margaretyagan

I was surprised to see Dad again this morning (a Wednesday AND a Thursday?).  I made breakfast quite a challenge today. I fought against the amaranth and peaches, but Dad finally won by putting little pieces of strawberry on each spoonful of amaranth.  I’m a sucker for strawberries!  By the time we were done battling, though, I had food all over myself — from head to toe!

After breakfast I went over to the shelves with the bibs and took them off, counted them and re-stacked them (with help) several times.  We sang lots of songs (one of Grandma’s favorites is “5 Little Monkeys”) and I’m starting to know that ducks go “quack.”  I’ve also figured out how to open the baby wipes and we spent a lot of time practicing open and shut and also playing peek-a-boo with wipes!

After my nap, we had a difficult lunch.  I finally finished the rice noodles from yesterday and I was kind of ambivalent about the  guacamole.  (It’s important to note that Mom LOVES guacamole and in fact it is her one culinary specialty!  But this guac recipe was from my special cookbook and made by Dad; I’m sure I would have loved Mom’s version!)

But the highlight of the day was Aunt Sarah’s arrival!  Dad decided to let me stay up past my bedtime to see her.  Aunt Sarah got here as fast as possible and pulled in just a few minutes after 7:00.  I hung out with her for about 15 minutes before Dad took my upstairs for my bath and put me to bed.

I woke up to see Dad getting me out of bed, which was cool after not seeing either of my parents yesterday!  Dad deliberately dressed me in a boyish blue outfit to save my girliest clothes for when my two aunts are around this weekend for my birthday party!

Dad got me started on breakfast, but left the cleanup for Grandma Droste.  After we finished up, I had fun playing with the blocks and the lion and Elmo, but the ball popper is still terrifying!

Sadly it was much colder outside today, so after my nap, Grandma Droste and I stayed inside and played with Fred the Frog (which Grandma Droste’s Mom made for my Mom had when she was a kid!) and read books in my room.  I devoured my lunch (red beans and rice — one of my favorites!) and practiced coloring again.

After lunch we ventured out into the cold.  We walked down Division, but there wasn’t nearly as much going on.  It was cloudy and sprinkling so most people just stayed inside.  We stopped by Alliance bakery to check on my birthday cake — they were still working on it!  Hopefully it’ll be done in time for Saturday.

I took another nap that was so long that Grandma actually woke me up — something that almost never happens, but I was about to sleep through dinner time!  Dad fed me dinner. I didn’t much care for the rice noodles, but I loved the papaya — first to eat, and then to throw on the floor.  That was Dad’s cue that dinner was over.

Happy Birthday, Nana & Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone else!

I woke up at 6:15 but Grandma  Droste let me babble for a while and after 20 minutes, I managed to talk myself back to sleep!  I woke up for good at 6:50 and Grandma was there to get me up and dressed.  We read stories in my room before heading downstairs for breakfast.

I ate all of my breakfast (including the strawberry oatmeal I rejected yesterday) and then we sat on the front steps and counted all of the doggies that walked by — there were nine of them!  We also looked up and watched the birds in the tree over our heads.

I talked to myself for about half an hour before falling asleep for my nap.  I got up a bit earlier than I might have otherwise because I needed a new diaper.  Grandma and I sang songs and played until lunch time.

After lunch, we made a dash for the park to celebrate the 73 degree weather!  I was fascinated by all the chaos of the park.  Last year at this time I was just a week old and hardly ever left the house.  It’s amazing how much difference a year makes.

I loved the swing and the teeny-tiny slide, but the teeter-totter was a bit much for me.  Grandma had thought to pack my afternoon snack with us, so we had a picnic in the park.  It was almost a bummer to have to head home for my nap!  But apparently I needed it — I slept for over 2 hours!

Dinner was yummy and then we practiced walking across the living room about 20 times!  Grandma let me splash quite a bit in the bath and I got to bed a bit later than usual — about 7:50.

I got up this morning with Mom and went downstairs to see Grandma Droste!  I decided to be difficult at breakfast and actually rejected my strawberry-flavored oatmeal for the first time ever.

We played and read stories after breakfast and counted the dogs we saw out the window.  My nap was good — I talked to myself for about 20 minutes before sleeping for an hour or so.  I ate a good lunch and then I colored for the first time ever!  I’ll have to get some of my originals framed!

It was so nice outside (68 degrees!) and we really enjoyed our walk.  we went to Milk & Honey and bought some fresh fruit to take to the park.  There were so many dogs and kids that we had to wait in line for the swing.

During my nap, Grandma had set up my jumperoo outside in the yard.  When I got up I went out and played in it which was perfect because I could jump around and also see everything that was happening on the street.  When Grandma let me out of my jumperoo, I crawled straight for the pile of dead, dirty leaves and even took a few nibbles!

Finally Mom came home and saw the ring of dirt on my face.  She knew right away how much I had had today!

Just like yesterday, my schedule was running late all morning.  As soon as I got up from my nap, we headed over to meet a new friend, Maya!  Maya’s about 3 months older than I am.  She has all kinds of cool stuff (a huge Elmo and a toddler-sized armchair, to name a couple) and lives right next door to a really awesome park.

I ate a lot (and wiped raspberry all over Maya’s parent’s chair!) and had a really fun time playing with Maya.  After lunch, we all went to the park and I went down a slide (with help from Mom) for the first time ever!  I also snuck away from Mom long enough to eat some dirt!

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Then We dropped Mom off at the Flower & Garden Show, where she hung out with Grandma Droste.  I went with Dad to Nana & Grandpa Yagan’s and we had a really fun time.  We stayed so long that it was time for my snack, but Dad hadn’t brought any food with us.   Not to worry!  Nana brought out a white bean stew that she had made and I totally loved it!

Dad and I drove home and I hopped right in bed!  I played with everyone the rest of the day and had a fun dinner before heading to bed.

Everything ran late today.  I got up late.  I had breakfast late.  We went to the store late.  I went to sleep late.  I got up late.

When I got up, Mom, Dad, and I went to Target.  Dad was in some kind of crazy St. Patrick’s Day spirit, because be bought all kinds of green things (and Irish beer!).  He let me play with two books while I was sitting in the cart, but then Mom made me put them back before we checked out, saying I’d be getting lots of gifts at my birthday party!
We went to Union Station to pick up Grandma Droste and then headed home.  I absolutely rejected my bottle, to the point where Mom & Dad decided to permanently retire my bottle!!  I’m even post-toddler now!

After my nap and dinner, Mom, Dad, and I took a walk to Alliance Bakery to order my birthday cake! It was getting late and cold and dark, so Mom and I headed home while Dad went to run an errand.

I’m still not 100% today, but I’m feeling a lot better than I was yesterday and the day before.  I really enjoyed my tropical smoothie for breakfast but completely rejected the bulgar and raisin concoction that Nana tried to feed me.

We had a really good time reading books and playing with my new toys (especially the colored blocks).  I was a bit fussier than usual, but got back on track after a relatively long (almost two-hour) nap.

Red beans and rice (and chicken sausage!) made for a yummy lunch, though I continued to refuse the bulgar.  Finally, at my afternoon snack, Nana mixed the bulgar with yogurt and all of a sudden I loved it!  We thought about going out for a walk, but decided that since I was still getting over my cold, it made sense to stay indoors.

I slept so deeply that I snored during my afternoon nap.  I’m also trying really hard to walk — at least I’m now standing up for really long times by myself.

I woke up today at 7:05 and so didn’t get to see Mom before she left for work.  Nana was up to get me and I was so excited to show her my stuffed puppy!

I was feeling a bit better than before, but still congested and with a runny nose.  I enjoyed my new colorful blocks but I’m still horrified of my Busy Ball Popper!

I finally had a good night’s sleep — mostly because I could actually breathe!  I woke up at 6:00 and got to take a shower with her in the shower, which made me feel even better.  We went downstairs and I got my hands on a box of tissue — and took every last one out of the box.  But hey, I learned how to wipe my own nose!

I had a pretty small bottle at 7:00 and had some prunes and O’s to round out breakfast.

Did I mention…IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!?  Woo!   And Mom took the day off to celebrate with me!

I took a good nap and woke up in a much better mood.  I got my very first birthday gift: a set of new plastic cups!  I used them to drink my water and milk with lunch, which also included succotash and beans and rice.

After lunch we went for a walk to Letizia’s to celebrate my birthday.  Well, it turned out to be a celebration for me much more than it was for Mom.  It all started when Mom bought me a birthday cupcake.  Processed sugar is so yummy!  Anyway, the cupcake frosting was sooooo good — way better than the cake itself.  While I had my hands in the frosting I noticed a woman walking right by our table wearing a very nice black coat.  A black coat that I thought would look a lot better decorated with…cupcake frosting!  I smeared my hand right across her coat and offered a little giggle, too.  Mom sprung to action and helped clean her coat and offering to pay for it to be dry cleaned.  While she was busy attending to that, I took the plate with the cake on it and — threw it on the floor, the plate breaking to a million little pieces.  Hey, it’s my birthday!

We then went to my 1-year doctor’s appointment.  Well, I have a cold so I couldn’t get any of my vaccinations and the office’s blood test machine was broken, so I managed to escape any needles!

My checkup went great!  The doctor said about me, “she’s good at growing!”  I weighed in at 22 lb, 9 oz (75th percentile), 30 inches long (75th percentile) and 18.5″ head circumference (90th percentile).  So, I got a lot taller and a more proportional head over the last few months.  That works for me!

When we got home, I totally refused my bottle (Mom, Dad – can you give up on the bottle already!?) but had some O’s before my nap.  I got up and played for a while and then got a surprise birthday visit from Nana and Grandpa Yagan.  They brought me a couple really great gifts: colored blocks (which I loved!) and a ball popper (which I hated!).  I had a great time seeing them and of course playing with my new toys.

Dinner was pretty standard, except that now that I’m a toddler, Mom shared carrots from soup with me.  I hope I get to eat more table food from now on!  All in all, I had a great birthday.  I’m hoping to have them more often!

I had a really  rough night — I think I’m coming down with a cold!  I couldn’t really breathe very well and I was up extra-early, at 5:30.  Luckily I’m not coughing or running a fever, so no one’s too worried.

On top of being a bit out of it due to my cold, Mom and I came downstairs to find…Rachel!?  No Nana, no Grandma.  Rachel!  I had fun with Rachel and even cooperated with her attempt to give me a bottle.  At around 7:15, Nana came by and took over for Rachel.

My nap was shortened by my inability to breathe too well.  I was congested, sneezing, and had a runny nose.  I was in a terrible mood and refused to eat lunch.  Nana was very understanding, and I got to eat extra O’s!

Mom got home and I still wasn’t any better.  I was drooling, hoarse, and still congested.  Mom let me eat flavored yogurt.  Dad had hoped to make it to my first birthday without any processed food, but Mom overruled him, citing my health needs!

Mom let me play with her purse and I got a bath, both of which helped!