Grateful

I figured it was about time (or past time) for another blog entry.  My little girl has been keeping me quite busy, but I was able to escape her clutches sneak away from her peacefully sleeping form this evening, which is a rare occurrence.  I want to start by saying how grateful I am for my daughter.  She is a blessing in my life, and one that I will not take for granted.  Though I would prefer she didn't wake every hour and a half, I am thankful that I have her here to wake every hour. and. a. half.  I can't imagine my life without her, and I am saddened by the recent loss of lives in Newtown, CT, especially the children.

Genevieve has been amazing me with her learning these days.  She crawls like a maniac and wants to stand up every chance she can get!  With enough motivation, she will cruise along furniture and walls.  If she's not motivated to get a particular object, she will lower herself to the ground ever so gingerly, crawl to the object, and then stand back up to grab it before again lowering herself to the ground.  I am never sure what to expect from this child!

G has been using the kitchen chairs and her high chair as walkers.  She holds on to them and walks with them as they scoot across the kitchen, coming to a halt as they hit a table, wall or other chair.  She is trying to figure out the water cooler.  She has the right idea about how to get the water to come out, but she hasn't yet been able to push the lever hard enough to dispense the water.  Thank goodness!!

  Last week she figured out how to open the kitchen cabinets.  J thinks I'm going to put the cabinet locks on, but I keep holding out hoping he will get around to it.  For now, we have chairs placed up against several doors blocking her entrance (a la Uncle Paul style).  One cabinet has been designated Genevieve's, and so far, she has done well with redirection.

 

Friday we went to Sprouts to do a little grocery shopping, and she waved at everyone who passed us by.  Of course they thought G was so cute, and they waved and smiled, which only made her more excited to apply this new skill.  She also understands the word no, though she doesn't always follow our directions.  Tonight, in fact, I said no to her when she was trying to open a kitchen cabinet that I didn't want her in.  She sat back on her bottom, put her hands to her jawline and made her "fit face".  That baby cracks me up!       

Genevieve also has the right idea about drinking from a cup.  If sitting upright, though, she doesn't tip her head back enough to get the liquid up to her mouth.  If slightly reclined, she is a pro at cup drinking.  She ALWAYS tries to get our cups to the point of standing on her tip toes to reach things set far from her grasp.

She still loves music and can often be seen bobbing her head or shaking her booty.  She has also been known to clap and do this funny hand motion, which seems to be to the beat of the music.  Genevieve seems to understand the sign for milk and gets excited when I ask her if she wants some milk while making the sign.  Yesterday I said to G, "Where's Mama's nose?", and she grabbed my nose!  She still needs help finding her nose and Dada's nose, but mine is the larger of the three.  ;)  G also knows what I mean when I say the word bite.  She opens her mouth if she wants more, and she closes her mouth and turns her head away if she's done.  We are still working on the signs for more and all done/finished. 

Genevieve babbles a bunch, especially first thing in the morning!  She just wants to tell you ALL about her dreams.  I would have to say her first word was Dada followed by Mamama/Mama/Mom.  For quite some time she was just babbling those "words", but now she seems to be using them discriminately.  Mom and Mamama happens when she's sad or tired.  Dada happens alllll of the time.  Once it sounded like she said hi when I said hi to her, and sometimes I think she's trying to say kitty (key). She copies me when I try to call Pawncho over.  She makes the kissing noise and pats her hand on the ground.  I love it!

There is so much more I am probably forgetting, but these are the big things that stick out in my mind right now.   Geneveive amazes me every day, and I am grateful to her for teaching me new things and for getting me excited about life again.  I look forward to every single day now that I have her in my life.  I still wish I could sleep longer than an hour and a half at a time, but I will continue doing it as long as she needs me to.  Don't judge the dark circles, unruly eyebrows, or unkempt hair.