Sylvi at 20 Months

someone is acting very much like a two year old around here! and it's not me (ok, most of the time)! we've been noticing alot of big changes with miss sylvi lately-- mostly in terms of attitude and comprehension and speech. like most almost two year olds, sylvi has realized that she has definite opinions about things and she insists on seeing them through. while she is still the sweet, snuggly baby in the house, she is also turning into a full-fledged toddler. luckily the tantrums have mostly stayed at bay or are mellow enough that they can't really be classified as full-on fits just yet.

she is talking up a storm these days and loves to imitate the things her sister says. just like isa, sylvi now asks 'why?' constantly. we're not sure if she really understands the concept or the subsequent answer, or if she's simply copying. she also mimmicks the way that isa asks questions, with the exact same tone and facial expressions and mannerisms. she even adds an, "uhm, uhm..." at the beginning if she can't remember what she was going to ask about. speaking of sisters, they really get a huge kick out of each other most of the time. they have their moments, but they spend the majority of their day playing well together. of course slyvi thinks her big sister is the coolest person to ever walk the earth, and isa doesn't mind, so that helps alot.

the sleep fairy has been very good to sylvi lately and despite the fact that her canine teeth are about to start popping through, she is sleeping like a champ. both girls have been sleeping in alot later this summer, which baffles phil and i (we're not doing anything differently really). of course now that i have put that out to the blogosphere, they are both surely going to be waking up at the crack of dawn from now on! ack!

HAPPY 20 MONTHS ROO!

first pigtails!

have you ever seen such sweet pigtails? so tiny and blonde and cute? i want to eat them up! surprisingly, sylvi was really excited to get her first little hairdo this morning, probably because she watches isa get her's done every day. it's been an hour now and she hasn't pulled them out yet, so we're still oohing and ahhing at the insane cuteness :)

the cool down

desperate times call for desperate measures? maybe that's a tinge dramatic, but it's been pretty stinkin' hot around here lately so we've resorted to cooling off however we can! some days it's too hot to even think about running in the sprinkler or dealing with the kiddie pool... so what better than a bathtub full of cold water? of course goggles and sponge balls make it even more fun. isa got those goggles for swim lessons, as she gets a huge kick out of going under water and looking around, touching the bottom of the pool, etc. and since this midday bath was all about playtime anyway, she thought they'd be a nice thing for the tub as well!

speaking of swimming, both girls are in lessons this session and they are going swimmingly-- pun fully intended. isa is in the level one class and it's a great fit for her. it's challenging enough that she really has to work at it but also includes lots of new and fun things like jumping off the diving board solo (yay!) and spending more time under water and trying to swim on her own. we decided to put sylvi in the preschool class at the last minute, since she was there watching isa every day anyway, and because she loves the water so much and only got to do one session earlier in the summer. she's a little fish and is SO proud to be in a "big girl" class without a parent. the first day was a little nervewracking for yours truly, as sylvi was intent on getting in the water when it wasn't her turn (there are only 4 kids and 2 teachers, but this still stressed me out). she did tons better today though and splashed her heart out until it was time to leave.

summer rituals

we have an afternoon ritual around here that fits well into the dog days of summer. especially on days like today, when the thermometer read 102 degrees! ugh. every morning when sylvi wakes up, the first thing she asks for is a "pop" while she runs and points to the freezer. i have to admit, we've made some really good homemade popsicles around here this summer! they're tasty and cold and healthy and we eat one every single afternoon. this afternoon we had mango/peach/carrot and they were gobbled up in no time. they're also a great way to sneak in some raw veggies like spinach and carrots without any little people knowing about it! as you can see from the photos, they certainly don't mind ;)

art in the park

this weekend was Riverfest in city park, where there was a Mountain Aven Baby booth, so we spent all day long hanging out in the park! we couldn't have ask for a nicer way to spend a saturday. the weather was fantastic, the crowd was good, there was food and beer and music... and alot of playing to do! with the exception of a few hours at nap time, the girls spent the entire day hanging out there-- almost twelve hours! luckily emmie and morgan were there to keep up with them, which was a huge help. not surprising, after a whole day of playing in the creek and painting at the print-making station, there wasn't a kid in sight who actually still had clean clothes on. isa was particularly enthralled with the painting-- making prints with different fruits and vegetables, and spent alot of time hanging out there. i definitely think we'll be doing more of this at home this summer!

jackson recap

lots of folks have been asking how the jackson show went-- what sold and what didn't? what will i do differently for august? what did i do with all that evening free time? and so on and so forth.

for starters, the july show was a really good time and a big success. you never know how these shows might go, so it's always a bit of a gamble. but there was very little competition, as far as children's wear goes, and people seemed really glad to have more kids stuff to choose from. there is alot of really high end jewelry, fine art and furniture at this show, so to be able to buy a cute gift for $10 was welcomed by everyone who came into the booth. in general bibs, dresses, and boys tees sold like crazy... the boys tees were almost gone by the end of day one (note to self)! aprons and bags were also big hits. next time i will bring lots more boys tees and even more bibs (i brought 70 this time and they were almost completely sold out). i will also bring more sushi... in everything... bibs, dresses, blankets, aprons, you name it. if i had a dime for everytime someone saw the sushi dress, gasped, and called their friends over... well, i'd have ALOT of dimes!

i was very, very glad to have natalie there with me, for both the fun factor and because it got so hectic at times. having another set of hands or someone else to answer questions was really helpful. i think our neighbors thought we were crazy at times, or maybe the understood that what we were laughing at must be really funny... even if we were the only ones that got it! we also had alot of fun after the show. a four day weekend in jackson with no kiddos? awesome. we took full advantage and went out to dinner every night and stayed up way later than we might have otherwise. since this was only one of two times i'd been away from my kids for this long (first time ever for sylvi) i figured i might as well enjoy it!

there you go, that's the recap :)

almost four

isa is so very much a little girl on the edge of being FOUR these days. it's like she woke up one morning and she was already a year older... just like that... even though her birthday isn't for another month. as is usually the case with her, she goes through these rough times (usually lasting about a week) and then comes out on the other side with some amazing new skill or level of comprehension or vocabulary. this was certainly the case a few weeks back, when she seemed to be throwing a fit at the drop of a hat and we just couldn't figure out what the problem was. maybe her little brain was working overtime and the rest of her body just couldn't keep up! now she seems to be showing us that all that hard (brain) work paid off. for the last few days she has been amazing me with the things she says and the words she can use (in context) all the sudden. this afternoon she said, totally out of the blue, "Mommy, I am really impressed with this necklace you brought me!" well ok then! this is another one of mei's photos from last week-- apparently isa was really concerned about the fact that there was a strange brown shape inside her banana. can't say i blame her, that is the radioactive sign afterall! ha!

swoon more

too much of a good thing? no way jose. here are some more amazing mei photographs. i just may have to order some prints from her soon. like the best photographers do, she has a very keen ability to capture more than just a pretty picture. take a look at that picture of sylvi's blue eyes or the girls playing under the tree and tell me you disagree? more than just a pretty picture, for sure.

swoon

here is some eye-candy for the photo loving grandparents! we are still in the process of resettling and unpacking and getting back in the groove of things since mommy got back from jackson sunday night. the show was fantastic, which is really great, but that translates into alot more work for this week-- Riverfest is this weekend and all the "extras" i made in preparation just aren't enough after the jackson shows! so the sweatshop continues! the girls did really well with daddy for the weekend and it was nice to come home to a clean, happy household.

stay tuned for more blogging and enjoy these fabulous photos by mei ratz in the meantime. gotta love it when the babysitter is so amazingly talented... not only do you get primo childcare but also beautiful pictures to go with it! go check out more of mei's work here and here!

random craziness

isa's shop-- open for business

sales receipts

indoor picnicking

as predicted, it's been a bit of a crazy week around here (and yes, it's only wednesday). mommy is leaving for jackson tomorrow, so that bit of craziness was predictable, for the most part. of course as luck would have it, both the girls and phil have all come down with nasty colds... right before mommy leaves. isa has been hacking up a storm at night, which meant none of us got any sleep the first few nights. thanks to some magical prescription cough medicine though, she atleast slept better last night. now of course it's sylvi's turn. sigh. here's hoping tonight is better for all of us and that the sore throat and aches that have now descended on mommy will miraculously disappear before tomorrow morning. we can hope, right?

sisters of summer

rubbing sand in your sister's hair (and she loves it)... always a good time.

a little smoochy smooch.

sylvi hanging on the rings, her new favorite thing.

filthy dirty, sticky, tanned and tired... it's summer at it's finest here. the backyard is the best place to be these days. with a sandbox and a baby pool, watertable, swingset, tents, dump trucks and bikes and sisters... who could ask for more? ok, maybe some more grass and less weeds, but they don't seem to care about that part.

it's going to be a week of sparse updates here on the ole blog. mommy is getting ready for the first Art Fair Jackson Hole show and daddy will be holding down the fort (playing mr. mom) for the long weekend. maybe he'll update the blog here and there, but i'm guessing he'll be plenty busy keeping up with these two!

cleaning the memory card...

happy friday! enough said :)

cheeeeeeee!

this is sylvi's "cheese" face that she makes anytime she sees the camera. she automatically yells, "Cheeeeeeeee!" and makes this funny little scrunchy half smile, half scowl. she likes to run around the house holding isa's camera doing the same thing-- she holds it up to her face, points it at something, screams cheese and scrunches up her face. it's hilarious!

speaking of cheese, i forgot to add to the nineteen month update that sylvi can actually eat cheese now! hallelujah. her pediatrician gave us the go ahead at her last well baby visit to try to introduce it in small amounts and see how she did with it. after some less than successful attempts (or ooopses, really) we were really relieved that her tummy didn't seem to be bothered at all! so far she's had cheese, a little yogurt, and butter, all without any problems. since we are all used to drinking rice milk (and isa refuses to drink anything else now) we are sticking with that and reintroducing any other dairy really slowly. ice cream didn't go so well, but it may have been a fluke or it may have been all that sugar, who knows. but ice cream or not, the girl does like her cheese!

sylvi at nineteen months

sylvi at nineteen months is so cute it hurts! seriously, i just want to scoop her up and nibble on those cheeks all day long. and yes, we realize that this post is a week but better late than never, right?

so, sylvi at nineteen months... let's see... lots of talking with new words and phrases this month. this morning i asked who wanted strawberries and grapes and sylvi jumped up and shouted, "i do!" without a moments hesitation. she surprises us with stuff like this often these days. she is also showing her independence in other ways and doing her best to be a big girl. she loves to sit on the potty and will tell you when she needs to go (or sometimes already went). there is no dissuading her when she says she wants to sit on the potty either-- if she wants to go, she wants to go! actual success is elusive, but she gets a kick out of trying, so that's good enough for now.

one of her favorite things to do these days is to play with her babies. she is undoubtedly a baby baby. isa never really showed any interest in such things (until now of course) so this is new territory. but roo usually has a baby with her wherever she goes (in her crib, the car, the stroller, to the store, etc) and is very sweet with taking care of them. she pushes them around the house, wears them in her sling, wraps them up and wipes their little faces. it's pretty darn sweet to watch!

all those pesky teeth finally came in, and while she is drooling a little still, they don't seem to be bothering her much. this means that sleep is going well again too, which we are all really, really happy with! she is transitioning from two naps a day to one, which is a little tricky with the crazy summer schedule, but she is rolling with it.

there you have it, sweet sylvi is nineteen months old and we love her more than ever. HAPPY NINETEEN MONTHS ROO!