40 Weeks - I can (un)dress myself!

This may not be unique to this week, it may have started a week or two ago.  But it is pretty funny and awesome to watch.  You try to undress yourself.  And you are getting good at it!

So come night time when you start to get tired, in order to keep you happy until it is your bed time we let you run around with no clothes and just a diaper.  Of course when this routine started we had to do all the undressing.  Now we get a little help.  Depending on what you are wearing we will take off your pants/skirt and if necessary un-button your onesie.  At first you could only pull it up in front of your face.  Then you were able to get it over your head but not completely off.  But you never do anything half way so of course you now are able to take the top off yourself completely!

 And of course it isn't complete until you try and eat it.  Doesn't matter what you have - pants, shirt, shoes - if it comes off of you then you try to eat it.

You are my silly little girl!  And I love you.

39 Weeks - Smart Cookie/Head Shaking

This was one of those impressive weeks. Where I really think you are progressing and becoming a little person and not just a baby.

First let's talk about all the smart things you do.  Like learning to throw away your diaper.  I came home one day and your mom showed me that you could do it.  It was amazing!  We just have to ask you where your diaper or "yuckers" go and you toddle off to the trash can and either plop it in or await a boost to help put it in.


And you have finally mastered clapping and waving.  After you throw away your diaper and we say "good girl" you clap.  You pretty clap anytime we say "good girl" now.  Not to mention all the times you clap for yourself for no reason, but that is neither here nor there.  Well I guess it is here, but not what I meant.  Waving is almost as on demand.  You are very good at waving hello and goodbye when we actually say "hello" and "goodbye."  When waving to strangers you are a little slow to warm up to them, but eventually you wave like a pro!

You also can now parrot back sounds and seemingly hold a conversation of "cooing."  Along the same lines, your P-Pa thinks you try to exercise mind and body control over others.  He hasn't said so in so many words, but he (and I) have noticed that sometimes you make movements and we copy them and then you move waiting for us to copy them again.  It's a poor man's version of ESP.

Now about the head shaking - please stop!  You do it all the time!  Twice as much as your clapping for yourself.  At first it was random and sporadic, but now any time my head or your mom's head so much as slightly shifts to the side your head moves side to side 4 or 5 times.  I do prefer the consistent, intelligent head shaking to what I at first thought was possible mini seizures.  But now I am trying very hard to teach you to nod your head YES.  Something your mom and I are going to consciously try is not teach you the word "no."  My substitute word was "stop", but I was recently informed that "stop" is just about as easy to say as "no" so that may not work, even though you can't say "stop" when asked to put your toys away.  Think that conversation in your mind.  Made me laugh a little.

Last but not least - you are 9 months old today.  Wow.  You have been out of your mom nearly as long as you were in.  You were late so the fault that your out time doesn't match the in is strictly your own fault.

In any case - I love you little toddler child!  Keep on growing and moving on to bigger and better things!  This permission comes with the clause that I can at any time ask you to stop growing up, so just be warned of that.

38 Weeks - Books

What can I say to sum up this week?  Books!  You love to carry books.  You almost love to read them with someone.  When I say almost love I mean you come to me, want to get on my lap and read it and then almost instantly want to move on to something else.

These are the only pictures of this week in books that we have, but I think that they are pretty cute!  I think we have mentioned your love of carrying things before.  This just adds on top of your previous passions while giving a (hopefully) educational twist.

Unfortunately since you are young and teething, your love of books can also be disastrous.  Any soft, paperback book is vulnerable to being ripped, chewed and otherwise destroyed.  One book has had it's cover taken at your hands.  Fortunately (for the books) your mom almost exclusively has board books out for your carrying and reading pleasure at this time.  We do have some more paperback books stored in your room for later when you are less destructive and more inclined to actually reading.  We went to Costco and even bought a tough book just for you.  Problem with the new one is it isn't as light as those paperbacks so at first you were a little less inclined to carry it.  But now I think you have gotten used to it and you carry it around a bit more.

That should be a good enough post.  Tune in next week!

37 Weeks - Waving

Still so very, very far behind on posting so all I really remember about this week (or close to it) is that you started waving.  Mostly at your P-Pa.  Just another of your developmental skills that means you are that much closer to talking and being a complete little person.  In my mind a little person can walk, talk and feed theirself.  You got all but the talking down now.

And since I don't remember any other details we head to the pictures:

This was actually a REALLY fun moment in time.  I was sitting on the couch and you were of course running around on the floor.  I had one of your blankets and decided to throw it on you.  Kind of like and advanced game of peek-a-boo.  Well rather than do the smart thing and stop and take it off you kept going!  You walked around like a costumed Halloween ghost!  This action was repeated several more times after you took the blanket off.  Fortunately for me there was no running into things and crying.  That would have made me felt bad.  Instead I think we all had a good time.  Family fun!

Well, that's all I got for this week.

36 Weeks - Second Tooth

I am so far behind in my posting you will think these next three posts are almost pointless (at least that is how I feel), but I have committed myself to posting once for every week your first year and I am going to do my best to do that!  I am a man of my word, even if I gave that word to no one but myself.

This week we found a second tooth popping up next to your first on the bottom.  Everything else was pretty much status quo.  You still like to walk around and get into everything.  I wonder if you think there just isn't enough time in the day and that is why you only spend 5 seconds per activity that you do per day.  5 seconds running around, 5 seconds carrying something, 5 seconds patiently in my lap, 5 seconds reading a book, 5 more seconds running around... Go, go go!  If we could bottle your energy and save it for later I am sure you would be a happy adult.

Since I am behind and have really forgotten the details of week 36, the rest will be a story in pictures:

Ah, yes.  The entertainment center you "helped" me build.  I started fairly early in the day (after breakfast) and began the lengthy project.  Part of the reason it took so long is I am not 100% at following directions.  More like 95%.  The other reason is you wanted to climb every stack of wood or box that I had related to the project. Your mom just thinks that stuff is priceless but all I see is a girl about to fall down and cry.  Not that I am opposed to your having adventures, just opposed to your crying right now.  When you are older I can reason with you (to an extent).  But now I can't do anything about your crying.  You don't want to cuddle, you don't understand my words... frustrating.  Good thing you haven't fallen off of anything yet.  I bet that makes your mom feel vindicated (she actually just told me it's a good thing that she thinks your moments are priceless because now we have pictures of them).

On to the next week!