SLIDER

Monday, July 22, 2013

16 Months


Our little Bean is now 16 months old. When people ask her age, I feel embarrassed that I still answer in months. I can practically just say "a year and a half." And folks, she's a toddler. She's a walking, talking sass-machine. She's got opinions, and different tones of whines to tell you about them. She's mostly smiley, loves her belly button and everyone else's, says "hi" when pretending to talk on the phone, and always wants to go "up." She's still wearing size 12 onesies, and dresses and pants sizes 12 to 18 months, depending. My favorite is dressing her in a cute girly outfit and then letting her play in the dirt or eat like a pig. She likes to swing, protests having her nails cut, still loves pretzels ("kakuhs"), is obsessed with "papa," and is a rapidly budding daddy's girl. Sometimes she is a little cuddlebug, and other time she can't be bothered to blow me a kiss. She's still nursing 2-4 times each day, drinks water from a straw, and eats ALL foods (except shellfish). She talks, she signs, she whines. She walks, she crawls, she climbs, she dances, she sometimes sings, she rolls around on the floor talking to herself. Her favorite toy is tupperware, and she loves to stir, stir, stir. She's active and likes to be on the move, she likes having attention from BOTH her parents simultaneously, and can be something of a ham - if she feels like it. We love her and adore her and smother her with kisses.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Independence Day


 Celebrating independence ... by learning to walk!

The Bean has been cruising for several months, walking with an adult hand or finger for a few weeks, and taking one or two independent steps recently. But I think we can now officially count her as being a biped. Granted, she still prefers to crawl - I don't blame her, she's more efficient this way - but she is well on her way to life as a toddler. It is SO fun to watch her learn to walk. My enthusiasm and praise for each time she walks back and forth between us is genuine. It makes me so proud of her; to get to be a bystander of growth is no small blessing.

I'll acknowledge the obvious - isn't 15 months a bit old to start walking? Well, yes, technically. By US developmental norms, she is most definitely a late walker. But she was also a late crawler, so it makes sense she's walking later. I have been surprisingly un-neurotic about her ambulation, and Alex has been surprisingly pushy. I mostly figure that all kids develop different skills at different rates, which is why I don't feel too badly about her slower gross motor skills and I
also don't take too much "credit" for her relatively advanced language skills. Sure, I'm a speech pathologist. But I don't exactly go around therapizing my kid. The Bean just seems inherently interested in socializing and communicating. And she seems significantly less interested in mobilizing, so I don't see any sense in doing anything other than encouraging her and praising her for trying new things, taking steps included. If I remember correctly, most research shows that the time in which a baby or toddler meets these early milestones has little to no bearing on their function as children or adults (barring nothing is "wrong" with them).

It's been particularly fun to show off her new skills while vacationing in Tahoe for the 4th of July. Grammy and Papa are just as pleased to watch her learn to walk, and she's been quite the ham at numerous family gatherings. She asks for fist bumps, spreads her arms and raises her shoulders in an "I just don't know" pose when asked a question, she waves and blows kisses on command, and she willingly shared toys with the other kiddos. And she also grabbed my boobs and lifted shirts searching for belly buttons. So charming.

The paparazzi took many, many photos, but only do many we're commissioned for print here. Just a "few" ...

Happy 4th from the loudest family at the CQ BBQ!

Tutus mean smiles.

Tahoe sand baby.

Hiking to the park.

So much fun makes a tired daddy and daughter.

Special visit and songs with G. Auntie Jenny!

Wading with Papa and Grammy.

Family.

Bikini baby.

I love this beach bum.

Who me?

Where it all started - we met, we started dating, we married, we got pregnant ...

The beach Boss.

Family hike.

Maybe she'll be a pilot one day?

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