I probably sound like a broken record but Bry and I are in a constant state of total amazement over Elise's transformation into a toddler. Somewhere around the 13 month mark, she just blossomed into a completely different person! Her personality is really emerging and we are now having full-on conversations with her. It is almost overwhelming.
Elise definitely has a strong personality. I wonder where she gets that from? :) She loves to yell "hi" to random strangers and gets miffed when they do not reciprocate. She also loves to show off her belly to them and yell "bee" (for beh). When she gets excited, she shrieks and jumps up and down. When bigger kids try to push her around or steal her toys, she either tries to hit them or yells at them. She loves it when we are all together as a family. When I'm with her, she's constantly asks for dada and vice versa when she's with Bryant. When the three of us play together, she has a permanent huge smile on her face and will keep saying "mama. dada" over and over again as if to say "I am with my best friends right now."
Despite her strong personality, she is also pretty laid-back. She does not tantrum (yet!) and she only cries when she has separation anxiety or when she is alone in bed. One of my mom friends with a similar-aged toddler observed Elise and was amazed that she did not whine despite getting several requests denied. She likes to share.
She is learning a new word everyday now. Today she learned "moon" and the owl sound "hoo". She does not like to say 2 syllable words and just smiles when I try to teach them to her (silly mommy). She requests all of her favorite books by name. "Bye bye" is "Pat the Bunny", "Nono" is "No no Yes yes", "Boo" is "Blue hat, green hat", and "Toon-toon", is the baby animal book. Whenever we get to the dog page of the baby animal book she just goes crazy because she loves Toon-toon so much.
She is still a champion nurser. I was originally planning on weaning at 1 year but did not have the heart to because she just looooooves "neh-neh". She still asks for it at least once an hour when I am with her. I weaned off of my milk medication but miraculously, I have enough milk to last her through the day. At this rate, I am planning on weaning when I can reason with her....probably when she's around 2. Since she can't have cow's milk, I'm glad that she's getting the nutrients from breastmilk that the other alternative milks do not have.
She is still a very picky eater. I always thought that I would try to have my kids eat whatever the adults are eating but that's not working so far. Her favorite foods are oranges and Asian noodles. She eats at least 4 clementines a day.
Thankfully, little miss-attached-to-mommy is become more independent. She is starting to play with her toys more and she is curiously discovering every part of our home. Her favorite activity, much to our dismay, is climbing furniture and dancing on top of it. So despite her newfound independence, I still have to helicopter parent her because she likes to test the boundaries.
Words to describe her personality so far: social, happy, giggly, lively, alert, curious, persistent, attached, clever, funny, and strong.
Elise's first year was an amazing experience but Bry and I are just LOVING the toddler phase. We are constantly laughing everyday at her antics and each day just seems to get better and better. A part of me is sad that she seems to be growing up so quickly. There are even times where I wished I were a stay-at-home mom so that I could really savor this period. We're going to blink and before we know it, she'll be in kindergarten. SIGH!
