50 weeks

My little love has had a rough week with lots of drool, so more teeth will be popping up soon.

She loves to "talk" with strangers. I'm sure she really is saying something, we just don't know what it is :) It was fun to hear her babbles change to word-like sounds and then into whole conversations of word-like dialogue. I'm pretty sure when she starts talking she isn't going to stop! She loves to nod yes and no and at one point I was sure she knew what they meant, but I now I think she just does it for fun.

We have few peek-a-boo books that we read her. One goes through different Peek-a-____ that rhyme with boo. She has figured this out, so every time she turns the page she says, "Ooooooo!" with conviction. She hasn't quite got the zoo, you, choo-choo part, but she loves the "Ooooo!"

I'm struggling to accept the fact that she is almost one. We have spent the last week trying to put together the details for her party in Nebraska. I feel like I just found out I was pregnant, let alone had my baby in my arms, and now she is just weeks from being 1 year old. Craziness!

The planning begins!

49 weeks

The past couple of weeks Juni has gotten the hang of pretending. She likes to pretend to eat puffs out of a bowl and drink out of a cup, she pretends to brush her hair, and she has been picking up books and reading them on her own.

As swimming lessons this week she went under the water (lots of times) and did it like a champ. At first, she was naturally afraid, but then was taking it in stride. Last night in the bath she bent over and put her face in the water up over her nose and didn't even flinch. It is so fun to watch her comfort in the water progress so quickly.

She started walking on her knees this week and even took one little step on her own on Wednesday.

48 weeks

Juniper turned 11 months old yesterday! She is growing as big and strong as ever. We took a "doorway picture" like we did throughout my pregnancy just to see how funny it would be if she were still in my belly. She spends her days being giggly and excited by everything she sees. When we go on walks she wants to reach out and touch every brick, plant, pole, and trashcan (ewww :>) we pass by.

Juni is enjoying her doorway bouncer more than ever. She loves to dance in it and sing with me while we listen to music and I cook dinner, if Zach isn't quite home yet. She is making more sounds as her teeth are growing in, but no more words we can understand yet. Her new favorite sound is, "Blah, blah, blah!" while sliding her tongue all around. :) I may have taught her that :)

She is becoming more comfortable on her feet. She stands solid on uneven ground and loves to climb over whatever objects get in her way. As she has gained more control of her motions, she has learned how to softly pet Juicy on her own, which makes Juicy even come up to Juni all on her own every once in a while, but Juni still spends lots of time chasing around the room after her kitty. When she can't catch her real kitty,  she still loves her pretend Juicy Louise too!

At swimming lessons this week, she passed her first goal! She held onto the wall for 8 seconds on her own!

47 weeks

Juni's body has been busy this week. She not only got her 2nd front tooth, but also the tooth next to it. Her 4th tooth on top is about to cut through as well. No wonder she was drooling like crazy!! Her FOUR top teeth were all moving into place at the same time. She has started eating little bits of food off of her tray while we eat dinner. She has decided she does like her puffs, as well any thing else she can pinch-up and put in her mouth.

We have always loved reading to her, but she is really starting to enjoy it herself now, especially when Mama and Papa use fun voices for the different characters. Her favorite book right now is The Very Busy Spider, which was actually Papa's when he was a boy.

She had her 2nd swim lesson on Saturday. She loved it all over again. The lessons are already helping her to be more comfortable on her back in the water, including her bath, which makes washing her hair MUCH easier.

We took time on Sunday to go to the beach. Juni was a little afraid of the sand at first. We sat her on the blanket, she crawled straight for the sand, then cried when she touched it and couldn't figure it out. After about two minutes she was ready to play again. :)

We had a big earthquake just this morning. I guess it was only a 4.0, but it felt big! It happened at 5:30am, so we were all still sleeping. Juni woke up and thought we were playing! She smiled, squealed, pumped her arms, and was ready for more!

46 weeks

Juni has spent her afternoons around town this week. We've had some beautiful weather (temperatures in the 70s) and were outside on long walks every single afternoon. The weather is back to the more typical 50s now, but we still don't have anything to complain about. Her babble babble has turned into sing-song bliss. She hums and la la las and babbles in song to talk with us, or just to herself while she plays. Her second front tooth still hasn't cut through, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her right now. You can see the white and the ridges in her gum, but it is still just hanging tight. She has been eating little pieces of meat and the fake cheese that is soy/dairy free. Every time she has a new flavor she is so fun to watch as she really tastes each and every bit of it. I also found some organic puffs that were soy/dairy free, but she didn't really like them. Zach and I have a pretty busy week, but things seem to be settling back to normal at this point.

45 weeks

Juniper is becoming Miss Independent quicker than I realized. Her favorite activities from this week include opening drawers and doors of all sizes, singing her own songs and shaking her head no. She really enjoys music and this week started doing her own dances when I sing for her or when she hears music in her surroundings. She is getting more stable on her feet and now takes a minute to let go of the furniture and "surf"  before sitting down or grabbing back on. For a while now, she has been doing the sign for milk and she has been using it more than ever this week as she is comforting herself as her two front teeth come in. The tooth on the right cut through on Wednesday, but the left one is still just below the surface. She continues to explore her own body as well as her Mama's and Papa's. She loves to pinch up skin or pull on fingers as she tries to figure it all out. Juni had her first swim lesson with her Papa on Sunday. I am so jealous, but my chlorine allergy doesn't allow me to go in the pool with her. She was a little overwhelmed by all the action in the pool at first, but after just a couple of minutes she was taking part in all the activities and letting her instructor help her along. As she is becoming capable of expressing her wants she has learned to throw a little bit of a tantrum this week. I know there is much more to come, but she has started to stiffen her limbs and arch her back when she goes down for her nap. She is more of a joy to be around than ever before. Her sweetness oozes out of her the more her personality develops.