The 'Sticky Phase'!

There are many phases of physical, emotional, and behavioral development. Now that Sydney is now one year old, we could probably assign some scientific term identifying her place in this world. I however, would like to use a much more practical approach and simply call this time in her life the 'sticky phase.' Honestly, if it's not food or milk or water, it's snot or drool or slobber. Sometimes it's even poop or pee. Regardless, there is a never ending supply of stickiness that a child can offer. No matter how much you clean hands, wipe noses, scrub surfaces...stickiness is the name of the game.

When Sydney eats, there is typically a radius of food around her. When she was younger, the radius tended to be smaller. But now that she is older, bigger, and more fascinated with the activities of throwing food, the radius has gotten bigger.

Although you would guess meal time already can get messy, it really expands into other activities, and certainly other parts of the house. Some of the stickiness has increased proportionately with her mobility. It's not uncommon to find sticky spots or items (most likely food) in the most unusual places. Sometimes it leaves you saying..."what in the world is that???" And sometimes you ask it in your mind, but you truly don't want to know the real answer.

In other news, Grandma Gloria was able to watch Sydney so that her mom and dad could escape for a little time. While it was great to get away and enjoy dinner, that was the most energy that could be mustered. Unfortunately, dinner was the climax of the evening, and the rest of the evening found her parents in bed by 9:00pm.

In other Sydney news, she has continued to labor on her spoon work coordination. She hopes to display dexterity that rivals any advanced 1 year old. Sydney also has been working on recognizing different parts of the body. When she's asked, she'll point at her nose, eyes, or ear. It's pretty exciting to see her learn some thing sooo quickly!!!