13 Months

As Vi approaches the end of her 13th month on planet earth, I thought it fitting to provide an update on her latest and greatest. ;)

• Violet (and Rich) survived this week sans mom. I was flat on my back for almost the entire week with the flu. Thank God, Rich was not in DC. And thank God, neither of them caught it! Although, I have to admit, I was sad when I would hear them laughing and playing together downstairs because I wanted to be with them. I guess I was also waiting for someone to say, "We need you!"... ;)
• No crawling or walking yet! At Vi's 12 month appointment (which went very well - excluding the shots) the doc didn't seem too concerned since she is still progressing in the right direction. I mentioned how she has always been very content to just sit and watch the world go by and the doc confirmed that babies on the slow end of the curve typically have that personality type. So we are enjoying the days of moderate mobility while they last! I'm sure within the next month or two she'll be crawling and walking will probably first occur when she needs to catch the bus to kindergarten.
• It is official. Violet gets her appetite from my part of the gene pool. She'll certainly say yes when Grandma G asks her if she wants thirds of Christmas dinner...she loves just about anything - depending on the day, time and weather. ;) Yogurt, beans, scrambled eggs, pastina w/veggies, oatmeal, carrots, kiwi, grapes, blueberries and bananas seem to rank highest on the list.
• Vi used to say kitty quite clearly, now it's a bit muddled and I wonder if she's attempting to 'meow' in the middle of pronunciation. Vi's list of words/sounds are as follows: Dada, momma, ki'meow'ty, dot, brock (block), that (which is accompanied by a pointed finger), moo, meow, woof, GRrrr (following the question: What does a lion say?)
• Violet has perfected 'bootie-dancing'. That is - moving almost every part of her body to the music, with darn good rhythm, while seated. Dancing is this girl's favorite pastime. Hope to post a video of it soon.
• She's getting pretty good (yet still inconsistent) with identifying a few body parts. Rich and I usually have a good laugh when we ask her where X is and she almost invariably touches her head. But ear, belly, head and toes seem to be the most understood.
• Violet still loves her stuffed animals! She loves to give them kisses and hold Molly (the dolly) by one strand of yarn hair when sitting in her umbrella stroller. Also, her attachment to her blankies (yes, there are multiple) seem to become stronger every day. Not sure if I mind much (this coming from a girl who had her blankie until she was X years old...).
• Shapes seem to be the newest concept Vi is grasping as she is now successfully pushing her blocks through the appropriate shaped cut-outs on a few of her toys.
• Her affinity for books only grows, however, if there are more than one in view - time is usually spent stacking them, pushing them aside, dropping them, restacking them and holding one in each hand. Interesting...
• Regardless of endless episodes of assault, Hannah the cat remains one of Violet's most loyal pals. I really think that cat is senile...much to Violet's glee!
• OK - that's all I can think of right now. Look for another 'Viley' update around her 16th month check up! ;)

A few recent pics:

Snack time:

Don't I look like my cousin Danielle in this shot?

I think there's a monster under my crib...

Violet's first photo - snapped after attempting to push the button at least 10 times. I think we have the next Ansel Adams on our hands: