“Hi, I’m not a baby anymore. I’m a toddler.” And, boy, do I have a personality.

We’ve made it through another month — lots of laughing, a decent amount of fussing, no more unfortunate cupcake incidents. It’s time for another update.

She no longer gets a bottle. We still bring out the Cheerios every day, though. In addition, Sadie now gets vegetables, fruit, toast, Spaghettios, Macaroni and Cheese, Yogurt and Milk. If she’s been really good, I’ll give her some Teddy Grahams. Teddy Grahams are, of course, the dessert of champions.

Sadie no longer just drinks the milk in blissed-out silence. She feels like she should tell you what she’s thinks of the milk. And the toast. And the state of the Middle East. She’s not afraid to express her opinion.

She’s also beginning to talk. She doesn’t have any English words (”Dada” being the current closest attempt), but she’s quite fluent in Sadie-ese. She’s obviously trying to convey a point, it’s just not in any language her poor, dumb parents can understand. I look forward to having conversations with her. So far, I’ve been providing both halves of the conversation, and, frankly, it’s time for her to hold up her end.

She’s expressing herself more with gestures as well. She’ll vigorously shake her head when she doesn’t want what you’re trying to feed her. She’ll point at the milk when she wants more. She’ll wave bye-bye when she wants to leave. Less attractively, she’ll smack the spoon as you’re bringing it to her mouth, flinging mush across the room.

She’s trying out some different toys. For her birthday, her Auntie Amy got her some Weebles, and these are her new favorites. Plus, though they wobble, they most definitely do not fall down.

We’re trying to get her to try out some new things around the house. Most recently, we’ve been teaching her a little bit of how to play the piano. Neither of us are very good at it yet, but we’re certainly making progress.

(And yes, I switch from my suit pants into shorts when I get home from work — thus the very attractive ‘black socks and slippers’ look I’m sporting in this picture.)

Another big development this month is Sadie’s continued fascination with books. Curious George has displaced the Boynton books from the top of her reading list.

She’s learned quite a few songs in the past month. If you start singing “If you’re happy and you know it…” she’ll start clapping her hands. In the next verse, she’ll stomp her little feet along with you. At night, I’ve been singing her lullabies to ease the transition to sleep. Of course, I don’t know any lullabies, so I’ve been singing regular songs for her. Her favorites so far: Me and Bobby McGee, Mercedes Benz, You Turn Me On I’m a Radio, and Anarchy in the U.K.. I’ll try some others this month to see which ones suit her fancy.

The teenaged girls at the Gym’s babysitting room still adore her. I carry her in, and we’re greeted with a “Sadie” coo in four-part harmony. Good for her; I’ve certainly never been that popular in my life.

She can walk like a champ now, straight-ahead with very little wobbling. Everyone is excited by this, except, of course, the kitties. They can still take refuge on the window sills, but it won’t be too long before she can reach them there, too.

Sadie is much more a little girl than a baby now. The transition makes me sad, but I’m reasonably sure it was bound to happen. On the plus side, we can can share more: I sit in my chair and read; she sits in hers and reads.

Happy thirteen-month birthday!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 20th, 2006 at 8:17 pm and is filed under Sadie. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.