Veronica is just over 15 months old now, and the rate at which she learns new things is stunning. She constantly surprises us with new words, reactions, behaviors, and abilities. Here are some of the words she uses regularly now (with translations, where needed):
Mommy
Dada
Baby (refers to herself, said with exaggerated syllables: “bay-beeee”)
Bobo (”Bootie,” our cat)
Baba or bobby (bottle, milk)
Hi (also very exaggerated: “haaaaiiieeeee”)
Shhh!
Shoe
Bye-bye
Beep
Muh! Muh! Muh! (milk, or sometimes “pick me up”)
Ock! Ock! (”quack! quack!”)
Kee (music)
Mmph! (this usually means “no”)
Poo-poo
Of course, there’s lots of other vocalizing, but I’m not sure what most of it means. Luckily, we are able to pick up on the important wants and needs, and she is content to babble the rest for our entertainment. She also giggles, growls, imitates funny noises, gives hugs and kisses liberally, and says “Awwww” when something is soft, cute, or cuddly, like when she puts her head down on the sleeping cat’s body, or her fuzzy lambskin pillow.
Finally edited together some of the footage I’ve shot of Veronica over the past few months. It seems like she does something new and amazing every day! First it was walking, then talking and saying real words, and then blowing kisses and giving actual kisses and hugs (when the mood strikes her). She’s quickly becoming a real toddler, and not a baby anymore. *sniff!*
Tomorrow (6/26) is Veronica’s birthday; she’ll be a year old! I can’t believe how fast this past year has gone. Everything we’ve been through - the highs and lows, the scares, the medical issues, the joy and amazement - it’s all a blur to me now. I guess that’s how life is.
This weekend my father, sister, and two nieces came to visit from South Carolina. Veronica reveled in the attention and was a complete ham all weekend! Today, she’s exhausted, and to be honest I’m a little spent myself! It was really fun to have them all here and see them react to her (it was the first time my sister and nieces have been able to see her in person).
For her birthday, the baby got numerous toys, including a cool Baby Einstein book and a TMX Elmo, plus dresses, sneakers, and cash from Grandpa. And daddy went out and bought her an inflatable wading pool! That got some strange looks from the neighbors in the back yard this weekend, I’m sure.
Well it’s been a busy couple of days in my house. Veronica was sick earlier in the week, but feels better now. She’s so active, we can’t take our eyes off of her for a minute! Yesterday we bought her an early birthday present, this musical table thing for toddlers by Leap Frog. She loves it! It’s noisy as hell but so entertaining to watch her banging on all the buttons and things to make the music play and the lights flash. She’s still not pulling herself up to standing yet, but she pulls up to kneeling, especially with this new toy, and in fact sometimes kneels for 10-15 minutes, then sits back on her heels. It’s adorable. By the time we get to her actual birthday (6/26), she might be walking!
For Mother’s Day, my best friend got me a gift certificate for a facial with our favorite aesthetician. What a treat! She (my friend) obviously also gave my husband a few hints, since he managed to get me a gift certificate for highlights and a cut from my regular stylist. So as soon as I have time to go to the salon and have all that done, I’ll look fabulous! I saw this commercial yesterday that said “40 is the new 20″ and I had to laugh. I think I’d pay just about any price to feel 20 again, but my body says “girl you are dreaming, now wake up.” On the other hand, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad goal to work on myself for the rest of the year and try to feel as close to 20 as I can by the time I turn 40 next January. To that end, my general goals are:
- Lose the baby weight (finally) and get in better shape
- Do the Obagi thing or something to improve my skin (not terrible now, but seeing a little sun damage)
- Expand my mind by learning some new stuff and maybe even taking a class
- Work on eating healthier and cutting back on caffeine and sweets
Lots more to write about, but I’ll save it for now. I’m off to enjoy a beautiful, sunny Mother’s Day. Cheers!
Yesterday, after we had her in her pajamas, my husband decided to take Veronica on a little walk in her stroller. It was beautiful outside, right around 7pm, her normal bedtime, and nothing seems to help her fall asleep like a.) a car ride or b.) a ride in the stroller around the block. So he strapped her in and prepared to set off as I watched from the front porch. I waved and said “See you later baby, bye-bye!”
And then it happened. She looked right at me, picked up her chubby little hand, and made the universal finger-flexing “grabbing” sort of move that little kids use to wave “bye-bye.” I swear to God my heart skipped a few beats.
“Did you see what she did?” I demanded of my husband. “Did she wave back at you?” he asked, unbelieving. I assured him that’s exactly what she had done. So he came around to the front of the stroller and waved bye-bye to her himself. To which she responded by not only waving bye-bye, but by saying: “A-dah.”
A-dah?! People, that is baby-speak for “bye-bye!”
It is a sobering moment when your baby ceases to be completely a baby, and starts really responding to you in ways much more polite than you can probably look forward to when she is a teenager. What I’m saying is HOLY SHIT I cannot believe my daughter is now 10 months old and waving bye-bye to me. It’s the same feeling I had when I saw her sit up by herself for the first time: “Where did she learn that? Oh my GAWD do that again!”
