A newly minted one year old really is amazing. There is still so much baby: (very) chubby legs and chubby cheeks, drool and slobber, baby babbling, giggles and that sweet baby smell, not to mention a tiny little warm body that loves to snuggle. But there is so much growing-up-too-fast person too. Teia tears around our house, a little too fast for her own comfort sometimes. The other day on her way to give me a kiss she leaned into the kiss a little too much a little too soon and came tumbling down. Most of the time she is pretty teflon but sometimes there is occasion for tears after a fall. Big brother has taken to practicing his soccer ball chest deflection skills on his little sister and this almost always brings on the water works. I think he figures that technically he is still using "gentle hands" if he bumps her with his chest!
Teia has a few little words these days. The most consistent are "ya!" said after offers for food or a trip outside, and "hi!" She also says Mama, Dada, more, a da (all done), and ba (which seems to be a multi-purpose word for ball, bottle and baby). She has also picked up a few signs and will actually sign to us when she is sleepy. Seeing as her 3.5 year older brother will only, under the most rare of circumstances, ever admit to being tired, we find this truly amazing. She also still takes 2 naps a day at 12 months of age, which to anyone who knows Kai, is also truly amazing.
One of the most fun things she does right now is dance. She has a few moves too! There is the toddler bounce which sometimes evolves into a continual deep knee bend. I remember so well when Kai used to dance this way too. Now he does a stiff legged walk as his main dance move and that is worth some video! Teia also sways back and forth when the music is more sedate and sometimes throws in some swinging arms while looking at us seriously. My favorite is her one foot stomp, which has a bit of a country feel to it.
Our littlest one is also quite determined and looks to have a stubborn streak. Like her brother, she has developed a strong "lovey" attachment. Teia's lovey is a little blanket which we have creatively named "Blankie." Unlike bunny 1, 2 & 3 we only have one currently so Blankie's whereabouts is a matter of utmost importance in the Fennell household. Teia clings to Blankie as if her life depends on it and like most second time around parents, our second time around "lax-ness" is starting to bite us in the derriere. We set limits with bunny (at least at first) so we weren't worried about leaving him places b/c he never went anywhere outside of the crib. Blankie goes everywhere and wrestling that thing out of Teia's little paws is next to impossible. If the iron grip isn't enough the loud howling makes sure that Blankie stays with its rightful owner. As a result, Blankie should be re-named Stinkie, at least until we can find some duplicates and begin regular laundering.
We couldn't have asked for a child more full of love. She has smiles for everyone and snuggles and kisses for loved ones. Today while Kai cried out of frustration and jealousy (he really wanted to karate chop his little sis this morning), she tried in vain to kiss him and make it better, not realizing that he was really mad at her. I'm sure they'll work this sibling rivalry thing out but with her ever increasing mobility, her tendency to steal the Lions, and her constant plays for parental attention, poor Buds is beside himself some days. Most often his competitive strategy is imitation and as a result, dinner time has become a cacophony of whining lately. Dada keeps reminding me that we need to "dig deep" as in any endurance event so that is what we try to do when the going gets tough. But with these two characters in our lives, the pay off for all that digging is exponential.
1 comment:
I loved this post! She is such a sweetheart! And Kai is such a trooper. Soon enough he'll be her little protector when they're in school together :-)
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