Sayda, when you grow up, and you're reading this, I apologize that so far I have no blogged as much about you as I have with the other kids. Everyone always says that you do so much more with your first born, and it decreases with each kid, and I always said I'd never let that happen! Well, I've been doing my best, and it just must be one of the laws of physics. But I will continue to try harder to write more often!
Back when Sayda was only crawling and not even walking, there's one thing I've noticed she does then, that she still does now. She is definitely a quality time girl. Even when the big kids are playing & laughing in the basement, Sayda would rather sit at my feet while I do dishes, or play by herself while I work on the computer. She DOES play with them too, but more often than not, she just wants to be where I am. She's my little shadow. I wouldnt even say its necessarily a "Mama's girl" thing, but just that she likes to be in the presence of others, even if they're not playing with her. Its sweet.
Sayda used to cringe every time Ethan came near her… just because for a long time, he really didn't know how to be gently with her. But it was neat to see the transition from her almost fear of him, to her affection for him. She definitely LOVES her big sister! But when I first saw her taking to Ethan at all, was a fun time for me! Now they all play together so well, and I don't see any of them really pairing up and leaving the other as a third wheel. Its great!
Another silly thing I like to watch Sayda do is when she lays on her back to play, or to watch tv. I dunno why its so funny to me. I guess because it seems more normal to sit up while she plays? But I cant help but to smile when I watch her walk over, sit herself down, and then lower herself even more, until she's on her back, even when she's not sleepy. She also does this, leaning up against things. Whether its the alligator cushion, or a pillow, or most often jake or myself, she backs herself up until she feels you, then plops herself down and leans her back up against us. Its adorable! It seems so comforting to her…. I love it!
Sayda's first birthday party was so much fun! We decided to go with a different theme, and prepare breakfast for dinner as our meal, and invite everyone to come in their jammies! We even made up menu's, so that everyone could personalize their order when they arrived! We had some family over, and the usual friends we see come to these things, and it was great!
So as far as her development… now that she's 14 months old!!!! We just took down the baby gates, because she is going down the stairs alone! I'm also recording now as the mile-marker to when she started running! She's a little quick one! She just popped her 11th tooth through as well! Wow! She had 7 teeth for so long, and just popped 3 molars and her last front tooth all within the past two weeks! Whew!
This girl will eat almost anything you put in front of her! Haha! Not only the choices of food, will she pretty much eat anything, but also the quantity! We keep it under control, but man can she eat!
Its also pretty funny when after nap (and she's only allowed to have her binky during nap & bedtime), I say, "ok, gimmie your binky." she happily plucks it right out & hands it to me, Haha! Other times I don't say a word. I just hold my hand in front of her, and sometimes she'll hand it to me, but other times she cracks me up when she just bends over & lets it fall our of her mouth, into my hand. Haha!
I think she's going to be our "dry humor" kid. She IS a happy baby, don't get me wrong… but she's just not as easily amused as the other kids always were. You cant just make her laugh by doing silly faces or silly sounds or anything. Yesterday, I was running over to Gma's house from my parents house, holding Sayda, and while she's bouncing in my arms, and I was giggling because I was trying to make it fun for her, she never cracked a smile! Haha!!! A while later, on the way back to the house, I tried again, and she laughed, so we got one there!
The other day, the big kids were taking a bath, and they were extremely hyper and truly driving me a little coo coo. So as I was dressing Sayda, I whispered in her ear, "you are by far my best one today." and she very distinctively nodded her head yes. Haha!!!
Though I never marked down WHEN these things happened (shame on me!), I do remember how adorable it was when she started doing things like, nodding her head yes, pointing with one finger, giving kisses when we ask for them, and changing her wave from moving the fingers, to rotating the wrist. Another one is when she started dancing! She moves side to side, like most babies, so cute! But I loved it even more when I first caught her dancing, slowly spinning in a circle, with her arms in the air! I cant NEVER catch a video of it on my phone, but I will! I Love these little special times!
The signs she does include, all done, more, eat, please, and milk!
I would expect her, just as a female, to be saying a lot more words than she is at this point, hehe! But nonetheless, they consist of… dada, hi, up, all done, wow, and uh oh! She occasionally says (her version of) Diella, which is kinda like "Diedda" … and I think she also tries to say her name (like when we look in the mirror and I ask her "who's that baby?")… she says, "Dayda." So that's cool! I'm sorry, but I cannot believe she still doesn't say Mama!! Haha!
She knows a few of her body parts, like when we ask, "where's your belly?" and she pulls up her shirt! Hehe, which by the way, she finds pretty hysterical. She also knows where her mouth is. One time when I asked her where my nose was (or maybe I asked where hers is, I don't remember)… she got it right. So I know she's learning, just not talking. She DOES, however, do LOTS of babbling! I love it especially when she looks RIGHT at you, and all these little Sayda words come out! She's trying to communicate!
She LOVES to do animal sounds! The ones she knows on command include, doggie, monkey, elephant, and cow. The ones she SOMEtimes gets correct are horse and tiger (or the same sound for dinosaur). There are a few she does, but only after you do them for her first, like duck and kitty.
She is still a wonderful sleeper! About 11 hours at night, and her daytime nap is as short as 1.5 hours, and as long as 3 hours. So we're pleased with that!
I really am excited for the next few months as I watch her grow, and develop into her personality even more!
