the daily

this one is for the grandparents. chances are it will be a bit too long and a bit too uneventful for everyone else! but we knew they would enjoy hearing isa interpret one of her family portraits, so here it is. you can hear sylvi asking, "help me!" or her version of that phrase in the background when the video first starts-- she wants to get in on the action and is not happy to be left out! happy wednesday :)

Happy Sixteen Months Sylvi!

sylvi the smiler.

and sylvi the climber.

and cute blue jean baby booty.

what, did you think we forgot? no way! we were just waiting for some new pictures to post a Happy Sixteen Months Sylvi update. that's right... sixteen whole months.

it's been a busy month for roo and she has kept us on our toes most of that time. from being sick with rsv and an ear infection, to new teeth coming in, to mastering walking (and now running)... you get the point. it's been crazy. but for now, knock on wood, she seems to be well and her teeth may be giving her a little bit of break. considering the rollercoaster, she's been pretty happy, aside from some understandable clinginess. luckily she has also been easily distracted, so getting out and letting her run around has been good for everyone. although now that she is so speedy, it's alot less relaxing for yours truly.

so what's new this month? lots of new words: book, kitty, pretty, Isa (Ee-uh), Sissy (Is-ee), doggy, milk, and a few more that are slipping my mind at the moment. she has also started climbing on anything she can reach, including the coffee table/toy chest, the kiddie table and chairs, and just about everything else. all that movement has meant that her already incredible appetite is even bigger. it's nearly impossible to fill this kid up! she eats twice as much as her sister at most meals and can rival most adults at breakfast time. i am pretty sure she must have a hollow leg or something, as it seems impossible for a barely twenty pound baby to put away that much food!

so there you have it, the Roo at sixteen months-- still as sweet and cute as ever! Happy Sixteen Months Sylvi!

kazam!

guess who got a new bike this week? that'd be the goose! if you're looking at those pictures wondering if something is missing (other than her helmet, which she is very good about wearing)... it's the pedals! we got isa what is called a "balance bike" or a "run bike" because it will hopefully teach her balance and ride alot of more safely (and probably more quickly) than a traditional bike with training wheels. she actually has a bike with training wheels, but since she doesn't really need to balance on it she has taken some big spills when she gets going too fast and jerks the wheel or doesn't pay attention. with the balance bike she can't really over do it so easily and will hopefully learn the balance herself well enough to keep those short little legs in check.

so far she has the concept down, but we haven't gone on any big rides yet-- mostly just around the neighborhood or downtown. since the snow seems to finally be gone from the streets (we can hope, right?) we are looking forward to getting everyone out and on two wheels again. we broke out the chariot trailer hitch last week and it's been really nice to be out biking around town again.

and for good measure, a picture of roo in her most favorite place ever... the front yard swing. we've enjoyed spending lots of time in the swing and on the sidewalks this last week. hooray for that, spring couldn't have come soon enough this year!

humpty dumpty

i think roo might be getting the nickname humpty dumpty here soon. poor sylvi has gotten a bloody nose twice in a matter of a few days! ouch. the first was an accidental run in with her sister (and a wooden basket to the nose) and today she tripped and hit her face on the threshold of the tile floor. double ouch. unlike humpty dumpty though, she is fairly easy to put back together again! thank goodness for that.

mommy's birthday

today was mommy's birthday. that's right, i am talking about myself in third person! haha.

it's certainly been a day worthy of a blog post-- i got to sleep in this morning and was treated to blueberry pancakes and strong coffee as soon as i rolled out of bed. and then got to share some ice cream cake with daddy, isa, sylvi, rene, charlotte and timothy this afternoon. and if that weren't enough we even got to go out to a special (adults only) dinner. someone is feeling awfully spoiled! thanks to everyone for the special birthday wishes!

p.s. you can thank rene for snatching the camera and taking pictures, as this just might be the only blog post of the year with me actually in the photos ;)

family portrait

here is one of isa's family portraits-- complete with mommy, daddy, isa, sylvi, otter the cat and two rainbows in the sky. pretty sweet indeed :)

self-appointed

isa has deemed herself the "Princess of Art" today. i think she looks more like the Queen of Mardi Gras, but that's just my opinion.

out of the mouth of babes...

anyone who has spent much time with isa can tell you that she can say some really hilarious, genuine, and remarkable things given that she is only 3.5 years old. her teachers get a huge kick out of this and we often get little anecdotes from isa's morning at preschool when we come to pick her up. the other day her teacher told me that she hugged her new friend when she came to school that morning and said, "I am just so glad you decided to come to school today. I am just so happy to see you!"

the other day she said something that was a little less sweet but even more amusing. she was going potty (with the door open) and sylvi came in to see what was going on. in the process, sylvi picked up isa's book off the floor and started to leave the room with it. of course isa was distraught over this and started yelling for me to come help her get the book back (she was still on the potty). but i told her that it was ok, sylvi was just holding the book, and that she would get it back as soon as she was done. at this point she looks at me, shakes her head and gives a big sigh. then she says, "Ugh. Same ole, same ole mama."

when she is sixteen, these little remarks won't be nearly as funny, but coming from a preschooler? with so much sincerity and even in the correct context? i have to say, it's pretty dang funny.

flashback friday!

this one might be a little early for the west coasters, but that's alright. i couldn't decide what to post for this week's flashback. then we started looking through pictures of Isa at around 15 months, which is how old Sylvi is now. maybe not so much in this picture, but in others, they did share a little resemblance! maybe it's the smile or the short hair? or that they were both so stinkin' cute? ok, i had to say that, it's my right as their mother ;)

conversations with sylvi

it's been a while since we've been able to upload any videos. here's hoping it works! this one is of sylvi making her two favorite animal sounds-- woof woof and meow. she also likes to say neigh, but we forgot about that one. you can see her pointing out some body parts as well. need less to say, she is quite the talker-- she says a few new words every day. enjoy!

special delivery

the tent arrived today! and of course the packing paper and the big box were more fun than the actual object inside! we haven't totally set it up yet-- though we did try, but it's too big for the living room! so we'll have to wait until this weekend when we (hopefully) have dry ground for the first time since october. yippee! in the meantime, there is always fun packaging.

SUN

sun, sun, sun, sun... we cannot get enough of it these days! luckily we've had our fair share of (relatively) warm and sunny days this March. thank goodness, because this winter was starting to feel really long! with the exception of one or two days, we've gotten outside for 2-3 hours every afternoon in the last few weeks. since sylvi has been sick for a while now, she has mostly just lounged in the stroller and enjoyed being out of the house. isa has been walking though and we are really amazed at much longer (and faster!) she can walk now. should make for some good hiking this summer-- only carrying one kid!

we spent some time above the park this afternoon, with charlotte, timothy and rene, looking for ducks and running back and forth on the path. sylvi seems to be alot better so she got alot of exercise as well. this means that mommy did too, since sylvi seems to be following in isa's footsteps and running in the opposite direction whenever possible! but i'll take it if it means vitamin d, fresh air, and happily exhausted children at the end of the day.

flashback friday!

july 2009

this is a flashback devoted to green grass, pink roses, sundresses and barefeet! bring on the warm weather!

Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?

well, they do in this house! i think Isa needs a copy of that book! it's a world of magic fairies and princesses around here lately. actually most objects are preceeded with the words "magic fairy" too. like the magic fairy phone (aka: the hairbrush) and the magic fairy castle (aka: tree tent) and the magic fairy kitty king (aka: the white stuffed cat). anyway, you get the point. isa decided that her new purple hiking shoes matched today's magic fairy costume perfectly, so she's been sporting them all afternoon. we told her that she should wear them around before we go to utah, so as to avoid new shoe blisters, and she's quite happy to oblige. unfortunately they don't have sparkly gems on them (yes, she asked) but atleast they are purple, right?

on a less fanciful note, sylvi is still under the weather. apparently we spoke too soon when we said she was over the hump on monday. unless this is a multi-hump illness or something. but she's on day 8 of being sick, and supposidely that's as long as it normally lasts, so here's hoping the end is in sight. poor roo roo.

sicky poo

after a trip to the doctor this morning, looks like the roo has rsv and bronchiolitis. booooo! she is actually doing alot better today than she did for most of the weekend, so that's good. and it appears that we are in the last few days of the illness at this point and should be on the up and up by week's end. chances are isa had the same thing a week or so ago but it didn't bother her as much since she's older. apparently it's all over town and is keeping the ER full of sickly, coughing babies. booooo again. as for sylvi, the nurses said that she was by far the happiest rsv baby they'd seen yet!

desert bound!

isa on the san rafael swell-- march 2007

we've spent the morning browsing the internets for a big ole family camping tent. that's right, the super lightweight shelters and the bombproof mountaineering tents are being (temporarily) put aside in favor of an oversized american style family tent! oh boy.

we are headed to southern utah at the beginning of april for a week long family camping extravaganza. we haven't done a trip down there since isa was about eight months old, so we are overdue for red rocks, slot canyons, and southern utah sun. we are hoping that our friends matt and jami and their twin girls (a few months older than sylvi) can meet us there as well. we'll spend several nights in canyonlands and several nights in arches before heading up to salt lake for a few days of big city living. kids, canyons, camping, and big city luxuries... we cannot wait!

bookworm

sylvi is turning into a bookworm! she gets a big kick out of grabbing a book, flipping through the pages and "reading" to herself. it sounds alot like, "baaadaa beedee neigh, maaaadama" most of the time.

she is under the weather this weekend with a runny nose, cough, and low fever. and as if that weren't enough, her teeth are finally starting to come through the skin. but all things considered, she is a pretty happy camper. we've been getting outside for lots of fresh air and warm sun, and that seems to suit her as well. and of course there is no shortage to books to read, which helps alot too.