Baby B

Dear Sylvie (at 11 months)

May 19, 2010 at 10:59 pm

Dear Dina,

Look at that little cheese face! My little ham! You’ve figured out how to pose for the camera in recent weeks, and you’ve totally perfected that goofy-toothy little grin. It’s all about those bottom teeth and I love it.

Perhaps you noticed I called you “Dina” in my salutation. It’s pronounced “Dee-na,” and you invited that nickname on yourself with your recent emphatic repeated proclamations of words including that sound, such as “Dina,” “Dadina,” Dih-dih-dih,” and “Diana.” You were particularly enamored with your discovery of that last syllable combination and repeated it ad nauseum for a good week or more. It has since been replaced with “Isaiah,” leading us to believe you’re either trying to name your future siblings, or you are secretly reading the bible by the light of your crib aquarium. What’s next? Deuteronomy? Or maybe just some geography. This week’s happy syllable accident landed you on the word “Iowa.” You said that one several times before throwing in a few more “Isaiahs.” So I guess your first 5 words are as follows: Dada, “et” (cat), Mama, Diana, and Isaiah. Um. What are the chances that, of all the random pairings of possible sounds in human speech, you would spontaneously produce three unfamiliar proper nouns? It’s a little freaky.

And even when it’s not as recognizable as actual language, you are talking up a storm. You babble your day away with all kinds of inflections, gesticulations, and facial expressions. You copy me when I say “aye yay yay.” When I bring you into my room in the early morning, you look out the window and greet the sun by name by saying “dn.” You have recently figured out how to tell us off when you’re mad, and it spews forth in a dramatic “dih-dih-dih-dih!” while you cry and look at us angrily. The first time you did it, I had to cup my hand over my mouth and turn away to keep from laughing out loud at your dramatic little display of independence. We are well on our way down the road to toddlerhood already.

Speaking of toddling, walking will likely be any day now for you. You are easily balancing in the standing position for 10-15 seconds at a time, and you’re now cruising the furniture like a speed demon. You just discovered the ability to march in place and you do it every time you hear music. You love holding our hands and walking across the room, and you’ve even started to climb! One recent morning, daddy set you down next to the open ottoman and stumbled bleary-eyed back to his computer. After a few minutes of you playing by yourself, he looked over to check on you because you had gotten quiet. There you were, smiling back at him, from *inside* the ottoman. You were sitting up amidst all the stuffed animals inside, just as happy as could be. That ottoman is chest-high on you, and he could not possibly fathom how you got in there, at least in an upright position. Since then, you have divulged your technique, and it basically involves throwing your leg over your shoulder, pulling yourself up with your arms, and diving headfirst into the bin, pressing your forehead against the rim to keep you from completely flipping upside-down. You use your forehead like another appendage. You can also climb out onto the other ottoman, complete with a little gymnast’s dismount onto the rug. How can this be?! You were barely on your feet a month ago!

You are turning out to have a great sense of humor. One day, I left you in your room and went over to mine to get dressed. As soon as I got one leg into my pants, I heard you shrieking with laughter. I peeked around the corner and saw that, in your attempt to trash your room by throwing all of the clothes out of a basket, you discovered the cat was burrowed down at the bottom. You thought this was just about the funniest thing ever and could not stop cracking up. You think it’s endlessly hilarious to bonk your daddy in the head with various found objects (and why he continues to encourage this, I’ll never understand). You love chasing us around the living room as we crawl away in mock horror, and when you catch us, you pounce on top of us, shrieking with giggles as we cry “Oh, nooo!” You even seem to have a sense of humor about yourself. You were being particularly whiny one morning while Nana was here, and I recorded your crying on my iPhone. When I played it back to you, you looked puzzled for a moment, and then you laughed at the sound of your own voice. The more we played it, the funnier you thought it was. It completely snapped you out of your mood.

You’re also starting to really want to make others laugh, too. You are no longer fearful when new people come to visit, and you instead turn on the charm.  You shriek and blow raspberries and clap (a new skill this month!) and generally clown until you find the precise combination of silliness that makes each person smile. Then you do it over and over again. You’ve started doing a call-and-response type of communicating with other babies, and you get excited when they smile or laugh back at you. You also love our reaction when you give us kisses (i.e. open-mouthed slobber) and hugs. You are a turning out to be a goofy little ham. I’ve got to get some of it on video soon.

You’re still not really napping much, but I’m over it. After months of three-hour attempts that resulted in 30-minute naps, I’ve given up trying to strong-arm you into it and I’m letting you dictate your slumber times. I have no more delusions of a “nap schedule” or of getting a break or even time to shower during the day, so that if it does happen, I’m pleasantly surprised. Generally you’re now down to one, and occasionally two, but it’s rarely more than an hour total in a 12-hour period. You’re actually a better napper on the go, and often pass out in your stroller or the Ergo for a brief catnap on the fly. Now that summer’s nearly here, I’m just embracing it. We can stay out all day and come and go when we please because we are not bound by any routine or schedule. It’s nice, actually. And you are *zonked* by the end of the day, so we’re assured an awesome night’s sleep, which you have been consistently delivering for a couple of months now. Oh, and in addition to your beloved Softy, we have added a rotation of light blankets into your crib, and you love balling them up in your fists and snuggling with them as you drift off to sleep.

You are obsessed with your books now: reading them, but also pulling them all off the shelf, studying their covers, and then throwing them on the floor. Your favorite books this month include the following – Doggies, Boats, Animal Nursery Rhymes, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? That last one was already a cherished one in the past, but now I can really see you processing and internalizing it. You’re loving the repetitive language and predictability of books like that. You’ve become an expert page turner, and you even turn the page in anticipation at the precise moment I say “I see a…(looking at me).” Clever girl.

Wow – we’re just about at the year mark, Miss Dina. For once, I’m not feeling a sense of utter disbelief, because you are undeniably evolving into a toddler and you seem light years away from your newborn self. I’m really loving this stage. You have so much personality now. It’s like I can already see who you’re going to be as a child: a fearless, messy whirlwind of giggles and strong opinions.  Just what I hoped for in a daughter. I’m so excited to celebrate your upcoming birthday with you and to watch your continued evolution unfold.

Love ya, love ya, love ya lots.

XO,

Mom

By phillygil | Posted in Dear Sylvie