Jaela is growing by leaps and bounds lately. It seems like every day she is discovering something new or showing us a new trick. She is no longer a little baby, but a little person with her own individual characteristics. I can't even count the number of times I laugh each day because of her. To give you some examples, here are a few ways in which she is growing and learning:
Feeding: Jaela is no longer on formula, bottles or baby food. She is now eating table food and drinking whole milk. It's nice to cut that cost from my grocery budget, but she is definitely getting a little tricky. As she becomes more independent with feeding, she is able to decide when she does/doesn't want the food I prepare for her. She loves her carbohydrates and white foods, but will often push away her veggies or meat. We've been trying creative ways to give her veggies, like shredding up carrots an putting them in sandwhiches or dipping certain foods in cottage cheese or yogurt (again, white food) She has also discovered how to feed the dog. If she doesn't want something, she simply picks it up and drops it on the floor. And then proceeds to laugh at herself. It's cute, and she knows mommy and Daddy try hard not to laugh.
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| After drinking from a cup |
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| laughing after feeding the dog |
Dressing: No, she doesn't dress herself yet-although that will be a big event when that happens. However, she does help us a little. She is learning to hold out her arms when we place her coat on her and she helps pull her shirts off (the latter part is mostly out of frustration from something on her face) Oh, and she has decided that she no longer likes headbands-they are for babies. So, most of the time she goes out with wild hair because it's almost impossible to keep her still for anything else.
The other big news with dressing, is that we have invested in her first pair of shoes. She is walking(more on that in a moment) and the weather is getting chillier, so we figured it was time. She HATED them at first-literally stood in the living room and cried, but now she does ok when we get them on. I think she will always prefer not to wear shoes/socks when it's a choice-she's been that way since day one.
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| on the move! |
Walking: As I posted in a video earlier, Jaela is walking!
Everyday she is getting steadier and faster on her feet. She loves her new independence, and is into just about everything. She even tries going up/down steps if she can get close to any. It's nice most of the time, except during church when she tries to escape from the pew. :)
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| her reading face |
Play: This is such a fun age to play with her. She initiates more and more play with us, such as peek a boo, mimicking, music play, hide and seek and (gentle) wrestling. She loves looking through books and pictures, and will point to items and verbalize like she is reading. I particularly love watching her lips stick out into an exagerrated "o" position when she reads. She gives us raspberries or zerberts as we call them, and then tilts her head back and laughs. She also can point to her belly, and recently began clapping for a purpose. Example:she stuck out her tongue in play, and Josh mimicked her. Everytime he did it, she clapped for him.
Affection: My favorite. She purposely gives hugs and kisses, and it is the best thing ever. Sometimes she will be playing and then walk up to me and then just give me a big hug, So far, she seems to like me. I cherish each and every hug and kiss, because I know someday she won't think that's cool anymore.
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| She loves animals |
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| Orneryness right there-probably trying to figure how she can get out |
So, I know this is super long, but chasing after her after working all day-doesn't leave much sitting down time for blogging. If you are family reading this, you will be receiving her 1 year pics sometime in the near future, I just have a couple more to print. Thanks for reading !
