It seems Grace has blossomed since we moved (of course a part of me wonders if this is because I'm not working so while I'll spare you the guilt and angst-ridden musings on the subject, know that they're there and kicking). I need to remember a bunch of her funny antics at 14 months so I'm making a list. This is a long one and it's especially for our memories, so bear with me (or skip it - I'll never know).
She has been walking all over the place on her own since June 21. She had been taking steps between people since before her birthday and could even go across a whole room, but just wasn't using it as a form of transportation. Then, in Ashland on our drive down to SF, she started walking around the hotel room just a little. Then, on the 21st she started walking all over the new apartment between my mom and me, laughing all the way. And she hasn't stopped. She stumbles and sometimes does some serious face-plants but she gets right back up and goes on her way. She's not running but she sure goes fast. She seems to walk for the sheer joy of it, pacing the apartment between rooms looking for someone to talk to, saying "hi? hi?"
She has also started "talking" or using her own words to communicate. I can't believe how quickly this has taken off... she was barely saying a word at her first birthday and now I can hardly keep track. I think this is her current word list:
Mama or momm = mama; i want something
Dada = dada
Neenee = i want, i want
Hiii = hi
Byee = bye
Wa-wa = water
Aaa-w?o or Aaa-oh = all done (with accompanying hand gesture that is vaguely similar to the "all done" sign)
Dah-d0 = dog
Moh? = more (with approximate sign)
Tan-to = thank you
Uh-key = okay (usually said in a I hear you and am disregarding what you say kind of way)
Uh-oh = i'm about to throw something off my highchair tray
The non-verbal, but very clear new form of communication is vigorous head-shaking to say no. Even if she wants something, she might need to shake her head no first. We were very surprised to see this happening already... she's not even close to 2!
She heard the word "head" the other day and patted herself on the head. Now if we ask where her head is, she'll pat her head. If we ask where her nose is, she'll pat her head. So there's a little ways to go...
She started blowing kisses, I think when we were in Montana. For a while she would blow a kiss whenever we said "bye bye", but now she has moved on to loudly repeating "BYE!" whenever
the context presents itself. Or when it doesn't. In the grocery store, she'll ride in the cart saying hi and waving to anyone whose attention she can get, and she'll happily start yelling "bye" as well. She wanders they house saying hi and bye as well. And she loves to read. She goes to her bookshelf and pulls out books and quietly looks through them for long periods of time. She'll read in the car as well.
Oh, and she finally eats fruit! Blueberries and strawberries and grapes and even banana! And she still loves her tortilla chips and salsa. In fact on my birthday, she threw a tantrum when I took the pico de gallo she was eating straight from the dish away from her. She now eats more than crackers!
And she's made the transition to finally having her own room beautifully. She's been sleeping very well since we go here, and even past 6am many days. No more bottle at bedtime, either. We've switched to a straw cup of milk!
Finally, a quick story. The other night Steve was putting Grace to bed and when she finished her milk, she pointed to her crib. He picked up her book to start reading and she closed it, said "bye!" and pointed to her crib. He tried again to read the story and she started flipping the pages quickly to the end, closed it again, and pointed to her crib. Clear communication for sure. It's amazing how she has gone from being a baby to a toddler so quickly. Gracie Mae Pie, you crack us up.
Video?
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