Memory Lane

Three years ago today, I was impatiently waiting to meet my already overdue baby.  I knew that my life was about to change forever, but I had no idea.  No idea how fiercely I would love this little girl.  No idea how enamored I would be by every facial expression, every baby sigh, every new skill.  No idea how one smile, one giggle, one hug could change the course of my day.  No idea that this sweet, sweet baby would become an amazing little girl in the blink of an eye.  Staley is turning 3 on Saturday.  And as quickly as this time has gone, it also feels like so long ago that I was holding this baby in my arms, wondering what she would grow up to be like.

My sweet, sweet baby became...

...my happy little 6 month old,

...my playful little one year old,

...my talkative little 18 month old,

...my imaginative little 2 year old, 

...and my independent little 2 1/2 year old.

And at almost 3, my Staley remains my sweet, happy, playful, talkative, imaginative, independent baby girl.  I knew my life would never be the same, but I had no idea how wonderful it could be.

My Big Eater

I have always described Adelie as my active baby.  My mover.  It only makes sense that she needs a way to replenish all those calories she burns because my Adelie is an eater.  I have to decide when meal time is over because she will continue to eat as long as there is food being offered.  Although it is clear that she prefers table foods to baby foods, she has not rejected anything I've tried to feed her.  Chili, cornbread, baked chicken, fish, hamburger casserole, pasta, eggs, fruits, veggies.  She eats it all.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I'm constantly pulling carpet fuzz, cat fur, rocks, leaves, and Christmas tree needles out of her mouth.

When Staley was an early self-feeder, she was relatively neat.  She didn't like to get overly messy and was very precise and delicate about finger feeding.  She didn't even want to eat her first birthday cake.  She gingerly touched the icing, and then asked for a cracker instead.  I think Adelie might take things in a different direction.

Princess Staley

Staley loves to play dress up.  Our dress up clothes primarily consisted of Staley's Halloween costume, a borrowed pink princess dress, and a set of fairy wings.  So for Christmas, Staley got a new wardrobe of princess dresses.  Needless to say, the last few weeks around our house have looked like this...

No princess dress is complete without gloves and a tiara.

Spending some royal time with the other princesses (and mermaids).

There are several royal balls at our house daily.

Formal wear recommended, but obviously not required.

My little princess.

All day, every day.

New Year, New Skills

Adelie has started off the new year with a bang.  Or, more specifically, a clap.  To be perfectly literal, lots of claps.  Several new skills have emerged over the past several days.  Clapping is one of them.  She claps for herself.  She claps for other people.  She claps in her high chair, her crib, the bath.  And the huge smile that goes along with the clapping is evidence that she's pretty darn proud of herself.

To go along with her clapping, Adelie has started to play a few other fine motor games.  She is very proficient at activating all the buttons/switches/levers on her activity table, little toy kitchen, and new house toy.  Although Staley recently noted that Adelie is more of a 'taker-outer', Adelie has now started to put things in.  She likes to put shapes into her little refrigerator door and toys into containers.  She also loves to play the game where she hands things to us and then we hand them back.  Big fun here!!

As part of my New Year's resolution for Adelie, we changed up her bedtime routine.  Until January 1, I'd nurse Adelie to sleep each night.  Starting the first day of the new year, we changed her routine so that I nurse her before books, music, and prayers.  This means that now we are putting her to bed awake instead of asleep.  The transition has been awesome.  The first night she cried for about 1 minute.  Since then, not a peep.  I am definitely loving this new skill.

Along with these new skills, Adelie also demonstrates competency in eating things she finds on the floor (constantly!!), pulling apart the tracks on the train table every chance she gets, making a bee line towards any cord she can find, and pulling to stand at the TV so she can push the buttons.  Tonight she also added trying to drink the water in the bathtub.  I guess there are just some skills I'm more proud of than others.

Seven

She's cutting teeth like it's going out of style.  (Just added another top right one.)  Cutting teeth can't be fun, but it doesn't stop Adelie from smiling.

 

She Knows Her Mama

On Tuesday, Meagan (the girls' baby-sitter) was talking to Staley about the new year.  They were discussing things that people could do on New Year's Eve.  Meagan mentioned staying up late and using noise makers.  She told Staley, "You could even bang pots and pans together and shout "Happy New Year!!"  Staley very seriously replied, "I think Mommy would say 'no' to the pots and pans."

She's a smart one, that girl.

2014

I wish I had something insightful and profound to write to start off this New Year.  I entertained various blog post ideas .  I thought about reflecting on 2013.  (But if you follow this blog, you've already experienced our 2013 with us...and truthfully, the highlight is no big surprise.)

I might have shared pictures with you of our wild and crazy New Year's Eve, but I never even got out the camera.  Which is just as well, since I was in my pajamas on the couch by 7:30.  (Yes, this New Year's Eve at the Sancken house was off the hook!!)

A post about New Year's resolutions is always a good way to start off another year of blogging, but I already shared my resolution in a previous post.

So after a fabulous first day of this new year, I've decided to blog about why 2014 is going to be awesome.  If the next 364 days are like today, 2014 will bring us...

...an infant that naps like a champion,
a toddler without drama,
fun family play time,
lots of little projects completed,
time and energy and motivation to get things done,
and two girls who go straight to sleep every night.

Bring it on, 2014.  Bring it on!!