Late winter update: 2nd Birthday and family trips

Iris turned two on January 24, and we celebrated her birthday with adult friends Tom and Kathy, honorary 'godfather' Antone, and Tshering and Sam. We used a Chinese New Year theme for the party - with lo mein noodles, crispy fish with sauce, and dumplings/potstickers. Iris used chopsticks (wrapping noodles around each stick) and had a wonderful time, especially enjoying the cake. She definitely has a sweet tooth and it is very difficult to avoid indulging her.

In mid-February we met the Stenkamp siblings and families for skiing in McCall. Iris enjoyed some more sleigh rides when we went X-C skiing, and even wanted to try out skis herself. She mostly enjoyed playing with her cousins, Madilyn (5) and Abigail (2), and her Aunt Tami. She referred to the condo we all shared for the weekend as, "Aunt Tami's house."

In mid-March we traveled to Friday Harbor, WA for a Developmental Biology conference, and lots of rain. Iris likes to play in puddles and was greatly intrigued by her first encounter with a harbor seal. After the conference we visited Deb's cousin Peter, and Michelle (wife) and twin boys Martin and Otto (5 yrs). Iris had a wonderful time with the boys and all of their toys, and really liked the big bathtub full of bubbles. Now she insists on bubble baths and has made up a bubble bath song.

She is very happy with her new daycare situation, likes her teachers, and nearly every day tells us 'I played with Conner' or 'I played with Adrien' - special friends? She can sing the alphabet (with a little help from Mama), and count to ten. At then end of a song or counting, she says, "Yay, Iris!" She also likes to screech loudly and then say, "too loud, Iris." She gets cuter every day and is generally the
happiest kid in the universe.

Iris has started using the little toilets at daycare (for poo-poos) - a great new development, since she sort of regressed from her previous potty use for a while. We didn't tell the teachers to push anything, but only to let her use the toilet if she told them she had to poop. So this was very exciting! She is also telling us
when she has a wet diaper, and occasionally wants to pee on the potty, too. She appears to be 'training' herself to use the potty.

Our sleeping arrangement has turned into a complete family bed situation. But at least shes sleeps soundly through the night most of the time, so we're all getting a good night's sleep. And she prefers to nap on a mat on the floor like she does at daycare. Iris' appetite is still impressive as she gains some height and recently reached 28 lbs. She can do a somersault and insists that I do one, too, which she calls a "mamasault."

Deb