13 Months

Libby, you are 13 months old today! Yes, you are still drinking from the bottle. I have tried to take it away, but you just won't drink milk from the sippy cup. Water and juice are acceptable, but milk must be in the bottle. Awww, what a cute baby - just give her the bottle! You have just started to cruise around the furniture, and I am hoping you wait to take your first steps when I return from Disney World with Emma, but before the cruise to Bermuda with daddy. The smooshy face is gone, and has been replaced by hugs and kisses! We call the hugs looooove and you even hug your baby doll. You will be crawling along on the floor and stop and rest your cheek on the floor. We all say, "awwww" and then you say "awwww" and grin and then you crawl some more. You have been trying to say a lot more words, too. When we go into the bathroom for bathtime, you say "ba!" You say mama, dada, maaa (for Emma), hey, uh-oh, bye (while waving, even if you hear daddy saying bye from another room and can't see him), ck-ck for cat, daw for dog, baw for ball, moh for more. If I say bounce, bounce - you bounce! If I say rock, rock - you rock back and forth! If I say, go get the ball - you usually go get the ball! And you are so proud of yourself! I'm very proud of you, too.

You have such a great personality already. You are sweet and loving and feisty at the same time. You let us know when you want something, and you let Emma know when you've had enough of her pulling on you. You are easily entertained and often sit back and watch Emma, but recently have started showing that it's hard to be the little sister when you just want to do big girl things and get your hands on all those big girl teeny tiny toy parts.

You can eat just as much or more than your big sister. For lunch today you ate an entire grilled cheese sandwich (including the crust), three strawberries, part of a fruit bar, an asparagus spear and a cup of water. Your favorites are pizza, anything with marinara sauce, broccoli (your ultimate favorite), bananas, cheese, turkey and ham. You can put away some food, girl!

Your red hair is growing every day and you have crazy curls in the back. It's hard to put into words why, but I hope you never change it. It's a gift, and I know you probably won't see it that way one day. When you were born, we were surprised by it. It still surprises me. It makes me feel special that you look like your family. It's like I know something that no one else knows, it's a secret between me, Ghee, and Chucky. Wherever the red hair has come from, we are proud of it! We made it, we passed it on to you! And it looks beautiful on you, especially with your chubby red cheeks, fair skin and dark blue eyes. It also looks good with that beautiful smile of yours, and best when accompanied by your wonderful laugh.