Elsa is Thirteen Months

Today marks Elsa's 13-month birthday, and to celebrate I decided (with Kate) to drag her all over Greater Atlanta and run a couple of errands, which ended with Elsa taking a ten-minute catnap in the car (with me waking her up to eat at Chick-fil-A, thinking that might reset the clock -- umm, wrong!) and a refusal to take a nap later at home. I remedied that, though, by taking both her and Merckx for a long walk, and Elsa ended up sleeping about an hour in the stroller. After a three-hour nap yesterday, I should have known this was in store for me today. But, hey, the sunshine decided to come out after being rather dreary the past couple of days, so the walk was quite nice and refreshing.

Elsa is still happy cruising around -- no walking yet. However, she did start using this walking toy today, which we are currently borrowing from a friend. This particular push toy works well on wood floors because it has a bit of rubber around the wheels, making it less easy for the toy to just slip out from under the child. She didn't seem too interested in walking with it until today, and then she just took off, crashing into furniture, doors, and walls. She is also becoming a little more brave in her cruising, often only using one hand to hold onto a steady object and even bending down to pick things up. She was holding onto my hands today and walking with my support, and she actually stood by herself for a good number of seconds when I let go. So perhaps walking is on the horizon? Not sure. I'm not trying to rush it too much, but I am also kind of looking forward to it.



Elsa's first set of top molars have broken through, so that brings the total up to ten teeth. I think I am starting to get used to the seemingly never-ending teething. I don't know what I will do once it actually does end. Maybe we will all sleep a little more soundly. All of the chompers are really helping out in the eating department. She is able to eat bigger chunks of food these days, and I finally feel comfortable letting her chew on things like crackers and arrowroot cookies. She tends to be a little finicky about food -- especially if it is something new -- but I just continue to try to give it to her, and eventually she usually decides she likes it. Case in point, two days ago I made her grits with cheddar cheese and spinach, and she wanted nothing to do with it, but this evening she chowed down and totally loved it. I bought a little fork and spoon set for her today. They have rubbery, grippy handles, but the actual fork and spoon are metal. Tonight I was putting food on one of the utensils, and she was then able to take it in her hand and feed herself. I was fairly impressed.

Yesterday she was surprised with a visit from Grandpa. He is on a business trip in Canton and just stopped here for the afternoon/evening on his way through. It was great to see him, and we all went out to a nice dinner together before he headed the rest of the way up to his hotel. Safe travels, Grandpa (Dad)!