She's standing up more on her own. And when I say that I mean tonight we were watching tv and realized that she just stood up on her two feet without pulling herself up and stood there as balanced as could be. We also got our second accident report at Day Care today. Apparently she was walking along the bookshelves that are in the middle of the room (they are very short, she can see over the top of them), lost her balance and hit her face on the shelf. Her teacher said that she didn't show any signs of bruising, but just in case she wanted me to know. Have I mentioned how much I really do love her Day Care?
In addition, 2 days in a row this week they've sent her home looking like this:
With a MOHAWK! I'm sure most parents wouldn't find it funny. I think it's hilarious. Her new teacher, Jessica, is really nice. She said she was cleaning her up after eating and she couldn't help but spike her hair since it's starting to come in. I swear, about 2 weeks ago she woke up and her hair was thicker. I kid you not. As I gave her a bath the night before I washed her hair and again was sad she still doesn't have much. The next morning I could tell it was thicker....and it hasn't really grown (noticeably) as much since. So they sent her home spiked up one day, we all laughed, then the next night I go to get her and they were giggling about it again. I love it! I love that they love to have fun with my girl. I love that at least 3 times a week I have at least one teacher tell me how cute she is or something funny they've appreciated that she's done.
I'm not sure if anyone else agrees with me, but I don't think Rachel's overly photogenic. And I don't say that she's not adorable. Quite the contrary. What I mean is (and I've thought this since she was a newborn) that photographs don't truly capture the "essence" of Rachel. Her personality, and especially her eyes, are what make this girl truly captivating. Everyone agrees that even though she can't communicate very well, she has a personality all her own. She smiles and expresses her frustration or thrills with her eyes. Still photos don't capture that, you really have to see her in person to see what I mean.
Oh! Music to a mother's ears! This past Tuesday she's started saying "Mama" again. I could care less if she's just babbling or if she means "Mom". The fact is, I'm hearing this phrase again and I am SOOOOO excited about it!
Other things she's doing (and I apologize if this is a repeat from a previous post....) she does hold her bottle all by herself now. And we've almost completely phased out all of her 9 month clothes and have started wearing more (but not all) of her 12 mo. clothes.
We give her a lot more table food and are starting to decrease her bottle intake. (The doctor said we should!) She's down to no more than 4 bottles a day, and I'm not sure yet if I can decrease to 3. (Rachel probably wouldn't hear of it). I've started feeding her these ravioli dishes by Gerber and although she kind of chokes while eating them, I'm noticing each time she eats a bowl of them she does better. She LOVES bananas and I'm thankful as that's one fruit that's easy to get at the grocery and is soft enough she can eat it.
Her favorite toys right now are her dolls. She still says "Dada or deetdeet" when she's playing with one. Her other favorite: photographs. She loves books. She loves the photos on the fridge. She loves the photo of the baby on the diaper package.
We've also started letting her watch Sesame Street and she's entranced. Last weekend I think I watched a total of 3 55 minute episodes in one day and she watched them with me. I wont' lie: I LOVE watching that show with her and I do get annoyed that about halfway through an episode she'll start to get tired and I have to pause it until she wakes up from a nap. I've never NOT loved Sesame Street, so being able to watch it with her brings no small amount of joy to this mama. Although Elmo is her favorite....and he isn't mine. So that's an area we'll suffer through with her....however I will take 100 Elmo's if it means we don't EVER have Barney in our house. By my own request, he's a banned character.
When she hears music, she's starting to dance and bounce rhythmically. She also will clap her hands.
Oh - did I mention she's figured out how to open cabinets? NOT my favorite development! I've at least managed to get a child-proof lock for the cabinet under the sink where the cleaning supplies are. But the other cabinets....no such luck. I've purchased several different types of child-proofing paraphernalia, but alas none of them will work on our cabinets. So I'm going to have to go out and try to find some more.
Her top two teeth are much more noticeable, although I still have to turn her upside down to see them. Tonight as I was doing just that, I noticed 2 more buds out to the side of the top 2 teeth that are coming in. Teeth # 5 & 6 are already starting to show! It won't be long now....I wonder if I think she'll look odd with teeth since it's been so long that we've seen her without them?
The past couple of weeks I've found myself sneaking in to her bedroom after we put her to sleep to check on her and I can't leave right away. I must touch her hair, her face and cover her with the blankets that she, most of the time, is laying on top of. She's so beautiful and just mesmerizing when she sleeps. I can't help myself. I'm so thankful for this small child that's going to turn a year old this month.
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