One Year
A year ago today, I was tethered to a bed in the hospital, and Mike and I were getting to know our new baby girl. My memories of that day are now a little fuzzy around the edges (I blame the drugs), but I do remember that we were utterly enchanted with her. Right away, we fell in love with her funny little ears and her gorgeous blue eyes (which have stayed blue to this day). She was a sweet, cuddly, soft little bundle who would roar when she was upset, but would calm just as quickly. Come to think of it, that hasn't changed too much.
Where we are now...
Keira has, obviously, grown a lot in the past year. Like you do. She's pretty much walking, and she's talking more and more everyday (and even saying words that are actually intelligible). Today's new word is "please" when she wants us to read to her or feed her. She is intensely curious about everything, and loves for us to read books to her, or tell her who the people are in our pictures. She is also finding more and more ways to communicate her needs to us, sometimes using sign language, and sometimes using other nonverbal cues. Keira is also developing quite the sense of humor. There is nothing more wonderful or satisfying than to make her shriek with laughter.
Among Keira's favorite games now are "share" in which she gives me a toy, watches me play with it, and then I give it back. She also loves "pooh stinky," which involves me sniffing her sock/shoe/foot and exclaiming "pooh stinky!" Apparently, that is the height of hilarity. She also *loves* to hand us either her binky or her sippy cup and watch us pretend to use it.
Keira is a fairly independent baby. She loves to play with her toys, make her funny noises, chatter to herself, and get into anything and everything in sight. She's definitely a problem solver, too. When she gets stuck with something, I swear you can see the little gears in her head turning 'round as she finds a way to fix it. My favorite today was when she got stuck in a corner on her new truck. She sat for a minute, got off the truck, and sat facing the opposite direction so she could take it the other way across the living room.
For as independent as Keira can be, she likes to do a lot of things with us, too. Right this moment she is hanging out with Mike on the couch, chilling out with a book in her hand and watching a video. It's a pretty wonderful thing to see.
The past couple weeks have, admittedly, been a little rough. And we were afraid today was going to turn out a whole lot worse. ****This is where it gets a bit icky**** Keira's cold has lingered, and it got a lot worse yesterday and last night. She was just a big bundle of mucus all day yesterday. Unfortunately, she spiked a fever around midnight, and then her body decided it had to eject all of that mucus *now*, from pretty much every facial orifice. It was horrific. Still, once it was over and we had her bathed and back in our bed, she was a much happier camper (the fever also came down considerably). ****OK, done with the icky***
Luckily, the fever was absolutely gone by this morning, and although she was still a bit gunky it wasn't remotely to the levels of yesterday. She was also in a much happier mood. She had been crabby all day on Saturday, but this morning she woke up her usual cheerful self. Needless to say, it was a relief considering we had this huge birthday planned for her and all.
The Party
I am so utterly grateful to everybody who could make it to the party, and especially to our family and friends who chipped in to help us set up everything. Of course, we made *way* too much food because we got a bit carried away... especially on the sweets. But they were fun to make, and between Ryann and Janet they will be appreciated by co-workers and students. I had also overbought on crafty projects for the kids, but not to worry - I donated them to Angie, who can definitely use them in her classroom. So yay for that!
Like all 1-year-olds, Keira made out like a bandit on clothes, books, and toys. I guess it's a good thing she just hit the next size up on clothing (18 month). She was pretty wiped out by the time we got to the presents, but she still lit up when she realized all those books and toys were for her. Grandpa Doug and Grandma Louie got her a truck she can ride on, so Aiden decided it was his job to push her around the room on it. I think it's the first time he's every really had a concrete way to play with her in a way he enjoys, and it was very sweet to see.
Now we are home and trying to figure out where to put all the leftovers from the party. I'm sure we'll find a place for them, but our exhausted bodies and brains can't quite process where right now. I'm also contemplating burning another day off, if only to get some rest. The last couple of nights have been really rough for all of us, and I think Keira might benefit from a restful day at home about as much as I would.
Where we are now...
Keira has, obviously, grown a lot in the past year. Like you do. She's pretty much walking, and she's talking more and more everyday (and even saying words that are actually intelligible). Today's new word is "please" when she wants us to read to her or feed her. She is intensely curious about everything, and loves for us to read books to her, or tell her who the people are in our pictures. She is also finding more and more ways to communicate her needs to us, sometimes using sign language, and sometimes using other nonverbal cues. Keira is also developing quite the sense of humor. There is nothing more wonderful or satisfying than to make her shriek with laughter.
Among Keira's favorite games now are "share" in which she gives me a toy, watches me play with it, and then I give it back. She also loves "pooh stinky," which involves me sniffing her sock/shoe/foot and exclaiming "pooh stinky!" Apparently, that is the height of hilarity. She also *loves* to hand us either her binky or her sippy cup and watch us pretend to use it.
Keira is a fairly independent baby. She loves to play with her toys, make her funny noises, chatter to herself, and get into anything and everything in sight. She's definitely a problem solver, too. When she gets stuck with something, I swear you can see the little gears in her head turning 'round as she finds a way to fix it. My favorite today was when she got stuck in a corner on her new truck. She sat for a minute, got off the truck, and sat facing the opposite direction so she could take it the other way across the living room.
For as independent as Keira can be, she likes to do a lot of things with us, too. Right this moment she is hanging out with Mike on the couch, chilling out with a book in her hand and watching a video. It's a pretty wonderful thing to see.
The past couple weeks have, admittedly, been a little rough. And we were afraid today was going to turn out a whole lot worse. ****This is where it gets a bit icky**** Keira's cold has lingered, and it got a lot worse yesterday and last night. She was just a big bundle of mucus all day yesterday. Unfortunately, she spiked a fever around midnight, and then her body decided it had to eject all of that mucus *now*, from pretty much every facial orifice. It was horrific. Still, once it was over and we had her bathed and back in our bed, she was a much happier camper (the fever also came down considerably). ****OK, done with the icky***
Luckily, the fever was absolutely gone by this morning, and although she was still a bit gunky it wasn't remotely to the levels of yesterday. She was also in a much happier mood. She had been crabby all day on Saturday, but this morning she woke up her usual cheerful self. Needless to say, it was a relief considering we had this huge birthday planned for her and all.
The Party
I am so utterly grateful to everybody who could make it to the party, and especially to our family and friends who chipped in to help us set up everything. Of course, we made *way* too much food because we got a bit carried away... especially on the sweets. But they were fun to make, and between Ryann and Janet they will be appreciated by co-workers and students. I had also overbought on crafty projects for the kids, but not to worry - I donated them to Angie, who can definitely use them in her classroom. So yay for that!
Like all 1-year-olds, Keira made out like a bandit on clothes, books, and toys. I guess it's a good thing she just hit the next size up on clothing (18 month). She was pretty wiped out by the time we got to the presents, but she still lit up when she realized all those books and toys were for her. Grandpa Doug and Grandma Louie got her a truck she can ride on, so Aiden decided it was his job to push her around the room on it. I think it's the first time he's every really had a concrete way to play with her in a way he enjoys, and it was very sweet to see.
Now we are home and trying to figure out where to put all the leftovers from the party. I'm sure we'll find a place for them, but our exhausted bodies and brains can't quite process where right now. I'm also contemplating burning another day off, if only to get some rest. The last couple of nights have been really rough for all of us, and I think Keira might benefit from a restful day at home about as much as I would.