Livy-girl:
My beautiful star, you are officially an upright human. You spend much of your day sitting and standing, playing with toys and being social. I really love this stage — it marks the end of the smooshy-baby era and the beginning of you being a little person. I love seeing your little body wiggle and hop with excitement. You light up when people talk to you and especially when brother Hank stops to give you affection. You also spend a good bit of time vocalizing your thoughts from the sitting position. It cracks me up because I imagine you bossing us all around.
I think talking might be your superpower. You love to chat the day away and make quite the variety of sounds. Your favorite thing to say is Dada (and you say it frequently to your actual Dada). You would think mama would be jealous, but I actually love more than anything seeing your father beam when you say it. He is enchanted with you.
You recently got your first tooth. Bottom middle, barely noticeable to the naked eye, but easily felt with a swipe of the finger. You haven't let a lack of teeth get in your way of eating real food, though. We switched exclusively to finger foods because you refused to be spoon-fed anymore. You much prefer controlling your own food, thank you. We started slow but now we pretty much give you anything we're eating that you won't choke on. Big foods that you gnaw on like carrots and celery and apples, and little finger foods that you can swallow. It's a lot of fun to see what you like. Some of your favorites are dried apricots, prunes, sweet potato "fries", crackers, waffles with cream cheese, and broccoli. You also still nurse frequently though you are starting to get distracted by what's going on around you.
You're getting close to crawling but haven't figured it out yet. You do manage to move around like a slug. If I put you down and turn away, you are always in a different spot when I look back. You are super-curious and will grab anything and everything that's within reach.
You were sleeping great until a few weeks ago when a cold and ear infection got you down and you started waking up every two hours at night. Mama has been exhausted, but I also know that these long nights won't last forever. I take it upon myself to kiss those cheeks at every feeding knowing that someday you'll be too busy to stop and let me do it. You take two lovely long naps during the day which I am very thankful for. I use your nap time to get things done or to spend some quality one-on-one time with your brother.
Playtime is getting more and more fun. Your favorite toys are the Little People Farm and a picnic basket shape sorter that Grandma got you for Christmas. You also like playing with and talking to the dog. She really loves you, which makes your mama all sentimental at least once a day.
It makes me smile when you:
- "yell" at the TV because you think it's talking to you
- lay your head on my neck and play with my earrings and hair when you're tired
- whisper when I put your mouth near my ears
- wiggle your toes and play with the fabric of my shirt while you're nursing
I love you so much, Livy. I'm so excited to see your big personality showing up more and more everyday.
Your biggest fan,
Mama
