Sylvia Turns 1

 This is a week and a few days later, but last Tuesday, March 5th, we celebrated Sylvia's birthday! Oh my, how one year has flown past in a blur!  I can't believe that she is one already and I wonder sometimes if I took enough time; time to snuggle, cuddle, kiss, hug, love, gaze, cherish, pray over her, read, tickle, stack blocks... but unless she is hungry she is a very happy girl, so I think she has a pretty content life. :)

She sleeps through the night very well (and except for a spurt during and following our Christmas travel, always has), usually going to bed around 9pm and sleeping about 12 hours.  Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.  She takes a 2.5 - 3 hour nap every afternoon; she dropped her morning nap between 10 and 11 months.

She wakes up happy and her new thing is to throw her duckie and kitty-cat out of her crib if I take too long getting to her (I don't usually run to get her as soon as I hear her wake up). Her blankie has made it onto the floor once. She wasn't happy that time!

She loves to eat. On. my. goodness.  If there is food in sight, you know it because she is letting you know!  Her very favorite is bread or crackers. If she is in the kitchen and sees a loaf of bread, or a piece of bread, she thinks that she will DIE if she doesn't get to eat it! Her next two favorite foods are sliced, quartered banana and bits of cheese.  She is mastering "chewing" soft bits of food pretty well with her 6 teeth (4 top, 2 bottom). Some meals she is very picky, others she eats well.  For breakfast she almost always gets oatmeal (1/4 c. quick oats with 1/2 c. water) with applesauce and yogurt.  For lunch she usually gets either suitable leftovers that she will eat or - more often than not since she's going through a picky stage - 1/2 to 3/4 of a sunbutter sandwich, up to a whole banana and cheese bits. Avocado is frequently on the lunch menu for a good dose of "good fat".  She used to eat it smashed up, plain, but now she only eats it if I mix it with something else (usually banana).

Towards the end of February she started refusing to drink goat milk (what she was getting in place of dropped feedings). I don't know why, but that's what she did. She gets plenty of other dairy (cheese, yogurt) and plenty of other calcium laden foods, so I'm not too worried.  She hung on to the morning feeding for a while and I let her do it. Mostly because I wasn't quite ready to wean her, it would mean my Sylvia was growing up!  This past Saturday, though, was the last time she nursed. My supply had dwindled to almost nothing and Sunday morning it was a time issue.  She hasn't missed it and I'm mentally adjusting.

On the allergy note, I introduced whole (scrambled) egg to her and she broke out in welts around her mouth. The same thing happened the 2nd time I gave her peanut butter.  So those are two things we're keeping away from her at this time (and why she gets sunbutter instead of peanut butter).  So far she has not had anymore reactions like the original allergic reaction that she had, and I am grateful for that.

After supper, waiting for her cake.

She is pulling up and exploring anything and everything she can get her hands on or get open.  Keeping her out of the cat food & water, cupboards and the bathroom drawers are part of her constant learning.  Crayons and colored pencils are her favorite treasure finds, and as a result some days she has some colorful diapers!

She went through a few weeks of saying "Hiiiieee!" to things and people - including strangers in the grocery store :)  - but that has slowed down.  Her only real word so far is "Mama".  She is learning new signs. "Milk" is a sign that she will use for just about anything she wants, but she also recently figured out "all done" and "please". It is nice to have this level of communication from her before she can communicate with spoken words.  She has started to clap and wave her hands, doing "motions" for the different songs we sing.  Her favorite song to do her version of motions to is "God Made the Mountains Tall".  I can't wait to hear her sing!

She is wearing size 4 disposable diapers and is still in the Medium size FuzziBunz cloth diapers. She wears a few 12 mo. clothes but mostly 12-18 or 18 mo. things, especially for pants or one-piece suits.

For her birthday, I made a chocolate with chocolate frosting cat cake.  She loves our cat and her stuffed kitty-cat, so it was appropriate. :) 

She REALLY liked her cake and her small piece kept her very busy as she licked her hands and fingers for a while, getting every bit she could!

Her first ice cream cone:

a mini-cone with a tiny bit of Raspberry Ice Cream. :)

She liked it quite well after she got used to the cold. :)

All cleaned up and ready for bed.  I love my smiley, happy, birthday girl!!