Wow! That's one of my favorite words that Savannah says. The word is perfectly suited to her 1 year old personality. She's amazed by the world around her and loves to explore it. She impresses us developmentally every single day and she's so tall that people usually think she's much older (15 months-2 years is a common range). Today we had her "one-year well visit" with Dr. Laura. She is almost 23 lbs, 31.5 inches tall (off the charts) and has a big head like her daddy (48 cm). She was all smiles in the waiting area playing with one of those wooden toys with all of the moving parts, but asserted herself by protesting the idea of going back to the check-up room. She spent the entire visit shifting back and forth between her usual happy-go-lucky self and the tyrant she knows how to be when she's not getting her way. The tyrant did not want to be weighed, measured, or temperatured. She didn't want to have her heart rate checked or her ears, and she really didn't want to have shots. The finger prick went okay because she got to play with the "big-girl" band-aid until she tore it off :).
Let's get caught up on the last 8 months shall we?
First, the excuse for why there hasn't been a post in forever. Mommy bought a fitness franchise. I am the proud co-owner of the San Carlos/Redwood City Stroller Strides (aka Stroller Strides Mid-Peninsula if you're searching for us on facebook). Its been great for both of us. I get to use my brain to develop and run the business while Savannah gets to interact with all kinds of other kids from 6 weeks to 3 years. We've met some great buddies that are all in the same new world, the closest to heart are my partner Sara and her daughter Cielle. The four of us have trek'd through the last 8 months together, encouraging each other all the way. Its been a FABULOUS ride. (more on that later)
It'd be hard to completely catalog 8 months of Savannah's life, so I'll try and get some milestones down. She pulled herself up to stand at about 5 months and couldn't wait to walk. She started taking multiple steps in her 8 month and walking at about 10 1/2. Her first room-crossing stroll was in a hotel in Kirkland (probably had something to do with the confidence building carpet). Now she's running and climbing, sure to be an athlete. We're working on stairs; she's great at climbing upstairs but refuses to climb down the backwards baby way.
Her initial favorite food was avocado, she couldn't get enough of it. She also loves turkey and sometimes can't get it in her mouth fast enough. Other faves are cheese, freeze dried fruit (especially apples, pears and strawberries), Strawberries and Blueberries (especially when at the farmer's market or grocery store) and Seaweed. She has not been a fan of any veges I make unless I hide them behind avocado (with the exception of potato and sweet potato), but loves the store bought stuff. Recently we've been testing out big people food. Beef doesn't not seem to be a favorite, especially when combined with spinach, but she likes chicken, tomato-ey pastinas, mac 'n cheese, and as of today potato salad. She likes goldfish crackers, but not the organic kind, and she enjoys all kinds of "puffs" (baby sancks).
She loves being outside. She wants to be held up to the trees so she can pull their leaves off, then tries to put them back. She loves to pick flowers too. When we were going through the rainy season (which just ended this year), she would point outside and say "dat". I felt so bad that we weren't going outside much, so a few times I took her out to feel the rain on her hands and face, which she didn't mind a bit. She also doesn't mind the wind, which surprised me because I can't stand it (I get that from my Grandma Joy, who Savannah is named after). When its super windy and we're running around the park with her in the stroller she makes a delightful "Ahhhhhh" sound. I'm glad since we're doing this a lot with my new business.
She is a great dancer and loves to bounce her knees to the song lion walker (a hand me down from her friend Maddy) makes. The song is pretty much a constant in our house. Its either that or the Winnie the Poo choo choo train. If you tell her to play the song, she understands and starts it up, no matter what the aparatus, including a little play yard piano that is in Daddy's office. She started responding to the about 11 months. Before she could walk the music table was her favorite and Rick and I were constantly humming "ba-du-ba-du-ba-de-beep-bop" because that was her favorite thing to flip on.
We've taught her a couple "baby tricks" since putting the pacifier in her mouth all that time ago. She can do squats with mommy on command and she responds to "What's your favorite hamburger" with "Dub-a Dub-a" (which we'll put the kabosh on soon). She's also taught herself so many things; she's a little sponge when it comes to learning from watching us. One day when she was probably in her 9th or 10 month she started wiping her hands together when Rick said "Mommy is washing her hands". She started waving in response to hi and bye when she was 6 or 7 months.
In the past couple months she has become an awesome and frequent hugger. It started with her teddy bear "Veronica" in the car seat one day. I looked back and she had wrapped both of her arms around Veronica and was hugging her as tight as she could. In the last month, she's moved on to people. I'd like to think that was also learned by the sponge method, but then I'm just tooting my own horn (along with daddy's). She loves to hug other babies (who many times are a little scared) and the other day she walked open armed right to a man reading a book at the airport seeking a hug (he looked a little scared too).
I'm sure there's much, much more to say, but I'm off to finish putting together Savannah's new slide for her birthday. I hope that I am able to keep this up better in the months to come!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Be our guest!
We had our first post-sleep schedule visitor this weekend! Now that Kelly is back at home playing with her own little ones (Calvin and Anne) I will admit that I was a little nervous about Savannah being willing to nap and maintain her good track record for sleeping through the night, with another person in the house. I was afraid that I would be distracted from watching for tired signs and that more noise would make it harder for Savannah to stay asleep. I was SO wrong! She slept great! I must thank Kelly for limiting her trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night and apologize for any anxiety I created for her about making noise.
Kelly and Savannah got on as well as as Kelly and I do. As a veteran Mama of 3.5 years she provided some new entertainment that Savannah really enjoyed (keep-away while lying on her back, which made her giggle almost to tears, and singing all the verses to wheels on the bus, many of which I had forgotten, and some "new" ones).
Savannah is getting closer to crawling every day. Her legs are getting stronger as she uses my hands to push off and move forward. She is also getting quite dextrous with her pacifier. She picks it up and looks at it to make sure it is at that right angle and can aim it directly into her mouth with either hand. She can also pass it between her hands as of the last few days, which I read is a milestone for 6 month olds! Last Thursday she even located her paci in her crib all by herself and got it into her mouth. I know it won't be long before we are trying to take that pacifier away, but for now we are super impressed with her growing talents!
One of her cute new habits is to open her arms wide when she is on my lap facing me like she's ready for a hug and then I let her fall into my chest and she wraps her arms around me. She also does this very cute thing where she reaches for daddy when she wants his attention, and if she's close enough, say when we are lying in our bed with her, she will tap his back or his face, which ever she can reach. Speaking of faces, she has also gotten into the habit of grabbing face parts; noses, eyes, mouths, which is cute but sometimes painful. I'm going to have to teach her the phrase "That hurts!" soon, and that my hair is not a rope to pull me closer or hold herself up with!
Kelly and Savannah got on as well as as Kelly and I do. As a veteran Mama of 3.5 years she provided some new entertainment that Savannah really enjoyed (keep-away while lying on her back, which made her giggle almost to tears, and singing all the verses to wheels on the bus, many of which I had forgotten, and some "new" ones).
Savannah is getting closer to crawling every day. Her legs are getting stronger as she uses my hands to push off and move forward. She is also getting quite dextrous with her pacifier. She picks it up and looks at it to make sure it is at that right angle and can aim it directly into her mouth with either hand. She can also pass it between her hands as of the last few days, which I read is a milestone for 6 month olds! Last Thursday she even located her paci in her crib all by herself and got it into her mouth. I know it won't be long before we are trying to take that pacifier away, but for now we are super impressed with her growing talents!
One of her cute new habits is to open her arms wide when she is on my lap facing me like she's ready for a hug and then I let her fall into my chest and she wraps her arms around me. She also does this very cute thing where she reaches for daddy when she wants his attention, and if she's close enough, say when we are lying in our bed with her, she will tap his back or his face, which ever she can reach. Speaking of faces, she has also gotten into the habit of grabbing face parts; noses, eyes, mouths, which is cute but sometimes painful. I'm going to have to teach her the phrase "That hurts!" soon, and that my hair is not a rope to pull me closer or hold herself up with!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Baby talk
Friends and family, you will soon be able to predict the quality of Savannah's naps by the frequency of my posts! It has been a few days since we've had one over 45 minutes. There seems to be a consistent break in her sleep cycle then and she is only sometimes successful at getting herself back to sleep. The fact that she has that skill at all is pretty amazing to me, since at 34 I have trouble getting myself back to sleep. She either makes a quick yelp followed by silence and 30-45 minutes more rest, or a quick yelp followed by cries for someone to come save her from the dark room. Sometimes I sneak in and pop the pacifier in her mouth, sending her back to land of zzz's, but according to our sleep class instructor, I'm supposed to refrain from doing that so she can further her self-soothing progression. I'll have to ask my parents if they always helped me back to sleep, thus making me the restless sleeper I am today. But back to Savannah, when she wakes up rested all we hear is her quiet chatter with herself..."ahhhh.....gooooh......baaaah". We love waking up to her baby talk in the morning and hope that she doesn't mind that we lie in our room and listen for as long as she sounds like she is still enjoying herself.
Yesterday, when Rick and Savannah were on the couch enjoying some "Daddy-Time", he hollered for me to rush to the family room. Savannah was scooting her way up his body as he laid there, almost crawling. She's not quite there yet, but with a little something to push against, daddy's body or a rolled up towel behind her feet, she can get herself more than 6 inches along. When she's on her tummy in her crib she usually moves herself 90-180 degrees before the morning, which is getting problematic given the small variance between her height and the width if the crib. She has also started to recognize objects in front of her, especially her pacifier, and is reaching for them. She can't quite hit the tail on the donkey with her swats at the object of the moment yet, but her hand-eye coordination is pretty close, within a centimeter or two. Her favorite things to grab right now are her pacifier and a little green teething ring that makes a funny wet tennis shoe noise when she bites it. She also has a wooden rattle that she likes from Granny and Papa-G, but we have to watch her close with it be use she has wacked herself to tears before. I guess there is some benefit to those soft plastics made in China!
Yesterday, when Rick and Savannah were on the couch enjoying some "Daddy-Time", he hollered for me to rush to the family room. Savannah was scooting her way up his body as he laid there, almost crawling. She's not quite there yet, but with a little something to push against, daddy's body or a rolled up towel behind her feet, she can get herself more than 6 inches along. When she's on her tummy in her crib she usually moves herself 90-180 degrees before the morning, which is getting problematic given the small variance between her height and the width if the crib. She has also started to recognize objects in front of her, especially her pacifier, and is reaching for them. She can't quite hit the tail on the donkey with her swats at the object of the moment yet, but her hand-eye coordination is pretty close, within a centimeter or two. Her favorite things to grab right now are her pacifier and a little green teething ring that makes a funny wet tennis shoe noise when she bites it. She also has a wooden rattle that she likes from Granny and Papa-G, but we have to watch her close with it be use she has wacked herself to tears before. I guess there is some benefit to those soft plastics made in China!
Friday, October 8, 2010
4 month stats
Every morning the neighbor across the street fires up his diesel engine (he's got to go to work!) and so far Savannah sleeps through it pretty well. I guess I'm becoming a little obsessed with tracking the noises she can sleep through. This morning I found out that the jingle of my necklace over her crib is not one. Silly me! Poor daddy has to tip toe by her door (by my request) so that the squeak of the floor doesn't rattle her, but I can run on the treadmill in the room next to hers and she stays soundly asleep. I don't want to become one of those mom's that is wacky about every sound, and I know she needs to learn to sleep through some noise, and I also want to make sure she doesn't become part of our sleep deprived world of adults as she grows up!
We get comments every where we go, from neighbors on our morning walks, other new moms in my mom groups, and strangers at Starbucks, about how smiley snd happy Savannah is. At first I took it for granted...why wouldn't she be? After months of consistent feedback I've come to feel very lucky that she has this demeanor, as it's obviously not the case for every baby. She definitely has her fussy times, and she hates to be in the car for any length of time after 5:30 right now, but at her 4 month doctor visit 2 days ago, she smiled through tears at the nurse who had just administered her immunization shots. I'm sure she was just letting us all know that she didn't blame us for the pain.
Speaking of those shots, Daddy had a really tough time with the wide-eyed look Savannah had when the needle went in. I had recently had my first "Mommy why did you do that to me look" a few days ago when I scratched her with my watch so I was a little less bothered, but the look and accompanied scream that that scratch invoked did a number on me at the time. What are we going to do the first time she scrapes a knee?
Just for the record, Daddy and Grandma are trying to get me to promise that Savannah will not get a car for her 16th birthday. While I'm very supportive of their reasons, I'm just not willing to commit to that decision at this time, and I'm hoping that by then the driving age is18 :).
4 month visit stats:
Weight: 15 Pounds 5.5 ounces, 75th percentile
Height: 26.25 inches, 97th percentile
Head: 43.2 cm
Overall, Dr. Laura was very impressed with her development, level of activity, and of course, her smiles.
Strange how they give you the height in inches and the head circumference in centimeters. Do they not want me to compare the two? :)
We get comments every where we go, from neighbors on our morning walks, other new moms in my mom groups, and strangers at Starbucks, about how smiley snd happy Savannah is. At first I took it for granted...why wouldn't she be? After months of consistent feedback I've come to feel very lucky that she has this demeanor, as it's obviously not the case for every baby. She definitely has her fussy times, and she hates to be in the car for any length of time after 5:30 right now, but at her 4 month doctor visit 2 days ago, she smiled through tears at the nurse who had just administered her immunization shots. I'm sure she was just letting us all know that she didn't blame us for the pain.
Speaking of those shots, Daddy had a really tough time with the wide-eyed look Savannah had when the needle went in. I had recently had my first "Mommy why did you do that to me look" a few days ago when I scratched her with my watch so I was a little less bothered, but the look and accompanied scream that that scratch invoked did a number on me at the time. What are we going to do the first time she scrapes a knee?
Just for the record, Daddy and Grandma are trying to get me to promise that Savannah will not get a car for her 16th birthday. While I'm very supportive of their reasons, I'm just not willing to commit to that decision at this time, and I'm hoping that by then the driving age is18 :).
4 month visit stats:
Weight: 15 Pounds 5.5 ounces, 75th percentile
Height: 26.25 inches, 97th percentile
Head: 43.2 cm
Overall, Dr. Laura was very impressed with her development, level of activity, and of course, her smiles.
Strange how they give you the height in inches and the head circumference in centimeters. Do they not want me to compare the two? :)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Baby sleeping
This is officially Savannah's 4th month of life and our second week of working on naps in the crib. How can it be that a baby can sleep through the garbage truck operating in front of the house but not my spoon stirring milk into my coffee cup? Surely one of life's unsolvable mysteries, but I'm not complaining.
This past week has had the following milestones:
Savannah can insert pacifier into her own mouth when handed the correct side
We had our first dinner guest post commencing SJ's 7:30 bedtime. Savannah went down and slept through our refrained chatter. Thanks for your cooperation Keith Wolf!
SJ rolls from back to front on her own with ease
Sitting upright to drink her bottle, only reclining to drink at night. Even mommy has trouble sitting up that straight!
Starting to sleep through the night (7:30-7:30)
Sucking her thumb instead of all her fingers
Here comes the recycling truck...sleeping through that would be too much to ask and SJ's nap has already lasted 75 minutes. Here comes mommy to the rescue! Wait...a quick check on the video monitor shows she's found her thumb and is back to resting. The thumb sucking has been very cute. Her little pointer finger rests on the top of her nose. I hear her talking now.... She usually wakes up so happy. Our little dream baby!
Soon it's time to eat and take care of SJ's business (poo poo) and then we are off to new mom group!
This past week has had the following milestones:
Savannah can insert pacifier into her own mouth when handed the correct side
We had our first dinner guest post commencing SJ's 7:30 bedtime. Savannah went down and slept through our refrained chatter. Thanks for your cooperation Keith Wolf!
SJ rolls from back to front on her own with ease
Sitting upright to drink her bottle, only reclining to drink at night. Even mommy has trouble sitting up that straight!
Starting to sleep through the night (7:30-7:30)
Sucking her thumb instead of all her fingers
Here comes the recycling truck...sleeping through that would be too much to ask and SJ's nap has already lasted 75 minutes. Here comes mommy to the rescue! Wait...a quick check on the video monitor shows she's found her thumb and is back to resting. The thumb sucking has been very cute. Her little pointer finger rests on the top of her nose. I hear her talking now.... She usually wakes up so happy. Our little dream baby!
Soon it's time to eat and take care of SJ's business (poo poo) and then we are off to new mom group!
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