Landry is a happy, busy girl these days. Sometimes it strikes me how she's looking and acting more toddler and less baby. I swear that transition comes overnight. She is still personality-galore and knows exactly what she wants and, just as often, what she doesn't. She's learned to say no, and although it's very cute, it definitely gets overused. She does one little head shake to the side and a high pitched "uh". You could say she says no first and thinks later. I've learned to disregard it a bit and press on. She understands absolutely everything we say and follows directions really well. Her awareness of the boys and what they're doing has definitely increased and she does not like to be left out. She wants to climb and jump off what they do, eat what they do (gum and mints are often desired), and play what they do. I know she's at the pinnacle age of frustration to not be able to communicate and act fully the way she wants to. They're still so patient and kind to her though. \\
Her vocabulary continues to increase. Some added words are "bubba" for bubbles (which she excitedly insists on each bath!), buh- book (starting to have a longer attention span for them and loves playing with them), guh- go (usually to play in the basement or go where the boys are), nong nong- still food, bluh- blueberries (in her oatmeal). She can also make the animal noises for a cat (meum), dog (panting sound), and sometimes a duck (cack cack). She can point to some body parts (head, hair, ear, eye, nose), but rarely will sit still enough to try.
She remains a really great eater overall. Some loves are not quite as popular like peas, but she'll develop new ones instead like steamed broccoli and cauliflower! She eats mostly what BJ and I eat pretty happily. It's still so great to sit a meal in front of her and just have her eat it! We're still working on her brothers. She uses utensils really well and definitely prefers to eat with them. She loves snacks and would eat them all day if I let her. Somehow she has a strong association for snacks in the car. I try not indulge this expectation, but I will admit to keeping a pack of graham crackers in my door pocket when I get desperate. I feel like I stretch her meals a bit sometimes, so I guess that's how the car snacks started.
She's also a great sleeper and has a consistent and easy sleep schedule. She naps around 1:00 most days for at least a couple hours and will sleep at least 7-7 (or even a little later overnight). Pretty ideal! I wish someone could have told me what an amazing sleeper she'd turn out to be when she was 7 months old!
Landry is not a fan of being confined in any way. We've know this for awhile, but it's equaled some stressful shopping trips involving a stroller or shopping cart. She'll do ok in a cart for awhile, but then she'll hit her limit and throws a fit to try to get out. This caught me pretty off guard because the boys were always so content in a cart or stroller. I keep suckers in my purse now for desperate moments, although I'm happy to say I haven't had to use one yet! Along the same lines she'd also prefer to walk than be carried, especially in a parking lot. Non- negotiable on that one, Sis.
She does really great in childcare and most days will let me sit her down and walk right out. I think she feels big like the boys because she sees them in the preschool room, so I've started calling church and the Y "her class". Such a big girl!
