It's that time again. Time for Gates' eleventh month portrait and a quick rundown of what she's been up to.
Time has always passed quickly for me, but now with Gates, it feels like we're hurtling through the universe at full warp. I can't believe that this time last year, cubes and I had just wrapped up our Mindfulness-based Childbirth and Parenting Program and were getting ready for Gates to arrive. Boy has our life changed.
This month Gates had posing down to a science, giving me a variety of different faces in our short session. (The keys to getting Gates to relax are not to stand directly behind the camera set up and to make funny faces and sounds.) Out of total eighteen photos, there were four we really loved. Additional photos from the session can be found on Flickr.
The lowlight of February was Gates' third cold, the second of 2013. Throughout it, she was in good spirits, continuing to play and to learn. She's fascinated by zippers, light switches (able to successfully turn them on and off), and recently, door knobs (not yet able to reach or turn).
Here are highlights of what Gates has been up to from my mom's notes:
Here are highlights of what Gates has been up to from my mom's notes:
- February 5, 2013: "Has been able to turn light switch off. Can now turn it on!"
- February 7, 2013: "Reads while Grandpa finishes the newspaper. "Talks" to Grandpa about what she's reading. Shows him her animals."
- February 8, 2013: "Loves to look at hallway family pictures and hear "who's who." Also entry area chest photos."
- February 11, 2013: "Talks and pets Velvet."
- February 12, 2013: "Forget the spoon! Her fingers and Grandma's work better!"
- February 21, 2013: "Loves to turn pages and feel textures."
- February 25, 2013: "Water time. Helped clean up. Put toys away and watched bath tub drain."
Gates has inherited our love of food. If she hasn't had dinner (and a bottle doesn't count) before going to bed, the smell of food wafting through the house from the kitchen will wake her up and only partaking in food with us will settle her down. One Tuesday night, I arrived early at my parents' house before Gates had had her spaghetti dinner. Only telling Gates that cubes would be picking up pasta from La Traviata for her and that it would be at the flat waiting for her soothed her.
Gates has decided that child sized silverware or dishes are not for her, choosing ours instead. She also prefers to eat sitting in our laps or next to us in a booth rather than in a high chair. Here are some of the foods that she's eating:
- Minced ham and turkey.
- Cream of rice, sweet potato, and apple sauce.
- 1/2 a slice of toasted 12 grain.
- French bread with vegetable soup and small shell pasta.
- Oat bran cereal and banana.
- Peas.
- Corn tortilla.
- Cooked pear strips.
- Chopped beans and corn tortillas.
- Pasta with mushrooms, carrots and orange bell pepper. "Mmmm ---- mmmm. Enjoyed!"
- Bit of minced hot dog, bun, and baked beans.
Throughout February, I played with expanding my In the Moment posts to include news of what Gates has been up to. For example, Gates' first Superbowl, Gates' second visit to the zoo, and how Gates eats sourdough at Nick's. What did you think?
Weigh In:
Too much | Just enough | Still not enough
Too much | Just enough | Still not enough
Ciao Bella!
Eden!
