Walkie-Talkie

Liliana is running around like a champ and trying to talk now. In addition to her early words (mama, dada, and hi) and signs (food, more, please); she is now saying bye bye, cheese, up, bread, cookie, that, what's that, agua/water, and trying to say please; and signing bread, cookie, water, thank you, wash hands, and occasionally signing potty. I'm amazed at how well she can communicate even though she does not speak a lot of words yet. When she needs or wants something we ask her to tell or show us what it is and she is normally able to express it in one way or another - which leads to a quick resolution and prevents a lot of tears. It is amazing how much those little ones can understand and express!

Student teaching is going well. I've got three weeks down and only 7 more to go. The last class that I was petitioning to have waived (since I took a very similar one at the community college) has been officially waived now, so I will be completely done with my degree at the end of student teaching. Graduation is June 14th, though David and I have opted not to walk. We figure we'll save ourselves the money of purchasing gowns and paying to be in a dull ceremony where we'll be told that we are the future and to go out and make the world a better place with all that we've learned. We figure we're doing our family members a favor as well by not making them sit through another ceremony (we both walked with our community college when we finished our 2 year degrees about 7 or 8 years ago and have attended enough commencement ceremonies to know that while they mark an important achievement, in and of themselves they are not that great).

Today we planted some vegetables in our garden. This is our third attempt at growing our own food. The first time we planted a garden we started too late in the season and nothing was done growing before the frost returned (that and the squirrels dug up a bunch of our seeds). The second time I planted seedlings inside a few weeks early and planned to transplant them outdoors when the weather warmed up, but became pregnant and had such bad morning sickness that I never got around to doing it before the plants had outgrown their little starter pots and begun to die. Last year I didn't even bother because I had a newborn and didn't have the time or energy to do it, so this year is the year! We'll stay on top of it and have a great garden with more vegetables than we can use.

I am so grateful to all those friends and family members who have sacrificed of their time (and some of their means) to help care for Liliana while I'm completing my schooling. I look forward to June 12th, when I can again devote all my time to my job as a baby-entertainer! I sure miss hanging out with Liliana all day every day. Luckily, that time will return soon.

If you're happy and you know it...

I am regularly surprised at just how much babies understand, remember, and communicate without speaking real words. The other day I was reading Liliana a nursery rhyme book and came to the rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock". Liliana immediately stood up, went to her stack of books, and pulled out the Hickory Dickory Dock puppet book the Grandpa Jim bought her. A couple weeks later Liliana came to school with me and was playing quietly with another rhyme book. She brought it to me and I quietly read the "If you're happy and you know it" rhyme and pointed to the picture of hands clapping and demonstrated by silently clapping my hands. She took the book and sat on the floor and began flipping through the pages. After a couple of minutes she started to appear frustrated. She shoved the book to me and whined while she pointed at the book, clapped her hands, and then pointed at the book again. I realized that she was trying to get back to the page that had the picture of clapping hands on it, so I turned to that page and handed the book back to her. She smiled, touched the picture, and clapped her hands. I was impressed!

Today was my last day of my "lead week" for my practicum. I have two more days (Monday and Tuesday) with the kindergartners and then I have my last class of the quarter at the university. I then get two whole days off and begin my spring quarter student teaching in a fourth grade class on Monday. I miss spending all day with my baby and look forward to completing my student teaching (at the beginning of June) so I can go back to my real job as a baby entertainer! Liliana is growing and changing so fast and I worry that I'm going to miss out some days. Luckily there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I've got less than three months left of school - woohoo! David had his last class yesterday evening and now all he has to do is complete an online final and then he'll be all ready to graduate! I'm glad we're setting this example for our children - showing them that education is an important preparation for the future and a good foundation for becoming a self-sufficient person.

Waddle-Walkin'

On Wednesday Liliana had her one year doctor visit. She was pronounced perfect, weighing in at 22 pounds, which places her in the 70th percentile for girl babies her age. She was 30 and 1/4 inches tall, putting her in the 85th percentile for height. Her head was 18 and 1/4 inches around, which puts her at the 75th percentile mark - though I think she's got a pretty good sized noggin (and belly).

After the appointment Liliana and I went to my class at the university. She was standing, stabilizing herself with my leg, when I slowly moved my leg out of her reach. She stood there for awhile and then looked up and saw a tall skinny guy with dark hair and glasses sitting about 5 feet away. I assume that she must have thought it was David because she got a smile on her face and took about 5 or 6 steps towards him before getting down on her hands and knees to crawl. When she got to him, she used his leg to climb up and she just stared at him (no doubt realizing that this was not her daddy after all). She hung out with him for a few minutes and then proceeded to walk from chair to chair and person to person all around the classroom, using the furniture and people to balance.

On Thursday Liliana was really sad and grumpy - side effects from the four vaccines she had received the day before. I gave her some baby Tylenol and she calmed down, but she was still really clingy so I stayed home from my practicum to be with her. Well, that day she decided she was going to walk (more than just the little bit she had been doing once in awhile previously). Once the soreness of the injection sites in her legs was numbed, she crawled over to the chair in the living room, pulled herself up, and then turned and walked toward me - laughing and smiling all the way. Once she reached me, we clapped and then she turned around and walked back to the chair. We continued to play this walking game with me moving back a little bit each time she returned to the chair. David and his dad got to see the next morning (this morning) because she was asleep by the time they got home from school and work last night. She's been walking quite a bit today and seems to be gaining more and more confidence. I guess I really have to admit that she is a toddler now, and not my little tiny baby anymore.

Birthday Bash

Liliana turned one last Monday (January 19th). I just cannot believe that a year has already passed since we first got to meet our little girl in person. She has grown and changed so much so quickly. She is starting to test out her legs, but I wouldn't say she is really walking yet. A couple days before Christmas she took a step toward the Christmas tree and then immediately sat down. The Sunday after Christmas we were at my sister, Nicole's house and Liliana let go of the coffee table to take a step toward her auntie. A few days into the New Year (after returning from a wonderful, but short trip to California to see G-ma and G-pa Jovet) Liliana took a step toward me. She has since then taken a single step here and there toward various things or people, but until last night we hadn't seen her try to walk more than that. Last night (Friday, January 23rd) we were at our friends' home for dinner and Liliana was playing with their son, Sean. Sean is about 6 weeks older than Liliana and has really started walking well over the past few weeks. I was sitting on the living room floor, eating a chocolate chip cookie (I know, great diet) when Liliana let go of the little shopping cart toy she was using to walk and started stepping toward me to get some of my cookie. I kept scooting back a tiny bit at a time so she'd feel like I was only another step away and she ended up taking seven little shuffle steps to me (well, to the cookie). David was in the other room when it happened and wanted to make her do it again so he could see, but she wasn't having it. I bet she'll be up and really walking any time now. It's bitter sweet because once she's not crawling around anymore I'll have to admit that she's a toddler, and no long my little baby.

This month has been fairly busy, with David and I starting back at school. David is taking his last class one night a week and will be all done with his graduation requirements by the end of the quarter (mid-March). I'm now doing my early childhood education practicum. I was able to get placed with a wonderful teacher (and friend) at a school near my home. It's close enough that some days I even ride my bike. David's dad, Jim, is watching Liliana in the mornings and my great aunt, Debbie, is watching Liliana in the afternoons when Jim has to go to work. My good friends Cherisse and Betty have also offered their services as back-up babysitters. I'm so thankful for the amazing support we have received from family and friends as we work toward finishing our schooling. It seems like we're almost constantly on the move these days, running back and forth to work, home, the university, church, etc., but we're handling things well and still making sure we're able to play with Liliana and spend time together as a family. I think next quarter may be a little more crazy just because the student teaching is supposed to be a little more involved than the practicum. I know as long as we keep focused on the fact that it is only for one quarter, we'll survive and probably even enjoy it.

We had a little party for Liliana's birthday last week. Originally I wasn't really going to do much because I figured she wasn't going to remember it anyway. However, since David's mom was going to be coming all the way over from Idaho, I figured we'd better plan something. Also, everyone else was celebrating their kids first birthday and I didn't want to have to explain to Liliana why we didn't have any first birthday party pictures when she was older and have to pay for any therapy that may come as a result of her feeling unloved (just kidding). It was a little last minute, but we had a nice turnout. David set up a slide show of pictures of Liliana throughout her first year of life and let it run in the background throughout the gathering. We had balloons and played a couple of games. One of the games was just to answer questions about Liliana (What is her shoe size? What does she do when I tell her, "no"? - she laughs at me). The other game was to line everyone up on one side of the room and see who could get Liliana to come to them. That was really entertaining to watch! We sang to Liliana and let her smush some cheesecake in her face before opening presents. She was most interested in the tissue paper and wrapping paper, but she had fun with the gifts as well. Thank you, to all of you who were able to come and celebrate with us. We had a great time!

Trips, Holidays, and Loads of Fun

In mid-December we went to Utah to attend the wedding of Becca, one of my mission companions. Liliana handled her first airplane trip like a champ - although she refused to nap either at the airport or on the plane. We had a great time visiting with family and friends while we were in Utah. Liliana got to play with her cousins, Kaden and Daxton, and I got to spend time with my parents, and my siblings (Renee, Joey, and Ren's husband, Larry). David and I really enjoyed the spirit that was present during the beautiful wedding ceremony. It was only the third live sealing I have been able to attend and it was wonderful.

Upon returning to Washington we were hit with a long stretch of cold, snowy, and windy weather (must be the effects of global warming). The iced over snowy roads made for interesting driving conditions when we went to David's extended family Christmas Eve party. Also, as a result of all the snow and ice, a number of flights were canceled at the airport. This made our plans for flying standby to California to visit my grandparents impossible. We were told that Christmas day was a good day to fly standby because most people were already where they wanted to be so there was usually some space available on the planes. However, with the tens of thousands of people who hadn't made it to their destinations, that changed everything. We have been continuing to check flight availability and we're hoping to make it to L.A. tomorrow so Great Grandma and Grandpa Jovet can spend some time with Liliana (and us, if they're interested).

The day after Christmas we had a little game night with some good friends and their spouses who all happened to be in town for the holidays. Then yesterday we attended my Grandma Thompson's Christmas party and got a picture of Liliana with Santa (my great Uncle Joe). I thought Liliana was going to cry or at least be unhappy about sitting on his lap, but she just kept looking at him like she was trying to figure him out. We even got her to turn around and smile for a picture!

Well, the new year is fast upon us. Liliana will turn one year old in less than a month! David will finish his last class this quarter and graduate in March! I should be done with my degree by June. After that....the sky is the limit! I wonder what new adventures await us this year...

Giving Thanks

Liliana's first Thanksgiving has already come and gone. She tried a little of almost everything on my plate and seemed to like it all. We celebrated Thanksgiving with David's family at his aunt and uncle's home on Angle Lake. Liliana was one of three babies in the family who were celebrating their first Thanksgiving. Liliana, being a curious kid, picked up a set of 1 pound hand weights after dinner (I guess she wanted to work off some of those extra calories) and was holding them up and out, showing them off to anyone who would pay attention. I managed to snap a couple of photos before she held them up too high over her head and the weight carried her backwards. Her face changed from a big grin to a look of complete surprise as she tipped over and ended up lying flat on her back. After a taking a moment to let what had happened sink in, Liliana began to cry very loudly. I'm pretty sure she was more upset by the shock of what had happened than hurt.

Liliana has a seventh tooth coming in now. She decided to try out that new tooth on me one morning when I was nursing her. Let's just say that I let out a yelp, she drew blood, and I refused to nurse her for a little while after that. Luckily for her, she hasn't tried to chomp on me again because I won't hesitate to wean her instantly if she pulls that once more!

My great aunt Deb gave Liliana a little rocking horse. Liliana has figured out how to rock it back and forth as well as bounce up and down on it. She really likes to play on that toy. The other day she got a little confused between trying to rock it back and forth and trying to bounce up and down and she started shaking her head back and forth, not going anywhere. It was pretty funny to watch.

We set up our Christmas tree on Saturday. Liliana enjoys pulling the ornaments off the bottom branches, but doesn't seem to pay much attention to the tree as a whole. Luckily David and I were thinking when we purchased our decorations on our first Christmas together and bought all plastic decorations (the ones that look glass, but are kid friendly).

Liliana has begun to say, "hi" in response to others who say it to her. It sounds more like, "eye-eeee" but it is really cute. She is also waving like a champ now (before she would only wave sometimes - I guess she just had to be in the mood - but now she'll do it any time someone waves to her. Another thing she is doing is standing without support - though she gets nervous and sits down and soon as she realizes that she's doing it. It is amazing to see how much she is learning and growing. I can't believe that she's 10 and a half months old already! Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

Love me, Stranger

At church on Sunday David and I were sitting in the back row of the chapel and Liliana was crawling around on the floor and playing with some quiet toys. A brother in the ward that Liliana has only really seen once before entered the chapel and she immediately lifted her arms up and smiled at him to pick her up. David and I both had to fight back the laughter because she has never done that to strangers before and she really doesn't even raise her arms for us to pick her up either. The brother bent right over and picked her up and she seemed very happy to be held by him. Babies are so funny!

In this picture Liliana is wearing a dress that my dad brought back for her from Hong Kong. She looked so cute in it!