new favorite food

Far be it from us to raise a hippie baby, but you gotta get your protein somehow.

Enter tofu---the slightly firm variety, with the water pressed out and cut into finger-food-sized pieces. It's easy to pick up, easy to chew, and best of all---easy for us. Sadie likes it cold, right out of the fridge. No seasoning required. Awesome!

milk

Milk.
Milk.
Milk.

It's Sadie's latest sign, and now that she's figured out it means bottle-on-demand, she does it all day long. Even when she just finished a bottle five minutes ago.

happy 2008

Now that the holiday madness is subsiding, I hope to have more time to keep this blog updated. Let's not call it a "resolution", though---I already have enough of those, not the least of which involves losing that last 10 pounds of baby weight before our trip to Mexico. (And if the past almost-eleven months is any indicator, I'll be sipping margaritas in the sun, toes in sand, before I know it. Yikes! Off to the gym!)

With 2008 comes the realization that baby girl is not-so-baby anymore (although I guess I knew that for a while now), and the big ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY is right around the corner. Forty days around the corner, to be exact. For people such as ourselves who like to organize and host a good party, the pressure is on. Since there won't be any ponies or bouncy houses for the under 1 set, I think I'll focus instead on the cake and balloons. LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF BALLOONS. They're Sadie's favorite thing du jour. We may have to rent a helium tank to get the desired effect, of course...

Being the savvy reader that you are, you've probably noticed the lack of pictures as of late. I assure you there are hundreds---of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all of December---that I just can't get to at the moment. It appears we've lost the battery charger for our camera. I take this as a sign to get a new camera, of course, since I never liked the photos our Canon S70 produced anyway. Terrible low-light and indoor pics, with a flash that totally overexposes the subject. Obviously it CAN'T be user error, right? Right? Well, if you can recommend a good, compact point-and-shoot camera with manual options and a high ISO for low-light settings, let me know. Perhaps it will make a nice first birthday present for some lucky little girl...

Happy New Year, everyone!

monkey see monkey do

After many months of waiting for some real communication, it's finally happened. Sadie has shown us five new signs/gestures in the past two days! Most of it she's learned through imitation, but it's clear she gets the context. For example, when she waves bye-bye, she looks at the front door to see who's coming or going. When you say "Sadie, where's the christmas tree?", she POINTS at it now. It's all pretty amazing. So at the risk of bragging about our child genius, here's her repetoire:

- The Point: I first saw it today when she pointed at a helium balloon in the grocery store. Naturally I bought it for her after such a prodigious display. Now she points at anything you ask her about---the balloon, the tree, the ball, daddy.

- The Wave: Not the kind you do in a football stadium, though we're working on that too. She waves at you anytime you say "bye-bye Sadie" and leave the room. She even waves at Curious George when on the last page of her book it says, "Goodbye George."

- The High Five: Reid has pioneered this one, and I have to say she's getting it after only a few tries. She holds her hand to yours palm open-and-face-out, but has yet to master that satisfying SMACK! sound.

- Clap: Hooray! There's nothing cuter in the world than a happy baby, grinning from ear to ear and clapping with gusto. All you have to do is say "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" and the ovation begins.

- More: As in, give me more of that applesauce. Or that yogurt. Or those sweet potatoes. Please not included.

- Aaaah: Okay, this isn't a sign, but a sound. And an expression. And it's the funniest thing we've ever seen. You know how when you take a drink of something really refreshing, like ice cold water or beer, you might open your mouth wide and say "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" for emphasis? Yeah. Well, she does that after every drink of water from her sippy cup. I did it once---at lunch, about three weeks ago---and she hasn't stopped since. It never, ever fails to crack us up.

- Book: Although she doesn't sign this herself quite yet, she understands it. When we say, "Sadie, go get a book" (in conjunction with the sign for 'book'), she crawls over, picks up her book du jour, and brings it over for you to read.

When I start to think about the fact that she's learned all of this in less than 3 days, my mind starts to reel. Just imagine what the next year will bring...

mug shot

Sadie got her passport picture taken today for our upcoming trip to Mexico. It totally cracks me up every time I look at it.

Hahahahahahahahahahaa!!!

happy birthday sadie

Today you turned 10 months old, and I think it's a much bigger milestone for mommy and daddy than it is for you. The one-year mark looms large on the horizon. The holidays will fly by as they always do, and before we know it we'll be planning your big birthday celebration!

Ahhh, but Christmas---your enjoyment of it adds a whole new meaning and dimension to this time of year. On Saturday we endured the freezing cold and light snow to go to the tree nursery, so you could pick out your first Christmas tree. Each time daddy held one up, shook off the branches, and spun it around for you to examine, you went wild with excitement. We selected the one that garnered your most rave reviews: kicking, squirming, and laughing all at once. And wouldn't you know? It's just perfect in our living room! You've even learned what the words "christmastree" mean, turning your head in its direction any time we ask, "where's the christmastree, Sadie?"
From a mobility standpoint, you're getting around faster than ever---and not always by crawling. You've discovered that standing and pushing furniture around is just as effective as walking, and probably a lot less scary. So you navigate chairs, barstools, your little push wagon, whatever...from room to room, making lovely screeching noises on the hardwood floors as you go. But seeing you walk on your tiptoes, your tiny bottom swinging from side to side, is too cute to resist, so we don't stop you. Keep truckin', little one!

Your personality is more evident than ever before, and you clearly have some favorite things that should be noted:
Favorite Food: cheese (any kind. the sharper the better!)
Favorite Book: That's Not My Dragon
Favorite Thing To Do: pull out whatever barrette or rubber band is currently holding your hair in place

That's right---you finally discovered your clips---and take great delight in removing them in record time. We hope you'll get over it soon, so we don't have to cut your amazing hair (THAT can wait until AT LEAST your first birthday).
In the meantime, enjoy your 10-month birthday, sweet girl!

rsv

No, I'm not missing a "p" on the end of that subject line. RSV is "respiratory syncytial virus" and that's what Sadie came down with while we were on vacation. Luckily, it appears to be a pretty mild case and the doctor isn't too concerned. She's sleeping a lot, but otherwise in great spirits, eating well, and breathing fine. Poor baby! :(