One!
Our sweet little sister turned one last week! I still think of her as our new baby, and she still seems more babyish than toddlerish. But then I looked back through her newborn and six-month photos in order to make her birthday party invitations and realized that she doesn't look like her baby self anymore. I must grudgingly admit that the baby phase is ending fast -- good thing Ingrid is still the snuggliest bug in town.
What she's doing now:
She's had a walking and language leap in the last two weeks. She took a few tentative steps while we were at the cabin, but then didn't seem terribly interested in trying it again. But she did want to walk around holding someone's fingers all the time. Crawling is for suckers. And if you try to give her just one hand to hold, she looks back at you with a sort of impatient look and flips her little hand around until the adoring adult caves and gives her another hand. Then, just in the last two days, she has ventured to take independent steps again. She looks so very pleased with herself as she toddles toward one of us. Sometimes she sets off, takes five or six steps, realizes that she's standing out in the middle of a space by herself, and sits down.
She loves to pat her own belly and gives adorable kisses (still with a lot of tongue).
We're fairly confident that "da-ee," "zzzeeee," and "hi" are real words. She also started making word-like sounds a lot more than she did a couple of weeks ago. I think she'll start adding words pretty quickly now. She signs "all done" but half the time she isn't really done eating. I think she just really likes that she can tell me something.
She loves shoes and necklaces. When toddler Henry loved these things, I assumed it was because he saw me get dressed for work every day, but it appears to be written in their genetic code.
She is down to one nap and nursing only in the morning and before bed. The nap transition went pretty smoothly, but she was so, so sad about giving up the nurse before nap. It's going to be really hard to wean her the rest of the way.
For someone with only three words, she is remarkably good at making herself understood. I think I will forever be able to conjure a mental image of her sticking one foot in the air, holding a shoe out to me, and giving me a look like, "Did you think this shoe was gonna to put itself on?"
The first year in review:
Everywhere we go, people comment on her thighs and her hair. They're both luscious.
I also happen to think she has the cutest baby nose and the best unintentionally-funny angry face ever.
She's a very mellow daytime baby but not a naturally good sleeper. Henry's default was to be a good sleeper, and we only had to nudge him back on track if he hit a rough patch. But he was also perpetually trying to destroy something or kill himself all day. Ingrid needed (needs) constant recalibration to sleep well at night, but we had whole months at a time when I could leave her on a blanket with a bucket of toys and she would calmly entertain herself.
Henry is the bright star in her sky. She adores him, tolerates his abuses, and has started to dish it right back at him. They play together more and more every month. Henry assigns her a role in all of his games, and when they bathe together, he splashes her and she repeatedly whacks him on the head with a cup. Watching them interact is one of the best parts of parenting, and it makes me glad we had them close together. I'm excited for and a little afraid of the hijinks they will engage in this year as Ingrid gets more mobile.
She's very single-minded and determined. She wants to do what she wants to do and cannot be easily distracted with another activity. When she wants that second adult hand for walking, or help with a shoe, there's no putting her off. And when she doesn't want to sleep, she can keep on screaming for 90 minutes or more, no matter what Dr. Ferber claims will happen. I hope that kind of perseverance serves her well as she grows up.
She gives the sweetest smiles and the best cuddles. I hope those stick around as she grows up too.
Happy birthday, baby girl! We love you!
What she's doing now:
She's had a walking and language leap in the last two weeks. She took a few tentative steps while we were at the cabin, but then didn't seem terribly interested in trying it again. But she did want to walk around holding someone's fingers all the time. Crawling is for suckers. And if you try to give her just one hand to hold, she looks back at you with a sort of impatient look and flips her little hand around until the adoring adult caves and gives her another hand. Then, just in the last two days, she has ventured to take independent steps again. She looks so very pleased with herself as she toddles toward one of us. Sometimes she sets off, takes five or six steps, realizes that she's standing out in the middle of a space by herself, and sits down.
She loves to pat her own belly and gives adorable kisses (still with a lot of tongue).
We're fairly confident that "da-ee," "zzzeeee," and "hi" are real words. She also started making word-like sounds a lot more than she did a couple of weeks ago. I think she'll start adding words pretty quickly now. She signs "all done" but half the time she isn't really done eating. I think she just really likes that she can tell me something.
She loves shoes and necklaces. When toddler Henry loved these things, I assumed it was because he saw me get dressed for work every day, but it appears to be written in their genetic code.
 |
| That's a Prada shoe. At least she has good taste. |
For someone with only three words, she is remarkably good at making herself understood. I think I will forever be able to conjure a mental image of her sticking one foot in the air, holding a shoe out to me, and giving me a look like, "Did you think this shoe was gonna to put itself on?"
The first year in review:
Everywhere we go, people comment on her thighs and her hair. They're both luscious.
I also happen to think she has the cutest baby nose and the best unintentionally-funny angry face ever.
She's a very mellow daytime baby but not a naturally good sleeper. Henry's default was to be a good sleeper, and we only had to nudge him back on track if he hit a rough patch. But he was also perpetually trying to destroy something or kill himself all day. Ingrid needed (needs) constant recalibration to sleep well at night, but we had whole months at a time when I could leave her on a blanket with a bucket of toys and she would calmly entertain herself.
Henry is the bright star in her sky. She adores him, tolerates his abuses, and has started to dish it right back at him. They play together more and more every month. Henry assigns her a role in all of his games, and when they bathe together, he splashes her and she repeatedly whacks him on the head with a cup. Watching them interact is one of the best parts of parenting, and it makes me glad we had them close together. I'm excited for and a little afraid of the hijinks they will engage in this year as Ingrid gets more mobile.
She's very single-minded and determined. She wants to do what she wants to do and cannot be easily distracted with another activity. When she wants that second adult hand for walking, or help with a shoe, there's no putting her off. And when she doesn't want to sleep, she can keep on screaming for 90 minutes or more, no matter what Dr. Ferber claims will happen. I hope that kind of perseverance serves her well as she grows up.
She gives the sweetest smiles and the best cuddles. I hope those stick around as she grows up too.
Happy birthday, baby girl! We love you!
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