mmm...mmm....crayons

We bought Gwen crayons yesterday (the girl loves to draw, crayons are *fairly* safe, right). Apparently crayons are delicious because she's eaten the tips off of almost all of them. This is very similar to her fascination with chapstick and compulsion to chew on any stick she can get her hands on (once she pries the lid off). Nothing like reaching for your trusted tube of chapstick, opening the cap and applying a nice layer of chunky wax and baby spit...mmm....

Bedtime Routine

So Gwen is officially too big to be rocked to sleep on my lap...her little legs hang down off of mine and she just can't get comfortable. So, instead we have a nice time rocking until she starts to get drowzy then in her crib she goes. It only takes a minute for her to fall asleep but she does it in the oddest way...she rolls over onto her belly, tucks her knees up under her belly so she's butt-up in the air and face down into the bed, and she grabs my hand and pulls it around her like a blankie. so. friggin. cute. I know she stays sleeping on her face because in the morning she'll wake up with sheet marks on her forehead...I've heard of sheet marks on the cheeks but on the forehead?!?! Crazy girl.

We're baaaack!

It's been quite a hiatus and a lot has happened but I'm dedicated to being more regular with my posts...it's the only way I'll be able to look back on this whole child rearing experience and remember what has happened.

Since August Gwen has turned 1 (which of course she had no knowledge of, just knew that there were these weird boxes covered with pretty paper). We made it through a great Thanksgiving with my family in Virginia and xmas with James' family in Virginia Beach. Gwen had her first overnight outside of the house (not bad but certainly made us realize we have to get her out more). She has started walking and is now full-blown running. She has started talking and is now into two-word sentences. She is drawing on everything and thanks to aquadoodle our walls are still unmarked (we still have to teach her that she should only draw on paper).

So far the move down to Chester is still the best thing decision we made all year. I love working from home, it's less stressful on both James and I (good for his blood pressure), and having the extra space to roam has been so great for Gwen. She has this macked out play room next to the kitchen that is any kids dream. James created a play house out of our TV box that has grown into a shingled house with plans for an attached garage for her many push toys.

Gwen from September

So now for what's going on now: Gwen is saying a new word every day. Her recent additions are 'car', 'bubbles', fifi (for her blanket called sophie), daaaaaa (for dad), daaaa (for mom). She's generous with her high fives and she loves giving her animals and animal photos frequent kisses but she'll only give kisses and hugs to people when she really means it and when you least expect it. As usual, she's also still a thrill seeker, preferring to be tossed around than sit still which is also why we have hesitated to put her on an airplane...she just doesn't want to sit still! She's only 16 months but is already wearing her 24 mo clothes because of her height and she's all body just like her Happa.

More to come soon!