Lightweight champion of our family

When asked to describe you, I usually throw in 'pleasantly petite' into the mix. While you've been growing taller - and cuter and smarter and more wonderful - you haven't exactly been gaining weight. Of course, this is likely due to the fact that you don't eat food. Most of the time I'm not too concerned because you're happy and hydrated and hitting all your milestones on target or before. But sometimes, I worry. When I took you to our doctor yesterday for your check-up, she referred us to a pediatrician so that we could get an expert opinion on your lack of eating. So we went and got you weighed and measured. You weigh 17 lbs, 8.5 oz and are 30" tall (that's two and a half feet!). Unfortunately you also weighed within two or three ounces of this for the last 3 or 4 months. The doctor thinks this may just be a pattern in our family history or possibly a milk allergy. We're going back in two weeks for a follow up where he will likely recommend a nutritionist and a whole team of professionals to observe how you eat (or don't eat) and thus, recommend a solution. We'll see how it goes. I'm sure it's just a phase but it's interesting to get other people's opinions, too. The picture above is you after a good meal of spaghetti which you loved last weekend, but only that once. The next time I served them up, the noodles were firmly rejected. I took lots of pictures and even video of you slurping up the noodles - just in case we didn't see that again for a while!

Crushed

Oh sweetie. I don't know what it is today, but I am growing so fearful of leaving you to return to work. I am all teary at the prospect of not being there for you, when you nap, when you play, when we watch Big Comfy Couch and you laugh when she has to pick up her toys. It crushes me to think that you will look all over the house for me like you do when I leave you with Daddy or like last weekend when Uncle Nigel and Jessica watched you. Ahhhh, I wish there was some way around it. I left Daddy to put you to sleep for you nap this afternoon, but I could just hear you crying and crying. After ten minutes, I couldn't stand it anymore and went to pick you up. You calmed immediately so I rocked you for a few minutes while you caught your breath. Then we crawled into bed and you quickly wrapped your arms around my neck with a tight grip on my hair and you fell asleep with your forehead against mine. Three weeks until your birthday and until I have to go to work. I will treasure all this time when it's just you and me or you hanging off my leg or you reaching out your arm towards me because you want me to pick you up. I love ya, lil squirtems.

At lightning speed

Kiddo - you are growing up so fast. I can barely keep all the new things you do in my head so that I can write about them here. Let's see. You are an avid pointer and can pick a 'light' out of any room. Your memory is also insanely good. We can tell you once what the 'radio' is and you've got it after that. You surprised us the other night when I asked 'where's the owl' in your Scuffy the Tugboat book and you precisely pointed him out. It's all sinking in, huh?

Even though you feel out of bed at the cabin on the weekend (on your head), you are very good at turning around to climb out of bed. We've been working on that one for a couple weeks, but it's looking all good now. We bought you a little push toy on Saturday that is wonderful. You can push in on your own - without mommy's help. You also like pushing around the dining room chairs, recycle bins and whatever else that won't get away on you too quickly. It's nice to have a little independence - for me, I'm talking about!

Hmmm. Well, you ate good on the weekend at the cabin, but that ended pretty quickly after we got home. We went to Taste of Regina tonight with Mike, Jamie and Creeson. You like to eat right from our plates or bite right off our sandwiches. So, we got bison burgers to start and you ate four or five bites of the bun and cheese, but the burger was a little tough. Oh well, we just ended up filling you full of ice cream 'cause some food is better than no food. We go to your one year check-up next Wednesday because our doctor will be away in India for all of August. I'm not really looking forward to getting you weighed. I know you're happy and somewhat healthy because you are so smart, your brain must be growing. I just wish you liked to eat. Something besides milk. Ah, at least you don't grow out of your clothes too fast!

Anyway, I'll try and think of more of the awesome ways you impress us. Until next time...

Pointing and dancing, with some sleep thrown in

Oh, you adorable kid. We have recently taken up singing and dancing to popular music again. You dance on command, but mostly want me to pick you up and dance with me, your head on my shoulder and you singing with me softly. And when your dad reads you your bedtime stories, you've taken to pointing at everything in the books - like Elmo, cow, fish...making the books a little long, but SO sweet. You also pointed at a bird in the backyard today. I wasn't sure if you saw it, even though I kept pointing in its direction. We've had lots a birds over the last few days since we planted our new apricot and apple trees, put out birdseed and dumped all the Cheerios from your stroller onto the patio. Little birds love Cheerios! And finally, you've been sleeping so good. We've been working on getting you to sleep in your crib so Nana doesn't have to worry about you crawling out of bed when I go back to work and today you put yourself back to sleep three times (during one nap). This is a HUGE improvement, kiddo. We didn't want to put you in your crib, away from us, until absolutely necessary. We love having you in our giant bed at night so we can get in more cuddle time...so when you wake up at 11:30 p.m. on the nose EVERYNIGHT, we bring you to bed and we all go to sleep. We actually had some really nice playtime in bed before you had your nap this afternoon. I played with your little piggies as you lounged back on me, then crawled up to my face to give me your wide open mouth kiss with tonnes of slobber. You were blowing on my neck which makes me laugh hysterically - which is why you keep doing it. And I'd tickle you and you laughed heartily like you hadn't in a long time. I really enjoy just hanging out with you, little munchkin. One more month of pure mommy and baby time...

It's a scorcher

It was so hot outside today and it's still 30 degrees at 7:30 p.m. Luckily, your dad went out and bought you a sandbox and pool the other night. Wow, do you ever love them. You and I went in the sandbox in the morning and it was even better than dirt. You still scrunched it in your hand and then threw it down before immediately going for the next handfuls, but this time with butt bounces and your odd breathy, little fake-sounding laugh. Later that afternoon (after your first naps in your crib) we went to Dollarama to get pool toys. And then your dad came home early from work so we filled up the pool and all three of us lounged in the water and played until supper time. You thought it was pretty terrific and it sure took the edge off of that heat.

One of the cuter, if not aggravating, things you do these days is fake gag when we try and feed you solid food. How in the world does a little-big baby know how to do that? Tonight I made you cauliflower and pork kabobs which you tasted, but didn't really like eating them while in your high chair. So after supper I let you take two handfuls of the cauliflower from the pot that you proceeded to squish and throw on the floor (and some in my shirt). I set you down and you were perfectly happy to nibble the veggie from there. Silly kid.

Have I written about your love of dogs? Lately, they are the most fascinating creatures. You love dogs in books and when we're outside, you look longingly in the direction of any barking. You hang your head out of your stroller to continue staring at the dogs we pass on the street. You 'huff' in delight when we make puppy sound and talk of them. Best of all, when Nana gets back from Ireland at the end of the month, she'll be bringing home 5 year old Sky, a female bichon. We can't wait to meet our newest furry family member!

You also love playing peek-a-boo - either by yourself or with us. Doesn't matter to you. With a towel or blanket or a diaper or pair of pants. Something fun we've been doing is going under a blanket with you which delights you to no end. I thought, if that's fun, let's make a fort. I hide in the fort and you have to crawl across the room and come under the blanket to get me. Sometimes you try to go through the blanket and since it's kinda stretchy, you look like something from a horror movie, trying to escape. Or like on the Glad commercial where the elephant tries to plough through the garbage bag, but can't.

Anyway, we're glad you like swimming and crushing sandcastles 'cause we like watching you be so jubilantly happy!

In awe

Oh my. Lily, you have been amazing lately. Besides learning how to throw tantrums, you have taken on a whole new understanding of everything. You learned to wave a couple weeks ago. Now, at lunchtime as soon as I say "Dad has to go back to work" you start waving at him. You also have an intense interest in dogs and make this huffing sound when I ask what a puppy says. Everytime we see one on our walks, you bounce up and down in your stroller with intense excitement. Your walking is pretty sturdy these days, too. And you'll walk NOT in the direction of mommy which makes me kind of nervous. You still prefer walking holding onto our hands so we still have a bit of control about where we'll end up. We have conversations that consist mostly of me begging you to say mama or mom, but your response is ALWAYS da da dad. You had your first real boo-boo the other day. You were standing at the bed and the next thing I knew you were face down on the hardwood floor. Ouch! Your mouth filled with blood and I started panicking so you stopped crying to focus on my terror. Anyway, it all turned out well as I think that it broke those two adorable top teeth through your gums!
We were at the cabin last weekend to see Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Jared. Lucky you, they bought you a paddling pool (which you loved) and a life jacket so that we could all go on a boat ride. You were very unsure at first, with exactly the same 'please don't drown me' look on your face that you had for the first four months of your life everytime we would bath you. But you were pretty used to it at the end - when we were going really slow. You still don't like the long car rides to get places, you'd rather be free and constantly trucking around. Another adorable thing you do right now is bonk heads with us while shaking your 'no' head. For some reason, it also helps you get to sleep. And at least you sleep 'cause you don't eat anything besides milk and yogurt right now. I think it's a phase...I hope it's a phase. I did get you to eat some chicken pizza that I made the other night, but you really haven't been consuming anything at all. Or sitting in your high chair for long. You'd rather walk around the table bumping your head as you go! That's about all I can think of right now. I gotta keep a list of all the sweet stuff you do...like chew MY fingernails!