Hi, Aida. Meet self.

Yesterday morning, I found Aida standing in front of our standing mirror looking at herself with a happy expression of both pride and amusement.

"Hi, Aida," my reflection said to her reflection. She smiled and bobbed her head like she does, then made some of her unintelligible noises.

It was the first time I've seen her really look at herself in a way that reveals she knows, "That's me! I like me! Hi Aida."

DaaaDaaa! Outsuh! Ot!

Aida's vocabulary at 14.5 months old

Words she says:
Outsuh! (Outside.) - No. 1 favorite word of all time.
Up-down. - Her first intelligible words.
DaaaDaaaa!
Mahmah.
Ot. (Hot.)
Hat.
Baahhh-baaaah! (Bye-bye!)
Ilk. (Milk)
Uhpssss. (Whoops.)
Book.
Socks.
Chu. (Shoe.)
Baa. (Bath.)
Ball.
Nap.
Cup.
Datdatdatdat! (Dog, duck and, sometimes, birds and squirrels.)
Haaaahhhhhye! (Hi.)

Words we can tell she understands but doesn't say:
No.
Blankie.
Hungry.
Window.
Stroller.
Broccolihead.
CD Frog Prince.

Way too long

January ends tomorrow and I this reminds me exactly how delinquent I have been in these posts. Since I last wrote, we celebrated Aida's first Christmas, traveled to New Orleans for a long weekend to see family, and zoomed through all kinds of toddler firsts. I have so much material and so little time. And, as it goes, the less I write, the more difficult it becomes. So, in an effort to break the silence before another month ends in a blur, I post a couple of recent videos that help illustrate how much of a little person our Aida is becoming.



Walking in mommy's shoes, today


Learning to slide with Anders, Jan. 22, 2012


Mardi Gras training at MSY leaving Nola, Jan. 9, 2012


Dinner time silliness, Jan. 23, 2012

Look at me now!

When I was watching Aida walk and climb on the jungle gym this morning, my memory flashed to a book my parents used to read to me and my sister. "Look at me now!" had a cover the color of split pea soup and it was all about growing from a teeny-tiny baby to a Big Kid, capable of doing everything from walking and playing with a ball to, you guessed it, using the Big Kid potty.

I don't know what I thought would happen before I became a parent, but I certainly didn't realize how fast an infant moves from barely being able to sit up or make intentional noises like laughter to climbing stairs and fetching shoes on demand.

I mean, three weeks ago, Aida still preferred crawling over walking.

Now, she's, well ...



and



(oh, and the buzz you're hearing is from the parks workers edging and mowing, not a huge bee...)

I mean, seriously. Look at her now!

Aida's sky

Tonight when I got home, I followed and watched as Aida wandered around our backyard.

She spied a lizard and stopped, then chased it until it disappeared.

She picked up leaves and crunched them between her fingers.

She started to eat a rock.

At one point, in surprise, she pointed at the sky and squealed. I turned from facing her to see what she saw. And there it was. A bright sliver of light shining over our backyard.

"The moon, Aida," I said. "The moon is in the sky."

A little while later, I found her staring upward again, this time waving and smiling. I looked up. A plane pink with sunlight floated across the fading blue sky, so delightful to this child that it prompted her to wave.

"Airplane," I said.

"Daaaah," she said.

And with that, Aida discovered the sky.