Sasha: Jetsetter

Tomorrow, Sasha goes on her third trip via plane, and her fourth out-of-state trip. We are headed to sunny Florida to stay with her Nonna Connie, and to see her Grandma Sharon, for the first time. Connie lives just a short walk away from one of the finest sandy beaches I've seen, and I'm so excited to see how Sasha reacts to warm sand between her toes.

I missed posting on her 11th month birthday and December has been a busy month. There are so many great things she does and says now, like:

• When we go outside in the cold, she says, "Brrrr..."

• She loves books, which makes me so happy. She is usually walking around with a book in her hand, wanting me to read her a story. Sometimes I even see her flipping the pages and reading to herself. Her favorites are:

1. Goodnight Moon - one of her favorite things is a balloon and there is a red balloon on every other page that she enjoys pointing to.
2. Where is Baby's Belly Button?/Where is Baby's Mommy?: these are flip-up books that she absolutely adores and never tires of. I wish I could say the same - the plot is thin and the illustrations are kind of "meh," but she gets a kick out of flipping up those pages and finding what's underneath.
3. Miss Spider's Tea Party - this is a really fun book to read to her. It's essentially a counting book, but the plot has some emotional drama that she really gets sucked into. There is a page in which Miss Spider, spurned by the other bugs, sobs in lonely melancholy. Sasha wrinkles her brow and starts to cry, and then laughs with joy in the next page when Miss Spider makes a little moth friend. I love that she really gets into the story.
   
4. I am a Bunny - we read this to her every night before bed and I wonder how long this routine will last. We have little sounds and actions that we do with each page, and she looks at us impatiently if we forget to do our shtick for her. On the last page, she gives sleeping Bunny Nicholas a little pat "good night."
   

• She's becoming more and more affectionate as time passes. Most of her obvious affection is reserved for Gwen, our oldest and most Sasha-tolerant cat. She likes to give Gwen soft head butts, which are her equivalent of kisses. She also will head butt pictures of cats, puppies, and sometimes the "young mouse" in Goodnight Moon.
  

• She has started giving me hugs that just fill me heart with joy. Sometimes when I'm holding her, she'll put her hands on my cheeks and pull me in for a kiss. A few times, she has come up behind me while I've been sitting on the floor, and given my back a big hug. I love it!!

We're only 3 weeks away from her first birthday and I am amazed at how fast time has gone. In the first three months, time truly felt like it was creeping, but now it flies by and I can hardly tell what day it is anymore. I want to slow down, and yet, I'm excited to see who she becomes. She already is so fearless, funny, loving, and strong.

I'm off to pack. More from our adventures in the Sunshine State will appear soon...