At home with Lizzie

Dear friends,

This update comes just shortly after Lizzie turned 13months old!We reached a couple more milestones this month.

Favourite games she likes to play are 'row,row, row your boat', peekaboo, and bouncing on mummy and daddy's tummies playing riding horsey - always gives her the giggles

In the morning, when my Mum-in-law takes over 'Lizzie duty', she actually guides my MIL over to the DVD player and starts gesturing and mumbling for her favourite music VCD to be played -Sesame Street Beginnings- Lizzie loves this disc, some really nice songs in there. Another good one is the Praise Baby volume 1 worship music VCD.

Lizzie sticking her tongue out

(shes been doing it a lot lately...)

Lizzie enjoying a car-ride

"Cool" Lizzie

Lizzie can brush her own hair, brush mummy's hair, and brush Elmo's fur. She has been able to put her blocks into its container, and bring them out again when we ask her to.

The other day I asked Lizzie, who was holding a block - to "give it to Mummy". She then handed me the block right into my open hand.
When she picked up a second block, again I said to her "give it to Mummy" - this time Lizzie chucked the block as hard as she could to the other side of the room, looked at me and gave a mischevious grin and then giggled hysterically. Hmmmm.

Cheeky-monkey

Lizzie is pretty good at imitating what us adults do everyday, and babbles non stop to herself, her toys and anyone else willing to listen to what she has to say.

As for her first word (no, it wasn't Elmo) - Im not really sure what counts as a first word.
A whole real grownup word? or baby's abbreviation of a word?
So far I think she started to say "Dada" a couple of weeks ago, but has since stopped.
When I picked her up last week, she breathed "Mama" into my face. But alas that was also a one-off. I guess impatient Mummy and hopeful Daddy will have to wait a little longer.

Last month Lizzie learnt how to do some hand signs, but now even "fishy-fishy" hardly makes an appearance. I read in a parenting book that this is not a sign that the infant has forgotten it, but rather, is moving on to bigger and better things.
Apparently this is true, or maybe I think she may have gotten sick of us asking her to do the cute hand signs repeatedly just to entertain us adults. Our girl is no performing monkey!

A really cute thing happened the other week when we were out, a little girl has having her top changed by her mum, and Lizzie took one look at her and started doing the sign for "shame-shame" - you know the one we all learnt as kids, where you stroke your cheek with a finger?
So Lizzie saw this topless kid, and spontaneously did the sign.
Apparently my mum-in-law had taught her this one as well.

Smiling for the camera

We are STILL waiting for teeth to come out - lil bub didn't get to gum her 1st birthday cake either (I'm still putting a ban on refined sugar and empty carbs).

Lizzie is continuing to grow and feed well - she's having her regular three solid meals a day, and still drinking loads of milk. Those chubby cheeks seem to be reaching their maximum potential! Lizzie also seems to have favoured crawling over cruising, probably because she's more stable on her fours, and can get around faster.

Next month we'll be seeing her cardiothoracic surgeon, her physiotherapist, her cardiologist and her paediatrician, so we'll keep you updated then.

Till next month. God Bless you!

Elaine