14 Months

Updates from the month:

• This month has been dominated by snow and ice.  Luckily with a yard, we are able to get out of the house every day and play in the snow.  With the hand-me-down sled we recently got from my parents, I've been pulling her back and forth for the length of the yard.  Her rigid smile is part panic, part thrill.  I love it.  So happy that she is up for some cold weather. 
• At times, she will hold her hands together behind her back as she walks.  She especially likes to do this in public places where she feels comfortable and wants to go her own direction (i.e. the library and Lowes)
• She loves being with both Joshua and me at the same time.  I cannot blame her; we have a great time as a family.
• She has 14 teeth, with 2 more on the way.

• Alma wants to tickle everyone and everything (cat, stairs, mail, etc). The accompanying sounds are nearly as cute.
• This month she is back to echoing us. Whereas before she mainly mimicked our tone, she is getting the sounds much closer these days.
• Everything is still a hat.
• While she warms up to women quickly, there are times when she is very shy around men. Even scared of them if they come on too strong. She hides her face against my chest while peeking out to see what is happening.
• She loves to eat snow.  Let me clarify: Snow that I give her so that she can avoid Simon's snow (if ya know what I'm sayin').  She will hold it, pace back and forth along the patio and eat it ... until I notice that her hands look too cold and I stick gloves on them.
• Gloves are the bane of her existence.   

• We are officially at one 1.5-2 hour nap a day. While I miss the second afternoon nap (and that luxurious third nap that used to be just as consistent), she isn't getting as moody during the late afternoon. I can deal.
• I love how she takes care of me by feeding me scraps of food, hugging me and patting my back, bringing me dolls to hug, making her dolls dance to make me laugh, etc. 
• She has started doing the little kid dance -- half stomping feet, half swaying. She wasn't like my brother's children who were really into music from very young ages but she is finally getting a feeling for it and really seems to enjoy a good beat.
• She loves to look at pictures of people.  Her baby faces book is still a big hit as is junk mail that includes faces of people.  This 69News mailing was lovingly carried around all day so that she could repeatedly point to each of their faces.