Whiny, whiny

Sophia has been working on her whining and frowning skills. It’s amusing, most of the time, but I have to admit the whining grates on my nerves sometimes. I am getting better, however, at tuning it out. ha!

Here are some photos to prove that she’s not always a smiley baby...

One year

The past year has just zoomed by! August 3 was when I went into labour (Sophia was born at 12:40am on August 4) and last Wednesday, I found myself thinking back to last year a lot and saying “this time last year...” as I replayed in my mind the events leading up to Sophia’s birth.  I’m still in shock that Sophia is already a year old.

Ed and I decided not to have a kids party for Sophia because she’s too young to know what’s going on anyway.  We invited our families and a few close friends to join us for lunch this past weekend, instead.  On her birthday, Sophia’s playmates, Nelly and Violet, came by for a playdate in the morning. In the evening, Ed’s mom cooked and Ed’s brother joined us for dinner. After dinner, we gave Sophia a little cupcake with a candle on it, sang happy birthday, and took pictures. Sophia looked confused by the whole thing and just stared at the cupcake set in front of her. She poked it with her finger then promptly ignored it. I offered her a little piece but she refused to eat it. That’s okay. I’m happy to not have her eating the sweet treats just yet.

Sophia is growing so fast! She’s a happy baby and flashes that adorable smile all the time. She is starting to respond to questions and requests, actively communicate to us what she wants or dislikes, throw little tantrums to show her displeasure (yikes!), and play interactively with us. Her personality is definitely showing more and more. She doesn’t like getting dirty and walking on or touching grass. She loves the water. She doesn’t like mixing her food together. (Yes, she’s clearly my daughter! hahaha)

And since she is one year old already, we decided it was time to trim her hair to clean it up a bit.  I cut her bangs and the long bits at the back.  I was nervous going into it but Sophia was quite cooperative, surprisingly and thankfully.  Her hair actually looks good!  Not bad for a first time.

Happy birthday, our dear Sophia. Mommy and daddy love you very much! We are soooo very lucky to have you in our lives.

Playing with Nelly and Violet.

The birthday girl enjoying the sunshine.

Sophia checking out the cupcake.

Birthday cake!

With my mom and sister.

Sophia and her cousins Camille and Sabrina.

Freshly trimmed hair!

She's walking!

I went out for lunch last Wednesday and when I came home, my mom-in-law says from the living room, "Come see your daughter!".  I then find Sophia looking so happy and proud of herself, doing laps around the room, walking on her own!  She's been taking a few steps on her own but has been much more comfortable when holding on to us.  That must have been a really good nap she had that morning because she somehow got over her fear.  So, of course, I grab the camera and follow her around....

In the last four days, she's gotten faster and more steady.  She's lowering one arm now (versus walking like Frankenstein) and even waves to people as she walks by them.  She's definitely having a lot of fun with this walking thing!

Pool party

Today, Ed, Sophia and I went to a pool party hosted by Ed’s colleague, Sean. Three years ago was the inaugural pool party and we were pretty tipsy by 5pm and Ed was lights-out by 7pm. This time around, we arrived with a portable crib, booster seat, etc for our baby Sophia, and we hardly touched any alcohol at all. Ed and Sophia enjoyed the pool for about 30 mins, then I got Sophia bathed and ready for a nap. She managed to nap for about 40 mins (the techno music was pretty loud so I was quite impressed that she slept through that). After walking her around for a little bit, it was time for her dinner. I managed to say hi to people while she was napping but otherwise, my attention was on Sophia. Partying is just so different when there’s a baby around! But still, we were glad we went and Sophia had a good time swimming and being around other people. I think she quite enjoyed the techno music and she even stayed up until 10pm! We have a party animal in the making, I say.

10 months

Our baby girl is now ten months old and she is developing so fast.  It seems like I am recording a “first” something a few times a week.  The main thing I am discovering and didn’t really expect is how much I enjoy just watching and being with her.  I wasn’t really a “kid person” before I had a kid.  Many women gravitate to children and have a natural kinship with them.  Me, I was awkward with kids, never really knowing what to do with or say to them.  I was told that it would be different with my own child and now I know that is true.  Every new thing she can do or say, we celebrate with joy and pride.  I am certain that Ed and I sound ridiculous at times but as parents, we are allowed to gush over our baby as much as we wish.

Sophia is very vocal (i.e. talks a lot) and expressive.  She is happy, smiley, even-tempered, observant, and quick to learn.  Sophia said the word “cat” when she was nine months.  She and I were playing quietly when our cat Bob walked by.  Sophia squealed, “cat!”.  I thought it was a fluke so I started asking, “where’s the cat?” and she would crawl over to the cat or turn her head and look at Bob or Neo, our other cat.  And I would ask, “can you say cat?” and she would say “cat”.  Some days, she also says “Bob” but she’s not as consistent with that one.

Up close and personal with Neo.

She can do so many tricks now and at times I coax her to perform them for family and friends.  I remember saying when I was pregnant that I wouldn’t be one of those parents who gets their kid to perform for people.  Alas, I find myself doing exactly that as I coax her to do twinkle, twinkle little star (open and close her hands as I sing the song), wave hello or bye-bye, do hooray (raise both arms way up), or show us where the light is (point up at the light). 

Hooray!

One of our favourite games to play is hide-and-seek around the sofa. I run over to the opposite end of the sofa, crouch down to hide from her, and ask loudly a few times “where is mommy?”. The first time I did this, I heard her crawling toward the sofa and then stop. After a few seconds, I wondered why she wasn’t moving closer so I peered under the sofa to see what she was up to. Well, I found her laying flat on the floor, looking straight at me with a big smile on her face. When she saw me looking at her, she let out a big squeal, and when she heard me laughing, she started laughing too.

Playing hide-and-seek with mommy.

She likes reading books.  She especially likes the lift-a-flap type, perhaps because she gets to do something with the book.  She also likes taking the books from the shelf and dropping them to the floor, one by one.  Not so fun when the book lands on her foot, though. 

On the potty business, she is still going pee and poo in the toilet most of the time.  With the introduction of solid foods, it’s been a bit more challenging to predict whether she needs to go poo and I usually miss the ones right after the meal because I’m lazy to take her to the loo after every meal.  The big development is she sits down on the trainer seat now.  Not all the time but about half of the time, she agrees to use the seat.  

Meal times just got more interesting now that Sophia has decided that she does not want me to feed her anymore.  She wants to do it herself.  She uses her hands to feed herself and waves the spoon around as a toy.  She still hasn’t figured out how to use the sippy cup either.  But she continues to pack away an impressive amount of food, given her little frame. 

Self-feeding has started.

As for mobility, she is starting to walk, albeit assisted.  Yesterday, she used the activity walker for the first time and her little legs were totally able to keep up the pace as she pushed that walker around our living room.  We have also started to let her crawl up the stairs.  She goes a lot faster when one of the cats goes up the stairs, too, and she chases after it.

Sophia and the walker reaches the end of the line. Time to U-turn.

I could go on and on but I’ll stop there.  It is really fun to watch her grow and learn all these new skills.  I never imagined it could be so and I am glad I have the opportunity to be with her everyday to witness it.  It really is pure joy!