Sydney Grace Huff

August already?

2011-08-11T20:25:00.009-06:00

We took a quick trip up to the cabin this past weekend. Just an overnight, and it was quite lovely. Syd loves it so much up there it's really ridiculous. We took walks down by the river, dug in the dirt, swang and swang (is that what you say? Syd and Liese went for rides in the swing) and visited the llama farm up the road. Those babies are ridiculously cute - the llamas, ours are too, but I meant the llamas.

Just the girls at the new house, guess I should post some pictures of that too.

Oh, and we got "WeeRide"'s for the bikes they are way too fun. Liese just giggles the whole time and points out all of the animals she sees. Sydney attempts to steer Dave's bike and a couple of times now Annaliese has lodged her head between the front dashboard and the handlebars. Fun but not without risk.

More apologies

2011-05-02T20:54:00.004-06:00

So, I'm not a very prepared Mom. Syd's 3rd birthday came and went and I didn't have the camera charged. Whoops. So, I might post a pic of the girls that I had taken by a photographer a few weeks ago.

Syd's three, and is a delight. She had come down with a little cold this week though. Her birthday was on Friday and we celebrated on Sunday. The idea was to go to the zoo and have cupcakes. She loves that place and we tried to do it last year and the weather got the best of us. Of course this year I try to do it again, and the weather was poopy and Syd was sick, so we called it and had people just come over to the house.

One of the reasons Dave and I decided to keep the party to the house was the dreaded parent threat. Syd wouldn't take her nap, she was fighting it even though she was exhausted. One of the times I went in to help her fall asleep, I told her that if she didn't sleep we wouldn't be able to go to the zoo with her friends and have cupcakes. So she thought about it a minute and says to me, "call my friends and see if we can do it on Saturday."

She's a wheeler dealer.

Annaliese has her 4 top front teeth coming in all at once- she's efficient if nothing else. She's also crawling and is pulling herself up on everything. I'm convinced she's going to walk by her 1st birthday. How do they grow up so fast?

That's what I have for now, I'll work on some pictures now that the camera is charging.

We've been moving okay

2011-04-04T22:27:00.002-06:00

I know we're long overdue for some pictures. I'll see what I can do about that. In the mean time - let me regale you with a bath time story.....Sydney's in the tub with her sister and both Dave and I are overseeing.
"Grandma and Grammie have big boobs. Mommy has big boobs. Daddy has boobs. Me and Annaliese have little boobs. The kitties don't have boobs."

Lots of boob talk around these parts.

Goodness Gracious

2011-03-11T14:13:00.003-07:00

While it's been a month since I've posted, all of our news has happened in the last week. It's been nuts around here.

First, Sydney's now joined the rank of big girl. She decided to start using the toilet this week, not the potty, the big toilet! It's pretty awesome and we're so proud of her. I didn't know how great this would be, but boy am I enjoying it and it's only been a couple of days. She's wearing big girl underwear during the day and diapers for naps and night. Away she goes!

This blog post was prompted by a funny interaction I had with her today. It was the third time to the toilet before her nap, each time she had a little pee come out (the girl's been doing her kegels), so we washed her hands each time and she got her treat each time. This last time she steps up on the stool and sings, "we're washing our hands together, because the Bible tells me so."
It's stuff like this that keeps me laughing all day long.

Annaliese surprised me on Wednesday by weaning herself off of boob. She was a four-time a day-er, but now all of a sudden it's once. How did that happen? I was so offended. Truly I was really sad, I wasn't ready for this. Now, two days later I'm coping much better, but there were some tears. I think she's just too interested in what's going on around her to be facing me and just seeing skin. So, not only is she loving life with a bottle, she's almost crawling. On all fours and successfully scooting backward, just need to figure out the forward motion and she'll be on her way.

That's our world right now. The house is well on it's way and we expect the builders to be done with it by June so then we'll have to show you all of that.
I'll see what I can come up with in the way of pictures for the next post.

some new pics

2011-02-09T21:40:00.007-07:00

Just a little girl time while the super bowl was on. When you don't have a sled, use a wagon, All Terrain Wagon that is.

Friggin' cute

2011-01-18T20:33:00.002-07:00

They're not in the right order, but it's Christmas morning, Sydney at the National Western Stock Show and sisters looking really grown up yesterday morning. I didn't notice it on Christmas day, but Syd's Jammies and her smock, or smoke as she calls it, are quite a sight. Perhaps her hair pulls it all together?

holiday party

2010-12-22T21:42:00.002-07:00

the new house is being built!

2010-12-22T21:36:00.001-07:00

giggles in the tub

2010-12-22T21:25:00.002-07:00

Huff girls

2010-12-22T20:46:00.004-07:00

updates

2010-12-02T14:32:00.005-07:00

hey big smile!

Here's Dave on our overnight getaway for both of our birthdays. A little spa, a little dinner, some reading by the fire, breakfast, cross country skiing and it was all enough to remind us how much we like one another.

Gorgeous new mobile courtesy of Cookie & Curly . Annaliese loves it, and I love it too. Her little closet (it's an office) is really coming together.

A little sassy.

Lots of joy.

dressing them up

2010-11-21T21:43:00.002-07:00

Annaliese was a willing participant in this dress up game today at the Elders, but she really didn't have a say. Sydney on the other hand, was the one requesting all of the scarves out of my closet.

Lil' Halloween

2010-10-26T08:27:00.003-06:00

If you look on the blog in October of 2008 you can see Syd in the same outfit. I think this time Annaliese will prevail and actually wear the dragon costume. It's way too cute and Liese seems to like it much more than Syd did.

Halloween

2010-10-17T22:18:00.004-06:00

Last week Syd went to a pumpkin patch and fall festival with my Mom and I. There was an area that had pony rides for the kids and she was enamored with the ponies. Thankfully she didn't ask to ride them that day, but she did say that she wanted to be a pony for Halloween, then she clarified that she wanted to ride a pony for Halloween. (shoot) This week we were shopping at Target, and wouldn't you know it, they had a pony costume. Of course I had to get it.

The second part to this story is that tonight we had our friends Ronnie and Becca over for dinner. Syd was playing with them and showing them her room, and her costume, and when asked what the pony's name was, she said "Horse."
Awesome!

Still Funny

2010-10-15T20:38:00.003-06:00

A couple of nights ago in the bath Syd was squirting Dave's teeth with water from her bath toys and cracking herself up about it. So much so that she wanted me to come into the bathroom to show me. So while I'm there, Dave asks her why she's laughing so hard, she sits back and says, "because it's funny." That got a huge laugh out of me. She knows what's funny, don't be so surprised.

The family

2010-10-15T20:27:00.003-06:00

Lately when Dave and Syd and I hug, she says, "My family. And Annaliese."
Here we are in August in Pebble Beach. Thanks to Molly and Brian for the great pics.

the view from our sliding glass door

2010-09-27T21:44:00.003-06:00

Yes that would be out laundry hanging on our deck. All we wore were bathing suits. We parked the stroller on the patio outside the door and it worked perfect until the last night when it rained all night and water was dripping off the stroller when we got up. Whoopsy.

Mexico

2010-09-27T20:59:00.007-06:00

My Mom and I took Annaliese and Sydney to Mexico last week. We went to a small resort just south of Cancun and north of Playa del Carmen. We met friends of ours from Canada there, and had a really big week full of sun, swimming and not a lot of sleep. Let's call it a trip not a vacation. We played musical beds at night, and missed Daddy a ton.

We were trying to keep the wind off of Annaliese's head. Which style do you think she should go with?

Everyone was in the pool. It was incredibly warm and humid. Annaliese did great and didn't cry the whole trip. The only exception was on the plane ride home when Syd bit her foot and left a mark on the top and bottom. I don't know what was sadder, the bite mark on my baby, or the unprompted apology that Syd gave to Liese when she realized what she had done 45 mins earlier. "I'm sorry Baby Liese" - kiss kiss kiss.

Every morning we could order Tea, Coffee, Juice and pastries. The staff leave it in a little cubby in your room, so when you're ready to enjoy a little wake me up, you can open the door and it's waiting for you. Syd's favorite thing was pouring the tea, dunking the tea bag, spreading the butter and jelly and stirring the sugar. Did she consume any of it? No, not much, but she got really good at pouring and spreading.

Just giggling and smiling, that's all she did all week. I'm really not exaggerating.

Syd was swimming under water in just a few days. She loved it and was so proud of herself. Our friend Chris did such a great job helping her learning how to do it all.

It was so hot the whole time that Annaliese fell asleep in a lot of different places outside. This one was taken on a couch at the restaurant's outdoor eating area under my Mom's watch.

We were either sleeping, swimming or looking for lizards with the big girl. Here's a quick moment of eating.

One night when I was actually sitting at the table during dinner.

Thanks for browsing. Thanks for all your help Mom, Margaret and Chris.

How about these girls?

2010-09-09T21:20:00.002-06:00

Syd and Annaliese - The big sister can't get enough of the little. I frequently find Liese's hair sticky and matted to her head because Syd's made a drive by kissing.

Thanks to Aaron and Tina Retts, Annaliese is looking very stylish.

Grandpa and his girls

2010-09-07T15:30:00.002-06:00

sorry so long

2010-09-07T15:19:00.004-06:00

No excuses for the lack of blogging.
Syd's awesome, a big girl and growing a ton, learning and using lots of words.

Annaliese is growing great guns too. She'll be 4 months next week and is already in her 6 month clothes and stretching those out.

We're having a ball and have really enjoyed the summer.

Here's Annaliese's first haircut and Syd mesmerized by the carousel. She doesn't want to ride it, just watch it.

sounds

2010-07-27T20:02:00.002-06:00

I haven't been able to capture her giggles lately, this time Dave was the lucky one.

smiles and giggles

2010-07-07T11:32:00.002-06:00

Here she is smiling away at 6 weeks. Annaliese is a doll and has been smiling so much. It's awesome.

Yesterday Syd asked me to play with her, but I was busy with Annaliese and told her that I was going to pump (using a breast pump). Syd hasn't ever seen me do this, but thought she'd help. She ran to the closet and brought out the bicycle pump. She came back to me saying, "I help, I help."

4th of July neighborhood bicycle parade. The balloons were the biggest hit.

Big sister holding the little sister. "I hold you Baby Liese."

Big girl adventures

2010-06-30T19:49:00.002-06:00

Syd ran some errands with Cara this week. How much fun does this look?

She's so big now and is helping out a lot around the house.

Sydney & Annaliese

2010-06-22T16:23:00.002-06:00

Syd's trying to burp 'Baby Liese'. That's what she calls her.

Dave's two girls - and his other father's day gift

2010-06-19T18:58:00.002-06:00

Annaliese really does open her eyes, she's just such a good sleeper - that's all I capture.

For father's day I bought Dave 30 mins in an excavator. He was in the cab and was wearing a radio to connect him to a guy that talked him through operating it. It was a fun adventure and was a complete surprise to him, which was fun.

Labor Day and the first week

2010-06-04T10:26:00.008-06:00

These are out of order, but oh well, I don't have the patience to fix them. This was the Late night Delivery Team. My Mom, Dave and Teddi. Thank you everyone.

First time skin on skin.

Trying to make it thru the last few hours.

Epidural happy place.

At about noon on Sunday contractions aren't really bothering me too much yet.

Little did I know that there was an 8 lb baby in there, that was going to take her sweet time getting out.

Sweet Syd that morning. Boy she's cute.

Dave was keeping his sanity by going for a run, but while he was on his way back started wondering what kind of a Dad he was by leaving his laboring wife at home. (my parents were at the house with me)

Syd went to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa, what a great day.
Grandpa and Syd.
Syd is such a mimic. Grandma and Mommy both put their sunglasses on their head, why shouldn't she?
Or ponder the animals while thoughtfully chewing the arm of the glasses.
Oma with Annaliese. You may remember Syd posing for a similar photo on the same pillow. Oma loves her girls.

She's pretty sweet that Annaliese.

Annaliese Jane Huff

2010-05-30T09:46:00.007-06:00

Contractions started at 4 am on Sunday the 23rd. The day progressed fairly well. I was certainly feeling like I was in labor in the late afternoon. I tried to labor in the bath tub for a while, bouncing on a ball and having Dave and his aunt Teddi applying pressure to my back and pelvis. My Mom was here too keeping track of contractions and making sure that I was keeping hydrated and trying to eat.

At 7:30 pm on Sunday we tried to go to the hospital, but as it turns out I wasn't dilated far enough, so we made the decision to go home and keep laboring. It was hard and long. I made it until 3:30 am at home and then I just needed to know that I was making some progress, so we trekked to the hospital again. This time they didn't send me home. I was admitted. I labored all hooked up to monitors and sort of tethered to the bed until 7:30 am on Monday. Sydney's birth was a c-section, so I was shooting for a v-bac (vaginal birth after c-section) for this one. They have to keep a monitor on me to make sure that everyone is safe, baby and me. Finally at 7:30 I received the gift from heaven. I got the epidural. Fantastic relief.

At that time I was only dilated to 3 1/2 but now they could give me pitocin and turn it up. Laboring all day on Monday with my epidural we were hoping for change. At 2:30 they broke my water in hopes that it would help. Nope. So then at 5:30 pm they inserted a monitor to see how my uterus was handling the contractions. All along the baby was doing really well. By 7:30 there still wasn't any change, so we knew that something had to change soon or I was going to be looking at another c-section. I think the whole team (Dave, my Mom and Teddi) and I were all feeling a little defeated. At 10:30 the Dr, and midwife checked me again and I was only 5 cm - 40 hours into this and only 5 cm. Good grief.

Dave fought for me and suggested that we wait and hour and if I didn't move at least 2 cm that we would consider this c-section thing. Sure enough, I dilated 3 cm in an hour. Fantastic! Don't get me wrong, I'm very out of it at this point. So sleepy. My skin was itchy with the epidural so they gave me a half dose of benadryl and I couldn't keep my eyes focused on anything. I was feeling constant pain as the baby was getting lower and lower. At 11:30 I felt the need to push, so I tried a practice one and we were ready. I started pushing a little after midnight, and 50 mins later or so, we had a baby girl. It was a bit of a shock to us - guess we were convinced it was a boy. She was 8 lbs 10 ozs and 19 inches long, born at 1:07 am on Tuesday, May 25th. Syd was 8 lbs 4 ozs and 19 inches long. Guess we make them compact.

It did take us 5 days to name our sweet thing, but we're thinking that it's really suitable. She's just a doll. I'll post more pictures as I get them from my Mom and Dave's Mom too.
Thanks for all your prayers and love. We're doing well. Syd adores Annaliese and would hold her all day if we'd let her.

They get crazy at two

2010-05-20T11:54:00.005-06:00

nothing like a stroll through the neighborhood with your fat cat

Syd says "see gum. see gum." until you let her see. Here she's trying to get the gum out of my Mom's mouth while asking her for "bubbowls"

When putting socks on your feet just doesn't cut it.

I know it's hard to see her, the camera was foggy and she was moving fast, swinging with her friend Sophia.

Syd's two!

2010-05-02T15:57:00.005-06:00

It was a fun and really busy afternoon. We had to wake Syd from her nap so she could join her party. Thanks to Mark Landry for taking such great pictures. I might have more to share later. Thanks to everyone who loves her so well.

Growing up

2010-04-19T18:19:00.004-06:00

Learning to swing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The trick was keeping her feet up off the ground and then knowing how to put them down again to get off of the swing.

Listen at the very beginning of the video to hear her say "cheeze." She was going to be ready for the picture.

update on the smallest Huff

2010-04-08T12:52:00.003-06:00

So we've got about 5 weeks left to wait for the newest addition. Let's just say 6 or maybe even 7 in case this one's late too. I went to the Dr. this week and had the check up and also had an ultrasound. This next one's looking great. We saw hair (lots of it) and eyelashes on the ultrasound, and it appeared that this baby has lips similar to Syd's. Hard to tell though really, because it's a little cramped in there. The baby's experiencing it and so am I. They estimated the baby to be 5lbs4oz on Monday and I was 34 weeks and 3 days and the baby was measuring 34 weeks and 5 days, so we're right on track. Saw a beautiful heart beating away and most all of the other organs too (didn't even look to see the sex organs, in case you're wondering.) This is really becoming real. Guess that's good because we're going to have a baby on the outside here before we know it!

Pics that Grammie took from this last week

2010-04-08T12:43:00.001-06:00

Some other snow we've seen

2010-03-29T21:19:00.002-06:00

just outside our door of the new house.

These other two are from the cabin from the week we actually stayed up there. Lots of snow all the time. Pretty.

Who you gonna call?

2010-03-29T21:06:00.006-06:00

Key Master!

This vehicle pulled up just outside of our front door this weekend. Who knew? Turns out the guy was a sandwich delivery guy and he locked his keys in the car. Whoopsy.

don't know how to truly catch up

2010-03-29T20:39:00.004-06:00

It's been so long and lots has been going on around here.

Syd's almost two and, just a month away. She's acting like a two year old too. Talking so much and learning new words all the time. She tests Dave and I pretty frequently and much to his disappointment has learned the word 'mine'. It's fun to get Dad's goat with that one.

We've recently learned how sensitive our little girl can be. There's been lots of upheaval in our world. We have moved out of our house and have leased it for a year. That decision was based on moving us to a single level place while we're dealing with a newborn and toddler. I have to say, it's wonderful not having to walk up and down stairs carrying or holding Syd's hand and lugging my baby around, even if it's inside of me. In our interim state we moved up to the cabin in Evergreen to keep our house clean and ready to put on the market to sell. Turns out Syd was incredibly home sick, so we came home for the last few days before moving out. All is well now that we have a new home and she has her bed and toys with her in the new house.

in the new house

having breakfast with Mom, (maybe not our best photo) on a snow day

What else do you need? Chocolate milk, black patent leather shoes and a stroller! see the hair?

Looking at pictures with Oma. Syd usually says "cute" when looking at pictures of herself.

enjoying ice cream (she calls it 'uma') while watching the sea lions.

JT and Syd

2010-02-23T13:59:00.001-07:00

He's six months this week. Can you believe it? She's coming up on 22 months. How time flies.

Catching up

2010-01-20T12:53:00.014-07:00

I've changed the template of the blog to reflect a more boy-ish vibe. I have no idea if it will bring the boy mojo, but might as well try.

Syd's almost 21 months! She's growing up so much. Really using a lot of words and has been so much fun.

We've spent a lot of time at the zoo lately and then we went to the stock show yesterday. She had a ball. It's crazy when you realize that you had a great time on an outing because you know your child was having all sorts of fun. Different stages of life...

So here are some pictures to keep you updated. I'll see if I can find some where I'm showing some belly in case anyone's interested in seeing my progress. This Friday I'll be 6 months - we're getting there.

I'm trying to post some video of her riding a pony, it's not working, lemme see what I can do.

Saying hi to Grandma and new words

2010-01-08T09:44:00.001-07:00

New Year's Day

2010-01-04T12:57:00.002-07:00

Thanks to Cari Jenkins for taking this photo of the family

Sydney loves JT

2010-01-04T12:45:00.001-07:00

Christmas

2009-12-28T11:48:00.003-07:00

It was wonderful. Syd was a trooper and did so well with all of the action. I wasn't even trying to take pictures though, so I have to rely on my Mom and my Mother-in-law. I'll post them as I receive them.
This is Sydney in her gift from her cousins Finnley and Scout. She was so darling.

Funny

2009-12-11T12:17:00.003-07:00

Today we came home from our morning outing and I was in the kitchen putting some things away, I could hear Syd downstairs being busy, but didn't look to see what she was doing. When I finally took a peek down the stairs, this is what I saw....

She was very busy indeed. Bringing up Dave's shoes from the closet by the back door. She left them in a pile right at the bottom of the stairs and climbed up around them.

bring on the library

2009-12-09T12:13:00.002-07:00

Did you know that she's taking steps?

2009-11-16T10:53:00.002-07:00

Fall 09

2009-11-09T11:52:00.003-07:00

Syd figured out the zipper on her pajamas. That's going to be a challenge. She woke up yesterday and said, "uh, oh" She had unzipped down to her feet. I'll say that's an uh, oh.

Playing outside at Great Grandpa Huff's house with Grammie. This was Syd's first time in the leaves I think.

I gave her a Cabbage Patch Kid - Newborn, last week. She was so attached to it, I thought that I had made a terrible mistake. We're okay now though, the newness just needed to wear off a bit. She does love her baby though, has to always have the bottle with her.

Elk

2009-10-28T10:06:00.005-06:00

Went up to Evergreen to the cabin for a night this weekend, there were over 50 Elk just cruising thru the neighborhood. The things that are normal, everyday things for some people, are really quite remarkable for us.

sliding is her favorite

2009-10-28T10:06:00.002-06:00

When they don't have snow, they make do

2009-10-23T09:27:00.002-06:00

Santa Barbara

2009-10-20T11:41:00.001-06:00

Goings on in October

2009-10-20T11:37:00.002-06:00

Uncle Craig found every video on the internet of sea lions and land lions

Baby JT's car seat is just her size.

Syd didn't care who won, it was just fun watching Tea and Dro make the men move. Lots of banging.

Curlers at Grandma's house.

Getting ready for bed. Who doesn't love naked time?

With Grandma's rollers

2009-10-06T11:44:00.000-06:00

PJ's and shoes

2009-09-13T10:07:00.002-06:00

Syd's indoor slide

2009-09-13T09:58:00.001-06:00

Playing by herself

2009-08-28T12:47:00.004-06:00

I was working in the kitchen and could hear Syd's conversation with her toys. I had to try to capture it. She didn't know I was there for a while, but then I was found out.

action

2009-08-28T12:36:00.003-06:00

I know it's a bit much, but she was so cute.

These will have to do

2009-08-28T12:27:00.003-06:00

I've been waiting to post, in hopes that I'd have some fantastic shots of Syd. My camera (or it's just the operator) hasn't really been cooperating though. So, below you have images of Syd trying to help Dave clean the roof top deck after our Synthetic Turf was installed and the rest are just life around here lately. Syd wearing my big hat and then the shot in the car seat was because I was feeling like all we were doing was driving that day. You kind of get that feeling from her expression I think.

The news with Syd is that she's talking quite a bit, and is getting quite good at it. Our friends Royce and Jon just had their baby boy last week and Syd can already say his name "JT." Pretty adorable. Eyebrow is a new word too, and she's all over the animal sounds. Ask her what a Kitty says and she'll hiss right back at you. Sadly, that's the only thing she hears one of our cats saying. Whoopsy. Oh, another good one is "oh, boy." She's not walking yet, but she's just started trying to get herself upright from the floor without any support. She's getting there.

Sorry for the delay

2009-08-04T18:31:00.004-06:00

at the neighborhood pool

This was two weekends ago that she was feverish and wouldn't eat, so we tried a fruit bar. It was very cold.

Pool at Grandma's.

One morning with her mouth full of banana. Still cute though.

Today, with our morning beverages. We try and start the day this way most days.

Daddy and his girl this morning. He was ready for work.

All Swim

2009-07-01T17:39:00.005-06:00

She's eating frozen grapes. Apparently they were very cold. It didn't stop her though, she would bite into one, toss it aside and grab another out of the bag, very fun.

It's not really pictures of swimming, (because if I was snapping away, I'd be a danger to my child) but it is Syd in her bathing suit and getting wet. Some are pictures on our roof top deck with the inflatable pool and others are at the public pool, just down the street. I think we have a water baby on our hands.

First Hair Cut

2009-06-29T14:36:00.002-06:00

I took Sydney on Friday to my Mom's friend Sandy who has a hair salon and has raised 4 children of her own and now has a grandson. I hated to do it, but it was time. I was sad to see the baby leave and also the sweet wispy hair, but now we have a toddler for sure and her head of hair is looking quite promising. This wasn't her favorite experience so far, but not awful either. She just doesn't like having her head touched, and combing is really out of the question.

A visit to San Diego

2009-06-16T20:35:00.006-06:00

We went to San Diego this weekend for Aunt Anne's 60th Birthday. It was a surprise and was so fun. The family had a beach house in Mission Beach and we all just enjoyed the company and the surroundings. Syd had her first experience with sand and the ocean. She met her cousin Van who is just 3 weeks older than her and a total boy. He's got lots of energy and ran circles around her. Dave and I took her to Sea World and she went on her first carousel ride. We had a great time.

riding the ponies with second cousin Delaney

At Sea World we saw flamingos, seals and sea lions, dolphins, whales, beluga wales, polar bears, penguins, sea otters, sharks, manatees, lots of birds and so many kids you wouldn't believe it. Sometimes that's all it takes to entertain Sydney.

We were at the beach and the sand was okay after a bit, but the fresh water shower was the biggest hit.

Syd loves her 'Bampa' and there was a lot to see coming down the boardwalk.

I know it's long, but she was having so much fun.

Outings with Syd last week

2009-06-09T09:55:00.002-06:00

Last week Syd and I went to lunch with Grandma at Oma's house (pay no mind to the liquor cabinet that Syd's playing in - that did not happen at Oma Klassen's house:)

Then later that day Dave and I attempted dinner out with Syd. It turned into Happy Hour out because Syd was done. Evident in the photo with Dave. She's tired.

Sydney is all sorts of fun right now. Crawling and pulling herself up. She's very busy with the environment around her and not too concerned with toys right now. She does love balls, the cats, and water. She's getting used to grass and has recently found bugs. Just last night I brought her to the back yard and put her down on one of our pavers. She sat there trying to pick the bugs up for a good 15 mins.
Words that are some what recognizable (if you listen real close):
Ball
milk
bampa - grandpa
ada or dada
no no no
puppy - it actually sounds right
unah - open
duck
ydney

sometimes you can get a thank you out of her too. There are other one time words that we've heard but I can't really remember. I'll have to start whipping out the video camera some more.

Hanging out at Grandma's

2009-06-01T10:04:00.006-06:00

every girl needs a rubber mallet(?)

How about giraffe print couchie covers?
These pictures are actually out of order, Syd was playing in the pool (Fountain) and getting soaked, so I took her out of her clothes and diaper and then the exploration of Grandma's backyard continued, naked.

Grandma and Grandpa put up a new swing for Syd so she can sit all by herself.

New tricks all the time

2009-05-24T07:02:00.002-06:00

Grandma Willms' birthday

2009-05-19T14:27:00.002-06:00

Four Generations sitting on the couch, one fell off and bumped her head, mama called the Dr. and the Dr. said....just kidding no one fell off the couch.

But we did lose one here I guess. I just cropped myself out of the shot as I was looking ridiculous. These ladies look great don't they?

dinner out

2009-05-19T14:26:00.002-06:00

First Birthday pics and some others

2009-05-13T10:16:00.001-06:00

everyday things

2009-05-08T08:25:00.002-06:00

How old are you Sydney?

2009-05-07T13:35:00.002-06:00

Syd might be One, but I sound ridiculous. Hope you can enjoy her cuteness anyway.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-05-07T09:21:00.002-06:00

I can't believe that I've been a mother for a year now. I constantly feel as though I'm so new at it - A new mother, like I just had a baby. I suppose that's because the baby changes constantly and then as a result the way you interact with the child and the world around you is continually in flux. I am loving it and am just eating Sydney up. She's delicious. It seems that at a year she really turned the corner to being a toddler. While she's not toddling just yet, she's certainly getting around a bit differently. She's crawling at a reasonable pace, so that I can still keep track of her and help myself to adapt to the fact that I now have a mobile baby without too many dangerous situations just yet. She's eating different foods and doesn't seem to be interested in baby food from jars now. Sometimes words are coming out of her mouth and it's been helpful to have others around to actually confirm what I think I heard her say.

I'll post some pictures of her birthday party here shortly. I just need to get the pictures from both of her grandmothers.

1st anniversary of the day of her birth

2009-04-30T08:46:00.006-06:00

Sydney turns ONE tomorrow!

2009-04-28T11:08:00.003-06:00

April happenings

2009-04-28T10:05:00.006-06:00

So, these are just some images of Syd and her goings on, not in any particular order.
We had her first of a few Birthday celebrations last week at Great Grandma's with Nanny Janet. There was Easter, and then a trip to Florida for Dave's work, she was an excellent traveler. I found lots of funny shots, her personality is really coming out.

Beaver Creek pictures

2009-04-07T11:03:00.003-06:00

Thank you Lisa & Joe for a great weekend, and for these awesome pictures.

2009-04-06T15:12:00.001-06:00

Cutes

2009-04-06T15:08:00.002-06:00

Syd and Tommy

Weather

2009-04-06T14:48:00.003-06:00

It's been a wild couple of weeks - Syd was sick, then I got sick, and then Syd's sick again. Bottom line is we're all good now. Here's the run down if you're interested.

Syd came down with a cold on a Sunday evening, had a pretty decent fever and a cute little cough. By Monday it was a full blown cough and a lot of snot. This lasted for the whole week. She was sleeping on me during the day, and wasn't eating, it was really sad. She lost the fever half way thru the week and then just had the residual cough. So, I picked up the program and the Sunday later, I had the fever and sore throat. Lots of congestion. As Syd was on the mend, I'm the one that's down, and then out of nowhere on Thursday Sydney spikes a fever. So Dave and I took her to see the pediatrician to check for an ear infection and after a blood test there, we were sent to the Urgent Care facility close by. Sydney endured a chest x-ray, blood draw (that took two or three tries, I don't know exactly how many because I was busy trying to pass out in the corner), and they took a urine sample - which requires a catheter. Wasn't the sweetest time for Syd. We were busy with this for a good 4.5 hours. All of that to say that Syd did have hints of an ear infection brewing, no pneumonia, and just a bit lingering bronchiolitis. So with antibiotics we went home at 9:30 pm. That whole experience makes us so grateful that she's had good health so far, and hurts our hearts for parents that have to deal with medical issues with their kids. It must be so hard.

To top all of this off Dave and I decided to try to go to the mountains for a little weekend getaway. Our friends had invited us to a condo for the weekend, and the Dr. cleared us to go, so we felt that as long as Syd was comfortable, we'd nurse her back to health in beautiful snowy surroundings. Dave hadn't skiied all year and I had been pretty much housebound for two weeks and was ready for an outing. The only thing stopping us now was the prediction of gobs of snow in the mountains and in town on Friday night. We went for it and made it just fine.

To continue with the cold transmission, Dave started feeling low on Friday and I think combined with the altitude he dealt with his fair share of congestion. So, we've successfully passed it around the family.

Syd went for a couple of swims with her new boyfriend, Tommy in the indoor kiddie pool. (I'll try to find pics of that) She slept great up at altitude and is doing so much better.

Wrapping up the weather, it didn't ever really snow in Denver like they were expecting, but I think in Beaver Creek we got 15 inches of snow the first night. It was gorgeous. Today we're home and it's beautiful and sunny and supposed to be in the 60's this week. No complaining here.

Thanks for reading the novel. Stay tuned for pictures.

Snap Crackle Pop

2009-03-27T12:10:00.000-06:00

If you look closely at her hands, she's rubbing her fingers together to mimic a snapping motion. If you haven't experienced it, Dave has a really loud and sharp snap. He was snapping at Syd this week and next time I look she's rubbing her fingers together and clicking her tongue to make the sound. Really cute. You might notice that her voice is a little low, she's had a cold all week and barely has a voice, her cry is really cute, if it wasn't so sad.

Crackle

2009-03-27T12:05:00.001-06:00

This video was taken to show Grandma how crusty Syd's nose was. I didn't know that the title Crackle would be so appropriate. Syd won't let me wipe her nose anymore, so I figured if she rubbed it on her blanket and lovey then I'd get the same result, so here she is burying her head on everything and saying, "Oooohhh." At the end of the bottom video, she was trying to 'wipe her nose' on the cat. Whoopsy, can't wash him.

Is it the camera, the photographer or the subject?

2009-03-27T12:00:00.005-06:00

All of these beautiful pictures came from Grammie. She's got a great camera and a great eye. Thanks Grammie.

You can see all of Syd's 4 teeth in this picture. Now she has five though, found another on the bottom this week.

watching a really good video with Grandpa

Can you spot the baby girl?

2009-03-20T11:01:00.002-06:00

I was thinking that she looked like she was in some sort of tropical jungle camo. She was sweet.

our friend NayNay and Syd's four teefs

2009-03-10T13:10:00.002-06:00

Pulling out all the stops

2009-03-10T12:51:00.004-06:00

She's a show off for anyone who'll take the time to watch.

play dates, play grounds & playing around

2009-03-02T14:20:00.004-07:00

This really distracted look at the end is because I have the TV news on. She loves 9news. She'll stop eating to watch the graphics, sometimes we even get a few claps out of her.

I'm thinking I might have to trim her bangs, they're a little out of control.

It must be spring time

2009-03-02T11:01:00.004-07:00

There have been quite a few lambs born out at Dave's company over the last few weeks, so we took Sydney out to see them. Can you just imagine how cute it would be to photograph a little curious baby girl, petting a sweet soft baby lamb? The idea was there, it was just the execution that was lacking.

This is what we came up with...

Grammie captures bath time

2009-02-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

New Material

2009-02-26T10:48:00.004-07:00

I'll find some pictures to post, but in the meantime here's an update....
The baby girl has finally - crawled?...no, pushed through her two top teeth. Well, technically there's only one that's through and actually showing white, but you can feel the other one if you're brave enough to put a finger in there.

Kind of late in the game I decided to give her some sign language to help her communicate with us. She's become really good at "All Done." She's been using it for all sorts of things, toys, eating, breastfeeding, books. It's pretty fun to see. She says it at the same time and it's pretty close. Sydney's got a few different sounds for Daddy and I've only once heard Mummy when she was crying in her bed. If she gets really good at that, I'm going to have to start losing my hearing, it was so heart wrenching.

It's been established that she's a partier and loves to entertain. Give her a new group of people and she'll charm them with all of her tricks. So, that brings us back to the crawling issue. There's a loose theory out there that she's so much of a people person and relational being that she has no use with getting around. Why would she want to go somewhere else when all the action is where you are? That might be what I need to start doing to spark her interest in mobility, leave her alone a bit more. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm not chasing her around all day or worrying about baby proofing the house.

She's gobs of fun. I can't believe that she's 10 months this week. What in the world?

Valentines

2009-02-15T22:39:00.004-07:00

Sydney is most certainly our Valentine, and though we, her parents, didn't shower her with flowers and chocolates, she did get a couple of Valentine cards from some Grandparents this year. Great Grandma and Grandpa Willms sent a sweet card for the sweet girl, and Grammy and Grampa Huff gave her one too. (She wasn't eating the card I promise, the blue running down her chin is dried blueberries, she loves them)

Throw back

2009-02-15T22:33:00.003-07:00

She was so little. We really had no idea what we were doing, not sure we do now, but man do we love her.

cute bow in her touque that the nurses made for her.

Syd's mouth looks exactly like this still when she gets a good cry on.

Big Girl in the Tub

2009-02-11T21:30:00.002-07:00

There literally was a big girl in the tub. Syd's not been feeling too well (you wouldn't know it from these pictures) so I hopped in the tub with her last night. She was too cute to resist, so Dave grabbed the camera. Enjoy

There's always something new

2009-02-06T09:43:00.004-07:00

She's a kick in the pants. Here's just a little something

travels

2009-02-02T10:33:00.004-07:00

This weekend the family visited AZ. Sydney was a trooper. Dave went out for work on Thursday and my Mom and I took Sydney on Friday morning. We flew into Tucson and saw my Aunt Janet and Uncle Chuck and their fantastic property in the Oro Valley, then Syd and I drove up to Phoenix to hang out with Dave and the Retts. We had a great time and Sydney was so good. Not a lot of napping, but lots of waving on her part - wave to the flight attendant, wave to the rental car people, wave to the man next to you on the bus, wave to the new friends on the flight, wave to baby Keaton, wave to the Starbucks barista, wave to the waitress - lots of waving.

the Zoo

2009-01-23T11:33:00.003-07:00

It was gorgeous yesterday so Grandma Willms and I took Syd to the zoo. Yes that is me in the top photo feeding Sydney her first taste of chocolate soft serve, whoopsy...

Words to catch up

2009-01-20T21:17:00.003-07:00

She's a doll. No way around it.
Currently Sydney has all sorts of sweet names that everyone is calling her:
Great Grandpa Huff - "Honey Pot"
Great Grandma Huff - "Doll Baby"
Aunt Teddi - "Sydalicious"
Grammie (Grandma Huff) - "Baby Girl"
Uncle Russ and Aunt Jeanne - " Baby Lulu" - NaNa and Chris too, but they've been calling her this since long before she was born
Daddy - "Sweet Pea"
Oma (Great Grandma Klassen) - "the sweetest baby ever" (to my cousins and brother: I know that Grandma's just trying to make me feel good, surely you've all each created the "sweetest baby ever" too)
Mummy - "Little"
Grandpa and Grandma Willms - "Big Girl"

Whatever you want to call her, the little girl is all sorts of fun right now, she's clapping and actually making a sound, (I'll try and capture it on video) she's waving quite well and has this funny monkey face this week. (See the picture below)

We're having fun. She even learned how to drink out of a straw this week. Her voice is so sweet lately too. Trying out all sorts of fun sounds and for the most part they're pretty happy, now and then we get a whiney one and a flat out complaint, but we're working on that.
Thanks for keeping up with us, she's all sorts of big, I weighed her last week and I think she's 19 lbs, "Big Girl" indeed.

All along I've thought that she wanted what was inside the box

2009-01-17T10:11:00.004-07:00

The new thing

2009-01-17T10:07:00.002-07:00

It's a cross between a monkey face and a surprised look of "Oh my!"

(maybe just a way to feel her top gums where new teeth are about to show up)

So sweet

2009-01-08T14:40:00.002-07:00

Syd's nap was interrupted because we needed to leave the house, did I feel like the meany when I had to wake her up from this dreamy state.

Christmas isn't dead yet

2009-01-06T12:46:00.004-07:00

(Let this be a lesson for Syd, the "eyes closed-mouth open-look" isn't something to emulate. It seems that neither of her parents got the message.)

Good morning 2009

2009-01-05T12:01:00.003-07:00

Syd and the Huff's

2009-01-04T20:50:00.004-07:00

Dave and I were looking for great pictures to give to Sydney's Great Grandparents for Christmas and these were some that we had to choose from. I think there are some pretty sweet ones.

With Grandpa Huff (see where she gets her eyes?)

Closing up the cabin for 2009. We keep thinking that Sydney will recognize the smell of the cabin when she's up there, as we spent over 2 months there when she was growing inside me, but so far I think it's just Dave and I with the great memories.

The whole Huff Family for Thanksgiving. Dan, Brigitte and Riley, Cheri and Joe, Grandma and Grandpa Huff and Dave, Natalie and Syd.

Sydney brings a smile to Great Grandma Huff's face. Pretty cute.