Stick a Fork in Her and Call Her Done

Yes, I have discovered the secret to getting any and all children to eat!!!

Perhaps that's an exaggeration..

What I have actually discovered is a way to help my child eat more, and we'll have to see how long it lasts. You see, she has used a spoon (with limited success) frequently, but she's still really had at it, and the appeal of rice cereal splashed across our dining room is limited. However, she has never used a fork. Until now. Alexis' brilliant mother, who in reality is probably way behind the appropriate time range to be doing this, introduced a fork into her eating habits, and she's never been happier! I stuck cubes of sweet potatoes onto her fork, and she LOVED it! The huge advantage here is that while she's building up her fine motor skills, the fork has the ability to maintain its substance as opposed to a wild flinging of said substance across the room. I like forks. They are my new BFF.

In other more pertinent news, Alexis went for her 15 month check up last Thursday and weighs 19 whole pounds! This is great for a number of reasons; it means she's been getting enough to eat the past month and a half, which is almost always a worry for any parent, and she gained good weight, which is great news for us. Plus, she is FINALLY ON THE GROWTH CHART! She's in the third percent, so she's still really small, but she's there. The doctor said she looks fine with everything, and the only thing we're going to watch is her language development because she's a little slower on that. However, she's been really quick with her kinesthetic development and is quite teh explorer, and kids usually develop one or the other more quickly, and that development is not indicative of further tendencies later in life or anything. What's really nice is that, for the first time, she doesn't have to have an interim check-up; she gets to go to her normal, 18-month check up without having to have another one between now and then.

She is turning into quite the toddler, and I am constantly remembering what Earl told me about staying calm and quiet with a low voice. The doctor basically told me the same thing, so when Alex tries to throw a tantrum, which she's learning about, I don't pander to it. She's got other, cooler new tricks than crying for my attention, though. She is saying a few words, albeit sporadically. Yesterday she said the word "ball" twice without being prompted, and I was so proud! She'll also say "hi" occasionally, but it almost seems like once she's figured out how to do something once, she thinks, "Well, that's cool. But what's next?" I'm working with her very specifically trying to name everything and get her to repeat sounds, but she does her own thing, sometimes verbalizing and sometimes not.

She also has gotten into this new thing of now wanting me to lean back, which is absolutely bizarre. If I lean back while sitting on the floor in her room, she will walk up to me and push me forward, and she'll do it over and over and over again. I don't know if she thinks I'm trying to claim her space or what, but she goes behind me to the other side, then back, until I lean back again and she pushes me forward, and we're in a neverending cycle if I would let it continue. Sometimes I make a game out of it and pick her up by her arms onto my back, and she loves that and laughs and laughs.

And while she's growing more independent, she's also growing more dependent. She hugs me now, crashing into me with her arms around my neck, or when I pick her up putting her arms around me a squeezing. I absolutely adore those moment. But then she wants down again immediately to go explore. We went for her first walk today with her new harness, a monkey stuffed animal that goes on her back and clips around so that I she is secure and I can stay attached to her. (Yes, like a leash. I treat my daughter like a dog. Get over it... and isn't a stroller more of a restraint anyway? lol.) We went outside today with it for the first time, and she initially did the first thing she always done when plunked down into wide open spaces. She stands, overwhelmed with excitement, and doesn't move. But then she was off, and it was AWESOME to let her roam and not have to worry nearly as much, giving her freedom and safety all at the same time. Now if only there were something to prevent her from picking up everything on the sidewalk... She made friends with an eldery lady who was outside pruning er bushes. (Honestly, I think she came out hoping that we would come back by because the first time we passed her house, she was looking out of her window with a huge smile on her face.) You could tell she missed her grandkids, and she thought Alex was adorable. But we had a grand old time.

At the moment, though, you'd think that I had sentenced Alex to a life void of love and affection. Yes, she's having a little mini-fit at the moment. Oh well...

And regarding the pictures, well, we've had to move some things around in her room. She wanted to rearrange.

Currently Screaming

She sounds as though she's having the worst morning in the world right now, although the only reason she's crying is because I'm not in the room with her. Poor kid! She's starting to become much more vocal now in general, babbling a lot. It sounds like she is sometimes saying things like "daddy" and "bye", but it's so hard to know! It seems like her whole world is changing right now, and it's hard to get used to. She eats differently, sleeps differently, and plays differently. She also has two top teeth now, but only one of them is in the middle, which makes her look kind of weird when she smiles really big.

Alex is still obsessed with having me read to her, and she likes to curl up in my lap while I'm doing it. She is also obsessed with having Jason chase and tickle her. She ADORES it! He found a ticklish place under her chin and jaw, and he'll wait for her to come get him, and then he'll attack. Alex will run to me and give me a huge hug and bury her face into my arms. Or she'll bend over all the way to her toes and almost fall over, trying to escape but loving it at the same time. It's amazing to hear her just laugh and laugh and laugh.

She's getting so big it seems like. She has a doctor's appointment next week, so we're interested in seeing her stats, especially because she's been such a picky eater the past few weeks. I suppose that's part of being a toddler, though, and she is truly a toddler. We're going to be excited when we finally move and she has true space of her own for playing.