End-of-Winter Fun

I'm a little behind, hoping to play catch-up in the next few days. We got the girls a sled at the beginning of March, and the first week after its arrival, it never made it out of the living room. They both had a ton of fun climbing in and out!



But eventually we got it out with Sabine,



who has gone sledding a number of times now with various friends.





There are some new baby goats at Sabine's farm school, and both girls have adored going to see them each week. I think Sabine even saw one birth while she was there!











Aspen continues to be as sweet as ever, she loves baby dolls, (especially the eyes) anything that Sabine has touched, and stuffed animals.



She also seems to love clothes and accessories, I don't know how much is Sabine's influence, but Aspen is quite adept at getting necklaces and hats on and off now.



She is still not huge for her age, and we are looking for ways to increase her caloric intake. She doesn't seem to like cow's milk (or almond milk or coconut milk or even apple juice) but she still likes carbs of any kind, bread, muffins, pretzels, veggie sticks, etc., so she often eats that, with some meat, cheese, and fruits and veggie pouches mixed in.

Sabine regularly has play dates, and Aspen loves whatever few minutes the big girls choose to include her!

Birthday Celebrations Cont....

The birthday celebration continued throughout the month!

First, Grandmom and Grandpa came down to celebrate with a special cake made by Grandmom's friend.



And a sweet koala bear, which Sabine helped Aspen unwrap.



Aspen was thrilled with the present.







Then she got to try some more cake, this one had it's own special cupcake attached for the birthday girl to do with as she pleased.



It pleased her to put her fingers in it for a little bit. The actual cake seemed like maybe it was too sweet, but the rest of us found it delicious!





The festivities continued the next week, at a friends house, where we celebrated 4 out of the 6 kiddos having February birthdays. There were some fun crafts, and a whole spread of desserts!





We had a great time, other than being forced to pose for pictures!

Evidence!

Aspen DOES walk, and we see a little tiny bit more every day, but she still much prefers to crawl or hold onto someone's hand.

In other developmental news, Aspen has learned how to go downstairs (by sliding on her belly) as well as up. She seems to be working on her vocabulary a little, she now says "mama" (YAY!) and has a "b" sound appear occasionally.

Also, I meant to document her growth stats from the pediatrician. As of her one-year appointment, Aspen is:

28.5" tall, which puts her in the 12th percentile
16 lbs, 3.5 oz, which puts her in the 4th percentile
and her head circumference is 18", which is the 72nd percentile

Sabine continues to be a big help, she is the best at getting Aspen to take a few steps here or there, as in the video above. Sabine is also still very busy with all of her activities, and thinks she wants to add soccer in the spring. We'll see if one of the other sports might be exchange-able, her schedule is getting pretty packed!

Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!

Aspen's birthday fell on Mardi Gras this year, so we had an automatic theme for her first birthday. The celebration started the night before with a couple new gifts:



And continued in the morning with a new purse from Sabine. The purse has gotten a lot of use over the past couple of days, Aspen loves her phone! (That's another sign she knows--one she actually made up by curling her hand under her ear anytime she sees something that looks like a phone.)





(And here's just a random picture of them being cute together.)



We had a couple friends over for our annual Mardi Gras King Cake tradition, and to help celebrate Aspen's first birthday.







Which she happens to share with Nana Lin, who was able to join us as well, so we had to sing for her, too!



Aspen's first official sugar-y treat:







It went over well!

Our friend M found the baby in her slice of cake, so she then got to wear the crown and be queen for the evening.



There was a fun smattering of friends, and a good collection of little ones!











The birthday girls!






After our friends left, we exchanged a couple more gifts.





All in all, it was a wonderful celebration.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby!

The big one!



We can't believe it's already been a year since our bright, gentle, twinkle-y baby Aspen was born. That time FLEW by. And today was no exception.

At one year old, Aspen CAN walk by herself, but vehemently chooses not to. We don't mind, we all like carrying her! And she is a proficient crawler.



She has four and a half teeth, two on top, two on the bottom, and a third on the bottom that's starting to poke through. She has several signs, including "Baby," "Dog," "Cat," "Bear," "Horse," "Fish," "Hat," "Shoes," "Water," "Aspen," "Grandpa," "Grandmom," "Nana," "More," "All done," and "Again" (but we aren't sure if she knows it actually means "again" or just "slide" because that's the only time she asks for something again, if she's playing on the slide on Sabine's bed.) She even occasionally strings signs together, especially if someone is wearing a hat. (So she'll sign "Aspen" and "hat" when she sees the picture of herself in a Santa hat on our mantle.)

Aspen still takes two naps a day, but they are getting pushed out, so she may be transitioning to one nap sometime soon. Right now her first nap is around 10:00 AM, and the second one is as late as 4:00 or 5:00 PM, depending on how long her morning nap is.

Aspen likes to eat meat and carbs, mostly. She's still a huge fan of spanikopita (mama's girl!) and she likes shrimp and bites from daddy's apple. She and Sabine also both love to eat pancakes for breakfast. Daddy has started adding some cinnamon and vanilla to the regular recipe, and boy, that has gone over well!

Aspen still has a gentle soul, she loves to cuddle anyone and anything. Sister is at the top of the cuddle list, but give her a soft animal or doll, and she'll snuggle it until she's lying down, too.



She's even been known to snuggle pictures, pens, or pebbles. (Her stuffed goat is still the favorite, and goes to bed with her for every sleep.) She also loves going outside, we all like the fresh air, but Aspen's first inclination is to sit and start eating whatever she can find between the cracks in the sidewalk, so mommy is a bit of a party pooper and doesn't let her sit outside nearly as much as she'd like.



Aspen loves pictures, she loves to point out people she knows, as well as hats. One of her birthday presents this year is a set of laminated pictures of people in her family so that she can handle them all she wants. (It's frustrating that we don't let her play with the framed pictures around our house very often.)

Overall, Aspen is a sweet, happy kid. She still does Stink Face on command, take things in and out of boxes and containers, point out things in her world, and likes pretty much anything big sister likes. Fortunately, she has a very patient, accommodating big sister. (Within reason.) The girls have always gotten along but now Sabine sometimes integrates Aspen into her imaginative play, and Aspen adores being included. Just as quickly, Aspen has developed a very distinct "STOP IT!" squeal that we can recognize from across the house, and Sabine gets annoyed as her toys get more and more manhandled. Siblings can be tricky, but fortunately these two seem to be handling things pretty well so far.



We feel very lucky to have such a close, happy family. We love you both to the moon and back. Or, as Sabine says, infinity.

Valentines!

Happy Valentine's Day from our family to yours!