Good news for Sadie and sad news for the Wiggles

Sadie is feeling much better today! No more puke and she's been playing happily all day.

In sadder news for Sadie, the Wiggles announced today that Greg (the yellow Wiggle) is leaving the group due to a chronic, but not life threatening, health problem that causes fainting and dizziness. Sadie loves the Wiggles and while she probably won't notice the difference between Greg and his replacement, Sam, it's still sad to hear about someone with a serious illness. Best of luck to you, Greg. You and the Wiggles have given Sadie so much happiness!

A call from daycare...

"Hi Ann, this is Stefanie from daycare."
"Hi Stefanie, what's up?"
"Sadie threw up in her crib at the end of naptime. Can someone come get her?"

So, Dan went and got her and brought her home. She's been in good spirits even though we denied her requests for milk and fell immediately asleep at 6:58, so we're hoping it was just her lunch disagreeing with her.

We're postponing the daycare birthday party until Monday. I put the cupcakes in the freezer to try to keep them fresh.

Getting ready for birthday time

It's hard to post without new pictures! I'm baking mini cupcakes while Sadie is sleeping so that they will be ready for her to frost and decorate with sprinkles tomorrow. She'll bring them to school on Thursday to celebrate her birthday. For her birthday party, I ordered a cake from the supermarket. Hey, I can't do everything!

Little Miss Helpful

Sadie loves helping around the house. She likes to be a part of what is going on and loves to do whatever we are doing.

A few weeks ago, she had a great time helping her Daddy rake the lawn. Bob-bob brought us this little rake, which is supposed to be used for cleaning under the bushes. Sadie loved using it to rake the lawn. She called it "baby rake".

Raking can make a girl very thirsty.

Whoops

In our hurry to leave NYC nice and early this morning and beat the traffic, I forgot that I had stashed Dan's computer and workbag in a closet while we were there and we left it at Grandma and Grandpa's apartment. So, we can't share our Thanksgiving pictures until the end of the week, when Grandma and Grandpa arrive for Sadie's birthday, bringing the computer along with them. But there was barely any traffic, so that was good, and we didn't realize about the computer until we unpacked the car at home.
I'm just glad we didn't forget "Baby", Sadie's beloved little bear/blanket, or we would have some very sad bedtimes this week.

Saturday Snapshot Delayed Until Sunday

Sadie and Jenny had a wonderful birthday party today. We'll post all the details and lots of cute pics when we get back to New Hampshire tomorrow.

Counting Down

In 8 days, Sadie will be two years old. The past year has gone by so fast and Sadie has changed so much. It's hard to believe a year has passed since this picture was taken.

(Sadie at her first birthday party)
Today, we rode the carousel in Central Park with cousins Sam and Isak, visited Aunt Jenny's office, ate a yummy brunch and are now relaxing for a little bit. Tomorrow afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa are having a little New York birthday party for Aunt Jenny and Sadie, so that will kick off a week of birthday festivities for Sadie.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends around the country and around the world (that means you, Doug and Kristin!) Happy birthday to Great-Grampy. Lots of love to everyone.

In New York City

We're here! We got in last night and Sadie stayed awake almost the entire car ride. She finally fell asleep around Stamford, CT. She spent about 40 minutes physically holding her eyes open with her fingers. A quote from Sadie: "I not sleep. I go see Gamma!" But eventually, she fell asleep and we actually transferred her to the pack 'n' play without her waking up!

(Sadie and Daddy make a choo choo train with duplo blocks...this was taken on Monday night)
Today, we visted Grandpa's office, did some shopping, had dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jenny and Grandma Bev and Dan and I went to see the Borat movie. Thanks for the babysitting, Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Jenny!

On our way...

It's hard to get a good picture of a busy toddler!
After dinner tonight, we'll be on our way to spend Thanksgiving in New York City. It should be lots of fun. Aunt Jenny was able to get us seats for the parade bleachers, so watch for us on TV. We'll be in the 68th Street area.
Daily blog posts will continue through the holiday, although they may be short ones.

Imagination

On Saturday, Sadie took a tote bag and loaded it up with stuff (including her cell phone, toy camera, keys, a plastic strawberry and some books). She picked it up, picked up her LaughTop computer in the other hand and walked out of the room. She stopped at the hat basket and put on one of Dan's hats. Then, she walked to the door and yelled, "Bye! I'm goin' ta work! See you 'morrow!"

We didn't let her leave for "work", so she went over to the staircase, unloaded all her stuff and announced "ma office!". We didn't even know she knew the word office.

Conversation

A conversation from earlier this week. Sadie found one of Dan's notebooks from a class he took a while ago and decided she wanted to write in the notebook as well.

(Early in the video, Sadie points to the notebook and says "supermarket"...she's referring to the logo on the notebook cover, which looks very much like the logo of the Co-op where we do most of our shopping.)

Saturday Snapshot

On the porch at the Foothills Restaurant in Warner, waiting to meet Jake and Beth and Samuel for breakfast today.

Baby's First Hibachi Dinner

Sadie and Isaac were mesmerized by their first hibachi dinner at Koto tonight.

They were wide-eyed with amazement as the chef made music with the knives, created a big flame, made a tower out of onions and then prepared our meals. They both chowed down on big dinners of edamame, noodles, chicken and vegetables, especially zucchini. And, their amazement meant that the parents got to eat in relative peace.

The Truth Revealed

"Who made that bat art, Sadie?"
"Stuffin'"*
"I thought you made it at Mimo for Halloween."
"No, Stuffin' make it."

*Stuffin'=her teacher, Stefanie

No bath tonight

A "large water main" broke on Campbell Street, near the green in Lebanon. We're all doing just fine with our minimal trickle of water, and we are hoping that this doesn't mean Sadie's daycare will be closed tomorrow.

Mommy and Sadie

Sadie and I are looking at Nick Jr. Magazine, which we got as a free sample from her daycare. It's not a very good "mah-zah-zine", but we had fun looking at the pictures together.

Daddy and Sadie

Sadie and Dan watched the football game together yesterday. The Patriots lost, but I think Dan's dismay over the loss was tempered by lots of Sadie-hugs.

365 Days

This is Sadie just a few minutes ago.

This is Sadie exactly 365 days ago, in a picture taken on on November 12, 2005.

It's interesting to look at pictures taken one year apart. She is so different from who she was a year ago, but in the most inherent way, she's still the same Sadie.

Saturday Snapshot

My plan for Saturdays going forward is to just post a recent snapshot of Sadie rather than a longer post. I deserve some "time off" on the weekends, right? Right!

Last time until Spring?

Sadie was thrilled to get to playgroup this morning and see that the children were playing outside. We thought that the group had officially moved indoors for the winter, but with the weather in the 50s today, the leader decided it was nice enough to play outdoors.

We had a great time. There weren't too many kids there, so Sadie got to drive the black truck for as long as she wanted.

'Tis the season...

...when parents try their hardest to take an amazing picture of their child for use on holiday cards. We have tried a few photo sessions now and have taken over 200 pictures without getting one that has us totally satisfied. We do have a few that are in contention and we are going to keep trying.

This one is really pretty but didn't end up making the cut.

In Action

I love this picture of Sadie, taken when we went to the pumpkin patch with Grandma and Grandpa a couple of weekends ago. It captures her in action, full of energy and ready to explore something new. Plus, she looks really cute in this hat.

Breakfast

"What do you want for breakfast, Sadie?"
"Cheddy-cheese and ah-pel cut in da pieces pease!"

Fruit and cheese for breakfast...very European. She ate it all up and had a bowl of Cheerios too.

Being Observed

We usually use this blog for Sadie updates for her family and friends, in person and all over the internet, so the entries tend to be photos and short anecdotes. But, since I've committed to daily posts this month, I feel like I've freed myself up to do some more writing.

(Sadie watches dinner baking in the oven)

Being the parent of a toddler is very different from being the parent of a baby. Sadie is incredibly aware of everything going on around her and is very interested in whatever Mommy and Daddy are doing. This means I have to constantly be aware. Yesterday, Sadie and I were grocery shopping and she looked at me and said, "Daddy says 'fingahs outta mouth' Mommy!". Daddy does tell Sadie to take her fingers out of her mouth, but this time, I had my finger in my mouth (I was biting my cuticles) and Sadie corrected me.

She is always watching and listening. At Halloween, another mother asked me if I had made Sadie's costume. I laughed and said, "Absolutely not!". I said the phrase once, but it must have caught Sadie's ear. Now, she is saying "Ah-sa-looly Not!"

(Sadie helps out by spinning the salad greens)

Dan was raking the lawn on Sunday and Sadie and I helped for a little while. It was chilly out and I wanted to take her back inside, but she couldn't get enough of working with Daddy and helping with her little rake. Even this morning, she wanted to "freep wif Daddy". She has a little trouble with initial S-blends, so "freep" is her approximation of sweep, which is what she thought we were doing.

It's amazing how closely she watches us and copies us. I love it, but it's also a bit daunting to realize that she's watching all the time and that she'll learn about how to live in the world from watching what we do, how we speak, how we treat other people. It's a big responsibility.

Speaking of which, tomorrow is Election Day. Dan will be taking Sadie to the polls with him in the morning. Please remember to vote.

Cousins!

Sadie had tons fun playing with some of her cousins at Nana and Bob-Bob's this weekend. Although she was the youngest, she wasn't intimidated at all and jumped right in to play with them. The kids all enjoyed playing together, eating pizza and playing some more.

Left to right: cousin Olivia, Madison (Anabel's friend), cousin Anabel, cousin Sophie, Sadie, cousin Jake, cousin Mariana

It's really nice that Sadie has lots of cousins, as well as three terrific aunts. She's getting excited to see more cousins at Thanksgiving in a few weeks. With that group, she's not the youngest one.

Family Time

We're off to Nana and Bob-Bob's house to see some of Sadie's cousins...not just Anabel and Sophie but some other ones too! We'll post pics when we get back.

Daycare and Nana's Question

In November, Nana asked what Sadie does on a typical day at daycare. Here is Sadie at daycare on the morning of Halloween. She's in the cubby room and the cubby behind her with the yellow tote bag is her's. Most of the toddlers share a cubby, but since there are an odd number of children in her group, Sadie has her own. In the tote bag are extra clothes, in case they are needed.

A typical day for Sadie at daycare:
7:30-8:00 Arrival. Sadie takes off her coat and changes to her indoor slippers.
8:00-9:00 Free Play. The toddlers play in the big room, which has an indoor climbing structure, little bikes and push toys and an imaginative play corner.
9:00-10:20 They go into the classroom and have circle time, a story, and some kind of special activity: an art project, music, dance or Spanish. Towards the end of this time, they have morning snack, which is usually crackers, fruit and milk.
10:20 Time for a walk! The toddlers ride in a wagon.
10:45-11:30 Playground! (Sadie LOVES the playground and often needs a change of clothes afterwards because she gets so dirty)
11:30 Back inside, wash hands, story time, get ready for lunch.
11:45 Lunch. She brings her lunch from home. They provide milk or water.
12:15 Naptime. Sadie generally sleeps until about 2:30.
2:30 Snack.
2:45-4:00 Free Play in the big room, or more playground (weather permitting)
4:00 until pick up is quiet play and stories.

Sadie's favorite things at daycare are the other children, her teacher Stefanie who Sadie calls "Stuffin", the playground, and music. She also loves the art activities and has made some great artworks.

Scoopin' Da Pumpkins!

Sadie loved helping us carve our jack o'lanterns. It was so funny to watch her working hard on this activity.

Sadie liked to hold the pumpkin's lid while scooping.

Daddy was the best at loosening the pumpkin guts, which Sadie then removed.

Here is a movie of Sadie scooping out her pumpkin.


Sadie is 23 months old today...one more month and she will be 2!

Trick or Treating

Sadie loved trick or treating at the Powerhouse. She said "trick or treat!", "tank-you!" and "Happy Ha'ween" to all the people who gave her candy.

This is a lollypop that she got at EMS.

Isaac wasn't very impressed by Sadie's costume and Sadie didn't seem to notice that he was wearing a bat suit himself.

They had more fun together playing at Isaac's house after the trick or treating was over.

Today begins our attempt to post daily for the month of November. Thank you for the questions...those will all get answered!