Oh dear

Now that Lyra is mobile, crawling (very fast sometimes!) and cruising, we have stay much sharper than before...otherwise things happen....like coffee mugs getting knocked over, slippers and shoes getting mouthed.  She is starting to stand sometimes for a few seconds at a time.  Walking independently can't be far behind...then we will really be in trouble!

Very Cute Things She Started Doing Lately: She is babbling even more than before, but some of the noises are completely new, little "uh" and "oh" and "wo" and "oooh" sounds when she is pulling herself up, crawling, etc.  It's very, very cute as she sounds like she's making tremendous efforts to do these things.  Not sure, but I think sometimes (especially when eating) the "mamama" sounds may mean "more."  Flailing her hands toward the bottle or bowl also means "more."  Flapping, slapping, and pushing at incoming bottles or spoons, very clearly means "no more!!"  These actions also lead to lots of various food products on the floor, Lyra's hands, the highchair, and mommy.  Recently she started frequently doing this kicking motion back and forth with her legs straight - while lying flat on the changing table, or being held up in the air...it's very cute, and I think when I start saying "kicky-kicky-kicky" it makes her do it again.

Unfortunate New Things:  She used to love "brushing" her teeth.  Now, she very firmly closes her mouth, shakes her head, and even sticks out her tongue in her efforts to avoid the dreaded toothbrush.

Exciting New Things: Lyra can now deal with dairy!!  No more "milk protein intolerance."  She loves cheese (sharp cheddar cubes - yummy snack), whole milk (completely off her pricey formula - though we were getting it free through health insurance anyway), yogurt.  Thank goodness...it seriously expands the range of  "real" food we can feed her.  Also, she has been off the Dr. Brown bottles for the last month or so.  SO happy about that...those bottle parts were such a pain to wash.

Newest Foods Tried: Besides dairy products, curried fish, Indian food (Tandoori chicken, chapati bread, aloo gobi - too spicy!, saag paneer), pasta, whole peas, corn (of course, the kernels came out whole in ...her you-know-what).

In less than a week she turns 1 year old.  It is almost unbelievable to me that an entire year has passed...so much has happened and we have so loved watching her change and grow...