13 Months

A little behind, but I thought I better post the month 13 update before we hit the 14-month mark! Aspen is nearly running these days, walking is easy-peasey. She's able to rock on her rocking turtle by herself, and loves to dance.



She requests music all the time by going to either the CD player or iPod and dancing.

More and more of Aspen's personality is coming out, too. She loves animals, and can sign a dozen or so animal names. (And/or make sounds.) She has a high-pitched squeal that she uses for an excited greeting, for animals, people, and her very favorite stuffed goat. She loves to help cook in the kitchen, I often give her a big spoon and bowl (none of this toy stuff, mom, she wants the fresh stuff out of the dishwasher) and she stirs along next to me.





She also loves her books and reading. She's always had one or two favorites, there is a baby book that names various body parts that was her first favorite (it was one of Sabine's early favorites, too) and there are about three animal books that came out regularly. But now she is interested in every book on the shelf, and while pulling them out is often a good pastime,



she will now bring one over and demand to sit on your lap and have you read it to her. (She has a very emphatic "EH EH EH!" when she wants something.) She also still loves pictures, so photo albums are always a hit, and we have a few kid-friendly ones that she pulls out again and again.



Often on play dates, Sabine and her friends will disappear into her room for privacy, but occasionally they grace us with their presence on the main floor. And Sabine is actually quite adept at integrating little sister into her play, occasionally. Sabine recently had a play date where the girls played dress-up.



Guess who wasn't about to be left out!



She kind of had a Tinkerbell-meets-Cinderella-meets-Bo Peep-thing going on.



She's had several days now where she has only taken one nap, it's a little rough, but we are definitely starting the transition from two to one nap a day. And one more picture, just because it's cute, and the tongue is very Aspen-esque! It's a look she's sported for several months now.



Oh! And one other big milestone (for perhaps no one other than mommy) Aspen weaned herself the day she turned 13 months old. From what I've read, it was probably a "nursing strike," but given that she's year old, we're not going to fight it. We just have to convince her to drink cow's milk, now! She is eating much better, she still likes meat and carbs, and a good variety of fruits and veggies, but still isn't very interested in milk or many dairy products.

Cousin Ski Trip

Mommy's cousin and his family came out for a ski trip this year. Sabine adores her second cousins, H and C

and, it turns out, so does Aspen.

The girls all did well together, Sabine and C spent lots of time giggling and playing with dolls and games, and H dedicated a LOT of time to helping Aspen with her walking, she came home much more steady and quicker on her feet than she had been five days prior. There is a well-worn track in the hallway outside of our condo, I think, from where H walked Aspen up and down and up and down.

We got some good skiing in! Sabine, H, and C all went to ski school, along with their mom, and mommy got to ski with their dad, while Dustin sweetly hung out with Aspen, who is not quite ready for ski school...this year.


(That's mommy.)

The cousins

Mommy and H

We had a nice condo, and Sabine learned some new card games, including War.







We had dinner with everyone in the evenings, and then went back to our own condo to wash up and sleep at night.



It was a quick trip, but really fun. We are already starting to plan a similar trip next year!

End-of-Winter Fun

I'm a little behind, hoping to play catch-up in the next few days. We got the girls a sled at the beginning of March, and the first week after its arrival, it never made it out of the living room. They both had a ton of fun climbing in and out!



But eventually we got it out with Sabine,



who has gone sledding a number of times now with various friends.





There are some new baby goats at Sabine's farm school, and both girls have adored going to see them each week. I think Sabine even saw one birth while she was there!











Aspen continues to be as sweet as ever, she loves baby dolls, (especially the eyes) anything that Sabine has touched, and stuffed animals.



She also seems to love clothes and accessories, I don't know how much is Sabine's influence, but Aspen is quite adept at getting necklaces and hats on and off now.



She is still not huge for her age, and we are looking for ways to increase her caloric intake. She doesn't seem to like cow's milk (or almond milk or coconut milk or even apple juice) but she still likes carbs of any kind, bread, muffins, pretzels, veggie sticks, etc., so she often eats that, with some meat, cheese, and fruits and veggie pouches mixed in.

Sabine regularly has play dates, and Aspen loves whatever few minutes the big girls choose to include her!

Birthday Celebrations Cont....

The birthday celebration continued throughout the month!

First, Grandmom and Grandpa came down to celebrate with a special cake made by Grandmom's friend.



And a sweet koala bear, which Sabine helped Aspen unwrap.



Aspen was thrilled with the present.







Then she got to try some more cake, this one had it's own special cupcake attached for the birthday girl to do with as she pleased.



It pleased her to put her fingers in it for a little bit. The actual cake seemed like maybe it was too sweet, but the rest of us found it delicious!





The festivities continued the next week, at a friends house, where we celebrated 4 out of the 6 kiddos having February birthdays. There were some fun crafts, and a whole spread of desserts!





We had a great time, other than being forced to pose for pictures!

Evidence!

Aspen DOES walk, and we see a little tiny bit more every day, but she still much prefers to crawl or hold onto someone's hand.

In other developmental news, Aspen has learned how to go downstairs (by sliding on her belly) as well as up. She seems to be working on her vocabulary a little, she now says "mama" (YAY!) and has a "b" sound appear occasionally.

Also, I meant to document her growth stats from the pediatrician. As of her one-year appointment, Aspen is:

28.5" tall, which puts her in the 12th percentile
16 lbs, 3.5 oz, which puts her in the 4th percentile
and her head circumference is 18", which is the 72nd percentile

Sabine continues to be a big help, she is the best at getting Aspen to take a few steps here or there, as in the video above. Sabine is also still very busy with all of her activities, and thinks she wants to add soccer in the spring. We'll see if one of the other sports might be exchange-able, her schedule is getting pretty packed!