Cute shots romping with (on) mom

The subject line says it all...

Have I mentioned how cute my niece is?

Since Sylvie chose to retire early today, her cousin Aya humored me in my need for a model. I got some good shots, if I do say so myself...

There are quite a few more in the almost-done February 2010 Gallery...

Lunch guests!

Sylvie was cheered up (temporarily) after the eye incident by the arrival of her cousin, Aya - who is now crawling like a champ and really quite mobile. Syl had fun reading to Aya, trying to push her on a riding toy (that didn't last long), playing with Uncle Ben, and then schooling Aya's grandpa Toshi on the finer points of lego construction. She even let Aya borrow her high chair, no questions asked. Unfortunately, this is where the day took a turn for the worse. Syl decided lunch would be a good time to demonstrate her best tantrum technique to her cousin. She was off to bed for a nap long before our lunch guests headed home.

Sylvie's Shiner

Sylvie and I were just about to go take a walk with Pax this morning. She was doing something in the laundry room, and I called her to get on her socks. She came running out - and ran straight into the corner of the kitchen table, catching it squarely in the eye. She went flat on her back. I was sure we were looking at a trip to the emergency room. After less than 5 minutes of wailing, though, she proclaimed herself ready for our walk. These shots were taken about a half hour after impact. We assume her little eye is going to get more colorful before it goes back to normal. She doesn't seem to mind!

Next Beyonce?

A few weeks back, while we were on the couch watching the Super Bowl, actually, Sylvie abruptly stood up and started singing and - there's no other way to say this - shaking her booty. I was stunned, especially when I recognized what she was singing. "All the single ladies, all the single ladies." My daughter was busting out with some Beyonce.

I asked Melissa if she'd taught Sylvie the "Single Ladies" dance. Melissa denied it. Then Melissa asked at day care if they'd been dancing to Beyonce. The teachers - many of whom are in their 50s and 60s - looked at her blankly. We settled on Madeline O'Leary as the most likely source of Syl's Beyonce exposure.

I've been meaning to do this, and just got to it tonight (pre-bath energy burning time). We put the "Single Ladies" video on the computer, just to see what Syl would do.

I think we might have a budding dancer on our hands. Sure, she spends a lot of time just watching - intently. But she also gets some of the moves down just right! This one cracks me up. Hope you enjoy it. My favorite move comes right at the two minute mark.

Jinxed... by Aunt Emily!!

The other day when I posted sarcastically (kind of) that the Haley household is trying to experience every major childhood illness in the space of a couple of months, Aunt Emily lodged a comment suggesting we try Chicken Pox next. Well...

It's not Chicken Pox. But I do have red spots and an itchy rash all over my upper body and face! Went on Amoxicillin a week ago for my sinus infection. Turns out I've developed a mild allergy. Woke up this morning thinking I was having a weird outbreak of adult acne on my forehead. Then I looked in the mirror while shaving and discovered it was all over my torso.

Doc says take Benadryl and watch for worse symptoms, like shortness of breath. None of that yet, so hopefully I'm getting off easy.

Said it before, will say it again now: we're ready for this winter to be OVER!

Bedtime shenanigans

Sylvie and I have settled into kind of a nice weekday pattern. She seems to store up a bunch of energy and mischief to be deployed with/at me when I finally get home from work, in the short time we have together before she goes to bed. She's definitely inherited my love of being a noodge. This video really captures her sense of humor. She just gets a huge kick out of pushing my buttons. The video also does a good job of recording our nightly post-bath routine. First we brush teeth. Then we count things. Then she turns off the lights in the bathroom and makes a big deal of letting me out of the dark. Then she closes all the upstairs doors and tries to avoid the diapering process. Somehow, it's all fun every single time!

Of course I don't get this fun side of her every night. Sometimes she can be a real grouch at bedtime. But lately I've seen more fun Sylvie than screaming Sylvie (knock wood)...

More funny things

A couple more funny things Sylvie has said lately. She's saying a lot of funny things, now that she talks NON STOP. She also says un-funny things, but I don't bother relating those... I should also note that both of these things were said to Melissa, so I'm typing her second-hand account.

1) Last night, Sylvie wanted fish crackers for dinner. This is not unusual. Melissa told her no, she had to eat some of her pizza before she could have fish crackers. A tantrum ensued. Strangely, the tantrum was self-arresting, as Sylvie abruptly stopped crying and began eating her pizza. Reflecting on her behavior, she told Melissa: "I not crying. I happy." And then, "I CUTE!" with a huge smile. I have no idea who told her she's cute...

2) This morning, Sylvie woke up at 6:15. I understand and appreciate that for most kids her age, 6:15 might be viewed as sleeping in. For Syl, though, it represents at least an hour and 45 minutes of lost sleep time compared to a usual night. She insisted on getting up and watching "Wonder Pets." Melissa allowed her to do so, while she showered, etc. Around 8, Melissa told her it was time to go to daycare. Sylvie's response was very Haley: "No... I tired. I go back to bed?"

Sylvie's Night-Night Game

I showed you photos yesterday of Sylvie and her mom pretending to take a nap on Mommy and Daddy's bed. Last night, Sylvie pulled me into the room and walked me through the naptime game. She was being particularly chatty, so I grabbed the camera. Basically the game entails Sylvie and a companion (in this case, me) lying down on the bed. Sylvie selects "blankets" for each of us. These are actually pillows. We then go to "sleep." Sylvie promptly awakens, realizing she's forgotten something: her juice, her ball, to close the door... whatever. She climbs off the bed, using her footboard to hope chest to floor method, takes care of whatever she'd forgotten, then reverses the process and gets back in bed. There's also some quick reenactment of the "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" story - a Sylvie favorite. This is a little long, so it might be the kind of thing that only a grandparent can truly love...

Lazy Sunday

I found my girls enjoying a lazy Sunday morning today with their favorite activity - lolling around in bed. Sylvie is truly her mother's daughter. For some reason she prefers my pillow to a blanket.

In other news: in our quest to experience every nasty childhood virus known to man in the space of this winter, we decided this week to import some conjunctivitis. Happily it skipped Sylvie (thus far) and made its way directly from day care to... me. Yuck. But so long as she doesn't get it, I'm fine with that. Knocking wood...