You see, Dave and I work pretty hard at creating a really soothing environment for Annabelle because for the past year we've thought (and been told) that night waking is sometimes due to overstimulation. This rung true for us so we sought to have a really long calming bedtime ritual and have limited crazyness during the daytime. Well rested days equals well rested nights. Happy days make for more sleep.
Anyway, I thought about how Annabelle zips through the house at approximately 682 miles an hour leaving total destruction in her wake.
And I thought about how a couple months ago she began her daily ritual of picking up her shoes, walking up to me and pointing at her feet asking me to put them on, then walking to the door and banging it while yelling and pointing to be let out.
And I thought about the 79 books we have in her book corner that she has devoured and recently dismissed as old news.
So I went out and bought her a new toy. One of those stackers. I brought it home and dumped it upside down to remove all the pieces. Then I stacked each piece on it to show her how it went. Then I dumped it over again so she could try.
I left the living room to go get a glass of water and came back to see this:
She did it all on her own, no help from me. I was stunned at her achievement. So the girl's got some fine motor skills. Great!
I have since swapped out about ten books from Grama and Grampa's house and we have reignited Annabelle's little book fetish. Dave and I then went to Target and got her one of these lockboxes. She loves it. We like it too.
We are a little behind in realizing how fast she is developing. She (finally!) does need stimulation. (Not to mention lots of exercise!) So we've been playing music and dancing around and I try to give her little surprises every day: her own deck of cards, some defunct remote controls or cell phones, my whisk from the kitchen, etc. Or I'll put a bunch of her toys in a paper bag and hide them in a place she'll find later. I'll teach her a new baby sign. Yesterday I put an avocado pit in an empty water bottle and she carried that thing around for an hour and banged it on every surface in the house.
I've also given up on teaching her how to use a spoon. I figure that she'll figure it out when she needs to. But I have been very diligent on teaching her how to use a fork and she's gotten pretty good at stabbing watermelon. And she can get it right end in her mouth about 99.9% of the time. The great thing about this is that she's finally interested in eating more simply to practice her new skill. Watermelon has become a staple in our household.
Just so I remember to write it down, here is a list of what Annabelle eats at nearly 14 months:
Rice, rice cakes, avocado (only with lemon and salt and pepper!), watermelon, cucumbers (only soaked in rice vinegar!), apples (never apple sauce or juice!), celery, fig newtons (only the ones by Paul Newman!), sardines, rice noodles and (occasionally, depending on some unknown factor) chicken, beef, or pork.
And just so I can see the list myself, here is what Annabelle is allergic to: (and because I'm still nursing I can't eat these either.)
Dairy (including butter, butter flavoring, cheese, and yogurt), wheat (anything containing flour!), oats (in any form), papaya (I know! Crazy!), and eggs (at all)... I think there is more but I'm having trouble recalling it.
Anywhoo... sorry for the disjointed post. It's late and I'm just over here blathering on about my darling girl.
