I’m not quite sure how this happened… I blame it on not leaving the house for the last 6 days. Oopsies!
Tag Archives: big girl
Sneaky Little Doodle!
This little lady seriously cracks me up. This morning we were hanging out in the the living room. She was reading books and I was doing laundry. Suddenly, she got up and disappeared around the corner. Not a moment later, she zoomed back through the living room with her arms full and her eyes lowered to the floor. I walked into her room and turned on the light to find this. A little monkey with a snack, bowl, and mouth full of dried figs. Apparently she was hungry!
Playground Girl
The sun was shining this afternoon, so Miss G and I headed out to one of our favourite parks to soak up the nice weather.
She’s becoming such an independent little thing on the playground. Today she was walking up the stairs on the own and sending herself down the slide time and time again.
And there may have been some rolling on the ground too. That’s just how this little lady rolls.
She may have had a little help getting up on this rock, but either way, Grae’s the queen of the playground. ;)
A New Seat!
Up until now, Gracen has happily been in the infant car seat we brought her home from the hospital in. And although she’s still well within the height and weight restrictions of her first seat, the straps are starting to get a little snug over all of the winter layers we’ve been sporting these days. So after some online research, we decided on a new Britax Marathon for our girl. We picked it up this afternoon, tried it out in the living room, and put it by the back door where Grae’s been visiting it every few minutes since.
Help Yourself, Grae
Little G has a thing for raisins. She knows exactly where they’re kept. She knows exactly how to get them. And apparently, she’s decided that it’s quite alright to help herself whenever she likes. Here’s her in action today:
What a little monkey. Apparently she was hungry.
Miss Independent
My little bookworm was thrilled with the discovery of my Mr. Men and Little Miss book collection today. Frustration came about shortly after she’d neatly stacked the 50+ books and realized that she wasn’t able to carry them all at once. I offered to help her, but that absolutely wasn’t a viable option. She wanted to do it by herself. End of story. As a compromise, I offered her this little bag to make carrying them easier.
She accepted the bag, but absolutely did not want help putting the books inside the bag. Instead, she sat there, completely insulted, and put them in one by one all by herself. It took a painfully long time, but she got it all done. That’s my independent little lady.
16 Months Old!
Today our little self-feeding, yogurt-loving, mess-making monster turned 16 months old. I truly have loved every stage, but she just seems to be getting more and more fun as time goes on. Here’s what she’s been up to this past month…
Gracen loves:
- Pillows (they automatically make her roll around and rub her face into them)
- Being read to (she’ll often sit with you for 10 consecutive books if you’ll keep reading)
- Being in the bath (splashing is her new thing)
- Music and dancing (she often requests that music be turned on by doing an enthusiastic fist pump dance)
- Oranges (especially the baby sugar mandarins that seem to be everywhere right now – by the time we check out at the grocery store, she’s normally already eaten 3)
- Being a little helper (whether it’s making dinner, folding laundry, or unpacking groceries, she’s ready and willing!)
- Putting random things in bags and carrying them around the house like a purse
- Eating crunchy foods (crackers, seeds, and nuts are her favourite)
- All shoes (especially her gumboots)
- Lift-the-flap books (although we almost always have a couple “off limits” and in need of repairs)
- Bowls (filling them, stacking them, emptying them, and just carrying them around)
- Birds (despite her run in with one earlier this month)
- Dancing (especially to Papa’s music)
- Sitting at her table and drawing or colouring
- Picking people out in photos
- Delivering things to the garbage and compost bucket
- Her Papa (everything is about Papa in this house – Grae wears her hat like Papa, dances like Papa, puts on her sweater like Papa, eats bars like Papa…)
- Watching Baby TV (ugh.)
She doesn’t like:
- Having to hold someone’s hand while walking
- Being told that she’s not allowed to do something
- Having her mouth pried open to brush her teeth
- Potatoes (so weird…)
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
- You put her in a plastic bin and zoom her along the tile floor
- You bend down to do something and she sneaks up behind you, lifts the back of your shirt, and blows bubbles on your back
- Someone is chasing her
- You hide around a corner and pop out just as she’s about to walk by
Grae’s new foods include:
- Baked yam fries
- Homemade chicken tenders
- Swiss chard
- Mediterranean chili
- Dill pickles
- Homemade tortilla chips
- Artichoke pesto
- Garlic scape pesto
- Homemade perogies
- Cabbage rolls
- All-natural turkey kolbassa
- Sour cream
- Red Thai curry
- Yellow Thai curry
The new words she regularly uses include:
- “No, no, no” (often while shaking her pointer finger)
- “Pillow”
- “Bowl”
- “Diaper”
- “Owah” – owie
- “Ummmm…” (the sound she makes while making a decision)
- “Dirty”
- “Kitty”
- “Owl”
- “Man-ma” – grandma
- “Pompost” – compost
- “Moo”
- “N-yeah” – thank you (I’m not sure how this one came about, but it’s been around for a long while now. She started off saying “n-yeah” as she signed ‘thank you’, but now she often leaves out the sign. If you say, “Grae, say thank you”, she immediately responds with “n-yeah”. Nobody else knows what she’s talking about, but I guess what really counts is that we do.)
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
- Thank you
- Pencil / Pen / Crayon
- Mouse
- Kitty
- Bee
- Airplane
- Steam
- Sleep
- Pacifier
- Phone
She now:
- No longer wears diapers during the day (and has only had one accident in the past couple of weeks… Cross our fingers it continues this way because she is very sensitive if she does have one )
- Does the actions to ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’
- Loves being asked to point out different objects in books
- Regularly says/signs please and thank you
- Regularly asks for help instead of getting frustrated and whining
- Can follow multi-step instructions (like “go get your shoes and bring them to Mama” or “pick up your books and put them in the basket”)
- Can be transferred from the car into her crib if she falls asleep while out
- Chooses her pajamas and parts of her outfit everyday
- Loves milk (this took a while for us, but she regularly asks for it now)
- Is very sympathetic if she hurts you or makes you upset (immediate kisses to follow)
- Runs
- Has 12 teeth (8 in the front plus her 4 molars)
- Blows her nose when asked
- Blows on her food when it’s hot
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
- She knows all about camels (thanks to our Kuwait Christmas ornaments) and can pick them out anywhere
- She’ll also tell you that a camel says “t-puh, t-puh” (her sound for spitting)
- She shouts “Mama!” when looking for me in a loud voice with a French-sounding accent
- She acts like a little mommy to all of her dolls and makes sure each gets a turn being held, fed, burped, etc.
- She tries to wear Mama’s earrings by hooking them inside her ears
- She kisses random objects all around her bedroom before going to sleep
- She can point out the location of a washroom in a public place in a matter of minutes (it’s like she has bathroom radar)
- She loves to make choices and normally hums “ummmm…” while curling her hand below her chin while making them
- She kisses any “owies” you may have
- She’s ridiculously kissy and loves on you all day long
Big things that have happened this month:
- She was bit by a giant seagull while visiting Granville Island
- She visited the dentist for the very first time
- She met Canadian Santa (too many times possibly)
Let’s hope things slow down soon because if they keep up at this rate, she’ll be moving out soon and her Mama will be sitting in a heap on the front porch watching her drive away…
Growing Up
I’m not quite sure what happened here, but today we went to Play Gym up at Sunset after missing it last week, and suddenly my little lady can do all kinds of things she couldn’t do last time we were there…
Today she was getting in and out of the little cars without any help…
Positioning herself in front of the slide and sending herself down all by herself…
And got down off of the trampoline on her own… How did this happen so quickly?
And yes, I am completely aware of the fact that my one year old looks like she dressed herself… In fact, she sort of did. Every morning when we get ready for the day, I pick out part of her outfit and she picks out the remaining items. I had already picked the striped leggings and teal cardigan this morning, but the problem was that there weren’t many viable t-shirt options. As much as I hoped she’d pick the plain white tee, she opted for the canary yellow one instead. And don’t even get me started on the purple dotted shoes. She’s in loooove with these shoes right now. Most days she wears them around the house too and cries when I tell her that they have to come off for nap time, so there was no convincing her that other shoes might better suit this outfit. :)
A Successful First Day
Well, today was G’s first day in big girl panties… And she did great! Other than one little piddle before making it all the way to the potty, she told us when she needed to go and used the toilet like it was something she’s always done.
Not to mention that she may be the only person on the planet that is able to baggy-bummed panties look this cute. :)
Big Girl Panties
Grae’s been able to keep her diaper clean and dry for 8 to 12 hours for a couple of months now, but it was only this week that we realized she hadn’t wet or dirtied a single diaper for several days in a row. We’re not sure how this will all turn out, but today we went on a hunt for tiny little panties… Why wear diapers if you don’t need them, right?
Let me tell you, it’s not easy finding underwear to fit a 14 month old! The smallest size we ended up finding was a 2T/3T, but with a super hot wash and dry, they should *almost* fit. Baggy bum or not, I think this little lady is pretty proud of her new panties. Wish us luck!
Reorganizing
No, we don’t usually have a weird bistro table in front of our TV… It’s current home is by our front door (where it was put on Halloween evening to hold bowls of candy, but shhh… don’t tell anyone that). Apparently Grae was doing some furniture rearranging while I prepared her snack, because I came out of the kitchen to find this.