M @ 13 Months

This may be my most timely monthly update thus far.  There is a reason.  I've wanted to write about this all week or maybe for a couple weeks.  You see, my baby is slipping away and all too quickly turning into a little girl.  Somehow in her shift to toddlerdom I've noticed all the things about her that are now "big".  Her voice, is clearly high on this list as she is SO incredibly noisy these day.  Particularly when she hasn't had a nap.  The weird thing is, that unlike B's transition to toddler it is making me pretty sad. Traditionally, I have not, no, do not, think of myself as someone that is that into babies.  I like kids and LOVE this whole three year old gig where we actually talk and have lengthy discussions about things.  But babies? Nah, not so much. (a travesty, I know).

Part of my current sadness is that for some reason I'm convinced this is my only baby girl. (Irrational much?)  I find myself wanting to do things like randomly buy her ruffled bloomers just because I've not gotten around to doing it and think it is so adorable on baby girls. I suddenly really want her to have some, but wonder if maybe she isn't too old already? Can you be too old for things at 13 months? Clearly yes, at least for somethings as she hasn't had bottles or formula in a month.

I suppose the thing to do is to document the changes of this month and accept and love what comes next as I know there is much wonderful stuff to come.  (That said, as her little temper starts to show, I'm not so much looking forward to the long teaching moment that was about 18 months to 30 months with B....every kid is different, right?)

Walking - now she can walk everywhere.  She is getting pretty fast, but often trips up when she gets to going too fast or is tired.  She will occasionally sit pitifully and refuse if you want her to go somewhere she doesn't really want to go, but is fine if you acquiesce to carry her.  Brent and I have both hurt our left shoulders in the last month, we believe in part due to carrying our nearly 28 pound baby so we're encouraging the walking.  Plus it is so adorable!  She mostly walks with her shoulders up and back still which is fun too with her often wide stance.

Eating -- M is messy (Literally how we taught B what letter the word "messy" starts with).  She seems to think that food makes great conditioner or maybe is just a way to decorate the floor? I sweep two-three times a day and sometimes that is not enough.  She is also getting a bit pickier with foods.  In good news, she does like bananas again.  She has also developed an odd chipmunk like behavior of stashing food in her cheeks and not swallowing it.  She seems to do this most often with Ms. Courtney who is, of course, not a fan.

Toys -- She is into everything she can get her hands on .  She still snuggles her dolls close and then gives them to you to do the same.  She has learned to drive cars around and make noises.  At Erik and Kelli's she spent much of the time walking in circles around the house chewing on or carrying small Star Wars figures.  She also has recently played more with B's big animatronic dinosaurs.  They came to tea one day as B's guests and she gave them pats, hugs, etc and they hung out in her room all week.

 She still enjoys clapping along with Tad or with "kid tunes" in the car.  Other new toys include all of my measuring spoons and small utensils.  She discovered she can get things out of drawers in the kitchen and is most adept at this when sitting in her high chair next to me while I cook.  I let her play with all the ones that are not sharp and we're both happy.  She also still enjoys her cabinet of tupperware and watching the laundry (she checks on it frequently for us).

Books - M has also entered the exciting pull all the books off the shelf phase.  Luckily, ours are crammed pretty tight so she isn't getting that much traction.  She will, however, bring you books to read, but usually doesn't sit through the whole thing.  She does like turning pages and recently has discovered the joy of flap books.  Overall, I think her favorites thus far are: The Very Hungry Caterpillar and this cool Colors Flap Book which I suddenly can't find online or remember the name of (sorry). She also really likes to look through B's ABC and Number books that Aunt Audra Made for him as well as any photo albums she can get to.

Clothes - She is mostly wearing 24 month tops and 18 month bottoms.  We have a few 2T things and they are blousey on top which is OK.  She just walks all over the pants though so we're putting those away for awhile.  We did get her a fall jacket to celebrate the coming cool weather and she is adorable. She still will have on a bead necklace around the house if she can find one, but sadly most of them have broken due to being crawled or walked with.

Sleeping - I think her naps are a bit erratic (still).  Roughly, she naps from 9:30-11:30, but can easily vary based on our or her schedule.  She usually naps again about 2-3 hours after she woke up in the morning, but if you miss that precise window you have to wait until 4pm to try again (in my experience anyway). She continues to put herself to sleep and sleep through the night without issue as she has since spring.

Adventures: She has been on outings in the stroller more often including walks around the neighborhood and trips to the bookstore.  We really keep meaning to go back to the Zoo, but sadly haven't been since June. We did go to the park with Uncle Able today.  She seemed  most interested in eating the wood chips, but did enjoy the picnic.  We have actually, miraculously, stayed pretty close to home the last two weekends. I think after all the crazy that was June/July and early August we kind of just needed some together at home time, but are now recharged and ready for September!

Maggie remains Mama's girl.  She loves her Daddy and literally screams when she hears his car enter the garage and runs to great him, but then is quickly back to snuggles with me.  She still cries a little when we leave the room, but is a bit better. I think that being able to toddle after us helps.  She will cry pitifully if someone closes the bathroom door.  She is convinced it would be an awesome play place and we're convinced it would not.

She crawls into my lap many times a day, which I adore.  She is usually just checking in and heads out again, but it is sweet.  She still loves to be upside down and to have her tummy tickled.  She enjoys both giving and receiving zerberts and kisses. (Sometimes bites though so be careful as we're still working on that).

She loves to explore and wander all over looking through drawers, closets, baskets, etc.  She is a fan of the new table and seems to like the bench.  She even sat and did crafts with us briefly on Thursday which was cool.   Today, she tried eating marigolds from the garden and a little dirt too.  I let her plan in the garden to her heart's content while I weeded and tried to figure out how to stake the tomato again.  She was messy, but happy and so was I.  She loves her brother and wants what he has (which does cause problems).  She is sweet and cuddly, but with plenty of spark too.

 In general, she is always in motion, often loud, but very loving and cute.  I love my Maggie J just the way she is, but know each little phase is fleeting so trying so hard to love the moment we are in and be "with" her in it. I love our little family and love our baby lady so much even though she's not such a baby anymore.


(Author's note - I am heading to DC tomorrow so posting will likely be light this week).