Gwen in her swing

Gwendolyn Piper Steeves:
Baby Book—Favorites

Gwen's Favorite... Date Notes
Book 22 Aug 06 My goodness, but our girl loves books. Daddy reads Goodnight Moon every night before bed, and Mommy reads The Napping House (thanks, Alexandra!) before just about every nap. And she loves them. And Brown Bear, and Teeth, Tails & Tentacles, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And any board book she can munch. And pulling the books off of our shelves in the office. "Book" is even a word she says already. Oh, blimey, I think we've succeeded in creating a reader.
Song 6 Nov 05 Gwen calms down quite nicely to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Sweet Caroline" (which we sing as "Sweet Gwendolyn")

Update (22 Aug 06): Gwen has come to be quite the budding musician. Ever since we started Wiggleworms, music has tamed the savage beast within our sweet girl. And on car rides, the Wiggleworms CD has proven indispensable. Oh, and Baby Bach and Classical Baby have entranced her, warming our hearts and for the occasional 20 minutes, freeing our hands. Most enjoyable for me and Mark, though, is seeing how much she loves dancing to Mozart, courtesy of the Mozart Magic Cube.

Update (6 June 07): "The Wheels on the Bus" plays on permanent repeat in our car. If Mommy forgets to start it over, Gwen never fails to yell, "Bus!"

Word 22 Aug 06 Gwen loves, loves, loves to say "Hi!" to everyone she sees. I think it's fair to call that her favorite, but I do not want to give short shrift to the many other words in her ever–growing arsenal:
  1. Woof
  2. Dog
  3. Duck
  4. Moo
  5. Cow
  6. Train
  7. Butterfly
  8. Bye
  9. Mama
  10. Dada
  11. Ceiling Fan (pronounced seelee)
  12. Book
  13. Cereal
  14. Spoon
  15. Cat
  16. Wow
  17. Boo
  18. Two
  19. Ten
  20. Yum
  21. Lantern
  22. Yay
  23. Woohoo
  24. Bubble

Update (5 Mar 07): Gwen says about 300 words now, including all her body parts, family members' names, animals, their sounds, and more.

Toy 6 Nov 05 No doubt about it, she will beat up her crib mirror all day

Update (22 Aug 06): Gwen has so many, many toys now, and loves them pretty equally. I will say that I have the most fun playing with her with the Lollipop drum her Grandma Diane bought for her.

Game 22 Aug 06 This was a no–brainer: Peek–a–boo! Gwen started playing a modified version called "Where's Gwen?" back in February, but over the last month or so, she has mastered the conventional hands–over–eyes style.
Comfort Object 10 Feb 06 Gwen loves, loves, loves the Christmas gift her Auntie Annie sent—a pink elephant named "Phant." She has had Phant for a couple months now and liked him well enough. It wasn't until this day, though, that I realized how much: I almost left him at the gym, and Gwen was adamant that he be found. Fortunately, he was quickly returned, and so was the peace.

Update (22 Aug 06): Phant has just recently fallen out of favor, pushed aside by her love of Clifford. Truthfully, though, Mommy or Daddy's chest and a pacifier, along with a little song, are what really calm her troubled seas.

Update (5 Mar 07): All other loves are forsaken in favor of Lavendar, the little purple dog Gwen sleeps with.

Clothes 22 Aug 06 As of yet, this is of no interest to Gwen. She doesn't really whether she is or is not dressed; she shows no preference either way.
Place to Play 6 Nov 05 Gwen loves staring up at the revolving fish and lights in her swing

Update (22 Aug 06): Gwen has long since outgrown her swing. Now, she likes to cruise around the first floor, from the couches in the living room, to the dining room table, to the cabinets in the kitchen, to the bookshelves in the office. She does get around quite well these days, so anywhere her mobility can take her is a good place to play!

Update (5 Mar 07): We are thrilled to see how much Gwen loves her playroom and mural—having space for that was a driving reason behind buying our house.

Friend 22 Aug 06 Oh, I suppose Mommy and Daddy top Gwen's list of friends right now. She does have a lot of fun accosting babies in music class, which we are hopeful will develop into friendliness rather than bullying.
Video Winter 2007 Signing Time. For Gwen, there ain't no other.