I tried to get a picture of you with Lambie this month and I finally got a boooring one of you kind of laying down with Lambie in the crib as usual. This one was my favorite of the mix though. I can imagine my little Leah saying, "Stop taking pictures Mom or Lambie gets it!" Haha!
On Christmas Eve, we participated in our yearly tradition of eating meat, cheese, and crackers by candlelight. You ate applesauce and tried some cheese. That night for bedtime, you wore some cute reindeer pajamas and we all listened to a prerecorded book of Grandma S and Lexi reading "'Twas the Night Before Christmas!" You actually sat and listened through the whole book!
We spent Christmas this year at your Grandma and Grandpa H's house in West Virginia. You got a bunch of bath toys and a shaky/bouncing lamb stuffed animal from Grandma and Grandpa H and a musical xylophone and some puzzles from Grandma and Grandpa S. You didn't really have much interest in unwrapping your presents, so mommy ended up needing to help. You liked playing with the wrapping paper once it was off though. While we were opening presents, you turned around and looked at my camera with the sweetest little smile. It totally made up for the fact that I didn't get too much of you opening presents!
You were totally adorable in your Christmas dress the Sunday before Christmas!
Your big milestone this month is that you are standing independently! You could stand for shorter periods of time before, but now I catch you standing in the middle of the room for no apparent reason. When you are in the bathtub, you go from your knees, to squatting, to full on standing without even holding onto anything. That takes some serious muscles! You also like to stand in less convenient/more heart-attack-inducing places like your highchair at the table (you squeeze out of your buckle) and the stairs when you're about halfway up.
You are also starting to "cruise" (that's what I think they call it). You can now walk around your play cube to reach all the different sides and you hold onto the couch to get to different places. I have a feeling you will be walking without assistance in a couple weeks.
You can crawl super fast! Lately, your favorite thing has been to go up the stairs. Your daddy and I play a game with you called, "I'm gonna get you!" and we chase you around and up the stairs. You usually are giggling the whole time and constantly looking back to see where we are. You scream when we catch you and grab your sides.
One part of your personality that I've really started to see the last few weeks is your determination/unwillingness to be distracted. You have certain things that you like to get into in the house - the dishwasher, the kitty bowl and water fountain, the kitchen cabinets, under the fish tank, etc. I always try to redirect you by bringing you in another room and putting you in front of one of your favorite toys. This NEVER works! You are back at your original location within seconds crawling at lightning speed. You are already trying to crawl out of your crib! (It's as far down as it goes.)
You like to yell A LOT. Your favorite places to yell are in spaces where you can hear yourself better like the refridgerator, the washer and dryer, and the dishwasher. I was cleaning out the fridge and stepped away for a moment to rinse the sponge when I caught you doing this!
Here's some LIVE video of the picture above!
In the last week or so, you have finally starting babbling more with consonant sounds. I thought you were just going to be a yeller for the rest of your life. Lately, I can hear you babbling "dada dada" or "gaga gaga." You don't really babble "mama" but you know how to say it and I think you actually understand what it is. We were at your well-visit and they had to draw blood in order to test for anemia. You sat so well on my lap and patiently waited even when they tied the band around your arm and started looking for a vein. I preemptively gave you you pacifier, but as soon as they put in the needle you spit out your binky and started crying and saying, "mama mama." You looked up at me with tears in your eyes. It was absolutely heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time ...but now I know that you know who I am.
I have been seeing in your eyes lately, this curiousity and thought process. We visited the school yesterday after your well-visit and had lunch with some of the teachers your mommy used to work with. There is a soda vending machine in the teacher's lounge. The first time someone came in and got a soda you watched them carefully from across the room. The second time someone got a soda, you crawled over to the machine watched them push the button and then you reached in for the can. You are very observant and nothing gets by you!
You are starting to play with your toys in the manner in which they were intended for. You had a bead roller coaster on your activity cube that you used to love to spin the beads on. Now, you like to move them along the track. You have a dinosaur ball popper that you have always loved to play with, but you didn't really understand how it worked and I would have to pick up the balls and return them to the pit so you could continue playing with it. Now, you pick up the balls yourself and return them.
When you aren't figuring out stuff, you are in "destruction mode." You love to dump things out. One of your favorite games (not mommy's) is for mommy to put everything away and then you crawl around dumping it all out.
This last month you FINALLY had a tooth break through. I was on the phone with my mom and I was reaching in your mouth to pull out a kitty kibble that you had managed to stuff in there when I felt something sharp on your bottom gums! I thought that you would have drooled more before a tooth came through, but it just kind of came out of nowhere. I catch you more often now chewing/not really sucking on your thumb. I think you must like how it feels. You are always grabbing inside my mouth to feel my teeth!
Before you even had your tooth, you were trying and mashing all kinds of foods with your gums. We have been giving you tastes of our dinner every night. Last night, you tried some Chipotle Tabasco sauce and actually enjoyed it. You have also tried and enjoyed ground sausage with gravy and biscuits, meatloaf, potato soup, brocolli florets, Indian curry, baked macaroni and cheese, and lentil soup. Some things that you haven't enjoyed are mashed potatoes and black olives. You are pretty easy when it comes to getting you to eat. I'm really surprised you aren't in a higher percentile for weight!
Every month is an adventure with you my little lady! I love you, Leah!
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