Trick or Treat!

Sylvie the Lady Bug (thanks for the costume, Grandma Lynne!) took her first stab at trick or treating tonight! (Actually, her FIRST try was yesterday at Mission Springs senior center, and Uncle Zach owes me some photos - but this was her first real Halloween outing).

First we went up the street to the neighborhood Halloween party. Sylvie was a little intimidated - especially when a big gorilla came up and introduced himself. Syl was NOT a fan.

She liked getting candy, though. We hit about 7 houses before heading home and joining Mommy on the porch (it was a very balmy Halloween night). Sylvie very much enjoyed her first-ever lollipop.

More in the October Gallery. Happy Halloween!

Sylvie practicing her ABCs on her piano - energetically - put me in mind of ol' Don Music from Sesame Street...


See what you think.

Better safe than soggy

That seems to be Sylvie's motto.  She woke up yesterday in high spirits, and despite the sunny weather immediately demanded her rain coat.  She wore it - hood up - until it got too hot.  We would love to know how these notions get into her little head...

We're not sure...

But Sylvie might be pondering hibernation (after a good book, of course).

These photos constitute something of a milestone in our parental lives, as they represent the first time Melissa has spontaneously grabbed a camera when I wasn't home!  Big stuff - I'm hoping it's the start of a new habit!

Carving the pumpkins

Sylvie and her Dad had a great time carving the pumpkins today. Syl got right into it, scooping, poking out the facial features, and even pitching in with clean-up. She's very fastidious.

Some shots in this slideshow - and a lot more in the October Gallery. Almost Halloween!

Around the house

We had a pretty laid back weekend, staying mostly close to home. Saturday was, as Syl says, "too wet!" Sylvie spent most of the day catching up on her reading...

Today was beautiful though, so we took advantage and had some good outdoors time. Sylvie chose a multi-patterned ensemble...

Autumn walk

Just a quick snapshot during our stroll on this beautiful fall day in New England.

Knockin' down those ABCs

A few weekends ago it seemed that Sylvie was getting bored with her many puzzles. No challenge! So we pulled out a talking alphabet puzzle that I picked up a while back. We had not given it to her yet because it is labeled for "ages 3 and up," and Sylvie is only just about to turn 2.

Please pardon the bragging (Daddy's prerogative!) - she did the whole puzzle with hardly a pause on the very first try, getting confused only a couple of times. Like between the 'z' and the 'n,' which the manufacturer perversely made the same color.

The fact that the puzzle talks makes it additionally educational. As you can see in this video, she's already identifying a lot of the letters, and even the words that they stand for.

This is a longish video compared to most of the ones I post, but I thought some folks (grandparents in particular) would get a kick out of seeing the whole puzzle process. Sorry for the nasty running nose toward the end. She has yet another cold - and I didn't want to interrupt her groove with a tissue!

Ahoy!

Melissa called me at work late this afternoon with a cryptic request. Could I possibly get home before nightfall? She had a "project" she needed help with - one that required daylight. What kind of project? She wouldn't say. Could it wait a couple of days? No. Kind of busy today, and not understanding what secret project could require both my help and daylight, I pressed for a better explanation. She finally fessed up - partly. My birthday present was in the driveway, it was "huge," and she needed help getting it in the house. Well, needless to say I didn't need a better rationale to wrap up my work and come home a little bit early - during daylight, even. Remember the account of Sylvie's first time in a kayak, a couple of months back? Well, truth be told, Sylvie wasn't the only one who came out of that experience wanting to get a 'boat' of our own. And today, when I pulled into the driveway, this was what was waiting for me - a most excellent early birthday present from my most excellent wife.

Sylvie is almost as excited as her Dad. She likes boats better in the water than on the grass, of course. Her Dad is thinking maybe we'll get one more Indian Summer-type weekend... fingers crossed.

Thanks Melissa!

Passing on the punishment

Melissa and I realized recently that Sylvie is old enough to understand right and wrong and, therefore, old enough to understand the concept of punishment. We came to that understanding, incidentally, when she started responding to "no" by grinning and then doing whatever it was we were telling her not to do - usually throwing her food on the floor.

So a couple of weeks ago we started giving her the "I'm going to count to three" shtick. That worked for a little bit, until she realized that she could let us get to three and nothing much would happen as a result. She started counting along with us, and then laughing. So now it's "one, two... three" and if she does not stop whatever it is she's doing she goes in "time out" - sitting on a chair in the corner of the dining room.

From the wailing that ensues at this point, you'd think she was sitting on a chair in the corner of the dining room over an open flame. Howling, yowling, choking and gagging, with the occasional "Mom-MEEEEEEEE!" thrown in to make Melissa feel really bad. Once she's sprung from time out, though, all of this stops abruptly. Lately she's taken to telling us, solemnly, "I's cay-in'" ("I was crying.") As if we hadn't noticed.

Anyhow, what prompted this mid-day post was a call I just got from Melissa. Sylvie is home from day care today with yet another cold. Melissa was in the kitchen, and Sylvie walked up to her and told her "Bay-bee's cay-in." She took Melissa's hand and pulled her into the dining room, where she'd placed her baby doll sitting up in the time-out chair. Assuming a stern tone, Syl shook her finger at the doll and said, "Five minutes. NO cay-in!"

So at least we know she understands the concept.

A visit

Cousin Aya stopped by this morning with her mom and dad. Aya is growing so fast! She's a big smiler too, as you can see.

I managed to get both of my favorite girls to sit still for a brief moment, and Aunt Lia got a great snap. I got a couple of nice ones of Baby Aya too.

Syl had a great time showing off for her Aunt and Uncle - running, practicing forward rolls, and telling Aunt Lia the names of all the animals she knows.

Syl goes CRAZY (on a nightly basis)

Sylvie has always been high energy. As she's gotten more and more mobile and vocal, though, her means to 'venting' excess energy before bedtime has gotten more and more active and LOUD. This video gives a pretty accurate notion of what the time between dinner and bedtime is like in our house on a typical evening...

A good shot from school

I haven't posted anything from Sylvie's weekly school updates in a while. This snapshot really gave us a chuckle.

What a great fall in New England day!

This morning Melissa had a great idea, inspired by an ad she heard on the radio for a local farm that neither of us had ever been to. Lookout Farm is a mere 15 minutes away, in Natick. We had no idea how much fun it would be!

We called up the O'Learys, and by remarkable coincidence not only were they up for a visit to the farm - they were already planning to go today! I got a lot of great photos, primarily of the kids enjoying the tram ride, the playground, a picnic lunch, pony rides, a petting zoo - and of course their fresh-picked apples. What a great way to spend a brisk October Saturday in New England. Great idea Mommy!

My favorite photos of the day are here, but of course there are lots more in the October Gallery.

Teeth Brushing

Syl is really getting the hang of the whole tooth brushing thing. We have not yet changed her from 'training toothpaste' (safely swallowed) to the real deal, but it won't be long now.

In a few minutes we're off to visit Lookout Farm in a nearby town, with Jake and Madeline and their folks. We hear there's a train, and a petting zoo, and a maze... ought to be fun! Dad might bring his camera...

I just really like this picture

Melissa correctly observes that Sylvie's post-bath hair is a little crazy... but I just really like this picture.

Punkin' huntin'

Sylvie and Dad went huntin' for a good "punkin" this morning, at Out Post Farm (where Grammy and Grampy always brought Daddy for his 'punkins,' back in the day).

We ended up with two pumpkins. Dad, as always, wanted a big one. Sylvie, on the other hand, picked out one that she could carry herself.

We'll carve both of them closer to Halloween. And you won't be surprised to know that there's now an October gallery, chock full of 'punkin' pitchers...'

Construction and Bathtub Art

Sylvie has always been good with puzzles and buckles and snaps and such. She has only recently decided to take an interest in the big Lego blocks that have been sitting in a bucket in her room for over a year though. She loves to build with them, and is quite good at it - though she often tries to build too high with not enough foundation, leading to some inevitable frustration.

Added bonus in this vid: you get to hear her new expression - taken from Mom: "Oh MAN!"

We also got the bright idea of making bath time a little bit more fun for our increasingly-creative little girl by giving her some bathtub markers that she could use to color on a small part of the side of the tub. Luckily, the claim on the box that they wash off with ease is 100% accurate, because she quickly decided to color on EVERYTHING.

Git along, Little Sylvie

New favorite game = horsey. Or, in Sylvie-speak, "Neigh Neigh." This involves her parents (usually her mommy) playing the horsey while Syl plays the cowgirl. I caught a little bit of it on video the other night. You'll notice Sylvie's grandparents watching the action from Florida, via the computer. Ain't technology somethin', pardner?

Cold weather brings a cold

Little Syl is sick again, but this time just with your ordinary, garden-variety cold. Aside from the constant swiping at her nose it has hardly slowed her down at all. Hopefully she'll be better by Saturday, in time for Dad to take her to a make-up 'gymnastics' class to compensate for the one she's missing this morning (due to the aforementioned cold). If she is, I'll bring the camera. Mommy, for whatever reason, manages to "forget" it each and every week!

I also need to get some talking video up soon. I'm sure that every parent on the planet is continually amazed by the development they see in their child at around this age - amazed in a way and to an extent that just cannot be shared. But of course I'll try.

I have been noticing over the last two weeks or so that Sylvie has really learned the concepts of sympathy and empathy. In the latest bulletin from her day care, the teacher noted that the class has been playing a cooperation game to try and get the toddlers to "think outside of themselves." So far as I can tell, Sylvie is ahead of that game. Example:

Sunday we ducked outside between rain showers to get in some driveway play. I pushed her around in her little car, and we started chasing Pax. At one point he stopped suddenly, and the car brushed his hind legs. Really - brushed. He may not even have noticed, but Sylvie was horrified. "PAX!!!" She jumped out of the car and ran over to him. "Okay? Okay? Pax?" She gave him a gentle pat, then a hug and a big, emphatic kiss. Then she turned to me and said, "I kiss Pax."