Madeline is doing just peachy these days! After a short hiatus from blogging, we are back on track. Too much traveling and busy work…
Madeline is getting pretty good at running (much to our dismay), and rarely crawls at all anymore, unless there is another baby around who is crawling. Like any little kid, she is constantly falling down and running into things, with scrapes and bruises usually visible on various parts of her body. She and Hobbes still have a love/hate relationship (though mostly love, except when she backs him into a tight corner spot and he can’t get out any other way that to claw his way through her). She can say a whole host of words now, consistently and in proper context: mama, dada, up, no, and hobbes (though this last one sounds very much like up when she often leaves off the s). You can count out loud to her, and she will often even fill in a number for you. Finally, she is excellent at peek-a-boo. Developmentally she is right on track and doing all of the things she is ’supposed’ to be doing at 13+ months. She can eat with a spoon, give herself drinks through a straw, and reach up and turn the burners on and off on the stove!
A few days ago, Amy had a mommy-and-me play group at our apartment in the afternoon. I was not here but arrived just after it ended, and saw the aftermath. The floor had been well used! The day before that we went to a birthday party for a one year-old who lives very close to us. Madeline had a great time at both events, of course. She pretty much has a great time doing most things.
She absolutely loves any event where there are lots of other kids around. I’ve been watching her interactions with other babies and toddlers lately (with a fatherly and observant eye) and she seems to be perfectly social, interactive, unselfish, and happily willing to share with other children. Toddlers are definitely not always like this! Sometimes she’s around other kids who are not very good at sharing, and she seems to be confused by their behavior.
Madeline has just about the sharpest personality I have ever seen in a 13 month-old. She’s a total clown, loves to mimic, loves to get into trouble, and knows what to do to get exactly what she wants! Very much a charmer, though often she gets her way through simple brute force.
I continue to be completely astounded by the ability of Madeline (and other babies, for that matter) to find the single most dangerous item in a room filled with a million things. It’s uncanny how quickly she goes directly for the most hazardous thing, as if she knows that it can do her the most harm. Such items in our apartment include electrical cables and transformers. Although I have spent countless hours baby-proofing this place, one can never do this 100% effectively, and Maddie will always remind you of that.
Though her sleeping hasn’t improved significantly, her eating has. These days she has no problem putting in the food, no matter what it is. Her favorite thing in the world, without fail, is the super baby food that I make for her in bulk and freeze in cubes. This is a simple mixture of different types of beans and (usually) brown rice. A perfect protein, according to the book. A few nights ago I made a batch with quinoa instead of rice – we’ll see if she consistently likes this newer concoction. She now eats pretty much anything we eat, and we all three eat at the same time together around the dining room table. Boy, does she make a mess! Lately she has been ending each dinner with enough food stored in her hair for the next meal. A straight shot from the high chair to the bathtub after meals like this.
