This morning, as I watched my sweet Jane feed herself breakfast, then quickly proceed to tear off her bib and throw bib and remaining bread crumbs overboard, I thought to myself, "What makes a toddler?"
Being who I am, I looked it up on that most fabulous of Web sites, Merriam Webster:
tod-dler (n): one that toddles.
Not helpful. So I look up "toddles" (because it's hyperlinked):
tod-dle (int v): to walk with short tottering steps in the manner of a young child.
OK, so Jane isn't a toddler, although technically her ever-evolving butt-scoot does toddle as she moves from disaster to no-no.
She may not be a toddler (defined by Parent magazine as a child more than 12 months ... I did research on this ... breakfast lasts awhile in this house), but she is certainly becoming toddleresque (my new word).
Don't get me wrong, Jane is still a very sweet child, with a happy demeanor. When I say she is toddleresque, why, she does this all with a lovely smile on face and a laugh on her lips.
Her new scoot has opened a world of possibility. She gets into everything. We (and when I say we, I mean me) are quickly learning what we can and can't control.
Jane absolutely must do most things on her own now. From feeding to shoes, it is all a demand. Finger foods fly, sippy cups sail if she is not allowed to handle that spoon on her own. Her little hands must handle the socks and shoes (although, in the end, she delicately hands them to mommy). She has to brush her hair. She wants to take her own diaper off when you lay her on the changing table. And the absolute: she refuses any pacifier not put into her mouth by her own chubby fingers.
And talking, my the talking. It's non-stop. And it's lovely.
I can sit for hours watching her little face as she discovers something new ... and she'll discover something new about every 10 minutes.
Yes, she is certainly toddleresque. And I love it.
At 10 months:
- 23 pounds, 12 ounces
- 28 inches
- Dr. W is astounded at her motor skills
- 8 teeth, with molars breaking skin and her incisor teeth playing hide-and-seek
4 comments:
How I wish I were there! Please send lots of pictures! Loves.
She sounds stubborn...hmmmmm. I wonder where she got that! Eight teeth! Wow. David is eight months and only two little teeth on the bottom. Although he seems like he is teething all the time!
Dang.....sorry, it is me Becky, not Rich, I do that all the time!
Good thing she's independent and you have a new little one to work on ... it'll probably be the best of both worlds for the two of you. You''ll be too busy and need her to do things on your own and she'll be more than happy to do it all.
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