Daisy's First Thanksgiving

On Thursday we went up the hill to Grammie's for Thanksgiving dinner. Party of 12 in a 1,000 square foot house, including two eight month olds and a three year old = crowded but fun.


The house Joss grew up in.

Daisy was especially glad to find at least eight other willing arms to hold her up as she marched around the house. Since I've put my back out, I've been really reluctant to indulge her in her desire to be walked everywhere when she can crawl to where she wants to go but, since it was a holiday, I let it go for the most part and let her enjoy some time with her Uncles, Aunts, and grandparents.


Co-opting Uncle Justin

Now that Daisy and her cousin, Ezra, are pushing 8 months, they're getting more interactive and it's fun to watch them attempt to play together. I say "attempt" because right now Daisy is slightly more mobile and so tends to have the upper-hand when it comes to grabbing for or playing with toys. So, what typically happens is that Ezra finds something and Daisy steals it from him - the pacifier in his mouth included! Of course, we're trying to teach Daisy the principle of sharing but the reality is it's a bit early and mostly it's become tuition in how to snatch things gently.


Something tells me that, between his willful sister, Adah, and his cousin, Daisy, poor Ezra is really in for it!

But, Daisy loves to have other kids around her. She lights up like a Christmas tree and squeals with delight whenever she sees another baby or child and Ezra is no exception. Yes, it does make me feel just a teensy-weensy bit guilty for 'dooming' her to be an only child - just not so guilty that I want to go through pregnancy, c-section, and the first 3 months again! She'll just have to have a lot of friends around.

Anyway, it's not just kids that she likes. Just being around people changes her personality entirely. On Sunday we went to Burger King (because Daddy was hung over and wanted to try a burger and fries) and Daisy held court at the front door, turning to watch people enter and leave the restaurant and screaming at them in greeting as they walked through the door.

We attempted to feed Daisy a concoction of Thanksgiving delights but, lately, she's not much into savory foods. I'm trying not to let it trouble me that she only wants to eat fruit, yogurt, and sweet potatoes.

Here's a slideshow of some pics from the day, as well as some others from Saturday, Daddy's 35th birthday celebration.



Meanwhile, Milestones are being hit seemingly daily.

Daisy now has four teeth through - all four front ones (sorry, not through enough to grace us with an easy picture yet) - and now seems to be rubbing her gums in the back. Overall it's been a pretty uneventful experience for us so far. The most inconvenience we've had has been the odd cry out of nowhere. I count us as very lucky - I know teething can be brutal for some kids.

Since she's crawling and climbing, we've obviously had to baby proof the living room where she spends most of her time. This includes erecting a large baby fence to prevent her from getting to un-proofed areas when we're in the bathroom or kitchen for a few moments. This fence has now been dubbed "Baby Jail" since Daisy will pull herself up on it and shake the bars madly, yelling to be let out.



Although I vowed not to let our house be overtaken with baby stuff, safety ends up taking priority. Thus, we also have a foam mat over our ceramic tiles in the entry way, to prevent concussions. I try to let all the changes go because I know it's all temporary and because, at the end of the day, Daisy is happy and healthy.


Look, Mum! Bet I can let go of this hand too! (Reasons why we have a 'Baby Jail')
The activities that entertain Daisy are also changing rapidly. Where before lights and music , things to smack around and thing to chew were the #1 motivators, now she's becoming more nuanced. She loves to hug her furry friends - Boo Bear, Booby Bird, Tommy Tippee, Henry Horsie, and Beefy Bear - every morning after her bottle and, when she's tired, she'll often collapse head-first on top of one of them for a quick snuggle. Books are now reached-for about as often as toys and she delights in seeing you turn the page and point things out to her making the most popular books the ones with words and pictures rather than stories. Demonstrating that she really is trying to take things in, she'll also sit for a good fifteen minutes as you go through all of her word-and-picture flash cards and I'm pretty sure that she knows what a tongue and an ear is by this point. It could be a fluke but she usually pokes her tongue out when the word comes up.

As I was writing this post her nanny called me to the top of the stairs to show me Daisy attempting to clap for the first time. Instead of delicately tapping her hands together, Daisy's version of a clap is a simultaneous shoulder-to-fingertip, head-to-waist, fling. I think her hands make it together in there somewhere but not clearly enough to result in an actual clapping sound. However, it sure is cute and she looks super excited to be doing it.

Finally, in general, Daisy is becoming more vocal. She'll now yell at pictures of people in magazines, waiting to see if they talk back, meep at random people in restaurants and stores in hopes of making a friend, and babbles with some "bu", "ba", "wu", "wa", "mu" sounds as she's playing. Nothing that really makes a word yet (although we could have sworn we heard her say "up" the other day) but I'm sure it won't be long. I just can't wait for the day that she starts screaming my name over and over and over again. (Not.)

In short, her development seems to be speeding up exponentially and she's turning into a little girl vs. a baby before our very eyes. It's so true what they say: it DOES go fast!