{alligator: Jelly Cat // tee: Molly Moon’s // jeans: babyGap (old) // bow: DIY}

{And the outtake. A bit of sisterly love.}

{month 16} I think this month I am equally shocked that Daphne is 16 months as I am that it is July. Where is the time going?

I am going to start this monthly update with a slight side-track about our Champaign trip since I didn’t really share details about that:

At the beginning of June Daphne and I took a trip just the two of us to the midwest for a wedding. It was the first time I had flown alone with a child since Eloise was a newborn and I am not going to lie that I was nervous. Daphne is so mobile that the idea of being on a plane with her for hours didn’t really sound like a good time. But, she was really good! We flew out of Seattle super early in the morning (on a 5:30 am flight!) and Daphne fell asleep as the plane was taking off. Just as I was dozing off myself, she woke up & stayed up, clocking in exactly 45 minutes of sleep time… Luckily the seat next to us (we were at the window) was empty and we used the extra space to play. Daphne was more interested in snacking, and taking things in and out of the seat-back pocket than she was of any toys I brought. On our trip over we flew thru Dallas which meant our flight time was almost cut in half: just over three hours to Dallas and just under two hours to Champaign. It was great to get off the plane for a layover and stretch our legs. However, Daphne was EVERYWHERE in Dallas and would not sit still! The flight into Champaign was on a tiny little commuter plane, and we were again super lucky to have the seat next to us open. Daphne was sort of all over the seats and my lap for the entirety of the flight and then managed to fall asleep as we were landing.

Once we got to Champaign we picked up our rental car which was tricky only because it was just me with a “diaper backpack,” Daphne strapped to my chest (I took our Sakura Bloom onbuhimo which is my new favorite piece of baby gear!*) pushing our medium-sized suitcase and (attempting) to pull a car seat in a travel bag. Technically I could have put the car seat bag on my back like a backpack, but there’s no way I would have stayed upright! There weren’t any luggage carts available in the tiny Champaign airport (guys there’s like one gate!) but thankfully there was an incredibly nice gentleman that saw me struggling and helped me take our suitcase and the car seat out to our rental car! We rented an Airbnb house with my parents who flew in later that evening and we were all set for a fun weekend!

The wedding was the next day (Saturday) so we had some of the morning to hang out before we needed to get ready. I decided to keep Daphne on Pacific time, so we slept in and then she was up later in the evening. The wedding ceremony was at a church nearby and we got there early-ish with seats towards the front. There was a guitarist playing the music for the ceremony just ahead of us on the “stage” in front of the church and Daphne LOVED him. She would walk over there and dance and clap. It was the sweetest! Once the ceremony started, Daphne was still busy but contained in the pew. But, about half-way thru, she got antsy so we politely walked to the back of the church and out into the main entrance/reception area. Daphne did laps around while I was able to peek in and hear the bride and groom exchange vows. Immediately after the ceremony we headed home for nap time at the rental house which was a great reprieve from the heat. Once Daphne was up we all got in the car and headed for the reception at one of the local golf course country clubs. As was true at the wedding ceremony, Daphne was a big hit at the reception! She was friendly and super sweet, and LOVED the dancing! She shared mac and cheese with Grammie during dinner, and then charmed everyone on the dance floor for most of the evening. I brought her jammies to change into towards the end of our evening, and we were able to stay pretty late since Daphne napped well and was still on Pacific time (for the most part).

The next day we spent with the Edmunds (Sue and Lindy), whose son was the groom and who have been great family friends since I was a kid! (They were our across-the-street neighbors when I was in elementary school. Kyle, the groom, is about my age, and Carlie, his older sister is one of my best friends and acted as the maid of honor in our wedding.) We just laid-low and hung out, chatting and catching up since it had been so many years since we were all last together, while Daphne spent most of the time playing on the stairs…

Daphne slept and napped really well while we were away, and while she is just so busy and mobile, she is just such a sweet kid that it’s hard to complain! On our way out of town, my dad and Lindy escorted us to the airport so that they could help me get all of our stuff out of the rental car and into the airport. I am so glad they did because when we got to the rental car lot to return the car, there was no one around to help! The flights back were slightly more challenging as we didn’t have an open seat next to us on either of the flights, nor did she sleep at all. We flew thru Chicago on the way home, so the first flight was about 45 minutes, if that. Totally do-able. But the flight into Seattle was (and felt) MUCH longer! Luckily, the woman in the middle seat next to us was so sweet and let Daphne climb all over her lap and played with her. It didn’t really give me a break in any way, but at least I didn’t have to try to contain Daphne in just my seat!

Okay, onto other things that are new this month!

Daphne has learned to nod and shake her head. Spoiler alert: it is the cutest! She is much more into shaking her head “no” as an immediate reaction, but then sometimes realizes she is saying no to something that she really wants (like food!) and then she starts nodding her head instead. But generally speaking, she communicates well with signing and shaking her head!

On that same vein, Daphne has started verbalizing more as well into sounds that are recognizable, since she babbles almost all the time. She clearly says “uh oh” and “more” (which generally is her yelling MO MO MO! when she wants something more to eat) along with mama, papa (baba), good girl (Sadie), Roomba (oomba), and poop (pp). And while she still LOVES food and eating, she isn’t eating in quite the same quantity as she previously has been. Breakfast and sometimes lunch is much less these days. The only issue has been that she is generally done eating first, so she will sign “all done” and want to be excused from the table. But if Aaron or I are still eating, she will wander back to the table and demand to have more of what we are eating! And she usually wants to sit on someone’s lap and not in her high chair…

Speaking of high chair, we still LOVE the Stokke Tripp Trapp that we use for Daphne (and Eloise without the baby set and tray) and just this weekend started sitting Daphne in her chair, but up at the table without the tray. We almost always give her a plate with her meal on it on her tray anyways, so it should be a pretty easy transition to get her to the table. Though I will miss the convenience of being able to feed her breakfast (and sometimes lunch) in the kitchen when I am cooking or cleaning up, I won’t miss cleaning a high chair tray.

Daphne loves to stack blocks now and can do a pretty good job stacking them up before she turns destructive and knocks them all down. Before, Eloise would be the block stacker and Daphne would be the block destroyer, but now they change roles depending on how they are feeling. Daphne is also starting to be able to put Duplos and Mega Blocks together and start to build things. She LOVES the baby dolls and feeds them, holds them, and pushes them around in the stroller or shopping cart.

While I was gone mid-month in California, Daphne learned to go down the stairs on her own. She will get to the top of the stairs and turn around, get on her hands and knees, and start scooching towards the stairs. She does well crawling down and only get distracted sometimes while mid-stair. She also does well climbing up the stairs! We are getting closer to being able to take the baby gates around the stairs down, but I am not totally comfortable with her having access whenever she wants, so I foresee a few more months of baby gates. Maybe this fall?

Also while I was in California, Daphne went to daycare for the first time when Aaron had to go into the office for meetings at work. I held out on sending Daphne until well after she was one year old (which is when I sent Eloise for the first time) because at the beginning of March we were still in a really bad cold and flu season which we managed to completely avoid in our house this year! But since we still have back-up care hours available for the girls as a benefit, it was nice to be able to use a few of those hours and introduce the girls to daycare (Eloise hasn’t been since Daphne was born). Drop-off went well for Daphne and she let Aaron leave without any fuss. I wasn’t really surprised to hear that since in a “play” type of setting with other kids and adults, Daphne generally socializes well. And she also took a nap which was great! I never know how naps will go when Daphne is in a totally different environment, but she was probably pretty tired from the activity. So, hopefully I can get a few more hours of daycare into our schedule for both girls this summer and then Daphne in the fall before cold and flu season start up again!

Daphne had her second dentist appointment this week which was great timing since she had grown four molars since her last appointment. Teeth brushing is now part of her bedtime routine, and mostly she is okay with it. She doesn’t mind the toothbrush, but doesn’t want to stay still long enough for anyone to actually brush the teeth! At her appointment, she did well when the hygienist checked her teeth (and brushed them) but by the time the dentist came out, she was all done. She cried while the dentist was doing her check-up, but all of her teeth look great and she calmed down as soon as the exam was complete. She is also getting her bottom canines (and maybe her top ones as well) which would explain why her entire right hand is constantly in her mouth! The dentist did notice some movement of her top teeth from Daphne sucking her thumb, but she isn’t worried about anything until at least the age of three, so we are good on that front.

{weight} 27 pounds.
{hair} blackish brown.
{teeth} four bottom teeth, top four teeth, four molars, (at least bottom) canines cutting.
{eyes} dark grey/brown.
{clothes} a few 12 months, 12 to 18 months, 2T.
{diapers} size 5 {from the honest company}.
{feeding} 2 to 4 oz sippy cups of milk at breakfast, lunchtime, after nap time, and at dinner, and water when she asks for it.

{likes} watching and chasing the Roomba, picking her nose, eating, bath time with Eloise, watching big kids or babies, crawling, pulling up to her knees or feet, spinning on her back and belly, teething rings, chewing on anything, sitting in her highchair, banging on her tray, staring at her quilt (from Amanda), rattles, nursing, riding in the car (usually), her big sister Eloise, Sadie, singing, lights, paci, being bounced, being tickled, talking, her Lovie.
{dislikes} having a hat on in the car seat, seeing some type of food on a plate that she doesn’t have on her tray, having gas, lying down flat, being hungry or tired, having her face or nose wiped off.

{nicknames} Daph, Daph Daph, Daphers, Bug, Snorty, Baby D, Daphne Doo, Daph-a-doo, Love, Lovebug.

And here’s Eloise’s 16 month update.

Happy 16 months Daphne!

M

*Baby-wearing is something that we have really embraced since Eloise was born, but had become especially important once Daphne was born because it allows you to carry a baby but also have two free hands. We have both an Ergo (which we used for Eloise) and a Tula carrier, but I never found either to be very comfortable because they were so cumbersome. Though Aaron likes both! It is really nice that both of these carriers can be adjusted to fit both Aaron and me, but I preferred the Solly wrap. Daphne is way too big now for the Solly, so I started searching for a better carrier for her. I considered the new style of Ergo (the 360) which is less bulky, but settled on the Sakura Bloom onbuhimo because it is a waistless carrier, meaning you don’t have a waist-strap! It definitely takes some getting used to and uses really different muscles than other carriers, but I really like it. It’s super lightweight and really beautifully constructed. Plus, the ability to carry a child on your back but up high enough to see over your shoulder is awesome!

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