ELEVEN

We're long overdue for a Poppy update! She is 11 months old, and there are 11 days left until her first birthday.

She has two teeth. They grew in at the end of her ninth month, so that must have been late February.


She claps. Just started doing that last week. Another new thing from last week was that she learned how to say "Dada." She's been saying "Mama" since January. I was thrilled that she said Mama first, since Rosemary was the other way around. ^_^


You already know that she crawls. She started that at the beginning of April.


She's started trying to climb the stairs. She can make it the second step. There's a door that opens to the stairwell from the dining room, so, needless to say, we leave that door closed now when Poppy is crawling around. Rosemary needs to learn how to use the door so she can make it to the bathroom!


Poppy loves to do everything her sister is doing. She learned how to use straw cups and sippy cups way sooner than Rosemary did just from watching her.


She loves to rifle through the diaper bag, looking for fun things to play with, including her sister's underwear and Mommy's wallet.


And she still loves food.



Well, there's our Cookie, just shy of her first birthday. She's almost walking, too. Mommy and Daddy are super proud. :-)

Today's Two BIG Achievements!

Today has been a VERY special day for the R-baby. I don't know if I can even call her a baby anymore! Here are the two new developments that happened just this morning:

1. First words!!!

First words are tricky. Just because a baby knows how to make the sounds doesn't mean she knows what they mean. R has been saying "Dada" and "Mama" for months now, but I'm only halfway certain that she knows what they mean. We had a conversation in the car Friday that went something like this:

R, "Ki."
Me, "Do you see a kitty?"
No answer.
Me, remembering hearing a clunk sound the minute before, "Did you drop your toy keys?"
R, "Di."
Me, "I'll be stopping the car in just a little bit. I'll give you your keys back then, okay?"
R, "Di."

So those were almost words. But today, when the cat plopped in front of her and she said "kitty," and then when she clearly said "up" after I had picked her up, I can say with absolute certainty that she knows what they mean. :-D I need to pay more attention to what I say to her! And I absolutely need to "give her [more] words" as my Mom says. ^_^


2. She pooped in the potty.

Yes, she pooped in the potty!!! The Baby Whisperer books recommend starting potty training as early as 6 months, but I wasn't ready to take on the task until 12 months. We just started last week, putting her on the potty after her meals. The cupcake is very regular, usually pooping after lunch or before dinner, so I've been trying to catch her before she goes in her diaper. Today we did it! She has a small seat that goes directly on the toilet. Our routine is that she will sit on the seat and look at a potty book while a timer counts down 5 minutes (it's nice to give the potty trips a definite end). After lunch today, while she was still in her high chair picking at the last bits of noodles in her tray, I saw her starting to grunt. I quickly got her out of the high chair, rinsed the food off her hands, then whisked her into the bathroom. We sat there reading the book for almost the whole 5 minutes. Just when the timer was about to ring, she looked at me and started to whine. It was as if she was saying, "Mom, I have to poop! Where's my diaper?" I reassured her, "It's okay, Sweetie, this is where you're SUPPOSED to poop!" She tensed up and then I heard the water splash beneath her. I was so excited! I called Senpai right there in the bathroom while R was still pooping, ha! Is that rude? He was eating lunch. :-p Afterwards I made a big deal of showing her the poop and flushing it away. Then I hung the reward chart that came with her potty book on the fridge and put a sticker on it. I'm so proud! ^_^


Sigh. Happy Mommy memories. :-)

"Mama"

She's learned how to say "Mama."

It came all of a sudden at Barnes & Noble. We had just bought her two new books. I ordered a frappuccino at the cafe and while we waited for the drink to be made, she chirped from her stroller, "Mmmmamamamama." The other patrons smiled sweetly at the cute little baby calling to her Mommy, but they had no idea that it was for the first time. My heart smiled, "That's right, Sweetie, I'm Mama." We settled into a comfy chair to read Baby Beluga, "Mmmmmamamamama."

You can tell me all day long that Mama is harder to say than Dada, but I won't believe you until I see my daughter's lips clumsily try to pronounce it. She's gotten very good at it since then.

"Mamamama!" ("Yes, Sweetheart?")

"Mama!" ("What is it, R?")

"Ma-m." ("Is everything alright, Cupcake?")

I think she's still practicing her newfound syllables; I'm not sure she really knows that it's me yet. It's not like I hovered over her and repeatedly declared myself to be her mother (I don't like to state the obvious, especially when it needs to be said more than once. That probably doesn't make me the best teacher, but hey, I'm learning, too.). As referenced above, though, I do reply to those syllables, hoping she will eventually deduce that saying "Mama" is an excellent way to get my attention. Not that she doesn't have it all day long to begin with. ;-)

And, oh wow, she is getting into EVERYTHING now. In the two hour span this morning between when she woke up and her first nap, I had to shoo her away from electrical cords, heating vents, the kitchen cabinets, heavy items, etc... Daddy's task when he came home would be to finish all the babyproofing we had not gotten to yet. Before then, though, I had to take R to the children's center at the gym, just to have someone else watch her for a bit, and also to give her new and different stimulation than what could be found at home! I'm so glad she enjoyed today's trip to the gym, as well as the last time. The time before THAT had me wondering if I could ever take her again because she cried the entire time she was in there. Good to know the crying spells have not continued.

Eventually I will need to research daycare centers and find myself a job, but until then, I'd like to enjoy warmer weather with my baby. After all, I'm her Mama. <3