13 Months

I have been trying to get her 12 & 13 month posts done before she turns 14 months! Yeah - I made it :-) She has changed TONS this month. The biggest change is she is walking! I thought it would be a long way out because she hadn't even gone from sitting to standing yet and hardly stood on her own at all. She surprised us all and 1 week after turning 1 she just stood up and took 3 steps, then got right back up and took 5 and she just kept going until she was up to 14 steps.

Not so exciting has been her ongoing weight saga. She lost over a 1/2 pound this month and is now not quite 15 1/2 lbs. She started the month out well - eating much better and also seemed to be tolerating dairy. Unfortunately, she didn't do so well the last part of the month. On the way home from CO she got the flu. All the kids ended up getting it but she just couldn't seem to shake it. She puked so much - poor little thing. She seemed to be getting better but continued to puke at least once a day for nearly a week and had bad diarrhea. When she was finally done puking she continued to have diarrhea. I decided to do some googling (cuz it was such a strange color & texture) and quickly realized she wasn't tolerating dairy like I thought she was. Her reactions were so different than the past so I didn't make the connection right away. After stopping dairy she was back to normal diapers in 3 days. So . . . . goodbye for now dairy. I thoroughly enjoyed you (maybe too much) and promise to see you again someday :-) Once feeling better she was back to nursing great and eating a variety of foods. She continues nursing well - no getting distracted, no squirming and crying, no refusing. She actually gets really excited and squeals when she is about to eat. So cute!

She DOES NOT like it when Samson licks her! I love Samson's guilty eyes - he knows he is in trouble now :-)

She continues to be a little talker/signer. She says, Good bye Daddy, Hannah, Isaac, Audrey, Baby, Puppy, Mommy, Daddy, All Done and More. She signs baby, puppy, all done and more. She loves playing peak-a-boo, giving kisses and hugs and hiding (she finds great spots and then pops out to "scare" us). She also neighs every time she sees a horse :-) It is really funny - as you can imagine Madison taught her that.

She loves to look at books. She really focuses on them and turns their pages slowly. She seems mesmerized by them :-)

She loves to stack things up. She would get so excited and clap each time she got a ring on. Cute!

Her hair is getting longer and gets pretty frizzy and crazy!

Off she goes

Our sweet little girl is growing up - she is getting more stubborn, more determined, more cuddly, more loving, more attentive, more demanding and more expressive. I am trying to take the good with the bad and savor the moments because I know they wont last long. When I am up with her 6 times in a night I remind myself this too shall pass. When I cuddle with her in the night I ignore my uncomfortable position and remind myself that this too shall pass. When she wants me to hold her (and clings on for dear life when I try to put her down) I hold her a little longer and remind myself this too shall pass. When she gives me a kiss and hug I remind myself to hug tighter and kiss her again because this too shall pass. Some things I wish would pass quicker than others. Unfortunately, we don't get to pick and choose so instead I must enjoy them all!

Until next time . . . . I'm off to ENJOY the moments :-)