Y’all, I woke up and my baby girl became a toddler! I swear a week ago she was giving me these adorable coos in her tiny baby voice, and now she’s singing in the back of my car in her “big girl” car seat. Woah. I love it.

There’s so much cuteness that I don’t want to forget, and yet life seems to be flying by, so this post is for me, so that when she’s a teenager I can go back and relive these precious baby moments.

• In the last two weeks, Wrenn has started using sign language! Y’all, this is a game changer, because my little one can now communicate what she wants. Think about how liberating that must be to be able to clearly communicate what you want for the first time. Right now she knows “more please,” “hungry,” “all done,” and “milk.” I’m also trying to teach her “water” and “diaper change.” Since most of her signs revolve around food, she is quite passionate when she uses them. I’m so proud.
• She does know a few words, which she uses when it’s just us, but rarely performs on command. Her current words include mama, daddy, papa, puppy, hi, bye, and ball.
• When we put her to bed for naps or overnight, we tuck her in tightly with the quilt I made her, and then hand her a stuffed bunny, which she snuggles up next to her face. She tends to go to sleep at night almost immediately, but her nap schedule is totally in flux. I think she’s in the process of dropping her morning nap, but she still lays down for about an hour every morning for “quiet time” (which usually involves laying down and singing), and then takes a decent nap in the afternoon.
  
• We bought her a new “big girl” car seat about a week ago. I pulled it out in our front entryway to try to figure out how to put it together, and Wrenn immediately came over and climbed in. I wish you could have seen the pride on her face – it was such a big moment for her. She practiced climbing in and out over and over. When we got it installed and she got to ride in it for the first time, she felt SO BIG. Moments like that make me so happy as a mama.
•  My baby girl loves to dance. ALL THE TIME. If music comes on, even if it’s just a commercial, she will start wiggling her bootie, shaking her shoulders, and stomping her little foot. It’s hysterical. We went to dinner and sat on a patio and let her walk around (it wasn’t crowded), and she went from table to table dancing as the patrons cheered for her. A few days ago I taught her how to twirl in circles, and now she twirls and twirls and twirls until she gets so dizzy she falls down in a fit of giggles. IT IS THE BEST THING EVER.
• She gives hugs. And kisses. Over and over. To me, to her daddy, to almost everybody she encounters. Especially to other children. And furniture, her books, her toys. Did I mention I caught her kissing an oscillating fan? And sometimes when she gives me a hug, she pats me on the back as she hugs me. I melt every time.
  
• Now that our hot Texas summer is over and we’re enjoying some slightly cooler temperatures, we’ve been taking Wrenn to the park almost every day. I let her lead me around and decide what she wants to do. At first she didn’t understand, but now she proudly walks around the playground, going from the swing to climbing the jungle gym to walking to the fence to look at the ducks (have I mentioned she is obsessed with animals?). She’ll point at what she wants to go on and I lift her up and help her on.  She has always loved being outside, and you combine that with the freedom to do whatever she wants to do and ALL THE OTHER KIDS that she can watch… and well, it’s her little version of heaven.

Having a 14-month-old is the greatest thing ever. I thank God every single day that he made me her mama, because it’s the greatest privilege I have ever had. That child brings me so much joy.

Baby girl,

Oh, Wrennie Minnie, I swear you can’t be eight months old. Four, maybe. No more than that. I was holding you in the hospital just yesterday, so impressed when you could lift that newborn head of yours, watching you stare at the world wide-eyed, taking everything in.

And now you’re eight months old, staring at the world wide-eyed, taking everything in. And moving EVERYWHERE. And talking (although I have no idea what you’re saying). And laughing and smiling and squealing in delight. You live life FULLY, baby girl. It is an absolute joy to watch.

You LOVE to eat. It took you awhile to learn how to chew. And swallow. We joke that we got to practice our baby Heimlich Maneuver every single night at dinner. You have puked up your dinner on our table more times than I’d like to count. That chewing was just so hard to figure out. But that was your seven-month-old self. Now that you’re eight months, well, you rock at that whole eating thing. You love to eat off my plate (you love bread the most, just like your mama), and you also love puffs, yogurt bites, greek yogurt, and every vegetable in the book. The only thing you hate? Ketchup. Can you believe it? I didn’t think ANYBODY could dislike ketchup. I bet you learn to love it later. Oh, and you feel like such a big girl when we let you drink water from a straw.

Last week you learned to crawl FORWARD. This is a big deal. You’ve been rolling and scooting all over my living room floor since you were about six months old, and at seven months you could crawl backward like a pro. You’re really good at inching your way under furniture, you love tight spots (until you’re ready to get out, and then you don’t love it any more). But one day last week, I laid some puffs just out of your reach, and there you went… crawling FORWARD like a pro. Or not a pro, really, more like a clumsy baby deer. It was adorable. I was so proud. A week later and you’re getting GOOD at it.

You love to stand – all the time if you had your way – holding on to just a finger, or the edge of our coffee table, or the side of your crib. You don’t pull up yet, but you also don’t need very much help to stand up. And the funniest part – if I say “WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE!” and shake my head in excitement, baby girl, you start dancing – wiggling your hiney and smiling in delight. It’s the BEST. THING. EVER.

You are still a swaddle baby – even though you’ve tripled in size since you were born, you still love to be swaddled for your naps. At night we leave your arms out so you can roll around safely. You continue to sleep so well – usually from around 8:oo p.m. til 6:15 a.m. or so. Then you lie in bed and talk and sing and entertain yourself until we get you out out of bed closer to 7:00. You usually take a morning and an afternoon nap, (between 3-5 hours total) but lately you’ve been adding an additional, short evening nap between 5:30-6:30. Maybe you’re growing – then again, you’re always growing!

You have two teeth, and baby girl, you had to work HARD for them. The first came around 7.5 months, and you had a 101 degree fever for three days, threw up twice, and were just miserable. I thought you were sick, but after that third day, up popped your tooth and you went right back to normal. Your second tooth was easier, but you still cried HARD for three days. I don’t know if I can take this two dozen more times!

You love to be outside. You love your dog, Harley. You light up at the sound of your daddy’s voice – and are VERY close to being able to say his name. You say DA DA DA DA DA and MAMAMA and GAGAGA and PAPAPAPA. But you don’t really know what you’re say, it’s just babble. Your nursery teacher told me you’re one of the most verbal babies she’s ever seen. Looks like you’re going to be a talker like your mom and dad. Oh, and you LOVE people. It makes me so happy.

Baby girl, you have brought out a side of me that I didn’t know existed. I love getting to act like a big kid again, playing on the floor with you, reading you books, singing songs and making funny noises. It’s like this part of my life has been opened up that I didn’t know was missing. I was made to be your mama and it is SO. MUCH. FUN. You are a blessing to me and your daddy, and we love you dearly.