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Lucky Thirteen

In honour of Lia's thirteen-month birthday, here is a quick and dirty rundown of the latest developments:

Lia is walking very steadily now, negotiating 360 degree turns, and doing circles around the cat. Just yesterday she began getting up from the floor onto her feet without any assistance! She's lost interest in her toys and now spends her days waddling around the baby jail play enclosure or the balcony.

She's very attached to her lovey, a little pink dog imaginatively named "Puppy." Somehow appropriate, since Lia herself was born in the Year of the Dog. Lord help us if we ever lose Puppy. Shawn is already reticent to let it leave the house.

Words are coming! In addition to her stable of animal sounds (moo, meow, quack and ruff), Lia has started to say "nana" to refer to any foodstuff she desires, presumably an abbreviation of her favourite food, banana. Her latest word is "baby." When instructed, she will fetch her Baby Beluga book and leaf through the pages while exclaiming "Baby boo!" Puppy also gets called "baby."

After a few skirmishes with Sam, involving pulled tails, flying paws, and copious crying, Lia seems to have developed a healthy respect for the cat's personal space. It's so darling to hear Lia say "meow, meow!" whenever she sees Sam.

Today was the first successful introduction of the sippee cup. We were serving a 2007 Ottawa Tap Water, clear and refreshing, with mineral overtones and a soupçon of flouride.

As she starts toddling with a vengeance, Lia is also voicing her desires more stridently. Perhaps her newfound freedom is making her bold. By Jove, I can go where I want! I don't have to wait to be moved around. Maybe I can make them do some other stuff I want too. Yelling seems to work really well! Or maybe the frequent falls are putting her closer to tears at any moment. Whatever the cause, we're getting very familiar with this face:

Happy 13th-Month, Lia!