Just the way she is. Second Edition.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
My second daughter turned 10 months old yesterday and I realized I neglected to start her one year log of changes and accomplishments like I did for my first daughter. The second one always gets the shaft. So, it is time to start it since she isn't going to get any younger now.

July 14, 2011
- She is a very accomplished noise maker. She does raspberries, clicks her tongue, makes kissy noises, wiggles her tongue back and forth while making a sort of "lalalala" sound, and squeals and laughs all the time.
- She sits up great if you put her in a seated position.
- She pushes herself backwards when she's on her belly.
- Did I mention the squealing and laughing at everything.
- Loves her big sister to pieces unless big sister is trying to give too much love, then she gets crabby.
- In bed at 6:30, up to eat at 5am and back asleep until we get her up during the week. Sleeps until 8am on the weekends.
- She has the beginnings of butt scooting skills like her sister the way she turns herself around and pushes herself backwards while sitting.
- Eats just about anything you put in front of her and wants more, more, more.

July 21, 2011
- She clapped for me when I picked her up at daycare today. I walked in and she clapped for the first time. Love it!
- The husband and I are convinced she is saying "More" when she wants more food, more ball playing, more peek-a-boo, more bouncing and more flying. It sounds a bit like ma, but with the rrrr sound at the end. We're probably just crazy parents though.

July 29, 2011
- My baby gets whiny when she's tired or wants held. She starts to make this low growl/whine noise until you address her needs.
- Felt so bad yesterday when I ran out to my car to get my purse that didn't get carried in and heard her screaming and crying within 30 seconds of the door closing. Must have scared her when I walked away.
- When will those top 2 teeth come in? We hope soon because we love our usually happy, giggly baby.
- I finally got a cuddle-bug. She loves to rest her head on things. The tray on her highchair, the edge of her bouncy seat, your shoulder, the floor (while bent at the waist and sitting) and so on.

August 3, 2011
- While the husband took big sister to her swim class yesterday I took the baby home with me so she could go to bed. In the car on the way home she laughed continuously for 5 minutes at nothing I could see. She thought it was hilarious though.
- She met Elmo on TV for the first time and LOVES him. She also enjoys the monster that hosts Sesame Street, whose name escapes me right now.
- Since she loved Elmo so much, we brought out big sister's talking and dancing Elmo. He was uproariously fun for about 2 minutes, then he just got scary.
- She went to bed at 6:10 last night and appears to be not wanting the bed-time nurse session any more. She prefers to just be put down in her crib so she can sleep. This makes me sad. I love rocking her to sleep at night.
- On the flip side, she's up at 4am to get her morning nursing session in, which I enjoy as well even though I'm exhausted. We all go back to bed so it isn't a huge deal.

August 8, 2011
- The husband handled drop-off on Thursday and Friday since the daughter was home sick with me and apparently the baby is not happy when daddy leaves her at daycare. I drop off today and get a wave bye-bye and she's back to being busy with her books. Sheesh.
- We're back to loving the bedtime nursing session which makes me happy again. I believe she's happy too.
- I don't think I mentioned the head bumps. They are her version of hugs and kisses. She loves you very much if she bonks your head with her head.

August 22, 2011
- She has finally gotten the hang of the sippy cup. Water has become fun to sip and spray too.
- We had a cake trial run for her one year birthday next month. She got to try a piece of the husband's birthday cake and she dug right in like a pro. I have high hopes for a great smash cake experience.
- She may end up being a butt scooter just like her sister. When she saw the Storytime Elmo show up across the room, she moved those 10 feet to get to him like her life depended on it.
- Lots of stranger danger issues this weekend, but we got over it with plenty of cuddles and snuggles with me.

August 26, 2011
- We have another word, "Ni Ni" also known as "Time to go to bed mama, I'm tired". I asked her if she was tired and she told me "Ni Ni". Smart little baby girl.
- She moved to the baby room today. Normally, they wait until the babies are older and walking/crawling well, but they had too many little infants coming in and not enough good walkers and crawlers. So, they've adjusted the room description to fit the not quite crawling as well.
- Daddy is her hero, sun, moon, stars and all the light in her life. When she sees him there is much squealing, clapping and mad butt scooting to get to him. I melt.

August 30, 2011
- It was bound to happen. My poor baby. She's terrified to let go of me at daycare drop-off. Her separation anxiety is not just for dada anymore. It includes me. Such a sad face today, but at least there wasn't any hysterical crying. Not yet.
- My little daredevil loves to be flipped upside down, tossed in the air, jiggled and bounced, and pretty much any other motion/flying type of game we can think of to do with her. Giggles galore!

September 15, 2011
- My baby is one year old now. She got 3 shots at her check-up and although she screamed while getting them she calmed down immediately after I picked her up.
- Her birthday party was on Sunday and our house was extremely crowded with all the immediate family. She didn't cry at all and smeared icing and cake all over her face like a champion birthday partier.
- We were told to start moving her off the bottle to the sippy and incorporating whole milk. I don't want to because I want to keep my baby a baby. I need to also get over myself.
- She's scooting everywhere and getting into everything.
- When we tell her no, she shakes her head at us and we all laugh. So much for discipline. *eyeroll*

September 22, 2011
- Last night was spent roaring like a lion and making monkey noises. Her mimic skills are amazing.
- She loves to point to body parts. She doesn't always get them right, but the game is hysterical.
- Peek-a-boo is a big favorite these days. She'll cover one eye and wait for you to ask where she is, then uncover her eye and giggle maniacally when you say "Peek-a-boo!"
- There are 4 top teeth all coming in at the same time. She's running 100 degrees most days with all those teeth coming in, but she's sleeping great at night. No more 2:00am wake-ups!

October 5, 2011
- No one on this earth is as funny or exciting as her big sister. She actually throws her head back and laughs until her belly shakes when her sister is entertaining her. Another melty heart moment for me.
- 2 of those dastardly 4 teeth have emerged. The middle-top-left one came first followed by the middle-top-right one. The ones on either side of those are right there waiting to make an appearance. We'll be very happy to see them.
- Sleep has gotten a bit better as well. She's now up at 5am to nurse and then back to sleep until it's time to get up for the day.
- We accidentally left her purple knit blanket at daycare on Monday and she wasn't nearly as excited to get the pink one. Last night she had her purple one back and was so very happy to see it. She grabbed it and held it tight, then she laid her head on her blanket and sighed. I'm pretty sure it is her first lovey.

October 11, 2011
- Word count: Mama, Dada, Ni-Ni (night-night), Mo (more), and recently Uh-Oh.
- We have some horrible, no-good diaper rash going on right now. We're trying Desitin, Pinxav, Aquaphor, and today I started giving probiotics in one meal each day in the hopes that is a yeast rash that needs some good antibodies to clear it up.

October 26, 2011
So much to post...
- Went to the doctor for the rash and he prescribed nystatin, no more wipes - only warm, wet cloths for wiping, aquaphor/vaseline/A&D only, and no cow milk or cow milk products. He thinks the constant pooping could be a food allergy. The rash is much better, but the pooping is still going pretty strong. I wonder what we will have to eliminate next...gluten?
- There is standing! After months of refusing to bear weight and doing the most amazing mid-air split (she could hold that sucker forever) when we tried to lift her up to stand, she is finally putting her feet down and standing. Not very steady, but it is progress.
- I brought up the little piano that babies stand in front of to play and that prompted a lot of standing interest. Up next - Push n Ride and lots of baby proofing.
- I'm pretty sure she said "Ba" for ball on Sunday. She points to things with her index finger and looks at me to name it. She pointed to the ball, I said ball, and she said, "Ba!" That's another word to me.
- The pointing is adorable. She points to her hand, her arm, blocks, balls, chairs, tables, and anything else you can imagine. She's soaking it all up and will probably suddenly burst into conversation one day when we least expect it.
- Other random cuteness. I love hearing the giggles from the back of my car when the daughter cracks up the baby. I love the faceplants into my plant that the baby makes after scooting over closer. The arms go out to her sides and her wide open mouth plants itself on your shirt, pants, sock, whatever. It's her version of a hug.
- There are now at least 8 teeth in her mouth in various stages of growth. Two are fully grown in on the bottom and one on the top, one on the top halfway grown in, and four more just breaking through on the top and bottom. She's weathering the tooth explosion pretty well and happily we are still nursing. She doesn't really bite, but she tends to "chew" while nursing so we just muddle through it. I'll be so sad when we're done, so I'm sticking with it. We're down to just a morning and evening session and I see less and less interest in the morning session.
- Halloween is coming. We got her a ladybug outfit because the skunk outfit the daughter wore for her first halloween is missing. I really wanted some comparison photos of them in the same costume, but we can't find the adorable skunk with pink bows on the ears. Sad clown face. The daughter is thinking she'll be a princess/fairy/dragon rider for trick or treat.

October 31, 2011
- She's added another word. "Dat" She'll point with her little finger and say, "Dat" asking us to tell her what it is.
- She's learning gentle, but still thinks it is way more fun to pull her sister's hair and whack her in the face with a book. Slow progress being made on that front.
- We bought a cute ladybug costume and she never wore it. I may shove her into it tonight just for the photo op. What a waste of money that costume turned out to be.

November 6, 2011
- Just figured out that putting the back of her hand to her mouth and saying, "Bwow!" was blowing kisses. She's been doing that for a couple months. Who knew?
- When she's sitting in her high chair eating dinner she'll lay her head down sideways on her arm and smile at me. Cuteness overload!
- We now have full-blown pulling herself up on stuff and she's gradually working towards taking a step to cruise on the furniture.
- If there is a pillow on the floor she will find it, lie her head on it, and cuddle with it. More cuteness overload!
- Bath time is full of splashing and playing with the water come out of the faucet. She doesn't even care when I dump water on her head. She just keeps on splashing and playing.

November 16, 2011
- She's reached the age where I need to tell her "No" and she laughs at me and continues to do what she shouldn't be doing. Funny, kid.
- So far, she's a great eater. She loves pretty much anything we put in front of her. Broccoli, pot roast, carrots, turkey, chicken, tomatoes...basically everything her sister would never eat or anything we are eating.
- Still nursing morning and night. I can see the morning sessions going away soon. She still nurses, but not with as much enthusiasm. I love the night-time sessions though. Cuddling my sweet baby close to me is precious time.

November 24, 2011
- First thanksgiving eating real food and she wasn't a fan of the turkey meat, but she loved the mashed potatoes. She'll love the sweet potatoes I'm making for the 2nd Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's.
- Today she climbed the entire flight of stairs to the second floor because her daddy was up there brushing her sister's teeth. She'll climb mountains to get to her daddy. I teared up because she's growing up too fast.
- The rash started to come back pretty bad on Wednesday, but with no milk products in her diet (since she's been home for 2 days) it is clearing up pretty fast. We need to be a bit more strenuous in reminding daycare that she is not to get milk products.

November 27, 2011
- I'm making rookie mom mistakes like forgetting that if the baby doesn't go to bed with a full belly she will be up 2-3 times overnight crying piteously. I'm tired today.
- The tree is up and other than pointing at it a couple times she has pretty much left it alone despite the big sister trying to show her every ornament and light.
- She loved the thanksgiving food at my parent's house. Mostly the sweet potato casserole I made. Rightly so, as it was delicious!

November 30, 2011
- She is starting to go find a private spot for pooping. I totally that they did this eventually. So funny!
- This weekend the husband and I are going on an adult night out and leaving before she goes to bed. This means I won't be nursing her to sleep Saturday night. This makes me sad because I'm afraid that she won't want to nurse to sleep anymore and I love that time of day the most. It's so quiet, calm, and comforting. Especially now that nursing is no longer an Olympic event for her.
- I love playing on the floor with her. If big sister moves or makes a motion like she's headed our way, she makes a beeline for my lap, buries her face in my arm, shoulder, or chest, and then "hops" up and down on my lap in anticipation of her coming. I don't know if it is terror or excitement. Maybe a bit of both. But it is all equally cute.
- We introduced Baby Smash as well. I feared for the life of my laptop keyboard, but the cute was overwhelming and I didn't want to make her stop bashing away and laughing. The big sister occasionally glanced over from her Angry Birds game to watch.

December 2, 2011
- Last night while she was eating dinner we started playing a game called "Are you done eating? No? Then I'll tickle you." I kept asking her if she was done and she will normally wave her hand at me or throw some food on the floor, the former is preferred, but last night she would just turn her whole body away from me in the chair. So, I tickled her. She loved this game. I noticed some white in the back of her mouth and thought at first it was just some food from dinner, but it never moved after every tickle or bite of food. She got a molar! What do you know there was another one on the side to match. No wonder she was drooling like crazy last week for a couple days. That explains, that.
- She learned how to chow on uncooked baby carrots and she loves those things nice and cold from the fridge.

December 13, 2011
- I love when she scrunches up her nose and giggles after nursing in the morning. She's so happy with a belly full of milk.
- She knows what we're talking about, but is refusing to talk. I told her to look in her mailbox to see if there was any mail. She scooted right over and opened it up, pulled out the little package, and showed it to me.
- I had her with me trying to get ready for work in the morning without waking up the husband so I got dressed in the closet with her on the floor. I handed her my socks to play with while I got my pants and shirt on, but that wasn't right in her mind. She kept putting my socks on top of my feet and doing the "Ah! Ah! Ah!" sound to get me to put them on. She clapped for me once they were on.
- She loves turning off the lights for me. Good thing she can't reach the light switches on her on yet.

December 16, 2011
- 15 month check-up revealed that we have a petite baby (that's what the doctor kept calling her, so sweet) with a medium sized head. 19 pounds, 29.25" long, and an 18" head.
- She was sitting on my leg and kept bobbing up to her feet without holding on to anything. Made me wonder if she would stand on her own, but she still immediately sinks to her butt.
- She is loving anything on wheels that can be rolled across the floor, table, etc.
- She dances to music by swinging her arms from side to side and headbanging. Adorable!

December 22, 2011
- She keeps pointing at the tree and saying, "Ah?" which is pretty much what she does with anything in her vicinity. I'm expecting her to break out chatting in full sentences any day now.
- 15 month old giggles are infectious, especially ones that are elicited from bouts of tickling.
- I know she's done eating when she either starts stirring up the contents of her tray in a frenzied side to side hand motion or pulling on her bib while screeching, "AH! AH!"
- She started walking while holding our hands and she giggles like a maniac the entire time.

January 2, 2012
A new year has brought many new things...
- She took 3 unassisted steps to me right after Christmas and has refused to do it again since.
- She is finally getting that 4th bottom, middle tooth that has been missing for a while.
- She's pairing the 4th bottom, middle tooth arrival with 2 new bottom molars.
- These new teeth are still being ground together to produce the most horrifying sound known to man.
- We did at least 10 laps around the first floor with the Fisher Price grocery cart last night. Giggling every time she slipped or hit something, because we all know that's the best part.
- We went to the pool and she was a total pro. Even attempting to doggy paddle a little on her own so she could get to her big sister, daddy, or the ball faster. I have high hopes for some great swimming lessons when she starts over the summer.
- She lets me know she's hungry by pulling up on her highchair and saying, "mama, mama, mama, mama" over and over again.
- Actually, anytime she wants help or needs something she says "mama, mama, mama, mama, mama" over and over while pointing or trying to do the thing with which she needs help.
- She's also shaking her head "No" when we ask her stuff and she doesn't want it or doesn't want to do it.
- She also will stop clinging and whining at me if I ask her if she wants to go "night-night". Silly girl.

January 5, 2012
- I spoke too soon about the clinging ending with "night-night". Last night she was more than happy to curl up on my lap with her arms out when I asked if she wanted to go "night-night". She was tired.
- She had a full sentence last night during dinner. No idea what she was saying but it was important, involved pointing around the room, and throwing her hands in the air.

January 9, 2012
- We've moved on to head shaking for "No" if we ask her things. She still refused to talk, but at least the the head shake "No" is cuter than hearing it yelled at you like her sister.
- There are so many new little babies in daycare that she has already been moved to the toddler/two room, which is really scary for me. She's not doing well at drop-off because it isn't her teachers that she knows and loves. She doesn't know these teachers at all. They eat in chairs at a table and she looks so tiny sitting there with her feet not touching the floor. My baby doesn't even walk/talk and she's already moved up to where her sister was at 2 with walking/talking.
- She is now consistently pointing at nose, eye, ear, and mouth when you ask her. Next up, belly, hands, feet, arms, and legs.
- I don't know when she got so smart, but she knows that brushes go on your hair, ponytail holders go on your hair, phones go to your ear, and every thing else goes in your mouth.

January 18, 2012
Illness hit our house this weekend so I didn't get to blog about the wonderful things that happened.
- We got another word: nana. As in, banana, give it to me now so I may stuff it in my mouth and smoosh it between my fingers. Yum!
- We got 6 wobbly, top-heavy steps from the husband to myself. She was so proud of herself and clapped every time she attempted it.
- I dropped off a forgotten item to the eldest at daycare and peeked in at the little one in her room. I didn't go in because that would have caused hysterics, but I just wanted to go in there and cuddle for a while. I didn't though because I knew it would hurt her and me when I had to leave. I was looking in and she was scooting over to the teacher, tugging on her pants, and crying. The teacher looked down at her, scooped her up, and cuddled with her on the floor. I wish that could have been me.
- We're still nursing morning and night and I love it. I'm going out of town for work in a few weeks. I'll be gone for 2.5 days. This means I'll miss 5 nursing sessions with her. I hope she doesn't quit on me. I hope my body doesn't quit on me. This is my last and I don't want those moments with her to end yet.
- She's picked up her sister's cough and was extra clingy last night before bed. Although, she was loving her bath. She especially enjoys putting her hands under the running water and occasionally sticking her head under it and letting the water run down her hair and face.

January 25, 2012
- Still in love with daddy, but more willing to come to me these days which makes me happy.
- Leaving daycare yesterday we saw her first, and favorite, daycare teacher and she squealed with delight and held out her arms to her. Both of my girls love her so much because she's a wonderful lady.
- I'm amazed every day at how much she understands and can communicate without speaking more than ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma, and gesturing.
- We took some quiet time together this morning after she was done nursing and talked about the chair, nightstand, butterflies on the blanket, pillow, and many other things. She's continually absorbing. I'm still waiting for fully formed sentence structure to start coming out of her mouth.
- Ah, the mood swings in the evenings. Forgot all about these after a full day at daycare when we try to squeeze in dinner, play, bath, and bed in a one hour window after work. She gets pouty and will turn her back to you and refuse to look. Then she'll throw herself on her belly and protest with some whining. No, she doesn't want picked up, no she doesn't want to eat, no she doesn't want to play, no she isn't thirsty, but PICK ME UP!

February 1, 2012
- She had her first bath with her big sister and they both loved it. I'm not ready to actually try tackling washing both at the same time. This time her big sister had already taken a shower after swim classes so she jumped in just to play, not get clean.
- I heard Elmo come out of her mouth the other day when I was reading the Sesame Street Baby Faces book with her. Sounded just like Elmo to me so it counts.
- Another evening where she was just angry and nothing we did was right. She finally calmed down when her daddy let her eat some of his salad for dinner. Weird kid was loving the lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, and of course...cheese. Guess we'll be dealing a rashy butt this week after that.
- Daycare told me she crawled across the table so fast this week and grabbed another child's goldfish that they had to put her at a separate table.
- This lactose thing is going to be the end of us all. She loves cheese, milk, yogurt and all things lactose, but her butt does not. I really hope she outgrows this.

February 24, 2012
- The baby is starting to become a more confident walker. She stands up on her own in the middle of the floor and will take more than a few steps to get where she wants. She stops, laughs, and then drops to a bear crawl to get the rest of the way. Silly, stubborn child.
- I keep wondering when she is going to talk to me. We carry on conversations all the time with me saying words and her responding with head shakes, finger pointing, and gestures.
- I messed up and gave her pierogies with cheesy mashed potato filling. Her bottom was on the verge of bleeding, but we got her back from the brink with yet another round of sopping wet, water wipes and lots of aquaphor.
- Then my mom messed up and gave her cheese when she was at her house one day. Only a slightly red bottom this time because it was only half of a cheese stick and not a full meal like I did with the pierogies.
- We discovered that she loves ketchup. Food, her fingers, and a straw are all just vehicles for the ketchup to reach her mouth. She is in love with the stuff.

March 2, 2012
- My little punkin' pie has a cold and a fever and a slight ear infection. She fell asleep on me today after we got back from running an errand after the doctor visit to confirm all that illness. She's sleeping in her crib now.
- She has this look. It's the look she gives to people she doesn't trust and it cracks everyone up every time she uses it. I need to get a picture of the "look".
- She drank out of a straw today too. I have no idea when she learned how to do that, but I figured I would give a juice box a try before pouring it into a sippy cup.
- Also, she is now a walker who can be lazy and crawl/scoot if necessary. But, she does officially walk and you bet I got video evidence and shared it with everyone. 17.5 months and finally walking!
- Still not a whole lot of talking though. I mentioned it to the pediatrician and he didn't seem too concerned. After all, she has her sister to talk for her.

March 7, 2012
- Daycare mentioned that my baby was moody yesterday. I asked what that meant and they said that if she didn't get what she wanted right away she would throw herself on the floor and cry. I don't know...sounds pretty normal for an almost 18 month old.
- The mood swinging is going full force these days too. One second she wants to climb in your lap and read a book. The next second the book is awful and must be flung at your head. Immediately after that she needs to cuddle with her sister's play phone. Right after that she MUST.EAT.NOW. Food isn't handed over in 1 second, body is thrown to the ground and there is much yelling. Good times.
- She's in bed by 6:30 every night and isn't very fast to wake up in the morning. She likes to gather up all her pacifiers in her bed and make sure her blanket is clutched in her hands. Then if she's up to it, she'll let you pick her up out of bed.
- We're still enjoying mommy and baby nursing time in the morning and evening. She insists, so who am I to refuse her?
- She nods yes for us now so it isn't just silent staring and pointing to try to get her point across. Now she can confirm when we suggest the correct thing. Makes communication a bit easier, but talking would be even nicer.

March 11, 2012
- The weather is gorgeous today so we went for a walk. The daughter rode her bike that she got for her birthday and the little one thought it was hysterical to see her up ahead on her bike.
- We walked around outside too. She had some trouble with the slight hill on the driveway and was very, very unsure about stepping over or on the seam in the cement. The transition to grass was even crazier. She really did not want to step off the cement and onto the grass. I didn't realize she had never really been outside walking ever, so this was all new. I showed her how my feet were on the grass so she got brave and did it. She was a bit unsteady because the ground isn't as flat and even as she was used to, but she did great and only fell down two times.
- She tried fruit snacks for the first time today too. I've been waiting to give them to her because I'm a choke hazard worrier. She did fine though and wanted more, more, more.
- We're finally getting more words too. She said: cup, dats da-da, and that's about it. She's still generally pointing and hoping we understand what she wants. Still getting a lot of head shaking and nodding as answers.

March 29, 2012
- We went on vacation last week and had more fun than I ever thought possible. The baby ended up sleeping in the laundry room at the condo with her sister on the pull-out couch in the living room. None of us sleeps well in the same room so it was for the best. It didn't stop her from waking up every day at 6am.
- She's a little fish and loves the pool and baths. She blows bubbles, will scoot off the edge of the pool into your arms with no hesitation, and just generally enjoys playing in the water.
- The walking ability has gotten better and better and she's moving faster and surer these days.
- She still does not like to go outside and walk around. She insists on being held or sitting in the stroller. We tried the wagon when we got home from vacation and I didn't even make it 3 steps before she freaked out and I had to take her out and carry her.
- The drive wasn't terrible as we were able to keep her happy with snacks, toys, and pacifiers (especially driving through the mountains). She only protested strongly a few times and calmed down very quickly.
- She loved looking at the zoo pictures with all the animals. I think more than when we actually went to the zoo since she passed out in the stroller for almost 2 hours.
- She's making more animal noises like for the elephant, dogs, and sheep. Cows are hit and miss and usually end up roaring like a lion.
- There are more attempts at words like, please. It comes out "eeeeesss" with her chin up and a big grin on her face. We still don't have a whole lot of talking though she does a lot of pointing for us to tell her what something is all the time.

April 2, 2012
- She learned to actually speak a word yesterday. Over and over and over again. BABY. She loved saying it repeatedly while pointing at baby Tarzan on the TV, showing me her baby doll that she got for Christmas, and asking me to sing Rock-a-bye-baby while rocking her baby doll.
- The cute was when she would "dance" while I was singing and rocking her baby doll. By dance I mean close her eyes, swing her arms back and forth, spin in circles, and giggle until she lost her balance and fell down. I was laughing so much my cheeks and stomach hurt.
- We did some coloring yesterday as well and she was very offended when I tried to draw on her paper or write her name on it. It was apparently her masterpiece and I ruined it. Then she decided dumping the crayons out on the table and then putting them back in the box one by one was far more fun that applying them to paper anyway so we did that for 20 minutes.
- She loves walks in the stroller and is slowly starting to enjoy being outside without being carried. She has taken quite some time to warm up to the outdoors without being held or placed in a stroller. Now that she's braver about outside we can try to approach the wagon again this coming weekend, possibly.

April 5, 2012
- Another word! "There" She used it when I asked her where the pillows were. She's finally starting to talk...sort of.
- Every day at daycare drop-off and pick-up we have to point at the art and pictures on the walls to identify what is in them. While I know she does it to learn more and it will help her talk soon (hopefully!), I just want to get in and out so we can get on with our day. I keep telling myself, patience, patience, patience. Make the elephant noise one more time, yes, that's a lion (again), and there is a baby in that picture, you already know that word.
- She's growing up so fast. She gets her shoes out of the closet, puts her arms in her sleeves by herself, and wants to feed herself (mostly) which gets very messy. Miss Independence is really starting to crop up.
- Every time we go up the stairs she wants to crawl and insists on picking up every piece of lint, hair, or dust on each step and hand them to me. We only make it 2 steps before I grab her and run up the rest of them. I think I might need to vacuum.

April 19, 2012
- Mini word explosion - door, dog, icky-icky (poopy diapers), No! Nnnnnno! and NO! NO!, as well as NO!
- Stickers are a fun thing to play with. We put them on our shirts.
- We get kisses now. Not the kind you would expect, but at least we aren't presented with a cheek to kiss. She makes a fishy lip face and an exaggerated kissing sound.
- She's obsessed with babies. Points at anything and calls it a baby. Elmo is a baby, kids are babies, her sister is a baby.
- She brings me her baby doll or her sister's "Jingle Baby" doll, hands them to me, and then makes an arm rocking motion. That's my cue to rock the baby and sing Rock-a-bye-baby. She loves this.
- "Jingle Baby has a blanket that was originally my baby's taggy blanket. We play a good-night, wake-up game with them. I put the blanket on the baby, making the shushing noise with my finger to my mouth, rub the baby's head, and say, "
Night-night baby", very quietly. She then whips the blanket off, I exclaim, "WAKE UP, BABY!", and laughter ensues.
- Every weekday evening when dinner is done, we play for about 20-30 minutes before bedtime. She goes into the playroom to get the play coffee pot and a utensil from the play kitchen. She brings them into the living room, sits on a stool by the coffee table, and proceeds to eat from the coffee pot. She punctuates every bite with a "Num, num, num!" sound.

April 24, 2012
- She got a stomach bug on Sunday. I didn't realize she was that sick until she threw up. Missed indicator #1 - I had to get her up at 10am when she's normally up by 8am. Missed indicator #2 - she refused to nurse after I got her up. Missed indicator #3 - she refused to eat anything for breakfast. Missed indicator #4 - she was much warmer than usual. Poor baby was still giggling and loving while feeling like crap.
- Due to illness mentioned above she took a nap on me that day as well. That is my favorite way to spend an afternoon. Cuddling my warm baby in my arms while she sleeps.
- We spent about 15 minutes last night singing songs like Itsy-bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, and so on. She loves Itsy-bitsy so much it is ridiculous. She knows all the hand motions, but wants me to hold her hands to do them all together. We always clap and laugh at the end.
- Drop-offs at daycare have been so hard for me lately. She clings to me and doesn't want to go to her teacher and I am so tempted to just take her and run out the door to play all day. Darn job and bills...

May 1, 2012
 - We have more words! Door, eye, her sister's name, but I am still Dada. She'll get there eventually, I hope.
- She loves to hug and kiss her big sister hello and goodbye every day at daycare.
- I asked her if she could say Mama, she nodded an enthusiastic yes, and then said DADA! in a very loud and emphatic tone. Kids.

May 15, 2012
 - New words! She's starting to repeat what we say in her own garbled baby talk. We've got stuck which sounds like duck, duck which sounds like dog, and dog which sounds like duck, moo, walk which sounds like wok, all done (TWO WORDS!) which sounded like all done, more, bye-bye, hi, and as always, dada.
- The dada love continues. She calls her sister dada and still calls me dada. We even make the mmmmmmm sound. I say mmmmmmm and she does too and then I say mama and she says, "DADA!" and laughs hysterically.
- The husband sprains his finger and gave her his hand to hold. She grabbed on tight, he yelped in pain, she laughed, and grabbed harder.
- She loves to use her sister's keyboard and sing into the microphone. It usually includes a lot of baybee and aaaaahhhh sounds.

May 21, 2012
- We have MAMA! Finally, she has realized that I am mama, not dada. Music to my ears.
- She's a little mimic. If her sister does it, she must do it too. Funny, yet can be dangerous.
- Swinging still freaks her out for some reason. We've tried any number of times to swing her at home, at the park, and at the neighbor's. No luck. She just cries and wants out.
- I'm not going to be able to document the words as much from here on out. They are coming out of her mouth fast and furious. She picks random words that we've said to attempt to repeat them back. She'll be non-stop words, if she can get her sister to stop talking for a few minutes.
- She refused several go-to foods this weekend while her beloved dada was gone biking some ridiculous distance. We went out to eat the next day and she continued to refuse anything I tried to give her but she ate like a champ when dada fed it to her. She's got him trained so well.

***Just over a month and a half to go before I publish this post. My baby is growing up so fast.

May 24, 2012
- Last night the No's were overwhelming in their magnitude and volume. Nothing was right.
- I wish I had gotten the sheer number of No's on video, but instead I got a hilarious video of her putting a grape in her mouth, letting it plop out onto the table, scooping it back into her mouth and repeating. Her sister was giggling like a hyena the entire time. I also captured "the look" which made me happy.
- She refused to eat anything except cheese (which thank goodness she seems to be handling just fine so we are no longer lactose free!) until dada came home and held her on his lap and fed her the same food she refused to eat for me. Stinking toddlers. She definitely knows how to play us. I was prepared to just let her be hungry and suffer the early morning hungry's.

May 29, 2012
- We went to the Memorial Day parade and she didn't care for it much at first. The husband had to take her away when the Shriners showed up in their old fire truck and their little 4-wheelers. It was just too much noise. She didn't care for the drums in the marching band either. They came back and she sat on my lap for a bit and started to clap and dance when a group would go by with music playing on a radio or something. She really got into after that even when the real fire trucks showed up, she was fine.
- She's been eating cheese, ice cream, and drinking regular milk with no signs of that horrible diaper rash. I think we might finally be in the clear. No more lactose intolerance!
- The word explosion has been crazy. She repeats the last word we say every single time. She has little imaginary conversations in her babble talk version in an attempt to sound like us.
-  She loves strawberries, pineapple, bananas, mandarin oranges, apples (no skin), and nectarines (no skin). She does not like blueberries. She's a smart baby.

June 4, 2012
- I can't believe how grown up my baby is becoming.
- She tells me when she's got a dirty diaper by pointing to her butt and saying, "Poopy. Diaper." That's two words used together.
- She also said, "Up, Mama" at my parent's house. Another two words, put together, making a sentence. *sigh* yet so proud.
- She's getting into helping with chores now. She discovered the little dog vacuum that I had purchased for her sister so long ago. She liked it, but when I put the batteries in so the canister stuff would spin around, the ears would flap, and it would make dog noises like barking and whining, she was in love and didn't want to stop vacuuming. She did help her sister scrub the entry hall and I captured that bit of child labor on camera.
- We are officially back to full on lactose eating! No more diaper rash from eating anything containing lactose and she is so much happier now. That girl missed cheese, ice cream, and goldfish.

June 7, 2012
- She amazes me more and more everyday with what she comprehends and processes. She loves to repeat words back at us and wants to know what everything is called.
- I remember with my first daughter I would have a running dialogue of what we were seeing and doing anywhere we went. I haven't done that with my second daughter and I feel bad. It's not all my fault though, the first one does tend to take over the conversation.
- She transitions to the official toddler room tomorrow. I don't know if it is a second child vs. first child thing, but she seems much too little and young to be moving already. My baby.
- If you tell her that you love her, she leans in, and gives you a little head hug and smoochy kiss noise.
- I broke out a Baby MacDonald DVD yesterday and she loved it when Old MacDonald started playing. She would sing Ee-Ii-Ee-Ii-Ee-Ii-Ee-Ii-Oooo through the whole thing. I need to sing more songs with her.
- A little over a month to publish this and see just how much everything has changed in a year.

June 18, 2012
- If you tell her "I love you." she leans her head on you for her version of a hug.
- She's getting particular about eating. She can feed herself, but sometimes will refuse to do so. Most of the time she doesn't want me to feed her and it has to be daddy. On Father's Day daddy was out with his dad and I wasn't good enough and she wouldn't feed herself again. Her big sister stepped up and fed her the entire meal. What a trooper my 4.5 year old has turned out to be.
- We now have to buy a kiddie pool after seeing her fall in love with one at a birthday party this weekend. Swimming lessons start on Saturday and I have zero worries about whether they go well.

June 28, 2012
- Oh, the toddler tantrums. She was so mad about having to go to bed this past weekend that she stalked away from me, banged her head on her door, almost did it again and remembered that it hurt the first time, turned around, threw her sippy cup on the floor, and then threw herself prostrate on the floor and cried. This all lasted about 25 seconds when she stood up again and I asked if she wanted to read a book now. She nodded and climbed into my lap.
- Swim class was a success. She loves the water even though she was s bit hesitant at first, she warmed right up until I dared to dunk her under the water. No crying though, just a boo-boo face with a bottom lip stuck out and a definite, "NO" on doing that again.
- She loves repeating the last word we say which could be very bad so now we have to watch our language in front of her sister and her.

July 5, 2012
- We spent some time outside in the shade because it was HOT yesterday. It was the 4th of July and it is required of all Americans to cook meat on an open flame, outside, while imbibing. Anyway, I'm pretty sure she asked no less than 8,381 times what that and that was. That was an umbrella and that was a pop-up tent. She did try to say umbrella which was hysterical hearing and seeing her try to form that word.
- We promised the daughter that we would take her swimming in the neighbor's pool which we were headed out to do on Tuesday afternoon when the baby woke up from her nap and saw her sister putting on her swimsuit or as she calls it, her soom-soot. She was so sad in her tone of voice begging and pleading for her soom-soot so she could come too. Of course she got to swim with us and loved every single second despite her blue, quivery lip when the wind started blowing.

July 9, 2012
- There was so much noise in my car this weekend, but at least it was joyful. At one point, the daughter was singing "Hakuna Matata" at the top of her lungs with her slightly off lyrics and the baby was "singing" right along with her at the top of her lungs. I tried to record the singing, but the daughter stopped singing and asked who was on the phone since I was holding my phone out with the voice recorder on. Busted.
- The neighbors gave us some small outside riding toys and one was spotted this weekend coming in through the attached garage. The only way I was able to get her off the thing was to bribe her with fruit snacks.
- We swam every day this past weekend and it is still the favorite pastime for both girls. The baby (I still call her the baby, and probably will forever) gets a huge kick out of pushing off the steps and gliding quickly through the water while I hold her hands.
- She surprised me this morning by asking to nurse when she hadn't asked for the past 3 mornings. We're still going strong in the evenings and not missing a single one unless her dada puts her to bed.
- Daycare drop-off was super easy today because breakfast was being set out when we got there. She plunked right down in a chair and let me put all her stuff (blanket, snack cup, My Little Pony) in the chair next to her without complaint.
- Current favorite foods - yogurt, ice cream, mac n cheese, fruit snacks, and crackers.
- Current favorite songs - Old McDonald, Happy and You Know It, and Itsy-Bitsy Spider.
- Current favorite toys - play foods and dishes because she likes to feed us, Magnadoodle, and books, books, books.

July 11, 2012
- The daughter went to the neighbor's to swim for a little bit last night, the husband took the baby downstairs while I got the daughter ready and out the door. I got back from dropping her off and the husband and baby came upstairs. She immediately knew. We hadn't said anything and she hadn't seen anything. She ran to the back door, crying, and saying her sister's name, outside, and pool. We were shocked. She KNEW.
- She loves to get her own things when we mention them. Her shoes, her socks, her blanket, her toys, her cup, etc. Accompanying these actions are the non-stop narration of shoes, shoes, shoes or socks, socks, socks or blankie, blankie, blankie, or cup, cup, cup.
- It is so sweet when she sits next to her sister in the recliner to watch Sesame Street or one of the Baby Einstein DVDs. That is, until they start pushing and annoying each other.

July 15, 2012
- She spent about 10 minutes in the car telling her big sister, "No" and "Quiet" just because her daddy had said that at one point. I'd never heard her say quiet and it was perfectly clear.
- We're going to the zoo today and I can't wait to hear all the animal noises, see all the pointing at things, and to hear the protestations of "No!" when we ask if she wants to ride on the carousel.

Well, that is a year of observations, stories and growth. On to post this extremely long entry. My baby isn't so much a baby any more with all the walking, talking, opinions, and ideas. I'm looking forward to even more of the same, but am bittersweet about everything that has passed already. I'm going to miss that little baby.


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