Happy Aussie Birthday Dyllan!

Happy Birthday Big Girl!
Dyllan is pretty happy about her new birthday dress from Kayley

We are finally starting to get over the jet lag- and settling in.  Dyllan was affected by the jet lag more than we expected- having slept only 5 or 6 hours over the 24+ hour period it took us to get from LA to Sydney.  The lack of sleep, change in weather, and cold she picked up on the plane put her out of whack.  Over the weekend we had two parties:  Saturday, Marianne and Laurie threw us a housewarming party (with a Bug cake for Dyllan's birthday too)- with about 30 family and friends and Sunday we had a birthday party at the house for Dyllan- with some of our friends.  It was great seeing everyone again- and Dyllan enjoyed meeting everyone for the first time.  I think she was a little overwhelmed after it was all said and done- because by bed time she still wasn't feeling well- or acting like herself.  She threw up again- and wouldn't stop fussing.  Last night she didn't settle down at bedtime like she normally does- so I climbed into her crib with her and lay with her for about 2 hours- until she finally fell asleep.  She thought that was pretty cool- and I assured her it would not be a regular thing.

This morning- as you can tell from the photo above- she was feeling much better.  Pretty much back to herself.  No more fussing, no more throwing up, just smiles and lots of fun.  Marianne and I decided to take her down the the baby clinic anyway just to see what they had to say and get some information.  Its so great here- you can go down to the clinic- even though neither Dyllan nor I is a citizen yet- and get checked out for FREE by the nurse.  She weighed Dyllan, and watched her play with the toys and told us that there was nothing to worry about- everything was normal- she was probably just adjusting to a new environment and was probably just tired.  That was kind of what we expected.  She also told me that we should be feeding our "toddler"  (WHAT??  is 1 really a toddler?! I guess so- over here anyway) 3 meals (+2 snacks) - of the same foods we are eating.  She stressed feeding her meats (for iron) and dairy (for calcium) and giving up the bottle completely in exchange for a cup.  Wow- we were a little behind.  Up until today- Dyllan has eaten mostly some form of babyfood- with some sort of finger food on her tray (broccoli, pears, carrots, Cheerios, etc).  Although I dont know if Dyllan is quite ready for a huge plate of lamb kebabs, a bean and cheese burrito, or an ice cream Sunday we will be making some changes.  We knew it was coming soon- since her formula container says "for babies 0-12 months".  Another interesting point the nurse made- was that we could start feeding her peanut butter now (although I dont think there is any huge rush..)- it was just interesting because in the US they dont suggest you feed babies (er, toddlers) peanut butter until at least 2 (maybe even 3) years old. 

Having this new information- I went home and gave Dyllan a drink of water (as the nurse suggested...water only... no more formula, no juice, no pedialite) out of a normal cup.  She did well.  She actually enjoyed drinking out of the cup.  She still hasnt quite figured out how to sip out of her sippy cup...we will have to work on  that one.

 We tried a few Australian favorites:  First wheat bix cereal- she took 2 bites then pushed the spoon away and squeeeeezed the cereal through her front teeth and let it dribble down her chin, and onto her bare belly- before making farting noises at me with her tongue.  Maybe we will have better luck some other time with this one- but for today not a huge success.  Then we tried Mango.  She loved the taste but got super frustrated trying to pick up the slippery little pieces.  I think more ended up in her lap and on the ground than in her mouth.  Next we tried an Australian favorite- Vegemite on toast.  She didnt know what to think at first- but after I broke it up into finger pinching size pieces- she seemed to like it quite well.

The rest of the evening was spent playing/cooling off in her new wiggles pool- that Lozzo (grandpa Newton) gave her - he even made a little foam mat to go under the pool so it wasnt so hard to sit on; riding her toy horse, climbing up stairs, and hanging out with Dad when he got home from his first day of work.  All in all, I think it was a great first birthday.

"What are you lookin at, mom?!  Obviously, Im just chillin in my new pool"  So cool.
Hanging out in her Wiggles pool (a birthday present from Lozzo) with uncle Lionel
She lloooooovvves the pool, and the water.  It was so hot outside that this felt really good to her.  She even got a tropical rain shower. 



First Australian Mango, yum!

First time trying Vegemite

mmmmmmm....

P.S. Teri wrote a great post for Dyllan's first birthday... I had to share:  Its a bugs birthday down under