Alice's 497th Day
7:45AM Alice wakes up cheerful, after just over twelve hours of beauty sleep. She can be heard in her crib, jabbering away, and saying ‘Uh oh.’ Presumably she’s dropped one of her five soothers on the floor. 8:15AM I come into her room to find her listening to her Ocean Wonders – she has it set to the sounds of a babbling brook. For many months now Alice has been able to change the settings on her Ocean Wonders depending on her mood. I take Alice out of her crib and change her into her daytime clothes. “Alice, can you put your sleeper in your laundry please?” She picks up her dirty clothes and puts them away. “Alice, can you give me your soother please? It’s not time for your soother.” She hands me her soother. Alice and I go downstairs and she plays with her toys while I make breakfast. Alice brings me two matching pieces of her puzzle – ‘yellow’ and ‘banana’. I’m not sure if they were together in her toy box. Like any proud parent, I’ll claim she knew they were a match. I scramble up one large egg with some cream and salt, in a well-buttered pan. Once this is finished I quickly toss it onto a plate and into the freezer – the fastest way to cool it down for her. I put Alice into her high chair and ask her to put on her bib. She’s been doing this for some time now. If she could reach behind her neck and do up the snaps she probably would. I give her 1/3 of a banana and her milk, then toss an Eggo into the toaster. The eggs have cooled off enough, so I put them into her dish. Alice likes to eat her scrambled eggs in very large pieces – best to fill up your cheeks all at once. I butter her Eggo, spread it with peanut butter and grape jelly, and cut it into small pieces. Once Alice is finished her eggs I give her some of the Eggo. She’s starting to get full, so she only has about 1/4 of the Eggo. I wash her hands and face, take off her bib, and it’s time to play. 8:45AM Chase comes up from the basement. Alice follows him around, trying to give him a kiss. He eventually runs up the stairs, and the chase is over. 9:00AM Chase returns to the main floor, Alice gives him a kiss. More playing. 
9:06AM Alice catches up on the latest Calgary foodie news in City Palate. 
9:11AM Alice asks me to open the ark for her. Once the top is off, she can open it the rest of the way herself. 
9:30AM Alice plays with her minivan. She puts the baby in the driver’s seat. Is she trying to tell us something? 9:45AM Alice reorganizes the tupperware drawer. Plastic is everywhere. 10:10AM Alice hears a sound at the front drawer. Mommy helps Alice investigate. When they see that nobody is there, Alice says, “Ooohh.” 10:15AM Mommy makes herself a bowl of Cheerios, then sits on the couch. Alice sits on Mommy’s lap and shares the cereal, using a big person spoon. She’s quite good at using a spoon now, and even feeds Mommy. It’s not clear who has more of the cereal, Alice or Mommy. You’d think I didn’t give her any breakfast this morning…. 
When the cereal is all gone, Alice drinks the milk directly from the bowl. Now that the bowl is empty we take it away. Alice is frustrated by this, and clenches her fists really hard. 10:45AM Playing with her toy cell phone, Alice jabbers away. She never talks when we put the real phone to her ear, but is starting to on the toy phones. 11:00AM Crawl up the stairs and pick out a Baby Einstein movie (Baby Van Gogh). 
Sit in her pink chair, briefly, before asking to sit on the couch next to Daddy. Learn about colours. Jabber away throughout the movie, saying, ‘Baby’ whenever one appears. Alice is now able to identify a few colours (red, green, purple, yellow), probably because of this movie, her crayons, and some of her books. Or because she’s spectacularly advanced for her age (sound like a proud parent again?). 11:30AM Movie is over, Mommy returns from the grocery store. Alice and I go downstairs, Alice plays with Mommy’s Personal Thyme supplies in the pantry. Seems quite interested in the lemon reamer, until she puts it in her mouth. 
While Mommy makes us lunch, Alice asks for something to eat. Mommy gives her sliced ham, some cheddar cheese, and some bologna. You’d think I didn’t give her any breakfast this morning…. 11:45AM Lunch is ready now. “Alice, can you please go to your high chair for lunch?” Alice dutifully walks over to her high chair. “Put on your bib please.” On goes the bib, I snap it up behind her neck. All the morning eating seems to be catching up to Alice – not much appettite. She eats a little bologna and tomato, washing this down with some milk. She doesn’t like the cheddar cheese after it’s been melted, and spits this out. We move onto fruit: 1/2 pear, a couple strawberries, and some blueberries with yogurt. 
Alice does a really good job eating the blueberries and yogurt with her spoon. 12:15PM Lunch is over now. Mommy takes Alice upstairs and changes her clothes (a little blueberry on the white diaper shirt). Alice goes to her crib for her nap. This is a pretty typical time for her nap, and usually lasts 1.5 to 2 hours. 2:06PM Alice wakes up. I hear her on the monitor, almost immediately she says, “Uh oh.” I go in to see her. She’s having trouble waking up, and her right cheek is red. 2:30PM Now really upset, Alice is inconsolable unless she’s being held. We suspect her fourth tooth is on the move, but we can’t see anything. Mommy begins making peanut butter cookies. Alice cheers up a little, especially because she gets to help. 
Alice plays with her Aqua Doodle – a water-filled ‘pen’ and a plastic and foam board that changes colour when wet. Alice uses her Aqua Doodle on the wall as well. See why we bought her an Aqua Doodle? 3:00PM Snack time. Alice ate a little of the fresh-baked peanut butter cookies and some strawberries. She’s not as upset as she was, but her appettite is poor. After her snack, Alice and Mommy played, watched a little bit of Food TV, and a little bit of a cartoon with Bugs Bunny. Alice enjoyed both programs, though she liked the cartoon more. 
5:00PM Alice played with her Aqua Doodle some more. Alice also played with her walk and stride, looked at some books, and rolled around on the couch. 5:30PM Supper is almost ready: Mommy is not cooking tonight so we’re having Swanson’s Hungry Man TV Dinners. Simulated turkey-flavoured pre-formed slabs, complete with all the simulated side dishes. Not exactly Personal Thyme, but no need to call the fire department either. Alice plays with the tupperware drawer again, ensuring everything is out on the kitchen floor where it belongs. 5:40PM Alice slips on a plastic lid, landing on her bottom. Not a hard landing, but Alice is pretty upset. Eye rubbing suggests that she’s getting tired, or teething, or both. Alice doesn’t eat very well, is cranky, and really getting tired now. 6:15PM Mommy takes Alice upstairs to put on her pyjamas. Once she’s changed, Alice wants to play with her Ocean Wonders. 
She shows Mommy and I how well she can switch the settings, changing from the sound of running water to some nice relaxing music. We give Alice a little bit of Tempra (baby pain reliever), to help her feel a little better. Alice wanted to be up on our bed – she likes rolling around up there. 
I obliged, since it’s soo cute. It’s lots of work rolling around on our thick comforter. 
6:50PM Bed time now. Alice seems to be feeling a little better now, but she’s still pretty tired (some eye rubbing). I heat up Alice’s bottle (200ml of homogenized milk, heated for 52s) while Alice and Mommy put away the toys. Alice holds her bottle by herself, until she gets tired, then I take over. Because she didn’t have much for supper, she finishes most of her milk. I told her to have a good sleep, sweet dreams, and put her in her crib with two soothers, her bunny Thumper, and her elephant Cuddles. She looks pretty wiped out. Asleep almost immediately at 7:00PM. 9:35PM Mommy and I check on Alice before we go to bed. She’s sound asleep, laying on her back next to the crib rail, beneath her Ocean Wonders. Her right leg is sticking out straight but her left is bent with her foot against the rail. Precious. We cover her with a second blanket, put an additional two soothers in her crib, and leave her for the night.