Way to go, Grampy!

Behold the East Naples Tennis Team, which this weekend won its league championship for the third year in a row!

Sylvie is very proud of her Grampy.

New(ly) Friends

One might be tempted to think that Pax has just become tolerant of Sylvie.  That is undoubtedly the case, but it also seems that he has gradually become genuinely fond of her.  He wags his tail at her approach, favors her with the occasional lick on the cheek, and even - to her absolute delight - sometimes comes to her when called.  I have not yet been able to catch that on tape, but Sylvie has definitely added an emphatic "PAX!!" to her vocabulary.

All of this might well be due to the spoils Pax gets from Sylvie's high chair three times daily... whatever it is, it's good to see our two "kids" getting along so well these days.

New Friends

Yesterday dad's friend John from high school came over for lunch with his 4-year-old ("four and three quarters," to be exact) daughter, Kaitlyn.

Sylvie went wild with excitement the moment Kaitlyn came in the door, chasing her around the house and literally yelling with excitement.

Kaitlyn was an excellent little example for Sylvie, teaching her how to take turns, share, and play new games with the balls from her ball pit.  They only knocked heads (figuratively) twice: first when Kaitlyn wanted to put all the balls in one compartment, and Sylvie wanted to spread them all over the room.  The second clash came when Kaitlyn jumped on Melissa, who was lying on the floor.  "Hey!"  Sylvie seemed to say.  "Nobody pounces on her head but me!"

When it came time for the good-bye hug, Sylvie pulled her patented 'take-down' maneuver.  Luckily nobody was hurt.  More photos in the March Gallery.

Sooner or later, everyone turns on Elmo

Surprise at Oak Hill!

We headed out to Oak Hill Playground this Sunday (the same place we took photos last weekend), and this time I brought the video camera along.  When we arrived we got a great surprise - Madeline and Jake O'Leary were already there, with Baxter and their folks!

The more time we can get with the O'Leary kids the better - they are excellent role models for Syl.  A lot of fun was had by all.

Fun around the house

This kind of joyful tom-foolery is what I look forward to all day, every day, and why I try so hard to get home before Syl goes to bed at night.

Wheels

Sylvie has learned to steer the little bike that Aunt Lia and Uncle Ben gave her.  She spends a lot of time these days practicing.  This clip also demonstrates, at the end, the degree to which she understands exactly what we're saying to her now.

A Difficult Interview

I have come to the reluctant conclusion that the "Interview with the Baby" segment, so popular in Sylvie's infancy, has come to an end.  She just won't cooperate with media requests any more.

Puzzlin'

Sylvie LOVES puzzles.  She's pretty good at them, too, when she's not freaking out or trying to eat the pieces...

Pretty soon she'll be able to survive in the wild...

Syl is finally starting to feed herself with some regularity.  She figured out the basic concept of a spoon, and manages to get a good percentage of the food from her bowl to her mouth (at least until she gets sick of it and tosses the whole thing to the dog).  She's also discovered the wonders of dipping.

Incidentally, you aren't seeing double and we did not get another dog - Pax's friend Baxter spent some time with us last weekend while his folks were in Texas.

Fun morning at the playground

There is an excellent playground not 5 minutes up the street from our house, and it is finally warm enough for Sylvie to enjoy it.  We spent the morning today climbing, sliding and swinging.  Syl is a little small for some of the jungle gyms yet, but she's full of ambition.  

Many more in the March Gallery.

Visiting Sylvie's Future Cousin

Syl had a good time today paying a visit to the home of her future cousin (where her Uncle Ben and Aunt Lia also live).  Reuniting with her beloved Bumbo, getting a quick piano lesson from Aunt Lia, rediscovering the joys of the bouncy chair, climbing LOTS of fun stairs, playing with Uncle Ben, and participating in some sort of odd ritual with Mom...  all-in-all, a fun Saturday afternoon.

Brick Walk

How much fun can a brick walk be?  You wouldn't think that much.  It's brick, you walk on it - that's about the end of the analysis.  Unless you are Sylvie.  If you are Sylvie, a brick walk might as well be an amusement park.  Last weekend we had a *really* nice Sunday (weather-wise).  Sylvie discovered the front walk, and probably could have spent all day there if we'd let her.  

How much fun can a brick walk be?  This much fun:

Barking back

Syl is asserting herself more and more with the dog - and he's taking it. Recently she gets very irked with him when he barks. Here, Pax is all jazzed up because we've said the 'W' word (walk), and Sylvie tells him what she thinks about all his noise-making.

New toy - "Wow!"

It is gratifying to see Sylvie so pumped up about a toy that is substantially identical to one I had, and for all I know to the ones kids have had for generations. It doesn't talk or flash or play music or move around, but she loves it. Come to think of it, all of that describes her tunnel and her slide too...

Sylvie... tough girl?

I never would have believed it until today, but apparently our Sylvie has some tough girl in her.

This weekend was beautiful - a real preview of spring.  We spent a lot of time outdoors, where Sylvie discovered the wonders of our front walk, steps and porch.  She also discovered splashing in puddles...

I got some of my favorite shots of her that I've taken in a long time (which is saying something), including these.  Tell me she doesn't look like a tough customer!  Many more in the March gallery.  A reminder, too, that I keep my favorite all-time shots in the Sylvie in Black and White gallery, including quite a few from today.  I'll have some video of  her outside time later on.

Tunnel video

Sooner or later the press was bound to take an interest

A couple of weeks back, a photographer from the MetroWest Daily News stopped by Sylvie's Mommy & Me class to take some snaps.  Sylvie's pal Jake O'Leary was highlighted in this one (Sylvie and Mom are in the background).  

Click here to see the brief article and a couple more photos.

Blackberry Baby

A short clip of Sylvie staying in touch with unknown persons via Dad's Blackberry... and then trying to destroy it.

The Wrestler

Sylvie demonstrating her moves, including:  The Sleeper; The Face Crusher; The Tag Team; The Takedown; and The Reverse.

More in the March gallery, including a couple of excellent new bath shots.

Our little strawberry

Some shots of Sylvie modeling her cute new outfit from Grammy and Grampy Haley.

Tunnel Vision

We got this tunnel for Sylvie months ago, but put it in the closet when she was scared of it.  They broke one out at her "Mommy & Me" music class yesterday, and it turns out she's not scared of them any more.  She loves a tunnel.  

So now our upstairs hallways is passable only by crawling...

More in the new March Gallery.

Force of Nature

Sylvie is more than mobile now - she's a force of nature.  Luckily, she has has maintained her agreeable demeanor, so she's forgiven all of the chaos and destruction.

Having a ball

Anyone inclined to call social services on us should know that this activity was taught to Melissa - and therefore sanctioned - by the public school system of Holliston, Massachusetts...

Ingenuity

I know as her father I am inclined to think that every little move Sylvie makes is a minor miracle, but I have got to believe that this trick she pulls with an empty box and a stool is pretty neat for a 16-month-old.  Sylvie likes to look out the window in her room.  A few days ago Melissa put her up on the stool that sits on that wall so that she could see out.  Now she's figured out that if she pulls an empty wooden box from her band set over to the stool, she can use it as a step to get up on the stool - and then up to the window - herself.  Her stuffed elephant gets in the way a little bit, but she doesn't let a pesky pachyderm deter her.  This takes a couple of minutes, but I didn't edit so that I can't be accused of helping.  No tricky special effects here!

A leisurely Sunday

This is how I found my family whiling away the early part of a snowy Sunday afternoon...

Starting her early

Did I mention Sylvie enjoys "reading"?  

Learning to love books

Sylvie has discovered a love of reading, finally.  All day long she retrieves books from her various stashes around the house - or at daycare - and brings them to the nearest grownup.  After choosing her story, she backs herself toward the grownup, in this case Mom, and plops down in her lap.  

She definitely has her favorites already, and is particularly partial to pop-up and "flap" books (books with things hidden on each page).