I smell spring

Finally, the winter appears to be ending... some of the daffodils are blooming, and some of the days are getting warmer and less rainy. Although more snow is forecast for this weekend :p I have never seen such a snowy winter in the 16 years I have lived in Seattle!

I think Netsanet will be really excited to spend more time outside as spring arrives. She is continuing to grow at break-neck speed and is very active. She loves being outside, especially when it's sunny, so I think we will all be relieved when the days are warmer and longer.

She is growing so quickly, it's hard to imagine. She just turned 18 months old. However, she's now growing out of her 18 month clothes and is wearing a lot of 24-month and 2T clothes (I'm kind of clueless and not really sure how those sizes are different, to be honest). Her legs have gotten so long and she continues to stretch taller every day. She has been very tired and whiny this week and wants to go to sleep early and wake up late. She's so sleepy, I bet she's hitting another growth spurt. The time change this weekend will probably be hard on her, but it will also be light in the evenings and we can go for walks when I come home from work.

She has finally started to sit still for small periods of time, as long as she has either coloring or puzzle-type things to occupy her. She loves coloring and has made many lovely Jackson Pollock-like drawings for us. Spatial toys really occupy her interest, but she also gets really frustrated when she tries to make things fit together or come apart. Baby puzzles, large lego blocks, baby food jar with lid, tupperware container with lid - these things will keep her focused for 1/2 hour or so. She concentrates so hard, but she'll scream with frustration if she can't make it work. That little brain is learning so fast, and she is determined to learn everything she can!

While she can sit still for a little while, we still don't think an airplane ride is a great idea. We were going to go to Joshua Tree park in May, but we've decided to postpone until November. I have nightmare visions of a delayed plane, stuck on the tarmac, and trying to keep Net from screaming and running all over the plane. She's quite social, but it's a full time job to keep her from running around and grabbing anything. And I think she's starting to feel that 'terrible twos' frustration - if we prevent her from doing something, it triggers an eardrum-shattering screech. I must say, NOT my favorite sound in the world. I think for now it's a better idea for us to take small local car trips or train trips, rather than try to fly anywhere. At least we can get her out and run around when she needs to.

Net has developed a passion for sitting in furniture. Not sitting still for long, but climbing up into the chair, sitting in it, climbing back out, standing on it, sitting on it, etc etc. She seems to be testing the theory: how are all the ways I can interact with this furniture? This started just before Christmas, when she would try to sit on everything (boxes, etc). She's realized that chairs and couches are for sitting and loves a foam Winnie the Pooh chair at daycare. We bought her a toddler foam couch that folds out into a bed, and she's endlessly amused with sitting on it and standing on it.

She's also practicing sitting on her potty seat. We haven't tried potty training yet, but we're trying to get her used to the potty and have a positive association with sitting on it. Net's daycare provider has recommended that we start trying to potty train her just before she turns 2. I'm so glad we have Miss Dee Dee to talk to - she has a ton of experience with small children and really knows what works for them. Plus she sees Netsanet every day and can tell what's working for her as a person. Every day we're so thankful that she's part of our life!

The other favorite thing right now is the ball. Throwing the ball, chasing the ball, running around with the ball - all REALLY exciting! She giggles and laughs and even drools with excitement; it's very cute! Shoes are also a big hit ('Shoe-shoes' is how she says it). She drags our shoes out and carries them around, and yesterday decided she'd like to try mine on. She tries to put both feet in one big shoe, which is really cute. She also loves her own shoes and helps me to put them on in the morning.

At the end of this month, it will be one year since we all came together as a family. I can't believe it's been only a year, and at the same time I can't believe it's been a whole year! So much has changed, it's hard to fathom. Netsanet has changed so much. I recently gave away some clothes of hers, some of which she wore while we were in Ethiopia. It's amazing to think that those tiny pants were huge on her, and now she couldn't wear them on one leg. She was so quiet and hardly made a peep, and now she's very talkative and social. We never could have imagined this robust little person would grow from that tiny frail baby!

Other than that, it's just every day stuff.... It's amazing how months can just fly by, and it seems like you haven't really done anything ;-) I think back fondly on the days when I could come and go at will, and have a social life (a whole year ago!)... but of course, as the saying goes, I wouldn't change it for the world!