12.5 Months

Maeve decided that since she is officially a year old, that she wants to get a headstart on toddler behaviors that are designed to drive parents nuts. At 12.5 months, Maeve is already starting to test her boundaries and see just how far she can go before we physically stop her. Often, she will do something, we will tell her no and stop her from doing it. She will then look at us and while looking at us, do it again. She'll keep doing it until she gets a stern no, at which point, she will throw herself on the floor and "cry" in a moment of drama. It's still cute at this point, but we fear that Grandpa might be right when he says she is getting a headstart on the terrible 2's.

She's also tons of fun right now, and by fun, I mean unbearably cute and simultaneously exhausting. She's moving non-stop, from one activity to another. She's climbing the stairs, driving her little truck around the kitchen, dancing, clapping, scattering toys all over the kitchen and living room, and learning how to "do nice" to the dogs (the cats know better, and run in the opposite direction). She's also giving kisses, but is pretty stingy with them, and most of the time when you ask for one, she will lovingly put her hand on your check and then shove your face away. So sweet huh? And although she doesn't say yes yet, if you ask her certain questions like "Maeve do you like grapes?" she will nod her head yes. If she sees something that she wants and can't reach it, she will walk over to wherever it is, point to it, and say "dat" until you give it to her or distract her with something else shiny and interesting. For her birthday, her father got her a soccer ball, and when we tell her to kick it, she will walk over to it, kick it, and then clap. After taking a cue from cousin Alita, she has been taught to say "ahhhh" after taking a drink of juice or water, but then looks around to make sure that Mom and Dad haven't missed her being cute. She also does this great thing where if we are sitting on the floor, she will bring over a book, hand it to us, and then turn herself around, and back up into our laps to be read to. See? Unbearably cute!

She's finally sleeping all the way through the night most nights too. I was dreading having to get through the process of night weaning, but I haven't needed to. It's soooo nice to not be woken up to nurse in the middle of the night. Also in the last month, I had the dreaded H1N1, and the kid didn't get it, which was a relief.

We had a great visit from Grandma and Grandpa and even Uncle Brian came to visit. She had non-stop playmates for over a week! She loved helping Brian with the dishwasher and I mostly mean arbitrarily taking things out or putting them in. Her birthday party was a lot of fun and Maeve loved all the attention.

The kids a ham for sure.