talking and walking

Liesl has been trying to say her first word: "uh-oh". She's got the first part down, and she's got the concept (throw something on the floor, smile at Dada/Mama/Seb and say uh-oh, wait for them to pick it up, repeat), but the second half of the word is hard. So she just says "Uh!". It's pretty cute. She also tried to say blueberry the other day for Steve, which really surprised us. (Although, given how much she loves blueberries, maybe it shouldn't have.)

She's doing a pretty good job of communicating without words, however. She has a very definite protest cry that we hear when we try to take favorite objects away from her. She has a real giggle, that she'll make when you tickle her or turn her upside down, but she also has this funny cackle that seems to mean "look at me, wasn't that cool!?".

I often offer her Cheerios during meals as a way to keep her occupied and happy. She likes to feed herself, but usually can't feed herself enough food for a meal. So one of our games is that I put a Cheerio in my hand and place it in front of her, and her game is to pry open my hand and grab the Cheerio. When she opens her mouth for the Cheerio I shove a bite of real food in. (Hey, it works.) But the other day, my hand was on the table in front of her and when she pried it open there weren't any Cheerios inside. She opened up my hand a few times and turned it over and over, looking for the Cheerios, and then she lifted my hand up to her mouth and bit me. Mama finally got the message, and got some Cheerios.

She's definitely a full-on toddler now - just yesterday she walked all the way through the kitchen, the dining area, around through the living room, down the hallway, and back to the kitchen. We call it the loop. I can't believe she's walking already. She sways a bit, like a drunken sailor, but is totally undaunted by her frequent falls onto her bum. She's also starting to take an interest in playing games with us, and unsurprisingly two of her favorite games are to try and roll a ball back and forth and to push little cars around after Seb. If she's not a tomboy, it'll be a miracle. I have to get my fix of cute dresses now, since she'll probably start refusing to wear them next year.