"Doha"

Syndey hasn't mastered "r's", so Dora the Explorer comes out sounding like "Doha". When she'd like to see Dora, her new favorite obsession, she repeats this phrase 60 or 70 times in a row with such exhuberance in her voice and pleading in her eyes that we just sit and laugh at her. The singular focus with which she can zero in on one character is fascinating and has left us wondering what we're going to do with all this Elmo gear.

Here's a pic from a recent trip out to the park where she's learned to love the curly slide.

Planes, Barges, and 4 Wheeling

Sydney put up with a lot on our trip from a twin engine Cessna to this barge that ferried us from St. Thomas to St. John and back. I've noted where the girls are enjoying the ride on the right :) You can kind of see Maggie waving in the close up.

St. John Mornings

Our typical winter morning routine at home has been to hunt down Big Bird and Ernie figures and make up as many games in the basement as possible to keep us happy and quiet. Luckily, here she's as content as I to sit on the hammock and enjoy this view for a few minutes while Daddy gets coffee into his system :)

Putt Putt

What better to do on a Monday afternoon in the islands than putt putt? So began Sydney's first putt putt experience and she's hooked!

Baby

Sydney has been teaching Lauren that baby doll needs lots of kisses...but also that baby doll is Sydney's and Lauren shouldn't get too attached.

Work Horse

Sydney plays herself out like crazy in the pool so car rides become nap time. Amazingly, 4 wheeling puts her to sleep and the bumpier the better. At some points we've worried about her neck flying back and forth from the bumps but she doesn't seems to mind.

Swimming Lessons

Sydney never really came around on the sand. Even when we switched the name of our twelve step program to "Sand and You...let's hug it out", she still never really gave it a chance. Maybe this summer we'll just have to put some sand in the yard and work up to it. Daddy has resigned himself to pool work but Sydney still needs to have sight of the stairs so his back will hurt for about three days now.

Multitasking

My brother. I'm not sure whether I'm impressed or concerned :)

My Valentine!

Maggie and I got a night away from Sydney on Valentine's Day and decided that sitting on a beach for a while with only the waves and wind was a good way to celebrate. With only a few people around the best we could do was a shadowed self portrait. Sydney celebrated the day with Valentine doggie stickers and a musical card!

Love Hurts

While mommies and daddies continue to sun by the pool, the cousins are slowly becoming best friends. Sydney has also assumed her role as big "cousin" sister and I'm pretty sure we caught her giving Lauren a noogie.

Our Beach Monkey

Even on a small island we were able to track down a jungle gym. Our little monkey was trying to climb a ladder and was determined to get up there herself. In our continuing twelve step "I can conquer sand" program, today Sydney was able to hold a shovel and touch it to the sand from a safe distance.

Sun

Sydney enjoyed the ride down here and is definitely enjoying the pool at our vacation house. The beach is another story and if one grain of sand gets on her foot she screams in horror. It's going to take some time for her to figure out we can't lay blankets across the entire beach. (She also likes to apply her own suntain lotion which is a nightmare)

One Smart Cookie

I've looked but can't for the life of me find the babycenter.com update that starts "Month 20 : This month your daughter will outsmart you....". We sat by the bathtub waiting for the water to fill up; Sydney waiting impatiently in a diaper holding her cloth ducky. I was trying to calmly explain that ducky is for sleeping with and taking it into the bath would not be good for ducky's "skin". Her dead stare spoke volumes. I explained further that if it was wet we'd have to leave it here and she'd have no ducky at all. She clutched it even harder. So I firmly stated "Duckies do not go in the bath". Sydney calmly stood up and walked over to the bath, looked around and pointed down to a floating Ernie holding his rubber ducky and looked up at me. I tried not to laugh but it was brilliant ... I had no comeback ... I'd been outsmarted by my 1 1/2 year old.

Postscript : Ducky did not go in the bath and I listened to crying for 10 minutes. My logic that daddy's socks don't fit her also doesn't seem to apply as you can see. Pictures are getting harder as she anticipates a flash at night and closes her eyes :)

Long Day

Sometimes after a long day working at daycare, Sydney likes to come home and settle in, take off her pants and put her feet up. This is the "don't bother me, I'm decompressing...and can you get me another stiff drink of milk" face.

Hugs All Around

Up to this point the encounters have been cordial at best. A knowing glance, a nod or the occasional brush as Sydney walked past. Putting them next to each other elicited only cries of horror. Finally, at a no name restaurant on a random Sunday evening, the cousins decided it was time to get to know each other and got down to being friends. So started the hug fest and Sydney could barely be torn away from Lauren. Lauren loved every minute of it as well (as you can tell from her face) and the two agreed to meet more often and knock out some good play dates.

An Everyday Workout

Sometimes people ask me how old my daughter is or how much she weighs (she's a little small for 20 months). The surprise usually comes when I respond that she's 20 months and weighs 40 pounds. Oh...by herself she's only about 22 but the chances of me ever carrying her around alone are slim to none. First, there's two baby dolls that must go wherever we go. Then there's a ducky. Then there are multiple tiny bears. Pacifiers. A book perhaps. The babies bottles, blankets and sometimes clothing for all of them....and this wrapped up in one big daddy hug where going down the stairs now becomes a treacherous activity. Help us all if I drop a bear or something because the "uh oh" song starts and I won't hear the end of it until everything is picked and safely back in our arms. So while she may weigh 22 pounds, to me she's the 40 pound gorilla in the room.

Christmas #1

Here was a shot during Christmas #1 in SC as we (Aunt Carrie, Aunt Abby, mom and Sydney) put out cookies for Santa. As you can see, Sydney did not feel that Santa would miss a few cookies. In the morning we tried to point out the cookies were gone and Santa had left a note, but the Abby Caddaby doll sticking out of her stocking stole all the attention she had to give.

New Year's Resolution

Sydney is determined to get rid of some of this holiday cheer in her belly. We think she looks just fine but I guess the draw of free weights and an exercise bike are just too much for her. The fact that she can neither pick up the weights nor reach the pedals of the bike don't seem to stop her.

Driving

A picture that just about sums up our holiday driving extravaganza between a few places in Virginia and South Carolina. We put quite a few miles on the car but more importantly got to spend a wonderful Christmas season with tons of family. Sydney was a trooper in the back seat with the help of a DVD player and lots of singing from the front seat.

Elmo's World

We finally got Sydney out to her first concert this past weekend. There was music and singing and dancing...and a thousand two year olds running around. The experience of a live Elmo's World was almost as eye opening for us as it was for Sydney. She loved the characters and cried every time Elmo went backstage for a set change. We'd have to assure her over and over again that he was coming back. Somehow she lasted ninety minutes and clapped until her little hands could clap no more.

Trees

There's nothing better than cutting down a tree in 27 degree weather with a 15 mile per hour headwind to get you in the holiday spirit. Sydney held up better than expected, but her little toes were cold for about the next four hours.

Elmo

Sydney has a boyfriend and his name is Elmo. She's just a hit when she wears this to daycare and has started adding accents like bead necklaces and a purse (not shown b/c I was too slow to capture it). Like a dog chasing its tail, she usually can't stop pulling at her shirt to get a better look at her red furry crush.

Trick or Treat!

We made it around to a few houses this year to show off our little pumpkin and had fun with our traditional setup out on the driveway. Sydney loved her Elmo candy bucket and even gave Elmo a kiss on the nose, an act so cute that a picture just can't do it justice.