and nothing else makes sense so that's what I'm going with. She cheered right up and had several days of recovery before her Grammie and Uncle Justin arrived, horray!

Here are a few quick photos to tide you over...

2009-06-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

But still to come, stories detailing Aunt Grace's Visit, Pancake's recent bout with Roseola, and Roxann & Justin's visit.

Last month's shopping trip to Ikea:

She loved playing on the floor models :)

Two sleeping pictures. The first is the only time she has fallen asleep in her stroller! Her sun hat only LOOKS like a bonnet.

Asleep in her crib. Sherri - Pancake and Ariel have the same doll!

Banner Weekend

2009-06-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

Well, my first attempt at a yeast bread is hopefully rising in the kitchen, which should conclude two great days. Saturday Ryan saw "Up" while Sylvie, Hattie-dog and I slept in. Once he was home, we took Hattie swimming at the park and picked up a Pizza on the way home. FYI - if you live in Austin and are near a Saccone's Pizza - the "Uncle Tom" is so so so good; Sliced sausage, onions, green pepper and fresh basil on thin crust with GREAT cheese... I digress.

We're on the 6th season of West Wing on DVD, so we rounded out Saturday night with a little White House fun. I fell asleep early, slept for an hour and subsequently didn't get back to sleep until 4am. However, Sylvie went to sleep at 9pm and woke up at 7am! I think I couldn't sleep because I was expecting her middle of the night feeding. Hopefully this begins a trend of 10 consecutive hours of sleep.

Yesterday I noticed a tiny crater in Sylvie's lower gum - with what looks like tiny bits of white sticking out - so she may be cutting her first tooth. She has been extra cranky during her already difficult down times, ie in the highchair, in the exersaucer, being held, etc. If she's crawling or standing, she's still pretty darn happy.

Today we woke up, had a good morning, and met up with our friends Kimberly, Colby, and their terrific kids. They showed us a section of the San Gabriel River we hadn't seen before; a nice hike along the mostly dry rocky riverbed to some scenic waterholes. This area of the river is most well known for the University of Texas' excavation of Dinosaur Footprints! You can watch someone else's video footage of the same prints here: Acrocanthosaurus Dinosaur Footprints .

The waterholes were the main attraction for us, it was great to find a secluded swimming/wading spot. Kimberly and Colby's kids are the sweetest ever, they had a lot of fun with Hattie who loved all the attention. Early on, I was talking to Kimberly while holding Sylvie as she sat in the water. Syl took in all the sights from under her large brimmed sun hat, and was being very still. Suddenly though, something triggered my developing Mom radar. I picked Sylvie up to look at her mouth, which had little specks of watery-dirt around it. "Sylvie did you just EAT A ROCK?!" I fished my finger in her mouth and out popped 3 large pebbles! Neither Kimberly or I had noticed a thing. Sylvie just smiled smugly.

In addition to rock lovin, Sylvie adored and was fearless in the water. When I waded out with her, she became very vocal, giggly, and smiley. I held her in the water, up to her shoulders and "swam" her around while she kicked her arms and legs, squealing with happiness! Even after Sylvie had tired, she determinedly continued to flap her appendages while huffing and puffing... really trying to savor every empowering moment of such fluid mobility. Must be great after 8 months of feeling trapped in your own body!

On our hike back to the car, Ryan carried Sylvie in the AWESOME Ergo Carrier Warren & Diana got us. She was so tired she actually fell asleep snuggled up next to him for the first time! She has only done that once with me, so it was a great moment. I forgot the camera, but luckily Kimberley took some great photographs while we were there. Sylvie likes K a lot and gives smiles freely:) Thanks Kimberly, for the pictures!

"UNC Temp of the Month" Umbrella Courtesy of Aunt Grace

Well, its 1am and I just took two piping hot doughy lumps out of the oven. Must have overheated the yeast. I'll try again tomorrow :)

Pancake Inside the Movie Theater

2009-06-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Pancake saw her first film in the theater - Pixar's UP! We went to the Alamo Drafthouse Theater's Baby Day (Tuesdays, the 12pm showing), and I really had no idea what to expect from her. I couldn't remember if I'd ever held her for a straight hour and a half! It was apparently a busy Baby Day because the Alamo Staff was scrambling around and the theater was pretty full. Pancake hadn't taken a nap yet, so I assumed I could nurse her to sleep and was crossing my fingers she'd be able to stay that way. That idea went quickly out the window because once we sat down was only interested in eagle-eyeing all the other babies. She watched the movie a little bit, but mainly she spent her time using me as a human office chair, whirling around to face whatever direction a baby had made a noise. This pretty much kept her busy for the full length of the movie, so score 1 for inquisitive babies!

Pancake loved the trailer for Ice Age 3 and squealed at many of the close-ups of UP's main character. She LOVED the dogs, and said "Doc" (can't quite get that "g" sound) several times. She also loved the balloons, of course! She almost became upset during the thunder/lightening sequence, but I was able to talk her out of it. I hope I'm not giving too much away when I say that she seemed to pick up on the uplifting atmosphere at the end of the film - the last 15 or so minutes she spent giving me kisses (translation, putting her mouth over my cheek or nose and drooling) and outright laughing. It was super adorable and she was by far the best behaved and happiest baby there... I'm just saying is all.

Around 7pm we went for a family walk and caught the light at the most beautiful time. Ryan stopped to adjust the baby and I made him let me take their picture with the Iphone:

"hi!"

2009-05-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today has been a great day.I've been rearranging Pancake's room to accommodate the new bookcase we got her, and everything is coming together wonderfully! This afternoon, as I was buckling P into her carseat, I looked up and noticed (finally) my missing cellphone stuck behind the right rear seat's headrest. THEN we had a great lunch at Thundercloud with Dad, and Pancake looked adorable in purple overalls from Roxann's friend kind friend Tina. All of those events are good, but what happened next is even better!

On the way home I stopped to pump gas (ech) and rolled the windows down for Pancake. as I approached the car with the pump in my hand, I looked at her through the window, and her hand was extended towards me. Then I looked at her little fingers, and noticed they were OPENING AND CLOSING. AT me! Pancake was WAVING TO ME! I quickly started babbling like an idiot - "HI! THAT IS SO GOOD BABY!" and waving back. The whole time my gas tank was filling up, I would wave, and she would wave her little fingers back at me. It was wonderful, so exciting, and it caused me to buy 10 more dollars of gas than I wanted.

I'll take a picture of her once she wakes from her nap to add to this entry, just to commemorate the event :)
Better yet - click the arrow button below to play a video. Please forgive my embarrassing overexcitement.

her first time attending a birthday party!

2009-05-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

Sylvie attended her adorable friend Silas' first birthday back on 5/4, and had a great time! The theme of the party was "The Point", a recording and movie by Harry Nilsson, quite possibly the best birthday theme ever. Silas' adults had made some great decorations! We all had a fun time.

baby decides cupcakes are just fine

2009-05-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

at "hey cupcake" in north central austin, on a rainy sunday. thats me with sticker shock over the cupcakes prices! you can tell when ryan has taken a phono with his iphone, he gets all fancy with an old-fashioned filter.

mother's day!

2009-05-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

I had a great day, myself, ryan and sylvie really treated me right. I'll write more about that later, but here is a video we made for GRANDMOTHERS! sylvie is blessed to have some of the best family ever, and if you're looking at grandmothers hers really do take the cake.

Happy Mother's Day to the best Grandmother ever! from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.

calm photo of otherwise raucous baby!

2009-05-13T23:25:00.000-07:00

ya know that previous video where it takes over 30 seconds for sylvie to pull herself to a stand in her crib? HA! that lasted about, well one night. ever since that night she ONLY stands in her crib, she stands and screams when she should be snuggling and sleeping! it takes her at least an hour to go down for her naps. bedtime is a little better, but gee whiz. its amazing how it works, they figure out a new trick and never look back! she could care less about crawling (altho yesterday she began crawling for real - with her stomach off the ground), crawling is simply a device to get from one piece of furniture to another so she can pull herself into a stand. i'm amazed at how long she'll stand while holding onto the bars of her "cage" (play yard), she'll stand for over 20 minutes no problem, and she can move up and down the bars of the play yard and her crib!

on an easier note sylvie and i went to a demo music class last week at heartsong music. it was really fun and definitely something we'll sign up for after our trip back east. she LOVED the teacher and watched in awe as the teacher played guitar in a circle around the room. after a while she got comfortable and even crawled out to the center of the circle of people! she played sticks, bells and a drum, and the process of hitting something to make a sound definitely permeated her little brain, she's tried to mimic it at home since.

here's a little home video of pancake at the piano:

Lil' jailbird standing up and saying Da-Da!

2009-05-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how rapidly she is changing, everyday is a new development. Check out the video! 7 months 3 weeks.

once ryan came home from work, we shot her pulling to a stand in her crib

2009-05-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

new things this week

2009-05-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

it's only wednesday, but you've already had some cool milestones this week, sylvie!

on sunday night you were playing in your excersaucer (not under it, this time), when we noticed you were actually playing - as in pretending, with your little toys! you had the blue flower in one hand and a little fabric ball with a jingle bell in the other hand, and you were having a little conversation between them!

monday you began LOOKING at your books, not just wanting to eat them. this has been happening slowly over the last week or so (i think aunt grace's visit and the books she brought had a lot to do with it) but it is really catching on now. you even seemed to be talking to your dr. suess alphabet book, either that or else reading it to yourself while playing on the floor.

you say dada all the time now, part of the time you are trying to say "dog" (which comes out more like "deh!") and part of the time you are saying dad. when we ask you "sylvie, where is the dog?" you look at hattie! i just bought a baby sign language book and am still figuring that out.

this past month you have been noticing all the decorative elements of your nursery. you smile and jump at the sight of your lanterns, the green stripes on your wall, the butterfly wall hooks and the ribbons that hang from your shelf! this is not something i expected to happen so it has a big pay off, i can't believe all our ideas and hard work (thanks again roxann and jeff for the stripes) have impressed you!

i don't actually know if this is a milestone or i've just been lucky, but it seems like your new involvement in playing must be giving you confidence or distracting you. yesterday and today you haven't minded when i walked out of your sight! this is a big deal for me because it means i can do things like refill my coffee cup (or make coffee, for that matter) without breaking your little heart. hooray!

also not a milestone, but you still respond to music. this morning we are decidedly NOT watching ellen and instead we are listening to beethoven. you are facinated by music coming from our wooden crosley record player/cd player. you love touching the fabric covered speakers and you can't stop smiling! any time someone sings or plays an instrument on television you stop what you're doing to watch and smile... and i'll let aunt grace tell you about your favorite jam...

monday

2009-05-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

we had a productive day today, your dad and i settled everything with the insurance company regaurding our hail-totaled car, and you helped me pick out a bird house! you smiled big a this one, which is a birdhouse within a birdhouse. are you a white-picket-fence kinda girl?

Dad

2009-04-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Aunt Grace has been visiting, Sylvie, and you have begun to chatter up a storm! Last night we strung lights around the picnic table and your dad carried you up and down the chord, showing you all the sparkles. You must have thought it was pretty cool, because this morning at your changing table, you pulled yourself up to the windowsill, looked at the lights (I forgot and left them plugged in all night), and said "Da-da!"

April is a Month Packed with a Punch.

2009-04-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

This is something you are going to recognize as you get older, Sylvie. Amongst other April traditions like easter, this month also houses the birthday of your Father, Granddaddy, Aunt Heather, Aunt DJ, Great-Grandma-Mamaw, Auntie Sarah, and it was the birthday of your Great Grandfather David Ernest Bayer. In addition to all those wonderful Birthday celebrations, your Father and I chose to get married on April 24th, 2004.

Tomorrow will be your Father and I's fifth year wedding anniversary. He and I always knew we wanted children, and I always secretly hoped to have at least one daughter, but creating you and having you in our lives is a bigger gift than either of us could have imagined. These past seven months have been unlike anything I've ever experienced - our initial infatuation with you and the shock of taking care of a whole little being, getting settled in as a family while trying to balance your care and work from home, and watching and helping as you happily reach each amazing milestone - life with Sylvie Wren has been non-stop and full of beauty.

I have tried my best to document many of those beautiful moments through photographs for all your family and friends who live far away. This April will have brought you two great visits - your Grammie and Grandpop just left (you had SO much fun! It broke my heart that you can't have their entertainment every day, but you always have their love), and tomorrow Aunt Grace gets to meet you for the first time! She is very excited to see you and hopes that you like her as much as she loves you... uh yeah! As good as I have been about putting your photos online for all your family to see, I have been equally bad about posting here on your blog. I have started keeping notes of all my favorite moments with you these past months, and I hope to now write about some of them while adding entries about new experiences. We'll see!

Last year, at the beginning of April 2008, I took you (in my belly, of course) to Naples Florida to visit your Grandad, Aunt Amanda, Aunt Angelina and your Great Grandma Mamalu. As I'm sure you know by the time you read this, your Dad can worry a great deal about you and this trip was no exception; it was hard for him to let his little Pancake travel. He knew how important it was for me to go, and that trip turned out to be your only visit with Mamalu, which I will always treasure. Your Grandad had heated up his pool for our visit, and one afternoon you and I swam and floated around, talking sincerely about family with Mamalu while she sat on a patio chair. It was the type of quiet chat she and I always shared when we were together, and I look forward to sharing moments like that with you.

This April you got what you wanted most and became mobile. You first crawled for real on April 10th in my office while I was working. It was beautiful! In the video I am so excited that my laugh sounds choke-y from trying to maintain my composure; I thought I might explode with pride! Yesterday while I was working at my computer I watched you crawl off your play-rug, which is what you often do to reach the cables under my desk. You had something else in mind this time, because instead of heading under my feet you moved to the doorway. You waited there a while, and then I watched as my little girl started her first trip down the hallway. It didn't take you long, you bravely conquered the hallway and made your way to the livingroom. You were headed into the diningroom when you looked back and somehow found eye contact with me; your face lit up with it's famous infectious grin and you decided to head back and see your ol' Mom! Once you made it to my feet and shared a few laughs, you noticed Hattie-dog and once again traversed the hallway to the livingroom, at which point I had to call your Grandma and let her know just how silly and amazing you are. You crack me up! I wish everyone we love could see these special moments as I see them. April 2009 has been wonderful, and it isn't even over!

Anyway, Thank you, Thank you Sylvie for being the most awe-inspiring and beautiful creature. I knew I would love you, but had no idea how much I would LOVE being a Mom to you. I look forward to the day when those words hit home with you, when my little girl gets to experience the love of being a Mother. I am so grateful your Dad and I are here to help you along the way. :)

happy new year!

2009-01-01T21:34:00.001-08:00

Ryan, Sylvie and I had a nice get together at the house this evening. We were able to catch up with friends and ryan tried out his new smoker - he even smoked chocolate! Pete and Mary brought their dog Kubrick so Hattie had some company as well.

Sylvie's new years eve celebration was marked by the second day of concerning behavior (she simply won't nap and doesn't want to be put down), a quick trip to the doctor (apparently everything is fine, so this may be some sort of phase) and a beautiful night of 12 hours of sleep (waking up twice to be fed). We're keeping an eye on the situation.

When Sylvie isn't being a grumpy-guss she is getting more cute by the second. She uses her hands much more now and sometimes laughs out loud at our lame jokes! The activity Gym Grandma Terri got her has already gone a long way to assist in mobility, she is getting better at tummy-time and rolls onto her side. I'll need to commit to a bumper soon (I haven't found one I like yet) because she has begun to scoot her body until her head hits the bars of her crib!

I'll post some pics or video tomorrow morning, in the meantime I better take advantage of the sleeping baby to sleep myself! Night 2009!

Phew!

2008-11-27T12:04:00.000-08:00

Well, the turkey is in the oven and it is time for the traditional "turkey cookin'" Thanksgiving day lull. Time to get the kitchen straightend up, take our showers and finish any last minute cleaning. Following the national dog show this year is Miracle on 34th street, which I can't wait to share with Sylvie when she's old enough.

I'm trying last year's turkey for the second time, The stuffing is extra special - white & cornbread, chorizo sausage, garnet yams, plantains, tomatillos... I concocted it thinking I would enter a Turkey recipe contest but never got around to submitting it! The recipe sounds very tex-mex, but it ends up with a very traditional flavor and extra goodness :)

On this special day my landlord deserves a shout out - I tried to put the turkey in earlier, but imagine my surprise to find our oven not working! Mr. W. came right over, did a little tinkering, and patiently waited for the Turkey Gods to work their magic and fix the oven. Right when he was apologizing and hoping we didn't have a lot of guests for dinner, it kicked back on! He said it's time to replace it, and the prospect of a new oven is VERY exciting. Thanks Mr. Landlord, for the speedy arrival - crisis averted! Here's a pic of the "Caloric" Oven mid Thanksgiving prep-panic:

As promised in my email, here are the outtakes from Sylvie's Thanksgiving Day photo shoot. It was hard to pick just one, and some of these are pretty silly. Enjoy!

PS - Leyla - if you read this, I want pregnancy pics!

OK, that first one was really more "sweet" than silly... she is very precious.

Reason #10 to Have a Dog Before a Baby:

2008-10-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

Clipping a newborn baby's fingernails for the first time can feel VERY intimidating. Luckily, if you've already been responsible for clipping, or at least trying to trim a grown dog's nails, it turns out that infant nail clipping is a walk in the park! Hah hah walk in the park.

SHE'S HERE!

2008-09-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sylvie Wren Anderson arrived two weeks early on September 21st, 2008 at 6:46 Am. She weighed 7 lbs, 15 oz and is ceaselessly amazing. Here's a quick picture, but I will be putting up more soon. Thank you all for all your great thoughts, we appreciate every one!

baby furniture!

2008-09-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

The stuffed woodchuck on the left was a baby shower gift from my coworker Megan! More pics to come from that one.

This Saturday we assembled Pancake's crib. It is beautiful and so classic! I thought we'd go with a traditional Jenny-Lind crib, but couldn't resist this one by Young America when Ryan's mom offered to help us during USA Baby's 50% off sale. It is made incredibly well and I love the old-school spindles :) We don't have a crib mattress yet, but I tried to lay out the sheets to see how they'd look.

This is one of the few pictures I can stand of myself at 37 weeks pregnant.

We finally found the right fabric to make Pancake's curtains - it's from a great store in South Austin called Craft-O-Rama.

Last week we had a great mail day - Onesies I'd ordered from Mini Boden arrived and we also had a surprise package from Ryan's Aunt! She sent two parenting books I can't wait to read. I've about had it with pregnancy books and can't wait to move onto child-raisin'. Speaking of, I think I had my first Braxton Hicks contractions today - very exciting.

If you want to see more photos, including an exasperated photo of me from the dog park today, check out my Flickr account. It's crazy to look back at earlier photos where I thought I looked pregnant - ha!

2008-09-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

At the Powerhouse Studio Shower on Saturday, my boss, Frank came up with this little gem via Photoshop. A preview of what the Bayer/Anderson Genes will look like!

Long Day

2008-09-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today was my 36 week check-up. I was hoping to have an internal exam where the doc said "WOW! you're much further along than we thought! you're going to have this baby very soon!"

But it appears I don't get a cervical exam until 38 weeks. She was, however, very concerned about the manatee that has become my right foot and sent me to a radiology clinic right away - for an ultrasound to make sure there were no blood clots. Slightly irritating to me, since the contrast of swollen left foot to INSANELY swollen right foot is something I've mentioned at my last 3 appointments. Turns out there is no clot. The other option she gave me is that my uterus is pushed more to one side preventing normal blood flow. I have been relatively free of mood swings during my pregnancy, but today came close to getting to me. The past two months of weird nerve damage to my diaphram and subsequent back spasms have made sitting and working at the studio very hard. I'd like the baby out, now! I keep reminding myself that I need to at least wait until we buy our carseat and until after the baby shower my office rescheduled for this weekend. Hm. Saturday is also when we might get that tropical storm...

I have some cute pictures of baby things I want to post here later tonight - I'll do that soon! Oh and on a great note, our crib and dresser are being delivered on Friday! I'm so excited.

One month to go!

2008-09-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

Stats:

Weeks pregnant: 35.5

Mobility: 65%

Overall Mental Stamina: 70%

Basic Attention Span: 12%

Percentage of Remaining Ankles: -36%

MAJOR Baby-Having Requirements That Still Need to be Taken Care of: 5

Confusion Level of Family Dog: 2% (Dad has done a great job, she has no idea the changes about to take place!)

Ability to manage weird un-managable upper back and rib pain & numbness: 85% - I'm pretty proud!

So yes, my ankles, especially the right one, are the size of sausages and puff out around the places where my foot bends. Its VERY pretty. I'm chalking it up to the Texas August heat, but to be honest, even if I lie with my feet above my heart for hours in the air conditioning, it's not any better.

We still need to find our pediatrician, write out the birth plan, pack the hospital bag, assemble the crib, and buy (and have installed) our car seat. Everything else that needs to be done can be moved to the back-burner. Luckily my best friend's lovely mother sent us a beautiful bassinet, so we have a place to store the wee-one until we finish off the nursery. I'm guessing we'll keep her in our room, in the bassinet, for the first couple months. Once she's sleeping in the crib, we'll be able to move the bassinet to the livingroom and other housey areas too, during the day.

On a lighter note, Tuesday I made these terrific chocolate chip cookies from Martha Stewart. The only alterations I made were using light brown sugar, adding an additional 2 teaspoons of chocolate extract to the batter, and using Ghiradelli's 60% Cacao Bittersweet Baking Chips. After the first two trays came out burnt, I moved my oven rack back to the middle and just baked one tray at a time instead of doing the top/bottom rack alternations. That probably works if you have a fabulous oven but mine is called the "Caloric" circa 1978 and I still haven't replaced my broken timer... simple is just better in this instance. The cookies did everything they promised - they are thin, crunchy and slightly chewy like caramel, just the way I like 'em! I forgot to take a picture until this morning and snapped a cameraphone image before the last 1.25 dissapeared.

More to come!