Holycrap-olageeWOW! Sylvie's done gone and turned TWO!

While we kinda sorta went all out last year for Sylvie's birthday--lots-o balloons, first birthday themed napkins and tablecloth with color coordinated cups and plates and even a bunch of tulips--this year we kept it low key. So low key in fact that we did nothing, heh. Well, I did make some cupcakes but it wasn't until the Wednesday following her birthday on a Sunday.

As you can see from February's photos, Sylvie is doing fantastically well. She's finally topped 20lbs (and 2oz!) and is 31" long/tall. At a follow up visit last week with GI, the doctor was very pleased with Sylvie's growth and said that after one more follow up in 4-6 months, we would likely be able to drop her from our list of specialists! Yay! Now that she has some teeth (8) with 2 more soon to pop through, she's really enjoying foods with crunch, like apple or bell pepper strips.

Sylvie seems somewhat stuck at the single word stage of talking. I figure she thinks she's gotten by pretty well with one word/sign and pointing...why upgrade? Long strings of indecipherable jargon still spill from her mouth on a regular basis though so I have faith that one of these days soon the mommy/daddy translator node will kick on in her brain. She likes to use action words while doing the actions, or at least her version of the action. For example: "Kick! Kick!"--said while kicking a ball around the house or "Jump!"--said while throwing her arms up in the air and occasionally kicking one leg out simultaneously. She does the "Jump!" one a lot at dance class.

A new trick she has learned is to grab us by the hand and lead us to whatever snack/activity she is currently interested in. Or sometimes she'll just take us for walks around the house with no apparent destination. I think she just likes asserting her perceived (well ok, at least some of that perception is accurate) control over us. Another newish trick is that she can do all of the accompanying motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and she even says some of the lyrics while doing it! A sample:
Eesee beesee...raaaaain...dowwwwwn...suuun...eeseebeesee...all said in her most serious voice.

We have yet to start serious toilet training but we did buy her a new-fangled talking potty. She likes to play with all it's bells and whistles (and there are A LOT) and she even understands that she needs to lift the lid before sitting on the seat. She likes to go sit on it after she's pooped, but at least she seems to have the general idea. I'm planning to start training her once it's warmed up a little so that there will be less layers of clothes for her to have to struggle with.

Thank any-and-all-deities for the wonderful childproofing products available at Babies R Us! She's all about opening doors and drawers (while saying, "Opeeen...Shut!"), turning knobs and dials and pushing buttons. We've 'proofed the stove dials, all but one kitchen cabinet (which contains no toxic cleaners or easily breakable cookware), the entertainment center and the bathroom cupboard. Sadly, there are still many things that she attempts to get into or play with that have no such protective shields and so like the most parent's of toddlers, I spend the majority of my day following her around saying: No, no Sylvie...don't touch!...leave the kitty's tail alone...etc.

The cutest/scariest new development? Interest in boys. We had a couple of little male friends come play recently and Sylvie suddenly morphed into this super giggly, huggy girl. When her friend R came over, she was at first wary, as was he, but after about 10 minutes or so they were all over each other! Hugging, wrestling, tickling, even pushing each other around on a little car. Sylvie interacts a little with best pal S, but nothing like this! then when new friend P came for a playdate, she was instantly hugging on him which seemed to cause him some distress at first. Luckily, he warmed up to her and on subsequent playdates has hugs her, offers her snacks and even holds her hand. In fact, when P's mom K drove us all to the Science Museum (where we met up with M, S, C and S), Sylvie and P held hands in the car most of the way there and back. How cute is that?