Dislikes: diaper changing, clothes coming on/going off, cold/sweet things, strapping in (carseat/stroller), fruits, forcing of any kind
Likes: Ducken/ducks, kids, dogs, cats, smiling, surprises, mail, people, talking on the phone, warm/savory things, warm milk, swim class, baths, tiny bits, dancing, bouncing, heffalumps and woozles, ring cat (a wooden cat with a long tail that’s supposed to hold your wedding ring while you wash the dishes), Russian nesting dolls, etc., etc.
Della had a late-night playdate with Annie on Thursday. While parents Johanna and Steve watched the Caps lose to the NJ Devils, Della experienced dinnertime, playtime and bedtime at her cousin’s house. Aunt Lizzie called it a “practice sleepover,” because in the end Della didn’t sleep all the way over. But that’s how you learn–little by little. Yes, these two have matching PJs. Also charming: Annie, never one for crawling, crawls when Della is around. Everyone agrees that it is a very welcoming thing to do.
Listening to Della talk is like watching the clouds and trying to see shapes. This morning I thought I heard her say, “I was good today!” And Steve made out a kind of song: “I’m on my way to ziggy ziggy,/ I’m on my way, woo hoo!”
Just to keep track, here are a few of her favorite words so far: ooos, derkel, ziggy, zuhkah, whasis, da, momomomomom, haaeee. Also so far: we are learning more babytalk than she is learning English. And now, a picture of Della wearing a Valentine’s headband.
In swim class they call her “little man” because she only wears bottoms.
Now that Della is one, things have gotten pretty weird. We took a walk along the parkway today and ended up at Jones Point Park. This here is the parkway. It’s difficult to catch it being this weird, but I managed to.
This is one of the playgrounds at Jones Point.
Weird.
This playground is perfect for pulling up and standing.
You can even fall backwards and hit your head and it won’t matter because the surface is so spongy. Which Della did, right after this shot.
Oh well, it was time to go anyway. That’s when we realized that Dora had gone exploring. Which is to say we lost Della’s doll, Dora the Explorer, gift of Rita the Riddler (Della’s daycare lady). We turned back and luckily spotted her from afar. You probably can’t see her here; she’s just a speck.
Reunited. I’ll never drop Dora again, said Della, one-half minute before dropping her.
Back home, and wishing you all a happy Valentine’s Day. Loves and kisses.
Little has been said about Della’s duck, Ducken. Ducken plays “Twinkle, Twinkle” when you pull his string, and his wings are snuggly. These two are best friends. So it’s weird that for birthday no. 1 LFA got Della a Baby Alexander Doll to which is tethered a snuggly duckie, and when you pull this duck’s string, it plays a tinkly song, much like Ducken. And this duck’s name is Huggems, which sounds a lot like Ducken, and even more like Duckens, which is Ducken’s actual given name, according to toymaker Gund. No but why is it weird? Isn’t it fitting? It’s weird because LFA bought this doppelganging duo before Della was born.
Also weird: Donald Duck’s twin sister’s name is Della. Anyway, Della has gotten sort of into ducks. It looks like this is going to become a thing for her, just like Steve and giraffes.
No there’s nothing suspect about the blueness of Della’s eyes there. That’s just her natural beauty. Moving on. We had a picnic in the back yard today. Once again, just a baby in her natural setting.
Della is actually legitimately one today. And everything looks kind of cool when you’re one. First stop: George Washington University Hospital.
Next, the Building Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. Because that’s what one-year-olds enjoy.
Quick trip to China Town. Because, you know, Chinese New Year and everything.
Lunch at Absolute Noodle.
Della has asked me not to make a big deal of this because it’s starting to get embarrassing, but a video has turned up that documents her first year. This is only for super fans, and I promise not to make more than one video a month in year two. With that out of the way, I give you one year ago today:
After the aforementioned party, most people got sick with norovirus.
della and george 