I am so lazy OR Sometimes I'm busy.

I haven't updated in more than a week. I feel like I'm slacking only I've felt really busy lately so maybe I was just prioritizing.

The Animalia has just been freakin' adorable lately. She cruises around, making faces at her Da, only she's not calling him Da anymore, she's started calling him something that sounds like Daht. It's pretty cute.

So she's 11 months old now. The invitations to her big ONE have been sent out, her outfit has been chosen, the menu has been planned. I can't believe we're here already. The time goes by so quickly. Sometimes when I look at her she's a tiny baby and other times, when she's being silly, making faces and randomly giggling, I see the toddler that she nearly is. It's happy and sad, watching her grow, get bigger, faster and smarter. The happy is obvious. She's so amazing to me. The sad is maybe less obvious. Pretty soon she won't be a baby. She already pushes us away when we try to kiss her or cuddle her when she's busy. And she's busy most of the time, with her dolls and her books and her random plastic containers.

A couple of days ago, she figured out how to propel herself foward in her car. She had previously mastered driving backward and seems to think this new "driving forward" thing is too hilarious. At the same time, she started to make driving sounds while on her car. She learned that from her Da. She enjoys driving herself up to the kitchen cabinets, opening them and pulling things out, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. She also likes standing on top of the seat of her car. This gives us anxiety and we run to take her down before she cracks her tiny little head on our hard tile floor.

Tiny little head. Her tiny little head isn't so tiny anymore. We had to give up her fitted, infant sized Cubs cap for an adjustable toddler size. My baby, she's growing up, the mama sobbed.

They call her General Sherman.

Nana left her with Ata for a little while a few mornings ago and she came back to find the house sacked, toys and papers strewn everywhere, and her Ata calling her General Sherman.


In other news, the Animalia has started to sign más (more). OK, actually I think she may have been signing it for awhile but I just realized that's what she was doing. Sad, isn't it? Here the Animalia was being brilliant and I didn't even notice.

Abrazos!

Dale abrazitos a Elmo. She goes and finds Elmo, she gives him a hug and pats his back.

Dale abrazitos al Baby Croki. She finds Baby Croki, gives him a hug and pats his back.

Mama. Mama, she repeats.

Da. DAH DAH DAH, she repeats.

Cooper? She looks at him and raspberries.

Injury inspired laughter.

So the Animalia, she likes to climb into this tiny box. Last night, she pushed down on it and it kind of flipped, hitting her on the forehead. She was startled, not terribly injured but started to cry. The whole thing was too funny, though I know it doesn't sound that hilarious now, but it just was. I laughed, her Da laughed. She screamed. Everytime she saw her Da laughing at her she screamed louder. I was trying to soothe her by picking her up and saying shhhh shhhh shhhhh but her Da was right there laughing. She was too angry to stop crying and us laughing was just making her more upset. Screeching followed, and pretend crying. I had to hold her and hug her and hide my face so she wouldn't see me laughing.

¡Baila, Baila!

The Animalia knows how to dance all of a sudden. She seems to have picked up this skill at her grandparents house, where they play music all day long. On request, she raises her little hands and swivels her waist and she does it back and forth a few times. Today, while I was visiting for lunch, she actually did it when the music stopped, almost like she was telling us to put on a new CD.

She looks just like her Ata when she dances. Poor baby.

All she wanted was an abrazo.

All she wanted was a little abrazo from one of her most favorite children ever. So she used this petite little girl to pull herself up to standing and the little girl was knocked over. While this girl, who is almost a year older but only a tiny bit heavier and a couple of inches taller, was laying on the ground, she climbed her in a second attempt at an abrazo. The poor girl tried to get up. She tried and tried and just kept being defeated in her attempts by the giant Animalia. Tense moments passed and the girl was finally able to get up. The girl ran. The Animalia chased, crawling quickly. The girl said urgently, "Ay viene, ay viene!" and looked for help from her Yaya. The Yaya was no help though, finding it all hilarious enough to attempt taking a picture instead of assisting the girl. Animalia's mother was no help either, she couldn't stop laughing and trying to take pictures. The Yaya encouraged the girl to give the Animalia abrazitos. But no, it was not to be. The girl was determined to get away from this giant baby who wanted to touch her.

All the Animalia wanted was a little abrazo. Oh yeah, and also to play with a tiny bow on the top of the little girl's brightly colored dress. Poor Animalia. The girl wouldn't have it.

He missed her.

The Animalia's Da, he missed her when she was on vacation. He thinks she came back doing more things and doing some things better than when she left.

1. She's rocking her dolls. It just breaks my heart in the most tender way when she does this.
2. The good girl thing. She pats herself when you ask her who's a good girl? Yes, I reinforce this skill every single day.
3. Standing. She stood without holding onto things sometimes before but now she just stands there. Like a big girl.
4. Walking. Before, when we held her up to walk around, she'd do so on tiptoes. Now she does it with her feet flat on the ground.
5. Climbing. She's climbing everything all of a sudden. EVERYTHING. She tried before, to climb, but now, I don't know, it's just more.

She's almost ready to strike out on her own in this big wide world.