Hello, goodbye!

The other day we noticed when Lilli waves to someone, she waves with the palm of her hand facing her self. We had a laugh about it and then thought about why it is that she does it that way. When someone waves at her, from her perspective, their palm faces her. So when she waves she mimics the exact motion.

On another, completely unrelated topic, Lilli loves dress up and dressing up the poor dog. Note Taz's lovely red necklace (a gift from Taylor at UT):



"Indie Song of the Entry"

Fun to Pretend by The Deirdres

Here kitty!

Lilli's new bff is our cat, Linus. I gave her a photo of him and she placed it in his bed along with her favorite toys to share. She chases him around when ever he isn't quick enough to see her coming and will stand behind him while he lays in "her" window. She has also learned to make the "pssst pssst pssst" sound and has started calling for him when he's hiding. She has learned how to "gently" pet both Linus and Taz (our dog). Both of the pets seem happy for the extra attention, but also very nervous of her quick movements and indecisive nature.

Before having Lilli, I would never have thought of this as something newsworthy enough to have in a blog entry dedicated to the topic. Sometimes it feels like I am growing as a person simply by watching her grow.



"Indie Song of the Entry"

Up All Night by Young Knives

Playground etiquette

Over the weekend we visited two playground parks in two days. Lilli was thrilled to have free range to run, climb, and play. She was a little hesitant at first when a little boy a few months older came to say hello. He was quite the little flirt and since she's such a ham she responded with smiles, waves, and toddler talk.

There weren't too many kids her age around, just a handful with their caretakers following closely behind them. So when she was climbing across one of the play-gyms and found a little girl wearing a flower shirt and stretch pants with a colorful flower print, she was happy to have found a friend. Lilli has recently discovered the relation between pictures of flowers and actual flowers... She pointed at the flowers on her shirt and we responded "Yes, Lilli, flower!" Then she crouched down and started to point at each of the flowers on this shy, little girl's pants. The woman with her smiled awkwardly and I tried to move Lilli away saying something along the lines of "personal space, Lilli... mumble, mumble, sorry..."

After we moved her to another area to distract, she made a beeline back to this little girl's pants at least three more times before the woman escorted the little girl away all together.

This made me realize how there are a set of playground etiquette rules that I was not aware of until that day. The problem I have is how do you explain to a 13 month old that it's inappropriate to touch another kid's colorful pants, when we encourage her to identify everything else in her world? I resorted to distraction, big words she doesn't understand, and profusely apologizing.

Since I am generally socially awkward, this is going to be quite the learning experience for both of us.

"Indie Song of the Entry"

What's Your Problem by The Zutons

Pretend

It's been a long time since I used the phrase "make-believe." It has been even longer since I participated in such things. Lilli has learned how to use her imagination in small ways that turn her favorite toys into playmates and tools.

At first, she walked around with her dolly (named Molly Polly Dolly because Dave and I couldn't agree on a name) rocking her back and forth to the sound we make when we rock her. Then she started putting objects up to her ears as a phone, when we gave her a "real" phone to play with she preferred her own inventions. And then, when we bought her a Dora tub doll, she would show us how to wash her belly. The look of shock when we washed Dora and her hair at the same time was priceless.

Now we play dress up, eat "snacks" with her play food, and she helps cook at meal times. She is taking on roles, carrying out everyday tasks, and transforming her toys into whatever her imagination desires. She is mapping the blueprint for social interaction and daily life as a member of society.

It's just the beginning of this incredible world she is building around herself and it is beyond exciting to be a part of it.



"Indie Song of the Entry"

Bullets by Tunng

Diving Miss Pie

This weekend we installed the front-facing car seat for the little one. She seemed apprehensive and a bit overwhelmed at first.



She also had some issues letting go of her old car seat.



Eventually she became curious and explored her surroundings.



Over the past few days she's begun chattering a lot more when we are on car trips. It's like she had been saving up all of her questions and observations for the chance to share it with us. :)

"Indie Song of the Entry"

Lolita by Throw Me the Statue

Alphabet

Lately, Lilli has become obsessed with singing her alphabet. Any toy that plays the alphabet song is guaranteed to be heard at least five times before lunch on any given day. How could anyone be frustrated with a song establishing the core building blocks to our language...

I'll tell you how... Having to sing it 400 times a day will do it. You'd think that a rational person could tell themselves "it's a phase, she's learning, this is wonderful." Needless to say, I've had an irrational reaction. I can't wait until the next favorite song so I can get sick of something new. :)

"Indie Song of the Entry"

Uh Oh by Taken By Cars

Progress report

Lilli has recently taken up running. Not just a brisk walking, but- arms flailing, smile wide, almost screaming in excitement -running. She likes to be chased around and will sometimes take things from us and walk just out of reach backwards to see our faces, then we are forced to chase after her. Her response to that is to run full force into the side of our bed and hide her face in the blankets laughing hysterically as we catch up. I have to admit, as frustrating as it is to try to catch a naked baby running away with a box of wipes or diaper, it's really fun to watch her play. Learning her boundaries and pushing them just a bit further.

Whether she's testing our authority or pushing her own physical limits, she's learning at such a rapid rate sometimes I am thrown back when I hear or see her do something new. The past two weeks she has picked up on about five new signs and close to 5 new words. Earlier this week I asked her if she wanted a banana (followed by the usual banana song) and she replied "Nana!" I nearly fell out of my seat in shock. And when she screamed at me for not watching her do the "all done" sign after eating breakfast one morning, I realized that she's moving along quicker than I'm able to keep up.

She can tell us what she wants and needs and she knows the sequence of events for long drawn out processes. She knows what comes next and when it doesn't play out the way she thinks it should she is quick to let you know that it is not right. Her personality shines through every new thing she learns. Defining herself everyday with her intelligence and disposition.

On another note, she has grown her top two front teeth and they are starting to show. It's so strange to see my baby with a mouth full of teeth. She is a late bloomer for teeth, I can't say I am sad about it. It's almost hard to imagine her as a baby anymore, she'll always be my baby, but she's starting to look like a toddler. I truly cherished the toothless grin and the two bottom teeth smile was beyond adorable. But now... a full on toothy smile, it makes me proud and sad at the same time.



"Indie Song of the Entry"

Scream Scream by The Battle Royale

Remembering through photos

We take a lot of pictures and videos of our "kids" (human and animal) and the places we visit. There are a few reasons for the dedication to documentation of our lives.

First, and most importantly, Lilli's life is flashing by us at such a fast speed that we want to try to recall as many memories as we are capable. It is amazing how quickly short term memories become just a flash of the past to be forgotten, our minds are just not able to retain so much information over a lifetime. Those memories are more likely to become long term ones if they're recorded and reviewed. Additionally, we'd like to be able to look back from time to time, reminisce about how tiny she was and how fast she changed. She has already grown and developed into the person she will some day become. It's alarming how quickly time has already passed by us over the past year. She changes daily, literally.

The second reason is for our family, who lives more than a few hours away. They would have missed out on the key aspects of her personality if it was not for videos of her dancing, singing, and playing. While it may seem excessive to some people, we get a lot grief when new pictures and videos are not posted quickly enough for them. And to be completely honest, we're more than happy to provide our family with more pictures than they have time to see.

Lastly, the most personal of reasons, I love pictures. Love them. Love love love love pictures. I could look at pictures for days. I love to look at them, I get excited when I order prints of pictures I've already seen, I look at almost every picture posted by my family and friends. And why the hell not? Pictures are the stories of our lives. Our story is one worth commemorating and documenting.

"Indie Song of the Entry"

Dreaming Of The Plum Trees by White Hinterland