But it also has its negatives: everyone ooohs and aaahs, the important stuff is learning rolling over, and talking about poopy diapers never seems to go out of style...
Sigh.
But Dave and I have reached a new high- Annabelle is interacting with us, she is developing her own will, and it's great to see her personality really begin to shine. She knows when we are making
jokes and she knows how to tease us back. Before I knew Annabelle I would have thought that a baby under one couldn't possibly make a joke or communicate well enough to actually tease her mom or dad, but it's true, I swear!Example Number One - We are finally getting her to eat from a spoon. It's inconsistent, but works with certain foods, like avocado. (But only if the avocado is mixed up with salt, pepper, and enough lemon juice to make me pucker. The more lemon the more she gulps down.) If we are spoon feeding her a new food or some unflavored avocado she will take one bite and then refuse any more attempts. But if we persist, asking her to please try another bite, she will lean forward, press her lips to the spoon without opening her mouth, then pull away and move her jaw up and down like she's chewing and then open her mouth to show that it's empty. She seriously seems to be trying to fake me out! Is it possible she is smart enough to know how to do that?
Example Number Two - Annabelle was ripping up an envelope and putting the paper in her mouth. Not wanting her to eat paper I said, "nuh-uh!" and held out my hand. She took the paper out of her mouth and placed it in my hand. I said, "Thank you!" Repeat this about three times. Then she ripped another piece and I simply held out my hand and she took this fifth piece out of her mouth and placed it in my hand while I said, "Thank you!" Repeat
twice more. Then she took another piece of paper and held it up to her lips while watching me, smiling. She handed that over and then crawled away from me and sat down with her back facing me. She ripped another piece and put it in her mouth. I said, "Annabelle?" knowing that she was eating paper and we just went through a five minute don't-eat-paper training session. She looked down at the torn envelope and just started chuckling, shoulders heaving up and down. Hilarious. I walked over to her and she looked up with a big smile and opened her mouth wide so I could fish the paper out of it. It's so great to see her share her toys with us, copy us, try to do something we just showed her how to do, learn new words, try new tricks... her latest tricks include:
- walking unassisted about six feet!
- laying her head down on a nearby pillow whenever you say, "aaaahhhh, the baaaabyyyyy"
- screeching at the top of her lungs when she wants to be picked up
- picking out the named toy from a group of three or four, asking "where's the little girl?"
- pointing to various pictures in a book, "where's the apple?"
- blows raspberries whenever she sees Dave or wants to amuse herself, "bbblllllppphttt!" spraying spit everywhere
Anyway, we're proud parents. And we are really looking forward to hearing her thoughts on just about everything. And given how hilarious we think we are, she's probably going to fit right in.
