Early morning laughter

This in from auntie Angela:

Baby Isaac Sol Wallace brought surprise and laughter to all the family when he decided to come a little before schedule. Jenn was going to go in for an amnio test to see if his lungs were developed and deliver him the 26th, instead, she started having regular contractions the night of the 24th. She was giggling, smiling and overjoyed that baby would come soon, but John was a little concerned that the time may be sooner than later. Jenn went in that night to figure out if she was having braxton hicks or was in labor. We were surprised that she was at a 6 or 7 and she was rushed for a c-section- since that was the plan and the healthiest option for Jenn with this pregnancy. Baby came out with full lung capacity. It was a wonderful birth. John and Jenn are visibly elated. Grandma Ruth, Grandma Sue and Auntie Angela were the privileged trio who braved the night and got to see baby first. All the family was called and are so happy. Immy still thinks she had a baby sister, but she was also full of smiles that the baby had come when she saw the pictures and gave the news to her cousins. Jenn and Isaac (laughter) Sol (answered prayer) are doing great. He came out weighing a healthy 9lbs, 4oz at 1:44am, Aug. 25th. Isaac is in NICU for a bit as they make sure his blood sugars will regulate themselves, but he nursed like a pro and is expected to move out of the NICU quickly.

Much thanks to everyone for their prayers and to the village time friends for their awesome gift of a cleaned house!

Imogen's lexicon or ImmySpeak

Prayers
Thank you God for Grandma, God for Grandpa...What else?    (Lately the prayers have started out: Thank you God for Uncle...She has added Great George and Great Auntie or Grandma's sister)

Spanish
I did it!  Lo hicimos!
NON GRACIAS!
Help me!  Ayudaman (Ayudame)
Come on horsey--Vamanos!

Common phrases
Hey look!
I save you.
You're home!  (this comes with a big hug and at any time)
I carry you
I so proud of you (this came mostly after potty training)
Such a big girl!
Something to make me feel better (pointing at candy)
Where is my hello? (phone)
Make it (For turn on the music)
Oh my goodness
What are you making?
It's very hot.
Too deep (this was in reference to snow)
It goes in there.
I can't believe it! Good idea!
NO THANK YOU!
Come on. (dance)
I reach it. I got it.  I like it. I need it.
I love ice cream!
What'ch you want your favourite colour? (drink, paints, anything!)
What'ch you got in your hand (mouth...)?

I right be back.  Don't worry.
I'm low.  I need juice box.
Do you need juice?  I go get it.  Don't worry.  I help you.

I need more poop! (on the potty)
(While I am taking my time in the washroom)  Do you need to poop?  Just POOP!

Mommy: Are you grouchy?
Imogen: No I'm Immy!

Mommy: Are you picky?...
Imogen: No I'm two!

Immy: Knock, knock
Mommy: Who's there?
Immy: Imogen
Mommy: Imogen Who?
Immy: Imogen Wallace!

Things my two year old says...

Trying to get something or slightly exasperated, "I can't believe it!"
Again trying to get something, "I need it! Insulin, I need it!"
"Come on..."
"It goes in there."

"Different one."
"My Mommy! My Daddy!" (You're going to have to share soon!)

18 months

So Imogen turned a year and a half on June 15th! What a hoot. She says a lot and I am no longer keeping track of all the words and expressions--I will just have to keep track when something funny gets said. She is able to do more and more by herself. I love this stage...It is great being able to tuck her in. I love the hugs she gives, the jokes she makes, the ability she has to express what she wants...I love knowing her more and more. She even repeats the names of her cousins in prayers.
*Ok I have to brag...at her 18 mo. immunizations Imogen did so well. After the first two shots, she pinched her own arm wondering where the next one would go. She reached out for the needle for the third as if to say "Let me do this," now the last one stung a lot and she did let out a howl but as soon as it was done...Imogen started clapping and laughing. I think she was proud of herself. You see she helps Mommy give her needles most days. Now she saw that she could take it too. Wow. I think my doctor was impressed.

Asleep but not in bed.

So Imogen is asleep behind her door right now. We put her mattress on the floor tonight in the middle of the room. Moments before this we heard a loud thud and a cry. Before that we just heard cries of frustration that she was in her crib. The thud came after she managed to climb out of her crib. I guess that toddler bed has moved up on the priority list. We did have fair warning however. My mom and dad told me that Imogen had escaped her playpen during naptime this afternoon when she was visiting Grandma and Grandpa. (After that she walked up to Grandma with a pen and paper in hand. She wanted the pen uncapped so that she could write something). Should have known that she would be ready to practice this new found climbing skill at home. So amongst other skills, escape artist is now on the list. Imogen seems to be doing so much lately and is super aware of everything. Here are some observations:

Imogen points to herself after seeing a photo of her as a baby. She loves to pull out the albums of her from the ottoman storage cube. She also pointed to correct shapes under Ms. Candace and Miss Andrea’s tutelage.

Imogen’s vocabulary is expanding daily. She now has: this, that, up, down, please, open, beep beep, okay, no, dog, dad, mom, some form of grandpa/ampa, hi, bye, apple, egg, cheese, fish, awooof, mine, shoe, the letter "I" on her door, beginning of the alphabet to around "h" and somewhat after, tea, giraffe, baby, Ivan, Mimi, Addy and Immy. Oh yes: "OW, WOW, OH-OH." I probably have missed some.

She loves games, hiding in her closet. She loves music, singing and dancing. She loves rolling her “rs” like a motor and lolling her tongue. She loves giving kisses and hugs to us and waving. She says “No” and points when Mommy and Daddy kiss. She loves the outdoors and almost always wants to be there bringing us jackets and shoes as a firm suggestion. She’s crazy about dogs. She loves her hats. She loves drinking tea. She likes yogourt, ice cream, revellos, fudgsicles, watermelon, strawberries, meat in general, pickles, cheese, soda crackers, cookies, dip, carrots in dip, broccoli in dip…. She looks when called by the CameraMom. She loves climbing into things: rides in the hamper, wagon and gets into baskets. She likes to be independent and tries to scale things on her own—the couch, the piano bench, chairs at the dining table—apparently her crib. She is becoming more active at story-time at the public library. She twirls, touches her toes, claps, taps her head, gets her name tag, puts up the felt pictures instead of eating them, and returns her name tag. She recently showed interest in the potty so we bought her one and she went in it twice and hasn’t since.
That’s our girl, our lovable, one and only Imogen Grace. We love ya babe!

Another month is almost gone

Looking forward to more sunfilled days,
longer evenings hours,
winter coats for spring jackets.
the sled for the wagon
we will take it all in.
For now just the hope of all that gets us outside.
Fresh air!

Our girl is well again. (She had a head cold that still isn't totally gone--over a month now, and a stomach flu for over a week.) She is talking non-stop and sometimes we understand what she is saying. I love her language. She is growing and trying new things--trying to be more and more independent each day. She loves to go outside and often hands me her ski pants to get out. She is funny and loves to laugh and play games. She is such a great kid.
Oh I love her so much!

Latest Imogenisms

"OWW! OWW!" This means "NO!" Although recently when she was around Josiah, she quickly learned to say "NO!" Previously she used, "OW!" because she had hit her dad once and he look at her with a scowl and said, "OW!"

She can complete her shape puzzles toys--if we turn it to the right side.

She goes and gets things when we ask her to.

"UP!" is a favourite expression and might even mean "Please."

I gave her a bit of a wagon wheel and when I showed her that it was all gone from the plate, (we were eating it over a plate), she took it to her face and started to lick it. Yes she belongs to John and me!

She is all cuddles. Recently she puckered up to give John a real kiss. She also blew a kiss in her old way (see last post).

Imogenisms

Lately Imogen seems to be growing up so fast. After she got over her cold it seemed like she had advanced by leaps and bounds. I know I need to write down what she says and does before I forget and she stops doing them or moves on to something new.

Her favourite sound used to be cooing like a dove (rolling at the back of her throat). Lately she is lolling her tongue--a lot of "L" sounds as well as animal growls when the time is right. Clicking her tongue is also fun and occasionally she has been grinding her teeth (Mommy is not a fan of this one).

"What is this?" or "Zhat?" are fun parts of her speech and "Wow" is a new one. "Ah-oh" is what she says when she throws something on the floor--on purpose of course...sometimes she says it before she has released the cup or the food.

A couple weeks ago she sang the "Wheels on the Bus" with her toy sound puzzle. She has also repeated things like "Wub you...."

Lately she as been giving kisses by suctioning the bottom of her palm and exclaiming, "BMMMOI!"

When the Sasktel guy came to the door (we have cable now ~a different story for another blog), Imogen turned and ran to John with her arms in the air. After John picked her up she looked at the Sasktel guy and gave him a deliberate wink.

We were at a puppet show and Imogen got antsy near the end. I let her run/walk near the back and picked her up. A little boy--about two and a half--was climbing a chair next to us. Imogen started saying, "Baby, Babeee..." To which he forcefully replied, "I am NOT A BABY!"

When a song calls for touching her head she does so with gusto.

She now participates almost fully in Library Story Time. The first time she had an image to place on the felt board she chewed on it. The second time she had one she put it on her head, (a favourite family game is to put anything on her head and exclaim, "Imogen hat!"), she also had a good response from parents in the crowd when she did this. Most recently she actually walked right up and placed the image on the board! Mommy was very proud! She also claps at the end of stories.

Passive resistance--aargh! She will totally go flopsy when she does not want to go where you are taking her.

She has a growing knowledge regarding the tv or laptop. She knows how to shut both off and learned to do so without direct instruction. She also asks for both much too frequently (Baby Einstein) as we were slackers when we all had head colds.


She loves music and will sing and clap in time to music. Prodigy? Well, I won't go that far. She certainly appreciates it.

Books~she loves books and will bring them to us frequently to enjoy.

Tobogganing

Last week was beautiful outside--this week not so much! And so Imogen got to experience tobogganing for the first time. We adults had fun and she even came up with some smiles too. The other expressions were of neutrality and a bit of sputtering when I, Mommy, had my feet down and created a facewash for both Imogen and myself. Didn't think that through! She even went down by herself which impressed us all--not that she had much say in the matter.

Happy Birtthday Imogen!

Her birthday was great. We had family over--(everyone but Uncle Jim, Auntie Ange, Uncle Brian, Ivan and Dominique). We ate a beautiful polar bear cake made by Daddy and Imogen had many fun gifts to open. The next day we got to celebrate with some Village Time friends at the mall. What a great marker. Our girl is one!

Looking at our girl

This past year? Unlike any other. Our girl has changed our lives and for that I am so thankful. It is so much fun to watch her and see her own personality and will develop. It is also fun to realize that she has parts of me and parts of John that make up who she is. I miss seeing what her brother would have been like and how they would have been different or similar. It is also fun seeing her with her cousins (one in person and the others in pics and on the webcam.)

Someone is going to have a birthday soon!

Imogen will be turning one soon! Thus the new background. What a year it will have been. Lately she's been tilting her head (almost causing a permanent kink in her neck) to let people know just how cute she is. How did she learn this? It is probably from all the affirmation she gets when she does it. Anyways thanks to Janet, I found this great background...so I'll probably be redecorating this site frequently.

11 months and feeling better!

Imogen is eleven months old today and is almost back to being herself. Yesterday we took her to the doctor. This past month has been eventful. She took her first steps and more, she recognizes us in photos and can say Mommy and Dad, and HIIMMEEE (not sure if this is Immy). She also can intitiate playing games--as long as someone is willing to play along. On Monday she will have completed her first swim class--StarFish. What a big girl!

Sick

Imogen got sick yesterday and has been sick again numerous times tonight. Not fun. This is the part of parenting that I wasn't looking forward to...although it was good to see her feeling better for a short time right after throwing up. Hoping that she'll be back to her normal self tomorrow. However we will not be taking in Salsa Babies tomorrow and we will delay her second flu shot as well. (*In the first season that babies receive a flu shot 6-24 mos. they get a second dose a month later.)

Another First

Well, well, well. This explains the disturbed sleep patterns, change of appetite, being a little grouchy before bed, extra smelly breath and diapers: Imogen has cut another tooth--her first molar! Should have known. Auntie Jess called it. She asked if Imogen had any more teeth and I thought she still just had eight. I went looking this morning for something in her mouth and found another tooth instead! Way to Go Imogen!

John found a link for the lifetime of teeth. So she is on time with her teeth. Her first two she got at four months and soon at six months she had four more teeth (for a total of six). By about eight months she had eight--four on top and four on bottom. Now she has nine teeth.

Kids' Books!

jsw 2008 What Rhymes with Wallace Books

I has always loved books and one of my greatest weaknesses has been purchasing (and reading) children's books. Another love that I have had throughout my life has been writing. For as long as I can remember holding a pen or pencil I have loved writing. Lately I've been working on some children's books for Imogen. It started with ABC books for her cousins--Ivan and Dominique. I also wrote one for her (actually our future children) soon after we lost Gordon. A friend is currently working on illustrating it. For all the other books I have used images I have found on Google search or from our photographs. (So no, I don't plan on publishing them---at least not in their current form.) John bought me a laminator as an anniversary gift (one of a few gifts he bought me) and it has come into good use.

Titles include: Books are for Reading, Love is: words from I Cor. 13, The Whatevers: words from Philippians 4, Daddy Loves Me and Teaches Me Things, This Little Doggie, This Little Chicken and This Little Cow, My Bible ABCs, and I'm working on, The Fruit of the Spirit. It feels good to write them and I love seeing Imogen's face light up when I read them to her.

JoyFall

Does "Happy Baby" begin to describe our girl? We are joyfilled around her. She wakes up with a smile on her face. She plays games that get us laughing. She likes to make people smile a lot. Yes, she has moments of seriousness and sadness. (She has even had temper tantrums). But she takes such joy in learning and experiencing life. I am learning a lot from our little girl.

Cheerios and Whole Milk

Well of late Imogen does not eat baby food. She turns her head as if we are insulting her. (The only baby food she will tolerate quite happily are sweet potato and fruit sauces.) For awhile we still got away with baby porridge but not anymore. So today we tried cold cereal (cheerios) and whole milk. She down it pretty well. She's growing up so much!

Walking

Well Imogen has a new friend. A new family has joined the small group at our house. They have a little girl who is 18 months old and running everywhere. She seemed to motivate Imogen to walk even more. So tonight Imogen walked away from us to nowhere and also to different spots without prompting...all because she had a new friend to chase after. Anyday now she'll be off!

How do I catch up?

Well this isn't so much a catch up as to say...our daughter is a joy and is growing in leaps and bounds. She has begun walking and saying words, she creates her own games, she eats table foods...she is truly a precious gift from God.