My Little Stinker,
You have affectionately earned that nickname this month. You seem to be exploring your surroundings and testing your limits more and more each day. I know it's all part of learning and growing for you. I also know it's part of learning how to teach and discipline for your Daddy and me. While this month seems to have zoomed by, it was a month full of big developments for you!
Most importantly, you have mastered walking this month. It's amazing that at the beginning of the month you were just barely taking one or two steps. You did that for a week or so, then started going about 5-8 steps at a time for about a week. Then you were walking about 5-8 feet at a time. Suddenly, last week, you just took off and started walking everywhere. Now you rarely crawl anymore and you're even trying to run. It's adorable to watch you toddle around, sometimes struggling to keep your balance. You do have remarkable balance, except when you try to run. Your little body will stick out farther than your behind and you finally topple over. You do your best walking when you stick one hand up in the air.
Now that you are walking all over the place, you enjoy chasing Wesley around. You following him around the house with one hand reaching out to him and jabbering the whole time. He looks completely annoyed as he desperately looks for a hiding place. He will either find a place to hide where you can't reach him, or finally just sit down and let you pet him. I'm thankful he seems to be tolerating you better. I'm pretty sure he realized that you supply a large portion of his food throughout the day, so he better be nice.
Your vocabulary is growing as you jabber constantly. I can tell you are trying to communicate, as you often make the same sound for the things. Sometimes you just spit out a whole slew of babble, looking quite serious the whole time as if you're really trying to get your point across. You are saying something that sounds like "doh" and "go" when you're chasing Wesley around or when you're playing fetch with yourself. You also are making a "see" sound when you are talking to Wesley. You have started saying "hi" more clearly and frequently. I've heard a "b" sound a few times when I tell you to say "bye-bye." You've also made a "p" sound when I've talked about Pop and a "ma" sound when we talk to Mum on the phone.
You love to play with your ball-popping ship and have figured out how to put the balls in the top and shoot them out. It's quite entertaining to watch you shoot them out, chase them down, then try to throw them back in the (tiny) hole in the top. You have also enjoyed playing with the activity table Harlow let you borrow. You love the music and will bounce up and down to the songs. You have really started to enjoy "If You're Happy and You Know It." For a while, you would clap on your own as I sang it, but now you just like for me to clap your hands together. You also LOVE to play hide and seek and chase. That can get you laughing harder than anything. And you're pretty good at following our voices to find us when we hide. You have also learned to pull the curtain or a blanket in front of your face to play peek-a-boo.
Sleeping is getting better. You still nurse 3-4 times a night, but that is usually toward morning. You have become quite a mover though. Since we co-sleep, there are many nights I wake up with you laying across the top of me. I figure if you sleep well (which means I sleep well), then you can sleep however you want! As it gets close to morning, you do become more restless and seem to want to nurse constantly.
With just one more month until your birthday, my mind has been swimming with party ideas. I am a little bit sad to see it come, but the enjoyment of watching you grow and learn mostly overshadows that. You are a sweet girl, with a smile that can change the worst of days around. You are quite inquisitive and like to push the limits. You make us laugh often and fill our lives with joy.
