mama

I love this girl. SO much. Her first word was "mama" and it makes me melt the way she calls for me. Especially when she's upset, she calls me in such a sad little voice and I can't resist running to her rescue.

Her new tooth remains a loner. The second one is still close but seems to have receded enough to not bother her so much. Despite only having one tiny tooth, she eats everything and anything. (except baby food.) Her favorite foods are chicken and bananas. She loves to try new things and does best with one food at a time. Once she has seen something else, she loses all interest in the first food and eagerly reaches and calls and waits for something new.

yesterday she stood by herself for the first time. Fortunately, it only lasted a few seconds. I'm not ready for her to grow up yet. But she does pull herself up onto everything and will occasionally take a step or two while holding onto something.

Her favorite toys are her shapes castle (she doesn't actually put the shapes through their proper doors, she just likes to hold them and scatter them everywhere) and the foam/magnetic letters from the art easel (again, something to hold, teeth and scatter). She also loves to play at the baby center (combination crib/high chair/bathtub), opening doors and grasping at the mobile/faucet/phone, as well as the play kitchen where she can open the oven and reach in to grab and scatter all the play food.

I love bedtime. Before taking her to the nursery, I take her to Daddy for kisses. He's usually cuddling the big girls on the couch for books or a movie before bed. I turn Lovely upside down and tell him, "kiss it!". She LOVES to be upside down so with a huge grin, she accepts his kisses and giggles. Then each of the big sisters get to give an upside down kiss, giggling as they do so. Then one more kisses for daddy and we go upstairs. Her happy disposition melts when I sit her on the changing table attached to the crib. It's as if seeing her bed reminds her how tired she is and suddenly she fusses, calling for her bed and rubbing her eyes. I ready her for bed, wrap her up and nurse her before laying her in her bed, still awake. I can tell her good night and leave the room, no crying or fussing but she goes to sleep on her own like a perfect little angel.

I think we are mostly done nursing. She's 10.5 months, much older than when her sisters gave up but I'm reluctant to lose that closeness. I began supplementing with our abundant freezer stock a month ago because she didn't appear to be hydrated enough for our hot weather. But she steadily becomes less interested in nursing and only nurses consistently when she's already half asleep. So I'm trying to hang onto that naptime/bedtime nursing just because I love that intimate moment of getting to hold her close and have the whole world slow down and slip away while I absorb her sweet perfection.