Early Presents & Other Stuff

When Cadence's big Saturday family birthday celebration was canceled (postponed to a smaller one-sided family dinner Sunday night), James and I decided to go ahead and give her the toy kitchen early. James got to do his ta-da moment and carry it in the room for her to see, we just had a much, much smaller audience to enjoy her first reaction. She loves it, by the way. That first night, she and I played a game where I'd put a dish in one of the cupboards and close the door and she'd stubbornly re-open it and take it out, just as I got another one stashed away. James got batteries into the stove so if you push buttons it makes a bubbling sound and Cadence goes wild and runs towards the kitchen whenever she hears it. Which is funny, because right now one of James's computer games makes a similar sound and she perks up everytime he's playing it and she hears that sound. It looks bigger in the picture, but she's so tiny next to it and can barely reach the microwave, but she'll grow!

She also got a basket full of toy foods and dishes (not currently pictured) that is her new favorite thing. She spends a ton more time in her bedroom now, since I intend to keep those toys there, and every night I have to collect all the little food and dishes and put them back in the basket, then close the bedroom door so she won't go in and take them all out before bedtime.

It's not unusual to watch her wander out of her bedroom gnawing on the plastic fried chicken leg, or waving little pink spoons as she chases the cats. Taz almost always keeps her company while she's playing. Nor is it entirely unusual to peek in her room and find her on her belly under the crib talking to Taz.

Anyway, we're also weaning her off of bottles. WIC stops giving us formula this month, since she's a year old on Tuesday (expect another sappy post once Cadence and I get back from our required check-ups that morning). And I've gotten much better about getting her three solid meals a day, so she's down to only 3 bottles a day, one immediately upon waking, one right before bedtime, and one about midday. She loves food most, though. She knows what it means when I pull out one of her small plastic dishes and start messing with things around her high chair. She's an old pro at feeding herself now and is even starting to expirement with forks and spoons. She's not very good yet, but she gives it a few minutes of good attempts (with some success) before she tosses it aside and goes in with her hands. For this picture, she had burritos, or at least a version of it. Beans, meat, cheese and some tomatoes and pieces of a flour tortilla. Unfortunately, it was dinner time, when she starts to get a little sleepy and begins rubbing her eyes. And I believe she also smeared beans across the back of her head...

And, last but not least, both Cadence and I are dealing with a mild cold. I joke that it's a good thing I catch everything she gets because then I know exactly what her symptoms are. For example, I know she has a bit of a sore throat, runny nose, mild fever, and gets tired easily but isn't overtired. So, she's gotten lots of popsicles and I pick foods that are more soothing for a sore throat. Luckily, it's only mildly uncomfortable, nothing to really knock either of us over for too long. Cadence is sleeping just slightly more and has a constantly runny nose (which means a constantly dirty little face) and a stubborn determination that my hands will not go near her face during the day to clean it off. I've given up on keeping her blanket snot-free and decided to just toss it in a load of laundry as soon as the cold is gone. Until then, it'll just be icky (that is the technical term)!