Catching up?

I feel like development these days is running at warp speed and we are some cusp of Gillian no longer being my baby. For now, other little kids call her "baby" at the playlot. As in, "how old is your baby?" I am certain this is my favorite phase so far, but I have said that a hundred times before. We have front row seats watching this unbelieveable unfolding of self-awareness and it blows my mind. Every day. Gillian (who at this moment is singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in her crib, when she should be asleep) has a strong sense of self. She is headstrong, stubborn, opinionated, and pushy. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. I would say I am surprised, but I know her parents.

Here are examples of her "me-ness": When Suzi and Bill were here for my graduation (G's Nonni and Grandaddy), Suzi took Gillian to the park. Gillian noticed that Suzi unlatched the tray in the front of the stroller to get her out, and decided that latching the stroller tray was something very important to master. Even more important than enjoying herself on the swing or the slide. So, for 25 minutes, she worked on trying to close the tray. If Suzi came near her, she would say, "No..NO..NO!!!" and wave her arm keeping Suzi at bay. Suzi took a seat on an adjacent bench to watch Gillian alternate serious concentration and full blown fits of frustration. If she got up to offer help, Gillian would tell her "NO!" and point to the bench (as in, I GOT IT, Nonni...sit tight and I'll be with you in a minute!).

This happened with the stroller belt last Wednesday morning for the better part of an hour, and although I let her stuggle with latching it without interruption, I couldn't help but think there were warmer places to play with the belt latch than at the playlot at the beach (which happened to have a northeasterly wind that day). By the second trip to the playground that afternoon she had figured out how to latch the seatbelt (she still needs help undoing it, though...you have to push pretty hard). Say whatever else you will, but Gillian is no quitter.

He recent language explosion (which today includes "polka-dots") is really great. I think she understands just about everything we say to her, and she can communicate what she wants. She tells ME what she wants to eat. For the past three days she has eaten like she is making up for the past two weeks of stomach flu. This includes black beans (which is so exciting if you remember this video).

Anyway, I truly enjoy watching her be. Like the hand waving and chipper little "HI!" and kisses she blows at the guys (who could quite believeably be thugs or gangbangers) we pass on the sidewalk that turn them to chatty little puddles of sweetness mirroring her pure love...or the way she never forgets anything you show or tell her (this includes taking a wrong turn in a different direction than the playground, which she is quick to correct), which is sweet, but can require 45 minutes to walk 1 block (particularly now that she has discovered how to pick flowers and blow dandelion seed puffs). It is sweet (and embarrassing) when she tells other kids who get on the slide at the playground "No, No, No!" whilst wagging a finger because they had the nerve to get on her slide. I am sure it was an oversight for the other kids to think they had the right to be there, with it being a public park and all. Or the other day, when she had the strangest reaction to a mom there with her three older kids (older, like, 3, 6, and 10ish). She kept trying to catch her eye and say "Hi!" and kept waving and giggling, and at one point, laid down in the mulch about three feet where she was sitting with her husband and friend, looking up at her and waving and laughing and saying "HI!". This went on for about 45 minutes. I have never seen her act like that with a stranger. Weird; or not. Maybe she wanted to join their brood. Maybe it seemed glamorous for a minute to be one of the gang. I do have a short video of that which I need to cut down (it is hard to upload a video longer than 1 minute), but needless to say it was wonderfully strange and she inspired two other kids to lay down in the mulch, which was probably not their parent's favorite thing that happened that day (particularly because it had rained early that morning).

So I have edited videos up through mid-April and have a few to share:

Here she is reading one book and commenting on another:




Here is her new-age Devo Dance. Luckily (or not) the robot thing has been left by the wayside of late:


Mimicking started a while back, but it's still cute to show you how she perceives that we sound when we answer the phone:


And last, but certainly not least, her avant garde performance for Papa:


Shameless as I am, I will be posting more recent videos soon (after I edit them down to 60 seconds, which is hard). For now, I must go to sleep. Oh, another recent thing-don't wake up at night for a bottle-WAKE UP AT 6 AM FOR THE DAY. Now, THAT needs to go, in my humble opinion. *yawn*