11 months and Growing

It has been exactly a year to the day since Jenny came home after 2 weeks of hospital bedrest, with all of us concerned about a tiny baby. What a difference a year makes! Now, it seems, this child is getting heavier by the DAY. With our Christmas trip behind us, and Jadyn back at school with other children close to her age for much of the day, she has been CHOWING on the solid foods available to her with her friends around. One of the teachers said she left for a break with Jadyn eating cheerios in the kitchen, and came back a half hour later and Jadyn was STILL seated in her chair, picking cheerios off the tray. !!! She wants to eat when she sees all her friends eating, and she has been eating pretty much everything the staff has put in front of her (all age-appropriate foods off the school's menu). At home she is no longer very interested being fed cereal and pureed fruits and vegetables from a bowl and spoon. She'd much rather have foods she can pick up with her own fingers. Here's Jadyn enjoying a meal of avocado bites and shredded cheese.

A few other recent photos: Jadyn waiting at the front door for Mommy to return from yoga class, Jadyn opening a gift from Ed and Marcela, Jadyn with Marcela and her new little tiger snuggly (small enough to be safe at bedtime), Jadyn in the bathtub with new floating "bugs"





Jadyn has strength enough to walk, but she hasn't shown much interest in letting go of the things she steadies herself with, and so we wait. She is quite a climber, though, and can crawl pretty fast now. She likes to crawl out of the room, and then look back to see if someone is following her; when she sees an adult in pursuit, she laughs and takes off again. Thank goodness that moving through the rooms in our house gets you right back where you started -- she can never get truly lost!

Did we just say Deja Vu?

Broken record here: more plane trips, another double-ear infection diagnosis, antibiotics, another tooth.... You probably think we're kidding, but it is no joke! Jadyn left Seattle with a cold, flying through Detroit to Cleveland for the first leg of our big Christmas vacation. The longer flight from Seattle to Detroit was more of a challenge for Jadyn's parents than Jadyn, but we managed it (being in larger seats in first class helped). The second, shorter flight into Cleveland was quieter, and Jadyn slept for much of it. On our Cleveland leg, we spent time with two sets of grandparents and many of Jenny's aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Even though Jadyn was sick, her spirits and energy were almost always high. A few days into the trip she spiked the tell-tale fever and we found a pediatrician who could see her. You guessed it -- ear infections again, and more antibiotics. Within just 24 hours, she was improving dramatically, and we also noticed tooth #8 breaking though. What is it with this child enduring a cold, ear infections, and teeth emerging, all without too much fanfare?!?!?!

Here are some photos of our time in Cleveland. Jadyn enjoyed climbing up and down stairs as she did on the Thanksgiving trip, eating tissue paper, chewing on and pulling bows off presents (not necessarily hers), opening boxes and getting into those that were large enough for her person, and hugging large stuffed animals. She also liked to empty cupboards and lick tupperware. (note the sore nose!) She became noticeably more interested in eating solid food, with several meals a day at a grown-up table, often around other people eating solid food. (Side note: several weeks of this increased interest in table food has seemed to pack on the pounds -- she seems so heavy now!)










On Christmas Eve, per annual tradition, Jenny's Grandma Hall hosted the extended family for a gift exchange gala. Jadyn did very well, staying up until midnight with so much going on. We dubbed her "Ener-Jadyn" like the Energizer bunny: she kept going and going and going..... Check her out here in her party clothes!


With Grandma Jeanne


On Christmas Day morning, it was off to Maryland to visit Jeff's family. There were more presents to enjoy, and more loving folks to meet.

With Granddaddy Bruce

With Uncle Steve

With all the Maryland Kings

Grandmom Poist, Jeff's 96-year-old grandmother, had a mild MI just before Christmas and was able to come down to the hospital's lobby to meet Jadyn for a few minutes - it was a highlight of the trip to have 4 generations of the Sargent line in one place!


In Granddaddy and MomMom's kitchen, there was plenty of interesting new things to do: play with the Santa mobile, lick various kitchen utensils, climb the step ladder, and explore the dishwasher.






As you can see, Jadyn is a very busy, active girl, although occasionally she does need a nap.

Unfortunately, napping was not too appealing to her on the flight back home. The 6-hr non-stop flight from DC to Seattle was not really Jadyn's idea of a good time, and therefore Mom and Dad are no longer terribly interested in long plane rides with a 10.5-month old. But to Jadyn's credit, with all the new places and people, the East coast time change, and disrupted nap and bedtime routines, she really was a trooper and on an even keel most of the time. We feel blessed, and we hope you enjoyed your holiday season as much as we did. Happy New Year!