Knitting herself a sweater

I guess she's seen me knitting her sweaters enough. She thought she'd help me out a bit with them!
They say imitation is the best form of flattery.
I did finish knitting this sweater yesterday and it is really cute. I just need to put some buttons on it. Yesterday I finally got the buttons on that other sweater that I knit for Sasha. So I'll have to get some pictures up.

While we're talking about knitting, here's a pair of socks I knit for Sasha. My little model was crabby when I wanted to take a picture of her wearing her new handmade socks:

Fever

On Sunday afternoon, everything seemed to be going as usual for a day off. My husband and Sasha took a nap together. I didn't want Sasha napping for longer than an hour or two so that she didn't ruin her sleep schedule. After one hour had elapsed after she fell asleep, I tried to wake her up, but she was very groggy and difficult to wake. So I let her nap another half hour and tried again. She was still groggy and wouldn't wake up so I tried again another half hour later. After the two hour mark, I was determined to wake her. I sort of got her awake and walking around but she stayed awake for about 5 minutes and layed back down and fell asleep right in the middle of the living room floor. I kept pestering and harassing her but she just wouldn't wake up.
More hours passed by and I was starting to get concerned. She just wasn't waking. My husband picked her up and remarked that she felt hot. I touched her and she sure was. She was hot and crabby and tired. We fought with her to take her temperature and it was 101.0F degrees. Poor baby.
We had to fight with her again to give her some baby tylenol. She was a poor miserable little creature. You could tell by looking in her eyes that she felt miserable and my heart really felt for her. She was very inactive, not at all like her usual self. She just sat or flopped wherever she was and watched tv or whatever was in her view.
Eventually the baby tylenol kicked in and she started feeling better. On Monday she was still somewhat ill, but not as ill as she was on Sunday. By the end of the day on Monday, she seemed back to her old self.
Other than the tiredness and fever, there really weren't any other cold or flu symptoms. No gastrointestinal upset, nothing else that I can tell. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it was related to her new teeth.

First New Canine Tooth

Sorry I haven't updated in a while!
Sasha has been getting her four canine teeth. Her top left just erupted through, and her bottom left looks imminent. Her top right is definitely swollen and I can feel a bump on her bottom right.
Checking her teeth can be a challenge. Little girl can bite!. But if we need her to open her mouth to see anything inside, all we have to do is ask her "Sasha, where are you blueberries?". She will proudly open her mouth widely and point inside. This is from one day when I handed her a handful of blueberries. I turned my back on her for a few seconds and when I turned back they were all gone. I thought it was too quick for her to have eaten them so fast so I asked her where her blueberries went. This is when she opened her mouth widely and pointed inside. She ate them all! And now whenever we ask her where those blueberries went (or any other food she has just consumed), she will gladly tell us where they went.
All these new teeth have made little girl miserable at times. She is whiny and more irritable.

Blue Jean Cutie

Most kids I know at this age love getting their pictures taken. At this age, Cassie was a total ham the moment she saw a camera in your hand. When Sasha sees a camera, she runs away.
We got her a cute blue jean outfit complete with hat and she looked adorable in it if I do say so myself. I tried to get her picture and she kept running away. She finally sat still enough to let me take her picture. I got a few but this one turned out the best. It's now one of my favorite pictures.

Fondue and Ducks

We felt like going out to eat for dinner but we couldn't quite agree on where to go. I had seen a fondue restauraunt and thought it sounded like a good idea. Sasha is in a stage where she loves dipping her food so it sounded brilliant. Yeah, it wasn't. Right as we walked into the restauraunt, I noticed a sign that indicated a dress code suggesting suit jackets for men and discouraging (but not disallowing) jeans. Bad sign right away. Not a good idea to go to some fancy schmancy restauraunt with an 18 month old.
The tables had stoves built right in the middle of the tabletops. As my husband put Sasha into her high chair, he noticed right away that the control knob for the stovetop was right at her spot. Unfortunately Sasha made this discovery also and she would not leave her hands off the knob. We had to move her high chair away from the table and that made her very antsy. The menu looked delicious but it was very very expensive. I wasn't quite prepared for the sticker shock.
Sasha started throwing a temper tantrum and had a meltdown because she could not reach the table or play with the stovetop knob. We had to abort the whole dinner. I felt bad leaving the restauraunt without dining. The waiter was very friendly and helpful. But I wanted to leave before Sasha disrupted the dining experience for the whole restauraunt. It looked like it was going to come out to a $200 meal anyways! Yikes.

We went to kid-friendly McDonald's for dinner and that worked out much better anyways. Sasha loved her chicken nuggets.

After dinner, we went to a Barnes and Noble bookstore. Sasha made a new friend, as usual. This time, she had a blast with a girl who appeared to be about 3 years old. Sasha was copying all the girls movements. She ran when the girl ran, tried to jump when the girl jumped, and sat and read books when the girl sat and read books. It was very cute.
As usual, Sasha got a lot of complements from random strangers at the bookstore. "Oh she's soooooo cute!" people would exclaim. And the people in this area are cold and self-absorbed and usually ignore everyone, including cute little kids, so I guess that says a lot.
Sasha started getting tired and cranky at her usual bedtime. As we neared the registers of the store, Sasha started having a melt down. I had to have my husband check out the books solo while I had to take Sasha out of the store so the patrons wouldn't be subjected to toddler screams.

Immediately upon exiting the store, we noticed a pair of ducks. A male and a female were wandering around the entrance area, picking through the landscaped wood chips for food. I pointed the ducks out to my fussy little toddler and she immediately perked up. I set her down on the sidewalk and she followed the ducks around. She pointed at the ducks, repeatedly said "Duck! Duck!", and quacked at them. They were very tame. They didn't fly away at all. They seemed undisturbed by us, and didn't care that a toddler was following them around pointing and quacking at them. It was very cute. We let Sasha follow the ducks around for a while and once the ducks headed for the street, we had to pick her up and take her to the car despite her heavy protests. The ducks were a cute end to the day.

Those darned Blinky shoes

I took Sasha to her weekly playtime at our local school district. There are usually many young children, but this week there were only two other kids at the program. One child was a 22 month old japanese boy. The other child was a 2.5 year old cute little Indian girl with pigtails.
The boy had blinky shoes on! Once Sasha noticed his shoes, she was his personal shadow. She followed him around, pointing and staring at his feet. If he stopped walking, his shoes would stop blinking, so she'd push him to make him walk. This upset him several times. I had to explain to his mother that Sasha was fascinated by his shoes, not trying to be a brute.

Zoo!

I forgot my camera so alas I have no pictures for this but...
I successfully dragged the family out to the local zoo on Sunday! It's been a long and especially harsh winter. The temperatures finally rose above the freezing point and we've had 40F degree weather. It was still rainy and cold but at least it wasn't freezing. But the family has been cooped up indoors and we've been sick of it. I still can't wait for springtime.

Sasha loves animals...theoretically. At least she loves animals when she sees them in books and on television so I thought it would be great for her to get out and see some real ones. Actually she did see some goats at the apple orchard last September but that seems so long ago.

She did have a good time! I think we all did. Even Cassie, who was reluctant to go at first. We went straight to the family zoo area at first. It was indoors and had a lot of activities for young infants and children. Sasha saw birds, got to play in a "nest" play area. She saw some reptiles, snakes, spiders, hamsters, guinea pigs, and even got to pet a huge rabbit. She did well with that rabbit too. She nicely pet it and said "nice!". Then she tried to make it smell her feet. (She picked that habit up with my dad's dog as it's always sniffing her feet.) Cassie painted her face up like a tiger. The family zoo area was really neat and we'll have to go see it more often. It was nice to just let Sasha run amok and see what caught her interests.
We ate some overpriced hotdogs and hit the Children's zoo. The children's zoo was mostly full of farm animals, and Sasha adored those. We all liked the children's zoo. There were ducks, geese, an eagle, a horse, a donkey, some sheep, goats, a mule, a pony, some cows, some chickens, and other farm animals.
Most of the animals at the zoo were put away for the winter. We were able to see a few indoor exhibits. Like the penguins. And the aquarium. And the monkeys. And the alligators and otters. I was hoping to see some bears but they were still hidden away from the public.

On the way out, we stopped at the carousel. Sasha seemed interested in it so the whole family took a carousel ride. Sasha rode a polar bear, and Cassie rode a tiger, while I rode a hippo because it was in front of Sasha's polar bear.

I wish it was warmer and that there were more animals to see but I think it went well. It took us long enough to see what we did see so I guess it didn't matter anyways. I think we'll probably go back again a few more times this year.

Names

There is something that Sasha yells sternly once in a while, and I couldn't figure out what it was. It sounded sort of like "Daaaa" and I thought it was "dad" because she usually yelled it when she wanted him. Then one night as I was getting Sasha settled to bed, I needed my husband to come and turn off the lights as I could not get up and do it myself. So I yelled "Jon?" across the house. Sasha then copied me: "Daaa?". That's when I realized what she's yelling. It's Jon's first name.

She won't say her own name though. We've tried to teach her that her name is Sasha but she just won't say it no matter how we try. I think she knows it though.

Everyday she continues to learn new words and new signs. She picks them up almost instantly. I got her some foam alphabet bath toys and started showing her the letters and she can say almost every letter's name when I say it (copies my words). (W is too hard of a letter for her to say).
I remember when Cassie was little, she had alphabet refridgerator magnets and somehow she learned to identify each letter of the alphabet before she was even two so I know it's possible to learn even without trying hard. I'm not going to push it but I think it's good to at least expose Sasha to that sort of stuff.

As for the picture above, sure she's being silly with Dada's glasses with some crazy wild hair. But just look at those pretty eyes.

More Teeth?

Sasha recently started spitting out food and refusing foods she usually likes. She does it even when I know she is hungry. I was so confused at first. She'll eat some foods just fine. Then what really confused me is when she asked me for a cracker and I gave it to her. She took a bite and started chewing, then spit it out. She usually loves her crackers so this was unusual for her. Suddenly she started spitting some foods out.
I finally realized later that she has two new teeth coming in (canines). It's been such a long time since we went through "teething" that I forgot about it. Teething this time is not like when she was little. She's mildly crabby, not as bad as before, and like I said she's spitting her food and eating different. She'll take foods that don't hurt her teeth. Her morning cereal (froot loops) have to be soggy or she'll spit them out.

Today she did something cute. She likes freeze dried blueberries. After her breakfast I gave her a small handful. She ate them all and asked for more. So I signed blueberry and gave her some more. It seemed like I turned my back for a second or two, and she was asking for more again. I asked her "Where are your blueberries?" because I thought maybe she dropped them on the floor or something. She proudly opened her mouth wide and pointed inside.

Oh and image above: Sasha put on my baby carrier and carried her baby around. She likes to give her babies lots of hugs and kisses. She's a good little mommy.

Dance Dance Revolution, Baby!

At the arcade place during Grandpa's visit. Sasha was watching the people play Dance Dance Revolution and wanted to play too. She was keeping an eye on the other players like a hawk and mimicking their moves.

Easter

Wearing Grandpa's hat
Happy Easter!
My father came down to visit us and spent the night overnight. That was very nice. I forgot to ask him about his dog, and he brought the dog with him. We were hesitant about that at first (we're not allowed pets in our apartment) but it wasn't so bad. He didn't bark or make any messes, and didn't jump all over Sasha. My dad mostly kept the dog in his cage or on a leash so he couldn't get in trouble. Sasha was very suspicious of the dog at first but eventually she warmed up to him and had fun.
We went out to eat and stopped at an arcade for a little bit. But for the most part we just visited with each other. I was very glad to see him. I worry about him a lot. Sasha warmed up to her Grandpa too so that made me happy.

Grandma Pat had mentioned that she wanted Cassie to visit and had promised that she and her husband would drive Cassie back home if we sent Cassie with my dad, so Cassie left with my dad. Like I said before, I feel better about her visiting than sitting herself in front of a computer all day long for her whole spring break.

Big Sister

It's been over 11-12 years since I've had a toddler, so my memory is cloudy. But for some reason I seem to recall that Cassie would never want to hold my hand when I walked with her. She'd always run off and I was always chasing her around and yelling at her to get back to me. I'd tell her to hold my hand and she wouldn't. I'd grab her hand and she'd throw herself to the ground in a tantrum. I was always a frantic, exasperated young mother.

On the other hand, if I ask Sasha to take my hand, she will walk hand in hand with me with no problem or complaints at all. It doesn't matter how busy the environment is or where we are. She's great with it. And as you can see above, she is just fine holding her big sister's hand too.
Sasha LOVES elevators. She knows the routine. She walks up to the elevator and tries to push the call button. I usually lift her up so she can press it. Then she stands and waits patiently. She tries to guess which one will show up by standing in front of one expectantly. When the elevator arrives, she walks right on it. The little crack in front of the elevator used to give her pause but not anymore. She then patiently stands and waits for everyone else to get on, the doors to close, and the elevator to move. Once it stops, she positions herself in front of the door and tries to push the doors open. I usually tell her to "open the door" and let her think that she was the one opening the doors. Once it opens, she knows the correct path to walk to get herself all the way to our car. Sometimes the trip can be slow but we can be patient. She doesn't really run off very often on us, thankfully.
-----------
Cassie's last day of school was Thursday, and now she's on spring break for 10 days. She wanted to spend the whole time playing Warcraft, but that's not exactly a healthy use of her time off. It's sad for us that Grandma isn't with us anymore. If Grandma was here, she would have had plans for Cassie I'm certain.
Fortunately, Grandma Pat, Cassie's long time babysitter, wanted Cassie to visit so Cassie is going to do that. While she's up there visiting, Cassie can also visit my brother and my dad.

18-month Well Baby Exam

We had Sasha's 18-month well baby exam today.
She weighed in at 19lbs 7oz, and is now 31 inches long.
She grew an inch in height, and gained 7oz since her last weight check. She was 18lb 8oz at her 15 month well-baby exam so she's gained just an ounce short of a pound since then. Yay! I was hoping that she had gained more than that but oh well. She's still at the 3rd percentile for weight, and she's halfway between the 25th and 50th percentile for height according to the doctor's charts. I'll have to look up her height and weight for age on the World Health Organization (WHO) charts as our pediatrician is not using those.
Sasha fell asleep in the car on the way to the doctor's office and was sound asleep as I carried her in. So she had a rude awakening when she was in the exam room and we started undressing her. She waved hello to the mean nurse. (She's not mean, but she's the one that ALWAYS gives Sasha the shots so Sasha is very suspicious of her). She's been more sociable lately so I wasn't surprised although my husband thought Sasha would hate the nurse on sight.
Sasha protested during the weight, height, and head measurements. She kept yelling "BYE BYE!" at the nurse, as if to say "go away!". The nurse left, and after a few minutes the doctor came in. We had the female doctor this exam and Sasha said "Hi!" to her a few times.
The doctor mostly talked at first, then she did a thorough exam, which Sasha did not like. The doctor listened to Sasha's chest with a stethoscope, stuck a popsicle stick down Sasha's throat until she gagged, and felt Sasha's spine and head. Again Sasha started yelling "BYE BYE!" at the doctor between sobs.
The doc discussed the foods and drinks that Sasha consumes. She told us to cut back on Sasha's juice intake, as she believes it will help Sasha to eat more. Made sense to me actually. She asked us how much milk/dairy Sasha had a day and said she should get between 16-24oz a day but not more than that.
Then it was time for the shots. We had a dtp and a polio shot. One in each leg. I held Sasha down for those shots and my husband cringed at each one. For this exam, we did what we usually do. I was the parent that held her down for all the mean stuff, and my husband was the one who picked her up and comforted her afterwards. He got to be the good guy and I was the bad guy.
Sasha slept well when she got home. She was cranky in the evening and went to bed earlier than I thought she would. But otherwise no other effects from the immunizations.
We will be going back for a weight check in 3 months, otherwise she won't have another well-baby exam until she's 2.

Damn

Another milestone that doesn't quite fit in the baby book. Sasha said her first bad word. Two days in a row. Bad mommy!
I came home from work during my lunch break to feed the baby a bowl of cereal. As I was spooning fruit loops into her mouth, I looked at my watch and realized that my lunch break was over. It was time to return back to work.
"Damn!", I said.
"Damn!", said Sasha. "Damn! Damn! Damn!".
I didn't know what to do. She kept saying it over and over and was laughing.
What's really strange is this same scenario repeated itself two days in a row!

UPDATE 3/20/08- Well this word seems to be a regular part of her vocabulary now. She likes to chant "damn! damn! damn!" and laugh at our reactions. Bleh!

Blinky Shoes!

On Sunday, the girls and I went out to some stores to window shop. We just wanted to get out of the house. Winter is starting to wear on us and Sasha and I are really feeling cooped up in the apartment. (I'm pretty sure my husband feels the same). So I try to get Sasha out of the house whenever I can.
During our window shopping, we found some blinky shoes. They're the shoes with the lights in them that blink whenever the child wearing them takes a step. We tried them on Sasha's feet and she loved them and had a blast. They only cost like $14 so we got them even though I didn't plan on spending any money.
The shoes don't fit very well. They're still big. But Sasha just LOVES them. Playing with her shoes is like her favorite activity. Walking now goes like this: step, step, stop and look at shoes, sign "light", say "light", point at shoes and admire, repeat.
They have velcro fasteners, so she's figured out how to put the shoes on and take them off. Her shoes are her favorite "toy" this week. When I put her shoes away, she'll sign "where shoes?" at me!