Saturday

A few pictures from last Saturday...

Blowing kisses is a new favorite activity. But you can't just ask her to blow kisses. You have to say something that implies going somewhere and including the word go. Because apparently we only blow kisses when people are going somewhere - Daddy had just left for the garage to work on the car when I took this picture!

We went outside to play in the sunshine a bit, too. However, the grass was wet, so we didn't get to do any super good playing.

Someone thought the flowers were pretty - she kept saying "ooooh!"

Saturday

A few pictures from last Saturday...

Blowing kisses is a new favorite activity. But you can't just ask her to blow kisses. You have to say something that implies going somewhere and including the word go. Because apparently we only blow kisses when people are going somewhere - Daddy had just left for the garage to work on the car when I took this picture!

We went outside to play in the sunshine a bit, too. However, the grass was wet, so we didn't get to do any super good playing.

Someone thought the flowers were pretty - she kept saying "ooooh!"

Spikey Balls

A few days ago, I picked up these fun balls in the Easter dollar section of walmart. I figured my little sensory girl would love them. And boy was I right! When she woke up from her nap, I had set them one in each cup of a muffin tin. She had a blast moving them between cups, moving them to a pile outside the tin and moving them back, throwing them, standing up and watching them drop, etc.

(Signing "more" and sitting criss-cross.....so cute!)

I am trying to take pictures that include close ups of those little fat rolls on her arms and the dimples of fat in her hands....she is a slim little thing (20th percentile at her well check last week) with just a few little areas of "chub". And as she's growing up and getting more active those are getting to be smaller and smaller. I want to always remember those chubby little hands and their sweetness in mine!!

Feeding Baby

Meghan is currently not very interested in eating. However, she is loving feeding her baby doll in it's highchair!!

It is so amazing to watch her nurturing skills beginning to present themselves. She's rough and tumble, for sure (that's mostly a home and with people I know well thing).....but she's also a sweet little nurturer!!

EVERY DAY

Every day, for most of the day, Meghan carries this toy phone and those three bracelets wherever she goes. Apparently, they are her current favorites.

She has also learned that the bracelets can be worn! Though she usually has at least one finger that is just too uncooperative for her to put them on independently, when she wants to wear them, she will hold them up in the air for a parent to come by and help with. If you tell her how pretty they are she will smile and smile!

Transferring

Meghan is currently obsessed with putting objects into containers and transferring them between containers. Here are some recent pictures:

(A pretty typical "Mom! Why are you taking pictures of me?" face)

(Putting her puppets into their container. And out. And back in.)

(Easter eggs were a very happy surprise!!)

Meghan @ 13 Months

I'm not planning to do the long letters every two months anymore. But Meghan is still learning new skills at incredible speed, so I will do a short version of a monthly update. So here's what Meghan is doing at 13 months!

Fine Motor: 

• She can use the shapes sorter with heavy assistance for the square and triangle. She can do the circles independently.
• She enjoys making large strokes with a crayon. 
• She can do the large and small ring stackers independently. 
• She is beginning to hammer on her peg-pounding toy. 
• She LOVES transferring objects from one container to another. 

Gross Motor: 

• She stands up without pulling up on something and can dance, throw, and play with toys while standing. 
• She is still convinced she cannot walk. 
• She can climb backwards down the stairs. 

Language: 

• Words: ball, bye-bye, hi, mom/mama, baba (Dad), book, baby, bottle
• Sounds: "oof" for a dog's bark, "boo" for a cow's moo, "vmmm" for cars
• Signs: all done, more, milk 

Eating: 

• She is transitioning from taking 4 bottles to taking 3. She LOVES her bottles.
• She drinks lots of water from her Contigo water bottle. 
• She is a picky, moody eater. She either eats like a bird or inhales her food. 
• Favorite this month: dehydrated blueberries, raisins, prunes, cheese sticks, gluten free o-cereal, oatmeal.

Sleeping: 

• She shifted her schedule forward one hour with the time change. She wakes up around 6:45 and goes to bed around 7:15. 
• I think we are on the verge of moving down to just one nap - unfortunately, right now, the best nap for her is usually the morning one. 

Big Girl Exploration

This big girl has been busy the last several days - she is figuring out her world so quickly and we love watching her as she is learning and growing day by day.....

Meghan Shape Sorting

Meghan has been very into her "learning" toys the past several days. We have noticed that her concentration is strengthening and she is spending longer amounts of time trying to figure things out. She has also started bringing new tasks that she needs help with to us. Yesterday she was working very hard on her shape sorter. She brought it to me several different times during the day and was working on it in the evening with Daddy when I shot this video....

Meghan Standing

Meghan is gaining gross motor skills on her own timetable and in her own order :) Her new favorite skill is standing up. She no long needs to pull up, she just stands up and looks around at random. But....she remains convinced that she cannot walk....

Meghan the Musician

Meghan Playing with the Lawn Mower

Shooting Hoops

Diaper Dance

Meghan loves her Signing Time DVD's. She can't not dance when the "Diaper Dance" song comes on - and I just think it's so cute!!

Bye-bye Baba!

Meghan likes standing at the glass door and waving to Baba (Cole) when he leaves for work. It's so cute! 

And....yes I clean the doors several times a week. She just LOVES looking out the door!!

Kitchen Helper

Meghan loves helping Mama in the kitchen - especially when she is using the mixer!! She can't see in on a chair and this makes me think that she will love once I am finished with the learning tower and she can see better!

What's a learning tower, you ask? See what we're doing here: 

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2013/03/lucys-learning-tower.html

New Water Bottle

We bought this water bottle at the suggestion of a friend from bible study. Meghan loves it!! Mama loves it too!

It's easy to drink out of and never spills - this is unheard of in the kid cup world! We now have a new rule at meals - she can't have a drink unless she has at least taken a bite since her last drink. Yes, this cup is that good!

Also, Meghan has been eating off of her plates for the last several days - she is not wanting to throw them or explore them upside down anymore. She does like to eat an area clean and then look at and talk to the picture underneath. So cute!! 

Playing Ouside

We have set up Meghan's outside toys and were able to play outside with Grandma this past weekend! She is loving playing outside - I think this summer will be a blast!!

This Girl...

Her double ponytails were getting too big to continue working. So then we moved onto a single ponytail and then her hair got too long for that hairstyle. So today we tried almost full pigtails - they are so very cute!!

She was just all smiles and giggles today. We ran lots of errands and she just chatted and smiled the whole time!

She was being such a goofball at lunchtime :) Her "adorkable" bib definitely fit the bill! 

Earlier this week she was basically ignoring any veggies that I put on her tray - in the last two days I'm pretty sure she has eaten her weight in green beans :) 

This afternoon we went to the store and spent her Christmas money from Great-Grandma Stehr - Meghan got a sandbox!! The classic Little Tykes turtle!! She pointed to it repeatedly on the way home and smiled and giggled. She just loved watching me set it up and sitting inside with her beans and rice from her sensory tub. We will switch that out for sand closer to summer :)