Day 151: Post Hunt

Every year the brilliant minds at the Washington Post put together a (sometimes diabolical) puzzle that leads participants all over a portion of the city, trying to solve clues and win the game. There is very little chance you'll actually win the game, but it is great fun. We decided to try this with the girls and a friend and his daughter.

It was 90 today, with humidity. It was still mostly fun and awesome, minus one whining almost five year old. 

Working her puzzle solving magic. 

Catching a ride.  Sivan thought this was so amazingly cool. Her smile was huge. 

Two awesome kids hanging together.  They walked the entire way. Well, almost. But still awesome.  Perhaps future Post Hunt winners??

She loves pizza. And most food. Would you be surprised if I told you this kid ate WAY more pizza than her big sister did?

She correctly identified this building and its inhabitants. Too bad that wasn't one of the questions!

Day 150: Cuddlebug-ish

I was gone all day today, and Josh was great and wrangled the girls. I got home in time for bedtime. Thank goodness someone was in a tiny bit of a cuddly mood. 

Day 149: Good morning!

Yesterday she was suuuuuuuper sleepy and it took forever to wake her up. No repeat this morning. She was bright eyed and bushy tailed. 

Such a happy girl. She was bouncing around and dancing when I came in this morning. 

Day 148: Sleeping Beauty

Usually Sivan wakes up a few times in the morning, getting up, looking around, laying back down to snooze a bit longer. Today, though, I had to go in and wake her up. And whereas she normally wakes up pretty easily, today I had to striker her skin, tickle her a little, croon her name, and it still took a few minutes to wake her up.  Guess she was tired. 

Day 147: Sleepy Beauty the Sheriff of Babyville

Just a funny little post. Sivan reportedly slept a little at day care - only an hour - so it wasn't surprising to find this when we got home.  She had been melting down in spectacular fashion in Costco, which is usually her happy place (sooooo many people to greet and shower with waves) 

So sweet. 

She did wake up, though, so we decided to have dinner together as a family - as is  normal - and hang out for a little bit. At one point, Michal called out for help, declaring she'd been rounded up in "baby jail."

They look so unhappy here. 

Love when they so obviously enjoy each other. 

Day 146: Trouble Toes

Sivan continues to discover the ways in which she can move her body. She has been making new pfffft sounds with her mouth, and she has learned that her legs can do all sorts of things in addition to the pedestrian options of standing, walking, and crawling. 

They can moooove you. Now, this isn't the best picture of the new move, although it does illustrate the point. Michal prefers to break it this move when she's on the changing table. And the wall is her bracing point. Between that and her new desire to twist her body so as to make changing her diaper nigh impossible, well, I have a feeling we will be starting to change diapers on the floor. Where I can pin her down. 

Mobile baby with a messy tush is absolutely ridiculous. 

Day 145: Shavuot Shenanigans

We finished out the holiday of Shavuot by going to friends for dinner and a play date. Lovely company, Michal seemed to enjoy interacting with her peers, and Sivan? Well, Sivan discovered her new absolutely favorite toy. 

She could have stayed there all day. It was the bestest. 

And then she discovered the outlet. Oy. 

Day 144: The Saga of the Sippy

Usually at about the one year mark, parents might make the choice to wean their baby off of formula or breastmilk, switching to any number of possibilities: cow's milk, almond milk, rice milk, etc. We switched Sivan to cow's milk and she has taken to it quite nicely. 

Usually before this point, prints have successfully trained their baby to take some liquids via a sippy or straw cup of some sort.  And at around a year, they ditch bottles. 

We've tried a number of different sippy cups with Sivan. I think we have 7 or 8 different kinds. And she seems to like them. 

To chew on. 

Apparently sippy cups are just glorified chew toys. I know she will get eventually get it, but I'd really love to jettison the bottles. 

Sippy cups have fewer parts to clean. 

Day 143: Flowers and Art

Today we took advantage of slightly cooler weather - because apparently it's already summer?! - and headed downtown with close friends. After a delicious lunch we decided to visit the botanical gardens. I hadn't been there before and was pleasantly surprised with the experience. It was absolutely lovely. 

I mean, c'mon. She's just awesome. 

After the botanical gardens we walked a bit more and wound up at the American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery. There was an interesting exhibit on new media, but after only a few minutes, Sivan decided she was over this new stuff and wanted to explore. We took in a few exhibits before giving up and heading to the atrium, but this piece was a particularly nice one.

That bench was just perfect for this toddler. 

Day 142: Girl Time

Hanging out with my girls. Not much better than this. 

Day 141: Magic Meals

It's always heartwarming when your kids like the dinner you've spent time and sweat making. This meal wasn't so difficult, but I will take this enthusiastic eating over the floor "art" she usually wants to create.  My version of Indian peas and paneer seems to be a hit!

Day 140: All Tied Up

It looks like we may soon enter the era of double knots. This simply will not do. 

What is next? Taking off her clothes? And then the diaper itself?? I thought we had more time until this was a reality. 

Day 139: Eggs

Michal requested eggs for breakfast today.  I made sure to make a little extra for myself, as I had a feeling Sivan wouldn't be content with just her portion.  

It was a good thing I was prepared to share.  She was a big fan!

Day 138: Sharing?

Sivan had her own dinner - I ordered her rice and beans.

You will notice she is not eating rice and beans.

Obviously my dinner is entirely more delicious.

Day 137: Uh Oh

Someone is mobile and curious.  So funny how she differs from her sister.  We did little babyproofing in the house with Michal, since she was pretty chill and didn't move or explore much.  Sivan is a bit different and has started to look for all the cool things we have stashed away.

Day 136: Let's Celebrate!

It's birthday party day!  We had a small gathering of close friends and family.  Here are a few pictures from the day.

I made a photo garland of roughly 40 from Sivan's first year of life.  I got a little emotional putting this together - it's just so amazing to see how she has grown!

Important stuff - cupcakes!

I got the idea for this cake from... Pinterest!  Surprising, I know.  I tend to not go crazy for Pinterest ideas, but this popped up and was pretty easy to make happen.  It turned out really well and people seemed to real like it.

Family shot before cake.  We are so bad about taking family photos that I really wanted to be sure we made this happen.

 Cake time!  Sivan had a bit of a tutorial on her birthday with the cupcake.  I was hoping she'd go wild with the icing and cake.

Not too crazy, but she clearly loved the cake!

Day 135: So cool...

Gotta

Wear 

Shades

Day 134: Controlling

Still her favorite toy every. She somehow always ends up on CSPAN or a public access channel. She just rolls that way. 

Absolutely gleeful. 

Day 133: Little Miss Grabby

Little Miss Grabby. She's starting to realize the world is filled with marvelous things. Usually she's content to find some paper to tear up and taste, but now the world has Big Red in it - how does she resist. 

Day 132: Happy Birthday!

Somehow it's been a year. So hard to believe it's already been a year, while also being hard to believe it's only been a year. It's hard to recall a time when Sivan was not a part of our family. 

She is such a lovely little girl. So incredibly happy and smiley - she rarely fusses. To the point where I pointed out her being miserable to a friend and she laughed at me. Sivan absolutely adores her big sister, loves to sneak smiles at her daddy, and always seems to want to keep me within eye shot. We are so lucky to have her. 

Day 131: Diagnosis and Recovery

Sivan woke up with a temperature of 104.1 today, so it was a no brainier to take her in to be seen by the pediatrician. 

Not looking too happy. Much clinger today, definitely more on the miserabl side. And it was quickly apparent that her left ear was the culprit. Got a scrip for some antibiotics and we were on our way. 

Tomorrow is Sicans birthday, so I made sure to take some final "baby" pictures. Kind of amazing to mark this moment. 

Day 130: Mother's Day

We had such a lovely Mother's Day. After work - where Josh and the girls surprised me at the end of the school day - we met up with our family for lunch. Delicious meal, followed by a walk. 

Oh, and pictures of course. This is me holding roughly 75 pounds of adorable kids. 

Yep, this is pretty accurate. 

Day 129: Sick Kiddo

Sivan woke up with a fever today - it's hovered around 102-103 in between doses of ibuprofen. For the most part she has been her normal happy self - this picture notwithstanding - but we will keep an eye on her. 

Day 128: Accessorize Yourself... with Beans?

Sivan and I ran a few errands today, mostly picking up some duds for her, since she's growing in leaps and bounds.  Found this pair of glasses - she didn't like them as much as I did.

After shopping we met Michal and Josh for dinner. Decided to go Tex-Mex, and ordered Sivan a plate of rice and black beans. We weren't sure how she'd like it. 

She loved them.  

Oh beans, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... 

Are there anymore?!? Seconds?

Day 127: Privacy Please

Another pictureless day, solved with a quick snapshot before bedtime.  Sivan was perplexed by the flash - I took this right after I laid her down in her crib but before I left the room - but overall wasn't bothered by it.  Bedtime is usually pretty easy - I lay her down on her back, she flips to her stomach, and might wiggle a bit here or there, and then she's down for the night.

If only it'd always be this easy.

Day 126: Night Vision

1. She sure sleeps funny (she used to only sleep in her tummy - maybe she's branching out)

2. Isn't that uncomfortable? I surely would be unable to move the next day. 

3. Oh good lord how is she already this big?!? Her first birthday is in six days. His is impossible. Where did my teeny baby go?!?

Day 125: Paparazzi

So far Sivan has been relatively good natured about the seemingly constant intrusion into her life of my camera (ie iPhone).  She sometimes humors me and looks in the general direction of the phone, sometimes even smile.  Here she is, letting me know that she knows what I'm all about.

Okay, crazy lady, I'll give you a small grin.  It's not my best - you have to work up to that.

It didn't take long for her to get tired of the paparazzi - if I get too close or too personal, she tries to go all Kanye West on me.