Update on Andi

As you can see in Andi’s13 month photos, she loves Pearl. She gives her kisses and hugs all the time. And of course, Pearl kisses back.

Andi is now an expert walker! She doesn’t crawl anymore! She is actually starting to run a little, but gets a little off balance when she gets going fast. It is so cute. If she falls down, she says “up” and stands back up, all on her own. She is so proud of herself. Unfortunately, this also means that she does not like to be held as much because she would rather be put down so she can walk. There is so much to see and touch and she thinks it would be easier if she could walk on her own to check it out for herself. We went shopping a few days ago, and she begged or grunted for me to put her down, so I did, and before I knew it she was off. I had to “chase” her between the aisles. Not a good idea. So I picked her up and held her (squirmy worm and all) until our shopping adventure was over. And shopping for her…that can get me into trouble. All of the little girl stuff is so cute and she needs it all. Yikes! Andi loves to shop. She will go up to a rack of clothes and pull a dress towards her for a closer look and then the next and then move on then another rack to take a look. Like she is truly browsing and shopping. Wonder where she learned that?

Andi does not like to be messy. When eating, if her hands get food on them, she will hold them out in front of her to show me and say “uh-uh” until they are wiped clean. When we are out playing in the yard, if she falls down and gets grass or dirt on her hands, the same thing. She will walk over to where I am and show me her hands and ask for them to be brushed off. If she sees a mess in the house she will clearly say “don’t’ do that!” (I guess she has heard me say that a few times, ha!) Maybe Andi will encourage (force) me to be tidier and more organized. She also understands what that phrase means when we say it to her, “don’t do that.” She will turn around and smile and try what she is doing (shouldn’t be doing) once more to see if we really mean it. Sneaky, Sneaky little girl. But her sweet, sly smile makes us laugh every time.

She got a couple of ride-in cars that are now her favorite toys. She loves to climb into them and get pushed around the yard or down the sidewalk. Sometimes we will just watch her climb inside and sit there and try to scoot forward as if to “go.” She also got her first kitchen. It was bought for very little at a resale and we put it on the back porch. She has fun opening and closing the doors and putting food in and out of the oven and then bringing it to Mommy and Daddy.
This girl likes to dance. When she hears music she will boogie (bob up in down with her booty sticking out). So funny to watch!

She loves to read. She would be content reading book after book all day long. She enjoys going to her bookshelf, pulling a book off, and bringing it over to be read. Then repeats that- going back for another book. Never gets old.

She is familiar with many words. Andi is a very smart girl. If you ask, “where is the…” she can point to what it is you are asking for. She has been working on her animal sounds. She mimics a sheep, dog, fish, bird, goat, rooster, monkey, elephant, rabbit, and cat. She is most consistent with sheep, dog, elephant, bird, and fish. She loves butterflies. I think this is her favorite thing to find in her books. She knows the hand sign language for butterfly. Knew if several months ago, and one of her teachers had to point it out to us. What a smart girl! Andi can say so many words now. Let me try to list them all. “Mama, Dada, baby, Andi, Pearl-Pearl, car, truck, cup, snack, shoes, dog, cat, bye-bye, hi, no, uh-oh, yes, splash, Papa, Nana, pop, stop, balloon, bottle, out, paci (or usually sticks her tongue in and out to ask for it), book, bubbles. Pretty sure she said dinosaur and octopus yesterday. Probably more, I’m sure I am missing several. She understands a lot more that we give her credit for. She knows what “turn the page means,” “walk,” “go outside,” “go in the house,” “get in the car,” “go home,” and “push the button.” She also knows “take that to…” “go get…” She is such a curious little thing. Always exploring and pointing or bringing things over ot ask what it it. She will say “this?” or “that is?” And then I will tell her what it is and I really feel like she is absorbing it all. A little sponge! Soaking it all up!

She still loves school. Only a few more days for her. Next week is her last week (2 days)! She is going to miss it. She does get worn out. On Tuesday (three days ago), after school, Nana took Andi shopping, then I picked her up and played with her for a little bit then went to one store (Carter outlet) to get a few things (clothes for Andi of course) then drove thru Chickfila for dinner on the way home. Andi fell asleep in the car just before I pulled into the garage (about 6:15 pm). I took her out of her carseat and put her in her crib to finish her nap. We thought she would nap for 30 minutes and then wake up to eat dinner, play, get a bath, and snuggle before bed. Nope. She was out for the night. Fell asleep at about 6:15 and didn’t wake up until Daddy had to get her out of bed the next morning to go to Nana’s house (about 6:45 am) ! That’s 12 ½ hours of sleep! What a tired girl. Must have played hard at school.

Andi still enjoys going for walks around the neighborhood in her stroller. She is content and always at peace outside. Loves to be outside. She will point at the back door or go over to it and say “out” until we let her go outside and play. We laugh because Andi now asks to be let out more than Pearl (the dog) does.

She wants to try what food we eat for dinner, but will still eat pureed fruits and veggies, but is getting to where she wants so badly to spoon feed herself. She likes homemade tacos (quesadillas), soup (chili), and pizza. She will eat her meat sticks, and mac & cheese, and this spaghetti with stars dish from Gerber and always wants “snacks,” (cheese puffs or cereal usually). She is really liking bananas right now and still eats oatmeal for breakfast. She will only drink water out of her sippy cup. The only way I can get her to drink milk is from her bottle at night. If I put milk in her sippy cup, she spits it out and makes a throw up face. Kind of funny. I try not to laugh when she does it. Andi still wants her pacifier when she sleeps (we are trying to limit it to sleepy time only). She still likes to take a bottle before bed most nights, takes her pacifier, and then have a couple books read to her.

Andi got a new carseat this past weekend. It was time to upgrade to a big girl carseat. Although she did not reach the weight capacity of the infant Chico Keyfit 30 carseat, she was too long for it now. We got her a Britax Boulevard convertible carseat. Should last her a long time. We decided to continue using it as a rear facing carseat until she is two. It is recommended by our pediatrician and safer. This carseat sits up higher than the infant carseat so she can actually see out the back window now, which I think she likes.

Andi is wearing size 12 months clothes mostly (some 18 months tops). She recently had to upgrade to size 4 shoes in her Keds, but the rest of her shoes are still size 3. She is wearing size 4 diapers, even though they seem a little big. She officially has four teeth now (well almost). Her two middle bottom teeth and her upper front two teeth are in, just haven’t come in completely.

What a joy this little girl is to me. I got to celebrate my second Mother’s Day this past weekend. But everyday is Mother’s Day when I get to see her sweet smile and receive her precious kisses and hugs. I love being a mom to my precious Angel, Andi.