Thirteen months for the little mussed-haired sprite currently hanging on to the sides of her playpen and shouting plaintively aaaiieee, aaaiiieeeee at me. She has recently found her voice. She has never been much of a babbler, but now she speaks full sentences in her own tongue. None of it is understandable, of course, but it is all heartfelt and emphatic. Aaaaiieeeeee!
Now she is complaining–not exactly crying, but certainly not happy. I glance at the clock; it is nap time. I sincerely doubt that’s what aaiiee means. (Elvie thinks it’s Beatrice saying her own name. She could be right.)
sleep
Naps have been something of a nemesis lately. She’s slowly and surely transitioning to one nap, but it’s quite the process. Some have dropped to one nap very early (Ephraim); some have hung on to two for what felt like forever (Eldore). Beatrice does not get sleepy in time for a two good naps. As a result, her first nap is great and long but there’s no time for the second without moving bedtime. I can wake her up early from the first nap, but honestly I need her to sleep at that time so we can do school. So I let her sleep, hoping each day that that first nap will turn into a solid, three-hour, one-nap-day nap. It rarely does, but I keep hoping.
On the days it doesn’t–which is most days–we go for a late-afternoon catnap.
motor skills
She’s a nimble (and quick, and silent) crawler. I am forever checking and re-checking to make sure the basement door is shut. If I’m sitting with her while she plays in her room and one of the other children comes in, she makes a beeline for the door and can completely overtake some of them. SHUT THE DOOR! has, therefore, become an oft-heard refrain in the house. That, and HERE COMES BEADIE!!
She’s become very brave about cruising and standing. The other day I found her perched on top of her toy-tin, turned upside down and shoved against the rail of her playpen. She may be plotting an escape. The Door Handle is very important especially for the basement door to stay intact.
hair & eyes
I can’t believe I can say it, but her eyes seem to be the same strange, what-color-is-that–anyway color as Elvie’s eyes. I suppose this is a good thing; the more they have in common the better, I guess. At any rate, they are a golden color in the center and grey-blue on the outside. It’s not hazel. It’s not grey. Elvie’s look green until you get close enough to tell they’re not. Beatrice’s eyes aren’t as far along as Elvie’s, but they’re the same color Elvie’s were at this age.
Her hair is growing, growing, and curls beautifully on the ends. It’s very much like Anselm’s was at this age, though his was thinner and a bit more flippy. It’s still dark. She and Anselm are the only two to not go blond-ish after birth.
likes
Her personality has gotten BIGGER, if that’s even possible. She loves a good joke, and especially loves Eldore’s antics. She loves to have her siblings around, but it also very content to play alone in her crib while she listens to music. Music! She is a big fan. Everything from our singing after breakfast to her favorite “Family Folk Songs” station makes her glow with delight.
She likes to rub noses with Ephraim and Eldore. I’ve not observed her doing this with anyone else.
She has a very good eye for details, and has been seen following sugar ants across the floor.
She deeply resents being told “no”.
She doesn’t care for sitting in the grass.
She does like flowers.
She lives for the thrill of finding an unattended package of wipes, picking it open delicately, ripping each wipe out one by one, and flinging them aside with a flourish.
eating
I officially weaned her about a week ago. She barely batted an eye, though she was unhappy the first day I took her straight to the changing table instead of nursing her right away when she woke up. After that she was fine.
She is not much of an eater, though. She’s extremely picky. She will condescend to eat greek yogurt and simply adores lasagna. Grandfather’s stir-fry is high on her list of edibles. Scrambled eggs are hit or miss. It’s always a bit of a guess as to whether or not Beatrice will refuse whatever food she’s offered. It makes things interesting.
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