13 months

Well, I have more video and pics to post, but unfortunately up until a few minutes ago, I misplaced my camera. So you will just have to wait.

Ani is 13 months now and she is quite a character. She walks around regularly now - and has mostly given up crawling altogether. Last week she discovered running, which is so cute since it ends in lots of tumbles. I am sure it will get less cute when she gets faster, but for now it is adorable. Her arms are still in the air like frankenstein's monster in order to maintain balance, so if she keeps that up we may have to dress her like a monster for halloween and have her walk around the neighborhood.

After much debate, we have decided not to delay most vaccinations. Perhaps this is not much of a choice for most people, but there is compelling anecdotal evidence to suggest that waiting a few years on the vaccines is not a big deal and may be beneficial. We have chosen not to wait for the very simple fact that our pediatrician recommends we don't, and many of the early vaccines are for diseases that could be fatal if an infant catches them. We considered not immunizing her for chicken pox, which is recommended now, simply because it appears to be a stronger immunization if the just gets the disease in childhood. But since she is too little to respond when we tell her to stop scratching, we decided it would be best to give her the first dose, and then decided later if we want her to have the booster, or just be exposed to the disease after that.

So... this means that right now Anika is covered almost head to toe in little red spots. Apparently one mild but common side effect for both the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and chicken pox vaccinations is the appearance of spots that resemble the disease we are immunizing her from.

She is also enjoying playing each weekday with her buddy Bridget. They are just one month apart and very cute together. They are learning how to hug, and while one child usually ends up falling down and crying, they seem to enjoy it and keep trying. They are also just big enough to take turns riding on our little push airplane and pushing each other up and down the hallway, which is super adorable.

At 18 lbs 15oz fully clothed, she is still in the 5th% for her weight, 50th% for height, and 75th% for head size. An interesting combination, no?

As far as words go, Anika has made great progress with nodding. She now mostly knows the difference between nods and shaking her head no so it is easier to figure out what she wants. She can also ask for more using sign language, which she does regularly.

Most excitingly for mommy, she has begun to put herself to sleep with Mommy sitting near her crib, instead of rocking forever. It also means she is going longer in her crib at night, hooray!

She has now cut 10, possibly 11 teeth altogether. The last 2, possibly 3 molars have come in the last 2 weeks. We were surprised because she skipped the pointy incisor teeth and went straight to the first molars, but apparently that is what is supposed to happen. Go figure. All the other teeth were right next to each other but the pediatrician probably knows what she is talking about so I am not sorried.

Well, as the laptop battery is dying, this shall end the post today. Much love to all