Lucky Thirteen

Aveline is now thirteen months old. Woo. Hoo. She is growing up very fast! It amazes me how much she has changed during the past year. Merely a year ago, all she could do was smile, poop, eat and cry. She could barely hold her head up on her own. Her arms jerked frantically, capped with tiny, tightly clasped fists. She stayed where she laid.

Today is a much different story. Not only does she smile, but she laughs. She understands jokes and finds things hilarious. She can now say quite a few words. Cat, duck, cow, hi, bye, mama, dada, up and Joel (just a side note, Jon and Kelly, my bil and sil and Aveline's favorite babysitters both tirelessly try to get Aveline to say their names. It is funny that she picked up on their son Joel's name first!) to name a few.

Her digestive tract is right on track. She loves to eat, though her body doesn't show it (again, some miraculous super-recessive trait has caused her to have a Mach five metabolism.) Her favorite foods are mandarin oranges, lasagna and yogurt. She's not a big fan of her cereal, or as I found out tonight, beef and broccoli...Chinese style. What goes in eventually does come out. New foods have brought about new smells in the didey department. We were very lucky to only have messy diapers once every two to three days a year ago. Now we have two to three poopies each day. She's definitely getting her fiber.

Aveline has never been much of a crier (knock on wood for THE DEUCE, as we lovingly call my bump these days.) She still doesn't cry to much now. She has started throwing the tantrums. I didn't think those started this soon. If she doesn't get her way, she wails for about 15 seconds, then is completely fine and refocused. Go figure. She is also crying a bit more due to her clumsiness and its consequences. A mom pick-me-up hug is usually all she needs.

Her range of motion dramatically differs from last May. Once jerky movements are now smoother. Her tight clam fists have opened into curious hands. She can manipulate small items with her fingers, from turning pages on a board book to picking up peas. She can will her limbs to do her evil deeds. Before, I could lay her on a blanket on the floor and leave the room, knowing full well that she would be exactly where I laid her. Today, I leave the room for just a second and she has scaled the couch, found the remote, changed the channel, dumped my iced tea, shredded the crossword I was working on and is eating my pen when I return. My how she has changed. She now walks most times. If the destination is serious enough, she drops to all fours and speeds across the room. Many onlookers have suggested we enter her in some sort of diaper derby. Seriously.

Her attention span seems to be dwindling these days. I suspect it is because she is able to take in so much more information. Her senses are sharpening daily and the world is full of mysteries to her. She also continues to be a sleeping champ. She religiously sleeps twelve hours each night. Though, after her bout with the rotavirus, she began a very unwelcome night waking stint. It has passed (thank goodness.) She also naps easily, though she has dropped down to one two hour nap a day. Sleeping has never been a problem with her.

I still shake my head in disbelief that she has been with us more than a year. I don't know if I am more amazed that time has passed so quickly or that she (or we) have survived this long. From what I read and what I hear from parents of older children, more bumps lie ahead in the road. Each day is filled with both the toughest challenges I've faced and the greatest rewards I have reaped. I look forward to each day with my munchkin. I'm lucky.