New Skills

Cora turns 14 months old on Monday, and she seems to grow and change every day. She now purposefully says the following words:

Mo-mo - more
uh-oh! (Does it count when you throw the object and then say it?!)
Dada - usually screamed with glee when she hears John's key unlocking the door
hi - only when talking on her Hannah Montana cell phone

Notice "mama" is conspicuously missing from the list, but I'm not bitter. I mean it's not like I take care of her every need or anything!! ha ha!

She uses some sign language. She says "more" and "all done." She also shakes her head "no," claps, and waves. We're working on "please" and "thank you."

She's been walking for a couple of months now and is on the verge of being able to run. It's amazing to me how fast she can get from one end of the house to the other (with contraband in hand)! Since she has mastered walking, her new obsession is stairs. She loves to climb up and down stairs. Naturally, she's better at climbing up than down, but girlfriend is tough like a mack truck. She doesn't really get bothered about doing a face plant off of the stairs.

The other obsession is opening and closing things, e.g. doors, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, curtains, really anything that can move at her will. This has been especially torturous for Penny as Cora really loves to swing open the honeycomb blind on our back door to look outside. Poor Penny usually takes that as an invitation to come inside and presses her nose expectantly up to the window. But, alas, Cora is too short to open up the door for her (thank goodness!)

Much to my delight and relief, Cora has discovered the joy of books. She is obsessed with hearing stories, and she rotates between about 4 of her favorites. Today I have read her three books. That doesn't seem like many, but I have read each of them to her about 62 times today! It's a little tedious, but I must admit, the whole exercise makes this reading teacher's heart happy.

And because it's been a few days since I've posted a picture of little missy, here she is enjoying a book and the sunlight from the back door.