asphodellium

So, four days after your first birthday, you finally decided to take your first independent steps. Six of them, if I counted correctly. So you walk now, when you want to, but more often than not you still don’t want to! Unless it’s to cross short distances. You’re very fond of walking on your knees, however. People always comment on your knee-shuffle.

I’m drowning in a sea of white fuzz.

Your dance moves have really diversified. Sometimes you bounce, sometimes you sway, sometimes you bop your head, sometimes you raise your arms. Or any combination of those. You’re more likely to sway to slow songs and bop to upbeat ones. And you dance when I sing … aww!

Early this month you figured out how to unlock the iPod touch. Push button, slide touchscreen bar. How ..?! You always flip the device upside-down so the home button is on top.

A better photo pending, hopefully.

You purse your lips in a piglet-face pout. The trigger word for that is face. As in, “Show grandma your funny FACE,” or, “Blue steel FACE!”

When we ask, “Where’s your nose?” you can point to it. But you also erroneously point to other parts of your face about 20% of the time.

At the beginning of the month you started saying, “Aww yeah!” but it’s since evolved into the Chinese exclamation, “Aiyah!” Or, more often, “Ai-YAAA!” You like to yell this as a greeting to strangers.

Your new complaint syllable is “miu miu miu.” There’s also “byao byao byao,” which happens to sound like the Mandarin for do not want.

Sadly, you no longer eat everything. Meals were so easy when you did! I can’t be sure now if you’ll refuse something. Like leafy greens; you seem to not like those anymore. You make the most hilarious disgusted faces – complete with shudder! – and you’ve started daintily dropping undesired food off your highchair. Sigh. You like meats and grains, usually. The newest hit has been starfruit.

It’s easy to tell when you’re done eating, because you start playing with your food, smushing it into the highchair tray with your finger.

Lately you’ve been wanting to nurse more than ever. You insist on nursing to sleep again, after a period of not needing to. And at night, when you wake up, you ask for it! “Hi.” Whimper. “Neh neh?” It’s SO CUTE ARGH I CAN’T SAY NO.

More theatrics: This is your “Why?”

And this is your “Oh no!”