Last weekend we took a quick trip up to the hill country to get some photos of Caroline in the beautiful bluebonnets. Our trip last spring when Caroline was only about 6 weeks old was fun and all the wildflowers were so gorgeous, we decided to do it again this year. What a difference a year makes! Last year she was so teeny tiny, no bigger than a sack of flour perched in my arms in the flowers.
This year we had a full-blown active toddler prancing through the fields of bluebonnets. She was such a good sport and thoroughly enjoyed her botanical adventures, from tasting the flowers (of course) to standing and posing politely.
I took a ton of good photos; if you want to see more check out our family shutterfly site.
It has been such a joy watching her 'bloom' over the course of the last year. She is learning and growing and changing every single day and I'm so thankful that I've been able to spend my days watching her personality unfold. I've noticed that she is a fast learner. I only have to show her something once or twice and she picks up pretty quickly. She can now point to/identify several body parts, including head, tongue, nose, fingers, belly, and feet. We flip through her family photo album and she can correctly say/identify mama, dada, nana, MaMa, and Winnie (which she pronounces more like nee-nee) We've also been practicing a little bit of sign language here and there, and I know if I were to put more concentrated effort into it she would probably be an avid signer. But since her language skills are progressing so nicely I haven't really pursued it much.
Her beaming smile and belly laughs pretty much make life worth living. Is there anything better than hearing a baby laugh?? I think not.
Of course, now that we're in full blown toddlerhood that sweet smile can turn into a hissy fit faster than you can say 'terrible twos'. She gets frustrated that she doesn't have words for everything yet, so there's quite a bit of pointing and screeching/yelling going on. And if she has something or does something she's not supposed to and I redirect her, she's likely to stomp her feet, arch her back, flop around like a fish out of water and screech. I'm reading The Happiest Toddler on the Block right now to learn the appropriate communication and discipline techniques for this stage. My friends and I have been having a good chuckle over these, which I think every mother in the world can relate to. Pretty accurate indeed!
But it's not all tantrums and meltdowns over here...she is still her sweet little self most of the time. She cracks me up with the things she picks up on all by herself. Just this week she started handing me my bath towel after I turn off the water in the shower. She hears the water shut off and she stops whatever she's doing and toddles over to the tub, picks up my towel, and drags it over to the shower. Sweet girl. She is also MAJORLY into airplanes right now. Every single time she hears one fly by overhead she says her version of 'airplane' (which sounds more like ba-ba) and throws her her head back to look for it. I hope she gets really excited next month when we fly home for my brother's graduation!
The more they stay the same...
Unfortunately we are STILL dealing with unresolved digestive issues. She was doing really great for 2 months, in January and February. She was eating baby food, table food, and 24 oz of formula per day. We were making great progress and it seemed like we finally had 'fixed' her. But in March she suddenly stopped wanting to eat table food. Whereas she used to happily eat peas and sweet potatoes and cut up chicken, now she absolutely refuses. She throws food off her high chair before she's even taken one bite. After that the other symptoms returned as well...the decreased appetite, refusing bottles, only drinking 4 or 5 ounces at a time, crying in her sleep, waking up crying at 3 am, gagging on baby food. I met with her nutritionist, who assured me this pattern is not typical toddler eating behavior. The fact that she WAS eating table food, and then suddenly stopped, is a red flag that something's not right inside her. So we are headed back to the GI doctor next week.
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| the only one who's excited about this non-eating situation is Winnie. He has taken a permanent position at the side of her high chair, waiting for the bountiful windfall. |
All in all, I guess it's par for the course. Two steps forward, one step back. As long as we keep pushing onwards I'm hopeful that one day her digestive problems will be fixed and it'll be nothing but blue skies and bluebonnets in our future!
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