Directions

My Christmas present to you all- a blog post.  It has been quite awhile!  Although I was reminded around Thanksgiving, I had forgotten about it because of other projects.  Luckily, the other projects, family photo books and work stuff, are winding down so I can turn my attention back here. I have to catch up but I will try to get some holiday photos up soon.

Sunny is generally a pretty agreeable girl, but there is definitely a little toddler spark.  Her default answer to any question is "No!"  Sometimes, she will then realize what is being asked and then say what she really means, "Yeassss."  She is a stickler for the rules.  We try and organize things so we have as few rules as possible, but somehow we have quite a few.  For instance, she has to drop her silky on the floor and take off her jacket (which she often wears around the house) before she starts eating.  Often I am busy getting dinner on the table and I put her in her chair without noticing that she still has one or both of these items.  She will look at me and say, "No, no" then throw them on the ground.  Geez, mom.

One of my dad and Sandy's friends, Susan Benson, had a stuffed bear she had shown Sunny last time we were up there.  It was love at first sight.  And second sight, as you can see from the photo and video below when my dad brought the bear down.  She likes to tell us where to put the bear. Usually she wants it sitting on the couch where she can slide down its leg or face down on the floor so she can bounce on its back. He is officially part of the family; plans for the addition are underway.

Although she's a bit under the weather right now and not eating much, most days she is eating all sorts of non-kid foods. As long as we do not suggest it and/or she gets to try it from our plates. Here she is with fingers full of olives, but she has also taken bites of Posole and entire plates of Pad Thai.

Sunny is unusual not only in the variety of her food but also in the large amounts she eats. We think it's because she is so active. Sure she runs around the house for no reason, but she also goes on walks with us most days, often without a stroller. We carry her as needed, but those little legs are pretty strong. Below are two of her recent walks. The first is at the river of lights at the bio park (botanic gardens). The last one is at the nature center with her Poppy who came to visit a few weeks ago.

Fair day

For this post, I thought I would describe going to the state fair with Sonia. I highly recommended it.

Sonia has started noticing details in life. She has this radar which has not yet been trained to gloss over the mundane and is constantly pointing out these details. Her latest favorite is airplanes. I considered planes a preoccupation of a three year old and did not realize that such a young child would notice them. When she hears the sound of airplane she looks up and points, It turns out that planes fly overhead while Sonia is outside at least five or six times a day. They had some military show planes zooming around the fair grounds and Sonia would notice and look up even when she was surrounded by kids, animals, music and general noise.

Fortunately, she is noticing music in addition to noise. When there is a particularly moving song, she will turn and bounce with great passion. The cutest thing is when she does this little genie-arm motion, weaving her hand and twisting her wrists and shoulders. She definitely has her favorites. For months she has been groovin' to Burl Ives at Poggie and Grandma's house and lately to the Cabbage Patch Kid's record at our house.  She has some favorite sing-songs as well:  Six Little Ducks, Do Your Ears Hang Low?, Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes, and Rubber Duckie.  I got sidetracked there, but she also loved the background music at the fair provided by an omnipresent (in Albuquerque) group called Inca Gold.  They play  Peruvian music with traditional instruments and are good, but Alan and I are so used to hearing them in public spaces that we did not even realize they were there until Sonia started dancing and singing.  We took her over to stage so she could share her joy with the musicians and they seems very appreciative. 

The main reason we thought about taking Sunny to the fair (besides to get me my yearly gluten-free green-chili cheese fries) was to show her the animals.  I think her favorite animal exhibit was the pony ride, which was probably the first time she realized a girl could ride a horse.  She was a bit too young to ride, but she cheered on the other kids and their ponies until we had to drag her away.  She also got to see some rabbits, chickens, goats, horses and cows.  Each one got an adoring gaze and hopeful hand reaching toward the pen.  It is difficult to imagine this girl in a pet-free household.

I had to post the third picture for her great-grandparents, Drew and Janet, who are originally from Iowa.



At the fair, knee deep in corn provided by Future Farmers of America



Sunny with her chickens at home



Sounds

Lately, the English-Mason family has been taking evening strolls. It was a good move. We did it because we wanted to be more active and the evening is much cooler than the afternoon. In addition to those benefits, we also found that we have the opportunity to chat with, or at least wave at, our neighbors. Sonia is the most outgoing of our group, followed by Ezra, and loves seeing new people and smiling at them. The walks also give Alan and me a chance to chat. One of our favorite topics, of course, is Sonia. We talk about strategies for difficulties like throwing cups from her high chair (email me if you have something on this)and marvel at her little accomplishments and activities. So the other day we were just about home and talking about what she had eaten or pooped or something and suddenly we heard a little, "Uhhhh!" just after we said her name. We turned and Sonia was patting her chest. "Sonia?" we said, just to confirm. She patted her chest some more and looked at us. I could almost hear her saying, "Guys, I'm right here and I know you talking about me."

Sonia has been listening and speaking more and more. She now makes the sounds for a duck ("qa, qa k"), cow ("mmmm"), horse (blows a raspberry), and a snake ("sssss"). In addition to da and ma, she says, "Daw" (dog), "Es" (Ezra), "Baa es" (Back Ezra), "Behr" (blueberry). Her play is becoming more intricate and she focuses on things longer. Yesterday, she did the cutest thing while we were walking. We were walking into the sun, and she started placing her silky on her head so that it covered her eyes. She would then take off running the best she could and making a gurgley aaaaagghhh sound. After four or five steps, the silky would fall off. She would stop in her tracks, pick it up, then position it very deliberately on her head and over her eyes. The moment it was right, she would take off running and growling. This lasted for about 15 minutes, even after we turned around and were not in the sun any longer. By that time, it was just plain fun.

I usually try to link my narrative and my photos, but this time I am just posting some from our recent trip to Jemez Springs and at the Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque. I had to dress Sunny in tie dye for Jemez Springs, as those from New Mexico will understand.

Headfirst

We took Sunny to the mountains for my cousin Stephanie's wedding and came back with a confident climber. She started by climbing out of her seat on the airplane and kept it up running down hills and stepping up rocks. Her confidence really picked up and she started venturing further away without even glancing back for reassurance. It was a little bittersweet. I miss my cuddly little infant, but I feel proud of her progress and eager to see what is next.




The plane rides could not have been better. Thanks mostly to many, many grapes and Goldfish as well as strangers entertaining her with funny faces. We had a great time visiting with my family and exploring around Estes Park. Sonia loved the river we stayed next to, but I think she appreciated the little things, like opening pinecones and peeling tree bark, just as much. It was nice to escape as a family.







Sunny continues to enjoy adorning herself with various objects. She likes necklaces, but she is flexible. If an actual necklace is not handy, she will put pretty much any clothing item around her neck or on top of her head. Including, to my embarrassment, my underwear. No pictures of the former, but here she is with one of her skirts as a hat.

Free Flowing

I never had thought of 14 months as a special age for kids, but Sonia is so sweet right now. Part of it, I am sure, is that she is not only able to communicate her wishes to us better but also understand what we are telling her. Just a few weeks ago, I tried to toss her onesie into the hamper and missed. "Hey Sonia, can you put your onesie in the hamper?" I almost heard her say, "Sure Mom!" as she charged over, picked it up, and flung it in. She likes to do things with flair and gusto. One of my favorite moments is when, from across the room, she will suddenly break into a run with a big smile and her arms out. She continues running full force into my chest then gives me a big hug. I do not think I have ever described her odd expressions of affection for her silky. When she is really excited or upset, she grabs it and buries her face in it, biting it and stuffing it in her mouth while moving her head back and forth. I think she would be very pleased if she knew just how dramatic it looks.



Of course, she does not have any self-consciousness of how anything she is doing looks. She is a vessel of free flowing emotion. I think this is part of what makes toddlers so awesome. The painful emotions are even more distressing for her than physical injury; she has cried for twenty minutes after being told "no", but just seconds after a fall that gave her a bruise. At the same time, she can get so joyous she runs, yells and kisses all at once. That only happens to me every few months at most, but for her, it's every few hours.

In addition to understanding more, she is also able to do more. She is running, walking down small steps (not stairs, yet), and climbing. I was finally able to get a picture of her walking. Most of my attempts look like the bottom one.


















I read a blog a friend of mine posted on Facebook that mused over our tendency to admire and compliment little girls on their looks. They are adorable. Yet, what are we suggesting when this is the first thing we remark on? The author proposed asking little girls what books they are reading as a way to initiate conversation. I am trying to do this because I think it is important that appearance not be a major concern, especially for children.

People remark to me all the time how beautiful Sonia is. She is lucky, as one stranger commented to me, as things are easier for good-looking people. She always has been and always will be gorgeous to me, so I love to photograph her. It is also fun to share charming photos. Sometimes, though, I worry that by taking so many photos of her, I will make her preoccupied with how she looks.

So, with that, here are some new photos of our little girl. That red shirt reads, "All You Need Is Love". It's one of my favorites.

Accessories

I never thought I would be posting about Sonia wanting to accessorize at this age, but she has made her wishes clear. She figured out how to put a necklace over her head the other other day. Now, she does not feel quite right unless she has a least one, but sometimes three things hanging from her neck. I guess name tags on wide cloth bands are big in the baby fashion world these days, but if she can't find one of those, then a necklace will do. Her legs are often a bit too wobbly to deal with a necklace hanging at her knees but that does not even give her pause about putting them on. She just gets back up and keeps walking.






Another really cute thing she has been doing recently is plugging our noses when we speak then laughing at how it changes our voices. The other day she was riding in her car seat when I heard a little nerdy sounding "babadadada". She was plugging her own nose then talking through it. Ha! I still crack up when I see her do this. She has also been plugging her mouth with a wine vacuum-seal cork that I had given her to play with while I cooked dinner. Just walks around with it in her mouth.

If she cannot plug out noses, then she likes to cover us up and whisk away the cover. The game is an oldie but a goodie. Here she is covering her dad with her silky then giving him a big smooch.







Her eating adventures continue as well. Her are before and after photos of Sonia munching on a lime.






















Sonia's after dinner mint.

Steps

A quick note- Sonia took her first steps yesterday! Everything came together in her baby brain-body and when Alan arrived at Jeff and Tammy's in the afternoon, she started showing her tricks. We're so happy for her!

We knew it was coming soon, though, aa she just started standing on her own for quite some time. I got a few photos on Tuesday before the big event yesterday.

Tasting

"She's a good eater."

We often hear this phrase when people with or around Sunny. The first time I remember hearing it was from my Uncle Ken when he and Yvonne came for Thanksgiving. She likes to try new things; in fact, she often demands to do so. So far there is only one thing we have found that she consistently does not like and that is green beans. She shudders sometimes when one finds its way to her mouth. Alan and I pretty much give her everything we eat. Curry, stir-fry, pizza, though I guess pizza is not usually a challenge. Recently she has shown a fondness for funky cheese- blue cheese, feta, English Cheddar with caramelized onions. She actually gets giddy sometimes when we give her plain yogurt or hummus. I think blueberries are still her favorite, though she likes so many things it is difficult to tell. She has had quite an appetite recently. I packed a lunch for the three of us to eat while we were hiking the other day, but Sunny ate so much that Alan and I had to get a snack afterwards.




Alan has been on break so we have gotten a lot of hiking in the past few weeks. Luckily, as long as we do not walk for over a few hours, Sunny loves to ride in her backpack. We often give her a stick to hit the passing branches with and that helps keep her occupied. She also likes to pat her daddy's hair or hang on to his shoulder. After awhile, the best thing to do is doze. She falls asleep in the most uncomfortable appearing positions, but I know they only appear uncomfortable to my aging joints and muscles. My neck gets stiff just looking at the picture below. Her little elastic body does not mind.



As time goes on, there may come a day when Sonia starts to ask for coffee. If she does, she really wants warmed milk with cinnamon sprinkled on it. She always wants a sip of the coffee Alan and drink in the morning and in the afternoon, so we started giving her the milk. Just to make the whole thing completely adorable, she sips her coffee out of a miniature coffee cup we got from Drew and Janet.

No walking yet...I will let you all know when the big day arrives.

Standing

Over the past few weeks, Sonia's word comprehension has really blossomed. We can ask her where our ears, mouths, noses and belly buttons are and she will point to said parts on our bodies and her own body. She knows all of our names and Ezra and Sadie's names. As she understands more, she is also growing more frustrated when we do not understand what she wants and sometimes reacts with screams and tears. Toddlerhood is on the horizon.

In order to get there, she has to toddle. Her confidence on two legs is growing. She can stand by herself at times, especially if her hands are occupied. She is able to crawl up and down several stairs now. We are eagerly anticipating her first steps. We keep hearing from everyone, family and strangers we happen to pass going out of restaurants, that we are in for trouble. True enough, but it is quite fun to see her learning all this stuff and walking will open so many doors for her.

We went on our first of many family camping trips. Sonia loved walking around the outdoors so much she even let us put a hat on her. Her enthusiasm died down when the temperatures dropped. We had not planned on it being quite as cold as it got and ended up back in the car in the early morning. The trip was aborted and we went to Poppy and Grandma Sandy's house a few days early. I was afraid she would associate her little pup-tent (actually called a Peapod, if you care to see it) with cold, but she snuggled up in it the next night at Poppy's house with no problem. Lucky for us, she is a pretty resilient little girl.




Little girl...I have to keep reminding myself that she is not a baby anymore. She is growing up to fast. I lamented this in the last post. Now I'm beginning to think that Jeff and Tammy have a hand in her getting so grown-up. First it was the Princess Coupe, now we put on a t-shift they got for her. Yes, that is Hendrix on the front of her shirt. She loves it.

Celebration

Today we celebrated Sunny's first birthday!

She finally went down for a nap around 5:30pm after a day of festivities. We started off eating oatmeal with her Poppy Ron and Grandma Sandy then took a little doze in the stroller as we walked around. For her birthday, I dressed her in a little shirt that I used to wear at her age. Kinda of hard to believe that it was my shirt! Soon, everyone else started arriving. The first thing Sonia noticed were the ribbons, which she had to show to her Grandma and Aunt Jen. She had almost as much fun with the presents before they were opened as she did afterwards.























For lunch, we had toddler specials. Sloppy joe, fruit salad with lot of berries, potato salad, and guacamole. Maybe guacamole isn't for every toddler, but Sunny is a fan. She ate and ate then we brought out her loot. The cool thing was, she liked and paid attention to each and every gift. Jen and Ian got Sunny a cute squeezy-noise giraffe and monkey that she could not stop looking at. Our neighbors, Bette and Richard and their son Jeremy got her some cool self-propelled cars and a wading pool. It was too cold to try it out, but we know she will love it. Poppy and Grandma Sandy got her a bouncy turtle that plays little songs. We thought she had danced all she could while we were singing her happy birthday, but then she came in and kept groovin' with the singing turtle. Finally, her Poggy and Grandma got her a "Princess Coupe" that she took for a spin this afternoon. With all this cruising and dancing, I am getting a sense of what it is like having a teenager. (I know, I have no idea, but I am not worried). At least I did not have to worry about her sneaking out; I put her to sleep and after about thirty seconds, there was not a peep from her monitor.



























Sonia was very serious about her berry cake and Poggy's homemade vanilla ice cream. She squished it and stuffed it in her mouth by the handful without even cracking a smile. I think she decided it was pretty good stuff since she tried to give me some as well.









Thanks, my little Sun, for an unforgettable year. I love you!