My little big girl

Ryleigh is changing and growing more and more every single day. Honestly, it is incredibly hard to believe how much of a little person she has become. I know the saying "learn something new every day" sounds cliche, but I think when you are a toddler, the saying is true! Jesse and I are amazed by the things she does and the connections she has made.

For example, if you hand her a phone, she will immediately put it to her ear and say "ho?" (which is gibberish for "hello"- no I don't answer my phone calling out mean names to people on the other end). Or, if you just watch her when she is playing in my bathroom, she will remove a q-tip from my drawer and put it up to her ear. Or when she hands you something and says "tank u" as she gives it to me, because that is what I always say when she hands me objects. These are things we never taught her- she just learned from watching us.

If she is hungry, she will either go and bang on the pantry, or stand in front of her high chair, fussing and reaching for the tray. Or if she is tired, she'll try to pull on the front of her crib, begging to be put to sleep. The girl knows what she wants. =)

When we take her to the pool, she watches the other kids very intently, and just this week, she started purposely putting her face in the water and kicking her legs. How did she know to do that? We never taught her that! She has started climbing into chairs and sliding down the side of the couch when she wants down. She has no fear. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing...

She has also learned several things from direct imitation. If you throw back and laugh real hard "ha-ha-ha," she will smile and say "ha-ha-ha." If someone is coughing, whether real or faking, she feels the need to clear her own throat. When Jesse sticks his tongue out at her, she sticks out her own tongue. If she sees me scratch my arm, she will either scratch her own arm, or come over and scratch mine!

Needless to say, we are having a blast with Ryleigh. She is learning every day, and so are we. We get so excited every time we see her try something new.

But it just further reminds me that she is no longer a baby. Sure, she still likes being held by Mommy. Yes, she still uses a pacifier (we are working on it!) and takes a bottle at night (though we have switched to whole milk). But she is not the needy baby she was, even 3 months ago. She does not depend on me to remember to feed her or put her down for a nap; if I forget, she reminds me! Crazy right, that at one-year-old, she is already "taking responsibility" in a way, for her own well-being.

Enough of that, or what started out as a fun post will turn sad as I reminisce of my baby.

Here are some fun recent photos:

At her 1-year well baby visit, we watched anxiously as she tipped the scales at 20.0 pounds, the minimum weight for the forward-facing car seat. I would not have been so anxious about turning her around, except that she is sooooo tall, her poor little legs were getting squished, and when she would get tired of being in the car, she would kick the seat and jar her whole body. Needless to say, as soon as we got the go-ahead, we turned her around! And now we have a happy little girl in the car.
*On a side note, the first night we installed the car seat and went for a ride to "try it out" I totally teared up. It was the first time in a long time that I have seen Ryleigh and thought that she looked really small. Maybe the seat was just extra big, but whatever the reason, she sure looked small to me.
Another recent change is her sleep attire. The entire first year of her life she wore full body pajamas, with leggings and snaps down the center. Lately, she wears little shorts and t-shirts, pants and sleeveless shirts, and even nightgowns! Just one more sign of my baby turning into a little girl.
Ryleigh refuses to sit in her exersaucer anymore. She might let me put her in there for about two minutes, but that is about it. However, she still occasionally enjoys watching her Baby Einstein videos. Since she has mastered climbing in and out of her rocking chair, I moved it into the living room to see if she would sit in it for five minutes.
Sure enough, she loved it. Oh, and did I mention she is back in the "posing" stage? Around 4-6 months, she would always smile and giggle for the camera. Then she got active and could not be bothered to stop or smile at the camera. Now, she is just a little ham. I love it. =)
Well, there you have it. My long overdue update on my little, big girl. Growing like a weed, learning right and left, and yet still super sweet. Ryleigh is more and more fun everyday, and I'm so thankful to have this little one in my life.