Having a Ball

Sure, it's a predictable title. But really, could there be any other?

Sylvie's pals out in Colorado, Boden and Beck Hamilton, sent her a whole TON of balls for her birthday. And when I say a ton, I mean three hundred. Undoubtedly their dad (the best man at our wedding? The one who dropped his drawers during his toast?) thought they'd end up all over the house, annoying Sylvie's Dad. But it turns out they also make her ball pit just exponentially more fun.

You'll also note in these shots that Sylvie is going through something of a new phase. She HATES shirts. Diapers too, but mostly shirts. Great phase for the start of winter...

Anyhow, I love the photos I caught of Syl in the ball pit. The first is my new favorite. The kid's little head is so round, she looks like one of the balls!

More in the November Gallery.

Video of the birthday bash

Don't ever let it be said that Sylvie's Dad isn't one focused son of a gun. As promised, here is some video of Sylvie's big day today. She hopes you enjoy it.

Get well soon, Uncle Ben

Sylvie sends best wishes to Ohio, where her Uncle Ben Seeley is under the weather and in the hospital. Get well soon, Uncle Ben!! We're all thinking of you.

Sylvie's Second Birthday Party

Sylvie was very lucky to have such good friends join her for a birthday lunch of pizza, cake and ice cream today. And WOW - between the wonderful gifts they brought and all the great stuff her family mailed to her, Sylvie had quite a day. She was almost buried in presents! Happily, she had a lot of help to unwrap all of them.

As you can see in the slide show below (and better in the video that Dad will get up ASAP), after unwrapping a comfy monkey pillow and blanket from Grandma Lynne, Sylvie decided to take a break right in the middle of all the bedlam - curling up for a little cat nap right there on the floor. Her friend Avery Green thought that looked like a grand idea, and joined her!

Needless to say, once everyone left our little two year old hit the hay - hard.

She wanted me to send thanks to everyone for all of the wonderful gifts and birthday wishes that came her way. She (and we) really appreciates it.

Some photos here, and more in the new November Gallery. Video coming soon!

A (messy) birthday message from Sylvie

Sylvie had a few thing she wanted to say to all her fans tonight, while she enjoyed a traditional birthday dinner of mac & cheese, prunes and Cheez-its.

Happy Birthday to our TWO YEAR OLD Bean!

Well, it's official. As of 7:01pm today, our Syl is a two-year old. No sign yet of the "terrible twos" (did I just jinx us by typing that?).

Sylvie's Mom made some cute little Elmo cookies for Sylvie's school birthday celebration - we're told they went over VERY well. No surprise there.  As you can see, Melissa is honing her skills with the frosting tubes!

We are celebrating at home tomorrow.  Sylvie's friends Jake, Madeline, Avery, Zach, Angela, Josie, Sophia and Lily, and her favorite cousin Aya are all coming over for pizza and cake, along with Aunt Mary.  She'll open the huge pile of presents that have arrived in the mail over the past couple of weeks then.  For today, Dad spent a good two hours putting together Sylvie's "big" present from Mom and Dad - a doll house.

Sylvie got right into a full-fledged game of house, sitting the little family together on the couch, putting the baby in the bathtub, having the daddy wash his hands at the sink - it was quite a show.

Of course, she got a little frustrated that the third floor is a little tough for her to reach just yet.  But she'll get there!

I'll take lots of photos tomorrow, and probably some video too.  Thanks to everyone who called to say happy birthday to Syl.  She appreciated it!  She got a real kick out of all the telephone serenades!

At School

Hard to believe it was two whole years ago!

Two years ago this morning, this was Melissa - just before we headed to the doctor's office for some tests.

And two years ago this evening...

And now friends, too.

It's an awfully neat thing to watch the evolution of Sylvie's relationship with her mom. Lately, they aren't just mom and daughter - they are bona-fide buddies. They spend a lot of time together, obviously, and communicate very efficiently now. And they are playing all the time. Sylvie is very into the 'helper' role - and it's not just cleaning any more. Tonight, Melissa even taught Sylvie how to make pizza. Aside from one brief moment when Syl got a little over-enthusiastic with the parmesan, she got the hang of it quickly.

Cousins in the wild

Here are some fun shots by Uncle Zach of Syl and Cousin Aya on Friday, the day they went trick-or-treating at Mission Springs senior center. Cute cousins!