Convertible Crib

Not that we ever considered falling for one of those $$$ convertible cribs designed to "grow with your baby." The ones that turn into full sized beds. Even if they were in our price range, the size of Evie's bedroom would only fit a full sized bed and nothing else.
We were more of the "What's safe and in the $200 range? Possibly something we'd use again on baby #2?"
After having Evie crib-bound for a year - its nice to see why it was really good that we didn't fall for a crib frame she'd have for years. It turns out; she's part beaver.

pb & j

When we were kids - PB&J was a must-have staple. Now its some sort of lunchbox "no-no" due to rampent peanut butter allergies. Before becoming a mom, I thought allergies like dairy, eggs, nuts, soy, gluten, etc. etc. etc. were all hyper-sensitive, media-driven yuppie crap (Ok, let's be frank, I do think some of it still is). For some reason, bee-sting and shellfish allergies seemed a bit more legitimate to me than, say, peanut butter allergies.
I mean, c'mon.
Peanut butter?
You ever read labels on products these days?
They nearly ALL have warnings that say "this product was made on machines that also process nuts."
Yikes!
So, you not only need to avoid the nuts themselves but possibly even products made at or around nuts! That's... nuts!
I was so worried that Evie would be an allergy kid. After 9 months of age, it loomed over me like a dark cloud.
Evie broke out in a rash after strawberry waffles and I immediately avoided all strawberries.
We recently tried strawberries again... and, I am thrilled to report, all is well. It must have been the chicken pox vaccine she had after all.
But back to PB & J.
When Evie was born we were told to avoid honey until 1, eggs until 1 and peanut butter until 2.
When Evie hit 9 months, many of those rules become more lax.
So, I fed Evie a reeses pieces a few days ago. I figured it wasn't "truly" peanuts what with the candy coating and all. Plus, if she swelled up like a puffer-fish, it was a measurable amount to report to the ER doctor. Am I a smart parent or sick? I can't tell anymore.
Next day, all was fine. We tried 3-4 reeses pieces.
Next day, all was fine again.
I gave Rob the go ahead on one small serving: 1/4 of a PB&J sandwich with V-E-R-Y thinly spread peanut butter.
She ate it.
She loved it.
Later that afternoon, she's still alive (and not swollen). Hooray!
Bonus: she loved the sandwich (although she apparently like the J more than the PB which is completely opposite of me) so we gained another meal to feed her in her ever-expanding diet. Sweet.

Little table and chairs, just right...

My parents brought up my small round table & 2 matching chairs that I had when I was a kid. It's stained dark wood with no color (I might paint it bright/ fun colors for Evie).
Its funny, its been at least 15+ years since I last saw it and yet it doesn't seem all that old to me. Funny how your own stuff seems to either never age or remain timeless.
We set up this shrunken kitchen table & chairs in our dining room. I really didn't see her using this set anytime soon (I mean, she is ONE. ONE. My mom keeps bringing out all my old things out of sheer excitement in reliving it all again AND because she doesn't at all remember what little a one year old can do. What interest would Evie have in this set?)
Well, I plunked Evie down in a chair yesterday morning. My old cookie monster piano was sitting on top and she played away. She even stopped long enough to ham it up for a photo op.
Then, of course, she swan dove off.
She cried.
We consoled.
Again, she is only one.
Too young for this yet.

And yet. Today. She grunted for dad to put her on the chair so she could play the toy piano while swaying back & forth.
And when she was done, she pulled her legs off to the side of the chair, held on to the back rungs... and gently slid onto the ground.

Maybe my mom does know that one isn't too young for such things as miniature tables and chairs.
I'm so proud that Evie got back up and mastered this challenge so quickly.
I'm so sad that she has mastered this challenge so quickly. My baby is growing up. Fast.

Hummmmm....

Evie was at the sitter's house tonight which makes for a rather ready-to-go-to-bed with little-or-no-fight kid.
I got Evie's jammies on (Fussing and crying, of course. She knows what this process means) and we brushed out teeth. A cup of water and some time on mom's lap while we enjoy 3 or 4 books.
Evie is laying on me like a lump so I know more books are not needed or required tonight. I ask her for a hug and flip her over.
"Gung, gung, gung!" Evie is into making this sound with her throat. Its a humming based sound that sounds like she is saying "gung" with her mouth closed. I haven't a clue. Either she needs to be checked out or she's a typical 1 year old. I can't say it hasn't gotten me completely concerned.
Evie was pointing to the light-up turtle and reminding me that we needed to turn him on. A crucial step in the going-to-bed process we created.
I hugged her anyways and asked for a hug. She eventually gave in and leaned her cheek against mine. I hummed a light tune... something to the effect of "oh, what a nice hug" kind of hum.
She giggled.
I hummed a bit louder.
She giggled more. I giggle hummed.
She did that super-cute giggle that you see on TV commercials. That giggle squeal sound only little kids make.
My humming was tickling her belly or her cheek - both were pressed against me.
I hummed really low and really high.
We both giggled.
This made my whole night happy.
1 year olds notice the coolest things we forgot about as adults.

What I have learned from having a 1 year old...

(spectacular naptime bedhead)
...the use of my free-time before having kids was completely wasteful and ill-spent.

...experiencing just one month without getting sick is an amazing accomplishment.

...naps are the best way to utilize downtime.

...there's two kinds of clean: passable and compulsive. I used to be compulsive. Now I dust one room every month. After 6 months, I'll make it back around to where I began.

...I now have different definitions of important. See line above.

Walk, walk, walk... Evie updates

Evie now does laps in the house. No longer tripped up by the change in flooring (she used to dive into a crawl upon hitting the linoleum in the kitchen), she can tear up many sq feet without having to stop & take a break. She, I would confidently now say, is a full fledged walker.
She does, of course, go slow while walking. She has a rock back/forth motion to her walk and she likes to have something in her hands for balance. Today was her outdoor test. She trotted slowly across the parking lot (as dad will vouch)... but she did walk without resorting to her once comfortable scoot.

Evie has recently taking a new fascination with her tongue. She will sling her tongue outward and wriggle it side to side while working on a project. For those of you who have seen daddy work on an illustration... the answer as to where she learned this ... may not be hard to find.

Evie's vocubulary now consists of:
"Doh!" = an expletive used to point to dogs or anything that looks like a dog. An expletive used to point out things that are new or need explaination... and explaination generally means, "hand me that!"
"Geergh!" = George. The cat next door.
"Da-da! Da-da!" = Dad claims this is him. Used interchangeably as a generic attention getter.

Evie's understanding consists of:
"Yes?" = This is a retoricle question mom tends to ask. Nod your head and she'll act excited.
"No!" = A word mom uses but never truly means. Repeat undesired action to hear again.
"Milk?" = Reach for sippy cup and shake head when you are finished... its a signal for mom to put back in the fridge.
"Moo-Cow" = If not currently in my arms than look perplexed and mom will tear up the house to go find.
"Bye-Bye!" = Open & close hands repeatedly and mom gets excited.
"Evie" = Make eye contact and mom/dad will stop saying this word.

Who's kid is this?

For dinner one night I grabbed a wild assortment of finger foods and what-nots while I figured out what to make Evie.
Cantalope cubes... she ate one but seemed uninterested.
Grapes cut in half.. she nibbled one but seemed uninterested.
Some banana nut bread grandma made while in town? Eh, not so much.
Green beans? Bingo.

Evie has actually opted for brocolli or green beans over strawberry cupcakes.
She has turned down offers for many sweets...
WHAT?
This kid isn't mine.