Our Toddler

We told V that she would earn the name "toddler" once she started to walk, and that day has arrived! She took her first steps back in November, and all through December she practiced with a couple steps here and there. But it really took off ... literally ... while we were in Arizona. I think watching Juliet inspired her. By last weekend, she was walking in short bursts all over the house. In fact, last week I thought I would teach her what "stand up" meant. I said it once ... "staannnd up!" and it turns out she already knew it! She looked at me, pushed her butt up in the air, and lifted her arms up off the ground. Like I've said before, it amazes us how much she takes in. Half the time we're not even aware of all she knows!

An incomplete list of words she recognizes includes ... Mommy, Daddy, Piper, Hannah, Grandma, Grandpa, lay down, sit down, stand up, walk, kick, clap, wave bye-bye, high five. When she approaches stairs or wants to get off furniture, she listens when we tell her "leg first" so she can safely go down backwards. She can identify her tummy, head, and foot. She will find her blankie when asked (around the 1 year mark she started LOVING her blankie, pulling it out of her crib and snuggling into it), drink water when we suggest it, and definitely knows iphone. One day she was playing with my iphone in the bedroom while I was making breakfast. She crawled out to the kitchen, leaving the iphone in the bedroom. I told her, "hey, where's Mommy's iphone? You should bring it to me." I was jaw-droppingly surprised when she looked at me, thought for a moment, crawled back to the bedroom, then came out with iphone in hand (clunking it on the floor as she crawled), and handed it to me. If we say "hello?" she will put the iphone, or her toy phone (or if neither is handy, just her hand will do) to her ear, tilting her head to one side so she can "talk" on the phone like all the adults she sees. She is fascinated with the world around her and will often point at things so that Mommy and Daddy will name them for her.

She got her Christmas wish ... two bottom teeth started poking through on December 23. We thought for sure it would be the top teeth, as they had looked swollen and sore for weeks. But the top teeth followed a few weeks later, with the fourth tooth appearing the first day we arrived in Arizona. Seeing teeth when she smiles definitely makes her seem like a big girl.

She "hugs" people by simply tucking her head against their chest or shoulder ... and it's so darn cute. If I give her pen and paper, or crayon and paper, she will pretend to write, holding crayon with tip to the paper ... I imagine she watches lots of kids at day care with their crayons. She hasn't quite realized yet that those crayons will actually leave marks on the paper, so any scribbles are accidental. For some reason, she loves having a pen and checkbook and will lay on the floor pretending to write checks.

Victoria loves our puppies. Every day she tries to play with them ... throwing the ball, or playing tug. I always feel a little broken hearted if one of the dogs doesn't feel like playing ... she tries so hard! Thankfully, Piper is almost always in the mood for a game of fetch. And if Piper isn't available? She is pretty happy to throw a ball to a human too. I sure wish I could have seen this -- last Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa babysat. While they were playing catch with Victoria, she leaned over and picked up her ball in her mouth, just like the puppies. I guess she even shook it side to side at one point! Oh, silly girl! It made me think of a recent story my friend Nina told me about her 15-month-old, Juliet ... Juliet saw their dog lick Mommy's legs when she stepped out of the shower, so Juliet had to try the same thing! Their imitation cracks me up.

Some days she is a really good eater, either in quantity (like when she needed to eat two bananas for breakfast, or gobbled four slices of cheese like it was sent from heaven) or quality (chicken tikka masala and bruschetta with prosciutto, figs, and brie are two recent meals). Those good days seem equally offset by her moments of pickiness. She is starting to learn what her food preferences are, which usually doesn't include vegetables (much to Mommy's dismay). Like Daddy, she can consume huge amounts of cheese. With the arrival of teeth, she has also learned to take bites. This is a huge step forward from her old method of just shoving, say, a whole cupcake in her mouth. Now we can hand her a graham cracker, banana, or french fry just like the big people eat them.

Here are some more photos of her 1-year photo session. I couldn't choose just a few!

She really loved this chair. Just sitting in it made her smile.
We brought it to the house after the photo session so she could sit in it some more!

Love those imploring eyes!

She couldn't wait to crawl up into the chair!

We gave her a toy bell to play with ... not that you can see much of it!

Piper is asking Hannah, "how long do you think we have to stay here?"

Good girls!

This last picture reminds me of a final note...when her bottom teeth were coming in, she would stick her tongue in and out, in and out, so fast I started saying she had a "lizard tongue." It became so funny that she learned what "lizard tongue" meant -- Matt rolls his eyes, and I laugh when we realize I teach her silly things like lizard tongue and he teaches her practical skills like going down stairs. It's totally worth it, though, when I realize she thinks it's funny too ... quite often when I say "lizard tongue" she'll stick her tongue in and out, and then "hug" me as if to say, "I love when you're silly, Mommy!"