Sabine's First Words!

Alternate title: So Much for Mama and Dada.



A week ago our little pumpkin said her first words. (Yes, words, as in plural.) As usual, I was bribing her with treats to get her to stay still while I changed her diaper, and I asked her if she wanted a puff. (Click here to see what I'm talking about, if you are not familiar with this infant finger food.) Instead of doing her normal sign for "more," she loked at me and said "A puff." Clear as a bell.

Our conversation then wnt something like this:

Me: "Did you say 'a puff'?!"

Her: A puff."

Me: "You said 'a puff'! A PUFF!"

Her: "A puff."

Me: "A PUFF A PUFF A PUFF!"

Her: Silent. Clearly thinking, "What do I have to do to get a cracker around here?"

Since then "a puff" comes out abut 10% of the time. The rest of the time she'll say "a-pub" or "a-pap," but we are excited all the same.

A few days later, we brought in the balloons for her birthday party, and she developed a "brrrrrrooo" sound that she makes for balloon. It's actually pretty close, once you know what you're listening for.




We still haven't heard "mama" or "dada," but the B-words are definitely getting some play. She now also attempts "banana," bunny," "bear," and "books."




What can I say? The girl's got priorities.

In other news, she had her one-year doctor's visit yesterday. She's doing pretty well overall. She's shot up in height, she's 29.25", which puts her in the 57th percentile. Her head circumference is in the 5nd percentile, and she weights 17 lbs 3 oz., which means she's only in the 3rd percentile for weight. That's definitely small, but our doctor didn't seem too concerned. We're just going to continue giving her solid foods, and we got the go-ahead to start her on whole milk. Hopefully that will help her both add pounds and stay asleep longer at night.

The Big One

Happy birthday to my sweet angel baby. I can't believe it's already been a year. 365 days ago she was such a fragile, helpless newborn. Today she ran around, played in her new tent, and showed her grandmom how to smell the flowers.



Today Sabine has seven and a half teeth; she wears size 6-9 month clothing; she can sign "more," "all done," "milk," and "fish;" she can pet the cat nicely; she can fit many of the shapes into their correct spots in her puzzle; she likes to hug her stuffed animals and walk on her tiptoes; and she had a taste of her daddy's chocolate cake:



Over the weekend we had a little party, and she had her first cupcake. It went over pretty well....



She didn't quite finish it, but she definitely liked it. She was quite the social butterfly, smiling at everyone all day, and sharing her toys with some of her friends who stopped by. Then she took a great nap when all the guests left.

The balloons were an exceptionally big hit. Sabine always admires the big balloons at the grocery store, so we splurged and got one of those as well, and she has been toting it around for the last three days saying "brrrrrooo!"



It has just been incredible to see how much she learns and changes every day. And yet in many ways she's the same happy, fiesty, strong girl she was the day she was born. (Both Dustin and I clearly remember the doctors commenting, independently, on how strong she was.) We are so insanely proud to be her parents, and we're excited about where the next year will take us.



We love you with all our hearts and souls, Sabine.

Aspen

Last Friday Dustin took off early from work, and we spent a long weekend in Aspen with some good friends. The car ride was long (just ask Sabine) and unfortunately both she and I were still dealing with a little head cold, but it was all worth it. The leaves were still changing, we saw our first snow on the passes, and mommy and daddy got to go out to a fancy restaurant with friends (and wine!) while we overpayed a babysitter to watch T.V. while the girls slept at the hotel.

We got a few pictures on my phone’s camera.

Sabine playing in the leaves in Glenwood Canyon on the drive up:







Wandering through the hall of our hotel:



Sabine and Daddy on Main Street, looking very “Aspen chic:”



We made it back safe and sound, and while Sabine's cold has finally cleared up, she seems to have contracted a little stomach virus, so we're just laying low this week. That's working out well, since we have a little party to get ready for this weekend!

Little Pumpkin

Last week we went to a local pumpkin patch with Sabine's Grandmom and Grandpa. We're hoping to make it an annual tradition so that we can watch her grow from year to year:



It was located at a great local farm, and so not only were there pumpkins...



but there were animals! There were sheep:



And there were goats (but apparently mommy was so busy taking pictures of the goats she forgot to get Sabine) and then there was Sabine's favorite, the donkey.



Grandpa's favorite was the steam-powered tractor.



And here are a few pictures of Sabine showing off the fruit (and by "fruit" I mean "vegetables") of our little potted garden:

Lots of Friends

Last weekend we took advantage of the late summer weather, and we went for a picnic up in Chautauqua with Sabine’s good friend E. (And E was nice enough to bring along her parents.) The girls were excited to see the each other, despite their expressions in the picture. The playground equipment was also big hit.





Then during the week we went to visit a good friend of mine and her two little boys, B and E, who I think are also going to be good friends of Sabine’s. B is a little older, and he has lots of stuffed animals, including giraffes, which are his favorite, and BEARS, which are still Sabine's favorite. So once a big, soft bear was introduced, there was much wrestling and giggling. I only had my phone camera available, so the pictures are a little blurry. But they were definitely having a good time.









And here’s one more picture from the week. No context; I just love it.

11 Months Old

On Sunday Sabine turned 11 months old.



Time is really flying by. We've been settling into a good routine; Sabine's usually up around 6:00 AM -6:30 AM and has breakfast and sees daddy off to work. She goes down for a nap around 9:00, sleeps for about an hour to an hour and a half, and then is up for a good three hour stretch. That's usually the time we get out of the house during the day. Her second nap usually falls between 1:30 and 2:00, and that one also lasts about an hour to an hour and a half. Then she's up to play, have dinner, and go through the bedtime routine, which can take quite a while.

She's a really happy little girl with a strong personality. She has never met a stranger. I keep hearing about babies who go through separation anxiety, but she continues to offer herself up to strangers with no regard for mom or dad. This is an endearing trait when we're introducing her to people like our bosses. This is less endearing at the mall on a Saturday afternoon when she refuses to be carried and insists on walking BY HERSELF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

We have just learned to be her shadow, and try to intercept when necessary. But she's a really amazing kid, we wouldn't have it any other way.

In other news, Sabine finally came down with her first cold last Friday. It was bound to happen eventually, and I'm just glad she's no longer a fragile little newborn. While she acts like the little bulb snot-sucker is an instrument of torture, it hasn't been all bad. Our huge humidifier has been moved into her room, and she cracks herself up leaning over it to get the fan to blow on her face.

Happily, she seems to be feeling much better today, since tomorrow we're headed out to check out the Gymboree play place. (First class is free.) Sabine is really drawn towards other little kids, she literally tackles them in her excitement. Fortunately she's younger and smaller than most of her friends, I think she might be a little overwhelming, otherwise. I'm hoping she'll find some other like-minded kids tomorrow.

Visiting Daddy at Work

These pictures are actually from two weeks ago, but I just haven't had a chance to share them until now. I finally got to take Sabine in to see Dustin at work. She was a hit at the office, and then we went out to a nice lunch together at Dixons.

(Sorry Dustin, I know that's not your most flattering look. It's the only one I got where Sabine was looking at the camera.)

Then we stopped to admire the bison along 16th Street on our way back to the car.






Looking at these pictures now, I can tell just how much has changed in just a few short weeks. Sabine is definitely taller, and has more hair.

And one more picture from our weekend in Michigan! It's hard to believe that was already over a week ago.



Sabine is now pointing at everything, and is very clearly trying to talk. The week we were in Michigan, everything was "Dat!" This week, everything is "Ahp!" Her comprehension is soaring, even if her vocabulary hasn't quite kept up. She understands quite a bit of what we say. She can point to a cat, dog, and bunny in her book. She gets (one of her many) bears when we ask "Where's your bear?" and she dances whenever music comes on. She also has a Very Serious look, which she has been flashing for a couple of months now, but Dustin finally taught her to do it on command. So now when you ask her to show you "Blue Steel" (a reference to the movie Zoolander) she will usually flash it. We haven't gotten a picture yet, but that's hopefully to come.