Atti Update

So it has finally happened. We have a full-blown walking toddler! (Actually it's not 'finally.' Isn't she still supposed to be a baby?) It all started when we went to the Toy Store about a week and a half ago. She was so interested in all of the toys there - she wanted to play with everything! She started out with a cool wooden push toy, but she soon forgot all about it and started walking around to all of the other toys. That's right, walking! By herself! Up until that point she had taken steps by herself, but she much prefered to hold onto someones hand. Most of the time if you tried to get her to walk by taking your hand away she would promptly sit down. But that day at the toy store was the turning point! She started walking everywhere and she hasn't looked back! And she has been having a blast! This new position has totally changed her view, and she has a whole new world to explore. It was like she got to discover her house and yard all over again. So cute!

Here she is walking at the toy store

And here she is walking all over our hotel room in Fayetteville just three days later.

This isn't the best quality video, and it's sideways :-(, so if you want 

to see a video of her walking that same weekend that you don't 

have to turn your head to watch, click here

That was the big news, but since we're all here let's do a little update on the other things that have been going on in Attia's world.

Since our last milestone update Attia has gotten two new teeth. On Easter, her second top tooth poked through. That one was tooth number nine on the dental chart. Then on April 17 another one popped through, taking her up to a total of five! I think that one is a lateral incisor (#7) but it could be a canine (#6). We'll see!

Our toothy girl has also started exclusively feeding herself since our last update. Finger foods are easy of course (and fairly clean), but she is getting a lot better at using a spoon and fork. She makes quite a mess, but she actually manages to spoon most of the food into her mouth. When she does get frustrated she just starts using her hands, but hey, at least she's doing it herself! It just means that we have to take a bath most nights after dinner. :-)

On April 10 we let her try out her new eating skills at a restaurant. Finally! (and that 'finally' is for real) Her first fine dining experience was at El Mezcal, our favorite Mexican restaurant in Lawrence. I guess it took us so long to eat out with her because we didn't want to be the table with the screaming baby. She did really well though, and didn't make a scene at all! Although she did make a bit of a mess around her chair. :-) She loved the chips and she enjoyed bits and pieces from both of our plates. Beans, tortilla, steak, peppers, tomatoes - she loved it all except for the cheese. That kind of surprised me, but it was a little spicy for her taste. Overall, yum! And lots of fun!

She got to try eating out again when we went to Cielito Lindo for our anniversary on May 3rd. Happy four years honey! Before we went out to eat we went for a little family bike ride and made a stop at South Park. Fun for everyone!

She insisted on trying the salsa! A little hot, but water made it ok. :-)

And other than that I hardly know what to say. I can't possibly explain how much she has learned, developed, and grown every single day since her 12 month birthday. In the last two months she has turned into a kid. A walking, 'talking' toddler. And it is absolutely amazing.

She runs around the house. She has learned to pet Jack and Rosa gently. She carries a purse. She loves shoes and slippers. She reads books. She points to the animals we name. She makes more and more animal noises (currently working on cock-a-doodle-do). She says mama, dad, Jack, dog, hi, bye, bunny... and more! She points to her nose, ears, and mouth when prompted. She throws the ball for Rosa. She eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She is a kid.

More Milestones!

Boy, the milestones just keep coming! I didn't want to end up with a monster post like I did last time, so I thought I would hurry and cover some of the things that Attia has been doing since her first birthday. It seems like up until this point it was her motor skills that were developing like crazy, and of course they still are, but what I have been impressed by now is the huge leap in her cognitive skills. She is such a smart little girl!

• The day that Attia turned one (March 1) she decided to start standing - hands free! She was standing at her toy shelf muching on snacks and she really wanted to use both hands to eat, so she did! Of course it was the lure of food that interested her enough to let her forget about hanging on. :-)
  
  
  
• On March 3rd (after her b-day party) we were hanging out with Gram and Grump and we were all saying 'woof,' trying to get her to say it. Instead of repeating it she crawled into the other room, went straight for her bookshelf, pulled out her animal book, flipped to the page with the dog on it and pointed to the dog! Not what we were going for, but I was amazed!
  That same day my boss gave her a toy duck and a 'Find the duck' book, and when prompted to find the duck she points to it! Whoa!
  
• Later that day, when it was time for bed, we did our usual bedtime routine and when daddy said, "Good night, Love you!" she replied, "wuv oo!"
  Awww! Talk about heart melting!
  
• She likes to color with crayons and markers, and around the beginning of the month she started being able to take the cap off of a skinny marker and then put it back on. Of course she doesn't cap the marker when she's done coloring, taking the cap off and on is a fun game in itself.
  
• On March 8th her third tooth popped through. Her first top tooth, it was tooth number 8.
  
• She loves shoes! She likes to wear shoes, she likes to try to put them on, she likes to try to wear mommy's and daddy's shoes, she likes to wear them on her hands... she just likes shoes!
  
  
  
  
• She already likes to talk on the phone. I was surprised that she picked it up so quickly, but anytime she can get a hold of one of our phones she puts it up to her ear and says, 'Hi!' (Well, really it's more like "Ha!")
  
• This month she has been more and more interested in feeding herself. She eats a lot of finger foods, and when we feed her with a spoon she is usually trying to do it herself by the end of the bowl. Sometimes she is content to use her spoon with my help or using her spoon while I feed her with another one. Other times SHE wants to do it HERSELF! Things can get messy...
  
• She has also been trying to drink from a regular glass. At first she was dumping it all over herself, but she is getting much better. Now she usually spills a little at first and then she figures out where the liquid is and starts gulping it down!
  
• This week she started throwing little 'mini tantrums'. If we tell her not to do something or if we take something away from her she throws herself on the floor crying. It's actually pretty funny, but not something we want to continue. After talking to her daycare provider it seems that she may have learned this from her little friend at daycare. Oh the things she is going to be learning at school...
  
• One nice change this month was that her sleep schedule started to get much better!  I think the recent time change really helped because we are putting her down at the same 'time,' the clock just reads an hour later - which is nice for us in the morning! At night she typically goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up around 5:30 or 6:00 to eat. Then a lot of times she will go back to sleep, in her crib, for another hour or two! Very nice :-) Sometimes she will wake up and want to eat around 2:00am, but only occasionally, so that is just fine with me.
  
  Naps have been better too. She has been taking a nice long one in the morning, usually around 10:00 and lasting about an hour and an half - but sometimes longer! Then she will take a half hour to an hour nap in the afternoon. Much better than three thirty minute naps!
  
• And the big news... Last night (March 26) Attia took her FIRST STEPS!!! We were in the kitchen and daddy had a glass of milk that she really wanted to drink. So daddy held the glass just out of reach in front of her and she actually moved her little feet and took four tiny steps towards us! Awww!
  
  We tried to get her to walk for the video camera when we were outside a little later. Of course she didn't really want to comply, but we did manage to capture one or two steps. Check out the video!  [Note: Her cute outfit got dirty at daycare :-)]
  
  
  
  She has been using us to help her walk for quite a while - holding onto our hands as she toddles around. But not for much longer! Now that she has had these little steps she is sure to find her footing soon. And then she'll off!
  

• That's all we have for now, but I'm sure there will be more soon!