Friday came and I thought fondly of the blocks. I was tempted to spell out 53 weeks and keep the tradition alive...but alas, photos will still be taken...just without the wooden fanfare. Monthly blocks will suffice for the next few years. At 24 months, I suppose even monthly shots will fade...then you start saying "two or two and a half or three."
Life is busy around here. In order to blog, I must let go of all or several items on the agenda: cleaning, showering, eating, coffee sipping whilst reading the paper or yoga. And often one or two of these things are just to precious to give up. I try to rarely be online on computer or phone when Noodle is awake. I would prefer her to not grow up thinking of my attention being glued to shiny screens - screens, by the way, that I don't let her enjoy. Hypocrisy starting early.
So, having a one-year old. What's so different? Nothing instanteneous but just the ever-present acknowledgement that she's our big girl. We stared at the monitor last night, as we often do right before bed, wanting to wake her up and play (which we NEVER do). And Daniel noticed just how huge her body is in the crib. It spans such length. She's so tall and grown up.
Her vocabulary is taking off. It's composed of signs and grunts that we convince ourselves we can accurately decipher. She can sign all of the following when prompted in German (and sometimes in English) "more, food, delicious, sleep" auf Deutsch "mehr, Essen, lecker, Schlafen" and has taken to calling Daniel "Dad" and me "Dada." Not sure where the "mama" dissapeared to in her noggin but we haven't heard it in a while. She loves to say "baby" and assundry grunts for "read, please, and help."
I am admittedly concerned sometimes as to how my German (with all of its grammatical weakness) is going to affect her vocabulary. Perhaps she will be delayed in her speech as she muddles through the landscape of the English and Deutsch at home. But it is my passion and I enjoy learning this language and sharing it with her. Not to mention my German friends and their babies who anxiously await our visit in Cologne. It will be so special to have Nora seated at the table and able to understand the conversations between us.
Well, while Lulu Bell sprouts in her independence, Daniel and I have also found more moments to relish our own. For Father's Day, Claire and I presented our favorite fathers with tickets to TV on the Radio at the Hollywood Bowl. It would be a night of friendship, picnic baskets, wine, and the sun setting to fantastic music. And it was.
By the end of the night, Claire had got us all up and dancing. Shaking our head, waving our hands, tapping our feet.
And while we danced, Noodle had her first sleepover at my mom's. Which was easy-peasy, I might add. She ate, drank a bottle, and slept from 7pm until 6am...in her little crib next to my mom's bed...not a peep all night. By the time I arrived at 7:30am, she was already finished with breakfast and listening to her new favorite musical obsession, Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang." Any song by Mr. Cooke gets her all excited with two swirling and shoulders jumping and head bobbing.
It was a glorious "first night away" and one that had me missing her far more than she missed me. Probably the way it always is with your kids.
Our dancing feet will have to find more reasons to tap into the night while Nora slumbers sweetly.
Video time. Here's our basket climber, walker, and reader. She is obsessed with Goodnight, Gorilla. She asks us to read it over and over and over...and over every day.
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