I love to sit back and watch her. She does the sweetest things when she is in her own little world. I've caught her walking whereas under normal circumstances she insists she cannot by going limp noodle when I hold her hands and crawling away from me with a snarl. Sometimes she has long baby babble conversations with her stuffed animals, or creates music by strumming the heater vents and flicking the springy door stops. After a while her sweet independence turns into chaotic mischief and I invite her to do chores with me. She can remove dirty dishes from the dish washer faster than I can load them and unfold laundry faster than I can fold it. I'm learning how many different ways there are to say no... and so is she! There is the sweet no with a quick shake of her head to tell me when she is all done eating. There is the no combined with the continuous shaking of her head while she turns the tv on and off and clicks the volume louder... louder... and louder! It's as if she is saying, I know I'm not supposed to- but I'm gonna anyway! There is even the spunky no accompanied by the sideways head and body bob that I know would be used in conjunction with a finger snap and an oh no you didn't if only she were able. Where in the world does she get this attitude?
If I know I'll have somewhere to go later in the day, we'll hop in the shower. She loves playing in the water; just crawls around, splashes and plays with her toys in the tub while I take my shower. It's back to Head and Shoulders for her little scalp; that awful cradle cap strikes again! Lately, she's been a shower terror. Turning the water all the way hot or all the way cold, or pulling open the shower curtain to blast me with cold air. This introduces a whole new string of "NO"s! All I can really do is laugh.
After a couple of hours it is nap time so we warm up a bottle of organic, hormone/ preservative free milk and cuddle up together on the couch. Sometimes, I let her feed herself. She does good for a little bit, long enough for me to take this adorable picture!
But then, because she is such a good little girl, she tries to share and feed me the bottle. I love this age. She is finally on a consistent nap schedule; taking two hours naps, twice a day spread out on her tummy and sucking on a binki. (Thus all my time available for sewing/ crafting!)
We both enjoy our afternoons a lot more when we socialize. So, when her daddy can't be home to play, we like to have our friends and neighbors over. Baby girl waves enthusiastically, sometimes with both arms, whenever someone shows up on our doorstop. As of yet, my daughter has never gone through a shy phase or even shown a preference for me, her mama. As long as someone is talking to her, maybe letting her try out their coat zippers or go through their wallet/ purse, she is happy. (She used to have an aversion to men with beards, but lately even they make good playmates... better than the alternative to actually sitting still during church anyway!)
I consider our day a success if she has eaten at least one vegetable, and at least one fruit in addition to her morning banana. She's past the baby food stage, but doesn't always remember to chew her solid foods. (Or gum them rather, since she only has her front bottom teeth and her front teeth are just starting to poke through.) She likes sweet potatoes in fry form, frozen peas, carrots and corn, thawed of course, apple sauce, cheese and just about anything that comes off her daddy's plate. (Gotta be cool like him! I roll my eyes.)
Bed time comes at seven o clock and baby girl drinks a whole ten ounces of milk while we listen to lullabies. If she's feeling sweet, she'll give me a kiss good night... otherwise she just tells me no. And then it's good night baby, see you between one and three in the morning when we snuggle beneath the blankets in my bed and nurse another bottle.
The beginnings of independence...
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